Mari

Mari was flabbergasted, how did this happen? HOW? She was a frog! A FROG! A slimy, disgusting, albeit oddly pink coloured frog. Mari stared at her reflection in the puddle again, her big bulbus eyes, a pale blue blinked, first one then the other – great she couldn’t even blink properly.  She tried to stand but flailed about helplessly before landing into the puddle of water with a small ‘splash’ She tried to call out for help, but no one heard; “Ribbit! RIBBIT!”
 

Mari thought she had answered all the riddles correctly; she was so very sure of herself. And yet…and yet…she had found herself in this situation. Sitting in the middle of the busy streets of a starter town; the witch cackling high above her. Mari looked down in a puddle of water; and the reflection of a pale pink frog stared back. Mari tried to scream; but the only words that came out were

‘Ribbit, Ribbit’

The cackle of the witch grew louder; as she disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Well now, Mari had gotten herself into a pickle. Just how was she meant to overcome this?
 

Mari gave Zero a wry smile, as she stood up from her seat; and kicked the chair over toward him so she could sit next to him rather than across from him. Sitting back down again, Mari grabbed his hand between hers to stop it from shaking. "You and I both Cotton ball."

Mari listend as Zero began to open up with her; she wasn't exactly the best person for this sort of thing - she always said the wrong thing at the wrong time and her being so tactless and blunt generally only instigated situations and tensions rather than ease them. "I don't think anyone is completely ok. So what if we lost ourselves that night. I don't exactly regret it - I mean I don't hmm.... " Mari trailed off, trying to find the right words, how do you tell a guy that the same night you went into a room with him, you somehow came out and did it all over again with another man, and hey - you don't even remember it happened. Mari wasn't the type of person to do those sorts of things, but here she was, doing them. Twice. In the same gosh darn night.

"You seemed to enjoy yourself and you were laughing - so what exactly made you go from this-" Mari pressed her fingers of her free hand to the corner of his mouth lifting it to a grin. "To this?" She let go, and allowed it to fall back to his solemn expression. 

Mari closed her eyes, giving a soft sigh - talking crabs...cheesy romantic caves, Life... Mari didn't understand what his intentions were, but the woman imagined a red crab with Life's head on it, and tried her best not to burst out laughing, instead, she gave a few soft snorts - and shook her head.

Opening her eyes she noticed that Alkor had sat in front of her,  "I know life wouldn't try to harm us - but you have to admit this..." Mari gestured around the two of them. "It seems out of character for him. I'm pissed - he lied about a very delicate subject matter to get me here, and now he's just playing some sort of stupid game."

She paused as she caught Alkor murmur something, however she wasn't able to fully catch what he had said; whatever it was, it couldn't have been good - his normally passive face scrunched in concern. Mari wasn't going to ask, every person in this game had their vices, they had their demons - their worries, and their tribulations.

"About myself?" Mari asked, somewhat surprised that Alkor had asked. "Well...just recently I found out that the lawyer who  cheated the judiciary system and stole my child, my home and everything I held dear is in this game- oh and he's stalking me too! Isn't that Fantastic?" Mari added in a sarcastic tone, she crossed her arms in a huff. "That's how Life got me to come here, he said that the man, Uriel, had pushed him over the edge. Life sounded as though he killed the guy. So coming to-"

Mari stopped, as the soft rustle of music began to play; 

"Oh for f*** sake..." 


 

Mari couldn't help but notice how Zero acted - it was much different to the one she had met that night in the Tavern on the first floor - granted the two were quite drunk. "You shouldn't give your loyalty so easily." Mari mumbled, her eyes breaking away from his. Mari had done a few things that night she somewhat regretted. She didn't regret meeting Zero - but she felt she was creating a bad name for herself - and as cold of a person Mari was - she didn't intend to string along the hearts of men. Or Women, if the situation were to arise.

Mari felt his hand clasp over hers, it shook - cold and clammy. Was he nervous? Mari looked back up at him, clasping her other hand over his - her tone quietening as she showed concern for the man. "Are you ok?" She ignored his comment about the strip club for now, normally that would rile up a seedy or flirtatious remark from the girl - but Zero clearly seemed off put about something, and the least Mari could do, after that night was to see if she could get to the bottom of it. 

Mari’s head never connected with the floor – instead, it had landed in Alkor’s hand, as he had reflectively cushioned the blow.  Mari wasn’t expecting that, Alkor didn’t exactly seem like the chivalrous type. He didn’t really seem like any type. He was so rigid – and blank she wasn’t sure if he really thought about anything other than battles, fighting and growing stronger. Of course, this was all just heresy- Mari didn’t know Alkor well enough to make such judgments.

Alkor quickly climbed off of her, and extended a hand to help lift her up. Rather than look at her he looked over at the tree; complimenting it. Mari took hold of Alkor’s hand and lifted herself up off the ground. “Pretty.” Mari agreed, before adding. “Also pretty damn suspicious…a cherry blossom tree…in the middle of a cave, that looks like it’s from a Disney movie.”      

Mari scratched her cheek, “If we start seeing a singing crab I call dibs on crushing it though yeh?” Mari joked, referencing how the scene looked familiar to the set up a certain crab had done for a certain red haired mermaid.

“OH?” Mari asked, stepping around to peek into Alkor’s amber gaze. “Is that a sentiment? Coming from Mr Robot?”  Mari grinned. “Well look at you, being social and all.”  Mari didn’t seem as bothered by the scenario as Alkor – she was annoyed she was thrust into this situation but Mari felt she may as well try to make the best of it. They didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. Mari wandered over to the tree, taking a seat leaning against it’s trunk.

“Well, captain obvious. If we’re stuck here at least it’s a nice setting eh? Wonder what the hell Life is doing though, it’s a little unnerving.”
 

Mari was pulling Alkor along by the sleeve, when she was sure that he was following her the girl let his arm go. "Calm down, I know you don't like bein touched." Mari muttered as she turned to look at him and noticed a less than impressed look on his face, Alkor didn't say he didn't like being touched, but the few times Mari had met him - she had noticed that he jumped, or his body grew stiff. The man was suited to battle, but not much else.

"Reality TV Show? Hmmm..." Mari looked away from Alkor, carefully going down the stairs. "More like a cheezy blockbuster movie, next thing you know we'll be sent flying off the stairs to-whoaaaaa~" Just as she was saying it, it happened. A random wolf had run up the stairs, pummelling into Mari who had lost her footing. In her flailing she had grabbed onto the collar of Alkor's jacket, pulling him down with her.

The two tumbled down the stairs and landed on a large, grassy platform below. The platform was covered in grass, and a single blossom tree in full bloom - it's petals reflecting the colour of Mari's hair. Mari had landed, sprawled out on the ground - with Alkor ontop of her.

Mari groaned, "How about we take turns punching him?"

OH Dear....can this be done after the Hydra x__X

XD

Mari gave a small shrug; "My walk was absolutely lovely, I enjoy the cold and the snow." Mari said  with a smile, taking another small sip of her wine. "I wanted to collect more materials - so I could give them to you to make me some boots. I need them really soon - I hear the Hydra battle is in 15 hours." Her tone was wavered - she was worried, she was still unprepared - she didn't have suitable shoes or chest armour. Her blue eyes fell to watch the golden liquid in her glass, she gave it a swirl, with a soft sigh.

The smallest trace of a smile appeared on her lips with Moartea complimented her, she wasn't used to hearing such compliments, but her smile quickly faded - when she recalled what Lotharian had told her. "I'm not suited to you in that way, Moartea..." Mari mumbled. She wasn't feeling the best lately - with finding out that she had been acting like a lady of the night; Uriel telling her who he was and how he was the one who took her child from her...

"I just wanted pleasant company."

 

Mari gave a small laugh, "Oh geez, Alkor - I don't even know you and I could guess that." She stood up and dusted herself off, looking over her shoulder at him. "Maybe you should work on that predictability of yours?" Mari bit her lip, amused at Alkor's suggestion that interior decorating was less than stellar. "What was I doing? I could say I was checking for traps BEFORE stepping on it....buuut..." Mari gave a small shrug, "I just wanted to touch the grass."

Then, like some kind of cheezy movie, it started raining, and it was seeping into the entrance they were standing at, "I don't think Life can control the weather..." Mari muttered, "This seems really out of character for him. Well, we ain't gonna get sh*t done standing here."

Mari grabbed Alkor by the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him toward the suspiciously sweet path - "If it's a trap it's a poorly executed one." 

 

Mari couldn't help but give a bitter laugh when Zero said she was a sweet person, she replied in a somewhat dry tone. "And here I thought you'd say I tasted sweet, eh Zero?" Mari asked - hinting toward the night they had spent together. She lifted her head up from the table when she felt the soft warmth of his hand.  

"Your help would be appreciated - I'm sort of straggling behind the other guild leaders here." Mari mumbled, finally she lifted her head back up, resting her chin on the table. She looked up at him, and gave him a friendly smile. "So, Cottonball, what brings you to the desert? The mirror not hot enough for ya?" Mari was back to her usual quips and jokes, but her voice fell flat - if one were more attentive they'd probably notice that something was bothering her. 
 

Mari didn't wait to see how the other two were going, she wanted to end this, and end it fast. Mari aimed for the wasp that Claim had just attacked, it was already flailing around on the ground. Mari charged it, then gave it a good hard kick, pushing it off the ground and into the air, high enough for her to slash at it.
 

Rolled a 7 on the d10 (battle) dice.
WASP DEFEATED

The wasp exploded. "Good, one more, then we may just have the queen to deal with." The battle was going a lot more smoothly than she had first thought, herself and Claim were charging the front whilst Lotharian picked up what was left behind.  This wasp didn't leave any loot, so Mari didn't even bother to check - she turned on her heel to face the last wasp Guard, noting that Lotharian was still attempting to kill the remaining Wasp.

Claim was a strong fighter; and Mari knew he'd be able to dent it's health- by the time her turn would roll around next the Wasp Guard should be dead, or near death - and the one Lotharian was battling should also be gone. 

Wasp  Guard #2  10/10

Mari: 18/19 HP

Perma Roller ID #1087

Mari gave a sigh of relief, as she saw the familiar tuft of white hair approach them, "Zero!"  She turned to him, sounding awash with gratitude. "You're here."  She jabbed him hard in the chest with her finger, chastising him. "And you're LATE.  I was beginning to think you forgot." 

Mari gestured toward Raidou, "This is Raidou." Mari then pointed toward Zero, "And this, is  Zero. He was my original partner for this quest - but the a**hole was late."  

Mari quickly sent a party invite to Zero; "You're going to have to make it up to me later - Jerk." 
 

Mari has invited 'Zero' to join Party:
Do you Accept?

Mari turned to Raidou, noting that his expression seemed far off. "Err... you ok?"

Mari leant down, inspecting the treasure chest - it was the first chest she had seen in the game. She didn't want to accidently trip a trap or have her hand chewed off by a Mimic. It looked normal. "Well, no pain - no gain..." Mari mumbled to herself. Feeling considerably less stressed than what she had earlier - taking out her anger on that mob and shouting at it had made her feel better. 

Rolled a 17 on the d20 (Loot) dice. SUCCESS
150 Col + 2 Mats

Mari opened up the chest, inside was a decent amount of Col and two materials she could use for either herself or to take to a Blacksmith, the chest faded away once she had taken out the contents. Now, an eerie silence fell - and the cool air of the cave began to give Mari goosebumps. She looked a frightful mess, her hair was matted and tangled, and her face covered in dirt - streaked where she had been crying. Her jumper had been torn and her arms were bleeding. Her polka dot skirt was crumpled and torn at the hem, if Mari were to see herself now it'd probably send her spiralling into a mini panic attack. 

Leaning back on the cave wall Mari contemplated waiting for Lotharian or not, would it be worth continuing on? He was probably worried about her. Good. She thought, let him suffer, at that spiteful thought Mari decided that she WOULD continue onto the next room. Her previous fight with the Skeleton Warrior yielded no loot so she was still nowhere near her goal for the quest. In fact, she was right at the start - meanwhile Lotharian was probably off in the field reaping the benefits of it all. 

Mari bitterly mumbled to herself as she entered the next room; where two Skeleton Warriors lay in wait for her. She charged at the first one.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Night Vision -1

She probably should have waited for her eyes to adjust to the darker room; her strike fell just short of its target.

Skeleton Warrior #1  10/10
Skeleton Warrior #2   10/10

Mari 15/19

Perma Dice ID #1075  (Chest)
Perma Dice ID #107  (Battle)

Mari bit  her lip as she forced back a smile at his new nickname for her. "Oohhh a nickname? How flattering." She teased. Although, at the mention of the meeting her smile faded slightly as she glanced away. "Yes, well - I've formed a guild and was invited.  I need to do the right thing, but I feel I am grossly unprepared. As I said in the meeting. I'm cannon fodder." 

She took a long sip from the iced tea, musing in a thoughtful tone; "The experience would be great - if I live. But that's what brings me to this horrible floor. There's a shark quest thing, was going to do it, but now..."

Mari turned back to Zero giving a sigh as she sprawled out - placing her head on the table. "I don't think I can do it on my own - my guild members are all too weak to help - and I hate the heat, the fourth  floor is my favourite - I love the snow, hate this dry heat. "
 

Mari sighed, rolling her eyes. She had hoped that the player was stronger than he was smart, they generally say brains over brawn, but hey- if she could have brawn at this point she'd take it. "I've already accepted the quest." Mari said, being careful to use a clear and concise tone.  "I was asking if you wanted to join a party. Are you ok, you seem to only hear every second word I say."  Mari added the next part under her breath, "more like every single word I say..."

At that moment, a party invite appeared before Mari;

Raidou has invited you to join a party, do you accept?

She watched as he wandered over to the fountain, did she really want to form a party with him? She couldn't exactly do it alone...and the other member she invited along was beyond fashionably late. Mari guessed she would have to continue without him. Mari clicked accept.

>> Yes

>Party formed with Raidou<

"No point in sitting down - how long do you think it takes to click 'accept' ?" Mari muttered in an annoyed tone - already forgetting that she was planning to be clear and 'nice' toward him.

Mari shouted at the Skeleton Warrior, taking her frustrations out on it, "WHY?" She screeched at the brainless mob. "WHY did you do that? You KNEW I was drunk and you still did it?" She pushed herself up of the ground, ignoring the bleeding scratches on her arms, and how dirty her attire had become - how out of place her hair was. "You don't have any SHAME and you have ....you have..." She balled up her fists, Dagger held tight in shaking hands, "the AUDACITY to act like you're censored sorry?"  Mari raised her dagger high over her head and struck the Skeleton.

Rolled a 8 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Night Vision -1

Finally....FINALLY she had landed a successful hit, the creature made a serious of clattering noises before exploding in an array of porygons. Mari gave a long sigh, wiping the tears from her eyes and the sweat from her brow onto a white jumper sleeve.

Mari quickly checked to see if there was any loot;

Mari didn't bother moving from her position on the floor- her anger turning into frustration. Angry tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she shouted at the Skeleton warrior, throwing her dagger uselessly toward it. "Just censored off you stupid censored! " 
 

Rolled a 2 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Night Vision -1

The dagger uselessly bounced off the warrior and landed on the ground next to her, the Skeleton Warrior bought its sword down  over Mari, who shielded her face with her arms - the strike cut clean across both her arms.

Mari twirled her iced tea with the straw that had been given to her; as she felt the presence of another sit before her she looked up, an angry glare across her  features - it was too hot to deal with crap from strangers today. Her scowl almost immediately disappeared when she realized it was Zero who had sat in front of her.

"Hello Cottonball." Mari said with a grin, "I suppose it has, we didn't get a chance to talk during that meeting eh? You looked surprised to see me there."
 

Mari had received an invitation by Moartea to join him for a quiet drink before going out to the fields to fight. He must have known that the 4th floor was her favourite. Mari loved the bite of the cold, and she enjoyed her talks with Moartea. It was a refreshing change from the constant flurry of anger and malice hurled her way, and after finding out who Uriel really was...it would be good to be able to talk to someone about it all. Mari didn't exactly want to talk to Life about it, because it would seem that Uriel would just send him into a blind rage.

Mari entered the Tavern; and spotted Moartea immediately. She gave him a nod and a smile as she approached him, taking a seat opposite him at the small table. "My, someone's dressed fancy today." Mari said, placing her elbow on the table so she could place her face in the palm of her hand. Mari ordered a Moscato wine - a very sweet tasting wine.

As it was placed before her she picked it up and took a dainty sip from it. "It's good to see you Moartea."

Mari stepped back from the wall,  rubbing her forehead, she turned when she heard someone else enter the cave. It was Alkor - what was he doing here. "Life asked you to help too?" Mari asked suspiciously. Mari wrinkled her nose, feeling the tingling pain from face planting the wall. "I don't think he needs help." Mari said in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked around the cave. There didn't seem to be any sign of him. 

The woman ran a hand through her candy coloured hair, scratching her head. "So - I assume he told you something about a battle to get you here?" Mari asked, she knew very little about Alkor, but the one thing she did know, is that he was obsessed with training and fighting. "It seems like he wanted us both here, but felt the need to lie to us..." Mari muttered, As she finished her sentence a trail of torches seemed to light up - creating a dimly lit path further into the cave. The path was adorned with a soft grass and flowers. She tilted her head, heading over the the path she knealt down to run her hand over the grass.

"Why would someone make this, it seems too...out of place to be generated by the game." Mari lightly laughed as she looked up at Alkor, "Life doesn't seem like the gardening type to me - do you think he did this?" 

Being angry wasn't doing Mari any favours - rather, it was throwing her off of her game. Mari was still only getting used to fighting - and this was her first real quest beyond the trek up to the second floor with Tristan. Mari sighed, taking a few deep breaths, but it wasn't working...she just wasn't calming down, Mari's fists were shaking and all she wanted to do was to punch Lotharian.

"Stupid censored and his stupid censored face!" Mari screamed as she swung at the Skeleton Warrior 

Rolled a 3 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Night Vision -1

Mari missed, not only did she miss but she tripped over a rock and fell face first into the ground. The Skeleton Warrior used this opportunity to strike at Mari, it swung the flat of its sword down on her back. it didn't cut her, but it still sent a shot of pain up her spine. Mari screamed, rolling over onto her back and shuffling away from the beast.

Perma Roller ID #1067



Skeleton Warrior 5/10

Mari 18/19

"Stupid Lotharian... " Mari mumbled as she readied her attack again, her and the skeleton Warrior sized one another up, circling each other in a sort of semi circle. Mari wanted this to be over, this entire stupid quest - so she could punch Lotharian in his stupid little face. Mari charged at the Skeleton, the more she thought about Lotharian, the angrier she got; sadly, Anger did not help the little girl in this battle.
 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (battle) dice.
Night Vision -1

Mari  lunged forward to attack the Skeleton Warrior, but it lowered its head, and her blade bounced off the helmet, the skeleton tried to return the attack.
 

Rolled a 6 on the d10 (mob) dice.
Evasion -1

Mari was able to duck, and step to the side just before the blade hit her. She smirked, even in the dim lighting she was still able to effectively evade the attack

Skeleton Warrior 5/10

Mari 18/19

Perma Roller ID #1063

Mari didn’t hear the last of what Lotharian had to say, she didn’t care. She just wanted to get away from him and his stupid smooth words and his lies. She was pissed at him for taking advantage of her like that. Be damned for the excuse of alcohol.

Mari headed toward the second point on the Marker – Lotharian wouldn’t be killed by one lousy Elk. She just wanted to grab this armour and get back to the shop. The cave wasn’t very far from where her and Lotharian were fighting the Elk. Mari didn’t invest anything into Nightvision and she knew that being in the cave would lower her accuracy. Even with the few torches dotted along the cave walls - vision would be a very slight issue here.


<<In Cave -1 All Dice Rolls in Effect>>

Still, she heard the clattering of a single Skeleton Warrior – its gaping mouth hanging from it’s head. Mari furrowed her brow and kicked off to strike it.
 

Rolled a 7 on the d10 (battle) dice. 
Night vision -1

Rolled a 9 on the d10 (battle) dice. 
Eva -1

Mari succeeded; just barely- the strike bounced off the Skeleton Warriors helmet and into its eye socket, Mari pulled back, but not before it swung at her with her blade - effectively scratching the surface of her skin.

Skeleton Warrior 5/10
Mari 18/19
 

Perma Roll ID #1061

Mari sighed shaking her head;  "It's nothing important Moartea, really - I'm just - a little uncomfortable with how much power you seem to hold in the Crimson Inquisition." She offered him a small smile as she looked back up at him. "I see you are a good person, I know that. The entire guild just makes me uncomfortable." Mari glanced toward Uriel. 

"The fact that it allows people like that in it, doesn't speak well for it."

Mari shrugged her shoulders. "It's nothing against you, it just makes me feel....off."