[F03-SP] <<Treant Rivalries>> Tree Mercenary

[Freyd 0]

"This is just weird."  Quip was staring at a perfectly spherical ball or bark-covered wood.  It was roughly a foot in diameter without any visible top or bottom.  The thing had literally rolled itself into the monastery grounds and come to a stop at her feet as she sorted the rather limited inventory at Freyd Edges.  Dingo, who was seated next to her, failing at assembling a series of shelves, was equally perplexed. 

"What is it," he asked, poking it with his foot. 

The ball popped open like a jack in the box the instant he touched it, growing a pair of humanoid arms and legs.  It had a mouth, which appeared as little more than a moving slit on one of its side, but not eyes or nose.  In a deep, uncharacteristically booming voice for a creature of its size, it bellowed its message.

"The Arbor of Grandirfjall has fallen under threat from axe and saw - the tools and weapons of elves gone mad.  Champions are needed now!"

"Seriously?!  The treants sent out a mailer to hire muscle to fight their war for them?"  Freyd, who returned to the shop just as the message began, was leaning against one of the timber poles supporting its precariously swaying tarp roof.  "What's the catch, and where's the payoff?"

"The Arbor shall grant nature's blessing upon all who serve with distinction.  Report to the Grandirfjall, upon the third level of Aincrad, should you seek to prove your worth!"

With that, it's arms and legs withdrew into the sphere, its mouth vanished, and the bizarre little ball rolled back out the monastery gates.  Quip, Dingo and Freyd were left staring at each other, wondering what had just happened.

Spoiler

Name: Freyd
Level: 28
HP: 560/560
EN: 56/56

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 41
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 3
KEEN:1
HLY:2
BLD:12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Forgiven Disobedience (T1-2HSS, ACC 1, HOLY 1, BLD 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb (T2-LA, MIT 2, EVA 1)
Misc: Assassin's Cowl (T2-Trinket, ACC 2, KEEN 1)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 1]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival

Mods: n/a

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potion (50 hp)*3
Teleport Crystals*2
Divinity's Wait (T1 Mit 3)*5
Liquor of Light (T1 DMG 3)*5

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

Guild Hall Buffs:n/a

Scents of the Wild:n/a

Wedding Ring:n/a

 

Edited July 2, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"Are you gonna go?"  Quip was asking Freyd, still looking bewildered by the unusual quest-prompting.

He shrugged.  "Sure.  Why not?  We'll need to do some checking to see if this is legit, but it if it, we might as well get it done.  Let's find out the risk and reward specs."  His immediate concern was that this might be another one of Cardinal's traps.  The last invitation he'd receive in this manner nearly resulted in his death.  He didn't intend to go in blind again.

***

Their concerns were proven to be unfounded.  Freyd and Quip found themselves on floor three, staring at a bunch of angry-looking trees.  Their faces looked like cheap caricatures, and were more amusing than intimidating.

"So let me make sure that I've got this right,"  he continued. "You lost your favourite sacred tree to a bunch of elves that are using it for assorted frolicking and frivolous activities, which are making you so mad that you declared war, at which point they killed half your people."

The Elder Arbor was dismayed by the casualness of Freyd's summary, especially after his epic three-hour recounting of the great tragedy of his people, but yes.  That was the gist of it.

"Alright then, I'll get the elves out."

 

[Freyd 0]

Their sentries folded like a string of the little green army men he used to play with in the yard as a child, right before his dad ran over them with the lawn mower.  It was sad.  Freyd had marched right up to their lines, pretending to deliver an eviction notice.  The guards had all gathered around him, threatening and challenging him with intense physical displeasure.  Once they were clustered together, it became trivially easy to cut them down.

The balance of the guards came running, only to find their companions disintegrating before them.

"Are we really going to have to do this?  Why don't you take this one Quip?  Have fun.  I'm going to go check out the grounds."  The stocky woman grinned from ear to ear, eager to unleash some pent up frustration on a group of suddenly terrified mobs.  She could be seen in the background, chasing after them with her spear and shield raised high, triggering some Benny Hill style romp while Freyd moved on.

 

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:560/560 | EN:41/56 (-15) | DMG:14 | MIT:41 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

Elvish Soldier #1: H 0/65 (-82) | MIT 30 | DMG 15
Elvish Soldier #2: H 0/65 (-82) | MIT 30 | DMG 15
Elvish Soldier #3: H 0/65 (-82) | MIT 30 | DMG 15
Elvish Soldier #4: H 0/65 (-82) | MIT 30 | DMG 15

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"That's far enough, stranger."  The elven commander had appeared with a pair of lackeys in tow.

"Huh.  That didn't take long."  Freyd soon realized that this supposed invasion amounted to about a dozen elves, all prancing around a single large oak tree.  Quip was still chasing down four of them, rampaging in the background while he and this trio bantered.  "Given how the treants described things, I really expected more of you."

"They have a tendency to exaggerate," replied the elf, "but there remains the matter of the murder of my kin."  He looked towards the point where the last of the pixelated motes from Freyd's first strike were still raining down.

"Hmm.  Yeah.  Sorry, not sorry, I guess."  Freyd said, shrugging.  "You know how quests are: just business, and all."  He hefted his sword up as if meaning to continue.

"Regrettable, but understood." the captain signaled his men to surround and attack.

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

The two elves attempting to encircle Freyd died instantly, much to their commander's dismay.  His sword was now pointed at the captain's heart.

"I don't suppose it will make any difference, but it seems only fair to provide you with an opportunity to withdraw your forces and surrender this ground back to the treants in perpetuity."

"I cannot!  These oak trees are sacred to my people and will not be abandoned to those addled, overgrown twigs!"

Freyd pressed his palm to his forehead.  Neither side was in the obvious right here, or even all that lucid about their views.  They just both wanted the spot.

"So be it.  You got your chance.  Let's get this over with."

The captain charged, but Freyd successfully parried his attacks without even having to give ground.  The mob was outmatched, but continued fighting his hopeless cause nonetheless.  With a swift counter, he sent the man spinning into the oak, face-first.  

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:560/560 | EN:30/56 (-11) | DMG:14 | MIT:41 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

Elvish Commander #1: HP 100/100 | MIT 55 | DMG 20
Elvish Soldier #5: HP 0/65 | MIT 30 | DMG 15
Elvish Soldier #6: HP 0/65 | MIT 30 | DMG 15

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

The captain peeled his face off the tree and swung wide, bits of bark still glued to his face impairing his vision.  Freyd had already stepped back and was just watching him flail.

"Come, fiend!  Face me and meet your -- URK."

"The reach of a two handed straight sword is considerable," Freyd interrupted.  "You should remember that."

*Thump*

Freyd kicked the fallen elf's sword away, just as a precaution.  He started to dis-corporate a moment later.  Quip was still chasing down the last of her foes on the far side of the clearing, knocking him flat by throwing her helmet at him.  She had a very unorthodox fighting style, but it worked for her.  Freyd was content to let her unleash her frustrations on their enemies, rather than himself.

Was that it?  Calling up the quest log to verify, he noticed that the Elvish King was bound to get involved.  Oh great.  Here we go.

 

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:560/560 | EN:19/56 (-11) | DMG:14 | MIT:41 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested

ID157106: BD 6+3= 9 [Hit] against Elvish Commander for 168-55=113 damage.  Killed.

Elvish Commander #1: HP 0/100 (-118)| MIT 55 | DMG 20
Elvish Soldier #5: HP 0/65 | MIT 30 | DMG 15
Elvish Soldier #6: HP 0/65 | MIT 30 | DMG 15

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"YOU!!!"  came the Elvish King's bellow, emanating from the clearing's edge.

Yes, 'me', get on with it already.  

"None shall deny us our rightful prize, impudent cur.  Prepare yourself to face my wrath."

"Seriously,  you're gonna give me time to rest up?"  Freyd was stunned, until he remembered the intended level of the quest.  Most lower level groups would probably need a rest by now.  Finally, he just shrugged and leaned against the tree. Quip strolled over, having finally finished off her last opponent.  

"What's his deal," she asked, sticking her chin out toward the king.

"Don't mind him, he'd just monologuing.  You know how it is with field bosses on these quests.  They build in recovery breaks, for less experienced players."

"Can't we skip it?" She asked, scratching her head, then putting her helmet back on - the one she'd just used to beat one of the guards to death.

"Doesn't look like it," he replied, stretching out his arms behind his head.  "We just have to wait him out."

Edited July 4, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"Why don't you just attack him and get it over with?"  she barked, insinuating that Freyd was being lazy.  He held out both hands, urging her to calm down. 

"If he attacks, I'll cut him to pieces.  In the meantime, let's enjoy a quick break and let our energy recover.  Patience is not a flaw, Quip."  By her glaring eyes, she clearly disagreed.

"You're going to burn yourself out with rage if you keep that up.  Even worse, you'll burn out Dingo first.  The kid cares a lot about you, and your anger is affecting him - a lot." A purpl-ish red hue was rising up her face the longer he spoke.  Freyd remained cool, which just infuriated her all the more.

"Haven't you noticed that he shrinks a little more into himself every time you lose it?  You're literally killing him, Quip, and it needs to stop."

"WHO THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS --"

"Time's up," Freyd interrupted, pulling his blade from the ground before him.  The King had finished his rant, even if she hadn't finished hers.

 

[Freyd 0]

The Elvish King charged.  Freyd locked blades with him, then slid Forgiven Disobedience down to strike his opponent in the head, staggering him and ruining the momentum of his assault.  The man lost his balance and stumbled past him, encouraged by a swift booted kick to his backside.  It was the monarch's pride that took the worst of the blow, not that the rest of him was faring much better.

Quip was nearly apoplectic, a thick array of blue veins pulsing on her discoloured forehead.  

"You shall never triumph over the mighty  -- ARGH!"  The king's efforts to rise were not going so well.  Freyd had a knee firmly planted in the mob's back.

"Look," Freyd said, resuming their conversation, "your anger is about as effective as this guy's.  It's not doing him any favours at the moment, and yours is only hurting your brother.  I'm sorry that you both lost your sister - I truly am - but you need to move on, for him."

 

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:560/560 | EN:45/56 (-11) | DMG:14 | MIT:41 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested, trig Keen 1

ID157165: BD 4+3= 7 [Hit] against Elvish King for 168-75=93 damage.  

Elvish King: HP 57/150 (-93) | MIT 75 | DMG 25

ID157165: MD 6-1= 5 [Miss] against Freyd. 

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

Forgiven Disobedience started to pulse with growing celestial energy, the longer Freyd spoke.  

"You weren't there!"  Quip raged.  "You have no idea what happened!"

"Does it matter?  She's gone, whether by fate or chance, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Unhand me you fiendish--"

*Thud*  

Freyd had cut short the king's ranting with an abrupt bop from his sword's pommel.  The blade, meanwhile, continued to charge with holy fury in time with Quip's unravelling soul.  He was starting to suspect why it was that Quip couldn't move past this.  If his surmise was accurate, it was tragic beyond belief or endurance, even though that was precisely what needed to happen.  Tears of anguish streamed down the young woman's face face as her legs gave out beneath her.  She fell to her knees.  This was going to hurt.

"She died because of you, didn't she?"  He hated himself for having to say it.

The heartwrenching wail that followed was confirmation enough.  Goddamn.

Freyd plunged the sword down on the king's head, holding the blade and hilt and pressing it down like a guillotine.  The holy blade flared brilliant white as its angelic choir song unleashed in perfect time with Quip's agony, as if absorbing her pain.  Please, let her know peace.

 

Spoiler

Freyd | HP:560/560 | EN:45/56 (-11) | DMG:14 | MIT:41 | EVA:1 | ACC:3 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12 -> rested, spent & re-trig Keen 1

ID157167: BD 10+3+1= 13 [Crit +2, trig Holy 2] against Elvish King for 216-75=141 damage + 12 bleed.  Killed.

Elvish King: HP 0/150 (-153) | MIT 75 | DMG 25

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

Their returns to the grove of the Elder Arbor was slow and silent.  It had taken almost an hour for Quip just to be able to stand.  Freyd waited patiently beside her, kneeling in the dirt where the Elvish King had perished.  His hands were awash in the white blood unleashed by his sword's final strike.  How true that image was.  He had killed so many.  Were they less real than people in here, without their flesh?  Did it even matter?  Maybe.

Maybe it did.  Maybe it was the conscious decision to fight for those like himself that could save him - save all of them.  

"This bloody game is taking a toll on those that live, even as others fall.  Every time it happens, we lose part of our humanity.  Please, Quip, hang on to yours."

She didn't answer, but kept trudging on beside him.  Her face had been ashen since the King fell.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"We were exploring an uncharted area on floor nine, Dingo, Maeve and I."  They were the first words in almost three days.  Freyd and Quip had completed their tasks in the forest, returned to the Elder Arbor for their reward, then made their way back to the Liminal Blind.  She hadn't said a word in all that time.  Freyd had been starting to wonder if something had broken irreparably inside her during her battle with the elves.  More likely, she was finally moving through an enormous backlog of grief.

"Things had been going fine.  All three of us were finally starting to make progress, having gathered decent enough gear to make a go at tougher content."  Quip's face was still ashen.  Her eyes looked haunted, which said something considering that they lived in a doomed city surrounded by an entire floor of overrun, zombie-infested ruins.  Bleak was normal here.  This had to be that much worse. "I was getting desperate to advance.  My brother and sister have always been less driven, and it was getting to me.  A bunch of adventurers in town had been talking about this big haul sitting untouched in a cave system nearby.  I rush us out the door to go after it."

[Freyd 0]

"We'd been doing so well that I was sure we could take on anything that might be guarding it.  I was wrong."  Quip's tears had long since been exhausted.  She was just purging, releasing the burden that had been weighing on her for weeks.  "There was no treasure - or, at least, none we could manage to get.  The chest was a giant mimic, which explained why it appeared to be untouched.  Maeve... innocent Maeve..."  Quip wiped her running nose with her sleeve, trailing a sticky line of snot as she pulled her arm away.

"My sister ran right up to it, boasting that she would be the first to get the loot.  The damned box just opened up and bit her in half."  Quip looked up at Freyd, the guilt and horror still fresh in her eyes.  He looked back without judgement or sympathy.  She needed to get through this.

[Freyd 0]

"It was all that I could manage just to get Dingo and I out of there.  He was in shock and just stood blankly in front of the thing as it went for him next."  Her hands were shaking as she spoke, as if nerve endings were still trying to react to the ghosts of a situation long past.  Reaching up to her head, she removed her helmet and revealed a tangled mass of matted golden hair, half-braided and aggravated by the ever-present moisture about them.

"You saved a life."

"I killed my sister!"

"You made a bad call, and someone you cared about paid the price because they did the same.  That's how it works in here."

"You're an ass, you know that?"  she raised her arm to throw her helmet at him, but let it drop to the floor instead.

Freyd leaned back precariously on his stool, stretching his arms behind him.  Satisfied that he was making some headway.

"You'd be surprised at how aware of that I actual am."

She kicked the stool with her boot and sent him flying backwards.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

*THUD*

*Ooof*

"Ow.  Yeah, okay, I probably deserved that."  Freyd lay sprawled on his back in the damp packed earth that served as the floor in his poor excuse for a shop.

"Ya think?!" she said, a slight ring of mirth and satisfaction in her voice for the first time in ages.

"All the time, unfortunately.  It causes about as many problems as its solves.  The catch seems to be figuring out which problems need solving the most and abandoning the rest to chance."  He stood, righting his stool and sitting back down, this time out of range of her leg.  "Yours merits solving, but I can only get you so far.  You need to do the last bit on your own."

She grimaced, hating that he so often whittled things down to the inconvenience of truth.

"How the hell do I solve this?!  How do I look my brother in the eye, EVER again."

"By accepting that there was blame enough to go around and that you only have to deal with your share.  He never blamed you for any of it."

"How?!"  she pleaded.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[Freyd 0]

"Simple: he's a good kid, who's more aware than his big sister gives him credit for."  Freyd's expression softened.  This was the delicate part.  "You did right by both of them when you all became trapped here, in a crueler and more lethal world than our own.  You protected and nurtured them as best you could, but none of us are frozen in time.  They still grew up, and inevitably made their own choices."

"How many times is my heart going to be ripped to shreds about it?"  Quip was crying again, but it didn't overwhelm her this time.

"Quite a few."  The way he said it caught her attention.  Something in his tone revealed it: he knew this pain, and had lived it himself.  The truth was, he still did, and knew that he always would.  She would too.  In that revelation she reached out and clenched his hand, shattering her solitude.  Freyd hardly felt it through the pain suppression. 

I hardly feel anything anymore.

***

[Freyd 0]

Freyd saw Quip and Dingo huddled around a fire later that afternoon, having a good heart to heart by the looks of it.  Things improved dramatically between them from that point on.  Quip even lost the edge on her scowl.  He was going to need to figure out what to do with those two when the last of their personal issues were resolved.  They actually seemed content to hang around the monastery, which suited him fine.  It also meant that he was free to quest and wander without having to wonder about how to deal with it if anyone every actually bothered to show up at his shop.  Quaestor had his own place to run, across the way.  He couldn't keep counting on the man to watch his empty stall.  This might actually turn out well for everyone.  He made sure to gather everyone together for dinner at Quaestor's  that evening to discuss options.

[Freyd 0]

Everything was settled, and with remarkably little debate.  Freyd had been about to recommend having Quip and Dingo stay indefinitely when they made the very same recommendation.  Quaestor had just laughed at the rest of them, shaking his head.  He'd been let in on Freyd's plan and was to lend support to his proposal - which proved to be completely unnecessary.  Even the best laid plans never quite worked out as you might expect.

Freyd, of course, insisted that they negotiate terms of employment and offered them a base salary in addition to the proceeds from the shop.  They also agreed that the shop needed to be converted into a proper place of business.  That would take a bit of doing: new and proper storage and displays, signage, advertising, and - at Freyd's insistence - disproportionate and overwhelming levels of security.  He was adamant about that last part, and no one else could think of any reason to argue against it.

[Freyd 0]

It took a couple of weeks to get it all sorted out, but they finally did.  Freyd Edges was now officially in business.  Quip and Dingo had turned in their armor for proper working clothes.  He manned the cash while she stocked the shelves and curated the sale displays.  Things were looking up.  Quaestor offered discounts to anyone crazy enough to come all the way to the ass end of floor thirteen and shop at both of their stores.  It had brightened their lives to build something, especially in the middle of such an utterly depressing locale.  

Freyd was ready to set out again and collect more merchandise to help fill the new cabinets.  The cleverly concealed storage containers that Dingo had devised would help keep things secure, and Quip's sharp tongue and earth-shaking scowl would keep everyone on their best behaviour.  It was a good start - a new hope for them all in a world surrounded by oppressive doubt and despair.

[Freyd 0]

The last of his goods were packed in his storage and ready to go.  Freyd gave a whistle to Persi to give up her latest reign of terror on the monastery critters.  She came bounding down the face of a nearby limestone tower, her blue eyes as satisfied as ever, and yet still eager for adventure.  Quip came out from the shop and met them at the gate.

"I never thanked you, proper-like, for what you did."  She looked almost matronly, with an apron wrapped around her waist and broom in hand.  

"You did the hard part," Freyd replied with a rare kind-hearted smile.  Quip placed her hands on both of his shoulders and bent him down a little, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered, careful that Dingo didn't hear.  

"You're welcome," he replied, matter-of-factly, but with a smiling expression.  "It was just good business."  He winked at her, then spun sharply towards the door and set off once more.