[PP-F09] Through Fire and Flames | <<Into the Fire: Guardian of Fire>>

[Acanthus 0]

Link to Quest

Acanthus would have killed for an in-game option to turn off smells. All of floor nine had been a nightmare. Sharp, burning odors; the coppery tang of metalworking; and worst of all, the sulfur. The incessant smell of sulfur overwhelmed her wherever she was on the floor. Out of a hundred floors, they can’t all be good. And maybe it was good to some players. Hell, there were (scarce) housing options on this level. But the only kind of person Acanthus could imagine enjoying this atmosphere was some kind lizard without a sense of smell, taste, or sight.

Acanthus hung over her stone stein in the tavern Hot and Coldera. She decided to wait here because it was the tavern in Knorlit Village with the best ventilation. What she didn’t know was that the “ventilation” in question was actually vents from even deeper underground, spewing even hotter, more sulfurous air. She sighed, taking another drink of watery, non-alcoholic beer. She hoped Rencesvals would be here soon. He was her partner in today’s trip across the hellish expanse. The ultimate goal: a new TECH art for her collection. She felt like a Pokémon trainer trying to collect the various sword arts.

Once Rencesvals arrived, the two could go and find the broker, travel to the inferno cabin—and leave floor 9 behind for good.
 

Spoiler

 

Acanthus | Lvl 43 (33/P10) | HP: 740/740 | EN: 88/88 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 | ACC:5 | REC: 4 | BLD: 48  | PARA | LD:5
Forager Rank 5 | Greenhouse (+2EXP and +1 CD/LD to foraging attempts)

Equipment Ajisai | T4 Bastard Sword | BLD 1 | PARA 2 Resilient Thistle | T4 Light Armor | MIT 2 | REC 1 Vow of Return | Trinket | ACC 3	Skills Straight Sword R5 Addon: Focus Addon: Precision Light Armor R5 Addon: Resolve Mod: Meticulous Searching R5 Mod: Night Vision Hiding R5 Addon: Surprise Attack: Trickster First Aid R1 Combat Mastery: Damage R3 TECH Shift
Battle-Ready Inventory Locating Charm | LD 3 Consumables Used None taken	Skills Unlocked <<Disguise>> <<Assault Mode>> <<Photosynthesize>> <<Survivial>>

 

 

Edited September 22 by Acanthus

[Rencesvals 0]

Ren stomped through the coke-caked tavern doors, his purple regalia and heavy covered in soot.  Beaming, he took in a deep breath of sulfurous air, his amber eyes sparkling in the toxic atmosphere.  

"This place is fantastic," he declared, white hair tinged with grey from five minutes spent in the ambient air.  "I swear I saw at least a dozen different mineral samples that could be used in forging the instant I stepped through the portal.  Ah, Acanthus!  There you are.  Thanks for sending word.  I've been cooped up in the shop far too long" Smearing his clothes in a vain attempt to wipe off his gauntlets, he saluted her with a clenched fist over his heart and short bow.

"If I'd known... this place could be a literal gold mine, if we find the right spot.  I'll have to organize and expedition to map out the mining nodes, possibly setting up a regular venture with some local vendors to supply the crafter's cooperative we're trying to pull together in Tomoika.  It would go a long way towards establishing a steady supply of metals."

She'd basically just introduced a blacksmith to a rock candy store.

***

Ren consumes:

Crème Brûlée (Snack) | Accuracy 2 | 175030-1 [Filled]
Berserker Draught (Potion) | Damage 2 | 159807

Mega Slime Farm Activated | +10% EXP | 2024-09-22 

Rencesvals | HP: 300/300 | EN: 48/48 | DMG: 10 | MIT:68 | ACC:6 | TAUNT | F-SPIRIT | EVA:1 | HLY: 4 | BLD: 24  | PARA

Spoiler

Name: Rencesvals
True Tier: 2
Level: 15
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 300/300
EN: 48/48

Stats:
Damage: 8+2
Mitigation: 68
Accuracy: 3+2+1
Evasion: 1
Stealth Rating: -4
TAUNT
HLY: 4
BLD: 24 
PARA

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Durendal (v.II) | T2 Holy I | BLD I | PARA I | TAUNT
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Black Regalia (v.II) | T2 MIT III | THORNS I
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Lark & Nightingale Pin | ACC 3 | EVA 1

Combat Mastery:
  - 

Combat Shift:
  - TECH Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:
  - Fighting Spirit
  - Heavy Armor R4
  - Straight Sword R5

Extra Skills:
  - Survival

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:

Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Starter Healing Potion x2

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
  - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
  - 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:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
 - Blacksmith[1817exp] R8
Gathering Profession:
 - Forager[508exp] R5"                                                                                                                            

 

Edited September 23 by Rencesvals

[Acanthus 0]

“It’s no trouble at all.” She couldn’t understand the gleam in his eyes as he talked about all the fascinating minerals and samples. And the way he breathed so easily down here, maybe he was the exact person the designers had in mind for this floor. “I’m grateful for the company. I’m not really in my element here, so to speak.” Another gust of sulfur whooshed into the room, and she fought to keep her hand at her side, rather than on her nose. “Let’s get moving. I met with a player that told me the info broker is on the south side of town today in another tavern.” She preferred not to mention that she did not meet Rencesvals there because it was in-between two particularly loud and sweltering forges. More noises and smells.

She wandered uneasily through the streets of Knorlit Village, arriving at last at the info broker’s location. The sounds of the city were dampened by the tavern’s thick, stone walls, and the patrons appeared to be the silent type that just finished a long shift, preferring quiet to conversation. Finding the info broker was simple enough—he was the only one in the tavern that looked like he’d been mauled. Still-bloody bandages wrapped around his body as he nursed a large stone mug of his own. Acanthus slid into the seat next to him. “I understand that you are offering information on Cerberus. Where to find him, how to kill him, and other useful information. My colleague and I,” she tilted her head towards Rencesvals, “are interested in killing the thing.”

The info broker winced, then nodded. “I was sent on an expedition to find the beast,” he explained with a professional calm. “We found Cerberus, and succeeded in the first part of our task.” He laughed dryly, gesturing to his wounds. “If you can call this ‘success.’ If you plan to return and finish the job, then I’ll give you the location for free. But be careful. The trip over is dangerous enough, and the beast itself made short work of our entire party. I’m the only one that remains.” The info broker turned back to his drink, signaling the end of his quest dialogue. A ding from her quest journal indicated that her map had been updated with Cerberus’ lair. “Looks like a long journey,” she observed. “We’ll have to go to the Inferno cavern via the volcanic flatlands. Thankfully not an overnight quest, but it may take a fair amount of the day. Are you ready, Rencesvals?”

[Rencesvals 0]

Wide-eyes with wanderlust as they strode across town, Ren gawked and babbled on for the first half of their journey before realizing that Acanthus wasn't enjoying the experience nearly so much: meaning not at all.  

"Oh, umm.  Sorry.  I geeked out there for a bit, I guess.  Maybe we could get you a kerchief and wet it to act as a filter?  I use the same trick at the forge sometimes, when it gets to be a bit too much."  Refocusing on the needs of his companion, he'd soon spawned some clean linen from his inventory and fashioned it into a crude, folded mask.  Wetting its from his own waterskin, he offered it to Acanthus with his sympathies and apologies for not better gauging her reaction.  "We might be able to get you a hood or something.  An open-faced helm might also do the trick, but the heat here makes it tough to wear headgear for any length of time."  In the end, they settled for just wrapping up their business as swiftly as possible so she could retire to less industrial climes.

Glad to let Acanthus take the lead on their interactions with the broker, something had been bothering him from the moment they'd entered the dour taverns and been introduced to its curmudgeon clientele.  Stocking up on some additional traveling provisions while she gleaned the necessary details of their travels, he'd even managed to nab them some carbon-scoring-free food.  "Hopefully, this will be a bit more palatable than eating pressed iron filing and slag," he muttered to himself, trying hard to keep the food from touching the air, but struggling to figure out how.

"Say. is it just me," he added as they were leaving town, "or did it seem a bit weird that an information broker would be an NPC?  I thought they were all supposed to be players."

Edited September 23 by Rencesvals

[Arabelle 0]

--this godforsaken floor again.

she's ahead of the other two and unaware that the quest had taken in more players in the first place. gravel crunching beneath her feet, the sting of sulfur in the air, her white robes are gone, replaced by light but practical traveling gear. the last thing she wants is to dirty her favorite clothes with soot.

arabelle had been here an entire lifetime ago with less than pleasurable company. she's not eager to be making the trip back but cardinal had thought it funny, apparently, to rewrite the whole quest and lock a new sword art behind it, and just yesterday, among the vague ideas being thrown about the meeting, she had caught onto one of them that seemed more plausible than the rest. a burn effect. she needs to pull her own weight if she wants to number amongst them permanently. the drudgery in return for immeasurable benefits.

her journey takes three hours in total. inside the inferno cavern, nine flaming hounds growl and start to bare their teeth. the number occurs to her as unusual but she doesn't stop walking. her own black flames wrap around her figure.

time to roast some dogs.

 

-> traveling [1/3]

it's your favorite magical girl! ♡

Spoiler LEVEL 38 (BASE 33; PARAGON 5): HP: 680/680 | EN: 106/106 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 | ACC: 4 | AA | EVA: 1 BRN: 42/2 (9-10) | RSK: 8 | BH: 5% | VD: 10% | HB: 4% | LD: 1 skills Spoiler   | skills mod count: 2/5 SCYTHE (AXE) | RANK 5/5 [BASE: Proficiency] +7 DMG [ADDON: Ferocity] +2 DMG [ADDON: Precision] +1 ACC [ADDON: Stamina] Reduce EN of all attacks by 2. [SHIFT: AOE Specialist] +4 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; AoE-I, AoE-II. CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 [BASE: Proficiency] +20 MIT [MOD: Athletics] +1 DMG [ADDON: Nimble] +1 EVA, +1 LD COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 [BASE: Proficiency] +12 DMG BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 [BASE: Proficiency] Restore 5% HP per turn. [MOD: Emergency Recovery] | Passive (10 EN) | Once per thread, when HP falls below 25%, recover 10% of maximum HP. ENERGIST [BASE: Proficiency] +20 EN CHARGE [BASE: Proficiency] [PA, 8 EN, 3 CD] +3 DMG to a Sword Art. Drawbacks: -1 ACC, no autohit. QUICK CHANGE [BASE: Proficiency] [SYS FA, 3 CD] | expenditure Spoiler Total SP: 170 | Spent: 165 | Unspent: 5 SKILL: Axe (30) ADDON: Stamina (4) ADDON: Precision (2) ADDON: Ferocity (4) SHIFT: AOE Specialist (10) SKILL: Cloth Armor (30) MOD: Athletics (4) ADDON: Nimble (6) SKILL: Combat Mastery (13) SKILL: Battle Healing (30) MOD: Emergency Recovery (6) SKILL: Energist (8) SKILL: Charge (10) SKILL: Quick Change (8)   equipment Spoiler ode to endless time ABSOLUTE ACCURACY, ACCURACY, BURN TIER 3 DEMONIC AXE | [state]: identified/+5 description_not_found. saint-germain RISKY II, VAMPIRIC (DEFENSIVE) II TIER 4 DEMONIC CLOTH ARMOR | [state]: fused a silk wrist cuff upon which a corsage of pure white roses is pinned. fleeting words ACCURACY II, HOLY BLESSING II TIERLESS DEMONIC TRINKET | [state]: fused a weightless spread of large white feathers cast in plaster and set upon a lapel pin. inventory Spoiler | dimensional backpack -- sword arts Spoiler st [x12] ST-I (10 EN) [x15] ST-II (13 EN) | Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn. [x20] ST-B (18 EN) | Can only be used if the sword art used the previous turn is not ST-B and had rolled a natural CD9+. When performing an AoE attack, use only the first roll. aoe [x15] AOE-I (11 + [2 * targets] EN) [x18] AOE-II (14 + [2 * targets] EN) | Only available for use when AOE-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if AOE-II had been used and had missed all intended targets the previous turn. tech [x12] TECH-A (11 EN) | STUN [x12] TECH-B (10 EN) | DELAY | [Delay] is a debuff that reduces the enemy’s ACC by 1 for one turn. buffs Spoiler -- | paragon LAUREL WREATH | Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread. | house RELAXED | Increases out of combat HP regen by 20 HP and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. FILLING | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.

Edited November 1 by Arabelle

[Acanthus 0]

“I’m fine,” said Acanthus stiffly. “I don’t need anything.” She had a kerchief previously. She’d even used it the exact way Rencesvals described, although it was to block out sand, not smells. But she’d lost it—it came loose during the slaughter her fight with the bandits on floor five. Part of her was annoyed that Ren was trying to help out. She was supposed to be the high-level player with everything figured out. Anytime she’d partied up with veterans, they never had any issues with smells, or sand, or enemies. So Acanthus wouldn’t have those problems either.

Ren seemed chatty. Most people were compared to Acanthus. "Say. is it just me, "Say. is it just me, or did it seem a bit weird that an information broker would be an NPC?  I thought they were all supposed to be players."

“It is odd,” Acanthus said. “I don’t think I’ve met him before. I assume he’s simply a quest object with a misleading name. I would be surprised if Cardinal actually gave him any information about the floor.”

The volcanic flatlands proved every bit as dismal as she’d feared. They stretched far into the distance, sputtering lava geysers and choking fumes as far as she could see. It was going to be a long trip. She tried to take her mind off the floor with some idle chatter. “So what brings you up here? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you outside your shop. You must stay busy keeping all the new players armed.”

[Rencesvals 0]

"Oh, uh... supply run, actually.  I've been working with some of the other local merchants in Tomoika to develop a trade co-operative, of sorts.  It's not fully fleshed out as a concept, yet, but we'll need a steady supply of materials to help make it happen.  For me, at least, that means ore.  This place has plenty of it."  Picking up stray rock fragments as they walked, he'd hold them up high or occasionally shine them under a glow stone to assess their quality.  A giddy quality pervaded his already persistent optimism, akin to the infectious wanderlust of a child in a candy shop.  He'd already forgotten about the bizarre information broker, distracted by his precious new shinies.

As they neared their destination, the Inferno Caverns, Ren spotted the silhouette of a young woman in the distance, tapping Acanthus on the shoulder and pointing her out.

"Another player?  I can't make out her crystal at this distance, but we wouldn't want to run into the wrong sort out here, just the two of us."  Looking pensive for a moment, the man's naive optimism won out.  "If it is another player, we should probably offer to help them out.  Better a party of three, than camping out for the same group of mobs, especially in such terrain."

Summoning a massive shield to his arm, Ren waved it around like the thing weighed no more than your average umbrella - an impressive feat for a relatively scrawny fella, but he was a blacksmith.  Game mechanics also rarely followed suit when it came to real life physics.

"Hey!  Over there!  Need a hand?"

***

Traveling [3/3]

[Arabelle 0]

--before this floor roasts her.

the woman holds a bronze key between her knuckles. at the first thread of a sword art, the key mechanically unfolds into a scythe. the cavern is blazing hot, air so thick with fire and smoke that it is difficult to breathe in, as heedless of survival as she is. merely being in this place eats into her health bar, but it is a minuscule amount compared to her total, and any drop of hp lost feeds into the power of her attacks.

--does she need it anyway...?

arabelle carves the first four hellhounds open before they can even touch her. she recovers, almost seamless, spinning her scythe back into position for another wide swing. then arabelle stops at the sound of a voice.

two players, a shield and a sword, had stumbled into the cavern after her.

was that woman from the frontlines meeting? arabelle takes her eyes off the remaining hounds and tucks her scythe behind her back. "okay," she says simply as the second wave pushes past the first's dematerializing bodies. "i'm winded. catch."

she nimbly steps out of the way, letting the hellhounds charge straight towards the new arrivals.

 

-> aoe-i vs hellhounds 1-4 [4/9 hellhounds slain]

Spoiler

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT: -15 HP from Infernal Cavern [+Risky]

VD: 237242: CD 2

POST ACTION: AOE-I vs Hellhounds 1-4 [11 + (2 * 4) = 19 EN]
237238: BD 9: CD 7: (23 + 8 + 1) * 15 = 480 DMG -> Hellhound 1
237239: BD 6 + 4 + 1 = 11: (23 + 8) * 15 = 465 DMG -> Hellhound 2
237240: BD 8 + 4 + 1 = 13: (23 + 8) * 15 = 465 DMG -> Hellhound 3
237241: BD 5 + 4 + 1 = 10: (23 + 8) * 15 = 465 DMG -> Hellhound 4

Arabelle | HP: 665/680 | EN: 87/106 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 | ACC: 4 | AA | EVA: 1 | BRN: 42/2 (9-10) | RSK: 8 | BH: 5% | VD: 10% | HB: 4% | LD: 1
Acanthus | ???
Rencesvals | ???

Hellhound 1 | HP: 0/200 | DMG: 50
Hellhound 2 | HP: 0/200 | DMG: 50
Hellhound 3 | HP: 0/200 | DMG: 50
Hellhound 4 | HP: 0/200 | DMG: 50

 

Edited November 25 by Arabelle