[PP-F4] A Daring Rescue (Lowenthal, Piera, Lee)COMPLETE

[Jomei 0]

Olive eyes looked out onto the water as the waves rolled in, crashing into the beach. He stood just before the sand, his boots still in the grass that was littered with some of the grainy substance. He brought his gaze down to his hand, where he held a small patch that he once wore on his armor; the purple and black symbol of The Velvet Room. Ever since Lowenthal had left the guild to Jomei, it had fallen into shambles quite quickly.. or so he thought it did under his leadership. Though, according to Opal's words that one night at the Drunken Serpent, he now was unsure if he himself had let the guild fail, or if Lowenthal had left the crumpling guild to die in Jomei's arms. Nonetheless, he needed to speak to him about his thoughts, and how he had shut the guild down. His fingers curled into a ball, clenching the patch in the palm of his hand. He stepped onto the beach and stormed down to the familiar shop that was Albatross and Finch.

As he approached the store and walked into the open doorway, he stepped up to the counter where he met the sandy haired man, who seemed troubled by something. "Lowe.. its been awhile. I need to talk to you about something." 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal stepped out of the back of his shop, with a grim look on his face. He looked up, only to see Jomei standing in his shop. How long had he been there, how much had he heard. Lowenthal coughed twice, to clear his throat. "Ah, Jomei. A pleasure. I was actually, just about to message you." He said, looking behind him. Lowenthal nodded. "I'll speak to you again soon. We'll get lunch sometime, chat it over." Lowenthal said, as a masked man came from around the corner. The man wore a black cloak, and was marked with an orange player crystal above his head. He gave a polite bow to Jomei, and walked past him leaving. Lowenthal let out a sigh. "Man, I always get nervous when player killers show up. So, what was it that you needed to talk to me about?" Lowenthal asked, pulling out a piece of paper and began to draw on it.

[Jomei 0]

Lowenthal was going to message him? Just what about? As his mind wondered just what he could have wanted to speak to him about, another man stepped out from where Lowenthal was standing. A cloaked man, wearing a mask as well; his features were completely hidden. However, the one and only thing Jomei noticed and cared about was the orange crystal above his head, the notorious mark of a player killer. Jomei felt a chill run down his spine as he looked where his eyes should be, despite being hidden in darkness. Jomei's eyes watched him as he walked out the entrance, leaving only Jomei and Lowenthal to speak. "What was that about? and what did you want to message me about?" he questioned, not taking into account Lowe's question on why he had come here to speak.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal continiued to draw on the slit of paper. "He, was an old acquaintance of mine. Back when I was still orange." Lowenthal explained. "Anyway, I've noticed something weird. A lot of alchemists are disappearing, and Piera has been inactive since Zel's birthday." Lowenthal said, beginning to explain himself. "What he was telling me, was that he's found Piera and Lee. But there's bad news." Lowenthal said, his hand still drawing. "There's a group, that's forcing alchemists to make thier players potions. Free labor out of force, and fear. It's slavery at it's finest." Lowenthal said. "On the fourth floor, there's a compound. That is the headquarters of this gang. Which is what my friend had told me just now. And it would seem from his descriptions contains several floors." Lowenthal said, looking at his drawing before scribbling again."I needed a plan, but I needed someone else to help me. And I figured the most expendable would be a player killer." Lowenthal explained. He lied slightly about the identity of the man, but his message still bore the truth. "Hence, when he declined. I was going to message you." Lowenthal said, looking up. "What you want to talk about?" Lowenthal calmly asked.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei listened intently to what Lowenthal had to say. From what he gathered, many alchemists were vanishing off the grid.. one by one, not dead.. just gone. Before he even needed to continue on, Piera had come to Jomei's mind. His eyes widened and lips opened slightly in shock when Lowe mentioned that Piera and Lee had been located.. but of course, just finding them was too good to be true. A group was holding them hostage, as slaves, doing their dirty work for them. Jomei's stomach churned, knowing two of his good friends were being treated like that. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth behind his closed lips. Lowenthal continued on that he needed someone's assistance for this plan.. that was the player killer he had mentioned. Jomei slowly felt  his blood boil, especially when he mentioned that he was going to message Jomei once the PKer turned down his offer. He felt betrayed. He was the one on the back burner? That back up plan in case some murderer decided not to help out some green players. Jomei's voice started out calm, but with an anger behind it, "So all of those months.. where it was the three of us. Velvet Room and all.." his voice became increasingly filled with rage, "Piera is my best friend too.. And you know I was worried about her.. and Lee too.. So you ask some God damned player killer to help you before me?!" Jomei was pressed up against the counter, his fists pressing into the wood top. He turned around quickly, his fists trembling, as well as his voice. "Opal was right... You really don't... see me as the friend I saw you as.." He let out a heavy sigh, "The Velvet Room is dead.. I could not keep that guild alive like I thought I could, but it was a sinking ship by the time you had left anyway.." He threw up his hand to open his inventory, and with a couple of rough taps, his armor and weapon appeared on his body. He then looked over his shoulder, "I'll help.. for Piera and Lee's sake. I'll see how I feel afterwards though." 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal perked his head up at Jomei's accusations. Lowenthal stopped drawing and removed his apron, and stood in front of Jomei preventing him from moving forward. He bit his lip, and rubbed his chin before looking Jomei in the eye. Lowenthal couldn't think of the words to say. So instead, he would just let his anger speak. for him.

ID: 50539 BD: 6(7-3+2) Hit

Lowenthal let his fist fly, and felt it connect against Jomei's cheek. Whether or not the men fell, Lowe didn't care. Lowenthal widened his stance before shouting at the red headed man. "How dare you assume that!" Lowenthal spat through his teeth. "You, of all people! If you want to be an asshole who'd rather speak to some half-ass excuse of a ninja rather then your best friend, fine! But don't you ever assume that I don't care again!" Lowenthal shouted through his teeth. He stepped closer to Jomei, his anger still not subsiding. "The player killer I called first. Had information about where Piera and Lee are held captive. Unless you had that information, I kind of needed to talk to him first." Lowenthal said, explaining the origin of the orange marked player. Lowenthal wanted to say more, but he wouldn't when he was so angry. How the hell could Jomei take Opal's word so blindly? Without even talking to him first. Maybe Jomei had changed after all this time. "When you decided to be Jomei again, I'll be outside." Lowenthal said, turning and stepping outside his shop.

[Jomei 0]

When he heard no reply from Lowenthal, Jomei turned around. He watched as the man took off his apron and walk around the counter to stand in front of Jomei. He raised a ginger eyebrow, curious as to what he would reply with. His answer, was very familiar to him in the form of five fingers. Lowenthal's fist connected with Jomei's cheek, causing his body to spin slightly and stagger backwards, bumping into one of the clothing displays. As he managed to regain his balance, making sure to also not let the display fall, that was when Lowenthal spoke. His words, as well as the fist that just collided with his face, was like a wake up call. It gave Jomei the answer he needed. If Lowe did not care, he would not have done that, or said any of this. He would have accepted it. But he didn't, he was angry, and called Jomei his best friend. Jomei had to admit, he had received all of the information from Opal while in an emotional state... and under the influence of multiple alcoholic beverages. Also, he himself was not the best of friends either, putting a lot of his focus into the dying guild, Zandra, and leveling up. But he was wrong. He looked at the ground, feeling like a total idiot.

After recuperating, he turned around to see Lowenthal standing outside of his shop, waiting for Jomei. Jomei smirked, the red fist-like mark on his face slowly fading. He slowly walked to Lowenthal's side and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. Once he got his attention, he gave him a nod and a smirk. "Right. Lets go kick some ass."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal turned. "No. No ass kicking." He said, pointing to Jomei. "If everything goes right, there will be no need for violence, and no one will be the wiser." Lowenthal said, running a hand through his hair. "Allow me to explain. The base that is holding Piera, and Lee captive is down on the fourth floor. It's built like a castle, so it's fortified. And it's low enough new players can get there with ease. This group lures players in, and then forces them to make potions, food items, and other things solely to help out it's 'front liners' as they call them. Which basically farm potions from field bosses." Lowenthal said, disgusted in the group and it's people. "I;ve go no idea who's running the show. But I can find that out at a later time. Right now, I'm focusing on this." Lowenthal said, pulling out the piece of paper he had been drawing on. "This here, is a crude map. Here. Is the main production floor, where Piera and countless others will be making items." Lowenthal pointed to the map. "You'll be disguised as a new member of the group, and hopefully you'll have access to the building. You'll need to find Lee, and get him out." Lowenthal said. He pointed to the bottom of the paper. "Here is where I'll be infiltrating. Bring Lee to this spot, and meet me and Piera outside." Lowenthal said. It wasn't the greatest of plans, but it was what he could come up with. And he for upcoming plans, he would need Jomei and Piera both. "Sound good?" Lowenthal asked, his irish friend.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei blinked in surprise when Lowenthal corrected Jomei's comment about ass kicking. With his plan in place, they should be able to take care of this without alerting anyone. Jomei scoffed and shook his head, "Of course. Why wouldn't The Master of Shadows come up with a plan that involved sneaking." He gave Lowe a smirk. He brought his arms up and crossed them about his chest, listening as Lowenthal went through with the rest of his plan to save Piera and Lee. According to his sources, there was a stronghold on the snow covered Floor Four where this group forced players into labor for them, making them think its for a good cause. His eyes went to the piece of paper Lowenthal had been drawing on before as he held it up to him. It was a map, drawn to the best of his friend's abilities, of the castle's main production floor. While Lowenthal planned to sneak in through another part of the building to find Piera, Jomei would be going undercover to find Lee. Jomei brought his hand to his chin, "Alright. Let's do this."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal nodded at Jomei. "Then let's get started." Lowenthal said, as he turned, and made his way back into the city.

~Some Time Later on the Fourth Floor~

"Damned cold, hate it." Lowenthal said to himself, as the arctic winds blew onto him, ripping through his armor and chilling him to the bone. Lowenthal shuddered, and kept his arms wrapped around himself as the blizzard continued. Marching through shin deep snow, wasn't on the plan, but of course weather had to be a bitch about it. After a grueling hour of trudging through snow and ice, Lowenthal found his target. A small entrance, just off of the castle. Ironically enough, the weather helped him. With such a blizzard present, there were no guards, guarding the secret entrance. Lowenthal made his way inside, and quickly shook off the excess snow that was caking around his feet. He opened his menu and checked his own status. The weather hadn't affected it after all, and he made his way inside the building. Activating his stealth, Lowenthal crept along the long, torch lit hall. The hall was quite cold, as the wind continued inside and traveled along. At least Jomei was warm in a sense, being on the main floor of the castle, and safe from the blizzard outside.

Stealth:16 (10 base + 6 rank 3 Sneak and Hide)

(Jomei has already infiltrated the compound, and is awaiting a chance to go out and find Lee. Lowenthal has entered the lower floor, and is making his way up to Piera's location.)

Quote

 

(The Castle has 4 levels: Dungeon, Storage, Main Floor, and the Tower. Lowenthal is currently on the Storage floor. Jomei and Piera are on the Main floor. And Lee is in the dungeon.)

Dungeon:
https://pbt1920.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/dungeon_castle-of-st-peter_bodrum_turkey-32.jpg

The dungeon is cold, and barely lit. The dungeon is off-limits to any non-staff, and is kept under several lock and keys. The people kept down here are forgotten about almost entirely. Some prisoners are chained to the wall, some locked in stocks, and some are just thrown into a cell. The walls are made of large, misshapen stone held together by mortar. The cells are about 10 feet wide, by 7 feet deep, the cell doors are made of iron bars. Lee is held captive here, and is chained to the wall. The key to his cell is currently held by the Prison Master, who is currently in the tower.

Storage:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/08/00/f1/0800f196642336602a8e7786912c5e40.jpg

Long hallways, meeting up with several rooms. Some are kitchens, some are alchemy rooms. These rooms have special boxes and chest, that refill with materials which is a reason why the bandits have set up shop. Guards patrol this area, making sure that no mobs spawn or that anyone tries to escape using the secret entrance. Lowenthal is currently roaming it's halls, making his way to the main floor.

Main Floor"
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Grand_Hall_of_the_Count.jpg

A large hall which leads to the main entrance of the castle. Here is where the players are held and forced to make items for the bandits. Tables with equipment fill the hall, as players stand shoulder to shoulder working. When they're done, they're led to a shared barracks. Which is guarded by two guards at all times. Above it, is the tower.

Tower:
https://bw-1651cf0d2f737d7adeab84d339dbabd3-bcs.s3.amazonaws.com/products/product_71596/Full71596.jpg

This is the area the guards sleep and rest at, as well with the other staff. Here the Prison Commander is either playing cards with the men, sleeping, or generally wasting time. Only he holds the keys to gain access to the dungeon, and unlock Lee's cell.

 

 

[Jomei 0]

The Irishman, clad in his ragged green cloak and all, approached the front door to the large castle, accompanied by a woman wearing a long black, hooded trench coat over brown leather armor. His eyes kept looking down at the axe she held in her hand, keeping it at the ready just in case this new recruit tried anything. It bothered Jomei that this was really the only way he would be able to get into this place, since he had no sneaking skills like Lowenthal did. He really needed to put on his best 'bad guy' act to win this woman over, as well as some shameless flirting, and get her to accept his 'want' to join their group as a slaver and not the slave. The woman stopped and pointed her axe at the large door, looking back at Jomei who was following her. 

"You go in first. I'll take you to our leader, he will make the final decision on what to do with you." 

He and Lowenthal had split off awhile ago, after gaining word of a representative from this slaver group in town, looking for recruits. Of course, they had chosen a pretty woman that was not marked as a player killer for the job to attract attention. There was no telling that this was who they were looking for or not, but going by the information the PKer had given Lowe, this was their best lead. Lucky for them both, it was exactly who he needed to become the man on the inside for the job. Jomei really would need to muster up the stomach to spend the time in this place without wanting to stop the entire group to save everyone.. But for Piera and Lee.. as well as Lowenthal's and his own lives.. he would need to refrain from doing so.

He was now on the inside, and was accepted as part of the group. The woman who had brought him in here had shown him the basics, where the tower was and where he would be stationed. It was under the leader's orders that he not be shown where everything was just yet, since he was new. For the moment, his job was to patrol the hallway that connected the main floor and the entrance to the tower, which stood just above the main floor. He wore the new armor they had given him, which was similar to what the woman wore, his rapier remained. At the moment, he was not alone. For there was another guard walking the hall with him. I really need to find a way to get that key to the dungeons... But I can't with this guy's eyes on me at the same time...

[Piera 0]

Five long months... Five months since she had been able to hug Lee. Since she had seen her friends. Since she had slept in their own bed. Since her birthday. Since the Halloween party. Since she and Lee had been taken while they were walking home, chattering about their exciting evening and the activities they did and costumes they had seen. They hadn't thought anything of it when another costumed player approached them. Until they had suddenly there was a crack of a whip and Lee fell. She saw in her HUD that he had been paralyzed from behind and with another crack, before she could even turn around, she was paralyzed as well. The friendly player that had spoken to them then cordially greeted the orange player that had struck them down. She had been terrified, who wouldn't be after all? But they didn't kill them.

Instead they used teleport crystals to warp them to the fourth floor and were carried until they reached a large fortress. It was there that they were taken to the lowest level into the most stereotypical dungeon that she had ever seen. It would have almost been laughable had the situation not been so dire. The orange player chained them before the paralysis wore off. And then he threatened them. Told them that unless they gave him all of their items that they would kill one or both of them. If either of them resisted, they would kill them. If either of them tried to escape, they would kill them. If either of them tried to send a message, they would kill them. One at a time, they were watched as they unequipped and emptied their inventories. But they were none too pleased at what they had to offer. Both of them had left their armor, accessories and weapons at home to make room for their cosmetic equips. Their inventories were only so large after all since neither of them had expanded theirs significantly.

If the orange player hadn't been watching over their shoulders, Piera would be fairly sure that they wouldn't believe them. But Lee explained to them in plainly that they had planned on a night of fun, not expecting any trouble. That was when the orange player punched him. Of course it didn't actually do much damage, but it rattled her, begging for them to leave him alone until they backhanded her. The orange player told them that they worked for his guild now and that they would be crafting whatever they told them to craft for as long as they told them to. After that, they were separated. That was the last time she had seen Lee.

She was taken to an upper floor and into a room that one could immediately tell was solely meant for alchemy. She and the other handful of alchemists worked tirelessly on every kind of potion and crystal, usually a specific list of items. They were watched constantly to ensure that they didn't tamper with the crystals or attempt to use their menu. The only solace that Piera had was the constant sight of Lee's health bar beneath hers. They were in a party like always and seeing that he was alive and well was a comfort. Until occasionally his health started dropping. The first time it happened, Piera rose hell, sure that they were going to kill him. But when the guards beat her and threatened that if she not settle down that they really would kill him, she realized there wasn't anything she could do. Eventually the damage to Lee halted and he regenerated his health. It still happened every now and then and she wasn't sure why. But every time it did, she was in agony.

The only thing she could tell herself was that somebody would notice her absence. After the first two weeks passed, she assumed that perhaps their friends thought she had taken a vacation due to her birthday. It had happened just before Halloween. But then a month had passed. Why had nobody found them? Surely they must have looked. She wasn't popular or a high level or even had a lot of friends but... Four months...and then she saw it. Her Velvet Room guild symbol was gone. It had floated just next to her health bar. A symbol of what she belonged to. And it was gone, just like that. Nobody was coming. Piera became listless, just like the others here. Going through the motions. The days began to blur together. The only thing that got a reaction out of her anymore was seeing Lee being hurt. That never stopped hurting her. It hurt even worse knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop it.

[Lee 0]

Five long months... five fu*king months. It was amazing just how a change of scenery would effect the way the mind works. Surely a longer time had elapsed since the party. It was fun and it was supposed to keep going like such till they were ambushed by a bunch of hooligans. That would be the correct terminology for the ones that had attacked them and literally kidnapped them. Lee was sure what all was going on but he did know that evil dungeons existed and it was an emphasis on the evil. How in the good gods names could such an actual thing exist? The motions from the start were the usual that one would expect. They were told to disarm and to which Lee would state in a very matter-o-factly state that they had no plans on actually fighting so they didn't have any sort of armor to them and that seemed to not sit well with their captors as a punch would be their retort. 

This would be a very common this against him for the days to come. Piera was taken away, much to Lee's dismay and one that he was usually very vocal about. He would find himself locked away in a small room, something that would be akin to a small bedroom with just enough room to drive a man insane if left there long enough. Lee would spend most of his time chained to a wall far across from a single object that was to be a door. He would get company to which he would usually try to start a conversation that would usually end up with a pummeling though he would get a laugh here and there with a comment. It would then eventually come down to being a beating out of pure enjoyment. The only solace would be the fact that Piera's health bar stayed steady. The most he could hope for was if he annoyed them just enough, they would solely focus their aggression upon himself. 

[Lowenthal 0]

ID: 52274 LD: 5 < 16 Stealth Rating, not seen

Lowenthal stuffed his hands into his pockets. He couldn't even believe how easy it was to just waltz into thier base. The timing was almost perfect. There were no guards in the lower levels, and it seemed that he was in the middle of a shift change. Lowenthal's steps made no sound as he stepped lightly through the halls. If memory served him correctly, and if the info he received was accurate, the stairs should be around the corner. He stepped around the corner, and ducked back. Two guards were watching the stairs up, right where he needed to go. Lowenthal peeked his head around the corner, across from them were stairs going down, presumably to the dungeon that he was told about. Lowenthal pressed himself against the wall, and leaned against it. He assumed the guards were both of decent level, and his AoE was so laughably weak that he was sure the wouldn't be enough to kill them both in one shot. And unless he did, they'd alert more guards. He would have to wait, for something to happen, or he'd have to make one.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei slowly paced the hallway he was stationed in. On one side of the hall was a wide open archway where stairs to the tower started and spiraled off to the left. Not much could be heard coming from up the stairs, meaning either no one was up there, or all sound cut off from the tower's height. Jomei believes the latter, since he knew for sure that the dungeon master was taking a short rest before returning to his position. On the sides of the archway, two lit torches burned dimly, and were bolted to the wall. Half way down the hallway was a window about 4 or 5 feet in height, 3 feet in width. It was positioned about two feet off of the ground. It did not do much to brighten up the room, only a line down the middle of the room. He did notice as he walked by the sound of the window shaking from the blizzard outside. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage to get the other guard's eyes off of him for a moment. At the other end of the hall was a single door, closed, and two torches lit to the sides of it. Aside from that, there was not much to this area aside from a long rug that ran between the two doors.

At the moment, he saw he had three options.. Wait until another guard comes to take over the watch, find a way to distract the other guard and make a run for the tower, or simply attack the other man. Jomei clenched the blade in his hand, he knew he had the power to stun him.. but what if something went wrong.. Like missing his attack or someone finding the body. It was not a smart plan, and he did not want to accidentally kill someone.. even someone as despicable as them.  But then again.. it really seemed like the best option. As Jomei stepped by the window, the rattling became even louder. Jomei stopped his pacing and walked to the window to observe it, placing a hand on the window sill. "Jeez, could this thing get any more annoying?" Jomei questioned the guard that had turned around from walking towards the tower entrance, and slowly waked towards Jomei. Before the guard reached him, Jomei pretended to fiddle with the window to try and stop the rattling. However, what he was really doing was loosening the latch that held the two swinging doors shut. "Leave it alone. Its the damn blizzard outside that [censored] with it. Just get back to-" 

Interrupting the man's sentence, Jomei quickly spun around, pulling his sword out and unlatching the window in the same motion, completely catching the guard by surprise. As his sword emerged from its scabbard, it began to glow a bright gold. He then proceeded to attack the other player with his Quadruple Pain skill, stabbing the guard in the chest four times, immobilizing him. As Jomei landed his attack, the window he had unlatched flew open, and cold air and snow muffled his small battle.

52404
BD: 2(+4) = 6
Quadruple Pain: 4x13 = 52 (-25) + Stun

Jomei: 165/165 (33/40)
Guard: 83/100 (Stunned)

[Lowenthal 0]

ID: 53236  BD: 6[3+2+1=6]  LD: 11 [Not spotted]

Lowenthal waited for what seemed to be thirty minutes, and the guards made no sounds about moving. And if Lowenthal was going to sit through another conversation of 'Hawt or Nawt' he was going to lose his damn mind. Lowenthal peeked his head around the corner, as the guards were conversing. The guards didn't notice him and Lowenthal took not that they were both Orange Players. Good, made this decision a hell of alot easier. Lowenthal ran out from behind the corner of the wall, kunai in hand. he dashed forward. The guards turned, but were much too late. Lowenthal swung his kunai, slicing the both of them. The guards never got a chance to speak as they both fell to thier knees, then turned into crystals as Lowenthal sheathed his kunai. He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair, as he made his way up the stairs that the ex-guards were guarding.

~Stats~

Lowenthal: Level 38: Fine
HP: 152/152
Energy: 34/38 [-4]
Damage: 11
Acc: 2 Eva: 3 Mitigation: 30
__________Lowenthal attacked with 'Round Accel' costing him '4 Energy' and dealing '22 Dmg to the guards___________________

Zezima: Level 5: Dead
HP 0/20 [-22]
Energy: 5/5

Suomi: Level 5: Dead
HP: 0/20 [-22]
Energy 5/5

[Jomei 0]

As the blistering cold winds smacked Jomei in the face, pushing the black hood off of his head, Jomei brought his arm up to shield himself. He needed to quickly close and lock the window before anyone noticed there was a problem, or before the other guard came to from being stunned. Jomei walked forward, towards the window, reaching out into the storm to grab both sides of the window to pull shut. As he reached out, he felt something grab onto his chest. Looking down with wide eyes, he saw it was the guard, reaching his arm up from the snow to pull Jomei out of the window after him. His stun must not have lasted that long on him. With a pull, Jomei tumbled out of the window and into the snow, next to the guard who was struggling to get to his feet and finding his sword. Jomei grit his teeth and scrambled to get up. "This isn't good." the man said under his breath. He needed to get out of here. He did not want to fight and kill another man.. His eyes looked up at the orange cursor above his enemy's head. He knew the player was a killer.. and he would not suffer the consequences for killing him.... but it was still killing someone. By the time Jomei came to, he saw the guard's blade heading towards him. Without thinking, Jomei sidestepped the blade and spun around so he stood behind the guard. "I'm sorry.. but you have my friends.." Jomei said, shutting his eyes. He brought one hand to the front of the guard's face, pulling his hand against his mouth. With the other, he used his Shooting Star technique to pierce straight through the man's back, silently and instantly killing him. "I'm so so sorry.." Jomei said, his voice breaking. As Jomei felt the man's body weight disappear, he brought his hand up to his mouth, trying to hold back tears from just murdering a man. He sniffled and walked back towards the window to climb back inside. Once there, he shut the window behind him, pulled his hood back over his head, and wiped his eyes. Now he could make his way up into the tower and get that key. 

ID: 53238
CD: 3 (cant run)

BD: 8
Shooting Star: 7x13= 91
Jomei: 165/165 (28/40)
Guard: 0/100 Dead

[Lowenthal 0]

ID: 53246   LD: 9 [Not spotted]

Lowenthal activated his Shadowed Path skill again as he climbed up the stairs, effectively covering himself in shadows which then turned him invisible. If he had the Sneak and Hide skill mod, he wouldn't need accuracy on his weapons, as he would be able to strike from just beside his target. He made his way up the stairs, his steps not making any noise as he did. He entered into what seemed to be another hallway, but this one was much more well lit. From above him he saw the 'friend' icon suddenly drop from through the wall. He then heard the sound of a sword art used, and then quiet. With a slight panic Lowenthal opened his menu and shot Jomei a message.

"R U OK" And Lowenthal set his settings to silent. If he got a message, Jomei was fine. And if he didn't. Lowenthal still needed to find Piera. He'd find Piera, and drag Lee and Jomei out of here if he had too. Lowenthal made a right, and opened another door peeking in, It was the main hall, and he could see that players were working hard on thier crafts, trying to make items for the group. Lowenthal's eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a certain glasses wearing friend. With little effort, he noticed her. Dead center of the room, and surrounded by other people that were conned or kidnapped, just like she was. Lowenthal gritted his teeth, and stood his ground. As much as he wanted to burst in there, take out the guards, and save Piera in a blaze of Glory, it was impossible.

Five guards on the walkways above, two guards in each corner of the room, another guard at the ends of each table. There was almost too many to count. Lowenthal didn't know how many there were, but he knew how many they would use if the whistle was blown on him. He swallowed, and had no choice but to wait for Piera, and the others to be moved to make room for others. Just how many had this guild have? There were dozens of low leveled players. Lowenthal didn't even think of how many other sessions or rotations that they had.

There was one bandit man of interest, who walked with determination. With resolve, with power, and control. The other guards simply saluted him as he walked past, not giving them a blink of an eye. He stopped, and started talking to another guard who saluted him, and ran off. The Boss turned, and allowed Lowenthal a decent look at his face. He sported an eye patch, most likely a vanity item to instil fear to the lower levels. And a more militaristic spot of clothes rather then the medieval look of the men around him. His hair was pulled up into a short pony tail, and he sported a beard to match his rugged appearance. If the man wasn't a veteran, Lowe would be surprised. The man then spoke.

"Alright! Good work!" He said, addressing the room. "You've all filled out your daily crafts, and have earned a break. Back to your rooms, the lot of you!" He barked, as he turned, and stepped away. The people at the tables had mixed feelings. Joy of not being having to work anymore, and disdain that they've been doing the same routine for god knows how long.Lowenthal slipped through the door, and worked his way into the shuffling crowd, somehow still not alerting the guards, or any of the players.

[Piera 0]

The players moved with almost machine precision. Movements that they had repeated countless times over. Pick up a material from the pile, cut or grind it, add it to the cauldron, create item, repeat. They all had that blank lifeless look on their faces too. Their thoughts were probably a million miles away, thinking of anything but crafting. The brunette hated it. She hated the efficiency, the lack of wonder. Even when she was pressed for time and hurrying to craft as many items as possible for a client or a big boss raid, she enjoyed making every single potion and crystal. She worked hard to perfect their recipes and create little special touches about them. She didn't do that anymore. At first it was to snub their captors. Refusing to give them her best. But it didn't matter. The items were still the same. They only cared about the end result. There wasn't any point. They were all either going to die here or be here until the game was cleared and they finally woke up from this nightmare.

Piera was just typing in a rudimentary label on a crystal she had made when she heard a now all too familiar voice crack out like a whip, causing her to flinch before finishing her task. Another day. Moving away from the alchemy table, the bespectacled young woman shuffled along to join the other crafters in their depressing conga line. She didn't even notice one of her best friends enter the mix. Passing over his face like all the others as she kept her head down and followed behind the person in front of her. The group was shepherded into the barracks where they all stayed under watchful guard. There was a mix of odd beds, mattresses and bedrolls with few blankets and even fewer pillows.

Piera went immediately to a spot she had claimed, a mattress in the corner that had a single pillow on it. Sitting down on the lumpy thing, the brunette leaned her back against the stone wall and stared at her hands with hooded eyelids. She was focusing on her HUD, reassuring herself that Lee was still alive as well as taking note of the amount of messages she had. The number hadn't moved in quite some time. Her friends had likely given up. Thought that she moved to the first floor or something perhaps. Who knew. She tried to think of what Lee would say to perk her up. Probably to stop being such a whiny little *****. But a smile didn't touch her lips, instead her heart gave a pang as her hands closed into loose fists, hugging the pillow to her chest. Even though the threadbare starter clothing that they had passed out to all the crafters was uncomfortable and chilly, Piera had still preferred to hang on to her pillow instead of trade it for a blanket or better bed with one of her fellow captives. She liked to pretend it was Lee or bunny she was holding. Sometimes it was the only thing that helped her get to sleep at night. Very very softly, the young woman began to whisper a song to herself, only meant for her ears, "You are my sunshine...my only sunshine...you make me happy, when skies are grey...you'll never know dear, how much I love you... Please don't take...my sunshine...away."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei saw a quick message pop up in front of him, which took him completely by surprise in the now dead silent hall. Tapping on the icon to open it, Jomei saw it was from Lowenthal. R U OK. Was all it read. He had been out of contact with him for awhile, so it made sense if he was worried for his friend. His finger hitting the reply button, Jomei quickly typed in 'yes' before sending it off. Once his vision was clear of data boxes, Jomei turned towards the stairs that led up to the guard's tower.

Murderer..

Jomei heard a voice.. or at least he thought he heard it. He quickly turned around, his body shaking. But why was he shaking?

That was another human life.. murderer...

He wanted to yell out. He wanted to know just who saw Jomei kill that other man. Did he, in fact, now have an orange cursor above his head? No.. that was impossible. The system did not make criminals out of 'justice kills.' Was this... was this his own conscience? 

Murderer

Jomei staggered and crashed into the side wall, sliding to the floor. His hands were on his head, clenching at his hair and the hood that covered it. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he kept himself from bawling to avoid being caught. It was true.. he could not deny it. Despite the fact that it was to save his friends...

He had just killed another human being.

Jomei took in a deep breath and pushed himself up from the floor, wiping the tears from his face. He still had a mission to do.. despite how much the guilt was eating away at him. He continued towards the winding stairs that led up to the guard's tower.