[PP-F1] Embrace the Shadows

[Dazia 0]

Sunset was arriving, and Dazia still had much to do. "Guess I'll be doing the same thing tonight as I was this afternoon. But I shouldn't do it alone. I'll have to find an ally or two first, then I can move on to gathering and minor combat...perhaps." She walked towards the starting city until she was a stone's throw from the outer side of the walls, then she decided to find a good place to wait. She sat down on the ground, watching the sky as the sun would soon disappear, the moon waiting to replace it, and a few clouds rolling in here and there. She began thinking about quests, and what was available, to pass the time, stopping for a moment to watch her back for a second or two before returning to her thoughts. Night hadn't fully approached, so Dazia couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't be found by anything that posed a threat to her. Sure, she had a Perfect quality Rapier, but that wouldn't save her from dangerous mobs.

@Domarus @Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth did what he always did after working to keep up his end of the bargain with the Laughing Coffin. Napping in the trees of floor one. It didn't pay off to get back up all the way to his home on floor four. Pretty much all of the players on the list Sensui handed over to him resided on the first few floors. How was it possible for him to attract sh*t like a magnet the way he did.

His eyes slowly opened at the sound of someone walking by. A yawn escaped him while he watched a black haired beauty pass by him. Brown ores followed the female as she walked towards the town of beginnings, but then decided to rest on the just some paces away from his tree. Obviously she hadn't noticed him. 

"Don't you know that it starts getting quite dangerous outside of the safe zones at the start of the evening. Shady players, lingering in the shadows might try to take advantage of single girls." Aereth said with a chuckle.

He still wore his armor, although without his face mask and hood. 

@Dazia

[Dazia 0]

Dazia was watching the the sky as the sun begin to sink below the hills, making the scene darker, as she was remembering the skills she planned to work with. "One handed Rapier, Battle Healing, Energist, Gatherer, Light Armor... I'm sure there may be more... But as long as I survive, I should be fine." She was going to look behind her when a voice broke the silence. She reacted, which was to say she got up as she turned and drew her rapier out of it's sheath, then saying, "And just who would be one of them? You?" Just by noticing the armor the other player had, she knew she'd just been, for once, rash, if not overly defensive. She backed up slightly, but her weapon was still drawn in case she had to cut and run, so to speak. "I assumed I could pull a little overtime, but I couldn't guarantee my safety If I was facing a pack of monsters rather than a single mob. Sure, I could have easily gathered, but I can't be certain I'd find anything in the night easily." She continued to keep her distance, ready to jump out of harm's way if need be.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth chuckled once more when the female jumped up and rose her weapon against him. Before he answered the question of Dazia, another yawn escaped the brunette. "Nah. You're fine for now. I already called it a day, so no fear." He said with a sly grin on his face.

When Dazia then mentioned how she wanted to get out again for some mob grinding, Aereth couldn't help but shake his head mentally. That girl was way to starry-eyed for her own good. Even though it was true that mobs got more aggressive during the nighttime, the thing she should more worry about were the real animals in this game. The actual players. Add a loose end of Aereths past encounter with the Black Adder guild to the mix and there you go. The perfect drama of a young female killed in the forests of Aimcrad. If everything would haben gone according to his schedule, he would still have had a couple of hours worth of napping, before he would have met up with Domarus to go on the hunt for that one loose end. Aincrad was a cruel and unforgiving place and even the slightest mistake would result in death or sometimes even worse things...

"The name's Aereth. And if you still want to go out at this time you really should keep one or two strong players around to keep you safe." He then let himself drop to the floor and walked over to her, completely unfazed by the weapon pointed at him. "Actually I was waiting for a friend of mine to also join me on a late evening hunt. So if you like you can join us?" Aereth asked in a calm and inviting tone. 

@Dazia

[Dazia 0]

Dazia lowered her blade, but did not sheathe it. She knew she couldn't handle mobs alone at such a low level, but she never knew she would encounter a possible ally like this one. "My only goal is to survive. By any means necessary. If it means getting stronger, so be it. If it means I stay hidden from potential threats, so be it. I guess I'll join, but don't think I won't keep my distance." She was actually hoping for a possible ally to be around, since her current level was no doubt the riskiest. Not to mention when weak players join in fights, the best moment to do so was when the monster became fixated on the stronger players and the tanks, otherwise they ran an extreme risk of death. Therefore, she planned to wait for a possible ally, but she should have remembered that there are definitely players who wouldn't give a crap about others, and most likely kill. Was Aincrad truly a world where only the strong survived? Only time would have to tell, in Dazia's case...

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry I don't take offense if somebody points there weapon at me anymore. If I would, then almost all of Aincrad would be on my, 'No Friends' list." he chuckled and opened his menu to send over a party invitation. The small message box, popped up in front of @Dazia and in the meantime Aereth started to type a message to his companion.

Quote

To: @Domarus

Subject: Hunt

Text: Hey there. I found somebody that could hep us with our little hunt we planned for today. It's a low level player that wants to do some nightly mob grinding. We could use her as some kind of bait, to lure that little pest out this time. Either way, meet me at the coordinates I sent you.

With that he pressed the send button and turned back to face Dazia. "I just sent my buddy a message to tell him where we are going to meet up for that grinding session." Aereth said and and gestured Dazia to follow him into the forest.

[Dazia 0]

Dazia was pretty much told that she currently had no reason to worry. Of course, that couldn't keep her from being mildly concerned at the least. She hesitantly sheathed her blade, and accepted the invite before she began walking towards the forest to follow this Aereth. She started off a little slow, but she quickened her pace a little, although she was still concerned enough to jump back and flee should there be any sudden movements, or even a possible trap... "This wasn't the only possible decision, but if I'm going to survive, I need to do what I must. I guess I'm in the ridiculous position where I'd pretty much train with anyone as long as I don't get myself killed... I can't be certain that this is the safest time to find an ally and train, but as long as it works..." Both her thoughts and suspicions were on her mind.

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

The walk was pretty quiet, because it seemed like Dazia was kinda lost in thoughts, but Aereth didn't mind for now. There was some minor rustling in the bushes around them, but most definitely it was just some underleveled mobs that were too afraid to attack an level 43 player.

At least she had sheathed her weapon again. But after some time questions crossed Aereths mind. "I hope you don't mind if I ask, but what type of player do you want to become? Hmm. That doesn't sound the way I'd like to say it.... Let me try again. What goal do you have inside of this game. Joining the front lines at some point, bring some justice to this rotten place or do you intend to become some sort of super villain? I'm curious." Aereth said, without turning around. "And have you ever thought about joining a guild, so that you don't have to walk around with shady orange players like me at this time?" He was quite direct with his messages, but still kept a calm and polite tone while continuing to walk towards the marked spot on his map. 

@Dazia

[Dazia 0]

After some time, Aereth broke the silence with a question. "Well, as I said before, I only wish to survive by any means necessary. But to destroy and conquer, or to protect and save, that question seems to be the key one, which I have yet to figure out... I have been thinking of trying to find a suitable Guild, but I haven't made a firm decision yet." To Dazia, it seemed that moments like this were rare and abnormal, and the silence was a little disturbing. Of course, if nighttime really was more dangerous than originally thought to be, the fact that she was out here was a mistake. For now, she decided to keep her current thoughts to herself, and maybe see where this would lead. She hoped it would be something worthwhile, and perhaps seeing all the aspects of a 24 hour interval might show her some things, both sides of the same coin, so to speak.

10 Dark Points have been added to Dazia's journal

@Aereth

[Aereth 1]

Aereth nodded. It was a much more mature answer than he had expected. "That's a good answer. An answer that helps to keeps you alive. Surviving is top priority, everything else comes afterwards. The path pretty much doesn't matter." he said in an amused tone. "Most low levels want to play hero at the front lines, which mostly results in them getting killed, or it breaks them because they don't manage to do it." he then added, while still walking towards the marked spot. "A little bit further and this is the area where that little berserker is raging. We'll wait for Dom here." he thought and began to slow down. Again the rustling in the bushes besides them was clearly audible. "I hope it is ok if we just wait for my friend to arrive, before we continue. The mobs are getting more dangerous with every step deeper into the woods." 

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus had received his message and stood in the middle of the forest as he awaited their arrival.  He was in his hopebreaker set as he struck quick and fiercely at the monsters whom he had initiated combat with.  He wasn't going to just sit here and do absolutely nothing.  He may as well gather some experience.  Aereth explained his thoughts and Domarus was rather frustrated that Aereth was pulling this out of nowhere.  He would need to have a conversation with the player about rushing into things.  He had hoped that after Aereth's kidnapping he would have learned to make a plan beforehand rather than just jumping into things.  Domarus heard movement and looked to see what was going on.  That's when Rhozarth flew back and gave him indication that Aereth was nearby.  Domarus let the mob run past him before he released a heavy blow, striking the huge boar with enough force to send it hurling through the air nearby Aereth and his 'new friend', the mob thrown with enough force to break through the trunk of a tree which dealt the last damage and the monster shattered in a explosion of pixels.  Domarus sheathed his ax and stood there a moment, analyzing the two.  That woman.  He saw her from the beach event.  Not only that, but for some reason she looked vaguely familiar.  He walked over to them.
     "Greetings Aereth.  And greetings to you as well.  My name is Domarus," He said.  His voice was deep and metallic as he spoke through the helmet.  Keres was not here today.  Domarus wasn't sure how dangerous it would be, and he also wanted to take things slowly.  Rhozarth however, glided over and landed on his shoulder piece, it's fiery piercing eyes analyzing Dazia up and down.

@Dazia

[Dazia 0]

Aereth seemed to agree with what Dazia said, adding that the path didn't exactly matter, as long as survival was achieved. He then explained how most starting players try to be a hero early on, either getting themselves killed or given a rude awakening of a sort. "If you mean reckless, I can see that..." She muttered. She recalled that time  the other day when she and three other players were out to kill a Dark Elf on floor 3. One player in particular, Vigilon, seemed to be a wannabe hero at the moment, and when the Dark Elf appeared, his first few attempts to hit the creature were all dodged, and there wasn't a single scratch on the Dark Elf for the beginning of the fight. The two players stopped to wait. Dazia didn't mind waiting, but she preferred to keep silent for now, for it would be best that she didn't accidentally grab the attention of monsters, who might be aggressive. A player drew near, wearing intimidating heavy armor, and with a metallic voice, introduced himself as Domarus. "And my name is Dazia." So this was the player they were waiting for. What would happen next was still a mystery, and Dazia remained wary as of the moment.

@Aereth @Domarus

[Aereth 1]

Finally, the two players were able to meet up with the heavy armored friend of Aereth. It was time to get going. "Hey there Dom. I think we are ready for our hunt. So here's the plan:" he said turning towards Dazia. "We will need you to lure out the mob we are looking for. They are looking like small boar piglets and have the <<Gourmet>> tag. From what I've heard from my information brokers they tend to spawn more often around lower leveled players. With Dom at their two and myself slowly scratching at tier three it would have been a pain in the butt to hunt them alone. In the meantime, Dom and I will follow you hidden but with some distance, ready to strike and assist you catching them. They go away for quite some Col in the cities and we will split the gains equally. Any objections or improvement suggestions?" Aereth asked. He was lying about the whole mob hunt stuff, but he was telling her the truth about how she was supposed to lure out something. That something just was far more dangerous than a simple mob. Domarus knew that and if everything went right all three of them would walk out of this night with one problem less and the players of the first floor would finally be able again to enter this part of the forest without the fear of getting killed again.

@Dazia remeber that this is a NK thread so you don't have to fear to die in a PK action. :)

@Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus watched as the woman approached him and introduced herself as Dazia.  An interesting name he thought to himself.  What intrigued him most was that she didn't seem to have any reaction, nor showed much emotion on her face.  He couldn't help but wonder what the cause of this was, or if she was controlling herself.  He knew others who could do the same, but Domarus was a step higher in skill, able to duplicate the emotions others tend to show on a daily basis when he feels quite the opposite on the inside.  At any rate, so far as Domarus knew, this woman was like any other individual.  
     "Pleased to meet you Dazia,"  He told her.  Then Aereth began to speak, mentioning a hunt.  Domarus looked back at Dazia for a moment before he pieced it together.  What are you planning Aereth?  Why use this individual?  Domarus couldn't let information of this girl being used by Domarus leak out into the public on any level.  Was Aereth that sure this player wouldn't crack and share?  If Domarus even suspected that she would, he'd order Aereth to follow her and eliminate her.  He couldn't afford anyone discovering his true nature, and thus needed to remove any and all evidence, no matter how small.  In the meantime however there was the matter staring right in front of them.  Aereth was speaking of course, of the little pker that had escaped from the caves he was imprisoned in for some time now.  It wasn't even human anymore so Domarus wouldn't mind ending it, but it had to be Aereth since he had the orange cursor...  Unless his intention was to give this player an orange cursor as well.  There were multiple reasons why he would do that, but only a sliver of those would be worth it.
     "The, piglets are extremely cautious and very very agile.  Not only that but their perception range is great as well.  They tend to know what's going on around them.  I doubt that a simple ambush would accomplish anything.  We'll need to be more prepared than that.  Dazia, I suggest that you chase these piglets toward these coordinates.  While they're being chased they won't be able to process around them.  I'll remain stationary in hiding while Aereth follows you in the shadows since he has light armor and far more stealthy."  

@Dazia

[Dazia 0]

So from what Dazia was hearing, she was going to lure out valuable mobs. Sounded pretty simple, but if they could fight back, Dazia would definitely need some help. If she was the only player in sight, these mobs might come out, then she could "chase" the mobs, misleading them to their demise... "A clever strategy to set up a trap, or ambush. Either way, as long as I'm not in as much risk as I think I am in right now, I should be good..." She thought about this for a minute or more, then said, "I trust you enough to say I'm up for it, although, if these mobs are like most, they may just attack me instead...So, do they fight back, or do I not have to worry about what the best way to go about this would be?" Such details would be required at the current moment, since she was low level, of course.

@Aereth @Domarus

[Aereth 1]

Aereth nodded in agreement. "That sounds good Dom. That would raise our chances of actually catching on off guard." And he was pleased to hear that Dazia had no problems with following the plan the two came up with. "The piglets usually don't fight, they just flee. But they let lower levelled players get closer to them before they run. The only things you need to look out for are these piglets. I will follow you in quite some distance and strike as soon as you find one. In case they flee we will force them towards Dom where he can catch them if need be. And don't worry about any other mobs around you..." the brunette said and vanished for a moment just to appear right in front of Dazia with a chuckle. "Like Dom said... I'm pretty damn fast." 

After that he quickly opened the map and together with Domarus marked the spaces where Domarus would be hiding and from where Dazia and Aereth would approach.

 @Dazia @Domarus

[Domarus 0]

Domarus nodded and began making his way into the forest.  As he made his way through the trees and the brush he sighed in annoyance before opening his menu, pulling up his inbox and typing out a message.  It was to ensure Aereth understood what Domarus was attempting to tell him, inform him of what he was unable to say, and also that there would be a rather detailed conversation between him and Domarus on his little, spontaneous decision here.

Quote

To:  @Aereth
From:  Domarus

Confirm that you understood what I was telling you before about the target.  More than likely the target will start chasing Dazia.  We both know he's likely to play with her first, so don't do anything but keep him from stopping her movement.  I'll meet you between your current position and the false destination point.  There is a cliffside there that will be perfect for us.  After this we need to have a talk Aereth.

Domarus hit send and looked back up, growling to himself once he was sure he was out of earshot.  The target knew they were there, and he knew the target heard their plans, and thus Domarus had to think of a new one on the spot.  Still it wasn't the worst plan.  They would be able to prevent the target's allies from escaping, though the target itself was nimble.  Cornering it would be impossible.  Therefore they would corner it's allies who would most likely be waiting at the false destination, or working along side the target, against the cliff and end them rather easily.  From what Domarus knew about the target, it would watch most of it while holding either Aereth or Dazia captive.  It would be up to either Aereth or @Dazia to eliminate the target.

[Dazia 0]

Dazia felt slightly reassured, but this was only the plan. After all, it is easy to come up with an idea, but much harder to put it into action. "I don't know how difficult this will be for me, but I will do what I must. Chances are, I might actually be biting off more than I can chew, even with help. Nevertheless, I guess I should give it a shot." Then there was the latest problem. "Wait. Which direction am I supposed to go?" Dazia turned slowly to Aereth. "So, which direction do we go? Or should we just move forward?" Perhaps getting the last few details would help. "Whichever direction we go, I'll need to keep my eye out for any of the targets. I may be low level, but this will give me a bit of an advantage to keep the targets close... This plan might work, as long as I can keep up. Although Aereth told me not to worry about anything, I can't be too careful..."

@Aereth @Domarus

[Aereth 1]

A frown worked  itself over Aereth's face. When Domarus demanded some 'talks' they usually ended up in him getting scolded by the redheaded man. For Aereth only results mattered and thus he would do everything in order to remove his target from Aincrad.

Quote

To: @Domarus

Subject: RE

Text: Of course. That little pest has been tailing me ever since I entered this part of the forest. Don't worry I got this.

He pressed send and turned towards Dazia as she asked him where they would need to go. "This direction." Aereth answered, while pointing towards the destined meeting spot. "They already should be spawning in a little bit. So I'll just fall behind a bit, ok?" Said, done and Aereth vanished into stealth. Now it was only a waiting game until the prey would show up.

A couple of minutes later, something finally happened. In the bushes to Dazia's left there was a rustling sound and faster than anybod would have expected, a hooded figure emerged, tackling Dazia and making her fall to the ground. The hooded player used a tree to change his direction and landed directly above the grounded Dazia.

A little bit behind them Aereth started to activate his <<Charge>> skill, when he felt something holding him back...

[Domarus 0]

Domarus held Aereth and shook his head.  
     "I wish to see how she'll react to this."  Dazia would have seen nothing more than the player's lower features.  The player was about half her size and didn't seem strong but in truth was far stronger than Dazia was thanks to the game.  The player was smiling at her.  Not darkly, not a grin.  Just a normal smile.  He kneeled down on her, his knee on her midriff, while his other foot sat soundly on the ground.  His right hand went to her hair and began to twirl it a little bit.
     "It makes me smile to see someone as beautiful as you on a dreary day such as today.  Yet all the same, it is also a sad sight.  To see so many who are young and beautiful to be caught within the tight grip of this world.  Kayaba seems to be rather cruel does he not?"  He stopped playing with her hair and took her weapon, tossing it into the trees.  However there was no sound of it striking the ground.  
    "Sorry about taking your property like that, but it's not right for a lady to fight you know?  Hmm..  I would like to have you as a sister....  But I doubt you'd want me.  I could force you but then it wouldn't feel right.  Ah well.  At any rate it pains me to see you in this world.  It means that you must undergo the horror and terror of the cruelty of this world correct?  Fear.  Anger.  Sadness.  These things all distort the perfection you currently display for me."  He leaned in closer and kissed her on the forehead, his hands keeping her from doing anything if she made the attempt.  He pulled back and sighed.
     "Would you like to be set free of these horrid emotions?  Would you like to escape this wretched world?  I swear I won't ruin your beauty in any way."  The figure paused and looked up towards the forest not too far from where Aereth and Domarus stood.  He shook his head.
     "Now that's no way to treat visitors my friends.  If they wish to come out they may.  Leave them be.  Ah, I forgot.  We should probably introduce ourselves at least correct?  A gentleman is nothing without his manners after all.  My name is Merieth.  What might your name be miss?"

@Dazia

Edited October 29, 2017 by Domarus