Bistro

THE TRACKER'S ALLIANCE | LAST UPDATED: 06/21/25 | RANK #1
   | TOTAL TOKEN COST: 13

ACTIVITY

TERRITORY APPLICATION

they got to the front of the line in no time.

night had swung her head sideways hunched over, letting out a gasp of frustration that encroached upon a snarl. "now," she started, "why would you even decide to lie about the waiting time?"

bistro submitted her items. she watched as night did too. and she gave the player a grin, watching the petals be received by the attendant. "because i thought it would be funny."

"really now?" and night threw her head back. "because, if it really was that funny, i hadn't seen you laughing about it, either. did your little joke pay off?"

bistro laughed. it must've read like an insult from night's perspective, because night took a light swing at her, only to find herself missing as bistro left the line in a couple of steps backwards. "well, i think it did now," she returned to night, shrugging. no malice, no ill intent. "that must count for something, right?"

-> CONTRIBUTING: 100 flower petals. | [link.] 

bistro: claiming!

-> 100 flower petals from night.

misplaced bottles.

19/57 | -> 16/57 | dragon's breath | crafter's respite. | [link]
 | giving 3 of my working stash to arabelle.

93 -> 90. | liquor of light | dmg iii | [link]
 | giving 3 of the shop stock over to arabelle.

BIS: trade co-ordinates?
BIS: i'll show you mine if you show me yours
BIS: jk. lol

appending their position to the group chat was a quick and easy move. and siren seemed to be struggling with the game, so bistro decided she'd spend the time waiting for star's response in return to try and help her sort out the rules. it was a simple board game, really -- maybe her guild mate was thinking too hard about how to win it?

"well," and bistro shrugged, "when you're ready, we can head over to where they're at. i don't know what this 'pallankali' thing is, but i presume kali's an expert on this?"

somewhere else, unbeknownst to her, night was getting angry at bistro for an unspoken reason. but while she lived in that blissful ignorance of her own mistake, she sent a message over to two others who were likely roaming the town square, scouting -- and enjoying the festivities -- on her behalf.

private messages.

BIS: [-forwarded co-ordinates from the tracker's alliance.]
BIS: we'll be headed there next. see you over when you two are done!

GAME #1
moving the game along.
Moving five (5) crystals from Row #1:

303   (12)(11)3   [6]
230   (10)02   [5]

bistro: surprise :)

another entry into ronbaru's file. she left the details to her singular lackey to fill in, but looked over the group chat in earnest as she waited for the responses, all acknowledgements, from the contacts she believed needed to attend. the number of replies didn't matter; bistro just needed her eyes to settle on something else other than the present to keep her mind off things.

in one hand, she had a white mug filled with coffee, taken straight from the cintamani. and, across the table from herself, an associate was present too. a momentary stop by way of invite from the stall keeper, ushered by her own curiosity, one that might've kept the rest of their guild waiting.

bistro looked at the group chat once more, before her camera captured the stakes at play between the two women.

BIS: [--attached image: a checker board with numerous designs of snakes and ladders sprawled across it. two pawns remain standing on different tiles.]
BIS: will continue looking for all of you after this :)

"so?" bistro looked to the dice. it was siren's turn. their game had looked complicated at first glance, but either it wasn't, or time had passed them by faster than they'd expected. they were looking to wrap up soon, by length of play alone. "how far are you getting this round, @Siren?"

BISTRO | Lv. 13 | DMG: 16 | HP: 260/260 | EN: 44/44

how'd he get here after she did? between the both of them, she was certain she would've been present later. cardinal at play, perhaps?

(the easiest answer would've been latency issues, but we'll skip that for interest of time.)

bistro had snapped to face the other man the moment he'd spoken up. her weapon, while drawn, had been by her side the entire time. there had been a pause between them, as though she was waiting for his elaboration.

"the sudden teleportation, you mean?"

it may have been world-rending, sure, but the way the man had reacted seemed to make it out as though it had taken the greatest toll out of him. bistro herself had seemed fine. in fact, she'd moved onto other things that required her attention, now, such as why the other player was staring so hard at her.

er... behind her?

"Very, very fucking carefully, turn around."

she swept her chin to the side. was she inclined to trust this random person she just met who was trying to beat her to the mess they currently found themselves in?

"Was that thing that close to you when you looked back at me?"

"--- was what?"

turns out, she was willing to trust him after all. it was out of pure, innocent curiosity that her head did turn, and she couldn't exactly tell what the thing before them was exactly, because it was standing... too close.

so, no. she couldn't say. her gaze was trained on the rock before her as she rounded her quarry, gaining a better position from which to take a few steps back. down the length of the platform she found herself on, walking far enough that her steps wouldn't end in her tumbling into lava.

when she was far enough, she could finally tell it was yet another gargoyle. this one was dressed in attire quite different from the others. most of them seemed to be barren of clothes. some had the occasional ornament or dress of nobility. this one...

the rather large plumage (despite it out of stone) by its collar almost seemed to announce their importance and authority. it had a gnarly beard, and a pleated kilt of some kind, but the last bit, the object in its hand, looked almost like a wand of sorts (a court magician? a magical girl?) with a three-leafed clover at the end of it. to anyone, she figured, it must've looked like treasure, for while the entire creature was made out of stone, the wand's centerpiece was glittering of cut emerald.

something about its ensemble seemed off, however, as though it was missing a particular... je sais pas quoi?

bistro shook out her poor opinion of its dress sense from her head and looked around. she wondered if it was getting closer when her eyes had been off it, or if it was just her imagination. no other figures seemed to be standing out of place, from what she could tell.

and she was certain the other player had shifted. not that bistro could tell where he'd gone off to. she'd looked, but then felt her instincts to glance back at the strange gargoyle kick in. maybe it had moved closer? 

she tried to keep both figures in her sights as she turned to address him. "i suppose not," bistro decided. "but do tell me that it's the only ornament present that seemed to be wandering around the vicinity, or we might have a problem."

while he busied himself, bistro worked on her interface. found herself to be able to take notes --- so she did.

communications... not so much.

while she did take her first steps forward in an absentminded attempt to reconvene, she brought her write-ups of floor nine to eye-level, to read. bistro stood before the beast, circling it with a thorough look as though she was indulging herself in a history lesson, she spoke aloud for the other player to hear, "just so you know, i hope you weren't planning on contacting anyone you know for the time being. unless, for whatever reason, aincrad's reception is better where you're standing. and, in the worst case scenario, we might be far from home. do you need a teleport crystal?"

CHAMOMILE TEA (20)
LIQUOR OF LIGHT (11)

Crafted by: Alchemist | Rank 10 | +CD Tool

chamomile tea. | TIERLESS PERFECT POTION | HP RECOVERY III
^{For those times when nothing's going right.}

[07/10/24] | +20

liquor of light. | TIER 1 PERFECT POTION | DAMAGE III
^{flows like water. tastes like sunlight. rolls off the tongue like fog on a drowsy morning.}

[07/10/24] | +11

10/07/24

"Got it. No. Combat."

"some combat," bistro offered back. she'd brought out a basic spear, likely similar to one novices would use as part of their beginner's kit as though to demonstrate. but she added a wry smile. "just not too much."

she'd stepped up alongside her other members now, once their leader had started to address them as a whole. the brief was kept simple. bistro was taking notes already with a glance upwards, trying to recall what cardinal could provide its members structurally. the mission board was likely commissioned personally by star -- which meant its creation was permissible by the system.

bistro waved a hand, causing her digital pad to disappear. she folded her arms as the floor was open to questions. going after kali had made her queries clear seemed to make the most sense.

"to add onto that," bistro started, her palm raised. "how does the guild intend to organize the difficulty of its rumors? ... i suppose the simplest method to achieve this would be through enemies alone. for context, my business has more familiarity with exploring different locations and verifying the existence of quest starters than hunting down notorious monsters themselves. not to say that we don't receive them," she shrugged, "but our objective had always been specialized away from the norm. it's hard to stay in business with direct competitors, otherwise."

just a means of getting for intel. night said she was taken and demian wasn't interested in getting involved in personal drama. so a responsibility fell on her to investigate this start-up -- this tracker's alliance.

the guild's initial gathering was already looking rather promising, given the unknown faces in the turnout.

bistro herself had shown up in her everyday attire, more curious to inspect than concerned about heading out on an adventure. a stroll through the front doors, and a turn of the head upwards, at the holographic display. almost immediately, she took a screenshot for prosperity, and then stationed herself against a wall nearby. the new faces could present themselves excited on her behalf; she'd let them.

the hall's interior was cushy, even if it wasn't too her liking exactly -- not enough light, in her opinion, but her preferences didn't exactly matter, because at the heart of it was distributed intel on invitation.

its members were trading words. only when spotted did bistro decide to chime in with a "hey!" and a wave.

"bistro, owner of the cintamani. no sponsorships this time -- except upon request." so much for a 'hero's retirement'. "i don't usually take the fore, so please designate me with less combat oriented tasks if possible. i'll be happy to hear about the ones i'm not assigned to, however. pleasure doing business with all of you."

bistro winced at the man's bravado. in fact, she wasn't exactly sure what to say at his stand-offish nature. perhaps, on a usual day, she'd offer they work together herself, but the show of confidence he'd brought made her unusually on edge, especially given the nature of their surroundings. so between the other player, and the throne, her gaze bounced between them both.

"Shit- watch your footing!"

"-- wha?"

the oldest trick in the book, and she'd looked. just as she was about to take a step forward towards the throne as a silent, almost protested response, too. damn! bistro lagged behind the man, but she'd managed to catch up to the edge of the lake rather quickly -- while the other player was dancing through the puzzle of skipping over hot rocks, bistro had another plan instead.

one summon of her spear as she leapt allowed her to vault over one of the near-sinking rocks. her leap brought her forward, to one freshly risen, and then further still as she chased the fleeting platforms with careful steps. her spear had dipped once, twice in her navigation -- but things like item durability wasn't going to matter to her. the heat, however, she had to stop for, uncomfortable, and she watched the man disappear as he'd grabbed the crown.

...?

he'd disappeared, surely... but the crown had inversely remained. bistro wiped the sweat off her chin as she took her time stepping towards that mysterious object. one moment the other player was here, and the next he was gone?

she made quick note of this to her notes, and then a close ally. only then did she follow him, disappearing into a realm unknown.

where they'd landed up at had been a strange arena indeed. if bistro had to guess, looking up from their current position, they must've been teleported to another summit, perhaps nigh unreachable by any ordinary means. the sky above them was clear, after all, flush with the stormy clouds signature of the ninth, and where they were once stood in the middle of a great lava lake, now instead it acted as a much smaller, yet just as deadly moat. the grounds they ended up on was much more spacious, yet more threatening, than their previous platform: this time, their floor was divided into three strips, with small crags and boulders littered in between. the lava moat surrounded each section, all the way to the border of the walls of a volcano trapping them in. and surrounding even that was a gaggle of monstrous creatures, high on platforms above the threat of fire, shaped like goblins trapped in stone.

winged goblins. gargoyles.

no real exits, she noted. and, since bistro stopped to look, she spied just the same, a similar looking throne to the one they'd left behind at the far end of their gaol. she squinted, and could've sworn something odd sitting at the foot of it. a bird fountain? no, that couldn't be. it seemed too small to accommodate the size of said life forms that existed in this volcanic climate.

... right?

so enamored in studying her surroundings that she had yet to ask where the man she'd encountered a rivalry with was to be. so bistro cut herself out of her work, and swept around with a look.

"you can come out now," she said aloud, her back facing the throne as she stepped away from her point of entrance. "wherever you are. because i don't know about you, but i didn't intend to find a pk spot, without an escape, by touching the crown, either."

quite the predicament.

she'd heard tale of players going missing from that once dormant crown up on the ninth. that reason alone would've been enough for her to forward the tidbit over to her business' champion. but something in bistro had urged her to seek out the truth of the matter herself.

maybe, just maybe, her sister would be found there, too.

it wasn't easy making the trek herself. she'd left a note to her right-hands out of obligation, and made it certain to them that they weren't going to weasel their way out of their debt to her just because she might disappear all the same. from possible death, she would make sure her ties repaid her favor from beyond the grave before she would finally rest in peace. but the thought of not finding eternal comfort from her family still gone settled uneasy on her shoulders, and it maintained itself to be her roman empire on that tedious ascent.

solving the mystery of the crown wasn't the highlight of the trip. if bistro had to guess, it was discovering who had been gone, and rescuing them if need be. still, if either of those objectives aligned, she wouldn't be opposed.

but when she noticed how empty the summit was, she safely discarded the idea that this was going to be an easy solve.

there was someone else there. someone unfamiliar, and likely not as lost as bistro expected. free as he was, he would've been able to teleport himself back to safety at any time. so, not her target.

"Now what would a little morsel such as yourself want with a place like this?"

bistro gestured to the throne. the two players were bordering on the edge of a lake they had no reason to trifle with -- the liquid lava within boiled and bubbled up to the surface every so often, as though a warning not to get close. yet at the heart of it was a stone platform, and at the heart of that still was her mystery.

"i could ask you the very same thing," bistro replied. the man who'd called out to her wasn't exactly in adventuring form. granted, most players like the casual look of modern-day wear. bistro opted for the fantastical -- it had its advantages when one was out adventuring proper. though covered in sweat as she was, similar to the stranger present, she wasn't suffering as poorly in beating the heat. "not many are willing to make the trip. if you're on a levelling excursion, it might be best for you to leave now. haven't you heard? some who've lingered here have disappeared. better to be safer than sorry, don't you think?"

POTION OF OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD (10)
DRAGON'S BREATH (14)

r10 alchemist. cd tool.

Potion of Oh God Oh God Oh God | TIERLESS PERFECT POTION | HP RECOVERY III
^{For those times when nothing's going right.}

[20/08/24] | +10

dragon's breath | TIERLESS PERFECT POTION | CRAFTER'S RESPITE
vial of cold, swirling vapor. drink to re-energize one's energies towards crafting. 

[20/08/24] | +14

8/20/2024

| 13/04/24

| 12/04/24

| 11/04/24

| 10/04/24

| 09/04/24

DRAGON'S BREATH (85)
DRAGON'S BREATH (78)

Crafted by: Alchemist | Rank 10 | +CD Tool

dragon's breath | TIERLESS PERFECT POTION | CRAFTER'S RESPITE
vial of cold, swirling vapor. drink to re-energize one's energies towards crafting. 

batch 1: 85
[13/04/24] | +25
[12/04/24] | +25
[08/04/24] | +35

batch 2: 78
[11/04/24] | +28
[10/04/24] | +24
[09/04/24] | +26

| 08/04/24

| 10/09/23

| 06/09/23