[SP-F3] Worn Out Welcome - Quest - COMPLETE!!

[Mack 0]

In a shimmer of blue light, Mack appeared atop the portal platform on the third floor of Aincrad. The prairie floor. Taking a few quick jogging steps he descended from the platform down into the Portal Plaza proper and looked around. Pulling up his menu with the swipe of a finger, he considered his map for a moment before heading off in the direction of a shop that belonged to a blacksmith named Griswold. In truth, the massive red-headed man had nothing whatsoever that he required from the NPC blacksmith. After all, as a level six blacksmith Mack was perfectly capable of forging all of his own weapons and gear. Certainly, he wouldn't be taking the downgrade represented by Griswold's gear. Nonetheless, there was a quest attached to the shop and Mack wanted the skill point reward attached to that quest.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

Wandering the cobblestone streets of Delilah Village, Mack peered sideways with his storm grey eyes through the occasional shop window. The small village had the charm of an old European town, the kind that hadn't changed much in hundreds of years beyond adding a few modern upgrades that were devoid from such places in the world of Sword Art Online. Here on the third floor, he also had to wind his way in and out of the milling crowds of people, both computer generated and flesh and blood alike. His massive appearance and countenance didn't quite have the same "clear out of the way" effect on others on this floor as it did in the Town of Beginnings, where he was vastly over-leveled.

[Mack 0]

Still moving through the cobblestone streets of Delilah Town, Mack at least reached a quiet looking side road. Turning his head to peer down the street, which was mostly deserted, the hulking man's storm grey eyes took in the hammer and anvil sign about halfway down the block from where he was standing. That had to be the correct shop. The one that belonged to Griswold and Hanna who would hand out the necessary quest so he could get started with completing what would, most likely, be a very quick exercise in sword play to obtain the reward in skill points. Shrugging his shoulders, Mack set off down the block in the direction of the shop.

[Mack 0]

Reaching the front door of the blacksmith's shop, Mack rested one enormous hand on the heavy oak door before pushing it gently open. Stepping from the brightness of the outside world into the darkness of the shop within, it took the grey-eyed Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades' vision a moment to adjust to the lower level of light. A soft tinkle from a tiny bell above the door announced his presence in the shop. True, it wasn't as loud and boisterous as a grizzly bear cub, which was what Mack used to alert him of people in his own shop. Still, it was clearly nonetheless effective as a female voice called out from the store room behind the main shop counter to say she'd be with him in a second.

[Mack 0]

As Mack moved through the cozy shop in the direction of the counter a woman emerged from back in the back store room behind the main counter. She smoothed her blouse and smiled pleasantly as Mack approached the counter. "What can I do for you," she asked with a smile clearly designed to put people at their ease. Mack considered the request from the NPC woman for a moment as he reached up to place his hands at the curve of his hood before pushing it back from his head to reveal flaming red hair and a matching goatee. Rolling his head around on his neck, Mack popped the appendage before beginning to speak.

[Mack 0]

"I'd like to speak with Griswold, if I might," Mack said after a moment's consideration, speaking in a low measured tone. "Word has reached me that he recently had some trouble with a shipment of his materials going missing and I would like to offer assistance in retrieving it. I've heard that he will often help adventurers get their feet under them and the kindness that he shows to others is certainly worthy of being repaid in kind," Mack concluded, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting to see how Hanna might respond to his offer to help her and her husband out of their current situation.

[Mack 0]

"That's very kind of you to offer, we have had some of our crafting materials stolen and we would welcome the assistance in retrieving them, if you're willing," the goodnatured woman said with a warm smile. "Neither my husband Griswold or I are much good at fighting. Now, let me go see if I can track him down," Hanna said as the sound of a smith's hammer reached both their ears. "Could I offer you something to munch on or a drink," she asked, just as she turned to disappear back into the non-public areas of the shop. When Mack responded that some strong dark tea wouldn't go amiss, if she had any, the plump woman nodded and bustled off to retrieve her husband and the drink.

[Mack 0]

Within just a few moments of Hanna disappearing into the back of the shop there came the sound of some cantankerous complaining and salty language. A moment later a man nearly as large as Mack, and with arms that were every bit as bulging with muscle, appeared behind the counter. Griswold was accompanied by his wife Hanna who set a small mug of tea down on the counter top and slid it in Mack's direction. Before the massive red-headed man could thank her for the tea, Griswold immediately launched into a discussion. "So, what's this me wife tells me abou' ye wantin' ta help us retrieve our stolen material," the man asked in a gruff Irish brogue, his eyes narrowing in Mack's direction since, after all, no one ever did some honest work for free.

[Mack 0]

"It is as Hanna says," Mack allowed, inclining his head slightly in the direction of the woman to both acknowledge the message that she seemed to have clearly delivered to her husband as well as to thank her for the dark tea which he sipped at. "I have been told of the assistance that you offer to new players in helping to outfit them. My Guild, the Crimson Blades, shares that noble goal as part of our mission in Aincrad. Therefore, when I heard that you had some trouble with a shipment I resolved to offer assistance. As I told your wife, kindness deserves to be rewarded." Having finished what he had to say, the Grandmaster fell silent and waited to see what would happen next, sipping on his tea in the meantime.

[Mack 0]

Griswold snorted at the words offered by the crimson garbed mountain of a man standing before him. He was still quite convinced that no one did anything for free. "Fine, you go and bring back my shipment and I'll see to it that you get paid in a suit of armor that will make the one you're wearing look like a court jester's outfit," the blacksmith said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking most severe as he spoke. Why was it that people only ever came into his shop to bother him and never to buy anything? It was extremely frustrating to a blacksmith who was simply trying to earn a living.

[Mack 0]

“Hardly,” Mack said in a low tone, scoffing at the insinuation that an NPC could make finer armor than the enormous red-headed man had made himself. As the exchange was heating up between the two blacksmiths, Hanna shot her husband a look that quite plainly said that he needed to behave himself. “I don’t need your inferior armor, but I will retrieve your stolen items for you.” Mack threw this head back and downed the rest of the dark unsweetened tea in the mug. “You can give the payment away to the next person that comes in here needing a set of armor. Just tell me where I can find the thief and who I’m looking for.”

[Mack 0]

Griswold’s eyes narrowed rather perceptively at the comments that the red-headed blacksmith made about armor in general and Griswold’s armor in particular. If the ginger thought he was a better smith than Griswold was, well that was so laughable as to be an insult that wasn’t worthy of a retort and if the whipper snapper thought he didn’t need superior armor to what he was currently sporting, well Griswold wouldn’t make him take the offered armor prize. “You’re going to have to go to the Forest of Wavering Mists,” the gruff blacksmith said, eyes still narrowed. “There’s a dark elf that camps out there, name’s Kalnathar. He’s the thief.”

Edited September 28, 2015 by Mack

[Mack 0]

“Sounds good,” Mack rumbled, sliding the empty tea mug back across the polished countertop to Hanna. “I’ll return when I’ve obtained the crafting materials that were stolen.” Nodding his shaggy red head once, Mack reached down around his shoulders and drew up the gold trimmed scarlet hood of his guild cloak which showed his rank within the Crimson Blades to both civilians and fellow guildmates alike. Turning neatly on his heel, Mack retraced his steps and exited from the shop out into what had become a softly pouring rainfall while he’d been conversing with Hanna and Griswold to obtain the quest.

[Mack 0]

Pushing out the shop’s heavy wooden door and into the gently falling rain, Mack tucked his arms inside his crimson guild cloak. While the cloak wasn’t waterproof and wouldn’t protect him from the rain indefinitely, it would still offer some measure of protection in terms of keeping his hands dry so that they wouldn’t slip and slide on the haft of his bearded axe when he had need of drawing Invictus in the course of his quest as he knew that, surely, he must since a specific enemy to overcome had been given by the game. Given that this was meant to be a beginner’s quest, Mack knew he should have no trouble with the mob, but there would still be combat so the quest wouldn’t be completely boring.

[Mack 0]

Moving slowly through the cobblestoned streets of Delilah Village to the sound of softly falling rain falling with a pitter patter staccato on those same stones, Mack fell into the abyss of his own thoughts. He considered his previous adventures with a certain alchemist who maintained a shop on the second floor and who was involved with a man that Mack certainly didn’t approve of, especially after having met Lee at Zelrius’ birthday party. There had to be some way to make Piera see that, in all truth, Mack was much better person for her to be involved with. The only problem was figuring out how to make that happen without killing Lee or making Piera otherwise hate him, which would completely defeat the purpose since Mack had no desire to become a murderer or to make the object of his desire hate him.

[Mack 0]

Passing through the gates of Delilah Village, which were not nearly as impressive as the massive wrought iron and wood constructions that were found in the City of Beginnings and in Urbus, Mack’s feet began to carrying him out in the direction of the Forest of Wavering Mists, trodding a path that he knew well by this now, given the number of times he had entered the forest to complete the Search for the Hoya quest in order to receive the amulet that was the quest reward. Shrugging his shoulders and cracking his neck, Mack trudged off towards the forest through a rainfall that was steadily increasing in intensity, still lost in thoughts of the relationship with Piera that was his sought after goal. Or, at least, one of the many goals that he was striving to achieve.

[Mack 0]

Moving slowly through the prairie that was the predominant feature of the terrain of the third floor, Mack traipsed first up one rolling hill and then down another. He wasn’t moving particularly quickly, but he also wasn’t exactly wasting his time in getting through the prairie in the direction of the Forest of Wavering Mist either. At the same time, the red-headed giant also wasn’t bothering with any of the bison mobs that heavily populated the sodden fields. While the mobs were on the stupid side and fairly simple to kill, Mack was in no mood to waste time with them when it would be just as simple to move more quickly through the area and complete the quest faster.

[Mack 0]

After several hours, Mack at last reached the Forest of the Wavering Mist. Shrugging his massive shoulders and rolling his head around on his neck, the Blacksmith disappeared beneath the leafy canopy of the forest and immediately noticed a sharp drop off in the amount of rain that was falling upon his head and body. One of the benefits of the forest and, given that it was a simple rain and not a thunderstorm, there was no need to worry about whether or not Kayaba had programmed Sword Art Online’s weather to be able to strike the players with lightning bolts or not.

[Mack 0]

Moving slowly, but steadily through the forest and occasionally passing through small clearings that still left him susceptible to being rained on by continuing downpour, Mack made careful and methodical search of the area. He was keen to find this dark elf, eliminate the computer generated thief, retrieve the stolen goods, and return to Griswold and Hanna to receive his reward. Not that he had any interest, whatsoever in the offered armor, but it would be nice to obtain the extra skill points associated with the quest. Continuing his search, Mack made his way through the dripping forest, eyes storm grey eyes peeled for the telltale red-orange glow of a campfire.

[Mack 0]

Creeping through the forest, Invictus in his hand and at the ready, Mack advanced on the soft orange glow that his storm grey eyes could see flickering through the dripping undergrowth of the forest. Surely, this camp fire had to be the place where he would find, and summarily slay, the dark elf. Advancing slowly and being careful to keep himself well concealed, Mack made it to the edge of the clearing that was being lit by the fire. Sure enough, a solitary figure sat before the flames, his hands held out to them. The pointed ears on his head made it clear that he was no player character, especially since he was also lacking a green or orange cursor.