THE MOMENT
Graham had forgotten more about vampires than even he knew. He was an old man in a profession that didn't have many of those, and his latest hopeful student probably wouldn't live to see his age no matter how much he prepared her. But, his job was to try. He thought she was ready when he asked for help cleaning out a vampire den. He didn't expect her to show up unarmed.
"What are you doing?" He whispered the question once she joined him near the entrance of the cave. They were deep in the forest and the afternoon sun barely penetrated the dense treetops; it would have been useless in the cave.
"I'm here to wipe out the den," Abby, the teenage girl with black hair and solid black eyes replied. She was dressed in black chain armor with no helmet. Her tone came across as bored with a touch of confusion that he was asking.
"With what weapons?!" he asked. He was doing his best to keep his voice at a whisper while still acting surprised and annoyed.
"Oh, right, I guess I need them ready," she nodded and sighed. The reminder was welcome, the interaction wasn't. If Abby could have done it without his help, she would have. She reached behind her back and returned with a pair of small, silvery glass vials. She transferred the bottles to her other hand, then reached under her cloak again and drew out a pair of stakes. "That's probably enough," she nodded to herself, then looked at Graham. "I've got my holy water and stakes set, get going," she said. He laughed and shook his head.
"Holy water? Stakes? What the hell are you talking about?" Graham asked. He was sure that wasn't how he trained her. He couldn't remember the details of that training, his memory was getting weaker with age; but, he knew it wasn't his normal method. He decided to remind her of the proper tools. "Look, I've been killing these things for years. Shotguns work just fine," he said.
"That's not right...," Abby tilted her head at Graham. "I've got everything ready, holy water and stakes," she repeated.
"Holy water? Stakes? What the hell are you talking about? Look, I've been killing these things for years. Shotguns work just fine," he said.
"Damnit, I did something wrong...," Abby sighed and flicked her wrist upward. A large glass pane appeared in front of her, but Graham had no idea. He remained still as Abby tapped and swiped at the screen to get to the quest text. But, even before she scanned through it again, she caught the problem.
[/p - Dropping group for a quest. - Abby] She sent the Whisper and waited for a reply. Astra's Class, 'Spellslinger', was taking quest priority because she was the party leader.
[/p -N.P. - Astra] The text appeared on her wrist and she heard Astra's voice in her mind. They'd been working on another quest together before going separate ways and just hadn't thought to dissolve the group. She waited a moment, then noticed Graham had moved up to a different spot. She dismissed the Slate and gathered her weapons before she walked over to him.
"Good, you've got your weapons ready," he nodded at her as she approached with the holy water and stakes. "Remember, this is a dangerous mission. Exterminating those monsters takes priority. No matter what happens to me, you must finish the job! Promise me!" he stared into her black eyes with full conviction. He couldn't see the bonus objective that appeared in her vision.
[Bonus: Trainer Graham survives the encounter.]
"Sure," Abby smiled at him. "I promise I won't let any extra details get in the way of me finishing the main quest," she said.
"Good. Let's go end this once and for all."