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[PP-F21] Trust Has To Be Earned w/ Lessa


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08:34 pm
Underground Waterfalls

Slowly but surely the day was coming to a close, and with that everything inside of Aincrad usually started to get quieter and relaxed. Players closed their shops, adventurers gathered at inns for the night. And especially at the Underground Waterfalls of floor 21, the 'tourists' also started to go home, making space for some couples to enjoy the evening in peace and togetherness. Not today though. Two hooded figures were sprinting through the narrow caves and open spots. From time to time the sound of metal hitting metal could be heard, with sparks flying through the air.

For Aereth this time of the day usually meant work. It was the perfect time to hunt. He recently took on an assignment from three players that hired him to find and rescue their female friend from a smaller group of thugs and PKers. It had taken him around four days to track down one of them with the help of his underground network but now he finally was chasing after a member of that group. 

The two orange players crossed their blades once more, thus coming to a short halt. The guy had only about 10% of his health left while the brunette PKKer was more or less comfortably sitting at 30%. "Where is she?" the brunette asked not noticing that the two players reached the Underground Waterfalls...

@Lessa

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With both hands, Lessa rubbed at her tired face. The words on the page before her were beginning to swim, as the need for sleep pressed at the back of her blue eyes. She needed the sleep, and she knew that, but she also recognized that there was no one else to do her work. If she did not keep the guild afloat, balancing accounts, organizing events, the Vanguard would simply cease to exist. It was too small, and too unique a concept, for third parties to help prop her up. And as her handful of members were out adventuring (was that not the point of the guild, anyway?), there was no one but her.

Still, she leaned back in her chair, the old wood creaking in protest beneath her weight. A yawn consumed her, and she tipped her head back to study the multi-colored crystals that clung to the ceiling. Their guild hall was built into the already existing caves on the 22nd floor, making it both unusual and secluded. She appreciated both in equal parts. With another groan, though this one from her, the woman stood. She missed her mountain home, and the way that time seemed to stand still while she was there. Longing for it, and trying to imagine the feel of the warm sun on her face, Lessa shuffled toward the hallway that led to the front entrance. She would just pick up a couple cans of pop, she decided, to get her through the next couple of hours. As she had none in her inventory, she was forced to make the quick jog to the nearest shop. The walk'lll do me good, she convinced herself, as she exited the guild hall, and skirted the waterfall that protected it.

A short distance away, another man was out for a leisurely stroll. A player in his mid-to-late forties, he enjoyed the relative solitude of the 22nd floor. The waterfalls were a very short walk from the busy city, providing him with both the freedom of nature, and the safety and convenience of more populated areas. He was reflecting on that exact matter when the clash of metal pulled him back to the present. Grabbing for his own short sword, which he always kept at his hip, the player leapt forward. Was he skilled enough to pose any sort of threat? No, probably not, but his gut told him to jump in anyway. Maybe this was his time to be a hero.

Motivated by the notion of it, of saving someone in need, he drew close enough to the battling men to hear one ask for the location of another. At the sight of their positions, and their red health bars, the player thrust his sword out in front of him. "Stop now!" he called, with as much bravado as he could muster.

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His opponent didn't back down after hearing the question. He pushed his two handed straight sword as hard as he could against the Katana of the brunette effective ending the short stall war and disengaging from the immediate range of Aereth. Slowly the brunette lowered his weapon and waited patiently for an answer. But unfortunately for him, it wasn't his target that was starting to talk.

For one brief moment his prey diverted its attention to the newcomer. And this one moment was all the hunter needed. Aereth stormed forward, katana already glowing in a dark blue color and unleashed a strong stun attack upon his enemy. The weapon moved effortlessly through the armor of him and reduced his health points as close to zero as it possibly could without killing him.

With a loud thud the man, not much older than 30  dropped to the ground, unable to move. Without hesitation the brunette placed his katana to the throat of his victim and asked once more. "Mind your own business. It's dangerous to stick your nose into things that shouldn't bother you." he said in a dismissive tone to the newcomer. "With my current health supplies I should be able to deal with him until I can make my escape..." he thought before turning back to the guy to his feet.

"And you. You have one more chance. Where. Is. The girl?" 

"T-the hideout. She's there."

"Stop bullsh*tting me. I was already there." 

"B-but there's a hidden door in the meeting room. You have to push a hidden button on the wall to access it." the almost dead player answered, a glimmer of hope that he would make it out of this situation in one piece if he would tell Aereth what he wanted to know in his eyes...

Just after he finished his last word, the katana pushed down on his throat, and penetrated his virtual body, effectively reducing his health points to zero and making the body vanish in thousands of little crystals. 

Slowly the brunette faced the other man. He didn't notice that after he initiated his attack, the long hooded cape he wore came off, revealing the flaming set of light armor he was wearing. It was a gold and blue assassin like armor engulfed in white flames...

@Lessa

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The sounds that escaped the man were unintelligible, the gargled words of a man too panicked to form actual sentences. His upturned brown eyes were wide, and rolling with fear. In his haste to retreat, he nearly tripped over his own feet - had it not been for his windmilling arms, he would have lost his balance. As it was, his slightly overweight form trembled as he backed away, adding as much distance as possible between himself, the player killer, and the pixelated shards that still settled at his feet.

It was too much, it was all too much. But he could still be a hero, and he could still do what was right, even if his hands shook too much to grip his sword. He fumbled as he shoved the one handed weapon back into its sheath, turned on his heel, and fled back the way that he had come.

Lessa heard the shouts before she saw the man. "Help, someone help!" he cried, his voice thin and breathless as he gulped for air. He turned the corner, and began to call out again. "A player killer! He just killed someone! I saw it!"

"Where?" A small crowd had begun to gather now, as they always tended to do. A gruff man, with a thick beard and thicker forearms, barked toward the other player. "What exactly did you see?"

The witness seemed thankful that he was gathering their attention. "A guy, brown hair, tall. His armor was gold and blue, and had some flame stuff." He gestured wildly, moving his hands up and down his own body to demonstrate. "And he was asking the other guy for the location of a girl. He's going to kill her next!"

By this point, Lessa was tuned in. But the concept of the man killing someone else was enough to send her slipping away from the growing mob. This, she had to see for herself.

Edited by Lessa
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For a few moments, the brunette PKKer just stood there, contemplating his next steps, while watching the bystander as he sheathed his weapon again. Clearly all of his bravery from before was gone by now and he was more or less scared to death by Aereth's actions.

"They will immediately notice that he is missing. I need to act fast." were the last thoughts before a loud cry for help interrupted him. Inwardly cursing, Aereth quickly activated his search skill to spot his lost hooded cape, before sheathing his blade and picking it up again. As if on command, the white flames vanished into nothingness shortly before he threw the piece of clothing over his shoulders. 

Almost as quickly as he was picking up his cape a small crowd had begun to form around the witness. He needed to leave. Quickly. As proud and arrogant he might be at times, he knew when to simply use the easiest way out: Running. Usually a simple teleport crystal would have been enough to escape a crowd, but due to stalking down his prey for the good part of the last three days, the brunette PKKer didn't have any left. 

"What a beautiful day..." he mumbled, as he activated both his Charge and Hiding skill as he dashed away from the crime scene. And it seemed like his bad luck didn't even stop there. The crowd was blocking the only way towards the main settlement of Floor 21, so the only chance he had was to try and loose them in one of the many dungeons.

And thankfully he had all the time in the world for a little stroll... "Great. Really great."

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Lessa's breathing grew heavier the further she ran, slipping past her lips in short, measured gulps. She had never been a good runner, not before Aincrad, and not afterward either. Even the in-game supports did little to lessen the strain it took on her body. Perhaps she was just cursed with a bout of unshakable asthma. Regardless, she kept up the pace, calling forth her HUD with a familiar twinkle of chimes. The path she took was also familiar, and one she had followed many times. Unless the man had used a teleport crystal to escape, this pathway dumped its patrons into the caves, which acted as dungeons on this floor. As such, at at risk of encountering a player killer, the blonde equipped her heavy armor. Though her gait changed, she refused to slow, even after the addition of many pounds of weight.

While Lessa could not see the ribbons of color weaving together at her back, she knew that her Claymore, Hell Rose, was being formed there. And the sense of it, the weight of it, brought her some surprising comfort. She held onto that as she pounded after the guilty party. A few more minutes, she told herself. Give the chase just a bit more time, then chalk it up to a crystal and head back. What was the harm in a bit of a jog? If nothing else, the pulsing adrenaline and sudden physical activity had energized her, shaking much of the sleep from her system. At this rate, she had another two hours of paperwork in her before she would finally succumb to sleep.

The woman did not slow as she raced past the wide, arching mouth of the first cave entrance, plunging herself into the cool, wet air, and dim lighting. 

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“Two down, one more to go...” the brunette thought as the second mob of the group burst into little polygons. Not only was the mercenary unlucky enough to encounter an angry mob of “brave players”, no. On his escape he even managed to run into group of angry monsters as well. Thankfully only two minutes later also the last mob was defeated, giving Aereth time to open up his inventory, finally grabbing a health potion and downing it in one go. 

Just after the small bottle burst into pixels just like the mobs and the player he killed earlier, Aereth finally noticed the steadily growing sounds of an armored being. He didn't even have the time to pull back up his hood before a lonely armored player appeared from the dark cave path he had just taken himself to escape the crowd. 

Aereth only eyed the player, tightening the grip around the sinister looking Dimensional Shift, while he was starting to get slightly nervous on the inside. His health may be back up to full, but his energy was almost completely spent...

"Leave. I do not have time for wannabe heroes today..." His eyes were cold, his voice was strong, and the black aura of the blade in his hand only amplified the threatening stance he choose to take in front of that player. It worked just fine a couple of minutes ago with the guy who was unfortunate enough to witness him executing another player. 

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It was difficult to see, given the limited light that reached so deep into the cave. Fortunately, Lessa’s eyes had adjusted well enough that she could make out the man’s facial expression. It was not a pleasant one - he was clearly unhappy about her presence. In fact, the man wore what was only a step down from a snarl.

So Lessa schooled her expression into one of mild disinterest. Truth be told, the annoyance that peppered her tight-lipped tone was entirely genuine. He spouted his macho nonsense, black smoke climbing his katana, his flashy armor giving off a faint glow of its own. And it sickened her. She had thought she had left the wannabes behind when she left the frontlines for the life of a hermit. She had been wrong.

“And I have no time for try-hards,” she retorted, her words clipped short with impatience. Her right hand hovered at her side, ready to draw her claymore at a moment’s notice. Her left, however, gave a sweeping gesture to include their surroundings. “Yet here we are.”

It was a gamble, no doubt. Had she not been so worn out, and so put-off by his behavior, she would have simply turned around and left. For all she knew, he was far more powerful, and capable, than she was. It had been a year since Lessa had seen combat, and while her gear was efficient, her skills were rusty. Besides, this man had already demonstrated that he was dangerous, and there was no way to know for sure that he would not kill again. But she continued to regard him the way an older sibling might a troublesome younger one.

Edited by Lessa
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"A stubborn one... Great..." he thought after hearing the rather bold response from the female player. It didn't happen very often that somebody would stand up and speak his or her mind in his presence.

He didn't move an inch when she prepared her hand to draw her weapon. Even though both of them weren't moving, the whole situation looked like two lions dancing around each other, waiting for the other one to make the first step. "A wannabe hero and a try-harder, meeting in a dark and moist cave. That's the stuff great stories are made off... Look. I don't wanna get into any more trouble." the cold tone still in his voice. "So I have no intention to start a fight right here. Let me tell you what we are going to do: I will walk into that direction..." he pointed behind him. "And you will go back in that direction." His free hand slowly moved towards the direction the armored female just came from. "As a pretty busy man, I have another important matter on hand that needs my immediate attention, and as you can hear, I'm in quite a hurry." He was referring to the sound of a group of angry players steadily coming closer towards their location. 

He assumed that this girl had to be one of the stronger ones in that group, judging by the fact that she had found him much faster than the rest of her group. "So? What do you say? Parting ways now and hopefully never seeing each other again, or playing hero and risking to get hurt? Your call..." 

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Lips pursing in thought, Lessa’s eyes narrowed to blue slits as she watched him. Then she loosed a small shrug. “Tell you what,” she started, allowing her face and wound muscles to relax. He wanted fear from her? He wanted submission? There wasn’t a chance in hell that she would allow him that. “I don’t much like being given ultimatums, or being told what to do. I like it even less than try-hards, and believe me, I hate try-hards.” 

The tunnel was alive now, with the sounds of the approaching search party. The familiar thud of gear reached her first, but their low voiced and occasional shouts were enough to chill a person’s blood. Were she in his shoes, she figured she would be racing to escape as well. She caught his gaze, held it, and continued. “I don’t know if you actually think you’re important enough to treat others this way, or if you’re just talking a big game.” It had been a very long time since she had faced off with anyone, since she had had an opportunity to put her sharp mind and sharper wit to use. She was far from having a death wish, but there was something invigorating in putting herself in harm’s way again.

One gauntleted hand reached back, fingertips kissing the hilt of her massive, rose-adorned hilt. “But you’re not too busy to clear up this whole player killer matter.” Blue eyes flashed devilishly, and she knew she was too far gone to stop herself. “Too cowardly, maybe.”

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She was stalling time. He knew it. But something deep inside of him wanted to engage her. See who is stronger, who is better... She definitely knew which things to to in order to gain control over a situation. Or maybe she really just was a cocky woman that liked to see how far she could go. Just for one small moment he could feel himself loosing it and simply trying to blitz her. Just one hit to see if she also had the strength to back up her words...

But he didn't. "Tell me what's better: to be a living coward, or a dead hero?" Aereth answered and shrugged slightly. He was waging his options. If he started to run she would attack. If he would attack he would get caught... "I could engage in a battle with you and get caught by your not so quiet friends..." slowly sheathing his weapon, he raised his hands in front of him. "... or you can help me now saving a girl whose only hope of freedom is standing in front of you. Whatever you choose... Choose fast..." Aereth said in a calm voice, having decided that this was his best shot at getting out of this whole mess, AND fulfill his contract...

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It was the surprise that registered first, a quick flash of it that dulled the impish edge to her expression. He had stuck her as someone who would resort to violence before anything else. She had pegged him as the nothing-to-lose type who would use his head to ram into something before he used it for logical thought. She had been wrong, a fact that came with an odd mixture of disappointment and pleasure. The former, because she was not as skilled as reading people as she had once been. The latter, because she could still be surprised. And that fact alone, that slice of discovery in a place like Aincrad, was very precious to her.

As such, she let her guard down perhaps a bit more than she should have. "Alright, then," she stated, letting her hand move away from her sword, and plant itself on her hip. She was still suspicious, of course - he was a player killer, after all. But the story of the girl intrigued her. Hell, everything about this man intrigued her. Much of her initial wariness, and weariness, was gone now. "Now we're getting somewhere."

Lessa was tempted to draw the conversation out, to watch him grow more agitated in his hurry, but her interest in playing with him was fleeting. So instead, she moved past him. The action left her back exposed, demonstrating that she did not see him as a threat. A lesser man might be offended by the slight, but she hoped he did not fall in that category. "There's a series of smaller caves down this way. Most dump into actual dungeons, but a few just make good hideouts. We hunker down there for a bit, and you tell me what's going on." She cast a look over her shoulder at him. "If I like what you tell me, we'll go look for your girl. And that's my final offer."

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After some tense moments Aereth finally was able to put down his hands. Be it either because of her curiosity, or finally some luck on his side, she agreed to help him in escaping the angry mob. "She wouldn't mind one small slash, right?" a dark voice deep inside of Aereth told him. The voice that more often than not got him into really big trouble with guys and gals he really shouldn't mess around with. That dark voice was a proud and arrogant one. It didn't like the fact that she managed to trap him between a rock and a hard place. 

The brunette simply shook head at the thought and silently turned around to follow her. For his taste the girl had lowered her guard a little bit too much, which could either mean  A: she was trusting him enough to let herself be open for an attack, B: she was confident enough in her strength as a player not to care about if he attacked her, or C: that he, as always, was overthinking everything way too much...

A slight sigh escaped his lips. "Deal. That was also my plan, before I got interrupted by some stupid mobs and a girl in heavy armor. Let's go." he said as he finally caught up to her.

As the two of them started running deeper into the dungeons, the sounds of the angry group of people finally began to grow quieter and quieter with every step, until they completely vanished. 

One of the confusing labyrinth like caves lead the two players, that couldn't be much more different, to a dead end on which they both decided to use it to make it clear to Lessa what Aereth was doing. 

"Seeing as we don't have much time, I'll just save the details for later. So short story even shorter: That guy I got rid of some minutes back on that waterfall place, was part of a group or guild, of players that focus on kidnapping weak players. They then use them to get money and resources from their friends and loved ones. They prefer females, since they make more money, and have more 'fun' with them." the word fun, came out of him in a slightly disgusted tone before he continued. "And once the person they blackmail are out of money, they just discard them like some piece of trash..." Aereth explained in a cold and a little bitter voice. "You see now why we have to be fast?"

NOTE TO MYSELF: Maybe a small branch of the Laughing Coffin that is used to fund the main guild...

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"A girl in heavy armor?" She echoed his words, a smirk playing across her chapped lips. Was that how he saw her? The least he could do was call her a woman. She was twenty years old! Or twenty-three. Or whatever. In truth, she had lost track of the time that she had spent in the big floaty castle of misery. Once upon a time, she had counted every passing day with the accuracy of a rocket scientist, keep track of how long it had been since she had seen her family. Now, she could not remember the sound of her parents' voices. But she would not, could not, spend even a second reflecting on that fact.

Instead, she focused entirely on what the other player told her. At the mention of forcing the girls, Lessa felt her stomach roll. Disgust pulsed in every vein, but she fought to keep her face as blank as possible. If the man was lying, he was using the story to read her emotions. Though she was skilled at reading others, keeping her own feelings in check had once been a struggle. Years in Aincrad had helped her perfect the art. When he finished, his eyes combing her face for some sort of response, she finally made the decision to trust him. At least, a little.

"Alright," she began, giving a small nod. "Supposing you're telling the truth, I do understand the urgency." She let the accusation hang there. Whether he lashed out at her for doubting, or focused entirely on the task at hand, would say a lot about who he was as a person. She was eager to make the discovery for herself. The tale he wove was an interesting one, and something that was sure to tug at the heartstrings. He was a player killer, no doubt, but Lessa was no longer naive enough to hate him for that alone. There had been a time when she had seen in such startling black and white. But shades of gray had formed as she grew more jaded, and as she remembered another player who had killed for reasons considered justifiable.

"We'll wait here," she told him, slipping into a more authoritative role. If he had a problem with that, it would be quite revealing too. "Assuming they keep the same pace, they'll follow the main trail in just a couple of minutes. Then we'll loop back. It's the only way to lose them. If we duck through my guild's hall, it'll cut our travel time in half, considering our back exit dumps you right next to the city limits. Then we'll both go deal with this group." Her blue eyes flashed, as cold and clear as arctic waters, just daring him to argue with her.

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Aereth simply shrugged at her smirk as she asked him if he really just called her a girl. He didn't even think much about it, but even through the heavy armor he could see that she indeed couldn't be much younger than him. It really seemed like all the things he had done and seen, made him feel much older than he actually was... No older wouldn't properly describe it... Tired? Ah. Who cares anyways...

He watched her very attentively, while he explained the situation. Looking for any signs in her expression that gave away what she was thinking. She was making it hard though. Aside from the expected sign of disgust, he couldn't really see anything in her expression. Of course, she was still struggling with weather she was being tricked or not, and what his real goals were, but that was all.

"It is the truth." He added in between her sentences before raising an eyebrow at the newly found commanding tone her voice was getting. "I'm not going to complain about you wanting to come with me, since I could still be lying to you and trust has to be earned but let me tell you that you don't have to, and by all means shouldn't come with me after we managed to loose those players. It's a highly dangerous and risky operation..." Aereth tried to reason with her. The last time he infiltrated their hideout in the middle of the night while most of the group was out and the rest was asleep, proofing his hiding and sneaking skills to be highly effective.

In case she would insist on coming with him, Aereth would open his inventory, materializing every piece of information he was able to gather in the last weeks about the matter. His information mainly consisted of handwritten notes, accompanied with a few crystals where pictures of the higher ups of the group were stored in.

Before showing anything to her he once again decided to use a more serious voice while explaining some last things to her. "I hope you won't understand me wrong now, and I'm grateful that you didn't hand me out to those guys, but I have to say this. I don't trust you. I still don't know why you even decided to help me back there. So there are two things you need to know: Hinder me in the operation, and I'll leave you behind. Double cross me, and I'll do something I might or might not regret later... Are we clear? I know that you mistrust me just as much as I do mistrust you, but this has to be said." 

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Lessa snorted. Whatever reaction he was going for, and she imagined he was trying for something, it probably was not the eyeroll, the headshake, and the snort. "You're all the same," she muttered. Her forehead was split by a line of annoyance as she studied him. "I would have thought that years in Aincrad would have drained that dramatic bullshit out of try-hards like you." By the time the words had left her, her tanned face had contorted into a sneer. 

"I thought I'd been pretty transparent with you," she continued, fighting to keep her voice low, so not to be overheard by the search party that would be passing any moment. "I don't like you, so I'm not doing it out of the goodness of my heart. I'd had every intention of keeping you pinned, but then you told me about girls who needed saving." Her blue eyes flashed. "I figured, hey, that was something worth investigating. Is that not good enough reason?"

Both hands moved to her hips, a stance she knew was cliched, but it felt the most comfortable in the moment. "I don't care if you trust me, or if you don't. I never asked you to. But let's get one thing straight." She lifted one hand, and jabbed a finger at him. "You can take your veiled threats and shove them up your ass, because this isn't some blockbuster film, and so I don't need any poorly written dialogue." She took a step closer, and felt a hot lance of pleasure as she threw his own words back at him. "Are we clear?"

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"Well that turned sour pretty fast..." he thought, noticing how the blonde was getting more and more riled up by his little threat at the end. But he almost had to chuckle inwardly as she told him to take his threats and shove them up his ass. 

"Look. I didn't want to insult you. Currently there are two lives at risk. The girls life and mine. And I don't want to loose even one. You received the warning, but let's just focus on our common goal for now." Aereth concluded, before muttering a small "What's with that obsession with try-hards anyways?" more to himself than to her.

The two players then quickly went over some of the most important notes the brunette had just fetched from his inventory. He told her about the location of the hideout, some persons that could be a threat to them. Every piece of paper had some notes about size, gender and preferred weapon style, with some of the notes having more and other having less information on them. At the end he simply told her how he infiltrated the base the last time around. Simply having waited for most of them to leave and letting the guards getting tired. "...after not finding anything I sneaked out and left again. But looking at your choice of armor, I assume you don't really have any sneaking skills, or do you?"

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"I could ask you the same, about your obsession with doomed heroes." It was petty, and tactless, and more than a little pathetic. But Lessa felt the need to get one more jab in before they transitioned to the business end of things. Her frustration with him still burned hot and heavy, but she had to admit that he was right about the urgency. She could pick at him later, if given the chance.

By now, the sounds of the search party had reached their climax, and were beginning to drift away. If they were to sneak back into the main tunnel, and escape before the mob reached the end and turned back around, they would need to move quickly. In that twinkle of bells that seemed impossibly loud in the small space, Lessa unequipped all equipment but her massive sword. It looked unusual, with her slim-fitting t-shirt and loose, flowing pants, but she had a point to prove. "No sneaking skills," she confirmed, lifting her gaze back to his face as the ribbons of light died away. "I just hit hard, and can take a hit myself. I may be more distraction material, should the need arise." She began to jog now, an action she made look oddly graceful, given the claymore strapped to her back. Once she felt him moving up alongside her, she continued. "They know you. They don't know me. We can use that to our advantage."

After a couple of moments, Lessa slowed to a halt. To their left, the tunnel bowed outward, forming a small cavern. About twenty yards from where they stood, a small waterfall crashed from a gash near the cave's ceiling. It tumbled into a dark lake, not much larger than the average suburban in-ground pool. "Here we are," she announced, peeling away from the main passage and drawing nearer to the water's edge. Nearly hidden by a cloak of darkness, a narrow ledge jutted from the cave's wall, allowing her safe and dry passage behind the waterfall itself. A door, cleverly disguised to match the black rock, swung open into the Vanguard's guild hall.

"Home sweet home," she stated. As if in answer, a mocha-colored mound of fur galloped toward the two players. The wolf gave Lessa's hand a companionable nudge, but uttered a throaty growl as it turned its gaze toward the man. "Riker," she introduced simply.

Edited by Lessa
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He simply let that last jab slide. She really was having issues with his attitude. But to be fair, he wasn't particularly friendly to her either and she had no idea who he was and that he never put out empty threats. He always stood to his word...

"Yes let's move. Good call to remove that piece. We'll be faster and quieter this way." Aereth mentioned before neatly storing away everything again and preparing to leave. "Figured as much." he answered and started to catch up to her. Once he reached her he corrected. "Wrong. The only one of them who knows me is already dead. So best case: they didn't notice yet that one of their higher ups is missing, unrealistic. Or worst case: they are expecting something and either upgrading their security or already start moving their hideout all together." Aereth added in a worried tone. It could get very difficult to get in again unnoticed, but he was sure that he could come up with something until they would reach the hideout.

"A hidden entrance..." the brunette muttered. "Smart." After entering they encountered a proud wolf that seemed to be her familiar. Aereth crouched down, offering the familiar his hand. "Funny coincidence. I myself have a wolf familiar, but I left him back at my place..." in case the familiar would come to him, he would gently give him a few pats before standing up again. "So... Basic plan in short: Like you mentioned you could distract them once we are there, giving me time to sneak into the hideout. From there I would give me around five, maximum ten minutes to find and free the girl before getting out and supporting you. Sh*tty part: they will know your face, which I don't like and you would temporarily have to fight between zero and a whole dozen of players if you choose to use force... Or we hope that you can stall time without getting into a fight? Any better ideas?"

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The woman sucked on her bottom lip as she thought for a moment. Lifting a hip, she settled herself on the edge of the table that stood in the hall's entryway. Arms folded across her chest, she watched her familiar hesitantly sniff the other player, before nuzzling into his pats. Pretty shitty guard dog, she thought with a flash of wry amusement, before again focusing on the task at hand. "Between zero and a whole dozen?" She frowned. "That's a hell of a range, and I don't like the uncertainty. I feel like we need to get inside before we make any solid judgment calls."

As soon as the words left her, a plan begun to unfold in her mind. "That's not actually a bad idea," she muttered to herself. One sneaker-clad foot tapped out a sporadic rhythm, accompanied by the churning of the water just past the closed doorway, as she mused. "You mentioned they don't know you, right? So suppose you showed up at their door, asking for your girlfriend, or your sister, or whatever. You can make up some excuse for wanting that girl back." She flashed him a tight-lipped smile. "And in return, you give them me. If they try to take me without a deal, we fight them. If they make the switch, we use it as a distraction to grab your girl and get ourselves out. Even if they turn us away, we learn about their numbers and their strength just from being there. I'll play the helpless victim you plucked from the Town of Beginnings, and forced to be your bargaining chip. They won't know what hit them."

Her shoulders then rose and fell with a small shrug. "I can handle being bait." I used to be a frontliner, she wanted to say, but she bit back the words.

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