Acanthus

She remembered reading about wolves in some of her classes. And of course she’d seen them on TV; who hadn’t? Whenever the actors on TV saw a big, scary wolf, they would always marvel at how much bigger they were in real life. It was the cheesiest trope on TV, and she rolled her eyes every time some hapless hero feigned shock over the big, scary wolves. But as the monsters emerged from the undergrowth, Acanthus realized where the trope had come from. These creatures were massive: longer than she was tall, and jaws so big she could likely fit her whole head inside. They looked so much like

Acanthus pondered a moment. She knew herself well, and any break at all would give her time to think. And time to think almost always turned into cold feet. “How about something in-between? Let’s start moving toward the first boss. But I would also like a little time to prepare myself. Mentally, at least.” She picked herself up off the ground and opened her map. “I think there’s a zone nearby that has monsters far above my capabilities. They are probably way underneath yours, since I’m pretty sure you’re at maximum level. If we went there, could I possibly watch you fight? Observation is an ex

At the edge of the clearing, Acanthus paced the treeline. It should already be figured out. If hundreds of other players had cracked the code, why was it taking her so long? From the darkness of the woods, fears and doubts began pulling at her. What are you doing here? It’s just like when Freyd had to carry you through that floor 5 quest—nobody really needs you. Pinball especially doesn’t need you here. A morbid thought crossed her mind. Well, if he doesn’t need you, and this isn’t charity, then… he has other plans. For the second time that day, Acanthus became aware that she was adventur

Name: Auric Rain Profession: Performer Rank: 2 Roll ID: 226692 Roll Result: CD: 9 + 1 LD: 11 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Uncommon Enhancements: Monster's Fortune 1 Post Link: Here Description: A light and quick song accentuated by golden effects.

Crafting for 8/17/2024 Ambition Active (+1 EXP per craft); Apollo's Metronome (+1 CD) Roll ID CD LD Quality Experience 1 (Support) 226692 9 + 1 11 Uncommon +4 2 (Support) 226693 5 + 1 16 Salvage (Success) +3 3 (Support) 226694 9 + 1 1 Uncommon +4 4 (Support)

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Rank 1 (Unskilled) Combat Mastery: Accuracy Mod(s) Being Dropped: None SP Refunded: 0 Cost: 0 col

Name: Oasis Motif, Part 1 Profession: Performer Rank: 2 Roll ID: 226486 Roll Result: CD: 7 + 1 LD: 20 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Uncommon (Masterpiece) Enhancements: Instant HP Recovery 1 Post Link: Here Description: A brief ode to Fortaleza played on a ch

Crafting for 8/16/2024 Ambition Active (+1 EXP per craft); Apollo's Metronome (+1 CD) Roll ID CD LD Quality Experience 1 (Support) 226486 7 + 1 20 Uncommon Masterpiece +4 2 (Support) 226487 9 + 1 19 Uncommon Masterpiece +4 3 (Support) 226488 6 + 1 20 Salvage (Success) +3

The answer was right in front of her. She just needed a little more time. She turned the bark over in her hands, slowly revisiting every inch of the clue. Nothing on the back of the cipher. The only thing there were the two circles of letters in alphabetical order, except one was reversed. Absent mindedly, she scratched her head with the tree bark. The language on the tablet—well, it didn’t seem like a language. It seemed more like a code. So the rings of letters had to tie into it somehow. She was beginning to wish she had paid more attention to her dad when he’d gone on one of

She barely had time to process Pinball's response before he offered Acanthus the tablet. His hands vanished as she took it, and Pinball quickly disappeared into the trees. Acanthus looked around the grove. It felt deathly quiet. The sound of birds and wildlife had faded into the distance, and even the wind had died to a low murmur. Taking the tablet in both hands, she approached the tall oak tree carefully. At its base was a small podium, holding a stone tablet. One one side of the tablet, six indentations adorned the stone, each with a motif that vaguely resembles an animal. On the other

The beast had lumbered onto its feet, and was now eyeing Freyd with a look equal parts furious and starved. She knew he could handle himself, but couldn’t help to worry a little bit regardless. She heard Freyd’s voice in the distance, and she snapped to attention. If there was an opening, she couldn’t find it. She scanned the thick, trunk-like legs. Still the same tough hide that had deflected her first blow. Maybe he’d seen something near the head? But the beast was turning away from her, and she’d been instructed not to get its attention. No doubt going for the face was the fastest w

Hundreds. Who were you before all of this? Where exactly does the quest take us? Why my shop instead of someone else’s? How am I even supposed to help out here? …Am I getting myself into something I’ll regret? “No. I think I’m ready.” She put a hand on her sword and felt the familiar groove of the wood as they walked. Wormwood had become something of a fixture on her person over the last week. It hadn’t seen much combat, but the comfort from its weight around her hip was undeniable. The two were back on floor 1, traveling across the plains. Massive islands floated lazily above them,

Name: Interesting Intermezzo Profession: Performer Rank: 2 Roll ID: 226368 Roll Result: CD: 10 + 1 LD: 10 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Rare Enhancements: HP Recovery 2 Post Link: Here Description: A soaring ensemble of strings and low woodwinds that gives th

Crafting for 8/15/2024 Ambition Active (+1 EXP per craft); Apollo's Metronome (+1 CD) Roll ID CD LD Quality Experience 1 (Support) 226366 3 + 1 12 Fail +2 2 (Support) 226367 4 + 1 11 Salvage (Success) +3 3 (Support) 226368 10 + 1 10 Rare +6 4 (Support) 2

Acanthus had been taking more risks than usual. She was concerned—was she finally plucking up courage, or was it a disregard for her own life? She'd only met Pinball a few days ago. When he walked into her shop with a few requests, she had been shocked. She didn't get much traffic in her shop yet. They began to chat about a potential custom order—she couldn't remember the full conversation, but the next thing she knew, she'd agreed to help out on a quest involving flowers. Flower don't seem so bad. She'd looked at the first quest in the guide, and it was all about searching. Now that

Name: Thrumming Tones Profession: Performer Rank: 2 Roll ID: 225988 Roll Result: CD: 8 LD: 3 Item Type: Debuff Song Tier: 1 Quality: Uncommon Enhancements: Hypnosis Post Link: Here Description: A dull, repetitious noise that clouds out all other sounds.

Crafting for 8/13/2024 Roll ID CD LD Quality Experience 1 (Debuff) 225988 8 3 Uncommon +4 2 (Debuff) 225989 9 19 Uncommon Masterpiece +4 3 (Support) 225990 3 16 Fail +2 4 (Support) 225991 1 8 Critical Fail +2

THREAD SUMMARY Experience: 500 (Quest) + ((9,298/10) * 2 * 1 ) = 2,360 * 2 (New Recruitment Event) = 4,720 EXP (I rounded up 929.8 to 930. I hope that's allowed but I won't lose sleep over 4 exp) Col: 400 * 2 = 800 col Materials Gained: (10) materials gathered. Apollo’s Metronome | Crafting Tool | Meticulous: +1 CD when crafting in one’s workshop.

From the gates of the main city, Elpis waved goodbye to Acanthus. “I don’t know how you did it. The perfect song.” Acanthus played with her lute at the gate. It had taken her the whole journey down new strings back on it, but it had been worth it. “Like you said: sometimes, people don’t know what they need until they hear it.” Elpis nodded. “So how was the performance? Were you scared?” Acanthus thought back to her trembling fingers, and she replied, “No, I just had a physical reaction. That’s different.” Elpis bleated laughter. “Speaking of, I noticed that you actually looked up on

As she brought the goblet down, she realized that a small circle of guests had stopped to listen to the toast and were now cheering and clinking forks against glasses. She found herself uncharacteristically pleased with the attention. “There, a proper toast for a proper performer.” She bowed in response. “An honor beyond measure, Apollo.” As people began to trickle away from the feast, Apollo walked Acanthus to the steps of Olympus. At the top of the stairs, Elpis waved. Acanthus and Apollo stopped out of earshot. “I leave you in good hands, little hyacinth.” “Apollo dressing yo

Again, she turned the shade of a bright sunburn. “I apologize, Apollo. I needed some fresh air. I completely neglected the toast.” “Perfectly understandable. Zeus tends to invite too many people to his parties. It makes everything stuffy. Besides, I never liked that Zeus got to do the toast even though all he ever did was send out the invitations. Here.” He handed Acanthus one of the goblets. “Allow me.” He raised his goblet to her, and she returned the gesture. With an almost song-like quality, Apollo began his toast. “Sing in me muses, and through me tell the praises of a craf

Without waiting for a response, she went inside and melted into the crowd. Acanthus started to feel bad. She was just trying to meet people. I know how hard it is to make friends in here. And she was right—I really did need to get out of there. But now she wanted back in. She hoped she hadn’t missed the toast. “—and to the brave new crafters of Olympus we say: congratulations!” Zeus stood at his full godly height at the back of the banquet hall with the guests. Thunderous cheers and applause erupted as they echoed the sentiments of the king of Olympus. Acanthus was a bit crestfallen.

Part of Acanthus regretted coming out here. She was missing a toast in her honor. But I guess I wasn’t having a great time in there anyways. “Hey, I’m digging the flower motifs. Hyacinths, right?” Titania elbowed Acanthus. “Apollo dressing you up like one of his exes, huh?” Acanthus found herself turning red again. “The muses picked this out for me and I like it.” “Oof, signal caught, new buddy. I’ll pump the brakes.” “I’m not sure we’re friends yet.” Titania put a hand on her hips and the other on her forehead. “Straight shooter—that’s fair. Listen, I’ll make myself scarce. You

Titania shot through the crowd like a rocket. Acanthus bumped and jostled a dozen guests like a ragdoll as she clung to Titania’s hand. With a final effort, Titania squeezed between two satyrs, and they popped out onto the terrace. “Whew! What a ride!” Acanthus finally stepped back to observe her rescuer. Her hair fell in long red curls, all the way down to her waist. Her leather armor was carefully fitted to accentuate her frame. It seemed like just about every square inch of the armor was fitted with a sheath from a throwing dagger. “You’re not in a dress.” “I mean, it’s not p

The noise assailed her—Acanthus was back. Across the table, another player sat, grinning from behind a plate piled high with a little bit of everything. “I’m Acanthus. I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?” “It is kind of loud in here. Want to head out to the balcony?” “Don’t we have to wait for the toast?” “Eh, the game just checks to see if at least one player is here to do the toast. I’ve had plenty of friends who skipped out and the quest completed. You don’t even have to come to the feast if you don’t want to. I’m just here for the food.” Judging by the three empt