Elora

Now that amends had - sort of - been made, Elora took the initiative to begin their battle in a clearing nearby the Treant civilization, if you could even call it that. Without waiting for the other two to collaborate on a strategy with her, the player rushed into attacking the first few Elven soldiers that she noticed were patrolling the grounds. The first thrust of her spear passed over the shoulder of one as he crouched to inspect a sapling that he suspected was a spy sent to perform recognizance for the Treants. Her failure to eliminate him swiftly gave the guard an opportunity to alert the rest of his battalion, "I need help! There's a traitor trying to kill me!" Normally, Elora would have found it cute that the game pretended the NPCs couldn't distinguish her as a player, but right now, the gimmick just frustrated her more. "Stop trying to make me sympathize with you and just let me kill you already!" 

She took sloppily-coordinated swings at each new enemy that responded to the call, somehow failing to hit all of them in her distraction. "Goddammit, how are these ones so evasive?", she hissed in anger.

"Man, that was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be." Elora nodded and returned the smile. While this battle was more physically-demanding than those previous, she had, much to her surprise, enjoyed dancing beside Katoka as they fought. There was something about the music that helped Elora hone her focus and become truly immersed in the expression of her actions and the intention behind each attack. In the future, I should probably try to be as mindful of my movements as I was today. 

"Yeah, a hot spring sounds amazing", she confirmed to Katoka with a sigh of contentment. 

"Those peasants killed Ghidorah and The Galavants before they could debut at the Humming Bard Inn and get their big break!", proclaimed a lanky elf with an accusatory gesture.

"KILL THEM!!", ordered his equally feisty but far stouter companion.

"Well, uhhhh, it sounds like the Elves are getting pretty angry let's get out of here before they --trytochaseus -- Sh*t, RUN!!", screamed Elora as the three of them began to run away from the hoard of super-fans. 

Thread Summary:

Each player receives:

3 SP (1 page + 1 event + 1 quest)

Katoka gets additional + 1 SP for using Slime Farm

350 col

<Ghidorah’s Opal> [Vanity Quest Item] : 1 of 9

Elora sighed and stepped between the two, briefly meeting Katoka's eyes with her own to communicate that there was no need to cause bloodshed over a petty remark. "Alright, alright, calm down", she began before turning to regard Chaser, "We haven't even started the fight yet, and this definitely isn't a safe way to enter one" Her tone seemed to strike a balance between both reprimanding and placating the players for their words and actions. Perhaps it was a bit harsh, but Elora didn't have any practice with mediating conflict, and there was no reason for p**syfooting around the discussion when their lives were about to be at stake. 

Since the party had come to a standstill, Elora had noticed that the leaves around them were becoming exceptionally noisy, almost as if the wind was combing through them and rattling their stems like jazz hands at a poetry slam. Christ, are we in the middle of a storm of something? The gargantuan shadows that rose up and extended over the grounds surrounding them told her otherwise. "Speaking of which, I think that we're here" 

@Katoka

After a fleeting handshake to seal the deal, Elora followed Freyd's eyes downward to revere her companion, and this moment, in equal importance. "Alright, little guy, I think you've fought hard enough to earn this", she spoke in a compassionate voice as she crouched down and drew closer to his height. Digging through the small sack of feed, she retrieved a few of the familiar-taming pellets and offered them up to Borris in an open palm. "I hope that if there's anything you can teach me, it's how to stand strong in the face of adversity" It was a rather cliche request, almost akin to one that would be read from a fairytale upon a knight's christening. Nevertheless, it was a sincere wish of Elora's, and she hoped that one day, that they'd be able to see it through. "I'll do my best to look after you, even though I'm fairly certain that you're able to handle yourself"

The magnetic rock golem slid into Elora's hand and enveloped the threats, it's headstone grating against another of it's larger pebbles to grind them into a fine powder before they dissolved into nothingness. "Err...so I guess that's how it eats things? I was always wondering about that. I guess it's a relief that he's able to consume anything at all. Just imagine if we'd spent this much time trying to find him only to find out that his behavior adhered to the laws of digestion from the natural world" It was probably wise that she'd stopped herself from delving into the intricacies and intrigue of animal anatomy.

Borris on the other hand, appeared to rattle with excitement upon commiserating their commitments to one another -- though she wasn't necessarily sure on whether or not he had made any promises to help her. Reforming into a chain, he clambered around her wrist, adopting the appearance of a hefty river-stone bracelet. Sh*t, he's actually a lot heavier than I thought. I'm gonna have to get use to the feeling of constantly lifting weights with this hand if I'm ever gonna be able to carry him. 

Elora lowered her arm and clutched her wrist in a way that allowed her to support the familiar. Although the awkward gesture was made out of a physical necessity to divert the strain of his weight, there was a possibly for it to be misinterpreted as a sign of coyness. 

"Thank you, Freyd. For all of this. I don't know that I ever would have been able to capture Borris without your help. I probably would have ended up dead -- or even worse -- with that stupid dragon as a companion!" Her golem clattered to echo his disdain for the creature. "Geez, can you believe the day is already almost over because of our hike back up here?" It definitely wasn't because of her sleeping in. "We should probably start making our way back to the portal. I guess from there we'll go our separate ways?"

Elora hadn't realized that Freyd had witnessed their fight against the trebuchet and its defenders on that calamitous night. After all, she assumed he'd disappeared from Tanabata entirely after running into her during the evening's anticipated festivities. The circumstances of it all seemed ridiculous to look back on now, but still, Elora regarded the act of defeating four of the guardsmen all at once as one of her proudest accomplishments in SAO. There was something special about being able to share that success and so many other small victories with Freyd. A feeling of contentment began to manifest inside of her, his reassurances giving her hope that she could achieve even greater endeavors, if only she had the confidence to pursue them. 

"You've helped me realize what it means... to feel human" She wasn't entirely sure of what to make of that remark, but maybe, he didn't say it with the intention of being understood. Freyd was an illusive individual who scarcely revealed what he was thinking or feeling. Instead, his approach required her to stitch together the clues of his conscience, almost like he was constructing a trail of bread crumbs that she needed follow if she ever wanted to know the truth. Maybe that's just his way of gaging interest, or something. I don't know, seems more complicated to me than it needs to be. Then again, she had no right to make that claim, given the situation they were currently in. 

"I'll keep you human if you keep me humble", she proclaimed without a second thought. Oh wow -- I actually just said that. He's either gonna think it was clever or extremely cheesy. Either way, Elora couldn't help by chuckle in embarrassment at him having to see her like this -- with tears trickling down her flushed face and the smudge of dirt from earlier still strewn beside one eye. She felt inclined to evade his gaze, but was unsure of how to avoid doing so awkwardly, what with his hands still firmly clasped around her shoulders. Thankfully, Borris provided an opportune outlet, as he had stacked himself into a tower of pebbles to try and reach the pouch of treats resting at Elora's hip. It was rather difficult not to be distracted by his presence, as the structure he'd created wavered and tilted dramatically from every little gust of wind that passed between them. "Guess it's time to give this guy some food, huh?", she joked and sniffled through a smile. "What do you think, do we look like a match made in heaven?"

  ♪  Heaven and Hell  ♪  

Elora dug the toe of her boot into the sandy ground as Freyd retorted, arms tightening around herself in an futile attempt to retreat from his words.

"Don't be so quick to judge choices you are not prepared to make yourself." 

The assertion made Elora's heart sink. He's right. Her eyes began to burn as a wave of guilt washed over her, I'm not ready to prioritize helping anyone over helping myself... As Freyd began to walk away from her, Elora could feel her chest tighten and her breathing stagger. She couldn't find the ambition to make herself go after him -- to admit that she was wrong. To admit that she was the broken one.

The truth was that she hadn't been ready to hear the reality of it, especially not from him. Freyd had done so much to help her leave the first floor behind, ensuring that she was safe since the day the two of them had met. And how did she repay him? By calling him selfish and accusing him of having ulterior motives. It wasn't fair of her to threat him that way, even when he insisted that it didn't matter...even if an apology didn't repair the damage that she'd done...

She turned to follow him with an outstretched hand. "Freyd, don't --" Her footing fumbled over a pile of smooth, onyx-colored magnetic stones. That cheeky-- She couldn't be bothered to humor Borris as he circled her feet in search of food. With a gloved hand landing on her friend's shoulder, she managed to regain her balance. "You're right. And I'm sorry...", admitted Elora in a quiet and remorseful voice. Her shaking hand wavered, then settled into a tighter grasp around his shoulder. "It bothers me...that you're willing to do things like this...that you're able to sacrifice your time, your safety, and even your happiness just to make sure that other people don't have to do the same. I don't -- I don't know what I would do...if I gave as much as you and still wasn't appreciated for it...", she took a ragged inhale, indicating that what she was about to say took more courage for her to share, "I feel like my whole life that I tried -- and that it didn't make a difference, because no matter how much I wanted to succeed, no one wanted to help me if I struggled to carry my own weight. No matter what I accomplished, it was never good enough to please the people who expected more from me." By this point, tears were streaming down Elora's cheeks and each sentence was becoming increasingly more difficult for her to utter. "I guess I just -- I'm afraid and I'm angry that I'm expected to owe my help to other people who won't -- who won't appreciate the extra efforts I go through or recognize how far that I've come."

Finally, she released her hand, slowly lowering it until it clasped her opposite forearm. "I don't feel like I'm good enough or strong enough to stand up for other people...and...I'm jealous that you're so much more capable of being a leader than I could ever hope to be..."

"Operations and...what...? That just makes it sound like you're doing shady reconnaissance for them or something? I guess I wouldn't be too surprised. That does seem to fit your whole...", she gestured at him with splayed fingers as she struggled to search for the word, "Get-up" 

"I mean, this outfit is super-comfortable", he began with his explanation. Elora's face seemed to tense at that last part.

"I don't know how you can do it", she said with a sigh and a half-hearted smile. Although the path was widening as they neared the summit, Elora's shoulders slumped, the silhouette of her body being made smaller as she started to close off from the conversation. You should worry about what they think, she concluded in her head. 

Elora spared a fleeting glance over to the emerald cursor that bobbed indifferently above his head. The admission of his manipulative nature and the darker desires it disguised sent an unwelcome chill down her spine. Her hands clasped the edges of her cloak, pulling its fabric in a comfortless embrace around her shoulders as she evaded his eyes to reflect on his remarks.  

"You wouldn't care less what color it was if it didn't impact how people thought of you" The abrasive phrasing of her assertion was probably a bad call if his intention really was to threaten her. Whatever. It's not like I'd stand a chance against him anyway if that's really what this is leading up to. "Besides, if you don't want to be a leader, why are you wasting your time? What's even in it for you?"

A flurry of sadness, fear, and anger began to manifest in Elora's trembling voice. She didn't have the control that she needed to tranquilize her nerves, to suppress her emotions, and to force herself from needlessly escalating a situation. 

"But it's not about that, is it? It's what's in it for other people that matters", she practically hissed through clenched teeth. 

As the two of them were walking, Elora took advantage of their spare time to down one of the elixirs that she was given. It wasn't the tastiest way to top off a backpacker's breakfast, but she wasn't about to complain since the item would increase her odds of befriending Borris. Freyd and her soon made their way through the farming settlement and were beginning their accent up the cliffside, this time sticking to a narrow trail that wound around its slope. 

"You're really starting to sound more like a leader whenever you talk", brought up Elora during one of the pair's lengthy silences, "I know that level-wise you're pretty strong, but where is all the other influence coming from?" The phrasing of the question probably could have been tailored to sound less skeptical and envious of his progress. After all, it was meant as more of a way to learn about his life in this game aside from their interactions with one another than it was to study his scheme for achieving popularity. 

Elora's posture seemed to perk up at the sight of food. She hadn't expected that Freyd would have any on hand, but she sure as hell was thankful that he did. Reaching out, she accepted one of the pastries, leaving the other untouched for him to finish off. "Who's that?", she asked curiously while peering over his shoulder as he typed out and sent an item-request, "Another guild member?"

It wasn't long before a curvy orange-haired women appeared and shared with them tools to aid them in their search. Elora couldn't help but feel embarrassed that it had come to this, but she figured she might as well accept the help. Otherwise there was a chance that they'd spend the entirety of another day looking, only to come up empty-handed. Elora devoured her breakfast and thanked their guild-mate for her assistance before she bid them goodbye. 

"Well...", she began as she stood up and tied her hair into its usual arrangement, "Where do you say we start next. Maybe we could retrace our steps back to where we first found Borris? He probably lives somewhere up that plateau we were previously on"

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

So Katoka is...into women? Having grown up in a small town in the Irish countryside, Elora hadn't held any interactions with someone who was queer, at least, not anyone that she knew was attracted to the same sex. The reveal caught her a bit off-guard, and she wasn't confident in her ability to address such an unfamiliar topic with care. Best not to pry about it now. 

Then came a question about Freyd. It felt like it came from out of nowhere. Was Katoka trying to move on from the topic too? "Uh...spicy is not a word I would use to describe it, no", Elora couldn't help but blush in response to what she felt the small samurai was implying, "He's just been...really nice to me is all...I think he likes to help me learn more about the game when he can be there to keep an eye on me. I think my impulsiveness worries him more than he'd like to admit"

"... Be careful of him.", Casher warned, "... He can be... offputting. Don't trust him too much."

"Offputting?" It's not the first word that Elora would have used to describe him. "Why, do you and him have beef or something?" That was something that Elora could see being the case. 

@Katoka

Elora's body seemed accustomed to sleeping in, since the bright light from the morning sun did nothing to rustle her awake. Instead, she just retreated further and further away from it, until eventually, her face was completely buried against Freyd's arm. Drool trickled out of her gaping mouth and her limbs seemed to twitch and spasm randomly while she dreamt. Finally, one such movement occurred with enough force that it caused her head to lurch forward. Elora awoke just in time to prevent her body from falling over.

"Wha--whatdidyou...?", she mumbled in a daze before looking around and realizing she was sitting where she had passed out the previous night. Oh, that's right... She rubbed the side of her head with a gloved hand, smearing dirt across it without even realizing. Noticing that Freyd was still beside her, she asked, "Did we...did you get any sleep...?" She could barely finish speaking before yawning loudly. Leaning against Freyd had somehow undone one of the bows from the front of her hair. The rest of her emerald locks hung in a snarled mess, serving as a reminder of the evening's hectic events. Elora rolled her shoulders, then began to stretch her arms above her head. "Man, what a night. I feel drained", a lengthy growl from her stomach interjected the conversation, "And hungry..."

Elora simply waved to Chase with a smirk, as there was really no reason to elaborate on the introductions Katoka that had made. Elora basked awkwardly in the female player's compliments, which caused a blush to stretch from ear to ear across her face. She began to wonder if it was even possible to make an enemy of Katoka with how welcoming she seemed to be. "Sure, dinner will be on me", agreed Elora. She didn't have all that much money in her inventory, but,  It's the least that I can do for making her wait. 

"Makes sense now.", said Chase as he concluded his statement. Was that meant to be some sort of threat? Was he even originally invited to join us on this quest? I'm pretty sure that we could manage without him. Katoka having a love life was news to her, so Elora remained quiet in hopes that she could gain some insight from the girl's response. 

Elora watched in awe as Katoka flowed through the enemies like water, then struck the dragon with a powerful attack. Fluorescent colors sprayed through the air like dancers twirling their glow sticks at a rave. 

"You're up partner!"

Had she spaced out? Katoka's dancing was captivating to the point that Elora had lost track of time. "Sorry, I wasn't paying enough attention. I'm on it!" The elven chanting grew angrier and more discordant as the ferocity of rattling maracas and shaking tambourines seemed to swell. Their clamoring did nothing but fuel Elora's drive finish the beast. I am a mighty warrior, she thought in a sort of pep-talk to herself. Dashing forward, her weight shuffled between her legs as she hopped from side to side until she neared the dragon. Locking her right leg, she pivoted her hips and and swayed to the rhythm as the rest of her body carried her spear across the length of the dragon's scaly belly. Its point gauged its thick skin from one end to the other until it eventually erupted in flames to mark its defeat. 

"Freyd, would you do the honors?", she asked soon after with a nod toward the pair of elven performers.

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

Before Katoka could even say the word, Elora was on her way to taking down the dragon. Her feet seemed to maneuver swiftly in rhythm with the music as she twirled around scattered saplings and hopped across mossy rocks. Once she was close enough, she set her eyes on the dragon and --

"EEEEAAP"

A shrill note grated against the woman's ears as Katoka slayed the second elf, causing him to suddenly scrape the high strings of his instrument. The horrible cacophony caused Elora to fumble her attack and miss the dragon completely. She cussed beneath her breath before looking over her shoulder and catching sight of the little samurai busting moves out on the battlefield. Well damn, that's impressive!

An assemble of elves began to pour out from the woodworks and congregate around the players, chanting and clapping enthusiastically as they sent two more elven musicians out to represent them: Maraca Malachi and Tambourine Terry. Elora laughed nervously about the energy created by the crowd. She was expecting to have an audience during this duel. "Leave it to me, I'll get a hit on that dragon next round", she nodded in reassurance to both herself and Katoka. After all, fighting is really just like a dance with higher stakes, isn't it? She looked over to Freyd after a defense of their shenanigans had been properly prepared, "This'll help us learn how to maneuver and time our footwork with our swings. A-and maybe help with performance anxiety?" It seemed like she was half-explaining, half-speculating how the environment of their exercise could serve as beneficial training.

"An old...blueberry...?", asked Elora with squinted eyes and a confused expression. Once the male player standing beside her removed his helmet to reveal a mop of cerulean-colored hair, she was able to make the connection. Looks more like a gooberry than anything else. What the hell is he wearing?, she thought as she eyed his armor from toe to head -- their eyes suddenly locking with one another. Was he glaring at her? Just then he leaned over, seemingly whispering a warning to Katoka. Elora's ears perked up as she attempted to ease drop on the conversation. "I'll stick with you. I don't want you two dying..." She had missed that last part. 

"You'll stick with us by choice or because your armor won't let you get away?" It was a serious question with an admittedly provocative undertone. The ooze looked incredibly sticky, almost like it had the same consistency and quality of honey. "Yeah, I did", she said, finally answering Katoka's question. "I forgot that we were meeting here today and I totally overslept. I hope you weren't waiting too long"

@Katoka

  ♪  A Restful Sleep  ♪  

"Relax" It was the same advice that he had given her that night at Tanabata. Although Elora believed that the word bestowed her with a false sense of security, she couldn't help but feel her muscles unwind in response to his reassurances, and to the warmth offered by his crepuscular companion. "I'm more accustomed to sitting out in places like this than you might think, so I'll keep watch."

"That seems concerning", she said with a weary chuckle, "I've never been good at falling asleep in places I'm not used to..." On the very rare occasion, she was able to feel rested from sleeping in her room at The Humming Bard Inn, but no matter what she tried or how long she lived there, it never seemed to offer the comfort of home. In the real world, Elora had made a ritual of sleeping with the items she cherished most, almost like a dragon that laid over its treasures to protect them throughout the night. Those stuffed animals, notebooks, pictures, and other trinkets were absent from Aincrad, leaving Elora to cope with a sense of loneliness that only seemed to worsen her desire for belonging. 

The small player fidgeted in her resting place, eventually reaching a stillness with her head propped against Freyd's shoulder while the two of them remained upright. It was Elora's intention to stay awake as long as possible to assist him with watching the woods. Gradually though, her blinks became heavier and she struggled to distinguish the details of the evergreens' swaying bows and the animals which scurried beneath them. They grew ever dimmer, until finally, all was swallowed completely by darkness. 

  ♪  Challengers Approaching: Kinsey and Kinsly  ♪  

"Salutations my fellow, elves,...my elvenbloods,...my ele-vations!" Keep digging that grave deeper, thought Elora to herself as she struggled to address them with the proper greeting. "D-don't mind that one! She's just a little uncultured" She wrapped an arm around Katoka's shoulders and hoped that the blonde would pick up on her cues of trying to be deceptive. "Trust me, I don't wish anything more than to worship our dragon...overlord...", she trailed off, sounding less and less convinced of the performance she was putting on. 

Of course, her intentions didn't matter at this point, because the pair of elves were already upset from being attacked. Kinsey barked at the woman wielding the katana, "Oh yeah? You think that you can just flex on us like that and not have to face the wrath of our -- "

"MUUUSIC", announced Kinsly as if it was a war cry. The male elf suddenly spun a lute over his shoulder and into his hands to begin strumming ferociously. His female companion coordinated with him to reveal a formidably funky accordion, "Get ready to face your demise as we praise some ambiguous attributes of our Great Leader!!"

I guess she's probably referring to the dragon. Jesus, this feels like the Scott Pilgrim movie.

The duo did high leg kicks toward them in rhythm with the music. "F-freyd, what do I do?!", she cried turning toward him to ask for advice, "I feel like I should attack them or something, but their dancing is so damn intimidating! Like, how can I even compete with that?!"

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

"Valephtima?", muffled Elora beneath his hand, "Ishshe thaplayar killher?" 

"Has your hair always smelled like mint?" 

She peeled his fabric-covered fingers off of her face so that she could finally speak, "What the hell are you talking about? It's not like we can use fragranced shampoos here" Her hand lifted the backside of his own up and against the length of his forehead, as if to check for a fever, "You sure you didn't get a few whacks to the head?" Whether or not his defense was true, she knew that arguing about it further would be futile.

Quickly releasing his hand, both of her own clasped nervously as they sank into a vacant space within her criss-crossed legs. "Freyd, I didn't find a familiar...", she expressed with a tone of disappointment, "I mean...I guess that none of the monsters there were really in that good of shape, but I still wish that something could have worked for me" Her shoulders seemed to deflate as she sighed before continuing, "I even lost Borris. Apparently he was only following us because I was carrying his headstone around in one of my pockets..." This was the first time that she had addressed the rock golem by a name, the one that she had bestowed upon it at some point during their journey. "I'm sorry for dragging you along for all of this and for wasting your time" 

As Elora spoke, the volume of her words varied depending on the hostility of the environment as it developed around them. The voices of some NPC's grew quieter, while at other times, a few seemed to grow louder. Elora didn't know whether or not it would be possible for her mind to grow calm enough to allow sleep in such a dangerous climate. She only hoped that the programed characters, and their suspected slavedriver, would enter some sort of sleep cycle that would force them to suspend their search.

Sunlight trickled through the window shutters of Elora's cozy little room in The Humming Bard Inn. Cows were mooing, crickets were chirping, and birds were singing right outside of her wooden door. Or, wait -- were those just the hungover squatters that occasionally slept their sorrows away the hallway? Nevertheless, it was a beautiful morning. Elora rolled over onto her other side, burying her face into the soft billowy sheets. Nothing beat getting to slept in as a result of having no obligations. Although...she swore that there was at least one thing that she had agreed to do this week. Her weary mind wandered absently as she struggled to remember when and who she'd made plans to meet with. Already did that one thing with that person...haven't heard back from him yet...I think she's probably...

"WAITING FOR ME!", screamed Elora as she tore her blankets off and made a beeline for the exit, "Sh*t, sh*t, shi*t! I can't believe I forgot! Poor Katoka is probably standing in the woods, being harassed by some vagrant!" 

With clothes wrinkled and equipment askew, she sprinted between portals so that she could make her way to Floor 3 as quickly as possible. Finally reaching the entrance of Delilah, Elora noticed the familiar player and slid to an immediate stop beside her. "Sorry -- hiiiieh -- are you ok?!", she asked frantically between staggered breaths. 

Elora | HP:460/460 | EN:46/46 | DMG:9 | EVA:1 | ACC:1 | L.M.:2 | KEEN:1

"Wait, NO -- FREYD!", she protested as he swept her off of her feet, "What are you doing?! We have to help the animals!" Angry fists batted at his back as Elora insisted that he let her down. Her legs swung frantically and the heel of one boot nearly clipped the bottom of his chin. Damn, how is he so strong when he's only like a few inches taller than me! 

"FIND THEM!  I WANT THEIR SPLEENS!"

Elora's head snapped to attention and her eyes locked to scan the horizon. Dusk had already disappeared and darkness now cloaked the landscape, concealing all but a few distant torch-lights which bobbed like lanterns in a sea as their pursuers chased them through the prairie. 

"N-never mind -- Keep running!!", she squealed, burying her face against him and grabbing onto his body as best she could. There would be no time to stop and reposition themselves so that she could run on her own, so she didn't make demands. The uncomfortable acrobatics would have to do for now.

By the time they had fled into the forest, the voices of the people behind them had grow distant, or at the very least, disconnected from one another. Elora yelped as Freyd half-dropped and half-threw her into a small clearing of moss, his own body practically collapsing in exhaustion from the excursion. 

"A-are you ok?! What the hell happened?", she asked in a panicked voice. Hurriedly lifting his limbs and shoving away his gear, she tried to inspect whatever wounds he may have sustained in the dim light. There was no chance that he had managed to piss off a mob, let alone a psychotic woman, without getting caught up in some sort of battle.

Elora seemed to get a bounce in her step the moment Freyd mentioned their great feats against the Trebuchet. "Yeah? I did do some pretty awesome stuff that day! We were able to cripple that trebuchet in no time once I cleared an opening through the soldiers protecting it!", she hesitated for a moment before adding, "What are you talking about, Katoka? Don't sell yourself short like that. I know you contributed more to taking it down!" Even if she didn't do as much as me, she shouldn't just pretend like it was nothing. 

Her pace seemed to slow as Freyd posed the next set of questions, and she was glad that Katoka had taken the initiative to answer them first. The more the girl spoke, the harder time Elora had trying to concentrate on what she was explaining. It felt like her mind was caught in a state of limbo where her attention was split between trying to understand Katoka's situation and simultaneously prepare to answer in the wake of her response. It was like that excrutiating feeling that crept up during classes when you knew that teacher would call on you to speak next. 

"I'm sorry, I might have gone off a bit there." 

Honestly, Elora wished she'd gone on more. Her response had been brief enough that it wouldn't warrant moving on to another topic. Even worse, the two players seemed to be anticipating her contribution to the conversation.

She didn't feel ready.

"Umm...", she began by awkwardly lifting a gloved hand to scratch at the side of her head, "I don't know, I guess I just want to fit in somehow" She struggled to search for any supplementary reasoning, but nothing came to her mind quickly enough to reinforce the answer that she had already given. Instead, the crude truth of her intensions for joining Firm Anima hung in the air, unprotected by any arbitrary ambition or petty excuse that she would have normally hid behind. The reality was that she hadn't joined with any purpose in mind, and that during her time with the guild, Elora hadn't made any decisions about which direction she should take to help other members the most. 

"I mean, there's more to it than that..." The defense was hardly enough to disguise her admission at this point.

@Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

"Wh--", Elora hesitated and cocked her head to one side, "What do you mean it? Is it a monster?" The green-haired woman summoned her spear as she scanned the terrain for potential threats. "No", answered Cecil gesturelessly, "The one who has been waiting for you"

A chill trickled down Elora's spine as she struggled to make sense of the meaning behind such an eerie statement. "What the hell are you talking about? What could be waiting for me down here?" She shook her head to ward off the NPC's observation, which felt more like a warning. She must be programmed to react like that just to freak players out. "Nothing is waiting for me. Forget it. Just stay behind and slave away at your village if you're scared. I'm going to keep exploring"

Cecil accepted the dismissal and lingered behind as Elora approached the shack to investigate whatever it was she was so afraid of. The closer she got to it, the more she could make out the details of a solitary figure in a rose-colored robe fishing off the end of its dock. Wonder if that's the thing she was on about...it just looks like another NPC to me.

Cecil continued to keep pace beside her, continuing to humor the fruitless conversations that Elora was visibly growing gradually disinterested in. "Yep, sure do. That's the only thing that keeps our village alive. Sometimes when there are violent storms or dangerous monsters along the path, we aren't able to carry the goods to the next-highest level of Krycim. And missing even just one day of trade is detrimental to our society." 

Elora hardly seemed phased to hear this reality. After all, it wasn't actually one. The game was probably just trying to get her to sympathize with its programmed personalities so that she would spend more time crying over them then trying to escape. Well, it's not like that's actually my alternative agenda. Elora would prefer not wasting her time with either endeavour. Then again, it's not like starting her trade as an alchemist was doing any good for the world. 

Cecil suddenly stopped as Elora took a step off of one of the mossy islands and onto another boardwalk extending toward a fishing house. "It's back.", she said flatly, her cold voice emitting the slightest tone of concern.

"I mean, yeah, there are some stories about us being a society of warriors, but that was a long time ago. Now we mainly fish and farm"

They can FARM down here?, thought Elora as she maneuvered around a cesspool to access a teetery boardwalk which was riddled with holes and whose posts were on the brink of being sucked into the swamp. "Wait", she spoke as another thought crossed her mind, "If you grow food, does that mean that you're selling your food in the marketplaces up above? There was an innate beauty to it. Imaging how the food going up eventually came down to become nutrients for the food that went back up again. It was also kind of disgusting.

From what Elora could tell, the spongy marshes within the slums were scarce in any other harvestable resources. She would probably have to venture even further from the settlement if she were to have any chance collecting items with enough time to spare for her returning trip to Floor 1.

"Nice! Looks like a scone kind of day huh?"

"Haha, yeaaah...", trailed off Elora with a not-so-well-disguised disingenuous chuckle. She proceeded to take quick bites from her pastry so as to get all of it down her throat before she had the chance to taste it. Still, the residual bitterness of the dried berries left her mouth feeling dry, like her cheeks were sucking in from aversion to the aftertaste. There, I powered through it and they have no idea that I actually wanted to eat something else!, she thought with a lack of awareness to how emotive her expressions of disgust really were. 

Elora shuttered and shook off the sensation, returning her focus to their next objective: killing the third dragon. "Dammit!", she exclaimed as a realization crossed her mind, "I should have saved some for bait to use on the dragon!" Whether or not it would have proven to be an effective strategy, Elora felt foolish for passing up the opportunity to put her mistake to good use.