(PP-F5) I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. (Mack, Shirosu) <The Traveler>

[Jomei 0]

"So you lost what out in the desert?" 

The woman in front of him, clad in ragged robes that covered most of her body and face. Any clothes that seemed to peek out from under the hood and robes were red and almost gypsy-like. In a breaking tone, she pleaded to the irishman. "Medicine. My family and I were traveling through the desert to get here.. when we were hit by a sandstorm. It must have fallen off of the carro we were using to carry our supplies. Please. My daughter needs that medicine to survive.. I'm begging you." she spoke in a thick, but understandable, spanish accent as she placed a desperate hand on Jomei's chest. 

"Alright." he nodded "I'll go find the supplies you need. Just wait here in town for me to get back." 

"Thank you. Thank you! I am afraid.. however.. that.. the medicine will probably be going bad, out in the heat like that.. You may only have two days at the most before it is useless.."

Jomei took a deep breath and nodded, "Alright. Guess I'll just have to hurry then." He began to walk towards the outskirts of the town when he opened up his menu. He was going to need some help on this quest if he were to succeed in finding the supplies in time. He considered sending out the message to Piera and Lowenthal.. but he figured the guild leader was busy preparing himself for the boss fight.. and Piera filling the tall orders of potions. Biting his lip, he continued through his friends list. He then remembered, at Opal's goodbye, Mack admitted he wanted to talk to Jomei about something. With a nod, he composed up a message to the leader of the Crimson Blades, asking for his assistance. 

Fifth Floor Quest
TO: Mack
FROM: Jomei

Mack, I'm looking for some help on a quest out into the desert on the Fifth Floor. May have to travel through a sandstorm, so I thought I could use the extra hand of the leader of the Blades. I also know you wanted to talk to me about what was found about Lindow's death. Meet me just outside of Armadillo.

[Mack 0]

After receiving Jomei's message Mack had tapped out a simple reply to the ginger-headed Irishman, noting with some irony that since he had changed his personal appearance the two of them together might look similar enough to be able to pass themselves off as brothers to people that didn't know them both. If only Mack was capable of speaking in that Irish brogue that Jomei had, it would really make a rather wonderful practical joke. Oh well. All the reply said was that he would arrive in Armadillo shortly and that he'd enlist a spot of help as well. Within a very few moments Mack had appeared in the teleportation portal on the fifth floor, emerging from the cool delight of Snowfrost Town into the baking hellhole that was Armadillo. Pulling up his map, Mack located Jomei's marker and made his way in the other man's direction.

"What brings you to this roasting hellhole," Mack asked in a dark tone, pulling the gold trimmed hood of his crimson cloak up to cover his head. At least the cloak would offer some protection from the oppressive burning heat on the floor. "I've gone ahead and contacted Shirosu, she's a Squad Leader in the Blades. She should be here to meet us and offer her assistance any minute now."

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu studied the message that popped up in front of her and straightening up dropped the heavy pile of fabrics she had been carrying onto the ground with a loud slap, she could pick those up later. She quickly ran around the shop collecting her items which she had thrown hazardously around after she had slouched into her shop last night and in a brain dead state forgotten she could just unequipped it. She sped walked out of her shop and after a brief walk was at the teleporter. "Floor four!" she called and in a blink her avatar materialized in the desert. "Woahhh!" she said as the the smouldering heat settled upon her like an oppressing wave. spotting her query she walked up to them and introduced herself to the other ginger man present,"Jomei right? Names Shirosu, nice to meet you!" she gave him an earnest grin the asked the general question not caring who answered,"So what are we doing today?" as she waited for a reply she scrolled through her inventory and found a large scarf, with a small touch it materialized in her hands and she wrapped it over her head and neck to protect them from the sun, she was a pretty pale person and learnt from a young age that she burnt easily. 

[Jomei 0]

The irishman stood with his arms crossed, looking out across the desert at the large dust clouds off in the distance. The winds carried all the way to where he stood, his cloak flowing in the wind behind him. From behind him, Jomei heard the familiar booming voice of Mack, to which he turned around with a friendly smile on his face. "Just needed a change of scenery is all.. Picked up a nice little quest along the way like I said in my message to you." Mack, after pulling the hood of his cloak up to cover his head, told Jomei he had invited Shirosu to travel with them, and that she was a high ranking member of the blades as well. He thought he recognized the name, just could not place a face to it at the time.. He would have to wait and see who she was talking about when the girl arrives. 

Moments later, a light haired girl approached the group with a smile on her face. He recognized the girl from that one meeting out in the Town of Beginnings, where Jomei had his first encounter with the Crimson Blades. "Aye, thats me. Pleasure to meet you Shirosu." The man then opened up his menu, sending a party request to both Mack and Shirosu, sharing the quest with them as well. "I picked up a quest here in town.. A woman and her family were traveling in the desert when they were hit by a massive sandstorm.." he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, where the dust clouds towered off in the distance, "They lost some very important supplies in the chaos, that apparently mean life or death for the woman's child. She has asked if we could trek through the storm and get it back to her within two days." Taking a deep breath, he turned his body towards the desert, puling up on the front of his raised collar to help protect himself from the sands, "We can leave whenever you two are ready." 

[Mack 0]

“Ah, the Traveler quest,” Mack said, nodding his head. Suddenly he was glad that he had thought to bring Shirosu along on this little adventure since she was very much in need of completing this quest to pick up the survival skill. “Done it once before, not sure how much help that will be though,” Mack said after a moment’s thought. It seemed to him that some of the quests in the world of Sword Art Online changed in subtle ways when they were repeated. Or, at least, that had been his experience.

“Here,” he said to Shirosu, seeing that the girl had produced a scarf from her inventory. Pulling up his own inventory he found the snowy white hooded cowl of the Angelic Sheath and materialized it in his hands before tossing it to the silver-haired woman. “That will offer better protection, and it will be cooler. I believe we’re ready when you are, Jomei.” Rolling his head around on his neck and popping the limb, he waited for Jomei to indicate that it was time to head out since this was his party.

[Shirosu 0]

"Sounds interesting" she said she had heard of the quest that gave those who completed it an extra health boost which was always welcomed, especially on top of her athletics. She muttered something about extreme heat when all of a sudden Mack dumped the cowl for his Angelic Sheath armour in her hands, explaining that it would be cooler and offer more protection from the heat. "Thanks" she said earnestly and threw the hood on, her face was immediately enveloped by the shade it threw and she was quickly feeling much better about the whole desert trek. she kept the scarf handy and tied it around her wait incase things got a little dusty, knowing her she would inhale a lungful of sand. "Lead the way Jomei!" she said ready to get this quest done and get the goodies that came along with it. 

[Jomei 0]

As the two responded to the irishman, stating they were ready, Jomei nodded, "Alright, lets go." One after another, the small party began their trek out into the hazardous desert. Now out in the desert, where there was a lack of shade from surrounding buildings, the virtual sun above them was beating down on them hard. Immediately, he felt sweat begin to accumulate on his pale forehead, which he wiped off using the back of his gloved hand. Wearing his cloak out in the desert like this may have been a bad idea for some, being it did not provide any sort of cooling effect and was only covering his shoulders and neck. However, he knew once they got into that sandstorm, which was now fast approaching, he would need it to protect himself from the beating sands. 

After about a mile and a half of walking out from the town, that was when the group had entered the sand storm. Immediately, Jomei's cloak began to whip in the wind behind him, hoping it was not bothersome to Shirosu and Mack. He squinted his eyes and pulled up on the collar of his cloak, keeping his hand there to prevent it from falling again. He turned his head to make sure his two companions were still following him, and with a nod, continued to trek forward.

ID: 33682
CD: 8

((On a CD Roll of 1, lose 10 HP.. Mack is exempt from this since he has the Survival skill already))

Edited October 1, 2015 by Jomei

[Mack 0]

Mack followed with the group and remained largely silent as they exited from the town. The less he said about the place and the oppressive heat the less he would think about how nasty the weather was on this god forsaken floor. As they entered the sand storm proper and the winds began to pick up and howl Mack crossed the short distance between himself and Jomei and then tapped the other man on the shoulder. When Jomei turned to face him, Mack pantomimed with hand gestures the two of them switching places in the unit formation. Since Mack already had the survival skill the massive swirling vortex of sand wouldn't affect him as negatively as it would Shirosu and Jomei. Therefore, it was logical for the big axe-man to take point but he wouldn't force the issue.

[Shirosu 0]

• ID:33746
• CD:8

Shirosu almost gasped when they entered the blisteringly hot desert and threw her arm over her mouth, trying t stare past the swirling grains of sand without success. she untied her scarf and added it around her mouth to avoid swallowing any of the debris that flew by, she also took shelter behind Mack who was like a pillar in the storm and helped to block the gritty substance. When they entered the brewing sandstorm Shirosu grit her teeth as the heat washed over her, she seriously hated too much heat, and she really, really hated sand.  She pulled the white hood as far forward as she could and still see to protect her eyes from the stinging sand. 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei felt a tap on his shoulder, which at first he thought may have just been the sand or wind, but with the next tap he figured it was something else. Turning his head, he noticed it was Mack trying to get his attention. Using his hands to talk, since the howling winds of the storm deafened them, he told Jomei to switch spots with him. With a nod, the man slowed his pace to let the larger man walk in front of him. Mack seemed to be able to bear the storm much more than he did, were it because of his strength, or possibly a skill. Jomei fell back and walked behind the man as he lead the way into the desert. He shot a quick glance over to the hooded girl, who was also wrapping her scarf around her face.. she did not seem to be taking this storm very well. Jomei placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to get her attention, and once he had it he used his hands to sign out 'are you okay?'

ID 33800
CD 3

Edited October 2, 2015 by Jomei

[Mack 0]

Mack nodded to Jomei and moved ahead of the Velvet Room member. Not only did Mack already have the survival skill, which did help when dealing with situations such as this. It wasn't a huge help since it wasn't as if the skill allowed the massive Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades to create a bubble of space around himself inside of which the effects of the storm and desert heat were completely negated. But, the axe-man imagined that it was probably easier for him to be at the point position since he had the skill than it would be for Shirosu and Jomei. Furthermore, if Shirosu was smart and crowded herself in between himself and Jomei then she'd be able to ignore a good bit of the storm. Methodically, the ginger bearded man put one foot in front of the other, trekking deeper into both the storm and the desert.

[Shirosu 0]

• ID:34128
• CD:8

Shirosu couldn't smile through her scarf but she did her best to offer Jomei a smile with her eyes and gave a thumbs up, no need for them to worry about her, she may not  deal well with sand but she wasn't a porcelain doll. She had to lift her feet much higher then she normally would to clear the sand, he being short in all, and she situated herself close behind Mack, once again using him as a sand shield. When another harsh blast blew by she had to close her eyes momentarily to avoid being blinded by the hot grains, thankfully she was still unscathed, for now. 

[Jomei 0]

The group had been trekking through the hot desert for quite awhile, not noticing any sudden changes in the ground below them as they walked. That all seemed to change as Jomei heard a rumbling noise, followed by trembling in the sand below them. "I think something's coming!" Jomei yelled to his group, pulling his Summerthorn from its sheath across his body. Almost simultaneously, two large worm-like creatures burst from the sand, one in front of the group and another behind them. Their elevated body stretched about thirteen feet into the air with more than half of that still slithering on the sand. The monster in front of them seemed more like a centipede, since thousands of legs covered its lower body. The most frightening part was the rows upon rows of teeth in their mouthes. Jomei turned his head to Mack, "I'll attack the one behind us!" Turning back around, he used his <Sprint> skill to get a bit of an extra boost while running through the sand. As he closed in on the giant worm, it let out a loud screech and shot forward towards the irishman. As its head became level with Jomei, he thrusted his sword forward. Once it collided with the beast's face, an additional four bright lights seemed to pierce through the burrower as well, knocking it back from Jomei. 

-------
ID: 34170
BD: 8(+2) = 10
DMG: Neutron 5x7 = 35(-22) = 13
MD: 1
CD: 4 
-------

HP:
Jomei: 93/93 (17/22)
Mack: 96/96
Shirosu: 61/61

Sand Burrower 1: 77/90
Sand Burrower 2: 90/90
Dmg: 16 Mitigation: 22

((OOC: If someone would like to control the second burrower, that would be great :) ))

Edited October 8, 2015 by Jomei

[Mack 0]

OOC: Why would anyone need to take control of Burrower #2? I'm an axe-man, not a zoologist.

ID: 34747
BD: 8 (6+2)
MD: 7 (8-1)
LD: 8 (No Loot)
Jomei: 93/93 (17/22)
Mack: 104/105 (13/25) - Dynamic Violence (-12 Energy) - (-16 Dam., Mit. 24)
Shirosu: 61/61
Sand Burrower 1: 77/90
Sand Burrower 2: -8/90 - (4x3x10 = 120-22=98)
Dmg: 16 Mitigation: 22

When they had been trudging through the sandstorm for some time Mack noticed a slight rumbling feeling beneath his feet. Before he could raise his hand to signal everyone to halt a pair of massive sand worms that looked like something out of Dune made their appearance. Unable to hear Jomei over the sound of the roaring wind and sand, Mack did the thing that made the most sense to him. He was at the point position, therefore it was his job to deal with the part of Aincrad's bestiary that was in front of him.

Swinging Invictus loosely in his hands, Mack rumbled forward in his armor to engage the creature, his axe glowing a soft crimson in the obscuring swirl of sand. Deciding that, with his new armor, he was somewhat less than concerned with what the sand worm could do to him, Mack simply allowed the creature to bite him and made no attempt to dodge. When the creature bit him, Mack's storm grey eyes flicked to his health bar. A single point had ticked off of it. The red head rolled his head on his neck and popped it. "My turn." Three times Invictus flashed, slamming into the serpent and a fourth time the blade darted out to release a powerful shockwave that slammed into the creature a moment before it dissolved into pixels.

+1 Mat