Baldur

Baldur rushed into the room as the giant doors opened, his silhouette emerging from the the fog and eager to see what new monster they would be fighting this time, his mind a whirl with potential scenarios and strategies. He was prepared, the moment the boss was in side, to unleash his most powerful sword art.

Only a heartbeat before he unleashed his attack on the "boss" he slid to a halt.

The fallen king? A single health bar?

Quote

"Leave quickly! It isn't safe here! Evacuate the area as quickly as possible!" The man shouted at them.

Something is off here.

"Caution everyone!" Baldur called out, "I don't think this is the raid boss." He looked about at the devices and a million scenarios ran through his head. The situation with Orgoth on the previous floor played with all of their expectations.

"Parties 1 and 2 - Take defensive postures, or see about deactivating those devices! Like Orgoth, this may be an ally instead of an enemy." The color of the boss's crystal gave him pause, but they were all at full health, a single moment of inaction to see what was going on would cost them little, but could gain them much. Something about he glowing devices rubbed him the wrong way, as was the ceiling above them where they seemed to be aimed.

I wonder if he's trying to drop the tower - we've got far enough that it could be above us? He could bring in his enemies, the lords of this empire.

He knew very little about the lore of this floor, but he knew of the division they had found when searching the slums.

"Parties 3 and 4 - Keep an eye out in case he tries to activate the remaining 2 devices."

Baldur thought back to the pillars of the light on the previous floor. This could be life and death already. Without another moment's thought, he took off for the first device.

ID#201761 LD: 4 +1 (Paragon) to Deactivate the Northern Scather

N. Makeshift Scather: 5/48 LD
E. Makeshift Scather: 0/48 LD 

Baldur | HP: 860/860 | EN: 120/120 | DMG: 28 | MIT: 98 | LD: 0 (+1 Loot) | EVA: 4 | ACC: 8 (inc AA) | KEEN 1 | BH: 43 | FREEZE: 64 | BRN: 56 
   (STM, Rested, ST Shift, REC 4)

Baldur is now Paragon Level 50!

Once everyone was ready, Baldur led the procession of his guild from their place on his floating island to the lair on the 26th floor. It was a juxtaposition of locations if ever there was one. Jacob's Ladder had gathered in the small square between the dojo and the guild hall, gravel, stone, and building surrounded by and interwoven with nature. Here, instead, is was all the parts of civilization no one ever wanted to deal with. It was buried, hidden away, and fetid. It was the sewage of thousands of people put somewhere out of sight and out of mind, until the rat king, and now the Frontline, came to snake out the path to the next floor.

Excelsior. Baldur quoted in his mind as they entered the chamber where the labyrinth boss had been fought, and through those doors, the floor boss.

Hirru was there already. He walked up to Hirru and patted the man on the shoulder of his newly armored form, but they went about their work almost silently. Baldur handed out new group heal crystals to those in his party who did not already have any from the floor 25 boss battle.

Baldur took the buff items that Hirru offered, and then combined his own and handed them out to the rest of his party. When Lessa arrived, he would hand her the last 2 Group Heal crystals that he had. He had gone through so many, and now many of those people were not returning for the next fight. He had worried that would happen, but it seemed such a waste.

He walked over to Koga and patted the man on his shoulder as well.

"I know we don't know each other, but don't worry. You're in good hands. Just stick to the basics, watch your hate, use the heal items when called for or when needed, and stick with the group. Even if a call isn't optimal, it's better than everyone acting on their own. If you ever get in a pinch, or you're in too dangerous of a zone, feel free to use a teleport crystal to bail. Better to retreat than to lose anyone. If you hear a retreat called, don't wait on anyone else, just go. The tank and the captain are the last one out, so the sooner everyone else goes, the sooner the tank gets out."

With one more pat on the shoulder, Baldur wound his way through the rest of the raid saying his hellos as people arrived.

Baldur consumes the following from Hirru:

Baldur takes 2 of his Evasion Food, uses his kitchen buff to turn into a 4 man feast, and then eats some of his own cooking. (Purchased HERE)

Baldur eats one of his own Protein Snacks (7-> 6) and his Medium (Rare) Antidote Potion  (1-> 0)

Baldur received 9 HP Recovery 3 [Tierless/Perfect (Masterpiece)/Support] from Shiina

Stats: 

Baldur | HP: 860/860 | EN: 120/120 | DMG: 28 | MIT: 98 | EVA: 5 | ACC: 8 | BH: 43 | AA | BRN: 56 | | KEEN: 1 | REC: 4

Original Application: HERE

Rooms Being Upgraded:
Fishing Pond -> Ornate Fishing Pond [+15k]

Rooms Being Added:
Basic Kitchen (Calrex) [+10k]
Bedroom (Hirru) [+10k]
Living Room (Hirru) [+10k]
Basic Kitchen (Hirru) [+10k]
Basement (Hirru) [+10k]

Rooms Being Reassigned:
Fishing Pond from Baldur to Hirru

Upgrade Total Cost: 65k (sent to Banker)

Baldur's Home Details:
Approval: HERE

Baldur updates the chart then follows up with fluff

In spite of the words passed between Lessa and Freyd, Baldur couldn't place the man until he ripped the brightly colored hat from his head. Somehow the bright, festive colors and jingling bells disrupted Freyd's dark and brooding mystique just enough that Baldur didn't remember him, but then memories of the floor 25 boss floor finally came back to mind. He had been there for that fight, and if he had been there, he could handle anything this floor could throw at them.

Suddenly, Lessa's words registered to Baldur. He gasped and clutched imaginary pearls at her agist standards.

"Too OLD for you?" Baldur decried Lessa's comments with equal parts drama and outrage. They had known each other long enough that she could tell when he was being melodramatic and joking, and this was definitely one of those times. "Fabio types?! Why Lessa-chan I had no idea you were so shallow."

In spite of Baldur's obvious attempts to speak his words with a deadpan expression, no force on Aincrad could keep the edges of his lips from curling up in his attempt to hide a cheshire like smile.

After the moment of feigned outrage, Baldur turned frozen lake blue eyes back to Freyd. He had never really interacted with him, but the man seemed to carry himself with a competence that Baldur immediately was attracted to.

"You're right, this isn't normally here.  Lessa and I have often walked here. When we interacted with a lantern pole, we got pulled into some kind of phased instance. We're still here but unless you're part of the quest or the instance, then you're not here here. We weren't in a hurry, so we decided to enjoy the festivities." Baldur brushed back part of the hat, a slight jingle coming from its single bell on top. Somehow, while still silly, the hat didn't seem as out of place on Baldur as it had on Freyd. Perhaps it was the addition of the fuzzy knitted mittens that really tied the look together.

"What brings y--" Then Freyd was off again, moving over to the NPCs and asking them questions about a camp.

"I'm Levi, by the way. Thanks for the treats." The boy made short work of them before speaking again, his companion took the opportunity to jump in.

"Yeah, he looked like he was feral, almost like he was chasing after something. It was like he was an animal and saw everyone as a threat or something."

The first boy nodded in agreement as he hurried to swallow his treats.

"Well if he's gonna run into Darian's camp by the lake we've got nothing to worry about. That guy's as strong as they come."

Baldur walked up beside Freyd, taking a loud, slurping sip of the last bit of his hot chocolate, but he had the decency to look embarrassed about the noise.

"I've never heard of Darian's Campsite before. Curious, with all the time I spend out here. It's obviously a quest, but not one I've seen on this floor before. Might be worth investigating." He turned to look back at Lessa with an inquisitive look that said, 'Are you in?'

A thousand vile curses flashed across Baldur's mine when @Hidden walked into the room, and as per usual, bile and chaos came in her wake. He schooled his face immediately, letting out a controlled breath meant to help him find the controlled balance of emotionlessness he sought in battle. His hands, resting comfortably in his lap tightened just barely, his shoulders moved back into better posture just so slightly, but the blue of his eyes, oceanic when @Lessa sat beside him, grew to steel when Hidden entered the room. The image of her attacking @Hirru in the raid replayed in his mind. There was no one in the room who was more betrayed by Hirru's actions on the 23rd floor than @Macradon, but Baldur was a close second. Still, he had sought the veridian haired scout out and discussed what had happened. They had made amends, and Baldur welcomed the merchant back into his heart and his home. Baldur would, once again, trust Hirru with not just his own life, but with the lives of everyone on Aincrad.

But then something struck him, even in the depths of his battle mind. The normally invisible woman, @NIGHT, seemed to feel the same about Hidden. He wasn't sure why that surprised him, given Hidden's predilection to make every gathering as unpleasant as possible. Then he saw the man called Freyd respond in kind. His respect for both of them adjusted upward, and immediately he felt a small amount of kinship with the two of them.

When he spoke, his voice was terse, and uncommon trait for older man. He knew he shouldn't let her get the better of him this way, but she was nails on the chalkboard.

"Here's how this will go, because this how its gone every time before this."

Then he felt a touch on his hand. She didn't hold it, she just rested her hand on his for a moment, a breath, and then withdrew it, but it was enough.

Baldur took another deep breath, and let it out.

"We've had these exact same discussions before. Freyd asked how we could do better, learn from the past, and this how." He looked over at Night, and gave her a bit of an embarrassed smile, "I am not opposed to people who want to conjecture, as long as the important parts are taken care of first. People need to show up equipped to take on anything. That means full kits of buffs. If you're unsure of what to take or not, err on the side of caution and don't take buffs that debuff your mitigation. It's better to deal less damage and live, or not require as much healing, than it is to get just a little more damage out, or make the boss take one less hit.

"That's because, as dysfunctional as we are, this is a team. Teamwork doesn't just mean holding up your part of the larger group, it also means trusting others to do their part. It is a sacred bond of trust between all of us, that we're going to do our part, and that we can all watch each others backs."

Baldur adjusted his haori, trying not to fidget with the himo.

"This situation has come up before. Where we don't know if its one or many enemies. We don't know what different environmental effects are. This is one of the more blind fights we've been on, and I won't begrudge anyone for their conjecture. Several of you have raised good points, but ultimately it falls down to this - we won't have any good information to act on until we get into the boss room and trigger it. For all we know, the boss will be on an airship throwing bob-ombs down on us, and someone will have to shoot the players out of the canon in order to board the air ships. We just don't know. And in cases like this, the plans can sometimes cause more confusion. So if people wish to discuss every possible way that we can interpret four cannon like shapes in a dark room with poor footing, I will sit here and listen and try to be constructive out of respect for the risk you and I am putting our lives in."

He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone there except Hidden.

"But know this, these plans will not survive contact with the enemy. We won't know until we're in there, but when we do see what we have to face, we must act as one. Unfortunately, even following an order you feel is bad, or wrong, is better than acting independently in contradiction." Baldur suddenly let out an exasperated sigh.

"I hate the word order, we're not soldiers. Many of us in the this room as kids, or little older. You're not soldiers in an army, but we do need order."

He spun the little cup of tea in his hand, as visions of so many fights flashed through his memory. Some going well, many going terribly.

"I only, as a veteran of many floor boss fights, though far fewer than others in this room, ask all of you this: Act as one as a party. I know Firm Anima will do this. I trust my friends and those I've forged the bond of combat with will do the same, but choose a party leader. And then, as a raid, let the leaders cooperate and form a chain of command, whether we have one raid leader, or each acts independently, as long as you're looking out for the party you're in, we'll succeed."

Finally, his shoulders slumped back down to rest.

"That's all that I have to say. Come prepared with every buff you can, I will provide and share what I am able, but plan as a party to make sure everyone is covered. And don't be a hero. Teleport out if you're scared or close to death. It is better we retreat and regroup, than lose someone."

The memory of Azide flashed across the gaijin samurai's mind. So many others as well.

Finally, he raised the cup of tea to his lips, to hide the ghosts at the edges of his eyes.

Baldur was annoyed that conversation still lingered on the canons, but he was also unsurprised. They were an intriguing discussion point, but they had no actual information to base that conjecture. Were they actually canons? Were they for the players to use, or the boss? Maybe they were the bosses themselves.  Maybe they would shoot the ceiling down. None of that was anything they could develop a plan around. They just had to be ready for anything.

What Baldur wasn't expecting, was Cal-kun's revelation that <<Achilles>> was no longer functional. The Gaijin Samurai knew of Cal's love-hate relationship with the Unique Skill. It both opened up and narrowed down his options. With this, Cal was mortal, but it also meant he was free to pursue whatever combat role he wanted... which was the bruiser, based on their conversations before Tristan transferred the unique skill to him. His eyebrows raised in shock when Calrex revealed that, the man turning to face his kouhai, before he stopped himself mid turn and schooled his expression back to the normal, jovial indifference. 

Then Baldur began to digest that Firm Anima would field a full team. He had to admit a bit of envy to that. Baldur had always planned to do that, though last time he made the declaration, it broke the front line because of Hestia's arrogance and greed. Traits he had never associated with the woman, one of his closests friends, before that day. Instead, here, it brought a bit of reassurance.

"While we may be losing Calrex as a tank, I do believe I can bring Shield to the raid. He is...  uncertain because of all of the mechanical changes since the floor 25 clear, but those of you that know him, know he is analytical and overly cautious. If he can work out a build he feels will do what he needs, he'll be there. And knowing my Kouhai as I do, I'll accept both of them into my team to try and coordinate. Either Cal or myself can operate as DPS and Offtank for our party if need be. Include Crow and " Baldur turned a sheepish smile to Hirru, "Sorry Hirru, I'm claiming you temporarily, that means we'll be 5."

"So really, we're only 1 person short of a full 3 teams. Granted, we have no dedicated healers for 2 of the parties, but I think with sufficient teamwork and coordination, we can heal enough with crystals. The teams will just need to remember to heal often."

Baldur, clad in a blue and white toque, sat on a log by the warm fire with Lessa, the both of them wearing thick woolen mittens some kind lady had forced them to wear before handing them large cups of hot chocolate. They hadn't been here long. In fact, the two of them had been enjoying one of their semi-regular long walks through the fourth floor when they found the out of place lantern. When they had been pulled into the phased instance, the fire and the hot chocolate had been more in their wheelhouse than a quest. The two sat shoulder to shoulder on the log, glowing slightly with the amber light of the fire. In fact, they looked so comfortable that they blended in with the scenery more than anyone would have expected, watching steam rise from the cups and into the air.

"You know." Baldur said to Lessa, "I have no idea about this quest, but this may be my favorite instance in the history of Aincrad." The gaijin samurai's cheeks were a bit more rosey from the cold. His blue eyes seemed almost green in the yellow fire light.

"I wonder how long they'll let us sit --"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" 

A voice of someone clad in a bright red fuzzy hat yelled loudly, shocking Baldur out of their reverie. He vaguely recognized the man, but couldn't put a name to him. Perhaps it was the juxtaposition of the fuzzy hat on top of the edge lord exterior. Baldur brushed at his blue and white haori, slightly buried in the snow from how long they had been sitting in this nice, until recently, very private spot.

"Are you okay -- sir?" Baldur had almost addressed him as a child, it was a force of habit here on Aincrad, but these one was a man grown. His appraisal of the man changed suddenly upward. Baldur often found himself longing for the company of peers, rather than child soldiers.

"You're safe here for the time being, I promise. Lessa and I know how to handle ourselves, we won't let anything hurt you."

Baldur was pleased to see Lessa show up, and even more so when she came and sat beside him. His eyes never waivered from whomever was talking, but as she sat down, he leaded over and bumped her shoulder lightly with his, acknowledging intimately that he was pleased to see her.

Then he waited until there was a lull in the conversation, "Unfortunately, I feel like speculating on the canons is going to be mostly wasted time until we get in there and see. Undoubtedly they will factor in, but it doesn't tell us anything useful about the fight. We will probably need people to man the canons, but it'll be a puzzle for us to figure out once we see what we're dealing with."

He hated having to say that. No one enjoyed planning and debate more than him, but it was useless conjecture at this point. He gently picked up the cup of green tea poured for him, and took a sip to wet his throat and let his words breath.

"The uneven floor and the darkness could speak to accuracy challenges, but the boss rooms are always dark until we enter them. Still, it wouldn't be bad to make sure every party has some light stones. As for the rest... we probably need to address the elephant in the room before we can have productive conversations."

He glanced around the room, counting everyone up in his head.

"Will we have the people to field two groups?"

Baldur, the Gaijin Samurai, was known primarily for two things.

The first, which he adjusted as he walked down the path towards Ariel's new dojo, was his blue and white haori. He had worn it in every incarnation since he had it made when his level was in the single digits. It was his trademark, his signature, it was better than having a glowing name hovering above his head.

The second was his distinguished age. Though thankfully because of the mechanics of SAO, he would never reflect his true age. His body was frozen perpetually at perhaps the best shape he had ever been in in this life. No matter how long they were stuck here for.

As he walked the shaded path, he saw on his map Macradon was quite a ways ahead of him and moving quickly. Was Baldur going to be that late? Even still, he did not have it in him to run to the dojo. The quiet walk gave his mind peace to think.

They were going into this boss more blind than usual.

The gentle rustle of the breeze as Baldur stepped into Ariel's dojo made the flames along the hem of his haori dance as if the fire was alive. She had an impressive setup here. He would have to come visit often. While different, it shared much the same aesthetic of his own home. It would be good to have somewhere to visit.

"No, no keys, but I can try something..." Baldur suddenly blurred, his armed moving slightly, and then returning to his stance, the only change being that the top of the desk suddenly flew away from them, clattering against the wall on the other side of the room. Baldur winced slightly and then rubbed at one ear.

"Alright, so maybe I won't do that regularly, but at least we're in." He gave a chuckle as the inventory window suddenly popped up.

"A decent hall, though nothing particularly interesting. I don't really care for any of it other than the mats, if you want the rest."

Baldur passed the interface window over to Hirru so he could loot what he wanted from the desk.

"Maybe if we spend some time reviewing those notes and trying to decipher it, it'll lead us onto the next safe house. Maybe there's an NPC we could ask to translate it too."

He pulled some papers out of the drawer as well, but they were more runic letters he couldn't read. He set them on the desk so Hirru could pick them up if he wanted.

"Shall we head back now? We can chase this lead down once we've gotten these translated."

Rolling for the chest: ID#199098 LD14+1 (Paragon)

4,600 Col, 10 Materials, Perfect Weapon (2), Perfect Consumable (1)

Baldur whipped his katana around, throwing off non-existant blood from the blade as he slowly returned it to its sheath in the same ritualistic manner he always did. After the katana clicked back into the saya, his steel blue eyes seemed to refocus, becoming more of an oceanic blue. A quick glance, showed him loop up at where everyone's health bars would be. He then gave the party a smile and turned to face them again.

"Ending the fight with everyone in the green is a great feeling."

He walked over and put a hand on Crow's shoulder, glad that his friend was okay while giving Mac a triumphant smile at his last hit.

"Quite the acrobatics, Mac. I always took you for a fighting, steel type pokemon, not an aerial one." He turned his laughing grin back towards the door that they had come all this way looking for.

"Well everyone, shall we see what this floor is all about?"

With a nod of ascent from everyone, Baldur made his way to the door to push it open.

The fight was progressing mostly as Baldur had envisioned. The heavy blow to an off target had surprised them, and taken a good chunk out of Crow's HP, but they had been able to recover quickly. It was only fitting that they should be punished in such a way after they galavantly aggressed the labyrinth boss. It was, perhaps, a return to form. Both the difficulty of this rat king, and their attitude. Floor 25, it seemed so far, was just a special kind of event floor boss.

Baldur shot forward, faster than he ever would have been able to trying to move through the muck, as the system took hold of his movements. His sword came down, but the rat managed to parry him this time.

"Get'im, Big Mac!" Baldur called out to his often comrade. The health of the boss was the point where they should be close to finishing it off. This floor would not be long for this world.

ID#199089 BD: 2 CD: 5 (miss)

In spite of their rocky start, the group was beginning to work well together. Baldur hadn't know when she arrived, but Ariel appeared, aiding them in their fight. It was good to see his old friend again in the heat of battle.

More than that, she knew how to make an opening for him.

As <<Night>> lit the giant rat on fire once more, the stench, and thankfully light, filled the tunnel. Burning rat was an unpleasant smell, but the light allowed Baldur's steel blue eyes to finally get a good look at the monsters form. He slid the blade back into its saya with a precise, practiced motion and then took his crouching stance, <<Charging>> his attack and his <<concentration>> flawless. <<Ariel>> struck the boss with a devastating blow, staggering him for a moment and creating the opening Baldur was looking for. He released his hair trigger resistance to the sword art, his <<Iai>> flashing through the darkness. No black and crimson flames rippled along the blood red hamon this time, but instead as he struck, the corruption of the blade spread onto <<Telicomys, Guardian of the Sewers>> and weakened its mitigation and left an albiet decreased DoT effect. Baldur was pleased with how much the HP bar dropped, but the thought pulled him back to his friend who was in the yellow.

"Crow, I got you." Baldur rushed over to his friend, holding one of his healing crystals up to one of his oldest friends and healed a large chunk of the mans HP.

"Be careful, but I think we got this in the bag."

ID# 199062 BD: 10 (Crit) CD: 10 (Rec Proc) (Unlock ST-B)
ST-B: 23 +2 (crit) +5 (charge) = 30x23 = 690 Raw - 175 = 515 DMG Dealt
Blight Triggered. Burn Triggered.
Baldur uses his <<Max T2 HP Recovery Crystal II>> | Perfect T2 Item | +180 HP on <<Crozeph>>

Baldur watched as the others rushed forward, they were faster than he was, but the gaijin samurai watched as they attacked. Night coming from the shadows and hitting the creature, but Hirru and Crow both missed the creature. Quickly, Baldur flickered to one of his mentally prepared presets. Items arranged in his inventory just so, that way he could switch to them in a moment's notice. The amulet around his neck changed, and Baldur moved his hand from the handle of the <<Ethereal Thether - Zanshin> >to <<Muramasa>>. A moment later his form became a streak of color, blue and and orange followed by a sickly arc of blood red and black. The blade of the <<Muramasa>> caught with black fire as he brought it down on the giant rat, the cut slicing through it's 3d model in what would have otherwise been a lethal strike in the real world, but just exposed the red wire mesh of its model.

"Careful, he might have some kind of blight or poison effect. Make sure you've got an antidote handy."

As the wanna-be samurai came to a stop on the fire side of the rodent, he took a longer moment to survey what had been done. Their opening attacks had left the boss depleted by about 1/8th of its health pool. It would be a tough foe, but perhaps not as tough as he had first thought. Still, 6 rounds would be a long fight by most standards, and he didn't quite have a good feel of the burn rate on energy.

Roll ID:199001
Baldur uses Quick Change: Ethereal Tether - Zanshin -> Muramasa, and Emerald Teardrop -> Emerald Magatama

BD: 8 +6 ACC - 4 EVA = 10 (hit) Fallen Triggered
ST-1 = 23+8 x 15 = 465 RAW - 175 Mit = 290 Dmg Dealt
CD: 9 (ST-B Unlocked for next turn)

Baldur didn't consider himself a neat freak. He didn't think he was someone who went to great lengths to stay clean nor avoid being dirty. He had worked hard in his youth, covered in mud and sweat and blood in his various jobs.

But the sewer was something else.

The sound of it. The way it clung to everything, physically and olfactorily, and that oppressive atmosphere that always exists in them. It rankled the gaijin Samurai. When light was seen at the end of the tunnel, he didn't increase his pace, he continued to slowly bring up the rear, but said a silent prayer of thanks that they were almost through.

"Looks like we've finally come to the end of it. I wonder what kind of creature will bar our way further. Hopefully the last one was not a precedent, but rather only signified the strength of the floor boss."

Baldur rattled the blades at his hip in their Saya as he prepared for the battle.

Seeing that they were forming a group of more adults than children, Baldur decided he would lead himself and Lessa off to another group, to see if less intimidating numbers might help the information flow more freely.

"You're good with kids Lessa, let's see if we can get some of them to reveal the best hiding spaces."

The gaijin samurai's eyes still held the steel blue, a subtle tell that he was still keeping an eye out for any danger they might face, rather than the ocean his eyes usually reserved for their walks. It was only a short ways down the alley, still in sight of the other group, when Baldur and Lessa found what appeared to be a pair, perhaps brother and sister? The boy seemed shy and hungry, while the older sister had a fire in her eyes that reminded him of Lessa at times. They both had a muddy brown hair that seemed to show bits of red in the sunlight.

"Ohayo, little ones." Baldur said with a smile imposed on his face. "How are you two doing today?" Baldur lowered himself down, putting his right knee down in a deliberate stance that meant he was ready for a fight in a heartbeat, but to the untrained eye, such as the children, it was a friendly gesture.

"I think I have a little bit of food here if you'd like some." Baldur broke open one of his field rations, took a bite, and then offered some to the kids as well as Lessa.

@Lessa

It felt good to have Lessa at his side again. They were infrequent questing companions at best, though most of their time spent together was in the realm of much needed companionship and recovery. They had both seen in themselves and others the cyclical nature of burnout and recovery that the frontlines demanded.

"We'll always need you, Lessa." Baldur said casually, obviously referring to the raid.

"I'm actually fairly new to the scouting parties. The first two dozen floors were found so quickly it never required a team. But this would be my, third or fourth time scouting out a new floor for the labyrinth. Maybe more, I can hardly remember all the boss battles I've been in anymore."

His hand and arm rested casually against the handles of his two katana at his waist, but there was something there, a twitch of the wrist here, a movement of the finger there, which belied the casual appearance of his demeanor to add context to the shifting of his steel blue eyes.

"I think that's a great idea @Crow. Children are always looking for somewhere to explore or play hide and seek. I wouldn't be surprised if they had found something out. The children of the lowest tier of the city are the best bet of any NPC I can think of."

He turned his attention back to Lessa.

"Have you met everyone? I'm sure you know Mac, and you may or may not remember Hirru. He's been a fixture of the front for a long time, but perhaps not long enough. I'd consider him a good friend. The other is Crozeph. He's a member of my guild and someone I've known for almost as long as you. He's engaged to the bubble gum tank, Yuki."

Baldur enjoyed the warm welcome of Hirru, and when the viridian haired hunter let him know that Crow and Night would be joining, it brought another smile to his face. He was glad to see that Crow was pushing forward, and while his interactions with Night had been a whirlwind, he had been impressed by her performance, though he knew nothing of her personally. She kept strange company was about the extent of his knowledge.

He opened his mouth to say that he knew Crozeph when Baldur caught the sudden physical change come over Hirru. He turned to look at what the Hunter was looking at and saw the thing that explained everything.

Macradon.

That beautiful, clumsy dork.

But then it clicked. Macradons' expression. Hirru's expression.

Holy shit, they haven't spoken since the floor 23 boss fight. HO-LEE SHIT.

Had Baldur been any other man, his jaw would have been on the floor. Instead, his eyes widened and his face looked like he had just seen a ghost.

This is either going to be really good or epically bad. Do I intercede? Shit, he's here, it's too late.

The greeting between them was awkward but cordial. Maybe this is what they needed To take the first steps themselves. It would give him more to work with. He could help smooth this over much as Hirru had done with Baldur and Shield. He opened his mouth again to speak, when he realized Night was there as well. And there's Crow. And then Lessa came forward and hugged him warmly, banishing all other thoughts from his head for a long moment. Well, the moment was past. It wouldn't do to air dirty laundry in a crowd. Night's resume question almost made him chuckle, but perhaps this was the best chance to begin healing the wound.

"No, no resume. On the frontline, it's all about your name. It bears your reputation, for good or for bad."

SHIT. That was exactly the WRONG thing to say at a time like this. Dammit!

Then Mac and Hirru decided to push forward and move out. They did not get far, before everyone realized they didn't have direction to go on. Baldur had assumed a lead had been found, but when no one spoke up, he saw Night do just that. He was surprised, not because he knew Night, but because this was by far the most he had ever heard her speak. She had spent most of their time together hidden. But that was a bit less useful outside of combat when they were trying to maneuver together.

As Baldur followed the group, he noticed Lessa drop back to walk alongside him.

"It's good to see you up here. So you and Night are close, huh? She seems to be a very interesting character." His blue eyes flashed to the woman helping lead the way, "I like this side of her more than the, you know, invisible one." He gave a slight chuckle and then swerved his step slightly and nudged Lessa's shoulder with his own.

"It's nice to see that I know everyone here, though I'll have to spend some time getting to know Night. I've fought alongside her twice now, but we haven't really spoken. But how're you holding up?"

Consumed: 
Berry Crumb Bars [189098-1] +3 LD

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Exctended Mod Limit 
Mod(s) Being Dropped: Bull Rush
SP Incurred Towards Limit: 20
SP Refunded: 20
Cost: Free (3.1 Respec)

Picking up: Add-on: Precision (2SP), Energist (8SP), ST Shift (10SP)

"Ohayo, Hirru-kun." Baldur called out to his old friend and comrade. It hadn't been long, but still had been too long, since they had run their dungeon together. Baldur had been busy helping people acclimate to the changes of the landscape in Sword Art Online, and with great change came stress. He was also in the position of being a sword teach, and so Baldur needed to take his steps very carefully now that yet another system patch had been put forward.

"I am glad to see someone take the first step forward, or else us oldies would take too long to feel comfortable and prepare. Sometimes we need a kick in the butt to get us moving." The blue eyed samurai laughed as he rested his hand on the two katana he brought with him.

"I admit, I haven't explored this floor since it's been unlocked. Have you scouted much yet?"

"Hmm... that's a good point I hadn't considered. I had thought all three of these dungeon maps were for this floor because it was the highest at the time. I never considered it came from the council, and may actually be records of their head quarters." The gaijin rubbed his chin in thought.

"I wonder if we followed all three of these maps, if we would unlock some kind of event, or find the one that got away. Maybe even reveal the truth of this place to the people of this floor."

Baldur rested his hand on the katana at his side in his normal, nonchalant way as he scanned the room. He hadn't invested back into Search & Detect yet, but it was something he wanted to eventually pick up again.

"I will say though." He gave his viridian haired friend a smile, "It feels good to fight with you at my side again."

He poked and prodded and the piles of paper in the office, "Looks like a few of these drawers are locked. Maybe there's clues in there too?"