[PP-F11/F8/F28] The Trackers Alliance

[Morningstar 0]

His shop was a mess. Swords and armor littered the workbenches in his office, mostly unidentified. He had procrastinated on a long list of items and let it pile up higher than usual. The plants on his window sill begged for water. He tried to keep up the habit, but it was so difficult to remember sometimes. He smacked his radio. Every day, it came closer to breaking down. Songs would play smoothly for a few tracks before becoming scratchy and staticy. Setting it back to normal took a not-so-gentle bump to the top every few minutes. It frustrated him.

On his desk was a thick portfolio. Sheets of paper stuck out of the sides, their jagged edges crumpled, bent. He flipped through the first few pages. An increase in demon encounters on Floor 14. Mysterious lights in the Ruins of Tsjericanth. Uprisings in Athenaia. Oddly aggressive NPCs in Glyndebourne.

Star groaned. It was as though a new rumor came upon his desk every day. It was too much for one person to sift through, let alone follow up on.

"Ah, fuck it."

He stood, grabbing his coat and notebook, and waltzed out the front door.

| MORNINGSTAR  | Lv. 66 >> P. 33, Lv. 33  | Status: [ calling realtor... ]  Notes:  //

Hide contents Morningstar | HP: 800/800 | EN: 116/116 | DMG: 22 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 5 | BH: 43 | LD: 6 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | AA | PARA-V equipped Dying Sun FLN II, AA, PAR VEN Inner Focus EVA II, REC II Sapphire ACC III, EVA I battle-ready inventory Magdalyn's Cuckoo skills   Hide contents mod count: 4/5 STRAIGHT SWORD | RANK 5/5 precision, stamina, ferocity shift: aoe MARTIAL ARTS | RANK 5/5 COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4/5 (5) night vision, detect, tracking, reveal BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 UNHINDERED ENERGIST CHARGE extra (active) SURVIVAL FORGOTTEN KING'S AUTHORITY LADY LUCK DISGUISE data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs   Hide contents statue # | # consumables # # paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== sword arts   Hide contents en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x15 -> x18 TECH-A | x16 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x16 | DELAY TECH-D | x16 | SHATTER TECH-F | x12 | AOE STUN TECH-G | x16 | BURN data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== misc/housing buffs   Hide contents Dimensional Backpack | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. Tasty | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. Relaxed | Increases out-of-combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Multipurpose | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. Skylight (Searching) | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill.  fishing # data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==   data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

[Morningstar 0]

"This is the place?"

Star eyed the building skeptically. It wasn't much more than a worn down old shack. There were cracks in the windows, letting in an awfully chilly breeze. The door's lock was broken—actually, the whole thing needed replacing. He was pretty sure he saw a rat.

Was this really in Taft?

Every other building in the area was astonishingly beautiful. Cobblestone shops lined the streets, well maintained and meticulously decorated. Nothing was there without purpose, and they even took care of their plants.

"Yep, this is it. Asking price is 75,000 col," replied the realtor.

"What—for this piece of junk?" Star's jaw hung in astoundment.

"That's right."

"And this is the only available location in the entire city?"

"The only place in your price range," the realtor scribbled something down on his clipboard, not paying much attention to Star. "Anyways, would you like the tour?"

Stunned, it took a moment for the blonde to reply. "Fine."

[Morningstar 0]

"So, as you can see, it's quite spacious. It was built for mercantile guilds, but the rooms could be used in whatever ways you'd like," the realtor explained, stepping over a broken floorboard. "It needs a lot of work, but you get what you give, right?"

Morningstar stared at him blankly. "Right."

"I'd expect about 60,000 col in renovations."

"That seems low."

"You're kind of getting a good deal, actually."

"Well..." Star trailed off, poking at mysterious hole in the wall.

The realtor led him away, steering clear of a patch of what looked sort of like asbestos. Was that worth worrying about?

"This room could be used as an office, or a small meeting room. Down the hall, there's space for personal rooms, if you'd like. Let's take a look upstairs, shall we?"

Truthfully, Star wanted to say no, but what came out was a worried "ok". Three steps up the staircase, his foot went through a plank. He stared at the red pixels floating away from his ankle. It should have been a lawsuit, but Star wasn't sure if things like that existed.

"Like I said, it does need a bit of work. Now, come this way and I'll show you the main workspace."

[Morningstar 0]

"So, anyways, the place was a total dump. The floors need to be torn out, a paint job is the bare minimum I'd need to do for the walls, and oh my gosh—the rats. I'm pretty sure it was a murder house or something too?"

"That sounds terrible. Oh, well. There are better spots in Urbus, I think. Ronbaru too."

"Oh, no. I bought it."

"You what?"

"I bought the guild hall."

Dante's face contorted in some odd combination of confusion and hysteria. "You bought a murder house with rats in the walls? Willingly? With no dagger to your back?"

"They weren't any rats in the walls," Star corrected. "They were in the floor. And in the alley next door. And I think one of them was a cat."

The bartender cocked his head. "Why?"

"I think they were born there."

"No. I mean why did you buy it?"

Star shrugged. "I like the city. Besides, how much work could it be? I'll hire a crew."

[Morningstar 0]

"You're looking at about half a million col."

Star's jaw had been dropping quite a lot recently. He did a doubletake at the quote, his eyes scurrying down the list of expenses he was given. The crew alone was going to cost him 250,000. "Any way we can bring down lunch costs? Preferably, to zero? I don't really see why I'm paying for that..."

"My guys gotta eat," the foreman said frankly.

"Right," Star spoke slowly. "But—and no offense to you... or your guys—is that not their own responsibility?"

"Look man," the foreman leaned back in his worn office chair. "That's the cost. Take it or leave it."

"Okay, well what about the consultation fee? Can we at least drop that?"

"Nope."

Star shook his head. "Well, I'm can't exactly do this alone. Fine. Deal."

"Great!" The foreman stood up and shook Star's hand vigorously. "Nice doing business with you. We'll get started tomorrow."

[Morningstar 0]

Star cleared his throat. He sat cross-legged at table, jotting down notes in his journal. The bell rang at the front of his shop, but today, it was not to announce customers.

"Have a seat," Star gestured to the empty chair across from him. "Thank's for meeting with us today. My name's Morningstar, and this is Kingsley."

"Good morning," said the old man, although it was almost quarter to two.

"Good... morning? I'm Rubio," replied the applicant.

Star squinted, clearly confused by Kingsley's obliviousness to time, but ignored it. "Good to meet you, Rubio. We'll start by asking you a few questions about your background, experience, and your interest in the guild." Kingsley nodded along, eyes shut, while Star spoke. "To begin, how about you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Rubio took a long breath before starting. "Well... I'm a level 42 healer. I use curved swords and I prefer full parties."

"Ah... a collaborative team player with a proven ability to work effectively in diverse group settings," Kingsley whispered. His business degree was showing.

"Do you have any experience with guilds?" Star asked.

"Um," Rubio stuttered, "sort of. I was a messenger for a guild."

Star raised a brow. "A messenger?"

Kingsley whispered again, clearly impressed. "Strong interpersonal communication skills, fostering open dialogue and positive relationships in collaborative environments."

"Y-yes. That's right. My guildmates would give me letters to deliver to people... and I would deliver them..."

"That's..." Star stopped himself from saying 'not a real thing,' "great. That's great. Being level 42, I take it you have combat experience?"

"Oh, yes. Sometimes they would let me join them on quests."

"Your guild?"

"Yes."

"You mean, you couldn't go whenever you wanted?"

"Only after I finished my chores."

Star scratched his head and looked at Kingsley. He awkwardly met Rubio's gaze and said, "dude, I don't know how to say this, but I think you were being bullied."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Star caved in. "Alright, screw it. You're in."

[Kingsley 0]

Kingsley was given two pillows to raise him up to eye level. It also made the chair that Morningstar provided a bit more comfortable. Something so hard would never have gone in his tea shop, that's for sure. On an off day, he would have to teach the youngster a thing or two about decoration. Dying plants and poorly kept equipment did not count.

"Bounty hunting, rumor chasing, general exploring—that's kind of our deal," Star explained.

"Not my deal," Kingsley interrupted.

Star sighed. "He's an alchemist. We're forming a partnership, since I've been doing free work for him for months and, actually, none of that matters."

Across the table was a new face. Well, they couldn't see his face. He was covered from head to toe in bandages, almost like a mummy, and wore red gym shorts that matched his thickly padded boxing gloves. Kingsley wasn't sure about him. He didn't talk a whole lot, and he was a little weird. Star didn't appear to discriminate; he mostly cared about skill and interest.

"We'll set up a bounty board of sorts with information regarding different hunts. If you need a partner or a team, it's your own responsibility to set that up. Missions will be ranked alphabetically, with S being most difficult and D being least, but you're permitted to take on whatever you think you can handle. Just, try not to die. Any questions?" Star asked.

"What's the pay like?" asked the mummy man.

"Scales based on mission rank. Paid on completion."

The mummy man nodded, which Morningstar took as interest. "Welcome aboard."

When they were alone, Kingsley nudged Star. "I'm not sure I like that one."

| KINGSLEY  | Lv. 8 >> P. 0, Lv. 8  | Status: [ experienced interviewer ]  Notes:  //

Hide contents Kingsley | HP: 165/165 | EN: 34/34 | DMG: 10 | ACC: 4 | PAR: 1 | LD: 1 | EVA: 1 equipped Herding Wolf DMG II, PAR I Basalt ACC III battle-ready inventory skills   Hide contents mod count: 0/5 POLEARMS | RANK 5/5 UNHINDERED extra # data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs   Hide contents statue # | # consumables # # paragon # data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== sword arts   Hide contents en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x8 -> x11 AOE | x7 TECH-A | x8 | STUN | 9EN data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== misc/housing buffs   Hide contents # fishing # data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==   data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

[Morningstar 0]

Star visited the worksite daily to see how things were moving along. The rats were gone (supposedly) and a good chunk of the damage was fixed. Something in the system's mechanics made construction go a hell of a lot faster than in the real world. In less than three weeks, things were pretty much ready to go.

"How's the lunch?" Star asked a construction worker on break.

"Not great," the worker managed between bites.

"100,000 col for not great. Lovely," Star thought, peeking around corners and into rooms. They had built him an office, which he didn't think he needed but kind of liked the idea of regardless, and there was even a pool table and a mini bar in the basement downstairs.

Strange. He didn't realize that there was a downstairs.

He bumped into the foreman while exploring. The scammer very nice man was yelling at a crew member for shattering a window or something—Morningstar wasn't really paying attention to the details. He threw a wide grin Star's way.

"Morningstar! How goes you?"

"Good?" He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "What's the ETA looking like?"

"Four, maybe 5 hours."

"Hours? Really?"

"Did you expect longer? Could we have been paid for more time?" His voice shrunk.

"What?"

"Nothing!" He gave Star a pat on the back that felt more like a push out the door. "We'll let you know when it's finished!"

[Kingsley 0]

Behind the counter at Kingsley Tea Company, Kingsley counted his revenue for the day. It had been a slow weekend, but at his age, the old man preferred that. It meant he could let his staff go home early, and he could spend a little extra time in the back experimenting with blends. He had a new batch of gnome hair come in recently, and he wanted to try mixing it with the dragon acid he'd collected from Yomi.

"So, where is Morningstar?" Came the hulking voice of Warden.

He was a man of few words, except for when he was around Kingsley and Star. There was something about them he found comforting. From an outsider's point of view, it was probably terrifying. A silent, nearly seven foot tall man in a suit of armor. His helmet even had horns.

"He doesn't come by as often anymore. I think he mentioned being wanted by the guards. Something about a piece of string—I didn't really understand it. He has to sneak in through the back when he does visit, and he usually can't spend much time on the floor," the old man replied, losing count of his change. "Dammit."

"I see."

"So, you're joining then?"

"Seems so."

"Does that mean I'm switching you to part-time?"

Through dark eye holes, Warden stared at him blankly. "I'm not your employee."

"I see. We'll call it casual, then."

[Morningstar 0]

A completed guild hall with amenities. Morningstar couldn't have asked for anything more (even if it had cost him an arm, a leg, and over half a million col). He gave Kingsley and Warden the first official tour, starting with the main floor. It consisted of a large, open area with a wide hallway attached to it. What Star referred to as a foyer, which he wasn't sure was correct, was casual, with comfortable seating. Kingsley thought he had taken a page from his interior design book, but Star hadn't actually done any of it himself. The lobby also had a widescreen holographic monitor that had been coded with all of the current rumors and bounties that Star had on file. Down the hall were a variety of offices, Star's own included.

They went upstairs next. Closed off meeting rooms, an armory and gear station, a private office for the unappointed guild treasurer, and what was apparently called a trading hall for merchants.

"You can use that space for your crafting, if you want," he told Kingsley.

In the back, there was also a door that led to the guild bank and treasury.

The bottom floor was built as a rest area, that included washrooms, as well as dormitories for homeless guild members. "Beat's an inn, I guess."

The mini bar and pool table remained, which only Morningstar seemed to care about. "I'm trying to see if I can get table tennis, too," he grinned.

[Kingsley 0]

"These applicants all kind of suck," Star groaned, flipping through resumes.

"What about this one?" Kingsley asked. "It says here he was co-founder of the Azure Brigade. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds impressive."

"Let me see that," Star grabbed the sheet of paper and squinted at the words. "Fake, I think. Pretty sure the real one's dead or retired or something."

"Ah, that's a shame."

"This one claims to have killed the Hydra years ago," Star chuckled.

Kingsley laughed as well. "I'll believe it when I see the Hydra's head! Oh, here's one. It says her name is Bee. She was a medical student, apparently. No real way to fact check that, is there," Kingsley grumbled. "She likes fruit, sunsets, and books. No experience."

"What do you mean? She didn't write anything?"

"No. She did. It says, in quotations, no experience."

"Oh. Good enough for me. Give her a call."

[Morningstar 0]

Thread Summary

Morningstar Receives:
1,163 exp | (2374/10)*7*0.7
200 col | 1 page

Kingsley Receives:
166 exp | (2374/10)*1*0.7
200 col | 1 page