[X] Play Pop Veggie
"Yes, Miss Vera. Keep doing it like that. You are a natural in this." Encouraged the soft sounding voice that was coming from behind your back. Almost making you sniff at how pointless the praise was.
"Of course I am." Is your immediate response. Not even deigning to gave him a glance in favor of keeping your focus on the task before you. "Magic had always been my specialty."
"It sure does look like it." Is the only thing the Elf have to say. He then leaves you behind in order to check on the progress of Zarya and the others are making on their respective fast growing magical plants.
For a moment you thought you were being a far bit too impolite on the green haired Spirit User, but in the end you decided the ship had already long sailed and to leave it at that.
After playing the intense adrenaline fueled activity that was called Magic Hoops with Kennard and Milliana, your group was hoping for the next attraction to be something a little bit more casual. Something slow to calm down the pacing blood on the sweat soaked body of Zarya and yours.
Pop Veggie was deemed as perfect for that. According to the others, it was just something simple that the Elves did in order to pass time back in their forest filled home country. The booth's owner had only adjusted the cabbage like vegetables to be both more and less difficult to grow at the same time. More as the result will actually produces something that is of value instead of some mundane greenery, and less as others beside those who are Elfs are then capable of performing the action without using Spirits.
Then, just as your mind began to wanders into places, you took another long look at the Elf who is known as Firth Greenwood. The host of Pop Veggie is currently busy instructing Cobe in the correct ways for him to channel his mana with much more efficiency than what he was doing before. The man was pretty nice so far, explaining patiently to everyone the methods of how to actually play the game and then just keeps on helping you whether you had troubles or not, even the Vice Master himself seemed to acknowledge the elf druid well enough for him to also be participating in this growing game.
You even heard how Firth was also an important member within the Pharmacy who is going to supply the main attraction of this festival later on at the time of sunset.
It would be ideal for you to have a close relationship with a guy who has many connections in high places such as him. However-
Diplomacy Check: How polite are you?
DC: 40
Roll: 6 + 7 = 13
Failure
-you just aren't really feeling it right now.
You don't know what is happening to you today. From the moment you had been experiencing the festival in full, your emotions had been going up and down without rhyme nor reason just with the tiniest bit of triggers. You had thought it was because of your negative energy, but at this point you worry it was for something else entirely.
It was due to this worry why did you decided to just clamp up on yourself. Watching your own actions with zeal for anything that might disturbed it.
Fortunately you managed to mask your on guard posture with your usual indifference attitude, seemingly managing to fool everyone except for Zarya who you had only met
yesterday? it seems to be so much longer than that, and keep your and others concerns on the downlow.
Unfortunately however. This had the effect of making you practically unsociable like you had always been. Your words and responses to Firth are short, clipped, and to the point. Barring not a single emotion for anyone to parse through.
Firth himself doesn't show any obvious signs indicating that he was troubled by you, but judging by the glaring daggers that you could feel stabbing at the back of your head originating from where Vice Master Alberad is at the moment? You can tell you are currently tripping on yourself. Badly.
"You look troubled young Miss." Said someone with a deep sounding voice.
Something this guy of all people had noticed apparantly.
Slowly, to not break your concentration over the magic veggie, you raise your eyes to meet the ones belonging to the person who had just spoken to you, and immediately upon sight your interest was piqued by him. It was the man in black that you had seen earlier.
Like you, he is currently sitting in a cross legged position before his own potential middle grade item. His plant itself is, interestingly enough, also colored deep black just like yours is at the moment. Telling you how he has darkness for his attribute.
That was not what had took your attention however. No, what had took your attention is how you had actually recognize the black clothing that this person is wearing when you are this close to it.
It's not quite the same, but you could swear you had seen that kind of outfit many times before in the past. The knowledge is practically at the very tip of your tounge and it is driving you mad.
With your curiousity gnawing deep inside you, you then decided to throw the man and yourself a bone and just speak with him already. Though it wasn't long before you are wishing you hadn't.
"You are?"
"Ah, sorry for meddling, but I just can't help myself wanting to hear problems that is plaguing the mind of others. Just like the one you yourself seems to had young Miss. It comes with the cloth you see."
"Your cloth?
"Yes, my cloth. Though I had been doing it with a much lesser frequency as the years goes by. You see I am-" The man then pulled a book out of his clothes, and upon seeing it you can't help yourself but to widen your eyes in surprise. It's because you immediately knew who this man actually is only with one look at it.
"-called Father Franklin. I live on the Church just on the far corner of Mavis." Thus smiled kindly the Bishop of the Priestess you had just killed in yesterday night.
Intrigue Check: PANIC!?
DC: 50
Roll: 30 + 7 = 37
Failure
"Father Franklin!?" You then blurted out in alarm. Receiving a shocked look from the priest and gaining some brief attentions from others.
"Is there something wrong?" Asked Franklin to you in clear worry while pocketing his book back to under his clothes. Oblivious to how he is the reason why your heart had almost decided to just suddenly stopped beating, but his next question then had practically made it want to leap out of your throat. "Did you know of me?"
"Uh, uh, you see. I am-." Think Vecna! THINK!!
Diplomacy Save Check: WHY DID YOU PANIC!?
DC: 35/75
Roll: 93 + 7 = 100
All Success
"-from Varon!" You finished with a low shout, then seeing how Franklin's surprised look was ladened with confusion, you continued. "The Twin's belief is pretty strong there. So imagine my surprise when I didn't see any signs of them when I had first arrived here in Mavis. That's why I was shocked by you being a Father. You are telling me there's a Church in this city?"
"Oh, you're a fellow believer then?" Excitedly asked the Bishop. Seemingly happy to see someone with the same faith as him.
You can't give him an easy excuse to drag you to a weekly mass or something however.
"Just a casual one, and even then, I haven't been praying seriously for a long time now." You casually responded. Mind beginning to calm down by him not attempting to purify you.
"That's too bad." Said the man wistfully before continuing. "If you ever want to change that then please come by to the Church. It was located not far from the Old Beastkin District, and the people there will show you the way if you asked them."
"Thank you, Father. I will think about it." You politely smiled to the Bishop. Releasing an internal sigh of relief by how he seemingly hadn't noticed anything.
Then, before either of you could say anything else, a curious Head Priestess from another religion comes by to the two of you. Asking the Bishop what is his intention with you are while circling her hands over your shoulder and neck. Making you nervously take a gulp of air as you are able to feel her supple body with your back.
Your attention however, were firmly towards the interaction between these two city religion leaders. Their relationship, from what you can see, is pretty amicable. They may act condescending to one other, but there's a joking undertone within each of their words.
"Hello there Farrow." Cheerfully said Zarya from right beside your ears. From the corner of your eyes, you can see how she had a wide smile on her face that is being directed at her Church counterpart. "It's nice seeing you here."
"Hmph. It's nice to see you too Lynn." Stoically replied the one who was apparantly named Franklin Farrow. It's subtle, but you think you can see his lips twitching upwards. "So this lady is with you?"
"Of course she is! This is Miss Vecna Vera, and as you can see, she is an M.T.A. I met her yesterday by the Temple." Said Zarya. Swiftly introducing you to the Bishop before doing the reverse. "Miss Vecna? This is Father Franklin Farrow of the Twilight House. He is the Bishop of Mavis. Don't worry. He may seems shady, but his heart is in the right place."
"Hm. A pleasure." You replied emotionlessly with a grunt. Trying to desparately get out of the blunettes armlock on your neck.
You failed.
"Believe me, Miss. It's all mine." Said Franklin with an obvious amusement on his face. He then returned his attention to the one who is choking you. "Still being very affectionate towards others, I see. Why, I could have mistaken every people within that temple of yours to have a relationship with each other."
Huh?
"Oh come on. It's only with those who we considers family." Pouted Zarya to the dark Priest before suddenly nuzzling you with her cheek. "Beside, Miss Vecna here just needs all the positive attention that she can get!"
For some reason, you feel saddened.
The Bishop, not knowing your internal confusion, then chuckled at what Zarya had said. His next words however had made you feel grateful for being held tightly for a moment by someone. It feels warm.
"True. She almost reminded me of Lily." Said Franklin fondly while looking at you. Prompting you to repeat the name outloud before his meaning then being explained by the Priestess.
"Lily?"
"Oh, she's that one Acolyte that had always been with you! Didn't she have a blond hair and is usually uncomfortable while being around others? I can definitely see their resemblance."
"She's the only Acolyte that I have, so yes." Nodded the Bishop. "Lily is a bright young girl who had lost her village years ago. The temple wasn't able to take her in at the time, so I welcomed her and a couple of others who share the same fate into the Church. Time passess, and in the end she decided to become an Acolyth under me while others had decided to go elsewhere."
"You sounded like you appreciated her quite highly." You blandly asked the man.
"If it weren't for her then I think my days would have become darker yet darker than it was today." Smiled the man warmly to you, and before you can think of a reply, he then perks up at the sight of something that is right below your field of vision. "Oh would you look at that?"
You followed his gaze, and you can see what it is that had caught his attention.
Magic Check: Veggie?
DC: 20/70
Roll: 72 + 29 + 5 =106
All Success
"Ohhhh! It's the sprout!" Excitedly exclaimed Zarya upon also beholding what it is that you are also looking. Apparantly during the whole conversation you had managed to keep channeling your mana into the cabbage.
The sprout looked like a gem, but only with a texture that of a seed. Even without touching it you can feel the large concentrated dark magic that is contained inside it.
You felt strangely proud at yourself.
"Yes, that's a fine specimen that you have there Miss Vera. One of the best that had been grown today too. Congratulations." Praised Firth who you hadn't noticed was nearby.
As a matter of fact, everyone is actually nearby. Apparantly you are the last one to finish, and Cobe along with Vice Master Alberad was just patiently waiting for you from not too far away. Looking at the now standing Zarya, you can see her posing for you while holding a bright blue cabbage on her hands.
"I see." You simply said while moving to stand along with the others. "So I am the last one?"
"Yes, you are." Said someone with an unfamiliar voice. "That one would make a good drink if you processed it carefully with others that is similar to it. Really making you feel like you are drowning in emotions."
Turning yourself around, you can see who it was that had spoken to you, and it was someone who you had almost forgotten. It was the mature lady that you had seen earlier along with Franklin.
"I am sorry?" You asked her while blinking. "Is there something that you need from me?"
Apparantly, she did. This woman is actually Miss Fortez. She is both the owner and the bartender of COO, as in the Clever Owl Outpost which is the high class adventurer bar that you had previously discovered long ago during your first months within the city.
According to her, she is waiting around here to buy Firth's cabbages that had been successfully grown directly from it's winners. She's going to have a big party tonight at COO and she would need a lot of graded eateable items like the cabbages to keep up with the likely demand.
The prices she is willing to buy yours though. You shuddered.
The Core is worth the entire two months of your wage!
Though, eating processed graded items simply for the pleasure of taste? You have heard of it before, but had never actually seen it. Your teacher had called it Mixture. A technique that was used mainly by both a Potioner and an Alchemist.
In it's infancy, Mixture was used to make drinks that would introduce a high number of small different magical boost to the body instead of a few big ones that potions would usually do, but later on it was only known for by many as a fancy way for the rich to prepare the many different magical dishes that they ate.
It's actually a complicated technique, but not
that complicated. Just by thinking about it for a bit you are sure you can-
Learning Check: How is she making those drinks of her?
DC: 45
Roll: 27 + 13 = 40
Failure
-no you can't.
In the middle of your brainstorming that was swiftly followed by a dejection however you didn't miss how Father Franklin was currently leaving the area with his cabbage in tow, and apparantly not Miss Fortez either.
"Hey there, Father! How about you? Want to trade yours?" Asked loudy the female bartender. Not willing to let her prey escape that easily.
Though the Bishop's answer certainly makes her do exactly that, and honestly? So would you for an entirely different reason.
"Unfortunately I will be needing this cabbage Miss Fortez. You see, I haven't seen my dear little Acolyte this morning, and while I am not sure what kind of emergency did she has for her to actually miss the chance to go to the festival along with me, I am sure she will be happy to tell me all about it while I am holding a pot of delicious warm soup hostage for tonight's dinner. The little sunshine did always have a demanding stomach ever since she was young."
And with his reason having already being said, Father Franklin then walks away with excited steps towards the direction of the Church. Wanting to prepare his home for his Acolyte's return.
What would you do with your Veggie?
[ ] Keep the Cabbage
[ ] Keep the Core
[ ] Sell the Cabbage for 15 Material
[ ] Sell the Core for 50 Material
