[PP-F12] Lord of the Seas

[Mack 0]

The was a brilliant azure flash of light within the main building that made up the settlement of Lazaro on the twelfth floor. On this occasion, the flash did not resolve itself into a member of the Azure Brigade, but instead a crimson cloaked figure emerged from the portal and cleared the entryway from the portal. Mack, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath's Crimson Blades assault team moved a short distance off and turned to face the portal, unlimbering Invictus from his back in the process. He had already contacted Kiru about the quest they he was going to embark on today, something about a sea monster that inhabited the floor and looked a bit like a Pokemon, and Kiru had agreed to join him. The crimson headed assault team commander had also messaged several other people, including Macradon and Ethereal from the Blades about taking on the quest. According to the guidebook, the maximum party size allowed for it was three people so whichever of those other messaged people turned up first would be added to his and Kiru's party and they'd go off to hunt the beastie.

Drawing back the deep hood on his crimson cloak, Mack's attention was drawn to one of the heavy lead glass paned windows in the walls of the big lantern-lit home. Wind was driving rain against the glass of the window with such a staccato rhythm that it sounded as if someone was firing at the walls and windows of the building with a machine gun that fired BB's. The weather conditions were certainly going to make questing on this floor today considerably more interesting and challenging. He sighed quietly to himself, he still preferred gale force winds and rain to the desert of the fifth floor or the volcanic heat of the ninth. Planting the steel butt cap of Invictus on the heavy wood planking floor, Mack leaned his forearms on the dull part of the blade head and waited for Kiru and whoever happened to be the third member of the party to make their appearance.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru was informed of going on a Quest with a man names Mack, the leader of the Blood Oath's Crimson Blades, and a few others in the Azure Brigade. He had just started in Azure, but he knew many of the Guild members already, and it was time for him to prove that he could hold himself in Battle. He breathed and teleported to the 12th floor, where he saw the red-bearded man. He came over and gave him a nod, bowing the the man with a certain feeling of Gratitude for being able to take him on this Quest

"Greetings." He said "I am Hikoru of the Azure Brigade, pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said as he stood. He knew that this man was very powerful, and he could easily keep him protected from this creature. He stood and his Familiar came squeaking out of his armor, aiming to get freedom. He smiled and scratches the small Familiar's chin, the familiar soon giving a small squeak and the Familiar and soon he looked to see the Familiar staring at Mack. He smiled and scratched the Familiar's chin and held him onto his shoulder "And this is Sutetchi. Don't mind his finickiness, he loves to meet new people." He said with a small laugh

[Kiru 0]

"Okay." I said and looked at my appearance in the mirror. For the first time in months I had equipped myself with full armor, which was little to none in my case. The set I wore was a simple black chest plate. I had yet to evolve from the starter gear other than a few items that changed my stats considerably. The only thing I considered actual armor other than starter gear was the wings that adorned my shoulders. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of the a monthly boss drop, gaining a pair of wings, yet couldn't fly. It was disappointing at first but I got over it as soon as I saw the defensive stats. As a dagger user I couldn't have heavy armor weighing me down because I not only need to retrieve a dagger at incredible speeds if I threw it but I also had to be quicker than my opponent if I needed to strike. One of the major disadvantages of using a dagger was that if you wanted a successful attack you needed to be in close range. However, if you were as experienced as I you could simply throw the dagger from any distance that wasn't too far. Though I had a sword, and now a shield from Oikawa, I continued my journey with my trusty dagger crafted by someone who I hadn't seen or heard from in quite awhile. Which brings me once again to the topic of disappearance and absence. In my case I was gone so long because I had no will to do anything. In my defense a lot of my closest friends had gone missing and a few died in that time period so I was kind of turned into a recluse, stuck in the room I resided in now.

But, that was changing slowly. Today I would go out and defeat a sea monster with a group of strong leaders from another guild. I was surprised by the invite at first but then the mutual feelings that Zelrius and I shared had came to mind. Maybe they just wanted someone from Azure, for the name. I traversed the though from my head and checked my gear one last time before heading out of my room on the second floor of the Azure Brigade Guild Hall. I shut the door quietly behind me and walked down the stairs to the entryway. I was a bit weary as I walked down, as if in anticipation for someone coming to greet me. I peeked out into the main hall and took a relieved breath before I took my black Azure cloak from the rack and equipped it as well. Taking one last breath, I stepped outside of the Guild doors and walked through the darkness to the nearest teleport. 

My being suddenly was transported to the Twelfth Floor. Upon transporting to the floor I was greeted with mild rain. I groaned, forgetting that this floor was known for it's water. I flipped the hood up on my cloak in an instant. I blinked my eyes a few times in attempt to release the strain from the previous floor. I stepped rather ungracefully off the platform and rubbed my eyes. "Should've invested in night vision if my guild is on the darkest floor..." I mumbled and regained my vision. From a quick glance I gathered that we were certainly not meeting at the teleport. I opened my menu and clicked the PM again, the message did not state where we were meeting. I sighed and went under Mack's name. With his tracker set in front of my eyes I began towards a hut of some sort. It was well lit and had high windows. I could see two people inside the dwelling. Assuming I wasn't late, I opened the door and proceeded to walk in. After shutting the door behind me I took off my hood and raised my hands in surrender. "It's just me. No worries." 

 

 

 

[Mack 0]

"No worries," Mack rumbled, oddly enough his answer being sufficient to address both Hikoru's familiar and Kiru's entrance. "Pleasure to meet you both, though Kiru and I have briefly crossed paths before," the hulking axe man continued in the same low tone that, somehow, still managed to cut through the patter of rain driven by gale force winds against the side of the hut. "I'm Mack, third in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath and the leader of the guild's Crimson Blades strike team," he continued, drawing the deep hood of his cloak back from his face to reveal a ginger beard and matching mop of hair. "It's time that the Knights and the Brigade formed a closer working alliance. Hopefully, this quest today will be the first step in accomplishing that goal." Mack fell silent for a moment to pause before continuing.

"It would have been nice if the weather had been a bit more cooperative today," he shrugged his shoulders. "But, hopefully this will shorten the amount of distance we have to travel to find the sea monster, as we're tackling the Lord of the Sea quest. Now, I don't know your stats, but I assume I'm the heavy hitter here," Mack said, noting that both Hikoru and Kiru seemed to be dagger users as he opened his player menu and sent a party request to each of them. "The logical strategy would be for you two to focus on stunning attacks while I deal out the maximum amount of damage. I should also note that, while I can tank, I don't have howl so be careful not to draw aggro. Any questions? Anyone have any better ideas for strategy?"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru nodded and agreed with the plan. It sounded good. Although his stun was very weak, he knew that if he could stun the creature that he wouldn't have to worry about it's AoE for a bit. He looked at Kiru, his old friend. He had surpassed her level by a bit, but he knew that they were at the same strength, maybe she was even stronger. He looked at her and gave her a small nod, and spoke

"I want you to focus on attack. I'm pretty sure you got more strength than me, but in case I mess up, I want you to try and stun it if I miss, alright?" He asked. He wanted to make sure that he could have backup in case he missed, because he would never be sure if he would hit it, because of his luck nowadays. But he knew that this would go well, and if not, he wouldn't have to worry about getting away, as his Unique Ability would make it easy for him to escape, and nothing could stop him.