Elora

Elora smiled at Katoka's compliment as she let the pride in her abilities go to her head. She'd need to redeem herself for floundering on her first attack against the Emerald Hatchling. On the other hand, she felt that the concept of an infinity scarf probably went over Freyd's head. Maybe he just didn't have the same connotations associated with them as she did. It seemed that the accessory had been prevalent among female teens at her high school until around the 2010s, when the trend finally died. Maybe Freyd would single-handedly be the instigator its revival and would actively attempt to make them have a comeback? God, I hope not.

"Besides, I haven't done these quests yet myself, and will be better able to gauge their usefulness for future training if I tag along."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Katoka and I started training new guild members after very long", she noted as they happened upon a lush grove of trees. "Oh boy, another forest", commented Elora unenthusiastically. Just as she entered it, the toe-box of her boot caught a root that was arching up from the ground. She stumbled a few steps forward before catching herself with her staff. "Sneaky little bastard probably made that so I would trip over it"

"Are you alright?", Elora asked, her eyebrows furrowing in concern for Freyd's dizzy spell. He seemed to regain his footing and his wits shortly thereafter, leaving her to feel a little less worried. Persi-Freyd territory?, she didn't know what to make of that, He clearly inherited more from his grandfather than just reiterating reassuring words.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't prefer a fish or something?"

"A FISH?", something about that suggestion seemed insulting to her, "What, so I could have it stare soullessly at me as I try and command it to attack things on land? I'm certain I can find something cooler than that! Just -- notascoolasadragon...", she mumbled bitterly. "Well, let's give it another go! We've already used up half a day and it won't be much longer before night rolls around." 

After lunch, the player's enthusiasm was restored and she quickly reverted to bouncing between storefronts and bulletin boards in search of a lead. They soon stumbled upon a precarious-looking maroon tent surrounded by cages, crates, and carnies of all shapes and sizes. "What'dya think that is?", she inquired of Freyd, who was probably more knowledgeable of anomalies like this from his days of travel. Before he had a chance to respond, an androgynous-looking NPC wearing flamboyant face paint and an florescent flowing gown pipped up, "Oh, hello~! Will the two of you be attending our traveling circus this afternoon? We have all sorts of enchanting attractions from the trapeze to the trappies~!"

"The 'trappies'?", commented Elora flatly.

"Why, yes! Those are all of our trapped fantastical creatures who give beautiful performances! You really should come and watch!"

Elora grabbed Freyd by the arm and tugged him down until one of her ears was close enough for her to whisper, "Freyd, this could be our chance! What if we get one of those creatures to be my familiar! They're already trained and I'm sure they could do a bunch of awesome stuff!" 

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Instinctually, her body recoiled at the suddenness of his touch. A cold jolt of alarm shot from her spine to back of her neck, causing all of her hairs to stand on end while her muscles tensed in turn. Except, the gesture that followed the listing of her perceived inadequacies didn't seem to be delivered with hostility but instead, reassurance? Something about the warmth radiating from his hand, and from the tone of his hushed voice, drowned her in a wave of comfort. Elora listened intently as Freyd shared the story of his grandfather until her jittering motions slowly lapsed and the worries she had imposed on herself began to wash away. 

I don't understand. Why isn't he pushing me to be better than this? Griping about her struggles or suggesting that she wouldn't be able to succeed in something was only ever met with disappointment or disdain from her parents. Even Freyd himself typically took the approach of urging her to do more than she thought herself capable of, so she was staggered to see him express concern and understanding for her worries of failure. 

Once again stuck inside her own head, Elora held an unusually prolonged stare into Freyd's eyes until her concentration was broken by the sound of the rock golem fumbling about.  "I guess that means I'll be dealing with this thing", she sighed as she lifted him out of the soup and placed him on the table to dry off, "Familiar hunting sure is demanding. I hope that there's still a chance left in terms of finding my companion"

She turned her attention briefly back to Freyd who was still nonchalantly resting a hand upon her leg. A blush accompanied her stifled smile as she picked up the edges of his hand and dropped it off to the side of her. It synchronously landed with a 'thud' to the scraping sound of her pushing back the bench to stand up and adjust her skirt. "Shall we?"

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that you're both just dragging me along to serve as eye candy."

"Try life support", retorted Elora with haste, "We'd probably die if we missed landing only a couple of hits on these things. Besides, you're always too withdrawn to actually admire. I can barely ever make out your expression behind your bangs and your infinity scarf" Yeah, I think that's what that accessory would be called. She said this in a joking manner of course, though the observation was probably serious. "I think I'm finally starting to get a hang of using a spear. I feel like it's a little more natural for me than using a sword. And at least with a spear, the sharp edge is only at the very end of the staff, so I'm a little less likely to slice myself open when I'm spinning it around and trying to hit things", she stated so as to return to the previous topic before things got awkward. The valley they traversed was filled with wildflower fields and the sounds of wildlife reverberating from every rock-face surrounding them.. It honestly felt like the three of them were embarking on some sort of grand, Tolkenesque adventure, what with 'slaying the dragon' and all. 

She smiled faintly at his ill-phrased remark before shifting uncomfortably in her seat and returning her gaze to the bowl before her. Prodding at it gently, she refuted, "I have been trying a lot more stuff since I've been stuck here, but there are still other things that I'm too afraid to attempt" It almost seemed like she was trying to avoid his scrutiny by evading eye contact as she spoke, "Like, with the Alchemy...I haven't even begun to try making potions or crystals." She paused to take a final, unfulfilling bite of her lunch before sliding its remnants off to the side. "I know it's only a simplified crafting system and nothing like real-world chemistry, but that just somehow makes it even more intimidating" Her hands fell to rest atop her thighs, which were still bouncing form a nervous energy. "If I can't figure it out or I screw something up horribly, then I'll lose my last chance to get it right. I'm never going to be able handle it if I can't succeed at it here" 

Meanwhile, the rock golem had made an objective out of consuming Elora's leftovers. It stacked itself into a tower that could reach the top of bench, then reoriented itself to pull its lagging pebbles up and over the wooden ledge. Repeating the process, it managed to climb onto the top of the table and slide itself into the dish with series of clatters. 

Elora hadn't really made an effort to read up on the details surrounding the quest or its miniboss, so she would just have to trust in Freyd's and Katoka's judgements. A loud suctiony sound reverberated from her cup as she attempted to drink the remainder of her smoothie through a dainty metal straw. Having utensils like this probably did little to preserve the ambience of the game's otherwise immersive experience.

"Hey, you two.  Are you ready to give this one a shot?"

"Yep!", exclaimed Elora has she slam-dunked the empty container into the ground. The system promptly took care of the rubbish by disintegrating its materials into a fine mist. 

"I hear this target will a bit more interesting to deal with.", mentioned Katoka as she worried about the next leg of the campaign. 

"Don't worry", she reassured, "If we could handle killing all those enemies after the festival, I'm sure we can handling battling a puny little dragon" It comforted her to know that the two of them had previously shared the frightening experience together. She feels less like a stranger because of it. And at least now I know she can handle herself. The three of them had spent lunch reminiscing about Tanabata and its aftermath. It seemed that while Katoka and Elora were handling some soldiers and a trebuchet, Freyd had actually been facing a much more formidable enemy not much farther away. 

Elora | HP:420/420 | EN:42/42 | DMG:8 | EVA:1 | ACC:1 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1

  ♪  Elora's Battle Anthem  ♪  

Don't stop until they're all dead. Keep going, Elora told herself before rushing into the vanguard once again. There was still a fight left in her, and now it was time to prove it. Hurling her arm forward, Elora dug the point of her spear between the visor of a stationary Phalanx, allowing her to leap up and ride its corpse as it plummeted toward the ground. His body exploded beneath her, freeing the weapon just in time for her to counter the strike of a second soldier standing above her. After blocking his blade with the shaft of her spear, Elora thrusted its tip into his gut, then hefted his body over her and into another. She staggered briefly as it met with the resistance of the third's armor, then slid through it, causing both men to disintegrate into a hundred pixels. Before she could celebrate her victory, another guardsman swung at her. She quickly retaliated by counteracting his blow with enough force to send the sword flying out of his hand. He yelled and clutched his wrist as Elora managed to lower her weapon and slash his legs, making him to keel over and join the others in their grave. 

A few seconds passed before Elora could climb to her feet and make an effort to reorient herself. 

She had successfully broken through the impenetrable formation of shields. Now that there was a sizable opening for other players to flood into, it would only be a matter of time until they reached the trebuchet. Elora looked over her shoulder and into the eyes of her comrades with a reassuring expression that seemed to say: 'Follow me'.

"Did you ever pick up a profession?"

"Yeah, I...", she began to mumble.

"Honestly, you like food so much, I'm surprised that you chose to go with alchemist."

Elora refrained from taking another bite of her meal as she began to reflect on his comment. She'd never really envisioned herself in a situation that called for defending her decision to pursue the profession.  "I don't know, I've always just been kind of interested in sciencey stuff", she began, "It wasn't really something I had the chance to pick up...in the...real world, I mean." Elora set her jaw, causing the rest of her complexion to settle into a sterner expression. 

The chopstick previously held firmly between her fingers would spin and flick as she fiddled with it while she spoke, "I would read about things like the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, what happens inside of a chloroplast during photosynthesis, or how DNA polymerase would replicate and synthesize genetic coding, but..." Unconsciously, Elora had begun to bounce her leg as she stared blankly into the dish set on the table in front of her. "It would always come time for the tests and I couldn't...", She trailed off, clearly struggling to search for some way to articulate the phenomenon, "It just -- none of it would come back to my mind. There were too many questions and never enough time to think about them all." Something about the behavior she displayed while explaining this to Freyd was indicative of a similar process she may have undergone when confronted with different cognitive obstacles. Perhaps her physical and psychological actions were instinctual responses which made her mind wander aimlessly as she struggled to focus on completing the task at hand.

"Things are easier here.", she concluded bluntly. And that's what I'm worried about...

"Yeah, I guess so", she said in response to his observation of technology-lovers, "I feel like I'd prefer to have a captive audience so that I could gauge their responses" Elora seemed to be getting a hang of handling her chopsticks, though she would resort back to using them like tiny shovels or harpoons when she encountered an especially evasive morsel of food. 

"And since you're tired of me showering you with praise, I promise never to do it again."

"Well, I didn't mean you'd have to stop it entirely", she admitted reluctantly, "It's just -- maybe if you do it too much it won't feel special anymore" Freyd had taken another bite of his food, leaving an awkward pause to linger in the wake of her statement. "Diminishing returns -- and all that -- it's like a principle, or something...", she followed up with a few scratches to the side of her head. Wasn't that something they taught us in school?

Elora took a seat beside him at a small picnic-looking table in the main courtyard. "Because food gives me motivation. Are you saying you haven't ever rushed to get something done because you knew you could eat afterwards?", she posed the question between the sound of her struggling -- then succeeding, at breaking her chopsticks apart. The woman was aware that there were other methods for consuming meals in this world, but she was still determined to master the art of picking up food with chopsticks. Normally, she would approach dissecting the dish with one of the wooden tools in each hand. This time however, she made an attempt to execute things correctly. With an untrained hand, the prongs shook and slid in the grasps of her fingers until she finally managed to capture a singular noodle between them. It rose to her lips and fell into her mouth with a sound of satisfaction.

"You've come a long way, Elora," he added sincerely, as she received her meal.  "You should be proud of what you've achieved."

"Why do you always go down the life coach route when we're sitting together? I already know I did well and that I should be happy and all that", she said twirling her utensils in the air as if to imply him rambling on and on. "I'm more interested in the fact that you were a vlogger. Does that mean you recorded yourself talking about technology and posted it on Youtube?" Her words trailed off as she directed her attention downwards. After piercing another noodle and consuming it, she continued, "No offense, but you hardly seem the type to enjoy putting yourself out there"

"Seems like you know a lot about games", she noted plainly. It wasn't a particularly astute observation. Essentially everyone who was trapped inside this world knew about games. No one would have been first in line to buy a groundbreaking, and consequently widely expensive, virtual-reality headset otherwise. "Maybe they were able to pull off implementing that environmental procedural generator thing that No Man's Sky claimed it had. They could have let it run for a few dozen instances, then decided which were the most interesting results to include" She didn't know if that was how it worked. 

This particular village that they had entered was designed to look like a small and inviting agricultural settlement. Fields were stitched across the landscape by a lattice of irrigation canals which fed into square terraces containing hearty vegetables and fragrant flowers. The air around them smelled as sweet as a spring in bloom. Not far into the town's centre, the harmonious fragrances of seasoned meats, stewed vegetables, and candied fruits quickly overtook her. "So many options...", she fretted, practically salivating as she spoke.  "I think I want something with meat in it. Maybe pork? Wait, but there's also fish -- actually, chicken sounds good too" Elora began to drift in the direction of every option as she spoke. "Soup! I'll get a noodle dish with meat and vegetables in it!", she nodded to herself at that suggestion, then proceeded to purchase a meal from a vendor who advertised something similar. "I just hope this is isn't spicy. I probably should have asked first" While she worried, the rock companion made its way over to the market in search of its own sustenance. Elora hoped she wouldn't wind up having to buy whatever it stole. 

Katoka's attack against the dragon was nothing short of memorizing, perhaps it was even a bit...nostalgic? Elora couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu, like she had witnessed a similar style of fighting before. Maybe it was just akin to how other players wielded their katanas. Freyd quickly stepped to fill Katoka's vacancy, delivering the final blow to the monster. 

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be", remarked Elora. It seemed like barely any time had passed between the present and her first days of fearfully fighting in Aincrad. Maybe this comfort with combat was what Freyd had warned her about. Though things felt natural and somewhat unearned to her now, it would probably be best to proceed with caution, lest her arrogance lead to a early end. Still, she found herself agreeing to Freyd's proposal that they hunt down more of the dragons. 

"Come on," he offered, "lunch is on me to celebrate, after we turn this in."

Elora also did not feel obligated to decline that offer, "If you insist", she said with the hint of a smirk.

@Katoka

  ♪  Elora's Battle Anthem  ♪  

Distant crashes and explosions rang out as pandemonium ensued across the bloody battlefield. All of her comrades' commanding shouts felt incomprehensible as Elora stood frozen, trying to make sense of whatever clusterf*ck she had just landed herself into. Beasts and other humanoids corrupted with a crystalline substance swelled with an evil energy as they swarmed battalions of players. Their multitudes of metallic armor and weaponry glinted harshly as they scraped across the surrounding scenery bathed by a glaring red light. Sh*t, was all that she could think.

Elora shook her head as if to ward off the overwhelming sensation of dread that accompanied her confrontation with the reality of an inevitable death. There's no way out of this. I'll need to fight. Neglecting the instructions of others, Elora sprinted into a section of soldiers, swinging her spear to take out as many of them as she could manage. Maybe now wasn't the time to be reckless, but what other option did she have? It was either embrace the panic or succumb to the madness of passivity. 

Two of the guardsman ducked below her spear, allowing it to gather more momentum before it made contact with a third soldier. The force of the impact knocked him off of his feet and set his body wailing to the ground. Another man descended upon her as he hurried to avenge the one she'd just slaughtered. Elora caught a glimpse of his shining crimson plate and drove back the butt of her spear. It struck his chest piece and caused the guard to flinch, giving her enough time to twirl around and beat him down with the rest of the weapon's staff. 

Meanwhile, Elora had been struggling to dislodge the spike of her spear from the tree's intertwined strips of bark. Her only success came from planting a leg against its trunk and leveraging her weight to yank the weapon free. Upon its sudden release, she stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over a girthy root that protruded from the ground. Alright, note to self -- don't do THAT again. She spun around and returned to the fray.

It seemed that her fellow guild members had made some progress in their pursuit to take down the beast, although Freyd seemed to be mentoring her and the other more than helping them. Elora didn't know whether or not she felt that it was annoying or encouraging. Whichever it may have been, now wasn't the time to think about it. The dragon had already made a desperate attempt to harm Katoka, and that inspired Elora to act with more urgency. She lunged forward, repositioning her feet to enter a spin that brandished her spear in an offensive pirouette. The shaft of her staff made contact with the body of the dragon, knocking it down just as it was about to spring into the air.

@Katoka

Elora folded forward, placing her palms over the caps of her knees. Her huffing indicated that she was actually pretty winded by the quick and undemanding competition, "Darn...I thought that I was gonna beat you, but I guess you're a lot more used to physical action than I am..." Jesus, I sound like an old woman. After a brief stretch, her corrected posture settled back into its usual slumped state. "Hey, do you think we could get some food from that town?", she inquired a bit sheepishly, "I haven't eaten anything since this morning, and getting all the way to your place was enough of a hike"

As they spoke, Elora saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. Sure enough, it was the rock golem rolling up from the edges of a small and swampy pool of water formed beside the waterfall's basin. "Looks like he did just fine" It was honestly embarrassing how something only a fraction of her size was so much more resilient. 

Elora reacted to Freyd's alarmism by summoning a weapon of her own, which was a trusty pokey stick. She surveyed the gnarled branches that crept above them with no success in identifying the threat. "Must've been that level 50 chipmunk", she teased to Freyd with a sarcastic expression. Still, she was aware that his instincts were likely more trustworthy than her own. It was probably worth taking a closer look. Elora took a few steps in the direction of the disturbance, provoking a long-necked reptilian creature to shoot out from a tree with a hiss. 

"JESUS -- F*CK!", she screamed, instinctively hurling her spear in the general direction of the monster. It soared past the wyvern by at least a meter, releasing an angelic whistle that was suddenly halted by its contact with a far-off tree trunk. Elora slid backwards, obviously startled by the monster's appearance. "Oh my god, it's head looked like a f*cking snake!" She clutched her chest momentarily to calm herself. "I'm going to get my spear. Good luck!" With that, she darted off and into the nearby thicket. At least it's enough of an excuse to not have to fight that thing. 

@Katoka

Elora felt...light...Had the events of the night really drained her energy that much? Damn, it's a good thing I turned in early, flashed a thought across her mind.

Except, the sensation only continued until she realized that the trees and the buildings around her were shooting up into the sky. Wait, no she was --  I'M FALLING!! F*CK! WHAT'S GOING ON?! Sh*t, Sh*t, sh*t! Find something to grab! Her body contorted in the air as she struggled to spot anything concrete amid the spray of water that was enveloping everything. If I'm hitting the ground, I'm f*cked anyway, but if I'm hitting water...there's a chance I can survive! She hurriedly readjusted her position until her legs were situated straight beneath her, almost like she was preparing to perform a pencil dive. 

Once she emerged from the threshold of scattered Tanabata debris, Elora was able to see that other bodies were falling around her. Some had even appeared to land unscathed on the floor below. By the time she was nearing the ground, her momentum had slowed considerably, and she was able to safely plant her feet into the firm soil.

Elora | HP:400/400 | EN:40/40 | DMG:11 | EVA:2 | ACC:4 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1 | MIT:15

(DMG:8 + 3 event = 11, EVA:0 + 2 event =2, ACC: 2 + 2 event =4, MIT:0 + 15 event =15 )

Elora enjoyed soaring through the vaporous air as the fabric of her skirt rippled in a trail behind her. She felt like some sort of princess that was on the run from captors, or an overbearing suitor. Maybe I should wear dresses more often, she found herself wishing with surprise. It wasn't usually Elora's disposition to be concerned with trivial things like using clothing or makeup to enhance her appearance, but for some reason, this change had made her happy. 

She continued to hop down the cliffside until she reached the platform that Freyd had been waiting on. All the while, the golem had skipped and ricocheted across pools of water and stoney faces to descend before her. After she witnessed Freyd punting the pebblit, she commented, "Well, I think that could only help him get to the bottom faster. He should be just fine...as long as he doesn't shatter..." Suddenly, her head jerked as something behind Freyd appeared to command her attention. "HOLY SH*T!", she exclaimed loudly and pointed with a gloved hand. As soon as Freyd moved to respond to the outburst, she lounged onto the next outcropping. "HAHA! I'm going to beat you to the bottom!!", she yelled back to him just as loudly. The further they got to the valley below, the more Elora could make out the details of a small village surrounded by streams and the steppes. 

  ♪  Down The Waterfalls  ♪  

"AH--!", Elora gasped and extended her arm to reach after the red-eyed player as he fell into the gorge. She looked after him and was relieved to see that he'd landed on a pillar of stone jutting out from the watery curtains. Do we not have to worry about taking fall damage here, then?, she wondered as she marveled at him effortlessly leaping from rock to rock.

"You're a lot stronger and hardier here, and more agile.  Trust in yourself.  You'll be fine!"

Elora hesitated to follow him as she imagined herself gruesomely botching each and every landing until she eventually splatted onto the bottom like an egg being thrown into a wall. With a slight tap to her foot, Elora looked down and noticed that the rock golem who'd continued to follow them was now bracing its arms against her heel. They wobbled uneasily as it struggled to manifest the strength it needed to shove her forward. "Are you trying to get me to fall off?", she chuckled at its futile attempt, "You won't be doing that anytime soon. How are you planning to get down, anyway?" The creature stopped and shifted its stones into the shape of a dense ball.

It then rolled forward, and correspondingly, plummeted off of the edge and disappeared into the mist. 

"Christ", she huffed at the thing's implied sense of sarcasm, and its bravery. Guess that means it's my turn. 

The green-haired player took a running start, then leaped onto an outcropping that was situated roughly fifteen feet below her. The firm and successful landing shot a wave of adrenaline throughout her body, causing her to quickly jump to her feet before bounding to the next one.

"We should try sticking something into his mouth when he yawns one of these times", suggested Elora mischievously, "Maybe it'll disrupt his sequencing and elicit an interesting reaction" She hadn't tested the boundaries of the game's seemingly limitless programming nearly as much as her curiosity demanded, probably because it was just easier to pretend that the world they experienced wasn't one that could be broken. "On the other hand...", she added reluctantly, "It's probably best not to mess around with the coding when the consequences could be so...severe for some people" Maaaybe this isn't the best thing to be talking about right now. Elora preferred to avoid mentioning their situation or the possibility of returning to life outside of the system. It was better not to think about.

"As for dragons", she addressed Katoka somewhat abruptly "I wouldn't say that I know A LOT about them, just what *ssholes they can be if they're provoked. I wanted to capture one to keep as a familiar, but all it did was bite and shoot fire at us", stated Elora as she neglected to mention that Freyd was involved in the encounter. It wasn't long before they happened upon a forest. After all, they were really the only other habitat on the 1st Floor besides fields and a few dinky mountains which more accurately resembled tall hills. 

After her short visit to the bamboo forest, Elora set off to find the fabled Bird Game that she had heard players mention throughout the night. It sounded like the booth offered a refreshing mechanic in comparison to other ones which were purely based off of luck, or by how rigged their owners had designed them to be. It wasn't unlikely that the birds would only be trained to win you cheap merchandise, but Elora could at least imagine a scenario where earning the respect of a feathered friend would reward her with a valuable item.

“A go for you? It's one try per person", said the eccentric-looking carnie. Elora agreed to play as the young woman had already begun to stand and assist her. "Alright, then. Just follow me over to the cage. You see all the birds that are roosting in here? You'll need to select one and try to instruct it to retrieve the prize that you want. Well? Go ahead, let me know which one you're interested it."

Elora found herself being drawn to a particular, Magpie, one which had a distinctive disgruntled demeanor. Something about his displeased expression and excessively floofed-up body were incredibly endearing. "I'd like that one", she decided and gestured toward the bird with her index finger. The stall keeper smirked and cautiously unlatched the pen, coercing the grumpy fowl to shuffle over and onto her hand.

"He doesn't seem very thrilled to be picked again. You might want to be especially gentle with him", she cautioned to Elora before holding it up for her to meet. 

After they had a moment to become acquainted, the bird-keeper released the magpie into the habitarium. "I don't really care what you go for, so maybe just do your best to grab something" With that being said, the bird turned its attention to an especially squiggly stick. It almost looked like the body of a worm from Elora's vantage.

"Except a stick!", she called after it. Maybe it would be better to try a more assertive approach. "Why don't you grab me one of the items that help with status effects? I'm sure I could use one at some point!" The magpie seemed to appreciate the suggestion since it promptly flew over and picked up a tiny potion bottle which almost seemed to glow a warm light in the darkness. It landed at the entrance of the exhibit and dropped the item into Elora's open palms. "Thanks so much, little guy! I'm sorry I disturbed you to get this. I hope you can rest a bit more before the next round"

"This one may actually be retiring for the night. It seems like there are plenty of others with more energy than him right now. I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Elora felt that she would do just the same. It had been a long, and more emotionally-demanding, night than most. I probably won't be missing out on much if I turn in early, she assured herself, Besides, I'll probably just make a fool of myself if I force myself to keep up with everyone else's pace. It was enough convincing for her to head back to her room at The Humming Bard Inn in The Town of Beginnings.

She moved on to surveying shops along the path that she had taken onto the festival grounds. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that the fun 'Bird Game' was among them. Since she'd already made her way back to where she started, Elora decided it would be best to hang her five wishes onto the bamboo trees. Hopefully this is the right place. It seems like this is where everyone else is putting them. Elora got on the tips of her toes to secure the paper strips as high up and as spread-out as possible. It was almost like decorating a Christmas tree, where you wanted to scattered the ornaments as much as possible to give the entire decoration a fuller appearance. Standing back to appreciate her work, she nodded to herself, Who knows whether or not this ritual will help any of them come true. I guess it doesn't hurt to try.

Elora turns in 5 tanzaku wishes

Elora realized that she'd completely forgotten to introduce herself, "Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Elora" Now that that was out of the way, the three of them could get down to business.

"The first beast is a forest dragon, by the look of things.  It shouldn't give us any real trouble."

"Dragons are always trouble", scowled Elora as she recalled her attempts to tame one to keep as a familiar, "They're just little furnaces filled with unbridled rage and fire" She paused briefly before adding, "I guess a forest one might not be so hot-headed, but I'm skill skeptical" Although she showed no restraint when complaining about the creatures, it was evident she held little worry about them in this particular case, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to accompany the other players on the quest. All she could do now is wait for them to finish their morning rituals, but she didn't mind the slow start. "Are you thinking of playing the decoy again this time around?", she asked Katoka with a humoring smirk. 

@Katoka

The night was dragging on, and Elora felt that it would be best to turn in her findings from her brief visit to the Lake of Reflection before she forgot again. She swung by the nearby display comprised of enthusiastic youths to hand off the impressive number of Golden Stars she'd gathered. "Here you go --"

"We've already got all the stars we need, lady", revealed the boy that whom she had earlier met, "I guess we could use a couple more in case anything goes wrong" He snatched the items from her hands and ran off, hollering to another boy who was struggling to keep tally of the vast swathes of items being turned in all at once. What a brat. At least it seems like they're meeting their goals., thought Elora as she noted the kids' broad smiles. She couldn't help but admire, and even be a little bit envious, of their enthusiasm. 
 

"Don't worry then, I'll wash it before -- oh, wait, I guess that doesn't matter here, does it?" Elora wouldn't be able to reciprocate the kindness by ensuring that the garment was clean upon its return to him. It was a simple gesture that the system had done her the courtesy of bypassing. Why was it then that she felt she was being robbed of an experience that they could have shared together? It felt...backwards...

"Bait...?", Elora hadn't thought of that amid her contemplations, "Good idea! Do you think anything other than a dragon would want to eat him though?" She promptly pocketed the stone, returning her spear to her inventory along with it. "I don't know why that thing was even interested in eating him in the first place. Maybe it was trying to build a nest with his rocks or something"

She took the initiative in leading them down a trail that twisted around the rugged terrain. As they hiked, a distant rumbling sound caught her attention. Could there be a storm setting in? Elora hadn't put much thought or notice into whether or not the game generated weather patterns or even if it spawned atmospheric anomalies. 

It was soon revealed that multiple tiers of gargantuan waterfalls that cascaded from the cliff-sides and into the lowlands were the true creation of the sound. Somehow they put the scale of this world into perspective even more than the mountaintops. 

"How do you figure we make our way down these?", she inquired to Freyd for advice.