Chapter #2Recruitment Time! by: Keroro04   Friends... were not exactly Zeta's forte.
She had been sheltered from society for most of her life, so it only made sense that she was not going to exactly have the best time finding others for an adventuring party. Not to mention, but she wasn't exactly the most comfortable about how she looked considering the pudgy gut she carried around with her. She was very unsure that she was going to be able to actually find friends in this kingdom... and yet that's what the book said was the most important thing to do to survive as a wandering adventurer.
"Okay Zeta... this is do or die. Don't embarrass yourself in there, and maybe you can find some adventuring allies."
Having made a whole day's trek northward through the woods, she had finally made it to the town of Hartlepool, which bordered on the edges of the kingdom of Erl and it's timeless forests. A rather small but lively region, it was built atop a geothermal vent which helps heat the town's natural hot springs. It was a rather welcoming town all things considered, which meant Zeta didn't exactly have to switch out of her dress just yet.
Marching onward into the local tavern however, and the scene shifted heavily. She had never been into a proper bar before, and the sights of people drunkenly brawling on top of the tables gave her quite the fright. The smell of dwarven ale, the kind that her mother forbid her to drink permeated the air as well, which made her worry about whether this was the right place to actually recruit others.
However, the icon above the barkeeper's head did confirm to her that this was where she was supposed to go in order to find other adventurers.
"Welcome to the Billowing Toad Tavern, the name's Madason. This is the place to hook up with new party members, so long as you have the coin. So what do you wish to do?"
Looking into her pockets, she had just about 5000 G. With the menu in her head, she saw that there were options to acquire new friends, to drop them off at the tavern, to pick them back up, and to break off from them. Making a new friend was about 1000 G, which meant she could technically have up to five people in her group... but the problem for her was two-fold.
One, a nagging voice in the back of her head told her she could only have three friends with her at once to a maximum party of four. The other was that she at the least wanted some money left for equipment and the such. As such, she decided here and then that she was only going to get two allies for now. Maybe more if the opprotunity provided itself for her, but for now she just needed two.
"Well... Mr. Madason, I'd like to recruit two party members."
"Perfect. These are who we have right now."
Slamming a ton of papers on the table, there had to be at least thirty options out there, with one just saying "Create a Custom Adventurer", whatever that meant. As for all of the other options they basically ran the entire gamut of what she could think of about adventurers, from bowyers to knights to mages and... clerics!
"So you would like to recruit Claire to your party?"
"Yes!" Zeta said, eagerly. A cleric was going to be vital to her party, considering all of their holy magic abilities. They were basically a necessity for any adventuring group to travel across the world, while brushing off all of the dangers that such a world provided. Only a masochist would go out into the wild without a Cleric if they had the choice to get one or not.
With the confirmation, Madason grabbed a bell from under his seat and rang it thrice, magic emanating from it with each ring until a magical circle appeared next to Zeta. From the circle emerged a rather lanky Rabbitkin woman, bunny ears peaking from under her vestaments and carrying a big staff. As she snapped into place fully, she paused for a bit to look around before realizing what was going on.
"Oh, someone actually took up my offer?" The cleric stated, nervously pushing up her glasses. "Name's Claire, from the Church of St. Melanie. I wanted to travel out there to help purify the darkness, but I didn't think someone would actually accept my contract. Thank you... uh... what's your name?"
"Zeta. Zeta... Cykes." Zeta said, coming up with a surname at the last second so that she didn't have to use her actual last name. "Up and coming adventurer myself, plan to travel all four corners of this world if possible."
"That certainly sounds like a proper goal to have." Curtseying for her companion, Claire let out a smile as she shook hands with her new partner. "I hope we can learn a lot from each other."
"Same here."
Turning her gaze back down to the papers, Zeta continued to look through to try seeing who she should pick as the other person to take with her on her great adventure. A lot of these people definitely looked rather competent in terms of their capabilities, at least judging by the artwork attached and the short blurbs beneath. Eventually though, she was able to narrow it down to five distinct choices that she enjoyed.
"Freya the Great", Barbarian warrioress of Helheim. Incredibly good with an axe, and capable of going into a rage that increases her strength tenfold. She looked rather buff and intimidating, her silvery white hair and red eyes belaying a image of a mighty and ferocious fiend on the battlefield. She certainly would be able to help clear away everything... but she'd definitely feel useless if she did so, if there was a woman who could break her like a twig if she got angry.
Akko-Kei, Goblin Bowyer from the Lemlime Desert. Short even for her kind, she barely looked as tall as the shrub she was hiding in on her image artwork, but it said that she was able to hit a target from a hundred yards with her iron bow. Unlike most goblins, she was more military-looking, so she could only theorize whether she managed to join up with Ironbeard Foundry to get such equipment. Still, her range did sound promising in case they had to deal with a monster high up in the sky.
Priyanka Apte, the Medusean Shaman. Now that was a race she had never heard of, the Meduseans. Asking Madason, all she learnt was that they were a race of snake-haired humanoids, who in the past were falsely accused of being capable of turning men to stone with only their gaze. She looked to use the elements to conjure plants capable of entangling creatures, and it did promise that she was good with keeping people locked down. Still, she was a bit cautious especially with that last note to "never leave her alone with the food supply, as she will try to eat it all.".
Augustus Skywall... oh, hello handsome. His shining black hair, his greatsword which he seemed capable of carrying in one hand, his chiseled features... it almost seemed too true for Zeta, until she read a bit more. In reality, the greatsword was made of foam, and he was just a humble villager who dreamed of being a big and mighty knight. Still, even if he lacked any actual skill, she considered picking him just on looks alone.
Shirley Dockett, playwright of a thousand stories. Tall, heavy-chested and with four eyes, her race was completely unknown even to the people who made the poster but what was known was that her music was able to captivate just about anyone thanks to her mastery over bardic magic. It warned that she was a major chubby chaser though, and judging from Claire's reaction when she asked what that meant, it didn't seem like that was a good idea for her waistline. Yet, even if she did gain a bit, the ability to captivate and convince people comboed well with her ability to open any lock and steal people blindly.
Five options, five people.
"Hmmm... this is a tough one. Oh I know. Eeny meanie, miney mo. Pick a barghest by it's toe. My mamma told me to pick the very best one and...
You
are
It!"
Lifting her figure from where her pointing ended on, the final party member was sealed.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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