Morningstar

Another crunch of his apple sent his tastebuds into a spiral. It was not native to the seventh floor. Morningstar had found it on the first floor the last time he had visited. He did not find himself there very often anymore. There was simply no time, considering that there was little left down there that he had not found. From dragons to dueling tournaments, he had seen it all. There was too much elsewhere that he still wanted to find. This quest in particular was one of those things. He had heard through the grapevine that Rig was the place to go if you wanted a relatively simple, snake

His long, wooden walking stick leaned against the wall of the front porch of the mayor's house. He left it there; it would only get in the way during the battle. Adjusting his dark grey trousers, he waltzed onto the dirt road. A wooden crate sat off to the side and he moved it into the middle to use as a seat. There was no telling when the legendary two-headed serpent would appear and he had no intention of standing all day, if it took that long. He pulled off his backpack, opening and sifting through it. It was full of mostly random junk that he had discovered on his long journey through

He returned the book to the shelf, turning his attention to the mayor, who was already thanking him for his help. He said nothing, instead offering a warm smile and a nod. The stairwell was long and led him back to the bottom floor of the house. "We can discuss your reward after the beast is dead!" The mayor called after him. "No need, Mayor. No reward necessary." A swish of his wrist pulled open his menu. He navigated to his inventory, scrolling through it until he came across his gifted blade and a perfectly ripened apple. He summoned both, slinging the sword around his should

Sunlight shone over the humble town of Rig. While some of the townsfolk were enjoying the weather, others were hard at work. They tended to their shops and their gardens; one man even had a few chickens to feed. The mayor looked down at the main street, troubled as he watched over his people. "It appears at random," he said, scratching his greying beard, "and with little warning. It isn't often that I see everyone outside like this; we've all been forced to live more carefully." "I'm sorry to hear that," Morningstar replied. The pair reentered the large house, the mayor taking t

"There's definitely some level of pain here. Catch fire a few times and you'll see," Morningstar chuckled. He had been through the ringer as of recently and was, frankly, tired of it. He had been beaten, stabbed, and burned; usually, it was a combination of at least two. They hung around him like they were his friends. They weren't his friends. Vigilon's knowledge of the floor was more than adequate, he thought, and included things that Morningstar had not known of. It was perplexing to him—he took pride in his awareness of the secret little locations that were scattered around the v

Morningstar met Takao's hand. "Good to meet you too." He led the green-haired player back into the frosty city, waving to the shopkeeper as they exited the Blended Blizzard. The atmosphere had yet to change much; setup for the festival continued and snowfall remained light. They passed a few early-risers—people who had come to the floor ahead of schedule, hoping to be first in line for their favorite stands. "I did it once, yeah. Only the beginning, though. Can't blame you for not knowing anything, really. I don't think the quest is super well-known," he assured Takao, "I only found

"Grow out the mustache," Morningstar said to Freyd, "live a little." Those who had stayed in the Town of Beginnings for the majority of their time in the game were always the most interesting to Morningstar. So much had happened since opening day and he could not help but wonder how much of it they were aware of. Vigilon reminded him of the many times they had been in the same vicinity. Of course he knew about the Knights of Cinnabar. He was there, of course. Operation Pompeii sure was crazy. "I was on my way home," he explained with a shrug, "I'm here by coincidence. Either th

Mick served the man his drink with a smile, placing it on the table in front of him. A menu appeared before Morningstar, prompting him to pay a small fee. They prided themselves on affordable coffee, which the blonde would have appreciated more if col was more difficult to come by. He tipped the café owner generously and took a cautious sip from the uncovered mug. It was the perfect temperature; he hated coffee that was too hot to immediately drink. They chatted while Morningstar enjoyed his peppermint mocha. Mick told him about the float that had been passed down through his family for g

11.21.2023 ITEM IDENTIFICATION

11.21.2023 | IDENTIFICATION

After sunrise, preparations for the Warm Sun Solstice began. Brilliant lanterns illuminated the city of Snowfrost, their orange glows softening the harsh winter snow. Tents were raised, as well as merchant and game stalls, and the finishing touches were being added to floats in the center of town. The festival was renowned for its entertainment, particularly the live performances from musicians. Even more exceptional was the food, served by the many cooks that made their livings in Snowfrost. The trilogy of the solstice was a time for celebration—a chance for the community to come together and

With the Avenger of Tanos disintegrating behind him, Morningstar fled the temple. On his search, he had come up with nothing but the confirmation that everything hidden had already been found. A yawn escaped his wide mouth. The fight with the temple's guardian took more out of him than he had thought. Still, he carried on, climbing the cliffside to the shortcut he had followed before. Caesar requested hourly check-ins from each squad. No one argued it because if nobody knew where to find them and something went wrong, they were likely dead. A ping sounded, his messaging system alerting hi

The static effect of the Soulcursed Blade shocked the Avenger's entire body. Between that and the missing arm, there was little hope for him. In spite of it all, he continued to challenge the swordsman. Fueled by nothing but fury and willpower, it lifted its club and swung at Morningstar. He evaded, knowing better than to parry a crushing blow like that. The attacks continued in a flurry, leaving Morningstar little room to breathe or think. He sidestepped a swing that might have killed him and slashed the Avenger with a short hit of his blade. Now armless, it stumbled backwards, fall

As he turned to leave, his eyes widened in alarm. Instinctively, his body swayed to the left, avoiding the giant hunk of steel that crashed into the ground next to him. He stared at the face of the Avenger of Tanos, unblinking as he attempted to process what was happening. Ignoring the large health bar, Morningstar switched into action and made do with a less-than-ideal counterattack. His positioning was off, as was his footing. He did his best to meet his mark but failed to disarm his opponent. The Soulcursed Blade hissed as it slashed across the chest of the behemoth of a creature. It h

11.20.2023 ITEM IDENTIFICATION

"Morning, Morning," came the one and only, Freyd. Morningstar waved in return. "Good to see you're still alive." If he recalled correctly, the boss raid was the last time they had met. "I like the shirt; it's very Tom Selleck." His attention returned to the girl who, as the Whisper had put it, looked like a concoction of Hirru and Hidden. Her remark took him by surprise. Why would people avoid a place as lovely as the twenty-second? "Of course people come here," Morningstar said, "it's brilliant. There's only a handful of livable places and this is one of the nicer ones."

Morningstar's eyes were locked on the dark entryway of the temple. The grounds below him were silent but for the whispering wind. What remained of the cult of Tanos had fled deep into the Forbidden Lands, building new places of worship within the mountains that few dared to traverse. This temple had been cleared out and searched once before, although not by him. He had been sent as a form of quality assurance, with the intent to find anything that had been missed during the first run. Expectations were low, of course. They had, allegedly, been quite thorough with their looting and had dis

His return to Coral was an accident more than anything. He often mixed up the twenty-second and twenty-fourth floors. They were both beautiful in their own ways and started with the number two. It would have been perfectly acceptable too, if he did not live on the latter floor. It took him numerous steps into the town to realize that he was in the wrong place. Raitoborou Bay shared no likeness to the forests outside of Coral and his beach house looked far different from the cabins that surrounded him. While not home to him, the twenty-second was rather nice during most times of the year.

11.20.2023 | IDENTIFICATION

I am actually p 10 again so: (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, +1 LD to Looting* current paragon level: 10 (82,525 xp)

Morningstar gave a salute to the young man, who wandered back to town. He nodded to Bahr's response. The beginning of what, he did not know and, frankly, he wasn't sure he cared to find out. A look of surprise formed on the blonde's face as his comrade spoke again. His words were unexpected, cutting through the silence like a freshly sharpened knife. It felt wrong but a part of them found the mystery exciting. He had hoped for a puzzle to solve. The bigger part of him was glad, however. "I wouldn't say that it was for nothing. I'd have tagged along either way." The quiet of the

fin MORNINGSTAR + 1,350 xp | (3376/10)*4*1 + 400 col

The meeting adjourned and the four went their separate ways. Morningstar did as Caesar told , receiving a crystal from the armored players downstairs and leaving the manor behind. The crystal brought him to Coral, the floor's main settlement. He had his instructions. The Nineteenth floor was his first mission. Once it was clear, he could report back to the guild leaders and begin preparation for the next. He thought about Willow and the others. They were being sent all over the place, all in search of the next artifact. There were no clues, no hints, and no handouts. It was unlikely

Morningstar was glad to see that Caesar was not the man he appeared to be. When he entered the room, the blonde was worried that he would be difficult to work with. That did not seem to be the case. If he was to be worried about anyone, he felt like Mello was the logical choice. Morningstar's first impression of him was that he was emotional and hard to predict. He was there for a reason, though, and Morningstar was interested in learning what it was. "If that's all, then I'd like to conclude this summit. You're all free to stick around and explore the estate," Caesar stood from his seat

"We'll send one squad to each of those floors. Each squad will include four people. We may want to recruit a few extra hands, considering Morningstar will be on Nineteen. If anything strange is found, it will be communicated to each of us. We will send assistance depending on the situation." The plan made sense. They scribbled down names onto sheets of paper, compiling each of the four squads. Sixteen players in total were listed and Morningstar recognized very few of them. Willow was leading her own team on Floor Two. He wondered where she was; he was under the impression that she would