[PP-21] Red Assumptions <<The Hidden Village>>

[Freyd 0]

<<The Hidden Village>>

Sitting in a quiet tavern in the heart of Kalanaes, Freyd nursed a pungent glass of what the bartender called wine.  He preferred to think of it a fermented form of pressed mushroom bearing the aromatic splendor that one might imagine to find in a room full of stinky shoes that had been locked away by other shoes for their own hygienic wellbeing.  It smelled really bad, but the taste reminded him of a certain cough syrup his parents had force-fed him as a child, and wasn't altogether unpleasant.  

His meeting had gone about as well as he'd expected.  The broker network had conjured rumours of a supposedly abandoned mining camp deep to the south, except that it wasn't so abandoned.  The location was unknown and merited a thorough search.  Wherever this place might be, it was said to be a source of rare red blood crystals like the kind that had infected Skalaugh and his clods.  That had been enough to garner the Whisper's attention.

To: Raidou From: Freyd I may have found a lead on the source of crystals used by the Spire's agents to empower their forces and manifest their strange reincarnation abilities.   There are no guarantees, but it is worth investigating.  You'll find me at the 'Rampant D'Orjay' in Kalanaes.  Please don't ask.  I just go where the trail goes.

@Raidou

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:165/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3

Spoiler

Consumables:

Artisan Carrot Cake: Accuracy +2: [164273]
Lavender Lemon Bar: Evasion +2: [164293]
Fiery Dragon Roll: Mitigation +3 (T3): [160133-1]
Well-Done Steak: Protein +2: [174817] – Filled +1
Liquor of Light: Damage +3: [168169-1]
Mega-Duper Anti-Everything Sauce: Antidote 3 [170015]
 

Stats:

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
Level: 75
HP: 1530/1530
EN: 165/165

Stats:
Damage: 20 (+3+3)
Mitigation: 79 (+45-45)
Evasion: 2 (+2)
Accuracy: 4 (+2)
BH:76
VAMP OFF:153
HLY:6
FLN:6
LD:5

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T3-2HSS, VO 1, HOLY 1, FLN 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb (T3 LA, MIT 2, EVA 1)
Misc: Night Shades (T3-Trinket, ACC 3)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 4]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Parry [Obtained]
Energist [Obtained]
Charge [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit R3 [Obtained]
Hiding [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival
Meditation

Mods:
Precision
Finesse - Rank 3
LA Athletics
Ferocity
LA Sprint and Acrobatics
Night Vision
Vengeful Riposte

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals*5
Gungnir Shard: Haniel's Modesty (T3 Perfect HP Rec [Instant]*5
Flash of Rejuvenation (Mass HP Rec [Instant] (+30*Tier HP)*5
Fruit-Infused Tea (T3 HP Recovery)*5
Imugi's Inspiration (T3 Mass HP Recovery)*5
Mega-Duper... Sauce (Antidote 3)*5
Grave Injustice (T3-2HSS, ACC 1, Keen 1, Abs. ACC)*1

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
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring: n/a

 

[Raidou 1]

After a bit of effort and use of connections and hearsay, he found his mark through conversation. This 'Rampant D'Orjay' was an unknown to him, still within the obscured portion of his map. It was a clear definition of the fact more of these floors still needed discovered. He'd not deny Freyd in his request, the man had done more than enough to aid him and it was time to turn the heel and offer the same. All other movements could wait.

Dropping off his morning's gains and pulling a few vials off the shelf to deal with what was to come next. Preparing for the worst and hoping for the best was the name of the game, assumed that if allowed things would go into lethal territory at the drop of a dime. This would not be allowed to happen. Once enbibed the consumables, the threshold of the hall broken and the warp gate of coral triggered. A dirty trick with a trigger of tracking, Freyd becomes visible on his HUD giving him a Nav to seek out.

Kumatetsu Activated [+1 Base]

Raidou consumes: Antibody Amalgam (Antidote 3/3), Titan's Strength (+3 Base), Well Done Steak (+2 Base/-30 Mitigation), Poached Egg (+3 Accuracy/Filled)

Raidou | HP:1690/1690 | EN:166/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:3/3

Spoiler

Raidou, The Red Wanderer
Level: 83
HP: 1690/1690
EN: 166/166

Stats:
Damage: 25
Mitigation: 76
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 6
BH:84

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Auric Sol - Corona [T3/Perfect/2HSS]: Damage 3
Armor: Red Wanderer's Robe [T1/Perfect/L.A] +3 Evasion
Misc: Tactician's Gaze - Ogma [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +3 Accuracy

Skills:
Gatherer [Obtained]
Two Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit R3 [Obtained]
Parry [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 5]
Charge [Rank 5]
Extended Weight Limit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Mastery: Protector
Survival

Active Mods:
Vengeful Riposte
Finesse Rank 3
Athletics
Sprint and Acrobatics
Detect
Tracking
Ferocity
Bull Rush

Inactive Mods:
Focused Howl
Emergency Recovery
Justified Riposte
Reveal
Stamina

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal*1
Pillar Fragment [Unique/Nightvision Mod]
Eternal Watch - Tenacity [T3/Perfect/Trinket]: Recovery 2, Accuracy 1

Housing Buffs:
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.
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
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

 

[Freyd 0]

Freyd was absorbed, scouring a handful of different maps he had obtained from local sources on the layout of the deeper areas of floor twenty-one.  He'd spent an inordinate amount of time on this level, but mapping every nook and cranny was too time consuming.  His attention was needed in too many places for such efforts.  It had taken a few threats, twice as many bribes, and one inexplicable promise to return with a jar of pickles to obtain this information.  The details were all slightly different.  Overlaying digital imprints of the data had proven more fruitful.  What was commonly missing from all of the maps was more notable than their inconsistencies.  Each and every one of them had a dark spot, marked consistently with a warning or as 'unknown' on every map.  Sipping at his coffee, the Whisper wondered why.

The saloon-style flaps at the main entrance as a figure in red entered the establishment.  Rampant D'Orjay was known more for its unsavory patronage and unseemly activities than most respectable types could endure, but it made little difference to either of them.  It was just a place to meet, and another source of information.  Clinking the cup back onto its saucer, he intercepted his companion and led him back out the door.  They did nasty things with plants here, too, and somehow he sensed that it might be too much for Raidou.

"Let's walk and talk.  You don't want to talk in here.  And please, for all our sakes, don't ever use a black light in this place."  He sounded like he spoke from experience.

[Raidou 1]

It was not a difficult journey to make it through the routine, a rather morose and scum laden looking abode to be sure. Sub standard rabble littered worn down benches and chairs, nursing low quality almost salvage worthy liquids. The whisper found fiddling with loose leaf that would place confusion on those that surrounded him. Further aggression despite being green is met with a induced red glare, Raidou was no stranger to these places.

The man that chose a veiled threat found his heart in his gullet, Freyd finding him before things escalated. Looking to the maps and simply saying nothing as he took a vague glance. "Agreed." his cursory taking in the only commonality in absence. Through the back doors of this run down turd, curious at the price paid but left to the shade in a cowl. Behind the abode a male was releasing himself on the wall half unconscious with his forehead placed against its backside.

The beated path rings out of the respective alleyway in a painting of dim lighting feigning moonlight. A sharp hiccup on their flanks as they left. "I am curious what you've found." Raidou spoke with a flicker of his lenses.

Raidou activates Vengeful Riposte -5 EN

Raidou | HP:1690/1690 | EN:161/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:3/3

[Freyd 0]

"Rumours and conjecture, for the most part, but enough of it to form a pattern."  A few hand gestures summoned the vellum maps he had been studying.  Stacking them in the proper alignment, Freyd held them high to backlight them against a nearby and rare source of light in the Underdark city.  His gloved finger pointed towards the absence of detail in one corner.

"Here is where the abundance of speculation lies, and also warns against wandering.  A few... contacts," he hesitated at how best to label them, "have implied that goods are being secreted to and from one or more outposts in this location.  Someone has gone to considerable lengths to cover their tracks."  The papers vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, Freyd's cowled head turning to check if they had received undo notice.

"Evidence for Spire activity is weak, and mostly speculative, but the potential is too high to ignore.  We've both spent a great deal of time on this floor.  I have never even been near this area, let alone even noticed it enough to pay it any mind.  Have you?" 

[Raidou 1]

While Freyd fiddled feverishly with the papers in his fingers, Raidou took a back leg and held fast to hear the fellow captain out. "Rumors usually have some truth, I hardly see it take nothing less. Although the interpretation begins to distort." drawing out the pillar fragment, he'd offer its light to Freyd for a better glance. A single exposed finger points to a blank, a direct obscurity.

Removing his black book from his pocket, although they could obscure the flow of information and pay others to forget. His map was sound...

"It appears to be a little past Charko, the tiny village that some are clambering to get into. They are simple folk and I give them some supplies once in a while." he looks through the page of his own mapping data, before peeling from the page a full detail as detection triggers. Extending an invite to Freyd, he begins to paint a 3 dimensional map in topography. A wayward finger taps the drawn scope, painting a green dot upon it. "Ideally we will have to head toward the village, then hang the wall. I've not been much past here, but the route is rather simple and mapped."

[Freyd 0]

Freyd tracked the data silently as Raidou corroborated his own findings and added more.  "One day, you'll need to tell me how you ended up as an information broker in the first place."

He took a moment to appreciate Raidou's light source, but said nothing.  

"Charko..."  He shook his head, not recognizing it.  "But even a simple village can be a front, or a pawn in the games of others.  The Spire's been too quiet since the Cratered Lake incident.  I also have a lead on who may be behind them, but this is not at all the place to discuss it."  Nudging them towards a set of stairs the led up to the ramparts.  Freyd never entered or left this place by the gates, unless he absolutely had to, and that was immediately telling to his level of concern of something hereabouts.

"Come on.  We can talk more on the road."

[Raidou 1]

He began to ponder and wonder, given they had punched down to this floor from above. That induced that perhaps they had natively been produced here in the darkened caverns, an easy place to hide the anchors without drawing attention to them. "It's not an interesting story." Raidou commented in regards to the inquiry, just a way of making ends meet using skills he had from prior experience.

"Curious still, I'd hope that the entire village is clean and its just a few bad apples. They appeared simple enough, and needed only simple tools." he spoke in earnest, hoping that the supplies he'd offered were being used for better and not for worse. Breaking through the barrier fencing and keeping toe with Freyd, the littering lantern like protrusions behind them. Drawing the fragment down the blade, removing the darkness for clarity. A stink of musk met with untraversed paths, a memory of the same routine with ChaseR. The kid would be furious if it turned out the opposite was true. He'd not understand if this small settlement was a racket to something more nefarious.

He'd keep an eye up to the ceiling and offer the warning to the whisper "Keep an eye up, humanoid bats. I'll keep detection running."

[Freyd 0]

He nodded in confirmation of the threat.  He and Raidou were both alert to these types of things anyway.  The added warning was practically unnecessary, but still considerate. Their exit from Kalanaes went unnoticed, as expected.  Winding their way through the tunnels of the underdark, Freyd led the pair through the black caverns, navigating mostly by memory of his own records combined with his companions.  The dark did nothing to impede his vision anyway.  Charko was well-isolated and difficult to reach, but they were both patient.  He resumed their prior discussion once they were well-away from the city.

"I recently completed the Search and Rescue with Mari.  We found the wayward wife by the ruined tower, clad in the armor of the Dark Elf queen's royal guard.  She was found in the barracks, where her livery matched the symbols on the ruined walls: a night lily.  When Hidden and I faced off against Blood Bane, it dropped another one of those token's I've been collecting, but this one had the same night lily on the back.  I think Lun'Rael may have survived the decimation of her people, which is why I could say nothing in Kalanaes.  If she were the Spire's leader, it would explain an awful lot."

Freyd activates Vengeful Riposte (-5 EN)

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:160/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL

[Raidou 1]

Outside the realm of earshot from potential eavesdroppers, a bit cleaner and more relayed information was allowed free. Raidou had offered vision to one that did not need it, assumed but the power that Freyd was gaining was still a bit enigmatic in what ways it had improved. The walkways narrow and drain into finer nooks, the whispers words echoing softly off the walls. They were wet with a bit of condensed liquid that gave them a polish like oil, a swirl of colors and a smell undeniably bitter. 

"A night lily, this Lun'Rael is a stranger to me. Which bodes harshly for her secrecy." Raidou admitted that her name had yet to cross his path. He would not admit it, but he found it odd that he managed to get anything out of either of those women. They were not very well focused or driven by more then aggression, which purchased a new light for Freyd. It confirmed his suspicions further, he was the right man for his position if he could get those so troubled to spin into a goal.

However there was a curiosity he had and removing it from his pockets, he tossed the deep purple crystal to Freyd. More of the same, but this one had been found on Shield's countertop. It was in a pile of Shiina's performance crystals. Where the girl had found it remained a mystery to even him. "Perhaps worth investigating, I found it with the guild vaults performance crystals. Probably by accident it got mixed in."

[Freyd 0]

"Her actions predate my active time in Aincrad, and possibly before the start of the game.  Huh..."  Something seemed to have dawned on the Whisper.  "Do you suppose that mobs and NPCs are playing out events on the upper floors, despite us not having yet reached them?  Five years worth of isolated simulation.  I'd never considered that before."

He took the crystal from Raidou, turning it around in his hand before slipping it into his inventory.  How many mysterious finds might have made their way into the vaults over time?  How long had Firm Anima been around now?  It was a question for another conversation.

"Lun'Rael blew herself to pieces, along with her capital and most of her kingdom - part of some elf-on-elf rivalry action, from what I've heard.  The survivors fled here, to the underdark, and have somehow been duped into thinking she still lives.  Which made me wonder if she really did.  Someone has been putting the Order of the Night Lily's few surviving members to the sword.  I met the upgraded version, calling itself the Order of the Crimson Lily.  Not especially original, but they reincarnated, just like Skalaugh, and suffered the same crystalline growths when they did so.  Three times only, though they maxed out their stats for the floor by the last life.  Then they fell for good."

[Raidou 1]

Raidou tapped his HUD that casts a pulse like sonar outward "I believe its a very real possibility, and perhaps the source." he had offered with the light of Charko coming within view, hidden in the crags and stone. Carved out of the environment, flamboyant garb and hair. He'd offer pause and wait, eager under a different perspective to allow them simple motivations without a player within their line of sight.

Given none were above common rabble, only those dictated as mobs and not NPC would be able to see them from the distance. A dirty trick, was if they were noticed the party that saw them would give themselves away. "I find the most curious fact being, that if Skalaugh and the sundered spire were capable of it. Why have they not simply reformed in endless quantity? Why has it been days since with no activity? I wonder if those that become sentient in the way they had are even recognized by the system anymore. If this Order could would they not respawn and try again endlessly? They preach immortality, but I've yet to see it and am beginning to doubt it."

[Freyd 0]

"I'm leaning towards the same conclusion.  It's ingenius, really.  She promises them immortal life, they die one and become fanatically loyal, and then can't recall if they face perma-death or full reset.  How many times have you ever heard of a single mob surviving an encounter with players, or successfully fleeing from battle.  It's rare to the point of being unfathomable.  She's made zealots out of semi-potent snake out, and gets to send them out to do her bidding."

The whisper chuckled.

"If we weren't on the receiving end, I'd almost admire her cunning."

As if on queue, two bat-like creatures dove suddenly upon them from above.  Freyd and Raidou were too cautious for such tricks.  Instead of inflicting harm, both cave bats instantly found themselves smashed into nearby rock faces, suffering the same fate they had intended for the players.

"Heh.  I'd heard they came in pairs.  It seems that particular rumour was correct."

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:152/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL
Raidou | HP:1690/1690 | EN:161/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:3/3 | VENGEFUL

Tempest (x8 AoE, +4 for hits): 12 EN - (Rested, Finesse 3)= 8 EN

ID #177028 | BD: 6+6-2=10 (hit, Fallen +6).  Freyd deals (8*32=256-75=181) damage to Cave Bat #1.
ID #177029 | BD: 3+6-2=7 (hit).  Freyd deals (8*26=208-75=133) damage to Cave Bat #2.

[1,0] Cave Bat #1: HP 819/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 [STUNNED]
[1,0] Cave Bat #2: HP 867/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 [STUNNED]
•    Claws: On every successful hit ignores half of the target’s mitigation (rounded down).
•    (BD: 9) [225] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    (BD: 10) [275] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    Echolocation: +2 LD when looking for players trying to Bypass them.

 

[Raidou 1]

A shower of sparks as a dropped connection is backlashed and vaulted in a heavy crash, both parties getting clipped down half. Equal footing and easily cast asunder with no issue, another pair fell upon them the very same and scatter to the winds. "They don't really learn from mistakes." Raidou quipped and shared in the laugh with a bit of liberation coming along nicely. "Two and two?" he asked of the whisper, as a cable from Juiblex took slowly out of his sleeve. Anchored around one ankle and beginning to drag one in, A tussle of his lenses. "I do believe they assume us outnumbered here. A grave mistake." Raidou offered with the tinge of a grin taking the corners of his mouth, his prey tangled in his web. To a pair that could easily fell titans and creatures much larger then them, it was these things that were underestimating an advantage.

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:152/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL
Raidou | HP:1690/1690 | EN:145/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:3/3 | VENGEFUL

Calamity Disaster [Bull Rushed/Concentration] (x12 AoE, +8 for hits): 17 EN - (Finesse 3)

ID #177030 | BD: 4+6+1-1=10 (Hit!), Raidou deals 30x12=360-75=285 DMG
ID #177031 | BD: 10 (Hit!, +2 Crit), Raidou deals 32x12=384-75=309 DMG
ID #177032 | BD: 6+6+1-1-2=10 (Hit!), Raidou deals 30x12=360-75=285 DMG, [STUNNED]
ID #177033 | BD: 5+6+1-1-2=9 (Hit!), Raidou deals 30x12=360-75=285 DMG, [STUNNED]

ID # | MD: No Action, [STUNNED] fades and is replaced Stun Immunity [0/3]
ID # | MD: No Action, [STUNNED] fades and is replaced Stun Immunity [0/3]
ID # | MD: No Action, [STUNNED] fades and is replaced Stun Immunity [0/3]
ID # | MD: No Action, [STUNNED] fades and is replaced Stun Immunity [0/3]

[1,2] Cave Bat #1: HP 534/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
[1,3] Cave Bat #2: HP 558/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
[0,2] Cave Bat #3: HP 715/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
[0,2] Cave Bat #4: HP 715/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
•    Claws: On every successful hit ignores half of the target’s mitigation (rounded down).
•    (BD: 9) [225] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    (BD: 10) [275] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    Echolocation: +2 LD when looking for players trying to Bypass them.

 

[Freyd 0]

Rushing forward was a mistake.  He'd forgotten about their wings, and their enemies put them to good effect.  Recovering from the initial onslaught with remarkable speed and ease, the cave bats flung themselves away in different directions, scattering so that he could only choose one as an effective target.  With few options remaining, Freyd put all his might and effort behind that singular hit and made the last bat suffer for the cleverness of its kin.  Carving deep into the flesh of its left wing, he effectively denied it future flight and any hope of escape.  

"Damnit!  These things are quick."  Cornering the one wounded bat against a nearby cliff face, be baited the others.  "You come in pairs, eh?  Let's see if your mate deems you worthy of saving."  Stabbing her through the shoulder a second time, he watched and listened as she let out an ultrasonic screech.  Though his hearing was nowhere near sensitive enough, he knew that there would be a reply.

"They'll be back in a moment.  Stand ready."

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:143/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL
Raidou | HP:1690/1690 | EN:145/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:3/3 | VENGEFUL

Calamity Disaster [charge] (x12 AoE, +2 for hits): 14 EN - (Rested, Finesse 3, Turn Recovery)= 9 EN

ID #177035 | BD: 2+6-1-2=5 (miss), Freyd misses Cave Bat #1
ID #177036 | BD: 1 (miss), Freyd misses Cave Bat #2
ID #177037 | BD: 2+6-1-2=5 (miss), Freyd misses Cave Bat #3
ID #177038 | BD: 10 (Crit +2, Holy +6, Charge +5), Freyd deals (39x12=468-75=393) damage to Cave Bat #4

[1,2] Cave Bat #1: HP 534/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
[1,3] Cave Bat #2: HP 558/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
[0,2] Cave Bat #3: HP 715/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
[2,2] Cave Bat #4: HP 322/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [0/3]
•    Claws: On every successful hit ignores half of the target’s mitigation (rounded down).
•    (BD: 9) [225] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    (BD: 10) [275] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    Echolocation: +2 LD when looking for players trying to Bypass them.

 

[Raidou 1]

The targets in question flicker and fade into the surroundings, all but what was still trapped on lines via his familiar. The tendrils draw near, dragging them in deeper for the kill. Raked against the floor in a silent word, wounds forming from the jagged path beneath them. It cuts deep leaving behind red lacerations. The one on his left makes an immediate and desperate attempt at counter. The claws rake into him, the damage actually rather substantial. They fall weak as he drops the wielded sword in reverse grip through its back. It screeches and released him. Its strength waning rather quickly, evaporating through its wounds as it lies prone on deaths door.

Scattering back into sights were its party, either seeing an opening or seeking to aid allies that were losing was less than important. What was is that the players had success drawing them back in for the slaughter.

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:143/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL
Raidou | HP:1359/1690 | EN:129/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:2/3

Calamity Disaster (x12 AoE, +8 for hits): 20 EN - (Finesse 3, Turn Recovery)= 16 EN

ID #177077 | BD: 2+6-2=6 (Hit), Raidou deals 25x12=300-75=225 DMG vs. Cave Bat #1
ID #177078 | BD: 5+6-2=9 (Hit), Raidou deals 25x12=300-75=225 DMG vs. Cave Bat #2
ID #177079 | BD: 10, (Hit, Crit +2), Raidou deals 27x12=324-75=249 DMG vs. Cave Bat #3
ID #177080 | BD: 2+6-2=6 (Hit), Raidou deals 25x12=300-75=225 DMG vs. Cave Bat #4

ID #177081 | MD: 2+1-4=-1 vs. Raidou
ID #177082 | MD: 9, (Hit, Crit +1) vs. Raidou dealing 225-(76*.5=38)=187*.5=94 DMG, Vengeful Procs (Para Negated) returning 225*.5=112-75=35 DMG
ID #177083 | MD: 2+1-4=-1 vs. Raidou
ID #177084 | MD: 10, (Hit, Crit +2) vs. Raidou dealing 275-(76*.5=38)=237 DMG

[1,4] Cave Bat #1: HP 309/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
[1,5] Cave Bat #2: HP 298/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
[0,5] Cave Bat #3: HP 466/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
[2,4] Cave Bat #4: HP 97/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
•    Claws: On every successful hit ignores half of the target’s mitigation (rounded down).
•    (BD: 9) [225] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    (BD: 10) [275] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    Echolocation: +2 LD when looking for players trying to Bypass them.

 

[Freyd 0]

The swarm returned, as predicted, drawn in by Raidou's calls and tethers, perhaps even by a sense of kinship to the one he still had skewered at the end of his Pride.

'That was a rather cold things to do,' a small voice said from the depths of his mind.  Freyd ignored it.  He didn't, and wouldn't care.  Their path called them forward and he would carve through anything that stood in their way.  He'd seen to it that moral concerns would be cast aside.  They had to be, if he was to be able to face the Shadow.  Raidou would understand, though others most certainly would not.

Wrenching the sword from the nearest bat, he watched it disintegrate as it screeched.  Its pain called the others near enough to strike.  They would all regret their sympathy as his blade cleaved into them, targeting wings to prevent flight and any hope of escape.  This was a methodical sort of murder.

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:127/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL
Raidou | HP:1359/1690 | EN:129/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:2/3

Calamity Disaster (x12 AoE, +8 for hits): 20 EN - (Finesse 3, Turn Recovery)= 16 EN

ID # | BD: 3+6-2=6 (Hit), Freyd deals 26x12=312-75=237 DMG vs. Cave Bat #1
ID # | BD: 4+6-2=6 (Hit), Freyd deals 26x12=312-75=237 DMG vs. Cave Bat #2
ID # | BD: 6+6-2=6 (Hit, Fallen +6), Freyd deals 32x12=384-75=309 DMG vs. Cave Bat #3
ID # | BD: 9 (Crit +1, Holy +6), Freyd deals 33x12=396-75=321 DMG vs. Cave Bat #4

[2,4] Cave Bat #1: HP 72/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3] (309-237)
[2,5] Cave Bat #2: HP 61/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3] (298-237)
[1,5] Cave Bat #3: HP 157/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3] (466-309)
[4,4] Cave Bat #4: HP 0/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3] (97-321)
•    Claws: On every successful hit ignores half of the target’s mitigation (rounded down).
•    (BD: 9) [225] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    (BD: 10) [275] Mitigable + Paralyze.
•    Echolocation: +2 LD when looking for players trying to Bypass them.

 

[Raidou 1]

Raidou recovers 84 via Battle Healing, Vengeful CD [1/3], Parry CD [1/2], Concentration CD [2/3]

The one pinned by the whisper expires, its health being spent on one final outcry. The gambit works. The rest pool in from above, the numerous red dot's on Raidou's HUD giving them away. Drawing his left hand to his right shoulder across his torso, a platform as a network of black spikes fire out from his frame. Spearing them like kebob as Freyd clips off wings. Flight taken away, they release as the cables retract and slam them harshly into the stone below in a spray. "Checkmate." Raidou remarks as Samael's Pride swells.

Freyd drops like a bullet upon them, the cavern is rocked and riddled with small stones from the impact. A sphere-like maelstrom of battling energies from his weapon erases the targets, the lines falling slack with nothing left to bind. What remained was a perfect circle cut into the floor, his weapon releasing all of its combatting energy in one cataclysmic discharge.

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:1530/1530 | EN:127/165 | DMG:26 | MIT:79 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:153 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:76 | Antidote 3/3 | VENGEFUL
Raidou | HP:1443/1690 | EN:115/166 | DMG:25 | MIT:76 | EVA:4 | ACC:6 | BH:84 | Antidote:2/3

Calamity Disaster (x12 AoE, +6 for hits): 18 EN - (Finesse 3, Turn Recovery)= 14 EN

ID #177253 | BD: 3+6-2=7 (Hit!) Raidou deals 25x12=300-75=225 DMG
ID #177254 | BD: 3+6-2=7 (Hit!) Raidou deals 25x12=300-75=225 DMG
ID #177255 | BD: 2+6-2=6 (Hit!) Raidou deals 25x12=300-75=225 DMG

[2,6] Cave Bat #1: HP 0/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
[2,7] Cave Bat #2: HP 0/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
[1,7] Cave Bat #3: HP 0/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3]
[4,4] Cave Bat #4: HP 0/1,000 | DMG 175 | MIT 75 | EVA 2 | ACC 1 | Stun Immune [1/3] 

 

[Freyd 0]

Upon entering the hidden village of Charko, it was clear that the rumours were false.  There was no crystal mining operation here, no sign of heavy cart traffic, no storage facilities of any kind.  The village's crudely constructed shacks clung to the face of a narrow stone ledge high above the cavern floor.  There was no lift of means for goods to easily come and go, and barely enough space to even consider aerial transport.  The cave bats would also make short work of any effort towards that type of transport.  The doe-eyed villagers were simple folk living in fear of a tyrant that no longer existed.  They pleaded with the newcomers not to reveal their existence, lest Tesseleth's minion rain destruction down upon them.  The Whisper turned and faced the darkness from whence they'd come, sidling next to the Vanguard captain so as to keep their exchange private.

"I'm not a fan of fostering delusion and ignorance, but this place has an uncanny knack for keeping itself off the map.  That could be useful, in its own way, at some future time.  What do  you think?"

[Raidou 1]

An adjust of his lenses and a soft exhale, another dead lead that promised little in the way of locating their quarry. "They are simple, and in a small way I am glad they are not involved. Leaving them here, Tomoika doesn't need what they would be able to offer." Raidou spoke with plans to continue to offer them aid. There was a bit of strength to this unwritten settlement, an honest tenacity they show in attempts to live so secluded. The NPC here were almost his secret to keep, and found a slight pleasure in the fact Freyd now knew it. They had become accustomed to his visits, even to the point that the blonde female the first met notices him with a smile. A soft reciprocation and a wave. "The spire eludes us still, and although this chapter is closed, its a small victory. Process of elimination and they are running slowly out of places to hide." he spoke as he removed a hunk of metal from his pocket and shook it aloft before placing it down on a flattened stone. A flutter of his robe as he took a single step away "We'll find them Freyd, your lily will wilt."

Quest Complete:
Freyd:
10200 Col (200 Thread Length, 10000 Quest Completion)
7*SP (1 Thread Closure, 1 Event Bonus, 5 Quest Reward)
<Dragon's Skin> [T3/Perfect/Light Armor] : [+3 Evasion]

Raidou:
2*SP (1 Thread Closure, 1 Event Bonus)

Simmone (Guild Treasurer):
10200 Col (Raidou)