Astralin

Astralin didn't see like, most of what just happened coming. At all.

Dazia really wasn't in a good mood. It also seemed that Krysta had tipped off some people who started chasing her down. "Wonderful," She muttered sarcastically. "They haven't learned their lesson since that encounter on the fourth floor..."

Dazia's head was patted by the man who donated the materials, and she didn't seem to like that, for whatever reason...Astralin then remembered that in certain kinds of fiction, there was always that one person who hated being short...if there were actually such people, would that have meant Dazia found it demeaning? Even then, could Dazia find something as nice as headpats to be demeaning? The man would give a response to Dazia that left her somewhat shocked, before she returned to her previous demeanor and grabbed a bunch of artisan materials.

Sketch would begin speaking to Dazia, and Astralin would return to her conversation with Lishuu.

The blue haired woman complimented on Astralin's ideas, and how well-organized and well-kept her Research Notes and Skillbook were. "Aw, thanks! I'm glad you want to try this method out for a spin!" She responded.

Astralin overheard one player's rude remark, but she purposefully ignored it. However, if things were to get out of hand, she might have to step in, someway, somehow...

Hopefully she wouldn't.

@Dazia @Lishuu 

Astralin received her drink, and took a sip. She was actually surprised when she remembered how much she missed some of the simple things from the real world, and she was surprised how this game was able to properly replicate this. It actually reminded her of some good times she had with her real world friends. Sure, most of these were during her teenage years, but she did have some of these good times in the beginning of her adulthood.

Lishuu commented on the fact that Astralin wrote notes on her research in the books she had. She then asked if it helped her in crafting. "Well, that's the idea. It's not only immersive, but it helps me remember various things about alchemy ingredients, what effects they might have, what vanity effects they have, and even where to find them. And to think this used to be just a blank book that players could purchase and write in, the possibilities are endless!" She pulled out her Skillbook, and she would continue. "Same goes for this one, despite that it's more skill-focused. But I got a little help from a local artisan as for the cover's design. Once it was just a blank book, now it's my Spellbook!" She added, even though the book was technically a "Skillbook". Well, that wouldn't stop her from convincing herself, anyway. Koga remarked about Astralin's Skillbook. "Yup. The cover's design change may be thanks to an artisan, but a little writing is all it takes to turn a blank book into any other kind." Astralin noted with a smile on her face.

@Lishuu @Koga

The player who was hiding got up, due to the fact that they had been exposed, and it was Dazia. She didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"Oh, hey Dazia! It's been some time since I last saw you." She said to her acquaintance. She didn't want to upset her, as she already seemed a bit irritated. "You've got noting to worry about, you're in a safe place. Care to join us? We're only socializing, but I won't force you if it's not your cup of tea." She reassured. Another player moved his chair over to the small group's table, and joined the conversation on blacksmithing that Koga and Sketch were having.

@Dazia @Corvo @SketchSkirmish

A redheaded player burst in, with words and a demeanor that suggested she was a regular around this joint. Well, there always was "that regular" in bars, wasn't there?

@Charlotte

One of the players who was already in the tavern before the group arrived decided to be generous, donating materials to the players. "Whoa...thanks!" 

Hopefully any ingredients she knew nothing about that were among what she took could be documented, though she may have to visit an informant for the intel she'd need.

-Accepted the 28 T1 materials from @Raidou

The players began placing their orders when the server arrived. Lishuu was able to order a root beer without getting declined, so it looks like they carried this after all. When the server came over to Astralin, she was ready to place her order. "I'll have a root beer as well." With that, the server was ready to attend to another matter.

Lishuu asked Astralin what profession she was seeking, and her eyes lit up. "I pursue a lot of things, and Alchemy is one of them." She said as she pulled out one of her two Alchemical research books. "This is just the smaller one, I'm saving the larger one for when I get myself an alchemy lab or shop. In here I've got notes on several ingredients that can be used for alchemy, but it's not too detailed, for the sake of saving space." She explained. "Of course, that's not all I research..."

Astralin would put away her Alchemical research notes and pull out her Skillbook. If any of the players were to pay any attention to the book's cover, they would see plenty of mystifying symbols, as well as star and galaxy inspired design patterns on it. "I keep my research on different ways to activate skills, as well as my research on vanity effects on equipment, in this. I think it's all coming along so far." She explained.

An adorable pink haired girl approached the players, introduced herself and even offered two potential nicknames. She then explained that she was aiming to make the best sweets in all of Aincrad, then offered some blueberry cake to the players, and flashed a bright smile after placing down the platter. Astralin was willing to try some, and it was...incredible! "Wow...this is the best blueberry cake I've ever tried! That's some talent you've got there!" Astralin complimented to the girl.

The girl proceeded to offer the cake to all in the tavern, including- wait, who was hiding in the shadows? Astralin looked over to where several eyes had turned to the direction of. There seemed to be a figure holed up under the table, but the area was too dark for Astralin to recognize the individual. "You can come on out, you're in a safe zone, what's the reason for hiding?" She asked in the figure's direction. Koga would draw attention back to Blueberry as he was speaking of his profession and how he was trying so hard to make her a weapon.

@Lishuu @Blueberry @Dazia @Koga @SketchSkirmish

Lishuu repeated the names introduced to her, then said that she hoped that the players would see more of each other. "I hope so, too." Astralin added with a smile.

Koga led the players to the place he spoke of, the Small Beginnings. It was a nice little place, and it might have been free of the usual scuffles in most taverns, everyone seemed to be positive here, rather than overly boisterous or irritated. This may have only been the surface, but Astralin decided to be positive about this. Lishuu complimented on the place and its homely atmosphere, and Astralin had to agree.

Sketch would grab a few chairs, for himself, and two others, who turned out to be Lishuu and Astralin. Astralin suppressed a smirk. "Playing the gentleman, I see. I wonder if he's doing this out of common courtesy, which kinda became rare in this game, or if he's trying to bring our attention to him...it would kinda seem like..." Astralin snapped back into focus, she didn't want to remember the pain. She was still friends with Leo, back in the real world, but that didn't change the fact that he was stolen by another girl and he went with it. That was not a thing she wanted to remember.

She returned to her positive, hopeful expression and she took her seat, courtesy of Sketch, who chose the end seating at the table.

@Koga @Lishuu @SketchSkirmish

Koga said that he knew of a good place, and it would seem they had root beer there, too. Lish seemed to love the idea, and Astralin had to agree. "Root beer is the best beer, I'm in." She decided. 

Lish seemed happy that Astralin wanted to make friends, and she explained a bit about her past... "I know that feel right there. I might not have seen everything that this settlement has to offer, but it doesn't change the fact that us late bloomers know more about this town than those who left before us when starting out. Honestly, finances are a nightmare when you can hardly earn anything..." Astralin commented. Lish admitted that she wasn't really excited to be here in the Town of Beginnings anymore, followed by an awkward chuckle. Astralin chuckled as well. "None of us are excited about this town anymore. The only new things to find come from an occasional player setting up shop around here. Strangely, one of the shady corners around here is home to several player shops...I really don't understand why, though..." She added.

Lish would introduce herself to the other man as Lishuu, but said he could call her Lish if he preferred. Ah, so it was a nickname, and a cute one, too. The man would introduce himself by a confirmed username, and then then ask for Astralin's name. "I go by Astralin around here, but that hasn't gotten any nicknames just yet. I'm not sure if my real name could have one either, but it's not like anyone can easily guess what it is without a hint, or without knowing me from reality, that is." She answered. 

@Koga @Lishuu @SketchSkirmish

Wandering it was, then. Not that Astralin minded that, she was perfectly fine as long as it got the two players back to the safe zone.

Upon Astralin's request, Koga would look at her with a stern, stoic expression and say no, but in mere moments he broke into a small smile and admitted he was kidding. Astralin let out a small chuckle as she brought the request back up and sent it to Koga. "You really had me there for a bit." She remarked.

She had some courage, and that led her to several encounters... She'd met a few good people, and started her path. She'd had a vivid dream, encountered a group, met her rival, enjoyed a celebration, had her first battle against an evil revenant organization, got involved in a conflict, and now here she was, finishing this whirlwind trip. Astralin actually began to wonder, what whirlwind adventures lay before her?

And where will they lead?

Summary:

Astralin Receives: 5 SP(2 Pages completed[2], Quest Completed[2], Quarantine Bonus[1]), 400 Col(2 Pages Completed), and <<Hoya of Minos>>

@Koga Receives: 3 SP(2 Pages Completed[2], Quarantine Bonus[1]), and 400 Col(2 Pages Completed)

Koga seemed relieved that the two players were going to leave unharmed. "Yup... right, we should leave before any other players show up or get any ideas." She noted. "But I will admit, it's kinda difficult to remember the way you came when combat caused one to forget..." Astralin admitted with a somewhat nervous smile. "I assume you know the way, or will we retrace our steps working together?" She asked.

She and Koga had been through an awkward meeting, a normal conversation, a run-in with the Knights of Avalon, an encounter with the Minotaurs that guarded this maze, and even the assault from the pendant's undead, previous owners. At the very least, she considered Koga to be a good ally. "I know it's only been one quest, but I think you're a good person, and it was actually kind of fun working with you." Astralin admitted. "Wanna be friends?" She asked, as she prepared to send a friend request, but waiting to send it so that she could send it only upon the answer of yes.

@Koga

Koga told Astralin to stand back, and he would unleash a powerful Area of Effect sword art, decimating the enemy, and leaving one severely damaged, not to mention struck with two status ailments.

Minos still remained, and Koga wasn't too happy about it. Of course, Astralin didn't like feeling helpless or useless, so she might as well give this a try. She began preparing her sword art as Minos raised his sword in preparation to attack Koga. Astralin's Sword Art activated. "Aerrakea!" She struck Minos in the arm, knocking the blade out of his hand. Minos grabbed Astralin by her outfit, and raised her up in the air as he glared at her. "No one makes a fool of me, girl." The undead king claimed. Astralin smirked, knowing what the icons over Minos's HP meter meant. "You don't need me to make you look like a fool. Besides, you're already dead." Minos scowled as the burning embers and the blight took him, crumbling his remains before he shattered. Astralin got up, and dusted herself off. "Whew, that was a bit close, thanks!" She said to Koga with a soft smile.

@Koga

ID# 183254 BD: 5+2=7(hit), CD: 10(Recovered 2 EN), MD: 1(Critical Fail)

(OOC: Forgot to add the monster's attack in roll purpose. Then again, their roll was a 1, so...)

Tornado Kick: 6x6-20=16 Damage to Minos the Risen

Burn Damage: Minos the Risen takes 24 DMG

Blight Damage: Minos the Risen takes 24 DMG

Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 27/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

Koga HP: 740/740 // EN: 58/74 // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

            Enemies:

Revenant Minotaur 1: HP 0/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Revenant Minotaur 2: HP 0/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Minos the Risen: HP 0/150, 45 DMG, 20 MIT, [Burn 1/2] [Blight 1/2]

Koga became wary once he was told that there were other players nearby, and drew his blade. He strongly suggested that he and Astralin keep moving and don't stick around for longer than they needed to. Astralin nodded in agreement, then continued to follow Koga.

It wasn't long before the room with the pendant's pedestal was found. "Congrats, you did it." Koga said to Astralin.

Astralin walked over to the pendant. It appeared to be a silver pendant in the shape of a Hoya flower, and in its center, was a gemstone. The gemstone was an aquamarine, in the shape of a star, and it complimented the rest of the pendant and its design pretty well. She slowly reached for the pendant and took it. When she turned around, ready to begin the journey out, she noticed a slip of paper sticking out of the stone wall. Maybe someone had left it there? She took out the note and began to read it aloud, just in case there was any information that would be helpful.

"He be warned, who has the power, to take the King's prized flower. The voice of mockery should not ring, lest you awaken the wrath of the fallen King."

That didn't sound good.

"What would this even mean...who even left it here?" Astralin wondered aloud. Before she could come up with a possibility, something started beating against the wall, pounding and pounding, as if to break something down...that didn't sound good either.

Suddenly, the wall that was the source of the noise had burst, flinging rubble and stone from the newly created hole. Three figures emerged, and when the dust cleared, Astralin would see Undead.

Right, this was a tomb as well as a labyrinth... The figure in the middle was almost entirely skeletal, save for some of his head, and seemed to have been an entombed human. This figure also wore ancient battle armor and a circlet. The two figures the center one stood between seemed to have been...undead minotaurs? Were those was a thing? 

"Um... Koga...what should we do?"

@Koga

[Spawned Three Monsters]

[0-0-0]Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 32/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

[0-0-0]Koga: HP 740/740 // EN: 72/74  // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

            Enemies:

Revenant Minotaur 1: HP 75/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Revenant Minotaur 2: HP 75/75, 30 DMG, 10 MIT

Minos the Risen: HP 150/150, 45 DMG, 20 MIT

"I happen to have heard of a place with some of the rarer materials that can be found on this floor, but they are not abundant as with many gathering hotspots...nevertheless, are you willing to take that chance?" Clerisse offered. "Sure, let's do it!" Astralin responded with a smile.

Such a lack of abundance would make sense, higher chance of finding something good, at a cost of generally finding anything at all. Good luck with that 30% success rate, Astralin, you're going to need it.

The two players would begin the trek to the specified place. Astralin would look around her along the way, but the effort turned out to be rather fruitless, as she found nothing that she recognized as an alchemy material. Maybe when she got there, she would find something...or maybe her luck would remain the same. It would be better for everyone if the result was the former.

ID# 183208 LD: 10(nothing found)

Well, with the battle over, it was time to move on to the next thing. Koga complimented Astralin on what she managed to do, then looked off to the direction the monsters came from.

"Well, your prize is over yonder. All yours, you ready?"

Astralin smiled. "Yup, let's go, the monsters are out of the way, so now it's just a bunch of turns and we'll have the pendant!" She remarked, ready to go.

As Astralin followed Koga, she would notice something, an indent in the wall. Clearly, something had been uncovered. It looked like...a crate that had been opened, its contents empty. It would seem that those two from the Knights of Avalon might have been here. "I think there might be other players nearby, this chest looks like it's only been opened recently. I can't guarantee that it was those two from earlier, but there's a good chance it might be them. They did go in before us, after all." She noted as she observed what she found.

@Koga

ID# 183205 CD: 12(recovered 2 EN), LD: 14(Nothing found...)

(OOC: Darn you, LD...)

Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 31/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

Koga claimed there was nothing hurt, aside from a few bruised egos. A blue haired young woman remarked about Astralin's kindness between words said to Koga. The woman then stood up while helping another player back up, then told the heavy-armor clad player, who she referred to as Chad, to apologize. "He sure looks like a Chad to me...ugh, it's like that name bears a curse that makes people into rude jerks at least some point of their lives." Astralin thought. The blue haired woman then began trying to help the other one further, and she addressed him as Virgil. She told Chad to apologize, but the man simply threw up his hands and left with a petty, childish response.

"Ugh, what a Chad..." Astralin muttered with crossed arms. 

The blue haired player, who Chad and Virgil simply called Lish, told Virgil that she'll never understand that toxic masculinity garbage. Ah, yes, the stereotyping bull crap that Astralin normally didn't tolerate. "Stereotyping, am I right?" Astralin added. She did like how Virgil admitted that he, too, was wrong in whatever argument he and Chad were embroiled in. Everyone had their moments of disagreement and being reactive, even in hostile ways. Astralin was guilty of some reactive moments herself, so she could understand to an fair extent. Her arms returned to her sides, and then "Lish"(was that her name, or username? Nickname, maybe?) told the gathering of players that Virgil was going to be fine. Lish also smiled at Astralin, speaking some appreciative words about her willingness to heal the injured, to which Astralin smiled back. Of course, the bluenette seemed to trail off as if she felt useless, from what Astralin could tell. "We...all have our rough starts around here, you're not the only one who's felt a bit useless during the beginning...I know I've had my share..." She remarked, hoping to reassure the young woman. Lish then offered to buy drinks for the players who gathered. "Ah, don't worry about me, I can handle paying for my own refreshments, save your col! I'm not really that much of a drinker anyway." Astralin replied with a comforting smile. "Doesn't mean I won't join you guys in a nice conversation though, it would be nice to make another friend, anyway!"

@Lishuu @Koga

Astralin heard Koga call out for her to finish off the angered Minotaur. She nodded, but still hoped not to strike her ally, as this spell Sword Art was an Area of Effect attack like the last one. "Alright then, you might want to stand back, I don't wanna hit you by accident..." She said to her ally. She would then prepare her Sword art, and activate it. "Luarius!"

With the sword art, as well as the vanity effects tying with it active, she leaped over to her foe and let loose a kick spanning an area reminiscent of a moon during a crescent phase. The Minotaur turned around upon hearing the unusual phrase, and never did it anticipate to be struck down by such a seemingly weak young woman, she hardly appeared to have the strength to destroy him, and yet, here it was, perishing upon her attack. It groaned out upon the attack, then it collapsed to the ground and shattered.

@Koga

ID# 183178 BD: 9(Critical, +1 Base DMG), CD: 9(Recovered 2 EN), MD: 2(miss)

Crescent Moon: 7x3=21 Damage to Hoya Minotaur 2

Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 28/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

Koga HP: HP: 740/740 // EN: 68/74 // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10
[Regen 2/3]

            Enemies:

Hoya Minotaur 1: HP 0/45, 30 DMG

Hoya Minotaur 2: HP 0/45, 30 DMG

Despite that Astralin was starting to rise in level and opportunities, she still found herself roaming the Town of Beginnings from time to time, which wasn't a bad thing, of course. Soon she heard shouting, and saw a crowd, even. She quickly pulled out her Skillbook, and looked up her entries on healing. By the time she'd stowed away the Skillbook, tension seemed to be rising over something that might have ended, based on some of the things being said. Astralin would rush over and make her way through the crowd, with some difficulty, obviously. "Ah, excuse me, coming though!" She said as she waded through the crowd. some turned to look at her, some seemed polite, others were a bit agitated, judging by the looks they gave her for trying to get through them over to the situation, and there were even those who just stared at her...Astralin did what she could to give those individuals a wide berth, she'd rather not be close to what could easily be a common creep.

When she finally reached the scene, she was ready to- well, honestly, react. "Is anyone hurt? I can heal your injuries!" She offered. Then she noticed a familiar face in the scene. "Oh, hi again, Koga. ...Um, care to tell what just happened here?" She asked.

@Lishuu @Koga

With that, Astralin and Clerisse would leave the tent and make haste for the wilds. It would be a fair amount of time before they could reach their destination, however.

When they finally did so, Astralin had a question or two for her friend. "So, Pisces, Evangeline said we could feel free to gather and bring over special ingredients if we find any. Is it part of the quest, or is it just optional? Are there any you know about as of the moment?" She pulled out her Alchemical Research Book as she asked the questions. "I believe it's just optional... Though despite her talents and skill, she seems to be...on somewhat hard times. We should probably seek out unique ingredients anyway, just for her sake. We might be able to prepare ourselves more by helping her out further, if the system will let us." Clerisse answered. Well, there was an idea, as well as inspiration for a good deed.

Koga managed to draw in the attention of the two minotaurs, who immediately attempted to attack and missed. Koga continued his assault despite calling out to Astralin that the opponents were wide open for her attack. Nevertheless, Astralin had already planned which of her sword arts to use for the possible situations. Now was the time, it seemed. She brought her hands together, and began to activate her sword art. "Aerrakea!"

One of the vanity effects within her amulet would activate, as Astralin's eyes would glow upon the Sword Art's activation. She would rush forward towards her foes, and do her best to strike the minotaurs and not her ally. The result would be a focused spin attack that struck one, but Astralin didn't think she'd be able to reach the other target without someone else getting caught in the crossfire. Well, at least there was one down, now to finish off the other, which swung its heavy axe and barely managed to hit Koga's armor with no actual result, save for a tiny red mark that indicated fully mitigated damage. The minotaur that remained roared out in fury over its disappointing result. Despite its anguish, it really knew it should've stayed asleep today.

@Koga

ID# 183133 BD: 9(Critical, +1 Base DMG), MD: 9

ID#  183134 BD: 2+2=4(miss), CD: 12(Recovered 2 EN), MD: 6(hit)

Tornado Kick: 7x6=42 DMG to Hoya Minotaur 1

[0]Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 30/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

[1] Koga HP: 739/740 // EN: 69/74  // DMG: 15 // EVA: 0 // MIT: 51 // ACC: 4 // BRN: 24 // BLT: 24 // FALN: 4 // REGN: 10

            Enemies:

Hoya Minotaur 1: HP 0/45, 30 DMG

Hoya Minotaur 2: HP 30/45, 30 DMG

Astralin kept her mind on the present task. The opposing party had a head start, but as far as she knew, they were doing this for the first time. Astralin, however, had an ally who had been here before, allowing for an advantage, even though it was sort of small. She would follow Koga throughout the maze, and she would wonder what the pendant would look like, or even what kind of room it would be housed in. At this point, she'd lost track of time as she simply followed Koga until something strange happened...

Thump, thump, thump...

What kind of sound was that? Was Astralin starting to become fatigued and get heavy feet? no, that was unlikely.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Astralin stopped. "Wait a minute-" She said suddenly. She turned around to look behind her, and see two hulking, brutish Minotaurs, and the expression on the face of the one she saw first appeared as if to say "ahem", despite that it probably couldn't speak... One of them carried a warhammer and a shield, and the other wielded a heavy-looking, two-handed battleaxe. "Hey, Koga...I um...could use an aggro pull right about now..." Astralin said, knowing that both were currently looking at her.

[Spawned Hoya Minotaurs 1 and 2]

[0-0]Astralin: HP 360/360, EN 36/36, 6 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 2 REC | PAR | T1 BLD

@Koga

            Enemies:

Hoya Minotaur 1: HP 45/45, 30 DMG

Hoya Minotaur 2: HP 45/45, 30 DMG

The two players entered the tent, and the NPC would begin to show them a little on how it worked, assisting with the very basics. She did so very elegantly and precisely, and the two players watched very carefully, gleaning everything they could. However, the NPC would run out of materials during this process. "Now, I can teach you all about it sweeties, but I seem to have ran out of some of my precious materials to give you a how-to on crafting, would you both be a dear and run off to get me some? I think all I need is five for each of you, and I can help you on your way! Feel free to bring in any special ingredients if you can find any." She said sweetly to the two players, clearly happy that they were willing to take on her noble profession. Astralin smiled back. "Will do, we'll be back soon!" She responded.

Koga would give his own two cents on the matter, and Astralin did have some remarks of her own to add. "Well, hardly anyone likes to be wrong, so I guess I can understand why she'd try to defend her points like that...but...I do have a bit of a question about it...I really don't have a good feeling about this Adrisse woman, but it's probably just me, I'm still worried that she'd be on edge over what happened...and with what those two said earlier about her mood, well...I doubt it's anything good." She admitted.

Soon enough, Koga and Astralin would reach the labyrinth, and Koga would suggest a battle plan. "Sounds like a plan, Koga." She said as she pulled out her Skillbook. She took a quick look through it, before smiling and closing the book, proceeding to return it to her inventory. "Alright, let's do this." She said as she turned to face the maze.

@Koga

Clerisse looked a bit surprised. "Y-you want to be an Alchemist too? Ah, it must be for the sake of the mage aesthetic...makes sense, I guess..." She remarked. "I would like to see those notes though, at some point, it may help me with my own research. I-I'll tell you a realistic recipe for a healing salve though, so it won't be one sided..." She added.

With that, Astralin and Clerisse would begin moving towards where Evangeline was located together. Eventually, they would come across a humble tent. "I think this might be it." Astralin noted. This was indeed the place.

Cardinal's timing couldn't have been better, it practically knew why the two players came in the first place, as a wise-looking, aged woman would come out of the tent. "Hello Dears, I see you two are in need of a profession, may I interest you both in Alchemy?" She said with a sweet smile on her face, and a vial of rainbow liquid pulsating in her hand. "Now, I know it may seem very sciencey and scary, but I believe you can do it! And I hope you feel the same way." She said as she gestured for the two players to enter the tent.

Koga would ask Astralin what she'd said...exact words from memory were usually difficult to recall, especially if words like those were spoken primarily because her thoughts got away from her in the heat of the moment. She did remember how she started the conversation. What she'd said played out again in her mind...

After recalling what she'd said, she thought about how she was going to explain it. She hadn't said anything just yet for the time being...until this moment. "Well, I noted that I appreciated the pep-talk she seemed to be giving, then I asked what her intentions were for the speech, and brought up the possibility for courage to go too far and lead to disaster. There was silence as everyone stopped to look at me, both the crowd and the one speaking. Adrisse claimed that there was nothing to be concerned about, and began to press her own points. I told her that I wasn't one to judge, and that I was just bringing the truth and reality of the situation to the topic, adding a few examples to back up my words. Adrisse called my words a 'somewhat realistic, yet dangerously balanced point of view'. She soon wrapped up quickly and left. The players around then began to discuss what they heard rather openly...I can only hope that it helped in the end..." She explained.

@Koga

"Oh...right, you prefer to be a mage yourself. How have you been...um, handling it? W-without your magic, of course..." Clerisse asked. "Martial Arts skill. I imagine myself having a mystical energy coursing through my body, and I can channel and distribute it in Damage by physical contact. Healing? Often uses physical contact, but that's not necessary." Astralin explained. Clerisse seemed to understand. "You sure know how to come to a world without magic from one where magic was everything..." She remarked. "A-anything else you were hoping to do? I know I'm still considering taking up alchemy as I often did..." Astralin's eyes perked up. "Same here! We can search for Evangeline together, and even take the quest together! Who knows what we could find, and we can even share our findings with each other!" Astralin exclaimed. "I've got a self-written book where I keep my research notes, I hope it helps!" She offered.

Astralin appreciated Koga's honesty and reasoning. "Nice to know. People do say that honesty is the best policy, after all." She remarked. Koga would explain what will probably happen, and when the time came to get moving again, he asked her what happened that the two from the Knights of Avalon were talking about.

"Ah, well... One player from their Guild, a woman going by Adrisse, seemed to be speaking to the general public, once a mass of players had gathered, that is. She seemed to be rallying players, but only in certain manners, and I was kind of concerned that it might cause players to take courage before caution, which would probably lead to some dangerous situations and close calls, if not actual deaths from those who had gotten too brave... I know that we need to take up courage, but we've gotta be aware of what we're up against, too. I overheard some of the chatter that followed some of Adrisse's words, and in the end, I had to say something..." Astralin explained. "After giving my thoughts on the matter, we began to go back and forth, and in the end she did note that what happened was more than she anticipated...but if those two we just saw knew that in reality, she wasn't happy about what I did..." Astralin continued, also revealing her latest concern involving them.

@Koga

Koga would direct the two towards a certain direction, a beaten path off the main road. He did let them know of the combat issues that might seem to happen, but if the hostile monsters were already being cleared out, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. So these two would be getting a head start. 

"Wait, seriously?" One of the two asked. "Actually, I think he's telling the truth..." The two looked to each other, then to Koga, and then back to each other. "I guess." The first one decided with a shrug. The two would take positions on the path, then charge off, saying in unison, "For New Avalon!!!!!" ...What a strange battle cry.

Astralin breathed in, then breathed out. At least this didn't end poorly. "Phew...I was pretty nervous there, but at least there doesn't seem to be anything between that group and I yet, so..." She remarked. "Well, just say when you wanna continue on...or did you mislead them?"

@Koga

Astralin placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Well, hey, we can keep in touch now, I'll send you a friend request! Oh, I go by Astralin in this game, by the way." She reassured. Pisces hesitated to reveal her own username, still shocked that she was actually talking with her long lost friend in a world like this. "I, um, I go by Clerisse...I...I'm taking the path of the Cleric, but with a...erm, a spear..." She revealed. Astralin would not hesitate to send the friend request, though it took three tries for her to correctly spell it as she was rushing. Clerisse was slow to accept. "You...really haven't changed much, have you, Libra?" Pisces remarked. "I could say the same for you, keeping up with your own preference just fine. Using a spear in place of a staff? I can understand...though it was difficult for me to find which offense skill I could make use of..." Astralin responded.