Rencesvals

"In time for what, exactly?" Other than some challenge to do with Olympus, and crafter/professions from what he'd fathomed from others' discussions, Ren still wasn't quite sure what was meant to be happening. "Oh my, did Waylah rush through her invitations again? May I see?" She gestured to the note he still held in his hand, albeit now crushed and severely crumpled. The nymph grew flustered when she saw its incomplete state, he pinkish skin deepening to a near-demonic red. "Can't anyone around here DO THEIR JOBS?!" Uncertain how best to proceed, Ren took the cautionary and conciliat

Arriving at the quay, Ren gazed upon the same type of figure he'd seen in the other ferry boats lining the dock. It was identical to the creatures manning the other ships: a tattered grey, hooded cloak with no visible face within, only a pair of mummified skeletal hands grasping a long wooden oar. Each also had a small symbol embroidered on the top of its hood. This one read: #12. "Foraging quest?" Ren asked, leery that he might accidentally board the wrong quest and make an even worse mess of his day. Twelve just nodded. It probably didn't even have a mouth. "Alright then. Let's do

"Ah. Well, good luck then stranger." Ren wasn't sure why the man seemed genuinely friendly yet refused to provide his name. Maybe it was a player killer thing? It would make sense to want to conceal one's identity if half the player base was out to string you up. Before their conversation could progress any further, a gaunt, leathery hand reached over Mr.Nobody's shoulder and yanked him onto the nearest ferry where he disappeared in a puff of sulfurous smoke. Judging by the look on his face, he hadn't quite been ready to go. 'Gilligan', meanwhile, was too busy arguing with the nymph to

"Please ensure that you take a deep breath before boarding onto Charon's ferry. The seas have been a bit temperamental this morning, and we've already had enough vomit to last us a week." Her hair was greener and longer, and eyes closer to purple. Body shape and build were about the same, but this was definitely not the same nymph that had delivered him his message. "Hey, pal. Where does this thing go, anyways?" The PK pirate turned and gave him a wry grin beneath sleep-laden eyes. He looked half int he bottle, despite both of them knowing that was impossible. "That depends on

Fortunately, it wasn't that far from his shop to the portal plaza in Tomoika, and he'd taken enough of a glance at his map to realize that the quest led to the shoreline and not to Olympia itself. Less fortunately, Ren's sense of direction generally sucked and he wound up going the wrong way out of Athenaia. "Wrong way, buddy," called out a random player wandering the streets, having surely noticed the letter still clutched in his hands. "You want to be going south, out the harbour gate, and be mindful. They're a fickle lot at the best of time." Guffawing laughter followed his thank

"Dear form letter recipient, in light of your growing prowess in the art of [insert profession here] you are cordially invited and expected to attend the grand halls of Olympus to participate in the Challenges of the gods. Having opened this letter shall serve as acknowledgement and dutiful RSVP. Kindly make your way to the designated location on floor 17 within the hour let their joy turn to wrath and they decide to smite you. Sincerely, [insert name here.]" Ren was at a loss. Was this some sort of practical joke? It could certainly be, and was well within the broad bounds to which

It's not every day that you find a fine-figured lass on your doorstep desperately asking to speak with you. Ren certainly wasn't used to it. Able to navigate a social scene, he was never considered to be a ladies man. Rambling on about ancient history didn't carry much sex appeal, apparently. Unrequited love from afar was much more his thing, or so he'd led himself to believe after Vindalia. So it came as a considerable surprise when this spry, curvy little thing with starfish in her hair and the skimpiest seaweed imaginable stood dripping wet on the mat at the entrance to The Knight Shif

Crafting rolls: R1 Blacksmith (T1 gear max, 2 crafts/day) Ambition Tool (+1 EXP) ID 212863 | CD 9 | Salvage (LD 3: mat lost) (+3 EXP) ID 212864 | CD 5 | Failure (+2 EXP) Cost: 2 materials

Familiar Name: Vinaya Familiar Description: A brilliant azure phoenix whose colouring ranges from crystalline blue to deep spectral indigo depending on mood and surrounding environment. Ren found this majestic creature in the ruins of the Temple of Three on floor 7 while in search of enlightenment. Taking its name from one of the three statues in the temple, the proud and headstrong creature often guides others towards what they need, if not necessarily what they want. It's also prone to exploding in a fiery, concussive blast whenever it needs to make a point. Despite its majesti

Chansi was waiting for him on the outskirts beyond Nimbus' protective walls and away from the guards' patrols. Ren offered a sincere and thankful smile as he approached her, which she coyly returned. "Is it your real name?" "What does that even mean, Rencesvals?" He was certain never to have given her his name. A distant cry from overhead triggered a familiar memory: stupid-head. Ren sighed and chuckled in the same moment. "I really don't want to put you in the same room with @Illisandra," he said to the bank of fluffy clouds. "But something tells me I'm not going to get to

A call high in the sky drew Ren's attention. It looked like a crane or heron from afar - a slender body dwarfed by massive wingspan and contrail like tail streaking through the air. He recognized it instantly. "Vinaya. So, you're not dead. Phoenix. Right. I really should have known better." Immolation would hardly be a problem for such a creature. Would it truly be a familiar? The legends he had heard and read about described the creature anywhere up to a roc in size and splendor. This one looked to be far smaller, though no less majestic. It remained near for the rest of the

Never quite able to catch it, Ren felt like he was being shadowed on his return journey to Nimbus. It didn't help that he had to change routes a half-dozen times to avoid roving bandits and some crazy Sand-Wurm looking thing. All were decidedly above his pay grade and not worth engaging unnecessarily. The time would come, eventually. For now, he needed to survive, grow and learn. As much as he hated the anime cliche, he truly did need to get stronger. This world had a system and rules. They were different than the ones he knew, but he could learn them and use them to benefit himself and

Ren slept at the Temple of Three that night, sensing that its hallowed ground would keep any external dangers at bay. It was the best night's sleep he'd had since becoming trapped in the floating castle, free of nightmares. His friends were there, as always, but only in moments of carefree joy and the tenderness of friendship that soothed like a mother's embrace. In the morning, the temple had once more faded into its decrepit state. Vinaya's statue was a heap of broken stones and everything around looked dried to a raisin-worthy state. Only one thing had changed: the imprint of a man pre

"It's a phoenix. A purple phoenix? Wait... a royal phoenix?!" Eyes wide and mouth gaping open, Ren remained at a loss for what he was experiencing. "I don't understand," he whispered aloud, then repeated to himself. "That's the whole point, isn't it? This place and our existence here is a complete mystery. Everything we know has been thrown out and our entire book rewritten. We don't know who we are. We don't know what we want. We can be... anything." The heat of the sun pressed upon his skin, compelling him to turn and gaze beyond the temple to the vast sky on display from the

Maybe just to kneeling. Standing might be a bit too ambitious at the moment. It took far longer than he liked, but the battered knight finally managed to settle himself on all fours and then slowly lift his head and torso up enough to look around again. The sight before him left him as stunned as the blow from which he'd only just recovered. The temple - the same temple that moments ago stood in ruins - was completely restored. Well, except for the hole in the wall where he was standing-ish. All three statues remained inside the shrine where they had been before, but their forms look

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Why am I screaming? Am I screaming? How can I tell? Everything is still spinning... Ren's first three attempts to stand ended in utter failure. Bracing himself on a wobbly wall, he thought he'd finally gained some purchase when the wall caved back away from him. A moment later, the gong swung back and smashed him right in the face. *GONG* It struck with enough force to launch him back whence he came, landing unceremoniously next to the very same shoji he'd shattered upon exit mere seconds ago. It took a minute or two more before he dared consider sta

A coriolis blast wreathed in indigo flames shot Ren out the fragile shoji walls and tumbled him a dozen times head over heels before his body crashed into a large metal dish hung in the centre of one of the smaller outer shrines. *GONG* He was sure that his pride had been launched in the other direction. It was also likely still airborne and unlikely to land for several eon's after such a humiliating moment. 'Stupid-head,' came the taunting calls of his young niece, who so thoroughly enjoyed mocking him every opportunity. Why does she sound so much like Illisandra? Now he would d

"I..." What was he supposed to do? What even was this thing glaring at him? Remembering the ambiguous quest and the woman who had given him the seeds - Chansi - Ren found himself simultaneously trying to stare at Dharma and the bird. Her words echoed back to him. "What would you do with such knowledge, should you find it?" He was at a loss, his mind racing at ten thousand miles a minute trying to process every bit of lore he'd ever harnessed, or failed to while galivanting about with his friends. He should have studied harder and taken things more serious. And now, because

Nearly spilling the contents as he scrambled to open the pouch of feed she'd provided to him, Ren raced to the broken statue and spread its contents sparingly. If he was wrong, he couldn't afford to just dump it all in a fit of archaeological glee. "Vinaya... ummm," squinting his eyes to improve his recollection glimpsed some instance of enlightenment. "It's Sanskrit, meaning to lead, take away, tame, train or... guide? It's a teacher." Glancing around again at the ruined temple. "Wow... someone really didn't want to learn their lesson." A breath on his neck made Ren's eyes bulge wi

The last statue was little more than rubble, though its name plate remained: Vinaya. "Discipline?" *CLANG* Ren nearly spooked himself out of his own skin. Distracted by academic mysteries, he'd loosened his grip on his sword enough that the blade's tip had drooped and clattered loudly when it struck the broken stone floor. "Damn it!" Clutching his own chest and heart after the self-inflicted fright, Ren cursed his clumsiness. Surveying the scene once more to make sure that he hadn't drawn out some nasty critter, he finally came to the conclusion that this place was sim

Peering carefully into the grand hall, Ren could see three nooks at the far end. Only one was fully visible from this vantage and held a large stone statue. Shadowed by the roof and lack of interior lighting, there was no way to discern any more from the door. Sparing a moment to peer around both sides of the building confirmed that there were no other openings or obvious dangers. Gingerly stepping over decaying tatami mats, Ren made his way closer, cringing whenever his footfalls made the slightest crunching sound. If anything was lurking about, it made no moves. 'Too many places to

A different substance caught Ren's attention as they neared the peak. "Bitumen, or maybe pitch? Not something I would have expected to see up here." Squinting against the light of the noonday sun blanching everything in its gaze, it took only a few more steps to crest the final rise. Climbing the last few steps revealed a series of small shrines and ruins in traditional Japanese style reminding him of the Grand Shine of Ise, not far from his family's home in Mie Prefecture. The scale was much smaller, but many details in the layout and construction were familiar. Notably concerning, all

"Stairs? Here?" Taking a knee for closer inspection confirmed it. Someone had built a path along the leeward slope of one of the peaks. Odd, given that there were no known settlements out here. "Could it be some sort of dungeon or challenge zone?" His sword immediately in hand, Ren proceeded with caution. Sparse tree coverage on the upper slope obscured the path and approach to whatever lay beyond. Rounding the first bend revealed a towering toro, iconic gate structures commonly associated with the entry sequence to shinto shrines and other major symbolic landmarks. The paint was fade

Resounding roars from the northern slopes made eastern travel a preferred option. There was no sense getting in over his head wandering into a large pack of hostile mobs if he could avoid it. Recon was still his primary goal. "And tromping around solo isn't exactly the smartest course of action either." Verdy's image appeared in his mind, mimicking the words as he spoke them. The group's unofficial den mother was quick to point out foolish action. "Sorry Verdy. Can't be helped," he muttered, watching his footing around a pocked patch of granite with lots of options for bad footing.

"Mountainous terrain will make it difficult to lay out an effective search pattern, and these hills swarm with more hostiles than the fields of floor one." Verbal tactical analysis commonly featured at the outset of his group's team shooter sessions. Austerlitz usually made the call, often tipping towards Agincourt's advice. She'd always had keen insight for these things, and was invariably deadly with any kind of sniping weapon. Ren, not quite having the reflexes or awareness required, served as their decoy. He always took it in good stride, eager to help out in any way possible. Harfle