[PP-F9] I... I Thought it was Just a Myth! <<Guardian of Fire>>(Flints, Tristan)

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru had heard about a new Quest that had been floating around for awhile, and it was starting to interest him. It had caught his interest when he heard about it from multiple people in the nearby inn. It was a nice, warm area on floor 9. and the heat was bearable is what he heard from another man. He asked around in his shop, and he heard many a tales of this Quest. He shuddered at what he had to fight, but he knew he could handle it.... with the help of friends. He opened up his HUD and saw that there were a few that were available, while others were busy doing other things and had wished to not be disturbed.

One name caught his eye in particular, Flints. He had remembered his old Guild mate from their wedding night, when he had talked to her while drinking some ale. He remembered that she had offered to help him with Quests, with the help on her new husband. he gulped at the thought of him. Tristan Delaney, one of the strongest players in the game. He was afraid of what he might do if he screwed things up and almost got his wife killed, or worse, both him and his wife killed. He erased his mind of these thoughts. He wouldn't let that happen, not even to him. He sighed silently to himself and sent a message to Flints, asking to meet him at his shop on the 3rd floor if she chose to help.

"Let's hope she accepts." He said to himself "I could really use the help..."

[Flints 0]

Flints stirred from her sleep, she had become lazy, hadn't been taking on any quests or exploring Aincrad as much, she had..bigger more important things to attend to in her life now, she felt around her soft warm bedding for said important thing, and there he laid, sprawled out beside her. She gave a gentle kiss to his neck and whispered into him. "Goodmorning darling~" surprisingly the soft gesture was usually all she needed to wake him from his slumber. She curled up beside him and relaxed till she recieved a notification. She opened her menu and noticed it was a message from her once guild mate, Hikoru. Talking about questing. She recalled at her wedding asking if he would like to join her in battle some time. She grinned and practically leaped from the bed to get dressed as she replied to him. "On my way, give us a second I still have to wake Tristan." 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan did a mixture of strange sounds as he awoken by a kiss from his beloved, slowly waking up and reaching for Kita to get some extra hugs in the morning. Either way, he slowly began to sit up on the bed and petted Kita until she got up from a message received by someone called Hikoru as he read over their shoulder. Tristan smiled when he saw they would be helping out on a quest and was hopeful it was one his wife hadn't done yet, which meant they had something extra to throw themselves at. "Goodmorning dear. So, we off questing then?" he said as he got up and ready without hindrance, happy that they would be out and about together again.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru stretched and got to his shop, making sure to check and see if everything was neat. He wanted to give a good impression to the higher leveled players, and it was a chance for some good business. He cleaned off the counter and made sure Back-Biter was polished and placed correctly in its case. He polished his shelves and smiled as everything looked well in his shop, and he made sure to keep it as clean as he could. He switched the closed sign to open and went into the back room, looking at items and appraising them slowly, making sure not to miss anything that could be useful.

[Flints 0]

Flints quickly dressed herself and looked back to Tristan smiling. As they got ready to leave she held his hand and dragged him down stairs giggling, she kept thinking about how she wasn't a morning person but this morning was pretty perfect. "So, we are going to go help a friend of mine, Hikoru, he wants to do a quest and I haven't done this one either so I thought we could all do it together!" Flints smiled triumphantly as if she was the one who organized the whole things when infact it was Hikoru who did all the work, flints made her way to the door, Antillian following the two close behind as they headed out. "We are going to floor three!" She happily exclaimed to Tristan.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan perked up when he heard that they would be doing a quest that they had not yet done before, equipping his armor and shield to his back as they walked out of his store that was also where he lived, looking around to see if the store was in order. They appeared all fine, so he smiled as he was dragged by Flints, firmly holding her hand as they walked to Floor 3. "So which quest are we doing then by chance? As I can't think of anything particularly major on Floor 3.". He guessed that they would do a harder boss fight one like Banshee or Guardian of Fire, at least that made the most sense.

[Flints 0]

Flints giggled as Tristan tried his best to fix up the shop between her dragging and him cleaning she stepped on Antillian who huffed and ignored her the rest of the journey. "We are taking on the Guardian of Fire, but the person we are accompanying, his shop is here!" She let go of Tristan's hand and motioned to the shop they so happened to be Infront of, she smirked at their great timing and pushed her way in. She had been in his shop before, for a gathering of guild sorts. She happily waltzed her way back into a room where she remembered first meeting him in. "Hikoru? We are here!" She looked around, she realized she was being more than her fair share of intruding but she didn't want to leave the man waiting any longer, getting up and out the door took a little longer than expected. 

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru turned as he heard voices, seeing her old Guildmate Flints standing there behind him, accompanied by a red-haired man, fairly large and in what-looked to be heavy armor. He bowed and smiled, at his friend, but he felt his nerves were shot.

"So this is the fabled Tristan Delaney, the tank of SAO..." He said as he snuck a peek at the tank. He stood up and smiled, feeling the sweat fall off his face

"W-Welcome to Trinket's and Drink-Its!" He said with a smile. He went over to his table and grabbed his up "Could I interest you in anything before we set out? Tea? Coffee?" He asked politely. Truth was, he was only getting himself some coffee to calm his nerves a little.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Hikoru

[Flints 0]

Flints smiled warmly to Hikoru and accepted his offer for drinks. "I'd love coffee right now, it's still a little too early for me~" she began to yawn and stretch, she gently fluffed the soft wolf ears that sat neatly on her hood before shaking her head a little, trying to clear the groggy daze she was still in. She looked to Hikoru who seemed to be awestrucken by Tristan, Flints looked back to Tristan and locked their arms and hands together smiling at the two. She worried that Hikoru was a little to nervous in his presence but she knew he would calm once Tristan talked. Dispite his armor which gave him a rugged apperence he was a sweet, gentle man. And very protective~ which was always a wonderful thing, especially on quests like these. "We are ready when you are Hikoru!" She sipped her coffee, warming up and feeling more energetic from the caffeine. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan did indeed rock up fully geared in his unique equipment, aside from his weapon. In this case it was his Burden of the Fallen armour, which had the appearance of a Templar one but was clad with blood splatters, along with the fiery Twinfire Reflector on his back. He cracked his neck from being still early morning, and smiled as he recognised the quest, being one he went full ham on with Ssendom and crushed harder versions of the Hell hounds with. "That's easy enough then." he said confidently as he had them dragged to the store. When Hikoru greeted them, he chuckled gently and said in his usual gentle british voice "Tea would be lovely, though make some for on the go while we walk.", gladly accepting the arm from Kita and holding her close.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru nodded slowly and got them both Tea and Coffee as they had requested, and brought them cups that he could store into his backpack to put away later. He turned and made his own up, downing it quickly and washing the cup quickly, trying to calm his nerves. He breathed gently and smiled as he turned, motioning to the door as he walked out slowly. He wasn't too anxious for this Quest, but he knew that he would be fine with Tristan along with them. He smiled as they left his shop and he locked the door behind him, and he nodded

"Alright, lets make our way to the town teleporter." He said, walking silently along the streets and roads to the middle of town, seeing the large teleporter in the center. He motioned for the couple to go ahead of him "I think you guys can go first. I'll see you there." he said with a smile. 

[Flints 0]

Flints finished her drink quickly and nudged Antillian along , grasping onto his mane while they walked, using it to keep him close beside her. The wolf didn't complain much, he was used to the tough love by now and knew she meant well. On their little journey to the center of town she tried her best to keep up with Tristan's strides and smiled to Hikoru when he let them go first. "Alrighty then I guess we will see you on the other side!" She winked and held Tristan's hand tightly as she stepped on the teleporter, pulling him along with her and stroking his hands before shouting to be sent to floor 9. Flints had to admit, she was pretty excited for their adventure, having more help would be a good learning experience for both her and Hikoru, not just in battle but getting to know eachother, flints didn't have many friends in Aincrad, her wild nature was usually pretty off putting, not to mention the only people she was friends with weren't exactly fond of her anymore.. but since Tristan had been around she calmed down a lot. Her nerves were set at ease with the tall tank be her side, protecting her as always. 

 

Edited November 28, 2015 by Flints

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan nodded to Hikoru and said "Well if you lose sight of us, just check Flints' location on your friends list. Thank you for the tea by the way.", then walked with Flints out to the teleporter with her hand firmly held. He smiled widely as he walked, though to him a wide small looked much smaller to most as his expressions tend not to be that exaggerated. Flints seemed excited with the entire adventure and he was happy too, especially as it was something they could get her stronger in this way. He was also wary of the fact though that Floor 9 had a heat so excessive that in the quest it was possible to receive damage from the heat unless you had Survival, which meant that he was happy they had plentiful HP potions. Tristan should maybe also take Devastator along instead of his Hephaestus armour.
As they started walking to where the quest was, Tristan chuckled and said "So have you already gotten strong enough to take a student or such? He seems to admire you. I after all I think seemed more like the biggest threat to his life he'd ever encounter, or at least that's the impression he gave, though I can't blame him when my armour is blood splattered.".

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru waited for them to leave, and stood on the teleporter a few minutes after. He breathed in and gripped his Dagger, Dementia, and breathed deeply. He knew that this was a chance for him to prove himself to one of the strongest players as someone who can hold his own, and maybe earn him a chance to be able to meet other big players on missions and Quests with him. And Flints, who was a Dagger user as well, he knew that he would keep her close, for she knew a lot more about the higher levels of this game than he did, and she is an amazing friend at that. He looked up to the sky above the teleporter and breathed deeply

"Teleport, 9th Floor!" He said as he was soon pixelated and appeared on the heat of floor 9. He breathed and put on his Player Tracker and saw where Flints was and started to make his way there slowly, helping his body get used to the heat of the 9th floor and so he wouldn't get tired too quickly. He breathed heavily in the hot air compared to the third and fourth floor. He wasn't used to it, but he enjoyed it none-the-less. He smiled and continued forward, seeing Flints and Tristan on the horizon, but still a ways off.

[Flints 0]

Flints walked quickly, the heat of the floor eliciting whines from both her and Antillian. "I didn't realize this place was...this hot.." She groaned to Tristan. Cold, even when it was far too cold was bearable. But this, this sweltering heat, was umbarable. She gathered all her hair and tied it back with a few of its own strands to keep it up and glanced to Antillian. "Sorry buddy, we will try to make this quick okay?" She tugged the horns of the large wolf hoping he could forgive her. 

Before they could wonder off too far Flints stopped and waited for Hikoru. "Once we regroup we can get this mess over with..right?" She panted up to Tristan, hoping he could enlighten her, since he couldn't take away the heat. She briefly considered stripping down but assumed it was frowned upon. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan nodded to Flints, who didn't seem to enjoy the heat at all as she panted and pulled her hair back. Tristan himself was fine as his Survival skill was active, which made the heat far more bearable to be in than if he didn't, making it more of a warm glow than a sweltering heat. He smiled and said "Indeed, though bear in mind we will have mobs to defeat, then the boss itself. But I'm sure we'll make it just fine.", stroking her arm reassuringly as he spoke.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru made his way to the group quickly and quietly, seeing that they were in conversation. He soon strode up beside Flints and her familiar, looking ahead and seeing the cave coming over the horizon. He took a deep breath of the hot air, feeling it getting warmer the closer they got to the cave. He panted for a moment as his body was now unable to get used to the heat, and it was getting close to unbearable

"Alright... Lets hope... We can get this done quick..." He said between breaths. He was all for heat over cold, but it was soon becoming very uncomfortable, almost tempting to strip down to no shirt, but he knew that would probably be rude to the others. He looked and saw that Tristan didn't even seemed fazed by the heat. He panted in confusion for a moment "How... Are you... Not even... fazed by the... Heat?..." He asked as they continued closer to the cave, the heat sweltering rapidly around them.

[Flints 0]

Flints looked to Hikoru who now had caught up to them, he seemed to be in the same boat as she, sticky and panting and hoping for it to end soon. She wondered if he too needed to work on his skill set. She gave a huff before turning away from the two and beginning to waltz her way into the sweltering oven that awaited them. "It's now or never! She shouted back to the two, she realized she had released Tristan from her grasp because she had become too warm to want to be close to anyone. Even Antillian seemed to fuss over having to flank his master. She could feel the heat great her face as she stepped into the cave, she didn't think it could get any worse but it sure did. She slowed her steps and waited for the two, looking back to Tristan a little worried that she didn't fully know what she was in for, her face twisted in slight confusion as she stared into the depths of the cave, not sure if she should step any further without her party. 

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Inside Inferno Cavern, Hikoru and Flints roll CD for the rest of the thread until the boss is defeated. Any roll below 6 incurs 1HP damage
(correct any of your stats if wrong)

Tristan chuckled at the sweating Hikoru, saying "Long ago I took a quest called the Traveler, which helps people survive from extreme heat or other damaging conditions. Doesn't stop things like the Quagmire sticky effect that was on the Floor 12 boss clearing, but good against heat like this or the Fumes effect the floor 11 boss fight room had. Anyhow, without further ado..." Tristan noticed six hounds pounce out towards them, staring at their prey hungrily. Tristan merely smiled and went straight in with an area of effect attack Hurricane, spinning the spear and hurting them badly, or at least as much as he could at current. He still hadn't considered if to max his block or improve his weapon skill with future investments. They attempted to attack him in retaliation, but only received severe burns, the mere scratch damage that he received healed by his Holy Blessing.

ID 40692
BD 10 Hurricane AOE SA, (7+2)x1x4 damage = 36 - 9 on 4 targets
MD 10 activate Flame Thorns, 6 damage +2 turn burn for 2 damage. 6 damage against Tristan, 12 healed by Holy Blessing

Tristan 165/165 E: 32 H: 3
Flints 60/60 E: 15 H: 0
Hikoru 44/44 E: 11 H: 0

Hell Hound 3/36 Burn 2/2
Hell Hound 3/36 Burn 2/2
Hell Hound 3/36 Burn 2/2
Hell Hound 3/36 Burn 2/2
Hell Hound 30/36 Burn 2/2
Hell Hound 30/36 Burn 2/2
Damage 27 Mitigation 9

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru saw the Helhounds and watched as Tristan took them down to almost dead in one hit. He smirked and moved forward, hoping to hit the hellhounds with enough damage to finish most of them off. He smiled as he was able to land a hit, but they were able to take most of the blow, only to take a small sliver of damage. He grit his teeth and turned to Flints, giving her the thumbs up, only to get his leg burnt by a small flame that erupted by his foot. He grit his teeth and moved. It only took a small amount of Damage, but it could make a huge difference in the long run.

ID: 40703

CD: 4

BD: 5+1 Accuracy= 6

Hikoru used Round Accel.

2x1=2x5=10-9= 1 Damage to 4 Enemies.

Tristan 165/165 E: 32 H: 3
Flints 60/60 E: 15 H: 0
Hikoru 43/44 E: 7/11 H: 1 (-1 From Heat Damage)

Hell Hound 2/36 Burn 2/2 (-1)
Hell Hound 2/36 Burn 2/2 (-1)
Hell Hound 2/36 Burn 2/2 (-1)
Hell Hound 2/36 Burn 2/2 (-1)
Hell Hound 30/36 Burn 2/2
Hell Hound 30/36 Burn 2/2

Edited November 30, 2015 by Hikoru