[PP-F23] What is in the dark forest? <<Player-event>>

[Baldur 0]

"A sword huh?" Baldur said to @Mari, putting his hand on her shoulder to bring her back to the moment from wherever her mind had wandered off to. The smile he offered her was one of an inside joke, one between friends, "You're not considering changing weapons again, are you? There's always room for you in my dojo." His eyes twinkled. He knew how much work she had put in to changing to the spear, and making it ready for the raid they were about to partake in.

Baldur noticed a few other faces had joined into the raid that he recognized, "Heya Z." Baldur called out to @Zandra when he saw her joining the ranks.

Lessa showed up as well, though her gear looked very different from the last time he had seen her. She had been working very hard the last few months to up her game and rejoin the frontline. He had been pleased to see her show up at the boss meeting he had hosted. "Hey @Lessa, have you seen this event before? I hadn't heard anything about it."

Baldur gave Mari's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and stayed beside her as they all walked over to the weapon rack. Without hesitation, Baldur took up another katana. Of course he did. The other weapons were interesting, and giving a different type a shot was also interesting, but for him, there was only one blade.

"You should stay, Mari." He said in answer to the question that obviously wasn't to him. Her attention had wandered earlier, she was obviously feeling self conscious in a crowd like this, and self conscious of her crystal as well.

He had blushed earlier when she said he had looked handsome, but he felt that her being able to articulate the words was progress. Perhaps she was moving on, and that would allow them to take that foundation and forge not just a partnership in the guild, but a lasting friendship. He finally let his hand fall as he examined the group around them. Most of the faces were new to him, or at least, people he did not know, rather than just know of. It would be good for the gaijin samurai to meet new people, and see those who were now making their way through the world, instead of always just interacting with the same set of faces.

The NPC spoke, telling them of their quest to investigate the forest. He was looking forward to doing something new with new people, but he felt he should try to break the ice by being the first awkward one.

"Ohayo, everyone. I am called Baldur. I typically use the katana, and I've got a fair bit of experience in a fight. I look forward to working with you all on this event. We'll make sure everyone gets home safely." he gestured at Mari, "And this is Mari. She and I are co-leaders of the guild Jacob's Ladder. Let us know if you need any help."

[Spencer 0]

"Huh, haven't had a new weapon since I started this d*mn*d game, might as well give a new one a try." He looked at the Warhammers and grabbed one, twirling it in his hand. He holstered the newer Warhammer and scooped up his penguin familiar, holding the bird in his arms. Noot nooted softly and looked up at Spencer, the black and white artic bird cocked his head and nudged his hands, wanting to be free from his grasp. After a moment of hesitation from Spencer, he slowly set the penguin down on to the ground. "Okay I suppose. Just please stay close and stay safe, I have not the slightest idea what is going on." He heard what the woman said, but he still was a bit confused.

Nevertheless, he walked with the group towards the forest and looked at the other players. They all ranged from capable to incredibly capable. He felt a bit like a weakling around them, but he kept that to himself for the moment. Everyone seemed to know everyone, but he felt like he was an island, so that had to change. Spencer knelt down for a moment and patted the penguin's head. "Hey, you wanna go make friends? Pick a couple people and I'll go talk to them. Lord knows I need friends." His heart panged a little thinking about Telrenya, Ryo, Jomei, Teion, Jevi, Hestia, Kimi, and so many others that he hasn't talked to in what seems like years.

He saw the man named Baldur [@Baldur] introduce himself and a woman named Mari [@Mari] to the group. "Noot, how about those two. They seem cool, besides. He's hot. Like look at those Clavicles. Man... I need a boyfriend." He laughed and nudged the penguin forward.

Noot's Perspective

Noot was just happy to be there. He loved making friends and being pushed to make friends with people was his favorite past-time. He waddled happily to the two individuals, waving at them with a fin. He jumped up and down and Nooted at the woman, running around her legs. He looked up at the orange haired woman and then looked at the man, running over to wave at him too. Pat pat pat pat. Was the sound that his feet made as he ran along the ground, trying to make friends with the two players.

Back to Spencer

Spencer walked forward and picked up the penguin after a moment of socializing. "Sorry, I use him as a ice breaker because he loves making friends. His name is Noot and I'm Spencer. Thought I'd introduce myself in similar fashion as he did," he gestures to Baldur, "but I do not have much to my title except for being a half-baked tank who is partially out of retirement." He smiled at the two, Noot waving again to the two players.

[Picked a Warhammer]

Edited December 11, 2020 by Spencer

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde was looking over the weaponry on display for them and as people started picking their favorites, she was reluctant to pick the item she put her eyes on. Yes the staff was a more exotic choice that she was interested in, maybe she could even try the warhammer. However, the self-introduction of a blue samurai delayed that choice as she watched him with a grin, making friends among the new people. She didn't pay much attention to the rest other than a summary overview but now she took the time watch then. Most noticeably a rather rude lady that she had to signal Kimba to behave as she passed through and almost stepped on her paw. 

Seeing someone else a weapon beside her brought the blonde back to her current task, pick a weapon from the rack. With a smirk, she extended her hand and felt a plain undecorated wooden mounting of a katana and gave it a gentle knock. With a surprised look, she grabbed it and unsheathed a obsidian black odachi long enough that she needed both hands to hold it in a firm grip. "This will do.." she muttered softly, hoping that she could remember how to wield a katana after so much time without training with one.

---

Ariel picked up a Sword.

[Lessa 1]

"Oh my gosh, a penguin!" With an undignified squeal, Lessa collapsed to her knees, arms outstretched like a mother welcoming her child. As the precious penguin teetered on his adorable penguin feetsies, Riker heaved an enormous sigh; surely, the equivalent of an audible eyeroll. Only after another second of cooing did Lessa glance up at the familiar's human. "You're never interrupting when you bring such a cutie along," she informed him, climbing slowly to her feet. The sandy-haired boy looked oddly familiar, though his face only rang distant bells. If they had ever formally met, she had forgotten. More likely, they had passed each other at some Aincrad event. No matter, introductions were always appropriate. "Nice to meet you, Spencer," the woman chirped back. "I'm Lessa, and this is Riker." With a flick of her wrist, she motioned to the still-sulking wolf.

Riker's ears pricked up, however, with the appearance of another wolf. As the familiars studied each other in an adorable Mexican standoff (which one was Clint Eastwood?), the blonde turned to face the newcomer. "Maybe!" she answered cheerfully, reaching to rub at the base of her neck. "I think? Yeah, you definitely look familiar. And I'm pretty sure they already know each other, too." As Riker nuzzled his canine companion affectionately, Lessa suddenly pointed at the other player. "Koga! Right?"

As the players swarmed the racks to select their weapons, Lessa studied the array of swords. While they were surely sturdy, dependable weapons, they were also... dull. Not in the literal sense, mind you, as their edges were razor-sharp. Instead, they simply did not catch Lessa's eye. I've been swinging a sword around for the past half-decade, she thought, pursing her lips. Might as well take this opportunity to try something new, right?

Even as she selected the battle axe, a familiar voice tugged her attention away. A grin sprung to her lips as she turned to Baldur. "Hey hey," she tossed back easily. That smile collapsed into sharp edges and rigid lines as she noticed the player's companion. "Mari," she stated, by way of greeting. Why her friend insisted on spending so much time with the player killer, Lessa would never understand. But she and Baldur had been through a lot, and she owed him some level of grace, even where Mari was concerned. Their mutual respect could at least warrant that much. Of course, that didn't mean Lessa had to like it. Shifting back to Baldur, she answered, "I haven't, no. Granted, I come to the twenty third floor so rarely, I could have missed it." Her initial urge to comment on "dat axe" died as Baldur launched into introductions. Moment's gone.

When Spencer had finished, she figured it was her turn. With a quick wave, and some artificial cheerfulness pumped in, Lessa spoke. "I'm Lessa."

Lessa acquires an axe.

@Spencer @Koga @Baldur @Mari

[Zandra 0]

Hannah looked over the group that had now grown. The group had become pretty big, with a dozen of adventurers that have joined in to find out what was happening in the forest. Just when Andromeda turned the size from eleven to twelve players, something changed. Suddenly two more NPC’s appeared. A man with heavy armor walked up to Hannah.

‘’Well done Hannah. You have gathered a lot of brave adventurers, I will take over from here.’’ The man said with a deep voice. The ranger looked at him with a surprised voice.

‘’What are you saying John? After waiting here for days, you kicking me out of the expedition?’’ she asks with an angry tone. ‘’You cant do that, this forest is my life, I wont sit back, doing nothing!’’

‘’Don’t be silly Hannah, look at these strong warriors. They aren’t scouts, they are warriors, ready to remove whatever is in there. And lets be honest, who would follow you into a battle when me, sir John, is here to strike, and strike hard. Haha.’’ The replies with a proud voice with a tone like she is silly even suggesting being part of this.

Hannah just stared angrily at John for several seconds. Then she rolled her eyes, turned around and took a few steps away from him. ‘’Fine, do whatever you want. Not that I can stop you anyway.’’ A short paus before she continued. ‘’But you cant stop me from doing what I want either. And I will head into that forest and I will find out what is wrong. And if you try to stop me.’’ She put an arrow on her bow.’’ This arrow have your name on it.’’

It wasn’t until now that the second man took a step forward. With a rapier at his hip he placed himself between the two. ‘’Now now, lets calm down a bit. Im sure we can agree on something that will work for everyone, don’t you agree? We all have the same goal, to clear the forest of whatever is haunting it. Right? There is twelve players here, lets split up, four each and Im sure we will all succeed and walk out of this mission as allies.’’ He turned around to the players. ‘’Brave adventurers, I apologise for their behavior and we have kept you here for to long. Let us move out.’’

And with that, the three NPC’s headed out. Just as they turned around, for every player that had picked a weapon, a menu appeared infront of them.

Pick who you shall follow:

-Hannah – 0/4
-Sir John – 0/4
-Andrey – 0/4

The three NPC’s walked in a normal speed. Slow enough to be able to catch up with a small jog, but fast enough to not feel annoyingly slow. The hawk on Hanah’s shoulder unbfolded its wings, darted high up in the air and started circling around the group, its sharp eyes watching out for any danger that may approach them. The NPC walked in total silence for about half an hour before they reached the outskirts of the forest and stopped. ‘’And we are here.’’ They all said at the same time, looking into the darknbess between the tree’s.

* * *

In your post you choosing who of the three you wanna follow. Copy this at the end of you post and edit in your choice. There can be a maximum of 4 players/NPC

-Hannah – 0/4
-Sir John – 0/4
-Andrey – 0/4

Edited December 23, 2020 by Zandra

[Koga 0]

Almost as soon as this 'Sir John' opened his mouth, Koga began to frown. He hated people like that. Coming in to try and claim glory for themselves. Not that there was much to be claimed just yet, but Koga knew the type. Thankfully, the man with the rapier stepped up and calmed the two other NPCs before things started to get bloody. Although, come to think of it, watching two NPCs go at it would be a refreshing change of pace for once. Could kick back, pull up a seat, a box of popcorn. Could make for a good show.

As Koga continued to muse on what an interesting fight it would be, to watch an archer fight a warrior, a menu popped up in front of Koga's face, distracting him. A quick glance over the translucent 'screen' was enough for him to know what it was for. Welp, sure as hell wasn't going with Sir Long-johns. That left Hannah and Andrey. Koga pulled out a coin from his pocket, flicked it into the air, caught it and slapped it onto the back of his hand, all in one swift movement. Tails. Andrey it was.

Spoiler

-Hannah – 0/4
-Sir John – 0/4
-Andrey – 1/4

Yes, I did actually flip a coin for this.

 

[Freyd 0]

Expecting that his reaction was like everyone else's, Freyd's opinion of the Sir John started low.  The guileless manner of his sudden appearance hadn't endeared him much either.  It dropped further the instant the NPC opened his mouth, and then dug itself a new sub-level given his treatment of Hannah.  So, naturally, Freyd silently stood beside the ghastly man without any hint of distaste or hesitation.  As with all things involving the Whisper, it was a calculated decision.

First, it meant that one less person would be required to endure the boorish fop. 

Second, if he proved to be an equally arrogant putz in the field, he'd knee-cap him and leave him for whatever horrors might be awaiting them. 

Third, it appealed to his sense of humor to watch a few pairs of eyes bulge out as he did so, and playing against expectations was never a bad opening move. 

Casually slipping his newly chosen staff over his shoulders, the Whisper twisted his upper body from side to side, simply appearing to stretch.  To the white-haired operative waiting in the wings, it was a signal to join one of the other two groups.   They could better coordinate information and tactics if they chose different teams.  A glance was spared and offered to the others he knew among those who had gathered.  Those he didn't received exactly the same apparent treatment,  though his purpose was more to observe and record for later use.  Freyd was in business mode, and pleasantries could wait until he had a better sense of what was going on.  If his concerns were warranted, now was also not the time to be distracting each other with small talk.

Freyd joins Sir John.

[Setsuna 0]

A look to Freyd as he took his side amongst the boastful idiot, the obvious intention to keep him placed under a thumb. "Speak for yourself creatin. Those that would charge headfirst into a fight with no intel is a moron." She spits in a cold tongue laced with an earnest toxin. Taking her side near the archer, the one with the most clear sense and understanding of her surroundings, Setsuna expects her to be the least likely to get in her way.

Setsuna joins Hanna

Strapping the mirrored blade to her side, she drops a hand to it and rips it out clean. It was slower, heavier, and complete trash. Even still, the cyan trail of light produces a vacuum and as expected the girl still manages to make the edge move quick enough to conceal it in a blur. The metallic clank shut, she stares intently at the rest of the group. With a flickering in blue building upon her frame, a mist to act as chameleon obscurity she was to abuse her skillset and make her intentions clear "Introductions can wait, make your choices and discuss while moving. You waste valuable time with this drabble between you. Every second you waste jabbering is another second your enemies have to prepare against you."

In a puff of white she disperses to which only the keenest of eyes would catch what she was doing, a few well-placed leaps from a tiny frame takes her up. A vantage point and an escape from unneeded greetings. She would never understand these people who could so willingly waste what they had.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Setsuna

[Andromeda 0]

(Ah, it got tense all of a sudden. ;A;)

 

To the girl who had spent the last couple of minutes absently weighting the silver sword in her hand, the way the friendly, sunny mood plummeted felt akin to waking up from an unintended nap and finding that the entire afternoon had already been wasted away. Her eyes darted from one new character to the other, then back to the archer -- sure, she'd had altercations with her own bunch, but not right before an expedition? wait, she never actually took her NPC friends out for adventures but you know what, that was totally irrelevant. what was this thing in the forest that they were so keen to disagree on? did she miss an Exposition Dump?

As soon as the option was given, she gravitated to Hannah. It wasn't just the woman's demeanor that drove her in, but the fact that it appeared to have a deeper connection with... the-thing-inside-the-forest. An made her selection, though not before she felt a gaze pass over her.

...?

She tilted her head up, but whoever it was, they blended too well into the crowd. 

---

Hannah  – 2/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda]
Sir John – 1/4 [Freyd]
Andrey   – 1/4 [Koga]

[Nian 0]

Now they were squabbling. Truly, life amongst the unsuited was one fraught with instabilities. She balked at their speech, paying it little attention until a call was issued for a divvying of resources. Splitting up forces again? Truly not a wise decision to the monarch who'd seen empires rise and fall.

-- 'Empires' might've been a loose term to the emperor, but her point still stood strong above all.

She'd hated the absolutely obnoxious chortling from the knight. Something in her grip upon her weapon marked a fury towards the man, an instinct strong to batter the sole human out of the trio down to nothing but metal chunks upon ash. On their scenario of division and conquer, it was most likely the confident, pitiful one was her guess to require the most help. With a snarl, Nian stepped up to the plate, two hands heaving her sledgehammer upon her shoulders.

Though she was here to help, there was no skipping a show of her disdain for someone who truly didn't deserve it. "Awful show there," the player chided, presumably to no one, but her glare could've kill the man behind the helmet had he not shied away from her sights in time.

---

Hannah  – 2/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda]
Sir John – 2/4 [Freyd, Nian]
Andrey   – 1/4 [Koga]

[Plini 0]

Two more people who knows something...

Plini placed the staff on his back as he followed the large group, whatever kind of quest or event this is, he knew that they had enough numbers to actually do a siege of a small castle. Sir John, the one who seemed to be some kind of charming fencer appeared before them and all of a sudden took the lead from Hannah "well, I wonder if his face is hard enough for this staff" he thought. Sure enough, Hannah wasn't backing down on the challenge of the forest and he agrees with her in terms of how it was going to be handled "she was the quest giver, Sir John may just..." another NPC chimed in to break the tension from the two "ahh the negotiator" he muttered.

The group continued on to the expedition after Andrey suggested for the single group to split and before Plini could ready himself, they were already at the destination or the doorway to it. He tilted his head as he stared at the darkness "yeah times like this I'd prefer..." he moved towards Hannah, keeping his distance from the hawk "... to go with a scout." 

Plini chose Hannah's group

Hannah  – 2/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda, Plini]
Sir John – 1/4 [Freyd, Nian]
Andrey   – 1/4 [Koga]

[Baldur 0]

Hannah  – 3/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda, Plini]
Sir John – 4/4 [Freyd, Nian, Baldur, Mari]
Andrey   – 1/4 [Koga]

Baldur was mostly immune to the banter between the 3 NPCs. He disliked the character of Sir John for obvious reasons, but he didn't see the NPCs as people. This was scripted dialogue. They were actors putting on a show for the gathered players. What Baldur saw instead, were the three paths to navigate through the event. As he was not a scout type player, he did not follow Hannah. Andrey was a bit of a mystery to him, but didn't give Baldur any guide to how they should proceed. However, if combat was to be had, Baldur and Mari were suited for it, he with his level and skills, and Mari with her first aid. He was unsure what Freyd and Nian were capable of, and felt the desire to help Shepard the combat heavy path.

"If there are foes to be slain." Baldur said with a bit of atypical role-playing, "Then that is my path." He nudged Mari slightly and gestured to Sir John, "You with me?"

@Mari

Edited January 7, 2021 by Baldur

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Hannah  – 4/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda, Plini, Ariel]
Sir John – 4/4 [Freyd, Nian, Baldur, Mari]
Andrey   – 1/4 [Koga]

There was little doubt who the blonde would join. She suspected that it was a scripted event but either way, the two extra NPCs seemed to be leeching off the girl's honest effort to gather people to investigate the forest. Silently, the blonde rested her hand on the now equipèd katana and stood behind the archeress, slightly noding to her when she looked at the blonde, comfirmind her stance in the current matter. With a quick glance around she saw the others choosing sides and takes note of the three next to her and Hannah. Couldn't say she meet them before but she'd seen a lot of faces over the years. With a shrug she cast the thought aside and pointed the thumb towards the unknightly 'sir': "Seeing how we split up, is each group going to do their own thing or do we have to work in tandem with the other two? I'd rather not see that schmuck's face more than I need to." she asked their team leader, casually as she would address another citizen of Aincrad, be it NPC or Player. 

[Lessa 1]

Hannah  – 3/4 [Setsuna, Andromeda, Plini]
Sir John – 4/4 [Freyd, Nian, Baldur, Mari]
Andrey   – 2/4 [Koga, Lessa]

Disappointment ghosted across Lessa's face, a dark shadow across an otherwise clear sky, as Baldur navigated away from her. Well, that's alright, she scolded herself, literally shaking her head to rid her mind of the negativity. Did it really matter whose group she joined? This wasn't PE, and she wasn't being chosen last for dodgeball. Even if she were, Lessa could handle it. She was a big girl. Schooling her expression into something more agreeable, the blonde turned away from Baldur, and her gaze snagged on another familiar face.

"Koga, hi," she greeted, genuine warmth flowing into her words as she strode up to him. In truth, the player hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the NPCs - she had been too focused on her fellow players. So the choice of group would have been left entirely to chance anyway. Seeing Koga made up her mind for her. "It's good to see you. Would you mind if I joined your group?"

@Koga

[Zandra 0]

Hannah, sir John and Andrey stood side by side, staring into the dark forest. ‘’So, this is the rumored forest. It is dark indeed.’’ Sir John said to break the silence. Hannah nodded as she turned around towards a dead tree that laid on the ground. ‘’Yes, and to navigate we are going to need torches. Thou we need to be careful. Otherwise we are gonna get lost as soon as we enter.’’ She explained as she broke of several branches and passed them on to each of the players. While Hannah fixed torches to everyone, John took a step up on a rock. ‘’As soon as we have the torches we are going to head into the forest. To cover as much ground as possible we are going to split into three groups. Remember to not go to far away from you partymembers or that may be the last thing you do. Always be on your guard, we don’t know what is lurking in there. Last but not least, you must remember to…’’ but before John could finish he got interrupted. As it was letting out a loud howl, a huge beast bursted out from the forest. It looked like a bear, but was much bigger and its red eyes was focused on the group of adventurer. It let out another wolf-like howl before it launched himself towards the players. ‘’To arms!’’ John screamed with a strong voice without fear. He placed himself between the group and the beast. ‘’I keep him busy, you attack from the flanks!’’ he said as he digged his feets steady on the ground.

In those few seconds that have passed, Hannah had dropped the stick she was holding, grabbed her bow, put an arrow on the string, aimed and sent it flying thru the air. She didn’t waited to see if it had had any effect before she loaded another arrow.

Andrey pulled his sword and held it infront of him. ‘’Got it John, just don’t die okay?’’ and then he went to the side, ready to jump in again and deliver a punishing strike at the beast. It got closer and closer. ‘’Be ready!’’ Thirty meters from John as the knight placed himself in a battle stance. Got closer twenty meters, ten meters and when he was only two meters infront of John took a step forward, shoulder first. ‘’NOW!’’

Spoiler

Beast:
[--------------------]
[--------------------]
[----------]

Hannah:
[--------------------]
[----------]

Sir John:
[--------------------]
[----------]

Andrey:
[--------------------]
[----------]

Setsuna:
[----------]

Andromeda:
[----------]

Plini:
[----------]

Freyd:
[----------]

Nian:
[----------]

Baldur:
[----------]

Mari:
[----------]

Koga:
[----------]

Lessa:
[----------]

Zandra:
[----------]

Players have 72 hours to post 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Zandra

[Koga 0]

As Lessa approached and greeted him, Koga gave her a smile of his own. "Hey, Lessa," he said. When she asked if she could join his party of one (okay, well too, but are we really counting the pre-programmed character?) he gave her a mock bow and stepped to the side, as if to allow her through some imaginary doorway, "Welcome to Le House de Andrey."

---

The roar of the beast drew Koga's attention, and he hand immediately went to his weapon. Like well tuned machine (or simply a scripted event) the three NPCs moved into action. Koga, for his part, dashed off to the side, following Andrey, his 'party leader'. The beast charged on, and Sir John stood his ground, apparently intending to take on the full brunt of the gigantic beast's charge head on. Well, better him than any of the players.

"Now!" John roared, and suddenly everyone sprung into action.

Koga charged in, his sword poised to embed itself into the beast's flesh, but the hide of the giant bear was tough, and it's movement threw the swordsman into the air as his weapon connected, barely even scratching his target. Koga spun through the air momentarily, landing back on his feet and sliding backwards several paces. Hopefully everyone else would have better luck than he did...

Spoiler

Koga uses Sword Attack 3
ID: 181743
BD: 1 <<Critical Miss>>

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Koga

[Setsuna 0]

A single twist with the abrupt start of combat without warning, it was going to be one of those quests. There was no premeditation, and no way around how it operated. She hated these types, A flicker and peel as her concealment fades. This place allowed none of it, and in the sudden drain of her skills to bare levels she whiffs hard. "Annoying." Setsuna remarks sliding the bare bones blade back to its sheathe, irritated how restricted she felt by comparison. It had been quite some time since she'd been so pathetic.

Slinking next to Audrey, keeping some form of formation was ideal here. Only numbers would offer them assistance now, their element of surprise was gone and the diversity of builds mattered none. Setsuna looks on to see that her troubles were not the only one, this was going to be a grueling affair. There was slight pride in the fact she wasn't the only one caught off kilter by the restriction, but it did not bode well for the possibility of success. Annoying.

ID# 181765 results: Battle: 3 (Nope) using Sword Attack #1

Edited January 30, 2021 by Setsuna

[Nian 0]

If the swing of her hammer was capable of bashing John's helmet in, perhaps the fortune of the stars were in her field for today. Alas, even in her reckless thrash Nian hadn't bothered to turn to look -- it wouldn't be her fault if the common folk couldn't open their eyes to observe and dodge the movements of a slow-slinging power hungry catapult. When she struck, her weapon's head whipped around her right mid-jump, the emperor lunging forth with a swift ambush right when the other players were just starting to move.

Her blow connected. Bone barely felt different from steel with her extended arm, and she cackled when she landed, facing their quarry with a slight toothy smirk. The smog that emanated from Nian's pummel mirrored that of the direct hit upon their beast, and its unkempt coarse fur now started to cloud with remnants of white crystals.

The player tapped the metal's length upon her palm. Cold. She let her visage take on the same purpose whilst she started to warm her battle form back up.

---

ID: 181770 | BD: 8 | [ATTACK 3] on Beast.
-2 HP. Freeze applied to Beast.

WEAPON: Warhammer
SKILL: Gives Stability to yourself and 5 other players for 2 turns
ATTACK:

1. Deal 6 damage and paralyze one target
2. Deal 4 damage and stun one target
3. Deal 2 damage and freeze one target

[Freyd 0]

Springing into action, Freyd's burgundy eyes had already scanned for weak points across the hostile beast's gigantic form.  Some red-clad wild-woman was rampaging on his left, so he rolled right.  A flash of white from above suggested an uncharacteristic miss from his trusted subordinate.  She's be pissed about that.

A cringe-worthy clack of iron strikes the tender joining where claw meets paw came first, followed by the crack of hardwood across the bear's stiff, frozen jaw.  Something snapped and went flying, looking suspiciously like a wayward incisor, trailing bits of gum behind it as it popped like an exploding powder puff of pixels.  Freyd finished his barrage by leaping high into the air and smashing the staff's weighted shaft dead onto one of the giant monster's big fluffy ears.  You could practically hear the discombobulated 'hrumpf'  burble its way out of the bewildered bear's slightly dislocated and frost-rimmed jaw as it wondered what the heck had just happened.

Sliding down its furry back, he quickly regained his footing and spun to smack the thing's stumpy little tail for good measure.  Glancing down at the stick in his hands, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes matched the smile spreading across his lips.

"Oh, I'm gonna have to get me one of these!"

ID #181773 | BD: 8  (5 DMG + Paralyze)

Staff:
Attack 1: Deal 5 damage and paralyze one target
Attack 2: Deal 3 damage and paralyze up to three targets
Attack 3: Deal 1 damage and stun up to three targets
Skill: Gives Resistance to yourself and 5 other players for 2 turns

[Andromeda 0]

A terrible howl split the... uh, relatively pleasant? air and a bear came barreling out of the woods. It was obviously not an ordinary bear, but based on the NPCs' lack of dramatics, it was not the thing-in-the-forest. Phew.

Andromeda unsheathed her sword and as she tested its unfamiliar weight in her hand once again, she wondered if she could safely put her torch down without accidentally triggering a mechanic where the fire spreads onto that nearby patch of dry leaves and turns the entire expanse of forest along with the thing-in-the-forest into a flaming pile of ash. Beside her, Hannah nocked a second arrow. Its torch was on the ground and absolutely nothing was burning up.

She whirled around to face the rest of her party.

"Um! Since this should logically be the easiest mob—" A small blue girl darted away from their little cluster and disappeared into the fray. Oops. An flourished her sword — a gesture that would have been less aimless swinging and more elegant and stylish had she done it with a rapier — and a faint red glow trickled like small streams of blood from her fingertips to the base of her weapon's blade. "I'm going to see what this Fury thing does! Just for our reference! Please charge in and attack as you normally would."

Along with her teammates, An mentally highlighted Mari and a random player beside her and sent her sword's collected strength into the air to find its targets.

 

And prayed it was not a one-time-only skill.

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Using [SKILL] on Hannah's party (Setsuna, Plini, Ariel) + Baldur and Mari. //i'm going to assume this is a thing you need a post action to activate lol.
| Fury: [0/2]

SWORD

1. Deal 8 damage on one target.
2. Deal 3 damage on up to three targets.
3. Deal 5 damage and paralyze on one target.

[SKILL]: Gives Fury to yourself and 5 other players for 2 turns.