[PP-F4] Death Rose (Mari)

[Asen 0]

The snow fell on the fields where Asen was simply laying on the ground looking up at the sky as the snow was just falling on him leaving him half covered in the snow. He doesn't know why, but the cold is like an emotional stress reliever to him. Plus he just like looking at the snow, mainly thinking about on what dungeon he should explore since its been a while that he has found a dungeon that was completely new to him and yet would be almost unscathed from other players from going in it. Right now he was waiting on a single player that he can truly trust out from this entire game who was still a green player and was also a friend of Asen's before Asen turned into a PKKer.

 

Off in the distance, running up towards him was a slim man carrying only a dagger sheathed at the back of his belt wearing a thick wool coat of some sorts. When the man got up to Asen, who gets up to his feet and brushes the snow off his armor as he seems to appear like a shadow figure in the midst of the snowy fields. "Any luck?" Asen asked Kyle, the one who is indeed a green player was panting even though he knows this is just a game. He nods in Asen's direction as he cracks a smile. "Apparently some group of players stumbled upon the entrance of a dungeon of some sorts." Asen merely shook his head as he looked off in the distance for a moment before looking back at Kyle. "Let me guess, they found the Glacial Cove?" Kyle just shook his head as he now has a grin on his face since Kyle is like Asen's personal information broker that comes with a price of course. "Oh no, don't get me wrong my dear friend. You know I wouldn't give you information just anyone knows. This one was more recent but none dared to explore it yet for they seemed to be just scouting for Mats and such." Asen nodded as that sounds like something he could do that sounded fun to him. "Alright thank you Kyle." With that being said he opens his inventory and scrolls down to one of the swords that he made himself. It was Anaithsol, one of the weapons that he forged before he went into the status he is in now and held the remaining traces of his innocence that he had back then.

 

He hands the sword to Kyle as part of the agreement, and Kyle knew how much this sword meant to Asen so he kept it. "Anytime friend." With that being said Kyle takes off towards the direction of the town. Just as Asen turned on his heel a thought crossed his mind. Sure he could go in by himself, but that might be pushing it a little too far since he knows little about this new dungeon that's been uncovered. Reluctantly he swiped open his screen once more and went to his friends/guild member's list and scrolls through it for a bit. Unfortunately most of them wouldn't even remember him, so it would be like a ghost reaching out to the living. There were only a few that he knows personally that were very recent, though even that majority are not yet powerful enough to be traveling with him on unknown territory. Then his eyes sets on the name of Mari, the Guild Leader of the guild that he's a part in for a week now maybe. He thought about it, and frankly he knew very little of her other than she's a Player Killer like himself though they might not share the same values. "Ohhh screw it, might as well." He told himself as if he made a decision as he taps Mari's and sends her a private message.

 

'Greetings Mari, I don't know if you're busy though most likely are with the guild and all. But I just got some info about something interesting that I think you might find it rather useful to get higher levels as well. If you want to take a break from the desk work for a bit we can go check this dungeon out on Floor 4. I'm currently waiting at 46, 183, 57.'

[Mari 1]

Mari, as luck would have it. Was already on the forth floor. It was one of her favourite floors. She wore her usual pink themed light armour. Pink woven chainmail, gauntlets - and a torn skirt. Her black boots covered most of her legs and she wore barely anything to shield her from the cold. Mari did have what appeared to be a white fox tail wrapped around her neck, she was sitting on a tree stump, near a frost covered lake, idly watching a  group of ice nymphs. It was a creature she was considering taming - after hearing about the familiar quest.

Mari blinked when she received a PM, it was from Asen - one of her newer guild members whom she was probably a little too hard on, but that was just Mari being Mari. He wanted to know if she were to go on a dungeon hunt with him. He was actually pretty close, but still. Mari was not one to go following others. She opened up her HUD and typed out a reply
 

Asen,
I am at 52, 202, 56.'  If you want me to go with you, you come to me and explain exactly where and what this dungeon is. 

 

Mari paused, wondering if she should send anything else. What else was there to say? She gave a small sigh. Running her hand through her hair. "I need lessons in socialising like a decent f**king human being again." She muttered under her breath, sending the message off without adding anything else to it..

[Asen 0]

He waited at the snow just tilting his head back while letting the snow fall on his shoulders as he waited for a reply. The snow left a thin layer of it on his mask as he was covered mostly in black making him looking like a shadow of the night. The only thing that was skin exposed at the moment was his eyes and the sides of his temples since his hood was up as well. He was pretty much drawing on the snow just writing different characters of an weird script he learned once during a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he used to play with his friends. The Elven Script as the book named it, since he once played an elf character he had spent hours learning the scripts. He was just writing the names of all of the friends he once knew but were now dead on the snow in the Elven Script and there was a long line of them. Counting up to at least 30 of them.

 

Then on the corner of his eye he sees that he has a PM on his inbox. So he swiped open his menu and clicked on it and was relatively glad that it was Mari and not Kyle since Kyle always delivers the bad news to him when he sees that a pack of players were setting out to hunt for his head. He opens the message and after he reads what it says he nods in agreement as he basically cartwheeled himself from being proned to stand up on his feet while brushing the snow off of him before he starts to make his way towards those coordinates. It didn't take him very long though since she was pretty close though he wasn't surprised that she was since anybody can be almost anywhere on here. When he was too far away for him to speak normally he just raised his hand and waved at her as he was getting closer. At the five meter mark and he stopped in his tracks as he put his hands in his coat's pockets. Previously he tried to talk to her normally maybe once or twice and it worked somewhat. Not that he's trying to undermine her or really has any plans at all really. Guess one can say if she was like him or something else entirely, from what he has seen she is similar to him and he also just want to come to better understanding to her. "Alright, now that i'm here, I have recently found out a rumor that I would like to confirm that recently the entrance of some cave or doorway was discovered by some players doing scout work. Apparently it's not the Glacial Cove, so I was wondering, with your help of course, wouldn't mind on joining with me? If not then I can just solo through it, but I figured to at least try to be friendly you know?" Perhaps he was a bit off today but he is pretty talkative to Mari and usually he's just the quiet guy who gets the job done as best as he can.

[Mari 1]

Asen waved at Mari from afar, he stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the white snow. Silver hair and spiked black armour - It seemed a lot of people tended to go with the darker colour schemes, perhaps it was what made people feel comfortable. Not Mari. She was comfortable in her pastel pink paradise, not that one would call Aincrad paradise.  Mari gave him a small wave, swinging her body around to face him, watching as Asen shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat whilst he walked.

Asen was the only guild member Mari had that she felt confident was Cerulean Silence Material, the others - not so much. It disappointed her really. Asen didn't dawdle, nor did he attempt idle chit chat. Mari admired that about him. He got to the point, didn't bother asking how she was, or telling her about his day fumbling around in the snow. It was just straight to business.

 

"So you want me to....help you look at the entrance to a cave?" Mari asked, her tone skeptical. It didn't sound all too entertaining. "I guess so." She said as she stood up, dusting herself off. It didn't sound entertaining, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing. Mari glanced back toward the ice nymphs. "I think I know what I want my familiar to be." She added, gesturing toward the sprite creatures. From this far away, they were nothing more than soft blue glows buzzing about, akin to fireflies, but thrice the size.

 

"So is there some sort of treasure in this cave or something?" Mari asked. 

[Asen 0]

Asen shrugged his shoulders as he wouldn't doubt it, but he wouldn't have hopes for that chance either. "There could be treasure, or there couldn't be. Only way to find out is if we go check it out ourselves. Either way I think it'll be interesting to look into just in case if there is something in there that we wind up finding." He answered truthfully without debating on what to say or how to say certain words. Just plain and simple to understand. Though he felt like he could use this as an opportunity to get to know the guild he decided to take part in.

 

His crimson red eyes wandered from Mari to the sprites though they only appeared to be pale blue orbs of light dancing in the frozen wasteland. He thought about getting a familiar as he previously had one named Miliel. A pretty docile creature that was probably the weakest familiar since he found it on the first floor but it kept him being aware of other players and creatures. Unfortunately he let it go after he turned into a Player Killer since he felt like he couldn't treat it right with the way he was. A faint smile spread across his face, though it is hidden under the cloth that's over his face. "Familiars are a nice thing to have, especially for company if you ever need someone or something to talk to. Though they're useful in other areas as well depending on what creature you're taming."

[Mari 1]

Mari gave a small nod, "Mmm, yes. I suppose you are right Asen." Mari stood up, dusting herself off, it's better than doing nothing - in any case. Mari noticed that he had turned his crimson eyes first to the sprites then back to Mari, then back to the sprites again - the faintest of smiles appeared upon his lips - and it was then, that Mari realized that he didn't often show emotion. Perhaps that was why it was so easy for her to spot his smile.

"Speaking from experience?" Mari asked, curiously. "I suppose talking to a NPC familiar is a tad more mentally stable than talking to yourself, eh." She commented, before extending her arm.

"Well, Asen. You have the information, lead the way."

[Asen 0]

He closed his eyes for a moment as if acknowledging her order silently without really nodding. Then he turned on his heel as his smile faded back to his usual blank face. "Well NPC or not, having a familiar is like having your own pet in some sense. Tell me, have you ever had a cat or dog as a pet? Or even a bird perhaps?" He asked her occasionally glancing over his shoulder at her with his crimson red eyes before he looks forward again. His feet softly sinking into the snowy ground as well as hardly making any noise, only a faint crunch of snow under his feet that sounded as soft as the frequent icy cold wind that tugs at his clothing.

[Mari 1]

Mari pursed her lips at his question. She didn't like revealing much about her old life. Still, Asen was being considerate enough. "A cat; I had her for 8 years but had to give her up when I got married. My now ex husband did not want her in the house." Mari shrugged. "Easy come, easy go. I don't see the point in getting attached to something like that." 

Mari paused as she stepped in an usually deep area of snow, and with a bit of wriggling on her part she managed to pry her leg free. She gave a disgruntled noise, dusting the wet, slick snow off her. "Especially here; we won't be here forever. If I have a familiar it will be for ease of use only."