[PP F-05] <<Blood in the Sand>>

[Black 0]

Black would be sitting at a bar nursing his drunken stupor as he drank the tavern's ale. Not being able to get drunk really didn't matter to him as much as enjoying the fluteerring cluster of incessant chatter and roguish men looking to satisfy their cravings for scamming coin through immoral gambling practices. The city of the desert sands was ripe with competition for card and dice games galore.  His “Lucky Devil” bandana across his forehead shined in the laternlight as he smirked at the gambler across from him that was playing poker with him. "Alright, let's see the what you got out there." A husky voice replied as the other person laid down their cards. "I got a three of a kind." The rugged adventurer dressed in a beige hooded robe with a red mask replied. Black frowned and bobbed his head a few times, appearing slightly saddened.

"I got a full house.." He demurred like some western cowboy who had just won a standoff. He tipped his head to the gentleman and began to rake in his Col.

"Well, damn, when I said I'd buy you drinks..I didn't mean enough o buy out the whole bar, Black, give me a break." The other player whined.

"Hey man, you know better than to test my luck. I told you already man, it's a gift." Black chuckled, as his eyes darted to notice a familiar face in the crowd.

"Well, how about a rematch?" The burly man queried, throwing more Col at the table.

"Nah, I got bigger fish to fry..looking for bigger coin." The black swordsman replied as he stood up and walked over to another brown skinned man. "Aye, that last song was fire homie, how much you charging for this one?" The hip-hop-esque player gae off urban vibes in his accent. One could tell he enjoyed that flavored ambiance. "200 Col? Alright, bet. And you, I've been whipping in the kitchen with that wrist motion. Your boy a rank six chef now. " He sa id with a smile, before looking over to ebony skinned woman with fiery red hair. "Word on the street is there's a quest around this floor that drops this dope ass mitigation potion . I'm talking enough to get some really good items for boss fights, dungeons, and raids..maybe even some money for a nice player house." Black bobs his head like his was up to some grand scheme, wondering if they'd take interest.

“Whoa, whoa whoa man. You're talking about Blood in the Sand? You do realize the beast's bite can chew right through that armor of yours, right? That's crazy dude. You might think it's a good deal, but Nah fam. I'm out.” The black skinned player replied to Black. The woman rubbed her arm nervously. “Yeah, I'm sorry Black. I got to bail on that one too...too dangerous.”

Black winced in disappointment. “Wha...wait...hey come on…” But his words would fall on deaf ears as the duo left. "But...aye, you didn't even let me show you my mitigation familiar yet!" He would shake his head at the fearful friends. "Well, one groups loss is another ones winnings!"

 

He then confidently stands on top of a table and looks to the crowd taking a long swig of his whiskey before shouting out. "Hey, we're looking for a few good men and women to go kill a Sand Shark! I'll be tanking that ugly sand monkey and dinner is on me after!

@Kirbs

@tricolor_mina

@Dustin

 @Mutsu

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs sat in a booth in a random bar she had found on floor five. So loud, she thought as she sipped on her orange juice through a pink straw. She eyed a small group of people that were playing some kind of gambling game whose faces she couldn't see. What's so fun about gambling? Most of the time you just lose all of your money anyway.  Kirbs huffed and went back to drinking her orange juice. I wish I could do this in real life, she chuckled at the thought.  I'd be drinking my orange juice in a bar full of grown-ups who are gambling over money. Heh.  Her train of thoughts was interrupted when a loud player stood up on the tables and started yelling about a... Sand Shark?

Wait a bloody minute... she squinted at the figure, finding the voice and body stature to be quite similar to someone she knew of. Bloody hell, is that Black?  She stood up from her seat and sighed, "I'm pretty sure I'll regret this later." She walked over to the hollering player and made a semi-thoughtful salute at him, "what's up Major Black?"

Battle Ready Inventory:

Spoiler

Stats:

LVL: 3

HP: 60

EN: 6

DMG: 2

ACC: 1

EVA: 1

MIT: 0

Paralyze: 1

Perfect: Green  Rare: Blue   Uncommon: Yellow  Vanity: Orange

Equipped:

> Shatterglass: 2 ACC, 1 Paralyze 

> Starter's Light Armor: 1 EVA

Items:

> 5 Starter Healing Potions: Heals 50 HP

  

@tricolor_mina

@Dustin

@Black

@Mutsu

Edited October 18, 2018 by Kirbs

[Dustin 0]

Dustin, being in a bar, was drinking his beverage when a man stood up and stood up himself, moving over to the man obviously recruiting for a quest. He looks up at the man on the table, smiles. “If you’re looking to kill a monster, I’m your guy.” He says in English. His black trench coat hiding his hand wraps. He raises his hand. “The name’s Dustin, and this is my sword DawnBringer.” He says, equipping his sword and removing his hand wraps. This is gonna be awesome, killing a sand shark was the thing that got me back into going out and adventuring. He examines his sword and sees a smudge on the blade. “Oh damn, I have to polish her more often.” He says, wiping the smudge off of the blade. He hugs it and puts it back in the sheathe and smiles. “So when we going out to kill this monster?” He smiles.

@Kirbs

@tricolor_mina

@Mutsu

@Black

[tricolor_mina 0]

Mina's dark red eyes focused onto the amber liquid within her wine glass, a bored look on her face. It was a rather boring afternoon for her at the moment, despite the fact that she was currently at floor 5, looking at hunting down a powerful monster. It was a bit of a terrifying idea, sure, but she was fairly certain that she had seen far, far worse during her time as a police officer. Despite being a relatively peaceful country, that only made the murders here in japan seem all the more... violent. she shuddered inwardly before knocking back the remainder of the drink, and downing the remainder of the whiskey. It wasn't a mere moment later that there was a bit of shouting from another part of the bar that she was sitting at. It was a group of three players that were talking together... rather, Shouting, together. It was a bit much be hearing in a bar, especially since you couldn't exactly get drunk in a video game. She let out an annoyed sigh, before walking over to the group, when she was taken aback to see an acquaintance of hers, Black, standing atop a table, shouting about fighting a rare mob called a sand shark. "Black, get off of the damn table before someone yells at you." she hissed, a look of annoyance on her face. "You are supposed to be an adult, so act like one! We're supposed to set up an example for everyone el- " Mina realized shortly after she had started to yell at him that a younger pair of players had started to talk to him. She blanched before staring down at the floor, embarrassed. "E-eto.... I'm sorry about that... I think that I may have been caught up in the moment. Umm... sorry..?"  she said weakly, an embarrassed blush on her face.

@Black @Dustin @Kirbs @Mutsu

Edited October 18, 2018 by tricolor_mina

[Mutsu 0]

Mutsu tromped and stomped through the dusty town of, well it was called something, on the fifth floor. Sand. Sand was everywhere on this floor. And sun. "I like the sun, what girl doesn't," she said to herself as she jingled along the dusty avenues of the small town. "But, I prefer it when the sand comes with a beach," she continued, still speaking to no one in particular. Rumor had it there was some kind of something or other to kill on this floor to get fabulous loot and prizes. Of course, there were things like that on every floor when it came right down to it. But, from what she had heard the loot from this Sandshark thing was particularly good.

As she wandered she noticed a tavern. Well, if anyone was likely to have information about where to go to find the thing so that she could kill the thing and get the glorious glorious loot it would be someone in the bar. Pushing open the door to the establishment, Mutsu sauntered in and the first thing that she noticed was that the @Black was standing up on a table and carrying on about, apparently the very same thing she was here for in the first place.

"Oh," she called out, her voice carrying over the din as the clambered up onto another table. "Are we having a Table Dance Dance Revolution," she asked, then she began prancing and jingling around the table she had climbed up on, in her full armor, putting on quite the show.

@tricolor_mina @Dustin @Kirbs

Edited October 18, 2018 by Mutsu

[Black 0]

Black felt his magnetic aura and thrill for unveiled adventure began to pull in worthy men and women ready to slash, stab, and maim all in the name of lining their pockets with Col and loot.

“Come on, where are my fun loving treasure hunters?” Black shouted as Mina came over to scold him for being a grown ass man hopping on tables in a bar and causing a scene. However, Black was a man on a mission and he had loot to discover. “Ah, pajulusta, hamshira” Black replied in an Arabic tone. “So..I see my sister treasure hunter have returned to the desert sands once again! This time the whispers of the dunes tell me of a great potion that drops for the party members who wreck the swimming beast of the sands! “ He then looks to the other warriors that gather around. “Yes, yes, come my minions...listen in to my devious plot. So...we're a bunch of T1s, right? Well, we’re going to ride this thing out and look after one another. I’ll scoped out some info about these nice mitigation potion that makes us all pretty beefy. It's pretty essential for survival and well...I like having you guys around so I say we shove our swords and spears don't shine and nab this loot. “

He smirks at Kirbs. “Kirbs! Everybody this is Kirbs. She's a pretty cool player that gave me the idea for a glorious meat dish. The meat shield! “ He exclaims as he shows off a Steak dish with a +15 Mitigation bonus in the shape of a shield. “It's genius!”

He then waves a hand to Dustin.

“Welcome to the motley crew, Dustin. This young punk is an up and coming blacksmith and a pretty courageous fighter, from what I hear.” He nods in approval.

“Mina here did a quest with me that dropped a whopping fifteen grand! Woo! She also is pretty good at punching things with her fist.”

“And last but not least, we have the queen of sass but not much class, Tinkerbell…” He chuckles as she dances and adds a fun spontaneity to the crowd. Black then begins to do the running man and hop off the table sending party invites to everyone. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your tank speaking...I take the beatings you do the cleavings, we got a deal? Yes? Awesome! Let's go!”

Black would begin to walk at a moderate pace casual cruising through the city streets and out to the desert sands.

“So, how have you guys adventures been going? “ He'd ask out of curiosity, making small talk to get to know them more.

@Mutsu

@tricolor_mina

@Kirbs

 @Dustin

[Kirbs 0]

Kirbs raised her eyebrows as she glanced around the group of people. “Bajeesus Black, I didn’t know you were this popular. That restaurant of yours reeling in random strangers?” She looked back at Black and smiled genuinely. “Oh my God, you actually made the bloody shield,” She gaped at the piece of meat with a tinge of disgust. “... And you know, a meat shield is a word used by gamers- you know what? Never mind, already tried explaining to you once already,” she raised her hands up in defeat, shaking her head. 

She look back at the group of people and raised her hand to give a small wave. “Yeah, Kirbs... that’s me,” she chuckled dryly as she looked at each and every one of them. At least I’m not the only girl in this blasted group. She sighed in relief and looked up at Black again. “So what’s this about a shark made out of sand?” Kirbs asked as she followed after him. “It’s been meh, I got a new weapon and all of that. So that’s good.”

@Mutsu

@Black

@tricolor_mina

@Dustin

[Dustin 0]

Dustin hears the girls question. “A shark made of sand sounds frickin awesome.” He says in Japanese. His Father being American, Dustin learned English growing up, but his mother is Japanese, so she taught him to speak Japanese. This was helpful because he grew up in Japan, and he knew both languages. I wish there was a shark made of sand. It’d actually be difficult to kill. “Dang, now I have my hopes up.” He says, looking a bit disappointed. He pulls out a cookie and takes a bite, pullin out a few more and extending his arm. “You guys want any?” He asks, taking another bite from his cookie. He finishes his cookie and slides his hand in his pocket, pulling out another snack in the process.

@Black@tricolor_mina@Mutsu@Kirbs

Edited October 19, 2018 by Dustin

[Mutsu 0]

"You take the beatings, eh," Mutsu asked, hopping lightly down from the table she had been dancing her jingling jig upon. She padded up behind @Black, while they were still safely within the confines of the Town's safe zone, and delivered to him a sharp open handed smack to the back of the head. "You're right," she declared merrily to the group. "He takes beatings real good," she said with a giggle, before dropping her tone into the deadly serious range, "And the beatings will continue until morale improves!"

After delivering her message to Black she fell in with the rest of the group, jingling with every step as they moved through the town. While she was not overly fond of this floor or of deserts, at least this floor had the virtue of being a dry heat and not dripping with humidity like the sixth floor. The jungle was an absolute nightmare. "You know, the usual. Kicking names, taking butt, looking stunning and jingling while doing it. All in a day's work."

@Dustin@tricolor_mina@Kirbs

Edited October 20, 2018 by Mutsu

[Black 0]

 

Black chuckled as Kirbs mentioned the potential of popularity and even gave him a bit of free advertising with her word of mouth. He couldn't help but laughed at how she pointed out his ridiculous meal, but he felt it fit. “Yes, of course I know what a meat shield is...and yes this isn't quite it..but I’ve been trying to get enough beef to take to those blacksmiths so they can make me a meat shield, but they keep saying that's not how it works! I think they just aren't a high enough rank yet. I'm going to go see Macradon. “ He huffed, determined to bring meat shields into greatness. “Ohhhh, a big Chef knife sword and a shield made out of meat! It'd be perfect!”

 

Black then hears Dustin's counter about how a shark made out of sand would be awesome. “You know...speaking of sand and cookies..I actually went to volunteer out in Haiti...did you know the people out there were so broke they legit used to mix sand with water and let it dry out on cement and eat them. They were called sand cookies and they sold for like a little less than a dollar. True story. Crazy how much food Americans and other people waste. “

 

Black then looks to Mutsu. “Though I hear it's not that way in Japan. Hell..even the sumo wrestlers don't waste a drop. Maybe if I feed you enough you can compete!”

 

Suddenly he got smacked in the head. Of course he would. It wouldn't be right for him to expect to be safe. Not around Mutsu. Great thing these hits didn't register in real life or he would probably be in a coma.

@Mutsu @Kirbs @Dustin

Edited November 2, 2018 by Black

[Kirbs 0]

“Oh god, please no,” Kirbs face palmed herself and sighed. “It is ridiculous on how you actually took this... seriously. I regret explaining gaming terms to you,” she chuckled and shook her head. “And what is this about a Sand Shark thing? It sounds really cool actually,” she nodded at Dustin. Even though I’m pretty sure it’ll defy the laws of physics.

Kirbs reeled back in horror, “that is disgusting! You might as well be eating bricks for all I know! Dirt and water makes cookies? That must be horrible. I wonder what it actually tastes like though,” Kirbs wondered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “It’ll taste disgusting, for sure.”

”What is this... sand shark supposed to look like actually? I mean, duh. A shark made out of sand but it sounds awfully boring if it's just a brown shark,” she shrugged. “So how have you been, Black? Other than making an actual meat shield and stuff like that...”

@Black @Dustin @Mutsu

Edited November 15, 2018 by Kirbs

[Mutsu 0]

OOC: @Dustin I am operating on the premise that, in terms of timeline, this thread happens BEFORE the events in the thread with you, me, and Ennakai.

Mutsu took a few jingling steps, leaped into the air, and slammed into @Black's back, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and twining both of her legs around his waist as her head popped up over one of his shoulders with a merry sounding jingle to regard @Kirbs with a playful brown-eyed stare. "My battle hippo has been good. Doing all those things that battle hippos do. Eating. Farting. Eating. Being lewd. Eating. Taking beatings. And, of course, eating. Also, battle hippos are supposed to be silent. And crush watermelons whole with their powerful jaws, I've seen that YouTube Video," the woman continued, trailing off for a second as she replayed her words in her head. "Were you thinking something preverted, Battle Hippo, because I said something about putting watermelons in your mouth? Bad Battle Hippo, very bad," Using her free hand, Mutsu reached down and swatted Black on the rump. "Now, hyah Battle Hippo! We must away! Follow me brave meat shields... I mean companions!"