Takao 0 Posted July 9, 2015 Author #21 Share Posted July 9, 2015 His green eyes beamed toward her at the mention of her forge. "Awh, no way!" He exclaimed, amazement lining his words and a bright smile on his face was directed toward her. "I'll totally have to buy a weapon off you after this then! I'd get armour too, but I think I'm going to stick to light armour." He glanced down at the coat he'd been wearing and tugged the sides of the coat close to his body. It wasn't the best outfit for an unpleasantly warm excursion through the desert, but he could hold it together a while longer. "I like the idea of not gettin' hit at all, as opposed to tanking all the damage." The smile on his face settled into a more comfortable and easy to wear expression as he looked up from himself and over to her. "I should probably thank you. I mean, you helped me make my mind up on someth-oof!" His words were cut short by a yelp of surprise as his foot caught on the corner of an object sticking out of the sand. He fell face first and barely slid a few inches before he came to a stop. His legs, bent at the knee upon landing and settling into the sand, now flopped onto the ground with a soft thud in defeat. A low, muffled, guttural groan escaped as he exhaled, followed by a quiet "Ow." Link to post Share on other sites
Lessa 1 Posted July 9, 2015 #22 Share Posted July 9, 2015 "Takao!" Instinctively, her hand moved to her claymore's wide hilt. There were a number of reasons why the boy could have fallen: he could have caught the attention of a monster lurking under the sand, he could have set off a sensor to trigger a mob, or he could have found the edge of some great, gaping hole, hidden beneath the sand but ready to swallow them both. Or, as she realized as she turned a darker shade of read, he could have tripped over something before harmlessly crashing down into the sand. No monsters, no mobs, and no sinkholes either. She ease her hand off of her weapon before jogging over to her companion's side. He was much taller than she was, and while she was strong, she was not about to try to hoist him back to his feet. Besides, manhandling is not the best thing to do when you've first met someone. But she did rest a hand gingerly on his shoulder, squatting down beside him. "You alright?" It wasn't until she had been assured that he was that she began to investigate. "Looks like the edge of a trunk of some sort. Think that might be what we're looking for?" Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted July 10, 2015 Author #23 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Slowly, he raised himself out of the sand and into a seated position, facing the object that had caused his fall. He shook his head vigorously to toss the grains of sand that had collected on his face and hair off. He pulled his tongue out and revealed that it too had been covered in the sand, likely because he was talking on the way down. He glanced up at her while trying to brush the sand off. "Yeh, ah'm uhlkay." His words were slightly muffled and slurred as the got rid of the sand. He couldn't stop himself from laughing at his own misfortune, and only stopped when he'd seen her approach the object in the sand. His eyes followed her as she began her investigation, and moved to the corner of whatever it was he'd fallen over. The taste of sand lingered, but the unpleasant feeling of it being in his mouth was all but forgotten. He hopped back up onto his feet and rubbed his cheek, splotches of red now decorated his face from the actual action of sliding along the sand. He leaned his weight onto his knees beside her, now looking down at whatever it was. "Haha, no way! We totally lucked out!" He quickly moved to the other side and slid onto his knees, pushing the sand aside with his hands. "In hindsight, I probably should've remembered to bring a shovel or something." Link to post Share on other sites
Lessa 1 Posted July 11, 2015 #24 Share Posted July 11, 2015 "Actually," Lessa replied thoughtfully as she fell to her hands and knees beside the half-buried object, "it doesn't appear to be too big." Never one to mind getting her hands dirty, the swordswoman began to scoop away the sand, pulling and pushing it away from their quest item. Though some of it still slid back into place, as sand has a tricky way of doing, her quick pace and repeated efforts slowly revealed more and more of the trunk. It certainly was not pleasant work, especially under the glare of the sun, but her curiosity curbed the complaints that would usually be parading through her mind. "Here, see." With a final tug on the ornate handle, Lessa pried the trunk from the grips of the cool, dark sand below. Immediately, both were prompted to collect the quest item. Once they did so, the trunk disappeared. "Convenient," the blonde commented with a grin. "We both get the trunk. I was afraid we would have to wait for it to respawn somewhere else for one of us. And the best part is, we don't have to lug that thing all the way back. Win-win." She turned back to her new-found companion, wiping her sweaty brow with her dirty hand, and managing to leave a layer of rough sand along her skin. Her face screwed up into a look of distaste as she asked him, "how about we get going?" Link to post Share on other sites
Takao 0 Posted July 11, 2015 Author #25 Share Posted July 11, 2015 With Lessa's help, unearthing the trunk of goods was easy. His mind began to wander as they slowly revealed more and more of it, curious to see whether or not they'd have to leg it back with the trunk in tow. That would make the quest just a tad bit less fun than it already was, he wagered. When she pulled the chest free and the prompt appeared in his face, he read through it quickly and exhaled a sigh of relief. It didn't seem like they'd have to carry it all the way back to town. “Aw, man, that would've been terrible!†The thought of the chest respawning elsewhere hadn't crossed his mind, but now that the quest was more or less over, it didn't sit in his mind for long. He patted his hands together and wiped his face again, then turned to face her when she made the suggestion to get going. He nodded and offered her a smile. “Yeah, let's head back.†Takao turned on his heel and, after a quick check of their heading and the map, started in the direction of the town. He glanced over his shoulder to see if she was following. “So uh, you said you had your own forge, right?†Takao lightly scratched at his cheek. “Where's it at? I think I might stop by sometime soon and see about a weapon. If you didn't mind, that is.†Link to post Share on other sites
Lessa 1 Posted July 11, 2015 #26 Share Posted July 11, 2015 "Mhmm," she confirmed with a small nod. "It's called Wild Rose Forge, on the outskirts of town, on the second floor." While it was true that she had offered to craft for him not too long before, the thought suddenly made her a bit uncomfortable. How long had it been since she had crafted for a customer? Or, even more worrying, an acquaintance. Arc's sword had been an experiment, a weapon entirely of her own creation. He had had no say over how it turned out, and so some of the stress of crafting it had been alleviated. That would not be the case were she to make something for Takao. But she gave him a grin to hide her doubt. "When we get back, I'm going to need to drink about seven gallons of lemonade to feel better after this little trek. Or, maybe something stronger than lemonade. Who knows." From that point, the conversation was as easy as it had been the whole trip for Lessa and Takao. They shared a few more lighthearted stories from the outside world, and before they knew it, the old woman was back in their sights. Link to post Share on other sites
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