Legends of Aerith

Chapter 0

DAWN OF THE NEW WORLD

Arkenea bustling city of trade and commerce. Home of the Simmonia royal family a proud family of noble stock…not that you could tell that with the black sheep of the family.

“stupid family…cutting me off due to stupid curse…s’not my fault I am fudged up…s’not my fault I am lost in the bottle!!” whined Hal chucking a bottle to the ground smashing it.

“should make a start with Mchinus…pr’aps the helghans need help or those machine guys…god….I am so….hold up….I know how to curry favour!” grinned Hal as he wrote up a sign and placed it up…he then instructed men to put them up all over the city.

WANTED, MEN AND WOMEN OF ABLE BODY NEEDED FOR QUEST. COME TO THE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE INN TO INQUIRE MORE…

ASK FOR HAL

GREAT AWARD FOR THOSE WHO HELP…

Hal was proud of himself. He will figure out what lies beyond the mountains and will earn the respect of his family. He was unaware of what was to come…of the danger and trials ahead…

" I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end." "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."

-Answering the siren call of opportunity, cash, and dime, a girl with hair the color of coal and eyes the color of coral walks into the Message In A Bottle Inn, holding the sign in her hand. She's also humming a song quietly to herself as she walks in-

???◊: "Stand tall, for the beast of Arkenea
Lay down, like a naked dead body
Keep it real, for the peasants workin' overtime
They can't stay living off the nobleman's dime"

edited 10th Feb '13 11:16:54 AM by Raidouthe21st

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The bartender of the time in a bottle looks at the girl silently

"what can I do for you missy?"

" I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end." "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."

-The girl holds up the sign, almost as silent as the bartender's appraising stare-

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He waited a second, looking over the sheet of paper that had been put down. His green eyes didn't really need to rip the paper into enough shreds to jam a paper shredder to read the paper and interpret what it was for.

"WANTED, MEN AND WOMEN OF ABLE BODY NEEDED FOR QUEST. COME TO THE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE INN TO INQUIRE MORE... ASK FOR HAL. GREAT AWARD FOR THOSE WHO WILL HELP..."

Perfect. An ambiguous quest with a great reward that was being set up by a potentially shady quest-giver. It absolutely screamed "this is a fool's risk". He idly fingered his hatchet as he considered the cost-benefit of what he was about to do. Then again, bounty hunting jobs hadn't been popping up lately. For some reason, people were playing nice, something he didn't expect.

He'd need funds sooner or later - not just to get replacement crossbow bolts, but to actually live. Deciding the reward was worth the risk - especially if jobs kept being this dry - he headed towards the Message in a Bottle, tearing the sign off to turn in as proof he was willing to do it.

One short walk later and he headed into the inn, looking around. He saw someone else - a girl, humming what sounded like a work shanty, with the sign. An ally, or at the least, another party member.

His fur coat was grey and looked heavy, and had a myriad of tools and equipment strapped to it - his crossbow slung on his back, a small scabbard to hold a spring knife, a Velcro strap that carried his hatchet. His Galvanizer and throwing axes were inside his coat - they weren't really quick-use.

He mulled over the sign again. Something told him this was not a good idea. But there wasn't much else to do.

edited 10th Feb '13 11:27:41 AM by SpartyMcFly

"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."

"the fella you want is over there!" said the barman pointing over to a blonde man slowly drinking from a bottle

" I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end." "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."

At the barman's exclamation, Mr. Browncoat looked over to the man who was drinking. Either this was a fool's risk, or this would end fairly badly when one of the people who came in would kill him when he didn't cough up the dosh.

The way the world worked was fun.

He walked over, his stride purposeful, and tapped the man on the shoulder in lieu of using his voice to commentate. For those of you at home keeping score, this dude right here doesn't really talk much.

"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."

The girl nodded to the bartender, then looked at the man who looked more suited for war than suited for a small pub crawl. Her gaze lingers for a few seconds before she walks over to the blonde slowly losing his liver to the liquid ambrosia.

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As if the group couldn't grow any bigger -Unless you're a non-organic robot who can't upgrade, nyeh-, a Pyribot◊ slowly walks in, his rapier at his side, sheathed and connected to his dangling chain. He takes a seat, waiting for the Bartender to greet his presence.

???: Arr, it's a quiet day and a good one for a nice pint of oil. What ye got?

-He doesn't seem to pay attention to the other two customers... yet-

edited 10th Feb '13 11:37:12 AM by Irene

"What kind we serve six kinds for our quests from the machine kingdom?"

Meanwhile Hal looks up and quietly mutters "please...sit!"

" I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end." "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."

The girl nods and very slowly takes a seat, still silently staring right at Hal.

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Vera was heading back from her lunch break when she saw the sign. Zoria had tapped her on the shoulder with her tail and she turned around, adjusting her glasses to see the poster.

WANTED, MEN AND WOMEN OF ABLE BODY NEEDED FOR QUEST. COME TO THE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE INN TO INQUIRE MORE…

ASK FOR HAL GREAT AWARD FOR THOSE WHO HELP…

The name Hal seemed familiar to her.. But it couldn't be THAT Hal could it? Regardless she knew quests would aid in her research and they would odds are be Queens along the day. Deciding to push her work later in the day she heading the The Message in a Bottle Inn.

edited 10th Feb '13 11:48:26 AM by RhymeBeat

The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.

With the command uttered, Browncoat Greenhair sat down at the chair. His coat made him seem larger than he actually was, but that's what you got for item storage capacity. He was actually rather thin and lanky, and besides, the intimidation helped on job.

When he spoke, it was quieter than most. "...you have a job?" He indicated the sign he was still holding with a finger.

"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."

???: The richest you got. *nods and waits for Hal's announcement, he also takes a gander at his potential competition, targets, and/or friends*

edited 10th Feb '13 11:54:30 AM by Irene

"Yes sir!" the man pours out thick gooey oil and hands it over.

"Very high paying...hic...decided to have the meet here due to the truce magic"

" I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end." "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."

The girl nods.

"The job, sir? Just so you know in advance...my services are not cheap..."

edited 10th Feb '13 11:59:49 AM by Raidouthe21st

We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)

???: Magic, eh... *rubs his chin with a somewhat loud metallic scratch* Thank ye, kind sir. *takes a swig of it* I like...

He nodded, waiting for someone else to interject, or for this "Hal" to go on. By no means was he impatient, but he wanted to see if this quest was actually worth it. He wasn't interested in suicide missions.

"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."

Vera walked into the bar, Zoria on her shoulder. The fairy dragon was nestled around her golden hair and thick neck. The dragon was snow white with violet and pink tinted wings marked with curls. She was more pleasant to look at than her Dreamer. Vera was wide faced, overweight, and short. She was dressed in a loose labcoat, pure white at the moment, with leather boots adorning her wide feet. Her blue eyes, though attractive we're masked by square thick violet glasses and her hair was rather unkempt. She sat down at the bar searching.

The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.

"thanks!"

"we're gonna find out whats on the other side of the winterhorn!"

" I did the right thing, didn't I? It all worked out in the end." "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."

The girl stares at Hal blankly. Her expression masks the thousands of guesses and assumptions she is already making in her head regarding this eccentric drunkard...oh well...coin is coin. Let's see where this goes, she thinks to herself.

"...Winterhorn."

"You are being serious, yes?"

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Well.

That was unexpected.

Winterhorn Mountain. Home of the dragons, until the dragons decided living on a mountain sucked total ass*

, and decided to move away. Everyone else, being ridiculously crafty, moved in shortly after that, and soon afterwards the place became a ski resort.

Of course, there were the rumors of what was on the other side of the Winterhorn. Zombies, supernatural beings, all of them fantastical, none of them nice. Not like the ones in Darkovia - they cointed the term "judging a book by its cover is dangerous", and once you got to know them, vampires and werewolves were much nicer than you'd give 'em credit for.

But that's pointless exposition I'm not even qualified to give, so go ahead and ignore all of that as we focus on Browncoat giving Hal the look that subtly implied he had severe mental problems.

edited 10th Feb '13 12:06:31 PM by SpartyMcFly

"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."

"Winterhorn!?" Vera said. "But your maj... Hal. That's uncharted territory isn't it? Very dangerous. Who knows what's beyond there."

Vera chill out, won't you? Zoria transmitted. You of all people should want to find out more about places. Do it FOR SCIENCE! Vera.

The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.

???: Winterhorn? Interestinggg. *takes another swig and flips a few coins to the Bartender* When do we start? *glances at the rest*

In the streets of Arkenea , a man walked, dressed in a fine gray suit, a thick white scarf and a wide-brimmed hat, the garb of a man of Ventris. His head was turned to the earth at his feet, his scarf wrapped round his neck, and his hat pulled over his eyes. One would wonder how the man could even see where he was going, but he was no stranger to seeing without sight, for he had no eyes. Or nose. Or ears. Or anything, really.

His name was Benjamin Delafrio, known to his friends and employers as Benny Samedi, and he was a lich, cursed with undeath and a body of bones. More importantly, to him at least, he was a man flat broke. A set of bad runs at Ventris' fine casinos had bled him dry, and he owed a lot of money to many very important people. So he made like an atom and split, as he is wont to do, and fled to Arkenea to ply his trade there. Hopefully they were as tolerant of walking skeletons as Ventris was.

Luckily for him, work was apparently easy to find, as fliers plastered all over the city proclaimed. With one such flier clutched in his gloved hand, he made his way to the inn the parchment demanded he go to.

"Hope he likes em' thin..." Benny thought aloud to himself as he opened the door and stepped inside...

edited 10th Feb '13 12:14:19 PM by MacDuffy