Alice

((Alice was originally addressing Damien since Takeshi had stepped away from the board, but whatevs, I'll go with it.))

It appeared as if he was interested in joining, "Great, thank you for your cooperation. I'm sure this will go smoothly." He would go ahead and proceed with the standard preparation of equipping armor and weaponry, but finally throwing away that god forsaken cigarette. She understood that people in the real world had grown unhealthy addictions to it and it was something terribly difficult to quit, yet continuing to do so in a game where it derives no bodily function whatsoever was quite perturbing. However, what bothered her most was the very simple question of if someone else would be joining them. Not just a mere moments before, she had clearly asked for his patience in awaiting another member to join the party on this venture. Before letting out a dissatisfied sigh, her request would resolve in a peaceful conclusion as the other curious looking player from before interrupted, "Indeed, you're more than welcome to join us." She gave a slight gesture to the other player to signify his participation, "As you already know, I'm Alice, and this here is Takeshi. If the two of you are ready to make haste, we should be able to complete this quest by the top of the hour. Are both of you ready?"

Edging onwards to hearing out what all she had planned, it seemed as if Alice was going to have to spill the entire can of beans before he was content with her answer. His question was a pretty simple one to answer, having already planned this far out ahead of time, "Well, after I established a source of renewable equipment to hand off to future guildmates and allies alike, the next step would be to make it official. Unfortunately, you can't weave a fancy flag and label yourself as a guild. You have to have enough support to establish it as an officially run guild." She would need another three or four players in addition to Jax's help, depending on whether or not he decided on joining in the end, "After reaching that point, the main goal of the guild would be to serving as an aid relief for players world-wide. On the back burner, however, would be to focus on creating a guild house to serve as a place of sanctuary and a social hub. After all, getting to meet the players that we're all going to be spending the next few years with is pretty important."

ID: 76233 - LD: 10

Alice let out a yawn, hardly containing it within the single hand held up in front of her face. She wasn't tired of the chores she had set to do today, but rather, grew quickly bored with such a mundane set of tasks. Nearly every day consisted of finding a way to obtain materials or Col, knowing that she could never stock enough of either to give herself a day's rest from the activity. Though she did have one thing going for her today, which was a nice relaxing visit to a local tea shop here on the first floor. She had quickly grown accustomed to the mimic food and drink here in Aincrad, finding that the chai tea here was absolutely exquisite. To get there, she would simply have to make her way beyond the western outskirts and past the plaza to the business. However, she would fail to pass the final checkpoint on her path as a familiar, thunderous voice intruded on her stroll, "Is that Mack?" She had knew him from two important moments, both of which were here in the digital world - the first being when he generously gifted her some gear and the second during a raid on the floor above. Having registered his identity, it took a moment before she realized the proposition he had declared for any passersby. Briefly raising her hand as she made her way over, she'd happily volunteer, "Good morning, Mack. Pleasure to see you again." His cub once again caught her attention in the corner of her eye, "I'd love to accompany you, at your discretion."

She shook her head, "You're asking way too much of a complete stranger, Alice." While she had taken the liberty to explain her ideas to others in the past with hopes that they would be interested enough to show support, she hadn't gotten quite this far before. Not to mention, this guy hadn't yet experienced Aincrad in the slightest so it wasn't like he knew what he was getting himself into. Alice was completely conflicted as to whether she should drop it all or allow this guy to commit to a choice on her behalf that he wouldn't be capable of changing, "Well, yes. If there was a blacksmith that worked in correlation with the group, it would make things drastically easier." She held up a finger to signify that she wasn't finished speaking, "However, I would like for it to be something you take under heavier consideration than you are now. Just because I'm egging you on like some PETA ad on television doesn't mean you have to help out the poor dog." She put her palm to her head as she envisioned what she said, "I'm just making it sound worse, aren't I?"

ID: 76135 - LD: 7

It was a tad frustrating, knowing that he wasn't just going to be able to make materials and Col appear out of thin air, yet he was persistent on claiming that he would find a way to get it done. She wanted to throw a jabbing question about just how he would, but knew the only answer she would get would be a run around of sorts. Letting out a silent sigh as she kept her eyes on the prowl for fitting flowers, she would explain more on what she had said, "Well, like I mentioned earlier, one of the first quests I took was <<Earning a Living>> which is a quest that gives you a profession. There's a nice variety; blacksmith, tailor, cook, alchemist, fisherman, performer, and merchant. Each of them have unique crafts they can create and certain perks that come along with each individual trade." She pulled out an item in her inventory, a band that she had made at her own shop, "As you can see, I'm a tailor. This here's the logo to my shop." She didn't mention that it wasn't yet open to the public though, "While I can craft certain types of light armor for players, I have no way of supplying weapons or heavier sets of armor." She let out a soft chuckle, "Maybe I'm being a little selfish with where I'm going with this, but it would be one less worry."

ID: 76133 - LD: 12 (3 of 5)

He was spot on, although it was disheartening to have another player agree that it was something quite a ways out of reach. At least he wasn't doing so in jest, showing actual interest in lending her a hand to pull her closer towards the dream, "Even if it did take that long, it would be worth it in the end." By that time though, there may be nobody left to help so she would certainly have to amp up the progress sometime in the near future. He did seem pretty keen on being able to attain the two main funds that would be necessary, but she felt as if he didn't understand just how valuable those resources was... especially since this was his first time outside of the Town of Beginnings, "I don't believe you have a good concept of the economy in this game, materials and Col don't just grow on trees. They take hard work and taking on the risk of fighting monsters to obtain, although it is possible to attain materials in a similar manner as we're currently doing. When it comes down to it, there just isn't enough time in the day to do it all. That's where I'm hoping my profession will come in the way and," she hesitated at the thought of trying to put him to such a task, "depending on what you become, you might be of greater assistance in that manner."

ID: 76131 - LD: 13 (2 of 5)

While only slightly, she blushed at the thought of somebody calling her 'courageous' for the mere idea of helping others. For now, it was only a dream in the far off distance, something out of reach until she reached the point where she could help herself without having to rely on others, "Thank you, that's very flattering." She was watching him from his backside as he pulled through some mushrooms, all unfit for the quest. He sounded like he had been through quite a bit in the real world, but didn't look like he could be much older than Alice, if at all. Maybe her help on the quest was more appreciated than she imagined, but she didn't believe such a small gesture was of that importance, "Well, if you ever need to be lent an ear or shoulder alike, feel free to ask." She didn't mind it, knowing that everyone had their own problems. However, what he mentioned next wasn't something that she was expecting, "Y-you want to help?" This player looked as if he knew less than Alice did before she met Beatbox, but already wanted to fuel the fire, "I'm a long ways away from getting everything kickstarted, the tough part being that I've got to be able to cycle through enough materials and gear to make sure that anybody that became a part of it would be safe. You'd be surprised just how long it takes to gather materials to craft, let alone earn enough Col to pay other professions for merchandise."

ID: 76105 - LD: 5

She wasn't expecting his response to be so... lackluster. Perhaps it was because he was lying about his true motivations of playing, but then again, maybe he really just didn't care enough to have a reason of playing. While she was often critical of people, maybe it wasn't in her place to put such high expectations of people. However, there was one thing that did catch her attention that played a bit of a role in her goals, "A guild, you say..." She took a moment to pause her search while she gave him a second look, "One of the goals that I take most pride in is building a guild that can serve as a safety net for players without a home - a sanctuary." It was the perfect term to describe what she was hoping for, allowing players to engage in activities as a team, receive 'starter' gear that would give them a genuinely safe start, and the start of a social circle in an unfamiliar environment. "I might be a little too hopeful in that building such a coordinated base would be possible here, but I think with enough effort, we could make this game safer than the current status quo. I'm sure that after the things you may have heard from other players, going beyond the perimeter of the town sounds like a scary thing, right? What if we got to the point where something that unnerving was a thing of the past?"

ID: 76100 - LD: 10

He looked fairly confident now that he knew what the mushrooms should look like, though that didn't necessarily mean he knew what anything else would look like. She would let him look for those in particular while she focused on some of the other necessary materials for crafting, "That's fine, you can look for the mushrooms and I'll find the proper flowers." Here in the plains, they were plenty in bloom, but there was a limited selection to what they could use for today's session. Keeping somewhat close to the other player, she would begin looking for that needle in this haystack, "Well, it won't take too long, but we might as well make the time go by quicker." She was referring to chatting during their search, which would make things more lively than the drag that quests could easily become, "I know you're new to the game, but might you have any plans as to what you intend to do in this game? Many players have goals, such as making a guild, clearing the game, or joining to find lost family and friends. Everyone has something."

ID: 76066 - LD: 3

She silently held back a sarcastic retort when he took her friendly suggestion as an ill remark, but kept cool so as not to show it bothered her in the slightest. At the very least, he was focusing on the task at hand as he looked around, eventually finding a mushroom that could potentially fit the bill. When he held it up for her to check out, she could tell that it didn't look well enough to use in crafting a potion, "How about we put that one back... It looks withered and might end up poisoning whoever is drinking the potion." Sure, it might be worth using in a poison, but that wasn't what they were here for today. They needed materials that would serve well enough in a healing potion or a safeguard potion, ones that would serve the purpose of safety in battle. She looked near the mushroom that he had found and there was a bulky, fresh one that showed a clean bill of health, "You need the plump ones like this, they'll make a clean snap when you pull it from the ground."

ID: 76061 - LD: 15 (1 of 5)

It wouldn't hurt to confirm that, would it? A first name, beyond something that was obscenely unique, wouldn't be able to be used to learn anything more about a person, especially if they were trapped here in Aincrad, "Yes, that's right." She didn't feel as if it was of much interest to ask if Jax was short for his name or not as she was quite ready to get started and show him what all this world had to offer, "Of course... Thank you." Jax had gestured for her to go first, though she couldn't help thinking that he did so in a sarcastic manner. Certainly, if he was asking players about how to get started, he likely didn't have the slightest clue of where to go. "Right this way," she would take him to the front steps of the NPC called Zakariah and show him the steps to starting the quest, "Well, then. You ready?" She would exit the shop, holding the door for him, before further taking him to the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings where they could collect five crafting materials of their pick to use in some potions, "If you can't remember what materials will work in the potions, feel free to ask. Mushrooms, certain flowers, and similar plant life are the easiest to spot."

ID: 76049 - LD: 7

It was a little concerning to know that he hadn't played a game that was anything like this, but it wasn't something that was incredibly uncommon. The hype that had built up surrounding the launch of SAO had been insane, even reaching the ears of Alice prior to her friend convincing her to try it out, but the core gameplay wasn't something that hadn't been done plenty of times before. Taking up on her offer, a little more eagerly than she imagined he would, it seemed like her plans for the day had been changed for good. Introducing himself as Jax, she wasn't too sure if it was spelt 'Jax' or 'Jacks' so she would make note to ask about it later, "That's pretty common here, a lot of players use nicknames or old usernames from other games as a way of identifying each other. Not everyone is comfortable with sharing their details from IRL so do be a bit careful if you get curious." While there wasn't anything for her to really hide, she didn't have any intentions of giving away any information herself, "Anyways, would you like to get started on the quest? Shouldn't take too long for the two of us to knock it out."

The player seemed to be pretty sincere, showing that he really did have no experience with the game and just wanted some help getting things started. Alice couldn't blame him, everyone (for the most part) started out with little knowledge of the intricate mechanics and features of the game. Even she had admittedly gotten the help of an incredibly higher leveled player than her to do her first quest, a player named Beatbox, as she tried to earn her own profession. "It's fine, I understand... I assume you haven't played many games before this, have you?" The way he mentioned the NPC did show a pretty fundamental lack of knowledge about gaming in general, if her assumptions were correct, "Well, how about I take you on your first quest so you can get a feel of how things work. Would that be alright?" She was a little disappointed that her material gathering would be put on delay, but at least she would be passing on the great help she had been given before, "By the way, I'm Alice. Nice to meet you."

It wouldn't take long for Alice to make her way into the safety of the city, not that she was concerned by the weak monsters between here and her home. She wasn't too sure which method of collecting materials she would use at this time, knowing that she could repeat the <<Earning a Living>> quest again for some or posting a notice on the player request board once again. She had done it twice so far with both times working well enough, but it did feel like she was beginning to abuse a system that was too useful for her own good. Tossing an imaginary coin up in the air and pretending to catch it with a slow reveal, she would decide upon the standard she had set. Continuing her stroll towards the center of town with hopes of picking up just a single player to make the material gathering a quick job, she wouldn't make it there without first being interrupted, "Oh, a quest, you say... The first one I took was <<Earning a Living>>, but then again," she hesitated with consideration, "I'd highly suggest taking something like <<The First Lesson>> since it's very easy and has no risks at all."

Today was a beautiful day, the sun shining bright as ever with the wind gentle enough to cool the warmth from above, "Just like always..." It was odd, knowing the weather patterns of this world was far from being as unpredictable as the real world, but at least it was one less thing to worry about. She had just exited her house on the first floor, alternatively known as the Wonderland tailor shop, expecting to find some materials on her ventures today. She was currently down to three materials after her various attempts at crafting and the odd trade or two, but she wanted to have a few saved up as emergency funds in case she needed an item desperately. While Col was something that had been escaping her for her duration here, materials served just as good a role, if not better, when it came to sales. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when it came to merchants and NPC ran shops, but her store would be following suit of the material exchange idea. Locking the door behind her, she would turn on the notification that Wonderland was closed at this time, before making her way out of the gate and towards town.

After having received the short, but straightforward answer from the hulking blacksmith, Alice had reached a conclusion on her decision. A two handed straight sword, solely designed to dish out damage, and an armor set with the implication that it could both block damage and heal what pierced through. The current vanity set that she sported was quite similar to what she desired, though served no purpose beyond allowing her to use her skill at this time. As the smith returned to his crafting bench, Alice would leave him in peace as she looked around at what else the shop had to offer. Plenty of weapons and armor, certainly, but there were quite a few tools for trades that were available to improve crafting in a variety of manners. She took note, knowing that such items would come in handy when she could afford them. Though her attention on the decorations and sales weren't held for long as a cute little cub stirred some chaos nearby, "Oh, isn't he sweet?" A couple of the customers that showed up for the event had been playing with him and feeding him, having not upset it or the owner, "Shame that the spare food I have on me is just starter filler, wouldn't be much of a treat for the little guy." However, before she could approach to pet the cub and feel how soft it was, Mack had finished her requests. She'd quickly pass through the other players and bow her head in appreciation, "Thank you very much, it's greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to return the favor someday, be it to you or to someone else in your name."

[OOC: Apologies, had some IRL stuff. Edited what we talked about in PMs.]

While Alice had expected to be sitting around a while, it hadn't taken quite as long as her first usage of the player request board just a few floors down. Heck, in her last attempt, a third party member was only possible when she called up a friend. This time around, it looked like two players had already shown some interest, though one had rounded the corner and escaped her sight for the meantime. As for the other, he appeared to be looking for the source of the request; his answer casually walking up to him, "Good morning, I'm Alice. Nice to meet you. Might you be interested in the request about the <<Worn Out Welcome>> quest?" It was rather obvious she was either the poster or a fellow player looking to join in, but she expected him to assume the former. Awaiting his own introduction in return as well as an affirmative answer, she would proceed with her only concern, "If it isn't too much a hassle, I would like to pick up another player. One passed by just a moment ago showing such interest as yourself."

Even though Alice had failed to attack the goblin, at least Jazz was able to get a clean hit in, even if it didn't paralyze the monster. While the goblin had yet to attack, it certainly did look like it was getting more aggressive now that it knew the paralysis wasn't a guaranteed effect. In the meantime, Dominion would attempt to heal Alice yet again and, to Alice's surprise, would actually be able to activate it this time around. It was pretty calming to see the health bar she had get topped off until she returned to full health, before swiveling her head to the man, "Thanks for the heal, I'm sure as you train it more and get better gear, it'll become easier." Returning her focus back to the monster at hand, she would prepare to charge forwards when it put its gaze strictly on Jazz, leaving her in its blind spot. Timing it just right, she lunged her sword directly into the goblin's side causing it to recoil in pain. It wouldn't try to attack the group just yet, still uncertain of what they truly could do.

• Alice: 60/60 HP - 4/6 Energy - 3 Hate
• Jazz: 99/100 HP - 10/10 Energy - 5 Hate
• Dominion: 300/300 HP - 30/30 Energy - 1 Hate

[75512] BD: 9 - Hit! MD: 3 - Miss!

Dealt 8 DMG (4 base + 1 crit * 2x1 SA - 2 MIT).

• Cave Goblin (Warrior): 28/50 HP (15 DMG / 2 MIT)

[[OOC: Sorry for the delay, had some internet issues after storm and the one post I did on mobile was a pain. At least we're almost half way to defeating this thing.]]

Having done some research on one of the quests that were more suited to level, it certainly seemed safer if she took it on with an extra party member or two. With the gear that she had gotten from the best blacksmiths she knew, which wasn't many, she had posted a sign on the request board on the third floor. She had done this once before and, while the odds were always unknown with a new group, she had a great experience with something new.

[Looking for party of two to take on the quest <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>>. No level requirement, but must understand the dangers associated with the quest.]

It was simple and to the point, allowing her to have no everlasting guilt if someone could not hold their own. After all, she didn't have the first aid skill, which both of the members in her previous party did. However, from the looks of it, this quest didn't have much danger. She was pretty confident that she could take care of it herself, but backup was always a nice contingency plan.

@Damien @Takeshi

Alice made her way into the blacksmith's shop, this time being the first that she planned to be a legitimate customer. While she originally planned to return to Mack's shop to repay the favors, she was unfortunately met with a sign informing her that he was closed at the time. Likely, it was due to how backed up he was from the event he hosted and he certainly deserved a break, so in respect, she would make note to return with an order at a later time. In the meantime, however, she did want to begin improving her ability to hold her own in combat and needed a sword with some power to it. With that in mind, she'd open the doors to reveal what looked like a very simple, classical blacksmith workshop with original creations on display. Looking for the owner, she'd introduce herself, "Morning, I'm Alice. Nice to meet you." It wasn't somebody that she had yet met, but would allow the courtesy of exchanging introductions before moving on to her request, "I wanted to order some armor." Sharing the details with the owner, she'd reveal that it was a relatively common choice of enhancements, but wanted to get it designed to fit her style.

- 5 Materials

While Alice had missed her opportunity to attack for no good reason, it looked as if the goblin was finally getting ready to fight. Having just barely avoided Jazz's attack, it retreated to a safe distance to avoid yet another paralysis infliction. In the meantime, Dominion had began to work on his first aid ability, trying his best to figure out how it worked in his next attempt to use it on Alice. He mentioned something about needing time and, for now, they had all the time in the world to take it down, "Take your time, Dominion. Between you and Jazz's healing, I feel more than safe." Besides, with Jazz taking the heat from the goblin, she didn't have to focus on avoiding the goblin attacks herself, "Jazz, if you could, do try to paralyze it again." Trying to create an opening for her follow up attack, Alice would find her sword falling short of the monster's quick movements.

• Alice: 53/60 HP - 5/6 Energy - 1 Hate
• Jazz: 99/100 HP - 10/10 Energy - 4 Hate
• Dominion: 300/300 HP - 30/30 Energy - 1 Hate

[75180] BD: 2 - Miss! MD: 1 - Miss!

Dealt 0 DMG.

• Cave Goblin (Warrior): 37/50 HP (15 DMG / 2 MIT)

Alice was pretty amazed that Jazz had not only paralyzed the cave goblin once, but twice in a row. Luckily for the other two, that meant that they could get in a few free swings without any worry about danger. However, they needn't worry a bit considering the pure, raging anger the goblin had against Jazz. It had yet to swing either of its dual wielded swords and it looked as if he couldn't wait to give her a taste of it. Even Dominion, who couldn't do much more than chip at its health, was getting in on the fun as well rather than expending his time with healing, "Maybe we overestimated the fellow, seems about as harmless as the little ones we encountered on the way up here." While she was talking a big game, it would snap her back to reality if she was to get hit by one of the daggers that could instantly bring her down a quarter of her max health every time. In fact, she began to think about what it might be really capable of, forgetting to strike while she had the chance.

Jazz appeared to be pretty content with the hasty plan that Alice came up with, taking no time to refute it with little spent encouraging Dominion to try to heal her. While Alice was nearly safe in terms of health at the moment, it would at least allow Dominion to fully heal her prior to the two of them hopping into battle. She waited patiently while Jazz went to attack so that Dominion could heal her, but it seems that he just couldn't get the knack of it quite yet, "Oh, don't be too bothered by it. I'm nearly full health, though do feel free to heal me, Jazz, or yourself depending on who is taking the brunt of the damage. When you're ready, have at it." Alice would join Jazz in battle, patting Dominion on the shoulder in support, before attacking the goblin as well. Using one of her few options of sword arts, it would allow her to deal a nice chunk of damage and get the fight really started, "Nice job stunning it, Jazz. Keep it up."

Alice unlocked the gates as she finally arrived back at home, having returned from a quick visit to the floor's town to purchase a few simple things. It was a little odd, knowing that going shopping in this world didn't involve the need to carry bags, but it quickly became a positive trade off. If she wanted to, not that she could, she could buy out an entire store's stock without having to plan a manner of getting it delivered to her place. Admiring the single item on display, one listed as 'NOT FOR SALE' with a proud little plaque in front of it, she quickly headed into her office to begin working on her next batch of materials. Lugging over the necessary tools, she would get to work after putting on her trademark Wonderland Band, "Just because it's my first legitimate creation doesn't mean that the public would know about it, besides... It's too perfect to not use..."

Roll Information

Craft Information

She wasn't surprised that there would be at least another one or two protecting the way, even if they were taking the proper path. These weren't meant to be easy, especially if they were to have entered without a map, but she couldn't imagine the number of mobs that they would have encountered otherwise. The goblin guarding the path, however, was protecting the last cave that led to the large "X" on the map, "Yes, I'm looking forwards to it." She would continue to lead the way until they had reached the end, which revealed a light source that got brighter and brighter as they neared it. Once they reached the end of it, Alice made a sign for them to hold up, taking note of the particularly odd shadow she noticed moving about, "I think there's another monster in there, but it's nowhere near as small as the goblins that we encountered on the way up here." She peeked around the corner to see a goblin that stood at nearly the same height as the girls, uncertain as to whether they should rush it, "He's much bigger, probably much stronger too. Jazz, I think you should lead the attack and serve as the 'tank' so to say since your armor makes their attacks nearly useless, if that's not too much to ask. I'll also be working on dealing damage and Dominion can switch between chipping or healing depending on what happens." It was their best chance at the moment, but felt kind of bad asking Jazz for her to serve that role, "Everyone alright with that plan?"

• Alice: 53/60 HP - 6/6 Energy - 0 Hate
• Jazz: 99/100 HP - 10/10 Energy - 0 Hate
• Dominion: 300/300 HP - 30/30 Energy - 0 Hate

No roll, out of combat. 3 HP healed.

• Cave Goblin (Warrior): 50/50 HP (15 DMG / 2 MIT)