Acanthus 0 Posted August 5 Author #21 Share Posted August 5 With her profession locked in, Acanthus decided to look for shop locations. She first returned to Tolbana, where she asked Dorian about opening a music store on the square. (Secretly, she had hoped to open it next door to the Sweet Tooth.) Dorian shook his head firmly. “Acanthus, I'm honored you would want to stay here. But I think for your sake, you should take your shop to the higher floors.” “Dorian, I thought that you wanted to share Tolbana with adventurers? Didn't you say you wanted us to come back from time to time?” “Yes my dear. But opening a shop? That's not ‘returning’—that's ‘settling down.’ And I’ll not have you settling down just after you decided to work towards the frontlines.” It’s strange. He’s an NPC, but I think he may know more about me than I do. Acanthus relented, and began to hunt for a different shop location. Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted August 5 Author #22 Share Posted August 5 After a brief review of the available floors, she was left with a short list. She decided that she would start no lower than Floor 11. If she were going to stay below that, she might as well be on Floor 1. Many of the floors seemed impossible to live on, let alone open a shop. Floor 12 was nothing more than marshland with a few shacks dotting the landscape. Floor 13 was a post-apocalyptic nightmare of green plant-smudge. Floor 14 would have been perfect for her—assuming she were a brooding night-clad vampire. Floor 15 seemed nice, except that Acanthus did not particularly care for heights. On and on the list went. Inhospitable. Skip. Primitive. Skip. Steeped in conflict. Skip. Inhospitable, again. Skip. Acanthus began to lose hope as she climbed from floor to floor. Maybe I’ll have to go back and explain to Dorian why Floor 1 is really the only option. Or I suppose I could double back to Floors two through ten— A light sea breeze caressed her face. She had teleported to floor twenty-four. Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted August 5 Author #23 Share Posted August 5 (edited) As Acanthus sat on the stone pier, kicking her feet in the crystal clear water, she came to a realization. This is real. Like any other part of life, it’s happening. Whether I want it to or not. And she was happier for that realization. She hadn’t realized how much she had been fighting herself for the last two years. The voice in the grove had been right—she had been in denial for so long. She had lost two years, not because she was trapped outside of the real world, but because she had refused to accept that for now, this was her reality. Part of her understood that she was not entirely done fighting her denial. It wasn’t something that a white-sand beach could just wash away. It would take time, and dedication, and friends. People to help keep her grounded in the death game. Edict’s voice rang in her ears. If you ever hear that voice again—message me. She felt an immense comfort knowing that someone believed her, and was willing to be there for her. She hoped that she would be able to return the favor. Not just for Edict, but for anyone else that she met along the way. The view was beautiful. Just as beautiful as any beach she had ever been to. Edited August 5 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted August 5 Author #24 Share Posted August 5 (edited) Rejuvenated, Acanthus wandered the streets of the beautiful, Roman-style city. She quickly learned the name (Scalabis), the main attraction (The Colosseum), and of course, a few nearby restaurants to sample. She wandered the streets with a pizza in hand. I’m pretty sure the Roman Empire predates pizza as we know it. Then again, the floor boss was a giant, mythical sea demon. Maybe historical accuracy isn’t the goal here. Her pizza nearly fell out of her hands. What lay before her was nothing less than the perfect shop. On a side street just out of earshot from the teleportation plaza, there stood a vacant corner store. White stone steps led up to a rich mahogany door with a large window set in the front. The door was flanked by two large columns, holding up a decorative overhang. Ivy spilled over the roof, and small flower pots added splashes of color to the bright travertine of the building. Peering inside, she stood agape at the size. Two stories, with eight-foot windows lining the right side of the building. She turned upwards and gawked at the large glass rotunda that made the interior blaze like a spotlight. The perfect store. All it needed was an owner. Acanthus nearly fell over herself running back down the stairs, worried in that moment that someone would rush by and swipe the spot out from under her nose. It must be a recent location—how could something so beautiful have been missed all this time? She opened the menu in front of the vacant storefront. [You are about to purchase this location for your store. Are you sure? Y/N]. Worried that the whole thing was too good to be true, she timidly pressed [Y]. The storefront burst to life. The aesthetics shifted to match her new profession as a piano appeared next to the steps outside. Instruments on stands dotted the front windows, and golden musical notes emblazoned themselves above the shop. The inside was no less beautiful. She nearly squealed with glee when she saw a full pipe organ on the second floor. Looks like I’ll have to brush up on my keyboarding. Rows and rows of recording crystals lined the display shelves. Currently, her only stock appeared to be complimentary classical music. It’s like the books. They just imported what they could from public domain. She rifled through her selection, and found a crystal labeled Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Op. 44. She then found the playback device in the shop. Out of curiosity, she checked to see if it had a menu and sure enough, it did. She moved through visual options until she saw what she was looking for. A phonograph. Just like mom’s. She almost cried. The recording crystal shifted to a vinyl appearance, and she placed it gently on the turntable, and placed the needle down carefully. After a pop and a crackle, the music began to hum through the phonograph. Near the back of store, Acanthus found a comfortable selection of plush chairs. She sat down, folded her hands, and closed her eyes. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was that there was nowhere, real or not, she’d rather be. Edited August 5 by Acanthus Link to post Share on other sites
Acanthus 0 Posted August 5 Author #25 Share Posted August 5 THREAD SUMMARY Acanthus EXP: 300 (quest) + (5,750/10) * 1 * 1) = 875 * 2 (recruitment event) = 1,750 EXP Col: (400 * 1) = 400 col <<Performer>> Profession unlocked. Standard <<Performer>> shop unlocked. Crafted item: Support Song (T1 Rare): HP Recovery 2 | Roll ID: 224180 (2) materials spent crafting (5) materials Link to post Share on other sites
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