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Gravedigger Quest

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It is a very straightforward question. "Do you want to hang out again?" Yes/no.

If we say yes, we are making a promise that Lirra would then be unable to break, what with her being a Fae.
If we say no (well, we are going to say 'no promise', but there really is no way to take that as anything but disinterest without knowing the 'Emoulan thing' which Lucilia just admitted to not knowing), then... Lucilia is a pretty busy girl, and will find something - or someone, - to occupy herself on a weekend.

It is also a perfectly viable method of asking players whether they are interested in seeing more of certain characters... which is a discussion we've had prior to the update.

Personally, I am more interested in other characters, but seeing how we are a bit starved for social interaction, I am not going to complain if we sign up in advance to spend our next bit of free time with someone else but the current two or three favorites.
 
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We could say something along the lines of "I'd like that."
It's true, isn't a promise, and tells Lucilia that we do want to hang out again.

Maybe add "would (date, time) be good for you?"
Or maybe even explain the Fae thing about promises.
 
I just had a thought (these sorts of things happen from time to time:p).
If the next testing event involves fighting undead (possibly from the graveyard?), it would be really useful to be able to pyre them, which means that we will need to have told at least everyone in our party. Furthermore, if we end up fighting undead, we would have a pretty high chance of revealing ourselves anyway, even if by accident.

Therefore, it would probably be a good goal to try to eventually let everyone in our party know about us, BEFORE we have to fight undead.

In the meantime, one way to find out if/when we'll be fighting undead is to ask a senpai. The knight we met at the gates was our senpai, and she might be happy to tell a cute kohai about what she can expect in the future.
I personally would rather just focus on getting to know everyone in our party well enough to tell them, but it's an option that might tell us whether we have a deadline.

Edit: this kind of thing may even be expected of Bards and Rogues, since information/talking seems to be part of their thing. It might be strange that a Sword is doing it, but it's probably a common enough occurrence, since these people are in a high school academy with an over 70% casualty rate and will therefore try to use every tool that they have to survive (the tool in this case being a Bard's social skills).
The question then becomes whether this makes things easier for us (since upperclassmen will remember what it was like for them and want to help us out), or harder (since the school will by now have realized this is happening, and may have put in place some way to make it more of a challenge for Bards/Rogues, like making it nominally against the rules to tell first years what to expect).
 
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Sentient Tree said:
Therefore, it would probably be a good goal to try to eventually let everyone in our party know about us, BEFORE we have to fight undead.
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But... we do not have a party anymore?
We have different classes ever after we passed the exam.

We are calling Chloe, Melkorka and Lucilia that, since we are (former) battle buddies, but it's somewhat unlikely we'll always get paired with the same people.
 
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Nevill said:
But... we do not have a party anymore?
We have different classes ever after we passed the exam.

We are calling Chloe, Melkorka and Lucilia that, since we are (former) battle buddies, but it's somewhat unlikely we'll always get paired with the same people.
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That is unfortunate. I was under the impression that we would be sticking with our original party, since none of them died, or that we could at least choose who we partied up with (and would choose the same group since we know them). Is there something to suggest otherwise? If not, it sounds like a rather important thing to ask our senpai, along with what the next major test is.

Edit:
Renu said:
"This Academy places a lot of importance in freedom in what its students learn. It tries to emulate the way adventurers and heroes came to be in the past, and most of them didn't have a speck of formal training. Of course, it does so in a safer way, or rather one with less consequences should you fail and die. For that reason, there won't be any actual tests or whatever any of you who come from Maath could expect. Just… expect a surprise sometime after the second month. Merek'Norr makes sure you get the full adventurer experience within its walls," she once again smiled humorlessly.

"Other than that, it'll be the time when you'll be able to get some quests and finally start working with the other vocations. It won't be anything much at first - you won't get any actual requests until the very end of the year and that'll just be some minor mission. We have no qualms about sending you into danger - it's why you came - but we won't willingly send you to your death."
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Looks like we don't start doing anything with non-swords at all until after the "surprise." Based on that it seems questionable whether we'll have a party at all during the surprise. They might just open up the graveyard, let the wards down, and sit back to watch what happens.
I guess I agree that this makes it less important to tell everyone about us being a Gravedigger, but it still might be useful to ask around about what we can expect for the surprise.

Edit2:
What if we ask Lucilia when we go shopping with her? As a Bard, information flow is kind of her thing. Not to mention, Melissa Oideas might know something, since her shop deals with adventurers.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by Sentient Tree on Jun 20, 2018 at 9:30 AM, finished with 1004 posts and 15 votes.
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Renu said:
Still lacks the mountains and stuff, but meh, Lirra probably doesn't even know that much, so...

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Yikes. The Fallen Silver seems to have its own country. And it's not exactly tiny either.
Given that the monsters in Fallen Silver supposedly seem content to only kill those who come to find them, I think this either means that they did expand out of the dungeon at some point, and became more conservative later, or that people are so incredibly scared of the dungeon going on a warpath again that they don't settle anywhere near it.

The Oozing Marshes seems to have been renamed as the Weeping Marshes. Interesting, but not too much of a difference I think.

To refresh our memories, the Gnashing Furnace (I still love that name) was destroyed around a century ago, and that was the last time anyone has seen a (non-undead) dragon. To me, this implies that the Gnashing Furnace was either:
1. A dungeon with a dragon for a boss,
2. A dungeon with multiple dragons as monsters, or
3. A massive dragon that was felled in the area, which is so huge that it has its own place on the map. (Note: now that I looked at more comments, it's definitely a dungeon)
Another tidbit is that the dragon(s) is/are still being harvested for blood, meaning dragons either have a healing factor that sticks around after death (makes sense, given that their blood has healing properties) and does not bring them back to life (but does replenish their blood), or that dragons are absurdly huge. Given that dragon blood is very rare and expensive (and Tanwen says that's because they're extinct), I'm actually leaning away from the idea that the blood replenishes, since then the dragons all having been killed would mean that there is that many more dragon corpses to drain blood from. Of course, it's also possible that dragon blood is being harvested/sold in greater quantities than ever before, and there were just so few dragons that there still isn't much blood being produced compared to the demand.

I'm pretty sure we know nothing of Nivion, except that it is a place, and that we can learn about it through Faded Echoes.

Renu said:
[] This actually is a good question. Wasn't this boat headed to Maath?
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That would have been a pretty long journey! We still don't know much about Maath, although now we know that it is small, and on an island in an inland sea.
 
Hey now, don't go dissing the sea monsters. They only look silly so as to attract prey and prey accessories.

EDIT: If my post results in a Hank Hill Sea Monster, then I apologize to my Loli Sheep Waifu. But no one else, HARUMPH!
 
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'Men really need sea-monsters in their personal oceans. An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep.' - John Steinbeck

Alternately:

'What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.' — Werner Herzog

I'm not sure which of them was ripping the other off.
 
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I'm a shopkeeper now? Capitalism, ho!
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] [shopping] Promise (write-in precise wording)
    -[X] "That someday after I earn my pay, we may meet once again to enjoy the wonders of the marketplace."

    [X] [work] Go

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    A little bell rang over Lirra as she opened the door of Cuimideas. It was very early in the morning, and the sky was only now starting to burn red above the harbour. When Lirra had left the Academy, there had only been hints of warmth in the night sky and it was only as she was entering the town that dawn had broken.

    "Hello, Lirra. Welcome," came a voice from the back of the shop. "Come in, come in."

    She shily crossed the door into Cuimideas. Despite the lack of natural light, the shop was well lit, thanks to a few glowing globes on the walls. Lirra looked around to find Melissa, but she apparently was further back. She walked through mostly empty shelves up to the counter then hesitated. Should she continue past it? She was supposed to try working here today, but…

    A heavy box was put down on the counter as Lirra was standing in place and she could see a heavily breathing Melissa emerging from behind it.

    "Ah, good morning," the Changeling finally answered, almost a whole minute after having been greeted herself. "Um, uh… should I take care of the heavy things?"

    She didn't know what she was to do and didn't want to impose herself, but the old woman was… old. Obviously. And not the kind of old that her teachers were, which just meant that they killed harder than whatever they'd met in their long lives. Lucilia had been right in saying that she needed help in the shop.

    "Yes, please." Melissa massaged her back a bit before righting herself. "Follow me, I'll show you what needs to be brought."

    Motes of dust danced in the morning light as they made their way in the back of the shop and down a flight of stairs. Down there, Lirra could see rows upon rows of wooden crates, and a long passage that eventually led outside.

    "This is where I keep my stock," the older woman said. "There's an elevator going down to the port at the end of this, in case there's a big order… or if I just don't want to walk all the way," she concluded with a small laugh.

    She walked further in, passing by the rows of boxes, before pointing one seemingly at random.

    "Carry that one, please," she said. "Today's an off day for the Academy, so we'll need to stock a bit of everything an adventurer-to-be could want. Be careful, it should weigh quite a bit. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself by dropping a pile of weapons on your head. Or foot."

    Lirra nodded and put her hands to the sides of the box, lifting it slightly to get an idea of its weight. Then, once she was confident she could carry it safely, she went back up the stairs and put it down next to the one Melissa brought out before.

    "Good, good, that should be all we need for now." The older woman clapped her hands once. "We just need to start displaying all that to entice possible customers."

    With that said, she opened the crates, revealing sharpened steel in the one Lirra brought up, alongside robes and staves in the one Melissa had finished bringing up the stairs when the Changeling had arrived.

    "I'll let you take care of it," she finally said, surprising Lirra. "You don't need to think too much about it, just make sure you show we have a bit of everything, content and quality-wise. I'll take care of the showcase myself and tell you what you need to change if any after I'm done."

    And with that, Lirra was left alone, while Melissa busied herself at the front of the shop. She experimentally drew a sword from the box and looked around her. Would… this wall be a good place? Or maybe this one, she thought after a few steps. After a good few minutes, she finally decided to put the sword back in the box.

    Eventually, after a good few near panic attacks, Lirra had finally managed to put all the items on display. It was at that moment that Melissa came back. She looked around with a satisfied smile, then turned to Lirra.

    "Good job, it seems like you really have a knack for this," she said. "I honestly don't have anything to say. If you do as good a work behind the counter, I could just retire early."

    Lirra tilted her head in confusion at that.

    "Behind the counter?" she asked innocently.

    Of course, she wasn't actually confused. She just hoped that by asking again, a miracle would happen and she wouldn't suddenly be thrown to the wolves. Or rather she wouldn't suddenly have to interact with many people she didn't know.

    For Lirra, the wolves would be easier to deal with. They generally were cuddly.

    "Well, you didn't think all these items would sell themselves, now, did you?" the older woman answered with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll stay nearby to help just in case."

    "Behind the counter..." Lirra repeated sadly.

    In the end, it hadn't been that bad. Melissa had been standing next to her whenever she hesitated, and by the time the old woman gave her a sandwich for her lunch break, she hadn't even noticed her leaving to prepare it. Melissa walked in the back room, and invited Lirra to follow her.

    While the rest of the shop could be called homey, it was nothing compared to the backroom. The piece was bathed in warm colours, as the sun illuminated the solid wood beams that held the house together. Just like in the shop proper, every little space was occupied by various objects. Unlike the shop, it didn't seem like they'd be sellable, but if their placement was anything to go by, they were precious nonetheless. An old, bitten through muffler was sitting proudly in a glass case, alongside a sinister stone, and some enigmatic cube - possibly some Enderian technology.

    Lirra could make little sense of such a display, but the various paintings behind the case gave her some idea of what they were. She could see what probably was a much younger Melissa, standing between eight adventurers, all with big smiles on their face. The items in the case all seemed to be related to one of them. Many other such paintings could be found all over the walls, showing an older and older shopkeeper, sometimes in a group, sometimes only with a single of them. Then, one of them was missing in the next group painting, and she could see that while the friends were still smiling, a small shadow had come over them. As she continued, seeing Melissa more and more aged, she also saw her more and more alone, until no more paintings were displayed. The last one was drawn by another hand, if the large decrease in quality was anything to go by, and only showed a single person, a Fae if her clear otherworldly traits were anything to go by.

    Despite being invited, Lirra couldn't help but feel like she intruded. This was a room that belonged to Melissa only. Stepping foot inside would be like stepping in on her precious memories, and while she was sadly quite used to that thanks to her nature as a Gravedigger, it still felt wrong.

    "Do come in, Lirra." Melissa brought her out of her thoughts. "Don't mind the mess, it's been a while since I last ate with someone."

    This pushed Lirra to walk in, but it certainly did nothing about the bittersweet atmosphere of the room. She then ate silently alongside the older woman.

    "So..." Melissa finally broke the silence. "You did a good job this morning, but do you have any question? How do you feel about this afternoon?"

    "Mh ah phee-" Lirra finished swallowing her bite. "Sorry. I, uh… think I should be able to manage?"

    Maybe it was because of her Fae blood, but despite her uncertain answer, bargaining did come to her quite easily. The fact that she didn't risk binding herself to something sinister while selling items also helped. Now, she just had to get over her shyness, but that would be a long term goal, rather than something resolved in a single day.

    "Oh, I don't doubt that. You've given me no reason to doubt your abilities," Melissa answered with a kind smile. "I was asking about how you feel, if you're happy doing this or if you'd rather do something else."

    "Ah." Lirra pondered for a moment. "Well, I would prefer to train or try to make friends, but since I need money, I'm happy here."

    Despite the Changeling blunt answer, the older woman smiled.

    "I missed the honesty of the Fae. Well, let's get back to work, then. I'll be in the back checking the inventory. Call me if something happens."

    And like that, Lirra was back behind the counter. From what she'd been told earlier, most students came in the afternoon, given the walk to the town made arriving in the morning all but impossible if you also wished to get some well deserved sleep. She knew something about that.

    Speaking of which, now that she'd eaten, she was almost falling asleep standing when the door chimed and another client walked in.

    "We-welcome!" she said by rote by now.

    She blamed her stumbling on her words on her lack of sleep. It wasn't like she was unable to talk to people.

    Yes. Yes, she was, she amended in her head, unable to lie even there.

    "Oh, good day, Lirra. I did not know you owned a store." The voice came in a too steady rhythm, each words carefully enunciated.

    "Ah, hello, uh… Pupa. I just work here, it's not mine."

    And indeed, Lirra's classmate had come into the store, her wide eyes looking around her with attention. The Changeling waited behind the counter, letting her take her time. Maybe something had caught her eye from outside, or she'd find her heart's desire if left to her own devices. Still, Lirra stayed attentive in case she needed anything.

    A few minutes passed as Pupa walked through the shop, watching everything closely. Her gloved hands neared a few items, but every time she withdrew before touching them after a small hesitation. Eventually, she just walked up to Lirra.

    "This is somewhat awkward, Lirra, but I am afraid I cannot find what I am looking for."

    Lirra startled at that. As she had spent quite some time in the early morning stocking the shop, she knew very well that there was pretty much anything an aspiring hero would want. Maybe she was looking something very special that was kept in the back only? Lirra was no expert, but the bright dress Pupa wore did look like something someone with a lot of money would wear.

    "Could you perhaps sell me a window?" Pupa asked to Lirra's confusion.

    "A… window?" she repeated, head tilted.

    "Yes, a window please," Pupa confirmed. "I am afraid I do not possess enough money to buy much else. In that situation, is it not said that 'window shopping' is still an enjoyable thing to do?"

    While what she said was true, Lirra couldn't help but feel something just wasn't right.

    "I… suppose?" was all she could answer in the end. "I'll just… go and ask if we have some in stock."

    As a matter of fact, they did, surprisingly. Lirra came back into the shop a few minutes later, carefully carrying a selection of glass panels. She laid them on the counter one by one then stepped back.

    "Mh..." Pupa leaned over them, examining them carefully. "While I do find the colorful one rather pretty, I must admit I cannot yet see why this activity is supposed to be so enjoyable."

    Lirra stayed back silently, as admitting the same would probably wouldn't lead to a successful sale.

    "Perhaps I need to actually buy it then?" Pupa thought aloud. "It is called window shopping, after all, not window watching. How much would this one cost, then?"

    Lirra smiled as Pupa pointed to the stained glass. It seemed like she would be able to sell something, after all.

    "Well… let me see."

    Lirra quickly went back to Melissa before returning.

    "How does three Firines sound?"

    At that, Pupa looked into her purse with a cross look then back at Lirra.

    "That would be Nivian currency, correct?" At that, Lirra nodded. "I am afraid I only have Stierni and Drecci on me."

    "Ah, uh… that's not a problem," Lirra quickly said. "I think."

    Melissa had quickly explained the values of the various different currencies of the nearby kingdoms while Lirra manned the counter earlier this morning. If she remembered correctly, the coins Pupa had mentioned were used in Amessa. Given its position as one of the biggest kingdoms, it was also among the wealthiest and its mint was worth more than the rest.

    "Three Firines would be… uh..." Lirra floundered. "Please wait an instant."

    She took a quick trip to Melissa and came back once again.

    "One Stierni and three Drecci," she quickly said before she could forget what she was told.

    As she watched Pupa leave the store with her glass panel secured in a cloth under her arm, she couldn't help but feel it had been way too exhausting for a single transaction.

    Hopefully, the next customer would be less confusing. As she was thinking that, the bell chimed and she could hear two people arguing.

    "... and I'm saying 'serviceable' isn't good enough. We're heroes, we're magnificent and we deserve magnificent things! How hard is it to put that into your thick skull?"

    "But it's only been a few weeks, Dy, I don't think-"

    "W-wel-"

    "Argh! Why must it always be like that with you? I just wanted us to have fun and treat ourselves to something nice!"

    "Fine, fine, but we really shouldn't spend all our money on something we already have..."

    "Welco-"

    "Just shut up! Anyway… Shopkeeper, I require a sword! An wondrous sword for this idiot!" The girl turned to face Lirra while saying that, her red mane flowing around as she did. "Lirra? What are you doing here."

    "Welcome," she finally managed to say flatly. Despite generally liking Dylis, Lirra's smile was strained. "I work here."

    "Oh, ok." She recovered from her surprise fast enough and crossed the shop in a few long strides. "So! Carwen here" - she pointed at the boy behind her - "still only uses the old training sword that he got when he was a kid."

    "It was just three years ago, Dy," commented said boy with a resigned voice.

    He was summarily ignored.

    "Now that we got in the Academy, he deserves better, right?" Dylis continued. "So, with that said, we need your best sword."

    Lirra nodded and put on her gloves, before walking down to the stock. She came back shortly after with a sword so sharp that when she drew the blade a few centimeters from it scabbard to show it off, sparks danced on its shadowed edge as the very light was cut.

    "Wow." For the first time since she came in, Dylis was quiet. "That certainly is… yeah."

    Sadly, it all came to an end instants later, once she heard the price.

    Long story short, no sale happened in the end and Carwen apologised at the door before quickly leaving to try to catch up to Dylis, leaving a very tired Lirra in the shop. With a long sigh, she fell down on her seat and let her head rest on the wooden counter.

    "Don't worry, dear, such things will happen at the start."

    Lirra jumped back on her feet, startled.

    "Calm down, calm down. I think we can call it a day anyway. Here, take this." Melissa handed her a wrapped candy before taking one for herself. "Just remember to think about what a client can afford when they ask for something, even if that means you must bring something that is… not quite exactly what they said."

    Lirra glumly popped the sweet in her mouth.

    "Sorry, I messed up," she finally said.

    "No, no, Lirra. As I said, don't worry." She let out a small laugh. "This was a good day, nothing like my own start as a merchant."

    Before Lirra could ask about it, Melissa shook her head softly.

    "That will be a story for another time, I'm afraid. You should go back, now. No doubt you have a heavy week waiting. Just come back next week-end if you want to continue and we'll hammer out the details then."

    The Changeling nodded wearily then made her way to the door, but she stopped as Melissa called her.

    "Wait, Lirra, you forgot the most important thing." She put something in her hand. "Good work today."

    "Ah, thank you. Well… good bye, then."

    "Get back safely, Lirra."

    And with that, she walked back to the Academy, her first Firine grasped tightly in her hand.

    ----------------------------

    And with that, yet another week started. It would be the last with fixed classes. After this, Lirra would have four more weeks to try out whatever classes took her fancy. Then she would need to decide what to learn for the following year.

    Still, the time hasn't come yet. For now, this week's objective was

    [] To further her relation with one of her classmates. It was the reason she came here after all.
    - [] Tanwen
    - [] Furuta
    - [] Alvi
    - [] Pupa
    - [] the Elf

    [] To get materials to get the weapons she recovered in better shape?

    [] To ask her teachers some questions.
    -[] Aida
    --[] Spear
    --[] Fitness
    --[] Adventurer life in general
    --[] Ah, by the way, I'm a gravedigger, what do I do?
    -[] The old man
    --[] Sword
    --[] Shield
    --[] Adventurer life in general

    [] To Pyre some more bodies in the graveyard

    [] To find more about her heritage
    - [] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…
    - [] There must be something in the library. This is a big Academy after all.

    [] To try to learn about magic from Chloe
    - [] Stay general
    - [] About Elemental magic
    - [] About Illusion magic
    - [] About Alteration magic
    - [] About Mind magic
    - [] About Creation magic
    - [] About Forbidden magic

    [] To train an inherited skill
    - [] Perform (singing)
    - [] Medicine
    - [] Stealth

    [] Write-in
     
  • Threadmarks
    • The interactions between Lirra and Pupa are always fun

    Anyway

    [X] To find more about her heritage
    - [X] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…

    Yes, I'm still pushing for this
     
    [X] To find more about her heritage
    - [X] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…
     
    [X] To find more about her heritage
    - [X] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…

    I've been banging n about this since the option popped up. This is something that Lirra needs to learn more about.
     
    [X] To find more about her heritage
    - [X] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…
     
    [x] To further her relation with one of her classmates. It was the reason she came here after all.
    - [x] Pupa

    We need to figure out window shopping together!
     
    [X] To find more about her heritage
    - [X] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…
     
    [X] To find more about her heritage
    - [X] Through meditation. If she could get more out of the Echoes of her mentor…

    Bandwagon ho!

    This vote is probably best to do early on (like now), since it will increase our rate of growth.
    After this though, we seriously need to talk to Chloe. Spend time with one of our friends, AND learn what magic will best complement our fighting style? It's a win win. The extra echoes that we'll hopefully get from pyring once we've finished meditating might be enough to learn some good magic, but we need to know which ones we can best use so that we don't waste echoes on something that doesn't synergize well with being a front line fighter.
     
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