#verityquests

[trueverity]

Quest: Raiders of the Lost Caves

Verity did not like having to bring herself out in the open like this, but she stood on top of a big old rock so that Snow could see her at a reasonable hour. Of course she did not leap up and make herself vulnerable right away; that would be silly. But she did, of course, have her bow drawn, and was ready and raring to shoot anything that got in her way. When player killing was this possible and had an incentive, you did need to go out of your way and make sure to keep safe. Verity figured that in the long run, killing a few tough-ish monsters without feelings amounted to a heck of a lot more experience points than staining your soul with human life. But now that she was out and about once more, she could see that some players just did not give a care, and would rather try for what was evil and wrong. Verity had killed somebody, but it was kill or be killed! Or worse. Not be killed and then kill more. She knew what Chronos' followers did!

Anxious now, she perched on the rock, and just kept waiting. Her nerves were running like crazy, and she wished that Snow would get here and they could do something. Talk about anything. Her life felt like such a waste by now, that she just wanted to get out and make progress. Anything was better than being alone and miserable, and that just motivated her to try to be a good friend. Even if making friends was horrifying here, she figured people out in the "real" world could just kill too. It was only when killing monsters was the norm- and you actually did get something out of it- did it seem like a real possibility that anybody would up and stab you.

...Verity much preferred friends to bodies, so she hoped that Snow liked her in person all right.

[trueverity]

Quest: Spiritual Healing

It did not take long for her to look about the exterior castle area, since there did not seem to be many places to hide... Except above, of course, but in a siege, that area would get taken up. Still curious, she proceeded towards the middle of the opened area. The artificial sun shined down upon her, and Verity could not help but have her spirits brightened. She poked in and out of buildings, learning more about the area... Was it so bad that she was enjoying this part? One of the most fun parts of games, in Verity's opinion, was the exploration part. There was not anything to loot here, but she simply enjoyed the visuality of it all.

She wandered now towards the church, and was interrupted by a ghostly wail. "Straighten your posture~" the ghost moaned.

Verity furrowed her brow, and turned her head so she could address the ghostly voice. "Yes, hello. My posture... It's fine."

"No it is not! You walk not with the stride of a true hero!"

"But I'm a woman," Verity replied, hugging her arms around herself. Somebody passing her by shot her a look, so Verity lowered her voice. "Heroine."

"You're not much of a woman if you're just a girl," the voice chided, prodding at her back to encourage some better stance. "No heroine yet."

Feeling the strange ghostly touch, Verity's posture jerked her upwards. Squeaking, she fumbled for her weapon. "Leave me alone!"

"But your posture is improving, dear," the voice said, more affectionately now.

"I- I- what?"

"Do you not know who you speak to so rudely?" the ghost asked.

"Uh... No. No, I don't..." Verity said distractedly, aware of how she needed to stand.

"I am one of the Legendary Warriors... Or I was. Everyone's time must end one day... But new heroes will rise."

"What? And you think that I-" Verity ventured to say.

The ghost laughed, but not meanly. "No, no. Not just yet. But you do have potential, if only you'll maintain some confidence... Follow my voice."

Verity did, walking along as the ghost rambled on about chivalry and appearing so gallant. She had to keep correcting the ghost, who kept forgetting that Verity was, in fact, a woman. Of all of the strange defensive ghost-isms, the one that struck Verity dumb was, "Of course I know that you're a woman, but we can not allow chivalry to die! Win over your maiden!"

Flushing pink, she did not argue with the ghost as they paraded through the grounds, maintaining some form of poise. Eventually, the ghost seemed to get distracted by a particularly exciting coat of arms, and shooed off his protege so he could complain about the horrible polishing job to somebody who did care.

She walked out of the castle, and lasted approximately five minutes before her shoulders fell again. Never could she be a hero... not alone. The Legendary Warriors were a team. The legends did not celebrate their individual glories... Verity sighed, and moved on with her day.

[trueverity]

Quest: Confrontation, The Uprising Has Started

Verity found herself spending a heck of a lot more time in town than she used to. As a master of hiding, she rarely came out of her nooks in the forests until relatively recently. Now, though, she wandered around in hopes of finding more interesting things to do, better ways to level then just grinding, or meeting up with other people. And yes, she had met some dreadfully interesting people. Most of the time, they freaked the heck out of her, but she liked them. Maybe they could pull her into something exciting. Or anybody might... Although Verity had wished something adventurous might happen, she surely did not have in mind what came next.

A bloodcurdling scream sounded from the center of the city's plaza. Not terribly many people were around, but the demonstration would be seen by enough that it would round the gossip circuits. Immediately, Verity saw many of her fellow players back out of the square immediately, heading for safer ground. Some did what she might normally have done and just taken a step back out of the way, but the wail kept pounding in her ears. She wanted to do something to help, but could not figure out exactly what was going on, but everyone who had not left had gestured to a- was the proper word lynched?- player up above, with a sword skewered through them for good measure.

"We have to do something!" Verity said before she could consider anything, and looked around to see if anybody else was willing to help her fight. She quickly went for her longbow, knowing that her range would serve her well for this in a pinch. But it sure did not look like anybody was going to do more than gawk.

[trueverity]

Quest: Collect and Conquer

Verity stopped, and held up the sketch of the wildflower the NPC had given her. Hm... Well, there were quite a few flowers, but none of them looked like this one just yet. Sighing, she kept on, walking less quickly so she could hopefully catch onto her surroundings should the flower pass her by... Oh! No wait, there it was! Grinning in relief, she jogged over to the little bunch of them. Awesome. Verity was leaning down to pick one, but heard some footsteps.

Ever the cautious one, Verity straightened her pose and drew her bow. Adrenaline going, she pivoted about one foot, searching for the cause of the sound.

"So d'you know how to use that thing?" A sly voice asked.

Verity said nothing, but narrowed her eyes as she pointed directly towards the direction she had heard the voice.

The voice said now, "Really, now. I'm just trying to be friendly..." A woman slipped out from behind a tree. Observing Verity tense up, the woman held up her hands, revealing no weapons in hand. Verity could spot some wicked looking daggers sheathed behind, and those were most certainly grabable should she shoot...

"Okay? But you don't have to sneak up on me like that," Verity said cautiously, lowering her weapon just a little.

"I must apologize then," said the strange woman, stepping closer. "I'm Clandestine. What's your name? How much have you heard about... factions?"

Verity gulped. Something about this woman just rubbed her the wrong way. Not willing to volunteer her own information, she just asked, "Do you mean like guilds?"

"No, no, no..." Clandestine said, pulling out one of her daggers and playing with the edge. "Surely you've heard of Chronos."

"Oh. Him," Verity said, keeping her tone even. "I have, yes. What of it?"

"Well, of course you want to be on the winning side of things, don't you girly?" Clandestine said, starting to circle Verity.

"I do, yes," she mumbled, raising her bow slightly.

"So you will join us in our rise to power?"

Verity started to back away slowly. She could play the diplomat when she wanted to. "I'm not so sure I'm convinced," she said in a low voice, trying not to sound like a liar. "What's in it for me?"

"Oh, so much. I mean, it's hell if you betray anybody. You know, death penalty and all, but everyone is so loyal to the cause... You'll love it. What was your name again?"

"I didn't say my name," Verity said quietly, pointing her bow straight at Clandestine. "I don't want to join. I think you should leave me alone."

"That's not how it works, dear," Clandestine said, gripping at her knife.

"You should leave," Verity repeated.

"I think not," said Clandestine, throwing one of her knives swiftly.

Verity dodged, and shot an arrow, going for another one before she could think. Talk was cheap, and she had gotten the sort of idea of how these followers of Chronos could talk.

---

She ended up with a dagger in her leg, but she must not have gotten hit anywhere particularly vital. The blood on her hands made her feel dirty all over, but she just wanted to get out of here, and she'd already taken Clandestine's meager amount of money... Apparently, she had been a higher level than the swagger-talking older woman than she had thought. Piercing Bullet had worked just fine, and it had been kind of a cinch... Fretting about, Verity looked to one side. There was her flower... Still feeling horribly unclean about this whole killing thing, she collected her flower, and ran away from that place.

Fuck.

It wasn't a word she used lightly.

[trueverity]

Quest: It Takes Two

Verity surveyed her surroundings. Bustling groups of people, show-offs, NPC merchants, street salespeople... It almost felt like something really cool for a show. She would have liked staying here for a while longer if that got her out sooner, but alas. She only could stay in town briefly. When she could find a place to sleep, or needed a break from killing fake animals... This world was just so weird, and she did not like having to think so hard about it. She wanted to devote her time to other projects, but unfortunately was stuck here with unfinished business.

She heard something... something about a quest. "Hullo?"

"Yes! Hello! Have you heard about the Dusskan?" a young man asked, approaching.

Verity shook her head. "No. Who are they?"

"They're not really a person, per say," the man explained. "They're these twin dragons with eyes of gold. One can't survive without the other, but they're very powerful. Are you at least level fifteen?"

"No, I'm..." Verity frowned. Wait, she had just leveled and everything. "Yes! Yes, I am! Um... So what about the... Dusskan?"

"With your partner-"

"Hm?"

"...your partner, you will need to go into the forest of Aantyl and find these beasts to slay. They are terrorizing the flora, and may make it to our fair city very soon!"

Verity raised an eyebrow. "I need to find a partner?"

"Yes! And make haste! With their shared abilities, they can spark fire!"

Nodding, Verity went off in search of someone she could possibly do this quest with... Great. This was what happened when you didn't keep track of your acquaintances.

[trueverity]

Quest: Campfire Classic

Once more, nighttime approached. And all over again, Verity had to make camp on her own. This worried her, actually, as everybody knew (or should have known) that humans are most vulnerable in their sleep. Once she reached level 20, she was determined to start a guild of her own to ease her anxieties (note: the ridiculously small fire to avoid noticee). If she made this partying thing official, then she need not worry about getting staked in the middle of the night. Nobody had extended an invitation to her thus far, and she had to wonder if anybody would unless she started the thing herself. It sucked, sometimes, being a lower level. Well, they would want in her guild if it was the only guild around, right? She was not really that many levels away from being eligible...

She sighed, and flopped backwards. The stars looked realistic, but something just did not feel right about that sky. And then a shooting star flashed across, and Verity wondered why she had never seen one of those in real life. The child inside her urged her to make her wish. Just her one little wish, and maybe everything could be perfect... "I wish for- for safety. I wish we were safe." It was a stupid wish, of course, but there were no take-backs, right? That's what Charlotte always told her, and her parents would probably concur... Hallie and Kelly, though. They would shout out their wishes, she imagined, and burst into laughter afterwards. But they weren't here now, were they?

Verity snuffed out her fire in frustration, and scrambled into a tree.  After securing herself, she was satisfied that she would not fall off of the branch and into the still-heated ashes of her killed fire... It was going to be a long, frustrating night, wasn't it?

[trueverity]

Quest: Moonrise Kingdom

Desperately, she wanted to go back home. So, so badly. A phone call with her sisters. One of her sisters. A text message to the wrong number from her dad. Even an uncomfortable email from Charlotte... Anything was better than this loneliness. All of these interesting people with their hard to pronounce usernames weren't enough just yet. She hoped to get attached to them, but it wasn't like her old D&D group. Aaron, Shelly, Aki, Ethan, Jack... She missed them all so badly. Even if they really only spent Saturdays together, those were some epic team-building Saturdays. She missed all of them, and wished they were in the game with her.

If she could think of a happy memory that she wanted to go back to, it might be to those days. In the Moonrise Kingdom, wherever it was, she thought maybe a moment of happiness would drive her further to ascend the level tiers. So, yes, that was what she needed to do. To the very center of a forest she headed, having marked the midpoints to figure everything out. The forest was no perfect circle, but she was as close as she could be to the center. Anyway.

Midnight still had fifteen minutes until its arrival. Verity shot at a passing rabid-looking animal, but did not move to retrieve her arrows. Just as long as nobody saw her up here, tied up in a tree, all would be well... And then it came...

Charlotte hovers over her, keeping Beth's arms pulled above her head. "I heard girls used to just do this as 'practice.' I'm so glad we know better now."

"Char," Beth whines, shifting around because she's stuck. "This isn't fun anymore." They're both thirteen years old, just after Charlotte finally figuring out that Beth's had a huge crush on her since they were eleven. She doesn't like this, and thought it would be different.

"Hush," Charlotte advises, pressing a surprisingly gentle kiss to Beth's forehead. "We're not going to do anything much. That's for next time."

Beth frowns. "You're joking, right?"

Her friend pauses, releasing her grasp those arms. After a beat: "Of course I am, Beth."

"G-good," says Beth, daringly putting her hands on Charlotte's shoulders. "I'd like it if you asked me about these things. First. Before you do them."

"Okay," said Charlotte, looking confused. This was not how her best friend acted... ever. It was always Charlotte coming up with the idea and Beth going along because her ideas were fucking awesome.

"Also I'd like... I'd like it if you were my girlfriend. Because it's like you said: 'We were meant for each other, and that's why we found one another when we were four.'"

Charlotte purses her lips together. "I don't know if that's the best idea."

Beth's ideas are never the best ideas. "Why not?"

"We'd ruin what we'd have if we labeled it. We already know where we stand."

Beth inhales sharply. She wants to say no. She wants to tell Charlotte so, so badly that she doesn't want to go into this like the experiment that is supposed to be the opposite of one. Because, oh, god, she really cares for Charlotte and wants to make this work.

So instead, she says nothing, and lets Charlotte kiss her.

Verity touchds at her wrists, making sure she she had herself back. She hatesd being trapped like that. Hated it, hated it, hated it...

It was 12:01 AM, apparently, and Verity wanted nothing more than to slap both Charlotte and her younger self across the face. She felt so angry, and needed to vent her frustration somehow. There are no books or movies here to play with, so she hopped furiously out of the tree. After retrieving the arrows she loosed earlier, Verity headed off to kill whatever AI beast the game sent near her.

[trueverity]

Quest: Profound Bond

Verity thought she might have started making some friends, but she managed to mistrust herself all the while just wanting this. These people seemed nice, and interesting, but Verity felt like this unnaturally natural setting offered a bizarre boundary between her and everyone else. By now, what if everyone was all buddy buddy and excluding her? The nominal alliances that she had made... those could mean absolutely nothing if nobody trusted her. Okay, she needed to get in on this game, and as soon as possible.

Hastily, Verity made her way towards Delantu. She moved fast, not taking breaks if she could help it. A part of her wished for some sort of spell like Longstrider to expedite her walking speed. Yeah, that would be much appreciated right now. She missed having things to keep her entertained besides her bow and food. Music was hard to come by, and she did not have any books here to call her own. All there were were monstrous animals. She bumped into a few on her way up to Delantu, and dispatched with them. Some antsy-looking players were within sight too, but she did her best to stay the heck away from such menacing looking folks.

She reached Delantu's outskirts. Of course she could not expect to see Nix amongst the bustling folks all over here. What could she do? Verity sent a brief message to her acquaintance/friend so they might not wander all around the area in confusion all day.