Elora

Her imagination was briefly whisked away with a montage of comforting smells and tastes. Kiluia's reasoning was sound. There were few staples of home that came to her mind more readily than food. From boxty for breakfast to shepherd's pie for supper, Elora could recall the warmth of many meals she'd tried. "Your idealism is admirable", she offered sincerely, "There are few tasks more difficult than that. How do you recreate real-world dishes without their ingredients?" It seemed impossible, in her mind, to harness the taste of home without so much as a recipe. "I don't envy you, Kil", she

Her brows furrowed briefly at the assessment, rebounding to a more optimistic expression after he arrived at the compliments. Bahr seemed a more honest player than she was used to. At least, he seemed more inclined to say whatever had crossed his mind. In a world where so many strove to befriend one another and vanquish their enemies with the power of friendship, she appreciated such frankness. Elora appeared contemplative as the pair retraced their steps to the labyrinth's entrance. Lit by the thrumming glow from rows of reliable torches, the once-unfamiliar corners felt far less sinist

Elora silently swooned as Kil shared his history with Haine. It was adorable to imagine how a fledgling romance to blossom into a long-term relationship. As they walked her mind began to wander, wondering whether or not she would meet someone special one day. "I can see the appeal", agreed Elora after a long pause, "Desserts are sugary and pack the most powerful punch to our tastebuds. There's few things better than cool gelato on a hot day or biting into a square of chocolate during...", she trailed off, "Anytime of day --" Nice save. She found herself nodding along with his remarks on i

"I didn't distinguish anything unique", started Elora, "But the way he looked...almost frozen, I wouldn't normally think anything of it, considering the climate." She knew they all had caught glimpses of it. The man, though exuding a feral vitality, appeared to inhabit a body succumb to frostbite. Pale skin mottled with bruise-like patches could be seen just beneath a pelt of frosted facial hair. "Where do you think he could have come from that was still that cold?" A timely chill directed her attention to the snowy peaks that loomed in the distance. "I agree. There's something else to come of

Coming eye to eye with the ragged man made Elora's skin crawl. She had slaughtered beasts before and even snuffed out the lives of many elves. Never had she encountered an enemy that looked so human, yet so monstrous at the same time. Rusty streaks trickled from the mouth of the man, ensnaring the stench of something revolting within his beard. She'd barely managed to stop her fall as the butt of her spear lodged into the thawing mud. In an instant, she was cast in the other direction. Whether by instinct or force, her legs stumbled backwards, clearing a distance between the two of them.

"Well it's working, isn't it?", she sang back in a smarmy voice. The words streamed from her with an unbridled sincerity that she was scarce to allow. Normally, self-praising remarks hemmed the pattern of a confident disguise. Only recently had she begun to feel a genuine pride in her own abilities. It was bittersweet to question whether or not she deserved that even that. So instead, she rushed back into the fray. With their enemy teetering on the brink of collapse, there was precious time to waste. Careful leaps around pools of lava placed her just beneath the Warden's hulking form. Eye

Elora would have shaken her fist in anger if she wasn't desperately attempting to steady her beer. What were the two of them thinking, sprinting off like that and leaving her to to trail after them like some sort of hound? Dexterity failed her as she struggled to dodge thawing pitfalls and protruding conifer branches. Finally, she escaped the evergreen canopy, stumbling onto the scene of an ensuing battle. Freyd was doing whatever he was. Meanwhile, Oscar had already begun to unsheathe his weapon of choice. Katana? Nice -- Not far off, a bear of a man had begun his feral dash toward their

She spared no hesitation. With heels springing her forward, Elora raced toward the Warden in a zagged pattern. In a moment's notice, she had approached its faltering knee. Magma silhouetted a rippling cape as she leapt into the air. Her spear positioned for an opportunistic attack, blade plunging deeply into a gap between the armored plating. The behemoth reeled, spraying magma into Elora's sights. Using all of her strength, she ripped the weapon from where it had been lodged. The retreat was sudden, though without second-thought. In such haste, Elora had robbed her senses of what preciou

Maybe not so boring after all, Elora assessed the unfamiliar player, He could make for good company. Following after the both of them, Elora began to pluck the smorgasbord of pastries she'd collected from the basket of her skirt. It was more than a little awkward to alternate between using her free hand to carry her stein, then bring the food to her mouth, but she was determined to make it work. Perhaps I should have finished this before we left, she thought, regarding the beer. "So what are we actually doing?", she called out after dusting stray crumbs from her dress, "Finding Darian? Is

A fleeting grimace eclipsed Elora's features as she recalled their failed attempts at claiming her first familiar. Elora could vividly recall it's fiery personality, which was far too explosive when compounded with her own. From wrestling the wyrmling to smacking it with her spear, the smarmy creature was more a victim to her antics than the other way around. "Ah, the time you lent me your cloak", she reminisced with much greater fondness, "And we ran away from those crazy carnies to cuddle in the woods." Saying that aloud made it sound more like a German fairytale than a shared experience. F

"HAH! Oh --", she exclaimed with relief, "Yeah, I thought that seemed kind of sudden --" The hue of embarrassment had already spread to her ears by the time Roisin relinquished the smoking pan. Freyd carefully accepted the vessel, guiding it to safely rest atop a cool burner nearby. "I love you, you know. I'm just trying to feel my way through all of this, and my brain keeps getting in the way.", he explained with a candid touch. A widening smirk could have revealed the intrusive remark that threatened to escape Elora's lips. "Yeah, I understand -- feeling the way through...", she

Elora claims the following: Dagan Crystal-A | Removes one enhancement on a weapon and replaces it with Envenom Offensive. (This effect cannot override the Envenom Offensive enhancement cap. Consumed on use.) ID: 223754 Braso Crystal-A | Removes one enhancement on a weapon and replaces it with Absolute Accuracy. (This effect cannot override the Absolute Accuracy enhancement cap. Consumed on use.) ID: 223755

"So what is a person like you doing in hell for?", the eldritch blur seemed to ask. God? No, Satan -!, her mind quickly deduced. "What'dyou want, an itemized list?", she sarcastically retorted. With a sluggish wobble, she raised both hands to begin the count, "Alright, there was that time in high school I guess -- b*tch had it coming though, real work of a person..." Elora seemed to trail off as the illusion of steam morphed into something more recognizable. Green crystal... "O-oh", she stammered and stiffened into a more attentive posture, "At least, that's how I think the stor

Elora missed Mina's home from the second she left its doorstep. It was hard to imagine why the player had chosen to move to an inferno of a floor, even harder yet to understand how her oasis of a property survived its engulfing climate. She certainly wouldn't find herself occupying any of the arid floors without reason. Growing up in rural Ireland made even the slightest heats practically unbearable. Yes, she much preferred the temperate, or even the colder climates of many of the other floors to this literal hellscape. Trudging back towards the level's main settlement, she did her best t

She shelved her confusion at his thanks in favor of an awaited reply. "I.. never really had a proper family.", stated Freyd as sorrow seemed to eclipse his features. "Tell me more about yours." His redirection puzzled her. After all, she had posed the discussion with the intention of learning more about his history and interests. Dispelling the invitation so immediately made her reconsider his newfound willingness for transparency. Despite that, she considered that her judgement might be unfair. Freyd had been making visible attempts to lift the veil, to allow her a glimpse at the m

"It's easy", she began, as a gesture through her UI summoned familiar ingredients to the counter before them. "You remember - we just gotta grate and mash the potatoes, then mix that into some flour and egg." That was the short of it, at least. Elora gave Freyd a hesitant look before suggesting, "If you can prepare the potatoes again, I'll get started on mixing the batter." She left little window to decline as her attention diverted to the delegated task. Thankfully, the bowl she'd previously put out hadn't been fashioned into a projectile during the earlier battle. It was a straightforwa

Fingers curled around a tarnished knob, unlatching and guiding the washroom's door gently toward her. Where Elora had anticipated the harsh creak of worn hinges, she was instead greeted by a span of silence. It was a small detail to notice, though one she regarded with humored reverence. Not long ago, she was hefting her detached door out of the way whenever she wanted to leave The Hummingbard Inn. Part of her missed the creaking floorboards and settling walls of a well-loved place. Perhaps the inn had too many of those familiar noises. From rowdy street brawls to late-night karaoke, she never

The gummy paste clung to her clothes like a goddamn leech, its adhesive bond severed only by a concerted yank in the opposite direction. With a less than graceful shlorp off of Freyd, she offered a hand to help him escape from the ever-expanding puddle below. "I know right?", she found herself recounting, "I never bothered to bathe at the inn 'cause it didn't have any kind of washroom." Her mind considered how gross that admission would have sounded in a real-life context. Thankfully, wistful thoughts of warm water were enough to tow away any inklings of misplaced embarrassment. The woman

The system's accuracy in recreating real-world excursions was nothing short of astounding. Maybe that was the secret. Something as spontaneous and ridiculous as this seemed like it could only exist in a fairy tail. An especially messy fairy tail. A sludgy cobwebbing of porridge strung between Freyd's cheek and her's as she peeled back from their predicament to assess his vitals. Ever since the collision, he'd been convulsing violently beneath her weight. There was scarcely time to be offended. "Freyd...?", she probed warily, "You gonna survive? Just how much batter did you inhale??" Caref

And so, right before them, the facade began to crack. Little by little: Freyd, Takeshi, Montjoy, the indecipherable amalgamation of everything that was the person she'd loved, was on the crux of an internal metamorphosis. The marks of dueling dialogues were plainly written in his features. Regret, concern, worry, fear, sadness, dismay, longing, hope. Freyd's form seemed to ebb and flow between reservation and relief as the admission of fears long sense held were systematically purged from his heart. With each successive explanation, Elora felt as though an ornate tapestry was being completely

A cacophony of cataclysmic proportion clattered out from the nearby common room. Elora barely managed to stifle a scream as the sudden jolt of surprise made her spine rattle from tailbone to the base of her skull. Christ almighty -- is Freyd ok?! , the instinctual worry sparked within her mind. "GAH! Borris! What the...?!", came a convincing cry from just around the corner. Pangs of anxiety shot through Elora's chest as her mind began to construct the crime scene behind that door. "It started because of breakfast...", she imagined her opening remarks to the court, "...and ended as

Azure eyes regarded Mina curiously, then cautiously as she summoned a notepad to hand. What is she writing down...?, Elora narrowed her eyes to peer at the text. A transcription? What the hell? To document such a vulnerable discussion felt unnecessarily judgmental and detached. Maybe that's the point --, Elora seethed, She's not even tryin' to listen to Freyd, just prod and gawk at him like some sort of lab rat -- Perhaps her thoughts had been less quiet than she had hoped, for only a matter of moments later, Mina warily removed the veil that shielded her features. The intensity of Elora'

The starchy aftermath grew ever evident against the marooning backdrop of Elora's face. Where Freyd may have expected shrieks, he was instead greeted by an unnerving silence. A prolonged stare would soon reveal subtle tremors that lapsed into uncontrollable shakes from sticky head to splattered toe. Steam may as well have been sizzling off of her skin as Elora made one swift motion to hurl the egg she'd been holding into the kitchen ceiling above. What could have been miscalculated as a stray attack would soon find its way from the rafters onto the head of the wryly player. In a moment's notic

"YOU WHAT?!", Elora exclaimed, her bouquet nearly splatting into smithereens on the ground. "Pre-packaged meals have been the norm for me, for as long as I can recall..." "They have for me too -- but I haven't tried to use a sword as a COOKING UTENSIL!", she stressed as if saying the words louder would attribute more sense to their application. "You need to learn how to prep properly, good god --" Elora intercepted him, lacing a hand around his arm to tow him up from the floor. "Show me all these special talents you have hidden away. I can't wait to learn.", he encouraged in

Elora's ears flicked upwards as her eyes ignited with unbridled excitement. "The wild roses!", she shouted with arms shooting forward to accept the gift, "I've been keeping my eye on them and waiting for them to bloom--" A chain of memories too long to recount was quickly curtailed as she shoved her entire face into the heart of the bouquet. With one comically large inhale, she drew in her breath to savor the sweetness of their scent. If she were a cartoon character, the buds would likely be shooting out of her ears. "One of the few things they managed to get right...", she sighed contentedly.