[IC] Elder Tale: Sapporo the winds of fortune

[Suku]

It has been two long weeks since the 12th expansion of the game that somehow managed to literally trap them into the actual game. Homesteading the Noosphere was supposed to be the next installment of elder tales yet it became something more something far worse than any could have imagined. IT was released at midnight May 3 2018 promised to be the greatest expansion yet of the game raising the level cap form 90 to a 100 along with a lot of new things released items, quests and the like. Well they delivered it was definately a release she wont forget anytime soon.

Sapporo was probably the only city that was a bit different from others. It lacked the scraping buildings in decay of Akiba or the towering gates of Kyoto. Sapporo was more down to earth it was large sure but lacked the sky scrapers that other cities was known for. In all honestly Sapporo was the most different in game than its real life counterpart. Sapporo was by no means a gigantic metropolis like others but it wasn't exactly the smallest either. The city to players was divided into three main sections the first one was the actual city part that was based on the real life sapporo. Often called the urban area it contained a lot of the more important buildings the bank, guild hall, and the church of revival for example. While to the left was the market which often contained low buildings, stalls and huts often where a good majority of the shops was. This area is often the source of news from other cities and the like due to how far and locked in the city is. The third and final part of the city was simply called the dock like its name suggested it often contained the ships and other sea based items and goods in the area. Within it was multiple bars and a working pier in which a player can work at to gain decent money should they be willing to put in the time.

Sen sighed as she sat on a bench in the market district. She originally came here hoping for some new news but sadly it seemed that it was not to be. She sighed she sat on the bench leaning back as she let out a long drawn out moan. The hell was she supposed to do her two main friends went out to try and gain information in other cities. Though with that said she was still bored out of her mind kicking her legs in a frenzy as they werent able to reach the ground she furiously rustled up her hair in frustration. "TWO WEEKS, TWO GOD DAMN FORSAKEN WEEKS!" She screamed out in frustration her pink hair messed up as strand got into her eyes causing her to push it aside as she let out a sigh. "The world is large there is lot we have yet to discover yet here I am locked in this forsaken city!" She screamed once more pouting rather cutely as some would point out at the supposed unfairness of the world.

[Guess Who]

"Like a long forgotten zit you're here to pester me once again, you pustule lookin' motherfucker. I swear, you limp dick son of a bitch, you better not be standing outside my store because you need that stupid fucking shield repaired again," the blacksmith said, not even looking up from the anvil he was smashing his hammer against to see who's shadow it was that was blocking his light. His poor customer service had driven away most of his previous customers, despite his admittedly high quality craftsmanship, with the exception of one adventurer who didn't seem to mind being the target of his insults. Perhaps he was a masochist.

"Sorry, Barry," Convel replied, taking off his helmet and tucking it underneath his arm. The former player of Elder Tale, now turned resident of what was once one of the most popular MMOs of all time, swept back his snow white hair and wolf ears with his free hand to get the stray strands out of the way of his eyes. "I underestimated Murkteeth the Malformed and thought I could take him on all on my own. Had to use Vicarious Shield or risk losing a lot of XP."

Barry let out a sigh as Convel handed over his shield, getting started on repairing the destroyed piece of equipment. "You do this one more time and I swear to the fucking gods, both those of our world and of this one, that I will turn your internal organs into external ones."

"That seems a bit excessive."

"Don't you fucking talk back to me," Barry replied angrily. "Do you know much time it takes to fully repair a completely destroyed piece of equipment? This is going to take me for fucking ever. Don't expect me to give you a discount for this like I did last time. In fact, I'm almost tempted to make you pay twice as much."

Convel merely shrugged in response before replying back, "I had been saving a lot of my gold before the expansion to buy whatever new stuff came out on the market, so I've got plenty to pay you back."

"Then maybe I'll make you pay five times as much."

"I'll shut up now."

"Good. Now get out of my sight, so I can focus on my work. I don't want to even hear your voice again until after I send you a message saying I'm done."

"Alright, see ya' around, Barry."

As Convel was walking away from the blacksmith's shop, he could hear the man screaming out more insults. The Wolf Fang Adventurer didn't catch everything he said, but it was somewhere along the lines of being denser than a neutron star and wishing that his mother had swallowed him back when he was conceived. Very vulgar and derogatory stuff.

---

@Suku

Needing some way to pass the time, he began to search the markets for somewhere to eat. He was glad that some chef had finally discovered the secret to making food have actual taste again, since he had trouble keeping anything down when it had tasted like cardboard caked in paste. While standing in line for an inexpensive snack though, the adventurer would be distracted by the frustrated screams of another nearby player that had been supposedly trapped in the game with him. After getting to the front of the line and ordering himself a sandwich, Convel would approach the twintailed girl.

"Hey, mind if I sit here? I'll give you half of my sandwich," he asked, figuring that he might as well attempt to make the stranger's day better by giving her some friendly conversation. If she accepted his offer, the Wolf Fang would break off a half of his sub sandwich and hand it over while taking a seat next to her. "So... want to talk about what's got you so riled up? Well beside the obvious fact that we're stuck in a video game and can't see any of our friends and family on the outside."

[Rekaigan]

_{@The Irish Tree}

---

It had been awhile since Yuuko, or rather, Matsuko was brought into the world of Elder Tale. She remembered the widespread panic that ensued in the streets of Sapporo. She couldn't believe it at first, but she felt that it was another way to escape the expectations of her family; because of this she wasn't homesick at all. There was nothing she missed back at home. All that time spent studying.. Going to cram school.. Being isolated from the rest of her classmates because of baseless rumors.. All of it was now nothing. Perhaps this was all a dream and she'd soon wake up to the continuing nightmare that was her life? Only time will tell.

Many complained about the food when they arrived in Elder Tale. "It's bland! It tastes like nothing!" They shouted, bickering about how their drinks tasted like stale water and how their food tasted like air. Matsuko didn't really understand what everyone was talking about as everything she ate tasted like it should. She concluded that it must've had something to do with her Subclass, <Food Fighter>. Over the past fortnight, her guild 'The Silver Spoon' had been look for a way to make food palatable outside of making it a salty or sweet mush. It wasn't long before Tafui discovered that food had to be cooked manually.

Despite all this panic, they smiled. Those from The Silver Spoon smiled as they greeted her, as if nothing ever changed. Her guild was still itself, which gave her hope to carry on. Had they collapsed from the Apocalypse, she'd be lost. Especially if Tafui wasn't around. He was a good friend and his cooking skill was always great.. Or was he a good friend because his cooking was good?

---

"Tafui, what's for lunch~? Dinner? Breakfast tomorrow?" She asked the druid in a somewhat melodic tone, leaning on his shoulder. Matsuko was always excited to have more food, especially Tafui's, since his cooking was way tastier than the other chefs.. Maybe it was because of the amulet that ShrimpBoss made? It was strange to her how it changed from consumption speed to deliciousness, but she wasn't about to question it. All she really needed to do was gather the necessary amounts of meat from the beasts around the city, something that Tafui has trouble doing as a Druid. Not to mention he gets PK'd.. So she's kind of like a body guard now.

[The Irish Tree]

To say that he was worried once the lines between reality and game became nonexistent would be an understatement as young Takeshi found himself in an utter panic at the feeling of being completely isolated in a virtual world away from...well, anybody he knew. His brothers, his mom, and his father...within MINUTES he was wishing to go home and never play a game again if that was what it took. But, such a wish wouldn't come true, at least not now. And so, the elven druid found himself once more with familiar faces at Silver Spoon, doing his best to make his life in this new world as livable as possible.

Very quickly him and the guild members found out that food...tasted like mush to anybody but Food Fighters like Matsuko. Further experimenting determined that, making the food bad, would also make it taste bad to a food fighter. It would be roughly six days after the apocalypse that Tafui, entirely by accident in his drudging tiredness of cooking all day and all night awoke and made an omelette without using his Crafting Menu whatsoever. When they expected mush, the chefs and foodfighters instead got...an omelette that tasted as it should.

With their knowledge in hand of cooking and their dedication to ensuring that people were able to eat without wanting to die of boredom, Tafui rolled out in his Cu Culinary to open up a small soup kitchen to the players in Sapporo.

About a week later, Tafui would find himself in near poverty, having spent quite a bit of his gold on ingredients and now having little to serve but soup and bread.

Matsuko leaning on his shoulder had the shorter elf leaning away a bit from her weight, as he sighed: "At this rate, lunch, dinner, and breakfast are going to be soup with bread crumbs...We need to stock up on inventory." Going through his nearby pack and bringing out Mountain Swallow, clenching his opposite fist as he steeled his confidence to go out and fight for real. "Matsuko...mind tagging along? If you do, we can get a lot more meat and um...maybe even find some spices. I don't know, but I don't want to let people go on just...this." he said, at the end pointing at his incredibly nothing-filled soup that seemed to be mostly chicken broth and some peas. Even 10% more taste wasn't enough to make that soup much better than mush.

[Suku]

"I..........AM............BORED............OUT............OF..............MY...................MIND!" Sen said drawing out the phrase while she started to move her arms amicably to show her boredom. "Anyway sorry about that whats your name and I dont mind grab a spot." She called out of the tall wolf fang character a race that is rare to her knowledge since not a lot of people tend to choose the race in question. Perhaps though this stranger could be the answer to her boredom. With that thought in her head she let a smile come to her face as she planned her method of attack. Many would say her grins bring nothing but trouble but it was always fun in the long one way or another. "Have you heard the story of the lost shrine? They say those who make it to the gate are granted treasure beyond told." Sen said looking at the person next to her. "So what do you say will you aid this maiden in her journey to see this supposed lost shrine apparently according to my information the shrine should be in a forest nearby here." Sen said looking at her soon to be partner in her quest being unwilling or not.
@Guess Who

[Guess Who]

After taking a bite of his sandwich and swallowing, the player would soon reply to the short girl's question. "My name's Convel McConnor, though you can just call me Convel for short. It's nice to meet you... Sen," he said, looking up at the name on her status bar above her head. Guild: Bud Virgin Logic... Huh. Definitely a strange name. Perhaps some in joke with her friends? Hopefully? The other option that comes to mind is a bit... dirty. Seeing the devious smile that crossed her face though, the adventurer began to think that his second interpretation of her guild's name was much more accurate.

"Yeah, I think I've heard a couple rumors here or there, but I figured it was either made up or something a small guild like the one I used to be in would never find and so saw no point in trying to discern it's location," the guardian admitted. The Condemned 105th Mercenary Company was much more interested on doing quests that were well known for either being really fun or really rewarding for participants. At the time, it had simply been a game, so why put in so much work unless that work was sure to result in excitement now or later on with more quests?

Upon hearing Sen state that she had evidence to not only prove the shrine's existence but also a possible location of it, the wolf fang became intrigued, as shown by the pair of twitching ears atop his head. "Well it wouldn't be very adventurer-like of me to deny helping someone in need. Though, uh, I have to ask. We're not the only two people going on this quest right? I can't imagine something like The Lost Shrine will be unguarded and a guardian and sorcerer, while a formidable duo, probably wouldn't be able to take whatever danger awaits us on our own." It'd probably be best if the short trickster set her new companion's worries at ease with a couple little white lies about their possible support, or lack thereof.

[Rekaigan]

_{@The Irish Tree}

---

Matsuko grimaced at the thought and sight of the soup. There was only so much someone could take before getting sick of flavoured water. She nodded eagerly as Tafui suggested they go hunt for supplies. A hearty meal was in order! "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go~!" She responded happily, patting the pommels of her blades. Some might think Matsuko was acting differently from her usual, but this kind of expression only came about when food was the subject. And of course, since it's Tafui, she's always willing to help out.

It wasn't long before the pair encountered boars.. Nice meaty.. Fat boars. Matsuko licked her lips as she drew her blades, charging through one of them with <Accel Fang> before beginning her <Deadly Dance>. A flurry of blades sliced and diced the boar, but she was careful enough to keep it alive for Tafui to gut. Her attacks aggro-ed the 2nd boar; it charged at her immediately, ramming her in the back and sending her tumbling into the grass. She quickly recovered from the blow, getting to her feet and immediately stabbing the Dancer's Shadow into the boar. Matsuko quickly retreated back slightly before leaping into the air, performing <Dancer's Dive>, driving the blade through the boar and out the other side, pinning it to a tree.

"It's lunchtime, Tafui~!" She said excitedly.

[The Irish Tree]

Tafui was doing his best to help during the battle with the boars, although he was a bit afraid of catching Matsuko in the crossfire of his Nightbloom. Instead, he held Mountain Swallow out, a bolt of energy forming form the tip as he cast Sprite Bolt, then another, then another, the three converging on a single boar and taking them out. Turning to the...next...one...it was dead. Huh. Feeling kind of useless after only killing one boar, Tafui silently got to gutting, skinning, and cooking them as Cu Culinary materialized, humming as he grilled up several cuts of pork meat in a tomato sauce. His arms seemed to move at the speed of light once he was in the kitchen, also putting the bones into the smoker in order to make soup stock later.

After about 50 minutes, Tafui proudly presented Matsuko a platter of pork chops with a light tomato sauce drizzled on top, the meat glistening under the sauce. There was tons leftover, and thankfully RPG storage still worked, preserving the food for at least a while. "Tell me what you think, I haven't really done Boar in a while...hopefully we can get some mushrooms while we're out here." Tafui said, settling for his single porkchop. Egg Noddles were also available on the side, albeit not much.

Sitting down to eat, Tafui's cart was wafting the scent of delicious food all around, a partially conscious decision to try and lure more beasts out for their larder. And also half because he REALLY wanted those bones to be ready for a delicious soup.

[Suku]

@Guess Who
"You worry to much doggy man" Sen said with a laugh including a slight jab at his chosen race. "Plus dont blame me. I got friends on the other side waiting for us." Sen said as the previous smile returned to her face in full force creating a evil look on her face if the lighting was just right you could swear it was the face of a stereotypical villian swearing he was innocent. "So mr doggy shall we go on a journey?" She said her smile not once leaving her face as it seemed to spread even more so. Hook line and sinker she thought to herself and yet another one bites the dust. Soon they would be heading out and all honesty the forest in which the shrine was located mainly had wildlife and the like nothing much in terms of mobs unless you counted the monster dens but normally you get a warning when you approach them as each act like a mini dungeon by itself.

It was happening just like it was foretold! She thought to herself as she ran her miko outfit getting torn and dirty as she rushed through the brush stray branches and the likes grabbing onto her sleeves and pulling it as she continued to run. She needed to get help otherwise who knows what could happen. Adventurers that was what she needed surely they would help her or at least humor her right? With these thoughts in mind she continued to run paying no heed at how she sleeves was torn to shreds and her arms had light cuts as well. Her left shoe lost in the mud puddle she stepped in and yet payed no heed to. Eventually her frantic search paid off she could smell something cooking and as she rushed through the bush she saw two adventures sitting down for a meal. Collapsing in joy at finally finding someone tears streaking down her eyes she tried speaking. "I...I...I need" she said her voice stuttering from her exhaustion and her relief. "h-h-h-h-elp" She managed to squeak out as her bright pink hair fell over her face as she bowed towards the adventures tears still streaming down her face. "T-t-t-he temple shrine seal has broken youkai will s-s-s-oon be coming t-t-t-the n-n-n-night parade." She continued as she kept her head bowed.
@The Irish Tree@Rekaigan

[Guess Who]

@Suku

Convel's ears flattened against the top of his head as Sen called him 'doggy man' and 'Mr. Doggy.' Sure, being a Wolf Fang had caused him to receive much worse names over the years from the less friendly players of Elder Tale, but it sounded pretty demeaning. "I'm a wolf, not a dog," he told the sorceress with a frown, though it appeared much more like a pout. Perhaps the overgrown canine needed a treat to make his feelings better.

I can already tell that this adventure is going to be a memorable one. The only question is whether it'll be memorable because of the pain I'm about to go through or the enjoyment that comes with finding rare treasure. Whether Sen replied to Convel's statement over his dislike of her new nickname for him, the guardian would follow the much shorter girl out of town and into the wide open expanse that surrounded the city of Sapporo. Whatever challenges they may face, she could trust in him to stick by her and their slowly growing party.

[Bushman501]

---

Stella was, for the lack of a better word, lost. Stumbling around in a forest with no idea what to do was the exact opposite of safe, but with everything that has been happening lately Stella did not feel like this was any surprise. With the apocalypse having happened, the life she knew was gone and she had to figure out what to do again, especially since she had no friends with her. And that was how Stella fell into the same trap as the rest of the players: having nothing to do, being bored, and only merely surviving as opposed to enjoying herself in any capacity.

I...I think I had too much to drink. Wait...how did I... Stella thought to herself as she stumbled upon a clearing, realizing that her drunken spree had made her go outside of the city. Yet, that was better than what she has been doing as of late, which was simply lazing around. Still half-drunk, Stella ensured that she re-entered the city before taking another drink from her still rather large stockpile of generic alcohol that she bought from a cheap place. It was not long before she was at the point where she would not remember very much, whatever it was she did. This included drunken song and dance, buying a load of generic common items, even kissing and hugging a few individual players and landers, much to the embarrassment of quite a few and, probably later, herself.

About 30 minutes into her stupor was when she crashed onto a certain table with a wolf-fang and a twin-tailed dragon tamer. With a loud thunk the bard crashed onto the table face first, too drunk to keep herself balanced any longer, and needless to say caused quite the mess. Tilting her head to the side at the possibly surprised duo, her eyes gazed upon the wolf fang's sandwich. "Oh..isn't that sandwich mine?" Stella asked, though she was not waiting for an answer. Instinctively, she attempted to swipe the sandwich and, if she was successful, would eat it messily in a hurry. Either way, she fell asleep, unable to will her mind to stay awake anymore.

[The Irish Tree]

Just as Tafui was about to take a bite out of his pork bit, he heard the distinct sounds of distress before someone...looked like a Kannagi or some sort of priestess was crying as she ran towards them. Immediately worried, Tafui ran over, leaving his porkchop to the mercy of Matsuko as he put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Are you hurt anywhere!?" he asked frantically, starting to cast Heartbeat Healing immediately before even receiving an answer. However, his elven ears did flick just a bit as he heard the woman talk about Youkai and the Night Parade...wait, wasn't that an event quest?

Tafui was concerned for the lady, since she'd...well, kinda been running barefoot for a bit and put a hand on her shoulder. "Please calm down a little...here, we have some food if you're hungry. We'll hear you out, so just take your time and um...here." he said, ripping up a spare Common rarity robe in his inventory to make a handkerchief for the girl. "Um...what is this Night Parade anyways?" he asked after a little while, wanting to confirm whether or not this was identical to that event quest. He'd done it once in passing when he was newer in the game, but he didn't remember much about it. "Are these youkai strong?"

[Rekaigan]

---

Matsuko, after a nice hunting trip, was very happy to be digging into a massive slab of meat for the first time in.. about a day; eating like it was going to be her last day alive. Unlike Tafui, she couldn't hear anything as she tunnel visioned on her lavish meal. Despite that she noticed that Tafui's meal was now unguarded, and proceeded to take his chop into her other hand. After practically inhaling her meal, she noticed that her cook was talking to some sort of.. Shrine maiden? She got up and walked over to the pair as she licked her fingers of the grease. "Night Parade? Isn't that the annual event? From what I remember, the yokai aren't that strong." She shrugged nonchalantly before tapping the pommel of her sword.

"We should be fine though." She said flatly.

[Suku]

Sen gasped at what the drunk was going to do and in a overly dramatic dive jumped over the table in front and into the bard "I will not allow you to take my half of a somewhat non rightfully claimed sandwich!" She called as she knocked both herself and the bard onto the ground. "]The somewhat rash and not full thought out decision wound up with both of them in a disarray due to the impromptu tackle from Sen. "I can explain!" she called out as she saw the gathering of people her rash action had gathered. As the gathered crowd left she got herself up and offered a hand to the drunk. "Anyway doggy man I have people on the other side you ready to go on this journey with me?" She asked looking at Convel. Trying to act as if her tackling someone from across the table never happened never mind the fact she was still somewhat offended at the drunk bard choosing to ignore her in general.
@Bushman501@Guess Who

Shrine Maiden

"Th-h-h-h-he youkai has escaped and formed a parade before but never before have they broke through the seal" She explained it was true the night parade happened yearly at random and as such made things a bit more difficult. Though normally the seal was in place limiting their strength keeping the mayhem and destruction they could cause to a minimum. Though since the seal was broken they would be at full power who knows what kind of untold mayhem they would wrought upon the land. "The seal kept the powers of the youkai in check limiting them since there was too many to just seal away. However with the seal breaking their powers would be at full force please HELP ME!" She screamed the last part out her head meeting the ground once more as she implored to the adventurers.
@The Irish Tree@Rekaigan

[Guess Who]

@Suku@Bushman501

Convel's ears would twitch again as he heard the shuffling of footsteps behind him. Before becoming trapped inside this online world, someone like Stella would have easily been able to sneak up behind him and take the uneaten half of the sandwich, but having gained his several animal-like traits, the young man heard her coming from a mile away. If it wasn't for the sudden intervention of the twintailed sorceress, he would have pulled the food from the would-be thief at the last possible second. It wasn't like her senses were at her best thanks to the alcohol running through her system.

Approaching Sen and the drunkard that was still collapsed on the ground, Convel would also offer the bard a hand to help her return to her own imbalanced feet, meanwhile scolding his companion on her rash actions. "Considering that you're lying atop a clearly drunken woman with a guild name like 'Virgin Bud Logic,' I think it's much better to just leave now before the city's Royal Guard decide to get involved. Before the two Adventurers would take off though, the Wolf Fand turned to Stella and told her, "Hey, I've got more sandwiches where this came from, so if you can sober up soon, meet us outside town and you can get one all for yourself." The guardian figured that they could use the numbers for this quest and bribe never hurt anyone.

[The Irish Tree]

"Please calm down. We'll help you so...j-just leave it to us!" Tafui said before taking a massive bite out of his pork. "Mafhuko, whe needf tho moohve kweck!" he managed before just about choking to death. Taking a solid minute to pound on his chest to keep himself from suffocating on delicious pork, Tafui would be lying on the ground on all fours panting and wheezing.

Once he uh...remembered how to breath, he was good to go, and hurriedly packed up his gear in Cu Culinary before packing that up into his inventory. Trying to maintain an air of competence after his utterly incompotent display, and cleared his throat. "W-We'll help you Ma'am. Do you happen to know where these Youkai are?" he asked as he tried to look confident, despite being absolutely terrified at the prospect of fighting. Pain was real here and...a druid especially could get hurt more than most. Mountain Swallow glowed with a soft amber light on his hip, the unusual weapon having sensed danger, not really knowing that the real danger to Tafui was his own incompetence. Regardless of how he or his blade felt, now was the time to move on the miko's directions. And of course, the assumption that Matsuko would follow. He couldn't do much without her, after all.

[Rekaigan]

---

The Shrine maiden's constant stuttering was giving Matsuko a massive headache. Had she not been chewing on a fat pork chop, she would've told the girl to be quiet. It was interesting to see a Lander come to an Adventurer first, but well.. There was a first for everything. Fear does anything to people. She had half a mind to say 'no' because she was still eating and didn't like being interrupted, but with Tafui around, she'd most likely have to go along with whatever he decides. Follow the hand that feeds you.

Matsuko stared in awe for a moment as she watched her companion eat faster than she'd ever seen him eat. She gave him a one-handed back rub to keep him from choking to death and ending up at the cathedral in the lamest way possible. With a single big chomp, the Sword Dancer finished her pork chop, tossing a clean bone onto the ground. She gave her hands a quick clean before patting a nervous Tafui on the shoulder, trying to reassure him. "You'll be fine, Tafui. I'm here. And remember, this event will attract more Adventurers like us. We're not alone." She said in a soft voice as the followed the miko.

[ClocktowerEchos]

-:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:-



-:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:-

"Cardiac arrest. Respiratory asphyxiation. Brain failure. Deoxygenation of blood. Liver failure. Internal trauma. Blood lose. With modern medical science we can prevent and cure each one of these things individually. Yet death comprised of multiples of these things eluded the science and knowledge of the World That Was. Researchers and scientists have spend centuries trying to cure death, but why try and cure death, when you can restore life?"

Tachyon leaned towards the player killing bandit whose hubris lead him to believe that he and a friend could easily slay what they thought to be a normal mage despite being a solid 30 levels under said normal mage. A "normal mage" who was currently holding him with a giant skeletal grasp and flanked by armored undead, lecturing him on the virtues of life and the wonders of necromancy. Even if he didn't have any <Fear> debuffs on him, it was clear that the bandit was scared a ghostly pale white.

"But alas, I do not have all day to spend here and neither do you. As such, I am going to leave you here, but not before first teaching you another thing about medicine and the human- err... elf anatomy. Do you know how long it takes for someone to suffocate after being buried alive?"

The restrained bandit frantically shook his head as skeletons dug a hole the ground behind Tachyon, desperate in the hopes his friend had respawned and was quickly running to his position to kill this madman holding him hostage.

"I've heard it can take anywhere up to three minutes for someone to suffocate, but that's presuming they don't have anything pollutants in their airways. I've always wondered if you can suffocate in this game now... Tell me about it later if you ever find me again and want to learn more about anatomy." with the man still firmly in his grasp, Tachyon walked over the the shallow grave and dropped the bandit it as his skeletons looked at him with dead, sunken gazes, already starting to rapidly pile dirt on to the bandit who squirmed as Tachyon's skeletal hand kept him down, "Until then, do have a good day. I hope your friend fines you quickly."

With a single sweep of the giant bony hands, the mound of dirt collapsed on to the open grave before the hand and the summoned skeletons along with it. Tachyon didn't bother to stick around much longer; he already knew how long it'd take him to suffocate underground.

-:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:- -:=]|[=:-

A cold wind followed Tachyon wherever he went, as if he had just opened the stone door to a frozen crypt, as he walked back into town, holding an ominous bundle. Those who passed by him whispered what could such a dark looking man could be carrying with him. Perhaps skulls or flesh for some ritual, maybe ill-gotten golden gains, maybe some gems of dark magic. The fact that cloaked was wearing a tricorn hat that seemed to always cast a shadow over his face, obscuring it from view. No doubt the Landers were even more suspicious as mothers hurried their children past the figure and his gleaming scythe as it made its way to the marketplace, drifting in and out of shadows.

Splitting the crowds with his mere presence, the Adventurer stood in front of a stall selling a variety of alchemical regents maned by Landers although no one was current at the front. Onlookers nervously watched as they made their way past, the dark colors and unsettingly feeling of the man clashing with the brightly colored and vibrant stand, just inches away from the sharp edge of the scythe.

"Someone there?" An old gruff voice spoke from behind a curtain before walking out, towel in gloved hands. His face immediately lit up when he saw the figure in black, "Ahhh! Tachyon! I see you're returned from the bog! You find the things?"

"Yessir." the adventurer removed his hat and cleared his throat, dropping a skull sized burlap bag, "Crypt Fungus, Rotwood, Grave Grass, Feral Bone Dust, everything you said. Minus the Twilight Rose though, I couldn't find it even with the help of my summons. Sorry I'm late though, I ran into some trouble on my way back."

"Ahh don't worry about it, you've arrived just in time before closing time eh? Hah! Well, you've gone and done yourself a fine job sir. Here's you payment, sugared water and fruits. The work you've done for me and my family is honestly great. I don't think I could have gone in that accursed swamp myself to fetch these ingredients."

Suddenly, a flash of long blonde hair burst from the curtain and a young girl jumped up into the merchant's arms and saw Tachyon, "Daddy! Daddy! Is he the Adventurer you were talking about?"

"Yes I am." Tachyon put his hat over his heart and bowed slightly, "I've been gathering stuff for people these past few days. It gives me something to do besides sleep and do nothing. The fruits are just welcomed gifts. And who might you be little one?"

"She's my daughter, Anna." the old merchant tickled the girl who burst into laughter and flailing, "She sometimes tags along with me to work, ball of energy aren't ya?"

"Mhm!" Anna gave a big wide smile before putting a finger to her mouth and recalling, "Say, Mr. Adventurer, are you going to help the shrine lady too?"

"Shrine lady?" Tachyon tilted his head, a small spark of excitement igniting in him for a brief second before he was dragged in close by the man who let go of his daughter.

"Yup, she just came out not too long ago all worked up in a hissy and nearly passed out or so I'm told. Word traveled fast and they're calling for all Adventurers to rush to her aid. Apparently its something big about a demon seal or something. Or was it a demon walrus... Its something nasty."

"Well, why are all of you still here than?" Tachyon tilted his head into a bundle of dried flowers that instantly triggered a loud sneezing reaction before he pulled away, "Shouldn't you be heading to safety?"

The old man laughed, "We've got enough walls and Adventurers to keep us safe from a demon king! Besides," the merchant leaned forward and whispered, "With all the Adventurers getting ready to head out, this is the perfect time to raise some prices on things they might want before they head out and you can't make potions and poisons without ingredients m'boy."

Tachyon could literally see the glint of greed in the man's eyes but decided to try and ignore it as a bag of fruits and herbs landed in his arms, "Thank you for the stuff. I'll be heading off to see this Shrine Lady, might be interesting."

"No thank you m'boy! Remember, if anyone asks where to get alchemy ingredients, point them here!"

I'm going to point them the opposite way you price gouging bastard. Tachyon screwed up his face in mild annoyance as he melted into the crowd of adventurers amassing near the shrine. Melting as well as someone who gave off a chilling aura of death could at any rate.

[Suku]

@ClocktowerEchos@Rekaigan@The Irish Tree@Bushman501@Guess Who

As people started to gather towards the forest it was quick to see that it was not just a formely standard scripted event anymore. It was much more as the forest was ignite don fire and creatures even former creature mobs was fleeing from the center of the forest. In which sat a shrine that seemed to have a giant light coming from it easy to spot even from town. Though while each of the group each easily fighting through the lesser enemies that was lesser fodder. Odd though was the lack of the standard youkai hordes from the previous examples of this event rather it was the same skeleton foot soldier that was common for mobs on early dungeons and the like for lower level characters. Though things was quick to change as while they were fighting each person was slowly pulled down in in a rough motion by a giant skeleton hand. Dragging the to what can only be described as a hellish landscape a large field in ruins as you can see ramparts, forts and castles destroyed in the background a giant pool of lava was in the center as the arms that pulled them down slowly caused a giant skeleton body to pull itself out lava dripping from the ashened bones as fire filled its sockets.

[The Irish Tree]

Well...this escalated quickly. Like, insanely quickly. Like, that was ONE BIG SKELETON. And, frankly, Tafui was kind of freaking the hell out since they were practically in hell at the moment. Well...this definitely wasn't part of the event before. In fact, Tafui was pretty sure that he was screwed considering that fire tended to just burn plants up right away...right now the best he could manage would be to heal the people who'd been drawn into this fresh new hell with him. And, try and debuff the enemy as best he could. Holding Mountain Swallow in front of him for a moment, his body glowed yellow as energy gathered in his hand, before he suddenly...chucked a seed at the giant skeleton. "Root and Infest, Nightbloom!" he called out, the seed bursting open and starting to entangle the massive skeleton starting from its ribcage. The vines growing out were drying up and burning fast, but just maybe if he lasted long enough for the paralytic spores, those might have some effect.

...Wait, would that even work on a skeleton? Quickly deciding he needed a Plan B, Tafui began readying multiple Sprite Bolts, the bluish white wisps of energy orbiting him as he tried to ready at least 10 to fire at this giant skeleton. "If anybody needs healing, leave it to me!" he shouted, wanting to make sure the melee fighters could at least be confident that he had their backs. The last thing he wanted was for someone to hesitate for lack of safety. If he could help it, nobody would go down this fight. This skeleton thing was hopefully gonna be paralyzed by the time he had his 10 bolts, otherwise he'd have to fire prematurely.