[F01-PP] music miscreants <<EaL:Performer>>

[Basuke 0]

quest.

from the other day, it was just the two of them headed back to yogan village. and basuke had been making small talk. one of the things he noticed about demian was the fact that he had weird looking bedhead that made him look cool, unlike basuke’s poor excuse for a messy hair-do.

so he was asking earnestly about demian’s routine, given that he’d obviously done a dye job. and demian merely snorted at the question. “uh, you can dye your own hair in aincrad. you know that, right?”

basuke did not know that. he’d tugged at a few tufts on his head. “if i’d known sooner,” he admitted, “i’d have dyed it a different colour!”

demian did not look interested. but something in basuke wanted him to be a little interested. so he turned to his new acquaintance – “hey, what do you think would look good on me?”

the man assessed him briefly, partially annoyed.

“blond.”

Lv: 19 | Basuke | HP: 380/380 | EN: 56/56 | ACC: 4 | DMG: 16 | BRN: 28 | BLD: 24 | LD: 3 Spoiler equipment. Tri-Hexagon Metal Pin ACC III Wooden Omamori LD III Blazing Heart BLD (24), BRN (28) battle-ready inventory. Teleport Crystal (1) buffs. Spoiler   skills. Spoiler mods: 0/5 Straight Sword R5 stamina, precision, ferocity Combat Mastery: DMG R3 Cloth Armor R5

 

[Demian 0]

demian failed to elaborate further, and basuke was too busy considering himself in blond hair. in the following days, whilst he was unaware of the busyness of everyone else in their involvement with the boss fight, he went about looking for hair dye. the shops on the first didn’t help a lot, so he got in contact with demian about the possibility of finding something (a recipe?) that might.

demian responded in a few hours: not by text, but by showing up at his campsite.

“woah! hey, it’s demian!” basuke had called out, partway through drying his hair after having pulled himself out from a lake (he was swimming. er, showering?). he didn’t even think twice about how the man was able to get his location in the middle of nowhere, or about where he’d gotten the dye from. but demian was quiet, apparently aggravated from the way he hunched his shoulders forward in an almost brooding manner.

Lv.11 | Demian | HP: 230/230 | EN: 38/38 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | REGEN: 4 | LD: 3  note: handing basuke the following: Berry Crumb Bars | LD III | [19/04/20]  yaki hatahata. | TIER 1 MEAL | MIT III beef stew. | TIERLESS MEAL | OVERHEALTH III Fruit Juice | TIERLESS POTION | HP RECOVERY II | (10) smores. | TIERLESS DESSERT | EVA II Spoiler equipped Torres Special DMG III Enduring Stand MIT (12), REGEN (4) bauble. ACC II, EVA I br-inventory Teleport Crystal (1) Fruit Juice (5) | [23/10/20] +10% HP RECOVERY Fruit Juice (5) | [24/10/20]  +10% HP RECOVERY skills Spoiler mods: 0/5 STRAIGHT SWORD R5 stamina, precision, ferocity COMBAT MASTERY DMG R3 data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs Spoiler Berry Crumb Bars | LD III | [19/04/20]  crème brûlée. | TIERLESS DESSERT | ACC II smores. | TIERLESS DESSERT | EVA II yaki hatahata. | TIER 1 MEAL | MIT III beef stew. | TIERLESS MEAL | OVERHEALTH III data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== sword arts Spoiler ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x15 -> x18 TECH-A | x12 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x12 | DELAY TECH-F | x8 | AOE STUN  data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

[Basuke 0]

basuke thought he looked almost villainous with his fur coat exaggerating his silhouette, and that made demian cool.

“here’s your dye,” the man spoke gruffly, looking over the poor state of basuke’s present lodgings. the mixture was in a makeshift container – it looked homemade rather than bought. and the colour looked shoddier than the ones he swore he saw in the shops he’d visited.

basuke scooped it up excitedly anyway, holding it up like a prized possession. “i can’t believe it! so soon? man, you work fast.”

and demian shrugged, more interested now in the squeaking familiar approaching his feet. it looked almost pitiable with the way it wriggled, but demian said nothing on the state of his acquaintance’s affairs. then, he looked about the camp once more.

“... do you really just live like this?”

basuke looked back at him, shocked. “what, like the meme?”

it prompted demian to flinch, and start to turn around to walk away.

“you should find somewhere better to stay at. it’s dangerous out here. get a house or something.”

and basuke couldn’t tell what demian’s intent behind that message was, beyond jest and good will.

basuke didn’t even know how to apply the dye, but he figured it out eventually, especially with smiggle crocs v’s encouragement. he knew, at best, you were supposed to do it over a sink or basin when applying the dye. leave it on for a few minutes – few being a questionable keyword there, so he left it on for an hour – and when he was done, he washed the dye off.

even if he messed up a few steps, basuke could definitely admit demian had good taste and a great eye from looking upon his reflection in the lake. then, together with smiggle crocs v, they went out on a search for acquiring a house.

turns out, they didn’t have to go very far, but they were also astounded by the price range.

“it’s how much?!”

“scree?!?!?!?!!”

basuke didn’t have 20,000 col on hand. the best he ever got was the starter package, and he was only slightly above that amount after scrimping on everything else he had in life.

there was also the additional factor that he didn’t think his friends had the money, too. most of them didn’t seem to respond, and the last he knew, night had sent him a measly 100 col. he was rich in comparison to her, he bet. everyone was struggling to get by in aincrad.

the plots for guild halls were also just as astonishing. he really did wonder how the game expected them to afford huge sums of money like so. there must be some alternate ways to finding lodging safely, basuke figured, especially when trying to keep safe – if danger was outside, then even more danger was in fighting an actual enemy, and demian didn’t want that for him.

so he thought and looked. and then he remembered the player-owned stores.

then he also found out night had moved her own, so he prayed she would respond to his messages.

basuke: hey night, can i stay in your shop?
night: ?
night: they’re free
basuke: THEY’RE WHAT
night: there’s a bunch of quests called earning the living on the first floor
night: i mean you need a profession for the workshop but they’re technically free so

– so that meant he had a job to do! he sent night his thanks, before charging to the first floor, smiggle’s head poking out of his hoodie pocket expectantly. the search for a quest – basuke had done that before, and saw no problems with trying to track it down on the first.

except–

he was distracted running down the streets by a familiar messy bedhead. talking to some girl, who lead him into a hole in the wall sort of shop. suspect, for it didn’t exactly have that many signs. demian?

for someone who was warning him about dangerous places, he sure wondered why demian was approaching danger himself. so basuke gave his tsuchinoko a little headrub. “i think it’s better if we go in there and check on him, don’t you?”

his familiar wriggled back fervently. “scree!!”

inside the ‘shop’, there was little to take note of. even more confusing was where demian had gone to.

the place seemed a little deserted, with only a stranger idling by – he was up on stage, playing a lute, breaking out into the sickest rock song the moment basuke walked through the door. so basuke was immediately distracted (or, moreso he gave up looking for demian, seeing as he wasn’t exactly present) and went straight for the bard to ask him a question. “hey, did you see some guy with purple hair coming in through this door just now?”

and the bard stopped partway, confused. “huh? sorry kid. didn’t see nobody while i was in the middle of jammin’ out my muse. hey, you interested in giving this a try?”

dead end. but the notification that popped up for basuke spoke about that elusive key phrase – “earning a living” – and the boy figured it was just his luck! so too did smiggle v hop around in his pouch. the strange store was definitely a little out of place – but so long as it was a roof over his head, basuke figured he could deal just fine.

---

basuke taking demian's consumables and eating them (except the fruit juice). updating stats:

Basuke | HP: 437/437 | EN: 56/56 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | DMG: 16 | MIT: 18 | BRN: 28 | BLD: 24 | LD: 6

[Demian 0]

and his timing felt a little ironic. no sooner did he accept the quest did demian walk out of the backroom of the shop, the noise of the door swinging open catching basuke’s attention. and demian seemed nonchalant until he noticed basuke present, so he swooped in to query basuke, just as the quest npc – landon? was his name? – was speaking to him about the pre-requisite materials.

whoever that lady was tailed behind him.

“what are you doing over here?”

basuke shrugged plainly. “getting some place to stay like you said.”

demian sneered at him, but was silent for a beat or two longer than basuke would’ve expected. when demian spoke again, he folded his arms. “in a workshop. really? it’s kind of dingy to do such a thing, don’t you think?”

“wh–”

just as basuke was about to bite back with an argument, his friend butted in, leaning past the man with a look of disbelief. she’d been a silhouette of blue earlier, hues melting into purple, with short matted hair and a scarfed light armor, looking like she would’ve drifted off into the wind.

 

[Basuke 0]

up close, basuke could tell she had yellow eyes, pupils sharp like a cat’s, tiny fangs in her mouth and a large forehead. the woman shielded her words with a raised palm.

“hey! are you close enough to demian for him to be talking that way to you?”

“could be closer,” basuke said unironically.

demian quickly earned himself a jab to the ribs, to which he barely winced over. “mostima, he’s no one,” the man tried to reason. it made basuke feel a little insulted, and the woman raised her finger to his lips.

“ah– no. if you recognize him, and –” she looked back to basuke briefly, “ – gave him some advice, furthermore, he’s not just no one. he’s got to be your friend at this point!”

both mostima and basuke were beaming as they exchanged looks. was this woman a mind reader? the boy sure figured!

“a friend,” basuke repeated, joyous.

---

updating battle-ready inventory to also include the fruit juice (10). used two slots to hold fruit juice (5) each.

[Demian 0]

but he toned it down a little in lieu of demian’s sourness. “or a close acquaintance. we went on an errand for someone together on the ninth floor the other day!”

mostima clapped her hands, excited. “oh! so that’s what you were busy with!” she directed her gaze to demian, who was trying not to be noticed in the conversation. the scarf she wore curled around his back, despite the lack of a draft. “you know, if you gave us more information about things like these, we wouldn’t have to keep pestering you about your whereabouts all the time.”

“it was nothing,” he returned, to the stronger hold of mostima’s arm around his waist. despite being shorter than demian, and only slightly taller than basuke, she seemed like the stronger of the two with the way she was holding him by force.

“you were out making a new friend! it was everything.”

[Basuke 0]

and the stronger slap on his back from mostima made demian keel a little, but mostima gave basuke a wave and landon a separate salute. “well! i’m done for today over here. if you two are headed out on the quest, stay safe, and play nice, okay? ciao~!”

“bye mostima!” basuke returned the farewell cheerily, just as demian righted himself, blinking tiredly. after checking over his shoulder for a moment, demian turned back to landon with a raised palm.

“ciao.”

“oh, demian, you’re leaving already?”

basuke’s question was answered by the man’s tug on his wrist, pulling the pair out of the shop. demian let out a sigh as they stepped out into daylight, but the man leaned back against the crusty wall outside just as demian let go of his friend. he rolled his head over to assess the state of the other. basuke looked somewhat irritated from the whirl of information thrown at him, and a little flushed, and tense.

[Demian 0]

“well. basuke, are you even a musician?”

the boy squinted as he looked towards the door of the shop. “is that what that was about?”

demian pointed within with his thumb extended. “this is a music store. there was a recording booth in the back. some people like to visit to record vocals for others to use, or for their own purposes, when remixing with crystals.”

“crystals?” basuke thought for a moment, before retrieving a rounded diamond from his inventory – the new life song. “you mean… something like this?”

demian looked incredibly surprised. “why do you even have that?”

“got it from an event, i guess.”

“how long ago?”

basuke strained to recall. “a few years by now, i guess. some time during christmas.”

demian hummed, pushing himself off the wall. “you still haven’t answered me about the music part. do you know how to make it, or not?”

[Basuke 0]

“erm– not really.” tucking away the crystal, basuke shoved a palm across the back of his scalp, wondering if he should be concerned at all. “but– hey, you know how to, right?”

his friend raised a brow. “i suppose i know a little.”

“then you can teach me, can’t you?”

demian looked into the distance, crossing his arms. “well, it’s not that easy…”

“well, do i even need to be good at it to complete the quest?”

demian squinted, as the boy looked up to him. “are you even thinking of making money off of your songs?”

“not really, no?”

and the question coming from basuke stunned demian speechless. as he searched for words, basuke continued to speak, waving about with a scrunched face trying to justify having embarked on the quest himself. “look, all i need is a place to stay in for a little while if you say it’s so dangerous outside. hell, i could bum it out on the streets right now if i so choose to… it’s just rougher than it was outdoors, s’all.”

[Demian 0]

to demian, it seemed like a waste of a good profession. so he sighed, and placed a hand on basuke’s shoulder – the act of which made the young player flinch.

“okay,” he said.

“okay what?”

“i’ll teach you how to make music.” demian raised a finger. “not teaching you how to play an instrument, just theory – the basics. you get to decide what to pick up, and then maybe i’ll find someone to help you out for a cost. deal?”

basuke’s eyes lit up as though he saw all the glowsticks raised at a concert from the perspective of a celebrity. when demian offered his hand, basuke shook it, excited – because though he had no experience in the field, making music on its own did sound like an intriguing proposition.

“yeah! deal!” the boy grinned, feeling demian’s arm slide around his shoulders to pull him close as they walked. and he was ecstatic, feeling just as cool as he believed demian was.

“great. now let’s get that quest completed before we take the next steps. c’mon.”

“aye aye!”

[Basuke 0]

out past the gates. basuke had searched for materials before, so he knew approximately what they looked like. so too did his familiar screech when it believed he got close to one, so after a quick dip around, he managed to find one amidst the grass. basuke held it up for demian to see – a white ball of something-or-other.

“look what i got! haha, this will be a cinch!”

and demian seemed unmoved, almost confused. “that’s one way to go about looking for materials, i suppose.”

“one way?” basuke tilted his head. “hold on, don’t tell me you gather it by hunting enemies, too.”

“not always.” demian replied, summoning forth his sword. “but it’s the easiest way to get them.”

“so much for telling me to be safe when you’re not.”

“well –” demian offered basuke a hand, helping him up to his feet. “ – there’s two of us now. so that makes us extra safe if we take them on together, don’t you think?”

---

ID216231 | ld14+6 = 20 | 1/5 materials found.

[Demian 0]

they went further out, towards the stone valley. as the landscape changed around them, so too did the monsters – basuke frequently made note to stay away from areas such as these when camping due to their aggressive nature. but it didn’t seem as though demian had minded. whilst they were walking through the forest, the man had his head held high – basuke’s kept his lowered, sunk into his jacket to protect himself. was demian already trained in fighting – so frequently that he’d stick his own neck out?

a long howl came from afar, and that’s when demian stopped. 

“they’ll approach us in a minute.”

so basuke drew his blade, too. he looked about, but he couldn’t see anything. rather, he could feel the trembles of his own familiar at the shriek of whatever was within the woods. “do you usually come out here to hunt?”

“if i’m on this floor when i need materials,” demian said, turning to face him. “sure.”

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: TECH-F | STUN

ID216234 | bd5+4=9 | -> Warg#1
ID216235 | bd6+4=10 | -> Warg#2
ID216236 | bd8+4=12 | -> Warg#3
ID216237 | bd8+4=12 | -> Warg#4

8 * 16 = 126 DMG
8+8-2 = 14 EN

---

Warg #1 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #2 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #3 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #4 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76

Basuke | HP: 437/437 | EN: 56/56 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18 | BRN: 28 | BLD: 24 | LD: 6
Demian | HP: 230/230 | EN: 24/38 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | REGEN: 4 | LD: 3 

 

[Basuke 0]

demian often had an eyepatch on, and today was no different. but what changed was that in the dark, basuke could make out a faint pink sigil engraved onto the leather – and it glowed, almost bright enough for him to see into the dark. it wasn’t a flashlight, but it worked well as a marker for him to pinpoint where his ally was, besides the green crystal above his head.

without warning, demian grabbed basuke by the collar of his hoodie and flung him aside. his sword arm struck the ground tip-first. while the world was a mess of dark, earthy colours speckled with light, demian’s call out – “there’s seven of them present; here’s the vanguard!” – told the boy all he needed to know about their situation.

he rolled, and picked himself up from the ground as he shook the dirt off himself. turned to demian, he spotted their enemy besides the man. four were present, each stuck in one place.

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: AOE-I

ID216238 | bd4+4=8 | -> Warg#1
ID216239 | bd8+4=12 | -> Warg#2
ID216240 | bd5+4=9 | -> Warg#3
ID216241 | bd1 | -> Warg#4

11 * 16 = 176 DMG
11+8-2 = 17 EN

---

Warg #1 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #2 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #3 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #4 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76 | STUNNED

Basuke | HP: 437/437 | EN: 39/56 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18 | BRN: 28 | BLD: 24 | LD: 6
Demian | HP: 230/230 | EN: 24/38 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | REGEN: 4 | LD: 3 

---

Looting:

ID: 216244 | LD: 14 (8, +6) | CD: 10 | 2,052col, Rare Armor (1)
ID: 216243 | LD: 14 (8, +6) | CD: 7 | 1,140col, Materials (2), Rare Weapon (1), Uncommon Consumable (1)
ID: 216242 | LD: 22 (16, +6) | CD: 10 | 2,736col, Perfect Trinket (1)

 

[Demian 0]

so basuke returned the favour, directing his aggravation of having been picked up and tossed around towards the enemies with a series of forward strikes. his movements seemed sluggish, his swings too wide – but it did him fine to tear three of them into pieces, as the other darted towards demian, swerving off a near-by high ground. the warg lunged – basuke hadn’t even registered that they were wolves – and was promptly parried by the man’s sword. the boy looked to his own – flashier than demian’s generic piece.

“too slow,” demian commented, though his voice held no hint of accusation to it. 

with one shove, he repelled the lone warg. it darted about, trying to catch their attention – a distraction for the rest of the pack. basuke kept his eye on it, though demian had torn his away, turning to the three late gentlemen, strutting in with less ferocity. if they’d assumed their quarry was already torn from limb to limb, they would be required to reassess their position.

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: TECH-F | STUN

ID216245 | bd3+4=7 | -> Warg#5
ID216246 | bd6+4=10 | -> Warg#6
ID216247 | bd5+4=9 | -> Warg#7

8 * 16 = 126 DMG
8+8-2-2 = 12 EN

---

Warg #5 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #6 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #7 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #4 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76

Basuke | HP: 437/437 | EN: 39/56 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18 | BRN: 28 | BLD: 24 | LD: 6
Demian | HP: 230/230 | EN: 12/38 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | REGEN: 4 | LD: 3 

 

[Basuke 0]

so the tip of his sword sank into dirt again, and a rumble underneath him stopped the approaching wargs from movement, figures frozen in place as they’d transitioned into a more ferocious attack. their distraction quickly shifted towards the trio, guarding their front with its body, snarling at the players.

basuke seemed to hesitate.

“it’s fine if i take them all down,” he asked, looking to demian for a response. “right? that’s the eradication of a whole pack right there–”

“in the field,” demian replied, a hand slotted into his pant’s pocket. “you don’t usually have the luxury of deciding. i figured you’d seen this sort of behaviour before, in a pack.”

the boy sucked in his lower lip, nodding, before giving the wolves a promising final blow. a swift uppercut, basuke sliced the guardian upwards before jabbing forward, trying to be accurate – one pierce for each stunned warg, and the canines were down for the count. the ashes they left behind drifted peacefully upwards after the shatters of their forms, as demian set a hand on his shoulder again.

Spoiler

> POST ACTION: AOE-I

ID216248 | bd2+4=6 | -> Warg#4
ID216249 | bd2+4=6 | -> Warg#5
ID216250 | bd8+4=12 | -> Warg#6
ID216251 | bd10 | -> Warg#7

11 * 16 = 176 DMG
11+8-2-2 = 15 EN

---

Warg #5 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #6 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #7 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76
Warg #4 | HP: 102/228 | DMG: 76

Basuke | HP: 437/437 | EN: 24/56 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 18 | BRN: 28 | BLD: 24 | LD: 6
Demian | HP: 230/230 | EN: 12/38 | DMG: 16 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 30 | REGEN: 4 | LD: 3 

---

Looting:

ID: 216255 | LD: 7 (1, +6) | CD: 8 | 1,368col, Materials (2), Rare Trinket (1)
ID: 216254 | LD: 12 (6, +6) | CD: 9 | 1,596col, Materials (2), Rare Armor (1)
ID: 216253 | LD: 7 (1, +6) | CD: 6 | 1,368col, Materials (2), Rare Trinket (1)
ID: 216252 | LD: 19 (13, +6) | CD: 10 | 2,052col, Materials (2), Perfect Weapon (1)

 

[Demian 0]

“nice work.” he peered over the other’s loot window, trying to take a gander. “did you get all your materials yet?”

and basuke had completely forgotten he was here to do such a thing. so he looked to his quest log – and the prerequisite counter was filled. 

“oh hey! yeah, i guess i did!”

“good.” demian pat the boy on the shoulder once again, before walking past him, headed back the way they came from. “means we get more time to figure out how to work with the performance crystals once landon hands them to you.”

“ah, right!” 

closing his window, basuke ran to catch up to demian. the road back was long, and basuke didn’t mind, so long as they had something to talk about. on the topic of music and crystals, he did wonder what demian’s speciality was – he hadn’t seen him hauling around an instrument just yet.

[Basuke 0]

“hey,” basuke spoke up, looking towards him for answers. “so earlier you said no instruments, just theory.”

“that’s right.”

“then what were you doing with mostima in the recording booth?”

demian hummed, short. there was a brief pause as his eyes looked away, before they settled on basuke again, this time with a smile. it made basuke feel a little uneasy –

“oh. she was recording a song for someone, and wanted me to review the vocals. that’s all.”

– until he heard the reason behind it. basuke nodded, curious now. “is it someone… you know too?”

his friend’s expression slowly changed, the man straightening his back a little. 

“somewhat.”

basuke blinked twice. what was with the hesitation? he’d assumed demian had a history with mostima himself – was this in relation to that? the boy let out a carefree, “oh,” before considering what to say. “you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“good,” demian replied, watching basuke from the corner of his vision. “i wasn’t going to.”

[Demian 0]

they got back to landon’s safe and sound. basuke barely remembered the route they took through the city to get there, because the moment demian entered the town of beginnings, the man had decided to stray from the main road and look to the back alleys. when basuke had spoken up about it (“hey! where’re you going? the shop’s down this way, isn’t it?”) demian shrugged his calls off. (“taking a shortcut. this way’s faster.”)

basuke had observed the man was incorrect in his judgement, but couldn’t determine if it was because demian’s walking speed had slowed down in accordance to basuke keeping up with him throughout the narrow streets.

in the shop, it was uncharacteristically quiet – but it seemed as though landon was fixing one of the strings on his lute. demian whistled as he noticed this – “hey landon. hope we’re not intruding – rocked out too hard earlier?”

landon laughed in response. “yeah, i suppose you could say that.”

[Basuke 0]

demian gestured to basuke with a thumb, too. “it’s cool. look, this kid’s lacking instrument knowledge anyway, so why don’t we sit down and help him out together?”

“what?” hey, this wasn’t part of the deal. basuke looked to demian, devastated, as the man approached landon with an open hand.

“i gotta fix my lute. you know that.”

“i can fix it up faster for you. hand it over.”

landon eyed demian suspiciously as he got close. but he held out the lute for demian to take it, before gesturing to basuke to walk towards him. “did you bring the materials from earlier?”

basuke was a little peeved as he did, pulling out the materials needed for the quest to continue. they sat on his hand like tiny glowing baubles, and the boy held them out. “yeah. here they are.”

“okay, cool!” landon rubbed his nose. he took the materials and stood up from his stool, headed towards his shop’s counter, beckoning for basuke to follow. “look, here’s what we’re going to do…”

the boy didn’t just yet. instead, he looked to demian, who was starting to fiddle with the lute. a part of him felt a little betrayed at the man’s promise – and just as he thought that, his friend looked up to him, reading his expression. demian seemed to understand immediately. “i’ll get this done soon,” he clarified, “so go listen to landon, and i’ll help you out afterwards. alright?”

basuke almost didn’t seem to believe him. so demian added in an extra tidbit for the boy – “i need to help you pick a suitable place to live in, after all.”

that sealed the deal for basuke. with an enthusiastic nod, he started his way towards landon, eager to begin.

---

rolling to craft.

ID216261 | cd6 | ld1 | -> salvage (fail)
ID216262 | cd11 | -> rare | [x]

[Demian 0]

the lesson was messy. and not free of charge, but it happened, and basuke did step out of the shop with a completed crystal at last. 

quest complete. the music on the crystal itself was of a simple drum loop, meant for building on top of if he were to pursue the craft in the future. basuke let out a heavy sigh, holding up the item to the light of a setting sun.

demian exited the store afterwards, waving to landon goodbye.

"i really can't believe music's this complex," basuke stated to him, sticking his tongue out. demian only looked amused as he turned to basuke, roughing up his hair. 

"hey!"

"you'll get better with time," he said, "if you work at it." then he pulled up his menus and started to type to someone. basuke could barely see who it was.

"who're you texting?"

demian smirked as he closed his menus, starting to walk with basuke. "yeah – you'll find out soon enough."