Confidence oozing from her being, Chimera wandered her way into the pyramids. The pyramid, as it was, lay home to a vast array of monsters, and generally evil things. That's as much as she knew, but she'd never been in. The place was brown, mostly, but some scarcely placed torches along some walls caused enough light to see by.. barely.
Also noted was the large number of turns and dead ends the place had. It was a maze, and the girl possessed no map.
"Well, this ought to be fun.." she considered, before turning a corner..
.. and pulling the knife in front of her. An enemy! Quickly she darted to one side, an expertly novice manoeuvre in an attempt to not have been seen. In her hurry, she hit the wall, and the knife slipped from her hands. Cursing, she just sat down, knowing the end was near.
.. It wasn't, as she looked up again. It was, by all rights, a giant mushroom. But it was moving about, sorta bouncing its way here and there, moving randomly, and not seeming to care whether Chimera really was there or not.
"Oh. Ok." she said, picking the knife up, and walking onwards. Maybe this would be easy.
An innocent looking tooth sat glistening on the floor of the dungeon around the next corner. Chimera wandered over towards it, when from just out of the light, a figure hopped towards the tooth. Reaching it, the jelly-like creature landed on it, absorbing the item into itself, and moved on.
"Poring." mentioned the Kapra-clothed girl, just pulling the knife up and darting at the creature. Although, as she got closer.. she stopped. It was green.
"Let's see.. we got told the order of these..." Chimera sat down, and thought wonderful poring thoughts. "Poring. Drops. Marin. Poporing. Mastering. Ghostring. Angelring. Or is Mastering easier than a Marin? .. Whatever. Pink red blue green big dead and.. yeah, we get the idea." Speaking to herself in these situations was quite fun. And before she knew it, the Poporing was pretty much on top of her. It 'squee'd lightly, before wandering away.
"Poporing. Mean bugger. I'll leave it alone." said she, turning and walking right in front of what appeared to be a bat.
The bats of the Pyramid are called 'Farmiliars'. They're small, grey, have a sharp bite, and don't hesitate to attack anything human they see. Which, of course, is bad news for Chimera. The farmiliar lunged at her instantly, grazing an arm, even through the shirt.
"Ow!" she cried, and decided right then that this thing - and that's all it was - was going to die a somewhat painful, horrible, and otherwise mushy, death.
Taking the blade handle in both hands, she back-pedalled a number of steps. The heat of the blood running under the dress and the shirt only served to remind her where she was, and how much this counted. With a speed uncanny for her, at least, she sped at the bat, which by then had been somewhat surprised, and stopped briefly as the blade itself swing in a wide arc, a mean and insurmountable arc. An arc that would make it meet its end. That--
The shot missed.
The farmiliar stuck its tongue out, and then went for another lunge, and it's about this time that Chimera swing at it randomly, and hit - grazing it. It shrugged it off, and went for another round, and at this point she decided it was probably best to run. And run she did.
Into what appeared to be dozens of the bats. Her skin went slightly more pale than it should be, but.. colour returned as she realised they were all looking away. They already had a target. A darkly clothed guy, an acolyte, who really seemed to know where he was heading. He held a mace, a brown one that seemed to echo with the sounds of much action. Heavily clothed was he, and he had purpose at this point. Turning around, suddenly, he saw the novice in her shirt and with her knife, and glanced at the array of bats that had decided they wanted a free lunch, and were swarming towards him.
He waved. And then he disappeared. The bats stopped, but instantly detected themselves a new target, turning to where Chimera was standing.
"Oh cripes." she said. The first four looked at her with those beady red eyes, and it's then that she ran. And ran.
---
Back in the sunlight, the rays of day were swimming lightly about the air. Chimera, lying torn and beaten under a palm tree, nursed potion mix to her wounds, and cursed the ground. Perhaps, to become a thief, she would need to have a party.
Of course, she wasn't feeling much like celebration now. "Har de har." she muttered to herself. Even her own head wasn't being appropriate, and that is a bad sign for anyone.
A party is an exploration party. They team up, and do dungeons together. Party members help each other, and a good mix ensures the ability to beat more enemies. But she was a novice, a young one, even an ex half-Kapra for Fareth's sake. What the heck could -she- offer to a party?
Still, she set up the sign. Perhaps if she left some of her wounds untended, she could incite the pity vote. 'Have knife. Need party. Will travel.'
Most people passing into the pyramid didn't really glance at her. The few that did tossed gifts of potions and zeny, which was all well and good, but it wasn't what she was wanting. Someone, meanwhile, sat down next to her as she was dozing.
"You know, miss.. most people will not actually make a party with a girl novice, and especially not one so young. People get the wrong impression; here we have good, solid guys, many of them swordsmen, or blacksmiths, or thieves.. and they're going off with teenage fe-male novices in their party." He deliberately enunciated female, and Chimera looked at him. A young guy.. a merchant, and one that wasn't wearing anything unusual. Merchants bugged the girl, but.. most of the reasons why didn't include sitting down and being helpful.
"Who..?" she asked.
"Just someone." he mentioned. "I note there are almost no female thieves, either. None so young, at all. Not in the whole of the continent, no sir. Ma'am. Whatever."
"So you're saying what.."
"I'm saying you should get yourself cleaned up, sort your appearance out, and look like you're ready to give a party some worth, rather than a ripped-up girl in a cotton shirt and a Kapra trainee dress." Plain advice. Chimera thought he made sense. But that's all he said, standing up and rifling through his pack.
"At least tell me your name?" wondered she, looking up. He eventually pulled out a long blue garment, and a band of white cloth, and handed them to the girl.
"There's some proper novice gear. I wouldn't have thought you'd care.. most Morroc people hate Alberta and their progeny, because Alberta is a rich town and Morroc is not. If you can get rid of that mindset, then come find me and ask. Guess where."
The strange merchant walked off. Noting quickly his wear, Chimera thought.. An axe, an improved wooden mail.. a manteau, maybe carded.. Nothing of immense value. Which didn't shock her too much, really. She'd go find him, if she managed to ever survive this 'adventuring' lark.
He'd given her an adventurer's suit, too. Nice. Best she get sorted while she could, and she trundled off back towards Morroc, and the docility of her own room.
---
After intense minutes in front of the mirror, Chimera examined what she'd had to do. Cutting the hair down was an annoying step, but at least now she looked more like a serious adventurer than a young teen who'd just been eaten by bats. That alone helped. With assistance from various tools, she had actually made herself look somewhat more male, as well. A needed step, perhaps. Who the heck could quibble about 'no female novices' if she pulled this one off for a while, hm? Even more so if she got to the thieves' hideout. They gave out clothing, too.
She opted to practice, wandering around Morroc. This was her place of birth, and the place she lived. And nope, nobody spotted her. Jennifer raised an eyebrow when she crossed paths..
"Hey, you know for a minute there, I coulda sworn.." she mentioned as Chi wandered past, shortish green hair to either side.
"Hm? Something?" she questioned, feigning a lower pitch voice. It worked. "Nah.. never mind. I'm seeing things. Want anything?"
"Oh, no.. I'm just fine." she mentioned, shaking her head, and then heading back over west. Towards the pyramids again. Now then.. it was time to party.
---
After a while in front of the sign, again advertising her need for a party, she started chipping on a bit of wood with the knife, idly. She got less donations, but more glances. A few even mentioned. "We'd take you, but we're going underground some more, you wouldn't like it down there. Sorry." And then they left.
This much, however, had to change. A voice from behind him.
"You seem like you're waiting for something."
The voice dragged a little, but mostly it sounded sincere and somewhat experienced. Spinning around, she was blinded as the metal the knight wore reflected the sun rather completely into her eyes.
"You know, that's one bright and snazzy bit of armour there." she said, shielding her eyes. The figure offered a hand; slightly tarnished, but mostly firm.
"Any cracks about meeting a knight in shining armour, and I'll leave you in the good care of an Osiris for a while." he mentioned, grinning. Full plate, it had to be, greeted the disguised one's face. A sweet, sweet one-handed sword, pricey and worthy, greeted her eye at his belt, and various other things.. some boots, a manteau, a helm. Slotted, carded maybe.. this guy was pretty good. Resourceful. And he probably had lots of money to spare...
"Now I can see you there, doing your little Morroc trick, sizing up my equipment. That's why they breed thieves here. But I'll say one thing; a thief on your side is better than one on someone else's side. What's your name?"
It was flat, a somewhat Prontera-based accent but probably.. slightly more south. Anything south deserved trust, especially in Schwarzwald, their continent. And Chimera couldn't even begin to imagine sizing up people from other places on Rune-Midgard... "Uh.. Chimera, that's my name.." And her hand was shook about. Very distinctly shook about.
"And you're a bit of a nancy boy, too, but that's okay.. cause I can size your sandals up from here. Carded. You're quick already. And you know people, it would seem."
"Let's see you come down here and say that?" Chimera teased, feeling a little less inclined to go about agreeing. It's not how things are done, and she knew it.
And the guy laughed. Which she took as a good sign. "Yeah, I was right. I knew I was right. Name's Ketsen. I am the only knight worthy enough to stand in this square foot in which I am standing. That is my call to fame."
Tall. Silvery hair. Older than she, and way more looming and threatening than Chimera guessed she ever could be. Then again, that might be the Tsurugi, the special sword. Wonderful thing, that... the average Tsu sold for several hundred kays even without thinking.
He paused for a minute or so. "I have a party. A small one, bust mostly it is consisted of novices and newly classed. You are the second member! I will give you this."
A small round breaded object was quickly unearthed from a pocket and given to Chimera, who eyed it carefully. "It's a cookie." she finally stated.
"Yes, it is." Ketsen replied, nonchalantly. "Some people think I'm rather eccentric, but I'm not. I just know what I like. As my old Poring used to say... Waffle. Strudel. Lederhosen. We go now."
Chimera stared at the knight. Mad? Utterly. Experienced? Very. Could she care less? No, she could probably enjoy this a lot. And as he wandered towards the pyramid entrance, she had to ask.
"And so what does that actually mean?"
A blank glance was given. "You know. I never actually had to answer that question before. So I guess I don't know. Eat the cookie, you've been sitting there too long. Thieves hideout is only a short hop, but the energy might serve you well."
Ketsen removed a small jewel from the pouch he wore, and flung that at Chimera, who caught it rather easily. "This is to signify you are in a party. With it you'll be able to hear the other people's messages to you from afar like they were in your own head. They say too much of it drives someone mad, but I don't believe them."
Chimera could learn to. She followed him, even as he chanted the opening verses of 'Onward Christian Soldiers', but in reality, the morale boost would probably help. The subtle things are always the best ones.
And the female voice she heard over the jewel didn't give a name, but just spoke about how she was doing every so often. She was just on her way to Izlude, a small town somewhere north. Chimera wondered if perhaps that meant the voice was also going to join the rank of the swordsmen. Yes, they were still called swordsmen, even if some of them were female. It was in recognition that not many were at all.
But, to the matter at hand. Ketsen, with sword out, and Chimera, with knife out.. together they re-entered the pyramid. Somehow, the girl didn't think she'd get toasted this time through. That thought settled her.
And a bat that had been waiting outside.. went back for Chimera, liking her and only her, it would seem. Then, it was neatly cleaved in two.
"Obviously a fan of yours. I could tell by the way he licked his lips." Ketsen mentioned, grinning like a loon, before marching swiftly onwards. And Chimera darted after, and.. perhaps she was smiling too.
What an amazingly good idea this whole 'party' thing might have been after all.
Also noted was the large number of turns and dead ends the place had. It was a maze, and the girl possessed no map.
"Well, this ought to be fun.." she considered, before turning a corner..
.. and pulling the knife in front of her. An enemy! Quickly she darted to one side, an expertly novice manoeuvre in an attempt to not have been seen. In her hurry, she hit the wall, and the knife slipped from her hands. Cursing, she just sat down, knowing the end was near.
.. It wasn't, as she looked up again. It was, by all rights, a giant mushroom. But it was moving about, sorta bouncing its way here and there, moving randomly, and not seeming to care whether Chimera really was there or not.
"Oh. Ok." she said, picking the knife up, and walking onwards. Maybe this would be easy.
An innocent looking tooth sat glistening on the floor of the dungeon around the next corner. Chimera wandered over towards it, when from just out of the light, a figure hopped towards the tooth. Reaching it, the jelly-like creature landed on it, absorbing the item into itself, and moved on.
"Poring." mentioned the Kapra-clothed girl, just pulling the knife up and darting at the creature. Although, as she got closer.. she stopped. It was green.
"Let's see.. we got told the order of these..." Chimera sat down, and thought wonderful poring thoughts. "Poring. Drops. Marin. Poporing. Mastering. Ghostring. Angelring. Or is Mastering easier than a Marin? .. Whatever. Pink red blue green big dead and.. yeah, we get the idea." Speaking to herself in these situations was quite fun. And before she knew it, the Poporing was pretty much on top of her. It 'squee'd lightly, before wandering away.
"Poporing. Mean bugger. I'll leave it alone." said she, turning and walking right in front of what appeared to be a bat.
The bats of the Pyramid are called 'Farmiliars'. They're small, grey, have a sharp bite, and don't hesitate to attack anything human they see. Which, of course, is bad news for Chimera. The farmiliar lunged at her instantly, grazing an arm, even through the shirt.
"Ow!" she cried, and decided right then that this thing - and that's all it was - was going to die a somewhat painful, horrible, and otherwise mushy, death.
Taking the blade handle in both hands, she back-pedalled a number of steps. The heat of the blood running under the dress and the shirt only served to remind her where she was, and how much this counted. With a speed uncanny for her, at least, she sped at the bat, which by then had been somewhat surprised, and stopped briefly as the blade itself swing in a wide arc, a mean and insurmountable arc. An arc that would make it meet its end. That--
The shot missed.
The farmiliar stuck its tongue out, and then went for another lunge, and it's about this time that Chimera swing at it randomly, and hit - grazing it. It shrugged it off, and went for another round, and at this point she decided it was probably best to run. And run she did.
Into what appeared to be dozens of the bats. Her skin went slightly more pale than it should be, but.. colour returned as she realised they were all looking away. They already had a target. A darkly clothed guy, an acolyte, who really seemed to know where he was heading. He held a mace, a brown one that seemed to echo with the sounds of much action. Heavily clothed was he, and he had purpose at this point. Turning around, suddenly, he saw the novice in her shirt and with her knife, and glanced at the array of bats that had decided they wanted a free lunch, and were swarming towards him.
He waved. And then he disappeared. The bats stopped, but instantly detected themselves a new target, turning to where Chimera was standing.
"Oh cripes." she said. The first four looked at her with those beady red eyes, and it's then that she ran. And ran.
---
Back in the sunlight, the rays of day were swimming lightly about the air. Chimera, lying torn and beaten under a palm tree, nursed potion mix to her wounds, and cursed the ground. Perhaps, to become a thief, she would need to have a party.
Of course, she wasn't feeling much like celebration now. "Har de har." she muttered to herself. Even her own head wasn't being appropriate, and that is a bad sign for anyone.
A party is an exploration party. They team up, and do dungeons together. Party members help each other, and a good mix ensures the ability to beat more enemies. But she was a novice, a young one, even an ex half-Kapra for Fareth's sake. What the heck could -she- offer to a party?
Still, she set up the sign. Perhaps if she left some of her wounds untended, she could incite the pity vote. 'Have knife. Need party. Will travel.'
Most people passing into the pyramid didn't really glance at her. The few that did tossed gifts of potions and zeny, which was all well and good, but it wasn't what she was wanting. Someone, meanwhile, sat down next to her as she was dozing.
"You know, miss.. most people will not actually make a party with a girl novice, and especially not one so young. People get the wrong impression; here we have good, solid guys, many of them swordsmen, or blacksmiths, or thieves.. and they're going off with teenage fe-male novices in their party." He deliberately enunciated female, and Chimera looked at him. A young guy.. a merchant, and one that wasn't wearing anything unusual. Merchants bugged the girl, but.. most of the reasons why didn't include sitting down and being helpful.
"Who..?" she asked.
"Just someone." he mentioned. "I note there are almost no female thieves, either. None so young, at all. Not in the whole of the continent, no sir. Ma'am. Whatever."
"So you're saying what.."
"I'm saying you should get yourself cleaned up, sort your appearance out, and look like you're ready to give a party some worth, rather than a ripped-up girl in a cotton shirt and a Kapra trainee dress." Plain advice. Chimera thought he made sense. But that's all he said, standing up and rifling through his pack.
"At least tell me your name?" wondered she, looking up. He eventually pulled out a long blue garment, and a band of white cloth, and handed them to the girl.
"There's some proper novice gear. I wouldn't have thought you'd care.. most Morroc people hate Alberta and their progeny, because Alberta is a rich town and Morroc is not. If you can get rid of that mindset, then come find me and ask. Guess where."
The strange merchant walked off. Noting quickly his wear, Chimera thought.. An axe, an improved wooden mail.. a manteau, maybe carded.. Nothing of immense value. Which didn't shock her too much, really. She'd go find him, if she managed to ever survive this 'adventuring' lark.
He'd given her an adventurer's suit, too. Nice. Best she get sorted while she could, and she trundled off back towards Morroc, and the docility of her own room.
---
After intense minutes in front of the mirror, Chimera examined what she'd had to do. Cutting the hair down was an annoying step, but at least now she looked more like a serious adventurer than a young teen who'd just been eaten by bats. That alone helped. With assistance from various tools, she had actually made herself look somewhat more male, as well. A needed step, perhaps. Who the heck could quibble about 'no female novices' if she pulled this one off for a while, hm? Even more so if she got to the thieves' hideout. They gave out clothing, too.
She opted to practice, wandering around Morroc. This was her place of birth, and the place she lived. And nope, nobody spotted her. Jennifer raised an eyebrow when she crossed paths..
"Hey, you know for a minute there, I coulda sworn.." she mentioned as Chi wandered past, shortish green hair to either side.
"Hm? Something?" she questioned, feigning a lower pitch voice. It worked. "Nah.. never mind. I'm seeing things. Want anything?"
"Oh, no.. I'm just fine." she mentioned, shaking her head, and then heading back over west. Towards the pyramids again. Now then.. it was time to party.
---
After a while in front of the sign, again advertising her need for a party, she started chipping on a bit of wood with the knife, idly. She got less donations, but more glances. A few even mentioned. "We'd take you, but we're going underground some more, you wouldn't like it down there. Sorry." And then they left.
This much, however, had to change. A voice from behind him.
"You seem like you're waiting for something."
The voice dragged a little, but mostly it sounded sincere and somewhat experienced. Spinning around, she was blinded as the metal the knight wore reflected the sun rather completely into her eyes.
"You know, that's one bright and snazzy bit of armour there." she said, shielding her eyes. The figure offered a hand; slightly tarnished, but mostly firm.
"Any cracks about meeting a knight in shining armour, and I'll leave you in the good care of an Osiris for a while." he mentioned, grinning. Full plate, it had to be, greeted the disguised one's face. A sweet, sweet one-handed sword, pricey and worthy, greeted her eye at his belt, and various other things.. some boots, a manteau, a helm. Slotted, carded maybe.. this guy was pretty good. Resourceful. And he probably had lots of money to spare...
"Now I can see you there, doing your little Morroc trick, sizing up my equipment. That's why they breed thieves here. But I'll say one thing; a thief on your side is better than one on someone else's side. What's your name?"
It was flat, a somewhat Prontera-based accent but probably.. slightly more south. Anything south deserved trust, especially in Schwarzwald, their continent. And Chimera couldn't even begin to imagine sizing up people from other places on Rune-Midgard... "Uh.. Chimera, that's my name.." And her hand was shook about. Very distinctly shook about.
"And you're a bit of a nancy boy, too, but that's okay.. cause I can size your sandals up from here. Carded. You're quick already. And you know people, it would seem."
"Let's see you come down here and say that?" Chimera teased, feeling a little less inclined to go about agreeing. It's not how things are done, and she knew it.
And the guy laughed. Which she took as a good sign. "Yeah, I was right. I knew I was right. Name's Ketsen. I am the only knight worthy enough to stand in this square foot in which I am standing. That is my call to fame."
Tall. Silvery hair. Older than she, and way more looming and threatening than Chimera guessed she ever could be. Then again, that might be the Tsurugi, the special sword. Wonderful thing, that... the average Tsu sold for several hundred kays even without thinking.
He paused for a minute or so. "I have a party. A small one, bust mostly it is consisted of novices and newly classed. You are the second member! I will give you this."
A small round breaded object was quickly unearthed from a pocket and given to Chimera, who eyed it carefully. "It's a cookie." she finally stated.
"Yes, it is." Ketsen replied, nonchalantly. "Some people think I'm rather eccentric, but I'm not. I just know what I like. As my old Poring used to say... Waffle. Strudel. Lederhosen. We go now."
Chimera stared at the knight. Mad? Utterly. Experienced? Very. Could she care less? No, she could probably enjoy this a lot. And as he wandered towards the pyramid entrance, she had to ask.
"And so what does that actually mean?"
A blank glance was given. "You know. I never actually had to answer that question before. So I guess I don't know. Eat the cookie, you've been sitting there too long. Thieves hideout is only a short hop, but the energy might serve you well."
Ketsen removed a small jewel from the pouch he wore, and flung that at Chimera, who caught it rather easily. "This is to signify you are in a party. With it you'll be able to hear the other people's messages to you from afar like they were in your own head. They say too much of it drives someone mad, but I don't believe them."
Chimera could learn to. She followed him, even as he chanted the opening verses of 'Onward Christian Soldiers', but in reality, the morale boost would probably help. The subtle things are always the best ones.
And the female voice she heard over the jewel didn't give a name, but just spoke about how she was doing every so often. She was just on her way to Izlude, a small town somewhere north. Chimera wondered if perhaps that meant the voice was also going to join the rank of the swordsmen. Yes, they were still called swordsmen, even if some of them were female. It was in recognition that not many were at all.
But, to the matter at hand. Ketsen, with sword out, and Chimera, with knife out.. together they re-entered the pyramid. Somehow, the girl didn't think she'd get toasted this time through. That thought settled her.
And a bat that had been waiting outside.. went back for Chimera, liking her and only her, it would seem. Then, it was neatly cleaved in two.
"Obviously a fan of yours. I could tell by the way he licked his lips." Ketsen mentioned, grinning like a loon, before marching swiftly onwards. And Chimera darted after, and.. perhaps she was smiling too.
What an amazingly good idea this whole 'party' thing might have been after all.
