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[F14 - PP] From Fangs, to Flames | <<Cull of the Dead>>


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Nari’s hand hovered over the send button, reading the text again to make sure it was correct. She had Designed it as a group message – including a new player she had recently become acquainted with. But as she was getting ready to send it, she had thought that maybe it was too much on the friendly side.

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Heard rumour of undead on floor fourteen, and possibly a sword skill to be had. Need some help with it, if you’re available? If not, I guess I could… maybe find someone. Thanks either way! Hope to see you tomorrow!

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Shaking her head, Nari hit the send button, before heading to bed. She was being overly paranoid. It was just a stupid message. Even if she included some… well, that didn’t matter.

The morning alarm had woken her far sooner than she had wanted. And as she stood on what was likely considered the main courtyard of the settlement, just a few dozen steps away from the teleporter pad.

“Are you even listening to me?” Nari flushed slightly at the voice, ducking her head. In truth, she had zoned out a little bit, her thoughts drawn elsewhere.

“Sorry, earlier morning that I would have liked… Hey, are you busy today?” The girl wasn’t truly dressed as a warrior – not that that was saying much, seeing as they were in a safe zone. Her brown cloak covered a soft emerald coloured dress, which – as far as Nari was concerned – complimented the golden hair and dark forest green eyes.

The girl’s head tilted slightly, as if confused by the question, and Nari rushed to add to her question. “Sorry it’s just – I’m headed out with a group to complete a quest…they should be here soon, actually…and, well, I wanted to see if you wanted to come.”

A few pleasant denials later, an addition to a friend’s list, and Nari was left alone to wait, her eyes on the teleporter pad with a soft smile on her face.

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Edited by Nari-Lanreth
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Rebekah had received a message when she woke up this morning. As she got the message, she quickly scrambled and started to pack all the necessary food she would like to bring to this quest. It was going to be a long day of fighting, so Rebekah figured that having some food would always be very useful, especially if anyone may want to eat. She never knew if any of the food she used will be used but it was always better to bring it just in case.

She had heard about the quest on floor fourteen, but Rebekah have never thought she was strong enough to do it solo. Therefore it had not crossed her mind that she would be going on this quest so soon. Rebekah had spoken to the blacksmith who crafted her new equipment the other day, and she told her they were looking for one more player to assist with their party. Therefore, Rebekah decided to join, as it was an opportunity to challenge herself and to meet new players.

As she had walked to the teleportation pad, the first person she noticed was the friendly blacksmith from the other day. Rebekah was very early to the party, but she was fine with that. She did not want to others to be waiting for her. "Good Morning, Nari. How was your morning?" She said. "Thank you for inviting me along today."

"I have brought some extra consumables, so please let me know if anyone is interested." Rebekah said.

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Astreya gave a small scream, her hands in her hair as she threw one of the mangled materials from her workshop onto the ground.  "Songs are stupid!  Music is stupid!  Jomei is stupid.  Aaauuuuugh!" the woman howled as she tossed a pile of music-inscribed papers into the air before sitting down on the floor, clearly annoyed beyond all reason at the moment.  She had met with the musician, Jomei.  She'd learned how to sing a little bit.  She felt really confident when she was leaving (and happy that she'd seemed to make a difference to him) but when she was back on her own it was the same old failures.

She exhaled softly, lifting a hand up to her face.  The bubbly, cheery expression wasn't present at all on her features.  Alone, without need to put on the show, she was rather...somber, at the moment.  "I need a break.  I can't do this right now," she murmured, shifting upward into a standing position, leaning against the counter.  "Maybe just a walk around the town.  It's late- there won't be a lot of people to run into-" she began, talking herself up to doing something, when a message came through.  "Nari?" she asked aloud, before reading it over.  

That could be interesting.  It seemed a little dangerous from what she'd learned from Bismuth, but with Nari and some of these other people there... she recognized the name NIGHT from Koga's party.  That had been someone he'd suggested she talk to about the Front Lines.  She tilted her head back and forth before nodding, sending the response back out to her violet friend.

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From: Astreya
To: Nari-Lanreth
Message: Yeah!!!  I'm totally down!  I'll see you tomorrow!!

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Satisfied with the number of exclamation marks, Astreya nodded, before deciding to just sleep in her shop again.

--

The following day, she appeared in the teleporter for the Fourteenth Floor, and as she did, she saw her friend speaking with a pink-haired girl she didn't recognize.  "Nari~!  Hey!" Astreya cheered as she hopped over, beaming a sunny smile at her friend before she glanced to the one she didn't quite recognize.  "Heyyy!  I'm Astreya!  Or Iris- whatever, like, totally works better for you, y'know?" she spoke, turning the sunny smile onto Rebekah.

Astreya Statblock (Totally stole Rebekah's format)-

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How had her random wandering led her to this place? Even traveling down the floors from the boss towers, Yuki had yet to realize just how far she had made it from floor 24. Ten whole levels later she was sitting in floor 14, an infernal landscape that could incite horror in the hearts of the weak. Her pondering might make her think that she was one of those people, bailing on the recent floor boss fight to reflect on herself but still she walked through the open area uncaring of every monster that haplessly swiped at her. Each one met the same fate, nothing but death. The loot wasn't even worth picking up at her level so soon it would just dissipate into nothing.

Awhile later, she would find herself in the main settlement of Stonewall. Floor 14 was a pretty quiet place if she recalled. It was dreary for most players to want to stay on it for long. However it seemed a small group was forming in the square. She counted three people - All female with gear pretty close to her own level. She didn't recognize any of them as frontliners, though. Perhaps they were wanting to go that route, or they only leveled to keep themselves safe and alive. Both were admirable to the fallen paladin.

With a bit of hesitation, the pinkette would start walking their way. Without using her words, all they would hear as she approached would be the quiet clicking of her heels on stone. She would stop once she was close enough, look to them then to the teleporter in the square, then back to them. "Waiting on another friend to join you for a quest?" The girl would say, her voice surprisingly deep for what one might expect. "If you're in need of a tank, I would be happy to oblige. Frontliner, Zajcica. You may call me Yuki. My defense is impenetrable." It might be bragging a bit too those lower than her in level, but it was truth nonetheless. She would wait for answer before deciding if she would continue her walk.

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Edited by Zajcica
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Closing out the menu, Nari smiled at the two girls as they joined her, greeting each in kind.

“Morning to you both. Consumables sound… good? I’ve never actually used any. I generally just… well, try not to die.”

Shifting her spear slightly she’ll watch the approach of another, this one appearing to be interested in their little meeting. The moment her introduction was completed, Nari smiled, extending out her right hand in welcome.

“We would love to have you join us, we were just getting ready to complete the quest on this floor. I’m Nari, this is Astreya – or Iris, depending on how friendly you are, and this is Rebekah.” Another shy smile, and she’ll add, “Seems like we’re tank heavy, which isn’t a bad thing. Anything we should know for tactics before we head in? I tend to focus on tech strikes, so a lot of debuffs from that. What about everyone else?”

Her eyes will roam the area as she speaks, keeping an eye out for another, but not spotting the face she expected – or hoped – to see. Shrugging inwardly to herself, she’ll return her focus to the group with her currently, wondering at how things had changed for her, and wondering what had kept the other away.

 

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As Rebekah was the second player to arrive, she did not have to wait long for the next person to arrive. A dark haired girl by the name of Astreya. Rebekah had never met her before, but hoped to get to know her better. She had a bubbly personalty, and was very cheerful. "Hello Astreya, I am Rebekah." She introduced herself.

Just when she had finished, the pink hair girl had greeted their party. She introduced her name, Zajcica, and then spoke a bit about being a tank. It was perfect, their party had a tank which would be very useful especially on more challenging boss fights.

It was now time for her to introduce herself and decide on what role she would play in the party. "I am an all-around rapier user who focuses on accuracy, so I have not specialized in any single skill." She continued.

Rebekah knew that she would not make a good tank since she did not specialize in any skills. She looked around at the other players, she was the weakest member out of the four of them. While she may have the most experience, Rebekah has not joined a party to fight bosses in almost seven years. Rebekah would not be surprised if she would have to learn quickly how to fight as a group on the battlefield again.

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Astreya had to try quite hard not to smile at the changes that had come in Nari over the recent months.  When she'd first met the girl back at that Christmas Party, she'd been timid and shy and barely able to come out of her shell for more than a moment or two before diving back in- usually protected by Astreya in some way.  The two of them had grown recently, and it looked like the determination to succeed that she saw in Nari was starting to really take shape- the girl was even more outspoken and far less generally socially fearful than she'd been.  

She had changed, of course, over time, but her first memory would always be the poor girl had 'forgotten her house in her oven' and the chat outside.

"Nice to, like, meet you!" she cheered, looking from Rebekah over to the new girl who'd come along as well, and Astreya beamed her smile there as well.  "And you too!" she called.  "So like, I'm sorta like Becky here and like, I don't really have a specialization?  I sorta have a defensive build...just mostly to, like, stay alive," she continued, beaming a grin as she bounced in place a little, the usual unspent energy thrumming through her.  

"But like, I totally wanna try to tank on the front lines some day maybe so like, if you're some sorta super tank, maybe I can, like totally get some tips?" she spoke, looking to Yuki, excitement in her eyes.

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After confirming that the team was hoping to do a quest, Yuki would nod and reach into her inventory. Scrolling through the menus, she would find herself a nice little immolation potion that she constantly had downed before. It was her only way helping the team besides being a meat shield, but recent discoveries had put her towards changing her build slightly. The ability to withstand any attack while also returning damage like her friendly damagers could do.

While discussing some strategy, the pink-haired paladin would chime in. "I focus solely on being a bruiser, to use the MMO term. While I'm strictly a tank, I can still dish out as much as I can take. Allow me to be your front line while you all focus on doing as much damage as you can." She would respond, accepting the quest, since for some reason she herself had never done it, then beginning to lead the way forward.

As Becky, she called herself, spoke up to her specifically, Yuki would rub the back of her head. "Well, I'm not really much of a teacher. When it comes to tanking, assurance is all in your numbers. Being able to take damage and sustain it until something dies, so to speak. My build utilizes thorns with high defense that allows me to kill things before they can kill me. It basically ensures that I cannot lose a fight." The girl would say, still unsure if it was at all helpful.

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Nodding while the three others confirmed their specialties, Nari will let her eyes roam around the area. She wasn’t a fan of the location – it was far more sombre than the floor she called home, even if there was daylight here. Cocking her head at the woman – Yuki’s, her name was Yuki – Nari will finally speak up, a look of pause on her face.

“Well, I don’t know how much damage I can do per se, but…I, like you also deal back from what I take – although likely not nearly as much as you do…I’m guessing we should avoid paralysing the creatures where possible then?” She’ll smile slight before continuing. “I only ask because normally that’s my first move out of the gate – stun them so that I can follow up while they can’t move. Helps when you do mostly soloing…at least, in my case it does…”

Her eyes will wander over the area as she talks, knowing that something about the place feels off, but not entirely sure what. Tossing it aside as nothing more than a ghost feeling, she’ll start walking towards the exit of the heading in the direction her information broker had noted she would find the beginning of the quest. ‘It’s odd they didn’t have a ton of information on it…supposedly some people have already completed this – a few times, even…’

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After listening to everyone discuss their skills, it was time to find out more information about the quest they will undertake. However, nobody has heard about the quest before, so it must be new. She knew there was always a danger being one of the first groups to try the quest, but she was working as part of a group. As Rebekah spoke, "I guess it is time to find to find Lilith? I believe we need to head out of just out of the town." Rebekah looked back at the quest dialogue, and they would need to held towards the outskirts of the settlement of StoneWell.

As Rebekah thought about the composition of their group, she realized they had a decent group. Yuki would be the primary tank, with Nari and Astreya having strong defensive builds. Rebekah, had a slightly stronger raw damage build. She knew she would need to stay find a way to stay safe in combat. As the group began to head out, Rebekah finally had a chance to eat a small meal. She knew she would need the extra strength today, and she needed to increase her ability to survive in this brand new but unknown quest.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Astreya looked on at Yuki as the woman spoke up regarding her own thoughts on the matter.  It was...a weird viewpoint, to Astreya.  Of course, the girl wasn't a gamer- she didn't really have that same background when it came to others in the same boat.  To her, it was a much more physical, and real activity, so the idea of having confidence in the 'numbers' she had was a hard pill for her to swallow.  Even against lower level enemies, she still sometimes flinched when an attack came her way, even if it wouldn't do more than one or two damage to her, just because she could see it coming.  "Okay...got it," she spoke with a small nod. 

She didn't really, and that might be clear to everyone else that was present but she didn't really mind.  She'd have to learn more as time went on- and to do as the woman said... and start to look at the world as more of a game where everything was ruled by the numbers rather than anything else.  If she had more attack power and defenses than an opponent, she should be able to still just win, right?  That was how it went?  

All the same, she moved along with everyone else, the girl unnaturally quiet.  Perhaps she was considering Yuki's words or perhaps it was just the atmosphere?

However, as soon as she realized that the air was full of silence, that seemed to grate on her enough to break through her thoughts.  "Okay so like, we'll let Yuki and Nari take point.  Becky here and I can like, smash stuff and then we'll call it a day," the girl spoke, nodding to herself, even as they approached the outskirts... only to find a battle happening.  

A dark-haired woman fought alone against several NPCs, killing several and seeming draining their life force before a lucky strike from the leader sends the woman away.  "Heyyyy!  Are you guys like, okay?" she called out to the NPC.  

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"Lilith tested us again. She's retreated for now, but will return. She does a damn good job keeping us on the ropes." The captain returns his weapon to his sheath before casting an eye to his men. "She managed to get a couple of my men and a few of the local guards. I managed to chase her off, but she is near-immortal without a holy weapon." He points towards the distant South. "The only one I know of is within the Ashen Keep. However, I don't have men to spare to retrieve it. Stonewall won't lend me any assistance either." Once the party offers assistance, Harkens will raise an eyebrow. "You'd be willing to delve into an old keep, battle whatever may be inside and claim the weapon? If you are capable of that, you might as well try your luck at killing Lilith then. Careful though, she is a tricky one."

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Astreya blinked, before glancing at the rest of her party.  "Uh.. To the South?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

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The group was now rallied together. Yuki was the spearhead of them all, leading the charge into battle. Astreya's response to her advice seemed to be taken somewhat lightly. Perhaps she had some doubts of her own and the fallen paladin couldn't really fault her for it. They only had one life and they had to make the most of it. That's why Yuki learned this MMO stuff. She needed to be able to protect herself and others from certain doom. "Your confidence is the team's confidence, friend. The blade of a sword is dull, it will not cut. Likewise, if a tank does not lead and show the team what they're capable of, you might as well be a dull sword."

Nari's comments about her damage and stun was answered with a shake of her head. "It will only reduce my damage by a little. I'm looking to try out a new, fun technique I just learned about so it shouldn't hurt." As they continued to walk, the NPCs that where apart of the quest would meet with them. Yuki would listen to them and nod. "It scares me none, ser." The pink haired tank would say before turning in the direction of the keep. "Victory is nothing but assured when I stand on the battlefield." And the girl would start making her way to the keep.

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Nari considered the other woman’s words as she followed along behind on the path to the keep. It was fair to argue that the tank should lead, that they needed to call upon the others in a group in order to persuade advance, but Nari disagreed with the idea that they were the blade. Walking up beside Yuki, she spoke her piece.

“You’re right, about the need for a tank to lead. To be at the forefront. But I do not agree that we are meant to be the blade, for the blade is the one who deals the death blow – the one that strikes out and finishes the fight. That is not the role of the tank, instead it is the tank whom acts as the shield – providing cover for the blade, providing guidance and alignment. I would counter, that it is not the dull blade that needs to be concerned, but the battered shield – for if it takes too much of the brunt, it will bend and yield, and no more will it defend that which lays behind it.”

Her gaze strode towards the horizon, considering the role she had chosen, and the path it led her on. She listened, as the others talked, but kept her focus on the growing keep – wondering more so what they would find inside, once they had arrived.

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As the group continued on their journey to Ashen Keep, they had kept discussing on how the group should function on the battlefield. Rebekah kept eating while listening to their conversation. She had not had much recent experience fighting with multiple players recently, so she wanted to hear the rest of their opinion. Yuki and Nari had made decent comments but Rebekah did not fully agree with both of them.

"But the blade can be anyone whose job is to deal damage, it does not need to be one dealing the final blow." Rebekah said. "However, only the tank can be the shield. A battered shield is much worse than a dull blade. A dull blade can be sharpen in the middle of the battle but a battered shield cannot be replaced."

After finishing her poutine, she got to work begin to eating some california rolls. She was quite hungry for their trip today and thought the extra food would come into handy. The group could finally see Ashen Keep up ahead. It had looked like a disaster had struck the place. Once could see the whole place was deserted from a distances away. It had looked like a fire had ravage through the place a long time ago.

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As the pink-haired woman began to speak, Astreya blinked, giving a small nod.  The confidence of the team was led by the tank, or at the very least, by the weakest link.  It was hard to say really which one the woman had meant by that.  As Yuki continued, comparing it to the blade of a sword, she blinked, tilting her head a little bit to the side.  That...made a weird amount of sense.  She had been considering her own thought to the response, in likening it to her volleyball or cheer leading teams she often spoke of, but before she could, Nari spoke up then, adding to the metaphor about the sword by adding in the shield, and then Rebekah onto that, and Astreya couldn't help but to give a little smile toward the group as they walked.

"Okay, like, you guys are like talking way outside of this metaphor," the girl spoke, laughing.  "Like, I know it's a like, game, or whatever, and that things are dangerous here but like... not everything is like swords and shields and all that.  You guys sound like my friends that played like D&D or whatever back in college," the girl continued, still laughing a little bit despite herself.  She didn't really mean to offend anyone with that, and she really hoped she hadn't, but it felt like Yuki's metaphor had been missed entirely and taken a bit too literally.

"Like," she began as they approached the ruined courtyard where the fancy sword supposedly was, "I think that like, Yuki mostly just meant that like... if the team doesn't have any confidence in like, the tank, or in each other, that it's as useful as like, eating soup with a fork.  Not that the tank actually is like, a sword, or whatever," the girl continued, humor still in her tone before she paused, coming to a stop just outside of the courtyard... and seeing the pristine sword within.

"Okay, that looks like the biggest trap I have totally ever seen."

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If this was a cartoon, a sweat drop would be running down Yuki's head right now. It seemed that they took her metaphor a little too literally. Maybe it wasn't the best comparison but it got the point across to Becky at the least. "Of course, tanks are not literally swords. Like Becky said, I only meant to say that you're a rallying flag in the face of adversity. If you believe in your team, they'll believe in you. Be that inspiration to them and they will follow you come hell or high water."

As they stepped into the courtyard, Yuki walked in fearing absolutely nothing. Her bravado may look suicidal to others but if there's one thing the tank knew, it's that nothing in this game, save two bosses, has ever made her made her feel fear. "If it's a trap, I will be ready for it. Be ready for any ambush attacks you guys." Yuki would say dutifully, her deceivingly deep voice bellowing as her hand grasped the handle. From the moment she touched it, the blade's information would appear in front of her. A wonderfully crafted blade, blazing ready with the fires of heaven. 

"It's blessed. The weapon will form to the player's level. It also has Holy 2 and Burn on it. I cannot wield this or it will make me inaccurate. Who has a high accuracy stat here?" Yuki would ask the party but before she could draw it, shambles of the remaining would awake. "Trap indeed. Someone who can wield this sword take it. It's a powerful weapon that will bolster your damage."

The zombie like beings would then run to the machina around. Yuki's brow would furrow. "They're attracted to the automatons. Take them down quickly before they power them up!"

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Nari’s gaze was pulled from the sword towards the numerous undead creatures that had arisen from…well, she wasn’t quite sure where. She could see a group of them heading towards what appeared to be a large, machine. Similar in appearance to a humanoid, and likely some sort of construct that would assist them in battle. She decided she’d prefer not to find out exactly what it could do.

“You got it.” She replied to Yuki’s call, dashing across the small distance before leading into a twirl in an attempt to catch the creatures with her spear. The glitter of the violet trail shinning against the otherwise dull air as she coursed through the air, as she activated the skill in an attempt to catch and strike all four. It was a dangerous maneuver, in the real world. But in this game, in this place, it was something that she could get away with without huge amounts of worry or concern. ‘It just goes to show…how much difference there is…’

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Edited by Nari-Lanreth
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Rebekah was still looking at the pieces of the crumbled sword that had disintegrated the moment that Yuki had touched it. She had not noticed when a swarm of enemies had shown up out of nowhere. Rebekah watched as Nari had stunned all four red cloaksthat had appeared. This gave Rebekah just enough time to take a deep breath to reset before pulling out her rapier. She knew that this will buy the group a significant amount of time before the first four red cloaks would strike the group. She just hoped that they had enough damage to finish all of these monsters off.

Rebekah drew out her rapier and began to strike the red clocks with her skill. However, she was not as proficient as Nari was earlier, having managed to only strike three out of the four targets. Rebekah knew that this may be a costly mistake but there was nothing she can do now. She just needed to hope that the rest of her party would be able to cover for that mistake.

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Out of Character Note: Updating Rebekah's stats for consumables in Posts #10 & #14

Edited by Rebekah
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