"...So, the old forest mine has few properties of interest. But if we ever have reason to return there, we should make the most of it," The guildmaster concluded. "As for the Lush woodlands, I think it's safe to say that they will be even more dangerous. The group who begins exploring there should be well rested and in top shape."
"Hmm… It feels a bit different already not having a goal to reach for," James mumbles.
"If something so tiny as a stone in the distance gives you comfort, it should be easy to find something else to seek," Francis said critically.
"Oh, you got something in mind there?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"No. But I do know where he can find someone to point the way," Francis admitted. "If you need someone to tell you what to do, go where people gather."
The leader had a blank look. "...Wher-"
Maurice slapped a fist down onto her open palm. "A bar! Actually, that's a great idea."
"Yeah. And if we ask around and pick up some quest there, he might actually have the chance to do something," Gabriel said.
"...I would like to accomplish something in my first adventure," Kylie said.
"...Well, was there anyone offering when you were there earlier?" the leader asked.
Francis had to come up with an answer that wasn't 'I was too busy brooding to speak to anyone.' "If you're so interested, wouldn't it be faster to go there yourselves instead of basing it off of old information?"
"You left there less than an hour ago," Olivia jabbed a hole through his story, but the leader had already gotten up.
"We need to sell the spoils of our expedition and resupply. We can investigate the bar after that."
While it could be described as a bar, the Dancing Peacock was a surprisingly elegant place. Fine paintings hung on soft red walls, and fancy furniture was placed around a small stage. As it still wasn't night, there wasn't a show on just yet.
They were met by an olive-skinned woman in purple silks. "And you must be the explorers, newly arrived and confirmed by the grand court. My congratulations."
"Thank you, Madame," Maurice responded.
"For a guild such as yours, I hold an additional service. Perhaps you've heard, but here at the Dancing Peacock, you may accept quest which I make note of, and are free to mingle with my patrons for information."
The leader, Francis, and Gabriel shared a look. It seemed that she was making the secondary benefits of the establishment into their main point.
"Completion of these quests is met with commensurate rewards. Many explorers enjoy passing time in this way."
"Uh, question," Maurice cut in, "Where do these rewards come from?"
"The petitioners leave them in my care, to pass on to the guild who fulfills their request," she calmly explained. "And a request I think to be perfect for you was only just posted. Might I ask that you look it over?" She pointed to a nearby notice board. Three postings caught the guild's attention.
"A group of soldiers to the east of the Lush Woodlands are running low on supplies. I want to send them some food." The reward was some medicine.
Another was straight from the Outland Count, but not important enough to be an official Court mission. "The city must always seek out resources if it is to develop. There is word of a kapok grove in the Windy Plains. Find it." For a reward, he was offering two Scopes, which none of the guild knew the use of offhand.
The last was from the shopkeeper they had been dealing with. She was an excitable sort with an accent. "It's mee, Wynne from the Berund Atelier! I can't keep up with all these new Kopis orders. Please bring me two rat fangs!"
"We'll sign up for all of them," the leader said.
"They may indeed be perfectly suited to you. For this first mission, a group of soldiers are exploring the east side of the Windy Plains. But they lack the food to carry on. So your task would be to gather food, and drop it off for them. Their camp is in the forest. I was given to understand that it is in an open area. Freshness is important in food, so you must find and deliver it in one trip."
"As for this one," she continued, "It is from the governor of tharsis… the Outland Count. He wants you to search for a small grove of kapok trees. You can learn more by talking to him at the Grand Court."
"And this one," she continued, "That request comes from the Berund Atelier. They are keenly interested in materials for a sword. They can supply you with more details of the task at the Atelier. I shall await your swift return."
While the guild leader was reviewing the quests with the keeper of the establishment, the rest of the party had scattered to talk to the regulars.
"Have you fought that damned monkey? The Angry Baboon on the first floor of the Lush woodlands?" An older man asked Henry.
"Well, no. I think I've seen them other places, though," the fortress answered.
"It's the number one killer of rookie explorers in this town! You can't just swing at it blindly!If you're gonna take that thing on, don't skimp on defense! You might even wanna think about running away! Because if you die, that's all she wrote! Bwahahahaha!"
Maurice was speaking with a one eyed man. "It looks like you finished your mission. Then let me teach you a few more advanced tricks," He offered.
"Hmm, alright. Can you tell me how to sense monsters better?" Maurice asked.
"Every explorer has some "monster sense," whether it's well or poorly developed. The monster's presence, its breathing, or just the sound of it breaking a twig as it walks, all give it away. That's why you should pay conscious attention next time one approaches. It'll give you a sense for the timing."
"Hmm, I'll try that," she had noticed that she seemed to know how close they were to being attacked, even though they seldom actually saw the enemy coming. Speaking of which, "What can you tell me about Roaming monsters?"
"You've only seen the Nomad Baboon at the Old forest Mine so far, but that kind of enemy is everywhere," The older man warned, "They're damned tough. It's usually best to just run away… but even that takes some know-how. Some monsters don't care about you, they're just following their path. And some will actually chase you. It sounds obvious, but different types of monsters have different patterns or senses, so you can't generalize. But if you start to anticipate their moves, you should start to figure out how to get the advantage."
A lazy maintenance worker began talking to Gabriel. "You cleared the mission from the outland Count? Then you should get started taking requests. Request rewards are an important source of income for explorers. The system's win-win for everyone."
"You don't say," Gabriel said. Obviously he was forgetting the people who lost - falling mid quest, or having the reward snatched from under them by another guild. "You spend a lot of time here?"
"Me? I just come here every so often to check out the barmaid."
That figured.
Olivia had approached a member of some other guild who seemed to be taking a second job as a cook. "Be very careful of the tornados you come across on your airship. One group ran into one, and lost all the food they had been gathering!" The cook said. Clearly this was something he in particular was afraid of. Olivia just nodded for him to continue. "The loss of food before anyone has had a chance to taste it is a tragedy no one should have to bear. Better to throw it to the kangaroos wandering the land! They enjoy vegetables, I happen to know. Ebony carrots don't have any other use but to lure those kangaroos anyway. You can even scatter them as bait."
"Hm, I'll keep that in mind," Olivia said. That sounded like a new type of Formido Oppugnatura Exsequens. If so, throwing food to distract them would be a useful tactic.
An old soldier raised a mug to Kylie. "Hail, new explorer. Take a seat and have a drink, why don't you?"
"Not now, thank you," she responded politely. From what she'd seen of the guild, the leader didn't plan to let them stay long.
"Suit yourself," He lowered his arm, " An explorer's curiosity certainly is insatiable… If they have an errand, they'll even head out at night. Since you seem to just be starting out, let me give you fair warning. Be careful when exploring at night. You're likely to run into terrifying beasts you don't see during the day. It takes some getting used to."
'I'll need to be ready for that. I hope it will be worth it…"
After the guild leader had finished signing his name on the list of takers for these quests, the barmaid spoke up again. "The requests will mount up over time. Be sure to check the notice board every so often. Now, shall we start over? Welcome to the dancing Peacock. I hope we will be fast friends, T-seeker Guild."
"Yes," the leader responded. This would be a useful place to visit.
The leader gathered up the others and dragged them out of the bar. They now had other business in town to ask around about.
Back at the Atelier, they spoke to Wynne again. They had dropped off the loot from their first expedition earlier, but she seemed to know right away why they were visiting again.
"Oh, so ya took that request, huh? Lotta explorers been coming around lately. I'm outta junk for swords. So I want yas to get me two of dem Rat Fangs from Tree rats out in da Lush Woodlands."
"Only two?" Maurice asked, unsure how that would help.
"Two's enough ta get on with. It ain't like the whole sword is made out of em. When ya gots em, come sell em ta me. Don't worry, da money yas gets from selling em ain't part of da reward. I'm counting on yas! Buh-bye!"
"Oh, you have accepted my request?" The outland Count asked when T-seekers stopped by again, "That's very reassuring! Are you familiar with Kapoks?"
"I'm afraid not," the leader responded.
"That tree is not grown for food, but for it's several other uses. There is a place in these Windy Plains were many kapoks grow. I want you to search for this kapok grove. Rumor has it that it's somewhere on the northern side of the windy plains," He unfolded a map and gestured to an area. "The A-2 region sounds likely. Now then, if you do happen to find the kapok grove, return here and tell me it's coordinates."
"It should be good for the shakedown cruise," the guild leader thought.
"I think we might be able to do these airship quests without any fighting," Gabriel noted as they stepped back out onto the street, "Although, we'll need to avoid those Kangaroos."
"You have a point. A short flight before nightfall should be worthwhile," The guild leader said.
"Hey, yeh're the T-seeker guild, right?" A red haired man with orange goggles met them at the city gates, "I got a request from the outland count to prepare yeh a skyship. She's all ready to go. Yeh can set sail as soon as she's registered. So, what're yeh going to name her?"
"Um," The leader turned back to the others. "Any suggestions?"
"How about the Blazing sword?" Maurice suggested, "Or something like that."
"The Guardian," James spoke up.
"Night wind," Maurice said.
"Sky Talon," Olivia said.
"We haven't even seen it yet. How can we name it now?" Gabriel protested.
"Try "Windrunner," and see if you can rename it later," Kylie suggested.
"Hmm," the leader thought about all they had found out today. "It will be the Skytalon," at least for the moment, "Now, may we see it?"
"The Skytalon, eh? Got it. The dock's right over there. I'll take care of the paperwork. I made the Skyship myself, so take care of her. I'd explain the controls, but yeh'll learn faster if yeh try it out. Yeh can outfit it at the city gates. Which reminds me, yeh got a piece of kit from the Outland Count. It's called a Foodapult, and yeh use it to… well, yeh probably know already. It's no weapon, but it can come in handy." He paused for breath, "Come by the wharf when yeh're board, and I'll let yeh guys have some other equipment no one else is using. The Cargo Wharf might not seem like the place for explorers, but that's where yeh'd be wrong. I'll explain what I mean when yeh stop by. I'll be waiting!"
With that, they were able to approach the sky ship. It had a bright orange envelope, a small cabin, and a propellor on the back.
"...Disappointing," Maurice said. It looked so uncool.
"Even having a skyship at all is great," Maurice said, "But there isn't room for all of us. Any volunteers for a second person to stay behind?"
After a while, Henry spoke up. "I'll wait till next time. My specialty won't be much good up there."
"No one's would, but thank you," Maurice said. "Alright, Everyone else aboard!"
The skyship christened Skytalon rose from the city gates and out onto the Windy Plains. As expected from the name, strong gusts of wind blew across the skies. Some of the stronger winds seemed likely to sway the Skytalon from her course… Far to the north, they could already see a giant tree towering in the distance - Yggdrasil, their ultimate destination.
The leader rushed to the controls, and tried to use his readings to make sense of them. Skyships were unfortunately a gap in his knowledge. However, judging by which controls were easiest to reach… There. Soon, the ship's course was back under control. However, the winds were not the worst things they would need to deal with. They soon saw the kangaroos they had been warned of - and they were gigantic. Certainly large and powerful enough to jump up and kick the ship out of the skies. They would need to avoid these new FOEs at all costs.
On a lighter note, for them, trying out buttons led to the discovery of a large net, which they could use to catch herds of wild animals. On the first real test, they managed to capture a trio of buffalo. Perhaps they would serve as the meal for the soldiers... Or perhaps the two wild ducks… or the trout…
"Wow, you're good at this this, Olivia," Maurice said, "Care to let someone else have a turn at the net controls?"
"Maybe later," Olivia said, "Meanwhile, I think I see another ship. Maybe we should say hello?"
As they drew nearer to the other ship, with a blue envelope, both prepared a Gondola. The other ship's representative was a man clad in steel armor, whose first action was to bow. He was a blond-haired young man…
"I do not believe we have properly met before, Guild T-seeker. My name is Kirjonen. I am the most lowly of the Holy Rune Knights who serve King Bjornstad. I am pleased to make your acquaintance," he introduced himself
"Nice to meet you. I'm Maurice, former wandering swordswoman," and the only one of the current group brave enough to step onto the temporary bridge, "Back there are Olivia, Gabriel, and Kylie. The boss is busy keeping us steady at the controls. Hold on… We only started today. How do you know about us already?"
"How do I know of you…" Oh, I am familiar with most of the explorers of Tharsis. That is all," he said in a surprisingly boastful manner.
"That's no kind of answer!" Maurice protested, but he was already moving on.
"By the by, I have a request. Would you have any Sakura trouts? If so, I propose a trade."
"But, we don't have any right now," Kylie noted from the exit, looking back at their cargo hold.
"Hm, that is unfortunate. If you find any within the next 3 days, please consider my offer." Kirjonen turned around and disengaged his ship from theirs.
As the airship continued on, they drifted over a group of soldiers waving at them from a forest. Clearly, they were the subject of the request to deliver food to some soldiers. The group quickly killed one of the captured buffalo, packed it into a crate and lowered it down to the soldiers. The soldiers eagerly opened the box and signaled their satisfaction, before starting to dress and cook it. The leader made a note to turn in the request when they were back in town.
Further north was the end of the Windy plains, and natural barriers prevented further travel. The only viable path further north to Yggdrasil was a ravine filled with thick clouds. Visibility was close to nil, so taking the skyship through would be far too dangerous. However, there was a strange monument on the ground south of the ravine, with a green crest that they could barely make out the design of. But further south was the Lush Woodlands, and perhaps more importantly, a similar monument with an identical crest to their side.
'There must be some connection. We now have more of a reason to explore the Lush Woodlands,' The leader thought to himself. 'But not now.'
While continuing to drift along, They were lucky enough to catch a Sakura Trout as evening crept over the land. Kirjonen's request now seemed more reasonable. They set a course back to meet up with him again.
"You appear to be working hard, Guild T-seeker. Not overtaking yourselves, I hope?" the knight asked once their ships were properly connected.
"Nope! We're just enjoying the air," Maurice said, walking out onto the bridge..
"Ah, by the by… Have you any Sakura Trouts now? If it won't put you out, perhaps you'd trade me one for something else? I need it to grant a request from the Outland Count. We knights have a duty to assist the nobility."
"Here you go," Maurice said, handing over the trout as soon as she'd made it far enough. "These are rare, but we won't need it."
"I am grateful for your hospitality, Guild T-seeker," Kirjonen seemed pleasantly surprised, "Thanks to you, I can fulfil my obligation to the count. This Bronze Icon is for you. It would please me if you found a use for it in your travels." He pressed the gift into the landskneckt's hand, bowed and returned to his skyship. Maurice and Olivia waved goodbye as his airship disengaged.
"Hmm, I don't know," Kylie mumbled, "He's polite, but he can't seem to decide whether to have a superior attitude or a humble one."
"Yeah," Maurice admitted, "But he's not a bad guy. And if he's working for the Outland Count this time, it's worth it to help. That's probably how he heard of us. I guess we made a good impression."
Going back to investigate the northern area further, they finally spotted the Kapok Grove. The leader marked it's position on the map he'd been idly sketching, then gave the order to return to town.
"We collected quite a bit of livestock and such" Kylie spoke up as they returned, "What should we do with it?"
"Cook it? Sell it?" Gabriel suggested, "Carry them to market? I heard these ducks make good pets, but we'd never be able to handle that."
"Well, between the open air and the easy hunting, I'm sold on the adventuring lifestyle now." Kylie said, "...I was never sure whether I'd have enough to eat as a performer."
"A pretty girl like you not earning enough? Man, your audiences were cheapskates," Gabriel muttered.
When they made it back to town, night was almost fallen. After a trip to market to get their cargo off their hands, their second stop was back to the Court to point out the Kapok Grove.
"We found it right here," the leader said, pointing it out on a currently very incomplete map. However, he'd made sure the distances were accurate, so it should be sufficient.
"Understood," The count nodded as he compared it to his own maps, "Then I shall dispatch my scouts to that location at once. You understand that I can't declare this quest a success until my own men verify it."
"Understood. Should we wait here with you for the report, or come back later?" the leader asked.
"Oh, it shouldn't take too long. Just don't do anything to upset the little one here," the Count nudged his dog.
Maurice took the opportunity to drag James and Francis back from the Guild, and within an hour, they had their answer. "My scouts report that they've just found the kapok grove!" The count re-entered the office from listening to the report. "It seems your information was accurate. With these new resources, the city will prosper. As its governor, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"Always a pleasure to work with you, your Honor," the leader responded.
"I have already contacted the Dancing Peacock. You may return there to report in and collect your reward."
At The Dancing Peacock, the leader gladly checked off on two of the guild's three accepted quests.
"Welcome back. You had no trouble delivering the food, I take it?" the barmaid said, "Then here is the promised reward. Perhaps I should have you find some food to serve at my establishment…"
"Too late," Maurice said cheerfully, "I already had the rest dragged off to the market. Maybe next time?"
"As for the Outland Count's task…" the leader dragged the conversation back on track.
"Ah, yes. I heard all about it from the Outland Count. The Count has a duty to cultivate his city, so it is not rare for him to enlist the help of explorers. In this way, the city prospers and attracts more citizens. I would be delighted to see Tharsis thrive."
She dug two bottles of medicine and two scopes, "Here are the rewards you were promised. I shall be seeking your help again."
"...What now?" Francis asked as they left the bar.
"We made enough money to all afford rooms at the inn," the leader said, "I suggest we do so."
And so ended the end of the first day of adventuring. But what would happen on the second?
