Astraeus

The orc made a noise that made Astra delighted. The sound was romantic, the sound pain was in the air as it seemed to choke on its own blood. Astra laughed and clapped his hands, it was a critical strike which activated the dagger's special ability, it literally seemed to drink the blood of the enemy as it glowed more brightly as it was soaked with the life force of his enemy, "Well! This is a lot more fun that boar hunting! Good thing I am alone, I wouldn't want anyone seeing me wallowing in the blood of this creature...Come on little rotting carcass...You know you can't hide from me..." the Orc appeared once more after getting up, the body seemed to move carelessly towards Astra. As it moved towards him slowly, it lifted the cutlass over its misshaped head but the wound caused by the Blood Drinker had opened up further from the orc causing it to stumble down. "Tsk, tsk...No fun here." Astra placed a boot on the creature and stabbed downward towards it, creating another vicious gash to the orc. 

~~~~~~~

ID: 28283

Astraeus HP: 21/23 -- BD: 7 [+2 Dmg, +2 Bleed Dmg] Bleeding 2/2 Turns

Tiny Orc HP: 3/13 -- MD: 1 [Miss]

The two danced around one another as prepared for the next assault. Astraeus' cold blue eyes sat upon the disfigured orc as it waved and brandished its cutlass at the Performer. Was it trying to be threatening? The Artist laughed and clapped his hands mocking the creature and its pitiful attempt to threaten the Mandolin player. Astra shook his head and flipped the long silver hair off his shoulders with the back of his hand. Gracefully moving the platinum from his shoulders, "If you insist on acting the Fool, then a Fool you shall be!" The orc snorted and charged head first swinging its cutlass around. Astra bobbed and weaved as he was nicked on the leg as he backed away from the horrible creature. Disgusted, the blade came down towards the flesh of the beast and rendered dermis with a malicious cut. Blood seemed to ooze outwards from the attack as the Orc became mortally wounded.

~~~~~

ID: 28282

Astraeus HP: 21/23 -- BD: 10 [+4 Dmg, +2 Bleed] 1/2 Turns

Tiny Orc HP: 7/13 -- MD: 3 [+2 Dmg]

A small orc appeared as his first enemy, a cartoonish looking character that was much smaller than a hulking one. None the matter size didn't matter this was simply a training battle for his new dagger. Producing Blood Drinker from the sheath, Astra twisted the blade in his hand, he was unsure if this was the proper etiquette to hold such a blade, but none the less he was doing it. The orc lifted its cutlass above its head and charged for Astra, "Oh my. Lively fellow. En garde you...Orc?" Might as well have a little fun with it before cutting it down to size. The blade of the orc passed by the bounding Performer as he easily dodged the blow, he came around and spun gracefully before planting his dagger into nothing but air. A total miss. A frown expression, Astra did not approve.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Casting: Astraeus || Tiny Orc [Initiative]

ID: 28281

Astraeus HP: 23/23 -- BD: 4 [Miss]

Tiny Orc HP: 13/13 -- MD: 3 [Miss]

Astraeus had pulled some strings here and there for some late night activities on the third floor of Aincrad, what he had in store was something remarkably evil in store for a certain player he had come across not too long ago. He had kept tags on such a player just in case and it seemed his mouth was causing an upset to Astra's ambitions. But that was to be saved for later. The Traveling Performer had recently got himself a new shiny dagger that he had wanted to try out which added some of the mechanics he had not see before, The Blood Drinker as it was so called and rightfully named thanks to Xion of the Zefra Forge. What he did not know was this little dagger was going to be center piece of a world of hell later on. From the town he was staying at, he traversed the path out into the Prairies where he would find his suitable victim, the monsters here were of decent level and variety...And he could no longer be a lazy butt and hang around the Orphanage. Danielle needed mats for cooking and the children needed mats for their group hunting trips. He sighed, there was no rest for the wicked. 

The Performer waltzed out of the safety of the area and into the growing meadows of the Prairie field, light steps took wind as he rushed into combat with the nearest carcass he could find.

"Let's begin!"

Astra took the blade off the counter keeping an eye of the Shop Keeper before unsheathing it slowly. He then stopped once he saw the blood red blade. He eyed the man closely and then fully produced the blade from its sheath. It was a fancy looking dagger that suited the fancy looking Performer, "Yes! Yes! This is a work of art! The stunning detail of the hilt, the tinge of evil that seems to almost call forth a demonic presence..."Astra stopped with his melodrama monologue and sheathed the blade and placed it around his waist replacing the starting dagger.

"Yes well then...I paid you for the mats, correct? I don't remember if we made the full transaction yet..." slightly absent minded,

Astra had received a message from the Shop Keeper of the Zefra Forge. He was re-welcomed by the stuffy hot air from withing as he pinched the collar of his garb and pulled it away from him, "How atrociously...hot.." It was a small price to pay for the dagger however which will be used for a great many of killings in the future. As he entered there was already another player here that looked familiar...He walked up to the counter and looked at the man questionably, "Have we met before?" Astra asked then shook his head, "Don't answer that question," he said placing a finger in the air.

"Salutations once again, I believe you have an object fashioned for me?"

As far as I have read, you wont get any rewards unless you do a full page [20+?] posts of rping yourself. In other words, you will need to meet this criteria every time, OP or Not in order to gain the Col rewards upon page completion in the group. I think that's how it would mostly go, Im running on a common sense scenario in my mind but that can be a little quirky at times.

Astra narrowed his eyes and sighed with a smile, "Details, details..." he muttered, alas he took one of the custom slips and began to pen out his request, "I'm looking for a Perfect, but if you manage a Rare I'll be happy with that as well. Here you go..."

Astra slid the information to the man, knowing that he was a Blacksmith and having so many orders, it was probably the wise to have everything laid out in writing.

Name: (Up to the smithy)

ID: (Leave Blank)

Roll: (Leave Blank)

Quality: Perfect/Rare

Item Type: One handed Dagger

Enchantments: +2 Bleed, +1 Para / +2 Bleed

Description: (To the smithy)

"Ah! That should do it, I shall be around town so just shoot me a message when it's complete."

As he was kneeling down looking into the display the shop keeper came out. A lone man with shoulder length brown hair, with a kind look. Of course he'd have a kind look for customer. No one likes a grumpy employee..."Salutations," Astra started off with a light bow, and then flipped the long tendrils of platinum hair off his shoulders, "Really should get a pony tail for this mane...Anywho! I was wondering if you could make me a dagger of Rare or Perfect quality. The rare being of +2 to Bleed, and the Perfect being +2 Bleed and +1 Paralysis. I'm a fan of status effects..." he said shortly.

Astraeus would eventually have to go out hunting for materials later, and there was no dire need of his services as a Performer at the moment. He looked at the man and studied his body language, probably wondering how he would be paid for such an item, "Ah! Yes.Payment. I will be more than happy to give you what I have in Materials. In any case I have 6 in total. This be sufficient, yes?"

Astra flicked his wrist and placed a manicured nail on the trader's screen. Sending the Smithy +6 Materials for payment.

==

-6 Materials

"Aww, isn't that quaint," Astra said as he opened the door but taking a gander at the beautiful design of the wooden sign. As he entered the shop it was filled with a heat that was almost too much for the fair skinned Performer to bear. But he needed something to replace his starter gear that he had longer than he would have liked.

The sounds of hammering were heard from the back as he was taking a look at the weapons on display, nothing was really grabbing his attention. As he walked up to the counter there was a sheet for custom made orders, that's what he needed. The smith was probably busy in the back and Astra would wait until he was tended to, in the mean time...he browsed the forge some more.

"Bad?" he questioned, there was a slight gulp in his voice, and then she continued on saying ruffians and thugs. There was a slight drop in his charismatic attitude, of course these so called 'ruffians and thugs' were something he could use in the future, but right now...Well, they would be safe in the confines of the city. Nothing bad could really happen. He shrugged thinking inwardly as his palms were faced outward, "Yes, well then. If we are to run into thugs and ruffians, as you put it, I am sure you will give them one hell of a zinger. I'll just stay behind you cheering you on..." he said with a cheery expression, though while she was looking at her menu, Astra was doing the same. He had some unused SP and they were doing no good sitting idle in his level status window. He made use of what he had, deciding that his future run for the Kingdom would take more than just a pretty face. He decided to pick up the weapon proficiency for small weapons such as daggers and knives, they seemed to work well enough for him and his suitable talents akin to a Bard. Along with an extra skill that will help detecting and searching for some loot drops, should they have to do any hunting this would make things a little easier on him at least. 

As he was moving through his menu, he thought he heard her say something, "Hmm? What thing would you be referring to?" he asked.

Astraeus was overjoyed by the sound of his recording. It was sure to fetch a nice price, or perhaps it was something he could use. The idea of a familiar was pretty inspiring, and besides it was another pawn he could use to further his goals. Shaking his head, he continued along keeping with his inspired spirit soaring within the music. Once more the medley of instruments were playing their enchanting notes and he was on his mandolin, striking notes of harmonic resonance. His bright eyes lifted with the sound of his creation as the recording crystal rolled around him picking up the enchanting song.

~~~

ID: 27857

CD: 4 [Failure, device destroyed] +1 EXP

Materials: 0/9

~~~~

Astra gasped when the recording crystal fizzled and dropped to the ground, he looked at it with sad eyes, "Must have been a dud..."

Name: Symphonic Prison

Your Profession: Performer

Your Rank: Rank 1

ID: 27856

Roll: 12

Item Type: Familiar Call

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements:  +1 LD on roll for Feeding the Enemy Quest where taming a familiar is possible

Description: With a medley of instrumental flavors harmonizing together, the beast is charmed by the musical notes and it makes taming a familiar easier on the Piper.

In his recording studio, Astra was sitting in a rich red velvety chair. He propped his mandolin on his lap while he had an arrangement of other instruments playing. He wanted to do something festive and up bringing! He then set forth to play something light and airy but allowed the musical notes of the other instruments to balance out his mandolin. The recording crystal danced around him as he tapped his foot on the ground, his fingers moving slightly with every press of the chord and the notes ringing out as clearly as he could.

~~~~

ID: 27856

CD: 12 [Perfect Item] +8 EXP

Name: Symphonic Prison

Your Profession: Performer

Your Rank: Rank 1

ID: 27856

Roll: 12

Item Type: Familiar Call

Quality: Perfect

Enhancements:  +1 LD on roll for Feeding the Enemy Quest where taming a familiar is possible

Description: With a medley of instrumental flavors harmonizing together, the beast is charmed by the musical notes and it makes taming a familiar easier on the Piper.

Astra swallowed, "I will have you know I am a very good story teller, isn't that right children?"

"Boring."

"Over exaggerated."

"Dry."

"Sometimes too long..." Danielle said chiming in.

Astra's lips curled into something of a squiggle, he was down right dumbfounded by their responses. Perhaps it took an imaginative adult mind to enjoy his plots and stories, "Well, there you have it." he said pointing a fork, "These little demons wont get any bed time stories from me for now on." They cheered and then giggled afterwards and Astra shrugged, "Is this what you teach these kids when I am not here, Danielle?" She laughed while taking the plates, "Go play outside now, everyone. Make sure you are back by noon!"  The children were already outside the door before she even finished.

"Yes! Well! Shall we be off, Aramail? The day is bright and new, the birds are chirping! The sun is calling our names! Up! Up! Let's go!"

He got up from his seat, Danielle throwing a nice smile to them both as he opened the door, "Ladies first! Besides, I am following you. I have not a clue where we are going, besides knowing perhaps the Shop District."

"Slept well...Yes, well, as well and as comfortable a couch can be," he said as they both landed on the last step. Astraeus and Aramail had walked towards the kitchen, "Are you hungry? You will stay to have breakfast with us." It wasn't a question, more like a demand as Astra pulled out a chair for his lovely companion. The food was spread out evenly on the kitchen table. The children sat around kicking their feet under the table as they filled their mouths with food. Astra leaned over to Aramail and whispered in her ear, "Don't be shy about eating as much as you want. On occasion I help hunt for some food materials for Danielle who has been helping me look after the children here. We all work in synergy with one another." 

"Oh Danielle, you are magnificent! This looks great, thank you for cooking for us again." Astraeus removed the gloves from his hands out of pure respect for the food. His manicured nails vibrant and polished for being a male character. His eyes were happy as he ate the food on his plate. He looked to Aramail, she seemed...more vibrant, cleaner. Yes, indeed. She did ask to know where she could bathe, more than likely she took a bath last night which would be the reason why she looked so radiant now. Huh? He didn't do that often, sure there was the lovely female here and there but his thoughts were mostly preoccupied on other things. But right now, he was thinking too much of this woman. He scoffed inwardly and ate his food some more...but he would slowly chew his food every now and then and be in deep thought.

"That is right, you were searching for a Profession Quest, were you not? I don't mind helping out in your adventure today should you be wanting some company. I have little else to do..."

"Oooh! Astra! Bring me home a present!"

"Me too!!" the others shouted.

Astra's look was a deep frown, "Maybe I shall tell you all the story of Zatara when I get back."   

Snoring and loudly in fact, Astra was asleep on the couch in a sprawled out manner. His body was elongated on the furniture, one hand on his chest, the other propped on one of the modestly decorated couch cushion. One leg was straight and propped up on another couch cushion, while the other leg was seemingly falling off the couch. Astraeus moved very little while he slept, but his snores could be heard around the small little Orphanage and that usually meant people waking up early to bang on his door to wake him up. However, instead of coming from his door, the origin of his snores were coming from downstairs on the couch. Six children had woken up and ran down the stairs to wake him up, but they stopped at the entrance leaning out to see if he was still snoring.

"Oh no. Astra's on the couch again...He must have been drinking last night."

"Again? That's the third time this week... I get dibs on making the mustache on his face this time."

"No fair!" one child complained and they ran towards the couch starring at Astra and watched him snore. One child leaned over and pinched his nose, the Traveling Performer honked instead of snored and shot awake with blood shot eyes. "LITTLE CHILDREN!!!" he roared in a more masculine voice than he normally used, the children did nothing but laugh, "Yay! He's awake!"

Astraeus yawned, his body feeling groggy as he stood up, stretched and yawned widely. He pat the children on the head, "Is Danielle awake?"

"I am and breakfast is almost done. Come children, wash up and sit down."

"Fantastic. Astra stretched once more raising his hands to the sky and allowed them to fall naturally at his side. Rubbing his shoulder, he made the walk upstairs. He had not forgot his little canary. Bringing his fist up, he knocked twice on the door, "Rise and shine, Little Flower. Time to start the day!"

Ohohoho~ Thank you very much. I don't see many players being crazy manipulative. Everyone is selfless and wants to finish the game. I'm just going to be the agent of chaos and make things that much harder for them in the end. BUT, I digress it seems I will have to wait until a few more villain type characters show up. I want to see some real PKers to make things interesting. But there are other ways to skin a cat without going orange. ;)

I thank you for reading up on this topic and I will be keeping a close eye on you, Bjorn.

Astra closed the door behind them silently, the room inside was lit up with small candles and was a very homely looking place. Astra only smiled at her questions about being a movie villain, but he did not reply further than that. He gestured with his pointing finger, "Upstairs, last door on the left is my room. Adjacent to my bedroom is where you can clean yourself up. I shall make due with the couch down here. I have...fallen asleep there several times after not having the ability to make it to my room after drinking too much...Don't ask." he whispered shortly. 

He was going to leave her to it for the night, but he doubled back before she started her ascent, "By the way, there is a locking mechanism on my door you might want to use. The children have a habit of coming into my room in the evening as they wake from nightmares. The door being locked will let them know they have to talk to one of the other caretakers. You have a goodnight, Aramail. I hope sleep finds your swiftly...I shall be in this room on the couch should you need me."

Astra bowed gracefully as he moved without a sound to the next room, leaving the female to her own devices. As he traversed to the couch. He slumped in it and his eyes growing heavy with sleep. He yawned a bit and stretched, leaning to one side and almost passing out.

The forums were recently upgraded to a new software, this is true and many of the links are redirected to the same thread. I am not sure if this has been fixed or not, but I have also noticed the blank skills in the rewards list. I am not sure if there is a dedicated member of staff that fixes these or not, but normally if you cant figure it out on your own, then perhaps asking someone is your next best bet. I had a number of questions that have been answered through PM during my time here, everyone is very helpful when they are able to explain things.

You'll just have to bear with it on the Staffing part and the editing and hopefully these things will be as you say; tidied up in the coming weeks. Our resident Host has also set up a feedback thread.

So perhaps you have a few ideas or suggestions to toss in there!

The Traveling Performer was happy to hear such a lovely voice from the otherwise barbaric woman. Her voice was different than when she spoke to him, almost the flip side of the same leaf but it held tones of similarity as well. She was indeed a different person than he first thought her to be, from what he gathered she was just some pugilist wanting to slam her fists into things, and now was this woman...

"That was lovely, in fact, I'd say that was almost a perfect pitch. Not too many people seem to be enthused about singing and dancing during these times. For some it is a day to day struggle to survive in this lonesome world, others find it amusing and do what they can to enjoy their life for what it is now, such as myself. You see, here if you have the right stats and the right knowledge you could possibly rule these people under your thumb and get away with it. People can be intimidated to such measures and in turn become your pawns. You wonder..." he stopped as they were teleported to the lowest floor, the hustle and bustle of the city all around but lit with night time torches as the sun had already settled below the horizon. The moon was full and bright that night and as they continued their little trek through the city, Astra continued his little speech.

"Who the cowards are in this world when their lives are at stake. If I pressed a dagger to your throat and said I were to kill you, would you be able to stop me if my stats were much, much higher than your own? Some people would fight, yes of course. They would defend themselves, but what about those who want to live? Fear and panic will take control and they will have no choice but to carry out whatever whim you set them out to do. It is simple as that to control a person, all you need is the right key for the lock, and when its done...The world could be yours," he turned his head only half the smile she could see as he turned back to the make shift Orphanage.

"The children should already be asleep by now. But regardless we should be quiet when stepping through the door. They know I often come home late, so they don't wait up for me. Just in case you are some vampire...You may come in..." he said jerking on the door as it opened up, giving a soft inviting warmth to come inside.  

Great friends! Yes! YES!!! FODDER!  Nice to see more new people getting into the RP and stuff here. We've been getting a wave of new players recently, or some extra alts to tide over other people's overwhelming sensation to RP. I hope you enjoy it here and we'll try our best to answer your questions should you feel the need to ask. Welcome to SAO my new little puppet. :D 

Astra shifted on both legs this time and brought his hands up and waved frantically, "I wouldn't dream of it!" he said laughing nervously, the thought would have crossed his mind several times...If she was bunking with him, that meant he would probably be sleeping on the floor and no hanky panky. Defeated but not showing it, Astra smiled and walked towards her, "Well then let's head that way then. I hope you don't mind children, there is a least six of them staying there. Each have their own rooms and whatnot and its a cozy place. I would be at my wits if I had to sleep outside every night. Fortunately, if you ask around you can stay at some inns for free which I have done time from time in exchange for some manual labor." 

Astra explained as he walked backwards, keeping an eye on her, "I suppose we'll need to head back down to the first floor back to Starting City, that's where the make shift orphanage is. Come, come!" He inverted his position and started to walk normally, looking back at her to make sure she was keeping up. This time he was in the lead and she were to follow. He smiled to himself, wet his lips and sang lightly...

"I've heard a song of men
The short living humans of far away lands
I've heard a song of men
That trouble their lives with fortune and fame
When tomorrow's unknown to them all
They wish glory to find on their path"

An exert from a song he once heard a good while ago...He wasn't sure if his signing would trouble her as they walked back.
   

Astra folded his arms and leaned on one leg as he thought about her question, "Yes! A Performer of the Traveling Variety! Though I haven't made a single Col out of the whole thing yet, much harder to gain  money here than in real life. Ugh!" Astra said and then leaned on his other leg to balance his statuesque pose, "Well, I am sure you might have noticed by now. When you bring up your map in certain floors, you can recall a legend key where it shows you specific quest markers. Tapping on those markers will give you insight as to what quest does what. Depending on your desirable position, I would suspect much of the NPC Profession Quests to be around the Shop District if I am not mistaken. That would be the most likely of places..." Astra explained without sounding superior to her, he took some time learning a lot about the game and he was quickly becoming familiar with most of the mechanics, sure there was the odd question here and there, but the people around him seem to know the answers to his inquiries. 

"Say! Why don't you come stay the night with me. I have a cozy little room on the upstairs of a small orphanage I help run. After that, perhaps we can stroll around the Shop District in the morning and find you a Profession..." his tone cheery as he tried to slip in place of sleep inside an orphanage...Yeah, he really needed to change that. If he were to have any romantic relations in this game, an orphanage is not the place you bring a...He looked at her and squinted, a woman to have relations with, he finished his thought. 

"On the flat of my back...didn't think you'd get me in this position so fast..." He took her by the hand and was helped up. He brushed the debris of dark dirt off of him and made sure he was still in one piece, but there was a ragging headache followed by that throw or take down...or..."Whatever that was...Ugh! My head..." he shook the spinning feeling from his eyes and smirked, "Well! Congratulations, you defeated me in a duel! That is the sort of thing I wanted to see first hand, although I would have enjoyed some more of that violent nature coming from you. I can see that you will be a powerful person in the future." Astra flipped the long platinum hair from his shoulder with the back of his hand and looked to the woman, she was attractive under all that grime and dirt even in the modest sunlight.

"I suppose it is time we settle on our little debt. I believe the wager was one kiss, but alas, this is your victory and not mine. What shall we do from here?"