[F21-PP] The Wanderer (Nature's Treasure)

[Raidou 1]

It was an amazing thing to see, a proof that all he aspired them to be and all the possibilities that he saw in them a truth. The same change in them as he saw in himself after taking on his own reflection, as if that quest held some secret to a raise in strength, and most of all a strength of spirit. Course was now clear, even through the opaque cloud that Shadow had cast over their very heads. They'd see this through without any hesitation. It was only a matter of understanding where they stood and what direction to head. The rhythm of clattering stones at his side created a drumming, as he continued to sort the lot of the rock. Plucking the ones with worth and leaving the ones without it. A little for a smith, swords and shields. A means to an end and to make everything easier, sure that Griswold would put them to good use.

ID# 190911 results: Craft: 4+2=6, Loot: 17+1=18
LD: 12+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 9+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R3: [276/299]
Total Materials: 28
Total Col: 4500

[Raidou 1]

There was little in the way of sound in this place beside his thoughts, and the soft white noise of a dancing trickle of water at his side. The chorus of his mind was drowning out most of what he could hear, perceive and his hands acted without input. Amassing a nice size query of metal rich stones, leaving a fair amount to tote back to the guilds vault once he was completed with the days tasks. Finding the amount sufficient, Raidou removes from his inventory a burlap sack. Empty but not for long. He begins to pluck and store the ones worth carrying into the lining, causing the bag to stretch with each addition. The thing begins to take on weight, as the stones tossed in clatter together. Pulling tight the small tie that existed just a few inches from the opening, sees it pulled tightly before he winds it around.

ID# 190912 results: Craft: 9+2=11, Loot: 11+1=12
LD: 12+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 9+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R3: [292/299]
Total Materials: 31
Total Col: 6000

[Raidou 1]

Ushering that sack to his left hip and hooking it to a belt that lay there, a brass clip that that linen rope is affixed to. A fair portion of metals to match the portion of plants that littered the bag on the opposed side. Weapons and potions, on to the next in sequence. Practiced and practical meditation with purpose two fold. To the far wall, that same signature glimmer along the rough stone. Nemo was on to his own devices and working away clipping and cropping. Even still he couldn't help but eye Raidou, looking for some malicious intent but was still unable to find any. Drawing his sword from its scabbard as he rubbed his left hand along the cold and slightly damp stone wall. Sizing up the rough, locking in on the unpolished and uncut gemstone that lay just beneath. Soft glimmers bleed from what was able to be seen through.

ID# 190913 results: Craft: 8+2=10, Loot: 2+1=3
LD: 12+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 9+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R3: [295/299]
Total Materials: 31
Total Col: 6000

[Raidou 1]

A twist of that blade sees the edge into the wall, using the point as a wedge. Sliding in but a few inches and Raidou begins to rock, wiggling the point in the surface of stone. A scattering of pebbles and shards begin to fall as he uses his weapon like a chisel. A solid thud soon after sees an uncut and oddly shaped diamond fall to the floor, the first of many that he'd line his pockets with before this trip was through. Thoughts advance to Kasumi who could surely use what he'd find. Ripping clean his blade and planting it slightly off kilter where it was first inserted. There was more to be had, more to take home. He'd claim as much as burden would allow, making the trip as fruitful as he could before his return. Another outcry of fragments as they fell in shards, as the nomad worked away diligently at it with a routine.

ID# 190914 results: Craft: 9+2=11, Loot: 5+1=6
LD: 12+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 9+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R3: [298/299]
Total Materials: 31
Total Col: 6000

[Raidou 1]

That same routine he had developed and need not change, for it was developed over days that quickly became weeks. Another solid thud at his feet, a large ruby equally misshapen. Shuffling it over with his toes, best not allow it to unstable his footing. It clatters with the other, the beginnings of a small pile as his attentions shift back to the wall. Another plant of his weapons point into that roughness, aiming carefully and shoving that golden metal in like a wedge. Cutting deeper into the stone, it cracks and breaks as the alloy breaks and tears away at its surface. Small billows of white, akin to that of a small cave in as he makes efforts toward the next within it. Constantly exerted pressure, consistency in the force applied. Like a scalpel on the end of a large rod, he tightens his grip and continues to dig in.

ID# 190915 results: Craft: 1+2=3, Loot: 8+1=9
LD: 12+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 9+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R3: [301/299]
Foraging Rank 3 -> 4
Total Materials: 31
Total Col: 6000

[Raidou 1]

It proves more solid then he wished it to be, as he worms that extension of steel into its body. A bit more pressure and the blade slips just a bit in, taking care not to bend too harshly. Else he'd risk damaging his sword, which although the thing was almost perfection he'd not risk it. The thing had served him well to this point and he'd not mistreat it. Raidou was always the sentimental sort. Protecting what he had, taking care of what was under his grasp. That sentiment was true in all he did, and there would be those who would not share it. Others were so quick to discard what he considered a good thing, holding close that which was given to him until the end. There was no way of knowing what something's true usage was, even the smallest of flower could have a power untold.

ID# 190916 results: Craft: 5+2=7, Loot: 8+1=9
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [304/499]
Total Materials: 31
Total Col: 6000

[Raidou 1]

Raidou was no stranger to plants, and given the guild no longer a stranger to collecting other more obtuse objects. Although they wouldn't serve him directly, they all had a purpose and an owner. Nemo began to move from the plants to the stone that Raidou had destroyed. Looking to it with a grimace before he realized the pieces he had left were beginning to fuse together slowly, like a bone healing. By leaving half of it behind and only taking the richest pieces, it sped up its respawn timer considerably. Always thinking of the big picture, Nemo couldn't help but smile as his uncomfortable feeling fades with the acknowledgement. Raidou was respecting this place, keeping it growing with every action. Taking care to take just enough and not too much. The nomad doesn't even notice, in his intensity. But there was a reason that he was so carefully putting extra stress on his blade.

ID# 190917 results: Craft: 9+2=11, Loot: 14+1=15
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [320/499]
Total Materials: 34
Total Col: 7500

[Raidou 1]

Again there was a tone, a monologue of voices ringing in Raidou's ears as that simply never stopped. No one understood what it was like to be him, or so it seemed. They just assumed his silence was some form of complacency or what have you. But the truth was he was always listening, recording what was spoken. It was in these sort of places, where he was alone. Excluding Nemo, that he'd reflect inward and start to process what was spoken to him. NIGHT, Baldur, Kiluia. The voices bubbled up from the cauldron, mixing and working their way toward an epiphany. But not just words but actions, what was done found its place in his memory as well. Raidou began to unravel it and refine it, seeing how those chains could be made. An impale, a bypass. A guard, a fishing line. A bottle used as a weight, intrigue and engineering.

ID# 190918 results: Craft: 3+2=5, Loot: 19+1=20
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [336/499]
Total Materials: 36
Total Col: 7500

[Raidou 1]

As his mind raced building a semblance of choreography in that theatre behind his eyes, another step. Like a waltz, putting the equation together. A horizontal cleave from a strike, that connects to a blade held from handle and blade. Slamming into it with a shower of sparks, a metallic grinding and a flash of light. A flutter of a robe as he pivots and jams the blade through a chest exposed. A sudden jerk as he abandons his grip, around the target and grabbing the point that stuck through its back. A violent pull sees it dug deeper and punctured fully through imaginary armor. An ode to the girl in raven hair that would exploit a back, to the man with a wall that would use both arms to block it. A man with ivory hair that would see an attack through any form of armor. It needed further refinement, but it was interesting conjecture.

ID# 190919 results: Craft: 12+2=14, Loot: 9+1=10
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [339/499]
Total Materials: 36
Total Col: 7500

[Raidou 1]

Counting back the steps as on autopilot he plucks free another emerald, building it and drawing it out like a mathematical equation. Adjusting stance, location and trigger point. Blade location, when the energy would need to be applied and the skill triggered. What degree the attack would need to be placed for execution, everything being placed into the formula. It would need cleaning, refinement and some testing before it was utilized. But it was worth a thought, learning from those around him was where his strength stemmed. Curious still how to focus it into something meaningful, optimal. That was always the question, what needed to change and what he could perform. Adapting it to himself, taking the best parts of what he could muster. Another thud of a gemstone draws him to look down and shift it from beneath his feet, lost in the transcribing on how to shift what he knew.

ID# 190920 results: Craft: 9+2=11, Loot: 13+1=14
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [355/499]
Total Materials: 39
Total Col: 9000

[Raidou 1]

Allowing all the little thoughts that rattled around behind his eyes to weigh in and check against what it was he capable of, what wasn't possible and what he could utilize in his own methods. A man unconvinced that there was nothing more to learn, although some things wouldn't allow him to grow he could increase his mental capacity. Understanding his opponents and his peers, exploiting what was available for him to peruse. A method that he'd practiced on the regular, and although others didn't quite see the value in it: his malleability it was his greatest strength. Sliding a single held and obtuse looking gemstone in a pale pink in his grip, a soft smile painted on his lips as the memory of who it reminded him of riddled through his head.  A blonde in plate armor, one that was surely gaining strength in her own right through her own efforts.

ID# 190921 results: Craft: 9+2=11, Loot: 13+1=14
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [371/499]
Total Materials: 42
Total Col: 10500

[Raidou 1]

Still she lingered on his friends list, the guild roster and even still Raidou didn't know where she belonged or how to palette what she meant. The wanderer was always the last to process his own feelings, although he acted like an exposed nerve when it came to those around him. Always concerned with every life excluding his own, a slight twist of the lenses on his brow. Struggling to be convinced that those that spoke as if it wasn't an actuality, as if he wasn't rolling near some grave eager to accept him into its confines. A dark embrace awaiting soil to cover it. A glance toward that gem, he drops it to the floor and flips his steel. Implanting the point and beginning to drive it like a chisel, a shower of shards in stone scattering beneath his stable feet. Trying to press thoughts that he couldn't wade through out of the forefront.

ID# 190922 results: Craft: 8+2=10, Loot: 11+1=12
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [387/499]
Total Materials: 45
Total Col: 12000

[Raidou 1]

A blur of whirling thoughts that scattered behind a pair of lenses that played the part of tether, a line in a storm that anchored him to a tree. Lest he blow away in that swirling tide of invisible hands and voices. Another jostle of the lenses that held to his brow, as a fair size gem of pure purple. An amethyst or something similar, lands beneath him with a clatter and thud. Coming to a stop, taking its place near the other shades in equal unclean carving. A bit of static riddled the fibers of his hands and arms, a slight jerk of power left unused. An ode to his strength and a personification of journeys made. There was a sense of peace despite the conditions the whole of Aincrad's players were subject to. The recent raid had been a proof, the caution was welcome. Although his mind began to unravel there, the whole of them left unscathed.

ID# 190923 results: Craft: 1+2=3, Loot: 2+1=3
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [390/499]
Total Materials: 45
Total Col: 12000

[Raidou 1]

A catalog of faces riddled through his head, the guilds very captains stood as one with others that were willing to make that gambit. A sense of pride and safety, in the fact that like he they saw value in the others that were willing to stand on that field with them. Even more so were a few that he had not expected to see, some fit the bill but others were not obvious. But there was a proof in seeing them hold the ground against the coming swelling tides of darkness and ink. Despite all that was forced toward them, all razor like teeth sent for their skin that they stood against it all. Pride. They may not see it as what it was, and they were entitled to such a thing. Raidou would not forget it though, their step into the fires so that others weaker then them would not have to. 

ID# 190924 results: Craft: 1+2=3, Loot: 10+1=11
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [398/499]
Total Materials: 46
Total Col: 12000

[Raidou 1]

That last clatter of gemstone near the first, jewels producing a fair size pile beneath his heels. A flourish of his steel sees it docked upon his back with ease, finding its scabbard and being released. Down to the floor the swordsman begins to bundle and pocket up the uncut stones into a linen bag one after another. Banging together with a clatter as the bag stretches slightly with each new addition, a pull of the drawstring sees it locked shut and added to his left hip near others. "Not good enough, but good time." Raidou quips beneath his breath as a vocal semblance of his thoughts out loud. Rising and a traveling scan of his surroundings and even still Nemo seemed somewhat locked in his direction. It seemed that no matter how long he stared that the red wanderer was too far an enigma for the NPC to palette, to yield some meaning in his motives.

ID# 190925 results: Craft: 10+2=12, Loot: 13+1=14
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [414/499]
Total Materials: 46
Total Col: 12000

[Raidou 1]

Their eyes meet for but a moment, and Raidou cannot help but smile. An intentional instillation of confidence in both the NPC and himself. Pushing away with a trail of his glance away, righting the pair of glasses on his nose in a flair of white in reflection. To the pond he drops a hand into the bitter chill. Remembering the presence of shellfish upon its lining, knowing full well the clams that laid beneath its surface. The water almost burned as he held those very same spectacles on the bridge of his nose with his other hand, his torso pressed against the rim holding him solid. A soft swish and sway of the water beneath him, as through feeling alone he drags his fingertips across the rough bottom that he could hardly see through. Nothing yet, but Raidou was nothing short of persistent and had quite some time left to kill. He'd yield something after not too long.

ID# 190926 results: Craft: 1+2=3, Loot: 6+1=7
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [417/499]
Total Materials: 46
Total Col: 12000

[Raidou 1]

A shift of his shoulder as everything below his elbow was engulfed in almost ice like water. The icy chill that held to his skin held aloft by from the traveler's skill, another gift from his motivations that pushed him further and further along his path with seemingly no direction at first interpretation. A brush of outstretched fingers and a lock of his eyes where it was felt. Beneath the water in its murky and opaque surface sees but a single black looking smooth stone just beneath his hands, more feeling that sight allows its confirmation. It was smooth, like a finely furnished tables top. Slightly curved as he slides those same fingers toward an outer part of its circumference, seeking the edge where he'd grasp it carefully else it would escape. A solid yet gentle grasp and pull sees one of that which he had sought, laying upon a still dripping palm and slightly soaked sleeve.

ID# 190927 results: Craft: 7+2=9, Loot: 12+1=13
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [433/499]
Total Materials: 49
Total Col: 13500

[Raidou 1]

Dripping sleeves as his arm is thrust back below, eagerly seeking out what was hidden beneath that filth and chilled water. Scanning the bottom of the pond, what lay just outside of sight and using the feeling in his fingertips alone to seek what he was after. His memories dived in with them, trailing back into the flurry where he could sense himself unravel with every moment. That permafrost in swirling white that threatened to bury everything beneath its ever covering presence. A disconnect from his motions and his thoughts, as the thoughts of those he experienced within that storm. A million faces, a string of words like cables to a puppet that moved different as each was tugged. It was difficult being everyone but no one, understanding but not. For others memory was something that was controllable, forgettable and could fade. But for Raidou it was as real as if it was still happening every moment he was awake.

ID# 190928 results: Craft: 7+2=9, Loot: 3+1=4
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [436/499]
Total Materials: 49
Total Col: 13500

[Raidou 1]

A single praise near the end of that echo, the warmth of an embrace from a phantom that he'd assumed had forgotten him after all this time. That same specter now played his apprentice and was learning quite readily from the swordsman in red, coming to terms with her place as he had quite some time ago. When it came to being a warrior lost to time, Raidou was quite the excellent specimen. Another clasped clam finds its way into a pile of others like it. In an oil like gloss, slightly gleaming from the moisture upon them. More materials for a chef that Raidou needed an excuse to seek out, this was no different from others before it. By having such a thing, an easy attempt at dragging them into purview and noting their safety would be simple. In the same right, taking down the different problems in the same tossed stone was more than a welcome affair.

ID# 190929 results: Craft: 8+2=10, Loot: 19+1=20
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [452/499]
Total Materials: 52
Total Col: 15000

[Raidou 1]

Like a machine, Raidou continues to enter and exit the waters with more and more of these undisturbed shellfish in his clutches. Wanting eagerly whatever he could yield in the shortest amount of time, pushing himself to the limit and placing the burning sensation on his arm in the back of his mind. Diligence would wait for no issue, his pace came from his inability to give in to what was placed before him. Disagreeing what was set up to slow him down, like every mission or task set before him, he'd tear it asunder such the same. A pair of glasses that continued to attempt to leave his face still held right with his left arm. That pile at his side continues to gain girth and grow, more and more of these polished looking stones still waiting to be cracked open and used for whatever Gaius would end up using them for.

ID# 190930 results: Craft: 2+2=4, Loot: 17+1=18
LD: 11+ [1 Mat], CD: 5+ [1 Mat], 8+ [2 Mats, 1500 col]
Foraging attempts: +3 EXP
Successful forage: +8 EXP
Critical forage: +16 EXP
Foraging R4: [460/499]
Total Materials: 53
Total Col: 15000