Freyd

He was back again, and far sooner than expected, but rumours told that The Evening Star’s goods had recently been restocked, and there were a few convenient items he needed replenished. Unexpected encounters had let him to hand out more freebies than expected. ‘Investments’ he kept telling himself. Raidou would hand the world every tool available for its own sake. Freyd’s nature required more convincing. These seemed like good deals, as were NIGHT’s wares. It was time to connect the two. "For an old friend," Freyd muttered, seeming lost in wistful thoughts that hadn't quite run thei

Freyd snorted, unable to contain his agreement, but his smile returned in the process. The cowl remained to conceal most of his features and expressions, like a sort of shroud behind which the many details of his own exploits and adventures would likewise remain a secret. "Yeah. Foraging is not my thing, at all. Doesn't really bother me much, though fishing is better suited for me, I think." Had he misread the man? Not likely. But this approach was likely to rub others the wrong way, despite his assertions. Freyd was more inclined to believe that he had figured Bismuth out - classi

He'd had his ass handed to him, and was completely ecstatic about it. Even as @Astreyacalled false foul, with a lilt of playful laughter in the distance, he waved himself off the field of battle with unusually nonchalant grace. Thanks and praise were given freely to the victor and those who had setup this mashup in the first place. His ribs still hurt. Not from the impact of @Baldur's specialized toys, but sheer laughter at the absurdity of the battle before them. It was just puerile fun, of a kind the man they called the Whisper never allowed himself, yet so desperately needed. Grab

"The man's going to start to think we have something going on the side. You know that right?" Blue eyes wrapped in creased weariness stared sympathetically at her from behind a steaming mug that he'd partially hoped would iron out the growing number of wrinkles in his brow, or else at least this tangled mess of interconnected tales. "Gaius has come a long way, but this sort of thing is exactly the type to set him off, and probably with good cause." He nabbed another honey bun from the package laying open between them. Freya seemed to have an endless supply of the things and it made her hap

The end results were all that mattered, in the Whisper's eyes. Gratitude was not required for resources provided, and he cared little for the etiquette that others relied upon to sustain their fragile social structures. In other words, Freyd didn't need people around to be nice, so long as they got the job done. Whether Bismuth had figured it out or not, Freyd was tagging along for one simple reason: to evaluate him. "She definitely has her uses, if you can manage her attitude," he said, softly, his grin pairing off against her narrowed gaze. "And, if I had any compunctions about tagg

"Relax," he added, still laughing. "There were way too many people around to tell who did that, right guys?" A clatter of chuckles sounded from the other players around the room. Freyd had just made their lives easier. They weren't about to rat them out for it. "If you're serious about the broker thing," he added, clearly believing that she was, "you're gonna need to pull tricks like that, or at least spot them when people try to pull them on you. There will be no shortage of people willing to take advantage, or just to stiff you for their own shits and giggles." A systems p

Their pace slowed once they reached the village proper. Tolbana still bustled with activity, dozens if not hundreds of players crowing the starter zone as they scrambled to complete their quests. Zackariah's hut was absolutely swamped, blocking any sight of the NPC. "Huh. Well, that's a problem." Freyd stood with his left hand on his hip and his right scratching at his unruly mop of mousy-brown hair. A mischievous grin spread across his lips as the beginnings of a plan formed in his head. "You may want to stand off to the side, behind that fence," he said to Xena, nodding towards a

Freyd felt something when the man mentioned a lackluster existence beyond the confines of their imprisoned existence. It was his reality also, but not something he shared casually. Instead, his used it as fuel to motivate him in the game. If getting everyone out who wanted it accomplished something, then it was a goal worth pursuing. He'd also made promises to that effect, and didn't easily abandon oaths once given. "Persi? Actually, Persistence is her full name. Wait until you do the familiar quests and you will understand." The lean, inky creature gave Freyd a knowing glance that

"Yeah. Yes, I am. Thanks for putting up with me. I'm still really freaked out, but just keeping busy has helped." A small smile returned to Xena better expressed his gratitude. "Oh! Hey, that's it! Come on. Let's get this stuff back to Zackariah and we can get our rewards. I hope it's something really good, but these are starter quests, so I probably shouldn't be getting my hopes up, yanno?" Bouncing off ground like it had just turned to lava, Freyd scampered back towards Tolbana with renewed vigor. Panic wasn't gone. In fact, it was just below the surface, but he was doing hi

P.S. Please ensure that all modifiers (CD tool) are clearly noted in future eval posts.

"I once watched a friend of mine turn several lumps of coal, shards of glass and a bowl full of purple goo into the best-tasting sandwich I've ever tasted in this place. The point being: don't limit yourself to what seems to make sense. However real and immersive it may feel, this world is still an MMO, with all the various oddities and inconsistencies that usually entails. I have several dragons' hoards worth of materials available at my fingertips, for example, none of which I can provide to you to help finish this quest. Because the system won't allow it. You could use them as mats you

Something must have gotten caught in Freyd's throat at that precise moment. An awkward gurgling-mewling-choking sound eked its way from his mouth and his whole chest inexplicably constricted. His face turned a blushing shade of red so deep that it actually threatened the nature of purple, doubling him over into a spasmic coughing fit. *cough* *HACK* *wheeze* *cough* "I'm good!" He waved off, his eyes so wide and bulging that they looked ready to pop out of his head. "Something... in my throat..." he rasped again, looking like he'd accidentally tried to swallow his sword in a s

"Hrmmm? Didn't know that they had a mechanic for such a thing. Wonder how it works." There wasn't, of course, but Freyd was still too much of a newb to understand such things. "Still, if you can make it work, that might be a really good idea. Info will be super useful in the days ahead. Getting it the right people will be key, or possibly just selling it for the right price?" Morality wasn't the issue so much as risk and reward. The goal was to get out of here, and there was a tipping point beyond which it hurt business to try and hold too many cards to one's own chest. "I guess b

"Nice!" he responded over his shoulder, turning and walking back over towards where she continued her search. "It makes a good argument for the benefits of buffs and gear I guess." Turning his weapon over, he held it up for closer inspection. "I hear that there's a profession for appraising items in the game. I might look into that one myself. Being able to easily identify items would be worth its weight in gold. It also makes me wonder whether it can be used to analyze mobs for their weaknesses. If so, that could generate some very real coin." He caught he folding her claws back i

Freyd laughed aloud as she unleashed her fury upon the poor defenseless sod. Player rage at its best, and apparently producing results as she claimed their first victory. He waved off her earlier suggestion. "Nah! You don't need me. Looks like you're on a roll. Besides, you just ate my best chance to find anything." He beamed another goofy grin in her direction. "Besides, how are you going to boast being this totally awesome info broker if you can't even find stuff in grass." That might have been pushing his luck, but tensions finally seemed to be bleeding out. They both needed t

Wandering about as if on some sort of improvised boar patrol, Freyd eyed the various critters with a wary eye. It was the other players around that made him far more nervous. The fields were positively crawling with people, all staring at their feet and scouring for the same things they were. It reminded him of the launch of so many other MMOs where the starting zones were completely overwhelmed and a strange resource race developed just to progress to the later content before anyone else. He'd read about similar things happening in the beta for SAO, but everyone was too tight lipped over

Surprise. It was the only way he could react to the offer when it popped up in a 2D display bright and bold in front of him and completely unmissable. Tension bled from his face once he recognized what it was and meant. "Thanks," he offered with surprising sincerity, gladly accepting the request. It made an unexpectedly huge difference to have someone reach out like that. Sure, he'd had countless connections on various social media platforms prior to joining SAO, but those were more like contacts for networking purposes. Maybe that's what this was too, but somehow it felt far more mea

Freyd perched himself on a familiar rock, content to enjoy a bit of warmth and sunlight on skin that seemed to remain pale no matter how many scorched floors he traversed. He'd sat on this rock a dozen times doing the same thing, helping one player or another get their first foot out the door, just as he'd been helped, albeit in a less direct manner. Not everyone could be lucky enough to have an epic blade fall from the sky and clatter to the ground at their feet. He still wondered how @NIGHThad lost it in the first place. The weapon had since been passed on, though he hadn't seen its bear

"Don't worry about it. This is a group effort, and well worth it if we both manage to complete the quest." A slight smile as she struggled a bit with the food, trying not to seem critical. Xena seemed a bit sensitive, but he was hardly in a position to give her a hard time about it. It also didn't make sense to alienate literally the only other person he actually knew in this game. "Besides, I think we actually have a very similar approach to this game. It wouldn't make sense not to help a potential business partner. Truth is that we're all going to need to help each other out if w

"It's complicated," Freyd replied, not really wanting to delved into all the horrible things that had led him to shutter himself away from people. "Let's just say that I'm not built to be the social type. It's caused... serious problems in my past." A flicker of pain and a grimace flash across his face, only to be obscured as he turned away in a pretense of vigilance. *cough* "Erm... oh! I have a couple of things that might help. Using untrained skills for gathering can be a pain, or so I've been told. I picked these up at a shop on my way out of town the first time. Why don't

A furrowed brow confirmed his struggle to understand. "Hey. You okay?" Freyd spoke quietly as they walked side by side, trying to make sure that they weren't overheard. He was just about the worst when it came to reading feelings, especially those of others. "I didn't mean any offense. I'm just... yanno... bad with talking to people. Especially..." He swallowed hard. "Girls. Okay! There. I said it!" His face blushed such a brilliant shade of red that tomatoes would be envious. It was amazing that he was even able to admit it to someone, let alone a virtual stranger. "Look

Freyd's ears perked up at the mention of compensation. Yes. Transactional business. It was something his poor addled brain could actually grasped, even as it spun along multiple different axes, struggling to find some bearings in a world turned upside down. "I. Sorry. Yes. You're right, of course." He hung his head sheepishly, burrowing back into his own hood as best he could. The man seriously lacked confidence, but she could sense that he was afraid of something far deeper than anything they had encountered or discussed to date. It was almost as if he'd actually been afraid of

"Yeah. Yeah. You're... " *blink* It wasn't until this moment that Freyd finally realized that Xena was a member of the opposite sex. Years of shuttered, insular existence had kept him away from such interactions, except online where virtual identities could be so easily clouded that they were practically meaningless. But that veneer had just been stripped away. Everyone was actually who and what they were, if only until people found way to cloak themselves behind a fresh set of masks. More importantly, it provided what was desperately required: a distraction. "Right. You

"Honestly," he replied while wincing at the second strike to land, "I just wasn't feeling it, yanno? Must have been having an odd week or something. Couldn't land the hard blows. Couldn't get good vantage. Oh, gods, and the endless talking!" He mentally rolled his eyes, preferring not to make this an even more shameful beating than it already was. "Tea and crumpets at my grandmother's place was less painful than all the pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth. I really hope the next boss is nothing but a good old-fashion murder-fest, because this one set everyone at everyone else's throat

"Fair enough." Freyd led them to the figure Xena had pointed out in the crowd, only that he wasn't so much a quest giving NPC as a a broker for such NPCs. "You want us to go to Tolbana?" A series of rapid finger strokes called up the in-game map. The name sounded familiar and he soon realized why. "I was literally just about there, until all of... this!" Wildly flailing arms gestured to the entire scene around them. The NPC smiled pleasantly, oblivious to his actions. It was one of those bot-type programs whose only purpose was to direct players towards content. Freyd gri