[F21-PP] Lost in Translation <<The Hidden Village>>

[Freyd 0]

Trouble had been brewing in the outskirts of Kalanaes for some time.  Little more than rumours, at first, Freyd assumed that it was the usual brand of infighting between rival dark elf factions or perhaps a conflict with a local band of subterranean critters that had taken up local residence.  Recent hunts against Ugzeke and other local beasts had found no evidence, until today.  Holding a pauldron too large for most players, save perhaps Oscar or someone of similar stature, he spun it in his hands to better explore its markings.

"A reptilian hand?"  Pressed against the steel with enough force to imprint the metal, and larger than a man's hand by half, it wasn't one he was familiar with, and so had come to Charko seeking answers.  Ureka was normally well informed of events in and around her village, which always struck him as odd given their reclusive natures.  Charko itself clung to existence on the edge of a chasm that split this part of the underdark into distinct sections.  Crossing were few and jealously guarded, including the rope bridge established by locals to access the far side.  Trade goods had to be carried across by hand, or, as he'd discovered, be conveniently shoved en masse into a player's inventory and then unpacked on the far side.  

"I apologize for not coming more frequently.  Times have been exceptionally busy, and trials unending.  We may be breaking through to a new floor within days."  Any possibility of failing or falling in the raid remained unspoken as Freyd knelt and gave a small plushy he'd purchased in Urbus to the woman's young daughter.  Her gleeful giggling brightened the ever-present gloom, most of the locals having adapted to life in perpetual darkness long ago.  In that way, at least, Freyd felt at home here too.

Last to emerge from the void through which he pulled his goods was the previously found plate, promptly held aloft for the smiling mother to inspect.

"This was found in the caves nearby, but I don't recognize the symbol, and the elves in Kalanaes were as helpful as ever.  Three bribes got me three very inspired lies, but little else.  Does it mean anything to you?"

***
Note: CS (Shades of the Gemini) and CSA (Beckon the Void) are in use.  If any other player objects to these, 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) - takes 1 portion and shares the rest [filled]
[Draft of Keen Edge] - T1 Perfect Potion | Damage 3 | 214680
Madlad Muffin | Tierless Rare Meal | EVA 2 | 220090i
Sweet and Sour Licorice Bites | Tierless Perfect Snack | LD III | 223577c

Freyd | HP: 1180/1180 | EN: 156/156 | DMG: 24 | MIT:45 | ACC: 6 | F-SPIRIT | EVA:6 | BH:65 | VAMP-D: 130 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | LD: 9

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
True Tier: 17
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 134
HP: 1180/1180
EN: 156/156

Stats:
Damage: 21+3
Mitigation: 45
Accuracy: 3+2+1
Evasion: 4+2
Battle Healing: 65
Loot Die: 6+3
VAMP-D: 130
REC: 8
FLN: 16
HLY: 16

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Samael's Pride | T4 MA | FLN 2 | HLY 2
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Black Cowled Traveling Garb | T4 CA | VD 2 | REC 2
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Fight O'er Flight (ACC 2 | EVA 2)  

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - Grappling Familiar

Custom Skill:
  - Shades of the Gemini

Custom Sword Art:
  - Beckon the Void

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

Extra Skills:
  - Disguise
  - Survival
  - Parry
  - Hiding R2

Inactive Extra Skills:
  - Meditation
  - Lady Luck
  - Photosynthesize
  - Brawler
  - Assault Mode
  - Frozen Hide
  - Forgotten King's Authority

Addons:
  - Focus
  - Focused Howl
  - Nimble
  - Precision
  - Reveal
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Athletics
  - Detect
  - Emergency Recovery
  - Justified Riposte
  - Night Vision
  - Tracking
  - Untraceable

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable 1/thread) x1
  - Hope's Covenant - Resolve +4 (T4 Demonic Weapon (MA) - AA, Phase, Frostbite,,VO x1
  - Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
  - Meathook (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Rhino's Horn (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Teleport Crystals x7
  - The Shadowed Rose | ACC 3 | Para.Imm x1
  - The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic MA, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off))  x1

Housing Buffs:
  - Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
  - Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
  - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
  - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
  - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
  - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
  - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
  - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.
  - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
  - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.
  - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
  - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs:
  - Trading Hall: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +2 crafting/identification attempts per day.
  - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild Totem:
  - Tanos

Wedding Ring: n/a

Crafting Profession:
 - Appraising[3478exp] R5

Gathering Profession:
 - Fishing[576exp] R5

 

Edited October 11 by Freyd

[Jomei 0]

  

Jomei the emerald duelist

Spoiler notes Level: 33 | Paragon: 74 | Tier: 4(11)  Jomei: 940/940 HP | 132/132 EN | DMG 23 | MIT 44 | EVA 3 | ACC 5 AA | BH 51 | HLY BLS 20 | FLN 16 | HLY 8  | LD 1  equipped Fragarach : Abs Acc | Holy | Fallen | Fallen Vestige of St. Patrick: Holy B | MIT | EVA | EVA Alatreon's Will: ACC | ACC | ACC battle-ready inventory Antidote (3/3)  skills Spoiler Skills Rapier R5 | TECH Spec. Combat Mastery DMG R3 Cloth Armor R5 Charge B Healing R5 Energist MA R2 Howl Fighting Spirit Quick Change Extra: (x) Concentration Survival  (x) Meditation (x) Parry (x) Forgotten King's Authority Assault Mode (x) Lady Luck Mods Athletics (x) Emergency Recovery (x) Vengeful Riposte (x) Justified Riposte (x) Addons Stamina  Ferocity  Precision Nimble Focused Howl data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs Spoiler Housing Buffs:  Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat     Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)     Dining Room: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. Living Room: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

Whispers floated around the interior of the Hollow Pumpkin inn, a tavern that seemed to change its name and motif every couple of months to fit the season. What was once called A Cup of Sunshine now sported carved pumpkins, their toothy, smiling expressions illuminated by the flames of a candle housed within. The menu switched out as well, which was more exciting to some than the sudden change in nomenclature. Jomei stood at the long, dark stained wood counter, one foot on the leg of the stool behind him. He traced the brim of his lager, which had a slight hint of apples that paired beautifully with the hops. As the soft sounds of a conversation at a table behind him caught his attention, his ears perked up. 

Most of the details were drowned out by the boisterous cackling of some townsfolk drunk off of their mead - God, how he longed for a night of unwinding like that - however what he did pick up was that people had disappeared on the twenty-first floor. His mind raced at the thought of it being a rise in activity by the Guild of The Four Pointed Star, a small band of player slavers posing as a trading guild. The dark caverns of floor twenty-one would make a good staging ground for picking off any players who wandered around on their own. Finishing his drink, and dropping a payment of col onto the table for the bartender, the ginger would turn his full attention to the grouping of players conversing. "Where did you hear about these disappearances?"

The trail of information that Jomei had picked up on from the chatting group led him to a settlement hidden away on floor twenty-one, Charko. Though stealth was not exactly one of his strong suits - since dropping the skill - he still managed to use his hooded cloak to his advantage and stick to the shadows. Through winding caverns, and bridges that crossed over deep caverns, Jomei eventually found his way across to the city proper. No signs of any guild activity, though.. not like it would have been apparent. And why stage kidnappings in a settlement that wasn't as frequented? As different scenarios crossed his conscious, he spotted a familiar person in the dim light of a mounted torch speaking with one of the dark-elf denizens.

"Freyd." Jomei would call out as he approached. "Didn't think I would run into anyone familiar while I was down here." Tucking fingers into the sides of his oversized hood, he would lower it back onto his shoulders. "Is everything alright?"

[Freyd 0]

"Jomei?"  Not a face he expected to find in some obscure forgotten village in the dreg back caverns of the Underdark.  Suspicion required prudence, the Whisper peering through shadow to track the familiar face, only to confirm that it belonged ten feet in front of him, just as it appeared.  Heh.  Not a trick, then.  Shoulders bled their tension into shadows whose capacity for such things was indubitably infinite.

"I guess that makes two of us," replied the darkly clad man, without so much as missing a beat.  Spycraft required wits sharper than sharp reflexes, and a talent for not missing the beats - occasionally also dishing them out, which was his particular specialty.  "It's good to see you again, my friend.  Though I can't say I expected to find anyone else here.  Oh, uh... Ureka, Jomei; Jomei, Ureka." As if on queue, a quest prompt appeared before both players, Freyd accepting and extending a party invite to his emerald ally. 

"I was just learning about encroaching scouts pressing dangerously close to Charko's supply lines.  This village has enough trouble with the dark elves of Kalanaes occasionally flexing their muscles without a third party squeezing them from the other direction."  Tossing the lizard-print pauldron onto the table for effect, the heavy plate rattled all the surrounding dishware, enough to startle a few neighbouring NPCs in the process.

"Something about that symbol smacks of DHA, or similar shenanigans, and spells trouble for these good people."  NPCs or not made no difference to him.  Freyd wasn't about to see all the effort Firm Anima had sunk into their survival go to waste.  "An outright ambush might only draw more scouts and interest from this power to the area.  Not something Charko can afford.  We need to lead them off, or give them something more tantalizing to chase.  You feel up to causing some mischief?"

Though his cowl was still up, Freyd's pursed lips smirked with eager satisfaction.  It wasn't often he got to play this particular game.

[Jomei 0]

"Ah" Freyd would introduce Jomei to the woman who stood by idly as the two players greeted each other. At first glance, he could have mistaken her for a fellow player, but as his eyes fell upon her form, he could see the marker noting her as an NPC. "Its a pleasure to meet you." he would offer a respectful smile and bow of his head to Ureka. Returning to his full height, the green-clad duelist was met with a text box before his eyes - more specifically, one assigning a quest to him. So she was a quest giver, that made a bit more sense as to why Freyd was speaking alone with her in the dark. Now with introductions out of the way, it was time for them to begin formulating a plan on how to accomplish their task. In this case, it was keeping this small settlement of Charko safe. Not through fighting off enemies, but by misleading the wandering patrols so they pass by Charko without a second thought.

Freyd had already encountered the scouts, or at least stumbled upon some of their gear. Tossing the piece of armor onto the small table, Jomei scanned it for a moment. Once the symbol caught the dim light, Jomei leaned into it. "Hold on." His fingers would slowly run along the surface, tracing the symbol. "I've seen this symbol before." He recalled a time that  felt so long ago, one of the few times he had visited the floor casually with his once betrothed. "A cult that worshipped Tesseleth.. they showed up and starting spouting nonsense about reviving the dragon. And.. weren't there some knights wearing this armor during that boss raid?" Another memory popped into his head, knights encased in stone and crystals that would break free to assist Tesseleth in their fight. "Here I had thought that they gave up on that.. lets hope they aren't up to anything suspicious again." 

Peeking up from the pauldron on the table, he looked at Freyd with a confident nod and smirk. "Oh yeah, I'm ready to cause some trouble." 

[Freyd 0]

"Tesseleth?  I know the name, and ran into Zandra recently, the eccentric wielding a hefty blade bearing the same name.  But that particular raid predates my arrival to the Frontlines."  Freyd found himself reminded of how much a newbie he still was compared to some of Aincrad's true veterans, Jomei included.  He counted Hirru among them, the notable Vice-Commander famous for his own troubled past when it came to raids.  

"That's good intel.  I'm glad you came along when you did.  Were you in Charko for some other reason?  It's more than a ways off the beaten path." Accepting the quest invite while he called up several map overlays of the surrounding caverns, Freyd had surveyed them in detail during previous 'foraging' missions.  Mob grinds, really, though the term carried and element of phrasing best avoided in certain circles, especially around NPCs.

"I've never heard of a dragon cult in these parts, though it's been some time since this floor was cleared.  Did they succeed in reviving the dragon?  I assume that it was Tesseleth, itself, and not some other?"  Genuinely curious about the background details and stories from the raid, Freyd prattled on, prodding his companion with a far less aloof demeanor than was customary.  But much about him had also changed since he and Jomei had last traveled together.

"Have you been well?  Our paths don't often seem to cross, but it's a big... worlds?  I don't even know what term best suits this place anymore."  

Gathering the clattered pauldron back to his inventory with renewed interest, there might be more of interest here to be followed up on later, the fleeting nature of time permitting.  With Ugzeke's drop having recently been nerfed, and grinds rarely being necessary for him anymore, he'd have to find some other reason to keep patrolling this area.  Though, keeping the rampaging troll away from Charko might be reason enough.

"I can't be sure where these knights are coming from, but these trails are their most likely path."  A quick hand wave revealed wraps like eclipses wound tightly about his hands, summoning a three dimensional projection of the area for their shared analysis.  "This one is particularly well-traveled and likely to draw their attention.  It's also less perilous, if they're wearing heavy armor, which the pauldron suggests.  Thoughts?"

[Jomei 0]

"--predates my arrival to the Frontlines."

There was a time before Freyd on the frontlines? One of the highest leveled, and highly regarded, players had made their climb through the ranks in a shorter amount of time than Jomei had realized. His eyes shifted to the dark haired player, first with disbelief which slowly made way for astonishment. "Right, sorry. Suppose I forgot about that. Tesseleth was a dragon that demanded sacrifices from the different settlements here. Probably one of the most grueling battles we had faced in awhile, with a lot on the line." A free hand snaked around the back of his neck, gently digging the tips of his fingers into the nape. "But last I had seen them, they were just pestering people in Tomoika and just beyond. Actually had an altercation with them at the hot springs.. Heh.. Terrible time to get caught without my equipment on. So probably less common out this far, but who knows. Its been some time."  

His shoulders shrugged, "I had overheard some talk about players going missing on this floor. Thought, at first, it was some.. guild that I've had a couple of run ins with." Looking past the small gathering to what he could see of Charko, his head shook side to side, "Though.. not sure why they would stage anything out of Charko, especially if its not frequented much. I'm starting to think maybe some wandering players got caught by some patrolling Dragon Knights and got into a fight. News of that passed from mouth to mouth and changed over time - classic game of telephone." Standing up to his full height, he would let out a small sigh before he would return his hands to his hips, "Not sure if that brings me any relief or not. Haven't decided." 

He smiled a bit, as conversation shifted from the trouble at hand to a bit more of a casual chat. "Oh yeah, it's been some time. I don't think we've really even had much chance to talk one on one, outside of raids and meetings. But I have been.. okay. A lot more free time as of late, so just trying to get out there again, take on some quests. You know how we live." he would say with a chuckle, "And how about you? Anything more interesting than what I've been up to?"

Jomei looked upon the image Freyd had conjured with a knuckle to his lips, watching the splintering web of various tunnels lead to and around Charko and the surrounding areas. There were a couple that all lead to the same place, but most were off the beaten path, or possibly difficult to traverse depending on their armaments. Freyd suggested a singular path that would make the most sense for anyone to travel, if they did not want to be impeded. "A good thought. I made my way into Charko using this tunnel- " pointing to one of the less traveled routes, but also a nearly direct one from the main city of Tomoika. "-There's no way a squadron of heavily armored knights would go that way, unless they had a swifter moving forward party. Though.. from what I've seen, they'd prefer the show of force.. so heavy armor seems more likely." 

"Potentially, we could hold our own against a group of them.. but we don't know how many there are to a scouting party. And who's to say that eliminating this group won't alert the larger forces to the area. No, I think it might be best to keep to a quiet approach. Lead them away from Charko. Better if they didn't know this place existed." 

[Freyd 0]

"It's concerning to hear that the Dragon Knights have remained active so long after Tesseleth's defeat.  You'd think they might have had their content linked to the floor boss' fate?  Isn't it interesting how certain things linger when a chapter closes on an event, but others don't?  I've often wondered why, not that Cardinal is likely to provide answers.  Keeping adventure hooks open for future use?  Maybe it was just forgotten as the devs moved on to higher priorities closer to the front lines?"  Dismissing his own speculation with a shrug, neither of them were likely to be privy to the mad god Kayaba's plans until they hatched.

"It does beg the question about a potential home base.  They must come from somewhere, unless they only spawn for this quest content.  Again, possible, but Aincrad is becoming more organic in its responses every day.  It might be worth backtracking their steps, after Charko is safe, to see where they lead.  If they have the potential to rise into a bigger threat, we'd be well served to find out before a full invasion is underway."

The Whispers words sought to normalize mob behaviour more than some had appetite to consider, but Freyd had traveled this world extensively.  Add to that a web of connections spread beyond that garnered even greater degrees of detail than even some brokers could access.  His observations were far from idle guesswork.

"What guild did you have trouble with?  There seems to be some increase in guild activities across Aincrad, of late. Is it anyone we should be keeping an eye on?"  An offer of help was implied, but the specifics of who was included in 'we' were left open to interpretation.  Freyd had never been one to partake in anything obviously uncouth or sinister, but rumours tended to swirl around anyone with an edgelordy persona.  Jomei would have to decide for himself.

"Your theories and deductions about the Dragon Knights appear sound, and I appreciate the background info.  They're not a group I knew much about or have had the displeasure to encounter, save once or twice before.  Keeping them away from Charko makes sense.  This village has it hard enough already, what with struggling for survival in a place like this.  It's a miracle that they've lasted this long."  Admiration for the NPC's tenacity was obvious in his tone, but there was something in the blue of Freyd's eyes when he turned to glance back at the small settlement behind them.  He actually cared what happened to them, as strange as that might seem to some.  Conversation turned to more personal banter as they made their way towards a better vantage.

“Oh?  More free time?  That must be nice.  How’d you make that happen?"  A brief chuckle acknowledged the impossible feat.  "Actually, I never really allowed myself much of that, but have been working on making it a higher priority.  A certain fairer friend has helped me realize its importance.  And things have… gone a lot farther between us than I would have ever expected possible.”  Talking about it felt good, but still counter to his secretive instincts.  Freyd was fighting hard to get away from that world.

"Your plan sounds good to me.  Why don't we start there, ahead of where they're likely to emerge next.  If we can keep just ahead of them, we'll have more time to distract and misdirect them."

***

ID 235310 | Nat. LD 20 (Total: 20) - WOOT!

Turn 1/5

Edited October 18 by Freyd

[Jomei 0]

"Keep things fresh?" he would respond plainly with pursed lips, raising his shoulders in a shrug. "Even though its a world we inevitably want to escape from, its still a world with plenty of stories to tell." His own opinion on the matter, of course. Many would see it as pointless content that served them no purpose. But to Jomei, he thought to fall in and embrace the world they've been forced to live in and immerse himself within it. Make due with a bad situation.

Freyd prodded about the guild Jomei had been tracking. He hadn't shared the information about them with mostly anyone really. The few involved with the original encounter, and a handful of select others. There was no need for the secrecy, especially since the hammer of the frontlines' finest would wipe them out. Perhaps he felt it was his own obligation to shut them down, in the name of those friends who were no longer around. Or maybe he was after vengeance. "Ehh." a slight groan in his voice, "The difficult thing is that they aren't an official 'guild'" he gestured the air-quotes with his fingers "No guild tag, keeps them off the radar. Clan.. or Guild of The Four Pointed Star, they call themselves.. a mouthful of a name. They're trouble, but I'm starting to suspect they called it quits with the rise in Frontliner activity. Couldn't hurt to keep a note of the name but.. they've been quiet."

"I can't exactly say that my extra free time was voluntary." he answered sheepishly. Splitting up from a fiancé would do that. Though, it had been quite some time since he and Telrenya went their separate ways, Jomei was only just now coming to terms and getting back into the world. "Just getting over a split is all. No need to feel sorry" Jomei would reassure him with a wave of his hand, "It's been a bit since but, you know how it is." Jomei shifted gears quickly, as to not dwell on the topic any longer. "That, and I feel the raid party needs more seasoned veterans fighting with them. Make sure to show them how its done." he teased with confidence. Many of the newcomers had already far surpassed him, but he felt his seniority count for something.. at least in his mind. "But I'm glad to hear things have turned out well for you." he would smile sincerely, patting the man on the shoulder. "Finding that connection gives us the closest thing to a home in a world that is not ours." He thought he himself had found that bond, maybe he'll stumble on it again soon. He could only hope. "Who's the lucky lass, anyone I know?"

With their destination in sight, the two players switched back into planning mode. Their objective; mislead the patrolling knights away from the tunnels leading to Charko. With how little light permeated the tunnels connecting settlements and caverns, that should not be too difficult. "Any thoughts on how we can get them off the path?" Jomei asked as the two came to a stop. "We should probably kill any light sources leading this way. Even if they have their own torches, seeing a darkened path may not entice them to follow it." 

_____

ID 235887 | LD 6 | Total 6

[Freyd 0]

“Ah.  More of an off-the books sort of crew.  Yeah.  I know the type.”  Possibly the understatement of their entire journey so far, but those details were not especially germaine.  

“The Four Pointed Star?  Can’t say it rings a bell, though, I may be able to look into it further if you’re interested. I’m no broker or Jade Hunter, but have been known to track down a wayward thing or two in my time.  Did they operate on a particular floor or area?  Even a single name might be enough to track them.”  Wondering whether Jomei truly wanted the group found or just forgotten, he let the subject dangle in the absent subterranean breeze to be stifled by stillness, if needs be.

“I’m still sorry to hear about your heartbreak, my friend. It’s not something I’d wish on anyone, especially in here.  And thank you.  It’s complicated, but Elora and I are happy.  You might have met her in the last raid, though we ended up in a different group facing off against Wushen.  You were with Nari, as I recall?”

Pausing to point out a small shrine lining the edge of the trail, Freyd slowly drew his black blade, followed by a brisk lateral slash.  In a blink, the weapon was back in its sheath as if nothing had happened. Maybe, one day, he'd do Baldur proud with an opportunity to stand at the famed blademaster's side. For now, mundane parlour tricks would have to suffice. Close inspection showed a sundered line where the cairn stone’s spine had been severed by the strike, leaving its main bulk precariously perched in a way that left the entire effigy ready to fall at the slightest provocation. The trundling footsteps of hearty  and heavily armored dragon-folk came to mind.

“Shame to have to desecrate such objects, but we use the tools provided,” Freyd whispered quietly, motioning towards the approaching patrol.  Guiding Jomei back down the trail, they’d need a few more decent distractions to call their efforts a success.

***

ID 235907 | Nat. LD 19 (Total: 26+19=45)

Turn 2/5

Edited October 18 by Freyd

[Jomei 0]

"They once operated on the Fourth Floor." Jomei finally answered after pondering whether he should open the case deeper, or let it be. "Held a stronghold in the center of a blizzard. One around a mountain. But.." Hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers as he looked at the ground in front of each foot fall. "Last I had gone to scout them out, they weren't there anymore. Nothing but some old, stone castle. Haven't had a sound lead since. I can only hope that they disbanded, so I can just put that all to rest, but if they're still out there-" a nervous tick, his the tip of his thumb would find the way to his teeth "I don't want them hurting anyone else."

"We can talk more about it after we ensure Charko is safe, if you want." 

He could not hold back the fist that rose to his lips as he stifled a chortle. "Nari? No, no we were never-" The ginger paused, recollecting all of what Freyd had mentioned. Wushen, the last boss, had split the raid party into smaller factions. His own group tanked by Nari. "Right, you meant.. you meant in the same raid party.." A forceful palm smacked into his forehead, embarrassment setting in, he would speak again after clearing the knot from his throat. "My misunderstanding" chuckling it off. Elora was a name that wasn't familiar to him, aside from being a slot filled in on the raid party list. "Well, we all deserve that happiness. I'm looking forward to meeting her one day."

The impending threat of the approaching knights became real as the sounds of heavy steps and armor knocking into itself cut the silence, echoing off the walls. Freyd was quick to point out small shrines made of stone. A waypoint or just the product of an artist, it did not matter, for it was still a sign of life. With a strike of his blade that he was barely able to see with the naked eye, the cairn was no more. Ever closer the knights drew, they would need to retreat soon. "Speaking of tools, I think I saw a wheelbarrow of old pickaxes and shovels back the way we came. Just off the side of the path. If we move them more into their sight, maybe they'll think its an abandoned tunnel, a dead end." Starting to move back the way they came, Jomei would snuff out another torch before retrieving the rusted equipment from its storage. Planting them on the ground and leaning on the wall, he looked back to Freyd. "That should hopefully do it. Still.. it doesn't hide the fact that the cave still carries on a bit more.." 

ID 235908 | Nat. LD 2 (Total: 45+2=47)

Turn 2/5

[Freyd 0]

"Sounds like they gave you considerable grief.  If you want my help searching for them, you'll have it."  Jomei struck him as a decent, caring person, who'd struggled through something nasty and been denied any sense of closure.  That description might apply to most of the players still surviving in Aincrad to this day, but the measure of each was in how they dealt with it.  Here was one willing to take steps to protect the rest, and that counted for something in the Whisper's damnably dark, inherited book.

"Once Charko is protected, of course.  We still have business here."  A quick gesture towards another nearby cairn brought them to their next opportunity.  "They'll be expecting the same trap.  Can't afford to be too predictable."  A quick glance at the surroundings led Freyd to a precariously hanging set of stalactites.  Muttering a few words to his chestplate, Jomei would see a small shadow creature with brilliant azure eyes adorned with horizontally slotted pupils dart from within.  It found a place among the cavern's teeth where it could sit in waiting, ready to unleash their next ambush when a more caution patrol focused its wariness on the cairn.

"Persi will take this next bit."  An upward pointed index confirmed him meaning his familiar, the tiny shadow mongoose who'd just scampered to deploy their next trap. "She's reliable, especially when it comes to unleashing mischief."

Confusion borne out through furrowed brow was soon relieved as Jomei unraveled his own mystery about the Nari reference.  

"Yeah. That. Uh...sorry?" A light chuckle earned.  "Didn't mean to imply anything else.  And, Elora's easy to spot: green hair, elf ears and an Irish temper wrapped in adorable self-deprecation.  Just don't actually get her mad or burn her boxtie."  Even Freyd's trademark cowl couldn't properly obscure the grin that followed.

***

ID 235919 | Nat. LD 12 (Total: 47+12=59)

Turn 3/5

Edited October 19 by Freyd

[Jomei 0]

"Others more than myself but.." a sigh snuck out between words, "still more than I'd like to admit." 

With Freyd agreeing on visiting the topic once they were finished here, Jomei simply left it at that. The obligation to see this through remained clenched withing his fist, hesitant to let out more than a drop, a grain. Maybe this would help him finally close another chapter of his life he wanted to move on from. And maybe then still, he could proceed to let go of more recent memories he wish he'd leave in his wake. 

Help would be nice. Even someone to tell him that they were nothing but a ghost, always haunting him just out of his sight. Reassurance, more than anything, would lay the past to rest. 

"Well now." he chuckled, "That's a neat trick. Don't know if I've ever seen a familiar like that before." His gaze followed the smoky trail of the shade as it darted up to the ceiling amongst the stalactites, lying in wait for the knights to cross by. "Might make them believe its a cave in.. could even take a few down in the process. Maybe even enough to get them to turn tail." 

By this point, they were standing in near pitch black. All of the torches leading in Charko's direction had been extinguished, leaving a path of traps and distractions behind them. Jomei looked down a dark secondary tunnel that led to who knows where.. as long as it wasn't Charko. A dim torch a couple meters down, could be enough to get them to follow that path. "Just in case.. think I've got just the thing.." Standing there for a moment, Jomei would summon his inventory menu, where he began scrolling, searching for a specific item. Freyd continued their conversation from earlier regarding Elora. Green hair and elf ears were definitely among the less common things he'd seen on a player. "Hah, so I'm not the only one?" the fellow Irishman chimed, "Now I've definitely got to meet her."

With a chuckle, he finally spoke. "Heh, Fool's Gold. Ironic." Tapping on the screen before him, it would shrink down and vanish while a palm sized diamond fell into his hand. A warm tap of his finger on the surface would bring it to life, floating an inch from his open hand and giving off a dull, orange glow. The sound of strings being plucked, creating a simple, one-mad melody began to fill the space. "Could help lead them away, if they hear it coming from down there." Gripping the recording device in his hands, he would cock his arm back. A large step forward and the ginger would toss the item into the dark. The song softly bounced off the walls, easily mistaken for some traveling musician within the dark. 

ID 235920 | Nat. LD 10  (Total: 59+10 =69nice)

Turn 3/5

[Freyd 0]

"Oh, Persi's a clever one alright.  But I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm her familiar, and not the other way around."  Freyd's grin was visible even in the dim darkness of the underdark.  Jomei was already deep into his next scheme, yoinking a hunk of what looked like pyrite from his inventory and dressing it up as a fancy lure.  

"Hah!  Nice plan," came a whispered reply, appreciating the cunning and appeal to draconic greed - one of Aincrad's seemingly universal truths.  Fantasy tropes were truly hard to shake, making his companion's notion to prey upon such expectations all the more ideal.  

Oppressive inky blackness consumed them again once the bait was thrown, matched by cries of surprise, clattering stone on metal and the familiar chime of a few expiring mobs.  Persi rejoined them a minute later, he blue eyes beaming pridefully.

"I didn't even think to ask, but can you see down here without a light source?  I've got my mod to cover it, but we can't exactly have you navigating by brail in this darkness, especially if we get into a fight?"  Preferring not to risk it, Freyd grabbed Jomei's hand and planted it on his left pauldron.  "We should have done enough already anyway.  I'll find us a suitable place to lay low and see whether our plan worked.  Just, don't fall into an infinite abyss or anything, m'kay?"

***

Stealth Roll | ID 235952 | LD 16+2=18 (Success)

Edited October 19 by Freyd

[Jomei 0]

"No, completely blind." a response so quick and blunt that it almost spurred a chuckle out of him, "Can't see a damn thing. Never felt much of a need for the skill, so I never took it." Jomei had lobbed the Night Vison mod into the same bucket as skills that helped a player out with gathering. Since he was not much into selling his craft, he felt the slog of gathering materials wasn't necessary to him, therefore the skill as well. Times like these, where not even a shred of light permeates the darkness, were rare. But they still left him wishing he could see his own hands in front of his face. "Lucky that one of us decided to come to the pitch black caves prepared." he chuckled at himself. 

If the two ended up in a tussle with whatever Dragon Knights remained, Jomei would absolutely be at a disadvantage. He prided himself on his precision strikes.. not exactly a simple feat when he couldn't even see what he was trying to hit. "I'll be swinging wild out there, that's for sure." with a small sigh, he thought about his options. Sit that one out, or hope for the best. "Just make sure to maybe keep out of the line of fire." a joke to lighten the situation. "I'll try relying more on hearing, if that'll be possible." 

If there was a chance the knights could see in the darkness as well, it would make this whole ordeal that much more difficult. Many of their distractions relied on the darkness. The traps had sprung and diminished their numbers, but that still left an unknown number to deal with. A guiding hand led his own to Freyd's shoulder, as a way to guide the blind Jomei to a spot where they can hide and wait. Each step was careful, making sure to follow any of Freyd's guides so he did not trip into a pitfall. "That.. wouldn't exactly be the most ideal way to end the day." 

A slight misstep, and the tip of Jomei's boot would snag on a piece of fallen debris. A slight stumble and a would be bruised shoulder as he collided with the cavern wall. "Shit. Sorry. Bad time to point out I don't exactly have stealth skills anymore either?"

He really was dropping the ball on this one.

Stealth Roll: ID 235965 | LD 7 | Failed

Turn 4/5

[Freyd 0]

Freyd snorted at his companion's admission.

"So, now I guess we know why there were torches along this trail in the first place.  But I'd have expected to hear a lot more metallic cliff-bowling sounds if those knight couldn't see in the dark.  Also sounds like it would have been a bit of a fatal flaw in Tesseleth's chief minions, given the... you know... dark."  Freyd was waving his hands all around them, forgetting for a moment that Jomei couldn't see him, then mentally slapping himself for the dumbkof move.

"I have a stash of glowstones in my inventory, if we need them.  The floor 26 raid taught me to keep a few around, just in case.  But if I summon them, our efforts to distract this patrol will be forsaken.  Moment of truth time, I guess?"

If this went sideways, their only option might be to fight their way out and leave nothing alive to find Charko.  Not his preferred approach, especially if there was an army of the zealots floating around in the dark somewhere.  Squeezing Jomei's should in warning as the knight rounded the corner, they looked battered and grumpy, probably also more alert than either of them might have hoped.  

Oh well.  Guess we get what we get?  

Hand perched on his sword hilt, Freyd held his breath and waited.

***

Freyd remains hidden and desperately hopes Jomei's luck improves.

[Jomei 0]

"Aye, guess it would be asking for a bit much for them to be completely unprepared for darkness." he whispered in response with a breathy scoff. "At least it sounds like the traps we set did a little bit to help us out." Glowstones, another simple item that Jomei never considers buying when picking up supplies. He groaned at his own foolishness, "Must've left them in my other cloak." he joked, though slight frustration was apparent by his tone of voice. But now was not the time for light, they needed to use the darkness to their advantage. Attempt to, at least. 

Jomei could feel where Freyd was trying to guide him. The slight tug on his shoulder in a direction that should put them out of sight from the incoming patrol. He could just barely make out the silhouettes of heavily armored individuals turning the corner.

They were out of time. 

He did not know what direction was safe to move in. One wrong step and he could tumble into a pit a bit too deep to survive the fall. Blindly and frantically, his outstretched arms would search for a wall, or some surface to ensure him he would not fall. Once he felt the rocky surface beneath his fingers, his knees would hit the ground as he pressed himself against the wall. He tried to make himself as small of a target as he could be - for someone of his stature, at least. Would that be enough?

The green of his cloak must have stuck out to one of the knights. As the patrol seemed to pass by them, they suddenly came to a halt. The shriek's of their weapons being drawn echoed off the walls, making their numbers sound even greater than they may have been. A gloved fist jabbed into the cavern wall, "Dammit." cursing to himself as his knuckles tingled from the impact. "Sorry Freyd.."

Stealth Attempt #2: ID 236065 | LD 6 | Failed again

[Freyd 0]

"Sorry Freyd.."

All pretense to cloak and dagger solutions fell prey to lethal necessity in an instant.  A companion blind and vulnerable, fighting at close quarters with numbers in heavy favour to the enemy, Freyd saw only one remaining option.  Dashing forward from their flawed foxhole, a shield grabbed and yanked toppled the first unsuspecting knight over a cliff with a drawn out cry of surprise as his final words.  The rest reacted faster, closing ranks, or at least making the attempt.  Their tactics were better suited to open ground where a phalanx might find better purchase.  Narrow ledges and rocky outcrops marred with inconveniently and unevenly spaced mineral deposits left gaps - gaps the Whisper could see and exploit, without the burden of their added metal skin.

A few spear thrust pierced their mark, glaring orange gashes torn in his avatar's skin, but not enough to deter sheer desperation.  More importantly, they'd been forced to drop their own torches, their sizzling tips crackling and sputtering against small pools of condensed moisture trapped in grooves and crevices dotting the ground without outlet or escape.  Grappling one of the spears that narrowly missed his ribs, a rapid upward jab caught its wielder in the forehead and broke their line.  Spun as a pry bar instead, Freyd wedges it between the cave wall and shield.  With enough force, they might topple the entire gang over the edge, but the leverage would only last an instant before the dragon knights recovered.

"Could use a hand, Jomei!  If you can see enough to find your way."