[PP-F1] A brave new world (backstory?) [Completed]

[Baldur 0]

Baldur stuck the point of his sword into the ground and watched her charge forward when she told him to watch her, but when she tripped on the root he was suddenly floored. He couldn't let anything happen to her. Not now, not at the start! Not because they were being careless! He shot forward, gritting his teeth as she cried out, taking a tusk to the face. He hoped he wasn't too slow as he wheel on the creature, bringing his saber down onto it's thick hide with a back handed slice.

 

"Rhoan!"

 

The creature's HP dropped, but he didn't kill it right away. Even though it wasn't really his heart beat, he was imagining the sound of his heart racing in his ears.

 

---

 

 

 

• Rolled a 5 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 3 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 15 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

 

<<Baldur>> 5/5 - Hit - Inflicts 2 dmg to the boar (1 base + 1 skill)

<<Boar #4>> 1/3 HP

<<Tyger>> 3/5 HP

[Tyger 0]

• Rolled a 2 on the d4 dice.
• Rolled a 5 on the d6 dice.
• Rolled a 1 on the d8 dice.
• Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 5 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 5 on the d20 (loot) dice.

   

She had expected there to be more... pain, she assumed. If she were in the real world, the blood from the marks would have spurted blood for quite some time. She'd be in serious condition, and her face would probably scar from such a head on blow. But no, she was fine apparently, aside from her hit points dropping so low. It took a good chunk out of her HP, and that worried her. She didn't feel weaker, but she knew that if she didn't take it easy, she could be out of this game before they even got far.

 

"Be careful!"

 

Tyger watched Baldur take a swing at the boar. It wasn't dead yet, but she would change that soon. She gripped her sword carefully, following up after Baldur. He had yelled earlier, using her real name. He must have been scared, to react in such a way. She didn't blame him. More than likely, the roles would be reversed soon and she'd probably react the same way.

 

"Stupid boar!"

 

Her blade slashed through the boar, causing it to explode into pixels once again. One could get used to that, almost like a release. One more creature down, and it's death only made one even stronger. Next to Baldur, Tyger leaned against him and placed her head between his neck and shoulder. 

 

"Yeah I didn't like that, just saying."

 

BOAR: 0/0

 

Drops 1 mat

[Baldur 0]

Baldur dropped his sword point first into the ground where it stuck straight up and he wrapped both of his arms around her, "Are you okay?"

 

He was so concerned for her that he didn't even notice the "Congratulations" window pop up showing that they have leveled up to 2. He just held her for a long moment. A few seconds later another boar appeared not far from where they had killed the last, but he ignored it.

 

Well, he watched it out of the corner of his eye, but he held her another moment longer.

 

Finally, he raised his eyes from the top of her head and noticed the window.

 

"Hey, look at that. That last one dinged us to level 2. Congratulations!" He raised a hand to caress her cheek softly, "We can do this, but let me take the lead until your HP regens, okay?"

 

He picked his sword back up and glared at the boar, just standing there watching them. Something about that bothered him and he abruptly broke away from Tyger and with a rage he didn't know he was holding in, he slashed at the boar with a fury and a cry of rage, not the kiai he had used earlier. The boar shattered into a shower of luminous shards and vanished.

 

Baldur was almost surprised with himself. He looked down at his hands, and then back over to Tyger with a mix of shock and shame.

 

"Maybe uh... maybe we should move up to wolves and wasps next." He couldn't see any wasps around them, but he could see a couple wolves at the edge of the grass towards where the trees began.

 

"I hate bees."

 

---

 

 

 

• Rolled a 10 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 7/7 Hit boar #5 for 4 points of damage

<<Boar #5>> 0/3 HP

<<Tyger>> 5/7 HP

[Tyger 0]

She stood there quietly, allowing her time to get her breathing back to normal. She let Baldur wrap his arms around her, and she pressed her cheek against his chest affectionately.

 

"Yeah... I'm fine.."

 

They held the pose for a while before Baldur realized they'd dinged to level 2. A feat, indeed, but Tyger didn't feel too much joy in it. Her high on the boars had gotten the better of her, and for a few seconds she'd forgotten it was a death game. She'd stripped herself of the ominous thoughts and had fun with it, only to lose a few bits of HP in the process. She didn't like it.

 

"Sounds like you got a bit scared earlier, yelling out my name like that. I got pretty scared too. Thanks for being there, as always."

 

Baldur's hand caressed her cheek, and she pushed her face against it before backing off, hanging her head slightly. The last thing she wanted to do was back off, watch Baldur's back as he took the things head on, and possibly watch him get hurt. But, he was right. She needed to regenerate some health, so letting Baldur lead wouldn't be too much of a blow to her confidence.

 

"Yes dear."

 

It showed her discontent, but her willingness to go along with his plan, at least. As bad of a mood as she was in, the bee comment got a laugh out of her immediately.

 

"Hah! Yeah, I agree. No bees, please."

 

Wolves were another matter though. They were an aggressive mob, so if they ended up walking into an area where a lot spawned at once, it could get ugly really quick. She could see a few prowling around, their names highlighted in an aggressive color to catch attention. She liked that game mechanic, at least. It was a warning. Non aggressive mobs were easy to maneuver around, but seeing aggressive ones helped maneuver around them. Or, in their case, possibly seek them out.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked to Tyger and then off into the distance towards the wolves. They were an unknown. He didn't know how tough they were, or if they were B.A.F. mobs or not. It seemed too many unknowns, but there should be a way to find out relatively safely.

 

"I'm going to go walk up and figure out what the wolf's aggro radius is. It should charge at me at that point. I'm going to try and kite it further into the field away from the trees so we can see if he brings any friends." He was surprised at how confident he felt and sounded.

 

"If more than one come, we'll run all the way back to the gates. If we can pull just the one wolf, then wait for me to hit it before you do, so that I'll have the monster's hate." Here came the big gamble though, "I can't imagine they have much more HP than the Boars."

 

Nodding to himself with his resolve, Baldur walked up towards where he imagined the edge of the wolf's aggo radius was. The wolf turned to face him, but didn't move. At this point he was probably 20 meters from the tree line and he couldn't see very far beyond. He moved another 5 meters closer and the wolf growled, but didn't say anything. Still his eyes couldn't pierce the darkness of the forest.

 

Baldur frowned in disappointment. Without taking his eyes off of the wolf, he knelt down and rooted around in the ground for a rock,making sure he was ready to run if the wolf moved.

 

Nothing.

 

Finally he found a rock and, while holding his sword in his left hand, he pull the rock back in a rusty baseball pitch stance. It had been a LONG time since he had thrown a ball, and he doubted he could hit the wolf from here, but it should make a loud noise. Suddenly he heard a hum next to his ear and a forward tugging on his arm. It surprised him so he went to let go when suddenly his arm shot forward and a light trail followed the rock until it smacked the wolf solidly in the head. It let out a loud barking noise and charged after him.

 

For a heartbeat, Baldur was shocked. He didn't fully understand what was happening, but by the second heartbeat the wolf had closed 5 meters and Baldur turned to run. By the time he was actually moving with any speed the wolf was immediately on his heels. Much closer than he had expected. Making a bee line towards Tyger, the very real feeling of running for his life. As he got closer to her, he shouted to her, "Kill it! Kill it with fire!"

 

Just as he passed Tyger he slammed on the breaks and skidded to a stop, swinging his sword around immediately into a guard pose as the wolf snapped at him with it's jaws, but it wasn't expecting him to suddenly stop and the two crashed into one another. Baldur fell backwards, barely maintaining his footing but not having taken any damage by turning aside the wolf's charge at the last possible moment.

 

---

 

 

 

• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 7 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 7 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

 

<<Baldur>> HP 7/7 - Hit wolf with rock for 1 dmg

<<Wolf #1>> HP 3/4 - miss

<<Tyger>> 5/7

[Tyger 0]

• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

So it looked liked Wolves were on the menu, afterall. Despite her little scare earlier, the only thing she could really do was keep moving forward. Baldur had a plan to lure one wolf away, so they could get a taste for what they would be going after next. Once they figured out how strong the wolves were, then they could gauge how many they could take on at once. Wolves traveled in packs, after all. Tyger watched Baldur carefully, reading his movements with careful concentration. He was trying to find a way to pick up the aggro, and then lead it over so they could fight it without the pack.

 

Tyger had to admit, it was definitely amusing, to say the least. Watching Baldur skill shot the wolf with the rock almost made her feel bad for the creature. However, war was war. Baldur came bounding back to her, wolf in tow. Thankfully the wolf didn't damage him when they tumbled, leaving her fella completely unscathed. 

 

"I will say, you do know how to make an entrance."

 

She teased, sword out in front of her instinctively. However, a little message box kept flashing in the corner of her sight. She'd ignored it, but now it was beginning to get annoying. Annoyed, she willed it open and watched as it indicated she had a new item in her inventory. Did she pick up that item from before? She wasn't sure if it was actually a thing, or... Geeze. Game mechanics. Either way, pressing yes would equip her new item. Curiously, the yes box was illuminated and she prodded it. Once she did, her current scimitar glew in her hands, changing into a different item all together. It was a little longer, different colors, and a bit more serrated. The black and maroon sword shone in the sunlight, and she whirled it in her hands a few times. 

 

"It's so light!"

 

She smiled, almost completely forgetting there was an angry wolf across the way from her. Baldur already had his turn pelting the wolf, it was hers now. Time to test out her new toy, indeed. She took no time charging forward, slashing the wolf into 2 pieces as it exploded into the shimmering shards. Impressed and shocked, her eyes wandered to Baldur. 

 

"I guess this makes up for earlier,eh?"

 

She chuckled, sheathing the sword casually.

 

Damage done: 3

 

Wolf: 0/0

Dropped 1 mat.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur stabbed his blade into the dirt again so he could dust himself off, and the looked up at Tyger with a grin of pure confidence. Gone was that moment of terror as he ran from the big bad wolf.

 

"Ahem. Well done."

 

He picked up the blade and again made the useless flicking motion.

 

"That wasn't so bad."

 

Again Baldur walked up to the edge of where he through the wolf should aggro him. 15 meters it started growling, but this time, instead of throwing a rock, he moved closer. He wanted to know what that radius was. As he inched up on the 10 meter mark, suddenly the wolf did something completely different. It howled.

 

"censored." Baldur said under his breath and ran for Tyger, but a second wolf was already running from the side trying to cut him off. He had just barely made it to Tyger last time, and this time he didn't have as much of a lead on it. He was half way back to her with the wolf cut him off. True to their name, they were trying some 'wolf pack' tactics on him, one wolf to either side. He slid to a stop and tried to maneuver so he could keep his eyes on both wolves. They suddenly seemed to hesitate in attacking him, as if they were trying to position him as much as he was them, but unlike the wolves, he just needed to find time for Tyger to catch up. Suddenly impatient, the first wolf leaped at him.

 

Baldur tried to turn, spin to the side so that the wolf would pass him, but he wasn't fast enough and the wolf's claws grazed his chest leaving long red wireframe gashes in his chest. He cried out in pain but kept his momentum going and brought his blade crashing down on the nape of the wolf's neck, a blue light trail severing it's neck before it erupted into shards of light.

 

That left one more wolf, and the fact that he couldn't see where it was made his virtual blood run cold.

 

---

 

 

• Rolled a 10 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 8 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 9 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 16 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP - Delt 4 damge to <<Wolf #2>> (2 Critical + 1 skill + 1 base)

<<Wolf #2>> 0/4 HP - Delt 1 damage to <<Baldur>> and drops 20 Col

<<Tyger>> 7/7 HP

<<Wolf #3>> 4/4 HP

[Tyger 0]

"Wasn't so bad, eh? Your face said otherwise."

 

She teased, kissing his cheek while he dusted himself off. He'd gotten himself into a pickle, being chased by that wolf. Either way, they'd taken down their first wolf. Tiger's Fang sat snug against her hip, glittering black in the sunlight as it had when she'd equipped it. Now she could put it to good use, right? Baldur didn't waste much time after getting himself back into working order before he'd approached more of the wolves. Instead of pelting it with a rock, he'd gotten closer, and when he did that, the creature howled. 

 

"Crap! Get out of there!"

 

Tyger called out, running to meet Baldur halfway this time. However, the second wolf came out of the woodwork (almost literally) and she had to reevaluate. Running in too quick would startle the second wolf, possibly causing it to howl. Instead, she watched as Baldur looked her way, trying to line up the wolves the same way they were trying to flank him. Tiger's Fang was out in a flash, ready to make some fur fly. The first canine made it's move, jumping towards Baldur. When he couldn't get out of the way, Tyger watched the blue lines cut into his chest. The wolf was killed quickly, but that didn't mean he wasn't still in danger. 

 

"Look out!"

 

Tyger flew forward towards Baldur's back. He was facing where he'd been damaged, and where the wolf had exploded into the digital shards. The second wolf prowled behind him, looking for an opening. Tyger filled it, pointing Tiger's Fang at it. 

 

"Nope, sorry. Can't letcha do that."

 

Tiger's Fang sliced a colorful line down the wolf's face, instantly turning it into shards. 

 

"Heh, felines reign supreme."

 

Did 4 Damage (3 and 1 crit damage)

 

Wolf (0/0)

 

 

• Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.
•  
• Rolled a 3 on the d10 (mob) dice.
•  
• Rolled a 4 on the d12 (craft) dice.
•  
• Rolled a 15 on the d20 (loot) dice.
•  

 

Will earn: 20 Col, 1 mat

[Baldur 0]

Baldur smiles back at Tyger, "You know, if we keep up with getting our attacks in first, then we seem to have a pretty good handle on these."

 

He raised his sword in salute to her before surveying the area around them. They were closer to the forest here. They had managed to clear out 3 wolves, but they had yet to establish what the respawn time was. They should be careful.

 

"Let's keep moving along the treeline here." He noticed that more and more people were starting to come over the top of the hill. Soon this area would be filling with players as well.

 

He waited for Tyger to start moving up with him as they walked along the tree-line. Up ahead he saw another wolf, this one by itself.

 

"I'm going to rush it. Keep an eye out for any adds. If we need to run, we run perpendicular to the treeline so we don't hit any respawns."

 

Baldur held his blade ready and then rushed the wolf. He kept the blade low and to his side. The wolf turned and ran at him and they both leaped into the air, slashing at each other and spinning about. A blue line of light cut the wolf and red line of light and pain cut Baldur, but where he landed on his feet, the wolf fell to the ground and rolled before standing up.

 

---

 

 

• Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 6 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 10 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 10 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP - delt 3 damage ( 1 crit + 1 base + 1 skill) to <<Wolf #3>>

<<Wolf #3>> 1/4 HP - delt 1 damage to <<Baldur>>

<<Tyger>> 7/7 HP

[Tyger 0]

"Sounds like a plan!"

 

Watching and making sure that the turn order put them on the flipside was working out for them. Once they got a good handle on the enemies, be it boars or wolves, they would kill them in one turn with a crit (Tyger could probably one shot boars now...) or kill them with two well placed attacks. As they fought, their level would grow too, which would only help in their trek for the top floor. Baldur's suggestion was fine, so Tyger jogged to catch up and stand beside him while they walked. 

 

"Ya know, This isn't so bad right now. I'm having fun, you're having fun, and we're getting stuff done. As long as we're careful, I think we can still make this a good experience."

 

After all, their set up at home was simple. They had two couches, Icarus's cage, a coffee table, and next to their kitchen were two desks. One facing one wall, the other opposite. They'd game back to back, even if they weren't necessarily playing the same games. Gaming was something they did together, and this only seemed to add to it. Time hadn't passed too quick before another lone wolf had spawned. Tyger's eyes traced Baldur as he ran forward, rushing the creature. As they lept into the air and struck their blows, Tyger was there to spear the creature when it landed. Her sword stuck out from it's back before it disappeared into the shards. 

 

However, before Tyger could come up with a witty comment, another wolf had joined the fray, leaping at Tyger's back. Instinctively, she ducked and rolled to the side, out of the way. Tiger's Fang skittered to the side, and she fumbled to pick it back up, holding it out in front of her. She growled out a warning.

 

"Be careful, I don't know how many more will follow! If it's just this one, we're okay."

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP 

<<Wolf #3>> 0/4 HP (drops 1 mat)

<<Tyger>> 7/7 HP dealt 3 damage (2 base + 1 skill) to <<Wolf #3>>

<<Wolf #4>> 4/4 HP - Missed an attack on Tyger

 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 7 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 1 on the d20 (loot) dice.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur pushed off from where he had been standing and leaped towards the <<Wolf #4>> with a fencer's lunge, covering much more distance in a much faster time than he ordinarily could. He flicked the tip of the saber with such speed that the blade couldn't be followed, only the light trail behind it. The blade sliced through the side of the wolf, but was not enough to dispatch it. He hoped, at least, that the attack would generate enough <<hate>> for the wolf to turn and attack him. As Baldur stood up from his fencing lunge he had a good amount of space between him and the wolf.

 

---

 

 

 

Rolled a 8 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 11 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP - Dealt 2 damage to <<Wolf #4>>

<<Tyger>> 7/7 HP

<<Wolf #4>> 2/4 HP

[Tyger 0]

Baldur and the wolf had an exchange, thankfully rather one sided. The wolf snarled, nursing it's wounds before turning to face Tyger, who quickly dispatched it with a quick jab. It disappeared, only to be replaced with a large, black wolf. As it sauntered out of the woods, it let out a low growl from deep within it's throat. Jaws snapping, it lunged at Tyger, biting at her free arm as she raised it to protect her face. She let out a cry of pain, but it didn't mess with her as bad as the boar had earlier. 

 

"We need to be careful! This one seems like a big brute. Maybe it's one of the stronger ones?"

 

She murmured, watching to make sure there were no more wolves around them. People were starting to creep into their little area, so hopefully the extra spawns would be picked up by the others, leaving this big one to them.

 

"The others should be preoccupied with the steady flow of players. Let's take this one down, shall we? I'll try to keep it's hate, but I don't know many wolf insults..."

 

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP 

<<Tyger>> 6/7 HP Dealt 3 damage to <<Wolf #4>>

<<Wolf #4>> 0/4 HP

<<Wolf #5>> 5/5 HP Dealt 1 damage to <<Tyger>>

 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 4 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 3 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

Wolf drops 1 mat

[Baldur 0]

Baldur couldn't help but get caught up in the ebb and flow of their battle. The large black <<Wolf 5>> was certainly intimidating to look at, but it wasn't going to be enough to stop the two of them. Without hesitation Baldur brought his sword down in an overhead slash, letting out a resounding Kiai as the flash of blue light flashed through the wold and separated one of its forelegs.

 

"I'm the alpha!" He shouted at the wolf. It tried it's best to turn and face him, but the creature was legged and unable to move as well. Baldur stepped back into his fencer's pose ready to dance with the wolf if Tyger couldn't take it down.

 

---

 

 

 

Rolled a 10 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 8 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 2 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP - Dealt 4 dmg (2 critical + 1 base + 1 skill) to <<Wolf #5>>

<<Tyger>> 6/7 HP 

<<Wolf #5>> 1/5 HP 

[Tyger 0]

 

 

• Rolled a 1 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 1 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 3 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 19 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

The large wolf snarled, tail lashing as it's dark eyes watched it's two opponents. Fur bristled at the sight of enemies, and his hackles were tight, ready to spring at a moments notice. He'd already been hurt, and with on HP left, the last thing it wanted was to die to these two. Tyger whirled her sword around, catching the beast's attention, but it couldn't stop focusing on Baldur. It almost knocked him out in one hit, and that Hate generated was real.

 

The wolf charged forward at the same time as Tyger. She raised her sword, but missed her mark, crashing into the wolf instead for no damage. However, this threw the beast off of his track, missing his bite on Baldur. it was almost as if nothing had truly happened, and the beast stared at Baldur, waiting for him to make his move in an attempt to read and dodge.

 

Tyger sent Baldur a cross look, rolling her eyes. Silly thing thought he was the alpha. How funny.

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP 

<<Tyger>> 6/7 HP Missed an attack on Wolf 5

<<Wolf #5>> 1/5 HP Missed an attack on Baldur

[Baldur 0]

Baldur was trying to circle the wolf, to put it between himself and Tyger, but the wolf had other ideas. WIth a sudden and ferocious growl it leaped at him. Baldur was mid step and stumbled slightly, the wolf was going to crash into him when suddenly Tyger was there, crashing into the wolf and throwing the creature off course.

 

Making the most of the opportunity she gave him, Baldur wheeled on the wolf, slicing into the creature in another iridescent flash of light. The wolf let out a piteous whine and then exploded in a shower of light.

 

In an old habit, Baldur whipped his blade to the side, throwing off non-existent blood and then sheathed his sword.

 

"Well, that was easier than I thought. We might be awesome at this game." He smiled at her, but he knew she could see through his words. He was trying to project confidence for both their sake, but there was a kernal of truth to his words.

 

He looked her over as if doing so would tell him if she was well or not. The only real indicator he had was her health bar, which was about equal to his own, but it was a hard habit to get over. This world was so real, the fighting was so real, that sometimes his body just reacted in ways it was used to. That was both exciting and terrifying. At low levels, he expected, their experience with combat and gaming would help them... but at some point in time it could turn into a danger if they didn't drop old habits and develop better ones specific to this game.

 

His eyes moved off to look at something she couldn't see.

 

"Oh, and Ding. How about you?" Baldur asked as he reviewed the menu that popped up after slaying the wolf granting them some Col and an item.

 

---

 

 

 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 6 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 19 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Baldur>> 6/7 HP - Dealt 2 DMG to <<Wolf #5>>

<<Tyger>> 6/7 HP

<<Wolf #5>> 0/5 HP - Drops uncommon item to <<Baldur>>

[Tyger 0]

Tyger watched the wolf explode into the shimmering shards next to her face as she landed on the ground. Baldur had struck while she'd knocked the wolf off course, which meant that they'd defeated the strongest opponent they'd seen yet. It was nice, and a bit of a confidence booster for sure. Standing up, she brushed herself off and turned to Baldur when he started speaking. 

 

"I guess so, eh? We're just good that way."

 

She grinned, watching as he got his new item and loot. 

 

"Look at us, getting all fancy."

 

Her laughter was genuine, and comforting as well. Tyger walked to Baldur's side, examining his new sword before putting her head against his shoulder. With no wolves in sight, and the field flooded with players, she nodded her head towards the forest they'd seen the wolves coming from as they skirted across the border of it.

 

"Maybe we should look for some experience in there?"

 

She suggested, checking her own stats. It wasn't that she wasn't paying attention, but in the fights she never really paid attention to her levels and what not.

 

"Oh sweet! Yeah, ding."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked into the forest where Tyger had pointed, but frowned at the suggestion that they go in further. As it stood, even standing at the edge of the forest, he couldn't see very far inside.

 

"The only thing that concerns me about that, is that we might not be able to run out. I think we should wait until we can afford some health pots before we dive into the woods."

 

He pointed down along the line of trees, "I think we could follow the perimeter of the forest though. If we keep in sight of the walls of the Town of Beginnings, we'd know where safety is."

 

He began at a jog, just to clear the distance between them and wolves they had fought in case respawn time was coming up on them. There were boars nearby, but he noticed that instead of the typical blue color, some of these were more red. Likely they were tougher, since they were getting further away from the town gates.

 

As they wandered along the forest, he noticed that it started to cut back in towards the town wall, but there seemed to be an area of trees that was a bit thinner up ahead. As they got closer, Baldur could see that it had the appearance of an old cottage that was half falling down. The roof have caved in, as had 2 of the 4 exterior walls of this small one room rustic cottage.

 

"Let's check that out, there might be some loot inside."

 

Baldur drew his sword just in case, and pointed at it with the tip of his blade.

 

 

<<Baldur>> 9/9 HP

[Tyger 0]

Well, Tyger thought it was a good idea at least. But, extra caution wouldn't kill them. Accidents would.

 

"Alright, fair enough. Maybe we'll be able to see if there is anything inside while we walk around the perimeter."

 

Part of the draw of this game was the idea of adventure. They'd be able to go anywhere, do anything, and fight along as they went. With the new... stigma added to the game, a lot of what drew her to the game would have to change. Reluctantly, she followed along with Baldur, peering into the trees as far as she could go. As luck would have it, they came across what appeared to be a fallen, old cabin.

 

"I don't suppose the creator of this game is in there, eh? I'd like to give him a piece of my mind."

 

Her joke amused her, at least. 

 

"Be careful. I'm right behind you."

 

She pulled Tiger's Fang from it's sheath and held it out, mirroring Baldur's gesture. Caution was careful, and careful was good.

[Baldur 0]

As they approached the the collapsed old wooden cottage, Baldur examined the sight. It didn't have the look of anything recently active, and he wasn't sure if the environments were destructible, but in MMO's, things like this were usually added into the scenery to makes things different, and to create a point of interest. It was probably a location for a quest of some kind, but he wanted to check and see if there was a treasure chest around the area. If they could find some loot, it might give them a good edge, and in the beginning, that would be huge.

 

With his sword out at his side, he stepped through the overgrown beams of a section of collapsed roof and into the room itself. The forest was thinner here, so he got a better view of the kind of flora that inhabited this world. it seemed mostly standard, even similar to what he'd seen in America, but there were some strange, alien like plants scattered about the brush as well. As he bent down to root around in the bushes that were growing inside the cabin, he saw one of the bushes begin to move. As Baldur rose to his feet he realized something wasn't moving through the bushes, the bushes themselves were moving.

 

(Image here)

 

The <<Little Nepent>> suddenly rushes out of the forest towards them, it's razor like leaves wipping about.

 

Baldur dove for cover by going through the frame of what used to be the back door but the creature was faster than he expected. Quickly coming to his feet, he brought his sword up to try and strike back, but apparently the vines were as strong as his sword as their attacks seemed to bounce off of one another, canceling the other out.

 

---

 

 

 

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 2 on the d10 (mob) dice.

Rolled a 6 on the d12 (craft) dice.

Rolled a 2 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

<<Little Nepent>> HP 5/5 - Missed <<Baldur>>

<<Baldur>> HP 9/9 - Missed <<Little Nepent>>

<<Tyger>> HP 9/9

[Tyger 0]

 

 

• Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.
• Rolled a 7 on the d10 (mob) dice.
• Rolled a 3 on the d12 (craft) dice.
• Rolled a 20 on the d20 (loot) dice.

 

The tiny building didn't hold much, from what Tyger could tell. Baldur rooted around, trying to find something but coming up empty handed. 

 

"Maybe there is a quest item around here or something? Something could be hidden around here."

 

Baldur rooted around some more, until a sound spooked him. Before Tyger could react, a plant creature burst forth from the forest, charging Baldur. Her boyfriend dashed into the doorway of the cabin, sword hitting against the vines of the unwelcome visitor. Her hand rushed to the sword at her side, holding it out, her teeth bared in an aggressive snarl. The plant heard her snarl, but when it had turned, Tyger wasn't there.

 

Carefully, Tyger climbed onto one of the available walls, using it to get a higher ground on the creature. She couldn't keep balance for long, so she jumped off, Tiger's Fang gleaming above her head. The Little Nepent saw her, but before it could react once more, she brought her blade down on it, slicing a few of it's leaves off the top of it's head.

 

<<Little Nepent>> HP 2/5 

<<Baldur>> HP 9/9

<<Tyger>> HP 9/9 Damaged Little Nepent for 3