Winning Vote is Full Party, 2 Potions and an Amrita
Ugh, well you have to admit there is some draw to having someone who's clearly been to at least one dungeon around… and if you want to convince others you should probably start with Maya… You expect she won't have a hard time convincing most of these guys of anything. Apparently the gods are perv's cause her starter armor(is it starter armor?) looks more like a something you saw in the window of a fetish shop once before Mom dragged you away and yelled at you for wandering off.
She cocks her head to the side as you approach her table, her narrow eyes widening just a bit as you approach her. She has rather pretty red eyes. Wait no. that's irrelevant. You also feel like a mouse in front of a cat, or maybe a piece of meat in front of a predator…. Do you need an adult?
No, no, no stupid brain, you are an adult, and you will handle this in an adult fashion. You approach her table with what you are pretty sure is a confident stride, and take a seat across from the other woman before speaking, deliberately lowering your voice a bit to sound more masculine. "You should totally form a party with me." You say bluntly. Ah wait… you're pretty sure you're supposed to start with something like Hi, or maybe by introducing yourself, crap, you knew you should have put points into charisma, and now she's going to think your weird…
Wait she's laughing, is that good or bad? It doesn't sound mocking. You recognize mocking. She raises a hand to cover her mouth muffling the sound, and once she has herself under control she speaks up. "Ah, how bold. I suppose that can be fine too. You'll have to excuse me, I was surprised."
"Yeah it's fine, that was kinda abrupt." You reply sheepishly, at least she wasn't put off by it. "So um… anyway, Are you interested?"
She regards you for a moment and you fidget in your seat, she kind of makes you feel like a little kid even though you are pretty sure that both of you are the same age. "I would be fine with that. I was hoping to get an early start today, and I suppose it can't hurt to reward your boldness a little. You already know, but I'm Maya, Please take care of me." She holds out her hand for a clasp as she finishes speaking, and offers you a small smile.
You fumble for words for a moment and awkwardly clasp her hand. Wh-what the hell, it's got to be some kind of witchcraft, you don't even like other women, is this the power of a high charisma? How terrifying. "Al, I'm Al, I'll be in your care too, I guess?"
"Nice to meet you. Did you want to get going now then? Or were you looking to get a meal first?" A pane of mystic script appears in the corner of your vision, something about a party being formed, either way you can see Maya's Health and SP now, she actually doesn't have much more health than you do, she must have used her stats differently.
"Wait go now? I thought we would want to get more people first?" You ask, tearing your eyes away from the new information displayed.
Maya purses her lips and shakes her head, "Really the low level dungeons aren't very difficult, it seems a waste to have to split the rewards more than necessary. You can only access each dungeon once a day after all."
Oh, you didn't know that, crap, you look like a total newb. "Still a few extra hands can't hurt right?" You aren't really sure of your ability to convince anyone else to join you , so you want Maya on board for this.
"Ah, I suppose it couldn't hurt. I could use an easy day…" She replies, casting a considering eye over the rest of the tavern, "Who else did you have in mind?"
"Well I was thinking we could talk to the girl in the corner there." You respond, nodding in Seraphine's direction.
Maya glances discreetly at the other girl and cocks her head to the side, "Why? She's a fire elementalist, that means you'll be competing for the same treasure…" She pauses looking at you oddly, and it just makes you even more fidgety, wait, why are her eyes sparkling like that. You don't like that expression. "Ah I see, no wonder you were so bold in approaching me. You want to make sure you have someone higher level in your group to her impress her, right?"
"Uh… what, no that's…" You fumble over your words, and she pats you on the head, still smiling that weird smile.
"That's adorable, I'll help you out, but we're snagging the cutie by the bar afterword, That way we can both get what we want!" She is way too cheerful, but she's already getting up and walking to Seraphine, you hurry and follow, feeling vaguely like you've just been run over by a wagon.
The other elementalist for her part blinks in surprise at Maya's approach and blushes heavily when her eyes flick down to the Hunter's mostly exposed… assets. You are never equipping a job with equipment like that, nope, not at all. "Um.. hello, did you need something miss…?"
"Oh, my friend and I were just wondering if you wanted to join our little party. Even with the job matching I think it could be pretty fun, right?" Maya asks easily, sliding into a chair across from the embarrassed elementalist.
"I-I guess? I haven't actually been to a dungeon yet, I did some quests with my friend. Why did you want me in your party if you already have an elementalist though?" She asks, her voice gradually growing quieter as she talks, until you can barely hear her.
"Well, Al here wanted to talk to you. He seemed pretty interested in grouping with you. Why don't you speak up Al, you're part of the party too." Maya goes right on, as if the girl wasn't shrinking into her robes more by the second.
Wait, what is even happening, does she think…. You can't keep up with this lady. You manage to at least remain composed this time. You manage to catch Seraphine's eye and try to give a friendly smile, "I just figured it would be good to have twice the fire power you know? Even if our effects counter each other a bit, if we just aim at different targets it won't be a problem. I um… I don't mind splitting any elementalist stuff with you." You actually didn't think of that as an issue, but you can hardly back down without looking like a jerk now.
Stop giggling Maya! You're starting to regret this, you have a feeling she isn't going to let this idea go. "So there you have it. Partners for the day?"
Seraphine's eyes dart between the two of you, and she nods very slightly, "Sure, if the two of you don't mind? I'm Seraphine, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Maya… Al." She still sounds kind of nervous and subdued.
You catch Rolf walking across the tavern as Seraphine begins to get up… ah crap he's going to talk with Jack, Maya wants to get Anshelm first though… you suppose it was a little arrogant to think you could get almost everyone free on your team right away, you kinda didn't think of any of them pairing up on their own and oh crap you have to catch up with your group, they're already on their way to the bar. You catch up in time to hear Maya greeting him.
"Hello there, I couldn't help but notice that you're all alone up here. My friends and I were hoping we could convince you to party with us, we could use someone tough to take the front lines." She gives him that smile that makes your stomach feel fuzzy, and you can't help but wonder once again what you've gotten yourself into.
For his part he holds his composure at least as well as you did in the face of concentrated charm, but his scowl slips a little and he blinks, tearing his eyes away from the woman smiling at him to glance over at you and Seraphine, you smile weakly, and Seraphine bows her head, "Is- is that so." His voice sounds about as high as yours normally does, at least until he recovers, it's kind of funny watching someone else use the same voice deepening trick. "I guess I might be able to help you out. You three look like you could use a warrior." He seems to brighten up a bit at that, and you catch him glancing at the other warrior in the establishment, the much larger Rolf.
"We really do, the three of us just aren't made for that kind of thing, we definitely need someone willing to brave the enemies blows for us. Isn't that right?" Maya says cheerfully.
You blink and answer without thinking, "Yeah, I mean both of us are really kinda squishy ya know? On the other hand Seraphine and I can really help you out with groups and Maya should be able to kill tough enemies really fast."
Seraphine speaks up quietly as well, "We would really appreciate the help sir."
Maya casts an amused glance over at you two and leans forward, drawing Anshelms eyes inexorably to her chest, its kind of hard to ignore…. Those when they're right at eye level, "Like they said, we would make a good team, and besides the sooner we get started the more we can get done today, right?"
Anshelm remains rather admirably composed, even if he is kind of talking to Maya's chest at this point. "Yeah, sure, that seems like a pretty good idea. I don't really know anyone around here, so getting a party together was going to be a pain." He trails off sounding like he just noticed what he said and scowls, eyes coming up to meet Maya's and staying there as his scowl resurfaces. "I mean, yeah, you obviously need someone strong to protect you."
OH he's adorable when he puffs out his chest and tries to look manly! You clamp down on your urge to squeal and hug him. Something tells you that would be counterproductive right now. His name pops up under yours on the party pane….. cripes he has as much health as you and Maya combined, he must have really stacked constitution.
"Great! I'm Maya, and this is Al, pleased to be working with you." You blink and turn your eyes away from the numbers and nod a greeting yourself.
Seraphine bows her head again as she introduces herself, "Seraphine, pleased to meet you."
Anshelm grunts and thumps himself on the chest… well the dinged up metal breastplate of his starter armor, "Anshelm. I'm the best warrior you'll meet." You glance back over at the others… it looks like Rolf and Jack partied up. You'll get your full party another day it seems…
The four of you set out from the tavern, Maya had been ready to go by the time you got there and Anshelm and Seraphine had already eaten, and well… you're kind of hungry but you can eat the quick meal the Innkeeper gave you before you left while you walk, nice guy that one, said something about a first time freebie. Anyway You've been fed… or are in the process of feeding, and are listening to Maya discuss which dungeons are in your level range and are relatively close to the city. No point in wandering too far just yet. Wandering Monsters are a real threat the further out you go, and they can be all sorts of high levels sometimes.
"…So since we have a nice little group here, I think our best bets are one of these three." You tune back in fully to what Maya is saying. She has a panel up that all three of you can see… some kind of party function, it has a short list of dungeons, ones Maya has encountered herself? You think so that's pretty helpful.
"First is the Goblin Glade, its very good for beginners, I think it's been left uncleared just so new branded can get a little practice. The level cap on the E rank version is three though, so I won't be able to go much longer."
Your curiosity wars with your desire to seem knowledgeable for a moment and fails utterly. "Level cap? E Rank? What does any of that mean, isn't a dungeon a dungeon?"
Anshelm nods, it looks like he wants to know too even if he's too proud to ask. Maya blinks and looks sheepish, "Right, you three are completely new. Dungeons have caps on the level of people who can enter them. Its why the really high level branded can't just endlessly beat on weak dungeons for treasure. As for E rank… that's the rank all dungeons start at. Once you've beaten it at that rank it unlocks the next rank, if you clear a dungeon on S rank it's possible to clear and disperse it! That's a bit beyond us at the moment though."
You nod seriously, and catch Anshelm copying you, you stick your tongue out at him, and he scowls back, Seraphine is too shy to do more than nod now and then to acknowledge Maya"Alright that makes sense, I was wondering how there were any dungeons left if just clearing them once made them go away. Anyway, what are the other dungeons?"
Maya looks rather amused at your byplay with Anshelm, but doesn't say anything, "The next one is the Wailing Cavern, it's mostly beast type enemies but the level cap is a little higher, so they tend to be a little more difficult than the goblins. Third we have the Crystal Lake… it has a cap of seven though and I haven't been inside, we might not want to do that one first."
You frown and point out the other two dungeons on the list, "What about these ones? The Lost Graveyard and the Devil's Eye?"
Maya shakes her head, "Those ones would be a bad idea to take on right away… The Graveyard is… dangerous, and the enemies ice resistant and the Devil's Eye has a reputation for killing new branded who try it, plus it has a level cap of twelve. I really think we should begin on one of the other three. Probably the Goblin Glade so we can get used to each other."
Funny, she isn't laying on the charm or being playful right now, she also looked kind of sad when you mentioned the graveyard. Your great social skills tell you maybe you shouldn't poke that. Anshelm speaks up, "I think we could handle going right to the caverns." He boasts, "I can handle whatever a bunch of monsters dish out."
Seraphine fidgets, both hands clutched nervously around her staff, "I, um. I like Maya's idea, if we do the easy one first we can still do the others later right?"
Ah, now they're looking at you, where do you want to go first? And if its an odd choice, how will you convince them?
[] Write In
Party UI
Al Lv1
Ice Elementalist E
Health 50/50
SP 50/50
Maya Lv3
Dual Blade Hunter E
Health 53/53
Sp 30/30
Seraphine Lv2
Fire Elementalist E
Health 44/44
Sp 55/55
Anshelm Lv1
Spear Warrior E
Health 110/110
SP 25/25
