Aether Cross: The Tides of Time (Fantasy Quest)

[hunter09]

[X] You're your own individual, if you want to sleep with me, do it because you love me and not because I'm your Master. Maybe sometime in the future, Amira.

 

[Winged One]

[X] You're your own individual, if you want to sleep with me, do it because you love me and not because I'm your Master. Maybe sometime in the future, Amira.

Maximum White Knighting.

 

[Bloodshifter]

[X] If Amira reallys wants to do it then sure. Sex is sex and that's all.

I wish to hold out hope for an Older Waifu.

 

[Malcolmo]

[X] If Amira really wants to do it then sure. Sex is sex and that's all.

 

[staplesdex2]

[X] Heh, alright, LET'S GET IT ON.

 

[Genome001]

[X] You're your own individual, if you want to sleep with me, do it because you love me and not because I'm your Master. Maybe sometime in the future, Amira.

 

[Robotninja]

Have we ever considered trying to hook up with a group of military people or other guys who would love to have monsters lured to them to be murdered safely?

 

[Reverent One]

"You're your own individual. If you want to sleep with me, do it because you love me and not because I'm your Master." I declare this with all the 'seriousness' available to me. I'm a pretty easy-going guy so it's hard to force it out. "Understand? Maybe sometime in the future, Amira."

"W-what? But everyone back at the-"

"I don't want to hear it." I walk past her down what I can assume is a 'bizarre' based by all the activity going on. First by the pier and harbor, now a bizarre. People are yelling, shouting, just having a good time while trying to bargain for the cheapest ware, for the tastiest food and for the richest-...

My eyes fall on another sort of auction.

There are girls on display. Wrapped with rope. Wrapped with chains. "How much!? How much!?" the auctioneer shouts loudly. The flaps of his chin move like waves of the water. He probably grows a beard out just to disguise it. His dress is one of nobility. I can tell from the fabric alone.

"..." I grit my teeth. I have to remember that kind of stuff is legal here, just as it is in Euraia. I bought Amira here so I could save her from the fate that was about to befall her. But these three girls up there? I definitely don't have the money to pay for them.

"..."

Agh.

My morals are kicking it into overdrive.

I have no idea what I'm going to do here.

[_] Come up with a plan to rescue them here and now, before they're sold. I have to do something about this. My Master Zepplin wouldn't forgive me if I just turned a blind eye to this.
[_] Heroics just as soon as I got back from Euraia? That's a terrible way to start my life back here. I'm only one person. Amira is another person. There's just two of us. Being realistic, we'd probably end up in prison or worse if I did something now.
[_] I'll ask Amira what she thinks on the subject.
[_] Custom

 

[Jiven]

[X] Heroics just as soon as I got back from Euraia? That's a terrible way to start my life back here. I'm only one person. Amira is another person. There's just two of us. Being realistic, we'd probably end up in prison or worse if I did something now.

 

[Winged One]

[X] I'll ask Amira what she thinks on the subject.

It affects her too, and I'd rather we not be a hypocrite.

 

[staplesdex2]

[X] Come up with a plan to rescue them here and now, before they're sold. I have to do something about this. My Master Zepplin wouldn't forgive me if I just turned a blind eye to this.

A train wreck waiting to happen. Still want to see it though.

 

[Robotninja]

[X] I'll ask Amira what she thinks on the subject.

 

[Genome001]

[X] I'll ask Amira what she thinks on the subject.

 

[hunter09]

[X] Heroics just as soon as I got back from Euraia? That's a terrible way to start my life back here. I'm only one person. Amira is another person. There's just two of us. Being realistic, we'd probably end up in prison or worse if I did something now.

 

[Malcolmo]

[X] Heroics just as soon as I got back from Euraia? That's a terrible way to start my life back here. I'm only one person. Amira is another person. There's just two of us. Being realistic, we'd probably end up in prison or worse if I did something now.

 

[Reverent One]

Want to let you guys know that the quest isn't dead. Dark Souls II dropped on the 11th so that's been consuming my life. ;_;

 

[megrisvernin]

[X] I'll ask Amira what she thinks on the subject.

 

[Reverent One]

Don't really want to appear as a hypocrite after everything that I've said and done. "Amira," I turn to her while keeping the auction within view, "What do you think?"

"On what?" she says sheepishly, probably feeling a bit down after my refusal for intercourse.

"Those girls over there," I point, "They're being sold just like you. What do you think I should do?"

"I'd like some company." a finger tip-taps her chin. "Ah, go buy them!" That suggestion wasn't exactly out of the blue, but it did catch me off guard.

I pull out my wallet, displaying only enough coins for a night stay in one room. I put it away, sighing, "There's no way that's happening."

"Why not." Amira protests, "You bought me, right?"

"Yeah, I did, but compared to those girls you're..." Didn't want to keep going on this train of thought. It just rubs me the wrong way.

"I see." if she had a dog's ears, they'd be drooping right now.

"Hey," I move the conversation forward so she doesn't stay depressed while we stay here for the night, "Do you think they're happy?"

"I dunno." a simple shrug.

"You don't?"

"I didn't know anything else. Until I met you, I didn't know what that word even meant." Pretty solemn words coming from someone who just wanted to push me into the bedroom a second ago.

"That's awfully deep."

"Yeah…" she drones on, "Let's talk about it in the bedroom, 'kay?"

Yep, too good to be any depth to her words. I sigh, put a hand on her head then ruffle her green hair. "What?" now she looks at me, all mad with slanted eyes.

"Nothing." I keep my eyes on the girl's being traded off like cattle. "..." I can't do anything here. Amira doesn't have any strong emotions toward it since it's her way of life. I have to look after her, take care of her, keep on moving so we don't end up in any danger.

My powerlessness just makes me feel worse.

"Come on, Amira. We're going to find ourselves an inn for the night."

"AH! So you weren't lying when you said we were going to stay a night?"

"Duh, we have to sleep."

"Now though?"

Wanted to go to the bedroom a second ago.
Now wants to keep experiencing the town.

Is it really hard to ask for an instruction book on the female mind?

Yes?
Thought so.

"Come on, Amira." Not going to allow her to get rambunctious about this. Don't want to make a scene.

"Fiiiiine." with a pout, she follows.
______________________________________________________

The Gale Whickett (Hydewell Inn) - Hydewell Market District

After trotting through the streets for a good ten minutes, Amira and I happened upon a modest, cheap inn at the end of the Market District.

The inside is, of course, made of deep, brown wood. The floor is decorated in a nice cotton carpet. There are stairs to the right that lead up into what I can assume is the hallway where the rooms are located.

The person receiving your payment is a young girl who, from past experience, I can also assume is the Innkeeper's daughter.

"Yeah, one room. That's all." I put my payment down on the front desk.

"Here's your room key." says the young girl. She hands me a wooden block with the assigned room attached to the 'key'.

"Come on." I look back at Amira who's eying the woman at the desk.

"Can I… help you?" she looks back at my companion with a look of confusion.

"Amira!" I yell. Amira flinches, bows in apology then follows me up the stairs.
_______________________________________________________

The Gale Whickett - Room 1A

A large room with a nice view of the street below. The walls are painted a nice white. There are two beds side by side, one for me, one for Amira. The room is pretty spacey too. Great, got my money's worth.

"Alright, set them down."

"'Kaykay!" the green-haired girl drops our luggage down onto the floor right at the foot of the bed. Afterward she reverts to the mentality of a seven year old by leaping onto one of the beds to jump on it.

Bounce.
Bounce.
Bounce.

"Join me, Lyle!"

"No thanks." I start walking around the room to get a feel for it should the worst case scenario happen.

"Pleeeaase?" she pleads.

"No." I silence her with another refusal. I look down on the road below from the window. People are still moving about, trading, talking… which reminds me that I'm now penniless since this room just took the last of what I had.

[_] Hey Amira, I'm going to go see if there's any escort jobs we can take in the city.
[_] Don't think on it now, just relax.
[_] Could look around for one of those 'you fight this guy, you beat him, you get money' fellows. Not sure how much that would get me though.
[_] Hey, how do you think we could get money?
[_] Custom

 

[kinglugia]

[X] "Amira, we're taking enthusiastic walk."

 

[Jiven]

[X] Could look around for one of those 'you fight this guy, you beat him, you get money' fellows. Not sure how much that would get me though.

 

[Genome001]

[X] Hey, how do you think we could get money?

 

[staplesdex2]

[X] Could look around for one of those 'you fight this guy, you beat him, you get money' fellows. Not sure how much that would get me though.

 

[hunter09]

[X] Hey Amira, I'm going to go see if there's any escort jobs we can take in the

 

[Wing101]

[X] Could look around for one of those 'you fight this guy, you beat him, you get money' fellows. Not sure how much that would get me though.

 

[Reverent One]

I start thinking about what we can do for money. Without it, we're not going to be able to get anywhere in this city -- let alone the world around us. "Hmmm." then an idea dawns on me. "Why don't we look for one of those 'you fight this guy, you beat him, you get money'."

"Huh?" Amira finishes her bouncing parade on the bed to address me.

"Just talking out loud."

"You do that a lot." she points out.

"Sorry if I'm bugging you." I look out over the street below from the window in the room for a second time. I'm trying to see if there's anyone with a hat out yelling "FIGHT THIS GET, GET MONEY'. So far there is no luck.

I sigh, "Looks like I'm going to have to go walking around."

"Oh, you're going out again? Can I come?"

I was about to refuse with a 'no', but then I started to think of the consequences. If I leave the bombastic, unpredictable Amira Blackedge here in the hotel room, what would happen?

Absolute chaos which isn't exactly what I want if we're going for a 'trouble-free' stay. "Alright, come on, Amira." I walk toward the door.

Then the green-haired woman sprints up, kicks the door open and takes my hand. "Let's go! Let's go!" she says as she starts her feverish run down the hallway.

"More like 'let go, let go'!"

"A-ah," a nervous smile adorns her face, "Sorry, didn't mean to pull you that hard."

"No big deal." I feel the injured arm to make sure it wasn't torn off.

Yep, it's all good.
______________________________________________________
Hydewell Market District
Just like it was when looking down on it from the second floor of the Gale Whickett, people were still swarming around us. Now I can actually hear what people are talking about.

'How's the weather?'
'Warm.'
'How are you… uh.'
'Can you stop asking mundane crap like that? Get a personality.'

Well whoever that person is talking to probably isn't worth the time. The one making the condescending remarks, not the one asking about the weather.

'It's for sale! IT'S FOR SALE! The new Runic Firegun! It makes fire, it makes runes, it makes your LIFE EASIER!'

Guy with a sales pitch. Great.

I'm walking along the road- wait, no, being dragged is the better word for it. Being dragged by Amira as she stares at everything that catches her interest.

"Oh, oh, Lyle, what's this?" she holds up something she wants.

"That would be a watch."

"Ah," she looks at with sparkles in her eyes, "Can I get it?"

"No." I'm saying this an awful lot today.

"Why not?"

This cycle repeats itself for the next ten minutes. At the halfway point I just stopped pulling out my pouch to demonstrate that we have no money.
______________________________________________________
Hydewell Entertainment District
Before I knew it, we wandered into another district in the city of Hydewell. This one had even more people fudging around.

"ALRIGHT!" a man shouts. "Step right up! Step right up!"

Yes, this sounds like what I was looking for.

"CAN YOU BEAT THIS FINE SPECIMEN OF A BEASTKIN? CAN YOU? CAN YOU?" Yeah, this is really it.

"Found one." I start walking toward the showboating man.

My arm pulls me back. I nearly lose balance.

"W-whoa." I turn to see Amira with pleading eyes.

"Don't go fight that monster man, you'll get killlled!" tears start forming in her eyes, "Pleaaaase, just have me instead!"

"No." I should start keeping track of how many times she's tried to bed me. This is the second today, isn't it? Third? I suppose the Gods would only know. "I'm going to get us some money. Be back in a bit. You make sure to watch me, alright?"

"Nooooo-"

"Yesssss-" I march my way over to the small, stout man wearing the elongated hat. "YO! I'd like to challenge this monster."

"Ah hah!" the midget shouts in exhilaration! "Seems we have a challenger. Now, just pay the entrance fee-"

"Entrance fee?" I recall him saying 'step right up. There was no fine print to this crap! "You just said 'step right up'. You didn't say ANYTHING about paying!"

"I didn't? I didn't, did I? These things are a business, kid. You either pay or scram."

"Riiiight."

"UNLESS your generous crowd would pay to see you beaten to a pulp!"

When he said that.

Money just started raining from the sky. Bills and coins fell into the 'hat' where he collected it. Well, I think that's more than enough money for me to fight. "Alright, that's enough for me, isn't it?" I just double check.

"More than! More than! Alright now, Geisus, he's ALL YOURS!" says the lard ball.

"RAaaaaooo!" the Beastkin shouts. Now he stalks forward, wearing armor, wielding a sword.

Yeah, this is definitely going to be a treat.

[_] Open with a 'special move'!
[_] Gauge the distance, wait for him to slip up, attack.
[_] Go for the offensive at the start.
[_] Provoke the Beastkin.
[_] Custom

 

[hunter09]

[X] Gauge the distance, wait for him to slip up, attack.

 

[Jiven]

[X] Gauge the distance, wait for him to slip up, attack.

 

[Be;lanSniper]

[X] Open with a 'special move'!

 

[Genome001]

[X] Provoke the Beastkin.

 

[Winged One]

[X] Gauge the distance, wait for him to slip up, attack.