[PP:F9] <<Bandit Camp Quest>> A Surprise Encounter! [Lowenthal]

[Opal 0]

"Who said I needed help, anyways?" Is what Opal was thinking about, the calmness in her expression moments after her outburst had been sudden from the tonic she had just drank. It almost seemed as if the events didn't occur and she was just now meeting Lowenthal for the night. Ignoring his pleas to talk about it at another date, she heard the noise once behind her. She briefly looked in the direction of the noise and immediately swept it off as a woodland creature or something. 

Then the noise came once more, this time Lowenthal speaking more abruptly about it, "I heard it. Probably just a woodland creature or something. But if it makes you feel better..." Opal swept her hands over the menu and switched out her Masamune for the Dragon's Breath, the blade that was forged from Mack's shop when she first gained the skill. Unsheathing the blade, she walked towards the shrubbery, inverted the blade with both hands on the hilt and started to stab whatever was hiding within. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal drew his kunai, unable to shake his feeling. "Hey, there wasn't any extra bandits in your quest? I mean, I only had the four." Lowenthal said, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched. He hated having this feeling, and most of the time it was someone watching him. It was almost as if he could feel their breathing. Lowenthal tried to keep an eye out for anything that moved. Wish they'd just show themselves already. Lowenthal thought. "Well, anything?" Lowenthal asked to Opal, seeing as she was currently stabbing a nearby bush to death.

[Opal 0]

Her blade dived and swam through the shrubbery, if anything was in there, it was as good as dead now. Whipping back the blade she drove a single hand into the bush and revealed whatever was frightening the anxious Lowenthal. In her hand was a cowering woodland creature, a small bunny that had been lurking about to find something to eat. 

"I've been hunted down, paranoid, and damaged by many players in this world. But I am not scared of a bunny." Walking towards Lowenthal, she placed the bunny in his hand as it scurried about kicking from the way it was being held. But the bunny was not the problem and unfortunately Lowenthal's prehension was accurate. Something else was lurking around in the darkness and they had made themselves known with a snap of some fingers. The sound of a whip cracked the air as it unfurled forth and latched itself around Opal's neck. Giving a dry heave and being pulled down into the ground on her butt, the woman choked out a grunt as her lifeless eyes narrowed into murderous slits. Pushing herself forward with one hand on the thick weapon's material, her pulled herself up, dug her heels into the mud and yanked as hard as she could until the stranger was removed from the darkness, "You dirty bastard!" Opal attempted to thrust her long bladed weapon into the gut of her attacker, but his evasion was beyond her current accuracy to puncture him. 

The whip was released from her neck as she coughed slightly and rubbing her throat, "This guy seems to be on the kinky side...I'm gonna cut his [censored] balls off..." It could have very well been a woman attacker, but the darkness and the dark garb symbolizing on the chest, she knew it was one of Sensui's Assassins. The woman started to blink dryly, her body staggered left and right as she placed a hand on her neck..."Ugh...[censored]...the whip...is poisoned..." Blurry vision had settled and the woman shook her head trying to keep clear her thoughts and her mind. None of this would have happened if Lowenthal was here...Opal grunted and pursued her attacked through the vegetation of the area. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal let out a sigh of relief when Opal revealed the rabbit. Lowenthal held out his hand, and held the small ting in his hands. It was adorable in it's own way. If he didn't have Ninken, this would've probably been his familiar. He petted the small creature in his hand, and it calmed down somewhat. "Yeah, you're not so bad are ya?" Lowenthal said, setting the rabbit down. "So, shall we?" Lowenthal said, before the peaceful night was ruined by a loud crack. Before he could react, Opal was dragged to the ground, via a whip. Lowenthal re-drew his kunai. "Damn it! You get back here!" Lowenthal shouted as he took after the assaulter. "Opal, do you know this guy?" Lowenthal asked, as the two ran after him.

[Opal 0]

"This particular one? No...Can't say I do..." They swam through a dense forest of trees and shrubbery trying to nail the assaulter, Opal kept her eyes peeled but through the darkness of his garb as black as the night around them, it was difficult to discern his exact location. She just knew he was up ahead somewhere. Cursing to herself, she rubbed her neck, a light green splotch appeared over her flesh as she continued to take damage from the poison. She would have to wait till the effects worth off, until then, she could not see straight and was running blind on instinct. Whipping her sword side to side to cut through the vegetation both herself and Lowenthal had fallen into a pitfall and came crashing down into the floor. They had been set up and whoever that was had set up a trap for them.  

She was stupid not to notice the pitfall and Opal had looked up after rubbing the dirt and grime off her ass and hands. Almost snarling with anger, Opal shot a blurry gaze upwards to see several men looking down and smiling, one of them having long brown hair in a rather old yet fashionable suit of sorts. She recognized the man just by the mere scent that rolled off his body, the smell of the ocean waters. Gritting her teeth she growled out the name "Sensui." Not paying any attention to Lowenthal, Opal attempted to scale the walls but to no avail. The man flicked earth tone hair from his shoulder as he smiled down below, "Hello again, Opal. Seems you have fallen into one of my traps...yet again. As the living heir to Myoga's Shadow Fall Technique, I am not going to kill you just yet. But I will let you and your friend rot down there until you are ready to give that information up. Trust me...I have all the time in the world! Hahahaha...." the man laughed and left their field of sight. 

Opal shook her head, "Well, I suppose I am going to need your help on this one..." she said shooting a glance at Lowenthal. 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal still chased after the man, the dark silhouette blending into the foliage and the background of darkness. "Particular one? There's more?" Lowenthal asked, as they ran. That only made him more curious about her training in the mountains. "This kind of thing happen oft-" Lowenthal was in mid-sentence before he felt the ground collapse under him. His momentum carried him forward and he crashed into the other side of the pit. He had barely just caught himself on the ledge, and was scrambling to pick himself up. That was, before he felt a sharp pain connect with his face. A boot had came down, kicking him into the bottom of the pit fall trap. Lowenthal sat up, now in the pit and his face slightly red not only from the embarrassed of falling for such a trap, but from the impact of the man's foot. Lowenthal sat down on the earthen floor. "Alright then. You take care." Lowenthal said, to the mysterious man as he walked away. "Alright then. We'll wait a few minutes, wait for the scouts shift change. Then, boost me up out of this hole. Once up, I'll take a quick peek around and I'll pull you out." Lowenthal said rubbing his face, and explaining his plan. "But, until then. Who's this Sensui character, and what does he want with you?" Lowenthal pestered. "Whoever he is, he's messed with the wrong ninjas, huh?" Lowenthal said, giving Opal a grin.

[Opal 0]

Her ruby lips curled into a bitter smirk, "I didn't want you to get involved in this, that is why I was doing the quest solo. I heard his men were in the area, and I was playing it cool until I got poisoned earlier. I knew his eyes were on me...I just didn't think it would end up like this. Sensui is part of a group of Player Killers making a name for themselves recently, he has two large armies at his disposal right now. His right hand man's name is Volcano who runs the Lava Fist gang. A group of ninja dressed in orange garb most of the time. There is another man that I am not familiar with who is his 3rd in command, but I met Volcano back on the mountain when I was training with Master Myoga..." Opal had left out the detail that during that invasion she was captured by this bunch and was tortured for seven days thereafter needing information and a possible hidden skill called the Shadow Fall Technique. Opal had only heard of and practiced it, but the full effects were not transparent until a rank 5 in Sneak&Hide had come.  

Running a hand through her raven hair she shook her head at Lowenthal, she needed his help to get out of this pit and she could not do it alone even with her own Acrobatic skill, it was too far slippery. The only way to get out was to shoot one person upwards as Lowenthal had stated. Dropping her saya to the ground, Opal got on one knee and placed both hands together with the palm facing outwards, "Alright...You get a running start and try to land on my hands, then I'll launch you upwards with all my strength...But we need to hurry...I was poisoned by that whip...and my strength is giving out quickly. On the count of three..."

Opal eye's started to blue once more, the tingling sensation of pain coursed through her arms as she attempted to focus. Shaking her head she began to count down, "1...2....3!" 

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal listened, and nodded as Opal spoke. "Alright then." Lowenthal looked up at the sky above them. "Should be time for shift change, get ready to boost." Lowenthal said, as Opal was already readying up. Moving on her countdown, Lowenthal took three steps and used Opal as a step, to jump up. Opal using what was left of her strength, used it to launch Lowe even higher. Lowenthal was able to grip the edge on the pit, and pulled himself up. He drew his kunai, and surveyed the area. No one. Perhaps he was wrong about the scouts. He dropped to his chest and threw his hands down to Opal. "Alright, time to get you out." Lowenthal said, pulling Opal from the pit. Lowenthal looked at Opal's wound, seeing the green mark around her neck. "C'mon, we can't stay here. We need to keep moving." Lowenthal said to Opal, wondering if she could even move. 

[Opal 0]

Using the mud wall as leverage along with the Masamune, she leapt with her remaining strength and caught onto Lowenthal's hand. Slowly she was pulled up from his long arm and helped out. Gasping lightly for air, the woman sat on her knees keeping  blurry vision on the area around her. She grunted while getting up to her feet, it wasn't like Sensui to let them go so easily. There had to be another trap set somewhere, "We better be careful...Sensui is cold and relentless, he won't back down when I am so easily found in his grasp." Opal moving to her feet and stumbled forward slightly using her saya as a crutch to keep steady. She could use 'that' potion if she needed to, but that would make things very bad right now. She didn't want to go full on blood lust on her friend even after he just helped her, the smart move would have been he left her there. Scoffing of the thought, Opal gestured for the two of them to hide in a cave, "Over there...we can lay low for now. If we both take to the shadows separately, they'll have a hard time pinpointing our location. We'll meet up in that cave and try to find another way out of this area. We don't wanna be ambushed by Sensui's men...he has many at his disposal..." 

With that fact in mind, Opal nodded her head to Lowenthal and her figured was consumed in the shadows as she activated her Sneak&Hide Skill. She would rendezvous with Lowenthal shortly.  

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal saw the cave, and could see it clearly even in the dark. He nodded to Opal, about the destination at teast. "He has many at his disposal. Man, i hate that term. Makes people sound, disposable." He looked down, and looked at Opal. He fought the urge to just throw her over his shoulders and carry to the cave. "Alright, makes sense. Meet you there." He said, lying down on his stomach and activating the game's stealth mechanic. He inched his way to the cave, making sure that Opal went first. It was tough to do, but he slowed his speed to stay behind her, and make sure she made it to the cave first. Other than his bruised ego, and pinked face, Lowe was at peak condition. He slowed his breathing down, and made his movements smaller to make it harder to see him.

[Opal 0]

OOC: Would you like to wrap this thread up, Lowe? We can start a new thread and do some hunting in the cave to continue our story. :) 

Opal went ahead of the sandy haired player, staying low to the ground and making as little noise as possible as she moved with the grace of a cat with her combined <<Acrobatic>> skill. The shadows became her friend as her darkened figure came to the mouth of the cave, with Lowenthal deep in the shadows as well, she couldn't pin point his whereabouts at the moment, she only hoped he would meet her at the cave in a reasonable amount of time. Crouching and then standing as she turned her back into the cave, she walked slowly within and deactivated her stealth. The cave was hollow from the naked eye, but one could possibly believe that it had more depth than it let on. She pressed her back to the cavern wall and slid down it, exhausted from both the poison and the long journey up to this point. She mumbled with a grunt of tingly pain, but that's all it was, just an overall feeling of being uncomfortable. 

[Lowenthal 0]

A light rain had started fall before Lowenthal made it into the cave. When he reached the mouth of it, Opal appeared in front of him as she headed deeper into the cave. Lowenthal crouched up at the mouth of the cave, and looked around. Making sure they weren't followed Lowenthal made his way over to Opal. "Alright. Piece of cake. Hard part comes next." Lowenthal said, sitting across from Opal. "That man, Sensui. He hurt you. And that neck wound wasn't the first time, was it?" Lowenthal said, already knowing the answer. He brought up a knee, and rested his arm on it. "Well, we should start small." Lowenthal said, looking to the entrance of the cave. "We'll need to find out information on this 'Sensui's army'. And we'll get him through his own people." Lowenthal said, wanting justice rather than revenge. "And I don't want to hear, any back talk. You got it? No 'I need to do this alone' or 'You shouldn't be involved' bullshit." Lowenthal said, pointing to Opal. "I'm going to help you. We're going to get this venomous snake. Now, you get some rest. I'll keep watch." Lowenthal said, moving over to where he can watch outside.

((OoC: I'm all for it ending, seems like we have a lot of work cut out for us huh? By the by, only you get the Col reward. But we both get the SP which was what I wanted most.))

[Lowenthal 0]

A light rain had started fall before Lowenthal made it into the cave. When he reached the mouth of it, Opal appeared in front of him as she headed deeper into the cave. Lowenthal crouched up at the mouth of the cave, and looked around. Making sure they weren't followed Lowenthal made his way over to Opal. "Alright. Piece of cake. Hard part comes next." Lowenthal said, sitting across from Opal. "That man, Sensui. He hurt you. And that neck wound wasn't the first time, was it?" Lowenthal said, already knowing the answer. He brought up a knee, and rested his arm on it. "Well, we should start small." Lowenthal said, looking to the entrance of the cave. "We'll need to find out information on this 'Sensui's army'. And we'll get him through his own people." Lowenthal said, wanting justice rather than revenge. "And I don't want to hear, any back talk. You got it? No 'I need to do this alone' or 'You shouldn't be involved' bullshit." Lowenthal said, pointing to Opal. "I'm going to help you. We're going to get this venomous snake. Now, you get some rest. I'll keep watch." Lowenthal said, moving over to where he can watch outside.

((OoC: I'm all for it ending, seems like we have a lot of work cut out for us huh? By the by, only you get the Col reward. But we both get the SP which was what I wanted most.))

[Opal 0]

OOC: I can split the reward if you'd like. @_@ You did...take out 3 of the Bandits. haha....If so, I'll give it to you in our next thread! :D 

ID: 36944
LD: 13 [+325 Col] OOC: Come on lucky roll~~~

Opal looked towards the mouth of the cave, a light right hard started through the blanket of the night as she wrapped an arm around her rested knees and brought them up to her chest, while the saya was pulled in with her. She noticed the familiar face in the darkness when he revealed himself, he was safe, that was a good sign at least. The woman placed a hand on her neck as he spoke, her eyes darting left and then right when he said 'no' wasn't an answer for help. The woman huffed, "It doesn't matter what he did to me...the past can't be changed so I have to live with that." She looked away from Lowenthal, there was a bitterness in her eyes when that scene was drudged up from the corners of her darkened mind. She let out a heavy sigh as if burdened now by the exposed crimes of Sensui, Lowenthal had to just get involved...him of all people. Sensui was a man who took what he wanted from people, if there was something Lowenthal valued in life, Sensui would not hesitate to take it away from him. 

Without saying any word, she would assume she could feel safe with Lowenthal on watch. It was a burden on her because she felt weak for having been the target, alone...she could deal with this, but now that she had company, it only worsened the problem. She didn't say anything else, instead she tightened her figure into a ball and rested her head on her forearms, blinking away the tears that threatened to erupt. How could she sleep... when the nightmares in her mind forbid her of peace?

Thread Summary: Opal and Lowenthal: +2 SP
Opal: + 200 Col, + 325 Loot Reward from Quest
Lowenthal: +200 Col

Edited November 1, 2015 by Opal