Freyd

"Mitch? Where did Mitch come from?! Uh... just keep doing that slashing thing. It's working well." Not that Freyd truly minded the dubbing, given his own penchant for nicknaming mobs to help with taunting during battle. It would likely also take time for the algorithm to learn and adapt to their individual thoughts and turns of phrase. The very fact she was receiving any input at all was promising. "That's it! You have them." Undead reinforcements fell nearly as quickly as they rose from the brackish black, returned to watery graves with a shrapnel-like splash of shards, a few deig

"What? Can't hear... oh, right. No lips." With an eerily practiced nonchalance, Freyd figured out the problem after flitting his attention between the monster's features and watching Nym, demonstrating the very subject of their earlier conversation. Academic debate over communications quickly fell to the wayside as she drew her weapon and charged its gathered minions, most of which fell before they'd even had a chance to fully rise from their waterside graves. Blade drawn with a telltale snikt, Freyd moved at her beckoning to down the last of the miniature skeletal horde, lopping the lo

"No, not everything," he responded to her worry that he'd opened up the channel to all possible inputs. That would have been bad. "It only converts party chat. Might still be a little cluttered in a raid, but for testing purposes, with only two of us here, it should work fine. We can already turn off most of the system noise, like trade requests and all the other stuff people always turn off in MMO's, so this should do the same." More hope than certainty, Freyd scratched pensively at his beard, as if that might somehow stroke some insight. It did not. "Line of sight shouldn't be an i

Wandered in again, as usual, staring blankly at the same unchanging walls wan wondering why the heck he had to drum a hundred pointless words about the same old thing. All he was going to do was wander over to the same old kiosk, point at the same old things and stow them away until the next raid anyway. Where was the need? Why bother? The goods were marginally useful, at best. He'd blown through a year's worth against Callisto to negligible effect. Frustrating would be putting it mildly. And so he did the thing. Chose the thing. Stored the thing. Grumbled about the thing. And, like

She was clearly struggling with some of the concepts, and Freyd knew he tended to go too big brain, more often than not. Maybe if he worked to keep the language plainer, it might help. Patience suffused as he calmly repeated the concept in, hopefully, simpler terms. "Turning text to speech is old tech. Cardinal can turn thoughts into audible, understandable words. We just need to tune it to translating what you're saying into something easier for others to follow and understand." Opening up several settings, he already knew that more sensitive options had either vanished or been

"Call it a business arrangement," Freyd replied to Acanthus, regarding his connection to Ren. "I like to invest silently in Aincrad's up and coming players. He likes to help people. We came to a mutually beneficial agreement." [description of travels]. "Ren's an idealist, not necessarily well suited for the rigors of the front lines or the harsh realities of this world. Let's just say that his neighbors and competitors don't always appreciate his charitable demeanor and occasionally need reminding that pranking him is off limits." "Kessel Run." Freyd snorted at the reference while

"You're speaking now, aren't you? The medium may be different, but it works. I hear you." Her frustrations were perfectly understandable, and clearly reaching over a threshold requiring patience and delicacy. Not traits most would normally associate with him, and wrongly so. Freyd could give masterclasses in long term planning, but learning to actually developing the emotional intelligence to devise the underpinnings of a human soul remained a novelty. Until recently, at least. Calamitous change had a way of altering personal perspective. In this case, for the better, or so he hoped.

Straightening his stance, as his grandfather had taught him long ago, Freyd clasped his fist in the palm of its opposing hand before him and bowed slightly to offer thanks. Something within felt the need for the formality of it. Maybe recognition of the silent magnitude of her acceptance? Maybe it just felt right and respectful? Yeah. The latter rang true. "Thank you. It would be my honor to travel with you." Genuine relief visible in the more weathered lines of his bearded face. He had definitely changed since their last meeting, in ways that dwarfed the altering of his appearanc

Clouds gathered in the distance, thunder pairing oddly with intermittently with stray flashes of lightning, like the two couldn't quite get the rhythm right. Disharmony reigned in the Whisper's heart and mind as he left Aruyt behind him, traversing the open central plains, booted footsteps setting a steady cadence like drums of war that resonated in his ears as much as his mind's eye. One inescapable face occupied his memories, ragged, dirty and relieved from a rescue done in the name of virtue. She had questioned the point. His replies sounded hollow in the wake of her defeat. And, if h

Wide eyed miniature faunes halted their games and ran in terror at the sight of a the faceless black-clad figure that emerged from the gleaming white portal arch in the centre of Aruyt. Storming into existence with the force and rancor of an overwound tornado, he marched through the quaint forest settlement with such determination and purpose that the locals instantly intuited murderous intent. As children scattered from their streetscape playgrounds in search of immediate shelter, adults witnessing the scene unfold fell silent and watched his passage as one might watch a hurtling train boun

People tended to forget how much of communication was actually non-verbal. While Nym might be more aware of it than most, on some level, could she be equally blind to it in others? Normalizing gesture with speech must surely breed familiarity, leading to casual dismissal or expectation of certain throwaway tells. Some of her own, for example, were plain as day to see. Since their conversation started, she'd been shying away and making excuses. At first he wondered if his armor smelled and she was just being polite. Enough mob guts had spilled over it, by now, that he'd likely become accus

Try as he might, there were simply too many around and too much in play to focus against so many disparate targets. All he could manage was the field closest to him; enough to taunt and toss at the frog face of their would-be seaweed-covered fisher king. "T̴̥̝̐͋͂h̵̢͓̫͔̫̭̩̼̞̺̥͋̉̃͋̌̋͂̌̈̋͑͒͂ë̴̡̳̭͈͈̳̝̯̮̻̩͚͚͇̖́̌̀̓̚͜y̶̥̖̯̞̦͖̬͉͚̐͒̅͆̍͠ͅ ̷̨̠͖̣̪̼͉͙̜̥̮̪̎̈́̅͛̆̎̑̕ͅà̵͚̻̠͈͓̐̿̈́̃̊̕͜͝ͅr̸̢̂̽̋̒̆̏̾̎̇̆e̷̡̥̗̹̩̬͓̬̓̃͐͜ ̶͎͎͓͕̜̠̱́̈́͂̅́̈́͐̎̓n̶̡͔͉̠̖̘͚̦̳̤̘̹̔̇́̈͑̓̔̅̔̃͊̎ͅo̸̰̫͎̱̊̈́̑͒̽̓͝͠t̶̡̢͍̹̺̠̝͓͍̫̲͉̥͔̪̃́̉͗̀͆ͅ ̵̨̢̺̲͙̎̀͆̾̀̋̎̒͊̈́̍̆͑̂͗̕y̶̧̲̼̼̹͚͈̦̖̙̽́̈́̈́͋́͐̈́̑̑̓̿͂́͘͘͜o̸̡̼̫̮͕̟̲͙̫̺̤̳̯̘͆͊̂͐̈̈̐ͅů̶̧͍͎̦̜̬̲̺̼̮̙͚͂̂̾̐̏͐̀̂̿̽̂̑͘̕͝

"Ah. Yes. Bart. Sorry, I have a tendency to give mobs nicknames, and the leeching lich is a distinctly pesky fellow." A smirk validated his distaste, knowing he'd have to face the creature with Elora soon enough, and had done so with Katoka not all that long ago. "I hadn't realized you were already this far into the quest chain, though perhaps it shouldn't surprise me. You've always been resourceful." Eyes flicked towards her flittering hands, acknowledging respect for her ongoing efforts to overcome the challenges speech the system could impose, even as other parts aided her efforts.

The armored figure turned to reveal blue eyes blazing at the edge of a darkened overhanging cowl. Easily interpreted as menacing, especially at a distance, the steeply black curved blade sheathed at his hip certainly didn't help. It took him a moment to recognize the young woman in the fog, night vision lacking the added value required to peer through crawling cloud. Is she casting a spell? Hand instantly flicked to hilt, until the eerie swirling green above came into better view. A player? Grip loosed, slightly, head tilting as its contents processed. It had been a while.

Familiar Obtainment Thread: https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/41527-f02-pp-coruscating-winds-of-change/?do=findComment&comment=693191 Familiar Name: Reliq (aka Reliquary) Familiar Description: A baby mimic that loves to frolic and inhabit whatever objects and devices it encounters. Outside of an occupied shell, Reliq looks like a deep purple miniature eldritch horror comprised of randomly writhing tentacles, eyes and teeth. It sloughs and shuffles itself around like an octopus on high octane crack, stuffing or expanding its rubbery mass to fit into anything it can find that might p

"None, really," the answer genuine and forthright, yet underpinned with a strange and uncharacteristically gleeful optimism. Freyd actually sounded excited about the prospect of learning about this thing in a way she'd hardly ever seen in him. The wonder in his eyes was nearly child-like, innocent and hopeful, devoid of fear or doubts of any kind. The contrast to his earlier mood at the raid's aftermath was especially striking. Attuned to her as he was, Freyd sensed the shift in Elora's breathing, the relaxation of tense muscles. What must that have taken inside her mind? Calm draw

"You'd think I'd have spent more time here, given the ambiance." Speaking to no one in particular, Freyd stood in the central plaza of Yomi, scouring its eerie haunted streets with a determined blue-eyed gaze. Something had been nattering at the back of his mind ever since the frontlines battered their way into Ilridge upon accessing twenty nine. Something about that place had felt familiar, though he hadn't quite managed to place it until this morning. Staring at the idle bowl of ether from which Persi had once fed, he hadn't yet brought himself to the point where he could toss the linger

"How do we know that's really what it looks like??" He flinched at that one, the barb sinking deeper than she intended, in a place she hadn't meant to strike. "What if it goes back into the walls -- we don't know where it will go next --!" Snaring an open mid-sized jug and a wholly inexplicable plunger from amidst the refuse, Freyd stuffed the wee beastie though its funnel-shaped opening and plumbed it inside. A quick pop and corkscrew cap sealed it in, promptly reinforced with a convenient clamp top. Stuff too tightly to move, all the mini-mimic could do was slowly squirm and

Taint from his last encounter with the darkened crystal still stained his essence, like that damnably indelible spot from a certain Scottish play, and oft fortuning the same sort of doom. He'd learned to use it to great effect, but contact with Shadow's Malevolent blight through Orgoth's veins had forged an umbral tether that resonated to his core. Staring into the empty black orbs of the amber stranger's mask, Freyd saw only the familiar reflected in their voids. A garbled welcome sent hairs on the back of his neck to pinpricks sharp enough to stab with. That voice... like the screechi

Still struggling to catch his own elusive breath, Freyd was only half-aware of Elora's miscellaneous plights. One never seemed to suffice. Instinct warned him that her weapon was in play, she having nearly skewered him more than once with some variation of sharp stick during their adventures. Partners develop a certain innate danger sense for such things, apparently. Somehow, amidst all the unravelling chaos, he managed to catch a better glimpse of the thing as it poured itself from steel casing into occupied elven-shaped leathers. "It's a mimic! I fought one ages ago with Freya, I thin

Freyd listened silently, recalling an eerily similar and recent conversation with another player. He'd found her name on the Monument of Life a week later; killed by a random bandit. Raging at the injustice of it had tested his convictions, but ultimately led him to the same conclusions, and a sigh. "I have grown numb, but am thankfully also aware enough to realize that it's happened. That let me work against it." Gently steering their ride towards a ramshackle stables, Freyd turned to look upon their sleeping wards when they came to a stop. "Aincrad and Cardinal test us by forci

Flailing and failing to find purchase against his nemesis face-sucker, Freyd spun sideways and smashed his face into the nearest solid surface he could feel in a vain effort to get the bloody thing off. It didn't work, triggering instead the avalanche whose initial seismic precepts Elora had already elaborately queued. At least he'd found the chest piece of some gaudily ornate suite of plate mail, and not accidentally mashes himself up again an axe, resplendently pointy morningstar, or a piece with more thorns enhancements than an infernal briar bush. Gong resounding loudly, if also somewha

"Well, to be fair," he began, grateful for her tender touch, yet also impressed by the sheer wall of gathered goods arrayed against them, "my shop actually used to be my backyard, and surrounded by a zombie-infested wilderness. It didn't feel right leaving all of this stuff stacked out in the open in Urbus, when I relocated. And you wouldn't want to see everything else I already keep in my inventory." Sheepishly scratching at his own bearded grimace, Freyd hesitated momentarily. "I might also have stirred the old Angel's Point mess on purpose, occasionally, just to drive Quip crazy an

That she didn't simply dismiss his philosophical musings spoke volumes, but she'd already proven the sharpness of her wit and mind by their interactions to date. Few rose so quickly in the Whisper's esteem. Even the formal tone by which she transacted with this world had loosened, likely the result of peril shared. Life did that when it rattled you and another in the same cage. If there was common ground between all Aincrad's players, that was most likely the vector to find it. Some, sadly, would simply never bother listening. "This place reminds me of a sociology experiment I heard

As Kandy charged, forcing the sand shark to veer wide to avoid her spear, Eulogy and Sable both found purchase and pride as they plunged their weapons into the beast's thick hide. Blood spurted across the sands as Terra Firma frenzied, its giant gnashing maw chomping its way into overdrive in a most terrifying way. His last blow had hurt it, but also left him exposed. Freyd knew the drill, and how much the system loved as temptingly vulnerable target. That was the whole point. Thrashing wildly as its slapped away the other players with sheer bulk, the mutant sand shark flailed itself