Baldur

The giant bear took a swipe at Freyd, and he expected to see the man's HP bar move a little, but the amount it changed was not an amount the gaijin samurai could notice. Freyd was forced back on the soft ground under the force of the blow, but was able to shrug it off to the side. Zandra cried out words of encouragement, the energy of her leadership serving to buff their stats and Baldur saw the small icon show up with his status effects. Everything is going according to plan. The boss's health bar was getting close to dropping off the first bar. 8 health bars was a lot, even for a b

The gaijin samurai stood back for a moment while the other groups gave their speeches of encouragement, and watched the younger fighters leap forward at the earliest moment, charging into the fray in a way only the vigor of youth could allow. Flashy sword art launched at the bear, an impressive array of particle effects and proccing attacks. The light show was almost enough to make him nostalgic for fighting alongside his friends and comrades. But that was always tempered by the deaths he had seen. He walked carefully up towards the floor boss, a necrotic bear decaying the area around it

"Really @Freyd, Thank you. You're a scholar and a gentleman." he glanced at the man's weapons after a good motivational speech. "Did you switch to the Katana? For some reason I thought I remembered you wielding a different weapon." Before he could get an answer out of the man, he felt someone bump into him. He might have been able to tell who it was just from the smell, but the scent of death in this place hung thick. Still, the impending battle and awful smell did nothing to dampen his spirits. Baldur couldn't help but let out a low laugh and put his arms around @Lessa, hugging her

The blue and white haori wove its way through the bog of stench, working his way through the trees and people of the raid until he found his target, @Freyd. He gave the man a slight bow. It had been a while since they had seen each other. First at the Raid, and then again at the tournament his guild hosted. "It seems I am filling in for an absent member of your team, Freyd. It is good to see you again." Baldur turned his smile on the rest of the group, two of which he knew very well. "Mac. Zan. Good to see you both again." He had heard Wulfrin offer some consumables, and Ba

Baldur had not been far afield when he received Jomei's text message. He had seen Hirru preparing for the floor boss fight and he had seen Mac fluttering between floors again. The fight would be well in hand as had previous floors. Best to let the old grudges die and let those more up to the task carry the fight forward, but some part of Baldur could not be too far off, just in case. They were still his friends after all. Reading through the text message, Baldur started to head towards the clearing where the others waited, his blue and white haori just barely staying above the muck. When

Baldur had been at a loss for words when Hirru had asked him if there were people at the raid other than their group of raiders, the people he described being unfamiliar to him. What could this mean? He knew of his friends memory issues, perhaps something was leaking through? How should he answer that? The gaijin samurai had opened his mouth, unsure of what to say or how to comfort his friend, when the man seemed to get embarrassed as the silence stretched a moment longer, and ushered them on. Should I have said something? What does this mean? Who could they be? How much should I pry?

Baldur noticed Snow blushing prettily at his words, but he didn't let that stop him. Too often people were afraid or embarrassed of what needed to be said. The important words. People should be complimented, praised, encouraged, and friends should know you love them. Baldur wasn't afraid to say any of these words, or to say them with conviction. It was, perhaps, even more illusion breaking about him being a gaijin samurai than his being a gaijin. Contrary to popular belief, Baldur was not trying to be Japanese, nor was he role-playing at being a Samurai. Indeed, he had never once referred to h

Thanks for the clarity! Keep up the good work.

The day before: A hustle filled the large open square in front of the Dreamer's Temple, the guild hall of Jacob's Ladder. People were rushing about, gathering supplied, both food their own crafters had made, as well as those that he and Shield arranged to be bought from Firm Anima and other associated crafting guilds. They had a large storehouse of them, but constantly needed to be restocked. Part of their role with the guild was to hand out supplies to those who showed up at boss fights unprepared. It meant the divesting of tons of resources for which the guild rarely saw returned or com

Baldur squeezed her hand back. If glory and pride could have been made manifest, they would have erupted around the two of them. Pride for what Baldur felt for Snow, taking his hand and taking the next step forward. Always so hard. She pushed through her fear and frustration and guilt and all the emotions holding her back, but she made the choice with a purpose. The steel melted slightly as her resolve took hold, and she could see the pride in her eyes. Glory surged within him at the feeling of relief and exultation at his words seeming to reach her and have the desired effect. "I promise

"Good." Baldur said half leaning, half sitting on a bit of a large fallen tree behind him as he saw Snow struggle with the feelings raging inside of her. He had to be careful here, she needed to redirect those feelings toward growth instead of towards self pity. He hoped that this combat would put a bit of shock into her, though perhaps with the hate shenanigans he chose a quest poorly. The girl did seem surprised at his choice of words, perhaps she was expecting more empathy from him, but while he did empathize with her, his heart aching at seeing her distraught, he was here to build her

"Sit down, you stuffy old fool before you get yourself killed!" Baldur barked at the NPC, but it was too late. The Monkey King had uprooted another tree and swung it at the three of them like a baseball bat and there was nothing they could do, all three of them were sent flying back into the dense forest like they were served on a t-ball stand to a major league hitter. The dense foliage and branches quickly rose up to meet them as the fell to the ground, taking fall damage on top of the tree. As they hit the ground, Baldur rolled to his feet. He wasn't in any danger as Sewallus had a com

Baldur smiled as Jomei complimented his choice of events and the success it seemed to be having at distracting everyone from their current predicament. He was glad that everyone seemed to be having fun, and that the tournament was a success. "Thanks, honestly it was a bit of a whim. But what I realized most was that we needed to be reminded that we're all people, stuck in this situation together. No a remember what we're fighting for, I think most people remember that every day, but we need to remember we're all people. I had hoped that by hosting this event, and the tournament, and givin

Baldur smiled when Alkor stated he would join the Frontline. It hadn't been his specific goal, but it was a good one to win at none-the-less. There were so many things left that he wanted to say to the man, so many more words he thought Alkor knew but needed to hear. The man didn't respond to platitudes though, but maybe hearing them from people he trusted often enough would start to make them sink in. "Just remember, Alkor-san, you are surrounded by people who care about you, whether you want them to or not. And your journey, just like our quest to get out of this tower, cannot be comple

Rules: OOC: This thread follows Observation thread 2. Observation thread 2 takes place during the second round of fighting on the first day of the Tournament, and the luau thereafter. These two threads bleed together and overlap each other to an extent, but the luau takes place at Sunset, and the Slumber party takes place after it's fully dark. The luau will continue to run for a few days. You do not need to finish what you had in the luau to post here. This is intended to be a clean start for people who have lost track of where the observation thread 2 went. Baldur once again stoo

Baldur paused in his pacing and appraised the husk of the man before him. His words were so sad, and his question showed a depth of pain that Baldur wished he could say was surprising to him. He grave a slight frown weighing the man as Baldur lifted up the tip of his own blade and slapped the side of Alkor's in a way swordsmen often did to signal they were ready. He let Alkor's words settle about him like a weighted blanket. They were comforting to the man, but they were heavy to anyone else. "So, you're willing to be a villain, but not the hero? You reject the existence of one, but not t

Baldur smiled when he felt the strike on his arm from Alkor's blade, the tension of the air released and he took a few steps back. His steel blue eyes considered the man, their situation, and the words he was asking. It wasn't clear what he was asking, but Baldur would do his best to give him answer. "I have found that when people ask for advice, it's usually because they already know the right answer, but don't like it. They want someone to tell them that they're wrong." Alkor had gone for the blow against Baldur, it told him a lot about the man, but he had also sacrificed much to g

There you go, you're getting this. He could see the battle shock in her eyes when he had walked back to them, but Snow was able to pull herself through, focus returning to her eyes even as the Monkey King slowly came out of his stun. As she found herself, she released her howl. It wasn't quite there yet, where it needed to be, and he saw that the hate hadn't transferred from Sewallus to Snow yet, but that could still change. If the Monkey King hit Sewallus again, he may day, or he may not, it was too close to call, however if Snow stopped to heal him, she wouldn't pick up hate. If they bo

Once they had broken into the control room they came face to face with Emperor Razwell, perhaps the true floor boss. How this encounter played would set the stage for how future boss fights were handled. Would they consider the NPcs words, or would they take the more expedient path forward. How would this have been different had they executed Gabrandr and just proceeded to the next floor? Here and now determined if they would ever do this again. Without breaking a stride, Baldur unleashed his <<Iai>> attack, having locked onto Razwell and he zipped forward, faster than th

Before Baldur had a chance to respond to Snow and calm her nerves, the Captain warned them that they were there. The three quickly turned to take cover behind a boulder, but they were not fast enough. Sewallus stepped out to taunt the giant Monkey, but the creature threw at tree at them so large it was impossible to dodge. Tsk. Baldur cursed as he found himself airborne and stunned. I let the mob get the initiative on us, and now we're all stunned. This is not going to do well for Snow's comfort in fighting these things. While still in the air, Baldur noticed some vines hanging arou

Baldur smiled at Snow as she asked if she could sit in on the lesson, "I think it would be beneficial for us all to watch. We'll get the two of them started, and then we'll sit to the side and let Jon and Koga wail on each other for a while. Using Sword arts are different from the fighting you typically saw at the tournament, so it'll be an adjustment. Plus, the system affects us in subtle ways, with the enhancements of our equipment, so I think we'll witness quite the show today." After they had spent a bit preparing for Koga's arrival, Baldur would smile and greet the rakishly handsome

Baldur was impressed as Alkor subtly changed his approach, responding to Baldur's change in tactics with a change of his own. As Baldur became fasters and rained quick, shallow blows on him, Alkor shifted to a firmly rooted defense, not giving rising to the baiting attacks and faints, and instead picking him moments to strike. The man was much more accomplished than even Baldur had credited him. He had seemed far more wild and feral in his fight with Koga, yet he was more contemplative in his fight with Baldur. It seemed either Alkor matched like with like, knowing the counter of each style, o

"It's a bit tricky on the tongue, isn't it?" Baldur mused with wry smile, intentionally saying the name as infrequently as possible. Together, they walked through the small town towards the knotted longhouse that doubled as the city hall and guard post. It was not a large town, but there was something pleasant about the way the sunlight filtered down through the branches and the leaves. He cast a sideway glance at Snow, appraising her and her demeanor. He detected a bit of nervousness in her, but she seemed to be trying to psyche herself up for this as well. "Relax, Snow-san." Baldur trie

Baldur smiled as Jon made a joke about being at a disadvantage when surrounded by Mina and Baldur. Truth be told, he was pretty good natured about being teased. In response to the gaijin's question, however, the man suddenly seemed a little embarrassed, using his common tell of ruffling his own hair. Baldur was going to be quick with a platitude, assuaging his student's confidence and ego, but then a thought occurred to him that he could kill three birds with a single stone. "Asymmetry is definitely a challenge that only improves with exposure and practice. When I was learning to fence, n

Alkor chose to counter attack, crashing towards Baldur like a battering ram at the gates, or like the crashing of a massive wave on the shore. He redirected Baldur's blade to the side and threw himself at the wanna-be samurai, but the gaijin was somehow both light on his feet, yet always stable and well balanced. As he had learned many years ago, when the wave was too strong to fight against, to tall to go over, and too powerful to resist, you dove under. Alkor tried to knock Baldur off balance, but instead the blue haori whirled low, and would have taken a lesser man down and sent him crashin