[PP - F15] Off to fight... Flying Monkeys? <<WOTW T.M.H. & S.B.>> (Baldur - Completed)

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had giggled, he only said straw as a joke... maybe the scarecrow's brain truely was made of straw? He thought about that and went over to another pile of straw than the one Baldur was looking through, and some seconds pass an he looked over to see that Baldur had found it. "Oh. I didn't think it would literally be made of straw. I would have searched up and down this entire tower before I looked through the straw!" he said with a laugh. He felt Baldur give him a pat of the back and he smiled and said "Well... you have pretty much done all the work... all I did was try really." then went to climb up the ladder to the ground, he sighed and knew that they had to go to the other tower... which more than likely means... more monkeys. Boy was the flying monkeys annoying to Beatbox, heck... he wasn't even able to fight any of them... he looked at Baldur with a smile and said "I am about as ready as I'll ever be!"

 

@Baldur - Sorry for the long wait!

[Baldur 0]

Baldur gestured for Beatbox to be quiet and to follow along with him as they began to sneak out of the tower and hug the wall of the castle. They would need to head to the next tower, but if they were lucky, they could avoid fighting any more of the flying monkies. After they made it away from the tower, Baldur found a small copse of trees and some deep shadows they could  hide in. With a swipe of his right hand, Baldur pulled up the UI and began to type so that there was no chance that the <<Flying Monkey>> could hear them talking and draw aggro.

Quote

>>Beatbox: Keep quiet and we'll hug the castle wall to see if we can sneak past them and into the next door.

When he hit send, the message shot over to Beatbox. Baldur waited for the player to read it, before making the quiet gesture by putting a finger up to his lips, and then gesturing the junior player to follow him. As they continued down along the wall, they say many of the mobs flying overhead, but none had appeared to notice them yet. Because of the hour of the day, the sun cast a shadow on them and gave them just enough darkness to be able to hide.

Up ahead, Baldur watched as the next tower slowly came into view around them. Two of the <<Flying Monkey>> were perched on the roof of the tower, but that was dozens of feet up. If they were careful, they could get in and out without disturbing them. Once again, Baldur gestured for Beatbox to be quiet and careful as Baldur slowly inched his way against the wall up to the door and then pushed on it.

The door swung in quietly, and Baldur held the breath he wanted to let out in relief as he slipped in and gestured for @Beatbox to follow.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox looked at Baldur as he gestured to him to stay rather quite to sneak around to the other tower. Silence, the thing that Beatbox fears the most, he finds silence to bring danger and he does not like pure silence at all, he had tried his best to try to find any noise at all to prevent him getting shaky. He had noticed the message that he had sent to him instead of whispering, he smirked and thought that sending a message was a better choice than whispering. He typed Baldur a reply:

Quote

>>Baldur: I'll keep behind, let's speed this up though.

And sent the message as he followed behind Baldur and quickly and quietly as he could possibly muster due to his fear of silence. He walked behind with Baldur into the shadows that gave them enough coverage to hide away for a bit. Slowly and slowly they moved toward the tower where they saw two Flying Monkeys perch above in the tower, Beatbox grinned and tried his best to not make any sound. He looked forward and saw that Baldur had opened the door silently, he nodded as he made a gesture to follow. He followed Beatbox slowly and quietly into the tower.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur let out a breath of relief once they were both safely inside the tower and away from the prying eyes of the <<Flying Monkey>> scouts that the wicked witch had watching over her tower. Once again affixing his monocles that helped him search for items, Baldur glanced around the main tower room that they now found themselves in.

"Whew, I'm glad that worked. Those monkeys are annoying enough to kill, and they don't drop loot for me at my level, so they're just so bothersome."

The wanna-be samurai gave a laugh as he rooted around the room.

(ID: 69645 Ld: 6+7=13 No heart found)

"Alright, so if I were the heart of a tin-man, what would I be? I'm assuming we're not going to find a bloody heart laying around in a jar or a cooler somewhere in here."

As Baldur rooted around through the tables, he knocked a few things over, but couldn't seem to find anything. Would it look like a metal heart? Perhaps it would be some sort of power core? Maybe an old steam-punk inspired gear of some kind? Whatever it would be, Baldur couldn't see anything that screamed 'heart' him in the rubbish that filled this floor.

"Let's go take a look in the next room."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox too had let out a sigh as they safely got inside the tower without getting the attention of the flying monkeys that were perched at the top of the tower. "I don't know if they'll give me any loot for killing them... well, that's just IF I can actually deal damage to them... I really need to get to rank 2 equipment..." he let out another sigh. Beatbox had helped Baldur search the room for a Tin Man's heart... "What... would a Tin Man's heart even look like...?" he thought to himself as he was searching. He laughed as he kept thinking about what it would possibly looked like and he said with a stupid smile "Maybe it looks like an engine!" and giggled in his own stupidity. After a while, Beatbox accepted the fact that it wasn't in this room and stopped looking. Beatbox had looked over to Baldur as he said something gave him a smile "Yeah, it looks like it's not in here..."

@Baldur

ID: 69647 - LD: 3

[Baldur 0]

(ID: 69736 LD: 11+7=18 +1 Material)

As Baldur walked into the next room, he tried to keep both his eyes and his mind wide open. What would they find? What could the heart of the tin-man be? An engine was a good guess, but it seemed a little anachronistic to the setting of Sword Art Online... not that this entire quest didn't smack of it to begin with, but it just didn't feel right.

"That's a good guess, but I don't think that's gonna be it..." 

Baldur slowly passed into the next room which seemed to be some kind of workshop. He had been around Tyger and Oikawa enough to be impressed by a great forge when he saw one. This... was at one time perhaps a great forge. Now it seemed that the fire had been out for a long time, and that it was mostly used for storage. Scraps of metal, blanks, and molds littered the room in an impressive display of disregard.

"I don't know that we'll find anything in this mess." Baldur complained as he began to pick his way through the debris. He pushed aside sheets of metal and ingots a like as he began his search through the room. Finding some metallic material, he picked it up and put it into his inventory, but it did little to assuage his frustration at the elusive heart.

"See anything promising?"

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox after that stupid thought went back to look for the tin-man's heart that is in the tower that they have found themselves in, he thought for a moment to really think about what a tin-man's heart would be... he thought about some ideas "Well... it could just be metal and pipes in the form of a heart... but again that would be too simple..." his thoughts we're broken when Baldur had started speaking. He looked over with a smile and said to him "It was just a silly thought that I had that I laughed at..." he said with a giggle as he continued to look for the tin man's heart. He continued to look through scrap metal and shelves in hopes to find something that would remotely be the tin man's heart. He thought about it some more... "what could possibly be the tin man's heart...?" he sighed and looked back to @Baldur to answer his question "Hadn't found anything yet..." and let out another sigh.

 

ID: 69737 - LD: 5

[Baldur 0]

(ID# 69787 LD: 8+7=15 +1 Material found)

Baldur continued to root around in the old forge turned storage room. Pushing aside another pile of metalic debris, Baldur found another node for material drops and picked up the treasure. It was turning out to be a fruitful room, but not for the reasons he was hoping for.

Focus on the positive, don't let your frustration cause impatience. You need all the material you can get to pay back Rain.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he stood up straight and reexamined the room. There had to be clues or something there. The heart of the tin man.

Think back to the movie. The Tin Man had a purpose, what was it? Wasn't he found in an apple orchard? What if the heart is more metaphorical... like something that might be used in a spell component.

Baldur looked around for anything that said metaphysical or alchemical to him. Symbolism, some sign of the past in this tower, but nothing jumped out at him. There were more rooms in this tower, perhaps he was just belaboring a fruitless room.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had continued to help search for the Tin Man's heart along side Baldur that had been searching for the Heart as well, he looked through shelves... he even got his hands dirty looking through debris that was in this room. He sighed still on the thought on what the Tin Man's heart could possibly be, "Come on James... Think, Think! What would a Tin Man's heart look like..." he thought to himself with a confused look on his face, he shook his head and continued looking. When he as searching he had found something that he could use later, so he shrugged and put the thing into his inventory. He kept thinking about what the tin heart's would be, when he got a spark of memory remembering back to the movie, "Hey uh, Baldur... wasn't the tin man's heart from the movie a clock or watch in the shape of a heart?" he turned around to ask him if what he was remembered was right.

@Baldur

 

ID: 69788 - LD: 16

Materials Gathered: 1

[Baldur 0]

(ID# 69790 LD: 8+7=15 +1 Material)

Beatbox again had an idea that Baldur found had incredible merit. Immediately his eyes began darting around the room for anything clock related or pocket watch side, but as he pushed aside more and more of the debris, the only thing he came up with were more materials.

This room is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. No matter what I'm looking for it'd be impossible to find in this room.

With a sigh, Baldur slowly made his way towards the door.

"I feel like we could spend forever searching in here. There are other rooms that are probably less cluttered, We should start with the easy to search locations, and only work our way back to here as a last resort. Walking back into the main room, Baldur took to the ladder that would let them climb a floor higher in the tower. In the previous ones, it had been a kitchen. It seemed an unlikely place to find a heart, but who knows what they'd find here.

Material Total: 3

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox after telling Baldur his idea from the movie and saw him darting around in hopes to find something like that, Beatbox had found himself looking around in a fast of motion on the shelves in hopes to find something that looked something similar to what he had said. However after a tad bit of searching Beatbox hadn't found anything like that either. "Geez, this one is very well hidden, the brain was much easier to find..." he let out a sigh as Baldur did. He looked back to Baldur that had spoke to move to another room, he smiled and said "Yeah, it looks like this room doesn't have the heart we are looking for. Let's move to the next one." he said as he moved to the nearest door to the next room, hopefully they would be able to find the heart they are looking for soon. He had opened the door and said "After you good sir."

 

ID: 69791 - LD: 2

Materials Gathered: 1

[Baldur 0]

(ID# 69792 LD:2+7=9)

Baldur walked slowly around the kitchen, but there was little he could seem to find that caught his eye or his interest. Eventually, he sat down on one of the small three legged wooden stools that occupied a small cutting area in the kitchen. Propping his chin on his knee, Baldur turned to face Beatbox.

"Let's think this one through... I think you're right about the heart shaped clock, but I think that's what the wizard game him afterwards, once he had proven he had heart. It wasn't the actual heart that was taken from him. But wasn't the Tin Man taken from an orchard? Perhaps his heart is an apple or something of the like? Was it an apple field?"

Baldur glanced around. There was lots of food in the kitchen, but by far the overwhelming food of choice were bananas. That's what he would have figured for the guard tower of a bunch of flying monkeys.

"He had an axe and an oil can. Could those be clues as well?"

Then Baldur realized something. He had more items to help with this which he had been hoarding.

"Oh, here, these should help you."

Baldur reached into his inventory and pulled out the <<Lucky Rabbit's Foot>>, an item of great luck.

"Here, hang on to this until we find the heart. It should be a great help."

 

---

Spoiler

Item: Bandit’s Lucky Rabbit’s Foot
Item Type: Trinket
Quality: Perfect
ID: 66755 CD: 12 (11 + 1 CD) – Perfect
Artisan – Rank 8
Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/7254-shop-floor-13-amethyst-boutique/?do=findComment&comment=486034
Tier: 2
Enhancement: +3 Loot Dice
Description: This lucky rabbt’s foot always helps bend the odds in your favour so that you can find what you’re looking for.
Post Acquired: Here

 

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox was surprised on what Baldur had said, he thought that it would be a silly thing to look for on a quest... but maybe it just inspired by the movie for players to remember the movie. He thought about that for a moment "Would Kayaba really let this quest in just for people to remember something from the real world? Eh, who know's... maybe I am looking just a tad bit too far into this." he said as he looked at Baldur again. He gave him an item to use, he looked up and equipped it "Uh... thanks! Maybe we'll find it a bit faster now." he said as he then continued to look throughout the room for what it could possibly be. After a bit, he found something in the shape of a heart. Beatbox picked it up and turned to Baldur and extended it out to him "Is uh... this it?" he asked with a questioned look. He handed back the item after had responded to him. Look's like the quest was now finally over. He sighed in relief.

 

ID: 69793 - LD: 19+3= 22 (Heart Found.)

Materials Gathered: 2

 

[Baldur 0]

"Oh thank the heavens!" Baldur said as his hands covered his face for a moment as if to wipe off the fatigue. "I didn't know that we were every going to find that!”

Pushing himself to his feet, he collected his <<Bandit’s Lucky Rabbit’s Foot>> back from the junior player, and then put his two monocles away and reactivated the rest of his standard combat gear.

“Now we just have to get out of here. Normally I’d just use a teleport crystal to get back to the town since we’re so far out here, but I’ve only got one on me, and I’ve been trying to save up my  cor.”

Glancing around the room, Baldur looked down at the ladder. It was really their only way out.

“Just remember, there are two <<Flying Monkey>> mobs on the roof of the tower when we head out, and we don’t know how many have respawned. Still, if we can make it to the trees, they should have a harder time spotting us on patrol.”

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had giggled when he had said "Oh thank the heavens!" he was happy to see that someone was also getting fairly tired with this quest that had been going on for the past hour or so they had been wasting their time with. "Well... you have the brain currently, take the heart too!" he said as he handed the heart into the palm of his hand. He stretched his arms in success when he had remembered that now they have to get out. He slumped his arms downwards and said with an annoyed look "great..." and complained that they have to attempt to sneak past the monkeys. He looked to Baldur with a smile and said "I'm no master at sneaking... but I will try my best to not attract their attention! ..and I understand with saving up Col... I have been attempting to save up some for something that I heard about... it'll take me forever to get it though..." he said with a sigh as he followed behind Baldur outside of the tower.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur’s ears perked up when Beatbox said that he was saving up for something. Slowly climbing down the ladder back to the ground floor, Baldur cast a glance back at the room stockpiled full of metal parts. It had been a relative gold mine of materials, but for some reason Baldur’s heart wasn’t in sitting in the room as scrounging for materials for the next couple of hours. He hated it in games, and even more so in SAO. He much preferred the more dangerous type of combat gathering… for a moment, Baldur reflected on what that said about his personality.

“Oh? What are you saving up for? There’s not much aside from a house that ends up being very difficult to acquire.”

Moving over to the door, Baldur pushed it open just enough to peak outside. His <<Search & Detect>> skill would help him know when enemies were nearby, but it was often obstructed by doors. He didn’t see any on the ground, so he had to assume that the ones up above were still there. Gesturing, he motioned for the junior player to follow him as he slipped out of the tower.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had been struggling to keep his Col balance together, only seeing it grow... however he knew if he wanted to get to the frontlines faster, he would have to spend it. And that put a grin on his face, he wanted to save up for something that he has heard about from someone... he wanted to save up for a house. He shook off his thoughts and replied to Baldur's question "Well... besides a house that I can sleep in rather than a store and equipment for me to use in combat and hopefully the frontlines soon... well, I don't even know if its true... its just a rumor, I doubt I would be able to do it anyways." he said as he shook his head, it was possible that Beatbox was saving up money for false hope that it would bring him to the frontlines instantly, but maybe he was clinging onto something that would bring him close to his dreams. He looked up and saw Baldur gesturing for him to follow, as slowly and as quietly as he can... Beatbox had followed the frontliner outside. 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur led the two of them as quietly as he could while still moving swiftly away from the tower and the <<Flying Monkeys>>. Instead of heading back the way they came, Baldur hugged the wall only as far as their shady refuge from their trip over. Once they hit the forest cover, he broke into a jog and stayed under the canopy until he felt they were a sufficient distance away from the castle walls. There was still a chance of fighting a <<Flying Monkey>> here, but the risk had died off significantly.

“I’ve thought about trying to save up for a house, but the only people I know who have them are the fabulously wealthy, and being a Merchant that’s about the opposite of what I am.”

Baldur chuckled at the fact that his entire time being a merchant had lost him more money than he had gained. Such was the reason why someone with a bleeding heart never got ahead in business.

“Which floor do you want to get a house on?”

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had briskly followed behind Baldur as they snuck past the tower and away from the monkeys, he had thought about what he had been saving up for, it was mostly just to cling onto what he had been wanting to do... and that's to get into the front lines and fight along side all of them there, but he knew that there was a thought in his head, that one thought that makes him think he'll never be able to get there. He looked up to Baldur as the close was clear and had listened to him speak about saving up for a home and his career wasn't really helping. "Yeah... I just want to get a home I can rest easy in... I'm not looking for anything too special... and well, I am a cook, and right now I have just recently opened so... it's been a little hard for me... plus my prices are fairly lower than most peoples prices... and I am just hoping its enough for people to buy in bulk honestly." he said as he looked forward and sighing. He had listened to Baldur's words and he let out a giggle "I would want a house on floor 4... that floor reminds me a lot about back home in the real world..." he said with a satisfying smile. 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur smiled wistfully.

"Yea, I would love to buy a house on floor 4. It's a shame that you must buy one on floors 11 or higher. Hopefully we'll come across another snowy mountain floor soon."

Slowing down to walk beside the blond now that they were out of danger, Baldur gave the younger player a pat on the shoulder.

“Cooks are always useful. As soon as you can make some Tier 2 food, I’ll be sure to buy some feasts from you. For the time being though, food that gives you a bonus to accuracy, prosperity, and luck would be the most beneficial. I need to stock up on that kind of thing when I go on my hunting and gathering missions to make them more fruitful.”

Smiling, he saw that they were getting close to one of the outlaying settlements, and there: safety.

“Well, I am glad to have met you Beatbox. Mind if I add you to my Friend list?”

The gaijin samurai swiped at the air with his hand to pull up the social menu and send just a request to the blond.

“I really do appreciate it. This quest would have been a bear to fly solo.”