Shani's Odyssey

[NorthernCross]

Like a beacon of vice and indulgence, the obelisk called the EGG Corporation building loomed over all the other buildings in the area in both height and quality. Even if she hadn't read the directions printed on her invitation, Alice Villard would have easily been able to find her way to her destination. The doors opened themselves for her as she approached the building and the receptionist welcomed her with a warm smile.

After she had examined Alice's invitation, she called for an escort and Alice found herself being shuffled in quick succession between several rooms. At some point a freshly printed ID card was pressed into her hand and she found herself signing multiple non-disclosure agreements concerning the EGG machine. After a dizzying amount of paperwork, Alice finally found herself in one of the EGG testing chambers where a young bespectacled woman looked up at her from her administrators desk.

“Welcome to the EGG Testing Chamber. My name is Michelle McKane and I will be administrating your EGG experience. In addition to insuring a safe and fun testing experience, I will also be monitoring your health and ensuring the compliance of all safety regulations. I will be going over those safety regulations as well as how to use the EGG with you now.” Michelle then started going through the admittedly droll regulations before moving on to the specifics of the machine.

After finishing her explanation, Michelle led Alice to the EGG machine itself. After ensuring she was comfortable, she sealed Alice into the capsule in darkness until a series of prompts lit up in front of her eyes.

“We're running the start up sequence. You can go ahead and start filling out your preferences for your simulation.” Michelle's voice echoed from all around Alice.

The first was a prompt labled 'Content Preferences.'

Humans: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5 where 1 is rarely and 5 is often)
Male/Female: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Female/Female: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Futanari: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Pregnancy: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Birthing: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Non Consent Sex: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
BDSM: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Slavery: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Monsters (Tentacles & Slimes & Likewise): Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Machines: Y/N (if Y, frequency of 1-5)
Roughness: (How gentle are the monsters when you lose?): This is left vague 
on purpose, a number can't properly convey this setting.
______(Feel free to add new ones, though I may not run it if I'm not into it)

The second prompt was labeled 'Character Creator.' Underneath it was a picture perfect image of herself as she was with options to both edit her own features to her own liking or even to create a new avatar entirely from scratch.

The final prompt was a simple list of starting locations.

Azure Coast
Crimson Fortress
Verdant Forest
Blue River Town

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

“Finally” – Alice murmured to herself. – “I thought she’ll never stop talking. Safety regulations, pff!” The girl suddenly went silent. “…Are they filming this? Damn, I should have read the fine print after all. Well, there’s nothing I can do now… besides having fun!” – she said and took an intrigued look on the controls in front of her. When the options in the menu lit with their choices, Alice began to type:

Spoiler

Humans: Y/N (Y4)
Humans? Hopefully it means other humanoids as well, like…ummm… elves or demons? Or something.

Male/Female: Y/N (Y3)

Female/Female: Y/N (Y4)
These are…interesting options to say the least.

Futanari: Y/N (Y3)

Pregnancy: Y/N (Y1)
It’s usually bothersome, but hell, I’m willing to try everything. That’s my duty as a Real Gamer ™.

Birthing: Y/N (Y2)
…I wonder what would happen if had chosen one without the other *chuckle*.

Non Consent Sex: Y/N (Y4)
Hopefully it will work both ways – Alice laughed mischievously.

BDSM: Y/N (Y3)

Slavery: Y/N (Y2)
I wonder what “exactly” this option means… Well, I won’t find out if I leave it turned off...

Monsters (Tentacles & Slimes & Likewise): Y/N (Y3)
Is there a place to add sub options here? Hm… “Easy on the slime, include Beasts and alike”.

Machines: Y/N (Y2)

Roughness: (How gentle are the monsters when you lose?): Somewhat rough, asserting dominance over one is good and all but pleasure is important as well, 7/10.

______(Feel free to add new ones, though I may not run it if I'm not into it)

“I can add my own content right off the bat? Nice! What should I add, what should I…” Alice thought a while and remembered a hentai book she read the night before. There were certain things in there she would be willing to see in the simulation. She hesitated a bit, but finally with a light blush on her face she began to type:

Anal (Y/N, 1-5) 5

Ahegao (Y/N, 1-5) 4

Massive pene-

“No I can’t write it! What if it’s being logged, saved or something like that...” – she sighed deeply. – “Buut… the hentai was pretty interesting”. Alice looked on the menu choices as if they were her worst enemy.

Massive penetrations (Y/N) 2

“Damn you, perverted books!”

Somewhat relieved Alice began tweaking her in-game avatar.
“Okay, add this… Shorten a bit… Oh, nice! These go bigger… Rounder… Where is the colour change? Smoothen this part… Okay, done!”
Satisfied with her results she looked at her creation with nothing but pride in her eyes. Finally it’s time to choose the starting locations.

“Wait, no details? I’m just going blind?

Azure Coast… nah, too sunny. Verdant forest? It’s probably littered with bodies of low level adventurers…. Besides I’m not too keen on ants in my garments. So that leaves me with the Fortress or the Town.”
Alice thought a moment about the choice she was presented, a bit frustrated the game hasn’t provided any more info except the name of the location. But maybe that’s the point?

“I think I’ll choose the Crimson Fortress - it sounds like a good place to gather some nice, shiny items. Hopefully it won’t be your run-of-the-mill I’m-so-evil-oblivion-fortress. I’ll hit the town after I have equipment to brag about!” – she finished with a slight chuckle and finally ready to play, acknowledged all her choices and began the game.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

“Alright, we've confirmed your settings and we are ready to begin. As a reminded, you cannot change these settings in-game and must exit to do so. If you need to exit the game for whatever reason or if you simply have an questions, I'll be monitoring the simulation from here. If there are no objections, we'll begin.” Michelle's voice echoed into Alice's head as a low hum filled her ears. Then her world died and for a brief moment there was nothing, not even coldness.

And then a new world exploded around her. The smell of dust and grass filled her nostrils and a wind blew through her hair. Her fingers gripped a rough wooden staff that was carved into an arcane shape and the distinct weight of a pack was set upon her back. Her boots gave her a firm grip on the soil of the plain she stood upon and her short tunic and skirt helped to keep her cool under the bright sun. She wasn't Alice anymore, she was now Shani.

Before her stood the gates of the titular Crimson Fortress, which weren't hosted by hostile soldiers as she had once expected but by guards who inspected the incoming traffic to the fortress town. There seemed to be a constant watch over the walls that seemed to be built out of some kind of red rock. Unusually, the traffic entering the fortress was almost entirely comprised of adventurers like herself. Before she could consider what to do next, a piece of paper caught in the wind pressed itself against her leg. It appeared to be some form of official decree.

'By Royal Proclamation, this is a notice to all adventurers.

His Majesty's Royal Army has reclaimed Crimson Forest and the surrounding plains from the forces of the vile Devil King Myrrn and are continuing to push his forces west.

However, due to the Devil Army's tendency to base themselves in underground fortresses and the amount of time they held these plains there are still large numbers of unexplored labyrinths. From these vile mazes, both remnants of the occupying force as well as wild monsters are attacking travelers and workers.

Unfortunately, due to shortages of troops prevent the Royal Army from clearing these monsters and so, By Royal Decree, any Adventurer who aids with this task shall receive a bounty for every slain monster and the right to whatever spoils they may find.

All Adventurers seeking to aid in this way must first register with the Guard at Crimson Fortress.'

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Alice... no - Shani - looked around with awe in her eyes. The world looked beautiful, what she saw was so realistic! The sounds, the colours, the smells! The girl expected the game to be mindblowing but this... this is something much, much more!

Shani bounced a few times and while giggling she ran a few circles. Such simple interaction with the virtual world gave her so much pleasure!

"I overdid it with the boobs." she murmured to herself after a few more jumps. "Suddenly I'm pretty content with my natural ones. Well, what can you do, you made your bed, now you sleep in it."

In any case the girl put herself in order and stopped acting like a madman, because people next to her where starting to look at her funny. Talking to herself didn't help much either.

"Focus girl! You're Shani the Beautiful Sorceress now, act like it! It's time to find something to do..." As if to answer her wish, a piece of paper brought by the wind caught her attention.

After Shani read the Royal Proclamation she decided that it's time to register as an adventurer at the first Crimson Fortress Guard she sees. Then she would check her equipment (as well as the backpack) and finally - there's no time to waste after all! - onwards adventure! Labyrinth, here I come!

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Although a few faces in the crowd gawked at Shani's odd behavior, most seemed content to ignore her until she proved dangerous. One of the guards signaled to keep the crowd moving and she found herself being moved with the flow through the gates. As they entered into the fortress town she found herself in the Square, with several things drawing her attention.

Straight ahead she found a table with several bored looking guards stationed at it. The line was long but it moved briskly and from what she could see all one needed to apply was a signature and a handshake. Nearby several groups of adventurers gathered around a very large map of what appeared to be the plains. Sticking out of the map was a veritable forest of pins with colored paper stuck on them in red, black and blue.

On either side of her, the signs of other businesses were raised like battle standards. Much like in a gold rush, the sight of large quantities of freshly made money drew in those who wished to relieve those heavy pockets. Various shops were selling their wares to haggling customers and in several places it was clear that some of the merchants were themselves Adventurer's seeking to sell their spoils. If she wished to navigate this shark pool then she had better have a clear idea of what she wanted lest she get fast talked into a poor sale.

There were even two taverns operating openly in the day time. One was an open air bar that was marked by it's transient nature and the other was based out of a larger building that sported an additional Inn sign. From the upper windows of that building, Shani could see several scantily clad women beckoning men from the street in brazen view of the guards. It probably served as the grounds for two lucrative businesses.

But before any of that, Shani found a place to rest near the wall so she could take stock of her equipment. She had three extra sets of clothing in her backpack and her Arcane Staff was her only current weapon. In her money pouch, she found 50 Gold coins to start her on her journey.

That taken care of she found herself one of the Guards who, guessing her intention, quickly pointed her toward the table. She found herself not standing in line for very long as she soon found herself in front of one of the bored looking guards.

“Are you registering to help with the labyrinth clear out? Sign here.” The bored guard turned a ledger toward Shani and passed a well used quill to her. The ledger had numbers printed next to each signature line and she could see a stack of cards with matching numbers on his side of the table.

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Just after checking her equipment and counting her gold, Shani decided that spending – or as she’d prefer to call it “investing” – her money would be a good idea. Nevertheless the girl realized that basically anything she’d like to buy here would be grossly overpriced. And yet, she needed supplies. Depending on how far away is the entrance to the labyrinth she intended to buy food for at least 4 days.

“Wait, can I actually starve here? I guess not, but…” The girl asked herself and after a moment shrugged.

She would prefer to buy something with a long shelf life, dried meat and alike, from one of the inns. While even there the prices were bound to be inflated, she’d prefer buying food from people that sold food and drinks for a living, not “merchants” selling “the best chicken legs adventurer can buy!” - swindlers living of the naivety of rookie adventurers. Hopefully the innkeeper will be at least somewhat honest, because she has no idea how much one bundle of rations might cost. No matter the price she decided she’ll buy it anyway (maybe with a bit of haggling or winking to lower the price) – girl’s got to eat after all.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

The small market attached to the square was a cacophony of noise and color to Shani. It seemed that everywhere she turned there was someone ready to sell her something for the low, low price of expensive. It was then she spotted an inn sign unexpectedly hanging from a nearby wall.

When she managed to push through the crowd, she found a rather sorry excuse for an inn. It was sharing a storefront with another business that was selling questionable items and the inn keeper was a nervous young man who was obviously having trouble competing with his more boisterous neighbors. But judging from what was visible from his counter he had a decent amount of supplies. He perked up as he saw Shani approached and he was visibly trying to psych himself up as she approached.

“W-Welcome! Uh... may I interest you in a place to stay tonight? Or would... do you need supplies?” The young innkeeper tried to keep his voice from drifting too low to hear.

Spoiler

In the interest of avoiding confusion, let's handle Shani's shopping trip first before moving onto the registration, shall we?

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Spoiler

Of course, no problem for me. I try to write my posts with at least few actions so that the responder has something to write about and as much anchor points as possible in order to speed up the action/story progress.

The inn's exterior didn't exactly inspire her with confidence, nevertheless Shani decided to enter the shabby establishment. With only a bit of luck, by saving a few gold pieces she won't poison herself with food bought here. The probable owner of this den looked even less trustworthy than his property.

"The house shows the owner" she mumbled quietly. "I'll remember this place if I'd like to buy something illegal..."

“W-Welcome! Uh... may I interest you in a place to stay tonight? Or would... do you need supplies?” The young innkeeper tried to keep his voice from drifting too low to hear.

"Um...Yes, welcome. This time I'll take supplies only" - she sent him a courteous smile - "I'll take something with long shelf life. Do you have any dried meat? Something with chicken preferably, spiced or smoked, but actually anything will do. Enough for a trip to the Labyrinth plus a few days inside."Shani concluded her request with another polite smile.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

“O-Of course! We have plenty of rations – perfect for the discerning adventurer.” He said, fumbling a bit as he reached into a nearby crate. He placed a small package on the counter and broke the wax seal that kept it closed. “P-please try this free sample!”

Should she sample the free ration, she would find it surprisingly full. Had it been a less scrupulous merchant, they would have tried to repackage this as two or even three rations. It contained a disproportionally large amount of her dry spice chicken and even the hardtack was of the softer Captain's Biscuit variety. The entire package seemed to be hand packed as well. Would she be able to afford four days of these rations?

“I can sell them to you for five- no, four Gold. I'll sell a weeks worth for twenty one Gold! That's three gold a ration!” The inn keepers voice had a twinge of desperation in it as he reached under the counter again and pulled out a new looking canteen. “If you do, I'll even throw in a free canteen!”

The deal the inn keeper had put before Shani was ludicrously good. Just based on the offers she heard on the street, five gold was a good price for a low quality ration considering the cut throat nature of this market. But he seemed desperate enough to undercut them with a much higher quality product. The low prices paired with the high quality rations he was selling should have made him enough money that he could buy out this entire storefront. And yet he was struggling for some unknown reason.

Spoiler

It's alright and normally I would welcome it. But... you'll see.

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Shani raised her eyebrow with curiosity. While a good deal is certainly welcome, a very good deal is definitely suspicious, especially when such a dubious individual is participating in it. Suddenly she became much more aware of her surroundings.

"You know what mister?" she started with a sly smile "That's a pretty good deal you're offering me." Her expression changed unexpectedly "A bit too good for my taste. We both know that if you'd step outside you could easily sell that for at least thrice that sum. I'm no city guard nor a paladin of some sort. I just want to buy some food and get out of this fortress - so tell me, what's the catch? Are they stolen, drugged, rotten? If the former is the case, let me tell you - I don't care. Just want a heads up. Might even send some of my friends here if you'd like to get rid of it quicker."

While the fact that the innkeeper broke the wax on her eyes didn't escaped Shani's attention, she was too cautious to let go of her suspicions.

"What, you're making these from humans or something?" She added with an ironic smile.

"Ugh" - she thought - "And here comes the 'tastes like chicken' joke. I think that part about the food being stolen was an overkill. Food fencer? Give me a break."

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

The Inn Keeper weathered Shani's accusations with a look of sad resignation. He even took her 'made with humans' joke with barely a flinch. “I am quite certain that the people outside will tell you that I do...”

“I am giving you a good deal because you are the first person to come into my Inn with the intent of buying something in over three weeks...” He gestured to the crate next to him, that was full to bursting. “It's because you are new to the Fortress... and I know that you are new to the Fortress because you're talking to me. If you knew who I am, you wouldn't have come into my Inn at all. And I'm pretty sure your friends know all about me.”

He gestured to the door with a tired look on his face.“If you want to know who I am, go ask the people outside. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to fill you in on the juicy details... I'm tired of trying to excuse my father's actions.”

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Shani was, quite honestly, baffled. For unknown reasons, she found the whole situation extraordinarily amusing. She didn't quite knew how to respond to that. Ultimately she reached inside her purse and took out twenty five gold pieces.

"Their loss, my gain" - she clearly relaxed - "So, what's your side of the story?" Shani asked while waiting for the (probably surprised) innkeeper to pack her rations.

"And don't forget about that canteen you promised! Any chance of filling it with something belly-warming?" she added while looking for a place to sit.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

“I... what...?” The clearly baffled Inn Keeper blankly stared at the gold and then back up at Shani. A slow look of hopefulness covered his features as he started packing up a weeks worth of rations for her use.

“Nobody's really asked me that before...” The Inn Keeper said, as he tried to remember the best way to pack the items away. “As you know, the Crimson Fortress was only recently retaken by the Kings Army... and the Fortress fell to the invaders only ten years ago. But this city wasn't devoid of humans during that time... the humans who weren't able to escape were trapped within the city and forced into slavery. My father and I were among those trapped here. He was a merchant of more than modest means and his gold was valuable to the invaders.”

“He knew that the invaders were more than willing to work the people to death if it benefited them and that if he did nothing they would. So he did what he knew best. He organized the slaves, his own people, into labor camps that were profitable to the invaders. He greased palms and passed gold to insure they got fed even when the invaders didn't want to feed them. But in the end, he ultimately helped them keep their hold on the city. He was a collaborator, good intentions or no. Of that I can't deny no matter how much I wish it not to be true.” The Inn Keeper became aware of his shaking hands by the sound of the bottles clinking in his hands. He took a deep breath to calm himself as he presented several bottles of liquid for Shani to choose from. “When the invaders were pushed out, the King's Army and the people started hunting for anyone who collaborated. My father wasn't the only one to help the enemy, but he's the one they put all the blame on... they hung him a year ago.”

The Inn Keeper had to stop a moment to calm himself and regain his composure but even when he resumed speaking he couldn't meet her eyes. “And even now, they dream up new crimes for him to have committed. If you'd listen to them, they'd talk about how he personally opened up the gates when the invaders came or that he personally executes his countrymen for his own enjoyment. And as the father is death the sins now pass to the son. I sell the highest quality product because when the suppliers come through they buy up everything but to deny me and try to drive me out of business. I get no customers, because they almost always stop them. I can't even find a caravan willing to get me out of this damn fortress...”

“And so, here I am... selling the highest quality merchandise that I can't afford to stock to the only person willing to buy it and spilling my guts in the process.” He stops to rub his eyes before presenting her with her package of rations and a full canteen. “Thank you for listening to me... it feels good to know that at least one person was willing to hear me out.”

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

Shani listened to the innkeeper without speaking a word. The longer he talked, the bigger was the frown on her face and ultimately her expression was of disgust.

"People... Ugh, people will never change I guess. The one thing that will never cease to amaze is the human capacity for spite, hatred and stupidity." She said when the innkeeper paused his story and asked about her alcohol preference. She was about to choose mead, but eventually settled for some kind of spirits. While she fancied the sweet taste of mead, her practical side won this little argument - it's not a time to be fastidious, the stickiness of mead, if it were to spill would be really bothersome. And spirits can be used both as a disinfectant and painkiller when needed. She'll have to drink water while traveling, it would seem.

The innkeeper continued his sad story and when he finally packed all of Shani's rations, his tale came to an end as well.

"I...I don't know what to tell you to be honest. Probably you tried everything, so I won't insult you with advice... and I'm no merchant. I just hope that somehow, you'll push through. You seem like a clever guy and with cunning and confidence everything is achievable." Shani stood up and cast her backpack on her shoulder. She extended her hand towards the innkeeper.

"I wish I could help you somehow, but as you know I'm new here. Huh, who knows, maybe I'll disturb some ancient evil in the Labyrinth and people will have more important things to do than slander innocent innkeepers" - she chuckled - "When I finish with this Labyrinth, I'll come back for sure. So keep a fresh set of linens for me as well as something spicy to eat, deal?"


Just as she was going through the door, the girl turned towards the innkeeper once more:
"Actually... I didn't introduce myself. Shani." She smiled and after his response the girl finally left the inn.


After the brief event with the innkeeper, Shani had taken her first step towards rebuilding her finances. When it was finally her time and the blazed guard handed her a quill she quickly signed her name. The stack of cards caught her attention, especially with the obvious connection to the ledger she just signed, so she asked the guard about it – as well as what exactly this registering business entails. She was also curious how exactly is she supposed to prove each slayed monster in the labyrinth in order to get her bounty – they’re not expecting that she’ll drag two dozens of monster heads along her, are they?

Spoiler

I hope you don't mind this little piece of copy/paste. It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good piece of text!

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

The Inn Keeper shook her hand as he listened to her condolences. He didn't seem too bother by the fact that she didn't have any advice to give him but rather relieve that someone has finally heard him out. As she made her way out, her briefly stopped her.

“I certainly will! This way, if you way? I'd rather not drag your name through the mud because of me.” He said as he eyed a couple merchants who were squinting their eyes at the darker interior of the shop, trying to figure out what was happening. He guided her to the back door and he smiled at her introduction. “My name is Ben. You're always welcome at Ben's Inn, just mind the close minded people outside.”

…

“We started requiring registration after a few no-nothing adventurers got lost after entering one of the labyrinths. We didn't know they had gone out and so nobody found them until a good month had passed and a more experienced adventurer found them on the brink of starvation.” The Guard replied. “We now require all adventurers to be licensed before we permit them to enter the labyrinths and check in once a week to confirm that they are still alright and still performing runs. If they wish to stop doing labyrinth runs they must have their license voided and reapply if they wish to start again.”

The guard paused to fill out a ledger on his end of the table, jotting down both her name plus a small written description of her before he filled out the card that held the corresponding number. After affixing his own signature to the card and ensuring the ink was sufficiently dry he passed it and a little pamphlet to her. “Keep that card with you whenever you go on a run. It's proof of your right to be there and you'll be fined if you don't have it for inspection. Don't worry, it's been magically sealed against everything but dragon fire. That pamphlet is our guidelines for confirming a monster kill. Bringing in the heads is a bit much for most kills but we've been having trouble with people bringing in multiple teeth from the same beast. It details the best way to confirm a kill based on each type of monster and we will only accept kills based on that pamphlet. Just keep it with you and reference it when you need it.”

“Although it isn't official, a bunch of adventurers pooled their money to buy that board over there. It confirms all known entrances to the labyrinths. I believe the black flag indicates a unexplored labyrinth, a blue one indicates a labyrinth that has been fully explored but has seen efforts toward monster reoccupation and the red flags indicates a supremely strong monster has been sighted in it. Supposedly, a white flag is suppose to indicate a perfectly safe labyrinth... but I've never seen it.”

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

“A week you say? Hopefully it will be enough… and I won’t get lost on the way back. It would be just my luck if I’d have run into a dragon.” She replied upon finalizing the registration. “Thanks for the pamphlet; I’ll check it out later.”

After putting the scrap of paper into her pocket Shani gazed on the board the guard mentioned. Preferably she would set off in the general direction of a black flag. The blue one weren’t sounding too encouraging – too much battle without spoils. The unexplored entrances were bound to be dangerous, but would they be actually more hazardous than a directed effort of reoccupation? The girl knew better not think about the red flags too much… at least, for the time being. Nevertheless one thing would be helpful…

“A map.” – The girl sighed deeply. She was tired of going backwards and forwards through the Fortress and would prefer to depart as fast as possible.

“Ah, to hell with it. There’s bound to be dozens of other adventurers on the way, it’s doubtful I would need one anyway. However…” She approached the guard and some other adventurer that was just about to register his name.

“Can I borrow this sweetie?” - and without waiting for an answer, she took the guard’s quill.

“Hey!” – he exclaimed, but the girl quickly took out her pamphlet and drew a rough map towards her point of interest. Before the grumpy soldier stood up and pushed through the crowd, Shani was back.

“Don’t be mad” – she handed the quill over. - “I just want to leave already and the mere thought of haggling with some merchant makes my skin crawl. No hard feelings I hope?” – she ended, blowing him a kiss.

“Denizens of the Labyrinth, tremble for Shani is coming to get your riches!” she thought and marched with determination towards the infamous Labyrinth.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

“We are thinking about extending it but for now you only need to register here. We have outposts in the prairie that you can check in with without coming all the way back here.” The guard said before Shani left.

…

The crowd around the map was a boisterous one and amongst the crowd there were several adventurers claiming that they would clear out entire segments of the labyrinth by themselves and some more level headed ones who were seeking out large groups to take on red flags. The crowd took little note of Shani as she was simply a new adventurer who may or may not yet prove herself. After fighting to the head of the crowd and roughing out her map she quickly slid her way out of the tangle of bodies without much incident.

The guard looked a little annoyed but didn't say anything to her excuse or her flirtatious manner. The adventurer, on the other hand, couldn't help but watch her form as she left. He turned back to the guard and said, “And to think my Mom wanted me to be a banker!”

…

It didn't take Shani long to reach her destination, only roughly half a days walk from her estimation. It appeared you couldn't throw a rock any real distance on the plains without hitting something Labyrinth related. The entrance wasn't too remarkable to the naked eye, basically a stone stairway in the middle of nowhere leading down into the earth. The only additions that had been made was a strong iron gate that appeared to have a large iron cross bar designed to seal in whatever had chased one out. A small campsite was set next to the entry and just inside it a small map had been chalked onto the wall. Judging by the blank areas on the map someone had been in here before but hadn't done any real exploring.

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

"Ah, finally, I left the city! It took me longer than I thought but it was quite illuminating in the long run" she thought after leaving the Fortress gates.

Shani, or actually in this case - Alice - was astonished with the details of the open world. Every little rock, every blade of grass was so detailed it could very well be real. She spend some time just lying in the grass, feeling the warmth on the sun on her face, playing in the nearby stream.
"This simulation is... I don't even have words for it. When this goes public, it will be the end of humankind." She giggled. "Well, it's time to stop dawdling. Gold awaits!"

Letting her mind wander about a multitude of things, Shani suddenly realized she actually didn't use her magic before. She was supposed to be a magician, a sorceress and...well, she had no idea how to cast a spell! It would be a total embarrassment if something would attack her and she'd just stand there silly. Bah, embarrassment probably would be the least of her problems at that time! In order to correct her mistake, the girl experimented a bit during her travel, treating innocent rocks and bushes as practice targets. Hopefully she won't be utterly confused at least what to do when the time for battle comes.

After reaching the entrance she was relieved to see a camp some good soul set up. She unpacked one of the rations with the intentions of strengthening herself before going inside. A little rest wouldn't hurt as well as finding a source of water to freshen up which would be a pinnacle of good luck.

"After I rest a little..." Shani turned her head towards the iron gate "You're the only thing that stand between me and my new shiny riches!"

Finishing her brief repose, the girl stood up, cleaned herself from the bread crumbs and gazed at the unfinished map, trying hard to memorize anything useful. A short while after, she entered the Labyrinth...

Spoiler

A few little questions regarding mechanics:
What are my spells, how am I casting them (can I use hands or using a staff type weapon is the only way to channel magic), how it works? Do I have a mana pool (and if so, how to replenish it) or the spells are otherwise remembered/counted? Or maybe there's no mechanics and it's all roleplay?

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

As Shani practiced her magic she noticed that when channeling her magic through her staff was marginally better than just through her hands but not enough to noticeably change the damage output. Maybe if she had a better staff it would allow her to do more?

She also found that visualizing what she wanted to happen influenced what he magic would do. If she imagined flame, then a fireball would erupt from her staff. And if she focused a bit, she could make it bigger and more powerful but if her concentration was broken she'd have to start all over again. And the harder it was to visualize something, the harder the spell was to pull over. Fire was easy but trying to alter gravity was impossible for her right now. She could imagine the end result but not necessarily how it worked.

Soon, she found herself at the camp site and set about getting herself sorted. The meat and Captain's Biscuit tasted delicious to her after her half day journey although maybe a little thirsty. The search for water was a little more problematic but judging by the map there did seem to be a source of water in the labyrinth itself down the western path.

After preparing herself, the metal gate opened with nary a squeak and it seemed like it was newly installed. It was probably discovered recently. As she stepped into the dungeon, the cool air was a sharp contrast to the summer sun she had just left. The walls were lined with some form of naturally glowing stone and two paths were immediately obvious. The north and west passages both stretched into the distance beyond her ability to see the end.

Spoiler

Mechanically wise I will be treating them as a normal attack and I will be using modifiers depending on the situation. Her magic will largely be constraint by her imagination and her experience. As such, I will be adjusting the rolls by how much focus I believe it would take to perform them and by the weaknesses of the enemies you'll be encountering. The up and down of EGG is that beyond d20 vs d20 almost everything is left up to us to decide how to do it. This is simply my way. I won't be using a mana pool for now and a lot of this is me experimenting to see how to make this work best.

 

[dorl]

Re: Shani's Odyssey

The cold breeze from the labyrinth sent a chill down Shani’s spine, but the sensation itself was welcomed after so many hours under the sun. After admiring the glowing crystals for a while, she stood where the road split into a fork. The decision came lightly:

“West.” – She murmured, remembering about the source of water scribbled on the map outside. Thirst would be bothersome (to say the least) when if she was to venture deeper into the Labyrinth. But it could be a nice place for an ambush as well... Attacking an unsuspecting adventurer while he makes a rest. Nevertheless it was really close to the entrance, so a full-fledged ambush would be kind of doubtful... But it's always good to stay on one's toes. With that thoughts, she turned towards west and advanced forward.