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Adventurer Quest
Arc 1: A New Frontier
Chapter 8
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Day 278 of the Year 290 AW.
Late Morning.
Weather: Overcast.
[X] Plan The Next Quest
[X] Store all crafting materials.
Mushd Mud x3 --> Personal Storage.
Muddy Mushd Heart --> Personal Storage.
Silver Herb → Personal Storage.
It is quite late in the morning when you wake up the next day. Yesterday was a very busy day and you were quite exhausted when you finally crawled into bed. Standing with a loud yawn, you wince as you stretch out your sore muscles before tiredly trudging towards the bathroom of your new home and slamming the door shut. Half an hour later, you exit the room naked but completely refreshed. Your damp wings drip water as you walk along but you pay that little mind. A hot shower was just what you needed to loosen them up after a night on that awkward bed. You make a note to see about getting something more suitable to your species. Or to drag the cot away from the wall so you can flop your wings over the sides.
Another half hour later and you're out the door with a cheese and beef sandwich in hand. Your provided provisions aren't really of the highest quality but you're not going to complain about free food. You should probably look into getting some groceries to cook your own meals though. Provisions are best saved for use during long missions or journeys. That can wait for later though, for now you have some business to attend to.
[X] Bank.
The Great Bank.
While there are hundreds of banks the world over, there is only one that truly matters enough to be known as The Great Bank. With its near impenetrable vault dimension and its standing army numbering in the hundreds of thousands, the Bank of Gauldemain is practically a nation unto itself. Established almost two millennia ago by the Archmage Gauldemain for the sake of his nephew, a newly crowned king of a long destroyed empire, the bank has grown to encompass the whole world and handles the finances of billions of individuals.
Thanks to their patented, and vehemently protected, space-time array, the bank is able to store items in a separate dimension and withdraw them from any one of their numerous branches. This allows a degree of protection, peace of mind and speedy transport that goes far beyond the thick metal vaults and guarded caravans that lesser banks provide. It's only due to an ancient agreement, and the fearsome reputation of The Postmen Union, that the Great Bank does not also serve as a premier postal service.
Knowing all this, you are still a bit disappointed when you land before the Frontier branch of the Great Bank. Rather than a building, the Frontier Bank is a rickety looking gazebo built off to the side of Foreman Coalflayers office building. The inside of the gazebo appears to only contain a simple wooden desk in the center with a few stacks of paper on it. There are a pair of stiff backed chairs for clients to the front of the desk and a third, more comfortable looking, chair at its back upon which sits a hooded human in the black, red and silver uniform of the bank.
The man is busy writing on one of the papers on his desk but looks up as you come in for a landing. He gives you a stiff smile, one that looks downright sinister when coupled with his thin mustache and dark uniform. Tch, bankers. Could be worse, you suppose. You could be dealing with one of those Wolfram and Hart lawyers after all. Or, Light forbid, a librarian of the Grand Library. You don't even bother trying to supress your shudder at the thought.
As you pass through the threshold of the gazebo, all sounds of the swamp outside are immediately cut off. The putrid stench of swampland that you are already getting used to is also replaced by a thick aroma of tropical fruits. Even the slight chill is gone as the inside of the gazebo radiates pure warmth. How pleasant.
"Good day miss and welcome to the Bank of Gauldemain." The man says, standing from the desk and giving you a shallow bow. "I am Banker Percival, branch manager of this fine bank, how may I be of service today?"
You hurriedly return the bow and approach the desk. Percival nods and sweeps his hand towards one of the open seats.
[X] Pay off your debt.
"Uh, yeah, good morning." You greet, taking the offered seat. "I'm Lireal. I became a new adventurer about a week ago and the Association gave me a loan to get started, I was hoping to pay it off now that I have the money."
Percival nods again and begins fishing for something among his stack of papers.
"Good, good. It is always wise to deal with these matters as quickly as possible." He says, pulling out a blank piece of paper and holding a hand out towards you. "Your Adventurer Plate if you dont mind."
"Oh, yeah." You reply, quickly grabbing the item from within your pack and handing it over.
"Thank you."
Taking the plate, Percival places it squarely in the center of the paper. As you watch, the paper begins to glow with a faint blue light. The light grows in intensity for several seconds before rushing towards the plate at its center. Your plate glows with the same light for a number of seconds before growing dim. A moment passes, then a deluge of black characters surge out the top of your plate and begin swimming all over the paper. Over the next few seconds, the letters begin settling in a seemingly random order until soon enough, the whole paper is filled with several paragraphs of text. The paper flashes blue before returning to normal.
"Excellent." Percival says, taking your plate off the paper and handing it back. "Allow me a moment to review the details of your contract miss."
"Oh, yeah, sure." You reply, taking the plate back and putting it away. That was pretty cool to watch. You didn't know they could do that.
A few seconds pass in silence as Percival reads the paper and you try not to fidget in boredom. Just when you're about to start tapping your fingers or something, Percival sets the document down and looks up at you.
"Well, nothing seems to be amiss here. According to this, you were provided with a standard beginners loan of five hundred gold for the purchase of the bare necessities an adventurer requires. As the loan is quite minor, I will not require any receipts or proof of purchase to justify expenses." Percival explains, glancing down at the paper every once in a while. "There is of course the standard interest charge of twenty percent and an additional five percent fee for services rendered by the bank. This equates to a total of six hundred and twenty-five gold."
"Wh-what? How?" You sputter, wide-eyed. You can afford it sure but that's way more than you were expecting to pay today.
Percival frowns and flips the paper around.
"Here and here miss." He sighs, pointing to two really tiny lines of script around the middle of the document. Both have your signature on the line next to them. "This here is an explanation of the interest charge placed on all loans, and this is a mention of the additional fees for using non-affiliates of the Association to repay the loan. Presumably, those are your signatures there so you should have received an explanation when you signed."
You frown as your read the two paragraphs. Dang it, he's right. How did you sign this without reading it fir- the image of a smarmy Vampire in a pinstripe suit pops up in your mind and you remember why you were in a hurry to sign the papers and leave. Dang it.
"If there are no issues…" Percival comments with a raised brow.
You sigh and:
[] Pay the full loan.
[] Pay some of the loan.
[] Write in: how much?
[] Don't pay the loan at this time.
"Very well miss." Percival says with a nod, setting the paper aside. Then he leans forward and grins. It is not a nice grin. "I notice you dont have an account with us, with any bank really. Tsk, that is quite irresponsible young lady. What say we remedy this issue?"
As Percival pulls out a thick stack of papers, you cant help but gulp.
"Now then, let's talk interest rates and storage fees.."
Oh light, there's that urge to shudder again.
[Roll 1d20 + 2 (diplomacy) vs 1d20 + 5 (diplomacy) = 10 vs 22 = failed save]
An hour later, you trudge away from the gazebo with slumped shoulders. Your entire frame radiates defeat. Percival, the ass, has a practically joyful smirk on his face as he watches you go. That had not been fun at all. Not in the slightest. As it is, you are now the proud owner of a class five account with the Bank of Gauldemain. Five percent monthly interest on all deposited funds, seventy-five slots of item storage, and a line of credit attached to your Plate for up to three thousand gold. All for the low, low fee of fifty gold a month plus additional charges for number of deposited items.
Honestly, it's not a bad deal all things considered. You just hate how long, tedious and confusing the whole process was.
Do you deposit any gold or items in your bank?
[] Write in.
[X] Church of Light.
Shaking off your malaise, you take to the air and begin gliding towards a stone construction near the center of town. Your target? the Church of Light.
While you are as devout a believer in the gods as the next person, it being almost impossible not to believe when said gods are known to descend to the mortal plane from time to time, you've never really been a church goer. You hometown certainly had one but like most people, you preferred praying at a personal shrine rather that going to the church. Plus there was that... embarrassing incident then one time you went. That certainly put you off all places of worship.
Things are different now though. Now, you're an adventurer and that comes with certain benefits. Namely, blessings. Adventurers, as the defenders of the civilized races from the depredations of monsters, are able to beseech the gods for the tiniest sliver of their favor. These blessings grant a number of benefits that aid the adventurer in their never ending war against the monster hordes. Of course, there is a price for this. The church asks for a donation of gold to support their operations. As for the gods… well, no one really knows what they get out of it
Either way, you're looking forward to finding out what one of these blessings is like.
As you float along through the sky, you catch sight of a few other fliers making their way around the town. A trio of female fairies fluttering along while giggling. A male angel winging down towards a small building. What might be a druid in owl form given the sheer size of the bird and time of day. A quartet of armored adventures on the back of a massive Wyrm making their way out of town. Individual adventurers on the back of various winged mounts. Considering yesterdays showing, you were almost ready to think your were the only flier in town but the sky is just full of life and activity today.
Smiling, you begin circling and dropping altitude. According to the map, the building you are dropping towards is the local chapter of the Church of Light. The Frontier Church appears to be based inside a tall, moss covered, domed ruin, one that looks to have been here long before the town was established. Strange, seeing as there are no other ruins in the area. Either the building was a stand alone outpost of some kind or the rest of the ruins have been lost to the marsh over the years.
Landing on the solid island of dry ground the building sits upon, you stride forward to pass through the wide open doors of the building. Just as with the bank, all outside sound and scents are cut off as you pass the threshold of the building. The air is thick with the scent of a woody incense and there is a constant ringing of wind chimes coming from far above. Overall, a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere.
Stone benches fill the room, all ringing a statue in the center and fanning out from there. Three incredibly large banners hang on the outskirts of the room, each placed an equal distance from the others so that they form a diamond formation with the door as one point and the statue standing in the exact center. A number of people are milling about the area, speaking in hushed tones or knelt down and praying. You make out the armored forms of adventurers, the robed figures of clergymen and the shabbily clothed forms of townsfolk all within the spacious hall.
[Roll 1d20 + 2 (Religion) = 16]
Looking to the banners on the walls, you are able to easily identify what god each represents. While seemingly stitched of the finest cloth and thread, you're willing to bet that these banners are nothing compared to the statues in the Great Church. Those sculptures are said to be of such high quality that even a grandmaster of the craft would be left speechless. Each is said to be a clear rendering of the three gods of light as they were last seen during the Great War. Sculpted by an aging general that bore witness as the three gods descended to the mortal plane to wage a cataclysmic battle against their dark counterparts. A battle that is said to be the cause of the southern wasteland, now called the Red Sands, and the many bottomless fissures that crisscross the land.
The first banner, the one to the left of the door, is that of the goddess Illumina. The Motherly Goddess of Wellness and Health, Illumina is the patron of all healers and representative of Noshi's order, the Luminous Hand. Hers is the most popular order as her clerics are spread far and wide across the world, providing free healing to those that need it. Her banner is that of two hands cocooning a vibrant heart.
The second banner, directly across from the door, is of the war god Solaire. Solaire is commonly known as the Knightly God of Justice and Valor. He is the patron god of both warriors and craftsmen alike and his order, the Lightbringers of Solaire, serve as the primary militant arm of the Church. They are the ones that go where all others fear to tread in pursuit of justice and the complete eradication of evil. His banner is of kite shield, its emblem that of a sword mixed with a balanced scale.
The final banner, to the right of the door, is of the god Lumino. Known as the Mage God of Light and Fire, Lumino is patron to all that would fight against the encroaching forces of the Dark. Lumino's order, that of the Purified Flame, is the second militant arm of the church. One with the sole focus of seeking out and eradicating both undead and demonic threats. His banner is of a single golden sun.
Finally is the statue in the center of the room. The stone statue stands atop a pedestal and towers high above everything else in the room. It is of a three headed figure atop an androgynous frame. One head is that of a helmeted knight, the face concealed by the full helm even as the eyes glow with a blazing white light. The second is of a veiled woman, her features completely indeterminable despite the veil tightly hugging the contours of her face. The last is of a hooded male, only a thin but prominent jawline visible within the shadows of the hood. This is the statue of the Light United, symbol of not only the Church of Light but of the three gods working together in harmony.
Each of the these items represent a different facet of the Light. Each will provide you with a certain form of blessing. Knowing you can only hold one blessing at a time, you choose to pray before the symbol of:
[] Illumina (bonus to healing efforts).
[] Solaire (bonus to combat and crafting).
[] Lumino (bonus to fire damage and damage vs undead/demonic).
[] The Light United (lesser version of all bonuses)
How much do you donate?
[] Write in: must be more than 0.
You receive quite a number of looks as you pass through the church. An angel, a spirit of Light, is certainly sure to draw attention in such places. Thankfully, no one tries to stop or call out to you as you pass. Having people prostrate themselves before you while crying tears of joy was awkward enough the first time... you don't think you can deal with a repeat incident.
You spend a several minutes knelt in silent prayer, asking for protection and support of your efforts. At first, it is just like when you prayed in the privacy of your home but then something different happens. It starts off as a ball of warmth in your chest. An orb of Light and Power that is pulsing in beat with your heart but steadily growing stronger by the second. The pulses grow faster and faster, increasing in power and temperature with each passing moment. Just as the pulses begin to grow too uncomfortable to handle, the orb seems to just explode. You gasp as a surge of warm energy floods through your veins and suffuses your whole body in an instant. For a moment, you feel invincible. You feel as light as air yet as unyielding as a mountain. Then the feeling passes and you return to just regular old you kneeling in the church.
When you finally mange to stand and leave the building, it is with a spring in your step an a grin on your face.
[X] The Inn.
You grin remains all the way to Alog's inn. You land before the building on light feet and begin making your way to the door. The porch to the side is empty this time but you can hear quite a ruckus from inside the inn. Entering the building, you are not all that surprised to see that there's a great deal more people than there were yesterday afternoon. The entire inn is pretty much packed full.
One of the tables is taken up by a trio of Beastkin that are cheerfully conversing with one another. One is a bare chested, white furred, lion-aspect Feline with a fearsome looking double-bladed poleaxe at his side. Another is a chainmail and robe clad crow-aspect Avian with three large kukri knives strapped to his hip. The last is an extremely short, fox-aspect Canine in colorful clothes twirling a small knife. The three seem to be discussing something humorous, with smiles on all of their faces and the odd chuckle leaking out.
Another table in the corner of the room contains the seven Dwarves from the day before. They appear to be more subdued this time, though each is still holding a tankard of ale with many empty cups already on the table. They are gathered close together and seem to be examining a document that is stretched out over the table. Given how they are shooting suspicious glances at everyone in the room and frowning at anyone that passes too close, you figure they don't want to be disturbed.
The rest of the tables, the upstairs level included, and the seats at the bar counter seem to have been taken up by various townsfolk and laborers. Given the hour, and the way they are all eating a meal of some kind, you guess they are on their lunch break.
Alog stands behind the bar counter, busily serving up meals and drinks as they are requested. A female Orc in plain clothes is also there, helping him serve and occasionally making rounds to the various tables. The sign above the bar has been changed to show the days specials.
Chicken and Cabbage Soup. 11 G.
Eel Skewers. 4 G.
Gator Bites and Rice. 7 G.
Fresh Catch Platter (fish, eel and shellfish). 15 G.
Tankard of Bitter, Ale or Stout (3 G)
Room: 20 G/night.
The mission board stands fairly empty. There are only five missions posted, not including the two bounty posters, and even as you watch, a towering Lizardman seems to be looking them over for one to select.
What do you do?
*choose as many as you want to do but list them in the order you want to do them in. Some are time sensitive however.
[] Talk with the laughing Beastkin.
[] Bother the secretive Dwarves.
[] Pester the Civilians.
[] Downstairs.
[] Upstairs.
[] Head to the bar.
[] Talk with Alog.
[] Talk with the female Orc.
[] Order a meal.
[] Rent a room.
[] Look at the Mission Board.
[] Talk to the Lizardman.
[] Write in.
A/N: so, there are a number of major plot hooks that you guys have come close to but missed. Time is ticking down till one hooks you though so I suggest trying to get stronger and kitted out while you can. You have maybe a week of in quest time before the tutorial stage ends and we move onto the next arc.
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Voting is Closed.