“Sorry Atlas. I can’t give you a quest until level six. You can return then. I’d suggest finding some people to party with. That should help with the slow speed of your killing.”
“That should work! There an inn around here where I might find some help?”
“You can try The Blushing Fairy. It’s down the street two blocks on the left. I’m sure the sign will give it away. They attract many types of people. Just be careful what you get mixed up in,” Proth warned.
“I’ll do just that,” Atlas said as he left out the door with a final thanks.
Atlas followed the druid’s directions and headed directly for The Blushing Fairy. The sign outside showed a humorous depiction of a fairy woman in a Marilyn Monroe pose holding her skirt or flowers down. A rosy red color filled her cheeks.
He was right. Pretty obvious. Atlas chuckled to himself.
Pushing through the door, the smell of wood smoke and a sour tinge assaulted his nose. The sour smell he couldn’t quite place, but judging by the lack of cleaning evident in the room, he assumed it was from soured alcohol.
Atlas scanned the room and spotted two people with names that stood out sitting together. One was a level 6 person named Skullcrusher, and the other was a level 6 named Hercules. Not very creative on the names, but don’t seem like names from the game itself.
He approached their table and waved as they looked at him.
“Hey guys. You questing here as well?”
They looked at each other and then the one named Skullcrusher answered.
“Sure are. Haven’t seen many others from the real world yet. You just get here?”
“Sure did. You two are the first outsiders I’ve talked to. How you liking the game?”
“Lots of fun. They are a little stingy with the gear and weapons, though. The cost of everything makes it difficult to move fast. That’s some nice gear for such a low level. Where’d you get it?” Hercules asked.
“Made it. I’m a Leatherworker.”
“How in the world did you save up money for that? I’m not even halfway to a profession yet,” Skullcrusher grumbled.
Atlas opened his mouth to tell them about the free profession thing, but decided against it. I don’t know these guys, so I’ll keep that to myself. These games always become competitions and if I can keep hold of the market in town for longer, I’ll be set.
“I spent a lot of time grinding before coming here. Didn’t do a lot of quests and leveled the hard way. Gave me plenty of stuff to sell. Now it just takes too long to kill stuff. You guys need a healer to run quests with? I can make you guys some armor with stuff we kill. Seems like a good tradeoff?”
The two shared a look again before both smiled and Skullcrusher answered, “That sounds great. You have any open quests right now? We have two fetch quests. One is for panther fur and the other is for Hippoblooms.”
“Haven’t searched the city for quests yet. Think you can share them if we are in a party?” Atlas asked.
“Yeah. We do it all the time. We split up and each gather quests in different parts of town and then share them. Sit down and get some food with us and we can go grind out these quests,” Hercules told him.
Atlas agreed and sat for a meal. He ordered roast, and a barmaid brought out a mug of yellowish liquid and a chunk of meat on a wooden platter. The drink itself was very bitter and after the initial coughing spell, Atlas couldn’t imagine drinking anymore of it. The roast wasn’t bad, but it had a stringy texture to it. He decided he didn’t want to know what animal it came from. The food gave him a small buff though.
You gain 1 Stamina for the next hour due to Pleasingly Full buff.
So food gives unique benefits. Definitely need to invest in the cooking skill.
Each paid for their respective meals and Atlas followed them from the inn. They traveled toward the northern end of the city. The path they chose was almost identical to his earlier passage. When they reached the wall, one guard turned to examine them. His brows creased in concentration as he examined Skullcrusher and Hercules, but when he spotted Atlas, he hurried over to him.
“Well met druid. Can I trouble you for assistance?”
“Sure. What can I help you with?” Atlas asked.
Before the guard responded Hercules chimed in, “He’s going to ask you to kill foxes for him. Think it was eight of them, wasn’t it?” he asked as he turned to Skullcrusher for confirmation.
The other man merely nodded in agreement. The guard picked up as though they hadn’t spoken.
“Some nearby farmers have been complaining about foxes stealing all their chickens and eggs. Can you help us thin the menace and kill some?”
Quest - Cock Thieves
Requirements
• Level 5
Quest Rarity: Common
Quest Reward: 80 experience, 40 copper coins.
Description: A guard in Lairthyn asked you to eliminate foxes pestering the farmers. Kill 8 foxes to complete the quest.
Do you wish to accept this quest? Yes/No.
Atlas selected Yes and turned to the others.
“You were right. It’s eight.”
“Thought so. Oh before we forget, let’s party up so we can share our quests,” Hercules said. The fighter stared ahead into nothing for a few moments as his hands danced in the air. It looked like he was pressing buttons on a menu.
You have been invited to join Hercules’ party. Do you wish to join the party? Yes/No.
Atlas selected Yes and looked at the two players. He could now see one labeled as a Warrior and the other showed to be an Assassin. When he focused on them, a small icon appeared in his vision and showed him the amount of HP and Mana they had available. Nice. I bet that’s how I target them for spells.
He looked up and saw Hercules still moving his hands, and more messages showed up.
Hercules shared the quest Blooming Giants.
Hercules
