[F03-PP] <<Worn-Out Welcome>> Griswold like To Have a Word With Them

[Plini 0]

There is a certain smith who lives happily with his wife in Floor Three
Together they manage it while enjoying the company of each other
The blacksmith is kind and asks for materials as payment, or was it even a payment?
Too trivial for some but it is simple, acquire the materials and have your armor crafted
Now where's the hard part?

A bright morning is normal in Aincrad, there may be a looming feeling of doom but most people are hoping for the better and the Frontlines are fueling it up with every floor boss cleared. Such act of bravery won't go unnoticed and a lot of players long for glory of battle with the Frontlines. This however does not mean that the side-characters don't get their fair share of recognition. While the big boys (and girls) battle the bosses, a good chunk of the playerbase are somewhere discovering, rediscovering, crafting, or simply... killing anything that moves and will give rewards.

"If I pull my shit together then this quest will be easy as watching Magic English" Plini thought as he stood a few feet away from the smithy. He turned around to see Griswold and Hanna waving at him smiling happily, Griswold's arm around her shoulder. "I bet a lot of players are jealous of NPCs getting more lovey dovey action than them." His thoughts shifted to the woman who dug her way into his heart and mind, Orca. Sounds like a terrible thing but it's not, Plini shook his head as he tries to cast aside her womanly features because for now, a quest is needed to be done.

 

 

Plini	"I'd spend my solitude with you."
Hide contents notes [none] Plini | HP: 140/140 | EN: 14/14 | DMG: 2 | MIT: 9 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 3 | LD: 2 | Savvy: 2 equipped Destrezas [vanity weapon] Aegirian Polymer jacket EVA I | Savvy II Caenis Fist MIT I | Regen II Siesta Shirt [AUS] LD I | EVA II battle-ready inventory // skills   Hide contents One-Handed Curved Sword [R1] Searching [R1] data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs   Hide contents   data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

Edited March 19, 2021 by Plini

[Astreya 0]

Astreya glanced back at the paper she held, frowning as she was trying to follow the directions on it.  She had managed to (somehow!) make her way up to the third floor here in Aincrad without running into any monsters that wanted to harm her.  Well, she did but she'd gotten away from most of them.  Zackariah had given her a paper with directions to someone who might be able to help her out a bit more, like he had.

And so as she managed to get to the smithy here on the third floor, she could see a fellow standing just outside with his wife, and there was another person nearby as well, who looked (at a glance) to be more skilled than she was... but given they were on the third floor, she was a lot more afraid of what might happen with the monsters.

"Hey!" she called cheerfully toward the other individual.  "Are you here to help out the Blacksmith too?" she asked, a light grin on her features.  A friendly disposition tended to be more welcoming than a dour one, in her experience.

 

Spoiler

  

	Astreya
Basics:	Skills:	Equipment:
HP: 20/20 Energy: 2/2 Damage: 4 Mitigation: 9 Thorns: 9	2H Straight Sword[Novice] Sword Arts: Spoiler [x2 AoE] Blast (2 Energy +2 per target hit) - A pair of horizontal sweeping strokes that hits multiple targets. [x2] Straight (2 Energy) - Begins with the player bending their knees before thrusting forward with a singular powerful strike covering the gap between you and your opponent.	Weapon: 2H Straight Sword Armor: Battle Dress [Mitigation][Thorns] Items: Starter Healing Potion | 50HP | 3

 

 

[Astralin 0]

Floor 3, such a nice place, it would seem. Whatever the case, this trip shouldn't be too bad, her level was above the maximum standard monster's strength. She might not have anything to do at the moment...but she was gonna go for it! She knew there was almost always something to do in major MMOs like these, despite that this one in particular is a labyrinth with limited amount of players and the killing tendency it has... She just needed to figure out what was available on this floor, there had to be a quest somewhere, so she could gain experience and grow stronger! She would wander the general area until she spotted a pair of players standing near a smithy. Did they have a quest to take? Well, there was only one way for Astralin to find out! "Heeey! Are you two about to take a quest? Can I join?" She called out and asked. Hopefully she wouldn't be going in over her head...

 

Stats and equipment:

Spoiler

Level: 19

Max HP: 380

Max EN: 38

Base DMG: 6(Martial Arts Rank 3[+5])

 

Equipment:

[T1]Gloves of the Astral Storm(1 Bleed, 1 Paralyze)[Equipped]

[T1]Sticky Ricky(3 DMG)

[T1]Alkarina's Resolve(2 EVA, 1 REC)[Equipped]

[T1]Amulet of Aknossoth(2 ACC, 1 REC)[Equipped]

 

 

Skills:

First Aid Rank 3

Martial Arts Rank 3

 

[Lethia 0]

Spoiler

Lethia
Level: 10
HP: 200/200 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | EVA: 2 | ACC: 3 | BLEED: 12 | PARALYZE: 1

Equipped:
» Venom Strike [Perfect T1 Dagger [Bleed // Bleed // Paralyze]]
» Darkened Clouds - [Rare T1 Light Armor [Evasion // Evasion]]
» Black Snake - [Perfect T1 Bracelet [Accuracy // Accuracy // Accuracy]]

Skills:
» Dagger - Rank 2

Extra Skills:
» Fighter - Rank 2

She was just walking with no destination in mind. She knew what it was that she needed to do, she needed to find that blasted woman, but, that could wait. The only reason that this was said was because she noticed a handsome man watching a pair of NPCs be all lovey-dovey. That was just sickening in her mind, but it could play to advantages, and well, a little fun was needed.

Almost instantly, two more girls walked over to the guy, and that was when the smirk reached Lethia's lips. Time to have some fun with this. She walked over to the trio and simply gave her most flirtatious smile, ignoring the two girls right away. "Hey handsome, you already have two girls following you, why not have a third?" Right after her words were said, there was a hiss that came from her shoulders. There laid a black and red cobra, and she instantly started to pet it's head.

"What do you say, make this a full party and destroy whatever you're after with ease?" If she could put anymore of a flirty tone in her voice, she probably would, but she wasn't in the mood to exactly chase away the guy. Plus, she felt like hitting something, if there would be anything left to hit that was.

[Plini 0]

What's this? all of a sudden there's three of them

The guy wasn't sure how to react, he was just reading up some info about the quest a few minutes ago about how Griswold's quest works and then her he is, three girls asking if he's on a quest. "One looks like a girl who seem to remind me of a character who always says onii-sama, the second is-" he thought as he closed his UI and tried to assess the situation "is she a princess? or a discount one?"  the third girl however was quite a tease with telling him of having a third one. "Sure, having four people to take down or search for something makes it easier" he told them "also I'm not handsome, handsome guys have wavy blonde hair"  he added.

Plini held the strap of his sling bag and tried to brief them of a quest he just took "Griswold opened his services for players as a blacksmith along with his wife as you can see-" he pointed at the couple who are still waving at them smiling "I know jack shit about married life but he said that he'll make an armor, we just have to provide the materials. Though only one gets an armor but I don't mind not having it."

"So if you three lovely ladies aren't afraid of insects and dirt while searching for material then let's get going, chop chop"

 

[Astreya 0]

Astreya wasn't entirely sure where everyone had come from- presumably wherever she had as it seemed like they'd all come out of the woodwork at once.  However, as she glanced over toward the blonde girl that arrived, and then the silver hair that followed, it seemed like they were both a great deal stronger than she was.  All the same, they were interested in the quest and she sure as hell wasn't going to turn down a free ride.

"Yeah!" she agreed cheerfully, a wide grin on her features.  "Let's all go!" she added, before she frowned slightly at the mention of both bugs and dirt.  "I mean I guess if we have to," the girl spoke, before she shouldered her heavy two-handed sword.  "I know my little nameplate thingy has it," she spoke, aware of the fact that her name was on display, but she didn't much care for such things, "But my name is Astreya.  Well, my character name.  I'm Iris.  Either is fine," she spoke, not really caring about what people called her.  "Let's get going!" she called out, grinning as she followed along near the forest.

[Astralin 0]

Not long after Astralin had asked to join, a silver haired woman with a snake showed up, completely ignoring the presence of Astralin and the other girl, despite acknowledging them being there, as she spoke to the only male player in the vicinity in a tone and expression that... "Is...is she flirting with him, or teasing him? I don't know..." She thought. She was actually often suspicious of girls who flirt at just any good looking guy, for one of those kinds of girls had stolen Leo away from her all those years ago... She turned her attention away from the snake apparently flirtatious player and back to the other two. The male seemed surprised to find that there were now three women near him. He claimed that he wasn't handsome, claiming that 'handsome guys have wavy blond hair'. Astralin smiled and shook her head. "No, that's not true." She remarked reassuringly. "Guys can be handsome with different hairstyles and hair colors. I was into a ginger once." She said, trying to encourage the player so he wouldn't think so low of himself.

The male player would then speak of the situation. It was material gathering. "I've already got a good set of apparel, so I'm fine and won't be needing the armor either. I'm not sure about dirt, but I have had to swat away a bug or two when I was looking for alchemy materials." Astralin responded. The girl with the armored battledress was cheerful, ready to start the quest, though she didn't like the idea of bugs and dirt. Well, it looked like Astralin and this girl were in unspoken agreement. The girl with the armored battledress then introduced herself, while also mentioning that her username was visible. "I know it's strange, I thought others could see my username at first as well, but unlike most MMOs, this game doesn't seem to work that way..." She commented. The girl, who'd said her username was Astreya, also chose to reveal her real name. "Well, my username is Astralin, but my actual name is Libra. Nice to meet you!" She replied.

[Lethia 0]

She laughed lightly, "I'm not into those with wavy blonde hair, they like to think that they are handsome, but it's the men like you have the true handsomeness." She was having fun ignoring the other two girls, but she did keep mental notes on them. Both of them were stupid though for giving their real names, that was something that could be used against them, and by someone like her. She just kept her gaze on Plini instead.

"I don't know about those two, but insects and dirt only makes this quest all the more interesting. As for the coat, I'm a tailor, so I don't need that, but thank you for the offer." She did take a moment to check her gear and everything, making sure that her best dagger and gear were equipped. "My name is Lethia, but after you handsome." Maybe she was laying it on a little thick, but that was possibly because she could just see how it was making at least one of the women feel. Uncomfortable and confused, just how she likes those who she doesn't know or trust.

[Plini 0]

Eh? getting all friendly now huh?" he thought as the two girls spoke of their in-game name and real names, the third one however was a bit wary and he can see that she enjoys talking the way he is. It can be a peaceful travel or an annoying one, Plini wasn't fond of being with a group of girls, it only remind him of his sisters who had their fun for a long time of being older than him. "Astreya, Astralin, and Lethia. Let's just say I didn't hear your real names, it can be a disadvantage somewhere in the future but I admire the trust you two showed"  he said. Lethia surely liked calling him handsome but Plini wasn't sure if blonde, wavy hair is not always a sign of good looks "well maybe but looks mean nothing to me so I don't claim one for myself, it's useless" he told her. There was a slight annoyance in his eyes, similar to the first time Orca was asking him for a date even though they only just met.

It should be a peaceful quest, it should be. Plini only wanted the rewards for his stats, not the item. in this quest, they only need to find materials that Griswold can use. The forest had a clear path for them, the weather seems to be in their favor also, the only thing remaining is the bugs. It would be easy if they weren't the size of his torso and flies in pairs. "This place is-" he opened his UI while the three girls are behind him "Forest of Wavering Mists" he uttered. 

And just like that mist began flowing several feet away from them, it may not be thick enough for cover but Plini knew that it can be used as advantage.

"Mist ahead of us, try to stay alert" he told them.

[Astreya 0]

Of course, the fact that the other girl had given her first name as well, Libra, caused a wide grin to spread across Astreya's face.  She hadn't really done much in this game for a long time, and so with that being said, she wasn't really aware of any negative ability for anyone to know her real name.  As far as she was concerned, given they didn't know her last name at all, that wasn't going to let them really do anything with it, except for maybe attempt to evoke a sense of trust within her.  Of course, she was aware that these three now knew her real name- if they tried to use it against her, she'd deal with it then.

"Nice to meet you, Libby.  Can I call you Libby?" Asteya asked after she'd already used it, before turning her attention to the guy.  The other woman was mostly ignoring them, focusing on the guy, and she rolled her eyes a bit at that before looking back to him.  "Disadvantageous...how?" the woman asked as she moved along with them, her weapon shouldered as they came to the Forest.  

The mist that rolled out of it did look more than a little intimidating, but her gaze flickered to the other three as the guy indicated to stay alert.  "Got it," Astreya spoke, moving further within.  She had a defensive setup... but these three were way higher level than she was.

[Astralin 0]

The silver haired woman continued her responses, which may have been teasing more than flirtatious at this point. The snake didn't help Astralin's current view on her either. "Sus..." She thought. "Very sus..." Did this woman just want to mess with this one guy here, or did she have other reasons? Only one way to find out, though Astralin already made a bit of a risk by saying her real name...she only thought it was fair that she revealed her real name because someone else had revealed their own. The male player, who hadn't introduced himself yet, repeated the usernames he'd heard, and decided to try and forget the real names spoken. Astreya broke into a wide grin when Astralin revealed her name in return, and offered a nickname. Honestly, Astralin didn't know what to think. She didn't see herself as being able to have a nickname like that, she just couldn't see it fitting...but she didn't want to come across the wrong way, either. "I'll consider it." She answered, going with neutrality, her usual method for avoiding getting on too many people's bad sides, or simply disappointing too many potential friends. Astreya wondered how giving out a real name would be disadvantageous, and then a possibility hit Astralin. "Astreya...is...I'm sorry if I'm wrong or anything but...is...is this your first online game? It's usually not the best thing to do, revealing your real name to someone you hardly know. I revealed mine cause I thought it was only fair since you revealed yours, and because I like to be nice." She explained to the player. "Anyway, I can heal injuries and strike with my innate power! If you need help, I'll be there."

The players would then head over to the forest of wavering mists. Astralin remembered coming here to find a labyrinth some time ago. The mists swept in, and the players would begin to slowly traverse through. Astralin may have wandered through this misty forest before, but she didn't see that stump coming. "Waaaugh! Oooph!"

Astralin got up, and looked where she'd tripped. It was a hollow stump, but what was that more solid white mixed with the translucent white of the mists? She lowered her hand into the stump and, as it turns out, there was some kind of book with a lock in there, and there was a key with it. She didn't see much about it, aside that it was a locked book with a white cover, not to mention the fact that the cover's front had a golden-colored star with the Roman Numeral for Seven on it. ..What was this thing?

-Astralin has found The Seventh Book

 

[Lethia 0]

Well, he was clearly done with this conversation, so she just shrugged and fell back to walking behind the three of them. She did roll her eyes though at the other two. Were they really just that dumb to state their real names? Honestly, it was only common sense to not just announce your name in the presence of those whom you don't know. Or was common sense something that just wasn't thought about anymore? Judging by this current interaction, she was going to go with the whole 'no one knows common sense anymore'.

She watched as the mist started to show up around them, and she instantly pulled out her dagger, ready to attack anything that might attack her. Noxyl hissed, his tongue flickering as if he were trying to taste something in the air. She doubted that he would be able to find much of anything. There were thoughts that came to her mind, this Mist would be the perfect cover for just about anything, including herself, which was something that she quickly pushed out of her mind.

This was not the right place nor the right time. She knew better than that after all. She didn't miss little miss star princess tripping over a stump. "Careful, there's a stump there." She was obviously poking fun at Astralin, if the woman couldn't handle watching where she was walking even in mist, she probably shouldn't be here in the first place. Lethia kept walking, her eyes staying on the ground, but Noxyl's eyes were watching her surroundings for her.

[Plini 0]

The mist covered the area around them, circling like some kind of wolf pack, only that it is made of mist. Plini had gained info somewhere that mobs employ tactics using the mist in this area it was a stupid give-away to make the mist circle around them and not trap the whole team in it. "Well seems like our enemy likes theatrics. Lethia and Astreya, let's try to end this swift before the fog tries to separate us."  He heard earlier how Astralin can heal with her skills, a stroke of luck for them because there's no need to fear anyone reaching the danger zone of their health points. "Keep our HP up Astralin, some of us here have quite low health points."

"Greetings adventurers! you all look like you're looking for something. This is troublesome, a group like you has the audacity to wander inside this forest not heeding the warning of us who can use the mist to our advantage. Now what do we have here" A tall figure with straight silky hair appeared from the mist beside Lethia and began inspecting her hair "such beautiful hair" he told her. "What's this? two lovely girls who seem to show a bit of innocence and purity" he then turned his eyes on Plini, the only male of the group "how unsightly, a boy who seem to ignore such an opportunity for bliss. If I were in your place, I would have them all for my-"  

A curved sword flew past him and lodged in a tree behind. Plini with his cold stare used his weapon as projectile to cut the Dark Elf's neck, The elf knew because his hair was cut. Had it been an inch closer then he would've lost a good chunk of health points. "You talk too much, shame my throw was off by a few inches" he muttered, annoyance was clear.

Plini dashed forward and engaged the elf in close quarter combat only to find himself on a stalemate rather quick "hoho! quite skilled but that is not enough to defeat-" Plini took a step back and kicked the thigh of the elf making him lose balance "you bastard!" the elf uttered in rage. Plini kicked him one more on the knee before calling on his teammates "Astreya and Lethia! cut this piece of shit!" 

ID: 185928 BD: 1 [critical fail]
ID: 185929 MD: 2 - 3 = [fail]
Savvy triggered [+2 BD until next success roll]

Plini | HP: 140/140 | EN: 12/14 | DMG: 2 | MIT: 9 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 3 | LD: 2 | Savvy: 2
Astreya | HP: 20/20 | EN: 2/2 | Damage: 4 | Mitigation: 9 | Thorns: 9
Astralin | HP: 380/380 | EN: 38/38 | DMG: 6 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | REC: 2 | BLD: 1 | PAR: 1 
Lethia | HP: 200/200 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | EVA: 2 | ACC: 3 | BLEED: 12 | PARALYZE: 1

Dark Elf | HP 12/12 | DMG: 9

[Astreya 0]

"Awww okay.  I'll just keep with Astralin then," Astreya spoke, mostly just looking for a nickname to call the other girl, given the fact that the first parts of their name were quite similar.  "Yeah, it's my first online game but like... so what if you all know my first name?  You don't know my last name, and we might not ever get out of here anyway.  And even if we do... what would you even do with my name?" the girl asked, curious.  There was a lot of stigma around it, but she didn't really know why there was.  

But she didn't get her answer right then, mostly due to the fact that the poor blonde girl found a stump with her foot, going sprawling.  "Ohmigosh, are you okay?" the dark-haired girl asked, offering a hand to Astralin to help her back to her feet, even as the other two continued on ahead, her own question forgotten.

Regardless of whether or not the other girl had taken it, Astreya would give her a grin and beckon her onward.  "C'mon, let's catch up!" she called, moving along after the other two.

The mist had begun to surround them, and Astreya  shifted her stance, pulling her weapon to bear a bit as she glanced at the man as he spoke.  "Right," she agreed, exhaling slowly.  She felt a lot safer in a group setting than she did on her own- and that emboldened her a bit more as she decided to try her Sword Art against the first thing that came out.  However, the first thing was a voice, and next to Lethia.  

Astreya's eyes widened slightly as she turned, about to react, but the male in their group was already moving, exchanging blows and words with the dark elf before the call came to her to act.  "O-oh yeah!" Astreya called, having been caught off-guard a bit by how quickly things had escalated, and the young woman's eyes narrowed as she remembered the motions for her Sword Art, bending her knees slightly.  "Let's see how you like this, you creep!" she called out as she shot forward, her weapon more spear than sword as she drove it into their target!

ID# 185932 | BD: 7 | Sword Art: Straight used | 4 * 2 = 8 Damage!

 

 Full Stats:

Spoiler

  

	Astreya
Basics:	Skills:	Equipment:
HP: 20/20 Energy: 0/2 Damage: 4 Mitigation: 9 Thorns: 9	2H Straight Sword[Novice] Sword Arts: Spoiler [x2 AoE] Blast (2 Energy +2 per target hit) - A pair of horizontal sweeping strokes that hits multiple targets. [x2] Straight (2 Energy) - Begins with the player bending their knees before thrusting forward with a singular powerful strike covering the gap between you and your opponent.	Weapon: 2H Straight Sword Armor: Battle Dress [Mitigation][Thorns] Items: Starter Healing Potion | 50HP | 3

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Astreya
Dice roll

[Astralin 0]

Astreya had no idea why it was a bad thing to say one's real name in this game. "Honestly, I don't know... But I do know that it's not the smartest thing to do with someone you don't know enough, or trust." Astralin answered. 

Astreya offered her hand to help Astralin when she tripped, and she accepted as she was getting up. Astreya then grinned and beckoned her to go forward. "Sure...just, I'm still curious about this thing..." She took the key that was with the book, and unlocked it. Astralin looked through the pages... her eyes wide at this new issue... "Aaaagh, I can't read it..." She groaned. This locked book's contents did have some imagery here and there, but it was almost as if there was a seemingly unreadable text within. Symbols that Astralin did not recognize littered the pages, and judging by the fact that translated words weren't appearing over the pages, the system didn't know this kind of lettering either.

She then looked up and saw there was trouble about to unfold. She stowed the book and key in her inventory, then she pulled out her Skillbook. If any of the players were to pay any attention to her Skillbook's cover, they would see plenty of mystifying symbols, as well as star and galaxy inspired design patterns on it. She looked through her own writings, and soon closed the Skillbook, proceeding to return it to her inventory. She had a battle plan if things got nasty. 

Suddenly a creep appeared by Lethia, and complimented on her hair as he inspected it...as a creep does. He then looked to Astralin and Astreya. "What's this? two lovely girls who seem to show a bit of innocence and purity" He then turned his eyes on the only male of the group, and said, "how unsightly, a boy who seem to ignore such an opportunity for bliss. If I were in your place, I would have them all for my-" 

"Not happening." Astralin interrupted as she crossed her arms like an X over her chest, while the male player would chuck his sword at the creepy Dark Elf. Astreya attacked the Dark elf after he and the male player got into a stalemate, and Astralin would follow with an action of her own... She clapped her hands together, and activated her Sword Art. "Aerrakea!" She called out, and the vanity effect of her amulet became active, making her eyes glow during this attack. She would devastate the Dark Elf with an all-out strike. "We are living women, not toys to be taken like possessions." She said, following with a huff...and she then kicked the Dark Elf creep in the crotch, before his HP Bar depleted to zero.

 

ID# 185933 BD: 4+2=6(hit)

Tornado Kick: 6x6=36 Damage to Dark Elf

 

 

Plini | HP: 140/140 | EN: 12/14 | DMG: 2 | MIT: 9 | ACC: 0 | EVA: 3 | LD: 2 | Savvy: 2
Astreya | HP: 20/20 | EN: 2/2 | Damage: 4 | Mitigation: 9 | Thorns: 9
Astralin | HP: 380/380 | EN: 30/38 | DMG: 6 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2 | REC: 2 | BLD: 1 | PAR: 1 
Lethia | HP: 200/200 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | EVA: 2 | ACC: 3 | BLEED: 12 | PARALYZE: 1

 

Dark Elf | HP 0/12 | DMG: 9

Edited March 20, 2021 by Astralin

[Lethia 0]

She was perfectly fine with walking and being ignored, at least, until she stopped the moment she felt someone right beside her. The grip on her dagger tightened as the dark elf touched her hair. But she put on a sly smile, one that quickly turned into a flirtatious one. But, when the curved sword flew past the two of them, she sighed lightly. "Someone is always ruining my fun...." She didn't bother to hide her disappointment as the others took care of the elf.

Lethia didn't bother listening to the things that were being said at this point. Instead, she leaned back against a tree and just stared at them all. There was no point in her doing anything, the boss was dead. Just her luck. The guy hits on her, and she doesn't even get to have her fun with him. She just put her dagger back on her hip as she instead focused on just petting the black and red cobra that started to move down from her shoulders to her hand for easier access for pets.

"Well, that was so much fun, guess it's time for me to actually go and find some fun of my own." The sarcasm that was dripping in her words could serve as the venom that she wanted on her blade right now. The venom that was dripping from her familiar's mouth.

[Plini 0]

"Well that was quick, disappointing that I wasn't able to-" all of a sudden a notification window appeared in front of him, Plini stared at it for a few seconds before finding out something weird "looks like killing the scumbag elf gave us the materials Griswold needs" he told them. He closed the UI window and looked around him. Three girls, a mist thick enough to limit visibility, and a snake dripping venom... a snake?! and a venom too!

Plini quickly approached Lethia and pulled out 2 vials from his sling bag, completely forgetting his curved sword still lodged in on a tree. "What kind of snake is this? have you tested its bite? would you mind if I took at least a vial or two of its venom?" Plini stared at the fangs of the snake, it could give him a fine specimen to use for his alchemy and that is if Lethia would give him. After a few seconds he realized he was too close to her, the cobra was what stands between them. "Oh, I'm sorry" he said before taking a few steps back, his expression back to being a bit aloof "we should do something with this fog, any ideas?" he asked them.

[Astreya 0]

As Astralin followed up with an attack of her own following Astreya's own strike, the dark-haired girl gave a small pump of her right arm.  "Yeah!" she agreed, pointing at the dark elf, before pausing as the blonde went up to deliver a rather painful-looking kick on the followup to her own attack, and Astreya paused slightly.  Were they really getting that bent out of shape over an NPC thing?  She had kind of gotten caught up in the moment but like... this was still a game.  It wasn't like that was a person who was being weird and creepy to them, right?

Still, the thought of the weird and creepy introduction to the dark elf caused her to look over at the girl who had actually been touched at the beginning, and she frowned, looking at her.  "Hey, are you okay?  We got him," the relatively new player to not only this game but MMOs in general spoke earnestly, using one arm to point with her sword toward the vanishing form of the dark elf.  "So we-" she began, when the guy ran forward toward their third femme fatale, seemingly a bit creepy on his own regarding the snake and poisons.  He must be really into snakes.  Or venoms.  Something.

She frowned, sheathing her blade back onto her back, before the guy asked about the fog and what they should do with it, leading to Astreya's head tilting slightly to the side.  "With four of us, there should be enough of a trail to follow to get back," the woman spoke, gesturing to the foot prints from the battle itself.  "I don't think my sword arts can clear up the fog at all, though if we really need to see to get back," she added, frowning slightly.

[Astralin 0]

Astreya seemed to be all for Astralin's words and action. This may have been a game, and the NPCs were without souls...but they still shouldn't be creeping on girls like that. 

The suspicious woman's snake started dripping venom down on her blade, and the sarcasm in her words were full of poison. "Congratulations, you're officially super sus now!" Astralin thought, despite that it was almost like she was talking to her...but she clearly wasn't and was in fact just eying the woman and her snake very skeptically. The male player seemed to be fascinated by the idea of venom and poisons...ok, that was unexpected...maybe he was hoping to be an alchemist, as Astralin was, despite the, erm...differentiating routes they seemed to be taking?

Whatever the case, Astreya would point out the fog. "Well, this amulet I have helps me to see in the dark, but I don't know if its light can cut through fog." Astralin admitted.

[Lethia 0]

Well, at least not being able to kill the dark elf gave them the materials that were needed, but still, she didn't even get to hit the thing that touched her hair. There was an irritated look on her face, at least, until Mr. Handsome decided to get up close and personal. Sure, it was for Noxyl's venom, but that hadn't stopped the smile from creeping onto her face still. "Noxyl is a cobra, no I have not, and sure." Just as she was about to lean in closer to try and mess with his head a bit, he was moving away.

She raised an eyebrow though at him, and just smirked, "Don't be sorry, feel free to get as close as you like, I promise I'll make sure Noxyl doesn't bite." She could just feel the look that she was getting from Miss Perfect over in the corner, so Lethia tore her gaze from Plini and looked at Astralin, "You can always take a picture if you like star child, it'll last much longer once I'm gone." She winked lightly before moving Noxyl back to being wrapped over her shoulders like a scarf.

She soon pushed herself from the tree that she was leaning against and walked over to Astreya, "Don't worry little flower, you stick by me, and I'll keep you safe." The tone that was in her voice had changed from the flirty one that she gave Plini and Astralin to being one of actual care and promise, be careful with that. She looked back at the lonely man in the group, "There's another wonderful thing about snakes beside their venom, their way of being able to see when they can't see." As if on queue, Noxyl stuck his tongue out in a hiss before pointing his head in a direction.