[F22-OP] Down The Rabbit Hole

[Koga 0]

Koga and NIGHT stood together on the pier, staring out over the lake of Floor 22. "Wow...you weren't kidding..." he muttered, eyes affixed to the gaping hole in the lake. Koga had dragged the poor woman out here to show him the aftermath of the event that NIGHT had mentioned soon after he had returned from his self-imposed exile. An event that had evidently led to a dragon crashing through the bottom of the floor. It wasn't exactly that Koga hadn't believed her, it was more like it was just so absurd, it didn't sound like it could possibly be real. And yet, there it was. A giant perfect ellipse, where the water just stopped flowing, as if held up by glass walls to prevent the water from pouring in and flooding the cave-like floor below. It was alien-like. Unreal and magnificent.

"What do you think would happen if I jumped into it?"

@NIGHT

Edited February 20, 2021 by Koga

[NIGHT 0]

Because Koga, too, was a game developer in real life, NIGHT thought it reasonable if she'd simply pushed the man in herself.

But she wasn't a murderer, nor did she have that much bloodlust pent up despite Koga's zero-braincell question. A bored look was sent his way when she'd finally pace up to his side. Though the idea that him asking about the maw of the twenty-second was almost an equivalent to someone was asking what colour the sky was, the query was sound -- ever since the attack on Tanabata, it seemed as though all players had been warned off accessing Floor 21 through passing into the hole through the floor.

"I don't know," the woman rudely returned, folding her arms. "You tell me. Fall damage; or would the gods smile back down upon us?"

She paused in recollection, realizing the possibility of the second coming into effect. "Back then, there used to be a few NPCs that sort of aided in our descent. I don't know if the effect's still there, but I wouldn't risk giving it a shot myself."

	| NIGHT   | HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 181/181    | ACC: 5 | DMG: 19 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 79 | BH: 79    | PRLYZ: 1 | ABS. ACC | LD: 5    | Stealth Detection: 5 | Stealth Rating: 7
* [Filling] used to provide +1 Protein.
[Examine]  | equipment Cosmic Devourer -- [ Paralyze I | Natural successful attack rolls of 9-10 remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties. ] -- [ Absolute Accuracy | +1 ACC. Attack rolls of 1 no longer automatically miss. ] -- [ Accuracy I | +1 ACC. ] Reinforced Black Tracksuit -- [ Mitigation I | +54 MIT. ] -- [ Evasion I | +1 EVA. ] Silver Crescent Necklace -- [ Accuracy II | +2 ACC ] -- [ Evasion II | +2 EVA ]  | battle-ready inventory - - - - - - - - -  | skills Skills Mod Count: 8/8 Two-Handed Straight Sword | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Ferocity, Precision, Finesse Light Armor | Passive | RANK 5/5  > Athletics, Sprint&Acrobatics Searching | Passive | RANK 4+1/5 Hiding | Passive | RANK 5/5 > Blindside, Vanish, Surprise Attack: Trickster Extended Mod Limit | Passive | RANK 3/3  Battle Healing | Passive | RANK 5/5 Energist | Passive Quick Change | Active Charge | Active | RANK 5/5 Extended Weight Limit | Passive   Extra Survival | Passive  Concentration | Active -- CD: 3 Familiar Mastery: Fighter | Passive | RANK 3/3  | consumed buffs Spoiler Bialas Statue | +TAUNT Mothra Statue | +1 EN Recovery Tanos Statue | +15 MIT Mōretsuna Statue | +50 HP Yamato-no-Orochi Statue | +1 LD Kumatetsu Statue | +1 DMG - - - - - -  | misc. buffs Spoiler Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash, Extended Weight Limit | +5 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests.

[Starla 0]

     Starla looked on to the great lake that was on the 22nd floor. She was extraordinarily new, but people spoke about the legendary lake on the 22nd floor and how its beauty was ruined by a giant gaping hole. She decided to take a small trip there despite the danger it posed to her. Although she was an extraordinarily low level for floor 22, she made her way there with no trouble. Maybe this area was a safe zone? That, or she was extremely lucky. As the lake came into view for her, she finally saw the gaping hole that was pierced through the crystal clear lake. It was a mysterious kind of beauty that struck Starla. The water simply stopped where the edges of the hole were and seeing it was a bit eerie, but quite satisfying at the same time. As she approached, she saw a friendly face near the dock.

     As she approached, she called out to Koga. "Oh my, did you decide to take a little vacation here too?" And then her eyes wandered to the other girl who was here and she raised her eyebrows. "Oh... Um... Or maybe I'm interrupting a date of some kind?" Starla rubbed the back of her neck, moving her long white hair behind her shoulder.

@NIGHT@Koga

Spoiler

Starla
Level: 6
HP: 120/120
EP: 12/12
DMG: 5
MIT: 5
EVA: 1
KEEN: 1

Equipment:
Dagger <T1, Perfect, KEEN I, DMG II>
Light Armor <T1, Uncommon, EVA I>

Skills:
Light Armor Rank I
OH Dagger Rank I

Battle Ready Inventory:
5x Starter Potions
 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Starla

[Alkor 0]

It was a sight that many Players talked about, but few ever really took the time to get close to. 

A hole, far too dark to see to the bottom that pierced the perfect waters of an otherwise peaceful lake. Alkor came to see it for himself because he had overheard a few people talking about some other guy who allegedly jumped into it and died; and there was another who claimed that it spat him right back out. With the conflicting stories, Alkor neither knew who was telling the truth or if they were both lying, nor did he particularly care. 

It just seemed like something that they ought to raise awareness about. Could someone accidentally fall into it? Could they be pushed? All very fair questions, things he wanted to discern. In his travels through Aincrad, solving its mysteries and expanding his knowledge were some of the few joys that the golden eyed swordsman found. The others came from combat, and he did that often enough without having to try.

As he approached the pier, Alkor saw two people he never expected together. The first was Koga, who he'd been teaming up with recently. Then there was NIGHT. Alkor approached them from behind, but not before another girl got the first word in. It was funny to think that someone might consider this... tragic sight a decent venue for a date, but Alkor supposed that anywhere was great when you were playing a game that could literally kill you.

He made no comment as he slipped forward, adopting a neutral stance next to Koga with his arms crossed. Alkor gazed down at the floor, the circumstances of its creation still fresh and hot in his memory. "That was a crazy night, huh?" he asked, to no one in particular.

[NIGHT 0]

A date?

The thought made her skin crawl. Exactly which woman was asking this? NIGHT shot an irritated look to the newcomer, a hand shoving Koga forward; the strength she'd exerted was not enough to topple the man down the drop of the lake. Her hand grasped the hems of his coat, too, if only to prevent a struggle from leading to his fall. "Nope," she stated calmly, giving her friend a glance. "He's not even my type. I bet he'd appreciate the company from you. Koga, you know her?"

"Him either," the woman added as a tongue-in-cheek joke, just as she caught sight of Alkor making his way over to the edge of the abyss. She kept her trap shut when he approached -- a feign of ignorance for her comment -- before greeting her guildmate with a nod. "Noisy," NIGHT replied, folding her arms once Koga found stability from her act. "Hated every moment of it. Ruined a moment on the last night of the festival, too."

"How've you been, Wayne?"

[Koga 0]

Fall damage, or the gods smiling down. Koga definitely understood the first option that NIGHT had pitched, the second however, Koga wasn't sure if she was joking or not. NIGHT's subsequent explanation informed him that she was, indeed, not joking.

"...Well...it's not like I got a lot to li-"

The sound a vaguely familiar voice cut Koga off, and the man turned around to see who it was. The swordsman was about to explain to Starla that he wasn't exactly the right gender for NIGHT to even consider that an option, but before he had even managed to do that, he found himself teetering over the edge of the pier, his arms windmilling through the air as if that would help him not fall into lake. Thankfully, NIGHT had been merciful enough to grab his coat and pull him back.

"Hey! What the hell was that for!?" Koga shouted, slightly annoyed before answering NIGHT's question. "NIGHT, this is Starla, Starla, NIGHT." He gestured between the two as he introduced them.

"Wayne?" Koga looked at Alkor and NIGHT in confusion, "Is that your real name or something?" Koga asked Alkor.

[Starla 0]

     Starla looked at the girl as she tried to push Koga off of the pier before she grabbed him and pulled him back. It seemed she had said the wrong thing. Starla looked at NIGHT and frowned. "Well that was certainly a bit bold. It's not as though I was being serious." Starla crossed her arms and looked at NIGHT, taking note that her sexuality was more aligned to someone of the female sex. She wondered what NIGHT liked in a woman, but shook her head and let the thought pass. Her charm was very apparent from her violet eyes and dark hair, a combination which pierced through her.

     Starla was a bit surprised by the person who approached from behind. Their name was apparently Wayne? Or maybe... not from what Koga was saying. Starla looked back at him with a confused expression. Did something happen the night before? Starla stared at the man, somewhat annoyed he had not tried to introduce himself to her. "Uh... Hi. I'm Starla, hope nothing bad happened last night." Starla looked off to the side, crossing her arms.

[Alkor 0]

Alkor almost laughed out loud, but suppressed the urge when NIGHT referred to him as Wayne. Some jokes never got old, and that one actually held some merit for him beyond the humor. He still stared down at the water, remembering the battle that ensued when the sky started to fall. "Yeah, if I'm remembering it correctly, I was in the middle of something, too," Alkor replied as his gaze moved up to look over the others. The third person, he didn't know; and Alkor wasn't very good at social discourse, even to the point of failing to pick up common cues. So, as the woman asked how he'd been, he considered the answer for a moment. Since that day, he had thrown himself headlong into every possible fight. All the strength he could muster went into forging even more strength, to the point where he was almost on the Frontlines again. But he hadn't made a great deal of progress at the other things in Aincrad. He didn't have many friends, still, and the ones he did have he was notoriously bad at keeping in contact with. Koga was the rare exception, because they'd seen each other multiple times in the recent week- and here he was, again.

"I've been okay," he said after a moment. "I hope you have too, NIGHT." 

His gaze flickered over to Koga, amused at the misconception he'd had. "Nope," he said, "just a criticism on how batty I am," he attempted to pander to the inside joke a bit more, uncertain about how those worked but still hopeful that it might get a cheap laugh out of someone who actually didn't like him very much. NIGHT and Alkor had become acquainted only through a series of strange and outlandish events that led to an awkward misunderstanding. Even after the resolution, he had the feeling that he hadn't left things better than they'd been- not that he expected anything else. 

There were all of four people who knew his real name in Aincrad, and they were people who he'd been through some intense hardships with.

When he felt the other woman's eyes on him, his own gaze moved to hers. He blinked once and tilted his head curiously. It was pretty unusual for women to stare at him, in his experience. "Last night?" he asked, confused. "Not that I know of, no," he looked back to the lake, imperfect and yet still beautiful. It dawned on him that she was probably referring to his comment. "Oh, that's what you meant. No, this happened a few months ago. Some boss level enemies appeared and the floor fell through. It was the end of a festival, so everyone was pretty thrown off by it."

Maybe that would help? A detailed explanation to abate any further confusion seemed like the proper decision given the situation. Or maybe he was missing something? 

Oh! She gave her name. Right. He should introduce himself.

"I'm Alkor," he said, after a moment. "Nice to meet you."

[NIGHT 0]

"Yeah, well, neither was I," the woman returned flatly, glancing over at the star. Another heavenly body -- but at least this time NIGHT didn't have the responsibility of naming them. A set of gentle pats found a home on Koga's shoulder, as the player cried out for his apparent injustice. "Don't worry. He deserves it. Just a little."

It was good news, however, that Koga seemed to be finding new faces even on the brink. Which lead NIGHT to study the stranger, arms folded in a mirroring. She cocked her head to the side when Starla posed her question; even non-combat types had been welcome at Tanabata, save for the last day. "What are you, new?"

--Of course, no one could be labelled new after so long of being stuck in Aincrad.

Alkor's comments had been nothing but welcome. Though they hadn't known each other well enough, affiliations meant that she was expected to keep things curt and orderly at bare minimum even between players she threw suspicion over -- but she warmed up with the slightest hint of a grin when the man had taken her past remark in stride. Things were looking up for the player, NIGHT figured. They must've, with the way he interacted with the stranger seemingly unfazed.

Maybe he'd practiced speaking to himself in the mirror, and it worked. NIGHT wouldn't know. But maybe she should give it a try.

With her guildmate settling explanations, the woman's gaze turned over to Koga. "Seen enough, yet? The safer way down is through the teleporter, then an on-foot trek to our destination." Though, her sights travelled over to the hole, an eyebrow quirked at the strangest idea she'd come up with. "Or you could test it. Probably with an egg or something fragile. Then one of us only needs to head downstairs and check."

[Koga 0]

Koga looked between the two women who were locked in an apparent staring contest. Slowly he took a step back, away from the two women, and close to Alkor. Koga wasn't one hundred percent positive, but those two did not seem to be getting along for the moment, and Koga did not want to get caught in the potential blast radius.

Whatever the joke about calling Alkor, 'Wayne', Koga wasn't getting it. Was it some Batman joke? Was Alkor secretly a vigilante? Koga didn't know. "I'm just...gonna pretend that I understand what the hell you guys are talking about...And stare at this big hole..." Koga said, shaking his head and turning back around to stare at the water, and lack thereof.

How was something like that even possible, he wondered. Of course, the obvious answer was that it wasn't. They were in a game, where the laws of physics didn't apply. Well, not perfectly at least. Koga wondered how exactly physics even worked around the area. Would gravity be all wonky, pulling him in every direction? Or would there be nothing? Or perhaps something stranger.

"...you could test it. Probably with an egg or something fragile. Then one of us only needs to head downstairs and check."

"NIGHT." Koga turned towards his friend. "You're brilliant."

Almost immediately, Koga hopped into one of the rowboats that were tied to the pier and looked up at the other three players. "Anyone care to join me on adventure of knowledge and science?"

[Starla 0]

     Starla looked at the girl whom was confronting her with an attitude that she hadn't seen in a long time. Someone whom had confidence inlaid within their personality and likely looked down on others, at least... That's what Starla was thinking. Starla crossed her arms and looked the woman up and down. "I do happen to be new. Met Koga not long ago. Decided to get off my sorry ass and do something." Starla decided to leave it at that, deciding it was smarter not to pick a fight with her despite the fact that she was highly annoyed. In the case that she was just commenting on her being new, she didn't want to come off as something who had no tact.

     Starla then turned to Alkor who commented about the festival. Hmm. She had heard something like that from someone in the Town of Beginnings. Although this particular event was much more jarring in person. She was certain if they had described the eerie hole to the extent of its strange reality, she would've taken note of it. He then addressed himself as Alkor. Starla smiled and sent him a friend request. He seemed like a reliable person, even if she thought maybe he was a bit... Absent-minded? No, that wasn't it. Something about his thought process made Starla feel as though his brain functioned in a way she might never understand. He was unexpected and that gave Starla all the more reason to like him. "A pleasure."

     Upon being invited to go on a boat ride with the motley crew, Starla shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. It'll make for a good story to take back to the Town of Beginnings for all of those gossips down there." Starla kept stealing glances at NIGHT. Her beauty really was striking and Starla couldn't help but want to get closer to her, even if she was... Maybe not the nicest. Having another female ally would be all the more welcome, especially one who held a brilliant inner strength.

[Alkor 0]

Alkor whipped around when Koga spoke. 

"Y-you what?" he stared in disbelief at the man who jumped headlong into a boat and proceeded to ask the others if anyone wanted to accompany him. "I get the Scientific Method and all, but don't you think that in a game where fall damage kills you and you don't get do-overs, that might not be the move?" He took a step forward and attempted to grab the man by the sleeve. His hand wafted through air and caught nothing. "You've got to be kidding me right now," he murmured as he looked to NIGHT for some semblance of sanity. "You know if he dies, we won't find a body, right?" he questioned the woman who had suggested it in the first place.

Sword Art Online had driven many people past the point of no return in all the time they'd been trapped. He'd watched Players throw themselves over the edge and plummet to oblivion. Women and children murdered by people who believed it was just a game, and that they'd wake up fine. The number of people who had given into the idea that this couldn't be real was staggering. 

Yet if they did wake up on the other side, none of the people still trapped in Aincrad would know the difference.

Alkor wasn't about to take that chance. "Its been months since then," he said, "those events are gone the second they're over. The chance that the slow fall effect is still going is statistically-"

He stopped himself short when a message came across his HUD. 'Starla wants to be your friend.' At that point, she said that she would join Koga on his misadventure. His shoulders sagged as he accepted the request. At most, her name might disappear again the moment she splattered on the floor below, and at best...

Well, he'd just have to follow through and hope for the best. "You know that you're literally gambling on life or death, right?" he asked Starla. "Like, if this goes badly... well, you heard what I said. You don't have to go through with it."

His gaze shifted to NIGHT. "I guess this means we're going to go and see what happens on Floor 21, huh?"

[NIGHT 0]

The moment Koga got onto the rowboat, NIGHT knew she shouldn't have opened her mouth.

"Please tell me you actually have something to test it with," she chided, barely moving from her position. When she noticed the newbie climb into the vessel without question, her jaw only managed to drop further. What was this setup, a Manzai act?

She'd wanted to say something, but Alkor was much quicker on the ball with his warnings. "I mentioned using something fragile," she started, glancing from her guildmate to the crewmen, "But I didn't mean actual, literal human bodies while I was at it."

NIGHT's gaze fell upon Starla, exasperated. How she'd managed to stay so calm in approaching a disaster zone that should've been marked off with danger signs was absolutely beyond her realm of understanding. And they were new, no less. Players often spoke about a million ways to die when becoming an adventurer, and this had to be one of them, without question.

"You," she barked to the dimming gas. "Your sorry ass better keep that idiot over there safe, got it?" If the fresh meat was going to step out of this alive being some sort of strange local hero from the rumor mill, then so be it. Then, her sights bounced to the dark jester himself, the man somehow radiating with bright oblivious energy. "And you! You can't use the newbie as your test dummy either, okay?!"

She'd contemplated sending a request to the stranger, just in case Koga really was of the mind to throw her overboard. At the window flitting open on Alkor's part, she figured it wasn't going to be necessary.

"I guess this means we're going to go and see what happens on Floor 21, huh?"

NIGHT pinched the bridge of her nose, bottom lip tucked and nodding her head slightly. "I-- Yeah." Her feet shuffled on the spot as she turned around, demeanor unchanging. "C'mon, let's go. Before they beat us to the bottom of that pit..."

[Koga 0]

As Starla boarded the boat, Koga was forced to suffer through hearing his friend's nagging. "Geez guys, I'm not that dumb," he asserted, "it's like you guys don't even know me." It was probably because they did know him that they were being so vocal with their concerns. "I got it all figured it out, don't worry. I'll shoot you both a message if slash when we decide to jump. Just let me know when you get down there." Koga went to go pick up the oars, but paused, turning back to the the two players who certainly thought he had lost the last of his sanity. "Oh, and stay out of the splash zone."

With that, Alkor and NIGHT left for the Twenty First, while Koga rowed himself and Starla out to gaping maw that was the Everfall. "Geez, a bunch of ladies, those two," Koga said, half-joking. Sure, he was dumb, and did dumb things. This definitely was not at the top of the list though. "Might I ask why you're following the blazing idiot to his potential death though?" Koga asked the white-haired woman.

@Starla

[Starla 0]

     As Starla loaded herself into the boat, she felt the piercing sensation of an insult. She was called an idiot, despite the fact that NIGHT had not even gotten to know her in the slightest. What a crude woman. Starla wasn't going to start their boat ride off with something as unpleasant as picking a fight with someone as they rowed away. She simply sat down and crossed her arms and legs.

     Koga then asked her as to why she was joining him on the boat ride. Starla smiled and looked at him without missing a beat. "Well I mean if you're going to die, I certainly didn't want to see you splatter down onto the ground." She laughed a little as she watched him row. "No, I was just going to row this boat back to the dock. That or I'll make my descent down the hole if it's safe. Sounds like fun." Starla looked out to the hole, which they drew closer and closer to. She wondered if it would be possible for the boat to tip over the edge. At the thought of falling to her death after Koga accidentally tipping her off the edge, she started to get a little nervous. "Just... Make sure to slow down once we get closer. I don't want to find out if this boat will take the dive with you."

[Alkor 0]

"Yeah, that doesn't fill me with confidence," Alkor muttered under his breath as they turned away from Koga. He wasn't sure how physics worked in this world, but in the real one, when you fell from a great height and hit water it wasn't much different from hitting concrete. Combined with the fact that he generally thought this was an awful idea, he walked alongside NIGHT toward the Teleporter in town. They hadn't gone too far when he spoke up.

"I don't really like this," he said plainly. Alkor wasn't often blunt with his thoughts like that, but this situation could have been prevented. They should have tried harder. "Koga's one thing. He's been out and around, he knows better. That girl is fresh out of the starting zone. If she dies, won't we be responsible for it because we didn't try more than we did to stop her?"

Naturally, his mind worked backward from what he assumed was a foregone conclusion. Alkor liked to keep his scenarios separated into preventable, unpreventable, and unexpected- this definitely blurred those lines, and he disliked it. He knew that they likely would not have changed either Player's mind with words, but leaving things like this...

"Also... I guess I owe you an apology, NIGHT," Alkor said as they reached the town and strode through the gate. "The last time we talked, I was still pretty badly adjusted. Like I told you, you remember, I'm sure." He ran his fingers through his hair and ruffled it into a mess. "Anyway, what you said really mad me think. That, and a few other things I guess. I realized that I couldn't just push people away while also trying to do right by them. So, thanks for that."

[NIGHT 0]

Stay out of the splash zone?

No way. Not on NIGHT's watch. Hells, she hadn't even considered the idea that either player heading out to the falls had, for a second, thought about making the jump. And here she was, following a fellow witness out of their sights, only faced with a vague hope that the duo wouldn't go through with their plan.

With a sigh, the woman rubbed the back of her neck with a hand. She had told the two to look after each other -- but if they were going to drop, who exactly would come to look after them?

"I don't really like this."

"I agree."

Was Starla really that interested in watching morbid acts happen? What kind of adventurers were being churned out of the Town of Beginnings these days? A finger scratched the side of her cheek as NIGHT walked, contemplating the possibilities. Though her companion had an honest point about both their seafarers' experiences, in truth...

"I think it's generally common sense that people shouldn't be throwing themselves off great heights, even in the real world..."

The woman was only capable of grimacing, now. Were they truly responsible for other players' idiocy, then? The only reason to have aided their duo was both in some strange sense of good faith, alongside trialing some strange impossibility that a close friend had sparked interest in. There was really no other purpose to be roped into a careless mess such as this.

One of the other few things she hadn't expected of today was an apology from Alkor -- not that NIGHT needed to hear one, but it was refreshing to hear from the man himself about his behavior from the past. She nodded at his words, drinking his reflection in. If she were presented with past Alkor once more, it was true that she wouldn't have been able to match him to his present identity with ease. And that was despite knowing very little of the man she was talking to herself.

But what had they been arguing about, that day? She'd entirely forgotten. Maybe she didn't want to remember.

"It's alright," the player replied. "Though it sounds like you'd been on one hell of a journey yourself." For starters, it hadn't occurred to NIGHT up till now the man's familiarity with her friend, not until she'd started to speak. "Is that how you met Koga? Some strange soul-searching session? He could've used some of that in the same way, I'd bet."

[Koga 0]

Koga couldn't help but chuckle at Star's initial explanation, morbid though it was. But hey, he liked morbid humor. "Don't worry," he said, "I might be crazy, and literally jumping into a hole into another world, but I'm not about to tip the boat."

As he promised, he slowed the boat down as they approached the Everfall, and brought the boat parallel to it's edge. "So, here's the plan. I'm gonna toss you into the hole," he paused, a suppressed smile on his face. "Kidding." A rain of bright blue glowing snow coalesced into Koga's hand as he pulled a shield from his inventory. He didn't really know why he had this with him, but hey, here it was. "I'm gonna throw this into the hole. If it breaks when it lands, NIGHT and Alkor should be able to see it and let us know. If not, we get to go cliff diving."

The man waited until he got a message from the other two that they'd arrived at the landing site before replying with a message of his own. "Care package incoming, lemme know if it breaks."

And down it went.

Koga loses >> Uncommon T1 Shield [183368]

[Starla 0]

     Starla sat in the boat, still getting a bit nervous. But as they got closer, Koga helped to let some of Starla's worries be lessened. He slowed the boat down and then made a joke that if Starla wasn't so sure that he was kidding, she would be mad. However, she sat on the side of the boat staring down into the large black hole that she was next to. This was certainly very risky and as a low level player, she was... Hesitant to jump down there. However, it would be a fun experience to jump down there if she just glided down as the others had said happened before. Koga was just the kind of person she liked, a risk taker and someone who was just crazy enough to come up with an idea like this. Starla smiled as she saw the shield get tossed over the side. "Sure glad that isn't me." Starla looked at Koga. "Were items affected by the feather falling effect? Or was it just people? Because if the effect only affects a person, there is only one way to find out if it works." Starla shifted her gaze down the hole once more.

[Alkor 0]

"Ah, Koga and I actually met during the fight where all this happened," he thrust a thumb back to the lake. "Though we didn't really become friends until later,  I'm pretty sure."

NIGHT wasn't far off with her guess that there had been a soul-searching session, but he figured that wasn't for him to talk about. He hoped that it had helped Koga, but if the man was readily obsessing over a hole in the ground that could directly lead to permanent consequences he had to wonder at how effective it had actually been.

When the message flickered across his HUD from Koga, they had already crossed the threshold and called out their teleports to the town a floor below. Alkor waited for NIGHT before he spoke again. "Looks like he's ready to start. Let's hurry."

Alkor picked his pace up to a jog as they headed for the so-called 'splash zone' where Koga would land: whether exciting or horrifying.

"What about you?" he asked. "How'd you meet him?"