It was early dusk when Camiel found himself a little hillock on which lay camp. A beautiful night had set in the Luna Valley, and as the enchanting silhouette of thousands of bright stars in the night sky darted back and forth in an iridescent dance, he decided it was a perfect moment to cash into the King's reward for stargazers. As the northmost shone of stellar light brightened the lands, he procured a rather large device -- a hand crafted telescope from the Southlands, made to fit the colossal height of Camiel, an avid stargazer himself.

He prepared the artifact, calibrating the focuser and centering the mirrors. Once everything was in place, his mind began to enthrall itself in the promethean sway of stars, each his eye could see an even more beautiful sight than the previous. Next to the telescope, he raised a small wooden stool which he used as an impromptu table.

Finally, he took his ledger and began to scribble on it; Luna Valley. Temperature: 78° approx. Sky: clear. Wind: mild, heading east. Hour: past eight o' clock, approx. eight-ten. Having finished, he left the small notebook on the side table and his eyes once more drew into the checkered-like pattern of orbs in the sky, analyzing the figures they made. Cervus Majoris, check, he thought, pointing out the visible constellations, Turrim, check. From the brushes near the foot of the hill, the noise of leaves crushing startled Camiel, as he quickly turned back. "Who goes there!?" He shouted...

---

Quest Name: Study the Stars

Participants: Two or more

Location: Moonglade

Post Requirements: 4 posts per person, 200 words per post

Reward: +1 Renown

Description: Charon has been struggling the last year with many, many changes to its world view, the most jarring being the changes to weather, the environment and the star patterns above which were used for navigation. With the veil of the Sol Stone dropped, new stars, constellations and cosmic markers have been popping up, revealing that not only is the world bigger than once thought, but so is the sky. The crown is asking people to help record and study these new heavenly objects, to help better understand our location in the cosmos. Spend an evening studying and watching the stars, recording what you see.

"Oh! My apologies, I didn't expect anyone else to be up here. I didn't mean to startle you. I was just looking for a good spot to observe the stars." A deep, but gentle and slightly flustered-sounding voice answered back from brush as a massive figure emerged onto the grassy hillside.

Camiel was quite tall, but even he was dwarfed by the monstrous being. Standing fifteen and a half feet tall with an imposingly broad, muscular build that looked even taller and larger thanks to the pair of long, slightly branching and bending horns atop their head and a second pair of thick arms beneath the first on either side of a portly gut, and a scruffy mane of thick grey fur around their neck. Behind them, a long, serpentine tail trailed through the grass tipped with a tuft of gold feathers. He wore a simple outfit of white robes with a belt beneath a large green cloak.

Despite their monstrous appearance, they acted very friendly. Beneath a fuzzy mustache and beard, they were obviously smiling as they stepped forward, one hand waving in greeting. Their green, baggy eyes were clearly intelligent and not at all like those of a beast. Looking around, their eyes landed on the telescope.

"Oh, I see you're here for the same reason! Would you mind if my companions and I join you? Perhaps we can compare notes and share our findings. My name is Beistmild, but please call me Beist. It's a pleasure to meet you."

As Beist spoke, a few critters also approached, following behind him. What looked like a cross between a dog and a raccoon climbed up onto his shoulder. A griffon and a purple and yellow-furred fox with seven tails that both also stood taller than Camiel sidled up to either side of Beist, and a large, green-wooled woolful paid the whole scene hardly any mind as he began grazing on the grass nearby.

---

Bringing Pets:
Griffon (Sleigh Bell)
Lightning Elemental (Stables)
Light Elemental (My Best Friend) in space pocket
Raccoon-Dog
Woolful

AIRDROP!

The oddest thing just happened to Astrid. She was here in the field on a blanket, minding her own business, observing the stars, when someone came over and tried to make conversation, and then seemingly got distracted by something and left her totally alone. Well, that’s annoying.

No matter! On the horizon, she spots a familiar lumbering figure with antlers, her very own grandpa Beist! And by his side are a handful of equally familiar animal companions! “Oi, gramps!!” Astrid calls, using her hand curled along her mouth as a half megaphone while she waves at him. She gets up to her feet to make herself slightly more visible, though the glowing of her Arcanatek Prosthetic throws a soft, pulsating blue glow across her.

On her feet, she starts approaching and throws a joke his way along with a simple ask. “Here ta look at the stars, too? Wanna take some notes together? Ya got a better view than me given yer eyes are way up higher than mine. I thought I was gonna have someone ta chat with, but they kinda wandered off.” A slightly awkward smile, she giggles and motions to the depressed spot in the grass scattered with her notebooks and pencils.

"Oh! Astrid!" Beist replied happily, turning away from the silent man with one last glance. He didn't seem to be very receptive to the best man's company. Perhaps finding a different hill wouldn't be so bad with someone else to keep him company anyways.

He let out a chuckle. "Yes, I suppose being this tall has to have some perks. The view can be pretty nice up here." He answered as he made his way down the hill toward Astrid, the herd of animals following along behind him. It was nice to let them come with him somewhere not so dangerous or inhospitable and let them actually walk around instead of cooping them up in their space pocket charms. A little trip to Stargazer's Field to look up at the sky was perfect.

"I also thought I'd met someone new, but they didn't seem very talkative. I'm happy to spend some time with my granddaughter though! That hill over there looks like a good spot, don't you think?"

Beist pointed toward another nearby hill that was just a little shorter than the one he'd walked down from, but it would still give them a great view of the stars.

As Beist pointed out the hill, Leon charged at Astrid with a quick bleat, his horns lowered into ramming position. Beist smiled and rolled his eyes as he saw the woolful giving his usual greeting. Awd, the raccoon-dog on his shoulder watched the woolful's shenanigans as well, flopping onto its stomach and dangling its legs over Beist's shoulder lazily.

Dora looked happy to see Astrid as well, but rolled her eyes and shook her head as Leon charged at her. The giant purple and yellow fox and the mechanical winged serpent whose light was a lot dimmer than usual as it tried not to interfere with the view of the stars looked on, their faces more stoic, thoguh the fox did have a slight smirk of amusement.

“Oh, I’ve actually got a blanket set up over there,” she says, motioning to where she does, indeed, have a blanket and a few books and notebooks scattered about on a different part of the same hill. Spicy Pawsage sits on the blanket with a warm glow emanating from his chest. He is being a very obedient Good Boy, protecting Astrid’s stuff while she catches up with Beist.

Suddenly, the Wooful Leon comes charging at Astrid in a blur, and Astrid, somewhat familiar with his antics at this point, lowers herself and then hoists the sheep into the air with both arms as soon as he’s close enough.^[1,2] “Don’t be rude, Leon!” she says, letting him flail around a bit before setting him down and giving him a good head rub. “Spicy’s gonna eat ya if ya are.” As an extra layer of protection, she sets the ram facing the other direction.

“Oi, Dora, I got a snack I think ya’ll like,” she says, motioning for everyone to come join in on the blanket that is definitely not large enough for them all. As soon as Astrid sits down, Spicy Pawsage starts sniffing at anyone and anything he can while Astrid cleans up her books, which seem to be star studies and maps of constellations – or at least, how they used to be. Once she's settled, she digs into her bag and produces various snacks like vegetable sticks, dried meats, and a small wrapped packaged of cubed raw meat, which she offers to any of the pets that want them. 

---

1. Bull’s Strength
2. Immovable Bastion

Leon kicked his legs as he was picked up by his horns, spun around, and set back down facing away from Astrid. For a moment, he seemed stunned by what just happened, his eyes wide. And then he was back to his rambunctious self as he shot a back hoof out toward Astrid without thinking. Afterward, he was his other usual self, turning around with teary eyes to see if he'd actually hurt her.

Well, Beist couldn't say the woolful had improved his social skills, but he did improve his battle tactics somehow. Beist didn't remember teaching him that move and wondered where he might have picked it up. He looked suspiciously toward Dora whose eyes drifted away from him.

"Uh-huh..." Beist quietly muttered toward the griffon before reaching down and picking up Leon like the larger than usual woolful was nothing more than an extra fluffy dog that let out a bleat in two of his arms.

"Oh, Spicy isn't going to eat you, but you should really be more polite when meeting people. Ramming someone with your horns isn't a very nice way to greet someone. We've talked about this." He consoled the woolful, stroking his back with another hand.

Beist smiled and followed Astrid over to the blanket she'd already set up along with all the animals behind him. Awd crawled down from his shoulder to lay on top of Leon, sinking slightly into the green wool like it was the most comfortable bed.

Dora took the offered treat of some raw meat, tossing her head back and letting it disappear down into her beak. Other animals also stepped up to take some, the large fox also choosing to take some raw meat. Beist set Leon back down and the woolful took some veggies while Awd took a bit of dried meat and scampered away. Beist put out some bowls and filled them with water with a wave of his hand. Immediately, Awd was dipping his bit of jerky into one of the bowls before eating it. With his mostly mechanical body, Pretzels didn't take any of the food.

"This spot is lovely. The view is perfect!" Beist said cheerfully, looking up at the clear view of the stars above. This would be a great spot to observe them and note the changes. He started to pull out some old star charts to compare them to from his bag, the long rolls of paper too long to fit inside judging from its outer appearance. He also pulled out a telescope he borrowed just for this and his memory-recording crystal ball.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I don't think you two properly met before. This is Moe. I think you two should get along well. He's a lightning fox I met in Dragon's Cradle. He was just a little pup then." Beist introduced the huge purple and yellow fox to Astrid, motioning a hand toward him, looking reminiscent for just a moment as he thought about the tiny fox that had found his camp while he was travelling in his wagon.

The ram’s hoof jabs out and clocks Astrid right in the stomach. “OOF!” she grunts, surprised by the strike. Her hand comes up to clutch at her stomach, the wind having been knocked out of her. Sometimes not wearing armor all the time isn’t helpful. Luckily, she at least has her padded vest, which managed to absorb a bit of the impact.^[1] “That weren’t all that nice a’ ya,” she scolds before looking at Beist. “I’ll cook ‘im up meself if he does that again. Mutton's pretty tasty, ya know.” This is said in jest, but she still gives the Woolful a threatening stink eye.

Once they’re all seated, Astrid starts distributing the snacks to all the pets who want anything. Unfortunately, she isn’t quite sure what to feed Pretzels, not that the quetzal would take anything out of pride anyway – at least, that’s what she’s sure of. Any critter that wants pets receives them with gusto. “Oh, a lightnin’ fox?” Astrid chirps, looking at Moe. “Heya, little fella! I’m a lightnin’ kid meself!!” Bits of electricity spark on the ends of Astrid’s fingertips, and if the creature can take the lightning and wants some sparkly pets, she gives them to him.

With everyone getting lots of pets and snuggles and settled in, Astrid recollects her notebooks and a few of the charts she borrowed from the Mage’s Guild. When she sees the telescope, her eyes light up with recognition. “Oh… I weren’t even thinkin’ ta get one a’ them..!” It’s a great idea that she didn’t think of, so she summons up her goggles from the WEF that help her zoom in on things from afar.^[2]

“Kinda weird seein’ stars from a different part a’ the world,” she says while focusing on a constellation she recognizes that sits much lower in the sky than she’s used to seeing.

---

1. Padding -1 HP
2. Drake Hussar - Telescopic goggles

"Astrid, please..." Beist mumbled pleadingly, looking down at the woolful in his arms who had tears streaming down his cheeks. He understood her threats were just jokes and she wouldn't actually hurt Leon, but Leon was a lot more sensitive than the tough persona and spiky collar he liked to put on would lead one to believe.

Well, it looked like two of his arms would be preoccupied for a while. It was a good thing he had a second pair, or he would have had to give up on taking any notes tonight.

Moe, on the other hand, wasn't so sensitive. The rather large lightning fox was snickering to himself as he watched Beist comfort Leon. The fox definitely liked a good prank, and just saw this as another one played on the woolful, who was something of a younger sibling to him despite technically being older, or at least, with Beist longer.There were few that Moe considered above him among Beist's many animals. One of which was Dora, who was giving him a stern look he pretended not to notice.

Moe turned his attention to Astrid as she offered him a slightly sparking hand. He leaned forward as if he was going to accept some pets when he suddenly chomped his muzzle around nearly her entire arm. With a wet, drooly, lightning-charged slurp he pulled his head back, leaving Astrid' arm soaked, and then ran off with a laugh.

"Pfft-" Beist covered his mouth with a fist and pretended to clear his throat, but it was obvious he was stifling his laughter at the fox's antics. Dora didn't seem as amused as she chased down the hill after Moe. Beist glanced at the crystal ball floating next to his head, checking to see if the magic device had recorded the whole thing, and it had.

"They're a bit expensive. I borrowed this one from the Mage's Guild, so I have to be careful with it, but it seemed like it would be very helpful with recording the stars." Beist explained as he extended the brass cylinder, gently and slowly. He had to be extra careful not to break the delicate instrument considering his strength. Holding it up to his eye, he was a bit disappointed in it. The eye piece was too small for him to actually place it against his face without just poking himself in the eye, and he could barely fit the thing in one hand.

"This was the biggest one they would lend me..." He mumbled to himself sadly.

He put the telescope on the grass beside him and picked up the star charts.

"Yes, it is strange, isn't it? According to these charts, that one there-" He pointed toward a particularly bright star near the horizon. "Used to be nearly in the center of the sky. That means just about everything in that direction-" He gestured toward the opposite horizon."Is unrecorded, newly visible to us and no longer visible from wherever lies in that direction."

“What? If he can’t take a bit a’ jokin’, he shouldn’t ram into people!” Astrid says defiantly, looking up at the woolful who has started full on sobbing like a baby in Beist’s arms. There’s a moment of pause and consideration before she begrudgingly apologizes. “Sorry… Blue an’ I joke about eatin’ people sometimes, so I weren’t thinkin’ much about it...” This fact took a while for Astrid to warm up to because Blue Raspberry did, in fact, eat people, which was horrifying and took a while to get over. Now she really wants them to eat Ceena if they ever see her sorry butt again.

With a huff, she sits down, feeling a little dejected but not knowing to call it that. Beist never scolds her, and she’s not even upset about it. He’s right. She thinks she’s more dejected that she disappointed him enough for him to scold her, even if it was gentle. Now that she thinks about it, Astrid has two parental/grand-parental figures that are big softies. She can never tell Cantio that Blue has eaten people. Beist either. Even if Cantio knows Blue ate Ceena’s leg…

Giving attention to Moe, Astrid suddenly finds her arm completely inside his mouth before the creature tears off with wild laughter. She sits there silently for a moment, holding her arm up and watching tingly saliva drip from her. “Ew…” Pulling her glove off, it solves at least half of her problem, but now her hand feels naked. Without a glove, her hand seems properly proportioned compared to the rest of her. The callouses on her palms are obvious, and scars dot her arms and hands from all her work in the shop and time on the streets.

Astrid doesn’t seem to mind them.

“Breezy out here,” she comments, setting the sopping glove aside and looking up at Beist while he gingerly looks through the telescope. “I’ve got a magic coat that’ll make ya a bit smaller if ya like,” Astrid offers. “I ain’t got the kinda spell that’d make the telescope bigger… If that even exists.” If he wants it, Astrid will offer him her Red Rogue’s Coat.

She glances to Beist to see which star he motions to and then focuses her goggles on it. It really has shifted a lot. “Whoa… Ya know… I knew stars moved ‘cause different stars were visible dependin’ on the time a’ year, but… now there’s a lot a’ stars. And they all moved. Wonder who names new constellations?”

That... was a strange thing to joke about. Eating people? Beist gave Astrid a dubious look for a moment before shrugging and letting it go without comment. It must just be some kind of inside joke he wasn't part of. It reminded him of the time he went on a mission with Shitakibo to see a giant fish... and then they both got eaten by it... and then in their escape he accidentally ate her... No, that wasn't really something he made jokes about afterward. It had been quite awkward. Maybe it was something like that, but Astrid and Blue were more relaxed about it or something. Maybe one day he and Taki would make similar jokes about the whole incident, but probably not for a good long while.

At Astrid's comment about the breeze, Beist was a little surprised.

"Oh, I didn't even notice. I suppose you could say I've always got a bit of a fur coat on, so I didn't feel it. Are you cold? I think I might have a blanket in here somewhere." Beist said with a little worry in his voice as he dug through his magic bag, trying to find a blanket. He thought about lighting a fire, but the light would have ruined their view of the stars.

"Thank you for the offer, but if I became smaller, I don't think I could hold Leon very easily." Beist replied and then looked down at the woolful to see that he had fallen asleep in his arms. Beist slowly, gently lowered Leon onto the grass beside him. He looked back to Astrid. "Well, I suppose it'd be alright after- ah." Beist started to say, but stopped when he looked down to see the telescope was now in the hands of Awd, the raccoon-dog lifting it with all four paws, lying on his back to look through it. Beist shook his head with a smile.

"Be careful with that, Awd. Do you want some help?"

Awd let out a small yap and Beist lifted the telescope out of Awd's paws. Beist held the telescope for Awd to look through while sitting on one side of Beist's lap. The raccoon-dog didn't seem to actually care what the telescope was pointing at as he hardly moved it around, and when it did move, he just kept looking through it.

Beist leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky.

"Constellations were named by all sorts of people, but I can't say exactly who named each one. They were named so long ago that most of them have just been named for as long as anyone can remember. These new ones might even already have names, if anyone was living where they used to be visible from. Who knows how long they've had those names..."

Beist ran his fingers through his beard as he look looked around at the half of the sky that was filled with new, unfamiliar stars. Finally, he smiled as he seemed to have spotted what he was looking for. He pointed up at a group of brighter stars with a chuckle.

"Let's name a few new constellations. Those stars there look like a hammer, don't you think? I think I'll name it Astrid's Hammer."

“Nah, not really. Breeze just catches me soppin’ wet hand–” Astrid shoots a snarky look at Moe. “–a bit more.” However, she doesn’t mind taking a blanket if he offers one. What reason isn’t there to be snug and cozy up here? Besides, so few people used to offer anything to Astrid that she sometimes struggles to turn things down when they are offered. Either way, she snuggles in close to Beist to enjoy looking at the stars together.

Though, she stifles a snicker watching Awd curiously play with the telescope. Beist has so many animal companions that Astrid wonders if he could ever get lonely. Having Spicy Pawsage along for her adventures alone certainly made things more comfortable for her.

“Well, if just anyone can name ‘em, then aye, let’s name some! We can take ‘em back an’ submit ‘em!” she chirps. Focusing the telescopic lenses of her goggles, Astrid starts looking for images in the stars. “That one can be Viktor the Strongman,” she says, pointing out one that vaguely resembles a man flexing his biceps. She draws it in her journal.

Then, to her surprise, Beist names one after her. Astrid blinks for a moment, glancing at Beist, then pulling her goggles back on to look at the constellation up close. The brightest star glows a brilliant blue upon closer inspection. A smile plays at the edge of her lips, and she feels… rather seen. “Um… yeah, if ya think that’s a good name, then that’s alright with me.”

Looking back at the sky, Astrid picks out some bright stars and starts drawing them and connecting them in her journal. Then she points out the constellation to Beist and shows him what she drew. Somehow, Astrid has created a rudimentary image of a very tall, four-armed man with single lines for limbs and horns; beside this man, she connected the dots to look like a boxy cart of some sort. “I’ll call that one ‘Gramps an’ His Wagon a’ Friends’. Maybe folks will look at it an' know they ain't ever gotta feel lonely.”

Beist chuckled and offered Astrid a towel to dry her drooly hand off. He might not have a blanket in his bag, but he was always sure to have some towels and cloths for cleaning up messes. A habit he picked up as an alchemist, where a little leftover spilled potion on the counter and another spill mixing together could be a disaster.

Beist looked up at the grouping of stars and smiled, but he felt a bit embarrassed to have a constellation named after him, even if it was just called Gramps and not actually his name. It was funny though, feeling that way right after doing the same to Astrid, and she had taken it in stride. He didn't think he was amazing enough to deserve a constellation. Maybe he would have named a few after some of his animals, like a griffon-shaped one after Dora, but having one named after him felt undeserved.

"Never needing to feel lonely sounds nice." Beist agreed with a bit of a nod, but he couldn't hide his blush or the slight droop of his ears. He remembered plenty of lonely nights travelling before he met Dora and all of his other animals that the stars were his only company, except for the few occasions he found a stranger that didn't mind sharing a camp site with him. Maybe it helped that he was about half his current height then, and didn't have the extra arms.

He gently stroked Leon's fur as he jotted down the names and constellations. He wasn't sure if anyone would even take their new constellations seriously. They probably only cared for the star charts being updated and not for mythology. A lot of older constellations were apparently named after heroic figures or legendary creatures. Another fact that made him feel odd having one named after him. He took his mind off that and his ears perked up again.

"I don't think I can ever feel lonely when I'm surrounded by troublemakers like these." Beist said cheerily as he looked out at Dora and Moe lying down, tired out after chasing each other around. Awd was still on his lap playing with the telescope and Leon was napping peacefully, snuggled up against him on the opposite side form Astrid.

Even if no one takes their constellation submissions seriously, Astrid is resolved enough to remember them for her own purposes forever. That collection of stars will always remind her of Beist and his gaggle of animals anytime she sees it in the sky. That’s comfort enough for her. “Aye, it does,” she agrees quietly, a small smile quirking the edge of her lips while she draws it into her notebook.

“I don’t imagine ya could,” Astrid says, looking at the now calmer and relaxing animals around them. She casts a glance up at Beist and gets a sense of melancholy from him. It seems they’ve both had some rather lonely times in their lives, but finding similar company has probably done well to help them both find solace and love. “Weirdos like us gotta stick together,” she says, gently nudging his side with her elbow. “An’ whenever we’re feelin’ a bit alone, we can look at the stars an’ know we’re seein’ the same sky. Makin’ up our own constellations… that’ll help us remember that we got folks that care about us.”

Setting her notebook aside, Astrid leans more into Beist and snuggles up against him. Running into him here was a complete happenstance, but she's glad they met up. It's made the night much more cozy.