Dot in!
assume all things happening here happen before you "log in"
SwordOfTheSaint has signed in and dotted.
use this thread to form any guilds and/or parties in the game! Feel free to RP it. (prefer that tbh).
you can use either "friend messages" which in mechanics would be a standard action, but it is only visible to the recipient. or party/say speak which is free and much like speaking normally.
Dot
In the southern market of Mirridian Heights there is a stone bench next to a vanity planter box with a small rose bush facing the square.
A pair of tulips frame the bush, lending a homey feel to it. The arrangement is thrown off a bit by what appears to be half of a heavily scarred longbow struck at an off-kilter angle out of the side.
The weapon has a single fibrous twig of a pale green growing from its olive exterior and a few meager leaves stretching to reach the sun.
In the dirt of the planter lies a thick steak knife bent into a crude figure with an obvious thumb print embedded in the steel on one side. Next to this oddity hangs a note
Greetings and salutations, This bow belongs to Argus Ironeye. I frequent the tavern across the street when I am in the city but most of my time is spent in the Monori forest as a test bed warrior and killer of the various nasty critters within.What you have just stolen is my longbow, which is currently regrowing from my encounter with a developers sick joke of a giant cross-dressing lumberjack. I have left this note to inform you that from experience I do not do well with theft as the previous bow I had was also stolen, it was very nice and the person who stole it was an idiot. I wonder if you heard about the player who was left slathered in honey and tied to a stump the Monori about a month ago? Regardless I leave you a piece of artwork to look at rather than steal my bow, for if you do I will commit things banned by the Geneva convention on your person. Oh and also snap your weapons and armor like toothpicks.
Thanks- Argus.
Talori phases in near Monoki Woods. Wow. This was... Unreal. All of the other VR games she had played have come close to this total immersion. Sight, smell, touch, hearing... Plucking a leaf off of a nearby tree and chewing on it, Talori spits it out immediately. Yup. Even taste. It might even be worth it to put a few ranks in cooking...
Opening up her inventory, Talori sees that she's in starter gear for the Titan Mauler class: leather armor, a backpack, and goody goody: Two massive swords! Sitting down, Talori takes out a Litebook, jotting down her grind path. Talori was a pro at any game she played, and she wasn't about to start slacking now. Talori would plunge into Monoki Forest and clear the quest paths there, giving her the opportunity to head into the higher level Grysha Plains later. Once she cleared the lower level quests at both locales, Talori would head to mid levels at Monoki, then Grysha, etc.
Looking at the looming canopy and the slimes happily hopping within, Talori smiled. It was time to start.
Zero sits on a ledge reading the note Argus had left wondering how long it would take the blusterous dwarf to notice some one had switched out his note and changed the dagger for a magnolia flower.
Greetings and salutations, This bow belongs to Argus Ironeye. I frequent the tavern across the street when I am in the city I used to spend my time is spent in the Monori forest as a test bed warrior and killer of the various nasty critters within. Though I now spend my time exploring the exciting world of cross stitching. What you have just stolen is my longbow, which is currently regrowing from my encounter with a developers sick joke of a giant cross-dressing lumberjack. I have left this note to inform you that I no longer require such an item of violence. I leave this flower next to it as a sign of friendship and peace.
Thanks- Argus.
As Talori finished off the last Dire Wolf in the camp, she checked her gold totals, her upgrade crystals, and the various market value of junk she collected, including low-quality equipment. Pulling up a page of the current prices of upgrading to Tier Two and purchasing better equipment, along with the price of embedding upgrade crystals. She had enough to make her extrapolated purchases.
Using her TP Stone, Talori phases back to Mirridian Heights, the beginning town, to trade. Seeing another tester, with a tag of "Zero," she decides to head over. After all, establishing a community inside the game was extremely important so that they could contact each other once it went public.
"How was the daily grind?" Talori plops down beside Zero.
The sharp scent of pinewood was the first thing that Hornfell notices, taking in the earthly aroma of the woods that he found himself in. He stands in a clearing in the center of a dense wood, a ring of brown mushrooms circling the edges. There was only one path that led out of the circle.
He tests his new body, flexing his fingers and maneuvering his limbs in warm up stretches that his coach in the real world had taught him. While the body of a dwarf was not as limber as that of his real-world counterpart, he could feel the underlying strength within his body.
A grin broke across his face as he feels the weight of the sword at his hip. With a quick motion, he had drawn the sword in a slicing motion, sending a cascade of leaves spinning into the air with the wind his slash created. He couldn't help but laugh at the capabilities he had already demonstrated. What more awaited for him to experience in this brave new world?
"Alright then," he says, standing up and looking towards the morning sky. "Let's get started."
Sheathing his blade, Hornfell took the first of many steps on a journey of a thousand miles.
*****
Thirty minutes pass since he set off. And in that time, he had only been attacked thrice by monsters of a ridiculously low caliber. Goblins, a pair of dire wolves and even a bugbear ranger! The XP gain was minimal, but the actual experience of fighting them was more enough of a treasure.
Hornfel checks his inventory, sorting out the dispensable loot from the items he would keep long-term. The idea of going to the starting town to divest himself of the dropped items and taking a look seems like a good enough of an idea. And who knows, he might see some of the friends he made during the beta!
Reaching into his bag, he pulls out a <Teleport Crystal> and activates it, phasing out of the woods and into the starting town, [Mirridian Heights]. Upon reconstitution, he wobbles from the after-effects of the spell and regains his balance with relative ease.
Near the area where he phased into, he sees a two players near a stone bench, a man tagged as -Zero- and a young woman tagged as -Taori-. Hmmm...he doesn't seem to recall the names in his memory of the beta, but maybe they just changed the avatar they were using.
In response to the woman's question, he walks up and excitedly replies, "Everything I could have hoped for in a VR game."
Eira spots Zero and gleefully joins him. She sees another player by the name of Talori and greets her with a smile, "how's it going?". She gives her husband a hug and asks him what he was up to. She notices Hornfel and waves. "So what do you think of all crazy details of this game? You can even smell things here!" She says to Hornfell excitedly. She looks up at her husband and notices the classic mischievous look on his face that transcends real life and game. "We have been in this world just a few minutes and you already did something I know it!"
dot
Talori smiles at Eira. "It's nice to know I'm not the only chick playing this game."
"You three already know each other? Ah, I suppose that makes me the red crow in this flock. If you are illiterate, my name is Talori Kyon, but you may address me as," Talori strikes a heroic pose "Lady Lionheart, defender of the weak, slayer of monsters, and victor of many tournaments!" Talori starts laughing maniacally, and calms down after a few seconds. "Nice to meet you all!"
Zero paints his most innocent look after giving Eira a kiss. "What me?" Seeing his wife is clearly not buying it he gives up. "Just a little misdirection and misinformation. Oh by the way that how over there seems to be for free, if either of you are interested." He says nonchalantly turning to the other two.
"This might seem like a weird idea, but do you guys want to form a guild? I know we're total strangers-Except Eira and Zero, of course-but doesn't it seem weird that we all meet at the same time. Ya know?" Talori pulls up the menu, and suddenly a Guild Charter appears in front of you.
"I propose.... The Lionheart Crusaders!"
Zero raises one eyebrow in response. "The Lionheart Crusade? That doesn't seem a bit pretentious?"
"Mmmm... Yeah, you're right. It was just the first thing that came to mind. Anything goes, really, although I can't abide l337 spellings. Tell you what: let's talk it over at a tavern. I want to see what the food tastes like. You guys PM me once you find one. I've got to go buy some gear." Giving a wave, Talori heads toward the market.
Hornfell laughs at that. "To make friends, you must be strangers with each other first! I'm willing to take a leap of faith and gamble on making new friends, but seriously," he says with a tone shift, "Let us vote on a name. I'll counter-propose with...Adventurers Incorperated!"
Out of an alleyway in the southern market slides an individual, average height, average build with leather armor a buckler and a fancy monocle over his left eye. A half cape partially concealing several protruding small blades show his combat preference. The tag above his head proclaiming him to the world as -Garret, Gentleman Larceniest- Pencil thin mustache, widows peak and a pinched expression on his face. He casually pitches the apple he had been eating to a nearby gutter and looking about the square. Sauntering over to the planter he reads the attached note, pumping one fist to the sky the man does a small dance of joy. Removing the bow and he gleefully attaches the flower to his front pocket.
"Can you believe it? Argus left! Finally I can go into Monoki forest without having to look up! He's been terrorizing that place since the Beta started and I got his bow!" He flips the sundered stick of wood in one hand a thoughtful look on his face "Man I'm going to have to buy a house just so I can build a plaque to mount this on." The man states as he flourishes the stick to one side "Argus, the Tryhard ragequitting Griefing Treefu-"
"HEY! WHO THE $*%# SAID YOU COULD TAKE THAT!"
From across the square a 4'6'' dwarf with flowing gold locks and a beard ending just past his collarbone stands with one sausage link finger pointed at Garret. The collar of his squarecut brown shirt is stained with liquid, a small belt pouch on his hip and a strange arrangement of arrow quivers on his back making him look decidedly like a cross between lion and porcupine. His tag of -Argus Ironeye- leaves no doubt to what is about to happen next.
"Oh, crap" Garret displays his dapper speed, fine leather boots making little more than a rustle as he whirls in place and with one hand on the stone of the nearby building swings into the alleyway to make an escape.
Or at least is what he would do had Argus not just launched himself across the Plaza like a dwarven ballistic missile, hair flying everywhere and a roar like a hunting cat to announce his arrival. Booted foot first Argus lands on the hapless mans back, sending him sliding into the alleyway as the dwarf drags him to the earth like a wounded gazelle.
"Can you not read you sanctimonious *$#@er?"
"But it said you quit!"
"What? Can you not read just like you can't spell Mr. Larceni-e-st?"
"No seriously, here read your note you crazy dwarf and get off my back!"
"No way, you are now my seat until I read this note. I might not be able to inflict harm on you in a safe zone but grappling isn't directly harmful."
"I hate you. Why the heck are you in town anyway, you always camp in the forest!?"
"Hey its none of your *@#$ing business what I do in town, just cuz the NPCs automatically hate me doesn't mean I have no reason to be here."
With a sliding grate of people standing from grit strewn ground a grumble is heard and the tinkle of glass shards falling to earth.
"Alright, fine, get out of my sight before I find a way to hurt you in a safe zone."
"Jeeze you jerk, you broke my monocle! I hope they give you a ban to match the childlock on your language!"
With all the grace of an angry elephant Argus marches from the alleyway crumpled note falling from his right hand as he stabs the ruined longbow into the flower planter once more. Glowering from under his brow he looks at the collected group.
"Any of you chuckleheads see someone mess with my bow?"
He looks to the described weapon before sighing in irritation.
"Great, now its going to take even longer to grow back, friggen idiots."
"You mean other than Mr. monocle? No." Zero says simply as he looks at Argus.
Argus examines the human closely, squinting before huffing in annoyance at the answer he has drawn.
"Alright, guess that means I can't keep my bow here then."
He draws the damaged weapon from the planter before cycling his inventory and it vanishing in a cloud of data.
"Well thats all I needed I'm going back to the tavern so I can finish my overpriced and undercooked meal."
Talori returns, tricked out in some flashy new gear-full plate, a good quality sword, a magical sword, and a belt. "Hey, guys!" After hearing Hornfell's suggestion, she says "Mmmm.... Perhaps, my dear dwarf, perhaps. However, I came up with an idea while I was getting my gear. Each of us comes up with an idea for the guild's name. Then, you purchase gear-I saved some gold, just in case you guys haven't gone grinding yet-and then we have a battle royale for it. Whoever wins also gets the additional benefit of choosing who gets to be guild leader! What do you think! It would be a great way for each of us to get some practice PvPing, which every guild needs a healthy dose of now and then."
Talori's eyes twinkle mischievously. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you guys one thing." Opening up her inventory, Talori keeps on talking. "I may have a slight advantage in the fight because..." Suddenly, two swords that would be just the right size for a boss appear on her back. "These are my weapons." Grinning cheekily, Talori says "Meet me at Monoki Outskirts when you're ready!" She phases out.
Hornfell raises an eyebrow before shaking his head ruefully. What I'd give to have her kind of energy...
He already has the gear he needs, but he sells the loot he got off of the monsters from the starting area for a quick penny. As soon as he does that, he whips out another <Teleport Crystal> and winks out of existence.
The dwarf reconstitutes near the outskirts of the forest, again fighting the motion sickness that the item caused his head.
"Bleargh..." he groans, shaking his head. "That's something that I gotta get used to, huh? Damn..."
"Yanno what, I change my mind."Argus says as he scrolls through his menu, an unfriendly smile on his face
"This sounds way more interesting then that crap sheperd's pie they were serving in the tavern"
having a moment to examine these people in front of him without rage blinding him he considers what is in front of him.
"I've wanted to test myself on some folks recently, and she might be amusing to sharpen myself on. Not much of a challenge if thats how she thinks though."
Argus flatly states as he retrieves a dilapidated longbow from his inventory, the weapon looking to have had little use
"Really though, deciding a guild leader by who is the biggest meathead with a sword? thats a great idea right there, leaders are definitely not decided by how well they can swing a sword but knowing when to swing it.
The dwarf looks at the two remaining people at the stone bench a thought failing to emerge. "Ah, right" The beared man snaps his fingers in recollection
Name's Argus in this avatar, pleased to meet you and all that mindless introductory bull*&#@. Don't really care for guilds much but if you don't care I'm going to join in on the little PvP match thats going on.
Eira gives him a nod followed by a smile, "Sure! The more the merrier, keeps things interesting. Pleased to meet you Argus, I am Eira." She looks at Zero then at Argus, "ready?" Within a second she fazes out and appears in the forest. It all felt so real. The sounds of birds, green foliage and a soft breeze carrying the clean scent of the forest around them. Pin pricks of sunlight thread through leaves and branches and dance on the ground. She waited excitedly to be joined by Zero.
Aurora Logs in for the first time in a few weeks.
At the gate she materialises as everyone does on log in.
She thinks
"It's good to be back, I hope that the new patch they are releasing fixes some of the bugs that I encountered when I was logged in last."
Aura runs to the root town market hoping that one of the guild shops has something she's looking for.
The air shimmers, and then he is….here. Wherever here is.
"He" is a tiefling, a shock of wild hair, one horn broken. Almost no armor - an oversized shoulder plate and a gauntlet. Leather pants. A freaking big sword. An eye-patch. WTF? Somewhere else, someone else remembers a time before this. Another worl…
…
…
…
Khode snorts and breathes in. This is Mirridian Gates? Looks good. Obviously needs a bit of trade. He strides in, sure of himself and his blade. With his good eye Khode spots some likely looking raiders.
"Well met friends. I am Kho…"
Before he finishes they have disappeared. No matter. There are always more venturers in the Bladeworld...
Zero shrugs before activating one of his own crystals reappearing at the forests edge. "So looks like were here now." He says out loud whilst sending a message to Eira.
Private Message <Eira> ::Who should we target first? I'm most worried about the archer and the lady who really needs to understand moderation. I think we get rid of the ranged element ASAP I really don't feel like being kited by that guy.::
Suddenly, a screen appears in front of your faces. Accept Duel: Battle Royale Mode?
Talori looks a lot more serious, more focused. Suddenly, she does not look like a noob. "I'm ready when you guys are."
Eira notices a "new message" symbol appear. The symbol was blinking brightly and as she accessed her message, Zero's words form before her in a ghostly text.
Private Message <Zero> ::Perhaps the lady with the two swords. Something tells me she doesn't mess around. Then maybe the archer?.::
Khode ambles around the gate town, occasionally seeing a flicker of … energy... floating above a passerby's head out of the corner of his one good eye. It was as if… no. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Almost as if there was a world beyond this. No… not... beyond. Behind. As if he...
Bah. Couldn't be. He was Khode. He was real. He patted his greatsword Sabre. See. Real as iron.
Flicker...
After checking the guild shops, Aurora heads to the Quest Shop.
"So what quests are being given Today."
Talori casually smirks as the silence stretches on. No doubt, the couple were PMing tactics to each other-they looked like they were a coordinated team, and they had that marriage thing going on. Time to unsettle them a little bit. "I was just thinking of the game I played before this. Tons of PvP. I was pretty decent at it too. Ah, yes, my gamertag... Lady Lionheart."
That oughta cause some confusion. After all, Lady Lionheart was a mysterious figure in the VR community, gliding into a game, quickly climbing to max level, then humbling the grandmasters of PvP. She left as abruptly as she came. It was true that Talori was Lionheart. She wouldn't blame them if they didn't believe her. To show them more proof...
Talori unsheathed her swords. "These are my buddies: Goldclaw and Redfang. Of course, they've been downscaled a little bit due to me just starting the game, but the developers that worked on this one also worked on the previous games I played. When I won a tournament, they agreed to let me get a place in beta and a unique skin for my swords in their next game." Yawning, Talori says "Jeez, when can we start? My dragonlets are downright itching for a fight..."
Private Message <Zero> ::Perhaps the lady with the two swords. Something tells me she doesn't mess around. Then maybe the archer?.::
Private Message <Eira> ::Sounds like a plan to me I love you :).::
Zero moves his hand over to accept. As he does so two longswords materialize on his hip.
He looks to his wife and shrugs. "Who? Sorry were new to VRMMORPs. Is that important?"
@ aruroa
there are a few problems that need taking care of Aurora. Though I feel one of your level can handle this one.
you are presented with a screen named- the goblin scouring,
Not far from here a goblin priest has rallied several smaller bands to his call, they have formed a small village and launch raids on the local travelers and towns nearby, we need someone to enter this camp, and either remove all the goblins, or cut off the serpents head. Payment will be 500g upon completion, and 10g per 2 goblin ears brought back.
at the bottom you see
recommend party size: 1-3, Accept, Decline.
Private Message <Zero> ::Perhaps the lady with the two swords. Something tells me she doesn't mess around. Then maybe the archer?.::Private Message <Eira> ::Sounds like a plan to me I love you :).::
Zero moves his hand over to accept. As he does so two longswords materialize on his hip.
He looks to his wife and shrugs. "Who? Sorry were new to VRMMORPs. Is that important?"
Eira smiles at her husbands message. Listening to Talori, she gives a shrug that mirrors her husband's response. With a silent and swift wave of her hand Enigma, her sword appears at her side. An amused smirk curls her lips as she places a hand on her sword. [b] Well hello Goldclaw and Redfang, this my dears is Enigma.[b]
@ Aurora
there are a few problems that need taking care of Aurora. Though I feel one of your level can handle this one.
you are presented with a screen named- the goblin scouring,
Not far from here a goblin priest has rallied several smaller bands to his call, they have formed a small village and launch raids on the local travelers and towns nearby, we need someone to enter this camp, and either remove all the goblins, or cut off the serpents head. Payment will be 500g upon completion, and 10g per 2 goblin ears brought back.
at the bottom you see
recommend party size: 1-3, Accept, Decline.
"A standard quest, but it'll be a good warm up.
I should see if I can rope someone into joining me for it."
She Clicks Accept.
Guess my psyche tactic didn't work... Talori grins. "Now, are we gonna do this, or are we not gonna do this?"
@aurora
your map now displays the location of the quest, it is on the fringe of the monoki woods.
Hornfell staggers to his feet and takes a quick look around him. Off to the side, he sees a group of players about to engage in PVP. He raises an eyebrow, but makes nothing of it. Despite the fact that it was a "social game" and that he had made a few friends, he still prefers to take on the enemies in a "lone wolf" solidarity. Plus, it seemed...cooler and more romantic for one person to champion over the monsters by his or herself.
He makes a quick search around the edge of the forest to search for the generic "Quest Board" or any random NPC that can give him a task to do.
Argus grins pulling out a small wooden charm and wrapping it around his hand, almost like prayer beads the rest of the players he had been chatting with vanish to the forest.
"Oh this will be fun alright, perhaps I should get a quest after this gets done"
With a flash Argus vanishes, moving as everyone else had to the Monoki forest outskirts reconstituting he drops a quarter of an inch to the ground and looks to the area. A bird in a nearby oak wings away in fright and the earthy smell of treesap and flowers invaded his senses. Standing off to the left of him is the dwarf sword wielder he saw before, directly in front of him is the woman with compensation issues, and the two that were attached at they eye sockets stood to his right.
"Sorry for the wait." Argus says to Eira, nodding to Zero as he does so "Now I don't know you Miss Mohawk, but I can say right now you've attracted my attention."He says eyeing the weapons, she is holding "I've been wanting to try something more than just jumping folks in the forest lately so Eria here said I was welcome to join ya" He unslings an underused and under appreciated longbow, holding it in his left hand and assumes a very strange stance "So if you're done waving the Twin E-peens of mighty compensation around I'd ask to get to the fighting."
Looking at the hanging "Battle Royale" message he examines it closely
"So are we following any rules for this little PvP match or is it just a no limits free for all?
Private message <Talori> Little lion girl, you are aware that Tweedle twit and tweedle tramp over there are going to gang up on us right? They are attached by the *%(^ing eye sockets, so no doubt will they be coming for you first. I don't much like your outlook on PvP but I propose a truce til we get down to just us.
"Time for some fun. If I'm lucky I'll met up with someone who wants to do the same quest."
Aurora goes to the fringe of the monoki woods.
Aurora@
you notice a dwarven PC, you think its the samurai class type looking over the quest board.
Aurora walks up to the dwarf
"Looking for a quest to do?
If So I am currently on one for in this area and would not mind having a partner."
Hornfell turns to look at the half-elf that spoke to him. He gives her a friendly smile and says, "I'll gladly accept your invitation. I may be a solo player, but making friends does have its merits. My name is Hornfell, and may I ask what quest you are inviting me to, Miss...?
"Aurora Blackrose.
Your not the only solo player, but it's good to have a partner to watch your back at times."