[PP-F8] Foreshadowing? <SoW:2 w/ Wulfrin>

[Jomei 0]

  

Jomei the emerald duelist

Spoiler notes Level: 33 | Paragon: 74 | Tier: 4(11)  Jomei | HP: 960/960 | EN: 134/134 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 44 | ACC:3 | TAUNT | F-SPIRIT | EVA:4 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | VAMP-D: 106 | BLI: 32/-20  | LD:1        Equipment: Vicious Mockery : ACC II | Taunt | Blight  Fencer's Regalia - Trepidation: Vamp D II | HB | MIT  Token of Serenity: HB| EVA III   equipped Vicious Mockery Fencer's Regalia - Trepidation Token of Serenity battle-ready inventory   Smores EVA II Bingsu MIT III Teleportation Crystal Creme Brule ACC II 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: Concentration Survival   Parry Forgotten King's Authority Assault Mode  Lady Luck Meditation Mods Athletics Emergency Recovery Vengeful Riposte Justified Riposte Addons Stamina  Focus 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. Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.  data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

Consumables Used: 
>Smores - FILLED EVA 2(+1)
Jomei | HP: 960/960 | EN: 134/134 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 44 | ACC:3 | TAUNT | F-SPIRIT | EVA:7 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | VAMP-D: 106 | BLI: 32/-20 | LD:1  

So the quest wasn't going to make it simple for them. 

Tapping his chin with an inkling of curiosity, olive eyes looked over the menu screen. Very little details about the quest listing were given to them, aside from the objective to find Kumatetsu - and ultimately defeat them. No clues on their whereabouts, nor any sort of destination marker that would normally appear in the center of his HUD. 

"Hm.." he would hum to himself, before swiping a hand through the illuminated screen, distorting it for a moment before it dismissed into the ether. "Guess I have to do this the old fashioned way." 

The main settlement of Ellesmera seemed like the best place to start, since it was the default location on Floor Eight that players would teleport to. The elves of Ellesmera held themselves in high regard, and that sophistication and elegance was reflected in their architecture. The amount of detail that went into every building that Jomei walked past was extraordinary. One could get lost following the vine-like curves that must have been painstakingly carved into the woodwork around every door and window, or the beams of bridged that seemed to twist and bend in ways no mere man could recreate with some magical ability.  

With hundreds of years behind many of the still living men and women, and an understanding of the life that flows through the forest, Jomei could easily assume that they would know the whereabouts of his quarry... If he could actually locate anyone to speak with. Ellesmera was strikingly quiet, even the falls that cascaded over the cliffs and fell to the valley below seemed to give off almost no sound until he concentrated on it. A bit of exploring and the Irishman would eventually stumble upon a gathering of what seemed like the entire settlement in the center of town. A single voice speaking over the bowed heads of the masses, who each wore black outfits that contrast starkly from the earthy colors that decorated their town. 

It didn't take a genius to realize that he was interrupting some prayer service - or memorial for the fallen. 

He could wait around for this ceremony to end.. but he was not knowledgeable enough in the elven culture to know how long that would take. 

Opening a message to Wulfrin, he would send his comrade an update on his search.

Quote

To: Wulfrin
Subject: Kumatetsu

Hey Wulfrin,
Im heading to Baobab to ask if they know where to find the first Keeper of Nature. 
If you're free, meet me there.
-Jomei

// Quest Details

Spoiler

 

 

[Wulfrin 0]

"Thanks for your help, Morningstar!" Wulfrin said as he exited the Honeydew and Hushwind. "I'll swing back by when I have the necessary pieces. Catch ya later!"

*DING*

Wulfrin's HUD lit up with the notification of a message hitting his inbox. The curious timing was almost comical, as Wulfrin was just about to send a message to the sender. It was Jomei requesting that they group up and head after Kumatetsu. Having finished finding the items on his incredibly long shopping list, Wulfrin formulated a quick message of response.

To: Jomei From: Wulfrin As it happens I just wrapped up my shopping list. I'm leaving Morningstar's shop right now so won't be too long before I get there.

He made haste to meet up with his new tank ally. Wulfrin already knew the majority of what they had to do. Kumatetsu lived out in the woods, its den's exact location was slipping his mind though. He did remember that he and Nari had to track the beast before finally squaring off. Wulfrin was clad in his full combat attire, Icingdeath at his hip.

"Hey Jom," Wulfrin said making himself known to his companion. "Find anything out yet?"

* * *

Note: CS Shades of the Gemini is active. If any player objects they should note such in their first post and the skill will be considered inactive.

Wulfrin consumes:
Creme Brulee ACC 2 (filled)

Wulfrin | HP: 740/740 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 | ACC:8 | AA  | BH:24 | REC: 8 | FRB: 40 | FRZ: 64 | LD:3

Spoiler

"Name: Wulfrin
True Tier: 5
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 13
HP: 740/740
EN: 108/108

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 78
Accuracy: 8
Battle Healing: 24
Loot Die: 3
Stealth Rating: -2
AA REC: 8
FRB: 40 FRZ: 64
Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Icingdeath | T4 Demonic Straight Sword | Freeze 2 | Frostbite | AA
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Fallen Angel Garb | T4 Demonic LA | MIT 2 | REC 2
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Dioscuri | T1 PErfect Trinket | ACC 3

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - TECH Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - Rending Familiar

Custom Skill:
  - Shades of the Gemini

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R3
  - Charge
  - Energist
  - Light Armor R5
  - Searching R3
  - Straight Sword R5

Extra Skills:
  - Disguise
  - Forgotten King's Authority
  - Survival
  - Meditation

Inactive Extra Skills:
  - Frozen Hide
  - Brawler

Addons:
  - Focus
  - Precision
  - Resolve
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Meticulous
  - Night Vision

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Imugi's Inspiration | Mass Healing x5
  - Popcorn | T4 Vitality 2 x5
  - TP Crystals x5

Housing Buffs:
  - 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 (Storage): +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
  - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
  - Master Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
  - Master Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
  - 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:
  - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
 - Blacksmith[1896exp] R8
Gathering Profession:
 - Fishing[509exp] R5"                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                            

Edited November 2 by Wulfrin

[Jomei 0]

As he depart from the elven city, a traveling party of players crossing his path warned him of taking the main road through the valley. They didn't say much other than "Not a good time." Since Jomei was pressed for time to meet with Wulfrin, and did not want to have anything lurking in the valley to delay him, he figured not to press the warning any further and went on his way. Seeing as he had quite the path ahead of him, Jomei would unlatch the violin that hung from his hip and rested it on his shoulder. Diving into a melody that he had been composing in the back of his mind, a bow grasped in his hand would gently glide along the strings. The mix of the image of serenity -- lush green trees and a gentle summer breeze -- and the gentle notes that rose from his violin made for quite the pleasant journey. 

Where Ellesmera was a city of elves surrounded by trees, Baobab was a city of trees surrounded by even bigger trees. The treants were such monstrous creatures, but with so much beauty to them. Each hulking step sounded like a tree collapsing, but its body movements more like branches, leaves rusting in the wind. Each stood at a towering height, Jomei even needing to tilt his chin upward to look at even the smallest. Sunken eye holes atop their expressionless, wooden face filled with a vibrant green energy, looking both cautious and curious. Hopefully there were no hard feelings between him and the treants after their last encounter..

Having received a reply from Wulfrin, Jomei decided to hang in wait at the city's entrance. It was not long before the familiar face showed up. "Nah, not yet." he would shake his head. "Tried asking the elves, but they were having some kind of funeral.. didn't want to interrupt. Just got here and decided to wait for you." His gaze shifted to look at the passing treants, just going about their day as any other NPC would. "I suppose we could have gone to Florenthia but this was closer." Leaning a bit closer as he spoke in a hushed tone, "Hopefully they'll be willing to talk to us, I had to fight off a couple of them to help some elves some time ago. But that was..." he would scratch his head as he struggled to place the thought, "a long time ago. Before the Shadow, before everything.. uh.. 'updated'?" possibly the best word to describe the feeling. 

"Anyway, figured we could start by asking the locals? Or we could head into the center of town and ask the Great Deku Tree himself." his reference would cause a chuckle.

[Wulfrin 0]

"That tracks honestly," Wulfrin sighed at yet another lead going cold. "Nari and I had to track the big bear back to its lair."

Wulfrin thought back to his time undergoing this quest what seemed like forever ago. The details were again extremely hazy. The main thing that had stuck with him from that attempt was the dungeon after the fact. He had to be bailed out by Freyd and Morningstar as they had entered the Cave of Wonders. Was it pleasant? Not in the slightest, but at least Wulfrin had some vague idea of where to start looking.

"The Great Deku Tree might not be a bad place to start," Wulfrin chuckled at the reference. "I kind of remember whare it's laired up at, but I'd definitely need to refresh myself on the surrounding area first."

Wulfrin made a gesture for Jomei to follow as he pressed into town, headed for the massive tree at its center. His train of thought was rumors first then he would resort to the old fashioned was of following tracks if needed. Not far from the plaza in which the massive tree resided, Wulfrin spotted a pair of NPCs chatting away.

"Heard your trade caravan got attacked." One of them stated.

"Yep," The other would reply as they shared a meal. "Giant bear came out of nowhere. We thought it was The Monkey King at first, turns out it was much worse. Only a handful of us made it out."

"Excuse me," Wulfrin interrupted the conversation. "You said a giant bear mauled your caravan?"

"I did."

"Any way you could tell me where this happened? I've been trying to hunt that beast down."

"Few mile off the road to the East. We had made camp and it attacked us in the night. Good luck things a nasty piece of work."

"Noted. Thanks for the assistance."

Wulfrin returned his attention to Jomei with a shrug. The info wasn't much to go off of, but at least it was a place to start looking.

"What do you think?" Wulfrin asked his traveling companion. "Head out eastward or keep asking around?"

* * *

Searching for Kumatetsu:
ID: 237282 | LD: 11+3=14

Edited November 2 by Wulfrin

[Jomei 0]

"Well, if these quests just told us exactly where to go, wouldn't be as exciting would it?" 

"Oh. Alright." Jomei would respond with a shrug as Wulfrin took the lead. Probably was the smarter option, since he seemed to have been here before. Although the treant leader was their destination, a conversation between two individuals caught their ear. Jomei looked to Wulfrin for a moment, almost in disbelief at their luck. Looked like they would not have to do much asking around after all. Jomei took a back seat as Wulfrin entered himself into the conversation to try and ascertain more information about this ' giant bear.'

Standing just off to the side, still in earshot, Jomei listened and waited with arms crossed. It was not long before Wulfrin rejoined the ginger. It wasn't much to go on, but they had a general direction of where to begin looking. 

"I doubt there's a lot of giant bears attacking people on this floor. So its probably our best lead. No point in asking around much anymore when we can just head out of town and look around ourselves. Who knows, maybe you'll recognize something and it'll jog your memory of where its cave it."

With their business in Baobad finished, the pairing made their way Eastward, closer to the floor's edge. The woods seemed denser the farther they traveled, the large trees growing closer together. Perhaps, in a way, they formed a wall around Aincrad's edge - for whatever reason. While he was interested to find out, he was aware that the two would most likely run into Kumatetsu first. 

The ground was mostly flat, a handful of hills like rolling waves of green, but nothing jutted out of the ground aside from the trees. No signs of any large mountains, or even anything large enough to house a bear's den. A number of downed trees, all destroyed to some degree and bunched together, created the unwelcome sight of jagged, splintered wood. In the center, where pieces of root and branch had been broken away, a large opening. "Guess this is it.." Jomei would say to Wulfrin in a whisper. "You ready?" 

Taking his rapier and the accompanying violin from his waist, he would slowly approach the darkened interior of the man bear-made structure. Maybe he was nervous, but he caught himself gnawing on his lower lip enough to cost him a point of damage (Thank God for battle healing). Once he was in position, he would look to Wulfrin with a nod. Howl at the ready, Jomei would turn the corner into the cave.

"Oi" he shouted, before lowering his guard. The cave was empty. "Wait.. he's not here?"

ID 237764 | LD 13 Threshold Reached

[Wulfrin 0]

"This is just like last time..." Wulfrin mumbled under his breath. "It jumped Nari and myself last time."

Wulfrin wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to press forward, he stopped and watched as Jomei approach the center of the obvious boss arena. There was silence for a moment before a large shadow bounded into the area. Kumatetsu emerged from their 3 o'clock side, teeth snarling and gnashing, ready for their next meal. At that same moment Wulfrin moved to intercept. From under the beast, using its shadow as a makeshift portal, Wulfrin appeared, Icingdeath drawn and thirsting for digital blood. Its frigid blade found purchase in the beasts underside as Wulfrin used his momentum to roll out into the open.

"Sorry to just let you wade into battle alone Jom," Wulfrin snickered. "Hopefully a stunned bear is enough compensation." Wulfrin let out a short, sharp whistle as he finished his apology. In response, a majestic flaming eagle soared down from the top of the canopy as Solaris began his own assault. "Been a while since Solaris has gotten to blow off steam. This is as much for him as it is you I'm afraid. You're up Jom. Don't let the little phoenix out do you."

* * *

Recovery?: Not Needed
Wulfrin is at Full EN and HP
Cooldowns:

Post Action: [x16] Tech-F vs Kumatetsu (16 EN) -2 Stamina -1 Well Rested (3/3)
Free Action: Rending Familiar -> Kumatetsu

ID 238874 | BD 7+8+1 (AA)-2 = 14 hit | CD 7 | 21*16=336-50=286 DMG to Kumatetsu. Target is stunned. Rend 28/2 Applied.

Stats

Wulfrin | HP: 740/740 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 | ACC:8 | AA  | BH:24 | REC: 8 | FRB: 40 | FRZ: 64 | LD:3
Jomei | HP: 960/960 | EN: 134/134 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 44 | ACC:3 | TAUNT | F-SPIRIT | EVA:7 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | VAMP-D: 106 | BLI: 32/-20 | LD:1 

[1,0] Kumatetsu | HP: 1200/1200 | DMG: 155 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 1 | EVA: 2 0 [stunned] | Rend 28/2 | STUNNED
Abilities:

 

• Dodge and Parry | On a player's natural attack roll of 10, the attack will miss <<Kumatetsu>>. Instead <<Kumatetsu>> will gain a +2 Accuracy for his next attack. This buff will expire after the attack has been resolved.
• Beast Form | When <<Kumatetsu>> is reduced to 600 (or lower) health, he will transform and turn into a bulked-up creature, increasing his damage to 170, but also reducing his ACC by 1 and MIT to 25. 

Edited December 13 by Wulfrin