[PP-F22] Tea Tales: The Lily of Memories

[Kingsley 0]

What We Fight For

For once, when Kingsley woke up, he left his shop closed. The shutters remained shut, the lights off, and the door securely locked. He left early in the morning, taking only his oak walking stick, a fur-trimmed white cloak, and a variety of teas from his stock. He was experimenting with his selection using herbs, berries, and plants specific to Aincrad. The game had developed entirely new ecosystems and with them came plants one would never find in the real world. His adventures always took him outside of the cities, into the vast and dangerous wilderness. He brought a guard when he could, and stayed away from obvious risk when he couldn't. Today, he searched for something especially unusual.

Rumors of a flower indigenous to the Forest of Memories circulated the tea-maker grapevine. They said that a purple, four-petalled flower grew sporadically somewhere in the forest, generally in small batches and very rarely. The caveat was that only one batch could grow at a time. A new group of flowers would not grow until the last had been picked. Additionally, they could appear anywhere in the forest, but would not grow within a short radius of the previous few. The Lily of Memories, his colleagues had dubbed it; although, none of them had actually seen one before.

Kingsley knew that he had to look. To be the first in history to brew a patch of memory lilies into tea would be legendary.

And so, his quest began.

He set up a player request on Coral's bulletin board, the first step of all of his expeditions. His request detailed his desired location, an estimated time frame, and the fact that he needed a guide. No preference was stated towards any particular type of person or a specific build; he couldn't be bothered with things like that. Company along the way was all he required.

A seat in the shade, near the town's exit, was where he waited. In the mean time, he enjoyed people-watching and a travel mug filled with hot Marsonian Breakfast.

Spoiler

Kingsley
Level: 3
HP: 60/60
EN: 24/24

Stats:
Damage: 6

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: N/A
Armor: N/A
Misc: N/A

Skills:
Polearm R3

 

Edited April 11 by Kingsley

[Elora 0]

Dawn drenched the walls of her room in bright amber light as the shrills of territorial squirrels could be heard on the distant horizon. Elora stirred momentarily before stretching her arms high above her head. For the first time in a long while, she felt rested, refreshed even. When was the last time she'd slept through the night's slew of concerts or procedural brawls? That's right., she resolved after inspecting her surroundings, At the new house. Promptly climbing out of bed, she made her way to the heart of the house. Freyd's already gone -- Off to Firm Anima I bet. She glanced briefly in the direction of the greenhouse, a portion of the estate they'd dedicated specifically to her pursuit of Alchemy.

Whatever suspicion that had crept into her mind was immediately discounted as she otherwise gathered her supplies and set to arrive at Floor 22.

The guild's hall laid nestled in a small grove, not far from the teleportation center of Coral. Although accessible, Elora could count on her fingers the number of times she'd visited the grounds in search of something to do. It's not like work is any more fun than...honestly, anything else., came the admission. Nonetheless, she felt determined. After all, she had just survived her first raid, moved out of her ramshackled apartment complex; maybe she could accomplish even more.

Steady steps soon sent her crossing by the settlement's bulletin board. Not many listings, she plainly observed, Still, Rai might appreciate me passing them along to everyone else. Eyes skimmed the headlines of several ledgers until a particular listing caught her attention. "Looking for a guide...", she began to read, Seems like they're looking for flowers. Maybe someone dyed -- or a romantic date. The elven player shook her head. Anyway -- it's easy enough. With a bite of her morning snack, she trodded off toward the provided location. 

The town's gate wasn't empty, though not exactly bustling either. A handful of NPCs and inattentive adventurers streamed through the gates to this way and that as she scoped out the supposed poster. It wasn't long before her sights settled on the shape of a stagnant man -- he was noticeably shorter than the rest. Awkwardly shuffling over to his side, she initiated the greeting. "Hey --! Are you --", an abrupt pause ushered the pamphlet closer, "-- Kingsley?", she corrected before too long.

 

***

Elora consumes x1 Lemon Berry Palmiers

Item Type: Dessert | Effect: Adds +3 LD

 

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 5 | BH: 35 | LD: 2+3=5 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Elora
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 6
HP: 700/700
EN: 104/104

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 78
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 5
Battle Healing: 35
Loot Dice: 2
AA
BLGT: 32
FLN: 8
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear: Teleportation Crystal x1

Weapon: Essential Verdigris (T4 Dem Polearm | AA | Blgt | FLN | STK)

Armor: Defense Mechanism | T4 Demonic Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2

Misc: Emerald | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I 

---

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Polearm R5
Light Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Charge
Energist
Searching R3

Active Mods:
Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Precision
Focus
Resolve

Active Extra Skills:
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory: x1 Lemon Berry Palmiers - Item Type: Dessert | Effect: Adds +3 LD

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 26 by Elora

[Kingsley 0]

A long sip of the Marsonian Breakfast let loose the deep flavors of Ceylon and golden tipped Assam. He had not added milk or cream to it, although they would have paired nicely. Instead, he chose a droplet of honey to sweeten the bold tea.

He was approached in the midst of enjoying his drink, and so he had hardly noticed the girl until she finally spoke. "I am. Are you my guide for today?" Kingsley asked with a smile, returning to his tea.

"You'll do splendidly," he looked a bit funny hopping off the bench, but was quite adept at not spilling his drink on the way down. "I have business somewhere within the Forest of Memories, but it's not a place for an old man like me to be wandering around alone," he laughed heartily, his walking stick appearing in his hand. "Come along. I'll explain on the way."

"I was a skier once. A long, long time ago. Competed with the very best, I might add. Winter Olympics, 1972. Good year for them. It was my first time in Japan and my last time as a competitor. I injured myself the next year and took to other endeavors," he rambled, as he so often did.

"That's the type of memory I expect to encounter in the forest. I don't have regrets, nor do I lead a particularly unpleasant life. I don't anticipate running into much trouble, but I'd feel much safer with you around," he paused before moving on to his objective for the day. "There's said to be a rare flower in the forest that I'd very much like to find. I'm a tea-maker, you see, and I find joy in odd brews."

By the time he finished his long-winded speech, they were in front of the stables, where he had pre-rented a carriage to deliver them to the Forest of Memories.

[Elora 0]

"Guess so", she said casually and with a courteous smile. These interactions never get less awkward. Thankfully, this individual seemed the capable type, despite his age. He showed impressive dexterity in maneuvering his tea, at the very least. Wonder what kind he's drinking., she couldn't help but speculate. Soon after, Elora followed the old man as he began to reminisce about his days as a skier.

"Winter Olympics, 1972.", Kingsley recited,  "I injured myself the next year and took to other endeavors,"

Why...is he telling me all of this...?

"That's the type of memory I expect to encounter in the forest.", he continued to elaborate, to her naiveté. "I don't anticipate running into much trouble, but I'd feel much safer with you around,"

Elora's posture seemed to straighten at that remark, "Glad to hear it. Can't say I'm among the best of the players, but I like to think I've gotten pretty handy with a spear." It wasn't that long ago that the admission would have been a difficult one to voice. In the days since she had entered SAO, Elora felt that she had become more humble, or more accurately, accepting of fact she needn't feign competency in every skillset. 

Kingsley seemed to chuckle before revealing, "There's said to be a rare flower in the forest that I'd very much like to find."

"OH? Really?", the elf's interest appeared to pique as much as her ears, "What's it look like? Do you know how it tastes? I tend to brew with spices and herbs, but I'd like to experiment more with flowers -- Lilac florets pair nicely with earl gray." Her voice had suddenly undertaken a more excited tone. After a brief pause, she stammered, "OH YEAH -- I'm Elora by the way."

[Kingsley 0]

The girl perked up at the mention of tea. Kingsley hadn't imagined her to be a true hobbyist like himself. He rummaged through his wooly pockets while Elora rambled, grumbling something before lighting up. "Aha!" he chimed, pulling out a crumpled piece of parchment. He flattened out the best he could and held it out to Elora. On it was a hand-drawn flower, gently coloured in with shades of green along the stem and purple on the petals. He couldn't help but smile each time he laid eyes on it.

"This is it," he tapped it twice. "The Lily of Memories. As far as I know, no one has ever tasted it. We'll be the first," he winked. "It's wonderful to have met you, Elora. I think we'll get along splendidly."

The forest was quiet, but for the singsong chirps of birds. "Glow Mushrooms from the Endless Caverns mix very similarly with earl gray. It's quite strange," he added, waddling quite quickly for an elderly man. His walking stick tapped against the hard dirt path. He was small enough that they could have comfortably fit a third party member side-by-side, if they wanted to. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a group of players wandering through the bushes. A man with four kids; three walked ahead, while the youngest sat upon his shoulders. It took Kingsley a second look before he recognized them as his own. He cleared his throat, ignoring the scene. "You mentioned your skill with a spear. Are you what they call a frontliner?" he asked.

[Elora 0]

She found herself leaning down, drawn in to inspect the drawing more closely. Kingsley wasn't exactly short, moreso hunched, in that old and dilapidated-but-also-kind-of-endearing sort of way. Special care was paid to avoid harpooning the old man's eyes with her one of her cosmetically-elongated ears. The endeavor proved more difficult than she'd anticipated, what with the carriage bouncing and swaying from each gentle embrace with a pothole below.

As her vision came to focus, she was able to distinguish the delicate pen strokes that created the flower. "It's pretty", she noted with a faint smile than began to broaden with his explanation. 

"We?", came her belated realization, "You're planning to share?" It seemed a simple invitation, though one she wouldn't have expected from a complete stranger. Then again, he had introduced himself by divulging a personal memory to her. Maybe he doesn't have his guard up, doesn't know any better..., she speculated as they disembarked onto a forested path.

"Glow Mushrooms from the Endless Caverns mix very similarly with earl gray. It's quite strange,", Kingsley said, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"That is weird...", she slowly agreed, "I would never have guessed to seep any mushrooms, but I guess that's how some of our potions are made." Raising a gloved hand to her chin, Elora appeared to become lost in thought. What would that have to taste like to pair with earl gray? Floral? Fruity? Savory...?

"You mentioned your skill with a spear. Are you what they call a frontliner?", the remark shook her gently from wonderment.

"Yeah --", Elora declared somewhat harshly, her own enthusiasm curtailed by a critical awareness. "Yeah", she continued more softly, "I joined my first raid only recently. It was...a lot. But... "But --", she added, "We were able to unlock the next floor, and no one got killed -- at least from what I heard." 

A slight bounce entered her step as she held her weapon close, her eyes scanning the brush for any sign of danger. For a split second, her peripheral vision caught the glimpse of something rustling nearby. Elora's shoulders tensed as her head whisked to one side. Nothing, her senses answered in relief.

"I don't know that I'll ever join one again.", she admitted with some reluctance, "It's just -- there's a lot of planning that goes into to it. A lot of formalities I don't understand."