[F1-OP] Mourning at the Monument

[Piera 0]

The sun had set on Aincrad, a quiet night blanketing the massive floating castle in the sky. Most players and even NPCs had retired to their shops, inns or homes. But for one woman in a dark purple dress carrying sunflowers and dandelions and looking for all the world as if she were barely holding it together. Piera briefly wondered as she walked steadily through the Town of Beginnings if there really was anything beyond Aincrad. NPCs milling about at the ground below. If players who had jumped to their deaths had had their avatars fracture on that ground. Or perhaps while they were still falling. Her arms tightened around the bright bouquet, briefly lowering her face before raising it to look upwards at the wide stone stairs that lead to the Room of Resurrection. The name alone was enough to make her scowl bitterly. But she kept her gait slow and steady as if she were walking to a funeral... Which in a way she was.

Had Lowenthal had any sort of funeral? Perhaps in the real world, but here in Aincrad? She hadn't bothered. Did Jomei? She knew he was close to the Azure Brigade, but did it even exist after the assassination of it's two leading Commandants? The walk up the stairs made her feel at least ten times heavier, like the flowers and her own feet were made of lead. But reach the top she eventually did, pushing open the tall double doors with a dry 'clack'. Her assumption that there wouldn't be anyone else here was correct.

The sight of the ten meter long black marble slab froze her to the spot though. It was...enormous. Her feet awoke and shuffled forward of their own accord, morbidly curious. Ten thousand names spanned the surface of the Monument......and roughly twenty percent of them were crossed out. The tears that she had buried down since leaving Lee sprang up unbidden as she hugged the flowers tightly to her chest as if they could stop the rising sob in her throat. So many people had died. Shaking her head with a distraught expression, the brunette moved closer to the "L's". Green eyes skirted over the names before they stopped at a familiar sounding name, 'Lindow'. Apparently killed in the worst way, spiders. She didn't think she knew the player, but as she paused to think about it, she realized that he was one of the founding members of the Crimson Blades. She remembered Mack bringing up holding a very presentable funeral for the man. 

It took about a moment and a half, but eventually green eyes settled on the name 'Lowenthal'. It was crossed out and... Piera gasped as she read the circumstances of her friend's death, sliding to her knees and then on her behind. A duel. She recognized the name of the winner. Ariel had won the duel. And the prize was one of her best friend's life. Why, along with a million and one other furious questions sprang to mind. She knew Ariel was a front liner but couldn't remember if she belonged to a guild or if so which one. But why would they enter a duel to the death against each other? Both players would have to agree to participate. Why would Lowenthal do that? ...Have done that.

A sob broke free, startling the alchemist who hadn't even been aware that tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Lowe.... Adachi. I-"  Voice breaking before she could even really begin, Piera swallowed and sniffled before continuing, "I'm sorry. I wasn't there. Y-You guys saved us and then I just hid away. I didn't see if you were okay. If you were dealing with your own stuff, I just-!" The alchemist let out a soft keen, crying into her hands as the bouquet fell onto her lap. For a moment she allowed herself to just cry. But she didn't come here to just cry. She needed to do this.

Wiping her wet face, the healer abruptly stated, "I brought you flowers. Cuz that's what you do, right? Yo-You don't have a grave that I can visit, at least I don't think. Not here. So here I am. It's close." Her fingers fussed with the leaves. "I don't really know what your favorite flower is. Was. But sunflowers and dandelions....they're so you. At least they make me think of you." Gently laying the haphazard bouquet down in front of the Monument, Piera suddenly didn't know what to really do with her hands, knotting her fingers together. "I miss you a lot." She whispered in admission. "You and Jomei and Carmine an-and Opal and Adere and Grave and Mack and Kalesh and Ssendom and Brice and Zelrius." Piera listed slightly hysterically, her list dragging on and on, babbling without being able to stop until she ran out of names that she missed and sobbed.

"You and Jomei saved our lives and we just hid away, scared of the world. I let you down.....I'm so sorry." She was in full self depreciation mode now, wallowing in her tears and feelings. At least it seemed that way until she balled up her hands in her eyes and made a noise that was halfway between a sob and a growl. "Why won't Lee see that we need to fight?! I don't want anyone else to die..." And so she sat on the floor in front of the Monument of Life, letting herself simply cry. Sadly it wasn't as quiet an affair as she'd have liked to have thought.

[Shield 0]

A heavy set of footsteps echoed through the hall. They player that they belonged to, a decently tall man with broad shoulders and a fairly unkempt appearance, entered unaccompanied. He had not expected others to be present when he planned his visit, but he had heard sobs echoing through the tomb-like building from down the hall. Shield had visited the hall on occasion, but very rarely had anyone been paying respects. It was his best guess that most of those who had died were solo players, which is likely what had led to their deaths in the first place, and many of those who hadn't been were likely in parties that were wiped out entirely. Either way, the lack of visitors made the hall even more funereal than it already would have been.

He did not recognize the other player, and knowing the way of things, he did not expect it to be someone he would encounter again. Still, he felt a knot twist in his stomach to see her there by herself. He stepped up to the monument beside her, giving a few moments so that his presence would not be a surprise before extending a broad hand to her for her to hold onto.

"I know you don't know me," he said, his eyebrows low and his expression solemn. "Still, mourning is an activity one should never have to do alone. I'm Shield. If you need some quiet or would rather be left alone, I can oblige, but I thought I'd at least offer."

Edited April 4, 2017 by Shield

[Piera 0]

Piera's breath hitched in the middle of her sobbing as she heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the cavernous hall, alerting her to the fact that she was no longer alone. She supposed it was rather stupid of her to think that nobody else would visit here, though she thought that the chances would be lower at night. Hurriedly trying to scrub away her tears behind her glasses, the brunette twisted to look at who was here, for some reason hoping against hope that it was someone she knew. But upon seeing that it was an unfamiliar male player, the alchemist tensed, frozen and wary even though they were in a safe zone. Her instinctual paranoia and logic that she was safe waged battle in her mind as he approached the monument beside her.

She kept quiet as the towering man spoke. Ignoring his hand, she did however reply, "I don't want to be al-" Piera managed to cut herself off from sounding a bit too depressing as she shook her head and corrected, "You don't have to leave on my account."

She wasn't quite up to raising her face to meet the other player's eye just yet but after a small sniffle, she rambled, "Shield...heh, that would be awkward if you didn't actually wield a shield huh? Hehe, wield a shield..." Her voice cracked at the end as more tears spilled from behind her oval spectacles, her pathetic attempts at distracting herself with humor failing rather miserably.

Trying to take a steadying breath, Piera asked with genuine curiosity, "Did you lose someone too?" Why else would he be here after all?

[Shield 0]

"Strangely, no," he said, turning his eyes forward to give her a moment to recover herself if she so chose. He kept his hand extended though, in case she changed her mind. "I haven't known too many players in my time here, and I've been beyond fortunate to never know one personally that died. I feel like this place is an important reminder of what we're in for here. Keeps me focused and on task so hopefully I won't lose sight of what I'm fighting for."

His voice was low, and he did his best to keep it fairly quiet, despite having the Howl skill practically infused into his vocal cords by now. He had done his share of mourning in the real world. He had no reason to suspect that it would be any less painful here, and the last thing the other player would need would be a loud, obtrusive interruption into what was undoubtedly a very vulnerable moment. Still, if she was not in a hurry to be rid of her, he figured he would keep her company.

"And yes, I do have a shield," he said, giving a little half-smirk. "It's not necessary in here, so it's put away, but I chose the name I did for a reason. What's yours? And, if you don't mind my asking, to whom are you paying respects?"

Edited April 4, 2017 by Shield

[Piera 0]

When the older man replied in the negative about losing anyone, Piera only barely snuffed a snorting reply that he must either be really lucky or really lonely. But his reply made her doubly glad that she hadn't said it aloud. The reason as to why he was here was...almost too noble. Not in a suspiscious way but in a way that made her wonder how many other players visited the Monument.

Roughly clearing her throat that was sore from crying, the brunette stated, "That's...a really good reason." At his question as to her name, she finally raised her head, green eyes framed by oval glasses meeting rich brown as she replied, "Piera. Is my name I mean." As if it needed clarification.
Staring back ahead at the monolithic Monument, the alchemist stood unsteadily, still ignoring the man's graciously outstretched hand.

Aiming to answer his other question, the healer sighed, "A lot of people. Some I didn't even know about until I got here." She pointed out some of the names, Helios, Azide, Opal, Ssendom, Zelrius. Sniffling sternly, She said with a proudly even voice, "But I originally came here for him." Her finger ran over Lowenthal's name.

"He, uh. Was my guild leader. And a good friend. Since nearly the beginning of the game. Saved me and my boyfriend's life even. And I..." Just when she thought she was done freaking crying, she felt their sting again as she tried to say through choked throat, "Didn't even know how he died. All the rest of our friends are on this wall or unreachable. I don't even know why he entered the stupid duel!" Her voice echoed sharply against the walls of the hall, causing her to wince and hunch her shoulders.

"Sorry, TMI, I don't mean to dump all of this on you. Just...I would usually talk to my boyfriend about this but he and I just had a fight." Piera crossed her arms and tried to take on an air of nonchalance, though it just came off as her looking irritated...which she was to be honest.

 

(posted on phone, will clean up later!)

Edited April 5, 2017 by Piera
cleaned up, added color text

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon walked across the town of beginnings. Night was approaching. He wasn't in the mood to sleep, so he began to explore what the first floor held during the night. However, he kept his eyes wide open, treading with caution in case he walked out of the safe zone accidentally. He soon found himself inside the room of resurrection, and he looked left and right, trying to see where he was at the moment. "So this is the room of resurrection... Looks more like an indoor cemetery." As he explored, he saw the many names of the living and deceased. He walked over to one stone and saw his own name. Creepy. He stepped back and continued looking around, disliking the dreary air in the place. He heard echoes of someone crying, and wondered if someone was paying their respects to someone they knew. He laid eyes on two players, and walked over to them. "Hey, are you all right?"

Edited April 7, 2017 by Vigilon

[Shield 0]

"Well, well met, Piera," he said with an incline of his head. "If only it had been a happier day, but we have to take the ones we're given, I suppose."

Shield withdrew his hand. Her message had been clear enough, though she did not seem to mind his company. He nodded along as she spoke, listening to the names of each. None of them rang any bells. If she had call to weep so bitterly, he was sure that they had each had exemplary qualities, but he had no other basis, so he remained silent. That is, until she pointed out Lowenthal's name. Again, the name was unfamiliar.

"Killed in a duel with Arie-"

His jaw dropped.

"...No... it can't be..." he lost track of Piera's presence altogether as he leaned in close to make sure he was reading correctly. "Is that the same... I don't think more than one player can have the same user name, so..." He quickly pulled up his menu, looking through his contacts to make sure he was not mistaking spelling or anything of the like.

It's either a very odd coincidence, or this may be exactly the information I've been missing. She doesn't have an orange cursor, but then again, killing in a duel doesn't change your cursor color.

His jaw hardened as he continued to stare down the name. This would be very important information to share with Beat. In the mean time, a new player had arrived. Since aside from the confounding new discovery he was relatively put together, he assumed that the newcomer was questioning Piera rather than both of them together.

Edited April 4, 2017 by Shield

[Kooh 0]

'My my, what do we have here?' Kooh supressed an intrigued smirk as her eyes traveled upwards along the building that made her think of a cathedral. There was no sign or other markings that told her what the building was called, but she tore her eyes away just as a chill ran up her spine. Though she couldn't discern its name, the Black Iron Palace left a feeling of discomfort settling on her shoulders. Still, it was one of the few buildings on the first floor that the blonde hadn't snooped around in yet, so she was here to complete that objective. Hands tucked into the pockets of her shorts, monochrome hood pulled partially over her golden hair, Kooh casually strolled into the building.

Her garnet eyes glanced over the many windows that rested high along the walls. Once again, the player kept herself from making a face at her disinterest, curiosity hardly outweighing boredom at this point in her exploration. Keeping to the right side of the room, Kooh's eyes settled on the bodies of three other individuals as they stood beside what seemed to be the only thing of interest in the massive room. She walked at a snail's pace, not particularly wanting to announce her presence. Besides, at a glance it seemed like one of the players was questioning the other two. Maybe she could get some answers about this place without any effort on her part after all.

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had walked to the Monument of Life... for a good and a very bad reason, he noticed a familiar face, but two he had never met before, he figured to shrug it off. He looked across the names and saw that many were crossed off... Zelrius... Ssendom... Lowenthal... ...and Sierra. Seeing that name paralyzes him to the stake of his own heart as he couldn't bare to look at the name. Beatbox had taken a step back from the name and looked around only to see that Lowenthal, did indeed died to Ariel. "I knew it..." he said with a whisper and a growl as he then took a step back to look at the name of Lowenthal "Ariel was nothing but a liar at the January boss meeting. She tried to play it off as suicide, but I never believed it. Pathetic human." he growled with a whisper, he then bowed before Lowenthal's name and spoke out "I shall finish what you have started Lowenthal... there must have been a reason you decided to fight her, I will do it for you, and I will be successful. No matter what. For the Knights of the Blood Oath that lost one of their precious leaders." he stood back up with an angered expression.

@Piera @Shield @Kooh @Vigilon

[Piera 0]

Piera smirked sadly at Shield's sentiment and nodded. "If only." She inhaled slowly and deeply, trying to calm herself down. But just as she was starting to, she noticed the stubbled man's fixation on Lowenthal's name and shocked expression. Her own expression became tense, brow furrowed as she surveyed his reaction, listening passively as he muttered to himself. What really amped up her alarm and curiosity was when she saw motions that he was interfacing with his menu. "Do...Do you know Lowenthal then? Or..." When he didn't react to that, her face froze in tense realization. "You know her."

Before she could question Shield, she heard an innocently posed question and started, not having realized that they weren't alone anymore. Blinking, the brunette replayed the question in her head before scoffing, not intending to be rude, but emotions coloring her tone as she replied, "Not really, but we'll live. Someone else might not though." The last sentence was muttered darkly, as if she could have even a second's chance against her.

Green eyes then fell on the fourth member of their impromptu depressing soiree. A blonde that looked fairly young setting aside the fire in his blue eyes. It wasn't hard to overhear his whisper considering he was standing fairly close and the otherwise quietness of the hall. Piera didn't know if she could've been more shocked, but she doubted it. Grabbing the blonde's shoulder, she asked insistently with rising rage, her shrill voice echoing, "What did you just say? She tried to say that it was suicide?!" In front of an entire boss party apparently as well. And nobody had questioned her. Nobody had thought that it didn't sit right or might want to confirm things.

The iniquity of it all filled Piera with indignation, breathing increasing rapidly along with her heart-rate as she spun away, fists and jaw clenching. "That-!" The healer launched into a long spiel of curses against her friend's murderer that were rather surprising for the otherwise demure seeming woman, tears in her eyes once more. "Why didn't anybody else know?! Hikoru, Mack, Jomei! ME! She can't get away with this!" Piera's chest heaved, on the cusp of hyperventilating, blissfully unaware of the eyes in the shadows watching this all.

@Shield, @Vigilon, @Kooh, @Beatbox

Edited April 5, 2017 by Piera

[Shield 0]

Tensions had risen to a fevered pitch in next to no time, and he couldn't help but feel partly responsible. He placed a hand on Piera's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze to try to break her concentration enough to snap her back to reality. His other hand he raised in front of Beatbox, hoping to accomplish the same with him.

"There's a lot of information we don't have here," Shield said, keeping his voice as steady as he could. Just as well, too. There seemed to be quite a crowd forming. "I apologize. It wasn't my intent to brush off your question," he said to Vigilon. "Apparently there have been some rather shocking revelations here."

He took a deep breath, hoping that those present might subconsciously notice the gesture and think to do the same, but in either case, it gave him a moment to gather his thoughts into words.

"I have no love for Ariel, if this is the same one that Beatbox and I are most likely thinking of," he said, making eye contact with hit guild mate. "Still, aside from lying and the duel, we're not sure what other part she had to play in the affair. I do think that it merits investigation, though. I've had run-ins with her before, and she has never been able to put me at my ease, to say the least. Would it satisfy the two of you to potentially take out a contract with a third party to investigate? Perhaps an information broker or some other stealthy individual? Acting without proper evidence would be... rash."

Edited April 5, 2017 by Shield

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had closed his eyes when the female behind her had talked to him, for the most part he had remained silent before speaking out to her "I know none of Lowenthal, however I am quite aware of his name as I used to be a part of Knights of the Blood Oath directly after the incident had happened. And Ariel, I wish I'd never had known her before that incident." he had said calmly and without any form of anger, the last thing he wants is for someone to feel like they are being attacked especially mourning over someone. Then he had listened to Shield speak to the female and then to the both of them, he remained silent until he had finished, then he had turned back to Shield and stared at him with determined eyes "I've had an encounter with her afterwards, I wanted to confirm her actions. And she... she's not human. She admitted that she had loved the action that she had performed, seeing a perfectly good ally turn to a monster, doesn't settle right. However... there is nothing I can do to stop her. Unless I face her in a duel. In which I cannot, she's out for blood." he had said taking a few steps forward, and placing a hand over his heart abd bowing before the female "The name's Beatbox, pleasure to be at your service." he said with a smile.

@Piera @Shield

[Piera 0]

Practically hyperventilating, Piera flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, relaxing fractionally when she saw it was Shield. Gulping air, her too tight fists shook slightly as she tried to hold back from actually crying. It was bad enough she had been full blown sobbing in front of one stranger, she didn't need to add to the list if she could help it. The healer tried to focus on Shield's words instead of spiraling in a pit of her own emotions. Because she already knew how fun that joy ride was.

Watery eyes looking up at the tall man, her mouth was a flat line as she nodded disjointedly in agreement, breathing through her nose. "It's better than doing nothing. I don't know of anybody stealthy enough though..." An odd expression passed over the woman's face before she began to chuckle bitterly, a tear now defying it's owner and running freely down a cheek. "Except Lowenthal." Laughing wetly at the irony.

"He had that unique he always bragged about. Shadowed Path, Master of Shadows or something like that..." Sobering suddenly, green eyes flicked between the tall dark man and the shorter blonde as she questioned, "Would she have gotten his unique skill? Could that have been why she-? She murdered him?"

She had to admit, she was sad that even the player that was just as indignant about Lowenthal's death didn't even really know him. "I didn't even know he joined the Knights of the Blood..." It must have been after he rescued Lee and herself...possibly even because of that. But that didn't sit right with her... It clicked in her mind as she focused on Beatbox, "So you're telling me that Lowenthal died as a member of the Knights of the Blood and nobody in the guild investigated it?" Her voice was deadly serious. "Heathcliff, Mack, Op-" Piera cut herself off from saying the traitorous dead woman's name, rubbing her face under her glasses for a moment to attempt to regain composure before continuing, "None of them questioned Ariel's word? Did they just not care?" The fact that Mack specifically did nothing hurt more than she cared to admit, having a higher opinion of the man than that.

At Beatbox's description of Ariel's joy in the act, the brunette woman paled, looking ill as a hand flew to her mouth, turning away from the two to lean next to Shield against the monument to all of her dead friends as if they could give her strength even in death somehow. Shoulders shaking as she tried to breathe, Piera chuckled weakly at the blonde's introduction. "Under the circumstances, I c-can't really say it's a pleasure Beatbox. But I'm Piera. I was one of the founding members of the Velvet Room with Lowenthal... back when that used to mean something."

OOC: @Shield & @Beatbox

Edited April 5, 2017 by Piera

[Shield 0]

"Ah," Shield said aloud at the mentioning of the particular skill. "So Lowenthal must have had the skill before Hikoru acquired it. You know, for someone who has a stealth-focused skill, he sure makes an awful lot of commotion about it." He gave a little half smile, hoping that Piera would be able to enjoy the irony of the observation. "I know Hik knows Ariel. I saw them speaking at the Asterios battle. There seemed to be some tension there though."

Shield sighed, turning to Piera properly as he emerged from his memories. She was visibly upset, and although she was here for a purpose, he wondered to himself if maybe there were better places to discuss things.

"I'm sorry. This is clearly upsetting for you. I can't imagine what you must be going through in these time. Still... we're not exactly alone here," he said, making subtle nods to the bystanders. "Should we maybe retire elsewhere? Perhaps somewhere a little less somber? You seem as if a change of scenery might be helpful to you."

[Beatbox 0]

Beatbox had listened to both Shield and Piera, keeping quiet and respectful towards one another, and once they were both finished Beatbox had spoke out to fill them in on information "Everything was a little bit fishy on that day, some had suspicions, some thought that she was right, some didn't care, and some knew. And no, Ariel wouldn't get the Unique Skill because it was not in his possession when he had died as the Unique Skill was transferred to Hikoru just in time before the Unique Skill update. Hikoru, the Master of Shadows used to be in a relationship with Ariel, before that fateful day. He had half a mind of killing her, when he had saw Leonidas' cape around her waist like its some toy or trophy.  And the Velvet Room will always be remembered Piera. I used to be in a guild named Silver Moon, now I don't know where any of the members lie anymore. I came here to find out, but I have better business to attend to now. It'd be much better if we spoke somewhere else, maybe a resturant, or even my own home on floor 11, just somewhere not so... open." he said looking both which ways for any information brokers that could be around.

@Piera @Shield

[Kooh 0]

'Well that wasn't hard.' Kooh had stopped on occasion, standing still with her body facing mostly away from the small group of players that had formed in front of the monument. Her ears were very much active, however, pulling as much information from the players as should could from the audible parts of their conversation. Many of the names they had tossed back and forth--at least she was assuming they were the names of players--were unfamiliar to her, but she wasn't surprised at that. The important bits she had pieced together told her that this place was a memorial of some sort. The more interesting details came shortly afterwards; it sounded like someone on the frontlines had decided to lie about another player's death. From the woman's hysteria and the blonde man's anger, she could assume the one who was still alive played a far bigger part than spreading rumors, but she was still left unsure of their suspicions.

Kooh shifted her weight; the girl was not being obvious with her eavesdropping, but it was becoming clear that at least a couple of the players were feeling wary of unwanted attention. She caught a second suggestion for the group to move to a different location, causing the blonde to resist a scowl from making its way to her features. 'Tch, now what?' Kooh's frown was slight as she idly wondered about her next course of action. She had essentially accomplished the task that she had come here for, and as nosy as she was the girl wasn't sure she wanted to get involved in the drama of frontliners. She already got a taste of it at the event boss meet-up a while back.

'Wait a second.' Kooh suddenly began wracking her brain for faint memories--previously deemed unimportant and now only providing her with a vague recollection of the outbursts that occurred before the battle against the treant, Nerius. Kooh stole a glance at the group of players, the familiarity of the blonde figure serving to jog her memory a bit further. While she couldn't pull up a mental image, she felt as though she had seen the player the group was so outraged by before. Still, such a memory wasn't enough motivation for her to stick her nose into the conversation, and even if it was she doubted that she would be getting on anyone's good side by doing so under these circumstances.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Kooh

[Piera 0]

Piera's brow furrowed with as she echoed with a frown, "Hikoru? Isn't he married to Ariel?" Connections that may or may not really have been there were firing off the alchemist's already paranoid synapses. The fact that the possible fiancee or husband of the murderer of her friend was parading around his unique skill made her furious and ill.

Her eyes were focused unflinchingly at the Monument as Shield apologized, only breaking out of her reverie as he nodded to the said bystanders, her head jerking to look and causing her shoulders to raise unconsciously as she folded her arms, feeling highly exposed now for some reason. Lips pursed, Piera nodded in hesitant agreement with the towering tank. "I guess... I just... I want to do something." Anything to help her feel like she wasn't the biggest failure as a friend.

Glancing over at Beatbox with upturned eyebrows as he spoke, the healer focused on what he was saying. Her ire towards Hikoru died down a little at the explanation, though she wasn't sure how much of it to take as absolute truth. Though the corners of her mouth did upturn a little in melancholy thankfulness as the blonde stated that her old guild wouldn't be forgotten, speaking of his own original guild as well. "I'm sorry I interrupted your visit."

Looking between the two very different male players, Piera shrugged. "Just...as long as we don't go outside of a safe zone for now." Thinking of Lee and terrifying previous encounters in spite of herself, a shiver running up her spine.

[Shield 0]

Shield nodded, agreeing that staying in a safe zone would be best for everyone. There was just something a little strange about having such potentially heated discussions in a place that was so solemn, not only because of those lost but because of the reminders of the very real dangers that faced everyone.

"Of course," he said, turning towards the exit. "There are plenty of inns around. I'm sure we can find a suitable place. Maybe get some drinks and toast to those who deserve a good toast."

The streets were bustling as they always were in the Town of Beginnings. It created an issue, namely that they probably wanted a more secluded setting on one of the more crowded floors.

"Anyone know of a good spot?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. As he did so, he snatched his fingers away from the spot, only just remembering about the temperamental snapping turtle on his back just before its jaws clamped shut where his fingers used to be.

[Vigilon 0]

"Someone was murdered in a duel?" The very thought confused Vigilon in a minor way. Then again, it was possible. "To be honest, if it was up to me and I was strong enough, I'd probably bring the murderer to justice, then face repentance to keep my name clean. Ah, sorry, I've kinda been a vigilante in various games. I'm used to avenging someone every now and then..." Upon hearing Shield ask about a better place to have this conversation, he admitted, "My apologies, but I haven't the foggiest idea..." Vigilon felt sympathetic for Piera. To know someone for a while, and then that person gets murdered... Such a thing would be unbearable to Vigilon. He waited for a response, and tried to shake off the horrible thoughts about good friends getting murdered. He looked back at Shield. "Just some survival for a long while, and tanks look THAT fierce?!?" Vigilon had to admit, even to himself, Shield was slightly intimidating at the very least.

@Piera @Shield @Beatbox @Kooh

[Beatbox 0]

"I don't recall Hikoru ever being married to Ariel at one point no, I think they were think about it. But now its all in the gutter now." he had stated to her question towards Beatbox regarding the two "Heck, Hikoru wants nothing to do with that monster of a female anymore. I don't blame him in all honesty, I would be shocked too to know that my lover had killed my best friend." he had stated as he looked back to the names, none of which he could see his old guild members crossed out... Cho, Golden, Hasai, Scarlett, everyone still seemed to be there and no one had perished, which brought a smile upon his face. Beatbox had chuckled at her stating that she sorry for ruining his visit, "Nah, nah. I came here to find out one thing, and that's exactly what I found.". He looked back and forth making sure once more no information brokers where around "The main reason why we should go a little more private is because... well, they're some open ears around here... you don't want false information about your name..." he said with a frown.

@Piera