Koga

The hammer fell. Thunk! The hammer fought against Koga's outstretched hand, stopping it dead in it's track. "You're right, Hikaru." Fingers clutched at the hammer's head, thin cracks spiderwebbing across the engraved stone. "I do need to forgive myself." The hammer crumbled away like dust, particles of fine sand clinging to his fingertips as the man stood. "It just won't be today." That process takes time." The years were short, and too few had allowed Yugam the time to heal, but it was not too late. Not yet at least. "It will happen," Masato promised. The glint of steel shone a

The whistling of blades seemed to never end as Koga thrust his weapon into another Revenant's chest. Not that it really cared. The walking carcass simply pressed forward along side it's friends, swinging it's weapon wildly, forcing Koga to duck as the blades clanged off of Nari's armor. "Fuck off!" the man swore, kicking off the impaled revenant. The clanking of yet another construct filled the air and Koga rolled his eyes in annoyance. Three of them now. And six red clad revenants that just wouldn't fucking die! "Ya know, next time, I'm picking the quest. I am so sick of these fuckers."

"What do you have to say to me, Masato?!" Hikaru lifted the weapon high into the air and brought it crashing back down to earth, forcing Koga to roll to the left to avoid the blow. This time he was the one to attack, dashing in aiming to thrust his katana into his opponents side. But much like Koga had done, the spectre of Hikaru deflected the blow, using the handle of the hammer to parry Koga's attack to the side. "What the hell do you want me to say, Hikaru!?" Koga shouted as he tried to land another blow, swing his blade at the man's neck. "That I'm sorry you died!? That I'm sorry I le

Koga's eyes flicked over to Nari as he felt her flinch, more so to assess if she'd taken any damage, than any assumption that he'd startled her. Confirming that she was fine, he turned his attention back to the growing crowd of enemies, augmented by the arrival of the first construct, the whirring of it's gears threatening to lash at them. "Hey uh…Koga, we may be in a bit of trouble. If you’ve got a trick up your sleeve…now may be a good time to consider it…" Nari said. The first of the Revenant's attempted to sneak an overhead slash past Nari's shield, but the rusted weapon was met

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I mentioned the constructs before," Koga commented as he stepped back behind Nari's shield, placing a hand on her shoulder pauldron so as to follow her movements without needing to focus on her. "Like I said, if we're fast we won't have to worry about them. Unlikely, but we can hope." The woman cursed in, again, what Koga could only assume was Gaelic. "Mind speaking English?" Koga answered back as she finished taunting their enemies. "I can't laugh at whatever you're saying to them if I don't know what you're saying." The dark-haired man then broke formation fo

Item Name: Shadow Profession: Blacksmith Rank: 8 Roll ID: 209428 Roll Result: N/A Item Type: Straight Sword Tier: 2 Quality: Perfect Enhancements: ACC II, DMG Description: A shorter ninjato, this single edge blade is entirely black from the string wrappings on the hilt, to the tip of the blade itself. Post Link:

A few days passed of Koga definitely not forgetting to make that sword for that one random dude, and definitely not just sitting around being lazy. No. Not at all. He was definitely working super hard on it. You know. He had to farm up materials and what not. Because he definitely didn't have a surplus. Anyways, after working on his very difficult craft, Koga sent a message off to Zenshu letting him know he could come pick up his weapon. Probably one of the less ostentatious weapons he'd crafted for others, the man laid out the weapon on a plain white cloth on the counter top, ready for Z

Item Name: Hammer of Bahn Profession: Blacksmith Rank: 7 Roll ID: 209397 Roll Result: 12 Item Type: Hammer Tier: Tier 1 Quality: Perfect Enhancements: DMG III Description: A glistening hammer of steel. The folds of steel have been etched into the form, and gold leaf decorated the edges. Post Link: Item Name: Shield of Bell Profession: Blacksmith Rank: 7 Roll ID: 209408 Roll Result: N/A Item Type: Shield Tier: Tier 1 Quality: Perfect Enhancements: Thorns II, MIT Description: A medium sized kite shield. Polished to a mirror finish, with a golden phoeni

"Welcome in," Koga said politely with a short bow as an older gentleman walked in. "I do believe I actually have just the thing for you," the blacksmith said, before walking over to a display case and unlocking it. He pulled out a shining hammer and set in on the counter before turning around. "Oh, and one more thing," he pulled a kite shield off the wall behind him, the emblem of a gold phoenix emblazoned on it's front. "Take this too. Both are free of charge. Consider it a welcome gift," the man said with a nod. "And a bribe to get you to come back," he said with a cheeky smile. Just th

Just like last time, a Red Cloak burst from beneath Koga feet, forcing the man to leap into the air backwards, drawing his sword and slicing at the clawing hands beneath him, meeting only air. Landing on his feet beside Nari with a huff, he said "Pretty sure the Red Cloaks used to own this Keep. Not sure what happened to them, or what the deal is with the robots but, here we are anyways." The man sighed as more of the Red Cloak Revenants popped up out of the ground, clearly dissatisfied with the pair's trespassing. "Keep an ear out for a weird whirring sound...kinda like computer fans, if

Koga chuckled quietly at Nari's impersonation of a zombie. The next thing he knew, she might be dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller. "No, they're more like Draugr in Skyrim, if you've ever played that," the man replied as she downed yet another potion. "Uh, I'm not sure to be honest. I doubt it, but if you ever have to fight a floor boss, those fights cap at six buffs for some reason. So, maybe don't rely on too many at a time?" Although, to be fair, six buffs were a lot to begin with. While Nari stopped to gaze at the gothic keep, Koga didn't give it much pause, having already see

"On it," Koga replied before a familiar whirring sound filled the air, making him pause mid-stride to look at the source of the peculiar sound. As the man's eyes fell upon the now animated hunk of metal, moving on it's own and quiet threateningly towards them, the man let out a low groan. "Oh c'mon, gimme a break." That thing reminded him way too much of the Dwemer Centurions from Skyrim, and he was definitely not in the mood right now to take a hammer to the face. Growling in annoyance, Koga launched into a wide slashing attack, quick flashes of black flame and energy wrapping around his

As Ghost began to strum her ukulele, Koga began tapping his foot, recognizing the tune of Feel Good Inc, a song he had truly forgotten about until this very moment. It was a good song, easily recognizable if nothing else. The song faded out and into a new one, the mood identifiable, and immediately linked in Koga's mind to a video game series, although which one, he couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't until NIGHT said the name aloud that it really clicked in his mind. "Oh yeah, I think you're right," the man said with a nod, before the song switched once more to something complete

Koga stood back and listened to the conversation. The mystery only seemed to grow thicker. A mysterious tattooed sigil, and a country of warriors. How did this all tie together? Koga surely didn't know. And he surely was not smart enough to figure it out (or at least not without more pieces of the puzzle to fit together). But still, it was a lead. Despite that, the whole quest was getting stranger by the second. How did any of this tie into that secret phrase they were told to obtain? Were these two separate plots, or simply threads that tied together. Koga didn't know, and it was giving him a

“Oh, alright. We just…watch them get obliterated, then find the quest in the remains? That sounds…Cardinal-ish. Too bad we can’t just leap in and finish her off here, and skip the entire quest though. That would make it really easy.” "Pssh, you can say that again," Koga replied as he crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one leg, (re)watching the lone woman single-handedly mop the floor with Harken and co. "Woulda saved NIGHT and I a lot of trouble." The quest had been an ordeal and a half. Near-endless waves of enemies, hellfire, creepy grotesque vampire lady...yeah, the quest had i

Ghost didn't move or say anything for a couple seconds. As if she hadn't heard him. Koga was about to repeat himself when she suddenly sprung back violently, her face cherry red as she slapped her cheeks. Koga suppressed a small sound of amusement as he watched the girl, his eyebrow arching upwards, accompanied by a small smile. Had she...fallen asleep? Waking herself up? Koga didn't think his hugs were that comfortable, but the man was struggling to find any other reason she would be smacking herself in the face right now. The man groaned and stretched slightly as he stood, adjusted the

"Hell, no" Koga responded to Nari's jest with another of his own. "I'm worried about mine. NIGHT'd castrate me if you up and died 'cause I didn't show up." Joke or not, that probably wasn't an exaggeration. Koga was loathe to think about what kind of pain NIGHT would inflict upon him if Nari died on his watch. He did snort in genuine amusement, however, when Nari allowed a self-deprecating joke to leave his lips. At least she was self-aware that way. "Yeah, about her..." Koga thought for a moment. Actually, Koga wasn't really sure about Beelzebub. Or whether or not he'd reappear again at

A brief bright light at the corner of Koga's vision drew the man's attention as Ghost summoned a small instrument into her hands. "Oh, I didn't know you played the uke," Koga commented. Not that he would know much about Ghost anyways, he'd just met her a day or two earlier. "Dope." The man then gave NIGHT an incredulous smile. He knew that she knew that his musical talents were about on par with a snail's. "Not unless you want you ears to bleed from my dogshit singing. Or got a piano stashed away in your tracksuit," he replied to her and Nari. And even then, about the only thing he could

Koga looked at DAY, shaking and muttering to herself, with a hint of both confusion and concern. They wiped out mobs on a daily basis. Why did this seem to bother her so much? It wasn't like it was any different from any other time they killed a bandit or thug out on one of the floors. Sure, maybe this guy could hold a conversation a bit better but Koga still doubted the guy had the same level of cognitive function as DAY or even Gabrandr. Well, hopefully NIGHT would take of her companion later. This wasn't really any of Koga's business anyways. Koga followed the women into the study

"Well I hope they stop popping up soon, 'cause I'm getting really sick of them," Koga grunted as his blade glowed with a sinister black light for a moment, cleaving another of the Revenants cleanly in two. The man leapt backwards, expecting another group of zombies to emerge from the ground to take their (re)felled friend's place. But this time, no clawing arms or flailing weapons burst from the earth. Koga didn't say anything though, not wanting to jinx the fight by opening his big mouth. "Also, did it not?" Koga asked, trying to think way back to when he was still a level one newb. The

It was Koga's turn to allow for a small smile on his face as he felt Ghost's arms wrap around him, pressing herself into his side. The sensation of another person in his arms. His in theirs. He'd forgotten what that was like. How comforting it was. He'd...missed it. The two sat there, entwined in each other's arms, for a while longer. A simple moment by the riverside. Simple, and yet it meant so much for the two who embraced each other. Koga would have been content to sit there for a while longer, but Okami had begun to become restless. The wolf padded up to Ghost and nudged her shou

Koga sat back as Ghost began to speak with a halting voice, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He rested his chin on tops of his knees, his head tilting attentively as he listened. She spoke with a sweet melodic voice, colored by her sadness. She looked incredibly frail then. Like ash in the wind, only a small testimony to what had sat there only moments before, drifting aimlessly until the ashes finally settled in some new foreign land. Hers was a pain Koga knew all too well. He still remembered when he'd wandered the floors of Aincrad without purpose. S

As Koga neared the hallway to the President's study, the sounds of chatter reached his ears. Was that...a bandit? And DAY? NIGHT must've been with her. The man went to reach for his sword as he broke into a run, pausing only when he recalled the President's request to not harm any of the bandits. The man swore inwardly as Okami bounded alongside him. Maybe there was a quest failure condition around killing some number of bandits, and if that was the case, Koga was not exactly looking forward to having to sneak around this whole mansion again. Rounding corner, the man spotted his two comp

"What about that Halloween event from ages ago?" Koga asked as rushed in towards the last mob. Raising his sword, the blade glowed crimson before the man brought it down on the Revenant taking out another chunk of it's health, grunting as steel met bone. "There were zombies everywhere, remember? Whatever happ-" He hadn't been paying enough attention, the Revenants blade leaving a red mark across the man's abdomen as he leapt back with a hiss. "Okay, not cool." The ground erupted once more, two more Revenants crawling from the earth, brandishing rusted weapons and immediately lashing out a

k o g a the elder wolf Koga hadn't noticed the message appear in his inbox for the first few hours, too absorbed in the book he was reading for probably the hundredth time. However, when he did notice the message, he set aside the leather bound volume for a moment, swiping open the messenger window. The smallest of frowns crossed over his lips as he read the name of the sender. Well, message received Nari. And a long winded message at that. Though, she was right, they needed to talk more. Koga checked the clock, and the message's time stam