Ronnel

Ronnel let out a soft groan as he made his way through the trees. The verdant voliage was making it difficult to tell where he was going, and he was half afraid that he was going to end up face planting into a boar pack at some point, but so far he hadn't. A feeling of relief danced across his skin when he came out of the trees to find himself at the edge of a small clearing. At one side there was a large rock, sticking up out of the ground like an upthrust fist. At the base of the rock though, bathing in the sun - was a boar pup. 

It looked young, not much larger than some of the dogs that Ronnel had known growing up. The beast was slowly shaking its head as it heard Ronnel come through the tree line. It stood up groggily, stumbling a bit. Ronnel's fingers gripped his spear haft tighter as he ran at the boar. The pup was still waking up, and caught flat footed as Ronnel's spear blade cut a deep gouge in its side. It let out a loud squeal of pain and tried to hit Ronnel, but the attack missed by a wide margin as the man skidded in the dirt, spinning around to face the boar once more. 

The city gates were standing open when Ronnel reached them - from what he knew, there had never been a time when they hadn't been open. The guards at the gate gave the young man a perfunctory glance, their system checking him for a moment before resuming their idle animation. The dark haired-spear wielder have them a wave and headed past, out into the grassy plains that surrounded the Town. 

The things that he was hunting wouldn't be showing up close to the city though, the fields were too close. With a deep breath Ronnel pushed onwards, to the forest. Thankfully he wouldn't need to go too deep in - he wasn't going after full grown Frenzied Boats after all. As he moved along the path he pulled his spear from his inventory and flicked his healing potions into his battle inventory, focusing on just the healing potions. Soon enough it would be time to face his enemies and see what he could do on his own. 

Ronnel let the door to the smithy swing closed behind him and let out a slow breath. This was nothing. A simple hunt was well within his capabilities - he'd shown that hunting the Nepents, which were undoubtedly stronger than some boar pups would be. He didn't need help. So when he pulled open his messaging system and tapped on his one contact, it wasn't to ask for back up. 

	To: Mari
	From: Ronnel
	MSG: Hey - don’t worry, not trying to drag you on some easy peasy mission. I’m heading out on a hunt, and this is just a heads up in case I somehow screw up royally and die. Keep safe and you aren’t a terrible person.
	

He chuckled and sent the message off, already able to imagine the woman getting irritated at reading it. She’d likely open it, glance through in case he was trying to hire her help again. Then close it when she saw that he was just chatting at her. That done, the dark-haired spear-user closed his menus and started out towards the city gate.

@Mari

Hunting meant fighting, and Ronnel was - he ground his teeth together. He'd done it. He had killed things, so why on earth was he sitting here afraid of a hunt? The dark haired young man gave the blacksmith a fierce grin as he bottled up his lingering fears. "What are you needing hunted, and what part do you need?" He tapped the accept button for the menu that had popped up as he spoke, accepting Lyle's quest. 
The blacksmith beamed at Ronnel, his weathered cheeks stretching out as he smiled. "Good lad, good! Right - I need the parts from some Boar Pups. They aren't a dangerous foe, but they're more than an old man like me can handle nowadays. I need the tusks from three of them if you can manage it." Ron's quest tracker updated with the slain tally marker and he drew in a deep breath. No bats in caves, or Variant plant monsters - just boar pups. This he could do. 

Lyle's smithy had only just opened by the time Ronnel reached it. The white-haired, wizened old blacksmith was at the counter, pouring over his ledgers when Ronnel pushed open the door with a clang of the bell. He looked up at the player and gave him a friendly wave. 

"Ah, boy, welcome back! Are you perhaps here to help me out?" Ronnel grinned and gave him a nod. "Excellent news! Much like old Zack, I need help with something that should get you on your feet and going. I am running low on some of my more uncommon supplies, and I would appreciate a fine young adventurer helping me out in restocking. How about it?" 

"Are you needing ores or…?" Ronnel trailed off, hoping to prompt the NPC into a bit more clarification. The old man shook his head. 

"No, no. Mining I can still do on my own, young man. I need you, to go hunting." Ronnel swallowed. 

Ronnel closed the door to his dingy little inn room with a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had returned to his little hovel of a hotel room after delivering Zackariah's package to Lyle, feeling exhausted from the gathering quest. The spear-user had needed a break and rest before tackling whatever challenge it was that the blacksmith was going to need help with. But now it was a fresh new day, and he had a quest that needed to be done. He made sure his gear and armor was stashed safely into his inventory, dragging his healing potions into his battle-ready inventory slots, then headed out of the inn and down the street. 

The trip to Lyle's was fairly empty at these hours, only a few NPC pedestrians moving about doing their business, and Ronnel didn't see any other players right now - no tell tale crystals glowing above people's heads. It was quiet, peaceful, and he kind of appreciated it. Ronnel wasn't normally an early riser, but if all mornings ended up being like this he might need to change his routine. 

 
	RONNEL 
	STATS: 
	HP: 140 // EN: 14 // DAM: 4 // MIT 8
	SKILLS: 
	2H Assault Spear Novice:
	Rank 1</pre>
<ul style="background-color:#fafafa;color:#353c41;font-size:14px;">			[x1 AoE] Sonic Charge (1 Energy +2 per target hit) - A forward thrust which explodes energy at the end of the move.				[x2 Stun] Twin Thrust (5 Energy) - A pair of quick thrusts aimed at the user's knees to immobilize them.				[x2] Heft (2 Energy) - Lift the heavy end of the spear diagonally across your opponent from the ground, cutting their torso with the tip.	</ul><p>	Gear:</p><p>	5x Starter Potions (+50 HP) </p><p

Inventory:

Potions:

- 5 Tier One Health Potions of Uncommon Quality (+40HP)

- 1 Tier One Damage Potion. (+1 Damage)

-1 Tier One Over-Health Potion (+50 Temp. HP)

-<<The Matriarch's Stinger>> This incredibly potent venom can be applied to a weapon to provide an additional +1 damage for the duration of one battle. (Awarded to each player; this is treated functionally identical to an uncommon damage potion) Link Quest Reward

Equipment:

SUMMARY:

"Quite excellent news indeed! Now then - young man." Zackariah led Ronnel out of the back of the shop, taking the potion with them as the two left the workshop. Ronnel was guided back in front of the counter, and Zackariah leaned against it from behind, staring at Ronnel in the eyes. "I have just one final thing I need you to do for me. It is a bit of an errand I admit, but - it will help you with one of those recommendations that I mentioned to you before." The spear-user raised one eyebrow, remembering only now that the alchemist had indeed mentioned that. The man paused in his explanation, pulling a satchel out and handing it to Ronnel, who took it with a confused tilt of his head.

"That there is your reward for helping me out so far. But - the actual errand I need you to do, is take this," Zackariah held up the potion that Ronnel had made, "to the local Blacksmith, Lyle Tealeaf. He's in need of some assistance, and this potion will serve splendidly well for it. And then, he should have something for you to do as well, if he sticks to his word."  
Was this quest chain going to take him to a crafter in all the major professions or something? Ronnel blinked, but nodded, accepting the potion vial, and the final stage of the quest. The satchel vanished - a quest reward, after all, so he would only get it once the quest was done. "Now young man - Tealeaf's shop is only a bit further down the road, away from the fork. He's on the other side, though, not the same one as mine. Have fun!" Ronnel was shooed out of the store by the kindly old man, and stood outside of it for a moment before shrugging.

"Well. One last thing I suppose." He turned and headed down the street, following the directions that Zack had given him. It was a fairly straightforward trip - Ronnel didn't have to stop any guards for directions this time - and soon enough he was standing in front of another building, listening to the pounding of hammer on metal from inside. He cautiously opened the door, hearing a much more strident clanging from above his head. He looked up, to see a much larger bronze clapper set up above him. Something loud enough to be heard over the forging, probably. 

"Ah, hello there young man! What can I interest you in? Some of my fine wares, perhaps?" A thickly muscled man stepped out of the back, wiping his hands off on his leather apron. Ronnel shook his head, and held the package out to him.

"No, sorry, not at the moment. I, uh, came to deliver this from Zackariah."  The smith's eyes lit up. 

""Good! Old Zack kept to his word then." He took the package from Ronnel with a smile. "Say, if you've got a moment..." Ronnel chuckled to himself as the quest tracker chimed its completion - he didn't have to accept Lyle's quest right away, it seemed. 

"Maybe in a little bit - I've another responsibiilty that came up I need to attend to." Lyle just nodded. 

"I'll remember your face, come on back when you have some time, I've something I need your help with." 

NPC. NPC with pre-generated lines. Ronnel forced himself to calm down and take a breath. Getting irritated at Zackariah would do him no good, it would be kind of stupid honestly. Especially since the old alchemist was being kind about his repeated failures. "Alright, young man, let's try again. This time, maybe the one that you only gathered one of? You might have better luck with a different source material." Ronnel took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The watercress analogue. He could do that - he'd prepared it once or twice before. 

The player wiped down the knife with a cloth, cleaning it of the other herbs - something he'd forgotten to do last time. Then he scooped up the watercress stalks and brought it over to his working area. He separated the stalks out and sorted them, organizing them slightly so that they were more or less even with each other. He didn't know if the majority of the plant was used, but he took a chance and cut off the roots down at the very bottom, which Zackariah didn't object to as he tossed them into the trash. "Excellent work, good preparation young man! Now, dice that up fine." Ronnel blinked in response to the alchemist's word choice. 'Dice' was different from chop - had that been what he'd messed up on before?

Moving a bit more confidently now, he chopped up the watercress, then scooped it into a pile and chopped again, repeating the process several times until the pieces were finely diced up. He got an approving hum this time from the alchemist as he picked up the herb and slowly portioned it into the pot. Zackariah covered the cauldron up, and the few moments ticked by as the system registered the crafting attempt. Then he lifted it up - and beamed at Ronnel.

"Excellent work my fine young friend! This is a [Rare] potion indeed!" Relief washed through Ronnel.

"Now, now, no need to be so glum about it my young friend! It would have been extremely impressive if you had managed to make a potion on your very first try!" Zackariah reassured Ronnel as the dark-haired young man stared down at the table for a long moment. "Come, it's part of why I had you gather several materials - I anticipated failures. It's a part of life after all! Now, come, try your hand at it again." Zackariah stepped back and gestured at the cauldron. Ronnel blinked, hesitating for a moment before he remembered - game, the failed potion had been deleted by the system. 

Ronnel squared his shoulders, this time taking one of the first herbs he'd grabbed. The weedy herb was thinner than the reed had been, so he figured he would have an easier time preparing it. With swift, sure strokes Ronnel chopped up the plant, moving quickly along its length as he cut it up. It wasn't a Sword Art, but he could definitely tell that the system was 'assisting' in the chosen action. Then in one smooth motion he scooped up the entire plant and dumped it into the cauldron, and Zackariah covered it up once more. A few moments passed, then the alchemist lifted the lid, and again, shook his head from side to side.

"Unfortunately not, my young friend. We'll have to try again." Ronnel felt one eyebrow twitch at the repeated line. 

Ronnel took a deep breath as he picked up one of the reeds from its pile and moved it closer to the cauldron. He took the knife that Zackariah handed him and looked up. "Go on, young man, go ahead and cut it up. The herbs need to be in small enough portions for the brewing process to properly take." Ronnel noded to himself and dredged up old memories of cooking, trying to remember what he did. 

With a slight spin of his fingers, Ronnel turned the reed lengthwise and started chopping it up, into short, fat rings. He heard a hum, but Zackariah didn't say anything was wrong, so he kept going until the reed was entirely chunked up. That done, he scooped the herb into the waiting cauldron, and the old alchemist smoothly covered it up. There was a pause of several moments, before he lifted the lid again and checked. He shook his head softly. 

"Unfortunately not, my young friend. We'll have to try again." Ronnel's shoulders slumped.

"Come, come, back here. Now, set the herbs you gathered down over on this table here." Zackariah instructed Ronnel, gesturing to a wooden table next to a large cauldron.  The surface of the table was scored with hash marks from countless knife strokes against it, from years of ingredient preparations being carried out. The dark haired man nodded before removing the materials from his inventory and stacking them onto the wood. The alchemist swiftly sorted them out, separating them into three piles - the reeds, the plains herbs, and the watercress by itself.

"Excellent, a bit of variety is always nice to see! Now then young man - if you've got the time, I need some help making the potion. It's an easy enough concoction and I've already done most of the preparation for it but - well, I was just waiting on these materials to come in. And since you're here, why not give it a go at making them into something more?" Ronnel hummed for a moment before smiling and nodding.

"Sure, thank you." 

Right - this was the way that he'd come when he was leaving the city! He turned to the left and looked down, and sure enough, there was a familiar sign hanging in front of one of the shops a short distance down. Reinvigorated, Ronnel picked up his pace as he made his way along the cobbled street. He reached the shop and pushed in, a soft chime sounding out above his head - a bell, above the door, not his quest system updating at the moment. 

The old alchemist was standing behind his counter again, flipping through a large, thick tome that looked like it had to weigh at least half of what he did. His head came up when the bell rang, and a wide smile split his face. "Well now young man, I take it you managed to find the things that I was needing?" The dark-haired man nodded and Zackariah's face split into an even wider grin, which Ronnel hadn't thought possible. "Quite good news! Come, come, back over here, this way - oh, please lock that door behind you for a moment, if you would? Don't want any customers coming in while we are working." 

"Old Man Zackariah's shop? Sure, lad." The NPC guard that Ronnel had stopped to ask for directions was a big, swarthy man, easily twice the spear-wielder's thickness and it was all modeled as muscle. And taller than Ronnel too, towering over the player by almost a foot. If he didn't have a bright and friendly face, Ronnel probably would have ended up looking for the shop he needed by himself, helplessly lost, for a while longer. "You're going to want to follow this street for about, oh, maybe five minutes. You'll pass a couple side roads, but you shouldn't take any of them, no sir. You want to go until you hit a fork in this road. Go left, and Zackariah's shop should be, I think it was about five buildings down on the right side."  Ronnel bowed to the man.

"Thanks." Ronnel knew the guard was just an NPC ,coded, but that didn't mean he was going to be rude to the man. The large guard waved off the thanks and resumed his patrol, pacing down the street as he made his way along his assigned route. Ronnel took a deep breath in, then turned and began to follow the directions. It did take him a bit longer than just five minutes to reach the fork in the road that the guard had mentioned, but there was a fork and as he stared at it, Ronnel felt it was a bit familiar. 

Ronnel waded out of the river, tucking the final herb into his inventory as his body sagged a bit in relief. He could finally leave the fields behind, at least for now. Doing this again later could come just that - later. He started the long trek back towards the Town of Beginning. His search for viable herbs had taken him a considerable distance into the wild fields around the town - far enough that if he'd had to search much further, he would have ended up back in the forest that he'd gone into on his first day out. And while he was already feeling more confident in himself, just plunging into that forest again right now seemed like it would be a terrible idea. 

But he didn't have to worry about that. Soon enough as he walked through the grassy fields, they gave way to more cultured, kept lands as he approached the city walls. He was halted for a moment as the guards checked him, but the crystal above his head shone bright and green, and they let him in without any hassle. Now though, he had a new problem, and one that nearly made him want to drop his face into his palms and scream.  Ronnel had forgotten where Zackariah's  shop was. 

There was something in the water, as he stared at it, that kept breaking the smooth flow of light across the surface. Ronnel frowned slightly and stood up, moving closer so that he could get a better look. It looked almost familiar, but not from something he'd seen in game. No it looked almost like something he'd seen a few times as a kid growing up with his family - watercress. Touched by nostalgia, Ronnel slid down the shore and waded into the water, slowing down as he moved through the river to keep it from disrupting the watercress too much.

He gently scooped it up from the water, chuckling softly as he looked at it. It wasn't quite right, not actually a watercress, but it was - a soft chime interrupted his thoughts and the dark-haired man slowly looked to his quest counter. He threw his head back and let out a laugh, now tinged with relief and disbelief. Surrounded in fancy scrollwork on his menu, the quest counter had ticked up and hit five of five - stage completed. It was done, he could head back now and find out the next stage of what he would have to do. 

Ronnel watched as his counter ticked upwards one more - he was now at four of the needed herbs to proceed to the next stage. He let out a long slow breath of relief as he tucked the reed into his inventory. He knew that material searching could be difficult and hit-or-miss. But now he was almost done with this part of the quest and once he was, he could head back into town to move on. For now though, the spear-wielder still had one more herb to look for.  So on he went, his boots sinking into the soft, muddy soil as he walked along the water's edge.

But it seemed like it wasn't meant to be. The sun was sinking a bit lower as Ronnel let out a frustrated groan. There'd been no more of those reeds while he was searching, and none of the other plants he had tested had made his quest counter move upwards. He rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down a short distance from the water, staring at the way the light played across the surface. 

"Really. Water reeds can be herbs." Ronnel deadpanned as he groaned and rubbed the spot where the reed had jabbed into his thigh. He pushed the herb into his inventory as he grumbled under his breath. Of course he'd find an herb when he was just trying to take a drink, and not when he was actively searching for it. The dark-haired man shook his head and scooped up some water in his palms, taking a long slow drink as he tried to plan out what to do. Then he paused as he wiped his arm across his mouth. "Why don't I just look around here a bit? If water-growing things can be herbs too." 

With that thought in mind he got up and started pacing along the river bank, looking at the plants growing at the water's edge and slightly into the water too. He was trying to see if he could spot another of the reeds that had poked him. His eyes lit up as he spotted one and knelt down, almost tentatively reaching for it as he pulled it from the wet soil.

"I like to think that I'm not quite as dense as a Boulder. Then again I did hurl a food bar at someone who I should have thought would kill me so maybe I would serve as a good substitute." Ronnel chuckled. 

"It depends on the reason." Ronnel say down on the bank after scrubbing himself down some. "If you're focused on the 'numbers' and that's your be all and end all? That's… Kinda sad, in my eyes. But it's how they keep moving forward, I guess." He ran the fingers of one hand through his hair. "Hell. That's not just in here though, is it. Out there, too, most everyone had some kind of motive. Something they wanted. You were incredibly lucky if you found someone who just… Wanted you to be happy." He closed his eyes for a long few moments. 

"But forget them. The others in here I mean. Unless you're secretly doing all this to kill me which I doubt - because like you said so far you've been nothing but honest with me - then you helped me when all you wanted was food." He opened his eyes again and turned to look at her as she waded out of the water. "That ain't manipulation." He shrugged and stood up. 

"But that's my two col. I know it probably isn't much to you but it's what I've got to offer. Anyway, we should probably head back to town. Or I should, and you should…" Ronnel's lips quirked downwards. "Empty night. Telling you to go back to the forest just sounds downright mean for no reason." He shook his head. 

"That's… Well I certainly won't force you to eat around me." Ronnel for a moment thought about trying to drag whatever was weighing on her out but considering she had literally just said she didn't trust him, all he would be doing then was wasting his breath and probably irritating her even more. Instead he chewed his lip for a moment. 

"And I do consider it a kindness. Because you didn't have to offer to help." His voice was quiet and steady. "Hell. Most of the straight 'green' players? Would probably look at a fresh idiot like me and just [censored] laugh. I know you've got sh- stuff going on that prompted you to make the offer but even so, you did." He shrugged as he followed behind her to the lake, keeping a short distance to one side to not crowd her. 

"When you've got no one, anyone reaching out their hand to give you help for whatever reason means a lot. And - you were up front about your reasons for offering me that help. No hiding it, no plotting behind my back about how to abuse it. So what if it was a trade? It was help I desperately needed. So, thank you for your kindness, Mari." He disequipped most of his armor, leaving himself in a thin white shirt and then knelt by the lake shore and splashed his face as he quieted down. He'd been alone after the fiasco with his family, and being stuck in this death game hadn't helped one bit. Mari's aid, even if she rescinded it after this quest - it had meant a lot to him. 

He'd been precisely right - watching her take the disformed, misshapen form of the Nepent Variant on and slaughter it with ease had reminded him of the hard difference between them. He might have been able to chip the beast down over time if it didn't kill him, but it would have been a long, arduous slog of a fight. For her? It was a matter of moments to utterly destroy the digital being. Ronnel let out a long, low whistle. 

"I know it isn't much to you, but damn that was like watching poetry in motion." He rolled the ovule back and forth in his hands for a moment before chuckling softly and dropping it into his inventory. "A bit ugly poetry, but that had to do with the subject, not the author." Shoulders rolled as he tucked his spear back, not returning it to his inventory in case they were attacked, but moving it so he could lean on it and relax a moment as he looked around them. 

"So then - I don't particularly feel like just running back to town at the moment. Feels a bit too like… I don't know. Just abusing your kindness or something." One hand came up and rubbed his chin before he snapped his fingers. "Right! I know I already gave you something, but are you hungry? I've got extra food from earlier."

"It was for efficiency and Hate management really." Ronnel rubbed the back of his head with one hand as he shrugged. "I'm not as strong as you are so I couldn't take them all out in one shot even if I did use one of my AOE skills - at best I'd have taken some of them down part way instead. Then gotten jumped." He chuckled and rapped one hand against the weak leather cuirass. "This thing is basically tissue paper, so if two or three attacked me, I'd melt under the attack pretty quick." 

"But yeah. Don't know if I'll always be fortunate enough to have you along and helping me, so I best work hard while you can stomach me." The dark haired man swept his gaze around the clearing before returning to look at Mari. "Thank you, by the way." His voice was softer for a moment before he spun his spear up onto his shoulders. 

"So - I do have a Stun attack I can try using on the Variant if we need. It'll take just about all the energy I can use at once though." It was an offer and a warning at once, but he figured she'd know if it was necessary better than he would. 

"Gathering is useful - crafting is. Without it we'd be stuck using whatever stuff dropped and could maybe get identified. Front line needs support to keep going after all, can't really be running around swinging a basic iron sword or something and expecting to be able to hang against the big guys." Ronnel chuckled as he started scanning the walls for any likely prospects. "While I do want to get stronger, I think I may pick a profession for myself soon. Always fighting seems like it would get too stressful, and being able to come back to a shop and just make instead of destroy sounds nice." His eyes narrowed as he spotted a glint on one wall. It was embedded into the wall, just barely shining in the weak light that was present.

Ronnel pulled his spear out and spun it around, so the butt of the spear was facing the wall. Then he rapped it against the wall several times, driving against it. Flakes of stone fell away, until finally a small gemstone popped loose and hit the ground. He scooped it up and rolled it back and forth between his fingers for a moment and chuckled. "Two for two - luck's on my side today, but I think it might be a good idea to call it quits while we're ahead and have both gotten something. Searching fruitlessly will just end up irritating us, right?" He tilted his head to one side and smiled at Cordelia slightly. 

Ronnel was humming a soft tune under his breath as he moved along a short distance from where Cordelia was currently holed up. He was a but torn on what he wanted to do with anything that he happened to find while they were finishing out the day - but maybe it was more important that he had them on hand in the first place. 

He blinked and turned his head as the glimmer of something caught his eye. One arm stretched out and his fingers dug into the ground slightly, the soil giving way to his probing touch. With a soft tug he pulled the thing up and out and turned it around a few times, then shook it clean. It was a small, unassuming, rough gem barely bigger than his pinky nail. 

The dark haired man turned his head as Cordelia called out to him, and he held up his hand. "So far, just the one. You?"