Duty Session 502: Convoy Escort Quest I

There is no job too small, too insignificant, too poorly paid and too low experience that it isn't worth doing at least *once*. Why? Completionism. Broading horizons. Going back to the basics. There is a series of reasons that would fit and none of them are brought up by Souji beyond 'Training!' The Samurai has a thing and it beats the other thing as a small horde of cluck clucks and lander women are following him around. It makes the caravan just outside of town wonder if they need another wagon. Alas, he bids his group goodbye. One at a time. This could take a while.

The job itself? Simple escort. With the war against the Palace Lands, supplies are under higher risk. It used to just be monsters. Now it is monsters and PvP threats. Although the Guild can't afford to pay more, the relief it gives to the war effort is not unnoticed. It is going to be a long trip over rough terrain. The lower level Adventurers here are relieved to see more senior ones join the fray.

There may be no job too small or insignificant to do once for completionism, but Goldenblade /grinds/ them, though she wouldn't know the term. She'll do the same quest over and over again because ... well, that's complicated. Mainly, having grown up before television, she'd become accustomed to finding her own entertainment. And then again, she was raised to not spend all her time sitting around, she prefers to be active. So. Here she is, ready to do /another/ convoy escort, as if it were a single and unique thing in the world. It kind of is, but it's kind of like other escort quests, at least as far as the guild is concerned. It doesn't bother her that they won't reward her for this. She does it because she wants to.

Vertina had recently been training with Soujiro to teach him some of her techniques, so she was along for the trip. Mostly to see how Shoujiro puts what he's learned into action. And because it's fun to help friends out. Between the war effort and Ninetales still recovering from the Undead Army disaster, there was no shortage of helping things to do.

And with Asuna helping out at the Tavern there's someone she can trust to handle things and give herself a bit more open time for adventuring.

Just need to make sure she stocks plenty of fruit juice beforehand to keep that red panda of hers placated.

The group doesn't have time to get into position before a blustering merchant stops them. They've seen adventurers. You don't look the part. "You there," he points to Soujiro, "this is not /that/ kind of caravan. This is serious business. Where is your armor?!" Soujiro looks to the merchant. "You have a point there. Rest assured, I can don it before an enemy can strike me and light travel is good for..." before the merchant cuts him off. He doesn't want /reasons/ he wants /results/. Goldenblade gets a stern look, seeming to /completely forget/ the Legendary power that is Goldenblade while in his tantrum, "And you, a builder! We need fighters, not road pavers." By now he is fuming, going down the line to the junior Adventurers calling them short, scrawny, or weak. "We are at war," he practically yells in Vertina's face as his face goes red, "and this is all you can assemble?"

The merchant goes to the caravan leader and begins his case, "I have delicate, sensitive merchandise on this caravan. Losing it would ruin me. RUIN ME, you hear me? We have to wait until we have quality guards, quality Adventurers. I can't risk the fate of my business on this circus act!" The caravan guard is used to merchants being a little anxious, but this man is off his rocker. He looks to the senior Adventurers here to help lend credibility.

"Sir," Soujiro says with those kind eyes and warm smile that comes with a healthy amount of sparkles, "let me put your fears to rest. Among the group here are those that have faced countless monsters and are accomplished duelists against other Adventurers. Things are going to be alright." It is not settling down a horde of worried Adventurers in Act 1 of Log Horizon, but it does come with Souji Sparkles.

Vertina just rolls her eyes at all the objections and what not going on. Talking nicely to people really isn't her thing. You start something in the Tavern and she's morely likely to literally throw you out until you sober up rather than try to talking down. So she just focuses on a putting that same strength to use in getting the wagons loaded up and ready so they can get going. It's got some manner of actions speak louder than words to it, showing that they're ready to do this no matter how tough or minial the tasks may be.

Wait until they get to the real trouble. Then these people will see they shouldn't be so fussy

Goldenblade frowns at the merchant, ahems, and taps the badge she wears, the living scale that symbolizes her rank in the Westelande military. She doesn't command troops, it's kind of an emiritus thing, but it's not given out for building. It's not given out for commanding troops, either. It /is/ given out as a mark of their faith in her ability to meet expectations and come through in dire circumstances, and she draws about a foot of one blade, just enough for him to see the golden sheen of living fire that dances inside it. "Believe me when I say we can and will perform your task without fail. You may trust in us." Besides, there's no one else here to do it. But she gives him a stern look. She met some GI's on leave back in the day, and they called it their Military Bearing face, and it was sort of a joke to them. But it should do for the Lander to show him she's Serious Business.

It helps when you have a literal Legend in the party. Soujiro's calming voice, confident demeanor, and 'I understand your feelings' attitude only goes so far. Even when bolstered by Vertina's display of physical prowess it falls short to address the merchant's comfort level as 'Only Goldenblade is the capable one here' plus 'get me a group of Goldenblades' which isn't a realistic request. No one is getting a group of /Legends/ on an entry level escort quest. Time is wasted negotiating down the merchant until the caravan heads on out.

The Caravan doesn't get more than half a mile down the road before trouble shows itself. Monsters. Hungry monsters at that. They wait in ambush on a hill, seeking easy prey. This convoy looks to fit the bill. As the lead wagon rounds a band, the party sees a monster scout. The scout sees the party. They share a deer in headlights moment together. The tense silence is broken with a, "AAAaaawwowowoowrrraaaarraammaahhaa," and various other sounds that even the translator struggles with. What is worse is the sound is repeated back to the scout in a chorus of voices.

These goblinoids are common monsters, but they have bows and the high ground. Even light sabers struggle against the high ground, Anakin. The carvan? Sitting duck targets, much to the offense of the not-present mallard that follows Souji around. This is going to be difficult.

Ranged combat. Soujiro's red armor materializes onto him with an equip as his shoulder blocks out an arrow headed towards one of the Landers. A second is cut in half from the draw of his katana. "Protecting the Landers," he lets the party know over the party chim. That might assume 'shielding' them, but he does it in a very Swordsaint Way: With Light. His blade glows and bursts blinding light back at the archers, intercepting arrowfire with light-imbued blades. See, the lightsaber reference showed up after all.

Goldenblade rides confidently along in the wagon, looking out for danger, but she's only got one set of eyes, that anyone knows about, and as a Blade Dancer, she's got no shield to hide behind. She'll take the hits then as she charges them, closing the distance under their withering and quickly panicked fire. Because she keeps coming despite taking all they can dish out. When she is among them, blades lashing out like whips of fire, the ones standing fast and surviving Sourjiro and Vertina's magic are scattered. This is more than they want to deal with.

This is exactly what Vertina was thinking. Let's see how they act after they've had a spot of trouble to be saved from.

At the first monsterous sounds the Salamander monk vaults down from the wagon she was riding on, sprinting up next to Soujiro. "Fortunately for them, I'm the best defense is a strong offense sort."

She makes a quick hand gestures to center and channel her ki, drawing it into a sizable pulsating sphere between her hands. She lobs it over her head, then plants a heel to pivot on and spin around, catching the orb's descent with a roundhouse kick and sending it arcing high and fast enough to land in the middle of the monster archer ranks.

Where it detonates, pixilating those closest to it's impact and blinding others, who end up shooting their clanmates or themselves in the confusion.

The party makes short work of the assault with Light and Might. The caravan still things lightly of the Adventurers, but now it is for a better reason. The caravan takes a quick assessment of lost life or goods before moving onwards. A few hours pass without incident. Miles of nature go by, giving an unspoiled view one would be hard-pressed to find in the real world. Souji's smile looks natural in a place like this. Like it draws from these awe inspiring moments of the world to recharge his own Light and share it with others in a genuine way. He makes sure to spend time with the lower level Adventurers to point out the landscape. The taint of the demoralizing merchant seems to melt away after an hour or two of this treatment. Good for the soul.

The sun sets in the distance. Camp is set up. Everyone assembles to eat dinner and the quartermaster opens up the crates of supplies set aside to feed everyone on this trip. A loud groan is heard from the wagon with the supplies. The food is spoiled and rotten. Something must be done or everyone is going to bed hungry tonight in an effort to ration across the entire trip.

"I have always wanted to get better at Hunting," Soujiro takes this frown upside down as an opportunity. "You get much better drops that way. Mind showing me a few tricks along the way?" he asks Goldenblade. Always. Training. "We'll be back with fresh food," he lets Vertina know. Sure, he doesn't /know/ it will work out, but Soujiro doesn't work off of 'knowing' but 'believing' and its contagious.

Goldenblade nods to Soujiro, and says, "Well, you're in luck. I've got a fishing pole right here, we can catch some fish and bake them right up. just got to find a stream..." The next two hours are spent traipsing across the countrtyside looking for a stream, to no avail. "I was sure I saw one over this way as we were hiking," is uttered several times, but no stream is forthcoming.

"You two be careful out there." Which is just being polite, between the two of them they shouldn't really run into much trouble. While she could hunt as well, Vertina has another skill that's going to be necessary to be make the best of the bad situation. She walks back over to the Quartermaster and the supplies just as he's about to dump stuff out. "No, wait!" she quickly grabs the crate he's hefting, lightly pulling it back down to the ground. "It might not all be useless. Some things can be cooked out. Or used in other ways." She takes an alchemy flask out of her inventory and hands it to the Quartermaster. "Go pour that in the water barrels, it'll clear out any contamination they've picked up from the food spoiling."

Then she gets to work actually sorting through the foodstuff, picking what can be used still, or she can cleanse through cooking and alchemy. Some of the stuff isn't safe for the people to eat but can be fed to the wagon pulling Grunties so it doesn't go to waste.

By the time Souji and Goldie return she's actually managed to make well with what she could. It's just a matter of portioning and cooking what they bring and no one has to sleep on an empty stomach.

Plus she did have a backup, but fortunately didn't need it.

Soujiro seems intent on doing some fishing with Goldenblade. Big smile on his face. "I used to love fishing with my family," he says, "and here, who knows what could pop up? Sea monsters. Treasure chests." His excitement and love comes out in a way that isn't 'extra' or 'cringe'. Genuine. Like he belongs here. Likewise he belongs 'over there' as they walk. The Samurai phases out and in so quickly to strike the wild game while they travel that the two still end up with quite a haul. No fish, but plenty of fresh meat for Vertina to cook up. The caravan celebrates with fresh local meat cooked by a chef along with plenty of recovered food from the travel rations. People pay good money for this kind of culinary experience. Soujiro of course hands out some tea afterwards because Soujiro is all about that Edo period tea-and-Samurai look. So refined. So elegant. So Souji.

It is the second day out on the road and the convoy is on track and on time. There were bumps along the way, but that is the true Adventure. Random encounter tables. Problems to overcome. The friends you make along the way. The enemies you leave in pixels. Speaking of complications, the next problem is one that everyone sees coming from a mile away. Literally. One mile. It is a Giant Dire Peko as big as a house running right for them. The dust cloud is kicking up behind them with the sort of 'Nani?!' associated with someone stealing a wild animal's eggs. Going around it isn't an option. Trying to deal with it by bribing it with food? Not an option. In Soviet Elder Tales, Food is You. This rule also applies to the Yamato Server.

Know what is more comical than one dust cloud? Two. Soujiro is already running full steam ahead at this thing in 'You shall not pass' fashion. He isn't being a goofball, he is trying to pull the fight further away from the Caravan. Something of /that/ size could accidentally damage the wagons. The technique is a Solo Dash, something Samurai do to get up in melee range. The duration of the skill comes to a close as he rips his katana from its saya, taking all the momentium from his running and ending a rippling force of Sword Arte energy out to collide with the Giant Dire Peko, the GDP, to knock it down a few pegs without causing an economic crisis.

And Vertina is almost literally on Soujiro's heels thanks to her own speed and agility. Though when he stops to swing his Sword Arte the Salamander martial artist doesn't. But she does use Soujiro's stationary stance after his swing to her advantage, taking a light jump to briefly land on his shoulders, and vault fully into the air from there.

She needs the extra height to clear his attack, and get closer to the Giant Peko's eye level, so she can slam both her fists in a raw hammerblow upside it's temple to knock it silly.

Goldenblade's unsuccessful fishing trip is at least not a crisis, though she's not happy with herself and goes to sleep in a grumbly mood. She's not mad at anyone. But Soujiro wanted to go fishing, and she hasn't been fishing with her sons since the 1970's. Heavysigh.

The next morning dawns and there's things to do to get underway and she does them, last night in the past, and she smiles as we get back underway. Only to stop and look up at the Giant Dire Peko. "Well. I know what's for supper tonight," she says, and charges. There is a fight, but she's not going to lose to drumsticks the size of a golf cart here for the plucking, and after a savage melee, it's all over but the cooking.

RIP GDP. It may look like a hard won battle, but it turns out like a Dark Souls fight when you go back to the starter bosses after being super powered. No contest. News will make it back to the caravan that the Giant Dire Peko has fallen and it causes the merchants to panic for Mercantile reasons before the caravan leader explains the GDP is a monster, not the Gross Domestic Product. If anything, there is some more meat for Vert to cook up!

The second day of traveling draws to a close. It was an eventful day and one the convoy is glad to put behind them. Tomorrow the caravan reaches its destination. Tonight? Tonight there is a problem.

The pack animals have had enough of the rough journey. They aren't settling down for the night. If they do not get rest they will not be in a state to pull the wagons tomorrow. To make matters worse the noise is keeping everyone else up. It looks like the group will need to step in again if they dont want to be pulling the wagons themselves. Don't ask Souji, he might be into that under the name of 'extreme training'. So either the part needs to calm the animals down or find some suitable replacements.

Leave no chick behind, thats Soujiro's motto, and what is a Peko if not a big Cluck Cluck? The kind hearted Samurai spends time with the riled up birbs, soothing them with pets but most importantly listening to what is going on. Its been hard, hasnt it? Goblins attacked you. We probably just murdered your Peko God just now. I know. Have a treat. Treat yourself. Now LETS TRAIN.

Goldenblade grumbles as the animals get rowdy and won't settle down. One of the animals seems to be the least settled, and when some of the others calm down a bit, it's that one that stirs things up again. Goldenblade saw this in a movie. She goes up to the animal and sucker punches it with all she's got. It's not clear who's more surprised, the Landers, the Players, or the animal itself. But it crumples, having been sucker punched /hard/.

The other animals take one look at Goldenblade and quiet down immediately when she looks over at them.

Of course there's always one that has to run off and be a pain in the ass. Fortunately grunties aren't all that fast, but Pekos are another story. One runs off even with Soujiro coddling the others, so Vertina takes off after it. And while she has little to no formal training in the matter of wrangling animals, she's done it enough time helping on the Alliance grunty ranch and Syx's farm to make the best of what she can do.

Which is catch up to the bird, put it in a headlock (I did say she learned from helping Syx on his farm after all), and after a 'Big Dust Cloud of Violence' manages to wrestle the bird into submission and outright carry it back to the convoy. By that point the Peko has been so tired out that it falls straight to sleep once she sets it down.

Beasts of burden burden a lot for beasts. They are simple minded and just want to wark and kweh a little bit. Does anybody listen? Technically yes, no one has a choice, but /really/ listen? Souji Sparkles calm the frazzled down. 'No!' warks one of the birbs. 'We will not STAND for this injustice!' That bird is likely a Karen and not Haru's Karen. It mimics the merchant from earlier. It demands to be heard! Demands: Not met. It is quickly taken out by Goldenblade and suffled away from the scene to much silence. A fresh Peko is pushed into its place by Vertina. Soujiro transitions the awkwardness right back into casual comforts. Teamwork! The caravan is ready for the morning now.

"Oh! This is that quest for escorting the convoy, right?" says a voice of a local Adventurer. You are so close. SO CLOSE. The destination is JUST over the hill. And then these other adventurers who are throwing fireballs at squirrels see you and come over to you. "You don't mind if we join up, right?" they say with a casual sort of 'look, its easy xp and cash that I didnt have to work for' way. Be a pal, pal.

You do mind. You worked for this. Gobbos died for this. THE GDP FELL FOR THIS! You haven't suffered all these challenges just to have some randos come in and muscle in on your quest reward that you'd have to split even more.

You mind. You mind very much.

For as friendly as Soujiro is the expected, on brand response might be thought of 'Well shucks fellas, lets all hug it out and go get that reward together.' Shocker. Souji takes a firmer tone here, "No." Simple. Direct. He lets the uncomfortable denial settle on their ears. When they start to be all 'hey, lighten up', the Samurai cuts them off with his natural presence, "Experience is more than a number. We saw the world. Accomplished things. A reward for just showing up has no value. To you. To the world we inhabit." He points back to where they came from, "So if you want the reward, the journey to it starts back there, not right here."

Goldenblade blinks as these wanna-be's try and muscle in on our duty after all we've been through. She's inclined to just give them a thrashing, but she's not a PVPer, and there's risks there, too. What she does say is, picking up from Soujiro shooing them off, "Anyhow, we're just the vanguard. Our boss, with the moneybags, is just a couple hours behind us, down the trail. You'll have to talk to him if you want to join up. You can follow us if you like, but you won't get paid."

Getting paid is the goal of these scammers, so after Soujiro sends them off and Goldenblade lies to them, they scamper off looking for some fictional caravan boss. And from this, they will learn that you don't guard a caravan just by riding in a wagon for a couple hours.

And once again it shows that Vertina isn't really the Let's Talk It Out sort. So she let's Soujiro and Goldenblade take care of that, giving the would-be hanger-ons a piece of their minds.

"What they said. What's the point in the reward if you don't work for it?" The tall athletic Salamander does step in to provide some additional leverage once they are done though. "Not to mention slipping in at the end of the journey will do nothing to garner your reputation, if anything it'll give you the opposite results. Both with these hard-working Lander operators, and with the Hunter's Guild that manages assigning of Quests and Duties as a whole." She uses her height to lean forward and narrow her eyes intimidatingly at one of the men. "Is one payoff really worth getting yourselves black balled from any and all future endeavors that might have even better payouts?"

And then, just to back up that they are not letting these men in, releases a pressurized wave of air. Nothing to hurt, just to push the men back away from the convoy so they get the hint. "If you want the gold and the experience, start from the beginning like everyone else!"

The scammers scoff and do the whole 'I dont need this noise' because they are clearly too good for it. They have squirrels to murder. With fireballs. Yeah. Important stuff.

At last. It is over. Escort missions are the bane of gamers, but you did it. The convoy reached its destination and you're more experienced for the... experience. The reward helps. It is a nice reward in monetary form and the gratitude of those you were escorting.

"I guess I was wrong about you," says the merchant from earlier. The anxiety has drained from his face. "No. No guessing. I was wrong about you. You are all capable Adventurers. Please accept my heartfelt apology for my earlier behavior. Without this delivery I would have been ruined," he says, bowing to the group. Straightening up he says, "It is only fair I pick up your tab tonight at the tavern. Drinks are on me." The Adventurers cheer!

"That was fun," Soujiro offers to Vert and Goldenblade amongst the good cheer. "Now I have the urge to go fishing for a bit before joining in the good cheer. Welcome to accompany me."

Goldenblade smirks as the bumps scamper off to kill more squirrels. Some people don't get the game. She nods gravely to the Lander as he apologizes, and will let him pick up her tab without complaint. Free eats are best eats.

She nods to Soujiro, and says, "Yeah, I've got a better fishing pole somewhere, but I must have put it someplace ..." She shrugs. "It frustrates me that you can't do things in the game that you could do in real life."

Vertina snorts softly at the scammers beating a hasty retreat. "Figures. As soon as someone stands up to them they wimp out. I hope one of those squirrels bites them in the n--" Her insult is cut off by the caravan master shouting that they're in the home free. But they're talking about squirrels, it's not hard to figure out what she was going to say.

"Actually, fishing doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. To unwind from this venture... and I can make us something to eat on the way home if we're lucky enough to catch anything." That's one of the advantages Vertina has as a cook, she also has the gathering skill to go with it. Or at least one of them. Meat is arguably the most important one though.