[F01 - PP] Tiye and Theo's Terrific Training Trip <<Earning a Living>>

[Theo 0]

Theodore pushed another branch out of his way as his boots brought him further into the wooded area. He had heard previously that there was a quest for those that wanted to train further with gathering materials from the world around. Theodore wanted, no, needed this to work out well for him. His only skill is in gathering! He might as well make some use of that ability and gather materials for his friends! Imagine how useful this could be for Teion and Ryo! They are both crafters and definitely use materials a TON so, might as well gather them for them! He smiled to himself as he finally broke through the wall of trees, finding a small clearing and a wagon next to a campsite. "Oh this is completely lovely. I'd love to live he- oh someone is coming." Theo quickly shuts up 

Spoiler

As you approach the cozy campsite, a woman in green emerges from the wagon. "So, it appears you've found me," she comments, though not unkindly. "I tend to move around quite a lot, but someone always finds me. I suppose you are looking for some herbs?" When you explain that you are interested in learning more about gathering, Giovanna's emerald eyes widen. "Most simply expect me to forage their materials for them, but few truly care about the process itself. You surprise me." Digging into the pocket of her dress, Giovanna draws out a small compass, then offers it to you. "You may borrow my compass. Dark magic has made it capable of locating an incredibly rare item called a Demonic Shard. Should you find one, and bring it back to me, you will prove yourself worthy of my teachings. Take care, and may good  fortune travel with you."

Theo accepted the compass with glee. He was worried about the concept of dark magic within a game system that currently doesn't allow magic. "I'm sure magic will be fine. Definitely wont kill me... Oh god it might kill me." He took a slow breath and turned back to the Town of Beginnings. Was he really going to return to the town for help?

Yes, yes he was.

Theodore pocketed the compass and began sprinting back to the main city, the sound of crunching branches and scared wildlife following him as he went. He was mostly running due to wanting assistance with this quest... but he was also running as he was very scared of dark magic, in the woods, alone with an NPC. The sweater-clad gatherer to be entered through the main gates. startling the guards at how fast he was entering, he didn't care, he had MATERIALS to gather and FRIENDS to make and people to protect me from dark magic.

Theo was going to start asking people around when his eyes caught sight of the tried and true method of the <<Quest Board>>. Do I really need to use the quest board... again? He paused at the board for only a few moments before nodding to himself. Yes, yes I will be. and I WONT be ashamed of it. Theodore's hand raised up to the board and tapped it, opening up a menu to enter in possible recruitment information.

Spoiler

Poster Name: Theodore Statil "Theo"
Message:
- Hi! My name is Theodore Statil and I am looking for some assistance on the "Earning a Living" quest. I'm intending to become a gatherer! If anyone wants to complete the quest alongside me, that's great as well! Thanks for any assistance you may give.
~ Theo

Theo hit post and let the advertisement get shared to the floor. "Hopefully I get an alert soon." They smiled and walked to a nearby bench, waiting for a response.

---
Battle Stats

Spoiler

Theo - HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 1 | LD: 1 | SD: 1
Housing: N/A
Equipment: N/A
Battle Ready Inventory: (3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)
Skills
- Searching R1 [+1 LD per rank. +1 to Stealth Detection per rank.]

Link to Journal
Link to Quest

[Tiye 0]

Spoiler Tiye | HP: 120/120 | EN: 30/30 | DMG: 1 | LD: 5 LVL: 6 / PGN: 0 EQUIPPED GEAR: > > > SKILLS: > R5 Searching > > EXTRA SKILLS: > > > MODS: > > > CONSUMABLES USED: > > >

“What kind of guy actually uses their real name in here?”

Was the first question that came out of Tiye’s mouth when she came upon the invitation on the Request Board. The request itself wasn’t anything special, but the mere fact that the player’s name, Theo, was only a shortened version of their actual name was enough to give her pause in her scrolling of meaningless requests. The woman wouldn’t say it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence– to unintentionally (or intentionally) doxx yourself– but she just found it amusing, in a way. Doesn’t really matter anyway, I guess, Tiye quipped internally, not in here.  

The contents of the message itself weren’t anything out of the ordinary– more like an invitation to a hangout than anything. It was as equally confusing as it was charming; which was to say, not a lot. Some people just wanted company when doing boring quests, and who was she to deny that? 

Considering the situation to be a win win since she needed to spend a day gathering materials anyway, Tiye figured sure, why the hell not. If this Theo guy proved to be an interesting character, she’d have another connection down in her ever-expanding book of potential customers. 

Unceremoniously, she drafted and sent her reply in the span of a few seconds.

 

@/ Theo

Responding to: message link TIYE: << I’m down to help where do you want to meet?

And now, she waited.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Tiye

[Theo 0]

It wasn't long before Theo heard the familiar Ping! sound come from his <<HUD>>. They quickly opened their screen and read the message from Tiye, offering to help and asking for a meeting place. Theo couldn't help but let a smile come over their face. While he did not expect Tiye to be a childhood friend like the time, he met Teion again by using the board, he hoped that he would at least make a friend with this person.

Spoiler

To: Tiye
From: Theo
Want to meet by the southern gates? 

Theodore quickly stood up and made his way towards the gates. He absentmindedly opened and closed the lid to the compass he received from Giovanna, thinking about the concept of 'Dark Magic' and the implications it could have for SAO at large. "Could magic be a thing that exists here? What if we get to a certain floor and we can use magic?" He pondered the thought and came to a half in front of the door. If we could do magic, I would be a happy druid for the rest of the time we would have in this game. He smiled at the thought, hoping it could be a silver lining to being trapped here. He decided to send another message to Tiye, just so they knew where he was at.

Spoiler

To: Tiye
From: Theo
Here! No rush on getting here but just wanted to let you know!

 

[Tiye 0]

As soon as Theo replied to her message, suggesting that they meet at the Southern Gates, Tiye closed her menu, not even bothering to reply before she was walking towards the aforementioned meeting place. He’d probably get the hint, she’d hope, but before she could simmer on that idea, another ping interrupted her train of thought. Brow arched, her hand swiped open her HUD to see another message from the stranger, notifying her that he was already there.

Tiye sighed. She only offered a quick, no-effort reply back before closing her menu again. 

@/Theo

... where do you want to meet? >> THEO:  Here! No rush on getting here but just wanted to let you know! TIYE: << omw

By the time she was approaching the Southern Gates, she could already tell who the guy was by the convenient lack of people there. “Theo, right?” she asked as she neared him, scanning up him and down all the while. Sounded new, looked new. Checks out. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about being back-stabbed and robbed in broad daylight– she hoped. “I’m assuming you already know what to do since this is basically your second run-down of this quest?”

Tiye tilted her head, noting how the request had mentioned gathering instead of any of the main five professions– something she planned to do in her own time eventually. When she’s feeling it, of course.

[Theo 0]

Theodore smiled brightly at Tiye as she approached. "Yeah! I'm assuming you're Tiye?" He noticed Tiye looking him up and down quickly, but they brushed it off as nothing threatening, just familiarizing herself with how he looked. She asked about his knowledge on completing the quest and he shook his head at her assumption. "I've actually never taken this quest before. I want to be a gatherer first, anything else second, so I decided to go for this quest first. So... I don't fully know what I'm doing, except the fact that I have a dark magic compass?"

Theodore pulls the compass out of his inventory with a tap of a button, showing off the simple but fancy brass compass. "A lady in the woods said it will direct me to a special type of material that she wants. I was going to go it alone but decided anything called 'dark magic' may be safer to handle with a buddy, and then I made the quest board announcement that you saw." He paused, "have you done this type of quest before? Or even this quest? Wait, do you have a profession already and if so, what's your profession?"

Waiting for her response, Theo would then make his way outside the gates of the Town of Beginnings and walking into the field. Theodore would focus primarily on the compass and the surrounding area, waiting to get closer to the woods he was in before began REALLY searching for the shard. "So, Tiye, this is probably going to be a fairly boring adventure, so tell me about yourself. Do you like to fight, are you in a guild, pastimes, that sort of thing." He gave her a bright smile. "But if you don't want to answer, I completely understand. You don't know me. I can answer first if you would like?"