[PP-04] Ominous Omens (Harbinger of the Night)

[Freyd 0]

Floor four had a summer?!  Who knew?  The fact that it apparently only lasted for three days was ironically appropriate... but shouldn't it last four? Why did so much weird stuff always happen in this particular level?  Mentally shrugging while his brain daydreamed through assorted mental gymnastics, the majority of Freyd's focus was on the festival unfolding before him.  Never had he seen Snowfrost as delightfully decked out in brilliant symbols of warmth.  Red and yellow pennants draped every street and building facade.  Vendors he had never heard of were suddenly lining every nook and cranny along the main street, offering treats and nick knacks to celebrate the Sun Solstice - a once in two hundred year event, if local legends were to be believed.  Uh-huh.  Sure.  Why now?

Children ran giddily every which way while cheerful smiles affixed themselves to every face, all of it warmed by the closest thing this place ever experienced to a blazing summer sun.  In actuality, it was only a few degrees above freezing, and the whole place looked like it was experiencing global nasal drip, but everyone was too excited to care.  Ebullient vendors soon shoved some sort of frothy drink into his hands that looked like a root beer float mixed with what the system could never actually admit was golden ale. The glasses were likely chilled by having been left on someone's back porch the night before.  Catching a whiff of something grilled and savoury, Freyd wandered deeper into town following his nose.

"Is that... sausage?"  His free hand tried and failed to send a message to invite others to the join him.  There simply wasn't enough room in the press of the growing crowd to clearly access his UI.  "Oh, the hell with it," he finally concluded, giving up and setting himself to the daunting task of making the most of a rare opportunity just to have a little bit of fun.

***

@Oscar @Elora

Note: CS (Shades of the Gemini) is in use.  If any other player objects to this, please state in first post and it will be considered inactive.

Freyd consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (6/6) - 1 portion 
Armageddon Juice (Potion) | Damage 3 | [179641] 
Mega Slime Farm Applied (+10% EXP, Nov.19/23)

Freyd shares:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6)

Freyd | HP: 1180/1180 | EN: 152/152 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 103 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 7 | BH: 64 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8      

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadow
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 122
HP: 1180/1180
EN: 152/152

Stats:
Damage: 23+3
Mitigation: 103
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 4+2+1
Battle Healing: 64
Loot Dice: 5
FLN: 16
HLY: 16
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride | T4 MA | FLN 2 | HLY 2
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb | T4 LA | MIT 2 | REC 2
Misc: Fight O'er Flight (ACC 2 | EVA 2)

Combat Mastery: Damage R3
Combat Shift: AOE
Familiar Skill: Grappling Familiar
Custom Skill: Shades of the Gemini

Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Battle Healing R5
Light Armor R5
Searching R4
Charge
Energist
Quick Change
Extended Mod Limit
Extended Weight Limit
Fighting Spirit
Howl

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Meticulous
Emergency Recovery
Untraceable
Detect

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Precision
Resolve
Reveal
Stamina
Focused Howl

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise
Survival
Meditation
Forgotten King’s Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:
Frozen Hide
Brawler
Photosynthesize
Hiding R2

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable) x1
Rhino's Horn (Reusable) x1
Hmr.Pk: Hope's Covenant - Resolve +4 (T4 Demonic Weapon (MA) - AA, Phase, Frostbite, VO) x1
EWL: The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic MA, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off)) x1
EWL: Dagan Crystal-B (Reusable) x1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (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.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +2 Fishing EXP per attempt
Practiced Angler: +2 Fishing EXP per attempt, addition +1 LD/CD to fishing attempts
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1] - APPLIED
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: 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:
Tanos Statue: +25 Mitigation for a thread.

Wedding Ring:

Fishing: Level 4 | 461XP

 

Edited August 4 by Freyd

[Oscar 0]

Very rarely was Oscar in the right place and the right time. Having arrived on Floor 4 just as the festivities began, he had the good sense to leap onto a nearby rooftop so as not to be completely crushed by the swell of the crowd. When you're six-nine and built like the Statue of David, it's hard to move around on a wide sidewalk, much less smack dab in the middle of a celebration. Looking down at the hustle and bustle, something odd caught his eye. Oscar could pick the Whisper in the Shadows out of a crowd pretty easily. Not just because they were buds, but because Player Characters stood out. It was the eyes, really. When the peepers glow like a pair of headlights, it tends turn attention your way. As the surge of people hemmed him in from all directions, the instinct had been to give the poor fella a hand. 

For about 2.2 seconds.

Watching the man get battered by the crowd like a newborn sea turtle in stormy seas was the funniest goddamn thing he'd seen in months. To his credit, Freyd went with the flow. He looked like he was having fun. Which was weird. If he hadn't just seen it with his own eyes, he would have called bullshit. Freyd getting down at a random NPC festival? No fuckin' way. And yet, here he was allowing himself to get carried away by the festivities. As much as he wanted to talk smack in this moment, it did Oscar's heart some good to see his friend cutting loose once in a while. He could talk shit later. For now, he'd lean against the chimney of the house he was perched upon and enjoy the scene from afar. He didn't want to take up too much off the already demanded real estate.

But oh boy, would he not let Freyd hear the end of this one.

Oscar consumes: 
1 Portion - Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) -> (4/6)
Liquor of Light - +3 DMG
Evasion Dog - +2 EVA

Mega Slime Farm Used +10% EXP to thread, next use on 12/22/2023

Spoiler

Oscar,
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 52
HP: 920/920
EN: 124/124

Stats:
Damage: 26
Mitigation: 147
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 4
Battle Healing: 50
Loot Dice: 5
AA
PHASE
REC: 4
V.O.: 151

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Kyūketsuki>> T4 KATANA//ABS.ACC/PHASE/VAMP2
Armor: <<TACTICAL UNDER ARMOR>> T4 HEAVY ARMOR//MIT/MIT/MIT/REC
Misc: <<IVORY GOLD LEAF RING>> T1 TRINKET//ACC/ACC/EVA/EVA

Custom Skill:
Veteran - MA

Skills:
Katana R5
Battle Healing R5
Heavy Armor R5
Searching R5 (Attic - Bedroom 4 -> 5)
Energist
Fighting Spirit
Howl
Quick Change

Active Mods:
Impetus

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Ferocity
Iron Skin
Focused Howl

Active Extra Skills:
Parry
Meditation
Survival
Restorative Strike

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

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.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
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:

Scents of the Wild:
Tanos Statue: +25 Mitigation for a thread.

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Oscar

[Elora 0]

  ♪  The Festivities Begin  ♪  

 

Large globs of melting snow slopped onto the muddy ground from evergreens above. Elora swayed with the grace of their crooked bows as she set to keep her brimmed tankard from sloshing over. Unfortunately, she had long since replaced her means for elbowing and shoving spatially-unaware celebrants from her path. While her right hand guarded her golden grog, her left pinched the hem of a gathered woolen skirt. Anyone paying mind would be able to recognize the garment's utility for toting around an assortment of delicious samples. An even more astute bystander would wonder why she wasn't simply making use of her inventory. Elora certainly wasn't the brightest bulb in the lantern, but that only seemed to add to her charm.

A clumsy exchange between two unobservant players suddenly sent a stray body smacking into her side. In an almost beautiful cascade of inertia, the majority of her drink suddenly lurched into the air, then sprayed across her chest.

"THAT'S IT!", she huffed aloud. In an instant, her head threw back, momentarily silencing a string of curses as she downed the remaining beverage. "Make a door or I'll cut one through ye'!", she snapped after the disintegrating vessel gave way to a shaking fist. The harshness of the threat caught the couple by surprise. Only a second spared to consider escalation was enough for Elora to push her way past them and into a narrow vacancy. Bunch of blubbering half-wits! With her ceremonial gown so unceremoniously soiled, Elora seemed resigned to defeat.

Guess I'll get another drink..., she sighed just as her eyes distinguished a familiar face from the shopfronts. Freyd's here? I didn't think he'd enjoy this kind of thing. She wasn't sure she did either. Regardless, it was her intention to try and get out from the Inn every once in awhile. By now the 'dressing up' part was even beginning to feel more appealing.

Elora managed to squirm her way over, about to greet him just as an overhang of snowmelt promptly dislodged itself to plummet directly onto her head. 

"I don't want it to be spring anymore", she sulked instead.

 

***

Elora consumes:
1 Portion - Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (4/6) -> (3/6)

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 5 | BH: 35 | LD: 2 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Elora
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 6
HP: 700/700
EN: 104/104

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 78
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 5
Battle Healing: 35
Loot Dice: 2
AA
BLGT: 32
FLN: 8
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear: Teleportation Crystal x1

Weapon: Essential Verdigris (T4 Dem Polearm | AA | Blgt | FLN | STK)

Armor: Defense Mechanism | T4 Demonic Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2

Misc: Emerald | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I 

---

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Polearm R5
Light Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Charge
Energist
Searching R3

Active Mods:
Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Precision
Focus
Resolve

Active Extra Skills:
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited July 26 by Elora

[Freyd 0]

"This better not be reindeer piss," Freyd grumbled, staring dubiously at the giant glass mug full of steaming something yellow that someone had shoved into his hands.  The locals laughed at the comment, even as he sniffed the foamy head with trepidation.  "Because it also kinda smells like it."   More laughter.  

"Don't worry, stranger, the brew's just been aging since the last Sun Solstice festival.  It's just long into its fermentation.  But I assure you that it's quite fine and mostly palatable."

"Fermentation?  You mean that this is actual booze?!"  Freyd's eyes grew to saucers, sensing an instant market opportunity.  He'd fill his inventory to the brim if it meant he could actually deliver hooch to players in the game.  

"Sadly not," a nearby player responded, his table packed with empty, foamy glasses, and groaning dangerously under their weight.  "We had the same hope."  His partner was folder over a nearby chair, looking green and belching ominously.  Judging by their bulging bellies, they'd pushed beyond any reasonable limits their attempts to confirm it. 

"Here, this will help."  A bawdy waitress slid a plate full of steaming spiced sausages, potatoes and something that might once have been vegetables onto the heavily stained oaken bar against which he'd found refuge. The crush of the crowed was less imminent here.  Not quite inside a building, the streets had been lined with these surfaces for patrons and revelers to use during the festival, supported directly from the exteriors of various homes and shops.  Freyd would have been pissed if they'd done this to his place, but it would be hard going to do so against a hole in the ground.  Whatever the meal was, it smelled delicious and he always carried a few antidotes around in case of trouble.  Why not indulge a bit?

Barely one bite into the trial, something bumped against him hard enough to nearly cost him a precious tater, saved only by a quick bit of aerial stabbing with his fork.  "Hey!  Watch it, kid."  

Eyes wide, a young man in a pale poncho with algid blue eyes under a mop of white hair mumbled his half-hearted apology then scrambled away as fast as he could. Something in his demeanor caught Freyd's attention: panic and terror.  Swiveling his attention towards the boy's point of origin, Freyd picked up the tail end of a tense conversation between several dour-looking NPCs, all of them lumberjacks by their looks.

"How could his eyes be more weird than his condition?" 

"They were wild, almost like he was chasing something. It was like he saw everyone as a threat or something." 

"Well what happened to him?" 

"Ran away after he snuck around the festival a bit. I think he was heading towards Darian's campsite by the lake." 

"Well if he's gonna run into Darian we've got nothing to worry about. That guy's as strong as they come."

[Oscar 0]

The smell of the food reached Oscar even on his perch upon the rooftops. From such a high vantage, he was able to get the lay of the land much better than if he'd allowed himself to get caught up in the festivities. Well, a little better. He still towered over most of the NPCs. Even so, his attention was drawn to the kid dashing through the crowd like a bat out of Hell. It was weird, but maybe he had somewhere to be. Just like Oscar did. He couldn't very well stand on the roof all day. He leaped from his perch, the sudden shock upon the roof sending snow cascading off the edge and onto the heads of the NPCs below. He soared through the air, arcing high above the chaotic festival and landing heavily just to the right of his friend. Though he'd not noticed it, his impact was sudden and jarring enough that another snowmelt would be loosed upon Elora's head. Though quick feet might avoid his unintentional assault.

"Been a while, buddy," Oscar said. The barmaid passed by carrying another laden with bowls of stew. Quick hands stole one away as she passed. Balancing the dish on the palm of his hand, Oscar dug his spoon into the hot blend and took a bite. Having as high a cooking skill as he did, it was difficult to find NPC-made food that competed. He was very happy this was an exception to that rule. He swallowed his first bite but before he went in for the second, he remembered the weird kid from earlier. "Am I the only one who smells a Quest?"

[Elora 0]

Before Elora could talk to Freyd about the skittering stranger, another sleuth of snow came rushing down directly beside her head. A swift side-step averted the miniature avalanche and sent it sloshing into her glass instead. With an accepting shrug, she arced the vessel around her to be topped off by the eager barmaid. The resulting beverage seemed a surprisingly appetizing combination of mulled cherries and mystery slush. Raising the rim to her lips eclipsed the arrival of another player, one far taller than most she'd seen.

"Been a while, buddy,", he casually greeted. A second sip dismissed his presence. That was, until she realized he was addressing Freyd. "Am I the only one who smells a Quest?", he continued with a smirk.

"Oh, already?", she remarked somewhat obliviously, "Didn't take long for them to spring one on us. Here I thought the festival might last a day before something significant turned up. Guess I should have known better..." Her eyes performed recognizance on a nearby platter, sending out a fork to pierce the appetizers that caught her interest. These ones were far greaser than the sweets she'd collected in her skirt. Considering her options, she resigned to consume them immediately: a skewer of caramelized vegetables, a bowl of spicy chowder, and a seared applewood sausage would suffice for the time being.

[Freyd 0]

"Subtle," came Freyd's deadpan reply in response to his towering friend's acrobatic arrival. He'd actually expected him to bowl over a dozen NPC's like some cataclysmic orbital strike aimed at a carefully arrayed set of pins.  Oscar wasn't exactly hard to miss, whether in a crowd, stuffing his gob gob full of free samples, or leaping ridiculously from low level rooftops.  The Whisper had learned his own gymnastic shenanigans from the best, after all.

"And, also, yes it has."  Distracted and now keenly alert to the potential of a fresh threat or mystery, Freyd 'Spidey' senses had triggered at overhearing the locals gossip.  Combined with the strange boy stumbling past him in the crowd, it was too much coincidence for him to ignore.  Damnit, Cardinal!  Something about the man-child's appearance was simply too unique to dismiss as belonging to just another background mob.  It was in the eyes, or maybe that ridiculous poncho. Any self-respecting spook would have also worn a proper cowl.

"I'm not so sure about smell... that might be a 'you' thing," he added, drifting back towards the conversation with Oscar and allowing a wry grin to crease the pallid smoothness of his face, "but something is definitely up."  Poncho-boy had skedaddled towards the lake, precisely where the locals mentioned Darian's campsite could be found.

"Oh, already?"  Elora's charm cut through the crowd, ever tinged with an subtle undertone of sarcastic snark. "Didn't take long for them to spring one on us. Here I thought the festival might last a day before something significant turned up. Guess I should have known better..."  Freyd spared a moment to look her outfit over appreciatively, offering praise via twinkles in his eyes.  She didn't often switch out of her adventuring clothes, but then few players did. Funny how normal habits changed as one became accustomed to life in a digital world.  Could I stun a PKer by reminding them that they might one day have to do laundry again?  The thought came unbidden, yet accompanied by mental images of disheveled and emaciated escapees from Kayaba's personal Hell hole, each of them tipped over the psychological knife's edge by their inability to re-grasp the concept of ironing.  It would be like slapping someone across the face with a wet fish while standing in the middle of the desert.  Non-sequiturs were so very tempting, and effective.

"Seems inevitable with these types of events.  Every time I start to have a good time, the bottom falls out."  Pausing, his eyes drifted to the swish and slop of snow turning to slush beneath their feet.  "Yeah.  So... what could happen? Right?"  A stomach gurgled, possibly his own in protest at the absence of libations.  It seemed especially likely given how everyone else around him was chomping down on some form of delicious sampling.  A flick of the wrist was all it took to summon a small mountain of col at his side, crushing the adjacent stall under its cascade and weight.  Freyd, meanwhile, downloaded its entire inventory into his own.  

"Come on, you two," he muttered through sticky mastication, lips smeared with powdered sugar that made him look like he'd just devoured some poor, dehydrated snowman. 

"Maybe this Darian dude has more snacks?"

Edited August 4 by Freyd

[Oscar 0]

"Didn't take long for them to spring one on us. Here I thought the festival might last a day before something significant turned up. Guess I should have known better..."

Oscar merely shrugged. "You know how it is. Something weird happens, Players show up, and then Cardinal sends it," he said. The game was rife with distractions. Perhaps an effort by the System to keep the Players from completely coming undone once the realization set in. Oscar had fallen victim to that too, once or twice. In the dark of the night with nothing to occupy oneself but their thoughts. It hadn't happened in a while, not since he got his feet under him. Even so, there were plenty lacking the suicidal nature necessary to try and fight against the conditions they found themselves in. There was an option, of course, to let their real bodies languish while they lived the rest of their days stuck in Kayaba's Hell. But that was Plan B, if Oscar felt petty enough. It brought a smile to his face to think of Kayaba watching the Players refusing to engage with his trap. He wondered what the man would do then.

"Seems inevitable with these types of events.  Every time I start to have a good time, the bottom falls out."

"Oh come on now, Freyd. The bottom falling out is fun too! Don't you remember that time we drove a flaming ship into a pirate's cove? That was a special type of fun," Oscar replied. "But I agree, let's get at it and see what this guy has for us. Snacks or Quest, we come out on top either way." Before Oscar trotted off after the youth, he grabbed the nearest tankard and downed it in nothing flat. The act earned him the ire of a nearby person who he'd barely spared a glance at before rushing off after the boy. The priorities were to at least attempt to get drunk before more Aincradian nonsense. A futile effort, but who knew? Maybe a bug suddenly made the booze work again.

[Elora 0]

Maybe not so boring after all, Elora assessed the unfamiliar player, He could make for good company. Following after the both of them, Elora began to pluck the smorgasbord of pastries she'd collected from the basket of her skirt. It was more than a little awkward to alternate between using her free hand to carry her stein, then bring the food to her mouth, but she was determined to make it work. Perhaps I should have finished this before we left, she thought, regarding the beer.

"So what are we actually doing?", she called out after dusting stray crumbs from her dress, "Finding Darian? Is that all we know? The guy's name?"

That reminded her, she hadn't properly introduced herself to Freyd's friend. Well now it would just be weird., she stubbornly decided. Once in awhile, she figured it best to await further context rather than make a fool of herself. It seemed there would be ample opportunity to accomplish that later, what with the landscape's precarious shifts between ice and sludge.

[Freyd 0]

"That might be enough.  You'd be surprised what I can accomplish with a name alone."

A party invite prompt substituted for formal introductions in a much more Freydian manner: make the System do it.  Talking still wasn't really his strong suit, especially when his inner bloodhound had caught a whiff of something mysterious. Besides, it never really occurred to him that his two companions didn't actually know each other.  Hadn't they both been in the last raid together? Meanwhile, he could practically hear Shaggy and Scooby reveling by their sides, while he and the gang went about solving whatever might be afoot.

"There was a kid who bumped into me not half a minute ago, before those men mentioned Darian.  Something about his eyes.  He was terrified.  Which, considering the local mood, didn't really jive with the circumstances.  Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but's it's kinda what I'm good at."

Memories of the missing child, Yori, flooded Freyd's mind and drove him with unnatural zeal.  Finding that torn and tattered shirt, his only remains left after the merciless fish men had gutted him.  Coral, flush with the revelries of the Tanabata festival, not unlike their present circumstance, had remained blissfully unaware.  It was one of Freyd's first real pangs of feeling in this world.  Something about kids struck a chord nothing else could reach, and resonated still, to this day.  Peering through shadow, he could track Darian's presence at a distance, the name having met the skill's barest requirements.  A figure near a glowing campfire, something else approaching.  Then... darkness.  The connection, broken.

"Shit.  I think Darian just bought it."

Freyd bolted suddenly, racing into the woods with no other warning, hurtling towards the fleeting images already fading from memory.  He had to hurry.  The others would surely follow.  Surely, they would follow?  No choice.

I won't fail another like Yori.  Not again. Where the hell did that kid go?

***

Post reference from Tanabata: https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19852-ev-22-tanabata-celebration/?do=findComment&comment=617570

[Oscar 0]

Oscar didn't really have any idea on what to do next. The System had made him quite lazy. In the past, there was an objective and an arrow and all he needed to do was follow them to wherever it was he needed to be. Things were different now... somehow. But he was nothing if not prepared. It was rare that he put his Searching skill to use unless he was searching spider pockets for incredible dosh. Without a word to the party, Oscar headed off in the direction the kid had run. It grew colder the further away from the town he got. Which was weird, because the sun didn't work like that.

Eventually, Oscar led the group to the edge of the frozen lake. There was a decimated camp there. A shredded tent and various other camping supplies were strewn about the camp. Oscar would have called it abandoned had there not been a hulking brute sitting on a log, gnawing on a hunk of meat. Behind his gargantuan frame, Oscar saw the bloodstained boot of a person lying on their back. Didn't need to be a mathematician to put two and two together.

"Well dudes, looks like that's our huckleberry," Oscar said as he summoned his weapon from the ether. The jet-black katana winked into existence in a flash of white light. As it did, the man rose from his seat. He said some scripted dialogue that Oscar, frankly, couldn't be bothered to listen to. The boss donned his helmet and thrust his spear in Oscar's general direction. "Looks like he wants the smoke. You guys can take first swing."

 

Spoiler

Searching for Camp
ID: 224251 | LD: 15+5, Camp Located

Oscar - HP: 920/920 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 4 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 147 | BH: 50 | AA | PHASE | V.O. | LD: 5 | REC: 4

 

Edited August 5 by Oscar

[Elora 0]

Elora would have shaken her fist in anger if she wasn't desperately attempting to steady her beer. What were the two of them thinking, sprinting off like that and leaving her to to trail after them like some sort of hound? Dexterity failed her as she struggled to dodge thawing pitfalls and protruding conifer branches.

Finally, she escaped the evergreen canopy, stumbling onto the scene of an ensuing battle. Freyd was doing whatever he was. Meanwhile, Oscar had already begun to unsheathe his weapon of choice. Katana? Nice -- Not far off, a bear of a man had begun his feral dash toward their party. 

Elora steeled herself, rushing forward with the cry of a Valkyrie, her blood coursing with the vigor of a booze-ridden feast. Reaching over her right shoulder, she swung the spear from her back, planting her corresponding foot onto something --slippery. Momentum arched her heel clockward, causing her left arm to flail upwards for immediate counterbalance. Few falls were as heroic or as graceful as the one she'd met that day.

Raising her stein high in the air, its weight lurched down, hammering the grizzly assailant squarely in the jaw.

She practically fell over him as both their bodies teetered to one side. At least if she died now, she wouldn't have to hear about how badly she'd biffed that attack.

 

***

Spoiler

Post Action: [x15] AOE-I (11 + 2(Enemy) + 2(Shift)= 15 EN)
Free Action: N/A

ID# 224258 | BD 1+5= 6 Hit | DMG: 15*21=315 - 100 MIT = 215 DMG to King's Soldier

CD 7 = ST-B locked for next round.

---

[H: 1] Elora: | HP: 700/700 | EN: 89/104 (-15) | DMG: 21 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 5 | BH: 35 | LD: 2 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40
[H: 0] Freyd: | HP: 1180/1180 | EN: 152/152 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 103 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 7 | BH: 64 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8
[H: 0] Oscar: | HP: 920/920 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 147 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BH: 50 | LD: 5 | AA | PHASE | REC: 4 | V.O.: 151

King's Soldier: HP: 785/1000 | DMG: 200 | MIT: 100

• Soldier's Insight | Howl does not produce hate against the King's Scout. Instead it focuses his attack on the howler for one post. Afterwards he continues to attack those with the highest hate. If players hate values are equal, he targets the player with the least mitigation and lowest total health, in that order.
• Battle Fury | When his health reaches 500 or lower, every other post, his attacks deal 50 additional damage. On the turns he does not receive this bonus damage, he holds his shield up to mitigate 50 additional damage against him until his next turn.
• Frozen Soldier | If the freeze enhancement is activated on him, he will not receive the frozen affect, but instead receive -1 EVA and -1 ACC for one post.

 

Edited August 6 by Elora

[Freyd 0]

The keening wail of a banshee was nearly as unmistakable that the similar sound of a certain weapon loosing its bonds.  Samael's Pride, a hole in the universe kept shut by the slimmest of margins, and a prayer, slipped its tether as the Whisper whipped back into existence right behind the murderer.  A swift kick to the back of the knees crumpled his target, felling him beneath the weight of plate and spinning him around to face a furious looking Freyd, who promptly drove his fist so hard through the mob's chest that the ground beneath him crumpled and cratered leaving an imprint of his knuckles.  Nearby trees bowed outward from the force, a murder of crows setting flight rather than risking watching the rest of the show.

The Whisper seethed, teeth clenched and breath billowing around them like a dragon about to loose its rage. Bits of half-chewed man-flesh around the cannibal's mouth should have sickened him, but all he could feel was anger. He had seen Darian's last sights - this thing rushing him - and felt the need to avenge its horrors.

"What the HELL is wrong with you?!" Unable to control his rage, Freyd also couldn't get the image of Yori's bloodied shirt out of his mind.  He died the same way.  And that this thing - for it did not deserve to be called a man - could ever possibly threaten Elora in any way, just made the Whisper want to tear the mob apart with his bare hands.  And, he probably would have, until...

*GASP*

It was the boy from earlier in the streets, standing breathless at the edge of the camp, opposite from where Oscar now approached.  Freyd recognized him, though only barely through the haze of hate currently clouding his vision.  "Oh fuck," he whispered, pulling back his hands and scrambling away from the mob that somehow stirred as if attempting to regain some sort of footing, despite the giant hole in its torso. 

"No... no..." the Whisper begged, against the onslaught of his memories, his fingers curling of their own accord, as if gathering to choke someone who wasn't even there.  "Not again." 

***

Spoiler

Post Action | AoE-I (x15, 11 EN, +2 Shift, +2/hit): 15 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 12 EN.  Charge (+8 EN, CD0/3)
Free Action {Item] | Crystal of Divine Light

ID #224336 | BD: 8+7=15 (hit, Charge +3, Fallen +24).  DMG (15*53=795-100=695) vs King's Soldier

[H: 1] Elora: | HP: 700/700 | EN: 89/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 5 | BH: 35 | LD: 2 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40
[H: 3] Freyd: | HP: 1180/1180 | EN: 132/152 (152-12-8) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 103 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 7 | BH: 64 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8
[H: 0] Oscar: | HP: 920/920 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 147 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BH: 50 | LD: 5 | AA | PHASE | REC: 4 | V.O.: 151

King's Soldier: HP: 90/1000 (785-695) | DMG: 200 | MIT: 100

• Soldier's Insight | Howl does not produce hate against the King's Scout. Instead it focuses his attack on the howler for one post. Afterwards he continues to attack those with the highest hate. If players hate values are equal, he targets the player with the least mitigation and lowest total health, in that order.
• Battle Fury | When his health reaches 500 or lower, every other post, his attacks deal 50 additional damage. On the turns he does not receive this bonus damage, he holds his shield up to mitigate 50 additional damage against him until his next turn.
• Frozen Soldier | If the freeze enhancement is activated on him, he will not receive the frozen affect, but instead receive -1 EVA and -1 ACC for one post.

 

Edited August 7 by Freyd

[Oscar 0]

Oscar didn't want to ruin the mood. Clearly Elora was in her heroine arc and Freyd was working through something. But the boss was so tantalizingly close to death. Health bar firmly in the red, barely a sliver left. Oscar almost started salivating. It was so rare to come across an enemy so firmly within the sweet spot that Oscar liked to call "Bonkin' Range." The warrior surged forward. There were war cries and actual cries. Oscar raised his weapon and brought it down cleanly upon the crown of the boss's head. His blade cut cleanly and then stopped as it encountered resistance.

For a moment, the two just stood there. Motionless. Then, the boss's game model shuddered. Textures replaced with static, flashing back to normal intermittently. The shifts became more frequent. Static, normal. Over and over again until the creature was strobing so quickly that it threatened to phase out of existence entirely. And then, suddenly, the shifting stopped. It returned to normal. It raised its spear, trembling as it aimed for Oscar's heart. But before the tip of its weapon could make contact with Oscar's breast, cracks began to spiderweb across it's frame. Light shone through the cracks, growing brighter and bright until it shattered like glass. Oscar was left frozen in his position for a moment, sword pointed skyward but no longer buried in his enemy.

It was only for a moment. With the threat neutralized, Oscar's weapon disappeared. He shoved his hands into his pockets, approaching Freyd as he mourned the loss of the NPC. Ordinarily, Oscar would mention the obvious. The kid would respawn. He was fine. Dude wasn't afflicted with the same curse as the rest of them. But seeing such a genuine outpouring of emotion - indeed more than he'd ever seen from the Whisper thus far - Oscar elected to remain silent. Allow the man his grief. Lord only knew what Hell this game had inflicted on everyone's psyches. This was not the time to poke the bear, he thought.

Spoiler

ST-I [x12] vs King's Soldier ID: 224337 | BD: 9
312-150 = 162 DMG
King's Soldier Dies *final fantasy fanfare*

[H: 1] Elora: | HP: 700/700 | EN: 89/104 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 78 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 5 | BH: 35 | LD: 2 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40
[H: 3] Freyd: | HP: 1180/1180 | EN: 132/152 (152-12-8) | DMG: 26 | MIT: 103 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 7 | BH: 64 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8
[H: 3] Oscar: | HP: 920/920 | EN: 124/124 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 147 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 4 | BH: 50 | LD: 5 | AA | PHASE | REC: 4 | V.O.: 151

 

Edited August 7 by Oscar

[Elora 0]

Coming eye to eye with the ragged man made Elora's skin crawl. She had slaughtered beasts before and even snuffed out the lives of many elves. Never had she encountered an enemy that looked so human, yet so monstrous at the same time. Rusty streaks trickled from the mouth of the man, ensnaring the stench of something revolting within his beard. She'd barely managed to stop her fall as the butt of her spear lodged into the thawing mud. In an instant, she was cast in the other direction. Whether by instinct or force, her legs stumbled backwards, clearing a distance between the two of them.

Only a moment later, Freyd had crippled the man with a ferocious attack. "What the HELL is wrong with you?!", he yelled. Elora startled at the sound, her fingers fidgeting around her weapon as she considered whether or not to interject.

A sudden visage caught her eye from the across the encampment. With nerves still abuzz, she glanced down to Freyd, then back to the creature. Sights settled to distinguish the features of a younger lad. His hair, though a snowy white, contrasted starkly with the amalgamation of greens and browns that painted the forest behind him. The pair of piercing blue eyes had already shifted from her to Freyd. 

"Oh fuck,", Freyd exclaimed as his hands frantically betrayed their previous mission, "No... no..." 

Only the faintest whisper of regret could be heard as she hurried over to him. Without forethought, she extended both her hands outwards to capture and cradle one of his. It was impossible to tell what was running through his mind or how he would act on the emotions that overwhelmed him. Looking back to -- was it Oscar -- she could confirm that the cannibal had been defeated. One less thing to worry about. She gave the player a gracious nod before returning to console Freyd, "It's ok --what's wrong?"

Edited August 11 by Elora

[Freyd 0]

Turns out there's a downside to opening the multi-layered vault you created years ago to bottle up all the hurt and rage of a younger, dumber, proto-self.  So Freyd discovered, in the harshest possible sense.  He'd even predicted the possibility. 'Cold and calculating' had been a shell; a construct whose existence his mind created to seal off the darkest torments of a terrible and wasted youth.  These same feelings had nearly made a boy into a murderer. Fate had interjected then, and maybe also many times since, but once the shell was stripped away it all came flooding back - good and bad alike.  Hope was all he'd had that this part of himself had died in that cocoon, suffocated beneath years of smothering denial.  Too bad.  It clearly hadn't.

The warmth of Elora's touch and concern echoed in her voice snapped him away from the trap of his own past.  Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Freyd stilled and centred the tempest boiling in his veins, finally releasing it in a steady puff of steam.  

"I'm alright. I just wasn't expecting to see... that."  His hand gestured towards the sundered, dissolving corpse felled by Oscar's timely action.  "Thanks for finishing him, big man.  It wouldn't have been a good idea to let me do it."  A gentle, reassuring touch on Elora's shoulder matched the momentary locking of gazes confirming he was fine.  She'd know the look.  

"Boy!  You there.  Were you the one running to get help?"  Freyd knew he wasn't.  Terror had been etched across his features when he'd last spotted him, not purposeful action.  Maybe there was still a chance to help him save face and overcome whatever he'd witnessed.  

"Levi.  My name is Levi."  His hands were still shaking beneath his poncho, and it was also highly likely that he'd soiled himself.  Who could really blame him?  

"You did well, Levi.  More could have died here, if you hadn't raised an alarm."  Freyd knew he hadn't.  He'd run off to cower in the safest corner he could find.  And yet, he was here now.  What did that say about his character?

"Did anyone catch any symbols or markings on the soldier's armor?  I was a little pre-occupied perforating his torso to really focus on it.  Might be nice to know who he was, or where he came from."  Not nearly naive enough to believe that this would remain some sort of isolated incident, the machine mind within the Whisper churned away in search of clues.  Maybe this would all keep happening over and over.  But maybe... just maybe... they could try to prevent it, even just once, for their own humanity's sake.

Edited August 8 by Freyd

[Oscar 0]

"Don't mention it," came Oscar's response. The professional side of the man wanted to dive into the source of the Whisper's mental anguish. But it would be a bit of a waste of time. He could provide therapy and advice all day, but until the source of the issue was resolved, it wouldn't take. The source here being the fact that they were trapped in a digital prison full of murderers and psychopaths. Back in the real world, Oscar had been quite good at his job - a consummate professional. But they were not there. And the tips and tricks he could provide weren't likely to apply. The best he could give was validation. To tell the man that it was okay. So, Oscar flashed a smile and clapped Freyd on the shoulder. "We're all a little insane in here. Call it an occupational hazard. Or a side effect of the NerveGear. Either way, I call that a perfectly normal reaction."

And it was. Oscar realized that some of the scenes they experienced here were absolutely horrific. It was hard to remember sometimes that they were in a video game. Dark and spooky forests with potential danger around every tree. Or a demon's castle filled to the brim with torture implements and the screams of the damned. Things you simply didn't see in the real world and thus could not possibly prepare yourself for. Oscar fared better than most. He took very few things seriously, instead cutting through the intended atmosphere to laugh at the attempt at shock value. At the end of the day, this was all ones and zeroes designed to fuck with the heads of the Players. And Oscar absolutely would not give anyone the satisfaction of getting in his head like that.

"This is totally a quest chain, though," Oscar said with a yawn. "Kayaba's getting a little derivative. Hard to be surprised anymore. We don't actually think a random soldier just showed up on a one-and-done quest, right? Probably just a scout. Betcha the next quest is an invasion or something." 

[Elora 0]

"I didn't distinguish anything unique", started Elora, "But the way he looked...almost frozen, I wouldn't normally think anything of it, considering the climate." She knew they all had caught glimpses of it. The man, though exuding a feral vitality, appeared to inhabit a body succumb to frostbite. Pale skin mottled with bruise-like patches could be seen just beneath a pelt of frosted facial hair. "Where do you think he could have come from that was still that cold?" A timely chill directed her attention to the snowy peaks that loomed in the distance. "I agree. There's something else to come of this. With any luck, maybe Levi can help us.", she resolved with a glance in the NPC's direction.

As if on cue, the nervous boy responded, "I-I don't know anything about the man, but I know we should report what we saw here. There's an elder in town who should know what to do."

Elora turned to give her companions a knowing look. Clearly, this was a prompt that would lead them toward to their next objective, they need only accept it. "What do you say? Grab some more ale on our way through?"

[Freyd 0]

"Yeah.  In here,..."  Smiling without mirth, Freyd merely nodded his appreciation to Oscar for not pushing the issue more than he might have. Trivializing the events they'd just witnessed fared no better.  It wasn't as simple as just dismissing the whole thing as a game, regardless of its veneer.  These were lived experiences, whatever their 'real world' merits.  "First we dismiss the mobs as inhuman conjurations.  Then we tar the NPCs with the same brush.  Inevitably, we start to turn on each other, forgetting what it even means to be human."  More hung on his lips, remaining unspoken even as his blue eyes bore a tunnel towards Levi through the deepening shadows of his own cowl.  The sun waned along with his mood.  

Professional instincts kicked in, booted by relentless necessity, even if honed under the same falsehoods as his sympathies for the fate of digital 'paper people'.  "Something about this smacks of the Time Forgotten King, though that's purely a hunch.  That boss battle never struck me as telling the whole story.  Or, quite literally, any of it."  Quest details could be especially sketchy at times, giving players only the barest reason or excuse to smash another pile of pixels into dust.

"Lead us to your elder, Levi.  It's as good a place to start as any.  And let's all pray we haven't stumbled into some sort of raid or mass player event.  We don't have the numbers for it right now."  Haltingly, he placed his hands into his pockets, hesitating like he felt the need to wipe them clean of blood before simply accepting that the stains were already too deeply set.  Elora's attempt at levity failed to solicit even the pretense of a smile.  Even the real deal wouldn't have cut it.

Trudging away from the troubled campsite, Freyd felt its tethers to his past weighing against him, as if the snows of floor four had already forgotten their brief reprieve, ominously promising that winter was coming back with a vengeance.

Edited August 11 by Freyd

[Oscar 0]

It seemed that everything ended about as well as it could have. Though, Oscar was hesitant to go with the group to turn the Quest in. The System had a tendency to automatically start the next in the chain. And if his hunch was correct, Freyd had the right of it. They simply didn't have the numbers to raid a quest - no matter how low level. And Freyd was clearly not at his best, which further complicated things. Oscar was completely confident in his own abilities and Elora had put up an impressive showing as well. But the Whisper looked like he'd seen a ghost. Oscar was tempted to ask, but this was simply not the time. He was firmly in the distraction phase. Couldn't really help him tackle the problem at this point.

Still, Freyd had always been there when Oscar needed him. So Oscar wanted to do the same. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began to stride towards the group. They'd got a little distance on him as he tried to figure out what to do. But his long strides and quick gait helped him cover the distance quickly. He walked up next to Freyd. His demeanor was altogether different. Gone was the almost-dopey, bright expression. Oscar was suddenly a bit more intense and serious. His gaze narrowed, his face blank. He looked off into the middle distance as they made their return journey to town.

"So I'm not gonna ask you to explain what's up," Oscar said. "And I'm not gonna pretend to know what's going on. But you know I got your six, yeah? If you ever need to talk it out, my door's always open. Any time, any place, I got you." His steely facade quickly faded as he lurched forward a bit. He spun on his heels and walked backwards, smiling as he looked out over the group. "But until then, I'm gonna need you to lock in. Feels like we're gonna need the ol' Freyd chaos on this one. Can't have you getting all misty-eyed and croaking on us."

Spoiler

Thread Summary Pls

Freyd receives:

8440 EXP (Word Count [6430/10160.6] + Quest [1500] +10% for MSF)
1266 col (1 page [0] + 15% P5 Reward [1266])

Elora receives:

3043 EXP (Word Count [6430/1040.6] + Quest [1500])
856 col (1 page [400] + 15% P5 Reward [456])

Oscar receives:

5469 EXP (Word Count [6430/1090.6] + Quest [1500] +10% for MSF)
820 col (1 page [0] + Loot [0] + 15% P5 Reward [820])

        

 

Edited August 12 by Oscar