[F1-PP] As Fate would Have it

[Raidou 1]

The same lush fields he'd long but abandoned, and on occasion had reentered. Rolling fields of emerald, a single raking breeze pressed in the green and made it flatten out and change shade before springing back. The nostalgia that reminded him of his roots, as feet slid along a cut path through it. The outcries of players screaming and barking orders at one another, it was so easy to forget where it had all began. A lift of a low-hanging branch, Raidou peers into a small outcropping between the trees in the forest just north of the road between the town of beginnings and Tolbana where surely villagers were darting in and out of buildings within its small wooden fencing. Charkko came to mind, as fresh as the day it was written in. As he stepped in, crunching leaves and twigs underfoot as he looked to the variable little places where conversation was sparked.

The very same where Firm Anima began.

Raidou Consumes: (Ambition: 155716)

Spoiler

Raidou, Firm Anima Vanguard Captain
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 68
HP: 880/880
EN: 106/106

Stats:
Damage: 24
Mitigation: 44
Evasion: 2
Accuracy: 1
Battle Healing: 48
Loot Dice: 12
AA
QUAL: 2
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Auric Sunlight - Finality of Faith [T4/Demonic/2HSS] +3 Damage, AA
Armor: Planned Motions - Emissary [T1/Demonic/Cloth] Loot Dice 3, Evasion 1
Misc: Ebony Lenses - Future [T4/Demonic/Trinket] Quality 2, Recovery 2

Custom Skill:
The Nomad Who Wanders

Skills:
Straight Sword R5
Cloth Armor R5
Fighting Spirit
Howl
Searching R5
Battle Healing R5

Active Mods:
Detect
Athletics
Vengeful Riposte
Tracking
Justified Riposte

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Nimble
Focused Howl
Ferocity
Precision
Stamina

Active Extra Skills:
Parry
Survival
Concentration
Forgotten King’s Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Iron Will (Tierless/Unique/Salve) Bloodclot x1
Terra Firma Scale x1
Darkness Salve x3
Teleport Crystal x1
Inert Pillar Fragment [Vanity/Broken Glowstone] x1

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

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

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

 

[Setsuna 0]

Dancing flame, on the side of a dimly lit interior. From a candle no less, painting a shadow from the girl on its surface with rapid movement. The slipping of a needle through fabric, and pulling the string tight. Thoughts bouncing around in her head with every tug. She stops, and inspects her finger. A small red pinhole at the tip, showing the bits at which was made up of. "Damn you." Setsuna remarks, but she wasn't referring to that fair needle, no. Something was causing her hesitation, to question more than she had ever. A crash of lightning racks her eardrums, as she looks to her immediate left and sees Katoka. She cannot help but smile, knowing that she was doing the right thing. But At that moment she turns, and she finds herself in a forest. Looking death in the face, and looking to pay the same to her aggressor. She could taste the toxin on her tongue, she could feel the warmth of a body that wasn't her own.

It belonged to a monster.

Spoiler

Setsuna, The Frigid End
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 28
HP: 720/720
EN: 90/90

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 20
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 4
Loot Dice: 1
FLN: 16
FRZ: 56
FRSTB: 40
RSKY: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Shiva's Embrace - Skadi [T4/Demonic/Katana] Fallen 2, Freeze 1, Frostbite 1
Armor: Azuresilk Kunoichi Wear - Ghost [T4/Demonic/Cloth] Evasion 2, Risky 2
Misc: Kunoichi Wrapping's [T1/Demonic/Trinket] 3 Accuracy, Evasion 1

Skills:
Katana R5
Cloth Armor R5
Charge

Active Mods:
Blindside
Vanish
Surprise Attack (Assassin)
Athletics
Untraceable

Addons:
Ferocity
Nimble
Stamina
Precision

Active Extra Skills:
Hiding R5
Parry
Disguise

Battle Ready Inventory:
The Rising Sun (Mass Heal Crystal) x1
Bird Seed (T2/Rare/Snack) Vitality 2 x2
Teleport Crystal x1

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

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

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by Setsuna

[Shiina 0]

Humming a somber tune, the clicking of her heels as she skipped. A glance through a large window at a dress, perched on a mannequin. Shiina's eyes light up, as she presses her face against the glass. A lilac colored bit of frill, so nice and summer toned. That sun dress would look so good on her, wouldn't it. Or maybe it would have looked good on Ms. Aoi, it had been a while since she thought about life before. I mean the world of Aincrad was truly magnificent right. A total heaven they'd all been cast in, despite the certain death.

But it had been a while since she'd even thought about life outside it. When did it become so common place to forget where they came from. Like cars and junk, big old buildings and school. A tap of her index finger to her chin, as she reminisced about a past she'd long misplaced. Carrying toast in her mouth, in a pretty little get up and bouncing her way up to a doorbell.

Ushering toward the door of the establishment and opening the door with a chime, Shiina slides her way in to inquire about the dress in the window.

Maybe it would suit her well.

Spoiler

Shiina, Voice of the Ancients
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 19
HP: 782/782
EN: 86/86

Stats:
Damage: 1
Mitigation: 167
Evasion: 3
Loot Dice: 1
MENDING: 2
REC: 8
THRNS: 36

Equipped Gear:
Misc: Resonant Blade - Tuning Fork [Trinket] (T1/Perfect) +1 Evasion, Recovery 2

Skills:
Heavy Armor R5
Extended Weight Limit

Active Mods:
Large Pockets
Energize
Barrier
Press the Attack
Rally

Addons:
Field Medic
Hyperactive

Active Extra Skills:
First Aid R5
Leadership R5

Battle Ready Inventory:
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x15
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x15
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x15
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x14
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x15
Flash of Rejuvenation [T1/Perfect/Crystal] Mass Heal x15

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

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

 

[Gaius 0]

The line shrinks, as the reel begins to spin. Gaius stops and pulls hearty on the line, and with a sharp tug a floundering beast lays suspended. The dragoon grins, eying the large fish and the reflection of the sun of its scales. "Another one for the ice chest." He was still trying to get a handle on things when it came to using a pole, he was more of the sort to just get in there and do it himself. Tools were the least of his worries. As he returns the line to the water, he takes a seat again and folds his legs beneath himself. The guy was honestly trying to learn to be more 'peaceful?' was that the word. Frankly, he had a habit of shoving his foot in his own mouth, and was trying to rectify that. He had to grow up sometime, if not for his sake, then for Freya. As he sat there, waiting for his little companion to come and argue with him some more, his mind began to wander. He couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something important. Getting lost in the whole storm that was Aincrad, had something slipped his mind?

Maybe this is where he belonged after all?

Gaius Consumes: Ambition: 155716-1

Spoiler

Gaius, Descending Gale
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 21
HP: 700/700
EN: 88/88

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 35
Loot Dice: 4
BLD: 48
FLN: 8
H.M.: 6
REC: 3

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Eye of the Gale - Brionac [T4/Perfect/2HAS] - Fallen 1, Bleed 2 (8-10)
Armor: Dragoon's Mantle - Fervor [Heavy] (T3/Perfect) 1 Recovery, 2 Heavy Momentum
Misc: Boar Hide Belt [Trinket] (T1/Perfect) [+3 Loot Dice]

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Polearm R5
Heavy Armor R5
Charge
Energist
Fighting Spirit
Battle Healing R4

Active Mods:
Impetus

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Stamina
Iron Skin
Hyperactive

Active Extra Skills:
First Aid R3

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal x1
Bird Seed (T2/Rare/Snack) Vitality 2 x1

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

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

 

[Griswold 0]

Clack, Clack, Clack

Vulcan lays just next to a large stone. The amber glow of magma is blotted out by a large black cloud that was the sky. Mt. Stygian was still ripe with heat, enough that Griswold had to pause and take a large forearm to his forehead to remove the sweat. The familiar whines toward the smith, who chuckles. "Just a bit longer, boy, stop being a baby." As he spins his hammer, with a small chisel head strapped to the front of it. He winds his arm back and slams again, seeing chunks of stone fly in scattering sprays. The refinery was running out of metals to work, and there was always a need for more. Who knew how many faces he'd have to match with arms, a smiths work was never done. In this little moment, something was bugging him and this was a good way to blow off some steam. Shiina, during Lun'rael's little tantrum. Griswold could swear it, that she was identical to Anna in every way in that instant. It had stricken him dumb. Just how long had he been in here? Just how much longer until he could finally get out and see his other daughter.

Was she ok?

Spoiler

Griswold, The Stalwart Foundation
Level: 31
Paragon Level: 19
HP: 680/680
EN: 86/86

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 132
Accuracy: 2
Loot Dice: 4
REC: 4
TAUNT
THRNS: 72

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Fist of Gaia - Incline [T1/Perfect/Warhammer] Taunt, Accuracy 2
Armor: Forgemaster's Rattlecage - Juggernaut [T4/Perfect/Heavy Armor] (Mitigation 3 [+72 Mitigation])
Misc: Titanic Wall - Foundation [T4/Perfect/Shield] Thorns 2 (72), REC 1

Skills:
Hammer R5
Heavy Armor R5
Howl
Charge

Active Mods:
Steadfast
Shield Bash
Impetus
Elusive
Rally

Addons:
Iron Skin
Rampart
Stamina

Active Extra Skills:
Leadership R3
Block R5

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal x1

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

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

 

[Nisahime 0]

Such a simple thing, how plainly these droves just loitered about with no end goal in mind. A long and silver hair, virtually pure and unaffected by the elements, while others are drenched almost black. Rain beats bullets into a wooden roof overhead, and the woman could feel eyes on her back. It didn't bother her in the slightest, turning and folding her legs as she sat on a bar stool. The stare, as she peered into those that were looking first. There was something about that intensity that makes those that do avert their eyes, without not a single word spoken. A single keeper, to her suspected aid. "What can I get ya?" he asks her, a bald head gleaming in orange light from above. It was most certainly polished. The stool squeaks as she turns it with a shift of her elbow. "Whatever you deem appropriate." Her answer seemed undeniable, and yet was up for debate.

"Isn't it odd, I don't sense not a single redeemable quality in any of them." She spoke to no one, but her voice wasn't quenched. The question was to whom? Some of those around her began to twist their head, she clearly looked as though she was talking to herself.

Spoiler

Morrighan, Goddess of Fate
Level: 18
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 360/360
EN: 54/54

[Raidou 1]

Kneeling low and running his hand through the very same patch that he'd first met most of them, it was still growing and virtually untouched. It seemed as though only he and his had found this place, and most of them didn't have a reason as of late to return here. That left only him to break into this sanctuary, a temple of a beginning like a gravestone. As he plucked a single root free, trying to glean from it something, he felt as though he had forgotten. Or perhaps it was it that was the memory itself, something tangible that he'd have to reclaim. A conversation with Mina had brought about so many questions. The raid still ripe in his mind, and another that lingered on the horizon like a freshly dawning sun. He could see it, but he still couldn't bring himself to believe its existence. Everything was moving so fast, and how was he going to keep pace with it.

Freyd was certainly speaking on the guild's behalf right about now. Simmone was more than likely making the necessary preparations. How much did they truly know about what it was that they would be up against. How much did the scouting party actually learn this time around. Last time they'd failed to understand nigh anything about their opponent, and everything changed with a wave of black. The method was still so risky, and he still couldn't calculate it. Was there something else that he was meant to do? How could he convince a single one of them to aid each other. From his perspective, they were still, so self-centered, self focusing and betraying each other. Over what? The promise of a reward and the chance at success for bleeding each other dry?

Placing the herb at his side, he reaches into his pocket and removes a small black book. A record of his mistakes, and yet just as fake as whatever ill-gotten gains that others wished to peel from any encounter possible. It was hidden for a reason, protected for a reason. So why did he share its contents so frivolously with Violet?

Thought after thought rushes past in his mind, trapped there by a pair of lenses that stopped it from spilling out.

[Setsuna 0]

The prick on her finger begins to close, the damage was nothing more than to her pride. Setsuna places the garb she was working on down, as much as she needed to finish it she simply couldn't. Reaching to her attire and grabbing a katana. The girl grabs the doorknob to the small, rickety cabin and twists, revealing the parade of snow that breaches the barrier as soon as it's opened. *crunch, crunch, crunch* the snow gives way to small footprints. Under a gray sky, she reaches for the handle and tears it free. Anger released.

"Why did I even bother." Setsuna snaps with a snide remark, ripping the blade through the air and cleaving a descending flake in twain. "I should have just gutted her. Why I was tasked with just following her." The girl barked with another slash. "What is she even supposed to be." The thought of the woman she was sworn only to follow, a player killer just like that son of a bitch that slaughtered and stole everything she held dear. That she was protecting anyone, instead of being a monster, was eating her insides. "Why couldn't you just be like him, made my job easier. How can I kill you now?" Setsuna cleaves through a tree, not even the slightest bit of effort. It was clear she was furious, as this was supposed to be her place of clearing and honing her thoughts, but she was so damned mixed up.

Sliding the weapon back into its sheathe and releasing the handle, she hovers it with her blade hand. "I'll never forgive your kind for what they took from me. I will stop every damn one of you creatures from doing that to anyone ever again." A vorpal swing sees another spire of wood shatter like glass, obliterated from wood into powder.

[Shiina 0]

The shopkeeper perks up with a ring of the door, a slender black-haired woman in a yellow apron. "Can I help you?" she asks in an almost motherly tone. To the counter, Shiina taps a rhythm into it before she gestures with a point. "How much is that?" At first the NPC doesn't seem to quite understand, normally people come in seeking armor but here was this child that it seemed desired something else entirely. "Oh that one, I think it comes to about 25 col." A clatter of coins that roll out from the songstress like ants escaping a magnifying glass. "DEAL!" as she slams a handful of change to the wooden platform, a small ding of a register as it pops open. The woman bows, her black locks pouring past her ears. "I'll retrieve it right away." Running a hand down the front of her apron, as she reached up and began to undo the buttons on the back of the neck and peeling it off. Folding it up, placing it into a small box and sliding it shut. The woman hands it to Shiina, who buzzes out of the building without pause.

The NPC twists her head, curious given that the dress was clearly made for someone taller.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Shiina

[Gaius 0]

A wiggle on his line and he peels free another, his eyes fixated on his spear as he returns the cast. This one had been, what, his third so far? Thoughts shift to the smith, Freya's dad. The guy really seemed to want to turn his face into a crater on more than one occasion. But that pole arm was his work, as were all that he wielded. If the guy truly couldn't stand him, then why help him at all? A rake of his hand through the hair on the back of his head, trying to scratch away the confusion. "Am I right for her? Does it really matter if she's happy?" Gaius asked the pole as if it held some answers. It didn't reply.

Gaius sighs deeply.

"I gotta change, become good enough." He spoke to the lake, a promise that only he could hear. One to himself, and was something he'd keep. He wasn't referring to some strength of numbers that damned bean counters dwelled on. No, the strength he was referring to be the one to not fight. The kind where he could be worth his weight, smarter than the average bear. Strength of the heart, instead of the hand. It would be a whole ordeal, and he knew it. Small steps, baby steps. Like fishing with a god-damned pole.

[Griswold 0]

Shaking his head, attempting to break loose the distraction as he swings again. More stone falls in the shape of rubble, revealing these small, darting lines of minerals. A rich gold shade that shot like string through the dark rock. "That's more like it." Griswold remarks, kneeling down and sifting through the pieces. Vulcan perks up, it was time to eat, and he knew it. "Wait a second, boy, Let me figure it out first." Griswold smiles, using a heavy hand to shove the newly nosy snout that was intervening on his personal space. He whines in rebellion, so food motivated. A single piece found in the pile, he offers it to the beast. A solid crunch, as the smith opens a menu and produces an ingot mold. To a catch the dribbling molten metal as it came out as drool.

"Hmm." The smith grunts, eyeing his familiar as it snacked. "Got any idea why Shiina looked like Anna?" The familiar stops, and twists its head. "Didn't think so."

[Nisahime 0]

A clatter of a cup being placed on the bar top. The woman leans forward and takes a whiff of what swill was inside. It was strong and bitter. "Interesting." Morrighan responds before downing the entire cup, making patrons that surround the place jerk. Eyes wide, she didn't seem to be bothered at all by the taste. "Wow, you can really put it down." The barkeeper remarks with a perplexed stare, eyeing the glass and sure as shit it was entirely empty. The maiden slides from the stool, a handful of silver coins left behind. She had yet to find what it was that she sought, coming up empty in this hole in the wall. As Fate would have it, there was not a single object that caught her gaze. What she sought still alluded her, but she'd know it when she finally saw it. Morrighan was sure of it.

[Raidou 1]

In A pause of his hands, Raidou moves his hand to his face and removes the glasses that kept things contained. He exhales gently, resting his mind on this single point in time. Trying his best to keep himself anchored in that one pinnacle moment where a plan was made real. Laying it out in his mind, making sure the choices he'd made were the correct ones. No one seemed the wiser to what was to become, and no one had truly breached the walls he'd formed up around that production. The actors were where they were set, and strings still tethered to his fingers and moved when they were needed to. It was for a good purpose, and he'd convinced himself of this long ago. It wasn't that he didn't care, but there was no way he could accomplish what needed to be done alone. He was only one boy.

"Eventually I'll have to set the record straight." Raidou comments to the plant, as if it could hear or agree with him. "Until then, I'll continue to shoulder the burden in silence." He was a bit concerned that some may have had their suspicions, and he always did his best to keep it contained. He was the enigma, the man that no one knew nothing about or the journey he had been on. This was intentional, with an earnest effort to keep it as such. All there was, was a rumor that was just as real as the world around them. 

[Setsuna 0]

Outrage in her solitude, with nothing more than the weather to hear it. Another high pitch whir, as she blindly swings as a form of venting her frustration. It was a problematic prospect, not one she'd ever considered. If an orange player could play the part of human, then it undermined everything she was doing. If they were doing what was right, wouldn't that mean that her own actions were not just. An emboldened glare, surcharged by skills that made her that much more powerful and untamed.

"Damned..." she couldn't even palette her anger, unable to find the words to release what was bottled so carefully. Normally, none would pick up on it. Setsuna was a creature of habit and one of careful time and place. The racking confusion left her with nothing to show for it. She'd have to sort this out and weigh her options, but until then she'd continue to follow orders without concern. At first and foremost others could do the thinking for her, until she was in a state of mind where she could assess her own motivations. Slinking the Katana into its housing, with a slow slide that grinds gently. A blade needs an oath they can follow without regret, and right now Setsuna wasn't so sure what it was.

[Shiina 0]

Clattering heels in the street, a small package under her right arm. Like a bumblebee she weaves through the foot traffic, seeing out the little storefront that was her own within the city of coral. It was a dusty place, a smattering of performance crystals and paper all over the place. The bell of the entry jingles, as Shiina makes for the first available table and yeets most of what was on top of it to the floor. Paper dances through the air, resting where it falls in sweeping slides. Dropping down the box, she slides off the top and neatly folded inside was her purchase.

Shiina clutches the arms and allows it to unfurl. "Look at you, pretty little thing!" the girl looks at her reflection in the window, seeing a bit of the rest of the city through the opening. She plops it on the floor and begins to climb in the large opening, right over her armor. It looked like a dress on her, all the way to her ankles where it's clearly meant for just above the knee. Showing it off with a twist of her hips, playing super model pretty legitly. "Is ok, Ms. Aoi I got you a present, and I'll see you again soon. Just you wait for my big debut!" she squeals as the memory of her tutor plays through such a flight a fancy in her mind.

[Gaius 0]

Spinning the stupid little wheel strapped to the side of this thing, as what he had a hold of just lets go like an asshole. "And why is this better?" Gaius asks rhetorically, either to the pond or the pole itself. It just seemed so, less hands on then the alternative. He grumbles for a minute, obviously pissed off. Slinging the hook back into the waves, watching it sink just out of view as it drags a bobber. "Just you wait, I'll get your approval. Even if I've got to fish it up out of this fucking lake." Gaius spins the spool, trying to goad one of the little bastards outside of view to take a bite of what he was packin'.

Thoughts kind of drift in his boredom, where he was still learning what he wanted to be. What was the name of that instructor he was studying under like a couple of years ago? Right, it was the reason he started going by Gaius. None of them could even pronounce his British name. It just stuck, given it was much better than 'Gelaldo'. Made him sound like some sort of foofy dessert tray. His eyebrow twists up, looking a bit toward the sky as he struggled to remember that name that was on the tip of his tongue.

[Griswold 0]

Vulcan stands as the smith beckons to him, it was time to head back down the mountain. The flame elemental yawns, giving that tiny high pitch whistle at the end just like a real hound. Heavy footfalls, as he stepped down the incline, his face twisted in thoughts. Griswold was trying to play mental comparison, and couldn't see enough evidence that it could be. "There is just no way..." The smith mutters, having most of the trip back to ponder it. The final step where it begins to level out sees his frame jiggle, as the g forces from the descent correct.

He tosses down the tan sack where the cooled ingots were held within, which rattle once they hit the dirt. Two heavy arms clutch the massive wafer like hunk of stone. It grinds as it's shifted, muscles on his large frame becoming engorged with the exertion. Off to the side, it reveals his refinery and general blacksmithery. The familiar of course rushes the interior, so it can lay about like a rock. He leans down and grabs the tied top of his bag and tosses on the large stone countertop. The smith went out to kill two birds, but all he ended up with was a bunch of metal and more questions.

[Nisahime 0]

The somber clacking of her heels, atop long black leggings where it was nigh impossible to tell where the boot ended and the pants began. Long white locks, drifting with every step in a cascade past the shoulder. A rumble of the storm that was so angry, drenching the birth of this bitter swamp in its blackness. But she seemed untouched by the staining wetness that fell from the heavens, some effect was keeping her dry when others were not so lucky. "Alas little herring, where have you found yourself now? Found you'll be, you cannot escape forever." That mysterious tongue, spoken for no one's benefit but her own. Whatever it was that the woman sought, it couldn't outrun her indefinitely. The question was what it exactly was that she was seeking, a simple notion that even she could not answer. That is, until she finally set her eyes upon it, but it hadn't happened yet.

[Raidou 1]

Milling about in a time forgotten, leaving his thoughts to travel and yet trying to keep them anchored on this single point. It was as difficult as ever, and his struggle normally flew past completely unnoticed. It was something that composed him, something he'd become more than accustomed to. For others, forgetting was so easy. For the red wanderer, every moment played back as if it had just happened. Murders, exploitation, sorrow and sadness. Fear, regret, turmoil and betrayal.

Down a hand, a rake of his fingers across ripe and well developed green leaves. Something so real and yet it wasn't, a facsimile of reality, as was the air in his lungs. So many had failed to keep tally on where this road began. The big bastard in purple riding a gale when he dropped a decree on the populace. The very same that led to a mistake, and a choice. So many turned upon each other, barring fangs against each other and drawing blood they did not own. To lie, to cheat, to kill one another. For facsimile of chance, that a single sword would make them more likely to survive. That a potion would make them more likely to thrive here, and get out of the box that was filling with water.

People wondered why Raidou was flooding the market, why he was arming every single person he encountered? Well, it was simple. If they had it, they had no need to kill each other over it.

[Nisahime 0]

The sloshing of a deeper body of water, up to her waist in the black water that was cold even through a long black glove. Her hair begins to pool out, floating on the surface as she submerges into the muck. A pair of ivory eyes, lit up through the mess as it peered beneath that swamp. The creatures within seemed to pay her no mind, as if she didn't exist at all. Running an outstretched hand against the rough bottom, a current of sediment being rustled with a few fingers that scrape it. A small opal, from the bed. Raising to the surface, a single breath escaping her lungs but not out of duress. "My my, little bolt of lightning, is that how you gleam? Found yourself here, trapped within the muck. I wonder what you will become." A perplexed stare as she seemed to be peering through that gemstone, abysmal in quality and yet it held her attention no lesser.

"As fate would have it, It seems I've found you."

Thread Complete:

4324/30=144*5=720
4324/300=14 Seeds

Rewards:
Raidou:
720*10=7200*1.25=9000 Exp
Setsuna:
720*6=4320*1.25=5400 Exp
Shiina:
720*6=4320*1.25=5400 Exp
Gaius:
720*6=4320*1.25=5400 Exp
Griswold:
720*6=4320*1.25=5400 Exp
Nisahime:
720*2=1440*1.25=1800 Exp
400 Col

Simmone:
(9000*.15=1350*1.3=1755 Col)+((5400*.15=810*1.3=1053 Col)*4=4212 Col)=5967
20*Materials (Tags: Raidou, Gaius)

Tags:
Raidou:
ID:200322 | Battle:10, Craft:9, Loot:15        
ID:200323 | Battle:2, Craft:6, Loot:4        
ID:200324 | Battle:4, Craft:12, Loot:17
Tags: 2
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party, 
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #200324a
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #200324b
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield #200324c

Setsuna:
ID:200325 | Battle:4, Craft:2, Loot:4        
ID:200326 | Battle:6, Craft:2, Loot:3        
ID:200327 | Battle:7, Craft:6, Loot:3        

Shiina:
ID:200328 | Battle:3, Craft:6, Loot:11        
ID:200329 | Battle:5, Craft:7, Loot:11        
ID:200330 | Battle:9, Craft:2, Loot:15        

Gaius:
ID:200331 | Battle:4, Craft:8, Loot:11        
ID:200332 | Battle:10, Craft:9, Loot:14        
ID:200333 | Battle:8, Craft:5, Loot:12      
Tags: 1  
10 materials, +5% EXP to the party

Griswold:
ID:200334 | Battle:5, Craft:3, Loot:20        
ID:200335 | Battle:2, Craft:1, Loot:4        
ID:200336 | Battle:9, Craft:4, Loot:11        

Nisahime:
ID:200337 | Battle:6, Craft:8, Loot:20        
ID:200338 | Battle:1, Craft:7, Loot:12        
ID:200339 | Battle:4, Craft:4, Loot:4        

Edited November 2, 2021 by Nisahime