Benjamin Bookworm

"Violet?  That's your real name?" he asked in surprise. "It's nice.  I didn't know that- or that you had other family in the game.  We should definitely take a look if she really is behind that note.  Especially since items like those break down over time, so she would have had to have placed it here recently." he said as he walked over to the loosened stones by the pedestal, bending down to help the two of them pry it up. 

After about a minute or two of strained effort, they managed to pull open one of the tiles, showing an open space below it.  "Looks like there actually is something down there- and that we have to pry up a few more before we can find out what kind of a passage it is."  he told her with a smile as he caught his breath. 

"And, um, if you're curious, my name actually is Benjamin.  I figured it would be easier not to change that in game, since I'm used to being called that..." he explained with a little blush.

@Dazia

Benjamin walked into Ceres's shop, carrying a large backpack full of items.  "Ceres... finally got around to cleaning out some of my unused items.  Figured I'd drop off some of these uncommon crafts that never get used.  I hope it's not too many of these that you have trouble- if it takes extra time don't worry about it.  I'm probably going to have a few more soon enough now that I have more crafting happening." he said as he laid out dozens of bottles on the counter.  "Hopefully this doesn't keep you too busy to hang out- it'll be great to go on another expedition soon!"

Ben didn't hear what Dazia was muttering to herself, but took a close look at the note to read it.  "So... like a treasure chest, at an exit?  I've never been very good at riddles.  Maybe that's what VG stands for- very good?" he guessed, wondering what about the note had shaken her so much. 

"I didn't see anything about this as part of the quest- what do you think the note is about?  Maybe something left by another player?" he asked Dazia. He walked over to where she was holding the note, a frown forming on his face. 

"If there's some more notes about that might help.  Maybe there's a clue in the answer to the riddle, but unless we can figure out the intentions of whoever wrote those we're not going to get anything out of it." he said as he tried to think about what the answers could mean.  Though it was most likely that they were going to have to figure this riddle out as they continued back through the maze. 

@Dazia

Ben gave a small smile as he looked at Ceres. "You're not causing trouble at all Ceres.  Dazia just... has trouble with people sometimes.  Most of the time. But she has a good heart under that really." he awkwardly explained, taking a step forward through the heavy air between them. 

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced you two first... I didn't know you'd both be here.  And it's not fair that you have to change because someone else doesn't like it.  And I like how you are." he told his friend as he played with his clasp, before stepping over to Ceres and smoothing out the crooks in her . "Maybe you could help me fix this clasp first, then we can put a real smile onto that face of yours before you go have some fun too?  After all, I told you I take care of my friends.  And I can't just abandon one who's hurting..." he said, unsure of what else to tell her.  OR what he was feeling right now.

@Ceres

Ben looked back and forth between his friends, too taken by surprise to jump in until things had escalated. 

"Wait, Ceres!" he called out as she walked away, obviously distressed.  That was not the way he wanted this evening to go at all...

"Dazia, what the heck were you thinking?!  You can't just toss people around like that!" he scolded her, angry and confused.  "Ceres is a friend of mine, we gather crafting materials together.  It's... it's just that, OK?" he blushed as he spoke. "I know she's a little touchy, but she's like that with everyone.  Just... please go grab a snack and cool down a bit.  I'm going to go see if she's all right."

He looked very sad as he walked off to follow Ceres, but still flashed a smile when he turned back. "You do look lovely as well in that outfit- black really suits you.  And I will be back- I wanted to spend the evening with you..."

"You too Miss Butler- if you find any quests from the Lady, I'd love to hear about it." he said before running off in the direction Ceres went, catching sight of her just before the waterfall.

"Ceres... are you OK?"

@NIGHT

@Ceres

@Dazia

As Ben looked around the area, the sight of one of a food tray being presented at him snapped him back to where he was.  "Oh, that looks good.  I guess this doesn't count as heading to the snack table to hide, right?" he said to himself with a nervous chuckle, grabbing a handful of finger foods and chowing down, popping a few in his mouth while getting back to scanning the crowd.

"Looks like Dazia is talking to someone else... Krysta's talking to Vigilon- they're looking good... Maybe I should wait for a break in their conversation?  Or just try and see what the NPC who threw this party is up to?  Might get a quest out of it..." he spoke to himself as he idly tossed a few more snacks down nervously.  These kinds of parties were not his usual idea of fun.

"I don't suppose you would know if Lady, uh, Pembrook would need help with anything, or what she's up to?" he asked the waiter next to him with a wink, not looking quite close enough to realize she wasn't an NPC.

@NIGHT

Closing Thread

1 page of posts

+200 col
+2 SP (1 from 1 page, 1 from quest)
+extra skill 'Familiar Mastery: Assistant'

Ben's heart was beating fast as he approached the tent this new event was taking place in.  He'd gotten a new outfit from one of the elf NPC villages, but wasn't sure if it was right for him.  It was green, his color, but he never really went all in for the fancy parties, even back in the real world.  Heck, especially back then. 

He had pondered opening up his messenger to invite some of his friends along to the party, but it was a Valentine's day celebration and that might be taken wrong.  So, after a bit of discussion with his familiar and leaving him in charge of the show while he was gone, he found himself here on his own. 

Stepping into the tent was something else- so many people, and so much talking going on that he almost wanted to just shrink back into a corner and snack the whole night.  "No... you can actually do this... You have real friends here now.  Just go out there and see if you've found anyone familiar." he said to himself as he looked around,, trying to catch a familiar face in the crowd.  Or at least someone else in the mood to talk.

Ben smiled at Dazia, blushing a bit behind his scarf at her response.  "W-well we should get going, right?  It's still pretty dangerous in the maze, especially if another minotaur spawns somewhere around here." he said while he scratched his arm nervously. "Even if you guys are up for it too, these maze walls are close enough quarters that it's a lot more chaotic than usual, and I don't want to get separated in the battle." 

"I mean, I know you can handle yourself well, but it's never good to have extra risks like that.  Especially if we can simply get back fast enough to avoid it."  he said with a forced chuckle.  He knew there wasn't going to be anything spawning in here, but there was a real worry about getting trapped by another spawn they'd have to fight through or wait out.  And with it basically just being him and Dazia.... well he blushed at the thought of that.  When they got in town and things were quieter, maybe they could get some food and talk or something...

@Dazia

Ben waited with Yinangi until the coast was clear, walking into the center of the maze where Dazia waited.  "Well, I meant that I couldn't keep up this much fighting myself.  Seeing you fighting for your life like that... it's a lot more than I've ever done.  Beyond the beginner quests, I haven't gotten in any other major fights before.  It's kinda scary to realize you fight like that constantly." he said a bit apprehensively. "I was worried you'd get hurt there.  Even though it seems you have it more than under control, it's still a scary concept."

His eyes were drawn to the pendant in the center of the room as well, looking at the beautiful item she was holding. "Yea... it really is something, isn't it?  I think it would look good on you." he stated, knowing it would be a bit of a waste on him.  He was here to keep Dazia company, not for the trinkets the quest gave. 

@Dazia

Ben started his work, placing one ingredient after another into his mixing bowl and humming along with his familiar, both of them harmonizing as they worked.  It felt good to work like this.  But Ben's work was interrupted by something in the corner of his eye- a new icon that appeared in his HUD. 

"Just a sec Sebastian- looks like something weird here..." he said as he popped open his menu, scrolling down to see his status. "A morale buff to crafting?  That's a thing?" Suddenly it dawned on him exactly what kind of a thing it was. "Oh, that's your skill there Sebastian.  You can help out by just sitting there and being your happy self- that's actually a lot more convenient than the other options."

He gave his partner a big rub on his head, happy to be in business again.  With this and a nice big bag of snacks next to his crafting table, he'd be able to craft a lot faster than ever before.  And be able to make some really high level items for the next boss battle- at least hopefully! 

"Best get started now, shouldn't we bud?"

Sebastian was happily cooing in answer to Ben's question, and crawled his way up Ben's arm until he was once more sitting on his shoulder, the usual spot he hung out in when they were both together.  This time though, he was happily making some happy caterpillar noises- or at least what SAO had determined those noises would be, since there was no giant caterpillars in the real world- and settling in a much happier disposition than he had usually been in. 

"OK little guy, how about we just start our work- I'll start making a potion, and you just sit there and do whatever it is that you can do to help.  But if you can't, it's just good to have you around here with me.  I know I usually can't take you on the dangerous, long journeys, but you're still my familiar.  And still are an awesome partner."  he said as he got to work, nuzzling Sebastian as he started. 

Sebastian didn't respond very much to Ben's questions- he was in his happy spot just curled up beneath Ben's hands getting pampered with the awesome little worm he was.  Ben took advantage of his distracted state to inspect him closer.  He looked his familiar over to try and see how different he looked when he was happy.  Or at least when he wasn't halfway to being asleep.  "Maybe if you're more active that would help out.  I guess your skills might be affected by your morale, or how helpful you feel.  Ugh, I hope that doesn't mean that I have to try everything we just did all over again, but with you feeling happier.  That would take forever." he told Sebastian as he continued to play with him. 

He picked up his crafting kit with his other hand, setting up for another go with it while his familiar was so happy. "Well, how about we try a couple more things right now.  If they work, they work.  If not, we can continue playing.  How about that Sebastian?" 

"Well Sebastian, how about you just watch me work like you would normally, just sitting there for a while. I'll think up something new to try and you can just catch some relaxation. Or a nap- I'm never really sure if you're asleep or not when you sit on my shoulder." he said quizzically, wondering how he could actually tell as he took a closer look at his familiar. Sebastian's eyes didn't change when he closed them as far as he could tell, and he looked tired and resting pretty much constantly.  "So how do I tell if you're actually paying attention while you're up there, come to think of it..." 

He put his head down on the same level as Sebastian,  looking intently at his carefree and happy caterpillar, who at this point had not noticed his master's train of thought and was still cooing on the table. "Are you usually asleep when I'm carrying you around?" he said out loud, mostly to himself.

Sebastian was happily curling himself underneath Ben's hands, making growling noises and waiting for the next choices that Ben wanted to try for their training.  Unfortunately, Ben was running out of ideas on what else to try.  Him and Sebastian had tried doing just about every part of the crafting process, and didn't make any process at all.  Granted, it was fun just hanging out with his little friend once more.  He had been spending a lot of time out on his expeditions, and hadn't as much time to just man the shop lately, and he missed that.  At least, even if they didn't find any new ways for him to help out, they'd get to spend some time just hanging out with each other.  And with this game, he needed as many friends as he could to keep himself together.  He smiled a bit as he pet his little caterpillar, just taking in the moments together as a team. 

Sebastian seemed to be getting more enthusiastic about participating in the activities here, and quickly squirmed his way up to where Ben was working, and watched intently as he started going through his list. 

Sebastian just stared as he took out a vial for mixing potions, scrunching up his face and looking intently to no avail. 

His grinding pestle was brought out, but Sebastian just looked at it funny.  Which was expected.

By the time he brought out his crystal crafting equipment, Sebastian had just settled for laying next to where he was and watching along with his partner.

"OK, so that was a bust, but I think we're close to getting something.  So how about we finish up today, and then we give you some good treats afterwards.  I know you've earned it with all this work you've put in." he told Sebastian, giving him a smile and a scratch behind the antennae.  They were close. 

Sebastian was just sitting there, letting himself get picked up while making some confused sounding noises at Benjamin.  If he did have any special abilities, he wasn't going to be telling Ben.  Maybe if there was some certain circumstances it could trigger an ability, but that would take a lot of setup.

But, again, he had to try everything to get this training done properly.  So he put Sebastian down and pulled open one of his menus open to take a look at the list of different crafting methods he had, and anything that he could try that Sebastian might help out with.  "So we're going to go over this list one at a time, and if you have anything that you think you can help out with, just make some noise and we'll figure it out.  I'll see if there's anything that you can do to assist me, because you're my little wormy and always help out!" he cooed at the little friend, happy that he was working hard as well. 

Ben picked up Sebastian, looking at him carefully.  He didn't think that caterpillars were farmed for anything in the real world, though he was not an expert in anything like that.  In fact, he didn't really know a lot about bugs in general.  Still, it was a game and the rules might be different, which was why he was inspecting his familiar as closely as he could, looking for any signs that he was wrong.  "So... I don't think you've ever made anything stranger.  No weird threads or.... other things.  So if you can do anything just tell me.  Unless I have to squeeze it out of you, which means I'm giving up because I'm not doing that." he joked.

"So I guess if you do have any special qualities that can help with mixing, all I can do is encourage you to share them with me.  So... I believe in you!  Come on Sebastian!" he told his familiar, trying to pull something out of him.

With Ceres talk about how much food they could pack next time, he started to get hungry.  It sounded like it would be a fun time to be had. "It does sound good, especially since the sugar here wouldn't..." he said before being interrupted by Ceres falling over and grabbing into him, sending them both down to the ground, and making him see stars as he smacked his head on the ground.

"Ah geez, are you OK?" he asked as he pushed himself up, readjusting his glasses so he could see again. He then looked down at Ceres and realized he had landed on top of her.  And that she was laughing back up at him with flowers in one hand and his loose sleeve in the other.

"Ceres... That-that's fine! Nothing to be embarrassed about at all! We're both just messy and slippery and it's perfectly natural to fall over like that and I'm glad you're OK and I'm fine too and those flowers are really nice and do you need a hand up and I should probably get up myself too right..." he blurted out as his face blushed as red as the flowers, holding himself there for a few extra breaths before he pulled himself back into a sitting position, hiding most of his face behind his scarf.

@Ceres

Each of his ingredients had some special description, but as far as he could tell they were all assigned randomly.  Nothing would give him a hint they were different than each other other than cosmetically.  "Yea, I guess if we go this route we'll just have to rely on your instincts on how to do things.  And I'd rather have something more tangible than that if at all possible." he said mostly to himself as he inspected what he had gotten. 

At any rate, running every single thing he harvested by Sebastian and seeing if he approved of it or not wouldn't help out much at all.  So he had to find something else that he could use- or get Sebastian to use.  "Maybe you could help make ingredients?  I mean, spiders make silk, and you're a bug too.  So maybe you can help make more things for me to mix up." he said to Sebastian, getting only a confused chirp in response.  It would be a long shot if he did that, but it was worth looking into since he had no other ideas right now. 

"All right Sebastian- we're going to have to keep on going today if we want to make sure what we've done so far will work out.  So we'll have to keep on going today!  Are you up for more buddy?" he asked, his outlook more excited than before with this kind of progress happening.  "So how about you and me try and figure out why these ingredients are better than the rest.  Um, maybe I should start some tests?  But that would mean I have to use them all up to do that, so I'd rather use some other method if at all possible."

Ben looked over the parts that Sebastian had picked, not really seeing any visible difference between any of them, and then opened up his menu to see the item description for each of them, hoping to find some differences.  And found that although the item descriptions were long, they didn't really help out a lot. 

Sebastian took a few sniffs at the ingredients that Ben had laid out this time, taking his time to check them out one at a time.  Under his partner's watchful eyes, he picked out two different leaves and made some trilling noises at them until Ben put them off to the side.  Then chirped happily after he was finished up, waiting until Ben gave him a little treat afterwards. 

"Good boy Sebastian, looks like we have a few contenders for good materials to work with.  Or at least better than usual. The problem is... I don't know what else I can do with this knowledge." he told Sebastian, placing the ones he identified off to the side.  It looked like Sebastian was finally starting to get the hang of actually helping out around the potion stand.  Maybe this training would actually work out in the end.  Or at least show him some new ways for crafting.

Sebastian started plodding along, taking a bit of a sniff at each of the bits offered, though a bit slower than usual since he was less enthusiastic about just checking things by scent and not eating them. He did as he was told though, and dutifully took in the scent of each item, seeming to mull it over for a while before moving on to the next one.

"All right Sebastian,  what did you think of those? Are any of the ingredients here any better quality than the others, or are you still trying to figure it out?" Ben asked as his familiar sat back on the crafting table deep in thought. Or just done with whatever he needed to do and was waiting for further instructions.  It wasn't really clear to Ben, so he gave his familiar a minute or two to figure things out. Rushing him wouldn't help out with the training they were working on at all.

Sebastian seemed to finally cool down from his little fit, and began crawling over to what Ben had offered him, sniffing and poking at the different leaves before giving off a quizzical look and seeming to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. He poked at the leaves that Ben offered, but after inspecting them didn't seem more interested in any of them.

"Well, I guess none of these ones were any better than the others? Is that what you're telling me?" he asked Sebastian, getting a quizzical look as a response.  He dug around in his bag and searched until he found a few more leaves and bits of moss from his last material expedition to try with next.  "Well how about we try it again with these bits I found.  I'll show you them one at a time, and you take a whiff and tell me if it's good or not, OK?"

Of course, after all this time Ben had gotten used to his familiar's little tricks.  As cute as he looked right now, Ben had dealt with this act before.  He waited for about a minute, watching as Sebastian tried the sad eyes first, then bowed his head down like he was crying, then rolling onto his side and acting like he was starving.  Sebastian had done this little act before, and Ben just watched and waited until he was done.

"Now that we've finished up with that, it's time for you to start doing something useful this time, OK? Just start taking a whiff and tell me what you feel.  It'll be easy partner." Ben encouraged his familiar, once more holding out his hand with some leaves to gauge his reaction to them.  "Just tell me which of these you think are going to be the best for me to use. Then you can have all the snacks you want afterwards."