Baldur

Holy mother of zeus, what?!

Had he done something wrong? Did he miss something? Was it a bug? How was this a fight to the death?!

Suddenly someone was charging at him. Where did the stranger come from? As the cloaked was thrown free, Baldur saw only his own form on the field of battle in front of him.

"censored" Baldur cried out, he reached for his sword, but he had been so surprised that his footing was off and his doppelganger slashed through him with amazing strength, the only thing that saved him was the amazing armor Tyger had made for him.

Staggering back, but drawing his sword, Baldur cried out in rage and threw himself at his double, their blades clashing together, but Baldur was able to land quickly turn the engagement to his favor and landed a heavy slash on his opponent. The demon had dropped his HP some, but he was still in the blue, his blow, on the other hand, had dropped his opponent into the yellow in a single solid strike.

[iD: 7362 BD: 8 MD: 9]

<<Gemini>> Hits Baldur for 2 DMG [1 base + 2 skill + 1 cirt - 2 Mitigation]

<<Baldur>> Hits Gemini for 5 DMG [ 1 base + 2 skill + 2 weapon]

<<Baldur>> 13/15HP

<<Gemini>> 10/15HP

"Hey!" A voice called out to him as he moved into a section of the jungle where a few trees had fallen down, letting more light than usual filter through the trees and into the cluttered clearing.

"Umm... Hi." Baldur greeted the man, walking closer to him but keeping a safe distance.

"It's nice to see someone else up here. You can get lost pretty easily."

Baldur looked around nervously as the strange man spoke to him.

"Tell you what, fight might in a duel to first blood, and I'll give you some info all the awesome stuff I found on this floor so far."

Baldur thought about it. There was no harm in that, right? People duel this way all the time, that way even an accidental string of crits wouldn't kill someone. He rubbed his chin in thought, he wasn't sure if he trusted this guy, but he had heard that many of the higher level explorers treated map data as more valuable than Col.

"Alright..." Baldur replied hesitantly. The menu for the duel popped up and Baldur hit the accept button. The timer appeared, and a loud tone filled the ear as the numbers counted down from ten. When the number struck one, all the sudden the words "To the death." Flashed about them.

The giant stone columns sticking out of the ground in this jungle gave Baldur the impression that he was out exploring some ancient lost civilization. The trees towering over him with vines hanging down and what appeared to be numerous birds and monkeys flying and leaping about high in the trees. He wondered if with enough throwing skill you could take one out. As far as he knew, no one had tried that yet. The jungle here seemed alive in a way that many of the other floors hadn't. Idly, Baldur wondered about the level design of this place.

It was often the fact that as developers learned and got better with the engine, the stuff they did at the end was much better than what they had done at the start. Considering that this castle had 100 floors, he wondered just how spectacular the upper floors must be. On the package, it showed a giant crimson castle at the top. What would they fight at the castle on the top floor?

The main road out of the settlement quickly degraded to what looked just like a dirt path through a jungle, and a fog that he couldn't see around him began to close up the path at the edge of his vision so that he could no longer see the village. Undeterred, Baldur continued to walk down the path, it seemed easy enough, but the path soon began to snake as it hadn't just a few minutes ago. He thought he saw figured flitting through the trees on his peripheral vision, but he couldn't see anything when he looked closer.

Baldur grinned and made a downward swiping motion with his two fingers to open the menu and then equipped the bracers. As they materialized on his forearms, he smiled and modeled them for Tyger by flexing in the most exaggerated way possible.

"They're great! I guess I'm going to go THAT WAY to look for a quest up on the SIXTH FLOOR, with my new awesome VAMBRACES!"

He really hoped he didn't sound like an American pro-wrestler when he flexed while talking with her, but he hoped it made her smile just the same.

"Someone gave me a tip about some good quests on the sixth floor, so I'm going to go check it out." He half saluted, half waved to Tyger as he stood up and began to head to the door, "I'll bring you back all my mats, and maybe some flowers, too." He then blew her a kiss and pushed the door open as he walked out into the sunlight.

Baldur pushed open the door to the shop and walked in like he owned the place. He didn't, of course, but he did live here, so that had to count for something, right?

"Hey Tyger, are you back in the forge?" He was amazed at how well designed these buildings were. Through a closed door you could only hear the sounds of battle, a knock, or a shout. Granted that was game code and not construction technique, but the effect of it still impressed him as a builder.

"Hey pretty lady, I was just coming by to see if you had been able to make that plus accuracy item for me?" He leaned forward on the counter and tried his best to give her the smolder.

"I also thought maybe you could see these, since I don't really have a use for them anymore." With a two-fingered swipe, Baldur called up his <<Swordsman's Cape>> and his <<Sharp Kindjal>> and selected the <<materialize>> option so he could set them on the desk.

I don't even know where to begin with how wrong and misguided your entire post is, so instead I will treat it with the levity I think was your intention.

The answer is no, if he was meant to be gay, the author would have written him gay.

The Sixth floor.

Baldur stepped up to the teleportation gate in the Town of Beginnings and called out in a nervous voice. "Amazon."

There was a flash of light and then he found himself standing in the central plaza of the main city of the sixth floor.

Amazon.

The village was smaller than he expected, a few small wooden buildings and tents that seemed to double as shops. He could almost see the entire city from the square, since the main road which always seemed to run North to South didn't seem to go very far before it ran between two giant, weather aged stones which seemed to circle the settlement. Beyond that was only jungle. He had heard that parts of this floor were easy to get lost in, but also that it had some great quests. It was for that reason that he came up here.

Also, he had heard that it was populated entirely by women.

But that had nothing to do with it whatsoever. 

Really it didn't.

Baldur shifted in his new armor, and rested his hand on the blade at his hip. It felt natural to him now, having a sword on his hip once again. It felt right. He hated to admit it, but this world felt right to him.

Taking a deep breath, he stared out to the North. "Let us begin."

Baldur just shook his head and laughed. She was working hard for this one. He opened his mouth to continue, but then closed by kissing her shoulder softly. He'd let her have this one.

"As the all-mighty Alpha and <<Orkin Man>>, arbiter of Punic Wars, and lover of Ginger Tygers, I will be benevolent and gracious and let you win this one. Beecause I love you more. And I got a flower to prove it."

He laughed more as he imagined her rolling her eyes.

"I love you so much."

[Thread Complete]

Baldur - 200 Col +1 Skill Point - Gave 15 Mats to <<Tyger>> (post #7)

Tyger - 200 Col +1 Skill Point - Gave Hell Fang and The Golden Night to <<Baldur>> (post #10)

When Tyger riposted with her puns, Baldur couldn't help but admit it was an impressive assault. Thankfully his face was against her back, so she couldn't see his expression.

"Kakakakakaka" He said in order to hold back his laugh. The old school reference of her joke made him smile.

"Bee that as it may, Honey, you would have to comb a hundred pun books if you want to be the Queen of this hive." He let his sentence hang in the air, and then he hugged her again.

He hoped he made her laugh. He loved hearing her laugh. It's how he knew everything would get better. Her laugh was just too pretty for them to die.

Baldur smiled at Tyger as she threw down the glove.

"It's fine baby, that doesn't bugme at all." 

He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to sit on his lap so he could put his arms around her and leaned his scruffy, dark haired head against her back. It wasn't quite the same as in the real world, but she was warm. Smiling into her back, he squeezed her tight.

"I will admit though, that joke was a real stinger."

"Wellllll....." Baldur said as he moved to sit down in the now vacated chair and put his feet up on the bed, leaning back into the chair and entwining his fingers behind his head. Tyger instantly knew he was about to tell her a whale of a tale.

"The floor has this really weird cow theme going on. Lots of Minotaurs in like... bad 80s BDSM armor. And then bugs. GIANT WASPS. Baby, I had to fight off SO MANY WASPS!" At this point, he began gesticulating wildly with his right hand,vaguely imitating fencing strikes and parries.

"....and then I sliced another one's wings off, and when it fell to the floor it died, and that's how I liberated your flower from the <<Giant Wasp Empress>> and her <<Million Wasp Army>>. It must be a glitch, cause I should be like level 50 after killing so many. And if this game had titles, I'd totally be Baldur, <<The Orkin Man>>."

He smiled self satisfied and returned to relaxing back into the chair now that his whale of a tale had been spun.

I love your style. Once I have enough money to buy Health Potions and a teleport crystal, I'll start saving up for one of your pieces ;)

"Yea we do!" Baldur held out his first to Tyger for her to bump it, and when she did he exploded it. His face was all smiles and twinkling eyes, but just as quickly he put on his serious face.

"Really though, this is amazing!" He thumped his new armor with his fist, satisfied with the metallic ring that followed.

"Have you made your own tiger stripped set yet?" The sparkle was back in his eyes as he reached his hands out and took both of hers and placed them against his chest, pulling her close so he could wrap her in his arms and hold her tight.

He might not have said it, but she could read it plainly on his face. He was grateful to her for this, for giving him the strength not just to protect himself, but both of them. To get out into the world and start making a difference. It was her faith in him, made physical. And his eyes told her how much he loved her for that faith.

Baldur offered Lessa a friendly smile, "It sounds like your friend has a sense of humor. That certainly is one hell of a sword though." He looked up at the light of this world's sun filtering through the leaves of the three she was resting beneath, and the azure sky that absorbed everything else. He wondered how they decided on just what shade of blue to make it. He realized suddenly that he had forgotten to look up at the night sky. Were there stars in this world?

"I suppose, if I was used to the higher floors, that if I wanted somewhere to relax, I would choose somewhere as peaceful as this." Maybe his smile was more compassionate than kind.

He turned his head to Tyger, "Well, I think if you want an orange sword of your own, you're going to have to take up crafting."

Because eventually that would mean there may be as many as 100 forums, and that's crazy, yo

I had this question as well.

I figure the answer must be yes, or else a quest doesn't give you anything that the RP doesn't, so I'm curious as to the official response.

He beamed at her and put his foot up on the chair, striking his classic and well practiced hero pose.

"I finally don't look like some scub noob who was totally the reacher in our relationship."

Baldur winked playfully at Tyger and then took his foot off of the chair so she could fidget with him. He had no control over the armor, it was an item so it would probably fit whoever needed it to once it was equipped, but he didn't want to spoil her fun, he knew she enjoyed it and was doing it because she wanted to take pride in her work.

"With this, we can finally really really take advantage of some of the better farming grounds. Maybe we could even go into one of the dungeons they have already cleared out. I hear them mobs there are tougher but have better loot."

He smiled broadly at her, his eyes filled with confidence. "You and I, together, we can do this."

He turned and smiled to her, glad he could bring her even more gifts.

"Well, as it would happen, your ruggedly handsome burglar has a gift for you as well."

When she brought up the trade window to transfer the items over to him, he placed 15 mats into the trade window on his side, and then accepted the trade.

"So. Totally. Worth."

He grinned at her and then pulled up his inventory and equipped the items. In a flash of cyan light, the armor appeared over his form and the new sword at his hip.

"Woah! This looks really good with my cape!" He gave her a little spin, making his cape WOSH as he spun.

Baldur couldn't help but smile and admire the shield as he walked over to sit down in the chair and wait for his surprise. So absorbed in admiring the crowned fish was he, that he almost didn't notice the sword and armor sitting on the chair. When he did, he set the shield down on the bed.

"Oh my word, Tyger, these are gorgeous! You made these?!" He reached out and tapped on each item, bringing up their stats.

"Wow! These are really impressive! We got rares?!" He looked up from the items back to his ginger Tyger.

He was speechless for a moment as he just looked back at her, "You are pretty incredible."

"Oooh, you got Sir Baldur, the Bug Slayer, a gift?" He smiled and walked along behind her.

"Is it you? I hope its you! Did you get me your undying affection?"

He laughed softly, the fight of her with the flower was one of those mental photographs he was keeping in his heart to get through the rough days, just like the first time he had gotten her a bouquet. It was one of his favorite pictures ever.

"Is that..."

He pointed across the room.

"Is that a shield with Magikarp on it?!"

He ran over to the shield and carefully picked it up.

"Baby... I might have go sword and board now!" He whined in a kidding matter. She knew he was more comfortable without one, but he typically played a sword-and-board Paladin in other games.

Baldur's eye lit up when she came down the stairs asking for a handsome robber, "I really am ruggedly handsome." he quipped back to her as he held the flower up for her to see.

As she reached out to take him, he slipped his arms around her and held her close, the smile moving to his eyes when she kissed him on the cheek.

"I missed you."

When she asked about the flower and mentioned his surprise, he handed her the flower, "It's for you, it can go anywhere you'd like... though probably not the forge, it might die in there, and I had to fight off a dozen giant bees the size of me in order to get that flower for you." He stood a little straighter, letting out that swagger of his to impress her as he followed her upstairs.

Baldur walked up to the door of the shop and knocked, calling out "Hello? Is there a beautiful Tyger home?"

He smiled playfully as he knocked again, waiting to hear from her. He couldn't wait to give her his surprises

"Pretty lady, are you here?" His friend list only told him she was on the first floor, he couldn't tell anything more than that. Finally opening the door he let himself into the shop. Taking a moment, he called up his inventory and pulled out the <<Tiger Lilly>>, an overly large, orange flower with black vertical stripes. The item was only called <<Pretty Flower>> but he liked his, albeit inaccurate, name.

THREAD COMPLETE

1 Page (20 posts) - 400 Col

<<Wind Wasp #1>> - 1 Mat

<<Lesser Tauren Striker #1>> - 35 Col & 2 Mats

<<Lesser Tauren Striker #2>> - 35 Col & 1 Mat

<<Red Spotted Beetle>> - 35 Col & 2 Mats

<<Lesser Tauren Striker #3>> - 35 Col & 1 Mat

<<Wind Wasp #2>> - 35 Col & 1 Mat

Accumulated Total for Baldur

575 Col & 8 Mats & 1 Skill Point

"Air...."

A hand appeared at the top ring of the mountaintop.

"Need.... Air..."

Another hand.

"Too... tall..."

Then a head appeared over the edge, dragging an exhausted, blue clad swordsman in a very dashing cape.

As he got to the top, he rolled over onto his back and looked up at the sky.

"Why... Why does this city have to be at the top of a bloody mountain..." After several more minutes, Baldur sat up. "Can't we have a town portal or elevator or something? Maybe I need to break down and buy one of those teleport crystals." He hated the idea of spending so much money to keep him from having to walk up a hill, but it would be useful in a pinch as well.

"If I had muscles, they would so be cramping right now." He looked behind him as he leaned back on his hands, still sitting on the ground. Finally, he forced himself to his feet and staggered closer to the town. When he found a nice bench in the shade, he sat down hard and pulled out his bread and water, taking a glorious sip of it. It might not be real, but it certainly felt refreshing, and the bread tasted delicious to his starving tongue.

"God I hope this was worth it. They need to hurry up and open a nice flat beach floor. Nothing but palm trees, and crystal blue ocean water, and chain-mail bikinis." He sat there for a long while, day dreaming and snacking on his bread before he made his way over to the teleport gate.

"Town of Beginnings." He would head straight to the Catfish Forge, her shop, their home. The thought made him smile.

As Baldur pressed the button, he noticed something he hadn't seen before when he had been walking the other way. It was easy to overlook as he had had to keep reminding himself this was a <<Wasp>> not a <<bee>>. Bees polinated plants, but wasps did nothing. They were the jerks of nature. Bees were awesome for nature, and usually left people alone... and if they didn't the most they could do was sting you once in some sort of kamikaze attempt. Wasps, however, had no purpose other than to piss people off and mess up picnics.

Why, then, did this wasp seem to be guarding a beautiful orange stripped flower. He would have named the flower a <<Tiger Lilly>> if that wasn't actually already a flower in the real world.

Baldur walked up to the flower and examined it. The leaves rustled in a breeze, his hair caught it too. The grass was soft when he laid down on it, and he could pick up stones to throw them. Could he pick a flower?

"Only one was to find out."

Baldur tried to pick a flower, but when he pulled it out, it shattered into green polygons. He was saddened, but not deterred.

Reaching up a finger, Baldur tapped the flower itself and a single menu option popped up.

"折る" which could also be read as "pick flower"

Baldur tapped the button and suddenly he noticed that the flower appeared in his inventory.

"oh man, she's gonna love this!"

With a smile on his face, Baldur turned to march up the path back up the mesa to the village.