[PP-F9] Battling some Mandits... I mean Bandits... <<Bandit Camp>> (Seul, Grave)

[Lawfer 0]

Lawfer felt the heat of Vulcan City beat down upon him. He had become accustomed to the floors heat prior to this adventure but he still hadn't enjoyed the environment. Looking about town, he had met an NPC that had told him about some pesky bandits that had been ruining all the good hunting spots. The blue-eyed spearman had thought about trouncing the bandits solo, but knew that his EP would be an issue in the coming fight. As he raised his right hand, he scrolled through his guild database for possible companions for the quest. "I dont think I have actually worked with these guys before." He commented as he selected Seul and Grave.

Quote

'Hey Guys... Was going to go on the <<Bandit Camp>> quest. Could you lend me a hand, I figure we can drop them a lot faster if we work together. I'll be at the pub in Vulcan City, Let me know if you can help out.'

After hitting send, Lawfer ventured to the main pub that was just in front of the warp gate. Taking a seat inside, he felt instantly better now that the volcanic heat wasn't pounding on him. Ordering a beer and a glass of water, he waited for the response of his guild-mates.

[Seul 1]

Seeing as how there wasn't anything of particular interest going on, Seul felt it'd be a good day for a peaceful stroll around the starting city. "Eh...?" A message blinked in his inbox and to his surprise it was from none other than Lawfer; a fellow member of Knights of the Blood Oath. The black-haired player had complete the quest in question during his earlier days of traveling Aincrad, but thanks to the promise he made back then, he couldn't refuse to lend a hand when needed.

Quote

'Sure, Lawfer; I'll be there soon.'

With the message sent he made his way toward the warp gate.

...

Finding the pub was simple enough seeing as it was just outside of the warp gate in Vulcan. Seul made his way inside and upon spotting his guildmate, decided to take the seat opposite him. "Surprised I'm not last to arrive for once." He would say while leaning back in his chair.

[Lawfer 0]

(OOC: Grave is gonna meet up with us later in the thread. Just a heads up.)

As the 'ding' on his interface chimed, Lawfer opened the message. It was from Seul confirming that he was soming to help. A smile had crept its way across his face, with Seul's help, he would be able to finish the quest in no time. A brief time had passed, and his black haired companion had made his way to the meeting spot. "Nope, your the first to arrive. Thanks for helping out Seul! We should be able to mop things up quickly now that you are here." Pausing for a moment, he took a sip of his cold frothy beer. "Now we just need Grave to arrive and we can get this thing handled." Lawfer stated as he heard another 'ding'. "That's probably him now."

As Lawfer read the message, he couldn't help but shake his head. "Looks like Grave is going to be running a bit later than we expected. He knows where the camp is and asked if he could meet up with us there." Pausing for a moment, he took another long drink from his beer. "You need anything before we head out?" The blonde spearman asked as he finished off the beer he was drinking and then replied using his interface.

[Seul 1]

"Hopefully. I imagine those bandits shouldn't be any problem for me now." He would allow the information to sink in for a  moment before rising from is seat. "I don't need anything in particular at the moment, so I guess it's bandit bashing time." With his level finally at the requirement for the next tier of equipment, he was eager to test out his new set. The quest would definitely help with that and being the impatient person that he was he wanted nothing more than to go in and break a few bandit spines if it'd only serve to help him in end. "Can we head out now if you're ready?"

Edited April 1, 2016 by Seul

[Lawfer 0]

"Sounds good, lets get this show on the road then." The golden haired spear man confidentially stated as he stood from his chair and turned it to its proper position under the table. Pulling his hair back in a ponytail, he raised his hand and equipped his armor. It didn't offer much in terms of mitigation but it did add to his possible damage. As the pair made their way to the safe zone exit, Lawfer looked back to Seul. "Do you know the quickest route to get there?" Normally, the man would take point without hesitation, however with his low mitigation, he wanted to reduce the amount of aimless wandering to a minimum.

[Seul 1]

He shrugged while following Lawfer outside. True this wouldn't be his first time on the quest, but it had been a while since his the last round. His memory was failing him as other places in Aincrad from various floors flooded his mind. "I'm sure if we just keep going down this path we'll run into it eventually. There can't be that many bandit camps around here." He would say while tucking his hands into his pockets. Directions never were his strong point, but he was certain that with a little luck they'd be able to stumble into their target's hideout with ease. From their they'd just have to bust a few skulls open and carry on a little richer than before.

[Lawfer 0]

The golden haired dragoon looked to his partner as a laugh erupted. "Sounds good." With that the vagabond, picked up the pace, he was eager to finish up the quest and head back asap. "The mobs around here hit a little too hard for my liking. If you could soften them up, i'll be able to make the killing blow." The spearman stated as he looked at the ground not finding anything of interest. The dragoon had never been one to be lucky on the first try of material gathering, but on this path he figured 'why not try.' Looking over to Seul once more, "Hey Big guy, any reason why you choose to use a dagger and a shield as opposed to having your other hand free?" he queried.

<Material Gathering>
ID: 52964  LD:8=2=10 Fail

Edited March 24, 2016 by Lawfer

[Seul 1]

He hadn't expected the question, though it was true his choice of equipment was somewhat... Strange. Even so, it wasn't like there wasn't some sort of reasoning behind his methods. "Well, using a dagger requires me to get in close to enemies. If they're using a weapon with a longer reach than mine, there's a good chance I won't be able to get away in time to avoid getting hit. Using a shield lets me be a little riskier with the moves I can make since I'll be able to prevent some of the damage I might take otherwise through the use of the block skill." He thought his answer was a sensible one, but even if it wasn't, there wasn't much he could do about the skills he has already invested in. From a numbers perspective it was hard for many of the monsters on the available floors to injure him now and that was just the way he liked it. "How about you? Your spear is two handed after all."

[Lawfer 0]

The golden haired man found his partners reasoning to be sound, there was no point to leave the other hand free especially if he could ensure that he was protected at all times. "You're right. I choose a two handed weapon because i believed that there would be some range component to the game, and that would give me the leg up on most of the monsters that relied on charging in. But really the utility of the Spear was what intrigued me. Its got good damage output and I can Stun or damage a group of enemies. I liked the balance of having all the skills." Lawfer replied as he brushed back some of the loose hair that had fallen into his face. 

[Seul 1]

Seul listened as he idly continued the search for the bandit camp. Eventually he'd end up peaking around a pile of rocks and in to the side of what he could only describe as being the very place they were looking for. Tents lined the paths and armed men were wandering throughout as if on patrol for any travelers to rob. Though, through some stroke of luck, none of them managed to see the knight. "Well, I found it... When did Grave plan on showing up again? These guys all just have looks that say 'kill me' and I hate keeping them waiting." He whined while turning his attention back to blonde.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Seul

[Lawfer 0]

AS Lawfer looked towards the camp of bandits, he couldn't help but shake his head at the absence of the third member of the party. "Grave told me that he would be meeting us here... I've PM'ed him twice trying to see where he was and the guy still hasn't gotten back to me..." He replied to Seul, as he brushed back some of the stray strands of hair that had fallen forward. "I think if we wait much longer on him, the bandits will catch onto us. So let's wait back for 5 more minutes before we move." He paused momentarily taking in the volcanic scenery. "Anything longer than that, and we will just charge in. Do you have any aggro drawing skills?" He asked, he knew his partner had a shield but he didn't know much else.

[Grave 0]

I grumbled as I strolled out of Vulcan City, still bothered by the sweltering heat of the Floor. My map was open, with Lawfer's name selected beside it in my friends list, showing his position on the floor. It was a handy tool, being able to track friends, especially since I had been preoccupied with Cooking duties while being invited on a date to kill some bandits with two friends from the Knights. It took quite a while of walking to actually find them; what had they done to pass the extended time? Shaking my head, I approached the two players quietly, before clapping them both on the shoulder, hopefully scaring the [censored] out of them. Quietly I exclaimed, "Guess who made it!" So as not to alert the patrols of the bandit camp ahead. "Good job on finding it! Makes my job easier; knock some heads together and that is it!"
 

[Seul 1]

Fortunately he did pick up the Howl skill after hitting level 25 and this instance would be perfect for a nice test run of his ability to tank. "You could say something like that..." He replied, wanting to keep it under wraps until the right time. Ad because Grave decided to sneak up on them. He flinched slightly from the sudden clap on the shoulder but quickly brushed it aside as if it hadn't happed at all. "Nice of you to show up Grave!" With their team finally assembled it was time to get the operation underway. Seeing as how his mitigation was high he figured it'd be alright to just charge in. With his shield raised he ran into plain sight of all the bandits currently in the tiny camp and activated Howl; drawing their attention while simultaneously catching the mobs off guard. None of their attacks manged to get past his shield this turn and with all of their backs turned to where Lawfer and Grave were standing, he simply nodded in their direction.

Party:

• [H: 3] Seul | 100/100 HP | 25/25 EN | Howl: +3 Hate
• [H: 0] Lawfer | ??/?? HP | ??/?? EN
• [H: 0] Grave | ??/?? HP | ??/?? EN

Enemy:

1. Bandit | 70/70 HP | 20 DMG
2. Bandit | 70/70 HP | 20 DMG
3. Bandit | 70/70 HP | 20 DMG
4. Bandit | 70/70 HP | 20 DMG

Rolls:

• ID: 55587
• BD: N/A
• MD: 3 (Miss)

Edited April 6, 2016 by Seul

[Lawfer 0]

"[CENSORED] it Grave!" He exclaimed as he turned and almost elbowed the pugilist. "Well at least your here now." Lawfer stated as he slung his Lawbreaker from over his right shoulder. As the four bandits rushed in to attack Seul, Lawfer watched and waited for his turn. He had planned on wiping them all out if he could, but his current damage limited his abillity to do so. "Switch!" Lawfer stated confidently as his halberd began to glow red. Stepping in front of Seul, he released <Trip Expand>. As his Lawbreaker swung, the momentum carried him, spinning him multiple times before coming to a rest. "Grave! Finish them off!" Lawfer yelled as he fell back behind Seul once more.

Party:

• [H: 3] Seul | 100/100 HP | 25/25 EN |
• [H: 1] Lawfer | 96/96  HP | 24/24 EN l -12EN <<Trip Expand>>
• [H: 0] Grave | ??/?? HP | ??/?? EN

Enemy:

1. Bandit | 16/70 HP | 20 DMG l -54DMG
2. Bandit | 16/70 HP | 20 DMG l -54 DMG
3. Bandit | 16/70 HP | 20 DMG l -54DMG
4. Bandit | 16/70 HP | 20 DMG l -54DMG

Rolls:

• ID: 55596
• BD: 9 8+1Crit= 9*6=54DMG AOE

Edited April 6, 2016 by Lawfer

[Grave 0]

I watched as our off-tank jumped into the fray and quickly hollered for the bandits' attention; as if he would require it. They would all be dead before they could lay a hand upon the shield and dagger user. Need an explanation as to why this was the case? Allow me to walk you throw it.

Point A: Lawfer leaped in after Seul had taken the aggro, lashing out with a powerful AOE Sword Art, slashing through their HP in multiple spinning slices. He then called to me to finish them, and thus we are led to Point B.

Point B: I leaped out from my hiding place and placed a hand to Lawfer's back as he was crouched in his Sword Art's post motion, and vaulted over the Dragoon, landing a single foot on the earth before kicking into the air, my right leg glowing a blinding white, and I slashed it across the four bandits surrounding us, bisecting them all and shattering them into shards of data. A powerful blast of wind followed and scattered the tiny blue crystals as they floated away, and I landed in a graceful crouch. "Yeah, that Howl was kind of pointless, sorry to break it to you..."

ID: 55692 | BD: 8 (6 + 2)

Sword Art Used: Tornado Kick - 8 x 1 x 6 = 48 DMG + AOE (12 NRG)

Party
Grave: 88/88 HP | 10/22 NRG | D: 8  | M: 9 | T: 7 | A: 2 | E: 2
[H: 3] Seul: 100/100 HP | 25/25 NRG | ???
[H: 1] Lawfer: 96/96 HP | 12/24 NRG | ???

Enemies
Bandit x4: -32/70 HP | 20 DMG

LD: 17 = +4 Bandit Goodie Bag

Edited April 7, 2016 by Grave

[Seul 1]

He held back the urge to stab Grave as the last of the bandits died before them. As if he needed to be reminded how terrible he was with AoE, the last comment only served to pour more salt on the wound. He cracked a wry smile while placing his weapon back in its sheathe and turned on his heel, preparing to walk away. "Yeah, well. It's better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it, as they say... Next time you can take your own hits though and let me know how that goes." Though he had walked at his point the battle still weighed heavy on his mind. Why did he bother showing up in the first place? At least Lawfer was able to complete the mission and with that, his work was done. Maybe it was time to start working on some other skills. No one was taking him seriously as a tank despite having the mitigation to fill the role and if he had to be subjected to another incident like this he was likely to snap.

[Lawfer 0]

The spearman watched as Grave, the pugilist, finished off the remaining health of the four bandits. That's when the bickering started between the two of them. "Grave... Act your age. Both you and I know that our AOE attacks burn way too much energy to not have a back up plan. If Seul wasn't here we could have lost a considerable amount of health." The blonde spearman stated with authority. He wasn't one to speak down or bicker about ridiculous things, but he didn't enjoy listening to his team fight amongst themselves. "I personally dont like having my health dip into the yellow range, so thanks pulling the aggro Seul, and that was a good follow up attack Grave. Now lets get out of this volcanic hell hole." He finished as he motioned for the two to follow him back to town.

[Grave 0]

I blinked as I turned to face Seul, who proceeded to give a cold response and begin walking away. I... I did not mean it like that... I choked inside, not realising a simple comment made in jest had come off as an insult. To add more chain links to the steel ball of guilt Lawfer told me to act my age and lectured me on the fact that without Seul's howl, we would have taken damage if we missed. Although all was quiet from me on the outside, within my body my head was pounding, my lungs were contracting and expanding irregularly and my heart threatened to rip out of my chest like some alien parasite. I morbidly followed the two as we left to head back to the town, and I quickly caught up to Seul, standing beside him. "I-I am very sorry Seul... that was only meant to be a joke, I did not mean to actually insult you..." I apologized to the dagger user, my eyes quivering as I looked to him. "That was poor attitude from my, I apologize..."

[Seul 1]

He was taken back a bit by the sudden apology. Maybe he had overreacted slightly, but what could he do now other than say just that. "Hey, uh... Don't worry about it man; I would have gotten over it in like ten minutes anyway. And I may have overreacted just a little." He felt that the interaction had turned awkward from his actions, but he'd simply brush it off while looking toward Lawfer. "What're you planning to do now? That quest was finished up way faster than I expected it to and there's still the whole rest of the day left. Though I'm probably just going to sleep."

[Lawfer 0]

Watching the two interact and apologize, made the spear man smirk a bit. Reconciliations always seemed nice, but were seldom not awkward. But none-the-less there was a certain peace about it. As Seul caught up, Lawfer turned his head back to his dagger clad teammate. "Sleep does sound appealing... But I think i'm going to try to level up a bit. I'm really close to getting my next rank in First Aid, so I figure i should just get that before heading to the pub. You're welcome to meet up later if you want. The 7th Heaven Tavern in Nimbus has some good brews. Its my treat because you helped me out on the quest." Turning his attention to Grave, "You're welcome to join to Grave." He commented as the silver haired pugilist nodded.