[PP-F4] Wintertide Wayfarers

[Miaki 0]

The town of <>, or as it was listed on the map, <>. This was the main settlement on the fourth floor where Miaki was now. He was inside a warm tavern heating up from the cold. Outside a light snow began to fall again on the quaint little village town. Sitting close to the hearth, Miaki was rubbing his hands together. "This is what I get for not getting a coat for this floor. My trench coat only keeps me warm for so long. I'll get something once I get some feeling in my hands again." He thought as he blew into them again. Inside the NPCs were walking back and forth between players that were ordering hot beverages and warm meals.

[Elyth 0]

Snowflakes were falling ever so daintily upon the already 2-inch thick and crisp layer of their predecessors. A fluffy white blanket covered the landscape, bringing out the contrasting lights of the warm houses in the village of Snowfrost. Not a soul was seen walking around in this weather. Truly, this was a scene straight out of painting- perfection in a winter wonderland.

A shimmer disrupted the otherwise peaceful landscape. A moment later, the shimmer was replaced with an artificial body generated by the game of Aincrad. At that moment, the wind chose to blow, sweeping snow off the rooftops and fir trees, and swirling all around the new stranger, curiously inspecting her.

As for Elyth, the wind was not such good news.

"Achoo! Wow, why is it so cold!?" She complained through gritted teeth, trying to see.

You have caught a cold. The body has become more rigid and the physical ability has reduced by 5%.The speed at which satiety is reduced has increased by 25%.

"Oh, damn it." Elyth thought. She was going to need to find shelter.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki noticed feeling returning to his hands, checking his status in his in game menu, Miaki noticed his condition was good so he decided this was his chance to go outside and get something warmer to wear. "First let's see if I have anything warm to wear."

He shifted his menu over to inventory and checked what he had to wear. "Well that's unfortunate. Looks like I'm roughing it." He said to himself as he requested a pint of hot cider which he added to his inventory to keep it warm longer and prevent risking of spilling. He then made his way out the front door of the tavern.

[Elyth 0]

"GAH Why does it have to be snowing right now why" Elyth rambled, running frantically around in the town square like an extremely panicked cat before spotting a log cabin with a sign indicating that, yes, COME TO ME I AM INDEED THE CLOTHING STORE.

A clever marketing ploy. But under the given circumstances, Elyth was going to let you go for that one. "I AM COMING GENIUS"

Your cold has worsened. The body has become more rigid and the physical ability has reduced by 10%.The speed at which satiety is reduced has increased by 30%.

"AND I HATE YOU TOO, AINCRAD"

The moment Elyth burst through the door was when another sign popped up before her:

Your cold has worsened. The body has become more rigid and the physical ability has reduced by 12.5%.The speed at which satiety is reduced has increased by 35%.

"No stahp Aincrad I love you don't do this sorry" Elyth rambled through her near-frozen lips, suddenly cowering into a little ball to preserve warmth.

Elyth took a breath, and felt her senses un-numb themselves. She would have stayed at the door if not for the expectant NPCs behind the counter.

"Hello? Hi! I would like to buy a warm winter coat right about now, and an umbrella, if you have one."

"We're sorry, but we have run out of <> at the moment. However, we have a quest for someone to undertake," the NPC said.

DO I LOOK LIKE I CAN TAKE A QUEST RIGHT NOW YOU NPC HOW VERY NPC OF YOU LADY

[Miaki 0]

Miaki stepped out into the cold and instantly began to regret his decision. He clutched his coat and held it closer to him. "Geez! It feels colder out here than it was earlier. Why, why, oh why did I not bring something warm." Miaki kept asking himself as he ran outside looking for somewhere to get clothing. He checked the map window he left open before he left the tavern. "Alright you stupid shop. Where are you?"

Running down a road that went right through the town Miaki spotted several vendors on the sides of the street. None of the vendors were operating because of the time of day. "Oh come on!" He noticed that he warning appeared which stated.

"The snowstorm around the town has gotten worse. The temperature continues to fall. You must get inside before you freeze to death."

Miaki stared at the last three words. "Can't let that happen." He said as he saw a small cottage in the distance. "Is that the one Im looking for?" He asked himself as he ran towards it and pushed himself through the door.

[Elyth 0]

"Will I get a- GAH!" Elyth shuddered as the door slammed open. Turning around, she shouted, "Don't do that can't you see I'm dying here- oh, hi."

It was someone who Elyth had seen a long time ago. Miaki, if she remembered correctly.

Now, back to the quest. "Will I get a coat for the quest?"

"Perhaps. Do you accept?" The NPC replied.

"YES" Elyth shouted. The door was still open.

Your cold has worsened. The body has become more rigid and the physical ability has reduced by 15%.The speed at which satiety is reduced has increased by 40%.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki slammed the door shut and looked for anything warm to stand close to. He saw nothing helpful in the room aside from the lights keeping the room lit. Miaki moved towards the counter and interacted with the merchant after the girl beside him was finished. "D-do y-you have any cloaks, coats, or jackets for men?" The NPC brought a finger to her mouth and thought for a moment.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I am out of stock. My stock will be restored tomorrow morning."

"Greeeeaaat." Miaki said with some sarcasm and turned around leaning against the counter. He looked at the girl beside him and blinked a few times. "Don't I know you........." He thought before speaking up. "You may want to be careful out there. The storm has only gotten worse and you could possibly get adverse status effects if you stay out there too long." He told the girl whose name completely escaped him. Something with an 'E' he thought.

[Elyth 0]

"..."

Elyth looked at the Miaki, or whatever his name was.

"You don't say."

Then she looked down at the screen that had just popped up in front of her:

Floor 4- Meeting the Chief

The shopkeeper has run out of «Warm Winter Coats», and needs someone to send to the village chief!

Objective: Find the Village Chief.

Do you accept?

YES/NO

*Ding*

Added Quest: Floor 4- Meeting the Chief

"..."

Having accepted the quest, Elyth turned back to the NPC.

"Are you sure you don't have ANYTHING warm?" she asked.

[Miaki 0]

"Well I do have one thing." The shop owner said to Elyth. Reaching under the counter she protruded a thick fur blanket. I have this blanket here. It's made from a bear pelt and can keep one rather warm."

Miaki interjected. "I'll buy it!" He then looked at the girl beside him feeling like he was stealing her source of warmth. "Ummmmm if you let me pay for it we could take turns using it."

"Nice recover there dude."

"Shut up voice in my head!"

"Aren't you telling me to shut up with your own voice in your own head?"

".............."

He thought he was getting blank stares from both the NPC as well as the girl in front of him. "You can use it first. I just got in from the cold and I ran from a warm tavern just now."

[Elyth 0]

Elyth turned back to the NPC. "Do you have another one of those?"

"Sadly, I do not. However, I do have an umbrella, as you requested earlier, traveler," the NPC storekeeper replied, pulling out a rather enormous umbrella.

That's a big umbrella. I think it can cover my entire body, and maybe more, Elyth thought.

"That's a rather amazing umbrella," Elyth exclaimed.

The NPC laughed. "It's lovely, I know. My mother made it for me. Sadly, I only have one other identical umbrella. Tell me, traveler, in your eyes, how is this umbrella so appealing?"

"It's size and artistry appeal to mine eyes, Ma'am. The contrast in colors is so well picked, and this unique floral pattern is simply too beautiful, especially in comparison to the white landscape outside," Elyth smoothly answered. "Such taste in aesthetics

"Traveler, I can see that you are in need of a tool to repel the raging winds outside. Because you have accepted a quest of mine, and are a fellow appreciator of art, I will allow you to loan my umbrella for your personal use. However, at the end of your quest, I request that you bring it back. As for the quest, please bring this envelope to the Chief. Ensure that he is able to read its contents as soon as possible, for it contains valuable information," the NPC said, before handing Elyth the umbrella and a letter.

Immediately, Elyth put the letter into her inventory. She would need it for the quest.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki watched the NPC interact with Elyth over the large floral umbrella. After agreeing to borrow it for the quest which Miaki assumed she was just started Elyth accepted, she added some envelope to her inventory and looked like she had nothing else to keep her waiting.

"Elyth! That's right! She is friends with Haine." Miaki suddenly recalled the young woman's name. "Excuse me just a second my lady but you might need this." He said sliding the <> across the counter towards her. "You'll need this too probably. I barely got here with this trench coat of mine. Take it please. I'll figure something else out for myself." He said to her. The NPC shop owner watched the two begin to interact with one another and didn't interject.

[Elyth 0]

"Eh!? No, it's alright, the umbrella will be enough- achoo!" Elyth sneezed. She would not accept someone else's charity, no matter how much she thought she might need it. She looked down, before offering, "Well, if you would, please come along..."

Elyth sent a party invitation to Miaki. It seemed like a viable solution.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki looked at the transparent window appear in front of him and accepted the invite. He saw <> added underneath his HP bar and saw her status effect. "Oh my gosh! You have a cold!" Miaki glided his hand across his GUI windows and checked the detailed conditions of Elyth. One of the most recent entries said,

<>'s cold has worsened. The body has become more rigid and the physical ability has reduced by 15%.The speed at which satiety is reduced has increased by 40%.

His basic medical background and caring for others made his next action instinct.

Miaki grabbed the thick blanket from the counter without a second thought and throw it around wide to wrap around Elyth. The blanket was so large that it draped down and could probably wrap around her two full times and some. "We need to get you warmed up first. You can't say no to me right now I won't hear it." He said calmly as he wrapped her up, sensing a protest.

[Elyth 0]

Poop. This guy saw my cold! Elyth shuddered as the thick pelt was draped over her.

She began to protest, or at least make a compromise. "Don't- Don't do that! You shouldn't give me the only object capable of preserving heat, even if I AM cold- W-we're going to share the blanket, like penguins!"

Elyth said a quick "Thank you very much" and bowed to the NPC shopkeeper, before swinging the blanket upon Miaki and herself. She then marched out of the shop, promptly opening the umbrella.

"Let's go!" she said, not waiting for a reply as she dragged herself and Miaki off to find the village chief.

[Miaki 0]

The NPC shopkeeper bowed. "Have a good day travelers."

"Thank you!" Miaki yelled back as the door shut behind them. He was thrown out into the bitter cold again but this time he was with someone and much warmer with the <> wrapped around them. The wind blew but only was a little cold across his face, much better than when he was last outside.

"Wow this is making all the difference."

He glanced in the corner of his vision to the left and saw Elyth wrapped up in the blanket between them. "So what kind of quest are we on? I don't want to pull my hands out from under this to bring up the quest screen. I missed the details while we were inside." He asked Elyth.

[Elyth 0]

It was a bit hard to hear over the roaring of the wind that threatened to destroy the floral umbrella, but Elyth managed to here something along the lines of "What's the quest?"

"The shopkeeper told me to give an envelope to the Chief of this Village!" Elyth shouted. Then she realized that she hadn't asked where the Chief's home was.

"Damn! I don't know where the Chief's house is!" She shouted, before sneezing again.

The snowy village was actually quite large for a village. There weren't many landmarks, and all the houses were about the same sizes. Elyth nearly performed a face-palm, but she was holding the umbrella with one hand, and the other was resting.

[Miaki 0]

"Wait. You don't know where the house is either?" Miaki started looking around for any markers. He lost complete bearings of which way he came from when he ran to the clothing shop.

The wind and heavy snowfall made visibility very difficult. Miaki couldn't see nearly as far as he expected to see. Already the building behind them was out of focus. "Oh dear." Fortunately for them the blanket around them was keeping them warm and protecting them from the winter blasts. Miaki looked up at the floral umbrella, which he at first thought was a weird idea, and saw how well it was working with keeping the snow off of their heads. "Well that was a good idea. Never would've thought of that." "Well atleast this blanket and the umbrella you thought to borrow are doing the trick."

[Elyth 0]

All right, then! Time to ask for directions, Elyth thought. She laughed inwardly at their current situation, and pondered briefly on the effect of fire on snow.

It would not work very well. Unless, of course, they had oil...

No, no. No more pyromania. Simply ask for directions, Elyth, do your thing.

"Miaki! I'm going to ask for directions! Is there an inn around here?" Elyth shouted above the wind, which somehow decided to blow its hardest when Elyth was trying to speak. To her ears, the wind sounded like the moaning of polar bears and that horrible feeling she got whenever she realized that orange juice and pretzels didn't go well together at all.

[Miaki 0]

Even though Miaki and Elyth were only two feet from each other, the winds made it hard for hearing. "If it's in the stock I'm buying something for my ears when this is done." Miaki told himself. Leaning in so he could be heard clearly. "Yes! There is the tavern I was in just before finding you in the shop. This way!" He arm locked his left arm with Elyth's right arm and carefully tugged her so they wouldn't separate or open up the blanket.

He led Elyth rightward toward a set of buildings and found the familiar street where he was running earlier. Not a single NPC or player was in sight. It would seem that every smart person locked themselves inside or spent time on another floor. The sky above was a dark, dark grey and the storm was picking up. "That one up ahead! We're almost to it!" Miaki shouted once he spotted the familiar front to the local village tavern.

[Elyth 0]

"Achoo! Miaki, let's run faster! I need to get to a fire," Elyth suggested. She was going to order some food to go before going outside again. A bed would also be preferable, but she had no time for that. The Village Chief was going to get his letter as soon as possible.

Elyth pulled Miaki into a run, and they soon reached the door of the tavern that Miaki was indicating. Just before they burst inside, Elyth closed the umbrella and put it in her inventory. She was not going to love such an important and lovely umbrella.

"Miaki, I was going to buy some food and ask for directions," Elyth said. "But as I have no navigational sense, I suggest you handle the directions, and I'll get some food and get warm."