Cherry Heart: A Quest Based RP [Main Thread/IC/Starting/Currently Not Accepting/Co-hosted by Skaia]

[Alaina]

 

The rest of the day had gone by without much incident, thankfully. Fen was sure that she had had enough excitement for one day and, in addition to just wanting to help out, offered to help Celica cook dinner to do something to calm herself down from their earlier exploration. With the secretary's approval, Fen had gone off to begin preparations while she had handled whatever kind of paper work that she needed to get done. Once that was dealt with, the night had come and gone, leaving everyone to their own devices, with the girl going to sleep on one of the sort of beds that they currently had. 

 

When the next day had come, it appeared as though everyone else had managed to return from their own quests. Fen was both relieved to see everyone had made it, though had then been reminded at how both weird and scary the members of her guild actually looked like. While she was a bit nervous to sit among all of the others here, Celica had called them all in to discuss something with them. The girl listened and, while not entirely sure what the Guild Points were, it seemed that they were doing quite well with them. With news of being able to rank up soon, the girl couldn't help but feel herself get caught up in the excitement as well, only to peter out as she went over the discovery of the underground labyrinth with them. 

 

Soon enough, Celica had let them go on their way and take on whatever new quests they felt to take on today. Fen wasn't exactly eager to shoot to the quest board and check what was there, nor was she even sure what she would be able to do. While fixing up the guild was always an option, she knew she didn't join this guild to simply be a housekeeper. Though, as she thought about why she had, she remembered what quest the guild had taken on. As she looked around, her nerves only started to grow as she remembered that the guild master had been out. As she couldn't locate the other one who had went on that quest, her eyes simply rested on the blond haired boy. While he hadn't seemed to be upset with her since last they met, he still gave off quite the imposing aura which made Fen quite uncomfortable. However, she wished to know something important. And so, with a deep gulp, she walked over to the boy saying, "um, V-vincent. H-how was your, um, quest- er, how did it go, uh, yesterday?" 

[Hälō]

Vincent brandished a vacant expression as he gazed blankly forward during the entirety of the morning briefing. Only tuning in upon hearing the news about the dungeon under the building, and the fact that the guild only needed a few more ports to rank up, the boy was in his own little world for the most part.

 

When the gathering was dismissed, the he yawned before lazily making his way over to the quest board. As he scanned for board for anything that tickled his fancy, the boy felt a cold sensation lightly nuzzle the back of his neck.

 

"um, V-vincent. H-how was your, um, quest- er, how did it go, uh, yesterday?" 

 

"Yo, Fen..." Recognizing her aura before even hearing her voice, Vince spun around to meet the tiny ice mage's gaze. "Actually..." He placed his back against the quest board whilst crossing his arms. Images of yesterday's adventure rolled through the boy's head in a quick slideshow; the horrid shape the ship was left in, Jin almost being turned to dust, Sylvia's bust resting gently atop his head whilst they fired their combined arrow, and finally, waking up in the back of the carriage on the way home, soaked and drained from the extensive use of his soul... 

 

"It was a total s*** show." He stated bluntly whist studying Fen's expression. Was she always this flustered? "Cloud boy almost didn't make it. The boss lady threatened to throw me overboard, and there was this little guy with a funny accent that wouldn't stop... talking." He cringed at the memory of Mack. "It's been a while since I fought something that big though, so I guess it was worth it.

 

How about yourself?"

[Hakima]

Jīn Chánzǐ wasn’t sure what stung more; the third degree burns, or his near failure on his very first quest for the guild. He was sitting cross-legged atop Péng, hovering ten feet (3.04 meters) in the air, above the rest of his guildmates. His right arm was propped up on his knee, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, his brow furrowed by his intense thinking session. His loose-fitting clothing still had the scorch marks from his encounter with the wyvern, and certain areas around his chest were still blotchy and bright red, similar to a bad sunburn. “I don’t mean to question Zōngshī Wukong, but sometimes, I wonder if he forgets that I am still a mortal, even whilst under his influence,” he mused to Péng.

 

He knew that they had been called to the guild hall for a discussion, but the Sealed Spirit user struggled to wrest his mind away from the fact that he had almost died the day before. Death was… scary, if he was to be completely honest. Knowing that his quest could be ended so easily didn’t sit well with him. Who would perform the rites to free his soul and send him along? He had heard talk that Arbolians put their dead on a boat and shipped them off to sea, lighting the boat on fire as it departed.

 

Péng wobbled beneath him. Jīn nodded, smiling. “Yes, no point in dwelling for now. We still have to thank Vincent and Guildmaster Flo for saving us back there.” He spotted Vincent across the way somewhat, just beginning a conversation with a young blue-haired girl. Péng flew over to them, but Jīn, not wanting to be inconsiderate, decided he would wait until their conversation was done. He had no plans to listen in on the conversation they were having, either.

 

Jīn scooted back, getting into a more comfortable position. He took a meditative posture, closing his eyes. A second passed. Jīn shifted again. The quest board was close-by, and he cracked one eye open to peek at it. Jīn’s conscious kicked in. No, no, he had to properly thank Vincent for his aid. He was sure that something like that was customary for all cultures… but the idea of a new quest and new faces excited him.

 

Slowly, Péng began to drift away, closer to the quest board. If Jīn coincidentally noticed, leaning out over the edge of the cloud to peek at the quests… well, he was sure Vincent would make his way to the board in his own time.

[mitchermitcher]

Celica's Room/Auburn
Serial escalation wasn't quite the right term but Auburn thought that it almost described why he was currently sitting, kneeling, on top of an older(?) woman's bed waiting for her to return, and there was something very wrong with that image, he felt. All he wanted was a light back massage, right? Yet he had a feeling this wasn't quite a usual situation for most boys his age.
 
But it was just some clumsy secretary person, so he only almost felt nervous about it. In order to distract himself from feeling fidgety(which he wasn't) he looked around the room, inhaling in whatever detail he could use to infer anything about the older, unexpectedly mysterious girl. All he could tell was that she probably smelled nice. And liked to read.
 
"Ah, pardon me! Getting the beds ready for the others took longer than expected." The girl's sudden intrusion into her own room almost made him jump. Celica looked eager enough to begin, as she closed the door behind her. As for he, Auburn tried to look as arrogant as he could be while kneeling submissively. "Ah, you kept me waiting."
 

 
"Hey uh, Miss Secretary, where did you...ah, learn this massaging technique?" The session had been ongoing for a while but in the last five minutes Auburn felt some strong inner compulsion made him ask. He wasn't quite sure but perhaps that inner compulsion was the feeling that his back was being broken mercilessly and mended repeatedly at the same time.
 
"Miss Flo taught me. Well... her proper technique was way rougher but she also taught me something that wouldn't displace your bones accidentally too. I'm still too inexperienced in this though!" He heard Celica let out an awkward laugh.
 
"Right, that makes...sense." Auburn half screamed as he heard a bone pop. "How did you meet? You two seem like an odd pairing."
 
"Miss Flo used to be the caretaker of the local cemetery, and I..." A pause. It was barely long enough to start feeling awkward when she continued. "When I'm visiting the grave of one of my distant relatives, we met... though it ended with Miss Flo almost throwing me off a cliff because she thought I was being rude back then. Nevertheless, I decided to visit her often and we became friends and...of course, we decided to recreate this guild together!"
 
"Was she related to your family somehow?" The odd silence didn't escape him but he felt best to not tackle it directly.
 
"Nah, she's a complete stranger to me or my family before this. I mean...I don't think anyone really has any ideas where she's even from and what was her deal outside of hanging around in the city side cemetery and turning it into a flower garden in the meantime." Wasn't the one being rude her then? "Buuut, let's not talk about that, shall we? Is this part still hurting for you?" As she spoke, Celica pressed on a spot that she knew Auburn probably would still feel pain from, deciding that continuing her massage would be a good distraction.
 
Immediately Auburn felt an immense sense of pain. "I swear you are doing this intentionally... Ever since leaving home, and especially today I've never experienced so much pain. God."
 
"Why didn't you stay there then?" The remark came so naturally Auburn himself paused for a bit.
 
"Well, that's.... I can't complain I suppose. I ran away of my own volition to learn magic." And the massage continued. "What about yourself? Why's a lone woman out by herself trying to run a magic guild alongside a uh...much more violent person."
 
"I'm an enterprising businesswoman. I thought this magic guild business is currently booming enough for me to try my luck on it, since I need the experience! But, preparing and managing it...is a lot more effort than I expected at first..."
 
"I meant uh...Well that matters little. Aside from Miss Guildmaster, perhaps you have other acquaintances you could ask around for assistance?"
 
"I'm fine on my own, really! I don't want to burden other people too much with this."
 
"If you insist... May fortune bless you, and all that. Think you're doing fine so far?"
 
"R-really, I'm fine! I'm looking fine as ever now, this is nothing! T-though...seeing everyone being able to do their cool things with their magic skills, I wish I can do those things too..."
 
"I meant, do you feel you are doing your job as a secretary competently... but, I very much understand." His admiration for magic temporarily clouded Auburn from the pain of Celica's massage, or the necessity of acting arrogant. "Magic really is amazing, I myself hope I'll get to the level everyone else is someday. So what if you can't do magic either? Worry not, I'm sure with effort we'll both get there."
 
"Y-yeah, it's just way too hard for me." Unfortunately the reply he got wasn't as enthusiastic as he hoped for.
 
"Well anyway...are you done?" With his bout of magical fascination done with and his mood returned to normal, he remembered the pain his body was going through. "I should be dying any time now."
 
"O-oh right! Just one more hit here, and here...and here too..." Celica did a chopping movement with her hand on some of Auburn's vital points to close off the session. "And done! You should stay here for the night though, I don't think you should walk around in this state."
 
"I'll...do that." He managed to get those words out before falling unconscious. At least the ordeal was over.
 

 
Upon waking up he found Celica sleeping beside him. It was night time and the lights were mostly out but from the open doorway he could see well enough. But it wasn't open before. Auburn groggily looked up and saw the guildmaster looking at them from a nearby desk. "This...is uh... not what it appears to be. You are misunderstanding... There is nothing going on here!" Whatever composure he was able to display before was absent, although he had it in him not to shout too loud.
 
He quickly got up, and heard several bones cracking and he was sure that shouldn't happen. But that aside, more pressing matters. Auburn quickly wore his leather shirt and coat that was conveniently within reach. Turning to the Guildmaster again, "She uh, was giving me a massage and I passed out just as she was done! I don't know why she was sleeping there either! Now, farewell!" Without waiting for his employer's reply he ran off.

 

 

The next day he took a look at the quest board and decided on a quest involving dream magic. After that he quickly retreated to his room to avoid both Celica and the guildmaster and stayed there for the rest of the day.

[Alaina]

 

Fen didn't gain any more comfort from the man's response to her, feeling both bad and sorry for the apparent hardships he had faced in squaring off against the wyvern. It made sense, given that wyverns were dangerous, but the overall journey sounded unpleasant. He then directed the question back to her, which made her recount the experience she had had yesterday. "It was," as she thought more on it she said, "well, the cleaning was fine, but, there were slimes. Auburn got set on fire. I, uh, I think there was a nest of monster too." The girl sounded quite defeated as she said, "I-it was awful, yeah." With both of them quite downtrodden now, the girl figured that it probably wasn't he best time to bring up what she had wanted to ask. Though, had she not asked now the opportunity was likely to have completely passed when next they would meet, and as such the girl tried to steel herself to ask. "U-um, w-well, sorry to hear things didn't go over well bu-but, did you um." The girl wasn't looking in his direction anymore, pressing her two index fingers together due to her nerves. "Did you happen to get uh, any wyvern parts of meat or anything?"

[Yui]

---

The second day of Lily's work with Cherry Heart had begun. Yesterday's quest with the mana lotuses had gone quite well, though unfortunately, the golem had been unable to get a seed sample to keep for herself. Something like yesterday's monster would have been quite the benefit if she was forced to fight. She would have been perfectly content to spend the day landscaping for the guild, setting up a garden or tending to whatever was already there. Because the guild was called Cherry Heart, Lily was thinking red plants. Perhaps a cross-breed of sunflowers and roses? It would also be good to advise the grass not to grow too tall unless any of the blades particularly liked getting mowed.

 

However, any dealings with the plants that were or could someday be in front of the guild's main building would have to wait. Celica had summoned up the guild members, having them all assemble in front of the quest board, in Flo's stead. Likewise, as the guildmaster was not here today, Celica was the one addressing them. It all boiled down to keeping up the good work, which was exactly what Lily planned on doing. As the guild members stepped up to pick out their quests, so did Lily. Her height gave her the benefit of being able to stay near the back of the crowd but still see her options for today. And there, among them, was another quest that was just her style.

 

A man needed ingredients from a forest to finish a medicine of some sort. Forests were perfect for Lily. With any luck, she could get some information from the trees, find the ingredients, and if monsters got in the way then hopefully a guildmate that could fight was also on the team. This time, however, if there was a fight, it would be in Lily's element. She liked this quest. As such, Lily made her decision. She was going to help scour the woods for this ingredient.

 

Quest Chosen: Scour the Woods (Rank D)

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

It wasn't long before Deku walked back towards Cherry Heart with Dmitri and Kasayee from their library mission. All went well, soooooome what. Oh sure, they got their target and stopped the thief, but in all honesty, Deku didn't want to make it back in that library for a LOOOOOOOOONG time. Ghosts in the basement? Paintings that talk with terrible puns, from what Dmitri said? And just the general book magic that the thief used...it was just too much. Not to mention they did a pretty extensive amount of damage to the library...not on purpose mind you.

 

Though Deku knew the first thing he needed after walking back into Cherry Heart: to wash himself and his clothes.

 

Ugh...the sooner I get the slime out of places it shouldn't be...I'll find a different quest to take. he thought before shaking his head. So long as it has nothing to do with libraries at all!!

 

 

-A Few Moments Later-

 

After cleaning himself off and changing his clothes, Deku walked back out with a mouthful of the food that he bought on the trek back to Cherry Heart from the library. Approaching the Quest Board, going down the list of a few of them.

 

Story for You...entering dreams? Ehhhh...not this time. Deku thought, leaving the gaze of that job. Hmm, actually...this one might be the better one. Scour the Woods, literally just a escort quest to help a guy with getting ingredients for his potion. And at least out in the forest, I can make some headway on punching things without the need to be careful of damage to anything.

 

With his mind made up, Deku shoved the last bit of the roll he bought into his mouth and accepted the quest. He threw his hands behind his head and was about to move away, before noticing a rock girl who seemed to be leaving the Quest Board. Honestly, he only was talking to Kayasee (if you call it that) and Dmitri. Branching out and speaking to other guild-members would be a good for him, he figured.

 

"Hey! Miss!" Deku quickly moved after the rock girl, smiling as he started walking beside her. "Don't think I've met ya. I'm Deku Shinobu. Nice to meet ya!"

[Astolfo]

Ro stared at the ceiling in his room blankly. Not needing to sleep was always awkward in a group of those who did. He tilted his head slightly to look out the window, still dark as ever, with the stars high in the sky. What was he even supposed to do till the morning? Ro pulled out the unusual orb he had stolen from the center of the plant beast the day before, rolling it around in his hands. It was cold and smooth to the touch, but the light it had once given off had died entirely. It was probably the source of the life for the monster, but then had promptly lost its energy upon removal. Frowning, he tossed the sphere up and down a few times, catching it again as it fell. On one particular toss, he threw it a bit too hard, sending it smashing through the wood in the upper ceiling and into the next room. Rolling his eyes, he stood up and lightly jumped on the bed, grabbing onto the edge of the hole he created. Inserting his arm to reach around for the orb, he found it quickly, landing back on his bed with it safely in hand.

 

At some point, he noticed it was brighter outside. The sun had still yet to rise, but the birds had awoken and the stars had faded. Along with that observation, Ro realized he had yet to bathe himself.

 

”Best to do it now then, when no one else is around.”

 

Ro opened up his window quietly, before stepping out of the second-story floor. Landing softly on the ground, he started making his way to the river. This was an easy way to avoid the others during the regular bathing times as well as get a breath of some fresh air.

 

At the riverbank, he looked around to check he was alone, listening to the ambient hum of insects and wildlife as well. They’d give away trespassers faster than sight would. After ascertaining the fact, he stripped off his clothes, laying them on a nearby stone. If others saw the multitude of webbed scars crisscrossing his arms, legs, chest, and back, it would only raise problematic questions. Easing into the water, the initial shock of the cold water sent an electric tingle through his body, but soon subsided. Splashing his face, Ro began to rinse off his arms and legs. Once he was satisfied, he simply laid back into the water, letting his hair drift out around him as he stared up into the heavens, his mind focusing elsewhere. Being alone, yet surrounded by life, was a serene feeling.

 

---

 

After an accidental run-in with the guildmaster and assistant secretary led to stern reprimanding, punishments, and him having to do favors to make it up for them, Ro was drained in every sense of the word.

 

Crawling out of his room with his clothes hapahazardly thrown back on, still not fully tied and clipped together, Ro limped his way out of the dorms. Somehow, Celica was faring far better than he was, excitedly giving the speech to welcome the second day and round of quests. Hobbling over to the boards where the quests would be pinned, his eyes flicked over them.

 

[spoiler=Listed Quests - Same as OOC Google Docs Link]Scour the Woods (Rank D)

Description: A man is looking for ingredients to help him create a new medicine. The forests are both confusing and treacherous for a single person to walk alone through, and as such they are in need of assistance from strapping young guild members.

Objective: Collect ingredients for a apothecary's new potion recipe.

Reward: 5 Guild Points, The Recipe

 

Master Chef: Prunus (Rank D)

Description: A competition is being held in Prunus. They are inviting all different kinds of teams to partake in a cook off. Participants must scour the city looking for ingredients and creating their dish, dealing with any opposition or obstacle that might stand in their way.

Objective: Win the Cook Off

Reward: 5 Guild Points, Some amount of money

 

A Story Just for You (Rank D)

Description: A young girl is plagued by nightmares she can’t wake up from and a dream mage was hired to help her. The mage requires willing participants to enter her dream using his experimental spell.

Objective: Enter the girl’s dream and find the cause to the issue plaguing her.

Reward: 4 Guild Points, Dream Smoke, 100 Korona.

 

Dawn of the Dead (Rank D)

Description: An outbreak of the undead plagued a nearby town and threatened the daily life of the people there. It’s getting worse and worse each passing day. The cause seem to be located on the local cemetery but nobody that entered that place ever returned since the outbreak started.

Objective: Help stop the undead and figure out what is causing their rising.

Reward: 5 Guild Points, ???

 

Whisper in the Woods (Rank E)

Description: The forest near Prunus has been free of monsters or malevolent spirits for centuries, but there are rumors floating around of the presence of something suspicious inside.

Objective: Confirm the rumor and head back.

Reward: 2 Guild Points, 15 Korona

 

Abandoned Mansion (Rank E)

Description: The inheritor to an abandoned mansion asked a favor to retrieve a family treasure hidden inside of it, but during the time it’s abandoned the mansion had attracted some unwelcome guests.

Objective: Retrieve the treasure, anything else is up for grabs.

Reward: 3 Guild Points, 25 Korona, Treasures

 

 

Pest Control (Rank E)

Description: Local store owners have to deal with annoying pests that keep getting into their goods.

Objective: Find a way to get rid of the pests.

Reward: 3 Guild Points, 10 Korona

 

Cargo Load (Rank E)

Description: A local business owner is short handed as a shipment of his cargo has come in. They are requesting assistance from anyone who would be able to help them in unloading and moving their cargo to its designated location.

Objective: Assist a businessman

Reward: 1 Guild Point, Some amount of money

 

Tourist Trap (Rank E)

Description: Due to the beautiful landscape surrounding it and its famous beach, The City of Adventure is a popular destination for travelers and rich people to spend time in. The town mayor decides to have the city’s guilds to have a more active role in promoting this aspect of the city.

Objective: Help put up an impressive show for a certain group of tourists and guide them across the city.

Reward: 3 Guild Points, some money.

 

Flo’s Request (Rank E)

Description: Flo offers to help her guild member’s training, whether it’s physical or magical. Not an official quest, but it’s repeatable because she just want you to do your best and get better, really.

Objective: Survive.

Reward: Satisfaction, perhaps some sort of improvement?

 

Cherry Heart Exploration Request (Rank E~C)

Description: An underground labyrinth underneath Cherry Heart?! With this shocking discovery, Celica requested some guild members to go down there and explore it. Rating are tentative since Yggdrasil has not been informed with the existence of this labyrinth just yet.

Objective: Explore the underground complex and bring back anything interesting.

Reward: ???

 

Cherry Heart Restoration Project 2 (Rank E)

Description: Assist Celica in making the guild look less appaling. No slimes involved this time.

Objective: Make Cherry Heart great again.

Reward: Celica’s Favor, unlocking new facilities on the Cherry Heart Main Building depending on what you do, 1 Guild Point.

 

The first quest was an interesting premise at first, except Ro figured he probably owned a better version of the same concoction anyways and decided it wasn’t worth the waste of time. He had traveled to almost every inch of forest anyways within the past few centuries. Cooking wasn’t an interest, so the second was out. Entering a dream…? That seemed… interesting. Saving it in his memory, he scanned over the others. The undead? Who gives a hell. The only undead they were likely to be were half-rotten zombies that wouldn’t be helpful to himself at all.

 

The Whisper in the Woods was somewhat interesting, and he noted that down to himself as well. The abandoned mansion quest seemed boring as all hell, and Ro spat on the ground. The next three all seemed even more obnoxiously stupid, which was almost hard to believe. Cleaning up bugs, being a deliveryboy, and putting up a show all were of no importance or interest.

 

The Labyrinth Exploration seemed okayish except it was unlikely to have much and just be a musty and unpleasant place to visit. Cleaning up the Cherry Heart Halls weren’t too bad, but it was also simply boring. And also the issue of it being with Celica.

 

”I guess I’ll go with the Story Just for You quest. Now then… I wonder if anyone else is around?

 

As he turned around to look for potential fellow guild members in the quest he had chosen, sore pangs in his body struck again.

 

”On second thought… I’ll just… sit down for a little.

 

Locating the nearest bench, he lightly waved to his fellow guild.

 

”Heeeey! Anyone else doing that Story Just for You quest?”

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

They had completed the quest...apparently. Kasayee stopped paying much attention after the thief went down. She thought she might have been scolded for destroying the books but she wasn't sure. She left pretty quickly, forcing the others to finish up with the social things, and went back to the guild. She was saddened to see it seemed to have been repaired somewhat.

 

She took up position in one of the trees and slept the rest of the day away.

------

"Now, with that all said, time to pick your quests for today!"

 

Kasayee's eyes glazed over as she was forced to sit through a long and rambling speech. She watched a mouse that looked to be searching for a hole in the wall that had been there the other day. What a shame. Whatever cleaning had been done must have confused the poor thing. What tragedy. And all just to make the place look worse and feel more confining.

 

People were odd beasts.

 

With herculean effort Kasayee moved her feet towards the quest board and stared at it blankly for several minutes.

 

Dawn of the Dead.

 

Undead creatures...beings that took from nature and gave nothing back. They were monstrous beings, to be destroyed on sight....It looked like Kasayee had a duty to uphold.

She hoped it was far away so she could rest.

 

Something had been bothering her while she was standing here. That thing on the cloud. Kasayee looked up to him, staring at him for several moments. "What are you doing in there?" Kasayee said, addressing the being known as Sun Wukong.

[Hakima]

---

Jīn studied the quest board. There were many interesting quests, but he wasn’t feeling to another battle yet, no so soon after his run in with the wyvern. Scour the Woods caught his eye - gathering materials for an alchemist? That seemed a simple enough task, and not physically strenuous. He had almost asked if he would be allowed to take a brief leave from questing while his wounds healed, but he was sure that he could manage one as basic as this.

 

"What are you doing in there?" someone said from below him. Her voice was feminine, but the accent it carried was completely unfamiliar to the Sealed Spirit wielder. Jīn turned to face her, observing her from his perch on Péng’s back. She was… underdressed, to say the least, but his time traveling Arbolia taught him that not everyone viewed clothing the way the monastery had. She was also obviously not a human, too scale-y and slow-paced. Not to mention… she was looking directly at his right ear, not him, the same ear that he tucked the Ruyi Jingu Bang behind. Could she see Zōngshī Wukong?

 

Jīn hopped off Péng’s back, landing softly in the front the lizard-girl. “Can you see Zōngshī Wukong?” he asked her curiously. He gave her a moment to respond, but she continued to stare at his ear, where the Ruyi Jingu Bang was sheltered. “Do you want to see the Ruyi Jingu Bang?” he offered. Still nothing. Was she deaf? He reached up behind his ear, and the staff grew to full size in his hand, slightly taller than he was at six feet in length. A soft golden glow outlined it, and the power rolling off it was palpable to even the most insensitive to magic. “Zōngshī Wukong doesn’t talk much. Did you know him?”

 

Jīn wasn’t expecting the girl to his attempt at conversation anymore than she had before, but, maybe if she had known the Monkey King she was important to his quest. If she was, Sun Wukong would emerge to speak with her…. He hoped.

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The vessel was making noises. And yet the spirit remained silent. This was quite unfortunate. "You should not hide behind this body." She said, stepping closer, leaning in towards the staff. "You are not supposed to be here." A sudden realization hit her. "You've been in this realm for too long; why have you not left yet?"

 

She frowned. Spirits often stayed bound to the world for a time but...this was, if her feelings were correct, an extremely long time for that. Whatever this spirit had yet to do it must be important.

 

Either that are they are truly terrified of the next step. "You aren't meant for this world; why stay?"

 

It was the most Kasayee had talked. And it was to a stick.

[Hakima]

---

Jīn allowed Kasayee to speak to the Ruyi Jingu Bang without interruption. She had completely ignored his questions, as was expected, but the fact that she had sensed Sun Wukong so easily had him interested in seeing it through. She tried conversing with the Monkey King twice, to no avail, but something happened after her third attempt. The Ruyi Jingu Bang grew warm beneath his fingers, the golden glow intensifying, and then… he appeared.

 

He was translucent, wispy, and the clothing he wore was the outfit of a commoner. Shackles hung around his wrists, chains wrapped up his forearms, and his eyes were pools of molten gold. “Who are you to say I have no place in this world?” he rumbled, expression cross. “I know my place and I know my purpose, and I’ll depart this world on my own schedule.” He crossed his arms, staring down at the lizard-girl. “The boy is the one who found me, and he isn’t my vessel. I'm bound to my staff. He does me a service, in exchange for lending him my power.”

 

Sun Wukong glanced around the guild, taking in everything around him. Eventually, he settled on Kasayee again. He sighed. “I’ve met your kind before. I’m sure most spirits must be just begging for you help, but I'm not most spirits, so don’t waste your breath.”

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

As the spirit appeared before her Kasayee couldn't help but notice how unimpressive he looked. Not exactly what one would expect from an ancient spirit. But Kasayee had seen enough to know never to expect anything from them.

 

 “Who are you to say I have no place in this world?” he rumbled, expression cross. “I know my place and I know my purpose, and I’ll depart this world on my own schedule.” He crossed his arms, staring down at the lizard-girl. “The boy is the one who found me, and he isn’t my vessel. I'm bound to my staff. He does me a service, in exchange for lending him my power.”

 

Kasayee found this odd. A spirit that was bound to an object wasn't unusual. A spirit bound to an object who was able to grant power to the one wielding it. That was different. And...it wasn't right. Spirits were not meant to mingle this closely with mortals. It happened on occasion yes but for this long...this spirit had to move on to face their judgement.

“I’ve met your kind before. I’m sure most spirits must be just begging for you help, but I am not most spirits, so don’t waste your breath.”

 

Kasayee slowly blinked. Once. Twice. She stretched her jaw. Her eyes drifted to the floor for a few moments before going back to the spirit in front of her. He was going to be stubborn was he? Fine, she didn't need to deal with this now. "Finish your purpose quickly. Otherwise I will have to tear you out myself."

She then went to leave. The message was delivered. Her duty was done for now. Now she had a destination to reach.

[Hakima]

---

Sun Wukong snorted, nostrils flaring, and the corners of his mouth curled up into an unamused smirk. “I already told you, girl. I’ll leave on my own time. You don’t have the power to change that; sharper claws than yours have tried.”  He laughed to himself as she turned to leave, grin turning mischievous, and met Jīn’s gaze for a brief moment before flickering out of existence, back into the staff.

 

Jīn was unsure how to feel about the exchange. Zōngshī Wukong had been very hostile, as had the lizard woman. Had he missed something? His mentor had seemed to recognize what she was, if not who, but it still left him in the dark. Jīn frowned, shrinking the staff back down and tucking it behind his ear, back where it belonged. He hoped this wouldn’t prove to be a recurring problem - he had wanted to get along with his new guildmates.

 

He pushed the thoughts away, hopping back atop his cloud companion and heading for the door. He still needed to see about a cloak before his quest began...

---

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"She hasn't returned yet..."

It has been half an hour since the briefing and the guildmembers had started to prepare to leave for their quests, but Flo had not arrived from wherever she was excusing herself to go earlier. Celica was left worried and decided to shift her attention to look around the available quests for the time being. WIthout Flo, there would be eleven guildmembers that were split into three quests today, with the spread of 4, 3, and 4. The quests, as expected from ones that are available to new guilds, were still located not far away from Prunus, although the guild seemed to be quite confident with how they picked more D-rank quests today. Well, if they succeed then the guild would flourish better and if they failed they would get a lesson they'd remember for life.

 

Without much else to do right now, she decided to look more into the details of each quests. She skimmed through the information regarding Scour the Woods and A Story Just for You and didn't find anything concerning from them, although she was suspect on whatever was the requester from Woods wanted to make and she hadn't had the foggiest idea regarding dream mages to really trust the requester from Story. However, a look on the Dawn of the Dead quest, and she noticed something about the location. She brought up her notebook to check whether what she noticed was right or not, and before long she had rushed back to her room in a hurry, a determined expression was on her face.

 

Flo could take care of the guild building today. She needed a break from it anyway as she often said.

 

---

[Hälō]

 "Well, the cleaning was fine, but, there were slimes. Auburn got set on fire. I, uh, I think there was a nest of monster too." Vincent felt his eyebrows raise as Fen recounted what seemed to be one hell of a house cleaning day. "I-it was awful, yeah."

 

"Damn," He let out a light scoff before glancing over to the quest board. "Sounds like way more than you bargained for, huh?" His eyes settled on one in particular, and as the boy quickly scanned the quest description he heard Fen speak again.

  

"U-um, w-well, sorry to hear things didn't go over well bu-but, did you um." He turned back to see that she was now avoiding his gaze whilst pressing her index fingers together anxiously. "Did you happen to get uh, any wyvern parts of meat or anything?"

 

"Huh?" Vincent began in his usual standoffish tone, only to have his eyes sudden light up in realization and his voice lighten. "Oh. Yea, actually..." The slight heat of embarrassment warmed his face, causing him to shift his crimson gaze elsewhere. "I remembered you said you and folks were into cooking with monster parts or whatever, so I grabbed you a doggy bag."

 

"Let me go gret it before it starts to stink..." He quickly brought himself up from the quest board and slid his hands into his pockets before hurriedly moving towards what was serving as his sleeping quarters without his usual smoothness. 

 

Returning rather quickly with a medium sized sack on his shoulder, the boy handed over the bag of monster trimmings before scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Ummm the bastard was huge, so they had more than they knew what to do with." He offered an explanation for the surprising amount of materials before turning on his heel to join the group gathering to embark on Dawn of the Dead. 

 

"I better get a big ass bowl of whatever you decide to make it with it." Vince spoke without turning back, simply raising his hand as a goodbye. "Later, Fen."

[Yui]

---

The quest had been selected. Lily was going to help in the woods. However, before she could take off to get to her quest - punctuality was always appreciated after all, right? - a voice spoke up. Directed at her, as it turned out. "Hey! Miss!"

 

Lily turned, and looked down at the source of the voice. A human. "Don't think I've met ya. I'm Deku Shinobu. Nice to meet ya!" The human was named Deku then. The boy could barely be called a start, but this was that sense of companionship Lily longed for as an adventurer. As the boy started walking beside her, the golem reached out and extended a hand. She then introduced herself in return for the human boy doing the same.

 

"My name is Lily," she said. "It is nice to meet you." As Lily thought about it, she realized this was the only guild member who she knew the name of besides the guild master and Celica. Not even the guildmates from her last quest were people she knew the names of. Deku must have been more sociable than those two. Lily welcomed it.

---

[Alaina]

 

After she asked, Vincent seemed to have a sudden look of realization hit him, which then prompted him to pull out a bag of the item she had requested. The girl's expression of awkward shyness soon turned into one of bubbling enthusiasm, as she checked the contents of the bag. Upon seeing the wyvern meat, Fen's eyes lit up in joy as she nodded at Vincent's request saying, "of course! Thanks Vincent!," before going back to examining the contents. She had never used wyvern before, but figured it didn't differ from other lizards too much. That being said, what she had on hand wasn't exactly the greatest towards experimenting, but she would simply have to make do. As she walked away from the room, using her magic to keep the meat chilled so that it wouldn't spoil while she was on her quest, the girl put it away in a place where she thought it would stay cool until she returned. However, as she had been so caught up in her thoughts, she soon realized that everyone else had already left for a quest, sans one group of three all going a D-Rank Quest known as "Scour the Woods."

 

The girl was a bit apprehensive to go on this, as she had gone on a simple cleaning adventure that nearly got the party killed, and this was supposedly much higher than that in difficulty. Nevertheless, she couldn't simply not go on a quest because it was presumably dangerous. After all, dangerous was generally where the more exotic things lived. Without much else to do, the girl slowly walked up to them and stuck to the back, only following them out when the quest began. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"My name is Lily. It is nice to meet you."

 

Okay, yeah she's a lot more polite and happy sounding than Kasayee. Deku thought with a smile, nodding. "Lily, huh? That's a pretty nice name!"

 

At the moment, Deku finally got a good look at Lily after shaking her hand. It seemed that she was a golem. It wasn't something that the young man had ever expected to meet before. Then again, it was a magic guild and these sorts of guilds, from what he was told, would draw in all sorts and types of people. Kasayee being a prime example... Deku shook his head quickly at remember their encounter on the mission and how she behaved. Thankfully this one seemed a bit more lively.

 

"Nice to meet you, Lily." he said, finishing shaking her hand before moving forward a bit. "Anyway, I'd love to stick around and chat, but I gotta hurry up and get to my quest. Gotta help some alchemist or something."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"That took far too long." Was Kasayee's comment as they finally returned to base. As she stepped out of the carriage she looked at the building. She tilted her head and examined it one way, then the other, before shaking her head. It still didn't feel like anything to her. Just another place. "Did it get uglier?" She said to no one in particular.

Well at the very least she knew that she would have some peace here for now. It was quieter than she had expected. Perhaps they were the first to return?

 

Kasayee stretched out the kinks in her body made from laying on the carriage seat for so long. Then she transformed into her bird form to reach the roof of the guild and, once she found a suitable spot, transformed back to lay back and stare at the sky.

 

At least, wherever she was, that was something she could look forward to seeing.

[Alaina]

 

With the quest having been finished, Fen and the others had walked back into the guild. While she had been looking forward to relaxing after having just walked through the forest, the girl was could only let out a small defeated sigh as they entered the building. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable looking place in the world, though, she figured it was better than nothing. Looking around, she realized that no one was really here, making the girl wonder if they were still on their missions. Though, thinking on it, they weren't a particularly large guild to begin with, so perhaps the empty feeling was more par for the course than anything else. Regardless, as the girl walked around, she eventually saw a familiar face hanging around, saying, "oh. Vincent. Hello." The girl gave a small wave with her greeting as she said, "so um, did you guys finish your quest as well?" 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

The lack of news about the guildmembers taking a certain quest on the city's outskirts had caused a lot of worries following the next day, but their return by midday quelled all worries to be had. Thus, the day continued like usual, and by the next day the guild continued their activity as a fledgling adventurer's guild.

 

Days thus went and gone, marked with several departures of different guildmembers. The guild found itself smaller than ever, and ended up focusing to take smaller quests for the time being. In the meantime, the guild secretary Celica had asked for a week-long break for fatigue and injury related reasons allegedly, and the management of the guild had been taken over by Florentia completely. No major incidents happened through these days, and the guildmembers ended up with the time to properly know each other better. And thus, the guildmembers had developed a rhythm to follow in their new life in Cherry Heart.

 

This would last until the start of the second week.

 

---

 

"All of you had done a splendid job so far in building the foundations of the bright future of Cherry Heart."

 

It was morning assembly, and Florentia as usual had gathered the present guildmembers on the headquarter's main hall. Her words were as stiff and unemotional as ever, but her praise was genuine. Celica still hadn't returned yet, and while Florentia had some inkling about why, she had decided to not pursue the issue further for the time being.

 

"Today marks the day that we finally have become eligible to partake in the guild examination which would allow us to accept quests of higher rank. The content of the examination quest had not been disclosed, however words of mouth had mentioned that it involved retrieving a prized artifact named the Dragon Jewel from its resting place.

 

Our participation is necessary here if we wanted to be anything more than a startup guild. The quest demanded three to four of our members, and conflicts with other guilds would be inevitable. Please decide it among yourselves regarding who would apply in this quest. I will not be able to assist you by participating. The rest would continue taking other quests as normal.

 

Should any of you possessed any questions, it would be of your benefit to ask it now."

 

After her lengthy addressing, Flo went silent, observing the guildmembers and waiting for any potential questions to be asked. The building that they were in had seen a significant amount of change through the past week. While it was still far from fancy, and barely even qualified as habitable, a lot of work had been done in refurbishing its appearance, and the left side of the building had been repurchased. The plumbing had also been fixed, however internal baths were still far from being realized.  Further developments on the building might be best if they're made following the needs of the guildmembers, as the basics had mostly been covered now. However, Florentia decided to wait until they had decided regarding today's quests before she would talk about it.

 

---

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Alright, a short timeskip, and the start of a new chapter of Cherry Heart! Feel free to establish anything about what happened during the few days timeskip among yourselves.

 

For the time being, it's time for interactions and decision on taking quests. It can be done in OOC, but I'd rather for the decision to be voiced in IC if possible. For the time being, assume that we will only have 1 other quest aside from the guild rank up quest. However, should there be someone willing to host a quest for this round, we will be able to perform a 3-3-3 split regarding quest participations.

 

Projection of quests starting is one week from now.

 

 

 

---

[Mr. Hyde]

 

 

Dmitri was wiped.  After finally making it home to the Guild, he was afraid to even go to sleep.  The thought of his dreams just running amok made it almost impossible for the teacher to catch some z's.  The first night he had slept with one of those Dream Souls that he had obtained from Myrdian.  He made it so the Ierne was shown in a more...special light, one could say.  It sure made her less threatening to his life than before hand.  After the next couple of days, he could sleep easy.  One day, all of the members of Cherry Heart were gathered into the Main Hall by Celica.  

 

"Today marks the day that we finally have become eligible to partake in the guild examination which would allow us to accept quests of higher rank. The content of the examination quest had not been disclosed, however words of mouth had mentioned that it involved retrieving a prized artifact named the Dragon Jewel from its resting place.

 

Our participation is necessary here if we wanted to be anything more than a startup guild. The quest demanded three to four of our members, and conflicts with other guilds would be inevitable. Please decide it among yourselves regarding who would apply in this quest. I will not be able to assist you by participating. The rest would continue taking other quests as normal.

 

Should any of you possessed any questions, it would be of your benefit to ask it now."

 

Dmitri tossed his head to the sides a multitude of times.  

 

"Nu-uh!  No way!  I can't even think of going on another quest after what I just went through.  Being stuck in a dream...felt like I was just running down a hallway for months on end.  I'd probably just get lost in the mountain anyway."  Dmitri walked up to the quest board, and rubbed his chin looking for something that wouldn't mess with his conception of reality for the rest of his life.  "Ah-ha!"  He said, pointing at one with his finger.  "The Second Cherry Heart Restoration mission!  It's all mine!  OHOHOHOHOHOHO!"  He turned around, flashing the rest of the guild a peace sign.  "I'll make sure this place is spic and span upon the ranking up of the Guild!  You can thank me later."  He said, smugly crossing his arms, pushing his glasses up his nose.  

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

It took three days before anyone realized Kasayee was on the roof. She slept there, ate there when passing birds and bugs came within reach, and generally relaxed atop the building. The clouds were her company and, even when it rained, she simply let the water wash over her body.

 

It was such a shame when someone finally found her and made her leave her perch. Though she still didn't use any of the rooms inside of the guild. Instead she took to sleeping in various trees nearby.

 

She was calm once more, the danger she had been made aware of simply moved to the back of her mind, even though she would occasionally dream about mysterious threats.

 

Then came the day where the guildmaster, had Kasayee even spoken to the woman yet she wasn't sure, told them all it was time for more quests. Including something that would allow them to take part in harder quests.

While she didn't feel like working harder perhaps these quests would take her places that could satisfy any curiosity for adventure that could well up later in life.

 

The man with glass on his face mentioned restoration, and Kasayee couldn't help but make a sour face. "What you all call restoration I call corruption." She muttered, her time on the roof making her forget not to say these things out loud. "It was fine as it was..."

 

Her position clear she reluctantly checked the quest log. One, a trip to the beach. While sand wasn't her favorite thing, she wouldn't mind swimming once more, and it sounded easy enough.

 

Though her instincts also drew her to the shadow creature, the hunt, and she wondered if perhaps she should let her predatory instinct loose this time.

[Hälō]

"oh. Vincent. Hello." Vincent's left eye shot open at the sound of the familiar voice.

 

"Fen..." Vincent groaned in greeting as he slowly dragged his battered and bruised body up from the bench he had picked to be his death bed. With his energy level still quite low after the quest, he returned the wave of the girl's tiny fingers with a slight nod. 

 

 "So um, did you guys finish your quest as well?" 

 

"Yea..." Vincent sighed and rubbed the back his neck. "Zombies... cursed tombs... evil lizard woman..." He recounted his adventure on his fingers before looking back up at Fen. "It was another s*** show." 

 

"But now that you're back... does that mean I'm going to get to at least end this day with some quality grub?!" He looked hopefully at the girl whilst placing a hand on his empty stomach. 

 

 

After Flo had finally ended her announcement in the morning assembly, Vincent promptly rose from his his seat with a rare fire in his eyes. It was finally time for them to prove themselves as a guild, and he'd be damned if he let it slip by. "Yo Flo," He called loudly to the guild master as he approached, already rolling his shoulder. "Let the small fries stay and clean up the joint if they want... Sign me up for The Exam."