SP - F2 The Fierce Eyed Familiar <<Feeding The Enemy>> (Completed)

[Calrex 0]

As the two walked along Calrex noticed that they were heading towards a shop that specializes in different types of poisons for use in combat and other applications. He felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head, "Um...so what's our reasoning for heading into this shop?"

 

"Like I said before, I catch the birds on my own. I'm not exactly the most spry old man within this game, so I need something that will give me an edge on catching the flying little buggers. The owner of this shop is familiar with my method of procuring bait, so he already knows the portions and measurements needed to incapacitate the birds I use, but not enough that it would taint the actual meat."

 

"I see. I guess that would make sense."

 

Upon entering the shop the process seemed to repeat itself: The old man walked up the counter and placed his order, with the shop owner running and procuring the various items needed in order to fill the order.

 

"Now then, let me ask you a question. Why do you think I'm doing this for the fish, and not to the actual bird meat I use for bait?"

 

"Oh, I believe I can answer that. It's because by doing so you're only bringing the concentration of flavorings and poisons to the birds that eat the fish. That amount if actually lessened from bird meat to bird of prey, as long as they don't go constantly feeding on it. It's kind of like the fish in the real which have varying concentrations of mercury, due to the types of animals lower in the food chain that they consume."

 

"Correct. Of course I do take care to make sure each piece of meat I sell contains little to no remnants of the poison used. Nonetheless for the most part it's meant to paralyze, not actually harm the birds. Poison that harms the bird has the chance of seeping into the meat, ruining it.

[Calrex 0]

The shop owner of the shop returned with yet another bag of the materials the old man needed. With that the old man turned to Calrex, "Alright, those are the three shops I needed to visit. Now we just need to assemble the bait and have it laid out at my little place for collecting the birds."

 

"Please excuse me for asking sir, but you seem to know a lot about the quality of the bird meat and such. Did you develop this knowledge within the game, or did you have previous knowledge of it?"

 

"Oh, well, I'm just a lowly NPC. All of my knowledge about the subject comes from the information I have been given. However I believe the source of my knowledge comes from a collection of various avian enthusiasts and collectors, with their knowledge compiled into the game and given to me."

 

"I see."

 

"The way he was talking, it almost seemed like he spoke from personal experience. Is that an interpretation of the information he was given in order to make him seem more life-like. Well, I guess I should have guessed he wasn't a player. Of course there are many older players I've encountered in this game, so maybe SAO appealed to a larger audience than I had originally thought."

 

"Let's go and stop by my shop so we can get the bait put together, then we can stop by my trapping area. From there that should be everything and I can give you your food for the peregrine falcons."

 

"Thank you."

[Calrex 0]

Upon arriving back at the Prey of Birds shop the old man NPC opened the door once again, but kept the sign as it was, inviting Calrex in after him, "Just go ahead and set the fish at the end of the table there."

 

"Alright, sure thing."

 

As Calrex walked over and set the basket of fish up on the counter the old man walked to the part of the counter that actually swung open in order for him to pass between each side. Once he was there he came back over to where Calrex was standing, setting the two bags of items they had procured on the counter next to the fish. As if on a assembly line the man directed Calrex to the method that he used to create the bait. Even for the appeared age of the shop owner his hands were a blur of movement, almost like watching a conductor direct an orchestra. Calrex's eyes could barely keep up with the finer details of the elderly man's progress before he saw the finished product. It looked to be the exact same fish, but as he inspected it further he saw that the herbs and such were actually stuck into the open that the fish monger used to remove the entrails and such from it. Of course SAO didn't have that little detail, but the product appeared to be the same result.

 

"Like to give it a try? I could use the help."

 

"Um...sure..."

[Calrex 0]

"Alright, it's fairly simple. Take a handful of the herbs and dip them into the poison, then place it into the fish. Be sure not to overpack it though, or else the birds will know that something is wrong and they might avoid trying to eat the food."

 

"I see. I guess that's why the fish you selected are so small right?"

 

"Hm?"

 

"I didn't realize this until I saw your method, but I'm guessing the birds that you use the meat from are capable of swallowing these fish in one bite, so they would be consuming the fish as well as the poison right?"

 

"You are very perceptive that's correct."

 

"What I don't understand is the herbs. If they are sucking it down in one bite, why go through the trouble of flavoring the fish?"

 

"Ah, that's because we're not flavoring the meal for the birds to be used as bait, we're flavoring the meal for the falcons?"

 

"Oh?"

 

"You see since the poison paralyzes the birds that consume it, the herbs actually have time to break down and become part of the meat itself. This way we don't actually have to flavor the meat of the birds. That way it's more natural, and less likely to throw off the falcons from unusual fragrances."

 

"So the same idea with the fish and mercury applies to this then. By consuming the meat of the flavored fish, the birds end up carrying the herb fragrance as well."

 

"Not as accurate in application out in the real world, but within SAO yes."

 

As the time passed Calrex managed to do about a third of the total fish that the man had picked. At this point experience won out in the end because the old man had completed the rest of the fish before Calrex finished his. Calrex gave a small sigh of relief as he wipes some sweat from his brow, "Wow, this is certainly a lot of work."

 

"Yeah, but in the end I find it to be worth the effort."

[Calrex 0]

With the bait completed the shop owner picked up the basket that he and Calrex had filled with the fish as he went out the entrance of the shop. Calrex followed behind, and at the old man's behest used his keys to lock the door. "So, where is the trapping area you said you use for catching them?"

 

"Just a small distance outside of the city gates. Since it's so close by I don't need to worry about attracting the attention of any nearby field monsters."

 

"I see. Should I accompany you there just in case?"

 

"No no it's quite alright. Just go ahead and set in the bench over there. I should be back shortly with the findings of the day. From there I'll show you the rest of my process, then I can give you the meat you need for your quest."

 

"Alright then, thank you."

 

As the old man walked off towards the northern gate Calrex went over to the bench he had been directed to, sitting down and relaxing, "Why does it feel like I'm taking a second quest along with Feeding the Enemy? With all the information this man's given me it feels like I'm on the Earning a Living quest as well. I guess if I ever decide to do get an official profession I can possibly use this knowledge to my advantage."

 

With that Calrex gave a small sigh as the minutes passed by, waiting for the shop owner to return.

[Calrex 0]

As the afternoon seemed to start coming to an end Calrex looked as the old man returned, this time with a basket full of various sized birds and such. "I guess those are the findings of the day. So does he just change out the fish for birds each day? That's such a large haul. There's got to be a least a bird for every fish in there!"

 

"Hello, sorry for any delay. There was more that I was expecting this time, so I ended up taking longer to fill up the basket than I had planned."

 

"Oh no it's quite alright! Do you need help carrying it into the store?"

 

"Actually this time I just might."

 

With that answer Calrex got to his feet and grasped the handles of the basket. As the old man released his grip Calrex's eyes widened for a second as his arms dropped at the weight of the contents inside the basket before he used his legs as support. The shop owner promptly walked over to the door of the shop, opening it for Calrex to head inside.

 

"Do I just set this where we were working before?"

 

"Yes that's perfectly fine."

 

As Calrex set the basket down the shop owner squeezed his way past as he went to the seller's side of the counter, reaching below as he pulled out a variety of tools, some that looked in the lines of surgical implements. Calrex felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head for a second at the spread, "You certainly have a lot of items for this procedure."

 

"I just make sure I'm prepared for any surprises that come me way."

 

"Alright..."

 

"Please go ahead and start passing me the contents of that basket. I'll get started breaking them down."

[Calrex 0]

One by one Calrex passed bird after bird from the basket to the shop owner. He could hear the sound of crystals and other sound effects marking the changes to an object. He glanced over a couple of times as he saw the shop owner take one tool to the bird, which morphed it into one without feathers, then another which separated it into various parts, followed by a third which procured the meat from them. It looked to be a simple process, but of course with being within the game the actual process was simplified compared to its real world counterpart.

 

As he continued Calrex looked in surprise as he suddenly saw a couple of fairly large birds in the bottom of the basket. One of them was an eagle much like Beleram, but with a white head and brown body. The memories came into his mind for a second before he gave a breath, shaking his head.

 

"Something wrong?"

 

"No, not at all. A person close to me just lost an eagle of a similar variety to this one, although with a different color scheme. I just recalled the memories for a second."

 

"I see."

 

Calrex handed the eagle over as he gave a sigh, recalling the adventure he and Teayre had here looking for Beleram. She had originally gone to the first floor in search of a wolf familiar, but when she fell into trouble he came rushing fresh from the Gemini quest to aid her. Luckily she managed to get out of danger before then, but the following day he helped her look for an eagle. After some time they encountered the chick version of their late companion, which promptly aged to a full-grown bird.

 

Compared to the falcon he was after, Beleram was a young hatchling, which made him suspect that in full-fledged form Beleram probably only had the mind of a young bird. This falcon was fully-grown, and most likely had a older and wiser mind. It was probably another reason why it was leery about Calrex's first offering.

 

"I guess there's still much to learn about this game than I thought..."

[Calrex 0]

"Alright we're done."

 

Calrex looked over as the shop owner finished breaking down the last catch into its respective chunks of meat, placing it into one of the multiple drawers on the shelves. With that the owner walked over to Calrex, "Thank you for your help today. I normally do this on my own, so I do appreciate the assistance."

 

"You're very welcome. I'm glad to have been of help."

 

"Alright, with that let's get your bird meat for your falcon companion."

 

The old man went over to a drawer at the very top of the shelves, in the same column as the one the meat he had given Calrex was previously. Pulling out the drawer and setting it in front of Calrex the young man could see a significant difference in the quality of the meat compared to the one he had previously offered the top tier peregrine falcon. While both were of the freshest quality, this meat had a bright pink color and seemed to be completely smooth. It was like the cut that removed it from the bone was clean and smooth, with surgical precision.

 

"For your help I offer the highest quality meat I have made. I don't come by these often, but they are made from the largest birds that I can get with my particular trapping method. I hope that this is enough to appease that falcon you've selected."

 

"I...can't thank you enough. I hope it serves suitable as well."

 

The owner gave a smile as he bagged up the meat, handing it to Calrex, who gave a friendly smile and quick wave as he exited the Prey of Birds. By this point the sun was at the edge of the horizon.

 

"I don't have much time, better hurry..."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex quickly made his way out the southern gate of Urbus and down the path. As he used his <<Sprint>> ability he quickly covered the distance as he saw the large flock of peregrine falcons still at the same place they were previously, as if they had not moved from before. Calrex gave a small sigh of relief as he stopped running at the first tier. Seeing his presence the various tiers of falcons parted to make a clear path for him to walk straight up the the highest tier.

 

In order to show respect Calrex slowly made his way up, instead of barging his way over to the top tier. As he arrived he gave a glance to all of the falcons perched before ending his gaze on the third largest. The one he saw had the fiercest eyes, which he had selected to be his familiar. He retrieved the bag that the shop owner had put together for him, opening it as he walked over, setting it in front of the falcon.

 

"I don't know if you can understand me, but I wish to have your strength. I've looked amongst all the others of your flock, and you seem to have the sharpest eyes, once that would oversee anything from any distance. I want to have that power at my command, to protect those I care about. I can't agree to treat you as close as a pet, but as a comrade and associate I am capable."

 

In respect Calrex knelt down on one knee as he bent his head down, awaiting the falcon's response...

[Calrex 0]

ID: 19230

Loot Dice: 19 (Search and Detect +2 / Item +1)

Calrex could hear the sounds of meat being pierced by a beak as his eyes looked up to see the falcon eating the food he had offered it, wolfing each hunk of meat down as if it had been starved for weeks. A small smile came across his face as he got to his feet. The other falcons turned to face the third largest, initially as if to judge, but then out of respect, as if they were bidding a companion goodbye.

As the falcon finished the food its fierce eyes scanned across the entire flock, as if to bid farewell to his group. After doing so it locked eyes with Calrex before spreading its wings, flying over and settling on his shoulder. After doing so the other peregrine falcons lifted their wings as they took off into the sky. By this time night had fallen, meaning that other stronger monsters were beginning to spawn. The birds knew this, and felt it was time to get to higher ground. The only one that remained was the one on Calrex's shoulder.

He gave a small sigh of relief as he began to make his way back towards Urbus, "I'm glad you approved of me. Now the question of what to name you..."

"Are there any legendary birds of prey in mythology? Hm...of there is one, now that I think of it."

"For here on you're Roc, after the mythological bird of prey that was larger than even a small dragon. Some even suspect that its name was the inspiration for the Rook piece in chess."

"Well, talk about coincidence."

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex reached the southern gate back into Urbus he nodded to his new companion, "Thank you for lending me your strength. I'll be sure to call on you when I'm in need. Until then you're free to do as you wish."

 

With that he released the falcon, which dematerialized when it flew out of sight. He gave a calming breath as he looked forward, his eyes seeing the Prey of Bird's shop now fully closed up for the night as he headed for the teleportation circle, "The fiercest eyes huh?..."

 

He gave a sigh as he heard an eagle screech as he put his hands in his pockets.

 

Topic Complete

• Topic Complete (1 SP)
• Quest Complete (1 SP)
• Quest Rewards:
  • Familiar Obtained: Roc, Blue Peregrine Falcon
  • Title Obtained: Peregine Falcon Tamer
• Monster Drops:
  • Rank 4 Falcon: 1 Material