David_Black

David sensing discomfort the newcomer was obviously feeling threw down his broom, and stripped of the gaudy apron. "I'm not wearing this anymore Hiro. I don't care if you kick me out. I know I should have stopped those guys from trashing the place, but that is no excuse to humiliate me. Think about it. Would I have ever done that to you for failing to stop a fight in class?" He spit out before retrieving the broom.

Hiro hopped off of the bar, and snatched up the apron. With a few key presses on his menu the object vanished only to be replaced by another broom. "Whatever" He said in David's direction with venom dripping off of his tongue. "You" He said pointing to the newcomer. "If you help clean this up you can drink all you want here for free this week. Sound like a deal?" Hiro offered holding the broom handle first in the new man's direction.

@Rothsbite

David sat in that dusty, and cramped little workshop for the next two days watching Barnabas pen his book. He read every word as the old man wrote it stopping only to get food for the pair of them, and change out the ever lowering candles. As the third day came to a close Barnabas put his quill down, and stood up. 

He went over to a bin in the corner, and retrieved a leather for covering and a small black box. He wrapped the carefully ordered pages in the cover, dribbled molten wax down the pages where the spine would go, and pulled a thick needle, and spool of coarse thread from the box. He set to work with a steel punch, and mallet carefully making holes in the book through which to sew it together. By the end of the process a fine manuscript sat on the desk before them bearing the title: An Artisan's lot, by B.M.

The old man sat down in his chair, and picked up a brass nibbed quill that was laying by the inkwell. He dipped it a few times, and set to work writing. Hours passed like minutes as the wide eyed scholar watched this master of the written word work. By the time the sun had set the old man had used up about half of his paper, and stopped only to stretch and light a few candles. As he sat down, and began scribbling at a furious pace once more, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"If you're to make any money doing this kind of work you will need to be efficient. Get orders done quickly, and mass produce a few of your more common requests so that there is always something sitting on your shelves. I don't expect you'll have much luck with it in the beginning. No one does. It takes a large investment in both time, and money to get as good as I am, and I still have not reached the highest rank of my craft. Names Barnabas by the way. Now take a seat if you're gonna stand there gawking. You're blocking my light."

From there David followed the man back to his "workshop". In reality this was just a one room hovel with a couple of writing desks, and a couple chairs. Short bookcases lined the walls, and various knick knacks littered every avaliable surface. Some of them even had price tags affixed as if they were meant for sale. David wondered how anyone would ever have known to come into this building to buy any of these objects as there was no discernable sign outside to lead them to believe it was a shop.

As the pair entered the building the old man strained for a moment with his burdern. Sensing his trouble David went over to help him set it down. The parcel that had been wrapped in cloth and tied around the old man's back like a make shift pack was not all that heavy to the reasonably fit twenty five year old, but he understood the old man's struggle. They set it on top of one of the writing desks, and the old man unwrapped it. inside was what looked to be a ream of some of the finest paper David had ever seen.

"Enough here for one of my books, and only one. That is if I don't make any mistakes." The old man said grinning. The gaps where some of his teeth were missing made the fellow all the more endearing.

"I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying young man" The old timer began. "You wish there was a way to make money teaching in this world? Well I can help you there. I'm an artisan by trade. Make all kinds of things for folks, but when I'm doing what I want I write books. You see in Aincrad an Artisan is able to make everyday objects give the user powerful enhancements. I can write a cookbook for a man, and he will be making dishes fit for a king in no time at all. I don't even need to know much about the topic to do it. All I need is to ask the right questions of the right people. The magic of my creations takes care of the rest."

It was at this moment that David knew this was clearly what he wanted to do. Not only could he teach people through writing, but he could also make them more effective at whatever it was they wanted to learn just by being in possession of one of his items.

"Teach me." He said without hesitation.

Strolling up and down the stone brick streets of the Town of Beginnings marketplace David's eyes were wide open with wonder. There were hundreds of stalls, each one with a different type of good on display. Counters filled with swords, knives, axes, and the like. Tables topped with various vials, flasks, and bottles filled to the brim with an array of colorful liquids. Baskets packed to the top with crystals that hummed with magic. There were restaurants, coffee bars, fish mongers. None of these jobs however seemed to appeal to David. None of them jumped out at him as something he would like to do.

"Too bad there is no money in being a teacher in this world. It's all I ever wanted to do for a living." David said kicking at a stone on the ground. From behind him David felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. It was the hand of a wrinkled old man who was hunched over carrying a large bundle on his back.

Drawing sketches of equipment, and dreaming up new ideas for trinkets had begun to dominate David's mind of late. He thought back to his day spent with Hestia, and tried to remember the name of the quest she had told him to take if he wanted to pursue a profession. Playing around with his menu one night the teacher turned gamer discovered it. <<Earning a living.>>. "What an interesting concept" he thought as he read out the quest's requirements. It wouldn't be too hard it seemed. All he had to do was to find an NPC that practiced the profession he wanted in on, and ask them to teach him.

The next morning that is exactly what David set out to do. At exactly 0600 server time he was out the door and bound for the marketplace in the Town of Beginnings. Surely there was an NPC crafter or two that could show him the ropes.

David had gotten word by way of patrons to Hiro's Tavern of a shop on the first floor that could provide excellent weapons and armor. The Blazing Typhoon they called it, and it intrigued David. He had been thinking hard about Hestia's advice to start advancing in a profession, and had sketched up some designs for a few pieces of gear but did not yet have the skill to make them. With that in mind David sought out the shop with designs in hand. It was not too far away from Hiro's tavern, which was good as it would make checking on the progress of these items even easier.

The window display caught David's eye before he could throw open the door. A set of gleaming black plate armor fitted with spikes stood there atop a stand. He was not sure what it did, but he was certain that he wanted it. It's price tag was not too unreasonable either set at 1000 Col. A bargain if it was properly enhanced. The price tag called it [Harbinger of Edges]. A fitting name for such a dark looking piece of equipment.

David broke himself away from the display, and entered the shop. Until he figured out the cost of his planned items there was no room to worry about purchasing something else. David would wait until the shop's owner came to greet him, and present his plans as he did.

"I'd like to know how much it would cost to have these made. I have all the necessary materials on hand just not the skill. If it is within my budget after paying for these two items to be made I'd like to know the enhancements on that set of black spiked armor back there. I like its aesthetic, and I bet it has pretty powerful stats."

[Plans]

@Macradon

David eyed the box for a moment. Hiro hadn't even sent him one of these yet. He chuckled before pressing the botton labeled [accept]."You are not wrong Hestia. Without Hiro to help me through things I probably would have gave up, and ended it all a while ago. I'm just glad that I'm finally making more friends. I'm really happy I met you." David said while playing around in his menu. He thought he might shoot Hiro a friend request when all of a sudden he realized that he had a private message waiting for him. It read as follows.

"Dave,

You're late. I'm waiting by the central fountain in Tolbana. I expect to see you here soon or Hiro can forget about getting these herbs. By the way I heard a rumor that he is close to losing that little Tavern of his. Is that true? If that is the case I wouldn't risk me leaving if I were you. Might mean the end of your little buddy's business, and your free place to sleep.

Something to thing about
X"

David looked over in to Hestia's eyes, and smiled. "I guess this is where I leave you. If I don't get back to town soon this guy is going to take off with my buddy's herbs. I'll get in touch with you soon though eh? See you later Kuro, keep her safe will ya!" David said before reequipping his armor, and darting off back to Tolbana.

"Wow thats a nice haul!" David said as he eyed the menu. The money, materials, and consumables were all nice things, but at this moment he didn't need them. Had a weapon or armor better than his own appeared he might have asked for it, but instead he would offer it all to Hestia. "You've been so nice in showing me the ropes, and this beautiful place. Why don't you keep that loot for yourself. I'm sure you could put it to better use than I can anyway." He then laid back down on his spot by the water, and looked up into the clouds.

After a while maybe ten or fifteen minutes David began to feel kind of nostalgic. This wild place reminded him of his childhood, and the home he would probably never get to see again. "You know my family used to go camping near a spot like this. South mountain, in North Carolina. It was gorgeous, and if you were lucky you could see deer drinking from the stream. I used to leave out piles of corn, or apples to draw them in closer to camp. I miss it."

Rolls
 

David listened to Hestia's story in awe. His mouth was slightly agape, and when he noticed (just shortly after the young lady had finished speaking) he placed a hand over it for a moment to conceal his blushing. "That is truly amazing Hestia. You are lucky to have found such a wonderful creature, and even more so that it chose to befriend you. Honestly if I ever went looking for a familiar I'd probably try to find an owl. They represent knowledge, wisdom, and strength of character. Three things I've always held in high regard." David said smiling. With a small heave he flopped down on to his back, and looked dead into the waterfall. As he peered into it watching the mist swirl up from the rocks he noticed something peculiar. The sunlight was reflecting off of something underneath it. Something obviously metallic. Quickly the young man hopped up from where he was laying, and extended his right index finger to point at the object.

"Hey Hestia, you ever notice something in that waterfall before? There is definitely something made out of metal back there. Why don't we check it out!" He said with a wicked grin on his face.

"This is magnificent!" David said upon entering the clearing, and seeing the waterfall David near instantly unequipped his heavy armor. In it's place he was covered by a rough cut black tank top and a pair of tan shorts with cargo pockets. His shoes were simple sandals. On his neck was a leather cord with a fang attached as a charm.  He trotted over to the water's edge, and sat down. For a time he did nothing other than watch his companion's familiar shield her from the sun. Kuro was a cute enough animal, and he supposed probably pretty useful to have around. Familiars were supposed to be amazingly powerful, and have the capacity to augment their tamer's abilities in interesting ways. There was little information available however about how one was supposed to be obtained.

"So Hestia, how did you and Kuro meet?" David asked smiling as a way to end the silence.

David was eager to see what Hestia had to show him. He kept pace with her fairly well, but lingered a few steps behind as he did not know the way they were going. He did notice however that they were headed out of town. That made David a bit nervous. The last time he left town it hadn't turned out so great for him, and he knew that he needed to be careful. As Hestia spoke more of music, and character builds David was deep in thought. This was the first time since joining SAO that he had spent any time at all with someone other than Hiro. There were of course the other tavern patrons, but they barely counted. Most people that came in had friends with them, and wished to be left to their own devices.

"So where are we going anyway?" David asked to snap himself out of these thoughts.

"Nice to meet you Lessa." David said before hopping up from his seat, and going around to the other side of the bar. After a few moments of fumbling around underneath it he produced two empty glasses. "Hiro, put these two on my tab whenever you snap out of your day dreaming. I swear man you have to get used to being around women at some point." With that being said David turned around and began to pour out two generous portions of some foamy brown liquid. The first he set on the bar in front of Lessa, and the second he raised to just about eye level.

"Rootbeer, or something very close in taste to it at least. We like to cater to all sorts here even though it's a tavern, and not everyone likes alcohol. Though after you drink that if you want something more stout I can certainly help you with that. As far as buying the second round I'm sure Hiro would appreciate that. I never pay him for my drinks anyway" David said before busting out into a deep belly laugh.

By this time Hiro had managed to lift his jaw up from the bar, and flashed a smile in Lessa's direction. "Sorry to be so rude miss. I'm just shy." The meek gamer turned barkeep said offering an awkward wave.

David raised his glass even higher for a moment offering a simple toast of "Cheers!" before putting it to his lips. When he had finished taking a decent pull from it a thick layer of foam lingered on his mustache.

@Lessa

"You have some interesting tastes as well Hestia. I must say that while I haven't heard any of the artists, or musicals you mentioned I would be interested to do so. I like upbeat, and positive music myself. Though many don't see what I like as positive you really have to dig into it to get the true meaning. Most people just stop at the harsh lyrics, or heavy guitar before turning away." David said before shrugging. "Such is life."

"Originally I was going to be a tank/support character for Hiro, or at least that was his idea. I kinda lost interest in that when we were all told that our deaths here would be reflected in the real world. I see now that was a selfish choice. The first aid skill is fairly easy to obtain though. I'll probably pick it up regardless." David said as he thought more about his future build. Right now at such a low level it didn't matter much. He did need some more accuracy and damage no matter what he chose however. His last fight with the wolf was painful, and over long.

Music was the one area where David usually lost people, but given Hestia's own unique tastes he figured that she could at least appreciate the differences in what he liked and what was popular. Still their tastes were very different as she would soon find out. David scratched at his goatee for a moment while considering his answer. "My taste in music? Well I'm not quite sure to be perfectly honest. I grew up listening to 70's punk, and 80's metal. I love reggae, alternative, and even some EDM. I'm a big fan of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and many others groups that are from well before my time."

Hestia was almost as quick at switching the subject around as David was. Her next line of questions gave him pause. He had never really considered what type of character he wanted to play when signing up for the game. He figured that he would just let things develop naturally. That however was before it was revealed that they would not be able to leave the world, and that death was a very real thing here. Now that the situation had changed a bit it warranted some thought.

"If I had to choose right now I'd say probably up front taking, and dishing out hits. That being said however I'm still only level 1. My only skill is in heavy armor."

Inside Hiro's Tavern was a scene of utter chaos. Mugs, glasses, pitchers, and half eaten plates of food were strewn all about. Chairs, and tables were overturned at odd angles all over the floor. On the bar sat a flustered looking young Asian man with his arms folded, and in the middle of it all was David. He had donned a bright pink, and white lace trimmed apron for some reason or another and was sweeping the floor as quickly as possible. There was a look of shame in his eyes, and his mouth was twisted into an expression of pure disgust. Peeking up from his task David noticed the newcomer enter.

"Sorry pal, we're clo-" David began before being cut off by the man on the bar.

"Don't speak to my customers unless you are taking their drink orders, okay Sensei? This is my business after all." Hiro snapped before hopping up from the bar, and approaching the man much more cheerfully. "Welcome to Hiro's Tavern sir. I'm Hiro. Sorry about the state of things today. We had some rather unruly guests last night. What can I do for you?"

@Rothsbite

"Quests? I've never done a single one! Sounds like a great idea though, thanks for the advice." David said looking rather embarrassed. Instead of allowing this part of the discussion to continue however he quickly changed his expression to one of intrigue, and changed the subject. "I mean as far as our minds are concerned at least this entire world is real right? So I would definitely say that having a profession in game makes you a professional. Especially with something like singing that takes a whole lot more actual artistic ability to do well. As far as your choice of music, well as long as you're not a rapper I think we will get along just fine."

It wasn't that David was opposed to the idea of Rap music at all, but the things that those "artists" did to the English language made his skin crawl. Patiently he waited to see what kind of music this Hestia preferred.

Hestia's words hit David as if she had slapped him full force. There was a good deal of truth in what she was saying however. The man could hardly defend himself, and had no real aims outside of drinking and carousing. Perhaps that was just his way of coping with the stress of being trapped inside of this game, or an expression of his fear of risking anything to save himself. In either case it was a rather lazy and selfish way to go about it. Two things David had never been accused of before coming to Sword Art Online. In the real world he was broke for entirely different reasons. He was always trying to help someone else, even if it meant going without the things he needed. Thinking about how much this death game had been changing him David was ashamed.

"Don't apologize" He said softly hanging his head. "Never apologize for telling someone the truth. Especially if you are doing so to help them. I've been riding Hiro's coat tails for too long now. " David sighed heavily, and then forced a smile on to his face. There was no time to be moping about. He had made a new friend, and it was cause to celebrate. "Thank you for your words. I'll take them to heart. I'll figure out some way to support myself, and if I get strong enough I'll work with the people on the front lines to help get us all out of this crazy place."  David's smile became less strained, and more genuine by the moment. "So you are a professional performer eh? I'd love to hear you sing!" He added in an attempt to change the subject.

"I'm not much for gambling, and drinking is pretty much what I do every day. Karaoke and sightseeing sounds like fun though." David laughed awkwardly at his own comment. Rubbing his head for a moment he decided to explain the drinking comment so as to not come off as some weirdo alcoholic. "I live in a tavern in the Town of Beginnings you see. Hiro, one of my students in the real world got me into this game, but it turns out he has way more ambition than I do. Opened up his own business within two weeks of launch. I just crash upstairs with him, and try to keep his customers entertained. That is what brings me here today. I'm meeting with a supplier of his to collect some herbs for his cooking. The guy is always late however and I have some time to kill. What about you though? What brings you to Tolbana?"

David wished he had never opened his mouth. He realized that his comments made him sound like a real moocher. Oh well, honesty is the best policy right?

David returned the young lady's smile, and raised his right hand in an awkward wave. As his steel wrapped appendage raised into the air the iron capped head of a wooden hammer could be seen peeking out from behind him. Normally David didn't go around armed, but because of the importance of today's mission to the only person gracious enough to allow him houseroom he was not taking any chances. Besides walking around outside of the town of beginnings was dangerous anyhow.

"The username is David_Black, but you can call me Dave if you like Hestia."  The mid twenties educator mentioned before turning his gaze upon the raven winged lion familiar Hestia had pointed out. "You can call me Dave as well Kuro. It's a pleasure to meet both of you." He finished as his pale green eyes darted back over to the young woman. He tousled his dirty blonde hair for a moment before feeling like he should follow up that statement with a question. "So what is there to do around here for a bit of fun?"

"Damn it Hiro! Why do I have to do your shopping?" David grumbled as he trudged his way into the town of Tolbana. It had been a harrowing trek from their Town of Beginnings home, and not one that he wanted to repeat soon. Monsters dotted the roads, and there were rumors of player killers that targeted newbies roaming about. Not exactly dangers he felt like facing today. The teacher turned gamer was tasked with obtaining several rare herbs from a contact of Hiro's so that he may prepare some of his more combat buffing drinks, and dishes. As soon as he collected the items he was to be be on his way. David did not see the urgency however. He had never been to Tolbana before, and wished to take in all that there was to see. He had heard of the beautiful area known as fountain square, and thought that while he waited to be messaged by Hiro's contact he would take a load off there.

As the man approached one of the nicer fountains his battered plate armor made quite the racket. The constant clanking of steel often alerted the newbies in the town of beginnings to his presence. He hoped that since he was farther out from the starting area now his choice of apparel would stand out less.

Rolls
 

"Crash!"

With one heavy handed shot David was able to remove the lock from the chest. It fell to the floor with a satisfying clunk allowing the lid of the chest to swing open. Another white menu appeared. On it, it listed the contents of this chest. Fifty Col, two iron bars, and a pair of Health potions. Not a bad haul for an evening of casual hunting. At that thought David busted out laughing.

"Casual hunting, right like thats a thing." He muttered to himself before accepting the loot he had been presented with. "Hiro is going to freak out when he sees I've brought home money. Maybe he will even let me have a few extra drinks this time. I sure need 'em" David mused as he turned to leave. It was going to be a rather long walk back to the tavern, but hopefully a much safer one as players had begun filing out of the town of beginnings to begin the daily grind.

:Thread summary:

Roll

As David got closer to the log it became obvious that the markings on the tree were not writing at all, but places where the wolves, and bears in the area had sharpened their claws. There were bits of fur everywhere, and deep gouges in what little remained of the wood.

"Interesting, well I had better get going before whatever made those comes-"

David's words were cut short as he turned the corner to enter the fallen log. A large wooden chest, held shut with a rather intricate looking lock sat neatly at the back of the hollow. The warrior walked over to it gleefully, and knelt down to test it's mettle.

"Click. Click"

The mechanism sounded as David tugged on it. This lock was solid, and it would take a hefty blow, or someone skilled with lock-picking to open it. Good thing Dave brought along a really big hammer.

Rolls and stats

The hammer fell, and so did the wolf. It exploded into millions of red crystalline shards which quickly faded into the new dawn. A white menu materialized in front of David's eyes. It denoted a sum of Col earned for slaying the creature, and four interesting crafting materials: Wolf skull, Wolf Hide, Wolf fang, and Wolf heart. David eagerly pressed the accept button on the menu which transferred the loot into his inventory. 

Scanning the horizon David noticed that he was pretty far from where he intended to originally go hunting at. A tall coniferous Forrest began just over the next hill, but at its foot stood something interesting. One of the massive trees must have fallen and rotted away some time ago because a hollowed out section of log sat just ahead. This log was big enough for a grown man to take shelter in, and whats more it appeared to have something carved into it. Having thoroughly quenched his thirst for battle David headed off to investigate the object.