[F05-PP] - Echoes of the Desert <<The Traveller>>

[Jae 0]

The market buzzed with life, a symphony of voices blending into the metallic chime of goods exchanged and the shuffle of feet on worn cobblestones. Jae moved through the chaos like a shadow, her hood drawn low, emerald eyes sharp beneath the brim. The air carried the mingled scents of dried herbs, leather, and sweat—a far cry from the cool, resinous calm of her forest home. It was then, as she waited for the vendor to count her coins, that she caught it: the faint murmur of something unusual, a thread of gossip woven into the noise. "Fool’s errand," one voice scoffed, muffled by distance. Another answered in a hushed, almost reverent tone, the words trailing through the din like smoke on the wind.

“...old man... buried treasure... desert sands...”

The vendor's hands paused as he handed her a bundle of rations. His eyes darted toward a nearby group of NPCs, then back to her, a flicker of unease crossing his face. The dusk-bound wanderer didn’t press him. She turned and melted into the crowd, the words she’d overheard lingering like grains of sand caught in her boots. A treasure hidden in the wasteland of Floor 05. An old man in need. The tale was as faint as a mirage, its edges blurred by disbelief, yet it nagged at her thoughts. The desert—harsh, relentless, and unkind—was no place for hesitation. She’d heard the stories: shifting sands that swallowed paths whole, bandits lurking among jagged rocks, storms that erased even the strongest of footprints. But still, her steps slowed as she neared the path leading out of the settlement. What if? What if, buried beneath that endless expanse of sun-scorched gold, there was something worth finding? Something that made all this survival mean more than just another day of hunger and breath.

The wind stirred, carrying the faint scent of dust and sun-baked stone. Jaelynn exhaled, low and deliberate. “Worth a look,” the heroine muttered, adjusting the strap of Veilpiercer against her back.

By morning, her course was set.

---

The journey to Floor 05 began beneath the canopy of the woods, the familiar tranquility of Floor 02 a sharp contrast to the unknown that awaited her. The princess of dusk moved swiftly through the trees, her boots crunching softly against the underbrush. Her home, a hollow tucked within the branches of a towering tree, disappeared behind her as she made her way toward the Floor Gate. There, the polished stone shimmered faintly with the promise of transition. She hesitated for only a moment before stepping through, the air around her shifting in a rush of heat and grit.

Floor 05 greeted her with a wave of scorching air, the kind that clung to her skin and made her wish she’d packed twice the water. Sand stretched out in every direction, broken only by jagged formations of stone and the distant shimmer of a settlement’s walls. Fortaleza loomed on the horizon, its sandstone bricks glowing faintly under the relentless sun. She adjusted Veilpiercer against her back, the weight of the longsword a grounding presence, and set off toward the gates. The market inside was a frenzy of voices and movement, stalls draped in colorful cloth casting sparse shadows against the heat. It didn’t take long to spot him—Zamek. The old man was a fragile silhouette against the chaos, hunched beneath a heavy wool cloak that seemed entirely out of place in the blazing desert. His white beard framed a face weathered by time and illness, and his shaking hands clutched the edges of his garment as though warding off an unseen chill.

Jae approached cautiously, her emerald eyes narrowing as she studied him. Up close, his frailty was even more apparent; his breaths came shallow and uneven, interrupted by the occasional cough that racked his thin frame. He looked up as she neared, and their eyes met. His were tired, but there was something else there too—determination, or perhaps desperation. Either way, she didn’t speak right away, allowing the silence to stretch as she gauged his intent.

Finally, she nodded. “I’ll hear what you have to say,” she said, her voice quiet but firm. By the time she’d agreed to the quest, Zamek’s gratitude was evident, though he seemed too exhausted to express it fully. Jae didn’t linger long. There were preparations to make, and she knew better than to head into the desert unarmed or ill-equipped. The quest seemed straight forward enough, escort mission, she just hoped the NPC didn't move as slow as he looked.

Fortaleza rose out of the wasteland like a mirage solidified—sandstone walls weathered by time and storms, standing defiant against the elements. The gates groaned open, revealing a chaotic sprawl of tents and awnings, their bright fabrics snapping in the breeze. The rest of the market thrummed with life, a gritty contrast to the lifeless desert surrounding it. Merchants shouted their wares, their voices hoarse from heat and repetition, while others bartered in hushed tones under the shade of woven tarps. The scent of sun-warmed spices mixed with the acrid tang of sweat and dust, forming a cocktail both intoxicating and suffocating.

The cat-eyed princess wove through the crowd, her steps light but deliberate. Her gaze flicked over rows of goods laid bare on rough-hewn tables: clay jugs filled with brackish water, bundles of sun-dried meat, and stacks of scavenged trinkets. Each item told a story of survival—a life pieced together from the bones of a hostile land. She stopped at a stall manned by a wiry NPC, his face shaded by a wide-brimmed hat. Wordlessly, she exchanged coin for several battered water canisters, her gloved hands testing their weight before securing them alongside her rations.

Veilpiercer gleamed faintly at her back, its polished blade catching slivers of sunlight that danced across the market’s dusty floor. The silver haired nomad drew it for a moment, the familiar weight grounding her against the alien vastness of this floor. The blade whispered its quiet promise of protection, but even that couldn’t banish the unease curling at the edges of her mind. It wasn’t fear—no, fear was too personal. This was something else, something colder: the awareness of just how indifferent the desert could be. She slid the blade back into its sheath and adjusted the strap across her chest, her movements precise and measured. Around her, the noise of the market ebbed and flowed like the tide, but Jae had already turned her thoughts inward, steeling herself for what lay ahead before making her way back.

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[Jae] | Lv. 4 | HP: 80/80 | EN: 26/26 | DMG: 5 | ACC: III | EV: - |
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Skills: Straight Swords (Rank 3)
***
Sword Arts:

• [x8] ST-I (8 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x11] ST-II (11 EN) | A powerful single-target sword art. Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
• [x7] AOE-I (7 + [2 * targets] EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x8] TECH-A (9 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

***
Battle Equipment:
Veilpiercer (ACC III) (Equipped)
Rare Longsword (Paralyze/ACC)
(3) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)
(3) Water Cannisters (Grants +(5 *Tier) health regeneration while out of combat.)
Black Cloak w/ Hood (Vanity Item | No Benefit)

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:01 PM by Jae
I'm stuck on dumb. The Title~