[F1-OP] Hunting outside the Town of Beginnings...

[Frank 0]

Frank breathed in deeply. The weather was nice, warm and pleasant on the skin. It was going to be a wonderfully temperate day, but it was also going to be a day for killing. Frank had spent enough time inside the Town of Beginnings lately and felt a need to get out, to explore, and to find some creatures to kill. The grasses blew in a direction that showed the wind was moving from east to west, and the sun was nestled at its morning perch, heading in a north-eastern direction, Frank moved out away from the town. Crossing the hills, and moving down into a valley known as the Valley of the Forgotten, Frank looked forward to exploring this area himself. As he moved down into the Valley, the mood dampened, the area was cast in shadow, making everything gold and desolate. Higher-level players had already explored these areas, but their were always things which were missed by those players in their push to rush through the area. This is where Frank would come in, it having took him longer to learn the game mechanics. Frank didn't know much about the Valley of the Forgotten, only that it was rumored to be the sad, hopeless resting ground to ghosts of lost players. Certainly, it is ominous here, Frank observed as he descended down into the Valley.

 

 

(OOC : GET. IN.)

 

 

Edited December 29, 2018 by Frank

[Sey 0]

What a fitting valley for his presence, one where there was an absence of direction as he aimlessly walked around. So this is where Leru forced him to teleport, quite an ominous setting for him to be in. Still, his eyes shifted as he walked through the valley. It didn't take long for him to find a presence there among the rocky pavements, an older gentleman walking down the path on his own. Perhaps a stray player looking for home? Not much of a threat was presented when looking downwards onto the player, but Sey had no intent on suddenly attacking players on the first floor. Come on, he wasn't Leru.

Petty quip out of the way, he would follow down towards the man with a walking pace, not really interested in sneaking in the shadows or anything. None of his skills were dedicated to the sort, and it wasn't like he had anything to hide either. And so he would continue pacing with tiny ticks against the rock being the only sign of his presence if the man in front of him wouldn't turn around. Did Sey have anything better to do? Pfft. Nope.

So he would relieve his boredom by softly making a statement. "Lovely weather we're having, hm?" An obvious lie considering the atmosphere, but it was a common way to start up a chat. And he was very much curious to see where this would lead to.

[Frank 0]

From behind, Frank heard a soft voice call out to him, the wind not quite loud-enough to deafen it.

5 hours ago, Sey said:

"Lovely weather we're having, hm?" 

Cautiously, because one had to always be cautious when encountering players outside of a Safe Zone, Frank quickly sized up the young man making his way towards him. Whoever he was was, he was tall, slim, and sported an unkempt mop of silver hair on his head. Rather plain looking in his face, Frank was unable to get a read on what his personality may be like. However, Frank was not going to simply ignore the young man. Instead he answered back, "Yes, if you love dead flowers, and hate the sun." Gestering around Frank continued, "Pleasant place, huh? I came down here to do a bit of hunting, figured there might be a few of those coyote monsters  roaming these cliffs in a pack around here, but so far I haven't found any trace of them. There's a series of caves at the bottom of this valley though, might be worth checking out. What brought you here?"

As he spoke, Frank had transitioned from one of the walk-ways to another, this one would take him straight to the bottom of the Valley. He would converse and continue moving, Aincrad wasn't a place to stand still out in the open for too long.

[Sey 0]

He seemed willing to talk without panicking. Lovely, they were going to have a nice and calming chat. Orrrrr he would ask what Sey's purpose for being present here was. "Events in life have brought me here so that I may think over them alone. Perhaps not so alone, but I'm not exactly disturbed at the thought either." With that, he placed his hands behind his back while walking down the trail with this new stranger. It wasn't like there was much to say to someone he just met after all. That's what building trust does, and a great amount would be needed for him to go into the hellish details locked in his mind. But there was one field of interest that Sey had in mind, and venting out his thoughts onto the monsters of the floors didn't seem like such a bad idea. "Hunting for the loot that they drop? Or just hunting for the thrill?" It wasn't like the monsters alone provided the levels, but players who wanted loot probably shouldn't go alone. But bringing Sey along meant that the monsters were going to be higher in level, though his damage should be able to wipe them out in a shot or two. Was that a worthy risk? Sey mentally shrugged off the idea.

[Frank 0]

The ground crunched beneath the pairs feet as they continued making their way down the path. The dust around them was trampled as this had been a commonly used route to reach the bottom. The cliffs around them had a cold, empty feeling to them, or rather, they reflected the cold mood and atmosphere the Valley itself seemed to emanate. The wind blowing through the Valley began to sound more and more like a low, wailing moan as if a ghost itself was trying to call out to you.

As they walked, the pair continued conversing; the young man had mentioned coming out to this desolate place alone to think, which Frank found to be understandable. Sometimes the Town of Beginnings was simply too much activity, too many people, and too much going-on. It made for a stark contrast when leaving the Town and coming out here into the wilds, and then coming even further into this desolate place. As they neared the bottom, the young man posed a question to Frank, on his purposes for hunting, whether he was hunting for loot, or hunting for the thrill. Frank somewhat heavy, replied with what he felt was an honest answer, "Killing is never a thrill. Especially not animals. I've come hunting only for the loot." Stopping every now and then, the pair would scout out over the view for any sign of movement, not seeing anything. "So you're well-armed, are you in a guild or have you been a solo player this whole time?"

Once at the bottom of the rocky path, the pair stood before a large series of caves. The darkness of the cave-opening was all-consuming. Once inside, it would be quite dark.

"Well, shall we go in?"

[Sey 0]

The environment wasn't so scary these days, it was a familiar place now that he has been hanging around the game for a bit. Did something want a fight? Oh please. That would make his day so much better. "A shame. I find the thrill in the money. It just happens to be the monsters that get in the way." Sey replied with a shrug. It seemed heartless, but these were just pixels to him. At least the virtual money fed his virtual body, the pain of being homeless out on the streets with no food or drinks was... Less than appealing admittedly. The second part was a question about his guild. Oh, hm. Hm... "I was in a guild. Then I was disappointed. Let's just say that it will take a bit of sweet talk and negotiations in order for me to reconsider. I like to think I'm well off on my own." With that, he would cross his arms and look to the man. Not the most impressive equipment, but there was always time to improve. Everyone started like that. "If you can though, I would suggest getting into one for the experience."

The cave was dark, but Sey didn't possess something to see through the light. Usually, he is capable of fighting through it. But was he going to throw a stranger into the fire? Well... There was no profit in doing that. For all he knew, this could be a potential frontliner. "Enlighten me, do you have anything to combat the darkness in the cave?"

[Frank 0]

"I do, actually." Frank replied. With a wave of his hand he pulled open his menu and scrolled through his inventory until he found what he was looking for, and with another button press, his glow-stone materialized and bathed the walls in a cool, blue-green light. It wasn't as bright as the sun or anything, but Frank still thought it was nice to be able to see his hand in front of his face again. "There, that's better."

 

Continuing down the dark hallway, the pair traveled in silence, which Frank appreciated greatly. It was rare to find someone else who preferred to keep conversations short, most of the players he had met so far were quite a bit more talkative. Though the silence was reassuring, Frank was becoming increasingly nervous at the lack of encounters. Flipping through his inventory again, Frank pulled out his field rations and took a bite of a rather delicious looking food-bar.

-1 Field Rations
+30 Temp HP Per Thread

While Frank observed his HP ticking up, the pair advanced down the path, through its twists and turns, and occasional forks, until they finally found themselves in a larger room within the cave. It was by no means gigantic, but rather the size of a bedroom, perhaps a bit larger. On the far side was a metal gate, and lining the floor was a series of bear traps, some which were closed and holding the grisly remains of partial bear legs. As they entered, a secondary trap was sprung, and a large, impenetrable door slammed down behind the pair. It would be impossible to go back at this time, as the door was clearly meant for holding bears and the bloody scratch marks on the door showed it was very effective at its ghastly purpose.

Turning towards the traps, Frank sighed. "Well, I'm the one with the glow-stone. I guess I'll try and go first, you follow close behind. No need to say it, but be careful." 

Stepping carefully Frank made his way across the room. It was patient work navigating around the traps, and an unfortunate misplaced step would trigger one without mercy. This task was not made any easier by the fact that the light of the glow-stone simply just didn't extend that far. Frank stepped past one, but as he placed his foot down, out of the darkness appeared another trap; unfortunately he was much too late realizing it. The trap wrapped around his ankle, leaving him writhing in pain on the floor. Out of the darkness another form appeared, a ghostly image of a bear, and with a violent roar it let loose a deadly howl.

ID 111170 LD 11

(OOC : A Loot Die Roll of 12 or better is required to not step on a bear trap when out of combat. A trap trigger causes the player to be stunned and a most deadly Ghost Bear to appear. Frank is stunned for the upcoming first round of combat. I'll let you decide enemy health, damage on this one @Sey)

Edited January 7, 2019 by Frank

[Sey 0]

Oooooo, players that looked lower in level and experience came prepare. The radiating light would allow for them to navigate the scenes of the mysterious once-dark caverns. So he held his hands into fists and nodded when walking along with the fellow player. Reasonable enough to keep alive for the future, one who was so prepared to walk in alone should be rewarded. And so they walked before the slam of the door behind them would trigger what he'd assume is a trap. Not the only one either, for there seemed to be a minefield of them all over the place. Admittedly, he knew nothing of the sort until he took a full scan of the scene in front of him as he stepped.

But it was too late, his partner seemed to be on the ground already from a trap. Sey had no items to heal and he recently traded his first aid ability, but at least the health of his partner wasn't lowering. A status effect trap, but which one? Since they didn't officially party up, there was no way to tell. It would be best to keep an eye on him. At the very least, Sey just stared as the man rolled around in obvious pain, but he didn't really offer much comfort with his silence either. Come on, that health bar wasn't lowering, there wasn't much danger.

It didn't take much longer for a ghost to appear, matching quite well with Sey's appearance. At least, the concept. The bear looked like that of any other, but the thing was still not immune to fists of wind. Seems like a trap was bound to trigger the summoning of a bear.

"Sit tight right there, I'll handle this." Sey declared, making the choice to stick around and lend a hand. Now the bear was bound to catch two of them.

Sey: 1,205/1.205 HP  I DMG: 19 I ACC: 3 I EVA: 3 I MIT: 99 I BH: 50 I LD: 2 I EN:  52
@Frank : ???/??? [Stunned until a move is made I assume?]

Ghost Bear (Rare): 300/300 I DMG: (Player Level x 5)

ID: 111575
LD: 16

Edited January 13, 2019 by Sey