[PP-F8] The Trees Have Eyes [KotB] [Complete]

[Hirru 0]

The Trees Have Eyes
[Knights of the Blood Oath]
[48 Hour post limit set / Order set by initial posts]

The Grand Forest

A large amount of trees and foliage that would encompass the entirety of the eighth floor of Aincrad.  The trees grew taller than most of the known mountainous terrain of the lower floors, which were known to be quite close to the ceiling of the next floor.  The only thing that was taller than the trees on this floor was the very labyrinth itself.  Below them was a dark undergrowth where light could seldom find a home, as the canopies from the trees would capture most of the light.  Small pockets were all that would suffice on the ground, and that was where most mobs reside.

Then, there was the settlements of the floor, that lived in between the two.  Living in cobbled together tree houses, the denizens of the eighth floor stayed away from the dangers that lived below them.  Rope bridges connected houses with some even extending out to different settlements, but those were rarely used.  Most people that came to this floor take to the surface below, as that is where the prey reside.  

Leaning into one of the rope bridges that overlooked the primitive elevator ride down to the surface, a familiar jade haired individual with awaited his teammates.  He had recently obtained the Reveal modification to the Search skill.  This would allow him to find special sub-dungeons better than before.  With that, he was tasked as the new dungeon hunter. 

Edited June 20, 2016 by Hirru

[Lawfer 0]

Having just teleported to the 8th floor, the Scarlet Dragoon made his way to the designated meeting place for the rest of the squad. Turning his head, he surveyed the area. "Well if it Isn't Hirru! How are you doing buddy?" He asked joyfully as he began to make his way towards the man. "Man... You would think the higher and higher we go on this floor, the brighter and brighter it would get.... But that is just wishful thinking I guess." He stated as he raised his right hand, selecting his inventory, he equipped his Lancer set of equipment. "I'm ready to go! Have you seen anyone else from the Boodoath?" He asked.

[Xion 0]

Xion sighed as he stepped out of the blue light of the teleport gate on the eigth floor of Aincrad, the blonde taking a second to brush a couple of stray locks from his face. "Another day on the grind I guess" the teen muttered as he began to walk to the agreed meeting point, giving the 6 foot plus tall NPCs a wide berth as he made  his way to his fellow Knights, soon spotting Hirru and Lawfer. 

 

"Hirru, good to see you my friend" the tank said with a smile as he approached the two, quickly remembering to equip his CB half cloak. Neither Opal or Mack was present, so he decided to not wear a full cloak. "And Lawfer, I hope you're doing well. Is anybody else going to be joining us?" He asked

[Macradon 0]

Macradon came walking on the 8th floor, there was supposed to be a dungeon hunt that Hirru was standing for. Macradon would join as it would be a good idea to become stronger to protect and serve for the Guild. Fully clad in his guild armor, his white and red metal clang with each step he took, coming closer and closer towards the area where they were supposed to bundle together at. "At least I'm not too late" he thought to himself as he would approach the group of 3 that would now become the good party of 4, a solid number. Wearing all his armor, as well as his sallet helmet, nothing but some of his lower jaw and the guild's color on his armor was shown. "Good to see you all" he would as he came closer, pulling up the visor on his helmet so everybody would be able to get a good view of each other.

Stats:

Spoiler

- Macradon -
Health: 161
Energy: 39
Mitigation: 66
Damage: 13
Accuracy: +1
Regen: 1 (Regenerates 18 health when hit on a roll of CD 6+)
Recovery: 2 (Recovers 2 Energy on a roll of CD 10+)

- Skills -
Two handed Straight Sword: Rank 5 (+5 Damage)
- Finesse on First rank Sword Arts
- Precision (+1 Accuracy)
Heavy Armor: Rank 3 (+ 12 Mitigation)
- Athletics: +5 Health, +1 Damage
Charge: Rank 2 (+2 Damage on first attack)
Fighting Spirit: +1 Hate generation
Search and Detect: Rank 2

- Equipment -
Scarecrow's Sickle: +6 Damage, 1 Bleed
Blood Crusader's Halfplate: (+ 54 Mitigation)
Blood Crusader's Bracers: (+2 Recovery, +1 en (Regenerates 18 health on a CD of 10+ after getting hit))

 

[Hirru 0]

It seemed that those that wanted to get stronger were ones that he knew would join.  The hunter nodded to each while saying that he will explain things when everyone is here.  The Obelisk, Xion; The Scarlet Dragoon, Lawfer; and Macradon were drawn to find the next sub-dungeon on the eighth floor.  Before long, they would stay there while the hunter surveyed the area.  Soon, he would make an about face towards them, (He did a 180 degree turn in a military fashion) and would look to the team.

"Blades!  We're going into the dark depths of the Great Forest to find a sub-dungeon, and raid it, for the good of the Knights of the Blood Oath.  With our current team, I believe that we will strike fear in the enemy, and score well in 'loot'.  Remember that even with high rated gear, that bad situations can still happen.  If that ever comes to pass, we will have each others back.  I have plenty of potions, and sell teleportation crystals at my caravan, if you think we'll need them.  However, I do believe that we will be fine."

The hunter would state as he looked to everyone that came along.  He was happy that all of them were high levels, or had fairly good stats, but he wished that some of the lower levels had come too.  They needed training more than everyone else, but that would have to come at a later day.

"As for formation order, I would like Xion to start us off.  After him will be Lawfer, and I will be after him using my Search and Reveal to find anything in particular.  Macradon, you will hold up the rear, in case we are flanked from behind."

"Any questions before we set out?"

[Macradon 0]

"I'm fine with this" Macradon said. He were to keep the rear safe and take care of flankers. He would look through his inventory to be sure that everything was as it was supposed to be. Everything was how he wanted it to be. Taking out a vial with some liquid, he would smear it all over his sword, adding additional damage output to his already strong sword. He would resheathe his khopesh demonic sword and make sure all his armor was perfectly fit. He made sure that his visor was taken down now that they were supposed to head out into the big forest. His armor strapped on properly and his sword nicely on his back. "I'm ready to head out" he said.

<+4 Damage potion consumed>

[Lawfer 0]

"Sounds like a solid plan!" The Scarlet Dragoon replied as he raised his right hand and skimmed through his inventory one more time before they set out. "I'm ready to go as well." He commented again as he looked over to Macradon and patted the Templar on the back. "Good to see you again!" He continued, "Ok guys, Let's set out." With that, he began to walk towards the gate of the safe zone. "If i recall, I saw some dug out caverns to the north, I think its best we head that way. If there are no objections." He stated as he pulled down his half visor from his helm. As the visor fell into place, his vision was changed to that of scarlet from the tinted eye pieces.

[Xion 0]

(Sorry for the late reply, GCSEs!...yay...) 

 

Xion nodded to Hirru as he explained his plan, it seemed sound, and the tank ahd no reason to think that Hirru would lead them astray, no, he trusted the hunter too much. "Alright then, fall in behind me" the blonde tank said as he equipped his spear and shield, the dark metal of his equipment forming an impressive barrier, one which would not move until Xion himself fell. "Let's hope that we don't encounter too many mobs before we fight the dungeon, I never like entering those things on less than max HP..." the said as he walked. 

[Hirru 0]

With everyone in agreement, they set out into the dark woods of the eighth floor.  From an assumption of Lawfer's, they would be heading towards some caverns that were set inside the very trees themselves.  They would set out in the order that the hunter described from before with Xion leading the way.  Lawfer and Hirru would make up the middle making the dragoon give directions to the hollow where he thought that the cavern was, while the hunter would search for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.  Macradon would be holding up the rear, in case that they were ambushed on all flanks.

[You can summon monsters whenever.  Just keep it reasonable]

Edited April 29, 2016 by Hirru

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would follow along as he was the rear keeper, making sure the group did not get flanked by any mobs, because that could become a dangerous situation. He would sigh as the big forest began to get thicker and everything became more dense, a lot more difficult to see where everything was. Trying to scout through the forest's deep green leaves, Macradon's Search and Detect would reveal some of the mobs that were present. 8 treants were here, disguised as the trees themselves, Macradon would inform the others "I can see and sense 8 treants nearby, they don't seem to be hostile yet, so let's try to get by them with care" he said.

[Lawfer 0]

"You felt those too?" the spearman asked as he looked around. He too felt the lingering gaze of the monsters that were wrought about the field. "I think it would be best for Xion to draw them out. Then we can clean up after him." He commented as he looked to the tank. "What do you say Xion? Think you can draw them out so we can make some quick work of them?" He asked as he removed his spear from its resting spot on his shoulder and spun it in his hand. "Who's ready to do some work?" He asked the group, as he trailed behind the tank, ready to clear the mobs that he could in a fell swoop.

[Macradon 0]

"I don't see a reason to slay them, other than loot of course. But if you want to fight them, go for it" he said, knowing that the 8 treants could be a problem for the group. Having his sword sheathed on his back, he had near to nothing to worry about, as hew was quite certain that the knights would be able to take care for themselves, but Macradon could always jump in, just in case anything would happen and threaten the group. Sighing as he was sure that nothing else than dungeon hunting was what would get Macradon pumped.

[Hirru 0]

It seemed that they were not the only ones that were sensing some enemies ahead.  Eight or so normal size treants were hidden among the trees, as were their customary camouflage.  They were known to reach out there branches and grab unsuspecting travelers, to which they would either drop from a fair height, or crush under their heavy trunks and roots.  The best way to combat them was to take out their rooted feet before they could unearth themselves, while keeping distance from their swaying arms.

"Let's be careful, and go around.  I think I can sense something to the other direction, but I'm not sure."

[Lawfer 0]

Taking a deep breath in, Lawfer slowly released it in hopes of focusing. He had spent a considerable amount of time in this floor prior to this quest and was well aware of the tricks that the trents played on lesser experienced players. "Hirru, I trust your lead my friend." He stated, as he looked over his shoulder and placed his hand on the grip of his Highwind. Trents aside, what they were looking for was a precarious dungeon, one that laid hidden somewhere in the area of this floor. "So Mr. JAde hunter, you see anything resembling a dungeon around here or what?" He asked with a sort of playful tone. He was serious about finding the elusive dungeon, but he couldn't let on too much more than that.

[Hirru 0]

True to his senses, the hunter felt the ping long before it could be shown in his vision.  A large, though dead, tree stood in a grove near to their position.  Making a gesture to follow him, the hunter moved through the undergrowth into the clearing that made up the small grove.  It was weird to see such an area within one of the more heavily forest dense floors in Aincrad, but he wasn't going to complain.

"It looks like the dungeon is within the dead tree over there."

Sure enough, when they ventured closer the party would notice a large door in the rotting trunk.  By design, it looked like it had a lock mechanism that had 10 indentations in it.  Every one of them looked like leaves, which would probably mean that they needed to kill someone to get them.

"Alright, looks like we have to fight those treants, anyway.  They have the keys to this door."

[ID: 61128]
[LD: 20 (15+3+2)] Intermediate Dungeon found
[0 / 10 Mobs slain]

((Just use your current stats, cause no one remembers what we had back when I made this.  @Macradon You're up))

Edited June 9, 2016 by Hirru

[Macradon 0]

Macradon sighed as he wasn't in the mood to slay innocent mobs, especially not non-hostile treants. But Hirru found a sub-dungeon, or at least something that seemed like the entrance to one, and it was in need of keys from the treants. Macradon would turn around and face the treants, drawing his sword from his back and prepared himself. With a single movement from his foot, his <Charge> skill activated and shot him to the treants, taking them down with quick succession. His attack were three strikes that angled themselves to his the treants and take them down. Macradon would quickly grab the 4 keys that were left behind the dead treants before the others would retaliate upon him. Macradon would take 6 blows directly at himself, but his armor took nearly all of the damage. "Next!" he said as he quickly recovered from the flurry of blows and would get out of the way for the others to attack.

ID: 61132
BD: 6+1=7, hit.
CD: 5, no proc.
MD: 7, hit. 6x(24-66=1)=6 DMG.
Sword art used: Eruption 3x1x19-8=46 AOE DMG
Mobs slain/Keys gathered: 4/10

- Party List -
[2] Macradon 155/161 HP || 66 MIT || 17 DMG || 39/39 NRG
(Add yourself in)

<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT

Edited June 9, 2016 by Macradon

[Lawfer 0]

Immediately after Hirru had located the dungeon, it seemed like the mobs descended without warrant. Creeping in from every direction the party had been surrounded even while trying to be careful. "Well doesn't that just outright suck..." Lawfer commented as he watched the Blades commander leap forward into the fray dispatching the mobs without remorse and with the simplest of ease. "Guess that means I'm up now..." he commented, while turning to the mobs and stepping forward. As he pulled back his spear, he received a branch to the back of the interrupting his action. "Ah [censored]!"

ID:60113
BD:1
CD:-
MD:6
Sword art used:miss

<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT

Edited June 9, 2016 by Lawfer

[Hirru 0]

Wasting no time in gathering the recommended keys, the party set upon the oncoming treants that seemed to sense that they were on their way.  The living trees didn't seem to do much towards the party, as the heavily armored and aggressive style of Macradon had pulled their attention towards him.  Without a single moments hesitation, everyone had their arts glowing within their weaponry.  Soon, most of the treants were destroyed, save for two that would have been taken care of by the Scarlet Dragoon, had he not lost his sword art mid swing.

"Just those two, and we can continue."

ID: 61134
BD: 8+2=10, hit.
CD: 1, no proc.
LD: 17+3, +4 Mats (Non-combat rules)
Sword art used: Vertical Square 4x1x11= 44-8 = 36 AOE
Mobs slain/Keys gathered: 8/10

- Party List -
[2] Macradon 155/161 HP || 66 MIT || 17 DMG || 33/39 NRG
[0] Lawfer 144/144 HP || 57 MIT || 12 DMG || 34/36 NRG
[1] Hirru 116/116 HP || 25 MIT || 11 DMG || 21/29 NRG (-8 NRG)

<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 0/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT

Edited June 9, 2016 by Hirru

[Lawfer 0]

"I got them!" Lawfer yelled, eager to make up for his critical miss from a earlier. Activating <Charge> he dashed past Macradon and unleashed <Hellish Twice>. With two beautifully timed slashes, the two remaining treants were shattered into purple-blue polygonal pixels. As the two remaining keys fell from their freshly destoryed bodies. The blonde bent over, picked them up, then tossed them to Hirru. "Ok Mr. Jade hunter, I believe it is time for us to take on the sub dungeon boss and get out of this overgrown forest." He stated with a slight smirk. All that was left was to finish it off, and gather the treasure that laid in wait.

ID: 61416
BD: 6+3=9, hit.
LD: 3
Sword art used: Hellish Twice 12+3= 15*4= 60-8 = 36 AOE
Mobs slain/Keys gathered: 10/10

- Party List -
[2] Macradon 155/161 HP || 66 MIT || 17 DMG || 33/39 NRG
[0] Lawfer 144/144 HP || 57 MIT || 12 DMG || 27/36 NRG (-8/+1)
[1] Hirru 116/116 HP || 25 MIT || 11 DMG || 21/29 NRG (-8 NRG)

<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT
<Minor Treant> 32/32 HP || 24 DMG || 8 MIT

Edited June 11, 2016 by Lawfer

[Hirru 0]

( @Macradon Give it a good one! )

"Alright, let's see what this sub-dungeon has to offer!"

The hunter said after the last of the treants were taken care of.  Taking all ten leaves from everyone, the hunter proceeded to insert each one into the slots on the door.  On the last one, a sound of something unlocking came from within and the door started to open.  Not long from when it start that a thick, dark mist billowed from the opening.  Without any warning, the door broke open to something lunging out at the hunter.  He quickly jumped to the side, behind a tree root, to escape the oncoming attack.

"Whoa!"

With the creature in the open, all could see that it was a large arachnid that seemed to be imprisoned within the dead tree, and they let it out.  It seemed to be battle torn, as there were many scars along its chitinous hide.  It's maw quivered every so often, with that same dark miasma spilling from it.

While behind cover, the hunter could do nothing to get back to his allies, instead choosing to incapacitate one of its legs.  A quick eight pronged sword art cut down one of the legs before going into hiding again.  Some kind of shriek erupted from it, telling us that it did not like that.  It would then turn its attention to the root that the hunter was hiding behind.

"Its back is turned!  Hit it hard!"

ID: 61419
BD: 10+2=12, Crit. +2
MD: 4
Sword art used: Howling Octave 11+2= 13*8= 104 DMG

- Party List -
[0] Macradon 155/161 HP || 66 MIT || 17 DMG || 33/39 NRG
[0] Lawfer 144/144 HP || 57 MIT || 12 DMG || 27/36 NRG (-8/+1)
[2] Hirru 116/116 HP || 25 MIT || 11 DMG || 14/29 NRG (+1/-8 NRG)

<Accursed Arachnid> 376/480 HP || 56 DMG

Edited June 11, 2016 by Hirru