Arolitic

Despite being exposed to the air, the sand was still soaked. Water bubbled up and out each time their boots and feet pressed into the sand. They left deep prints in the sand that were filled with seawater. Sachiko tersely warned them of the danger of quicksand that often appeared where the ocean had receded. But the warning fell upon deaf ears, at least in the case of Lumikki who dismissed Sachiko as 'worrying over nothing'. Fish were lucky enough to be swept away with the parting of the waves, but sedentary creatures like starfish and snails were less lucky, left on the sand under the cruel gaze of the burning sun. Sachiko felt a pang of guilt for leaving them where they were but she didn't have time to intervene as the group quickly made their way down the path. Nature would just have to take its course. Roxy was slowly getting more and more frustrated. Every attempt she made to talk to her sister was dismissed. She could save them Permoskyths knows how much time if the other would

Lumikki hummed happily as she marched along the beach, swinging her arms - and Roxy's as she held her hand fast. The other grumbled loudly but didn't snatch her hand back. This left Sachiko and Zaniah to trail quietly behind them. Zaniah threw cautious and curious glances towards the woman who walked besides her. She noticed that the other began to send similar glances back to her. Perhaps she should try to start a conversation- “So what do you do for a living?” Asked Lumikki who had suddenly stopped humming and was now looking over her shoulder at the other two. The sudden question surprised Zaniah, mostly because she was certain that Lumikki was in a world of her own. It wasn't exactly a difficult question to answer normally, but she was uncertain as to how to approach it in front of the two sisters. "I'm a musician." She finally answered. That seemed to thrill Lumikki who let go of Roxy's hand to full turn to face Zaniah and grasp her hands instead. "Really?" Lumikki's eyes

Explore the Mire Desert Sounded easy enough on paper. Just hop on a wagon and trail through the desert. Simple. "AA! It's got me!" Vulture turned sharply at Scout's cry. The other was trapped in the mandibles of a giant desert centipede. Her arms flailed as she desperately hit at the creature's head. There was no way she could get out of that on her own. The centipede started to pull itself back under the sand as Scout screamed louder. Vulture had to act quick. She crossed the short distance in a few strides and with one swift strike of her sword, she severed the insect in half. Scout yelled in surprise as the top half of the insect fell backwards and released her tumbling into the sand. Gross black blood squelched beneath Vulture's boots, clinging to their soles, as she walked over to Scout's fallen body. The rest of the swarm had already dispersed after Scout had been captured. The two were safe for now. Scout's chest heaved as she panted, staring blankly at the sky as Vulture

The caves were deep and expansive. They ran under most of the map. You could enter by Cloudshaven and keep walking until you reach the Icebound mountains. Wasn't much of a short cut - and it wasn't much safer than travelling up top. If anything it was more dangerous. But the caves and mining tunnels were filled to the brim with hidden treasure - stored there by bandits and that which grew naturally. That was the whole reason Vulture found herself deep in the caverns, seeking gems and treasures. "Why are we here again?" Whined Scout. "We need more gems." Vulture shortly answered. "But we have plenty! We don't have room to wear anymore jewellery and your enchantment slots are all maxed out." Vulture pointedly ignored her as she examined a cluster of bright orange crystals. They seemed to glow in the low light and drew in Vulture like a moth. She reached out, her fingers grazing the smooth surface of the gem. It snapped at its base and the large fragment fell on to the ground with a

In retrospect trying to make their own armour probably wasn't the best idea. It was not an easy task. Trust DREAM-ONLINE to come up with the most convulsed smithing system of any game Vulture's ever played. You needed actual knowledge of smithing to get anywhere she swore! At the very least, gathering the materials was easy. Ore was common and easy to harvest - and had the added bonus of being inedible so there was no chance she’d lose supplies down Scout’s gullet. Smelting said ore wasn’t that much harder, considering she’d just exchange ore for ingots from a smelter. Other materials she needed like leather were easily bought from various merchants. It was the damn smithing itself that Vulture hated. Melting down the iron and steel then manually hammering it into shape. It was tedious. The resounding ring of hammer on metal paused for a moment as Vulture wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had already shed her heavy berserker armour in favour of the linen shirt and leather

The book was a money saver. Potions and remedies were costing an arm and a leg on the market place, especially with how quickly they went through them on all these raids and adventures through hostile areas. Not to mention any loose change they get tends to be spent on food anyways - ("But it's so good Vulture! And I'm hungry!" "You are always hungry."). All they had to do was gather the required plants and follow the cooking instructions. Simple right? "Stop that!" Vulture smacked Scout across the back of her head. -15HP flashed above her head as the force caused her to spit out the berries she was chewing on. "Ow!" Scout whined. "What was that for?!" "Stop eating our ingredients." Scout pouted but Vulture sternly ignored her. Luckily the bush that grew the berries that just disappeared into Scout's mouth, was a rather common plant and it didn't take long for Vulture to find another one and pick the correct amount of berries - storing them safely in her own personal inventory

"What's next on the list?" Scout asked casually as she plunged more arrows into a defenceless goob which was unfortunate enough to cross her path. Vulture grumbled a response as she pulled out their now joint Quest Log. "Next main quest is level locked." She informed her companion. A loud - and frankly unnecessary - groan left Scout. "How many under?" "About five." Scout took out another goob, this time foregoing her weapon and using her boot to dispose of the poor thing. Her violent murder only gained her a measly +1 EXP. Shit. "We need to do side quests." Said Vulture. As Scout did not argue with her - too busy stomping on more unfortunate goobs in a futile attempt to raise her level - Vulture took the initiative and selected a side quest for the pair. Hmm which one? 'Kill 1000 Goobs' Heh, Scout was well on her way to completing that one but they needed quick EXP and quick quest completion, that one would just take too long. 'Visit the Guild Hall' Sounded easy enough on paper

The game sparked to life and the tavern room in Dream Home came into view. … Huh, that was weird. Scout could’ve sworn she had last saved in Cloudshaven. Did the patch accidentally erase her save file? That was a pain. Just the thought of trekking through the desert again - never mind the Dark Woods - made her want to turn the game off. At least she could distract herself with side quests - and she could see Princess again! A win-win as far as she was concerned. Determination relit in her chest, Scout left the room in a hurry, not pausing to notice the strange lack of items and decoration in the room. The first omen was missed. The tavern was deathly quiet and bizarrely dark. All signs that would make anyone question their surroundings. But not Scout, who chalked it up to merely ‘strange patch stuff’ and continued on her merry way. It was not until she stood in the main room of the tavern that Scout finally caught on that something wasn’t right. Princess wasn’t in her usual spot.