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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 3:13:07 GMT
"About this world," she said, frowning. He wanted to lie to them, he'd said, and he'd only promised one truthful answer, so she was suspicious of anything else he would say. "What is the world like; is this the only town, what can we expect from the outside world?"
Damian had said that he'd handle close combat, bat she was edgy without a second weapon. She made a mental note to see if anyone had any swords for purchase.
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 3:36:27 GMT
Leon looks at the person hiding in his shadow, curious as to what they are doing. Before he gets a chance to ask anything, they are cut off by the others asking their own questions to the person in the top hat. He simply nods in their direction and says, "I don't really have anything to ask now...well, except one. Earlier, Mako went on this odd tangent that said that you were cocky and stuff. She said that you acted like it was your game....I can definitely see why considering that you said it was earlier, but it still feels like it could have been a figure of speech, like with more experienced gamers. You know, trolling the 'new guys' of the game. Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced of...what you are. I don't think you are an Npc or anything, because the way you are answering things, though vague like an Npc, feels kinda...more real I guess? It feels like there is less script involved. The point is, are you an enemy? In which event, why haven't you attacked us? Are you a player who's trying to help us, but not too much, or are you actually the one running this show?"
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Post by "Shade" and JEM on Apr 5, 2014 5:04:06 GMT
Brianna stays quiet, not really having much else to ask beyond what is being asked.
But Shade nods to each person who spoke before answering them each in turn.
"How did you get in here... Simple, you started playing your game. The exact science... I'm not so sure, the creators are still working on that... But no VR equipment is required, yes..." Then looks to Mako. "The world, that is currently known of the Player Map, which can be found at this area's center, is bigger than this, yes. Mostly the world is blank in order to be made into your fearscapes, but, as time goes on, this world will grow..."
Sighing they look to Leon, "You could say I am all of those things. I am an enemy, I am helping you right now, I am running the show... As for why i haven't attacked you guys... I believe in a fair fight, every game needs to have levels and advancements after all. Once you've grown a little then I may challenge you..."
They bow to the group before turning on their heel.
"Now, as I said, this mother doesn't like to be kept waiting. Good day to you all... I wish you all sweet nightmares." And with that they walk off into a group of shadows, fading as they go.
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 5:18:11 GMT
Damian put his palm to his face in a show of exasperation, both at Shade's answer as well as himself. He'd been hoping for details but he supposed that it was his own fault for not being specific.
Once Shade had walked away Damian looked to the others. "Okay, so like Makoto said, we're going to need to earn money. I don't suppose you'd already know how, right?" The last question was directed to Makoto herself. He hoped that was the case because then they'd probably have to go to the NPCs to find out. He always found that you could get money by killing things and selling the items but he would be willing to bet just about anything that it wasn't a good idea to make assumptions like that in a game like this.
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 5:20:38 GMT
"Y'know, if he didn't piss me off so much, I'd kind of like that guy," Mako mused. "I'd probably like him more if this were a normal game. I kind of like asshole characters."
She sighed and shook her head.
"Unfortunately not. Now, he said that we've got enough money for a meal for everyone and a couple of rooms at the inn if we pool our money. That's not a lot, so we're going to need to ask around with the NPCs to see what we can do. Newbie quests, or a part-time job, something like that; there's got to be some way to gain cash in this game, he basically said that himself. Oi, newbie kid." She walked over to the boy with messy brown hair. "Can we trust you to be our banker? If we hand over our money, can we trust you to pool it? At least until we find a banking facility, if they have one in this game."
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 5:35:56 GMT
Once again Leon scratched his head as Shade vanished. He looked to the girl that had been trying to hide from him and once again tried to ask her what she was doing, only to be cut off again. Leon looked around as he was addressed by Mako. "Wait....Me!? Why give me the money? I mean, yeah I know a thing or two about financing and budgeting but...isn't this just a bit out of the blue? Besides, shouldn't you guys, I don't know, talk amongst yourselves before just giving it to me? Anyways, what do ya mean by 'Newbie kid' anyways? We all are new to this game."
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Post by Cass Song and Brianna Shears on Apr 5, 2014 5:38:05 GMT
Brianna steps a little more into Leon's shadow, but also away from him. Conflict. She can sense conflict. This is why so many people, unpredictable people, should never gather together. She bites her lip so hard she tastes blood. So she sucks on it to heal the wound as she watches with concern.
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 5:50:35 GMT
As Leon started to vehemently protest Damian put up his hands in a 'calm down' gesture. "Easy. It's just temporary anyway. All you have to do is hold on to it until we find a bank of something." He said before he fished the money from his pocket and began to count it so that he could remember how much he had. "If it makes you that nervous then someone else can do it."
If Damian was honest, he didn't really care who his money went to as long as they could be trusted but as he looked up from his money he noticed Brianna as she stepped back into the shadow, the other thing he noticed was how she was biting quite hard onto her lip. "Hey,uh, Brianna, right? You've kind of got-" He'd just raised his hand to gesture to his own mouth in the universal sign of 'There's something on your face' when he saw that the wound had healed already, causing him to raise his eyebrows in vague surprise. Well, if it wasn't obvious who had the defence based class before then it sure was now. "Well, that's handy."
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 5:56:05 GMT
"Easy, killer," Mako said, shaking her head. "I picked you because you look like you've got a good head, but aren't necessarily comfortable with combat. I called you a 'newbie' because you mentioned something about 'more experienced gamers' - so, newbie, new at gaming. Plus, well, no offense but you're more a newbie than me. I'm Mako - you already knew that - but most people call me 'the Major'. You may've heard of me. I'm pretty much fearless and I play games like this for kicks all the time; I'm also a veteran of FPS-type games and I've even won a few tournaments, so don't feel bad, okay, newbie? Anyway, I didn't catch your name earlier, which is why I haven't been using it. Sorry."
She smiled. "No hard feelings, 'kay?"
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Post by Cass Song and Brianna Shears on Apr 5, 2014 6:00:12 GMT
Brianna pauses. She didn't think anyone would notice. But then he spoke. And her heart rate spiked, "Handy...? WHAT'S HANDY?" Her eyes grew huge, but even so she felt her body ready to tense up at a split second's notice, something she's learned to do over the years. "St... Stop looking me like that... Its... Its..." Scary? Mean? Wolf like? Any of those answers would suffice.
Finally she finishes with, "... Creepy..."
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 6:15:09 GMT
Leon sees the situation that seems to be stirring and takes a deep, calming breath. "Okay....chilling out now. First things first, you...umm colonel or whatever. You don't exactly ring a bell but alright...I'll...play banker for now. I would worry about saying that you play games like this all the time for fun or someone will think you are off your rocker. Leon Rose, short and sweet name." He then turns to the girl who was in his shadow and thought for a moment. He sits down and looks at her. "Umm...Brianna right? I think he was complimenting you. I think he might not have realized that you were so quiet. When he finally noticed you, he was...okay, yeah, this ain't gonna work."
He raises his hands in front of him and gives a 'nevermind' gesture. "I'm Leon. Um...I don't think that he meant to freak you out or anything...but I have a question. Why were you hiding behind me? That is, if you don't mind me asking."
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 6:27:33 GMT
Thankfully the situation managed to calm before it could even stir even if this Brianna girl seemed to think he was some creep. Leon attempted to explain what he meant but, through no fault of his own, fell a bit short. Damian shook his head and explained himself. "No, What I meant was- Look, the three of us are all combat focused, right?" He gestured to every one of them except for Brianna. "So having someone in a defensive class will come in handy." At Leon's 'nevermind' gesture Damian just shrugged, giving up the notion of explaining himself.
"Well, I'll go check things out and see if there's anything especially useful around here." He added as he put his money back in his pocket even though he had no intention of buying anything. "At least it's one place to start." He called over his shoulder as he walked away to begin looking around, even making a point to talk to a couple of NPCs and gather information.
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 6:33:56 GMT
"Hey wait up!" She sprinted after him, waving goodbye to Leon. "If we're going to work together, we should stick together. We're in a horror game, so we should treat it like a horror movie. Rule one is to never go alone. Right?"
She grinned at him. "So, we should start talking to some of these NPCs. YOu take the shopkeepers on the left, I'll take the ones on the right. Sound good? Make sure to ask about work and about goods you can buy."
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 6:43:30 GMT
Leon looked around as he had quickly been left behind by the other two.
"Well...there goes the banker thing....great...." He looks at Brianna again before consulting her. "Hey Brianna, or Bri, or however you want me to call you. The other two seem to have ran off on their own. I guess that leaves me and you. Umm...do you wanna be partners and try to figure out things together rather than scramble around by ourselves? The choice is yours."
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Post by Cass Song and Brianna Shears on Apr 5, 2014 6:46:58 GMT
She had stared after Damian, wiping her lip as she does. The bleeding had stopped and she looks down to her feet, "Oh... I'm sorry..." After a moment she adds. "The suggestion... Is working together..."
Bri sighs and nods, "Bri... And... Lets find, um... the map..." She wants to know where everything is and what is there if possible. Despite the urge to move she pauses and waits to see if Leon agrees.
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 6:53:03 GMT
Damian looked over his shoulder as he heard footsteps coming up behind him which turned out to be the woman he'd partnered up with. He lauhed readily at her remark and nodded in agreement. "Even well-lit marketplaces?" He joked with a grin, knowing full well that in both games and movies bad things could happen even in well-lit locations.
He headed off in the indicated direction after she'd given her idea. "Good luck." He told her and went to talk to the shopkeepers. It was a pretty simple affair since they were NPCs and he was also there to look at their wares. He just hoped that it wouldn't be all for nothing and they'd have some beginning jobs that their little group could do.
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 6:56:05 GMT
She browsed through the stalls, thoroughly questioning the NPCs as she went through the marketplace, both on what was for sale and on possible work to be found in the area for money. A nice katana caught her eye; she filed it away in her brain for later as she walked.
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 7:07:09 GMT
Once again he dusts off his pants as he stands up. "Alright then Bri, partners then. Nice to meet ya. Your idea sounds like a great start. I'm for it, just lead the way if ya want. If ya want me to go first though, I guess I wouldn't mind. Either way, the choice is yours, okay Bri?"
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Post by Cass Song and Brianna Shears on Apr 5, 2014 7:15:18 GMT
Bri bites her lip again, but not very hard. After a moment she whispers, "You first." She doesn't start walking until Leon does and only then in his shadow.
---
Mako and Damian find that most shops are actually either closed or out of stock. But they do find one shop with a peppy male NPC whom is selling cheap and pretty weak charms to protect against certain elements. Although they aren't exactly sure which is which. Another shop down the way, with an elderly woman as the shop keeper, is selling expensive herbs. Apparently they can be used for heal, but be warned, if you steep the wrong mixture you could end up poisoning yourself or a party member. Finally, much closer to where Leon and Bri were headed for, they run into a kid whom lets them know that a crossed from the market's center is the "guild" where people like them can get jobs. If they go there they will learn that all the jobs are currently too high of a level for them due to the fact they haven't even gained access to their elements yet.. and typically only certain types of people can do certain things. They will note that the strive class jobs have two already done according to the records.
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 7:32:51 GMT
It was disappointing to learn most of the shops on his side were closed except for one that sold cheap charms. They were cheap, which was nice, but weak and useless until they had a better idea of what their elements would be. There were also some herbs but really expensive and the mixture was pretty uncertain. Aside from that he found nothing of use and went over to where Mako was. "So, find anything?" Damian asked as he approached her.
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 7:35:22 GMT
"I know where we can go to get jobs, but.... they won't give any to us yet since we don't know how to use our elements. Meanwhile, that guy didn't exactly tell us what they were, just vague hints, I mean, what did he mean 'like a lake'? Obviously something to do with water, but why did he say 'lake'? Why not 'ocean'? Did he even mean water? I usually like logic puzzles but this is ridiculous!"
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 7:50:05 GMT
Leon nods as he takes the lead. After a while of walking and gathering a bit of info, they managed to find what they were looking for. "Great job Bri, you really pulled through on pointing us to that map. A map and a lead on where we can get jobs is at least something. It really does give us something to work with at the very least. Anywhere else we should go or do you want to head back to the others?"
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Post by Cass Song and Brianna Shears on Apr 5, 2014 7:54:03 GMT
Brianna nods, looking over the map, she notes its pretty much full of blank space. Just like he said... I wonder what else wasn't a lie... She then looks over to Leon, still not once meeting his gaze. After a moment she looks back the way they came, "As partners we lack less, as a group we lack least... I... We should head back..." Once more she falls into step behind Leon rather than along side him or in front of him.
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 7:59:37 GMT
"No kidding." Damian said in agreement and rubbed the back of his neck, the chain around his wrist making noise as he did so. "I'm pretty sure I'm fire but he wasn't exactly subtle with that one." He said before he looked back at the stalls he visited. "Meanwhile we've got herbs that are too expensive and could just as easily poison us as heal us and charms that are useless until we know our elements."
He let his arm fall back to his side and started walking back to the centre of the marketplace. "Well, back to square one. Let's go see what the other two found."
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 8:08:13 GMT
She sighed. "Dangit. Wish there were some way for us to just know... I hate it when games make you work for something you should get at the beginning no question." She shook her head. "Oh well. Time to head back and drop our money with Newbie kid."
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 8:16:24 GMT
As they arrived at their destination, he quickly corrects her by saying, "It's Leon, remember? Well, never mind, did you guys find anything? Thanks to Bri, we found a map and we ended up finding a guild where we could take a few jobs here or there. Sadly though....seems like since we are about as powerful as newborn puppies, we can't take any requests right now. Get this though, apparently two quests for the strive class have already been completed. That's gotta mean that someone is already here that can use their element things right?"
He looks over to the girl behind him and nods in her direction. "Did I miss anything Bri, or is there anything you wanna add?"
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Post by Cass Song and Brianna Shears on Apr 5, 2014 8:25:52 GMT
Brianna nods.
"Actually... The map had two filled in areas. One labeled 'Forest' and it was dark purple, it actually almost seems to touch this area... Oh! This place is called 'The Land of Beginnings'... The other place was called 'The Plains' and it was mostly yellow with a few purple spots on it... Its really, really far away with a ton of blank space between here and it... And... I don't know what the colors mean, but I'm sure its important."
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Post by Damian Flynn on Apr 5, 2014 8:40:24 GMT
Damian laughed as he walked. "You and me both." He replied, echoing her wish about what games made available at the beginning. It took almost no time at all to reach the centre and it seemed like the other two had found about as much as they did. "Not really. Some charms we can't use and some herbs we don't know how to mix and can't afford." Damian relayed to Leon after he'd asked them what they'd found. Thankfully the boy did seem to find something, if they could find whoever had completed those Strive missions then they could probably get the info they wanted.
He'd opened his mouth to say this when Bri mentioned the map and Damian made his way over towards it, looking at the areas she pointed out. "Land of Beginnings, huh? Seems a bit obvious." He said, speaking his thoughts aloud. "Ok, that Shade guy said that someone had already faced their fears so that's probably the guy that's already completed those two jobs. Have to face our fears in order to unlock our elements..." He said all of this in a near mutter as his gaze ran over the map. Finally he just shook his head and turned to the others. "Well, what do you guys want to do? Whoever finished those jobs could have information buuuuut we also pretty much can't do jack until we unlock our elements."
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Post by Mako "Major" Kusanagi on Apr 5, 2014 8:50:16 GMT
She frowned. "At this point it seems dumb not to test ourselves in the surrounding areas. I say we take a night at the inn and a good meal with the cash we've got, since there's nothing really worth buying right now anyway, and then set out in the morning refreshed and ready for anything."
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Post by Leon Rose on Apr 5, 2014 9:14:52 GMT
Leon looks at Damian and Brianna as they speak. When Damian asks what they wanted to do. He listened to what Mako had said and then pondered for a bit.
"Umm....Mako is right on the end that says we can't buy anything, but we do still have a bit of time before it becomes night. I say we spend some time looking around for the person completing quests. I mean, think with me for a second here. We have no idea what we could be facing if we left this area, and for all we know, we could be walking into an early grave. The fact that someone has been completing quests means that someone, a player at least WAS here in this city. If we want to have a chance we can be confident in, we have to find the only player that we know so far at least exists other than us, and somehow get them to teach or help us. It might seem like a wild goose chase, but when we set out the first time, we set out for info. This time, we'll be looking for a player, which will be easier now that we have seen a lot of which places are actually open to the players. If they are here, it would make sense they were somewhere that they could interact with. Not only that, we are working with limited time too...If we do call it a break for the night, and say worst case scenario is that we waste time and almost get ourselves killed tying to get away... That leaves us broke with no food or a place to sleep unless we do get lucky somehow. Best way to make sure we have a shot at this is to maximize the time we have and gather some assets. The best bet we have right now is that it is approaching night, so that means people are less likely to go out adventuring. Meaning....we should have a higher chance of catching them while they are taking a break, like if they are going to rest tonight. Spend as much time as we can trying to be productive before we break, even if it does make us a little more exhausted at least it's worth it, and the rest will be that much sweeter. But then again...an info overload might already have us stressed and a little more than panicked...and once again...this is all a big series of IF's...but we don't have all that many options to begin with..."
He rests his fingers on the bridge of his nose, thereby lifting his glasses. " Well...before anything, I wanna know what you guys think on it."
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