[PP-F5] Dead in the Water, Kinda <<Blood in the Sand>>

[Birdie 0]

Okay, that's.. a lot stronger than I'd anticipated.. Birdie grimaced over the stats of the beast she'd sought out to slay, her eyes especially widened at the colossal damage stat it boasted. If you told the woman months ago that she would be heading out to floors higher than the first or second and seeking out bosses all on her own, she'd probably call you a lunatic for thinking you could see into the future - and of course, she wouldn't believe you.

Now, stood on the borders of a town named Armadillo, she remembered how much she'd overestimated her first boss encounter and underestimated her second - if the law of averages truly existed, this time the field boss would be just as powerful as she predicted it to be.

Setting up a global announcement on the town's notice board, there was little else she could do other than sit down by a pile of wooden crates and wait, hoping that somebody would respond.

Quote

Hello!

Nearby Armadillo on Floor 5 and feel like taking out the Sand Shark boss?

Swing by the notice board, look for a player with blue hair.

~Birdie

 @Lowenthal

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal pocketed the small bag of materials, a small consolation of walking home rather than simply teleporting there. The boss meetings had concluded and it was just a matter of time before the raid teams were set up, and he'd go out to the front lines and continue the fighting. He was now on the fifth floor, one of his least favorite floors seeing as it was a massive desert. He ran his hand through his hair, and opened his menu to see if there was anything he could do on the floor before he left. His eyes caught a message on the player bounty board, seeking help with a field boss. He figured it couldn't be that bad, and decided to at the least check it out. In Armadillo Lowenthal looked for the person with blue hair, half expecting it be Calrex. But when he did notice the blue fluff, he called out.

@Birdie?" Lowenthal asked aloud. He had met the teen in her shop the day before, where he had purchased his rings. "You looking for help with the Sand Shark?" Lowenthal asked, inquisitively. He was more than happy then help the woman if she needed it. And Lowenthal couldn't remember if he had fought the sand shark before or not, but if it was on the fifth floor, it couldn't be all that bad.

[Birdie 0]

Minutes passed as player after player waltzed by, the hope that one might stop and approach her ever present in the young woman's mind. The announcement didn't seem to be picking up steam, it seemed, and as another potential encounter passed by without a peep, her hopes shattered then and there. It's just like last time, except I was lucky that Zandra even showed up. Waiting an ho-

Interrupting her thoughts, a player called her name.

"@Lowenthal?" The voice was still quite fresh in her mind, having spoken to the red head just a day before. Birdie stood up from the boxes she perched on and stretched her arms, searching for the body the voice belonged to. "You saw the announcement? Yeah, I thought it'd be a nice way to gain some quick SP - it turns out the Sand Shark isn't exactly a slouch." As embarrassing as it was to admit, her stats weren't the best for a quest such as this. "What're you doing on the fifth floor? Is there another quest nearby?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, they're a few field bosses that are like that. I think the Banshee on floor ten still packs a whollop." Lowenthal said, agreeing with Birdies view on the Sand Shark's stats. "And no actually, I was just passing by. Was on my way home to floor eleven, and decided to pick up a few things along the way." He said, lightly kicking the sand at his feet. He was about to ask Birdie what she was doing on the fifth floor as well, before he put two and two together. "So, @Birdie." Lowenthal said, repeating the name into his mind. "What brings you out adventuring? It's not to often a shopkeep comes out of thier shop, let alone all the way up to the fifth floor." He asked.

[Birdie 0]

Birdie's eyebrows lowered, trying to remember what possessed her to venture up so high. "A friend pointed me to a quest on this floor. I guess they hadn't taken it themselves because they're weaker than me, and I'm pretty sure I can't solo this thing." She shrugged her shoulders, it wasn't an important detail. "As for why I'm here right now, I'm not sure I could stand being held up in that shop any longer. Do you know how boring it is to stand around and do nothing for like, hours?" She closed her eyes and huffed, shaking her head a little.

A finger grazed her lips in thought, looking to @Lowenthal. "Hey, if you're not in any hurry to get home, would you like to assist me with this boss? It's probably nothing compared to the mobs on the higher floors, but I'll throw in a discount with your next purchase?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal shuddered, remembering his job back in the real world. "Yeah, I can see why that's a tad bit, exhausting." He said, agreeing with the woman. She then asked him if he could spare the time to assist her with the boss. Lowenthal scratched his head in a bit of thought. He did want to get home, but to what? A woman who barely spoke to him anymore. He let out a sigh, and gave a smile. "I'm in no hurry @Birdie. I can give ya' a hand. What's a shark boss gonna do against a front liner?" He asked, laughing. He opened his menu and sent the woman a request to join her party. That way he could keep a better track of her health bar, in case things got out of hand. 

[Birdie 0]

Birdie released an excited grin. Her goal of securing some assistance with the boss turned out to be a success, procuring the help of Frontliner no less! "Wait, really? You'd do that for me?" Having fully expected @Lowenthal to be busy with important high-level things, his willingness struck her as a surprise. The request came through and she swiftly hit the accept button, glancing to his name in the corner of her UI. "T-thanks! You don't know how this means to me," she spoke, fumbling with her menu to select the quest. "It's one step closer to the Frontlines. Only like.. a hundred more left." She huffed, the number seemed so high.

Turning on the spot, she took a step forwards and glanced back over her shoulder. "The boss shouldn't be too far out, it's in some place called.. El Perdido?" She shrugged. "Are you ready to head out now? Or did you have more business in Armadillo?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed the back of his neck. "It's nothing, really." He said, trying to be humble about the whole thing. He couldn't help but smile along with the woman. Her smile made him smile, and helping her was a nice feeling. He couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment as he saw that @Birdie was already in a guild. She had promise, and if she showed this much determination with a small quest, then she'd definitely make a great front liner. "El Perdido, eh?" He mused. "Doesn't ring any bells, I don't think I've been on this quest before. Odd." He said, looking at the detail sof the quest. "Well, I'll let you lead the way. Ladies first." Lowenthal said, chuckling slightly.

[Birdie 0]

"Hm, that is odd.." She brought one foot past the other, stepping into a steady pace as they walked across town. Floor 5 was warm - warmer than Birdie had imagined - yet it wasn't a scorching heat, and the weather was quite manageable within the reaches of town. Diving into her menu, she opened the equipment tab and unequipped the Azure Shawl, dragging into an open inventory slot.

"Ladies first; men last?" she retorted, a light-hearted smirk befalling Birdie as the borders of Armadillo neared. Manned by men with scimitars dressed in desert garbs, there was little trouble as the guards nodded to the two passing players and allowed them to move on.

'El Perdido must be this whole desert then,' she mused, her thoughts converting into words. "It could be that this place was renamed with a patch?" She glanced sidelong to @Lowenthal. "Sounds like something the creator would do- I mean, he locked up us in here, why not stir some confusion while he's at it." She rolled her eyes, huffing weakly.

The map indicated they'd barely moved an inch. 'This is gonna take a while..' Remembering the conversation with Lowenthal a day prior, Birdie gaze up at him by her side. "So, whatcha been up to?" 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal strecthed his arms behind his head as the two walked. His white boots shifting the sands as he did, leaving behind a distinctive trail behind him. He could feel the heat from the su n beat down upon him, but thankfully his white clothing made it a bit more bearable. "I haven't been up to much." The sandy haired warrior said to @Birdie. "I mean, they're hasn't been much to do. Sure's there's quests to do, or materials to farm. I just haven't got the patience nor the willpower to keep doing repetitive things over and over again." He admitted. "There's a thought. What if Kayaba was watching our every move? How bored he must be. I mean, I get bored playing the damn game from time to time. Imagine what it's like watching people play it." Lowenthal jested.

[Birdie 0]

"Oh god, imagine all the weird crap he'd get to watch?" An image of the creator sitting in front of a wall of monitors floated around in her mind. "You can't blame him if he watches us though- I mean, I don't see how else he'd learn fix up all the bugs and exploits. Oh, unless the Cardinal deals with that? Hm.."

She loosed a shrug, moving back to @Lowenthal's prior point. "Yeah, SAO is just a game; in the end everything will just become repetitive, and then it's a grind to get out of this stupid world." Birdie's gaze rose to the sands ahead. "Hopefully you guys find some new quests on the next floor, whenever it's actually discovered that is."

The desert looked to stretch on for an infinity. If she didn't know any better, the girl would've sworn they were being teleported back every ten steps they took, though the map indicated they were still moving. "Oh~ sorry for being nosy, but how did it go with the girl?" She remembered him mentioning it the day prior and glanced towards him, an innocently curious look befalling her. "Did she like the ring?"

Edited October 7, 2016 by Birdie

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal laughed. "Nawh, he probably just relaxes all day and lets his interns do all the work for him. Probably says that he comes up with all the ideas too. Hell, I bet he even didnt make this game. He probably just threw a bunch of money at it and then said its his." Lowenthal said to @Birdie. She then mentioned the probability of new quests. "Yeah, thats something Ive noticed. That sometimes new quests open up on lower floors after a new one has been unlocked. Those are kinda cool." He said, meaning the newer elf and treant quest.

Lowebthal rubbed his neck again, before hesitantly speaking. "I actually haven't given it to her yet." He admitted. He hadnt seen Shizuka in days. He didnt know why he was avoiding her, but he was. "And its not that nosy. An artist always wants to have thier work crtiqued. I know I do." Lowenthal said laughing.

He stopped laughing to then ask Birdie a question. "So, what guild are you in? I don't reconize that insigna." Lowenthal said, trying to make out its details.

(Forgive me pls, phone post whilst at work)

[Birdie 0]

“Woh, don’t let him catch you hearing that,” she advised him. “The guy probably has an intern watching us right now – he’ll boost the Land Shark’s stats just because you figured him all out.” A smile broke out onto Birdie's lips. As much as she believed Kayaba was keeping a watchful gaze over the players, she held doubts that he cared all that much about them in the first place.

Birdie sighed, mostly out of relief. “Thanks for understanding, it actually kills me when I don’t find out whether people like what they ordered.”

Then the question of her insignia came, and she brought her eyes up to the Frontliner. “Oh, it belongs to the Celestial Ascendants. I joined it a couple of weeks ago; we’re a new guild that focuses on developing low-level players’ strengths and skills.” She rolled her eyes a little at how intense her words had sounded. “It’s fancy talk for a guild that boosts low levelled players, basically.” She brought her eyes to the emptiness ahead. “It’s a lot of fun, though, and the people are actually kind of awesome. One of the Paladins is a Frontliner – I think Itzal said his name was Hikoru?”

She glanced to the man’s own insignia, not quite catching which guild he belonged to. “I’ve seen that emblem before… you’re part of one of the main Frontline guilds, right?”

Edited October 8, 2016 by Birdie

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal laughed. "Let him, I'll beat that shark any day!" He declared, enjoying @Birdie's company. It wasn't often that Lowenthal enjoyed walking the desert for once. And Kayaba could go to hell for all he cared. If Kayaba was watching them then good for him. "Wonder what the police are doing right now? Like, are they looking for him? And if they find him, will they demand to have him release us?" Lowenthal thought aloued. "Kayaba probably has a dead man's switch, where if he doesn't do something in an alotted time period, it'll lock us in here indefinitely or just wipe out a good chunk of players." And somehow, even in the mass desert, Lowenthal gave himself a chill. "Sheesh, that's a bit spooky." He said, wanting to change the subject now.

"Celestial Ascendants, huh?" Lowenthal said, repeating the name and committing it to memory. "Can't say I've heard of them. But Hikoru I have. I actually met him when he was a lower level. Kinda helped him grow up a bit, gave him his current unique skill and the title of 'Master of Shadows'." Lowenthal said, reminiscing a bit of his old pupil. "But you'd be correct. I'm currently Vice-Commander of Knights of the Blood Oath." He said proudly. Although he was made that only recently, he still respected the position none the less. He then wiped the sweat from his brow. "That boss coming up anytime soon? Heat's starting to get to me a bit." Lowenthal said, not liking the dry heat.

[Birdie 0]

Birdie let out a smile at @Lowenthal's optimism, knowing he’d still fare well in a tougher battle against the shark. She hadn’t considered Kayaba’s real life location, much the police actually finding his body. Nodding in agreement with his final statement, she spoke lowly to end the topic. “Who knows… let’s just hope we can beat it.”

She turned her head up to him. “Sounds like you two have a bit of history, I didn’t even know he had a unique skill- and you gave that to him? That’s pretty generous.” Birdie brushed her hand through the air, opening the menu. “Right, the Knights! I’ve met one of your members, Macradon- he came into the shop a while ago. How's he been?”

“Yeah, actually-“ Birdie stopped in her tracks, dismissing the menu as she scanned the sandy horizon. “-we should be right on the edge of the spawn area, that shark could show up any time now.” The heat had been manageable for a time, though she found herself wiping away a drop of sweat from her forehead. “This would be a lot easier if I had my Search and Detect skill... looks like we’ll have to walk around for a bit to find him. Think you can manage a few more minutes in the sun?” She glanced up to him, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand.

(Note: Roll an LD of 15 or higher to find Sand Shark.)

Edited October 8, 2016 by Birdie

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal nodded. "Yeah, Hikoru and I go back quite a bit. How's he holding up by the way?" He asked, knowing that the last time he had seen Hikoru, he was sporting the orange cursor of a player killer. "And as for Mac, he's holding up fine. Trying to balance guild work, and boss preparation can be a stressful thing. But he handles it well." Lowenthal explained, answering @Birdie's question.

And as for the desert heat, Lowenthal could shrug it a bit more. "For you? I can bear this heat a bit longer. At least until we find our finned-friend." He said, placing a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun's rays. Heat waves twisted the landscape, making all of it a blurred mess. "Gah, I can't see a thing. How about you?" Lowenthal said, still trying to scan the horizon.

LD: 5

[Birdie 0]

Birdie shrugged, wearing a slight frown. “Truthfully, I haven’t met him yet. I’ve heard good things about him from the other members of the guild, though, so I’m sure he’s doing okay for himself.” She had yet to meet two of the guild’s highest ranking members, Hikoru being one of them. “Sounds like a bit of a nightmare, glad to hear he’s holding up.”

A sigh escaped her lips, “Yeah, that’s if he makes it easy for us to find him.” She knew the boss felt its way around the desert using sound waves, detecting them from the footsteps of passing players and mobs. She shook her head. “Nothing, I can see that weird thing where it looks like there’s water on the horizon, though.” It was a cool effect, if useless in their situation.

“You know, as hot it is, this heat has nothing over Floor 4’s weather during a full-blown Blizzard.” She took a break from searching for a moment. “Ever been outside of Snowfrost Town when the snow hits? We’re used to the cold and occasional snow in England but that was actually the second scariest thing I’ve had to do in my life.”

ID# 69191 | LD: 7+3

Edited October 9, 2016 by Birdie

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal was relieved to hear that Hikoru was doing fine in his new guild. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about floor four." He rembered when he and Jomei staged a coup with Jomei, and rescued Piera and Lee from a slave trade. In order to escape however, they sledded down the hill amidst a blizzard to lose their attackers. "Yeah, was on a sledding trip when a blizzard hit. It was, kinda fun." Lowenthal said. But where was this damned shark? He scanned the horizon again, but to no avail. "Damn fish, thinking it's clever. Sun's probably gonna set by the time we find him." Lowenthal said, looking at the sun above him. 

ID: 69463  LD:13

[Birdie 0]

Birdie inspected her map as @Lowenthal gave his gripes on their situation, she thought the stupid thing would've showed up by now. It showed that they'd covered at least half the length of the desert by now and yet there was still no shark in sight.

"Yeah, sorry- I really didn't think it was gonna take so long to show up.." She swiped away her menu and sighed, arms drooping down to her sides. "This heat is unbearable, the least Kayaba could've done was put a palm tree or something around here," she raised both arms above her head, using them as a shield from the blistering sun. "Some shade wouldn't go amiss right now.."

Some sand shifted beneath their feet, Birdie attributing it to a low wind. "The worst thing is we might not even find this dumb shark, and then this would have been a giant waste of both our times.. sorry."

ID# 69486 | LD: 1 (Maybe this was a bad idea..)

Edited October 15, 2016 by Birdie

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed his eyes, strained from the sun's rays and the constant squinting he did in trying to find the sand shark. EIn the disance, Lowe spotted a large cloud heading thier way. It was dark, and rolled along the ground. "Well, heat's gonna be the least of our worries in a bit. We've got a sandstorm coming in." Lowenthal kneeled on the ground, and open his inventory. No idea how long the storm is gonna last, and there's no cave or rock formations nearby to take shelter in. Best bet for us is, aha!" He said, sliding through his menu and grabbing an item. A large bolt of heavy duty fabric materialized in front of him, light grey in colour. "Canvas, to the rescue. Now to convert a few materials into some sticks and, we'll be set." Going to work, Lowenthal quickly made a tent large enough for the two of them to take cover in. "There we go." Lowenthal said. "Not the best, but it'll do." He continued. "M'Lady." Lowenthal jested, holding the tent's flap open for @Birdie to enter.