[RP/PVE] [PRIVATE] A Bunch of Rocks

The air was starting to get colder the closer Quake was getting to mountains, but the cold was something he was accustomed to. Living in the Polaro Desert acclimated him to harsh climates either way on the scale. Being in the Lorian Empire was a nice break from that- to him it was a nice day every day here. He had been following a man-made trail  for the last few hours of travel, but now being deeper in monster territory the trail came to an end at a cliff face.

He sighed, I guess now might be a good time to take a break. I've gotta find out where the hell to go from here.

Quake walked up to a nearby boulder and took a seat against it, placing his trusty crossbow companion to his side. He reached into his coat and pulled out a baseball-sized metallic orb. After pushing the singular button on the sphere, it opened up and projected a holographic map of the area which he began to inspect.

On route to Alfheim, Chrome wandered the northern route, the much safer alternative than the Umbala Woodlands. She could've taken the sea, but with no boat or money, it would've been a lot of effort. Plus when you love books, you tend not to go towards water with books on hand.

In the distance on the path, Chrome saw a hologram, and behind it, a person looking at it. Perhaps he was lost, or redirecting his own route. Luckily, she had memorized most maps she has seen, whether accurate or not. "Hey!" she called out, indifferent to being in monster territory. Most monsters around here didn't react much to voices, but there were a few low levels.

Focused on the map in front of him, it took Quake a moment to register the female voice in the distance. He was a little jarred as he did not expect to find anything but monsters out here in the wilderness.

Quake closed his map and placed it back in his pocket. He didn't know what to think of the figure in the distance, so with a confused expression on his face he waved awkwardly.

Upon gaining ground, Chrome got a closer look, not to mention the closed hologram blurring the area, and saw the man. "Oh you look fascinating. Are you a Hunter?" Chrome asked right away. It wasn't meant to be a generalized thing, but all Hunters had the same style to them. That one quality she couldn't name. Plus, who else would you find in the random wilderness.

"Well you're a direct little thing, aren't ya?" he spoke, taken aback by the stranger's straght-forwardness.

"But yeah, I'm a Hunter," he replied, "You don't look the part... so what does that make you?" He looked the girl up and down, and he wondered what she was up to out in the wilds. She certainly didn't look like the type of person one would usually find here.

"I'm on an adventure to Alfheim." She said, taking a seat in front of Quake, roughly three paces away. "My name's Chrome by the way," she announced, brushing her ever-so slightly frizzy white hair over her ear, somewhat indicating it might have something to do with her by-the-look unnatural hair. If Quake was observant, he could tell she wasn't fully human, making her white hair all the more possible.

"Alfheim, huh? I've never actually been," he said, lifting his pack next to him and placing it on his lap.

Quake took note of her "unnatural" hair color, as well as her subtle facial features. He'd always had a thing for Half-Elves, and became pretty good at spotting the differences between them and pure-blooded Humans or Elves.

He rummaged through his pack and returned the introduction, "You can call me Quake." He pulled put a small bag- beast jerky. It was pretty bland stuff, but he was used to it. Depending on the monster, the meat tastes different, but most Hunters practically lived off the more common stuff.

He placed a strip between teeth and tilted the bag toward Chrome, nudging as if to offer some.

When Quake tilted the bag, Chrome's belly rumbled. She rolled on her knees and leaned forward to make sure she could reach the bag. This lean was a typical cute girl pose, but she was unaware of it, just naturally falling into place. She reached and grabbed Quake's meat, bringing it out and into her mouth. "Mmm, this is strangely delicious." She chewed, trying to figure out what type of monster it could be. She's had plenty of monster before, more than a typical villager should have. "What type of meat is it?" She pondered.

Quake looked at Chrome and smiled- he had to admit, the girl was pretty cute. He plopped the bag  on the ground between the two, so they could more easily share.

"Oh... That's Chikador," he spoke in between bites, "I don't know how familiar you are with Polaro... but they're everywhere down there."

"Hmm, Polaro Desert. Chikador. Definitely noted. I don't know anything from down there, except it's quite dangerous for new adventurers, so I was saving it for later in life." Chrome spoke at first between chewing, then after swallowing, started talking fully. "I'll be sure to study on these Chikadors. I'm excited about that."

From off the mountainside, a rumbling occurred, ever so softly. Whatever it was, it was still a sizable distance away.

With Quake so tuned to the earth, the rumble was especially noticeable to him. He grew a little more tense, and rested his hand closer to his crossbow. For a moment he had forgotten where they were- not safely behind the walls of the city, and unfortunately the world outside them was a dangerous place. Alas that was the world that they lived in, always at the mercy of nature apart from a few small pockets of peace.

"You felt that too, right?" he checked with Chrome, "That could be bad." Quake took the last strip of meat and split it, leaving half for Chrome, "So how's about we stick together for awhile, miss? It's safer in numbers out here and it couldn't hurt you to have a Hunter around."

Chrome took the last piece of meat and slurped it into her mouth. "Feel what?" She was quite lost, but since Quake was a Hunter, he must know more about monsters. Of course it was because of his Earth magic, and her lack thereof, for now, but she'd find that out later. "I wouldn't mind staying around a Hunter like you." Chrome phrased her words just as most girls did around Quake. It was just something interesting about his person.

"Where are you heading to?"

"There was some movement off in the distance," he explained, "But I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. It's a ways away- besides, I wouldn't let any harm come to that pretty silver head of yours." He smiled at her.

"I was looking for a cave I heard about around these parts. I'd be happy to escort you to Alfheim first, though. I can always hit it on the way back."

"Oh stop it you," she blushed. "What's this cave about? I'm always up for learning new areas not on typical maps." Chrome hoped to extend her reservoir of knowledge today, and hopefully this nice Hunter could be of assistance.

"I'm looking to learn more about Stone-kin craftsmanship- specifically about rune inscriptions," he shared. "My search led me out here. It could be dangerous, though. Monsters could have holed up in the cave, and there may be some ancient traps lying around. Worst case scenario we'll find both. Plus whatever that rumbling I felt earlier was, I think it came from the same direction the cave is supposed to be."

Quake put his pack back on. It was a single-strap bag, with the strap diagonally across his chest. He slung his crossbow  behind his back, with a heavy strap supporting it over his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna stop you if you wanna tag along, I'm just saying the safer option would be going straight to Alfheim," he suggested. "I know said I'd watch your back, and I will, but I have to be honest and warn you that even with my experience I can't guarantee you'll come out unscathed."

Keeping on the trail with where Quake was headed, Chrome kept close to him. "I'd love to join. I may not look it, but I can handle things like this, or else why would I be out here rather than taking the ships on Freyja."

"Fair enough," he admitted. "I've just seen plenty of times where normal people so used to living in their safe walled cities underestimate how dangerous it really is out here."

Quake looked up at the cliff-face nearby, it was a little over 3 stories high. He turned to Chrome, "Well it's your call, so I'm ready to go. You probably know the area better than me so I thought I'd ask," he pointed at the cliff, "Is there a path that leads up there, or are we going to have to climb it?"

Before Quake finished his question fully, Chrome launched herself up half a story with a jump boosted by the wind. "I'm not sure for this area. It looks like a straight wall from up here though." She grabbed onto a higher piece of rock and started to climb.

With Chrome's elegant display of magic, he chuckled in excitement, "So that's how you've handled yourself out here! I should've expected as much with some Elven in you!."

Quake approached the cliff and started freeclimbing it, creating his own hand and footholds as he went. His progress was steady, but slow with him having to support the weight of his massive crossbow as well.

While he climbed he shouted up at Chrome, "This little adventure's looking more fun now! I'm excited to see what other tricks you've got up your sleeve!"

"Other tricks?" Chrome asked, letting go of the rock and looking up her sleeve. With no hands on the rock, it looked as if she was going to fall, but she never even moved back. She grabbed a hold of the earth again, continuing her climb. Quake was making progress himself. She was curious as to how he saw these rocks jetting out faster than she could. He was starting to catch up, even with her head start and her memory of the wall and where each rock was jetted. Even more, she didn't take into account his crossbow.

Quake was having a pretty easy time with the climb, he had plenty of experience mountain-climbing and after a few years of carrying his crossbow he'd grown accustomed to the weight. He looked up the path in front of Chrome and had an idea. He stopped for a moment where he was and placed his open palm against the rock, still focusing above Chrome. Just as he did for himself, Quake made the Half-Elf's climb easier, causing a series of sturdy holds to jut out above her all the way up to the top. He smiled and continued his climb- they'd soon reach the top at this pace.

Chrome was surprised by the earth moving, but she looked back at Quake to see it was due to him. "So you're an Earth user, huh?" Chrome said as she grabbed onto his made peaks. With the increase in difficulty, Chrome was able to go as fast as Quake now, making the peak that much closer. Soon, they'd be standing in front of a cavern.

Quake swung his crossbow up and over the edge of the cliff first, then pulled himself up and onto his feet. He breathed a sigh of relief, "That wasn't too bad."

He gazed into the darkness of the open cavern in front of them, "This must be the place. Ready to go? I'll lead." Quake grabbed a fistful of rocks off the ground and fashioned them into a heavy stone bolt. He loaded his crossbow and began his slow descent into the cave.

"Wait, did you want a fire, or to go in completely dark?" Chrome asked before he entered the cave, while he was setting up his crossbow. Which was an interesting use of it, earth bolts... Chrome took note.

"Oh, right," he remembered, "That'll be up to you. I can feel out where I'm going through the earth. If you want a fire be my guest- monsters don't particularly enjoy fire anyway. Do you need a light?" He turned around and pulled out a chunk of flint and a steel bar, holding it out toward Chrome.