*********************************************************************************************************
"So, how many times did you die total?" Darlia asked Meliadol when he entered the Guild Hall. The lithe Blade Dancer was seated on a stool at the bar, one foot propped up on the crossbar of a nearby chair.
Meliadol ignored her, walking past the woman to the Guild Board where he opened up his UI.
Turn in Scenario Guild Quest?
Yes No
He clicked 'Yes' and a golden glow erupted from his character and at the same time a short sound, like that of a bell, filled his ears. He had leveled up. The experience he had gotten for completing the quest was quite hefty indeed and did much to dispel his bad mood.
"Grats on your ding." Darlia intoned from behind.
And like that, his bad mood returned full force.
But Meliadol still said nothing, instead he continued to stare at the post stuck to the Board. The words shifted around on the paper, rearranging themselves, twisting and fading, becoming a new quest. The words glowed bright red before settling.
A Quest 'chain', huh?
Scenario Guild Quest pt. 2: Scout the Benefactor
Accept Decline
Meliadol hesitated a moment. Though he knew that the system would never offer him a quest too far beyond his level range, up until now, he had been following the advice of Bast. His indecision lasted only the span of a heartbeat before he quickly hit 'accept'. Not everything depended on the berserker.
The words rearranged themselves once more.
Read the Sealed Letter and Investigate the truth with one other guild member.
One other guild member? So it was a two-man scenario. Who should he take? After a moment of thought, Meliadol decided to worry about it later, instead opening up his inventory to pull out the Sealed Letter he had gotten from the first guild quest.
With a flick of his nail, he pried the wax seal open.
You presume much, orc. Do not forget the hand that feeds you. We did not help you out for you to sit in a castle to grow fat. This is your last chance. Bring the item to Laughing Pass within the tenday. We will be waiting.
The Red Duke
New Scenario Area available at the Scenario Gate!
Quest updated: Scout Laughing Pass with a guild member
"Are you mad at me?" Darlia asked, her voice right behind his ear, and Meliadol almost jumped in place.
His surprise quickly gave way to anger.
"One question." he responded, dismissing the letter back into his inventory before whirling on the Blade Dancer, who had stepped back, her flame red hair covering half her face, "Exactly how many times did you assume I was going to die on my last quest?"
Her one visible eye crinkled, and Meliadol suspected she was smiling under the bandages over her face, "Oh, you know. He bet you could do it in under ten deaths. I bet over, of course."
"So your advice…?" he let the question hang, compelling her to fill in the blanks.
"…is good advice?" she suggested innocently.
Meliadol shook his head, refusing to take her bait. He had walked into that face first. In a way, she wasn't wrong. It was good advice. Remember that this is a a game that rewards skill. That it wasn't only about numbers, though they were also important.
Yes, it was good advice in the same generic vein of 'it's a good idea to turn your stove off before leaving the house', and 'take breaks whenever you're playing a game for an extended amount of time. But common sense, despite the definition, was usually exceedingly rare.
He pursed his lips, not wanting to give her satisfaction by continuing that line of conversation, "I didn't die at all after that. I cleared it in eight total deaths. Thanks to your advice, of course."
Her one visible eye widened in slightly before settling back into its normal apathetic state, "Guess that actually is a thousand gold lost then. Bast will be happy that you managed."
"Yeah, good try getting me killed."
Darlia didn't look ashamed at all, as much as he could tell from the top half of her face visible above the bandages. "A good attempt. Thousand gold is a thousand gold. It was solid advice though, even if it had nothing to do with how you actually solve the puzzle."
"I didn't use the climbing spot under the tower. I only discovered it after I got the letter."
"Then how'd you complete the quest?" The confusion on her face was genuine.
When he told her how he did it, describing it in excruciating detail, with lots of hand gestures and embellishment, he finally got his true reward. She looked at him as if she was unironically impressed. In that moment Meliadol basked fully in the glow. Rubbing success in someone's face was much better than experience or rare items sometimes.
"There was supposed to be one solution to the quest. Bast designed it in the Guild Quest creator to train new guildies to think outside the box and pay attention to their environment."
"He succeeded in that regard."
"Yeah, I guess he did." Darlia agreed. She looked at Meliadol for a hard moment. "Say, you staying online for a bit?"
"Yeah, why?" He didn't have work tomorrow, so he could afford to stay on all night.
"Want help with the second part of the guild quest chain? It's supposed to be a two-man event."
Meliadol's first reaction was an immediate and resounding "No.". He was still a little peeved at her for setting him up for failure just to win a bet. But the more he thought it over, the more he realized that the Blade Dancer had helped him out a lot, in her own kitten-covered-in-spikes sorta way.
Still…
"Why are you offering?" he said suspiciously.
"Is it odd for a guildmate to offer their help to a fellow guildmate?" Darlia's one visible eyebrow shot up questionably, "Nevergarden isn't meant to be played alone. Besides, you and I are the only ones in the guild up at this time of night. If not me, then who else?"
She wasn't wrong. Besides the two of them and the NPC Bartender and Piano Player, the Guild Hall was completely empty. Meliadol had taken longer to complete the first quest than he had thought.
"I could wait until tomorrow." Meliadol pointed out, more so just to be obstinate than any real intention to actually do it.
Darlia dismissed it easily. "You won't."
He hated being read so thoroughly, but the Blade Dancer was, as usual, right. He wanted to play, and the elation of his success had yet to fade.
"Fine." he conceded, "But I'm in charge. I don't want to be carried."
Darlia gave a mock bow, "I am but a mindless sword for you to swing."
Meliadol rolled his eyes at that, "Whatever." But a small smile betrayed him.
He sent her an invite, but she unexpectedly declined it. "Wait," Darlia said in response to his confused look, "We should take a quick bio. I need to take a shower and feed my cats. Meet back up in fifteen?"
His stomach was rumbling. He really had been on the previous quest for a long time. A quick break sounded nice right now. "Sure, I'll get something to eat then."
"Sounds good."
Darlia logged off, her avatar vanishing into nothing and after a moment, Meliadol followed suit.
All that was left was the quiet melodies of the piano playing softly and the steady clink of glasses as the NPC bartender cleaned.
*********************************************************************************************************