EliasChurch

Hei made quick work of his two commissioned items. To be expected Elias mused. After the message appeared on his HUD, Eli made way back to the Hanger. In honesty he didn't travel far from the workshop. In part for fear of being unable to find his way back but also a sense of excitement kept him close to his first new real pieces of equipment since beginning his journey in SAO. Eli had brought up the confirmation window of trade as soon as he caught sight of Hei, thanked him for his services, checked the quality of the pieces met the requirements that were specified and left with a smile and a wave.

- 700 Col
- 6 T1 Mats
+ Myrmidon's Armour || +1 MIT | +1 EVA
+ Myrmidon's Cloak || +1 EVA | +1 EVA

Despite their relatively short time spent in conversation and examining, Elias felt at ease with the Hei. Despite the pressures of the job, on top of the game itself, how one managed to retain any sort of business etiquette surprised him. A trait he would endeavor to emulate should the opportunity ever arise. At the mention of receiving a piece of armour for free, Elias was taken aback, "Free? Surely you can't..." Elias began before Hei's explanation. "You make a fair point. What is a few hundred Col to a life? Nonetheless I shall pay for your services." Before hearing any objections Eli had already brought up a trade window offering 700 Col and 6 Tier 1 Materials. "A worker earns his wages. You are saving lives, you should go without least of all."

LOG

[F1-SP] || Chapter One | The Forrest <<The First Few Lessons Are Free>> [COMPLETE]
Quest Finished | Rewards |
5x [T1] Uncommon Health Potion [+40HP]
1x [T1] Damage Potion [+1 DAM]
1x [T1] Over-Health Potion [+50 Temp HP]
2 Additional Skill Points
Thread Finished | Rewards |
400 Col
1 Skill Point

- 700 Col
- T1 Mats
+ Myrmidon's Armour || +1 MIT | +1 EVA
+ Myrmidon's Cloak || +1 EVA | +1 EVA

Quest Finished |
Rewards |
5x [T1] Uncommon Health Potion [+40HP]
1x [T1] Damage Potion [+1 DAM]
1x [T1] Over-Health Potion [+50 Temp HP]
2 Additional Skill Points

Thread Finished |
Rewards |
400 Col
1 Skill Point

A few seconds later the ringing metallic sound came to a halt and a short while after that, the man Eli presume to be Lyle Tealeaf appeared through an opening deeper into the building. The shop front was a rather small room. Though numerous weapons and pieces of armour decorated the walls and dummies set around the space, Eli guessed the majority of the smith was further in the back. As Lyle came though, Eli saw him to be roughly the same age as the Potion Master, though with a considerably more magnificent beard and arms as thick as tree trunks.

"Good evening, Zakariah asked that I give you this." With a quick nod and word of thanks Lyle received his goods and continued on.

"Thanks, I appreciate that. It's been a while since he was able to these to me so I was running low. Say, if you have the time, might you be able to give me a hand with something as well? You'll be paid for your services of course!"

Accompanied by a small chime the message <<QUEST COMPLETE>> appeared. After listing his reward another similar message appeared in its place.

<<THE SECOND LESSON, IS ALSO FREE>>

"You're in luck, the place you're looking for is just over yonder! Just around that corner there you'll find it!" A pleasant young man just made Eli's day. Bouncing from person to person, the wanderer decided to just ask nearly every person he saw every 5 minutes or so to keep him pointed in the right direction and by golly it got it here. It was an exceptionally slow and cumbersome process but it was time was a sacrifice willing to be made. Following this final guide Elias finally found his destination; a small grey brick building with a wooden exterior and soft yellow-orange light spilling out into the street. Already he could hear the sounds of a furnace and the clang of metal hitting metal. "This must be it, finally. I should really find somewhere to sleep once I'm done here..."

Knocking loudly  on the already ajar door to the shop as he entered, Elias announced himself, "HELLO! Anyone here? Zakariah sent me here with a package for Lyle Tealeaf, if he's in?"

Why did the Town of Beginnings have to be to damn huge? It made sense in that it should be able to manage all ten thousand players from the get go, but still. Elias entered the world of SAO for fantasy and crazy, over the top action. Not learning how to read a map and asking people for directions every 5 minutes because he kept turning around and loosing his way. At this point the biggest pull toward the higher floors wasn't the need to escape, or the loot, or the mystery. Elias simply wanted to find a town of a sensible size that he could navigate without getting lost. Was that too much to ask? Elias guessed it must have been around six in the evening. He was starting to doubt whether or not the blacksmith would even be open at this time of night. Even though they were NPC's they were so fully realised that they could have their own schedules and weren't necessarily confined to any one location. Wearily however Elias Church trudged on.

"Yes, thank you. A good friend of mine, the blacksmith Lyle Tealeaf. The other day he requested a few bits and bobs and I agreed to craft them for him. Unfortunately I was out of materials, that is, until you arrived. If you would be so kind, could you go and deliver these when you get the chance?" Zakariah held in his hands a small package already wrapped and ready for delivery.

Elias nodded and accept the small box, "Of course, that wouldn't be a problem at all. I suppose you made these while you were helping me? That's impressive." After a few waves of his hand Lyle's package appeared in Eli's inventory. "I'll head over straight away. If you could give me some directions that would help. A lot."  Chuckling, Zakariah spent the next few minutes going over in detail the path to Lyle's shop. Eli listened intently and appeared calm on the surface, and not wanting to appear foolish confirmed the package was as good as there. Elias would simply as for directions as soon as he arrived at the first and only landmark he remembered.

|| ID# 10032 || CD - 11 || Perfect Success ||

"So I use this... Then I mix in that... Wait for a few seconds, then do this..."

With increasing confidence and speed Elias moved through the steps without needing to stop and think. After a few minutes even Zakariah stopped explaining what to do and simply watched. Only remarking now and then when Eli was about to do something wrong or use the incorrect material. The safety net of a more experienced practitioner watching his movements instilled confidence but at the same time, there was a pang of worry for future Eli. When he was doing his own thing without supervision, Eli wondered if he would still be as confident.

Ten minutes later and another striking success was created. The two men shook hands, congratulating one another on a fine job well done. Elias was somewhat annoyed that Zakariah was getting to keep the potions that were created but after a while agreed it was probably for the best. Still unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to be making.

"Thank you for all your help. Now, what was that other thing you were going to ask me?"

|| ID# 10031 || CD - 12 || Perfect Success ||

"What a surprise, this Potion is magnificent. Are you sure you haven't made any of these before?"

"I can assure you that was a complete accident. Thank you, but no. I've never made anything in Aincrad at all. Ever..." As Elias blushed over the quality of his creation, the reality of his statement hit him. It was true. Besides the fighting and the equipment, Eli had given little thought to actually making something, anything, before. There was a moment of silence between the two before Zakariah continued. "Well you seem to have a knack for it. Don't let your talents go to waste. Now, if you have the time there is one other favour I would ask of you. You see-"

Elias rather rudely cut Zakariah off before listening to his request, "Sorry, before that, could we perhaps give the potion making another go? I don't feel like I really remember what to do..." Looking rather sheepish, Eli found it hard to meet the old man's gaze before he reluctantly agreed to go through the steps again.

|| ID# 10030 || CD - 3 || Fail ||

Eli's hands shook worse than during his first encounter with a monster in SAO while he tried to measure the correct amounts of materials, when mixing and stirring etc. A good half of the mixture covered the worktop in blobs and what little final product remained was so devoid of actual beneficial materials that his first attempt was a complete failure. This was a whole different level of pressure. All the while the elderly man was kind and supportive. Despite the ample opportunity to complain Zakariah was the picture of peace. The more Eli thought about it, the more it made sense. Who could guess the countless players he had seen and taught. Elias Church was simply the next link in a very long chain.

"Now, just like we talked about. Keep your hands steady and take as much time as you need..."

"Easier said than done."

By the time Elias had returned to the Town of Beginnings and Zakariah's simple workshop, the bright white sun was slowly changing to a softer amber. Most the day's light was spent and it wouldn't be long before night arrived in force. Being careful to retrace his steps and avoid any nasty surprises on the walk, Elias took his time to be safe and, more importantly, not get lost. Zakariah welcomed Eli back into his home without hesitation and already he began to explain the next step in the process before Eli had muttered two words.

Quickly exchanging the materials, the old man examined them briefly before giving a nod of approval and ushering his protege toward a bench with various vials, chemicals and other alchemical wizardry. The instructions Zakariah laid out seemed simple enough in their reading but the minute Elias actually began to follow them, it was as though the characters skewed and morphing into another language. "Perhaps you could simply talk me through each of the necessary steps?" Eli beseeched the kind, elderly man.

|| ID# 99897 || LD - 16 || +1 T1 Material ||

Sweet manna from heaven! Sweet nectar of life! The breath of my lungs and the beat of my heart. As sad as it would be to admit, watching the quest marker change to display '5/5' was perhaps the greatest moment in Eli's life... Minus some hyperbole, it was still a pretty significant moment. At least in the short life of Elias Church; Spearman, Lover, Avatar.

As his luck tended to operate, Elias actually found his last material not five feet from another, sixth, material. The moment he retrieved the small, innocuous white petaled flower and the quest was complete, the other became a plain old flower. And as much as Elias waved his hands around it, there was no interaction dialog springing into life.

Like a man possessed Elias first oriented himself to find the shortest path back to the Town of Beginnings and set off at the fastest possible running speed his little digital legs could propel him.

|| ID# 99894 || LD - 7 || Nothing ||

"Note to self: Don't do this quest again..." Eli groaned to himself. The lone figure was learning a lot about himself; about his patience when it came to foraging for random materials and his utter disdain for flowers. Especially rare ones. As dangerous as the enemies that could be found in SAO were, the threat of complete oblivion didn't seem like that big a deal currently. Taking to resting his arms crossed behind his head as a sort of support Eli's efforts were waning again. For the most part he was barely looking at the path before him, never mind the requirements for his quest. Instead, his mind wandered to the news about the front lines and the rumors that always circulated around it. There was still so far left to climb, even after so long in trying. It was almost funny, and Elias did let out a sour chuckle to himself as he strolled. Here he was complaining about the most simple, basic and safe quest in all of Aincrad while there were others literally dying trying to free the rest of the players. The thought really killed his mood.

|| ID# 99893 || LD - 16 || +1 T1 Material ||

"Just one more... Just one more... Just one more..."

This became Eli's mantra. His latest find was a small purple flower growing atop the tip of a large grey boulder covered in moss almost the same size as him. Standing to attention as though proudly displaying it's presence. The fact it was so high actually almost kept it hidden. Elias was so focused on the ground underneath his feet that the world above his head could have been on fire and he wouldn't have noticed. By chance however a bird found purchase adjacent to it and it's song drew his attention. With zeal he bounded toward the mass of stone and spent some time trying to scale its surprisingly slick body. Eventually he fashioned a makeshift set of stairs by balancing logs and branches up on their tips against the stone and retrieved his prize. All the while the bird sat, singing and paying the flailing man little attention. Even after the flower was won the bird stayed and remained until Elias moved on and the boulder was completely out of view.

|| ID# 99602 || LD - 16 || +1 T1 Material ||

Carved through the lush, picturesque scenery of nature was a jagged and messy trail of overturned rocks, kicked over saplings, cut down shrubbery and all manner of curses thrown into the air. Pretenses gone, Elias became like a charging bull. Choosing instead the path of little delicacy. Elias spun the spear in his hands in wide arcs as he moved, pausing now and then to look back or over a pile of mess to double check he hadn't overlooked his prize. In the back of his mind Church doubted how effective this new strategy would be but in terms of managing his stress it was doing wonders.

Ten minutes into his swath of destruction a third material was found. This time a large yellow flower with flat, wide petals sticking out of a bundle of grass and weeds. A moment of elation came and went. A focus was beginning to grow with him. He had a job to do and he wasn't going to celebrate prematurely anymore. He would search until his quest was done.

"Well, hello. I would ask how I can help you, but you already told me, so just follow me."

Elias simply nodded and followed Hei around his workshop. Uncharacteristically Elias spent a great deal of effort to examine and assess each of the pieces that were shown to him, taking into account not only their weight and composite materials but also the style, embroidery and overall aesthetic in comparison to the warrior he envisioned himself as being. Fine as the stock was, nothing managed to catch his eye, or leap off from the wall at him. Instead he decided to request a commission.

"Your work is excellent, I can see why you receive so much business." Making note of the number of patrons that passed through the threshold. "But my hope is that you might be able to create a new piece of chest armour, if you have the time? I aim to be protected, though I would like to keep a high degree of mobility for my arms and the material light enough that it wouldn't hinder my movement speed. Simple black leather would suit my tastes..." Elias began to trail off as his eyes caught the hood of a cloak and another idea popped into his mind. "In fact, would you be able to create a making cloak also? One that might drape over my right shoulder only..." Elias felt a slight degree of embarrassment going into so much detail about the appearance of armour, rather than it's simple functionality.

"How much might these cost me?"

|| ID# 99555 || LD - 12 || Nothing ||

"Dammit!"

The blade tip of a silver spear sunk into the ground with severe force, roughly where Elias could best guest the first flower had been. With great sadness Eli's hope had been dashed and there was no prize waiting for him. He really shouldn't have expected anything more from such a complex system. Glaring at the ground as though offended, Elias quickly retrieved his weapon and stormed off. Eager to leave the disappointment behind.

Before long Eli's temperament returned to a more placid level and his searched continued. With red and blue already retrieved, Elias fancied his chances further from the dense trees and foliage he had been stalking and instead tried a change of scenery. Slowly the darkness of covering branches overhead gave way to blue skies and soft white clouds. Unsure of the current time of day, Eli's mind began to guess just how much time had already been sunk into the quest so far. Suffice it to say his estimation and the reality of the situation were worlds apart.

|| ID# 99545 || LD - 11 || Nothing ||

"Almost half way there..." Elias encouraged himself as he glanced up to the quest marker noting his progress thus far. With a skip in his step the green clad warrior bounded through the forest without a care in the world. Already he could see the reward window popping into existence just for him. "It should be around here somewhere?" Though Elias asked, no one was there to give him a reply. The plan in his head was to retrace his steps and find his way back to the red flower, but that was proving to be more problematic than he envisioned. The problem with trees was that they all looked... "No, don't be negative." Keeping his spirits high Elias decided to follow this new path the forest provided him.

Being alone does strange things to the mind. Not a daredevil by nature, Elias slipped back and forth between fear for his life and brash disregard for the rules of the game. However it came to the point at times where he wished something exciting would happen. A fantasy game where everything can very quickly be disillusioned by the very problematic status of dead. Today was a fear for your life kind of day and Elias was being very careful, in between his frustrations, to remain as quiet and bland as possible.

|| ID# 99544 || LD - 16 || +1 T1 Material ||

The gentle gurgle of a nearby stream caught Eli's attention and the tired spearman sought the simple comfort of a cool drink to ease his woes. The azure blue sky that managed to sparkle through the treetops was an impossibly rich colour. Golden beams of sunlight cracked through the canopy creating near invisible curtains of light, caught up in the dust hanging in the air. As lovely as this scene was, it was a common one. Not to undermine the artistry in anyway, however, if all you see is masterwork then it can all become dull. At least, that was how Elias saw it sometimes.

Hunkering down at the bank of the clear stream, Eli cupped several mouthfuls of water before standing back up and stretching out. Among a growth of weeds and grass bundled around some rocks at the stream's lip there grew another flower. This time with blue petals. At once, and almost falling into the water in the process, Elias stumbled toward his goal and snatched the material up as quickly as he could. Supremely confident in his expert foraging skills now, the beaming man turned to face the cheers of his audience. But was quickly deflated.

|| ID# 99543 || LD - 3 || Nothing ||

In an effort to beat the system Elias tried several ways to make the same red flower 'force spawn', as he called it. Firstly moving out of the flower's eye line, behind a tree. After sitting for a few seconds, Eli peaked his head out to find the patch of grass and dirt still empty. Not surprised, Elias returned to his position and waited for an entire minute. Counting out each second as it passed. As though verbalizing his efforts to the system would somehow justify his reward.

No reward was had.

His second tactic was to move further away from the flowers' point of origin. Like a yo-yo, Elias Church carried himself a few meters away and back again to check. Five meters; nothing. Ten meters; nothing. Twenty and still nothing. Finally he presumed the conditions of the quest meant that you would have to find another material before any others would become available again. To prevent farming like Elias was attempting. "Fine. See you again soon..." Elias scoffed at the air, turned his back on the spot and marched further into the wood.

|| ID# 99531 || LD - 19 || +1 T1 Material ||

Massaging his temples, Elias slowly raised his gaze from his feet to a small red flower not five feet in front of him. He blinked. "There you are..." With great trepidation Eli rose from his seat and moved to kneel by the material he had been searching for. As simply as waving his hand, the flower was gone and transposed itself into his inventory. "My luck is changing! One down, four to go." With a renewed vigor Elias continued his search.

Though the Town of Beginning wasn't too far away, Elias could sense the danger of his predicament. Alone, in the middle of nowhere and with only a large gleaming silver spear to protect himself with. Aside from the thuds of his footsteps and the occasional crunch or snap, there was little sound in the area. The wind rushed through trees in soft waves. Taking a moment to simply be, Elias took his weapon in hand and stood for a few moments, soaking in the revolution of this digital frontier.

"OH GOD! Why did I agree to this?!" This was Eli's third or fourth bellow to the heavens.

Leaving the Town of Beginnings behind and travelling northwest to the area of requirement was a relatively quick and easy process. The difficult part was actually in finding the specific area the quest was extremely vague about. Then, came the searching. The looking. The moving through bushes and under branches and past trees. All for flowers and herbs and roots. Why wasn't it ever simple. Why were they never simply around the corner?

Elias was edging toward losing his cool. Finding items that were randomly and procedurally generated wasn't the same as stalking your prey. Time had a purpose in that instance. In this however, the needle in the haystack was forever moving and disappearing and then reappearing. Probably exactly where you had just been looking too!

Sitting himself down on the the trunk of an overturned tree Elias had a few words with himself to calm down, relax and tackle the quest with a fresh set of eyes. "Think like a flower. I am the flower... Where am I?"

The journey was actually far simpler, and significantly less painful, than Elias had imagined. There were a few points where his confidence wobbled, his faith in the system set at a fairly consistent mild distrust since being trapped by it notwithstanding. Still, his spirits raised as further NPC's confirmed his trajectory to meet with Zackariah the quest giver. It was a mild and placid as ever day in Aincrad. Like the million before. A soothing breeze blew past to blanket the perpetual warmth and for a while during this walk, Eli's mind wandered.

It was sometimes difficult to remember that life in SAO and life in the real world were two separate and distinct entities. It had been so long, no one could really remember how long exactly, that the line dividing real and imaginary had blurred and faded. Elias felt an unease, perhaps anxiety, as he knocked on the sturdy wooden door. He could hear the soft thuds of footsteps approach and all of a sudden the illusion was broken and a quest summary appeared in tandem with Zachariah.

<<THE FIRST FEW LESSONS ARE FREE>>

The quest was simple enough; go and collect so many of this and so many of that so a cure could be made for an ailing towns person. One part callous, one part bored, Elias skipped over much of the fluff to the piece and made note of the requirements to fulfill. "Certainly! I shall return in haste to see your ward protected." Elias proclaimed as he left, leaving the door wide open.

"Okay, so, follow this path down past the big building with the green flag, take a left at the fountain with the dolphins..." The physical strain of trying to repeat back what the kindly old NPC lady had told him was beginning to show, "Toward the big gate and keep going until you see the workshop. Which is a large wooden building with circular windows?" Again, the NPC nodded in confirmation. Whether exasperated or simply tired with the fourth repetition of directions, Elias could see there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm by that point. With a smile and a wave they parted company, and Elias used his free hand to shield his eyes while he looked for the first marker he was informed of.

Immediately taking the wrong turn twice in succession, it was twenty minutes before Eli was back at his starting line and desperately trying to avoid being spotted by the no doubt judging eyes of the NPC's that were aware of his idiocy. Without his usual confident demeanor, Elias walked on toward his first date with destiny.