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“Yeah, sure,” he said, trying to pry it open. It wasn’t difficult, and it opened with a small click once he played with it a little. The lock must have been rusted or something. He didn’t bother looking inside, knowing that it didn’t matter since it wasn’t his to keep. He yawned, then said, “I guess I should go tell that old man that I finished his chores.” “Take this letter with you,” the fisherman told him. “Alright, I will,” Luke replied, taking the letter in his hand. He’d such a long day that he didn’t know whether or not he wanted to deliver the letter but he supposed re

The fisherman was the last one on the list. He had a rod in hand and waved at Luke as he approached. “You must be the help I sent for,” he said. “Uh, I don’t know about that,” Luke replied. “I agreed to help with some chores, and you’re the last stop. What do you need?” “I just need you to help me sift through some nets. My fingers tire, you see.” “Alright then,” Luke said, as he started grabbing nets and pulling their contents out. It was messy work, but it didn’t take all that long. There was something strange among the contents, some kind of metal prize of sorts. It was lik

The smith had only asked for three boars, so he just needed to poison one more. He was supposed to deliver all the bodies to the smith, so that he could harvest them. Not for meat, obviously, but perhaps their tusks would be of some use. He found yet another boarling to poison, but he had to wait ten minutes for it to take the bait. It was just on the edge of being too old to die to that sort of poison, but it ended up taking the bait just like the others. With all three boars in tow, he made it back to the smith to drop off his ill gotten gains. “Here you go, now let’s see if I can comp

Luke was sick to his stomach as the boar died. It felt wrong. What purpose did it serve? He had nothing against killing beast or man, but this was a weird way of doing it… just poisoning the local food supply. He wondered if the other villagers knew about what was going on in their back yards. Well, he could just point to the blacksmith if anyone caught him doing this. He went on to sprinkle some more food elsewhere which in turn killed another boar. It was almost too easy. Strangely the large boars didn’t come near. Perhaps they had grown to avoid that kind of food. “Yeah, you’re probab

The smith didn’t have much to say. He basically told Luke to fuck off, which was quite rude. Luke persisted, bringing up the chore list, and he eventually handed him a bag of food to go feed to some boars in the forest. Luke felt like he was just giving him something to do in order to get him out of the shop. “I just dealt with a boar earlier today,” Luke sighed. He was so close to saying fuck it to this chore list, but he had literally nothing better to do with his time so he accepted the bag of food and went out in the forest. Supposedly these were poisonous foods that would kill

Luke put them away then looked for the next thing on the list. The next most common thing was a kind of mushroom, but no matter how much he looked he didn’t find it. He gave up thirty minutes later, figuring that this was going nowhere. No sudden strokes of inspiration or luck managed to grant him any sort of success. He went back to town to hand over the flowers to the man who didn’t look all that pleased, but hey it was more or less free labor since it wasn’t like Luke was charging for his services. “Alright, cya, I gotta help a blacksmith next, I think,” Luke said to the shopkeeper. T

Luke yawned as he kept circling around, widening out his search radius. The most important thing on the list seemed to be a blue looking flower, and it was supposed to be pretty common. Luke supposed he didn’t have a good eye for this sort of thing, which was why he typically didn’t spend his time frolicking in meadows. Perhaps that’s what he needed to do… climb up somewhere high and get a good vantage point of the forest so that he could spot any meadows. He was just about to rise up when he noticed a patch of blue flowers that seemed to match the description. “Well, hello there,” he sa

’Exactly! It would be better to survive here, rather than die out there. At least, that’s what I believe. That’s what I strive to do…to provide every species, every being, the chance to survive. Maybe not all of them, well certainly not all of them, but at least some of them! That way they aren’t all lost to time!’ Nemo’s excitement had returned as Onora seemed to agree with him. Nari could see his jittery movements out of the corner of her eye, distracting her from the line and water for a moment. ’Certainly, one could consider it admirable as well. I get that, Nemo. Truly, I do. I’m not

’Perhaps…you’re both right, I think. I mean, it’s nice to be free and capable of making your own decisions, but if the world leaves nothing for you to survive in…’ Onora seemed to pause in thought again, her brow furrowing as Nari collected the items from the small chest she’d managed to drag from the waters. It was only once she’d returned the line to the water’s depths that Onora spoke again, continuing her train of thought as though linking it together. ’We’ve seen the end of civilisation, learnt about them…do you not think that they would have preferred, in many cases, to be given a small

Link to Quest Luke was about to go looking for more animals to slaughter, but he saw someone else walking through the area. Intrigued, he waved and went to chat. “Hey, what’s going on, old man,” Luke said, forgetting his manners. The man didn’t seem offended, if anything he seemed to want some favors done. Having nothing better to do, Luke shrugged and figured he might as well help. He was trying to take it easy so if he could get some chores done while he waited for his body to get over how much he’d pushed it recently, then perhaps he would be able to walk home with some ex

’Perhaps…perhaps you’re right, somewhat. It would be a shame to be locked away for eternity, unable to explore and find and discover…’ Nari suddenly glanced at Onora with concern, wondering if she had somehow broken Nemo’s foundation of existence. She’d meant nothing more than to present a counter argument, but the man seemed to be lost deeper and deeper in thought as the seconds ticked away, and she wondered if she had somehow created some game altering moment right then and there. ’Still, though. Sometimes being given a place to live and survive is more important than being free – think of h

’That’s true, that’s true…still, a prized collection they would have made as a pair, no?’ Nemo grinned as Onora sighed, clearly misreading her reaction to the comment. Nari knew that the blonde was exasperated by the inability to see the creatures as free beings, capable of making their own way in life – Nemo, on the other hand, seeing their value within his garden; safe, certainly, but contained and incapable of expanding or exploring. Or doing anything that a free animal, being or creature would be capable of doing. ’Perhaps, but isn’t it nice to consider allowing some things to be free

She wasn’t entirely sure that she did know how it went, and yet Nari found herself understanding at the same time, somehow. An odd case wherein she knew she didn’t necessarily need to experience it, to understand it – the suggestion behind the words telling her everything she needed to know, without telling her anything at all. Social constructs and behaviours are weird. She shook her head to herself, knowing that thought was the exact same one she’d had years ago – long before she’d even considered joining the virtual world, let alone becoming a member of Aincrad. ’Sure, sure. But at lea

Time seemed to both stall, and flash before Nari’s eyes as she listened to Nemo explaining the various journeys’ he’d partaken to find the creatures, mythical and majestic as he described them, across the world of Aincrad. At points she found herself laughing, giggling and crying as he explained humorous events that occurred, and in alternation she oft found herself reduced to depressive moments as something went wrong – usually the death of a rare and special being that he had search long for, across various areas of Aincrad. ’…I’d almost had it, truly, but then the dragon appeared befor

Nemo and Onora chatted for a while about the distant paddock – a piece that Nari hadn’t even noticed until Onora had pointed it out, containing a collection of horse like creatures within that seemed content to be locked away. Likely for their own safety, with the numerous predators that roamed the fields in search of their next meal. Something about the horse creatures caught Nari’s eye, the shifting black and white similar to a zebra – and yet the horns upon their heads signified them as some sort of fantastical creature. ’You always have such amazing creatures and beings here, Nemo. Wh

[NEW] Thread Closing Template Word Count EXP (WPE): [Word Count]/5 Pages Col (PC): 400 * page (20 Posts) count <<PLAYER>> receives the following: Tier: Player’s True Tier EXP: [WCE * Tier] + [quest] + [other bonuses] Col: [PC/numPlayer] (unless otherwise agreed on by participants) + [other bonuses] Mats: (If applicable) Items: (If applicable) Other Thread Rewards: (Skills and such) For PT/Event all participating characters get 1 Mon If you're in a guild together you get 1 Guild token If you're in a guild you receive 1% of final EXP and Col (Percent

’Thanks, Nemo. The invite is always appreciated.’ Nari tossed a grin that was meant to be pleasant towards the man, responding after a few seconds of awkward silence. She hadn’t been entirely sure, at first, why she had even bothered responding. Sure, she was trying to keep the non-player character from being sad – but the man likely didn’t feel sadness towards their silence, so much as a lull in the conversation – a point that it simply fell into a docile state, as many had explained and theorised. For Nari, however, it felt wrong to simple ignore the man and his comment; especially when he s

Thread Summary Word Count EXP (WPE): [1090]/5 = 218 Pages Col (PC): 0 <<Luke Pendragon>> receives the following: Tier: 1? EXP: [218 * 1] + [0] + [0] Col:0 Mats: - Items: - Other Thread Rewards: -

’Sorry.’ Onora glanced towards Nari, recognising the stare and the meaning behind it. She flushed slightly, as if embarrassed by the slip up she had made, or the reaction she’d received – or perhaps both. Nari shook her head, wanting to say it didn’t really matter, that there was no reason to be sorry. The words, however, didn’t come out. She knew that it wouldn’t entirely be truthful. Even this long into the game, or perhaps because of how long it had been, the simple comment seemed to strike deep; as if giving up on the possibility of escape was becoming more and more of a reality for far to

’It really is.’ Nari pulled in the line again, sighing to herself as she saw the glint of empty hook in the air above the water. She tossed the line back into the water, determined to at least make the most of the time. She knew coming here that she wasn’t going to be experience an abundance of success – one never did, when starting out anything in Aincrad; a fact that Cardinal seemed to ensure. Still, she’d been hoping her success rates would be at least slightly better than they had been thus far – though, Onora would say that just meant they’ll pick up if she kept at it. ’One could alm

Nari could easily empathise with the frustration that Onora was feeling, as she pulled in another empty line. She barely remembered the difficulties she’d had when she first started out as a forager, though she didn’t remember them being this trying. Could simply be that it was so long ago you’ve forgotten, though. Hindsight really does make everything seem…different than it was. And now that you’re great at foraging…at least somewhat… She sighed as she remember the lack of any materials she’d found on the way in – as if a foreshadowing to how her day of fishing was about to commence. ’At

Success wasn’t coming easy as Nari drew the line back in once more. Another empty haul greeted her, the hook glittering softly against the sunlight coming down from above. She glanced upwards, considering how naturally she considered the light in the sky sunlight, now. She could barely remember a time where she hadn’t considered it a sun – though it was clearly nothing star like in reality, beyond simply being a provision of light that allowed one to see their surroundings. Still, in her mind she’d accepted it as sunlight – as had most other players that Nari had come across, when commenting o

The boar looked like it wanted to flee, but oh that poor sorry soul wasn’t going to be going anywhere. Luke wouldn’t allow it to after all the trouble it’d give him. Luke lunged at it, swinging in an arc that was very sloppy but still managed to land its mark. The blade sunk into the boar, and it let out a final groan of pain before dropping to the ground, dead. Victory! He’d done it. The crude slices had completely ruined any chance of him getting any decent salvage from it, but he was still satisfied. The purpose of this was to practice with the sword, after all. Not to benefit f

Luke abandoned his run and swing strategy, instead choosing to take a breather. He didn’t want to admit it, but this boar was actually hurting him every time he let it hit him. He didn’t think that ought to be possible, what with how large their sizes were, but he had to accept it. If he didn’t land a good hit soon… he might actually need to run. He gripped the sword with both hands and let out a roar, swiping it in a horizontal slash as the boar approached. This time he hit it. It wasn’t a clean cut by any means, but it smashed the boar to the side and it hit a tree for good measure. “H

Luke allowed himself to carry his momentum to move out of the way of the boar. It was looking angry, and he was starting to feel angry himself. Why was killing this boar such an issue today? He sighed, holding his sword out. It felt heavier now that he’d used so much energy swinging it around. He’d been putting quite a bit of power into his swings instead of trying to accurately hit it. He supposed that he feared that a direct hit would probably kill it. He tried again, not learning anything from his mistakes. The sword nearly hit the boar this time, but it hopped to the side as they charged a