[OP-F1] The Next Step

[Epyon 0]

Epyon wandered through the City of Beginnings, listening to the player chatter over where to kill mobs, where to buy gear, best skills, and other matters. He was hoping to hear of a good place for him to take on some Mobs that wouldn't be too difficult, but a good challenge, after all, he didn't want to die. At least not this early in the game. He also kept an eye out for anyone that might be a potential ally. While he wasn't very social, having team mates increased your survive-ability immensely. 

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius had seen the man wandering, and couldn't help but feel like he was looking for something. Walking up, Tyrius said in a semi-serious voice, "You seem lost, do you need something?" Looking the man up and down, Tyrius guessed his level to be one or two, and made the assumption that Epyon was a touch clueless.

[Epyon 0]

"Yes actually. I'm looking to see if anyone has heard of some good spots to kill mobs." Epyon remembered this man from earlier, when he'd first gone looking for things outside the city. 'Tyrius I believe his name was.' He also recalled the man having issues with the possibility of PKing. Epyon had heard the discussion he had with other players. He appeared higher level, though not by much. "I'm also looking for possible allies."

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius smiled when he heard Epyon mention mob killing, and said eagerly, "I was shown a place by a... friend... of mine. Basically, you touch a central pillar and it spawn a mob around your level, or two. The only thing is, it's in the middle of the woods outside the Starting City." Tyrius then moved on to the topic of allies, and said, "As to an ally, I suggest that you find a mid-sized guild and see what you can do to join. But be careful, I have heard that one of the larger guilds has a really bad reputation." Tyrius offered his hand to formally introduce himself, "The name is Tyrius, by the way."

[Epyon 0]

Epyon took his hand. "Epyon." After pulling his hand back he continued. "I'm not really interested in joining a guild, at least not yet. I like to keep things small. Just one our two more people." He wasn't sure about this man. He certainly didn't trust him, trust was a rare commodity. "This pillar, do you have a map to it? Or can you point me in the direction? And what kind of bad reputation?"

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius opened up his map and pointed to a large cluster of green outside of the starting city, and in the midst of all the green, there was a single red dot, a marker. "That is where the pillars are. When you get to them, there will be three, and they will have strange markings all over them. Anyways, the center pillar will have an orb resting on top of it, and this pillar is the one you will want to touch. When you do, a mob will spawn, probably a goblin, wolf, or boar." Tyrius thought about the guild that had been said to have horrible, blood-thirsty brutes that were corrupted to the core, and said to Epyon, "I've heard that the guild has tried, and probably succeeded in, killing other players. Plus, they were corrupt from what I heard, and probably stole from weaker players."

[Epyon 0]

Epyon contemplated his words. Tyrius didn't seem threatening, but then again, it could all be a ploy. He didn't want to get caught off guard in the middle of a mob fight, especially if he was already weakened by said mob. "Sounds like a good place to start. I'm going to look around a bit more first, hopefully find someone else who needs the experience as well." Epyon started to turn away, but looked back. "Do you want to come?" He asked Tyrius.

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius was shocked to be invited seeing as he had just stopped to help, and stuttered in response, "W-well, I guess I could. But only if you want me to." In the split second that he finished speaking, he remembered who Epyon was, and said hastily, "I'm so sorry about the breakdown, and trust me, I won't hurt you."

[Epyon 0]

"Come on. We all have our moments." His own comment caught him a little off guard. IRL he had many of those moments, though usually in private. "I'm curious about these pillars. Any idea what the other two do?" He started to walk, only slowly down until Tyrius caught up beside him. He looked around and the various players and NPC's they passed trying to assess which might be helpful, and which might wish him harm. He had heard enough about PK's lately to make him very distrustful. He could understand killing in self defense, but why attack anyone here in the first place? The goal was to survive and escape the game. It only made sense to work together, or at the least, not hinder anyone else.

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius thought for a moment, and came to the conclusion that the other pillars simply looked too normal to do anything important. "I wouldn't think the other pillars do anythings. Remember, this is a game and in a game, things have to look really fancy for people to like it." Tyrius hated that, too. He hated how people thought quality was more important than any other aspect of any game. As they walked, Tyrius noticed that Epyon was searching through the crowds, and asked curiously, "Looking for friends or something?"

[Epyon 0]

Epyon stopped looking over the crowd for a moment to glance at Tyrius. "Not particularly. I like to keep my eyes out. You never know when looking the wrong way might mean missing an opportunity." Epyon let out a sigh. "Let's head out. I'm ready to take out some mobs." Epyon set out on a slightly quicker pace, heading for the woods that held the pillars. 

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius listened thoughtfully to what Epyon said, and had to quicken his pace to keep up. As they walked, Tyrius started whispering the lyrics of some song he knew IRL.

 

"The other night

I had a dream

It was a world full of kings and queens

But it was cold

Dark as the night

We were the fire on the moonlit skies"

[Epyon 0]

Epyon smirked as he heard the familiar lyrics. They were just passing the outer edges of the city. He listened silently for the verse to end.

He whispered the next verse as they walked down the dirt path towards the woods.

 

"We weren't divided

we were the same

And we were free

But we all wore chains

We couldnt see it

But we created

A place between truth and overrated"

[Tyrius 0]

Looking at Epyon in surprise he said, "Dude you know that? Holy crap, I thought I was like, the only person on Earth who knew that." Thinking for a second, he recalled the next few lines and said them a touch louder than he had before, keeping the pace by tapping his hand against his leg:

 

"If  could just see it all

Just like a fly on the wall

Would I be able to accept what I cant control?"

[Epyon 0]

"And would I share what I saw?

Or just sit back and ignore

Like nothing happened,

I haven't seen you before?"

 

Epyon kept his voice low. "Yes i know it. IRL I listened to a lot of music." Epyon kept beat with his steps. The woods started coming into view. He adjusted his sword for an easier draw, just in case of attack. Epyon's eyes began scanning the surroundings for critically, the woods would block most lines of sight compared to the fields they were currently in. Who knew if low level mobs were capable of ambushes?

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius laughed in amazement as Epyon said he listened to music, and said, "Me too. It was one of my hobbies. Just sitting there singing." Then he noticed that Epyon had adjusted himself to react faster to a combat scenario, and said in a hushed tone, "Did you see something?" Tyrius also adjusted his scabbard, readying himself for what he felt was some sort of ambush.

[Epyon 0]

"Not yet, but a path through the woods would be a good place for an ambush." He spoke from personal IRL experience. "Keep your eyes sharp. I got a bad feeling about this place." Epyon started moving with more caution, keeping his steps in line with a fighting stance. At this point they were only a few dozen yards into the woods.Something caught his eye off to the right, movement. He stopped and prepared to draw his sword.

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius halted in his tracks as Epyon prepared to draw his sword, and instinctively drew his sword even faster, pointing it in the direction Epyon was looking. Tyrius focused on the area that Epyon had looked at, and looked at it for the longest time, trying to identify whatever was there. Eventually, he decided that it was just the wind and re-sheathed his sword, saying to Epyon, "It was nothing, man."

[Epyon 0]

Epyon waited a moment longer before moving again. "I guess it was nothing. How much farther to the pillars?" He looked at the map, but wasn't sure how long it would take to actually get there. While he was anxious for a fight, being caught off guard was not his idea of a good time. He pulled his cloak back over the sword at his side, but kept his hand on the pommel. 

[Tyrius 0]

Tyrius checked his map and said, "Not too far. Just a ways on, and trust me, you'll know them when you see them." Tyrius judged the distance and figured it was at least twenty or thirty yards ahead. "Come on," he said, "we're almost upon them." Tyrius cracked his knuckles and smiled as he remembered the battle he had fought there before.