Chapter One: Welcome to Ul'dah
"Oh, wow…!"
And he thought the city looked incredible from the outside.
As Ruruka stepped through the Gates of Nald, he couldn't help but marvel at the great city, its spires and domes reaching up towards the midday sky above and its streets bustling with life.
It was everything he had been hoping for, and yet so much more.
Now, he just needed to find the-
"Oi, 'venturer! Over here!"
"Huh?" Ruruka glanced to the side, where a somewhat shady man stood. "Um, yes?"
"Fresh off the carriage, by any chance?"
"W-wha-?"
Crack…!
[1-9: Ball Tipped Whip – A leather whip with a heavy iron ball attached to its end, increasing its attack power. It's a bit scuffed, but in the hands of an experienced user, can be a solid weapon.] (1)
"Y-yeah!" he replied, stepping closer. "H-how did you know?"
"Heh!" the man laughed. "Never seen you 'round before, an' I know every bugger 'round these parts! 'Sides, you've got the look everyone has seein' Ul'dah for the first time."
Ruruka flushed slightly at that. Had it really been that obvious?
"Nothin' to be ashamed of, mind," the man eased. "You're not the first to get all awestruck by the city, an' you certainly won't be the last. Ah, but where're my manners- the name's Wymond, and I'd like to offer you a bit of advice, free of charge."
"Advice?"
"'Tis plain to anyone with eyes that you don't know your way around here," he began, making the Lalafell's cheeks color again. "If I just let you go wander off down some dark alley, you're bound to get mugged or worse, an' I don't want that on my conscience."
Though Ruruka balked at the idea of "worse", Wymond went on. "So before anythin' else, you'll want to head over to the Quicksand, an' speak with Momodi," he glanced across the avenue, where a large, domed building stood. "She's the master of the Adventurers' Guild, an' can set you straight. Just head through the double doors over yonder, and she'll be inside."
At that, Ruruka gave the man a smile. "Thank you very much for the advice, sir," he nodded gratefully.
"Don't mention it," he shrugged. "Next time you ask for some advice, I'll be chargin' up front, understand? Oh, an' you dropped your whip."
The Lalafell blinked. "Whip?" He glanced down to see, well, yeah, a whip, one with a metal ball at its end. Confused, he picked it up, and said, "Er, sorry, but this isn't mine."
"You sure?" Wymond raised an eyebrow. "Didn't see anyone else around to drop it."
"No," Ruruka shook his head. "It's definitely not mine."
"Well, I won't be chargin' you for this, but I think you ought to hold onto it. Even if you don't find its right owner, an adventurer always needs a weapon, eh?"
"I suppose so…" Wymond had a point; though he'd never used a whip before, some equipment was better than none, right?
Besides, maybe learning to use a whip could be fun!
"Oh! Why, hello there! Who might you be?"
"A-ah, I'm Ruruka Totoka," he introduced himself, stepping up to the bar. "And I'd like to join the Adventurers' Guild, please."
"Well, then you've come to the right place," the Lalafell woman smiled. "Name's Momodi, owner of this fine establishment and, as I'm sure you can guess, manager of Ul'dah's Adventurers' Guild. I'd be glad to let you join the guild, but if I could ask, you're new to adventurin', right?"
This time, Ruruka couldn't help but sigh. "Y-yeah…"
"Ah, there's no need to worry. I'm always happy to welcome new arrivals like yourself to our fair city, so it's good you came here before you got caught up in any trouble. That said, is that whip of yours all you have?"
"I'm afraid so," he admitted. He really should've saved up more Gil for some armor… "Someone did tell me the guilds might be willing to provide some equipment, though?"
"That's right," nodded Momodi. "They'd be more than willin' to lend you gear and train you some. For you…" she took a moment to consider. "I'd recommend the Gladiators' Guild, over at the Coliseum. A sword and shield are always a good choice for new adventurers."
"And, um, where exactly is the Coliseum?"
"It's over by the Gate of the Sultana… though I suppose you wouldn't know where that is yet," Momodi hummed thoughtfuly. "Alright, how does this sound: once I register you in the guild, how's about I help you get to know the city? Ul'dah's a big place, so you'll definitely need to get your bearin's before anythin'."
"Really? Oh, well, that sounds great, thank you!"
"It's no problem. Now, why don't we make this official?" she leaned down and pulled out a large book, setting it on the counter. "Go ahead and put your name down in the register, neat as you can." (2)
He gladly did so, and Miss Momodi put the book back into place. "Alright, Mister Totoka! On behalf of the Adventurers' Guild, I officially-"
"P-please, sir, be merciful!"
"Huh-?"
Crack…!
[2-14: Anima Sola – Ruruka gains the ability to use Anima Sola as a spell, allowing him to bind an enemy with black chains for 5 seconds, preventing them from acting. However, powerful enough beings are capable of breaking the Anima Sola, and has diminishing returns if repeated on the same target. Along with this, the more effort it requires to bind them, the more draining it is on Ruruka.
[Due to the Summon's increased Power, its "cooldown" is partially reduced, allowing him to cast Anima Sola in quicker repetition, and the chains' power is increased.]
(3)"Twelve as my witness, I swear to you, I'll bring you your money!"
Though Ruruka turned to look back at the scene, he suddenly felt a strange twinge pulse through his head. What was that about… chains? Where did that come from?
"Ah, well, ain't that a sorry sight," sighed Momodi, seemingly unconcerned. "Not an uncommon one, if I'm bein' honest. Don't worry, though, Ruruka- so long as you work hard, I'm sure you won't end up like him."
"Y-yeah," he replied, pulling his eyes away as the debt collector's men dragged the poor gambler out of the building. Was that the "worse" Wymond had warned him about?
"Anyroad, as I was sayin', I officially name you a member of the Adventurers' Guild, Ruruka!" she cheered. "Now, why don't I help you get sorted out?"
"A-ah, of course!"
Notes: A bit of a slow start, but there hasn't really been much to derail things as of yet. Don't worry, though, things should begin to pick up soon as Ruruka goes along with the plot. Again, we're sticking close to the Ul'dah intro (sorry it's not "freeform" as I said yet), but that's mainly because, well, it's what would happen with Ruruka.
Also, something I have to say is that I did cut a few things from these scenes, and while prior knowledge of FFXIV isn't needed to read this, it can help things been understood better.
Anyway, onto the Annotations!
(1) - Because it's only a 9, this is not the Vampire Killer, which seems way too powerful to be summoned just like that. It's just a regular whip here.
(2) - Okay, in the actual game, Momodi goes into a huge information dump here which I cut out. The exposition we get from this will come up more naturally in the story, but since it was out of the blue and kind of long-winded, I cut it out.
(3) - I feel like I did a good job of balancing Anima Sola by turning it into a spell. Being able to immobilize targets at will is pretty strong, so I tried to balance it in a way that fights won't just be Ruruka chaining up his foes and wailing on them. Hopefully, doing this should make it more interesting than that... (Also, y'know, he still has to land the chains.)
