[PP-F1] Secret Medicine of the Forest (With Rowan and Marisa[to join later])

[Lotharian 0]

Secret Medicine of the Forest - Quest for the Ingredient

 

On his overlay map Asagi noticed a forest up to the north of floor 1 that he had yet to explore.  Leveling up a bit he finally felt confident enough to face some of the other dangers this game had to offer.  As he headed towards the north gate of City of Beginnings an odd sight caught his eye.  An NPC girl sitting on a bench had one of the quest marker exclamation points above her head.  Since he had no reason previously to venture towards this side of the city it was no wonder he had not noticed before.  Approaching her Asagi decided to see what the quest was all about.

 

"Hello there milady how is it I can help?"

 

A menu popped up immediately in front of him prompting him to accept a quest called "Secret Medicine of the Forest."  Perfect he thought, since he was planning on heading there to begin with it was like killing two birds with one stone.  Quickly accepting the NPC girl looked up with sorrowful eyes and began to speak.

 

"Oh adventurer, I am in dire need of help.  My mother has fallen ill and the local alchemists have not the ingredients to cure her illness.  It is a terrible fate to befall us, especially after the loss of my father not a two harvests prior.  They have told me that in the forest to the north is a rare variant to the little nepent plant creatures.  These variants have an ovule that contains important medicinal herbs that are needed for the formulation of a potion.  If only I was stronger I could go and retrieve it myself to save my poor mother.  Alas I am no adventurer, but I beg you to please help me.  Our family does not have much but if you could do this task for me I would reward you any way I can.  My father you see was an adventurer as well and when he died he left behind a sword called the Anneal Blade, Im sure it could be of use to you in your travels.  So I implore you kind sir, obtain the ovule and save my mother and my father's sword is all yours."

 

The quest seemed fairly straight forward, and as he was still wielding nothing but his basic weapon there was even more reason to try and obtain that Anneal Blade whatever it may be.

 

"Of course fair maiden, I could not just ignore your request.  I will venture forth and bring back the medicinal ingredients you need, don't you worry."

 

"Thank you sir!"

 

As he turned to leave he noticed a young man approaching the gate, in situation like this it may be a good idea to party up or else find himself in some less than ideal situation.  His mind wandered to the close call with Iron Tusk the boar.  It was decided that he would attempt to gather a small party together for this particular endeavor then.

 

"You there, sir may I inquire about forming a party with you?  I am headed for the forest and I believe this particular journey could be greatly profitable for both of us."

[orhalimi 0]

Rowan look around to see who the guy are taking to, but there wasn't anyone else beside him.

"Me? ammm...yea why not. I'm tired of fasle trading, +1 Weapon sound really good."

He examined the stranger "But I am not high level like you, Do you mind?"

 

He passed him and accept the quest. Rowan look almost like the picture I got, a white leather shirt with blue pants. His hands were cover by black gloves

and hold black sheath.

[Lotharian 0]

The man spun around looking for anyone else Asagi may have been speaking to.  When he realized it could only be him he turned to address the comment.  Walking up to the NPC the young man made a comment pertaining to level, though it did not make much sense in Asagi's eyes.  Did he really look like he was a higher level?  Until they were partied there was no way to make sure but one thing was sure Asagi knew that he was not exactly of a high level like the masterful players at the front lines, at least not yet.

 

"Do not worry my friend, Im not exactly sure I am higher level than you to begin with.  I am a mere level 5 at this moment, I can use just as much help with these quests as any other player in the game.  I am sure you would of great help."

 

As the new acquaintence accepted the quest before him Asagi brought up the menu options to invite to a party.  This quest did not seem overly dangerous, the two of them most likely would have no problem defeating a number of plant mobs with relative ease.

 

"Name is Lotharian, glad to meet you.  I hope this quest proves useful for both of us, I have plans to make my way up to the front lines as soon as possible.  I have...someone waiting for me up there and no time to delay.  So I greatly appreciate the help you are supplying."

[orhalimi 0]

"Really?" Rowan Raised his eyebrow "Well, everyone has their own journey I guess."

He agreed to form a party, then he look into Lotharian eye's for a few moments.

 

"My name is Rowan Senki, but you can just call me Rowan", is head bowed slightly and then back to look into his eyes.

"I am a merchant, and I don't have any goal in particular. I just really enjoy playing SAO."

[Lotharian 0]

The young man spoke as though this were still simply a mere game.  I suppose everyone dealt with it in their own ways but Asagi couldn't help but feel pity for those who lost themselves within the bright and flashy surrounding that were now a cage.  It seemed he had a propensity for eye contact, it was a bit odd but who was he to judge people for peculiarities.  Introducing himself and Rowan Senki the young man bowed and was explaining that he had no real specific goals.  That was fine for him, Asagi had much more to strive for in his travels though.  There was so much to do and even though he had time the world he was in seemed like a ticking clock in his head.  The longer he was restrained in this mess of a virtual trap the more of the outside world would slip away and be forgotten.  He for one was not going to let that happen without fighting with all he had, and if should die in that pursuit it would be a worthwhile death at least.  Returning back to the adventurer in front of him it seemed that he would have to take the lead.

 

"Well then, pleasure to meet you Rowan.  Now I have not ventured into the forests yet but I am confident that at this point we would be more than capable of combat of this magnitude.  I will say this though, as much as you.......enjoy playing SAO do not forget that it is now a game of death.  Watching eachother's backs is of paramount importance so if you require any aid or need to gather any supplies before we venture off it is nothing I cannot forego the quest for a short bit to get in line."

 

If he wasn't a soldier than Asagi would try to make him one at least for the time being.  There were no second chances in here and he was well aware of that fact.

[orhalimi 0]

Rowan could hardly keep himself from laughing

"do you...do you really believe you will finish this game without die at least once? 

Well, I salute you for the effort, but you shouldn't take it to seriously.

You know, the basic rules of any RPG is: there will be always a higher level players then you, and you will always die once while playing."

 

Then he come close to him and pate on his shoulder friendly, "But don't worry! I don't have money for a single health

potion and I have never die even once. This game is easy if you tread it right, so cheer up and lets get right into the forest!"

 

{I wait so much for someone to start it with me, Lotharian will be probably like...ho god on who i fell}

[Lotharian 0]

It was even worse than he had thought, this young man wasn't just losing himself, he had complete denial over the situation.  This could be quite complicated, but it was not his job to counsel anyone.  He also had no time to waste and no matter if this guy was deluded or not he was a player in this game and a useful tool towards his goals.  Regardless Asagi couldn't help but feel bad for him, when he finally had to come face to face with the truth it was going to be that much harder for him to come to terms with it.

 

"I see, well at least you have a good attitude about it Rowan.  Let us get going, this game does have night and day cycles and I wouldn't want to be caught in the forest after the switch.  Since you are apparently ready let us not waste any more time my friend."

 

With that he turned and headed out of the gates towards yet another quest.  This one might prove to be much more interesting than he had originally anticipated.  Glancing back he checked to make sure Rowan was behind him and keeping up.

[orhalimi 0]

Rowan walk after him quietly, noticing a small change in this guy behavior.

He probably didn't like to hear the truth from him, so he decide to let it go. He was there so many times, chasing after the big guys

that most of the times used money or insane amount of gaming hours to be the best. For a long time he hate that and stay away from these games, but here he finally understand that it doesn't matter what level you are or how good is your items as long as you having fun.

 

Rowan step forward a bit in order to be near Lotharian "So listen Lotharian...since you look like you know this game a bit I hope you could help me in something." He Scratched his head a bit, "Amm, well...I was stuck in floor one for a while, and I heard there is a lot more floors out there. But I never find out how to leave floor one.

I heard things about boss rooms and teleports, but I didn't quite understand. So...I hope you could tell me, how to move between floors?"

[Lotharian 0]

The man was following along as they headed along the path's of the first floor.  The forest would take a short time to get to and it seemed at first that it was going to be a quiet journey.  The silence was broken when Rowan picked up the paced to match that of Asagi's and he began to speak.  Apparently he believed that Asagi was much more informed about this virtual world than he, this may have been true but unfortunately there was far too much for him to still learn.  He had only touched upon the vast amount of knowledge he would need to aquire over his time here.  The first couple of floor in fact were the only ones he was all that familiar with in the first place.  The simple question that was set to him though was well within his capabilities of answering though, and so the least he could do was oblige.

 

"Well you see Rowan on each floor there is a teleport pad, these are placed outside of the major cities on each level.  At least from what I have seen so far, of course I can only speak with certainty about floors one through three.  At our current levels I would advise you to shy away from activities bringing you much further from those zones.  Its a simple enough method of stepping on the pad and just thinking of the floor you would like to be transported to.  This is what I have experienced and witnessed a number of times already.  I will warn you though the teleportation process can be fairly off-putting and just doesn't feel all that comfortable.  You will likely feel pretty dizzy until you can get used to it."

 

He hoped he had sufficiently answered the man's question.  As he looked to the distance he saw trees populating what he could easily determine was the forest they were headed to.  In a section of floor 1 where flat plains were the normal terrain they seemed to stick out like a sore thumb.

[orhalimi 0]

"Really...so I can teleport to any floor? because I heard that we need to beat a boss on each floor to clime up"

He look around as they get close to forest, he can't wait to see this man fighting. He is probably trained hard by himself and not lazy like him.

Maybe he should attract the mobs around. After all Lotharian said he want to see how we are fighting together.

[Lotharian 0]

"Well you are partially right Rowan, a floor boss needs to be defeated in order to move on towards the next level of this labyrinth.  The major information you seem to be missing is the method in which this happens.  When a floor boss is defeated than the next floor becomes availablle to all the citizens of Aincrad.  The front liners in essence have been paving the way for all of us.  Those brave individuals take on the bosses before any other players of the game and hence allow us, who have not the ability to fight at such an advanced level freely travel to higher and higher levels.  Now as I said I have no been past Floor 3 myself for the interests of self preservation.  Rumour has it though that the front liners have not defeated a boss in a long while.  Whether it be to the relative difficulty of the boss they are having to face or internal politics I do not know.  All I do know is that they have no currently breached the two digit floors as of this time."

 

The explanation was a bit long winded but Asagi wanted to make sure Rowan understood the situation these bosses posed.  It was also his intention to possibly scare the young man away from attempting anything foolhardy while he was not yet prepared.

 

As the duo stepped closer and closer towards the forest of Floor 1 the trees cast shadows upon the ground around them.

 

"The creatures we need to defeat are within this dense forest Rowan.  I want to remind you to be careful, don't take on anything you don't feel confident that you can defeat, above all do not hesitate to call out for aid."

 

As his sentence ended Asagi's spine had a cold shiver run up it like a bolt of lightning.  The sounds of a battle were coming from just within the treeline, not only that but it seemed a struggling woman's voice.  Without any delay Asagi rushed in to see what was transpiring in these dark woods.

[The Black-White Human 0]

[The area the sounds of battle are coming from]

Dodging another of the attacking wolves and slicing at it the girl switches to going offensive in the fight trying to gain the upper hand by surprising them. "I go into the woods to collect mushrooms just to have some canines attack me? This must be a side effect of all my good luck the past few days.." She says as she counters one of the wolves leaps by smacking it with her sword. "At least it's just 3 wolves though that itself is troubling..." She says then runs at a wolf so as to slice it with her weapon, tripping on a root sticking out of the ground. Yelping in surprise she falls on her face and as she is getting up a wolf jumps at her back..

Girls health: 11/13

 

Wolf 1: 3/6 

Wolf 2: 5/6

Alpha wolf: 8/10

[Lotharian 0]

As Asagi got through the foliage at the opening of the forest he quickly found the source of all the commotion.  It seemed there was a lone girl out here who was being attacked by a small pack of wolves.  Three on one even with regular mobs would be a dangerous situation for anybody of the lower levels.  Looking back he could see Rowan slowly making his way into the woods after him.  There was no time to waste and Asagi was ready for a good fight.  Without hesitation he drew his blade and shouted back to Rowan.

 

"Rowan!  There is a fight at hand we have to go in and help so hurry!"

 

As soon as he had informed his companion of the situation Asagi dove right into the fight.  Three foes, but one of them looked exceptionally mean.  Concluding that this was most likely the leader of the pack he went straight for the beast in order to bring it down.  In his previous encounter with wolves he had witness pack mentality similar to real world wolves.  Taking out the alpha wolf would be the most expeditious way to eliminate this threat.

 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.

 

The wakazashi streaked across the large wolf's hind quarters and left a deep mark.  The beast swung around at the pain the sudden intruder caused.  With a look as if Asagi had just ruined it's next meal the creature leapt for him.

 

Rolled a 4 on the d10 (mob) dice.

 

Dodging to one side Asagi avoided the pouncing of the mob as it sailed past him.  This thing was all his to kill at the moment.

 

"Milady are you okay?  I will take on this mob and my party member is on his way so we merely need to hold out and destroy these things.  Lets see how the pack likes a fight with even numbers."

 

Marisa: 11/13

Lotharian 15/15

 

Wolf 1: 3/6

Wolf 2: 5/6

Alpha wolf: 6/10

 

[Dice roll ID # 647]

[orhalimi 0]

"They just went there first that's all. You know you and me could also do the...hu?", he notice that Lotharian wasn't longer beside him,

His hand move instantly to his sheet. He look around him, but he didn't saw where he went. 
 

Then he heard him shouting, he draw his sword quickly and ran toward his voice.

After a couple of meters, he notice the girl who helped him in his first day in the middle of the forest surrender by 3 wolves.

 

"Hey Marisa! how you doing? its nice to see you around!", he waved to her while dashing toward one of the wolves.

 

Lotharian already handle the big one, He will be ok. The important thing is to split the damage between them.

He jumped on one of the wolves that was focus on Marisa, turned his sword in his hand and hope to land a deadly hit.

But the wolf jumped away at the last minute, he manage to scratch him badly but this could be a killing blow.

 

 

~ Rowan attack success! deal 2 damage to wolf 1 

~ wolf 1 attack failed

 

 

Lotharian: 15/15

Marisa: 11/13

Rowan: 11/11

 

-------------------------------

 

Wolf 1: 1/6

Wolf 2: 5/6

Alpha wolf: 6/10

 

 

• Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 4-1=3 on the d10 (mob) dice.    

[The Black-White Human 0]

Seeing how two people came to help her out (One she knew and the other she didn't) Marisa smiles at her sudden revival of luck. "Thanks for helpin me out guys, I thought it might have been game over for me in a bit if they had started to all attack at once." She turns and slices the second wolf with her long-sword as it leaps for her causing it to miss. "Though I do appreciate the help, I would also appreciate not bein called milady and would much rather be called Marisa." She says turning to lotharian.

 

• Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 10 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 18 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Lotharian: 15/15

Marisa: 11/13

Rowan: 11/11

 

-------------------------------

 

Wolf 1: 1/6

Wolf 2: 3/6

Alpha wolf: 6/10

[Lotharian 0]

"Well sorry mil......I mean Marisa.  I did not know your name nor was going to expend the time I could be using to save you to inquire.  I was merely trying to be gentlemanly.  Now let us exchange all the pleasantries we could every desire to after these mobs are well and vanquished."

 

Asagi was staring down the Alpha wolf as the other two dealt with the pups.  Circling eachother the beast seemed much more patient and tactical then it's lackluster compatriots.  That was just how Asagi liked a fight, nice and interesting.  Flipping his blade around in his hand Asagi simply smiled at the beast and launched in for an attack when he felt it had an opening.  The soft flesh of it's gullet was ready for cold hard steel and Asagi planned to give it a full serving.

 

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (mob) dice.

 

As his blade neared it's intended target he could see the sharp teeth of the wolf aim straight for him.  Mid lunge Asagi stomped down a foot to spin himself out of the way with the momentum.  Both him and the creature were denied their satisfaction if only by a small breadth.  This one was fast, and none too ignorant either, Asagi would have to use all his skills in order to safely eliminate the beast as a threat.  He hoped that his comrades would not have any major issues with the other wolves and they could team against this monster should he present a problem.

 

Lotharian: 15/15

Marisa: 11/13

Rowan: 11/11

 

-------------------------------

 

Wolf 1: 1/6

Wolf 2: 3/6

Alpha wolf: 6/10

 

[Dice roll ID # 744]

[orhalimi 0]

Rowan stare at the wolf while it howled in pain, he know that it was going to try one last trick. He couldn't help himself smiling when the both players exchanged sarcasm sentence around him, but that was his mistake. He lost focus just for a brief moment and miss the wolf's attack. Suddenly, it's jaws was in front of him.

Rowan stare at the wolf and opened his mouth in surprise . He had noting to do, so he fall while pull himself backward. Luckily for him, the wound wolf missed his head by an inch.

 

Rowan lie on the ground and sigh. Then he turn on his stomach and stand up again.

 

 

Lotharian: 15/15

Marisa: 11/13

Rowan: 11/11

 

-------------------------------

 

Wolf 1: 1/6

Wolf 2: 3/6

Alpha wolf: 6/10

 

 

• Rolled a 1 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 1 on the d10 (mob) dice.

[The Black-White Human 0]

"That may be a good plan though I am wonderin who this gentlemanly guy is and why your tryin to be like them." She says while dodging one of her wolfs attacks. Turning back to her enemy after she finished talking she gives it one of her signature grins making the wolf even angrier. Howling into the air in anger it looks back at Marisa and leaps at her seeming to hope that it will get a killing blow. Seeing that there was basically nothing the wolf could do to move out of the way Marisa raised her sword pointing it at the incoming wolf causing it to impale itself on her blade finishing off the rest of it's health. Turning back to the two guys she smiles at her triumph. "So which of you guys should I help out first, or are ya both doin okay without any help?"

 

 

• Rolled a 10 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 4 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 12 on the d20 (loot) dice.

Lotharian: 15/15

Marisa: 11/13

Rowan: 11/11

 

-------------------------------

 

Wolf 1: 1/6

Wolf 2: Has been pixelated by me ~da ze! [Dropped 30 col]

Alpha wolf: 6/10

[Lotharian 0]

The sounds of combat continued to clatter around him.  Asagi was facing down the large alpha in front of him as he heard the girl they had come to the aid of exclaim something to the effect of her enemy was felled.  It seemed the damsel in distress wasn't as in as much distress as he had originally believed.

 

"Well done Marisa, now lets just down these remaining mobs.  This big guy seems to be quite fast so be careful.  I would take out the other pup while I distract this beastie."

 

Lowering his stance Asagi prepared his wakazashi for a quick strike.  With any luck he would be able to outpace the alpha this time and throw it's movement off.  With a burst of strength from his legs he leaped and unleashed a powerful cross-slash towards his target.

 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.

 

As he slashed forward the sword sank into the chest of the alpha wolf.  Using his forward momentum Asagi rolled defensively out of the way of it's snapping maw.  Swinging back around he wasn't willing to let this thing get the upper hand by letting a successful strike lowering his guard.

 

[Dice Roll ID # 875]

[orhalimi 0]

Rowan and the wolf fight for quite a while, it's seem's like that the wolf refuse to give up. He didn't notice Marisa or even heard Lotharian, all his attention was focused on the wolf.

 

He rolled to the side, dodging from one of his attacks, and then stabilized himself with his sword. He smiled, It's time to put an end to it.

 

He raised his sword in a stabbing position and it began to glow in a strong yellow light. Then the light turn to Amber as he spear the wolf on his sword. The wolf fade into the air and drop "wolf's fur" for Rowan. how lucky he was.... (-_-")

 

 

 

• Lotharian: 15/15

  Marisa: 11/13

  Rowan: 11/11

   

  -------------------------------

   

  Wolf 1: 1/6 Has been slain by me :D [Dropped wolf's fur, yey tailoring mats]

  Wolf 2: Has been pixelated by the air ~da ze! [Dropped 30 col]

  Alpha wolf: 6/10 (how much you damage him?)

•  
•  
• Rolled a 7 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 1 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 7 on the d20 (loot) dice.