[PP-F4] Hunter of Orange (Lowenthal) [COMPLETE]

[Hirru 0]

Hunter of Orange

In this episode of [Forgotten Dreams], our young monster hunter has turned player killer hunter as he searches for the ones that may have been the cause of death of a friend, Lindow.  He was tipped off that there have been sightings of some orange players on the fourth floor, and was going to investigate.  As memories of the past have been returning to him in a much more frequent pattern, our young hunter has become more hollow to the individual concerns, and has set his sights on any that would dare to show themselves with the intent to kill.  Unfortunately, his state-of-mind has made his decision making process not concern how these people have become orange, and will attack anyone with the tag.  Hopefully, he has kept his loyalty to his friends to not kill...

...or has he?

*****************************************

Hirru found himself in front of the caverns that he and Lindow had tried to search through weeks before he died.  From sources remaining anonymous, he was found out here before his tragic end.  Seemingly out of spite for him, it would be the very cavern that they wanted to clear out before.  If Hirru had been there, Lindow wouldn't have died.  He would still be there with the Crimson Blades, giving his sound advice to the new members.  Now, they would only know his legend as he was.

Tears rolled down from his eyes as he thought about it, but his eyes were hollowed by now.  Having recently changed them back to their original color after some consideration to change his appearance to throw off anyone that knew him.  Though, if they were a friend, they could see his friendly ping on the map to confirm his person.  He even changed his hair to a darker green than before, which would probably throw that plan out the window as he was known as the green-haired hunter.

He sighed as he looked into the caverns entrance.  Crystalline structures all along the walls of the cavern reflected light into the deepest reaches of the cave, giving a decent amount of light.  There would be plenty of mining spots and the occasional monster along the way, but he was in search of something more player related: Orange Players.  Lindow was searching for them when he met his end, and Hirru was going to finish where he left off.  Though, he didn't really plan very far, as his mind was set on only finding them.  He figured he would fight any that he would find, but that wouldn't give him any information about the actual guild that they were apart of.  He would have to pry the information out of them, if anything.

"Show me the way..."

Hirru said softly as he stepped into the cavern.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2015 by Hirru
Complete

[Lowenthal 0]

As lowenthal explored the cavern with his night vision skill, he still couldn't find his way out. He had already cleared out a lot of the monsters in the cave, which made the rediscovery of the caverns twist and turns easier. "Dammit." Lowenthal said, recognizing this section of the cavern from before. "This place is impossible." He said, giving out a sigh of frustration. Being a player killer was more of a pain then he had originally thought. He never realised how much he'd miss the teleportion gates between floors, as he was now forced to take the long way between floors. Just how did Mari deal with it? And if she did, so could he. Besides, all the items and Col the monsters dropped, he'd be a millionaire in no time. As long as he could find the exit. Lowenthal drew his kunai instinctively, as he heard footsteps echoing in the cavern. "Who's there?" He called out, trying to discern what was out there. Something in the back of his head dislike caves. Caves and undead things mostly concerned the Orange player. "Show yourself." Lowenthal called out again, his eyes searching the dark.

[Hirru 0]

Making the trek into the cavern, Hirru would notice that the mobs that would normally be here were no longer here.  It was quite strange as they should have been respawning by now, but that only made his curiosity that much more stronger.  Something had to kill these mobs, and so far, that meant that another player was in here.  This would give him more resolve to continue on through cave which stretched out more with several twists and turns to it.  Hirru would keep to a few branching paths as he walk onwards through the tunnels.  

After some time, he would find that the light that had permeated the dark underbelly was waning down, making the rest of the tunnel that he was in quite darker than the path that he had just moved through.  The darkness was going to be a problem, as he didn't have the night vision skill to see through it.  Knowing the enemy, they could probably be in there, waiting for him.  Drawing Time from its scabbard, the young hunter stepped into the darkness.  As soon as he did, he heard a voice call out near by.  I seemed like he truly wasn't the only one here.

"I would if I could see you."

Hirru called out to the darkness.  If he tried hard enough, he might be able to catch a silhouette, but that would be harder than anything without the proper skills. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal let out a sigh of relief, as he heard a human voice. "Well, I can see you." Lowenthal said, silently noting his Night Vision skill. "I'm sure that there's a torch or something in here." Lowenthal said, looking around the room. Finding a scone that held stationary tinder, Lowenthal quickly lit it. The small fire, lit the room quite well removing the need for night vision. "And he said, 'let there be light' And sure enough." Lowenthal said, quoting something someone said to him a long time ago. It had been a long while since since he had seen Ahti. He sighed, not missing her one bit. "So, you wouldn't happen to know where the exit is would you?" Lowenthal asked, turning.

[Hirru 0]

Hirru would feel himself tense up at the thought of someone being able to see him.  The Night Vision skill would be the most useful skill at this moment, but the thought that someone could see him, and do whatever they wanted made his skin crawl.  The voice said something about torches that would have been scattered around the area.  This never occurred to Hirru to bring one, as he had not found anything to need it for.  There were a few caves on the lower floors that he had not ventured into, but that was for another day.  He needed to find this orange guild before he could do any of that.

As soon as the light from the torch was able to reach the young hunters eyes, he was able to see the appearance and initial status of the individual.  He was dressed quite well for someone in a cave, but that didn't concern him much.  His health bar belied a guild symbol which looked quite weird.  When asked about the exit, Hirru spoke while continuing his investigation of the person.

"Yeah, I just came from the entrance.  I could show.. you..."

His happy tone of speech would drown out to a low growl as the hunter noticed the cursor above the player's head.  This person had committed a crime against this world, and have been marked as such.  They had caused pain to someone or something, and had to pay the cost.  Though, the crime didn't have to be harmful, but most of the time, it was.

This man was an orange player.

Hirru's grip on his sword tensed up as his eyes came alive with the burning fires of hate.  Without another word, Hirru walked towards the well dressed man, but his patience wore thin as time was of the essence.  He would not get another opportunity than this.  

"For Lindow..."

The walk turned into a run as he charged at the man.  The faint glow of the blade of Time would give way to the first hit of this exchange.  The man would see this coming, and may have tried to dodge, but the sword would still land a scratch against him.

[ID: 30486]
[BD = 8-2=6] Hit

[Hirru = 43/45] -2 Thorns
[Lowenthal = 67/71] -5

Edited September 5, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

"Hm? Do I know you?" Lowenthal asked, not sure how to act to the man's sudden change of tone. "You alright? Who's Lindow?" Lowenthal asked, before acting to seeing the blade come at him. Trying to dodge, Lowenthal still took the blade. Drawing his kunai, Lowenthal quickly hit the small fire spreading the flint and embers across the room. Encasing it in darkness again. "What the hell!?" Lowenthal called out, quickly striking the man. His kunai reaching out far enough to draw virtual blood. "Dammit! Why?!" Lowenthal said through his teeth as he slinked into the darkness. Activating his Sneak and Hide Skill, trying to get more information from this man, before deciding whether or not to kill him.

Room in Darkness - Those without Night Vision suffer a -1 penalty to all rolls.

Lowe's Stealth Rating: 15 (10 base + 4 Skill + 1 Darkness) (LD to find)

 

[ID: 30514]
[BD = 7-1+1=7] Hit

[Hirru = 37/45] 
[Lowenthal = 67/71]

Edited September 5, 2015 by Lowenthal

[Hirru 0]

(I forgot about your thorns so I subtracted that from my health)

Hirru would find that his opponent was someone that he shouldn't have faced alone.  Having a strong dagger strike, this man was definitely someone that could easily kill a lesser player.  Someone like the young hunter himself.  Though, he wouldn't show fear.  No, this was his mission, and he would follow it to the 'T'.  When the orange one seemed to be unaware of the events that had brought Hirru here, but that would only be a trick.  It had to be..  right?

"An orange adventurer with a guild, that wanders the darkness of the very cave that a friend of mine recently died in?"

Hirru's voice growled out to the darkness.  His eyes darting every direction that he could to find the orange player.  Unfortunately, he could not see the orange one.  Heck, he would go for the torch, but he would have to leave himself open to do so.  Agitated, the young hunter could only play it defensively.  Doing so, it gave him some time for his Regen and Battle Healing to activate; healing some of the damage taken.

"I don't find that a coincidence, unless you're going to convince me, otherwise."

[ID: 30529]
[LD = 13-1= 12] Hirru can not see Lowe
[CD = 12-1= 11] Regen & BH activated +3 Hp

[Hirru = 38/45]
[Lowenthal = 67/71]

Edited September 5, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal peeked around the corner he was hiding behind. "Look man. I have no idea who you're talking about. Last person I, killed." Lowenthal said that, with strong distaste in his voice. "Was on the first floor, by a river. If your friend died here, then I didn't kill him." Lowenthal said, staying behind cover. The man was between him and the exit, and there was no moving to it without bumping into him or something else. Only thing that Lowe could do was wait. The stranger seemed, quite adament that Lowenthal was the culprit. It was most likely a hazing, a strong hatred for a group because of one bad apple.

[Hirru 0]

Hirru listened to what the voice within the darkness was saying.  It was the one thing that he would not let go of.  A good listener could discern the lies from the truth, and it sounded like this guy was quite agitated at Hirru for attacking him, but everything he said would sound truthful.  Though, if it was truly genuine was going to be a different story.  He thought about it, and would admit that even though this person was a 'red' player, he was talking to him as anyone would.  Anyone that had just been attacked by a mad man, anyway.

"If I were to believe you.. if not you, than one of your guild members would know.  Would they have commited this crime against life?"

The fact that this person wasn't taking advantage of Hirru's defenseless state meant that this person wanted to escape quickly, or was waiting for Hirru to lower his guard.  Continuing his search of the darkness, he could find nothing that was the player that he had just met.  His anger was getting the better of him as he prepared a random sword skill.  This one would cause him to flip backwards while his sword was planted into the ground and, because of Time's ability, electricity crackled for a short distance around him.

Finding that nothing would come of mindlessly attacking nothing, Hirru returned to his defensive state.

"Would they have a loose conscience, or was this another case of bad luck?"

[ID: 30533]
[LD = 15-1=14] Hirru doesn't see Lowe
[BD = 10-1=9] Doesn't affect Lowe
[CD = 12-1= 11] +1 Hp

[Hirru = 39/45]
[Lowenthal = 67/71]

Edited September 6, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal stepped out from his cover, and looked at the man who would accuse not only him, but his friends. "How dare you, even insinuate that my guild members. My friends, would do such a thing unwarranted." Lowenthal spat, drawing his kunai again and pointed it at the man in front of him. "You now have two options. Show me the exit, or leave me be." Lowenthal said, refusing to be insulted by this man anymore. Lowenthal didn't drop his stance, or his guard. "Whoever this Lindow is. You really think he'd want you like this? A raving lunatic, who'd be more then willing to throw his life away?" Lowenthal said, his night vision clearly highlighting the man in front of him. 

[Hirru 0]

Hirru listened to the man who sounded even more aggravated at the mention that his guild members.  He had hit a nerve, and it didn't sound like it would be in his favor.  In fact, he was sure now, more than ever, that this guy was telling the truth.  He could tell from the volume for his friends.  A killer had no friends, only fellow lunatics.  Which was he, Hirru, then?  The fact that he had attacked this guy unwarranted and out of nowhere.  Was he now, no better than the very people that he swore to find.  Was his friend's memory being tarnished by the actions that he was taking?  Would Lindow be proud?

"No...."

The young hunter would fall to his knees as tears began to stream down from his eyes.  He never wanted this... Hirru opened his menu to send a trade request to the nearest person.  The name Lowenthal, came up, and he instantly sent the request, hoping that it was the right person.  He put the map information for the first part of the cavern within it before going back to himself.

"That's the map for the beginning of the cavern.  I've set a waypoint for the entrance on it.  Please follow it to the exit."

Hirru rested his forehead on the pommel of Time, which had been driven into the ground in front of him.

"I... wish to.. reflect......"

He would go silent from then on.

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal pulled open the trade request, and looked at the name. "Hirru..." He said, aloud committing the name to memory. He walked pasted Hirru, now a knelt over mess of emotions. Lowenthal recognized it. It was how he acted after he had killed that man, that rainy day. Lowenthal sighed, rubbing the wound that Hirru had left on him. Lowenthal took a step by Hirru. "I'm sorry. But, what did you hope to accomplish by killing me?" Lowenthal asked the mess of a man on the floor. Lowenthal looked at the map again, it was quite simple enough to follow.

[Hirru 0]

The young hunter opened his mouth, but nothing would come out.  It was, as if, he had lost his voice.  The events within this cave, everything from the initial hunt with Lindow, to him in a huddled mass of sorrow.  All of it came crashing down upon him as realization hit him.  To feel pain was to know loss; to know loss was to know sorrow.

"I... don't.. want to.. kill anyone."

His voice low, but was normal without the growling of anger to mask his degradation.  His forehead still locked onto the pommel of his sword.  His eyes spilled out more as his vision would be blurred by the constant downpour.

"I.. just want.. closure.  To find.. the orange guild..  To bring an end.. to his final mission."

Hirru's loyalty to his friends was apparent in his words.  He would do anything to give Lindow the final rest that he would want.  Though, Hirru didn't want to kill anyone.  He only wanted to gain information.

"I thought that.. you were apart of them.  I was mistaken, and.. let my anger control me..."

The young hunter slumped lower into the blue blade, hoping to find solace in its low hum.  A slight glow emanated from the blade, but it would fade as soon as it appeared.  Hirru would raise his head from the blade to look onwards, into the darkness where he thought Lowenthal was.

"I'm sorry!  For everything that I said to you... about your friends... They sound like the friends that I would fight for.."

Edited September 6, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal looked at the boy in front of him. "I'll forgive you. On one condition." Lowenthal said, sternly and aggressively. "For foolishly attacking me whilst unprovoked, I offer you this. Join me and my guild, and we'll assist you with finding this 'Orange Guild'." Lowenthal said, lighting another torch on the wall. The boy would probably decline. He was already part of another guild, but Lowenthal didn't care. His guild needed members, and good ones. Unlike most people, this kid was actually able to get a strike in. That wasn't an easy feet by someone of his level, but there was something that Lowenthal liked about him. He knelt down, his hand extended to the man. "So, whaddya say?" Lowenthal said again, a smirk on his face.

[Hirru 0]

Hirru's tears stopped from that second on.  This man was willing to forgive his transgressions, to pardon him.  The hunter smiled awkwardly, it wasn't the first time that he was asked to be apart of a guild.  The first time being with the Silver Moon guild, but something didn't sit right, and he decided not to join.  The second was brought on by surprise from his friends in the Crimson Blades.  In all technicality, he was one of the founders, but never really joined them in fear of this exact situation happening.  To be asked for a third time, he must have some kind of sign saying, 'Pick me, I wanna join' on his back.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case.

"I'm sorry.. I guess I won't be receiving any kind of forgiveness.."

Hirru used Time as leverage to stand up.  He felt weak, and would wobble a bit as he did.  When he got to his full height, he drew in a full breath and sighed.

"I can't join you.. I don't think this condition is just from my friends death. I..I've had it come up during continuous fights.  It mostly comes up around large amounts of people.  I..don't want to hurt any of my friends, or yours.."

Pulling Time from the ground, he returned it to its sheath before turning towards Lowenthal.  Getting a better look at him, Hirru couldn't really see how this guy could have killed anyone, but that thought would be shaken loose by the fact that Hirru was on the verge of doing the same.

"Though, I guess it wouldn't be hard for you to take care of me, if I did go berserk!"

Hirru laughed indicating how much his health was still down by.  Getting to talk about it was calming the hunter down.  It would be a fair change of pace from the action that happened earlier.

Edited September 7, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal shrugged. "Ah well, it was worth a shot." Lowenthal said, with a sigh. His guild was running low on active members, but perhaps someday he could convince this person to help him. "Well, The Velvet Room is more about discovering ourselves. And not a militia run by a man with no eyebrows." Lowenthal said, poking a bit of fun at the leader of Hirru's guild, Mack. "Hell, I'm sure a member of mine could help you with that rage you have as well." Lowenthal said, he sent Hirru a friend request. "You don't have to join, but if you ever need help with anything. You give the 'Master of Shadows' a call." Lowenthal said, striking a small pose as he gave out his title. "And as the Fool, and Leader of the Velvet Room. I'll come running." He said, holding out a hand for Hirru.

[Hirru 0]

A chuckle came out from his lips from the subtle reference to Mack, the leader of the Crimson Blades.  Everyone had their own quirks, and the Crimson Blades were no different to anyone else, with their share of characters.

"To be honest, that was the second reason why I didn't fully join them!"  

Hirru smiled as he was prompted for the friend request to Lowenthal.  He gladly accepted it.  It would be awhile for him to warm up to joining any guild, but at least he knew of more people now than ever before.  It would give him some solace to know that he had friends in all areas.

"We'll see how that goes, then."

Hirru said as he shook the hand of the 'Master of Shadows' before something felt off.  It felt like his entire being was frozen in place, it was a feeling that he knew all too well.

Paralysis!

"Sheesh... I was getting tired of watching all this mushy drama.."

A sly voice echoed out from the depths of the darkness that was not illuminated by the torch.  From Hirru's back, a small amount of red pixels could be seen floating away as a small knife was logged in him, causing the Paralysis effect.

"I was hoping that you would have killed him, but no... People don't have the balls, I guess."

The voice laughed in a guttural tone.  Hirru tried to get out of the status, but it was quite potent.  He could not move for anything.  This had better not be a trap.  He looked into Lowenthal's eyes with a look that said..

"I hope that isn't a friend.."

Edited September 7, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal took a quick step back, and drew his kunai. As he did a dagger flew through the air, striking Hirru in his back. "Friend? No, no one I know." Lowenthal said, looking at the assailant in the dark. He kept himself a safe distance away from the assailant. Keeping Hirru in his line of sight. For all lowenthal knew this was Hirru's back up, and he happened to miss. No. That was stupid. The way the assailant spoke, made it sound like he wasn't a friend to anyone. "SO, to who do I owe this pleasure?" Lowenthal asked, slyly.

[Hirru 0]

The man in the darkness, at least that's what Hirru thought from the masculine voice, would stand nearly shorter than Hirru from Lowe's point of view.  Black cloak, dark leather armor, and other things that can be identified with the night.  He would continue to stay in the darkness as he spoke out to them.

"I do apologies for the rudeness, but my name is inconsequential.  Though, what I stand for is."

The sound of shuffling could be heard from all corners of the tunnel now.  

"Or should I say, 'what we stand for."

It made even more sense now than ever.  The darkness would have concealed their movements as well as the Sneak and Hide skill.  They must have been hiding the entire time while the two of them were going at it.  They were ready and waiting for something to happen.  A good six.. no seven sounds.  Maybe eight?  He couldn't tell, but so far their chances didn't look good.  As the noises began to stop, Hirru became free of his paralysis bonds.  Immediately, he would unsheathe his blade, and point it towards whatever direction he needed to.

"So dirty tricks are your game then?  To try and pit two people against each other, and wait for them to kill one another."

The first voice would laugh.

"Oh no.. that was all~ you!  I especially liked how you immediately changed your colors when you saw his.. ha ha! Priceless!"

"Are you going to talk all day, or do I have to start this?!"

Hirru's anger would grow rapidly at this point.  Especially apparent in his tone of voice as he readied himself to attack the first one to move.

"Don't get so worked up, this is only a message to your guilds.  Don't try and stop Forsaken Blood's little 'operations', or else.."

"Or else what?"

"Or else.. Lindow won't be the only one that little girl will cry over."

Hirru's anger peaked at hearing this.  Before Hirru could move, the man would have brought out two items from his pouch.  One that looked like an 8 sided die, and another that would look like a normal crystal.  When the enraged hunter would have started his charge moments later as the rest of the many assailants would pull out a similar blue crystal.  All of them would yell out 'Teleport', but before they could say the second part which would name their city of choice, the first shadowed man would activate the 8 sided crystal that would start a loud screeching noise, known to many as the Monster Call enhancement for Performer professions.  This would drown out their voices as they called out the place to be teleported to.  All of the were enveloped by a bright light before being sent off to who-knows-where, and in their place spawned an ice golem type creature that lived off the materials of this cavern, <<Crystal Fiend>>.

Hirru was still in mid charge when all of this was happening and would collide with the mob first.  His blade would flail wildly without any kind of control at this point, giving the fiend a fair slash.  However, because of his berserk state, Hirru would not be able to dodge out of the way of the attack that would hit him directly in the chest.  This would push him back several feet before he would stop on his feet.  The amount of damage taken could be seen from his health bar, but just as it would go down, it would come back up a bit.  Not too much, but enough to give him some breathing room.

"Come back here..!"

<<Crystal Fiend>> HP 45 | DMG 12

[ID = 30840]
[BD = 6] 5 DMG -1 EP
[CD = 11] Regen +6 hp
[MD = 10] 12+2=14 dmg

[Hirru = 50/58 hp // 11/12 EP] -14+6=-8 hp
[Lowenthal = 89/89 hp // 21/21 EP]

[Crystal Fiend = 40/45 hp] -5 hp

Edited September 21, 2015 by Hirru

[Lowenthal 0]

As the lead assailant antagonized Hirru, Lowenthal counted the shapes in the darkness. They were seriously outmatched. Lowenthal gritted his teeth, thought about running. Lowenthal watched as Hirru charged. Lowenthal awaited for the sounds of Hirru being slaughtered but noticed something different. A monster grenade in the hands of the main assailant. "Dammit!" Lowenthal said as the men disappeared, using teleport crystals. How did they do that? If they were also orange players, they couldn't teleport to safe zones. Using a teleport crystal in a dungeon must have teleported one to the entrance rather than town. That made sense. Lowenthal looked at the monster that the grenade had spawned. "Hirru, if you want. You can stand aside, this thing's a piece of cake." Lowenthal said, readying his dagger. "Sword Art: Shadow Stitch." Lowenthal whispered as he blurred forward his kunai digging into the creature. Next, he rose his leg and caught the creature across it's face. Continuing his momentum, the final kick made the creature explode into small blue crystals. Lowenthal spun his kunai on one finger and sheathed his kunai. Lowenthal rubbed his hands together, dusting them off. "Well, that was easier then I thought. You alright?" Lowenthal asked Hirru, looking over his shoulder.

[ID: 31135]
[BD: 6(hit)]
[LD: 4]
 

[Hirru = 50/58 hp // 11/12 EP]
[Lowenthal = 89/89 hp // 12/21 EP] -9EP

[Crystal Fiend = -2/45 hp] -42

Edited September 11, 2015 by Lowenthal