[PP-F4] <<The Essence of Steel>>

[Saix 0]

"You consider this good weather? Remind me to never accompany you when you feel things might look a little on the stormy side..." muttered Saix, always one to speak his mind, as he pulled his red coat tighter, enjoying the warmth of the equipped fur lining as he stepped outside into the blustery weather. Nikki had already moved outside, her beloved pig in her arms. Moving over to stand near her, Saix absentmindedly reached over to scratch at Titan's ear as they waited for the others to gather. "Hey little guy... I don't like the weather either" he muttered. Most of his guild didn't usually bring Familiars along, but Titan was a nice sort, it was almost enough to make him want to go try and get a familiar of his own. Of course, he had gone out to become a crafter after witnessing some of the other's accomplishments, and that hadn't turned out well. Authorities were still on the look out for the arsonist who had burned down part of the crafting stalls on the First Floor after all. Knowing his luck, he would end up with the only non house broken familiar in all of Aincrad.

[Shark 0]

I was finishing up getting acquainted with the group of people that I will be joining on a quest when I realized the time.

Alright squad, If we want to finish this quest before it gets too late, I suggest that we start to get a move on. I said as I faced the group as a whole and sipped my hot chocolate.

I equipped my gear as well as a heavier jacket so I can stay warmer. I gathered up what I needed and waited for the rest to get prepared.

[Miaki 0]

Everyone hauled out of the inn and bundled up for the weather. Miaki himself was wearing his olive green winter cloak over his trench coat. It didnt make things easy for him if he had to quickly draw his weapon but with his present party he was in the company of this seemed like it would be no problem at all. Miaki kept close to Nikki and noticed Yunah keeping close to both of them. He could only imagine how Yunah felt being the shy one and feeling out of place amongst everyone else. He was very glad to have her with them and saw the potential within her to be a very strong player in this world. What better way for her to learn than with a group of veterans.

(OOC: Haven't heard from Zauis. If he doesn't post by the time the boss is encountered then we can consider him having left.)

[Nikki Styx 0]

((OOC: I haven't seen him either. So that sounds good to me))

Nikki hadn't been waiting long when the others joined her, first Yunah, following right on her heels, then the others. She smiled at the shy girl. It was nice having new blood around, not to say she hadn't enjoyed the company of her seasoned companions, but to have some one new, with new stories and experiences was always exciting. plus the fact that she was a girl made it even better considering how few girls there actually were in this game. "Once we get out of the town, you and I aren't walking" Nikki said cheerfully to the girl. As of this point not many people, if any other than Miaki knew about her familiars true ability, so she hoped it would be a pleasant surprise to the others.

Now that they had a group the next and crucial part of the quest was to get to the mountain pass that would take them to their destination. She knew where it was, she also knew that few players dared to take the pass, and the few that did often whispered rumors of a creature they had found skulking around in the snow. Nikki had always discounted these ramblings as an attempt to frighten weaker players, but to her they were nothing more than Urban legends.

She cast her gaze to the sky, as if waiting for something dramatic to fall to earth. Of course nothing did and she soon returned her sight back to her group. "Well I think I know where our trail starts." she said confidently.

((OOC: Skipping ahead a bit to get us started))

Once out of the town Nikki placed Titan gently on the ground and took a few steps back. With a smile she pulled open her menu and activated her familiar options. She clicked on an item reading mount. Suddenly Titan began to glow a pristine blue, and in an instant he grew to his original wild size. In this form he was already equipped with saddle and reigns and Nikki wasted no time climbing up onto the boars back. Once seated she scooted foreword on the saddle and reached out a hand for Yunah to take. "Come ride with me hun. Pretty girls like us shouldn't have to walk" She said with a smile.

[Yunah 0]

"Once we get out of the town, you and I aren't walking" Nikki said as she looked over towards Yunah. Yunah was a tab bit confused by this. what did she mean? would maiki and the others be carrying us? were we to run ahead of the others? Yunah had no clue, so she kept to her quiet self and simply said "Oh... okay." the she would follow behind the others and not even mutter a word. soon they got out of the town. that was when Nikki set down her familiar, then opened up her menu. Suddenly It grew to a ridable size, and nikki hopped on it. then she turned back to Yunah who was still silently keeping to herself, and said. "Come ride with me hun. Pretty girls like us shouldn't have to walk" Yunah's face was already red from the cold ,but had it not been the blush would have been noticeable on her face. she wasn't used to people calling her pretty very often and so it shocked her a little bit. "Oh.. Okay." Yunah said as her voice still sounded shy and small as she took Nikki's hand and got up on her familiar and wrapped her arms around nikki's midsection. she had rode on the back of a motorcycle when she was younger and that was how she had done it then, but she wasn't sure of how fast this creature could go and she felt awkward in this position.

[Miaki 0]

Time went on and the wind grew stronger. Nikki didn't seem to be wavered by it at all though. She was on top of titan and trudging right through the bone chilling winds. Yunah clinging to her intensively. Miaki groaned to Saix as the men pushed through the knee deep snow. "How much further do you think it is til we get there?" He was opening and closing his hands to keep the blood flowing through the small appendages. Nikki was leading them through some kind of pass. Everything was beginning to look the same since visibility was only a couple meters out. They could be going around in circles and he wouldn't have even known.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki held a hand up over her face to block the wind and snow. She knew they were getting closer. "You cant see it now, but Its up ahead, over that pass. 50, maybe 60 feet out." She yelled out over the howling wind. She knew these mountains better than anyone, or at least she liked to think she did. Up head the shape of skull began to appear against the white back drop. It was about six feet tall, and probably weighed nearly a ton. She had seen it before, during her travels alone.

Titan continued to trudge against the wind. while the boar may not have liked the cold he was certainly proving that like his master, nothing could slow him down. Nikki looked over as they neared the stone, moving titan right up next against it so that she could inspect it. Like she had seen before, it was shaped like a skull, with no other distinct marking of any sort. She took a moment turning in her seat to grab onto Yunah, rubbing her shoulders to help warm her up. "So were here.. Now what?" She asked holding onto Yunah tightly.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki walked around the large stone skull inspecting it through the cold winds. It was quite impressive in shape and size. If he didn't know that it was part of their quest he would've thought it was just some marker that was made by the developers. He heard Nikki ask from the other side of the boulder what happens next and crossed his arms trying to keep the heat in. "I'm not sure." He yelled into the cold. "Maybe there is some way to trigger the next bit..." He grabbed the scabbard for his katana and banged it against the boulder to see if that would do anything.

[Yunah 0]

Yunah rode quietly on the back of Titan as she hugged nikki. she was quiet and Silent like she had always been, burying her face into the back of Nikki to prevent it from getting too cold. then they stopped. Yunah picked up her head and looked around, but she couldn't see much, mainly a giant Rock that looked like a skull. Yunah then let out a tiny Squeak as Nikki turned around and Held her rubbing her shoulders as well.

[Miaki 0]

Miaki stared at the rock after knocking on it with his scabbard as if waiting for it to do something. He looked around and shrugged seeing nothing happen yet. "Whelp, that didn't work." He rounded around the boulder and threw his hands up as if saying, "I'm out of ideas here guys." He tied his scabbard back underneath his cloak and looked over at Yunah and Nikki still on top of Titan. Seeing Yunah pressed against Nikki he caught a glimpse of the armor she wore under her own winter gear. An idea came to his mind. "Uhhh Yunah, yer still using that <> right?" Knowing she still was using it Miaki walked over to them and opened his GUI.

Making a couple changes he removed his <> from his gear. Opening his cloak a little he saw a shimmer of the armor plate disappear. After visually confirming the armor being removed he sent the item to Yunah via the trade function. "I want you to use that from now on until you find yerself something better okay?" He told her. "It'd make me feel better knowing yer that much safer."

(OOC: Removing <> from journal.)

[Yunah 0]

"Uhhh Yunah, yer still using that <> right?" Yunah was surprised, she openned up her cloak a little to viusally confirm what she was about to tell him "w-well yeah? why?" she asked a little hesitantly. why did miaki need to know what kind of amour she was wearing? he question was soon answered. "I want you to use that from now on until you find yerself something better okay?" He told her. "It'd make me feel better knowing yer that much safer." Yunah was a little surprised by this. what was he going to wear in place? did he have something better? oh well not like she could deny the gift from maiki "o-okay.." she said as she accepted the trade and put on the new amour she had just recieved. she smiled a little bit, she liked the color.

(OOC: Adding <> Too my journal.)

[Miaki 0]

Yunah accepted his request and equipped her new armor, he saw a small glimmer of the armor appearing under her cloak and gave a nod. The armor would do her very well but he sensed a little hesitation almost as if she might be concerned. Now that he thought about it Nikki might be wondering the same thing about him going without armor. He looked at them both with a reassuring half smile. "Don't worry about me ladies. I'll be fine and be careful. Besides..." He said with a wink to Nikki that he wasn't sure she'd notice in the small snow storm around them. "I have a strong guardian angel watching out for me." He didn't like to boast about his level outright. Well most of the time atleast. But he was a very powerful level and could eat a lot of damage but he also knew that most of the time he wouldn't have to thanks to Nikki's strength as a tank.

[Shark 0]

I looked around for any leads to help us continue on the quest. I then hear a sharp scream from Yunah and then saw a skull. I opened my hud to pull up the quest details. Hmm... seems as though a group whacked it. Lets see what happens. I pulled out > and simply whacked the skull.

Moments later, loud footsteps could be heard approaching us... I then proceeded to look at the others in the party... Uh.... Guys..... What's that noise?! I asked the others as I looked around frantically.

[Saix 0]

"Way to go Shark... You broke it..." Muttered Saix from the rear of the group as the sounds of something heavy stirring began to permeate the relatively still air of their secluded little canyon. To tell the truth, even if their hadn't been rumors of a quest here, Saix would have pegged this place for some kind of hidden Field-Boss area, between the giant skull, and the icy landscape, it just seemed to scream 'boss fight'. With canyon walls slick with refrozen runoff, that lent the appearance of walls of razor sharp ice flurries, it was pretty nightmarish in a "Winter Wonderland of Death" sort of way.

[Saix 0]

The dull clonk sound of the sword striking the skull echoes across the little canyon, causing a disturbance nearby as something shifts beneath the snow. A rumbling sounds, as a huge behemoth turns over in it's sleep, disturbed by the sound. The snow falls away, revealing....

A giant butt...

One huge hand moves to scratch the aforementioned butt, as a positively huge 4 meter tall monster pulls itself out of the snow. Covered in white woolly fur, with little rams horns atop it's tiny head, it appears to be a huge ape like creature with a mouth full of huge blunt teeth that seems to dominate much of it's upper chest, despite the relatively tiny had on top of the broad shoulders. Looking at them blearily through sleep caked eyes, it lets loose a loud fart before puffing up it's cheeks and loosing a bellowing roar that shakes the snow loose off secluded little canyon's walls.

[Shark 0]

I looked around to see what was going through the heads of the rest of the party. All of a sudden something big and white appeared. Uh... Guys... I said as I pointed at the big white thing. What's that? I took out my sword and shield and prepared myself for the worst.

I then looked back at Saix, Told you it would do something... I didn't just break it. I said to provide myself with some backup on why the skull broke.