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Spoiler

<<The First Few Lessons Are Free>>

This quest takes place on Floor 1

Players over level 15 are ineligible for SP rewards.
This quest is non-repeatable, however any player may participate in a thread to accompany the quest-taker.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DV8ynPyGajI/U6H1A3gwFXI/AAAAAAAABQo/gWVUYOmQwH0/s1600/paizo-Alchemy.jpg

Background Information - An old NPC man, dubbed 'Zackariah', is in the Town of Beginnings. He plans on helping the new players of SAO by helping them understand the basic's of Sword Art Online.

Quest Objective
-Go fetch five(5) Tier one materials and give them to Zakariah.

(Go into the wild and gain materials though non-combat gathering and by rolling the LD, and linking it to a post. These materials are then given to the NPC)


-Help Zakariah in his workshop by crafting a Healing Potion.

(Roll the CD by linking it to a post.)1-3 fail, try again| 4-6 (Good Quality- Success)| 7-9(Rare Quality-Success)| 10-12(Perfect Quality-Success)
[Zackariah will give players materials until they roll a success, but the player is helping him, so he keeps the crafted potion(s). You may roll as many times within a single post as it takes to succeed, or split the rolls into multiple posts.] [Zackariah is kind hearted, and will not berate the player should they fail, merely try to talk them through to process and help them]

-Zakariah asks you to deliver a package to Lyle Tealeaf, a local Blacksmith

-The Blacksmith, Lyle Tealeaf, thanks you and says he could use your help on another matter 

 

Requirements:

-At least one [1] Pages (20 or more posts)
-Players can find Materials by rolling the LD(11+)
-Must RP traveling to his workshop and from Zackariah's place to Lyle's workshop
-Maximum Party size of 4.

(Please note, this only works for quest materials. If you find more than you needed this way, you do not get to keep them because this LR roll amount is reduced for the quest only. All other non-combat gathering needs to conform to the standard rules. You CANNOT selectively choose whether it's a quest material or not. )

Rewards:

  1. Questers will be rewarded the following items
    - 5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40HP)
    - 1 Tier One Damage Potion. (+1 Damage)
    -1 Tier One Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)

  2. 2 Additional Skill Points

If a party of players undertakes this quest together, each must succeed on their own task list (e.g. each must gather 5 materials)

Recommended Level: 1

"Watch it!"

A bald, burly man pushed Stephen out of his way. The brunette's hand immediately went to his blade; however, upon realizing he was still in the safezone, he shrugged it off. Rather than wasting his time with the large assailant, he proceeded through the Town of Beginnings. He was in search of a shop that was home to the well known potions master, Zackariah. According to some rumors, he was willing to help inexperienced players learn the fundamentals of Sword Art Online. Sure, Stephen could swing a sword and he'd done his fair share of boxing outside of the game, but there was more to the world of Aincrad than just combat.

As always, Stephen had run into a problem: he was lost. Nearly thirty minutes of wandering had gotten him absolutely nowhere, the town being so big and all. He weaved through the bustling streets, making sure he didn't step on anyone while passing by. With no luck, he moved off of the streets and into a quiet tavern, in hopes that he could catch a quick break before continuing his search.

Nervously, he eyed the players around him. It was clear that he'd entered the wrong place; these players were all high into the leveling system. There wasn't a single person inside who was still at his level. Some curious glances were shot at Stephen, but he did his best to ignore them. He took a table in the back, where nobody else was. An NPC came over, providing him with a number of food and beverage options for him to choose from. He thanked the NPC; however, at that moment, he wasn't interested. 

"Very well. If you need anything, I'll be right over there," the old man told Stephen, pointing towards the bar.

Stephen gave him a nod and thanked him once more. Something about the place made him feel uneasy. The players around him were all quiet, which seemed odd to the man. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man in the corner. The stranger had been staring at him for, presumably, quite a while. Stephen averted his gaze. He continued to sit there for a moment before beginning to stand up. Before he could, however, the man had gotten up and moved over to the brunette's table.

"This place isn't right for you, friend. Come with me, I'll show you some nicer places," the stranger told him. He was dressed in black robes and despite his green cursor, he made Stephen feel threatened.

"I'll pass, thanks," he replied. The stranger grabbed Stephen's wrist. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to this, as if it were an every day occurrence in this tavern. Attempting to free himself, he pulled away from the robed villain. Suddenly, an unrecognizable voice echoed behind him.

"Leave him be, Corvis," a man spoke. Stephen felt the power in every word. Corvis released his grip on the brunette and stepped away. Turning around, Stephen prepared his third "thank you" of the day. Suddenly, he felt himself being pushed towards the door until eventually, he was back outside. He was now face to face with the man who'd helped him. He had shoulder length brown hair and wore perfect condition, gold plated armor. At his hip was a long sword with a similar look to Stephen's own weapon.

"No need to thank me. The men in there were not your friends; it's impossible to know what they had planned for you. Where are you headed? I'll make sure you arrive safely."

Spoiler

Morningstar
Level 1

STATS

  • HP: 20
  • DMG: 3
  • MIT: 9
  • ACC: 3

SKILLS

  • Two-Handed Straight Sword | Rank 1

GEAR

  • Beginner's Straight Sword | Uncommon
    +1 DMG
  • Beginner's Light Armor | Uncommon
    +1 MIT

 

Edited by Morningstar
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"I'm looking for Zackariah, the alchemist."

"Ah, yes. The quest-giver that most beginners go to. Come, I'll show you where his shop is," the man told Stephen, stepping around him and taking him down a side road. The man in gold said it was a short cut and after he'd saved his life, Stephen didn't feel the need to argue. Minutes later, they stood in front of a wooden storefront, located in a quieter part of town. This late into the game, most people who aimed higher than the first floor had come here long before him. It explained why the area was so empty.

"This is it. From here, you're on your own," the man started, "but if you ever find yourself needing a hand, feel free to ask. While the people of my guild call me King, I prefer to go by Elwood."

Stephen was grateful for Elwood's help. He held out his hand to meet the king's. "The name's Morningstar. Thank you for everything."

"I expect we'll meet again," Elwood told him, smirking as he strode away from Zackariah's shop. Once the guildmaster was out of sight, Stephen turned and entered the wooden structure. He found it quite cozy. The lighting was dim and he heard an odd yet soothing bubbling coming from the back; something being brewed, perhaps. As he approached the counter, an elderly man peaked his head out from a room to the left of Stephen.

"Ah! Hello there, young one. I am Zackariah. How can I be of service to you on this fine afternoon?"

The NPC was dressed in light blue robes, which were covered in white accents, and his hair was long and grey. In his hand was a flask holding a bright orange potion of some sort. "I've been told you offer a quest catered towards weaker players like myself."

"I prefer to think of them as inexperienced rather than weak," the old alchemist smiled, "but yes, I am able to start you on your journey. May I assume you have no experience in the field of alchemy?"

"You're correct," Stephen admitted.

"That won't be a problem; I wouldn't expect you to be adept at it," Zackariah gave a chuckle before entering the back room. "Come with me, we'll get started right away."

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The back room was dimly lit with a cauldron bubbling in the center. Along the walls were shelves stocked heavily with all sorts of odd ingredients. Stephen felt the urge to take a quick peek at them all, but he forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

"This is where we'll be creating your first potion. It won't be anything too complicated; a simple health potion should do just fine. Of course, before we get to that, I'll need you to collect the materials for it," Zackariah explained, beginning to setup the cauldron for the upcoming brew.

Zackariah then walked Stephen outside. "You know where to go, am I correct? Just outside the walls should be fine. The fields are always filled with the perfect ingredients for this type of potion. When you've collected five of them, come back and we can get started."

With the amount of things the alchemist had in storage, you'd think he could pull out some materials for a single health potion. Stephen wondered if this was part of the lesson. Going into the plains and searching for items showed the man's... actually, the brunette wasn't sure what this part of the quest accomplished. It was possible that the NPC simply didn't want to share his materials—which was not unreasonable.

It took much less time to find the gate than finding the shop had been originally. Stephen exited the safezone behind the walls, much like he had done a thousand times before. This time, however, his goal was different: he'd be finding loot.

He scanned the ground around him, but nothing poked out at him in particular. "Maybe I should look in some bushes or something."

Spoiler

ID: 132007 LD: 10
0/5 Materials Found

 

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It dawned on him that Zackariah had never specifically told Stephen what he was looking for. The words he used were "materials" and "items," which made things a bit more of a challenge. There was a bush sitting right next to the wall of the gigantic town. Stephen slowly moved over to it, not completely sure what he was doing. He knelt down and poked around at it for a moment. Then, he started shifting through the leaves and branches, checking to see if there were any sorts of items that looked like they might belong in a potion.

A woman happened to be leaving the Town of Beginnings at the same time as this. She stopped to stare at the man for a moment and he turned his head and stared back awkwardly. In an attempt to release the tension between them, he gave her an uncomfortable smile and a wave. She walked away, pretending she hadn't seen him at all.

"Ah, whatever," he muttered, going back to his search. However, there didn't seem to be anything there. He plucked off a leaf, his eyes stuck on it for a moment. The old man could not have been talking about leaves, right?

Stephen shook his head and picked a bunch of leaves before taking his search further into the fields of Aincrad.

Spoiler

ID: 132008 LD: 12
1/5 Materials Found

 

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Stephen searched along main roads, in random holes, in trees, and even in more bushes; however, materials were nowhere to be found. Zackariah must have been mistaken when he said that this was the ideal place to search—or perhaps the brunette was simply unlucky.

He sighed, but upon noticing a beautiful river, his mood lit up. These weren't a common find on the first floor, which mostly consisted of forests and seemingly endless fields. Standing at the riverside was a man. Stephen recognized him by his shoulder-length, light brown hair and his set of golden armor. Elwood, possibly hearing Stephen's approach, turned his head with a smile.

"I thought we'd meet again. Of course, this is sooner than I expected," the king laughed, "Are you not learning from Zackariah?"

"He sent me out here to collect materials. I guess he didn't have enough back at the shop."

"Interesting. I don't remember that part of the quest; however, it was a long time ago that I completed it." They stood side by side in silence for quite a while before Elwood began to speak once more.

"Do you have a guild?"

"I'm not with one right now. Actually," Stephen confessed, "a friend and I wanted to start one ourselves one day."

Then, he noticed something shimmering at the bottom of the river. He rolled up his sleeve and reached an arm in, scooping it out of the water. It was a chunk of some sort of golden-looking metal, although he doubted it was true gold.

Spoiler

ID: 132014 LD: 12
2/5 Materials Found

 

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"Good find. Is that all there was?" Elwood asked. Stephen scanned the water for more sparkling areas, but alas; there was nothing else to be found.

"Looks like it," he frowned, drying his arm off on his cloak. Part of him wondered what the guildmaster was doing out in the depths of floor one; however, the man seemed to be different than most he had met. He was, one might say, eccentric. At his hip was a magnificent sword, one that Stephen had been meaning to ask about. Before he could, Elwood continued.

"It's good to hear that you have something driving you. Don't let anyone tell you to quit. I have hopes that one day we'll meet together as two kings."

Stephen chuckled at this comment. "I'm no king, believe me." The very thought of him being considered "royalty" seemed absurd at first, but then he recalled his life before Sword Art Online. He remembered his mother; his father; the people he'd worked with in the acting industry. He remembered his fans, loyal as they were. In one sense, he had already been considered royalty at one time.

Things felt different now. He hadn't been recognized since the beginning of Sword Art Online. Then, he'd get the odd player running up to him in the streets, eager to get some sort of autograph or add him to their friends list.

"You are no king or you do not wish to become one?"

A question that he, for a long time, couldn't answer. The truth was, most people didn't know who he was anymore and... part of him was grateful for it. He could live peacefully. He'd left the spotlight that he had been born into.

"We may never meet as kings, but perhaps we can grab a drink as friends," Elwood grinned.

Spoiler

ID: 132016 LD: 8
2/5 Materials Found

 

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"I would like that," Stephen replied, continuing to eye the flowing river for any more items that he could bring back to Zackariah. The task was much more challenging than he had originally expected. He wondered how a potion made from leaves and metal would taste.

"Walk with me," Elwood began, "you can continue your search for materials while we do so."

Stephen nodded and followed Elwood down the riverside. The man's dark cape floated in the soft breeze, much like Stephen's cloak did. They watched as a school of virtual fish swam past them. Elwood began to chuckle.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about how things were before all of this," he smiled, gesturing to the scenery around them, "it's interesting how much nostalgia can affect us, isn't it?"

His tone had changed from his kingly voice to one that you'd expect out of a normal guy. "What'd you do before SAO?" Stephen inquired.

"Me? I worked minimum wage, my friend. I was your everyday burger flipper. I've probably made one of yours!" He laughed. For a moment, Stephen felt bad. He'd had so much while this man had nothing. Of course, now it was almost the other way around.

"Don't feel bad. Also, don't think I didn't recognize you when we first met, Stephen Star. I've seen my fair share of movies."

"Oh yeah? Which one was your favorite?" He asked with a laugh, a little bit surprised that he'd been found out. He felt happy—or perhaps more accurately, he felt understood. These two men, who had lived polar opposite lives, were bonding together over what could be considered nothing. It was times like these that made things worth it, for him at least.

Spoiler

ID: 132018 LD: 8
2/5 Materials Found

 

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"I won't pretend I was your biggest fan, but there were a couple of your films I did enjoy. My favorite was probably Little Rowboat," Elwood said.

"Really? Not a lot of people talk about that one."

"A hidden gem, so to speak."

"You might be right."

They stopped on top of a hill. The sun was beginning to set. Angelic oranges and glowing pinks painted the sky. Two birds flew overhead. They were fast, so fast that all Stephen could make out was their colour. They were as white as snow.

"What made you quit acting?"

Stephen stared off, unsure of how to answer. "I was tired of living my parents' lives."

"Can I give you a piece of advice?"

"Yes."

"Try to remember who you were before the world told you who you should be."

Stephen had been molded into a star by his parents. He left for Japan so he could design his own life, away from the spotlight. Who was he before becoming the great Stephen Star? Perhaps time would tell.

For an ex-fast food employee, Elwood was wise. Stephen wondered if that came before or after becoming a "king" of sorts.

"Were you happy? Flipping burgers, that is." Stephen asked.

Elwood laughed. "I was, actually. I was married to the woman of my dreams. The wedding was a month before all this. It was nothing fancy, but it was all we needed."

His expression went grim; Stephen feared the worst.

"We joined the game together. At some point along the way, we found ourselves trapped in a dungeon. That was the last time I saw her."

Spoiler

ID: 132020 LD: 1
2/5 Materials Found

 

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  • 3 months later...

Elwood met Stephens gaze. "You've felt that pain too; the pain of losing someone. I can see it in your eyes."

Stephen turned back to the sky. Clouds rolled over slowly, overlapping the ethereal sunset. He liked to think Lexa was watching over him; his very own guardian angel. Whether it was true or not didn't matter. Belief was good enough for him.

"In this world," he started, "I think it's safe to say we all have."

Elwood let out a sad chuckle. "You could be right."

They moved down the hill, but Stephen stopped at the bottom. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye. To his right, in a small hole, was an odd looking rock. Most of it was pitch black, aside from a few random streaks of purple. It intrigued the brunette, so he decided to take it with him. He wasn't sure if it would be useful for Zackariah, but it was worth a shot.

Stephen followed along as Elwood continued forwards. After catching up, he began to speak again.

"Her name was Lexa. We met in here, actually. At the very beginning. I loved her more than anything or anyone."

"You mentioned something about a guild?"

"Oh, yeah. It was her idea. She wanted us to start a guild together. Actually, that's literally the first thing she said to me," he smiled, nostalgia washing over him.

"It never came to be?"

"No. It never did."

"There's still time to change that, friend."

Spoiler

ID: 138345 LD: 20
3/5 Materials Found

 

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"Maybe," Stephen started, "but like I said, I don't think I'm much of a leader."

"Neither did I, before I became one. You should give it a shot."

A few feet away from them was a lone tree. It's leaves were bright and green and apples dangled from it's branches. Stephen gestured to it. Their destination would be here, for a short time at least. Stephen began to climb the tree. It was about as sturdy as he'd expected; not perfect, but he didn't think any branches would snap. He picked a first apple and tossed it down to Elwood. Then, he picked a second for himself and a third to bring back for Zackariah. The alchemist could either eat it or make a potion out of it.

Elwood took a seat at the base of the tree and, rather than jumping down, Stephen sat in the branches. He took a bite from the red fruit.

"Good apple," he said.

"When I was a kid, we had an apple tree in our yard. It was just a little bigger than this one. This takes me back," Elwood smiled, apple in hand.

"We didn't have any fruit trees, but I had a cousin who had plum trees. Whenever we'd visit, I'd spend my time out back eating plums," he laughed.

They sat silently for quite a bit of time. Nothing filled the air, aside from the rustling of tree leaves and the crunching of apples. The sunset had faded and left behind darkness. Virtual stars sparkled above them.

"We should get going," Elwood said.

Spoiler

ID: 138385 LD: 15
4/5 Materials Found

 

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Stephen picked one extra apple for Zackariah before leaping from the tree.

"Yeah, I think I've got everything I need for the quest."

"Perfect. Zackariah might be an NPC, but he's a good teacher. It's better than most tutorials, anyway," Elwood laughed.

Darkness now enveloped the two as the remaining sunlight disappeared. It took some time, but eventually they maneuvered through it and made it back to the Town of Beginnings. The town was lit up, but it was quieter than normal. There were no crowds of people roaming the streets. A couple sat together on a bench a few feet from Stephen and Elwood. They looked happy. Ahead of them, Stephen could make out a group of people with instruments. They were playing and singing to a song that he recognized, but he couldn't quite figure out where he'd heard it. Finally, they arrived at the alchemist's shop.

"Well, Morningstar, this is where I take my leave. Thank you for the walk, my friend."

"No, thank you. It was good meeting you, King."

"It's Daniel. I feel it's only fair, since I know who you are. I'll be seeing you then," Elwood grinned.

Stephen waved goodbye before pushing open the door to the shop. The aroma was nicer than it had been before. Wondering what Zackariah was brewing, he walked to the back room and peaked his head inside.

Spoiler

ID: 138450 LD: 14
5/5 Materials Found

 

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Working over the cauldron was Zackariah. He immediately noticed Stephen and gestured him in.

"Ah, sorry. Just finishing up this batch of health potions. I assume you've brought back the materials I asked for?"

"Yes, I've got them," Stephen said.

"Very well, you can leave them on this table for now," he pointed towards a desk next to him. 

Stephen placed them down. It was an odd group of items for a potion; a combination of funny looking rocks and apples. He assumed it didn't matter though. Zackariah worked in silence and the brunette respected that, patiently waiting for him to complete his brew. Some time later, it was done. The alchemist poured the liquid into glass flasks and put them away in a wooden crate, which he kept safe in a cabinet near the entrance to the room.

"Shall we begin?"

Stephen nodded. Zackariah poured a clear liquid into the cauldron and then directed the man to chop up an apple. Agreeing, he picked up a knife that sat on the table and lightly tapped on the fruit. It glowed for a moment before splitting apart into six pieces. He was no cook, so it wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for what they needed it for.

"Very good. Now, you may drop it in the cauldron."

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If this was all potion making took, it didn't seem like a tough profession. Stephen picked up the slices of apple and dropped them into the pot. Then, he began to gently stir it.

"Ah!"

A sudden puff of smoke made both Zackariah and Stephen jump. They looked into the cauldron, only to see a pool of dark, murky water. I guess that's what I get for underestimating it.

"No worries. I never expect someone to do it perfectly on their first try. Give it another shot," Zackariah said.

Stephen had no idea what he'd done wrong. There wasn't much for him to do wrong, or so he thought. Zackariah replaced the liquid and the brunette chopped another apple. He was determined to make a good potion. His gaze moved from the apple, to the cauldron, and then to the alchemist.

"So," he began, "where do the rocks come into play?"

"As long as it heals them, people don't complain about the ingredients I use," he chuckled.

Spoiler

ID: 138634 CD: 2
Fail

 

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Stephen returned a grin and dropped the apples into the pot once more. This time, he took extra care when stirring. He glanced over slightly to see how the alchemist's face. He looked pleased so far.

"Like this?" Stephen asked.

"Yes, continue to do that and it should work this time," Zackariah said.

The colour of the liquid began to change from clear to a light, almost muted pink. So far so good, Stephen thought, no explosion yet. For a couple more minutes, he continued to stir at a slow pace until eventually, Zackariah said it was ready.

"Perfect! It is not often somebody crafts me a health potion this good. Truly excellent work!"

Stephen smiled. Maybe alchemy was the direction he'd go; profession-wise that is. Now that he thought about it, a store of his own could be nice. He'd never considered running one, but it could also double as a place for him to sleep. Inns were great and all but, actually, they sucked. He wondered what the rules for living in shops were.

"So, is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

"You've created me a wonderful potion, so I'm sorry to ask you for more help, but I do have one thing. Could you take this package to a local blacksmith by the name of Lyle Tealeaf?"

Zackariah held out an object that was wrapped up in brown paper and tied with some rope. Stephen agreed and directions appeared on his map.

"Thank you, my boy. I appreciate the work and I hope you learned something valuable today!"

With that, the brunette left the alchemist's shop and wandered back into the streets.

Spoiler

ID: 138635 CD: 12
Perfect Craft

 

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The night sky was lit up by what seemed like billions of stars. Streets that were so often full of people were nearly empty. The musicians that he had seen earlier were still playing their songs. As he walked past them, one stopped playing his instrument.

"No way. Stephen Star?" The man called out to him.

Stephen spun around, assuming it was someone random who happened to remember his face. Upon further examination, however, he realized that wasn't the case.

"Joaquin?" He asked, starting to walk up to the man.

"Man, you're in here too? Small world. I haven't seen you since—"

"Since we were like, seventeen?"

"Yeah!"

Joaquin Hernandez was one of the few real friends that Stephen had growing up. They'd met on the set of Joaquin's debut film. He couldn't remember why he was there or how they'd come into contact; it just happened.

"I can't believe I forgot you moved to Japan," Stephen grinned, "Of all people, I never expected to find you in here"

"Same to you. These are a few of my guildmates," Joaquin gestured.

The three other players smiled and introduced themselves. They sat in a circle, instruments still in hand. To Joaquin's left was a kid named Simon. I say "kid" because he looked like he was about fifteen years old. He wore light blue robes and had hair similar to Stephen's.

In front of Joaquin was Grace, a woman with beautiful blonde hair. At her waist was a dagger with a glowing gem of some sort. It's brightness was distracting, but it added a flare to the weapon that suited it. On top of that, she was visibly confident; Stephen could see it from eye contact alone. She almost reminded him of Lexa.

An older man with dark, charcoal hair sat to Joaquin's right. He was still strumming on his guitar quietly, listening to the conversation play out. His name was Katar.

Finally, there was Joaquin, the handsome Spanish man from Stephen's past. One of his best friends. He wore light armor, much like Simon, but more minimal. His hair was darker than Stephens and quite a bit shorter as well. Stephen recalled a time where the man would keep his head shaved. That appeared to have changed.

"Sit with us, man. We'd love to have you."

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  • 11 months later...

"It's nice to meet you all," Stephen smiled, taking a seat in between Grace and Simon.

Joaquin fiddled with his diamond-embellished flute. He looked around at his group. "Stephen and I met on set a few years back," a couple chuckled amongst themselves as they walked down the quiet street, "it's not the most beautiful story ever, but we met at the snack table."

Stephen laughed along with Joaquin's friends. His dad had been friends with the film's director and, if he were to guess, brought Stephen along to show off. Stephen was his supposed to be his father's acting prodigy, after all. Joaquin was different, he remembered. A polar opposite, in the sense that his parents had tried to push him away from acting. The thought of it must have scared them; however, Stephen couldn't be sure. They tried not to talk about their families if they could help it.

---------

"Try these," Joaquin pointed towards a plate that held a number of cookies.

"What's in them?"

"No idea, but they taste good."

Stephen shrugged and picked up a cookie. He took a bite and an overflowing feeling of joy crept up on him. Peppermint, he had decided, was the taste he was getting. Two thin chocolate cookies sandwiched together with a layer of peppermint cream in the middle.

"Not bad," Stephen replied, wiping any excess chocolate off of his face with his sleeve, "I still think I prefer the cake though." The two shared a laugh and continued discussing desserts. They went along the entire table, taste testing everything that looked appetizing to them.

Eventually, they had completed their quest to find the best tasting dessert. "What was your favorite?" Joaquin asked.

"The raspberry cheesecake. You?"

"Tiramisu."

"You guys eat well here," Stephen smiled, "Most of the sets I've been to have pretty boring options for food."

"It's not normally like this," Joaquin watched as a few new people stepped up to the table, "I think it's somebody's birthday today. I'm Joaquin, by the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself."

"Stephen. Nice to meet you."

---------

"So you're in a guild now? Is it just you four?" Stephen felt a sudden rush of cold wind blow past them. The weather was changing.

"No, we'd never make it alone," he chuckled, "this is just my squad. The guild's pretty big. It's called 'Chronicle,' maybe you've heard of it?"

Stephen shook his head. He wasn't familiar with many guilds, unfortunately. He'd never put much thought into joining one—not since Lexa had brought up the idea so long ago. Joaquin described Chronicle as accepting. They had allowed him and his three friends to join despite the fact that they were under leveled. Chronicle gave them a home and helped them grow. It made Stephen regret that he and Lexa had never started their guild. He remembered Elwood's words.

"There's still time to change that, friend."

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"If you're interested in joining, I'm sure we could put in a good word for you," Grace smiled.

Stephen imagined himself wearing Chronicle's insignia; a white wolf. He imagined joining Joaquin's squad and taking on quests with a party rather than alone. He imagined having a place to call home. It sounded nice. He wondered what Lexa would think. He knew that if he asked, she would have joined him; however, the dream of their own guild never would have left her mind.

"I appreciate the offer," he took turns making eye contact with the four, "but I don't think I'd be able to commit to Chronicle right now."

"It's no big deal, Stephen. We don't need to be guildmates to be friends," Joaquin grinned.

A faint glow above Katar's hands formed into a guitar. "Do you play?" He asked, handing it to Stephen.

"Once in a while," Stephen gave it a strum.

They played until dawn, but it didn't feel like time had passed at all. When they finished, they decided that they'd meet again soon. Stephen and the Chronicle members parted ways with smiles on their faces. He looked up at the sky.

"We never did decide on a name, did we Lexa?"

Edited by Morningstar
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Stephen reached the edge of the town. His fatigue was finally setting in. It was early; however, the fields had already become occupied by players. He wouldn't be able to start a guild alone. Stephen wasn't even sure where to start.

"Guild's have logos, right?" He summoned a notebook from his inventory. "I suppose I'll start there."

He sketched many different shapes and symbols, although none of them carried any meaning. Stephen wondered if Lexa had any ideas of her own. If so, she hadn't left them with him. The sounds of clashing swords and joyful laughs filled the man's ears as he drew. The grass was soft. The wind was warm. These moments of peace felt few and far between.

Who would he ask to join his guild? What would they set out to accomplish? Stephen tapped his virtual pencil against the notebook. He'd never thought about what he wanted from his life in Aincrad. The frontlines seemed so far away; almost unreachable. Perhaps, for the time being, there was a different purpose that he could serve. Stephen thought about the parts of the world he hadn't yet seen. Were there any parts left unexplored? The higher the floor, the more mystery there seemed to be.

His back touched the green grass and he closed his eyes, allowing his thoughts to drift.

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Stephen recalled a temple he'd found on the fourth floor.

It was covered and show and shrouded in darkness. Stone, cracked and crumbling, made up most of the structure. It seemed old to Stephen—although he knew it looked that way intentionally. There were mobs inside, but no quests that he had heard of that involved the temple. He hadn't been the first to discover it; however, it was possible there were similar places out there that remained unknown.

He'd also met a man there.

"What was his name again? Helios? I wonder how he's doing."

It had only been months since their encounter, but it felt like longer. He sat back up and opened his friends list. It was short, so finding specific players had never been an issue.

Helios' name was gone.

Stephen stared for a moment, feeling disheartened. He hoped that Helios had simply removed him from his friends list. The other option was much darker. He let out a sigh. The noirette had saved his life in the cold, forgotten temple. With a flash of green light, the monsters that threatened Stephen's life had shattered. 

"What was he doing there? He never did say."

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Before heading back to the inn, Stephen wanted to stop at the Monument of Life. He dragged his tired body through the streets of the Town of Beginnings. The Black Iron Palace looked massive, even in the distance. He wasn't sure what to expect when he arrived. Sunlight beamed on him as he strafed through crowds of players. A young woman smiled at him as he passed and he tried his best to return one of his own, but even that took more energy than he could sacrifice.

Part of Stephen knew that going to the monument wouldn't do him any good. Logically, he should have gone straight to his room at the inn for some rest. He adjusted his cloak. For Helios' sake, he felt the need to confirm whether or not the man was dead.

Maybe he's alive. He could've accidentally deleted you when he was clearing out his friends list. Rushing to conclusions doesn't help anyone.

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