MasterEnvi Hey, sorry about no uploads yesterday. I was super busy and just didn't have time to sit down at my computer until super late at night. A good place to get updates about that stuff ahead of time is the Discord. I'll always have updates for people there, especially since it's super easy for me to pull my phone out and say something. Anyways, that's all. Enjoy the chapters!
‘Ping’ [Wood Manipulation] has leveled up 6 > 9
I hummed thoughtfully as I looked at the new arm I had magicked up. I had tried to simplify the process a little bit. Superfluous details got cut out and I formed it more based on function rather than aesthetic.
Last time I had gotten too caught up in making it look identical to my real arm, but that had been a mistake. This time my arm definitely looked more basic, but I still had about the same amount of mana pumped into it as usual.
I designed it to look more like you’d expect a sci-fi android arm to look. More like two segmented pieces attached together by a ball joint for the elbow, another ball joint for the wrist as well, and similarly for the base of my knuckles. Each finger was segmented allowing them to be able to bend inwards. I then layered wood over the joints in a way that hopefully wouldn’t impede their movements but give them some amount of protection. It made them look a little bulky, but I’d rather have that be the issue rather than they get targeted and break easily.
I stood up from the edge of my bed and put my shirt on. The plan was to meet at Lorin's shop before meeting back up at the guildhall and I was running a bit late currently, having spent a bit too much time on making my arm this morning. He’d finished the armor after three days of working on it and I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out.
There was something exciting about getting my first armor set, something I inherently owned myself. It felt like a milestone, but I guess it really shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. I wasn’t too sure all I know is that I’m excited to have it and honestly, isn’t that what’s important at the end of the day?
I contemplated it for a moment before shrugging it off. I stood up from the edge of my bed where I had been sitting and walked out of the inn. I’d have to look at finding a more permanent place to sleep, I didn’t like the idea of having to pay for my room every night. Although I didn’t really know how much houses cost or something similar. I screwed up my face a little at the thought of renting somewhere. All I’d be doing was trading one landlord for another, not what I was interested in.
I stopped for a moment to try and remember the path Penny had taken me to Lorin’s the other day. I wasn’t quite confident in my ability to navigate the city yet, so instead of trying to go directly there from the inn I instead followed the exact path that Penny and I had taken.
It’d add a little bit to my travel time when I was already running a bit late, but I’d rather have that be the case over getting lost on my way there. That would be embarrassing.
I walked through the city at a brisk pace, it was still relatively early so there weren’t too many people getting about just yet, but there were definitely more people awake and around than would have been on Earth.
Before too long I found my way back to Lorin’s shop. The gang wasn’t standing out front so I figured they were already inside. I knocked on the front door before opening it, and as I did I heard Garrus talking
“-een in several months, for all we know it could end up anywhere.”
“That’s the problem, Garrus. It could end up anywhere.” The voice replying was Lorin who then sighed, “Just promise me you’ll do your best to stay out of trouble, at the very least don’t try and fight it if it shows up.”
I made my way to the front counter where everyone else was standing, George and Karif were standing off to the side, George had a slight frown on his face while Karif glanced between the three groups and then myself as I approached.
Penny seemed completely disinterested in what was being talked about.
“I won’t promise that Lorin, but I will at least promise to be careful,” Garrus replied as I came to a stop next to George and Karif.
“I guess thas’ the most I can get of ye’.” Lorin then turned toward me, “Yer finally here. Good. Let’s see if we can ya fitted out in your leathers. They should be sized perfectly, but we can at least make sure.”
He then gestured to an armor doll standing behind him that was fitted out with the set. Realistically there wasn’t anything special about it, and as I’d come to realize quite well I had no eye for determining the quality of stuff like this, but to me, it looked perfect.
And I voiced as much to Lorin, “It looks amazing, Lorin.”
“Hah, of course it does. I made it after all!” Lorin exclaimed with pride, slamming a large fist over his chest with a solid thump. “Come over here I’ll walk you through the steps, but I ain’t gonna help ye’. The sooner ye’ figure out how to do it yerself, the better off you'll be in the long run.”
It only took about thirty minutes to go through each step and that was simply because we kept stopping for Loring to explain something to me, either about caring for the armor or about stuff I could do to make quick emergency repairs in the field. Stuff that would help be the difference between the armor failing and it saving my life if I didn’t have a chance to get someone to properly look at it. Lorin did end up helping tighten a few straps and getting a couple of things in position to make sure I knew how they were supposed to feel in the correct spots.
There was a leather jerkin that went over whatever clothes I wore. It wouldn’t stop an arrow or anything from piercing me head-on, but at the very least it should prevent any glancing blows from doing any damage which was the main reason Penny had brought me here. Anything that helped.
There were also a pair of vambraces and greaves that went over my wrists and shins respectively. Those had been pretty easy to figure out. It was more just Lorin talking now that I thought about it. I couldn’t help some of the impatient excitement that was starting to bleed through my demeanor, however.
Lorin gave me something akin to a stink eye as he finished up the last explanation about some leather oil something or other he was giving me.
“Ye’ hear what I say?” He asked me dubiously.
I scoffed, “Of course, apply twice a week and make sure to observe for fraying at the end of each fight, you never know where it’ll start breaking first.” I recited dutifully. I may not know what it was called or what it was made out of, but I knew what we wanted me to do with it at least.
He nodded appreciatively, “Good, those ears aren’t just for show then.” He then looked between the five of us before turning around to rummage around in his stuff behind the counter, “Alright get outta here, I’ve got a business to run and ya’ll are eating into my hours.”
“Bye, Lorin. Thanks as always for your help.” Garrus said before turning to walk out of the store.
We all filed out of the store together as Garrus started to explain the next steps of the day, “The plan is to head down to the guildhall, I already have something picked out but I wanted us all there to hear the rundown of what it is, then we’ll probably split up from there to cover various errands to prep. This all took a little longer than I expected but we should have enough time to cover everything before anything happens.”
“Aye, sir,” Penny said with a mock salute.
Garrus just snorted in response before heading off down the street.
We walked in silence for a few minutes before my curiosity finally got the better of me, “So what were you and Lorin talking about when I showed up?”
Garrus glanced back at me but didn’t say anything for a while, I could see his jaw grinding a little bit as he contemplated what to say.
Eventually, he responded, “A thing. I don’t really wanna talk about it right now if I’m being honest. Maybe later.”
Which said to me it was definitely something I should probably know, or that I at least was the only one in the group that didn’t know. My glances around the group confirmed my suspicions on that front.
“Okay, I hear you on that. Just a word of warning Garrus.” I went from the lighthearted tone I started with to something a lot more serious, “Don’t hide things from me that could get me killed.”
Garrus came to a stop and turned to stare at me. His glare was intense, but I held it perfectly levelly. This wasn’t something I was backing down from just because I might hurt his feelings, I didn’t want to be hung out to dry because he was embarrassed about some dark secret. I’d be more offended if he chose to hide something from me because he wasn’t sure whether or not he could trust me not to be upset with him. I could tell he wanted to be angry as he opened his mouth to say something but I spoke before he could get anything out.
“I’m not fucking around with this, Garrus. I understand you have things you don’t want to talk about, but I already went out on a limb with my secrets for all of you. Something that potentially could’ve gotten me killed or locked up like a lab rat. So before you get upset with me, let me ask, is me not knowing this secret that everyone else in the group knows going to be something that directly gets me killed or hurt because I didn’t know beforehand?”
Penny was actually the one who replied to me, “No. Knowing wouldn’t change the outcome either way. Even if you knew there’s quite literally nothing you could do no matter how hard you tried.” She had a slightly sympathetic expression towards me, “I sincerely hope you never have to either.”
I nodded, “That’s fine then. If that’s the case I don’t particularly mind. But I’m also not going to sit here and pretend to ignore something that could’ve potentially come back to bite me in the butt.” I held up a hand to forestall him again, “I’m not saying you’ve got to spill every little secret to me, all I’m saying is that I’ve been forthcoming to you about personal stuff for me, at the very least I expect common courtesy to be observed.”
Garrus held my gaze levelly, but after hearing what I had to say he seemed to have calmed down a bit. I didn’t hate Garrus or anything even remotely like that, nor was I trying to step on his toes in any way. But at the same time I still only barely knew the group, my relationship with Penny seemed to be progressing the fastest but it was also something I still kind of held at arm's length.
He slowly nodded before turning around without saying anything and continuing back down towards the guild. Penny fell into step next to me.
“Thanks,” I whispered to her. She spared me a quick glance before looking forward again.
“What do you mean?”
“The way you answered helped defuse the situation. If Garrus had been the one to reply he might not have said it the same way or might have responded to something completely different. It also gave him the chance to back out of the conversation without having to say anything at all without particularly hurting his pride. I don’t enjoy being confrontational, but I’d rather have him angry at me than anyone ending up dead simply because I didn’t know something important.”
Penny slowly nodded, “I kinda see where you’re coming from, although I never really took you for the abrasive type.”
I chuckled a little, “I try not to be, but at 25 years old and every year I get older the more I start to care less about how people view me as a whole for trying to take care of myself. I shouldn’t have to be viewed as rude or uncaring simply for looking out for my own well-being, nor am I going to spare someone's feelings if it’s going to put me in danger. That’s just not fair to me or anyone else in a similar position. I would hope that others would act the same way in regards to me.”
“That’s definitely one way to look at it, a lot of people here wouldn’t exactly agree with it. Most would just say it’s your own business taking care of yourself.”
“They’d be right,” I said with a soft sigh. “But there’s a few sayings in my world that I think hold true no matter where you go. ‘Treat others how you wish to be treated.’ Another one that fits closely in line with that is ‘be the change you wish to see in the world.’ Both fit pretty well here, if you want me to be forthright with you about something that can affect your wellbeing I expect you to act the same in regards to me. The flip side of that is that if you don’t act in the interests of those around you, you can’t be upset when they do the same to you. I’ve been open to Garrus, and I expect the same in return, if I’m going to be a part of your group I don’t want to walk blindly into a situation that could get me hurt without any knowledge of it. Fair is fair. I was upfront about the Sentinels, they could still be looking for me now. If they find me, nothing is stopping them from killing all of us.”
Penny nodded but didn’t say anything in reply, either thinking about what I had said or not overly concerned in the first place. She was a pretty laid-back kinda girl, to begin with.
“Either way, none of that is particularly important. All that matters is you helped, so thank you.”
She snorted before bumping her shoulder into me lightly which brought a slight smile to my face. Back on Earth, I hadn’t had any particularly close relationships like this. Not that I minded, for the most part, I was introverted.
I had a somewhat hard time keeping a conversation going with people I wasn’t interested in, but that was more just chalked up to I didn’t care about the topics people talked about outside of my own particular interests. Maybe introverted wasn’t the right word, cause if I got on the right topic I could go for hours talking about it and I would enjoy talking about it too. I guess it also depended on who I was talking to.
If it was someone like Penny who I was definitely developing a healthy interest in I could listen to her talk for hours, the problem is that I wouldn’t know how to carry a conversation. She tells me she ran away from home to become an adventurer. How the hell do I respond to that? Do I ask her if she found it worth it, do I sympathize, do I validate the experience, do I just say ‘Hey that’s cool.’ Lots of things to think about and unfortunately no way of knowing which is the right course of action.
Usually, I’d just leave it at ‘Oh, yeah?’ And have left the open-ended remark for her to pick up and carry on, but that always just feels kind of awkward to me. Talking is definitely not my strong suit.
I shook my head to reorient myself in the here and now rather than worrying about the intricacies of how to talk to another human. Penny sent another glance my way with a rather amused smile on her face.
“Whatcha thinking about?”
I didn’t say anything for a moment before responding, “Just how to talk to people.”
She laughed at that, and if that sound didn’t do wonders for my heart.
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. It’s definitely a lot harder than I think people let on. There are so many little things to consider, it gets a little stressful sometimes if I’m being honest.”
She just gave me a coy smile, “I think you’re overthinking it, you’re talking to me right now, aren’t you? Also, it doesn’t fall in line with your ‘I don’t care what people think about me,’ mentality.”
“Ah but see, there’s the problem. I don’t care about what other people think about me. I definitely care about what you think about me.” I said while tapping the side of my temple in a knowing gesture.
She bumped into my shoulder again, “I don’t think that’s something you should worry about at this point. Not after Muldren.”
“Mmmmmmm. I definitely don’t want to get complacent. How can I be confident if I’m not constantly trying to get myself killed for you?”
Penny just gave me an exasperated stare, “If you get yourself killed I will bring you back to life just to make your life miserable.”
I gave her a mock salute, “Heard loud and clear, ma’am!”
She just snorted in reply to me.
We walked in companionable silence the rest of the way to the guildhall and pushed in through the door. The guild seemed to be bustling with a lot more activity than usual, people running around doing who knows what.
Garrus marched up to the front desk and spoke to the receptionist there. I couldn’t quite hear what he said over the noise of people moving stuff and talking around us, but I managed to hear her reply.
“The leader will be meeting at the north gate roughly two hours from now. She'll be the one to determine whether or not you’ll get in,” She gave Garrus a friendly smile, “Although given that it’s you, she’ll definitely want your group.”
Garrus gave her a friendly smile back, “Appreciate it lass, tell Stark we’ll probably linger up in the capital for a few days before making our way back down.”
She marked down a few things onto a piece of paper before handing another one to Garrus, “There you go that should have everything you need to know beforehand on it. I’ll be sure to let the Guildmaster know as well. He won’t ever say it, but he does worry about you, he worries about everyone that comes through here.”
Garrus let out a hearty laugh at that, “Don’t let him hear you mentioning how big of a teddy bear he is, we’ll all get in trouble for it.”
Garrus turned back to us and gestured back to the front door, it was too loud in here for us to really talk and communicate anything.
As we got out there Garrus spoke up again as the door swung closed, “Alright, there’s really not as much as I expected that we’d have to gather. Food for the most part is handled for us as well as sleeping. The job is going to be guarding a caravan that’s headed up to the capital, Elendar. We’ll be joining them as a guard detail, all we need to handle is anything extra that we want to bring, it should only take us a week to make it up there but it never hurts to at least be prepared.”
He quickly glanced between the group, “Alright we’ll break up into two groups, Penny and Alex since you two seem to be getting along so well you can both go and grab rations for us to eat in case. Stuff that’s preservable and will last the week-long trip down there. The rest of us will gather things like tents, and a couple of other necessities. Any questions.”
No one said anything. Garrus smiled, “Alright then, let’s break and meet at the north gate in an hour and a half.”
MasterEnvi Hey, sorry about no uploads yesterday. I was super busy and just didn't have time to sit down at my computer until super late at night. A good place to get updates about that stuff ahead of time is the Discord. I'll always have updates for people there, especially since it's super easy for me to pull my phone out and say something. Anyways, that's all. Enjoy the chapters!
‘Ping’ [Wood Manipulation] has leveled up 6 > 9
I hummed thoughtfully as I looked at the new arm I had magicked up. I had tried to simplify the process a little bit. Superfluous details got cut out and I formed it more based on function rather than aesthetic.
Last time I had gotten too caught up in making it look identical to my real arm, but that had been a mistake. This time my arm definitely looked more basic, but I still had about the same amount of mana pumped into it as usual.
I designed it to look more like you’d expect a sci-fi android arm to look. More like two segmented pieces attached together by a ball joint for the elbow, another ball joint for the wrist as well, and similarly for the base of my knuckles. Each finger was segmented allowing them to be able to bend inwards. I then layered wood over the joints in a way that hopefully wouldn’t impede their movements but give them some amount of protection. It made them look a little bulky, but I’d rather have that be the issue rather than they get targeted and break easily.
I stood up from the edge of my bed and put my shirt on. The plan was to meet at Lorin's shop before meeting back up at the guildhall and I was running a bit late currently, having spent a bit too much time on making my arm this morning. He’d finished the armor after three days of working on it and I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out.
There was something exciting about getting my first armor set, something I inherently owned myself. It felt like a milestone, but I guess it really shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. I wasn’t too sure all I know is that I’m excited to have it and honestly, isn’t that what’s important at the end of the day?
I contemplated it for a moment before shrugging it off. I stood up from the edge of my bed where I had been sitting and walked out of the inn. I’d have to look at finding a more permanent place to sleep, I didn’t like the idea of having to pay for my room every night. Although I didn’t really know how much houses cost or something similar. I screwed up my face a little at the thought of renting somewhere. All I’d be doing was trading one landlord for another, not what I was interested in.
I stopped for a moment to try and remember the path Penny had taken me to Lorin’s the other day. I wasn’t quite confident in my ability to navigate the city yet, so instead of trying to go directly there from the inn I instead followed the exact path that Penny and I had taken.
It’d add a little bit to my travel time when I was already running a bit late, but I’d rather have that be the case over getting lost on my way there. That would be embarrassing.
I walked through the city at a brisk pace, it was still relatively early so there weren’t too many people getting about just yet, but there were definitely more people awake and around than would have been on Earth.
Before too long I found my way back to Lorin’s shop. The gang wasn’t standing out front so I figured they were already inside. I knocked on the front door before opening it, and as I did I heard Garrus talking
“-een in several months, for all we know it could end up anywhere.”
“That’s the problem, Garrus. It could end up anywhere.” The voice replying was Lorin who then sighed, “Just promise me you’ll do your best to stay out of trouble, at the very least don’t try and fight it if it shows up.”
I made my way to the front counter where everyone else was standing, George and Karif were standing off to the side, George had a slight frown on his face while Karif glanced between the three groups and then myself as I approached.
Penny seemed completely disinterested in what was being talked about.
“I won’t promise that Lorin, but I will at least promise to be careful,” Garrus replied as I came to a stop next to George and Karif.
“I guess thas’ the most I can get of ye’.” Lorin then turned toward me, “Yer finally here. Good. Let’s see if we can ya fitted out in your leathers. They should be sized perfectly, but we can at least make sure.”
He then gestured to an armor doll standing behind him that was fitted out with the set. Realistically there wasn’t anything special about it, and as I’d come to realize quite well I had no eye for determining the quality of stuff like this, but to me, it looked perfect.
And I voiced as much to Lorin, “It looks amazing, Lorin.”
“Hah, of course it does. I made it after all!” Lorin exclaimed with pride, slamming a large fist over his chest with a solid thump. “Come over here I’ll walk you through the steps, but I ain’t gonna help ye’. The sooner ye’ figure out how to do it yerself, the better off you'll be in the long run.”
It only took about thirty minutes to go through each step and that was simply because we kept stopping for Loring to explain something to me, either about caring for the armor or about stuff I could do to make quick emergency repairs in the field. Stuff that would help be the difference between the armor failing and it saving my life if I didn’t have a chance to get someone to properly look at it. Lorin did end up helping tighten a few straps and getting a couple of things in position to make sure I knew how they were supposed to feel in the correct spots.
There was a leather jerkin that went over whatever clothes I wore. It wouldn’t stop an arrow or anything from piercing me head-on, but at the very least it should prevent any glancing blows from doing any damage which was the main reason Penny had brought me here. Anything that helped.
There were also a pair of vambraces and greaves that went over my wrists and shins respectively. Those had been pretty easy to figure out. It was more just Lorin talking now that I thought about it. I couldn’t help some of the impatient excitement that was starting to bleed through my demeanor, however.
Lorin gave me something akin to a stink eye as he finished up the last explanation about some leather oil something or other he was giving me.
“Ye’ hear what I say?” He asked me dubiously.
I scoffed, “Of course, apply twice a week and make sure to observe for fraying at the end of each fight, you never know where it’ll start breaking first.” I recited dutifully. I may not know what it was called or what it was made out of, but I knew what we wanted me to do with it at least.
He nodded appreciatively, “Good, those ears aren’t just for show then.” He then looked between the five of us before turning around to rummage around in his stuff behind the counter, “Alright get outta here, I’ve got a business to run and ya’ll are eating into my hours.”
“Bye, Lorin. Thanks as always for your help.” Garrus said before turning to walk out of the store.
We all filed out of the store together as Garrus started to explain the next steps of the day, “The plan is to head down to the guildhall, I already have something picked out but I wanted us all there to hear the rundown of what it is, then we’ll probably split up from there to cover various errands to prep. This all took a little longer than I expected but we should have enough time to cover everything before anything happens.”
“Aye, sir,” Penny said with a mock salute.
Garrus just snorted in response before heading off down the street.
We walked in silence for a few minutes before my curiosity finally got the better of me, “So what were you and Lorin talking about when I showed up?”
Garrus glanced back at me but didn’t say anything for a while, I could see his jaw grinding a little bit as he contemplated what to say.
Eventually, he responded, “A thing. I don’t really wanna talk about it right now if I’m being honest. Maybe later.”
Which said to me it was definitely something I should probably know, or that I at least was the only one in the group that didn’t know. My glances around the group confirmed my suspicions on that front.
“Okay, I hear you on that. Just a word of warning Garrus.” I went from the lighthearted tone I started with to something a lot more serious, “Don’t hide things from me that could get me killed.”
Garrus came to a stop and turned to stare at me. His glare was intense, but I held it perfectly levelly. This wasn’t something I was backing down from just because I might hurt his feelings, I didn’t want to be hung out to dry because he was embarrassed about some dark secret. I’d be more offended if he chose to hide something from me because he wasn’t sure whether or not he could trust me not to be upset with him. I could tell he wanted to be angry as he opened his mouth to say something but I spoke before he could get anything out.
“I’m not fucking around with this, Garrus. I understand you have things you don’t want to talk about, but I already went out on a limb with my secrets for all of you. Something that potentially could’ve gotten me killed or locked up like a lab rat. So before you get upset with me, let me ask, is me not knowing this secret that everyone else in the group knows going to be something that directly gets me killed or hurt because I didn’t know beforehand?”
Penny was actually the one who replied to me, “No. Knowing wouldn’t change the outcome either way. Even if you knew there’s quite literally nothing you could do no matter how hard you tried.” She had a slightly sympathetic expression towards me, “I sincerely hope you never have to either.”
I nodded, “That’s fine then. If that’s the case I don’t particularly mind. But I’m also not going to sit here and pretend to ignore something that could’ve potentially come back to bite me in the butt.” I held up a hand to forestall him again, “I’m not saying you’ve got to spill every little secret to me, all I’m saying is that I’ve been forthcoming to you about personal stuff for me, at the very least I expect common courtesy to be observed.”
Garrus held my gaze levelly, but after hearing what I had to say he seemed to have calmed down a bit. I didn’t hate Garrus or anything even remotely like that, nor was I trying to step on his toes in any way. But at the same time I still only barely knew the group, my relationship with Penny seemed to be progressing the fastest but it was also something I still kind of held at arm's length.
He slowly nodded before turning around without saying anything and continuing back down towards the guild. Penny fell into step next to me.
“Thanks,” I whispered to her. She spared me a quick glance before looking forward again.
“What do you mean?”
“The way you answered helped defuse the situation. If Garrus had been the one to reply he might not have said it the same way or might have responded to something completely different. It also gave him the chance to back out of the conversation without having to say anything at all without particularly hurting his pride. I don’t enjoy being confrontational, but I’d rather have him angry at me than anyone ending up dead simply because I didn’t know something important.”
Penny slowly nodded, “I kinda see where you’re coming from, although I never really took you for the abrasive type.”
I chuckled a little, “I try not to be, but at 25 years old and every year I get older the more I start to care less about how people view me as a whole for trying to take care of myself. I shouldn’t have to be viewed as rude or uncaring simply for looking out for my own well-being, nor am I going to spare someone's feelings if it’s going to put me in danger. That’s just not fair to me or anyone else in a similar position. I would hope that others would act the same way in regards to me.”
“That’s definitely one way to look at it, a lot of people here wouldn’t exactly agree with it. Most would just say it’s your own business taking care of yourself.”
“They’d be right,” I said with a soft sigh. “But there’s a few sayings in my world that I think hold true no matter where you go. ‘Treat others how you wish to be treated.’ Another one that fits closely in line with that is ‘be the change you wish to see in the world.’ Both fit pretty well here, if you want me to be forthright with you about something that can affect your wellbeing I expect you to act the same in regards to me. The flip side of that is that if you don’t act in the interests of those around you, you can’t be upset when they do the same to you. I’ve been open to Garrus, and I expect the same in return, if I’m going to be a part of your group I don’t want to walk blindly into a situation that could get me hurt without any knowledge of it. Fair is fair. I was upfront about the Sentinels, they could still be looking for me now. If they find me, nothing is stopping them from killing all of us.”
Penny nodded but didn’t say anything in reply, either thinking about what I had said or not overly concerned in the first place. She was a pretty laid-back kinda girl, to begin with.
“Either way, none of that is particularly important. All that matters is you helped, so thank you.”
She snorted before bumping her shoulder into me lightly which brought a slight smile to my face. Back on Earth, I hadn’t had any particularly close relationships like this. Not that I minded, for the most part, I was introverted.
I had a somewhat hard time keeping a conversation going with people I wasn’t interested in, but that was more just chalked up to I didn’t care about the topics people talked about outside of my own particular interests. Maybe introverted wasn’t the right word, cause if I got on the right topic I could go for hours talking about it and I would enjoy talking about it too. I guess it also depended on who I was talking to.
If it was someone like Penny who I was definitely developing a healthy interest in I could listen to her talk for hours, the problem is that I wouldn’t know how to carry a conversation. She tells me she ran away from home to become an adventurer. How the hell do I respond to that? Do I ask her if she found it worth it, do I sympathize, do I validate the experience, do I just say ‘Hey that’s cool.’ Lots of things to think about and unfortunately no way of knowing which is the right course of action.
Usually, I’d just leave it at ‘Oh, yeah?’ And have left the open-ended remark for her to pick up and carry on, but that always just feels kind of awkward to me. Talking is definitely not my strong suit.
I shook my head to reorient myself in the here and now rather than worrying about the intricacies of how to talk to another human. Penny sent another glance my way with a rather amused smile on her face.
“Whatcha thinking about?”
I didn’t say anything for a moment before responding, “Just how to talk to people.”
She laughed at that, and if that sound didn’t do wonders for my heart.
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. It’s definitely a lot harder than I think people let on. There are so many little things to consider, it gets a little stressful sometimes if I’m being honest.”
She just gave me a coy smile, “I think you’re overthinking it, you’re talking to me right now, aren’t you? Also, it doesn’t fall in line with your ‘I don’t care what people think about me,’ mentality.”
“Ah but see, there’s the problem. I don’t care about what other people think about me. I definitely care about what you think about me.” I said while tapping the side of my temple in a knowing gesture.
She bumped into my shoulder again, “I don’t think that’s something you should worry about at this point. Not after Muldren.”
“Mmmmmmm. I definitely don’t want to get complacent. How can I be confident if I’m not constantly trying to get myself killed for you?”
Penny just gave me an exasperated stare, “If you get yourself killed I will bring you back to life just to make your life miserable.”
I gave her a mock salute, “Heard loud and clear, ma’am!”
She just snorted in reply to me.
We walked in companionable silence the rest of the way to the guildhall and pushed in through the door. The guild seemed to be bustling with a lot more activity than usual, people running around doing who knows what.
Garrus marched up to the front desk and spoke to the receptionist there. I couldn’t quite hear what he said over the noise of people moving stuff and talking around us, but I managed to hear her reply.
“The leader will be meeting at the north gate roughly two hours from now. She'll be the one to determine whether or not you’ll get in,” She gave Garrus a friendly smile, “Although given that it’s you, she’ll definitely want your group.”
Garrus gave her a friendly smile back, “Appreciate it lass, tell Stark we’ll probably linger up in the capital for a few days before making our way back down.”
She marked down a few things onto a piece of paper before handing another one to Garrus, “There you go that should have everything you need to know beforehand on it. I’ll be sure to let the Guildmaster know as well. He won’t ever say it, but he does worry about you, he worries about everyone that comes through here.”
Garrus let out a hearty laugh at that, “Don’t let him hear you mentioning how big of a teddy bear he is, we’ll all get in trouble for it.”
Garrus turned back to us and gestured back to the front door, it was too loud in here for us to really talk and communicate anything.
As we got out there Garrus spoke up again as the door swung closed, “Alright, there’s really not as much as I expected that we’d have to gather. Food for the most part is handled for us as well as sleeping. The job is going to be guarding a caravan that’s headed up to the capital, Elendar. We’ll be joining them as a guard detail, all we need to handle is anything extra that we want to bring, it should only take us a week to make it up there but it never hurts to at least be prepared.”
He quickly glanced between the group, “Alright we’ll break up into two groups, Penny and Alex since you two seem to be getting along so well you can both go and grab rations for us to eat in case. Stuff that’s preservable and will last the week-long trip down there. The rest of us will gather things like tents, and a couple of other necessities. Any questions.”
No one said anything. Garrus smiled, “Alright then, let’s break and meet at the north gate in an hour and a half.”
