[PP-F22] Tea Tales: The Lily of Memories

[Kingsley 0]

What We Fight For

For once, when Kingsley woke up, he left his shop closed. The shutters remained shut, the lights off, and the door securely locked. He left early in the morning, taking only his oak walking stick, a fur-trimmed white cloak, and a variety of teas from his stock. He was experimenting with his selection using herbs, berries, and plants specific to Aincrad. The game had developed entirely new ecosystems and with them came plants one would never find in the real world. His adventures always took him outside of the cities, into the vast and dangerous wilderness. He brought a guard when he could, and stayed away from obvious risk when he couldn't. Today, he searched for something especially unusual.

Rumors of a flower indigenous to the Forest of Memories circulated the tea-maker grapevine. They said that a purple, four-petalled flower grew sporadically somewhere in the forest, generally in small batches and very rarely. The caveat was that only one batch could grow at a time. A new group of flowers would not grow until the last had been picked. Additionally, they could appear anywhere in the forest, but would not grow within a short radius of the previous few. The Lily of Memories, his colleagues had dubbed it; although, none of them had actually seen one before.

Kingsley knew that he had to look. To be the first in history to brew a patch of memory lilies into tea would be legendary.

And so, his quest began.

He set up a player request on Coral's bulletin board, the first step of all of his expeditions. His request detailed his desired location, an estimated time frame, and the fact that he needed a guide. No preference was stated towards any particular type of person or a specific build; he couldn't be bothered with things like that. Company along the way was all he required.

A seat in the shade, near the town's exit, was where he waited. In the mean time, he enjoyed people-watching and a travel mug filled with hot Marsonian Breakfast.

Spoiler

Kingsley
Level: 3
HP: 60/60
EN: 24/24

Stats:
Damage: 6

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: N/A
Armor: N/A
Misc: N/A

Skills:
Polearm R3

 

Edited April 11 by Kingsley

[Elora 0]

Dawn drenched the walls of her room in bright amber light as the shrills of territorial squirrels could be heard on the distant horizon. Elora stirred momentarily before stretching her arms high above her head. For the first time in a long while, she felt rested, refreshed even. When was the last time she'd slept through the night's slew of concerts or procedural brawls? That's right., she resolved after inspecting her surroundings, At the new house. Promptly climbing out of bed, she made her way to the heart of the house. Freyd's already gone -- Off to Firm Anima I bet. She glanced briefly in the direction of the greenhouse, a portion of the estate they'd dedicated specifically to her pursuit of Alchemy.

Whatever suspicion that had crept into her mind was immediately discounted as she otherwise gathered her supplies and set to arrive at Floor 22.

The guild's hall laid nestled in a small grove, not far from the teleportation center of Coral. Although accessible, Elora could count on her fingers the number of times she'd visited the grounds in search of something to do. It's not like work is any more fun than...honestly, anything else., came the admission. Nonetheless, she felt determined. After all, she had just survived her first raid, moved out of her ramshackled apartment complex; maybe she could accomplish even more.

Steady steps soon sent her crossing by the settlement's bulletin board. Not many listings, she plainly observed, Still, Rai might appreciate me passing them along to everyone else. Eyes skimmed the headlines of several ledgers until a particular listing caught her attention. "Looking for a guide...", she began to read, Seems like they're looking for flowers. Maybe someone dyed -- or a romantic date. The elven player shook her head. Anyway -- it's easy enough. With a bite of her morning snack, she trodded off toward the provided location. 

The town's gate wasn't empty, though not exactly bustling either. A handful of NPCs and inattentive adventurers streamed through the gates to this way and that as she scoped out the supposed poster. It wasn't long before her sights settled on the shape of a stagnant man -- he was noticeably shorter than the rest. Awkwardly shuffling over to his side, she initiated the greeting. "Hey --! Are you --", an abrupt pause ushered the pamphlet closer, "-- Kingsley?", she corrected before too long.

 

***

Elora consumes x1 Lemon Berry Palmiers

Item Type: Dessert | Effect: Adds +3 LD

 

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 98 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 8 | BH: 35 | LD: 3+3=6 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Elora
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 6
HP: 700/700
EN: 104/104

Stats:
Damage: 26
Mitigation: 98
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 8
Battle Healing: 35
Loot Dice: 3
AA
BLGT: 32
FLN: 8
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear: Teleportation Crystal x1

Weapon: Essential Verdigris (T4 Dem Polearm | AA | Blgt | FLN | STK)

Armor: Defense Mechanism | T4 Demonic Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2

Misc: Emerald | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I 

---

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Polearm R5
Light Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Charge
Energist
Searching R3

Active Mods:
Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Precision
Focus
Resolve

Active Extra Skills:
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory: x1 Lemon Berry Palmiers - Item Type: Dessert | Effect: Adds +3 LD

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Kingsley 0]

A long sip of the Marsonian Breakfast let loose the deep flavors of Ceylon and golden tipped Assam. He had not added milk or cream to it, although they would have paired nicely. Instead, he chose a droplet of honey to sweeten the bold tea.

He was approached in the midst of enjoying his drink, and so he had hardly noticed the girl until she finally spoke. "I am. Are you my guide for today?" Kingsley asked with a smile, returning to his tea.

"You'll do splendidly," he looked a bit funny hopping off the bench, but was quite adept at not spilling his drink on the way down. "I have business somewhere within the Forest of Memories, but it's not a place for an old man like me to be wandering around alone," he laughed heartily, his walking stick appearing in his hand. "Come along. I'll explain on the way."

"I was a skier once. A long, long time ago. Competed with the very best, I might add. Winter Olympics, 1972. Good year for them. It was my first time in Japan and my last time as a competitor. I injured myself the next year and took to other endeavors," he rambled, as he so often did.

"That's the type of memory I expect to encounter in the forest. I don't have regrets, nor do I lead a particularly unpleasant life. I don't anticipate running into much trouble, but I'd feel much safer with you around," he paused before moving on to his objective for the day. "There's said to be a rare flower in the forest that I'd very much like to find. I'm a tea-maker, you see, and I find joy in odd brews."

By the time he finished his long-winded speech, they were in front of the stables, where he had pre-rented a carriage to deliver them to the Forest of Memories.

[Elora 0]

"Guess so", she said casually and with a courteous smile. These interactions never get less awkward. Thankfully, this individual seemed the capable type, despite his age. He showed impressive dexterity in maneuvering his tea, at the very least. Wonder what kind he's drinking., she couldn't help but speculate. Soon after, Elora followed the old man as he began to reminisce about his days as a skier.

"Winter Olympics, 1972.", Kingsley recited,  "I injured myself the next year and took to other endeavors,"

Why...is he telling me all of this...?

"That's the type of memory I expect to encounter in the forest.", he continued to elaborate, to her naiveté. "I don't anticipate running into much trouble, but I'd feel much safer with you around,"

Elora's posture seemed to straighten at that remark, "Glad to hear it. Can't say I'm among the best of the players, but I like to think I've gotten pretty handy with a spear." It wasn't that long ago that the admission would have been a difficult one to voice. In the days since she had entered SAO, Elora felt that she had become more humble, or more accurately, accepting of fact she needn't feign competency in every skillset. 

Kingsley seemed to chuckle before revealing, "There's said to be a rare flower in the forest that I'd very much like to find."

"OH? Really?", the elf's interest appeared to pique as much as her ears, "What's it look like? Do you know how it tastes? I tend to brew with spices and herbs, but I'd like to experiment more with flowers -- Lilac florets pair nicely with earl gray." Her voice had suddenly undertaken a more excited tone. After a brief pause, she stammered, "OH YEAH -- I'm Elora by the way."