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Xindaris · 04-16-2017, 07:17 PM

(04-15-2017, 08:17 AM)Derelict Wrote: »> I'd recommend we take the time to go back to town. Once there, we can empty the basket and then plan an expedition into the forest properly, as well as perhaps recruit other people to our cause. Sarah, Dave, you have other friends you can call on, right? Especially if we offer to pay them per day.

> New friends mean new dual techs, too. We must find them all. All of them. Teched. Dually so.

(04-15-2017, 05:29 PM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>Personally, I think we should continue our current expedition. No one is really hurt that badly and the basket is nowhere near full. Leaving now would waste half a day of travel.

>I say a round of finding new ingredients at least before we go back.

(04-16-2017, 05:15 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> Yeah, fair enough. Let's go for finding ingredients then, since that's what we're going to need for alchemy. Monsters will turn up from time to time anyway, so we'll get all the combat experience we need that way.

You decide to look around for ingredients. You manage to find some more of the herbs you found before, as well as some wild grapes and bits of dead wood which seem like they might be good as fuel or something. No monsters really show up to bother you while you're doing this, fortunately. After that, you head back to town, saying goodbye to Dave on the way to the workshop.

It's mid-afternoon, and the strange watch Master gave you says it's about 3/4 of the way through the day. Now that you're here again, you decide to finally take a look at the very first section of Alchemy for Beginners, since it doesn't seem like it'll take too long to do.

The first part of this section has a subheading: "A Warning", but it's been crossed out by Marie and next to it is scribbled "Be Lazy!". The rest of this section reads:

To the outside observer, alchemy appears easy. It looks like just throwing some things together into a pot and coming out with something new. This could hardly be farther from the truth. Alchemy is equal parts art and science, and even the simplest of recipes requires time and concentration to carry out. Don't misunderstand: This warning is not about commitment. It is about pacing yourself. The level of concentration necessary for performing most alchemy is tiring to uphold for the long hours most recipes require, and to go into the creation of any item already exhausted, or to become exhausted midway through, is to invite disaster and failure of all kinds. The intuition that a hopeful alchemist really needs to develop is that which can count the cost ahead of time, and know whether one will be able to complete the work before becoming exhausted. If you are at risk of being exhausted, or already exhausted to begin with, you should take some time to yourself to rest. Do whatever it is that makes you happy, or sleep; it doesn't matter as long as you are well-rested afterward and ready to take on the task at hand. Ingesting caffeine in whatever you favorite form is is a quick fix if you are exhausted and must get something done immediately, but it is no substitute for a proper rest; if you use caffeine, you will then crash, and be in a worse state afterward than you otherwise would have been.

Information: Resting and Energy
While in town, you have the option to spend a chunk of time resting. This is the only way to recover Sarah's energy, which is needed for alchemy and skills; injuries, on the other hand, will generally heal over time regardless of whether you're resting. Of course, resting longer recovers more energy, and you have the option of choosing to rest up to a specific energy state, or something like "just enough to complete this recipe" if desired. Other characters' energy may fluctuate but tend to recover as they spend time in town. Some items can temporarily recover energy, but typically come with negative side effects.

The rest of the section on alchemy reads as follows:

That out of the way, alchemy is indeed the process of combining objects together to make new things. This combination is a conceptual one, rather than a physical one, and getting this idea through one's head can be the toughest step a would-be alchemist ever has to take. Beyond understanding this, and comprehending that as a result recipes must be followed to the letter to produce the intended results, there is little else to it other than to try it yourself. The more alchemy you do, the easier it will be, and more difficult recipes will become easier to grasp. Even the recipes you already know will steadily become easier and less exhausting to perform as a result.

Included in the middle section of this book are a few basic recipes any alchemist is likely to want to know: Supplement, a basic intermediary needed for countless other recipes; Healing Salve, for repairing the wounds often incurred on expeditions; and Bomb, a simple explosive useful mainly for self-defense.

Marie drew an arrow from the part that says "must be followed to the letter" to a note in the margins, where she wrote "but a GREAT alchemist knows when and how to improvise!"

You take a quick skim of the three recipes provided in the book, and make a mental note of the ingredients for each, and about how long it looks like they'll take. None of them seem all that hard, but both of the ones that aren't Supplement require a Supplement to make, so it seems like you'd have to do that one first. You could also take the time to check in with the rest of the shopkeepers Marie listed in the "interacting with people" section to get an idea of what sort of inventory they have, or go see who Stahl is.

>

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Time: About three quarters

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infuriatingCrimson · 04-17-2017, 07:34 AM

>Acquainting ourselves with the people we may be working with in the foreseeable future might be wise. Who knows, we might be able to find someone willing to help us as well.

>Make sure to bring your Cole, we might find something really nice to buy like armor or something!

>Check in with Hagel and ask him where he thinks a good place to find ores/metals would be.

Derelict · 04-17-2017, 03:07 PM

> If we can make stuff on the go, I say use 2 Magic Grass to make 2 Supplements. By the time we get back to town we might be able to make something of use with them!

> Also, is there someone in town, like an appraisal service, that can classify all of the stuff we've got? I mean, some might be easy to guess but the appraisals might tell us if a Puniball is [Fuel] or if Magic Grass is [Medicinal Herb], etc.

> That (???) location is Syzygy is making me suspicious. Check that shit as soon as we get back.

> Also do everything infuriatingCrimson suggests.

Xindaris · 04-18-2017, 02:05 AM

(04-17-2017, 07:34 AM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>Acquainting ourselves with the people we may be working with in the foreseeable future might be wise. Who knows, we might be able to find someone willing to help us as well.

>Make sure to bring your Cole, we might find something really nice to buy like armor or something!

>Check in with Hagel and ask him where he thinks a good place to find ores/metals would be.

(04-17-2017, 03:07 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> If we can make stuff on the go, I say use 2 Magic Grass to make 2 Supplements. By the time we get back to town we might be able to make something of use with them!

> Also, is there someone in town, like an appraisal service, that can classify all of the stuff we've got? I mean, some might be easy to guess but the appraisals might tell us if a Puniball is [Fuel] or if Magic Grass is [Medicinal Herb], etc.

> That (???) location is Syzygy is making me suspicious. Check that shit as soon as we get back.

> Also do everything infuriatingCrimson suggests.

You decide to go visit the shops on Marie's list, and then also Stahl. Considering your first impression of the guy you're pretty sure she's talking about, it's something you fear just enough to put it off for last.

It would be good if you could find someone else to hire to help you out with fighting monsters out of town. But, well...most of the people you know aren't exactly the monster-fighting type. Dave goes out with his parents to chop wood, hunt game, and occasionally drive off minor annoyances from the farmlands that the knights can't be bothered with, but he's no expert, either.

First you go to the grocer's, where Hazel Tethel is waiting behind the counter as usual. Her family are lion (you think?) beastfolk; she's a small girl of twelve years by now sporting short blonde hair and a seemingly everlasting supply of energy and cheerfulness. About two years ago, her father was ill and her mother had to go run an errand. The store was supposed to just be closed, but Hazel turned the sign to 'open' and stood behind the counter, and by the time her mother got back she was on the verge of selling the entire store out. Ever since then her parents just handle the accounting, stocking, and other things like that and have her man the storefront.

"Hiya Sarah! I thought you already did this month's shopping, didja forget somethin'?" The best way you can put it is that Hazel is a prodigy at greed. She's never had any trouble handling change or receipts, and she seems to know exactly how to take advantage of being a cute little girl to strongarm people into buying things they would never buy, and considerably more of things they would. You would dread meeting the kind of person she'll mature into for the first time, and feel genuinely fortunate to have been introduced to her early enough to count as a 'friend' rather than a 'target'...most of the time.

"Well, yeah, but something else happened..." You explain the situation.
"Aww, that's awful! Marie's such a big meanie!" she says. "Soo, are you askin' for a discount or somethin'?" She manages a tone of voice which, while still cheerful and friendly as ever, conveys the discount to be a near impossibility.
"No, I just..well, I might need to buy more groceries as alchemy ingredients I guess. And...if your parents happened to run into an alchemy book, like with some weird recipes that don't make any sense? I might be able to use that..."
"Oh, that's great! More oppo--, opportunities to do business!" she exclaims. "Ac-tually, daddy found this old cookbook when he was cleaning out the attic the other day," she adds, grabbing a book with both hands from behind the counter and flopping it onto the counter. "It looks rilly old, but he said the recipes would just make mush. He didn't think I could sell it!" She adds to this last bit a brilliant smile which shows off her unsettlingly sharp teeth.
"Err, well I want it, but I don't really have a lot of money right now.."
"Aww, that's okay! Since you're gonna be such a good cus-tomer in the future, I can give you a special discount. Ten Cole! Today only!"

You are literally unable to say no to that, and wind up with another recipe book (and 10 less Cole). You'll thumb through and see what you can learn to make from it when you get back to the workshop. For now, you thank Hazel and head to the next place on the list before she can dig up something else you badly need.

You've never really had occasion to be to an antique and knickknack store before, but it sort of makes sense that old things or weird useless things could have good properties to combine into something actually useful. You poke your head in the door to find the place seemingly deserted, and then hesitantly take a couple of steps inside, the door jingling as it closes.
"Wha!" A head pops up from under the counter, followed by its owner making an effort to stand fully upright. It's a brown-skinned mana--earth affinity, you suspect--with a wrinkled face, gray-white hair, and squinted, bespectacled eyes. Mana live a very long time, so for one to look this old he has to be really old, probably the oldest thing in the shop. "Oho, a customer!" he says happily. "Uh, forgive me young miss, we usually don't have a lot of customers this time of decade."
"Er.." You don't know exactly how to respond to that, so you just introduce yourself. "I'm Sarah Kennigan.."
"Oho!" He interrupts you. "Marie's girl. Finally pointed you my way, eh?" He pauses, lifting his glasses and bringing his eyes ever so slightly out of their characteristic squint. "...You really are that green. Lands alive. Her-hmn!" He clears his throat abruptly, returning to the squinty expression. "Anywho, I'm sure we'll do lots of fine business together. Alchemists always need things nobody else seems to want, don't they? Hmm."
"Yeah, uh, I guess so.."
"Ah, but you won't have much money right now, eh? Just coming around to see what's here?" You feel a bit like he's been reading your script. This is almost certainly Master's doing...somehow. "Well, I'm Janus," he says, offering a handshake. "Nice to finally meet you."
You return the handshake a little awkwardly. "Yeah, same."
"Ehh, I feel like we haven't hit it off that well. Note to self: tone down 'quirky old man' a little." He rubs his goatee a bit in thought. "Hmm...how about a free sample? Kids love those," he says, and pulls out a small, gemstone-looking thing, placing it on the counter. It glows faintly with a white light.
"Um...thanks..what is it?" you say, picking it up to take a closer look.
"Funniest thing, I don't recall. I remember alchemists used to go crazy over...whatever that is, ages ago. Not the faintest idea what it's good for, but it is shiny! Anywho, I'm sure you've got somewhere else to be. Feel free to visit anytime!"
"Uh, sure."

Next up is the drugstore. You've actually been here before a few times, but you don't exactly like to. The owner--or, well, you think he's the owner, he's the only one who's ever here it seems like--is kind of annoying. He's a human in his mid-twenties, dark-haired and just generally average-looking, and usually friendly enough...but he just loves to insert some useless fact and/or complete nonsense into a conversation whenever he can get a word in edgewise. Case in point: As you walk in you over hear him speaking to a customer who's just bought something. "Thank you for your business. Hey, did you know a watched pot boils sometimes? Mine did that just the other day..."

To be perfectly honest, you've been introduced but you don't know the guy's name, and you're not entirely sure he knows yours. You sort of shuffle over to the shelves to glance over them. It's all the same kind of stuff as usual: Packaged remedies for minor stuff like colds, some bandages and antiseptic junk for injuries, and a bunch of miscellaneous sundries. The more serious drugs are behind the counter where kids can't get into them. You briefly wonder if you could just buy his stock of bandages or something and turn that in for this month's assignment, but in addition to the fact that whoever's judging the assignment probably isn't stupid your financial situation couldn't possibly make that feasible anyway. Still, there might be some stuff here that would make good ingredients for a healing item or something? If only you knew a few more recipes of that type...

Your thoughts are interrupted by the realization that the guy behind the counter is trying to get your attention. You turn toward him and go up to the counter, trying to hide your fears that he's going to be boring at you. "Um, sorry," you say.
"It's fine. Nine out of ten Syzygians don't know they're being called unless you use their name. Anyway, someone mail ordered something a couple of weeks ago, and said a 'green person' would be in to receive it. I..didn't really know what they meant, but uh..."
"Yeah, yeah," you nod, biting back some annoyance. He hands you the package, which is conspicuously book-shaped. "Uh..thanks."
"Sure. Oh, do you have a prescription to fill, though? You don't look too well..."
"No, it's just my normal skin color," you say, monotone. "I'm half Mana."
"Oh, ok. Sorry about that. I thought there were only ten skin tones Mana could have, I'm gonna have to take some notes. Oh no, I've been spreading misinformation..." He turns his head down to pull out a notebook and a pen and starts flipping through it, and you take the opportunity to escape the shop.

You check in with Hagel real quick, asking him if he knows of any place you could actually go to find good ores or whatever to make Ingots out of. "Sure," he says, "just go to the mines. That's where all my ore comes from. Well...actually you probably shouldn't go to the mines, the monsters down there are nasty. Uh..how about: Go there when you're really sure you're prepared, maybe hire a real warrior for a bodyguard first."

Finally, you head to the last stop on this little trip: The royal palace again. You guess it's time to properly introduce yourself to Stahl, and head inside, preparing to wait in line and then maybe get yelled at.

It turns out the place is not nearly as busy today as it was before, which is good news, except that now you'll have to face this guy sooner. You swallow your nervousness and just walk up to the desk, where the same person as yesterday is indeed waiting.

"Oh, there you are," he says, apparently expecting you. "I thought Miranda would've pointed you my way yesterday. Or...if she did, you're even less punctual than I thought. I don't know how you expect to succeed if you can't keep better track of time."
"No, she didn't say anything about you," you say. "Master wrote a note saying your name was Stahl..?"
"Right," he nods. "Stahl Kazak. And you'd be Sarah Kennigan, half-Mana, former orphan, adoptee of Marie Anacosta. Correct?"
"Uh..yeah." Having your name and history rattled off like a grocery list is unnerving.
"Good. That's out of the way. Now I can tell you what you're here for."
"What...I'm here for," you repeat slowly, attempting to make sense of the sentence.

"Right," he nods curtly. "Your assignment is of course of extremely high priority, but I imagine you need money now in order to buy whatever it is alchemists use to do alchemy with."
"Yeah..."
"Well, we can help each other then." He leans forward slightly, folding his hands over each other. "I receive a wide variety of requests from all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons, and I match those requests to those who are able to complete them. You may think of me as a go-between for freelancers. My office is under the authority of the crown; we handle the payments, and I scrutinize the requests that go through me carefully. So you don't have to worry about not being paid or giving someone something they really shouldn't have."
"Oh, okay."
"Since of course you should be focusing on your assignment, I'll only allow you to take on three jobs at a time for now. And, as you are a completely inexperienced worker, I don't feel comfortable giving you anything too major or difficult at the moment. Still, would you like to take a look at what's available right now?"
"Uh..sure."

Stahl gives you a list of requests to possibly take on:

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"Please keep in mind that once you accept a request, I and the client will both expect you to complete it. There's no direct punishment for failing to deliver, but I guarantee you there will be some negative consequences. On the other hand, if you already have something a request is for, I can pay you for it right now. By the way, for monster slaying requests only the ones you kill after taking on the request actually count."

>

Date: 1/2
Time: About three quarters

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226 Cole

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~~wyatt~~ · 04-18-2017, 02:24 AM

>Run away
>Put all stocks into spaghetti business
>Become spaghetti manufacturing god

Dragon Fogel · 04-18-2017, 02:45 AM

Well, we can get the Wild Grapes reward right now, and we only need one more Wood Chip, so might as well accept that.

We can probably get the Puni-hunting done in time, but it'll use up a slot we might want for a job we can complete faster. Depends on how many Punis we feel confident taking on in one trip.

Hmm, we just need Paper materials (and time) to make a bomb, though we'll use up a Wood Chip. Still, we're close on the wood chips, we can probably get two next gathering session.

I say hand in the Wild Grapes right now, then take the other three item requests. I bet we can get them done fairly quickly, while I'm not so confident in our hunting just yet. Might even be able to start the bomb before the day ends if we can just find appropriate paper.

infuriatingCrimson · 04-18-2017, 05:16 AM

>I second what you said, Dragon. The grapes are easily done, like you said.

>Those three other quests are more difficult and since there is no timer on the bomb one, I say we refrain from taking it. Taking the other two would work though. Wood Chips will be simple to collect and Puni are annoying, but we are give a decent time to complete it...By the time 1/30 rolls around, we will have defeated more than 10.

>I don't think starting up the bomb is possible today as we need to make the supplement which takes 1/2 a day to make. Even with it, we would need to start now to finish it before nightfall as it takes 3/4 of the day to complete.

>Ask Stahl if he could offer you any advice or tips on anything. If he is as kind as your master claims, he should be willing to at least help us out a bit!

Dragon Fogel · 04-18-2017, 05:42 AM

Oh, I missed the supplement, was only looking at the generic ingredients. (also: it's Fogel, not Dragon)

Might as well start making the supplement when we get a chance then, then, so we have it available. Spending Magic Grass on it seems like the best idea, since we have the most of that and no other particular need for it right now. (And even if a need comes up, we can probably get more easily.)

My concern about the Puni quest is we have a three-quest limit. If this were an actual game I'd be confident about our ability to hunt down 10 in one day, but if it's going to take us two or three days, that's a bit long to be stuck with it. We can specifically look for them, though, so it probably won't be that bad.

infuriatingCrimson · 04-18-2017, 02:23 PM

Sorry about that, Fogel. Meant no disrespect to you.

I'm just glad someone else joined in this story. It's decently well-done, but as seems to be the trend, it's less popular because of being without art.

>I second the idea of the supplement, if we aren't going into the woods today, we need to get cracking at basic recipes. Besides, practice makes perfect.

>The Puni thing is why I am suggesting to wait on the bomb for a bit. We don't know when we will find paper ingredients BUT it is possible at the grocers or the oddities shop we could find some. If we wanted to put time into it, we could get it done quickly...Fuck it. My final say is that we take the bomb quest, the wood chip quest and wait on the Puni quest. Let's try and focus on completing this bomb quest and before we leave town next, we can pick up that Puni quest. Since we will have finished the bomb quest and be about to finish the Wood Chip one, there is no danger of us missing a good quest.

Opinions?

Derelict · 04-18-2017, 04:36 PM

> Uh, yeah, seems like everyone has suggested sane and sensible things to say, so I don't have much to add.

> Just one thing, I suppose. I don't see Spoiled Milk being all that useful, so maybe we should (whenever we're next doing alchemy, probably after the quests are done) move that to the Basket and make Supplement out of that.

> Incidentally, could we send Dave to do the quests and stay home to do alchemy? He can handle himself, right? Ask him. It would be way more efficient for sure.

[And yeah, it's nice to see other people on this adventure! Xin's a great writer, and it's nice to see him be able to do that properly in command of the adventure, rather than EOFD which was, perhaps, a little creatively lacking for him.

I have a feeling we're not even close to knowing what the true story of this adventure is, though. Because I highly doubt it's just doing jobs for money and killing slimes.]

infuriatingCrimson · 04-18-2017, 04:58 PM

>Milk is good idea, didn't even think about that... >.<

Xindaris · 04-19-2017, 07:21 PM

(04-18-2017, 02:24 AM)wyatt Wrote: »>Run away
>Put all stocks into spaghetti business
>Become spaghetti manufacturing god

(This command doesn't really make enough sense in context to actually comment on in narration, but I appreciate your reading enough to post it anyway.)

(04-18-2017, 02:45 AM)Dragon Fogel Wrote: »Well, we can get the Wild Grapes reward right now, and we only need one more Wood Chip, so might as well accept that.

We can probably get the Puni-hunting done in time, but it'll use up a slot we might want for a job we can complete faster. Depends on how many Punis we feel confident taking on in one trip.

Hmm, we just need Paper materials (and time) to make a bomb, though we'll use up a Wood Chip. Still, we're close on the wood chips, we can probably get two next gathering session.

I say hand in the Wild Grapes right now, then take the other three item requests. I bet we can get them done fairly quickly, while I'm not so confident in our hunting just yet. Might even be able to start the bomb before the day ends if we can just find appropriate paper.

(04-18-2017, 05:16 AM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>I second what you said, Dragon. The grapes are easily done, like you said.

>Those three other quests are more difficult and since there is no timer on the bomb one, I say we refrain from taking it. Taking the other two would work though. Wood Chips will be simple to collect and Puni are annoying, but we are give a decent time to complete it...By the time 1/30 rolls around, we will have defeated more than 10.

>I don't think starting up the bomb is possible today as we need to make the supplement which takes 1/2 a day to make. Even with it, we would need to start now to finish it before nightfall as it takes 3/4 of the day to complete.

>Ask Stahl if he could offer you any advice or tips on anything. If he is as kind as your master claims, he should be willing to at least help us out a bit!

(04-18-2017, 05:42 AM)Dragon Fogel Wrote: »Oh, I missed the supplement, was only looking at the generic ingredients. (also: it's Fogel, not Dragon)

Might as well start making the supplement when we get a chance then, then, so we have it available. Spending Magic Grass on it seems like the best idea, since we have the most of that and no other particular need for it right now. (And even if a need comes up, we can probably get more easily.)

My concern about the Puni quest is we have a three-quest limit. If this were an actual game I'd be confident about our ability to hunt down 10 in one day, but if it's going to take us two or three days, that's a bit long to be stuck with it. We can specifically look for them, though, so it probably won't be that bad.

(04-18-2017, 02:23 PM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>I second the idea of the supplement, if we aren't going into the woods today, we need to get cracking at basic recipes. Besides, practice makes perfect.

>The Puni thing is why I am suggesting to wait on the bomb for a bit. We don't know when we will find paper ingredients BUT it is possible at the grocers or the oddities shop we could find some. If we wanted to put time into it, we could get it done quickly...Fuck it. My final say is that we take the bomb quest, the wood chip quest and wait on the Puni quest. Let's try and focus on completing this bomb quest and before we leave town next, we can pick up that Puni quest. Since we will have finished the bomb quest and be about to finish the Wood Chip one, there is no danger of us missing a good quest.

Opinions?

(04-18-2017, 04:36 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> Uh, yeah, seems like everyone has suggested sane and sensible things to say, so I don't have much to add.

> Just one thing, I suppose. I don't see Spoiled Milk being all that useful, so maybe we should (whenever we're next doing alchemy, probably after the quests are done) move that to the Basket and make Supplement out of that.

> Incidentally, could we send Dave to do the quests and stay home to do alchemy? He can handle himself, right? Ask him. It would be way more efficient for sure.

(04-18-2017, 04:58 PM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>Milk is good idea, didn't even think about that... >.<

You go ahead and hand in the wild grapes you have for that quest, and recieve a little bit of money. Good! While you're doing that, you ask Stahl if he has any particular advice.
"Just remember to prioritize your assignment," he says, "Your work here is helpful, but you wouldn't be able to keep doing it if your shop got closed down. Beyond that, of course, don't take any request you aren't sure you can complete on time. I have to do even more paperwork whenever something doesn't get done." If you didn't know any better, you'd say these bits of advice were more about how to help him. Still, it's not bad advice.

You decide to take on the request for Wood Chips and also the one for a Bomb, since that one has no time limit, after all.

The tour of the town done for now, you make a few mental notes of what sort of inventory each shop has, and head back home to finally try your hand at a synthesis. There's some expired milk at home, which hardly has any other use, so since a Supplement can be made of anything you decide to try it with that first.

You wonder if you could send Dave out to gather ingredients or something...but on reflection, it doesn't seem like he'd know what to do. He seemed a little surprised you were interested in those herbs you found, and the wood chips, and even the wild grapes even though those might have been good for food. He didn't seem aware the Puni even dropped anything when it died, and he probably wouldn't have gathered up the fur either. He'll probably be out around the forest with his parents occasionally anyway, though, so maybe if you took some time to try and teach him what sort of things are useful he could pick some things up on those trips? It might be worth a try later.

When you actually get home, you first open up the book you bought from Hazel and the package from the pharmacy, which contains another book; both do indeed seem to be alchemy books. Hazel's book is Cooking Without Cooking, and contains recipes for Plain Bread, Potato Soup, and Chocolate. The other one is Bare Necessities, and contains recipes for Notebook Paper, Polish Powder, and...a Barrel? What?

Anyway, you get to work on making the Supplement. You have to find a place to pause in the middle to get some sleep, but are able to carry on the next morning and finish it up, bottling the strange liquid produced. It kind of smells; you get the impression it's not exactly what one would call "high quality". Still, it seems like your efforts were successful and you can more or less call yourself an alchemist! It's a little exciting.

>

Date: 1/3
Time: About one quarter

Status & Inventory:

326 Cole

Character Status:

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Basket (15/60):

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Container:

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Known Recipes:

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Known Item Categories:

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Locations:

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Current Requests:

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Shop Inventories:

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A/N:

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infuriatingCrimson · 04-19-2017, 07:46 PM

>Oh hey, if we go grab a bandage and use a wood chip, we will have the materials to make a bomb! Yay for quick turn-over!

>Alternately we can prepare ourselves for the next foray into the wilds. Y'know, empty our basket, tell Dave and see if he wants to come, perhaps use our current supplement to make a healing paste instead. Since it's our first try and we used a bad ingredient, it most likely won't be fantastic.

>When we go out next, we will be staying out for awhile. We need to gather as much as we can in as short a time as we can. While I would suggest us crafting first, if we do decide to get moving, we need to at least grab a few supplies to go on a longer expedition.

(As for where I was back then, I wasn't around! :P I only recently became interested in forum adventures. Don't worry about complaining, I do it all the time. :D)

Derelict · 04-20-2017, 05:32 PM

> If we want to make Supplements, the cheapest option is buying the Notebook Paper, which is 10 Cole per Supplement we could make. That's probably important to keep a note of, since we want to keep costs down.

> Also, yeah, do that quest. Since we might be buying the Notebook Paper anyway, may as well splash out and get that quest done. We'll make a solid profit, anyway.

> Definitely empty the basket. In preparation, I say let Dave prepare the actual route, since he's been spent more time in the forest than us. Meanwhile, we prepare stuff! Also, we could use one of the Notebook to make a Healing Paste. That's, like, what we were supposed to be making for Sarah, right? It's at least on the right track.

> Don't go today. Prepare everything we could possibly need (maybe send Dave on those minor errands), and if we're all cool with buying the Notebook Paper, make another Supplement out of that and store it with everything else.

[I didn't think EOFD was your first foray into writing, just one of the rare occasions where you were given some, but not all, agency. Regardless, I don't think I can really complain about this adventure - can I perhaps recommend that you put the status screen into a Google Doc and update it as and when? That should be far easier in the long run. Perhaps keep the party status in the actual body of the thing, and other information in the document.

As for being missing and not commenting, yeah... I was perhaps a little selfish. I put my all into Empty Overworld, but I very rarely interacted in other people's adventures, even before the collapse, which was perhaps the wrong the thing to do. I got support from Hex and everyone there, but never really gave anything back. So, yes. Sorry, man - I'll support this adventure, and if there's others you want to do give me a shout and I'll comment the hell out of them.]

infuriatingCrimson · 04-20-2017, 06:28 PM

>Didn't see the x10 on the notebook paper. That's definitely a better deal...but it's probably lower quality.

>The healing paste is a start, but I don't think we want to turn in low-quality work. We are being judged on how well it satisfies the requirement. If we give them a bunch of gunk that can barely fix a minor scratch, we will still lose the business. High-quality materials, practice, and better recipes will ensure we give them what they want.

>I will begin construction of a Google Doc for the monsters today, so I might as well add in the everything else. I'll post the link to it later today. I'll make sure to give you guys access to modify it as well.

(As for the commenting thing, same here. If you start another story, pm and I will come over to comment as well. XD)

infuriatingCrimson · 04-21-2017, 02:00 AM

I made v.1 of the sheet. I will try and keep it updated as best as I can. If you guys want to add/improve to my terrible job, feel free. I won't take offense. Happymelon

I also made a back-up to prevent any trolling/loss of data.

Show Content

Xindaris · 04-22-2017, 12:22 AM

(04-19-2017, 07:46 PM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>Oh hey, if we go grab a bandage and use a wood chip, we will have the materials to make a bomb! Yay for quick turn-over!

>Alternately we can prepare ourselves for the next foray into the wilds. Y'know, empty our basket, tell Dave and see if he wants to come, perhaps use our current supplement to make a healing paste instead. Since it's our first try and we used a bad ingredient, it most likely won't be fantastic.

>When we go out next, we will be staying out for awhile. We need to gather as much as we can in as short a time as we can. While I would suggest us crafting first, if we do decide to get moving, we need to at least grab a few supplies to go on a longer expedition.

(04-20-2017, 05:32 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> If we want to make Supplements, the cheapest option is buying the Notebook Paper, which is 10 Cole per Supplement we could make. That's probably important to keep a note of, since we want to keep costs down.

> Also, yeah, do that quest. Since we might be buying the Notebook Paper anyway, may as well splash out and get that quest done. We'll make a solid profit, anyway.

> Definitely empty the basket. In preparation, I say let Dave prepare the actual route, since he's been spent more time in the forest than us. Meanwhile, we prepare stuff! Also, we could use one of the Notebook to make a Healing Paste. That's, like, what we were supposed to be making for Sarah, right? It's at least on the right track.

> Don't go today. Prepare everything we could possibly need (maybe send Dave on those minor errands), and if we're all cool with buying the Notebook Paper, make another Supplement out of that and store it with everything else.

(04-20-2017, 06:28 PM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>Didn't see the x10 on the notebook paper. That's definitely a better deal...but it's probably lower quality.

>The healing paste is a start, but I don't think we want to turn in low-quality work. We are being judged on how well it satisfies the requirement. If we give them a bunch of gunk that can barely fix a minor scratch, we will still lose the business. High-quality materials, practice, and better recipes will ensure we give them what they want.

Fresh off of your success with making a Supplement, you decide it might be a good idea to go ahead and make a bomb, since the request for that seems pretty profitable. The only thing you're really missing is paper, so you head to the pharmacy and buy some Notebook Paper for 100 Cole, taking it back and putting it in storage. While you're at it, you dump the rest of the things you've been carrying around in there too; there's no reason to lug around a bunch of materials, after all.

The steps for making a Bomb are significantly more complex and taxing than those for the Supplement, and you can't help but feel the recipe is wording things in a confusing way on purpose as you get to some parts. As you get close to completing it, there are a few particularly dicey moments where you feel as if the cauldron is going to explode. But at the end, you finally manage to make the thing, and it looks..terrible.

Information: Usable Items
Usable items can be used from Sarah's basket out in the field and/or in battle, depending on the item. Typically a usable item has a certain number of uses before it is used up.

The end result is a bundle of a few thin red cylinders with fuses coming out of them, tied together at the end. But the fuse is frayed and seems to be perpetually damp, and you can just tell this won't pack much punch. You're not really even sure if it's because of the ingredients you used or because the recipe was so hard to follow. But still...the request didn't say anything about the item's quality. Before you go to bed for the night, you go and turn it in to Stahl for the request, and he doesn't seem to have anything to say about the item itself.

When you get up the next morning, the first thing you do is pull out all of the alchemy books you've got so far and read over the recipes in slightly more detail, not enough to take up a lot of time but enough to give you some advance warning of a situation like yesterday's. You add to your mental notes about all of the recipes a rough estimate of how hard you think it'll be to make.

Information: Difficulty
The marked difficulty of a recipe is a good predictor of how much energy it will cost to make as well as the probability of failure. Anything marked "Hard" or higher has a chance of going poorly or failing to produce the desired item at all. As you gain experience performing alchemy, recipes will tend to become easier, and you may even discover ways to make some things take less time to make; however, the energy cost for some recipes may never go down very far. The minimum possible cost of a recipe is closely correlated to how long it takes to make the item in question.

Once that's done, you turn your attention to probably making something else today. The Healing Paste looks like it'll be a little easier than that Bomb was, but you do need more supplements for that. You could use more of the Notebook Paper for that, but it seems like supplements can even be made out of tap water, which you wouldn't have to go buy more of...

>

Date: 1/4
Time: Dawn

Status & Inventory:

1226 Cole

Character Status:

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All other info

A/N:

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infuriatingCrimson · 04-22-2017, 02:38 AM

>So, it's confirmed that we are not skilled enough to properly make certain things. At least they accepted it, I guess.

>Ok, we have two options. Grab that Puni quest and farm up some nice ingredients or stay another day and make two supplements. I suggest getting our materials as fast as possible. The more materials we have, the longer we can sit and just craft, craft, craft! Happymelon

>We will be staying 5-6 days possibly in the woods. Keep this in mind before we wander off into said woods. We have only used 4 of our 30 allotted days, even though it feels like it's been weeks, so we are not even concerned with running low on time yet. Doesn't mean we want to waste this trip, though.

Derelict · 04-22-2017, 08:22 PM

> OK, cool, tap water can be used to make Supplements. I was wondering, but turns out I should've just guessed that'd be the case. Great!

> Anyway, that's the important thing right now. Make lots of Supplements, buy food and stuff, and... I dunno, go out on a walk with Dave. Nice relaxing walk with a friend should make us more energised!

> Ask Dave where your as-of-yet-unmentioned friend [insert-name-here] is. Maybe [he/she/it] can come with us. We need a new recruit or two for a longer trip!

Xindaris · 04-23-2017, 09:32 PM

(04-22-2017, 02:38 AM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>So, it's confirmed that we are not skilled enough to properly make certain things. At least they accepted it, I guess.

>Ok, we have two options. Grab that Puni quest and farm up some nice ingredients or stay another day and make two supplements. I suggest getting our materials as fast as possible. The more materials we have, the longer we can sit and just craft, craft, craft!

>We will be staying 5-6 days possibly in the woods. Keep this in mind before we wander off into said woods. We have only used 4 of our 30 allotted days, even though it feels like it's been weeks, so we are not even concerned with running low on time yet. Doesn't mean we want to waste this trip, though.

(04-22-2017, 08:22 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> OK, cool, tap water can be used to make Supplements. I was wondering, but turns out I should've just guessed that'd be the case. Great!

> Anyway, that's the important thing right now. Make lots of Supplements, buy food and stuff, and... I dunno, go out on a walk with Dave. Nice relaxing walk with a friend should make us more energised!

> Ask Dave where your as-of-yet-unmentioned friend [insert-name-here] is. Maybe [he/she/it] can come with us. We need a new recruit or two for a longer trip!

You decide to spend today making a couple more supplements out of tap water. After all, they're easy, they're free to make thanks to the tap water, they're good practice, and you need them for the healing paste, which is the only thing you know how to make right now for the Assignment. You don't have any trouble doing so, and wind up two supplements which seem to be about average quality: Nothing particularly amazing about them, but they don't stink like the one made out of spoiled milk.

You go to bed feeling at least a bit hopeful, like maybe you'll be able to keep things together at least this month.

The next day, you decide to head out and see about taking that puni slaying quest, since at some point you're going to need to go out to get more wood chips and gather magic grass for the healing paste anyway, besides the fact that it seems like battle experience is generally going to be valuable.

You are nearly to the castle when you are interrupted by a sudden, loud "AHA!"
After jumping at the noise, you look around frantically for a second or two before identifying the source of the aha as someone pointing dramatically in your direction.

It's a human girl a little bit shorter than you are, dressed very strangely. She has dark hair in a bowl cut and rounded eyeglasses that the sun glares off of, obscuring the eyes behind. The unusual part is a white...trenchcoat or something, a long-sleeved coat looking thing with buttons snapped together that hangs over her whole form and honestly looks a little bit oversized, flapping in the wind as it does.
"Uhh.." You feel a little awkward since she's been standing there pointing dramatically for at least a few seconds by now. "Can--"
"My competitor! Or potential competitor, such as it may be," she interrupts, dropping her hand to a side and striding confidently up to you. She takes one hand to the side of her glasses and adjusts them carefully, which briefly eliminates the galare enough to see she has red-tinted eyes. "Stahl claimed you were an 'Al-chemist', and then made a contradictory statement that you were not any kind of chemist at all despite that word's obvious etymology. He stated that your skin was green, which made it easy to spot you in a crowd."

"Do you..want something? Or is listing off things you heard about a person like your hobby," you say, getting a little annoyed already.
"You fulfilled a request for a bomb, did you not? Turned in the night before last to one Stahl Kazak at the castle desk."
"Yeah--" you start, and are interrupted again.
"Specifically this bomb," she says, producing it from some portion of her jacket you only now conclude must have been a pocket, "a damp specimen characteristic of a practical beginner at the art of combustion production, yet still someone with enough potential to produce something which at least performs the function for which it was intended."
"Do you have a point." You are really losing patience with this girl.

"Well, I am Miriam Kovich," she says, pointing a thumb at her own chest, "the primary and indeed only producer of explosives for this town's operations in the mines," she says, "but that is merely how I fund my true occupation. I am a scientist, bound to discover the true nature of all things in this world. Either way, however, I could hardly allow my business to be undercut by somebody barely capable of producing something of this level of quality," she says, waving the bomb still in her other hand around. "Therefore I have decided that if you wish to pursue the career of combustion production, I must teach how to do it properly."
You cross your arms. "You decided, huh."
"Yes," She presses on, ignoring the sarcasm entirely. "So I must observe your methodology in order to see what is at fault."
"Well, I'm not making any bombs today," you say, "I have a lot of other stuff to do."

"The march of progress will not be deterred!" she says dramatically (and a little too loudly as well). "I am given to understand that you produce other items through the process of this al-chemistry, so the next time you decide to do so I shall watch and undoubtedly glean some information on how you made this pitiful explosive."
"Uhh, most of the recipes I have take like a whole day to complete," you say, exaggerating the length in an effort to discourage her. The more sensible 'I'm not going to let you into my house' seems unlikely to work with someone of this overbearing a personality.
"Science knows no impatience," she says, her glasses gleaming in the sun again. "You were on your way to see Stahl, correct? I'll wait right here until you've conducted your business."
"Yeah sure.." You continue toward the castle, beginning to mentally route a way back to your workshop that will stay well out of sight of this girl, just in case.

After waiting in line for a moment or so, you make it to Stahl's desk. "How can I help you?" he says.
"Well, I wanted to take on the request to kill some Punis," you say.
"If you mean the one I showed you a few days ago, that one's gone," he says curtly.
"Gone?"
He nods. "Someone else took it. If you wanted to do that request you should have taken it then. I can hardly tell someone else they're not allowed to take a request that nobody has already promised to do, after all."
"Oh..yeah.." You feel a little airheaded for this to have not occurred to you sooner. "Well, what quests are up now, then?"

"Hmm. Actually, I got one request for you specifically."

Information: Personal Requests
Anyone familiar with Sarah can put up a request specifically for her to do. Unlike normal requests, these will not disappear until their due date, but there is only a penalty for not doing them if you actually agree take them on. Completing a personal request, in addition to being just as profitable as regular requests are, is the main way to improve your relationship with a person. Improving your relationship with a shopkeeper will give you discounts (though how deep and how often depends on the person), possibly unlock new inventory for the shop, and may have other benefits as well. Improving your relationship with a party member will reduce their fee and is generally beneficial otherwise; some people who you encounter in town are actually potential party members who will join your party once your relationship with them improves sufficiently.

Stahl gives a new list of requests available today:

Slay 5 Wolves by 1/30 - 700 Cole
(From Hazel Tethel) Bring Milk Chocolate x 3 by 1/27 - 750 Cole
Bring 1 Ingot by 1/30 - 200 Cole
Bring 2 Wolf Fur by 1/15 - 400 Cole
Bring 1 Healing Paste by 1/25 - 600 Cole

"Remember that you've already taken one request, so you only have room for two more right now."

>

Date: 1/6
Time: Dawn

Status & Inventory:

1226 Cole

Character Status:

Show Content

All other info

A/N:

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infuriatingCrimson · 04-24-2017, 03:54 AM

>Okay, so let's break down each one, shall we?
1. Good since we can complete this on our coming trip, or at least partially. Bonus points for synergizing well with 4.
2. Personal Request, no danger of it disappearing. Comes with the disadvantage that we have no known sources of cocoa beans. Suggest asking grocers if they can order some in.
3. Low Reward. High Difficulty. Bad Deal.
4. Read #1.
5. We have the materials, the time, and a stranger, who could turn into a friend, that wants to see us craft. Might be worth doing, but we might lose out on the possible synergy.

>Befriending the strange chemist may lead to a very useful party member who uses explosives. Sounds like reason enough to me for us to tolerate her...eccentricness. Try explaining to her that you honestly do not think that what you do is chemistry. Perhaps explaining what an alchemist is will help her understand.

Any input about this, guys? Any of you disagree? Any of you hate me? All opinions are welcome. : D

Derelict · 04-24-2017, 04:10 PM

> 1 and 4 sound good for the time being.

> Don't talk to Miriam again just yet. Do Dave or Stahl or anyone else know of her?

> Make more Supplements, if possible. Don't take up the whole day, just make a few more whilst we decide when and how we're going on another trip.

infuriatingCrimson · 04-24-2017, 05:05 PM

(04-24-2017, 04:10 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> Make more Supplements, if possible. Don't take up the whole day, just make a few more whilst we decide when and how we're going on another trip.

>It takes 1/2 a day to make 1 supplement. Making "a few more" will take at least a day if not longer.

>Ask Stahl about her. Might also be a good idea to ask what a chemist is, fi you don't know. After all, explaining her mistake calmly and rationally is a smart idea.

>If we do allow her to watch us make something, let's make a healing paste since we will prolly need that, then we can relax and chat it up with Dave for the last fourth of the day.

You think that's good?

Xindaris · 04-25-2017, 05:58 PM

(04-24-2017, 03:54 AM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>Okay, so let's break down each one, shall we?
1. Good since we can complete this on our coming trip, or at least partially. Bonus points for synergizing well with 4.
2. Personal Request, no danger of it disappearing. Comes with the disadvantage that we have no known sources of cocoa beans. Suggest asking grocers if they can order some in.
3. Low Reward. High Difficulty. Bad Deal.
4. Read #1.
5. We have the materials, the time, and a stranger, who could turn into a friend, that wants to see us craft. Might be worth doing, but we might lose out on the possible synergy.

>Befriending the strange chemist may lead to a very useful party member who uses explosives. Sounds like reason enough to me for us to tolerate her...eccentricness. Try explaining to her that you honestly do not think that what you do is chemistry. Perhaps explaining what an alchemist is will help her understand.

(04-24-2017, 04:10 PM)Derelict Wrote: »> 1 and 4 sound good for the time being.

> Don't talk to Miriam again just yet. Do Dave or Stahl or anyone else know of her?

> Make more Supplements, if possible. Don't take up the whole day, just make a few more whilst we decide when and how we're going on another trip.

(04-24-2017, 05:05 PM)infuriatingCrimson Wrote: »>It takes 1/2 a day to make 1 supplement. Making "a few more" will take at least a day if not longer.

>Ask Stahl about her. Might also be a good idea to ask what a chemist is, fi you don't know. After all, explaining her mistake calmly and rationally is a smart idea.

>If we do allow her to watch us make something, let's make a healing paste since we will prolly need that, then we can relax and chat it up with Dave for the last fourth of the day.

You tell Stahl you'd like to take on the wolf-slaying quest and the one for wolf fur. Actually, don't you have exactly that much fur in storage...? If you wanted to you could turn that one in today and take on another quest as well.

While he's writing that down you say, "Uhm, do you know a Miriam Kovich?"
"Yes," he nods. "She moved here about a year back, mostly provides explosive materials for mining but sometimes fulfills a few other odd requests. A little..strange, I know, but very intelligent and meticulous about her work. Takes care of her own paperwork." You sense a slight tone of approval about this aspect of her. "I double-check it, of course, but I haven't found a mistake yet."
"She said she was a..chemist?" Did she say that? She mentioned 'chemistry' at least. "Is that anything like alchemy?"
"I don't think so," he shakes his head. "I think it has to do with producing poisons or explosives or something, but obviously she herself would be the expert."

>

Date: 1/6
Time: Dawn

Status & Inventory:

1226 Cole

Character Status:

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All other info

A/N:

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infuriatingCrimson · 04-25-2017, 06:25 PM

(It's more our fault for not realizing we had enough...)

>Might as well turn it in and grab number 5, the healing paste one. We will be making healing paste eventually anyway.

>Well, to be fair, Miriam might be able to teach us new recipes possibly. I will leave it up to others whether we talk to her, but she could be a possible ally...

>Either way, I say our next step should be chilling, maybe hanging out with Dave. Y'know, to restore our energy?