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⬣//A SINGLE CRACK LETS THE LIGHT IN.
As they say, fortune favors the brave. Five lucky players took part in a Limited Quest: The Mysterious Sky Islands, in which they discovered a brand new Root Town. While the team was largely successful in their efforts to make the mysterious floating town in the sky habitable, not everyone embraced the spirit of teamwork on this journey.
When you gate in to this shiny new Root Town, you'll notice something curious: it has no name. Its name simply displays as "???" in every context menu and there is no signage around the Root Town itself that points to its true name— rather, the name it had before they came along.
Whispers on the wind tell of an evil wizard in flowing white robes who ruthlessly boiled the village elder alive. With him died all of this mysterious Root Town's lore and history, and in its place are tales of the monster who robbed this land of its identity. The elemental sprites that populate this village refuse to speak their name, simply wishing you "good luck, have fun!" as you turn to leave.
While on your journey to check out the island, you'll notice how unstable the bridges are. Unstable might be putting it lightly, because for some unlucky souls, crossing the wrong bridge means plummeting to your death. It seems that whoever was put in charge of constructing these bridges didn't give a damn about structural integrity.
The local sprites are pleading with adventurers to assist them in building better, more stable bridges, but bridging the gap between one island and the next is not a job for a single person. If you have enough of a heart to heed the pleas of the sprites, you'll want to work with your fellow players to get the job done. All the wood, nails, and rope you need to construct better bridges has been helpfully supplied to you by the sprites. You could always sabotage the project too, of course, but what kind of person would you be if you did that?
The professions system has been added to fragment. Rejoice, busybodies, for there is much furniture to be built and dubious potions brewed.
In celebration of the new crafting & gathering system, a crafts festival is being held in the Unnamed Root Town. Take care not to plummet to your death while traversing those rickety bridges.
Players are encouraged to set up a booth of their own and trade their unique handcrafted items with their fellow adventurers. In addition to being supplied with enough level 1 and level 2 crafting materials to give the crafting system a spin, the local NPCs are running a contest encouraging people to come up with their own for a chance to have their creations canonized as real crafting recipes.
To submit your own recipe ideas, you need only fill out this handy form:
Recipe name:
Recipe category: Alchemist, Carpenter, Chef, or Jeweler?
Which two items does your recipe call for? Choose two items to combine. Only gatherable items (refer to the professions page) can be used.
Effect: What does this item do, if anything?
Description: A brief description of your lovely new product.
Fragment's beta test has seen its fair share of unusual bugs and unintended features, and with the latest update bringing many new changes, it's inevitable that some things have broken behind the scenes.
If two players happen to log in at the same time, they might find their avatars swapped with one another's. Thankfully, this issue doesn't lead to the unpleasant exchange of deep-seated memories or anything of the sort, but getting used to a body that isn't yours takes time. Thankfully, this particular bug resolves itself when both players log out.
The windy town of Unnamed Root Town is generally quite scenic and pleasant, but there's just one issue. It's far, far windier than it should be. If the rickety bridges don't kill you, the gusts that intermittently blow across the sky islands might knock you off your feet if you don't watch your footing carefully. Thankfully, the crafts festival on the southernmost end of the island hasn't been impacted by the severe winds. Among them is one voice that you don't recognize: a voice that promises a death, gruesome and bloody, in the days to come.
To everyone's relief, the carnival and its notorious hall of mirrors has packed up and left Lumina Cloth, but your past hasn't finished haunting you. The foul winds carry whispers of the past along with them, uttering words and phrases uncomfortably familiar to you. They're the voices of your past, the voices of people you've known, loved, and lost. Covering your ears won't keep the voices out of your ears. Nothing will.
Finally, on the more mundane some of things, professions have a few kinks of their own that need to be worked out. Occasionally, a crafted item won't come out quite right, instead resulting in one of the following "items":
Alchemist: Truth Serum. Become unable to lie for 24 hours.
Blacksmith: Whatever you're enhancing transforms into a denim disaster. Introducing your new "body" armor, "leg" armor, "head" armor, and "arm" armor.
Carpenter: Mirror Mirror. Reflects the person you're most afraid of becoming.
Chef: Durian Delight. A succulent durian pudding that reeks so strongly that its stench can be smelled all across the Root Town or Area you're occupying.
Jeweler: Crystal Ball. Breaks after one use but allows you to read another player's thoughts for five minutes.
With crafting in full swing, a certain admin has been lured out of his hidey hole by the smell of delicious chef-prepared meals. Hien is hungry, and you will feed him.
Chefs are not limited by the recipes they know like some professions are, so players are encouraged to think outside of the box and combine unique ingredients to cook up something truly special.
Taste, however, isn't the only important part of a perfect meal. Chefs looking to impress the big man himself are expected to present their culinary delights to him with pomp and finesse. You need to impress Hien if you want to gain more from this venture than the participation prize of a chef skin.
Those who successfully woo Hien with their delectable dishes will be given an additional prize: a little black pomchi pet to accompany their avatar around Root Towns and Special Areas. Hien will be giving these out at his discretion, so you better suck up to the dogboss in charge if you want a pomchi of your very own. If you catch Hien in a good mood, he may even agree to give you a different breed of dog if you ask nicely.
Hello, everyone! Can you believe it's been an entire month since our beta test began? Even though we've already been through a lot together, we've still got three months left! I'm rooting for you all!
As of today, the level cap has increased from 25 to 50. That means new armor and weapons will be available to you! Get out there to different Areas and start leveling up! But don't forget to stop every once in a while and enjoy your surroundings, too. Which reminds me—don't forget to check out the new Recreational Areas! We have a beach and hotsprings for you to enjoy now. I hope everyone continues to have fun exploring!
We've also opened up the GP shop, where you can create your own special armor set for a certain price, along with a few other things. Please check it out!
Oh, and don't forget to use these three new greeting cards I've made! Here they are! Make sure you use them so you can connect with your fellow players! We're all friends here, after all.
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( Morgan is good at climbing but Tylor isn't used to being this short. At least it's not the same as the difference between Hani and Bear, but it sounds fun to figure out. )
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I haven't played that since I was a kid. But... I guess being short might make it easier.
[The food pace is not really slowing down, though. Heading to the beach sounds like it might be a bad idea. He might get a stomachache... wait, could he get a stomachache in the water in a game like this? Mysteries.]
Just here in Lumina Cloth?
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( He nods, holding out his hand. )
Rock, paper, scissors to decide who's it?
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...Oh. Right now.
Um.
...
[It takes effort to tear his eyes away. But he holds up his hand as well.]
Okay. [Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot--
He chooses Paper.]
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RNG says he does rock, rip he's it. )
I'm it! You get a head start though. Oh. And do you need me to store anything for you?
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A beat, and he looks a little embarrassed, but still shakes his head as though to double down, quietly stacking what's left into Hani's inventory along with the enormous piles of alcohol.]
I've got it. It's fine. I don't need help with this.
[The buzz just scratches like an itch. But he chews against the side of his tongue, trying to focus on Tylor. On Mithrun's smile that isn't Mithrun's smile.]
How long do I get?
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( Tylor is predictably unfazed. )
How about a minute?
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I'm gonna run as fast as I can. So you better keep up, Tylor.
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You're on! You've got 57 seconds left!
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Not for a long time.]
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He's surprised at how fast he can go, beelining for the alleyway that he'd seen Bear duck into. If he can catch even a glimpse of them, he yells from a still healthy distance at the alleyway entrance-- )
I'm going to get you!
( Better keep running. )
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Except he is now so short this is not even remotely possible, so Tylor gets a nice delay to catch up.]
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But this is tag. And while Tylor plays for fun more than to win in most games, sometimes you just want a turn being chased too.
He doesn't catch up completely, but the distance is short enough for Tylor to yell encouragement (it's also hard to sound encouraging while yelling in Mithrun1's voice)-- )
Nice try!
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[Well he's cornered himself a bit here between Tylor!mithrun and the end of the alley. While he does consider a climb, Tylor's gaining on him fast. But there's a turn in the alley around the side of the previous building he might be able to reach if he's lucky.
Scrambling, he's going to try to slip past the oncoming Fellow Shortie to get back into the adjacent alley.]
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He's running too fast, his body too light, and his reach just barely missing Bear as they slip past. There's a little spluttering as his feet slide, and he has to catch himself on his palms.
The change in direction gives Bear a chance to gain ground again but Tylor takes off down the alleyway after him, laughing like a kid in a park. )
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You okay?
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But the question earns Bear dramatic thumbs up without breaking strike. He would wink too, but he is Mithrun1 right now. And his palms might be a little red, just like his cheeks from exertion, but the skin isn't broken.
His legs are probably longer than Hani's(?) so he's probably gaining on them the longer a straight run goes on. And if that's the case, Tylor's gut will carry him toward beelining for Hani. )
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Run, run run run run run--
Except they try to bank a turn a little too fast at the end of the alley, immediately trips, and lands flat on their face.
Ow.]
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( He mutters as he forgets himself in that moment. When Bear trips; he doesn't think about how he isn't in his own body and that Hani is not really Hani. He can't keep the genuine care out of his expression when he catches up and crouches as he reaches to help them sit up--to cup their face to see if Bear lets him. )
Are you okay? Does it hurt?
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Their face is a little scuffed up, their hands red from the impact. But they stay pliant, looking with confusion and surprise at the tender touch against their face.
It's strange for Barrett to watch that sort of softness and compassion on Mithrun's face. It makes his chest ache a little.
He wonders, for a second, if Tylor might think the same watching him. But it stays tightly locked in him.]
...A little. I think I'm okay, though.
...
Does this mean I'm "it" now?
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( Tylor jokes, laughing even as he resists the natural urge to kiss Hani's scuffs and red palms. He moves to brush them with his thumbs idly, feather light, instead as he tries to help Bear to their feet. Boundaries.
His concern turns into a grin as he moves to bop Hani's nose with one finger. )
That's right! You got it, now count to 60.