Freyd

“We’re trapped in a battle of absurdity,” Freyd concluded.  None of this made any sense to him whatsoever.  Who battles memes?!  His eyes suddenly went wide.

“Hey!  ORANGE!” he yelled, calling out to Mari.  “I have an idea.  Keep the heavy hitters pounding away at their health.”

The bosses were memes, albeit ones he didn’t really understand.  What if that was their source of power?  How do you defeat a meme?  With newer, better [re: worse] memes!  And these three were pretty weak sauce, at best.  It had already been confirmed that their bling could be destroyed with relative ease.  He needed to do that again.  What did he care if he took a coolness penalty?  Nobody even knew who he was, and his weapon was perfectly named for the task.  Being brought low by a total nobody might even help.  If he could cut down their pop culture cred, maybe the rest of the gathered heroes could take down their forms – permanently.

With only one AoE sword art at his disposal, and a weak one at that, Freyd had to time and sequence this perfectly.  He wasn’t going to have the energy for another try.  Launching himself past the first two bosses he called upon each on his way towards his true destination.

“Rise up, Swine Bajesus, and be the boss instead of the minion!”

“Yo!  Green dude!  Did you notice that the Town of Beginnings is in the SOUTH end of the zone?”

Then, in an act of desperate idiocy, Freyd swung Forgiven Disobedience in a wide arc, simultaneously blasting Rain Minion 12’s crown, sunglasses, blunt, AND gun, hoping to bring this madness to an end.  

"Not cool?  So what.  Eat it, [-]uckers…"

HP: 123/123 31/31 | EN: 4/18 (-9 +1) | DMG: 8 | MIT: 29 | ACC: 2 | SAV: 1 | REC: 1 | KEEN: 1 | HOLYDMG 1 | BLEED 1 | IMM 1 

[Rolling, but all four items are hit on a miss anyway.]

ID 153373 - BD vs. Rain Minion 12’s Crown: 9+2 = hit.  DMG: 9*2 = 18
ID 153374 - BD vs. Rain Minion 12’s Sunglasses: 6+2 = hit.  DMG: 8*2
ID 153375 - BD vs. Rain Minion 12’s Blunt: 2+2 = miss, but apparently can’t
ID 153376 - BD vs. Rain Minion 12’s Gun: 2+2 = miss, but apparently can’t

With Liminal Blind complete, Freyd had finally established a home base he deemed sufficiently secure and away from the prying and ever-vigilant digital eyes of the insidious Cardinal system.  He could never truly let down his guard, of course, but this was an important step forward.  From this location, he could maintain vantage over the data processing hub he was convinced was concealed within the cathedral at Angel's Point - one of the few safe zones on this otherwise abysmal level.  Persistence, his newly acquired blue shadow mongoose familiar, was happy to scamper about, chasing small mutated rodents and other relatively harmless critters that roamed the grounds of the monastery beneath which Liminal Blind was concealed.

Persi did as she pleased, most of the time, despite Freyd's occasional attempts at direction.  He'd let it go, as she was preternaturally skilled at staying out of the way.  Hunting down Cardinal's innocent-looking critter spies only endeared her further.  But, with everything else on his agenda settled, now seemed like an appropriate time for the two of them to get better acquainted.  If they were to work more effectively together, a few things need to be clarified.

House Name: Liminal Blind

Location: Floor 13 / Angel’s Point

Description: 

Freyd’s paranoia has him convinced that the Cardinal system is out to get him.  He’s not even sure if the other players allegedly trapped in SAO with him are real, or just another layer of delusion inflicted upon him by his vile, digital jailor.  Where would he possibly build a home that could offer him even the slightest hint of peace of mind?  Within the winding machinations of his failing sanity, the answer seemed obvious: in a glitch beneath the unluckiest place in the word.

He found his way to floor thirteen, with its post-apocalyptic dystopia with tiny fragments of lost civilization clinging desperately to the ashes of lost glory.  It felt perfect!  Add to that the mysterious nature of the cathedral in Angel’s Point, and Freyd had found his ideal site.  He also conveniently convinced himself that the cathedral is actually a core processing hub for the Cardinal system and is irrationally insistent that it requires close monitoring.

The battlements of an ancient, vacant fortress monastery form part of the walls barely securing the survivor’s enclave.  In its lowest cellar, he found what he was searching for: the placeholder entrance for a dungeon that was never created – his glitch.  There, he dreamed he could hide from Cardinal itself.  Whether this is actually even possible will make great fodder for future RPs, but Freyd has rationalized it exhaustively to himself.

Internally, the Liminal Blind is designed as a place between places: a series of functional, interconnected chambers deliberately crafted to appear like a developer’s work in progress.  Reminder notes with statements like 'add spike trap here', 'decorative gargoyle with the face of Freddy Mercury' and 'remember to pick up milk on the way home' litter every room, and are perfectly visible to anyone whom Freyd grants access, which is currently ABSOLUTELY NO ONE.  Several of the notes adamantly remind him to maintain this status.  The entire complex is accessed by climbing down a well in the monastery’s lowest level, which appears capped with a label attached to it that reads:

To be unlocked in the next patch.

Love and hugs to all.

-The Management

The bottom of the well has a secret door that (Freyd believes) can only be opened by saying “BEEP, BOOP, BLIP BLIP, MEHHH!” out loud while depressing the right symbols on a keypad that only he can actually see.  In actuality, there is a sealed metal hatch in the floor that requires access privileges by the owner to open, and the well can be filled with water through various mechanisms that draw on condensing floor thirteen’s perpetual fog to conceal its presence.

The yard slots are both deliberately obvious features on the surface.  One is a ramshackle shed that Freyd uses as a storefront for his merchant services.  False living quarters are attached to keep up appearances.  He keeps a dummy in the rafters to place in the bed whenever he’s not around.  The monastery gardens have been converted into a mega slime farm, which blends in so perfectly with the moist and overgrown environment of this floor as to be virtually undetectable.  A rickety wooden shingle hangs over the door to the workshop, marked “Freyd Edges”.

Plot Size: Estate
Rooms (7/15): Basement, Basic Kitchen, Storage Closet, Bathroom, Living Room, Bedroom, Attic (Storage)
Yards (2/3): Slime Farm, Basic Workshop
Room Upgrades: Mega Slime Farm, Extended Workshop

Total Cost: 244,000 col (Note: Freyd is paranoid.  He could never consider placing his home in PK territory, even if it is less optimal economically.)

Cost Breakdown (all non-PK):

Estate plot:    124,000
Add: Slime Farm    +10,000
Upgrade: Mega Slime Farm    +15,000
Add: Basic Workshop (Storage Shed)    +10,000
Upgrade: Extended Workshop    +15,000
Add: Basement    +10,000
Add: Bedroom (Freyd)    +10,000
Add: Bathroom    +10,000
Add: Basic Kitchen    +10,000
Add: Storage Closet    +10,000
Add: Attic (Storage)    +10,000
Add: Living Room    +10,000

Name: Auspicious Gi
Your Profession:  Merchant
Your Rank: Rank 2
Roll ID: 153315, 153316
Roll Result: 10, 7
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: T1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Light Momentum 2
Description: Commonly worn by novices during the initial stages of martial arts training, this particular garment is made in the Japanese cut using fine white cotton reinforced with heavier than normal thread, enabling its user to exert greater force without the risk of embarrassing fashion failures.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19581-f5-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=611078

Name: Dog Training Outfit
Your Profession:  Merchant
Your Rank: Rank 2
Roll ID: 153317, 153318
Roll Result: 3, 6
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: T1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Regen 1, Light Momentum 1
Description: A heavily padded brown cloth suit with multiple patches from prior repairs.  It is often handed out to unfortunate militia recruits during hazings.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19581-f5-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=611225

Name: Voracious Ambitions
Your Profession:  Merchant
Your Rank: Rank 2
Roll ID: 153321, 153322
Roll Result: 1, 11  
Item Type: Trinket
Tier: T1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Keen 1, Loot Die 1
Description: A very large golden medallion with the word "WINNER" engraved in its centre, supported by an equally oversized golden chain.  You can't miss it.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19581-f5-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=610863

Name:  Rabbit Medallion
Your Profession:  Merchant
Your Rank: Rank 2
Roll ID: 153319, 153320
Roll Result: 10, 8
Item Type: Trinket
Tier: T1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Recovery 2
Description: A stylish metal pendant of a pink bunny wearing sunglasses and holding a drum supported by a harness over both shoulders.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19581-f5-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=610972

Pushing off with as much force as he could, Freyd twisted on his left heel to cleave into the partially shattered tree trunk.  There was a loud snapping sound as the blade cut clean across in a white blur.  The tiniest of smiles curled the edges of his lips as he watched the lead skunk round the corner, just in time to receive the impact of the falling log upon its skull.  A sickening crunch followed.  The final skunk limped over the body of its fallen kin, stumbling both due to its injured leg and the sudden collapse of its companion's corpse beneath its feet.

It looked very unhappy.

Bracing his sword out in front of him like a pike, Freyd tilted his head as if asking whether it was really going to do this - truly, daring it to charge and save him the trouble of hunting it down.  

"Bring it."

Freyd swung wide, clipping the nearer skunk on its right flank, right above its back leg.  It stumbled back, trying to to keep its footing, but struggling to maintain itself upright.  Its surviving partner lunged forward to intercept Freyd before he could press his attack.

"How the hell did these things get here?  If they've lasted this long against us, what would have happened to less experienced players?"

Several well-placed thrusts kept the second skunk from getting close enough to threaten him, but he had lost sight of the first one.  

"Watch it, Sin-Chan," he called out.  "One's wandered off.  I'll try to find and pull it back."  He raced around the area, seeking the other target.  It nearly bowled him over as it burst back out from cover.  Veering out of the way pressed his back again one of the fractured trunks and gave him a moment to recoup.

"Found it!"  His plan was falling into place.

"Why couldn't it have been bears?!"  He nearly gagged, just trying to choke out the words.  

The spray barrage that followed could have been even less pleasant if Freyd hadn't managed to stay just ahead of it, diving for cover and rolling back out of it almost immediate, several times over.  The skunks had actually managed to create a bit of a clearing, which would prevent them from using this area as an effective ambush site in the future.  Unfortunately, he still had two of them to dispatch before they could return to Hannah and complete their quest.

Freyd kicked away a fallen sapling in his path as he darted to remain clear.  It struck one of the skunks in the face, knocking it backwards and out of reach with a yelp.  Recalling his battle against the frost golem alongside Yuki gave him an idea.  He scanned the remaining trees for a suitable candidate.

Name: Second Level Courage
Your Profession:  Merchant
Your Rank: Rank 1 
Roll ID: 153157
Roll Result: 18
Item Type: Consumable (Meal)
Tier: T1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Over-Health 2
Description: Favoured by low level players, this hearty stew is said to bestow a gut-clinging  warmth that can help carry them through the toughest of endurance trials.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19567-f01-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=610628

Name: Berserker Draught
Your Profession:  Merchant
Your Rank: Rank 1 
Roll ID: 153158
Roll Result: 7
Item Type: Consumable (Potion)
Tier: T1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Damage 2
Description: An especially stout ale touted as making those who imbibe it capable of breathing fire.  While not wholly accurate, it does to tend to aid when reckless abandon may be of assistance.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19567-f01-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=610628

One of the skunks was split in half, white gooey stains spraying all over the site, instead of blood, then vanishing an instant later as the mob discorporated.  Freyd's sword sang like an angelic choir as it did so, unleashing a blazing wave of white light.  His next swing caught the one he'd missed in his initial attack, but the beasts were too spread out for him to catch them all, even with the extensive reach of a greatsword.  

He leapt off the boulders and fallen logs littering the cluttered forest floor area, keeping his enemies guessing and preventing them from landing any hits with their claws or bites.  Another foul blast started to dissolve one of the rocks he had been standing on, but he'd fortunately already moved on when it was hit.

"How's it coming, Sin-Chan?  We're having a grand time over here!"  Baleful chittering followed, suggesting that the skunks were not enjoying the exchange quite as much.

"Here," Freyd said.  "Take my hand, or place yours on the near wall.  There were no side tunnels in the cave.  As long as we follow the wall, it should lead to the exit.  It's an old trick used to solve mazes."  He walked as he spoke, assuming that she was following.  The polished surface of his bracers caught the tiniest hints of light in the passage, making him easier to see.

Within moments, they had found their way back to the exit.  Freyd was part way through giving Sin-Chan a satisfied nod when he caught a whiff of something foul in the air.  

"Do you smell a sk... urk."  He covered his nose to try to block the pungeant, acrid scent.  Twenty feet away, the monstrous source of the stink emerged - an enormous skunk nearly six feet long and half as tall.  Its tails stood fully erect.  As if to reinforce the threat of the noxious stench, the nearest tree behind it suddenly keeled over, its roots having been dissolved by exposure to its acidic spray.  Three more of the beasts then rounded the opposite side of the rise from the first, bearing down on them.

"We have to clear them out," Freyd said, his jaw set firm.  "If the next group of noobs that comes through here is less experienced, it will be a massacre.  I'll keep the new arrivals busy." His sword already slashing ahead of him.  "Get the first one and then at the rest of them from the side!"

Freyd was momentarily distracted by the brief sound of struggle from around the corner.  His sword arm slowed as it came down, barely touching the pommel to the gem he was working.  It popped loose.

*RAW -- Urk.*

The monstrous thing that had suddenly spawned while his head was turned already had his greatsword driven through its centre.  Freyd had barely registered his intention for the motion before it came to pass.  The gem fell loose and back into its palm.  He trotted back around the corner, sword at the ready, to check on Sin-Chan.

"Is everything okay here?  I thought I heard something."  He spotted her emerald eyes, and little else in the darkness.  Ironically, his own black clothing gave much the same appearance, albeit unintentionally.  He held his jewel out, only to help reflect some of the light a bit better and make sure she was safe.  He needn't have worried.

"Right," Freyd replied, smiling at her dismissal.  The cave wasn't very far.  They never were for starter quests.

"Looks almost nearly, totally not scary in there.  Shall I lead the way?"  The cave tunnel was open and wide, with a couple of turns but no significant rise or fall in elevation.  Glowing lichen provided some light beyond the first turn, reflecting on a series of small gemstones embedded in the stone walls.  Freyd grimaced at how trivially easy this was, but Sin-Chan was right - this was about optimizing potential.

"Care to do the honours? I think we need to each find our own."  He started searching the cave for another gem, confident that Sin-chan would have hers momentarily.

Another patch caught his attention, just around the corn.  These has a whiter, brighter colouring that better suited his sense of aesthetics.  Pulling out Forgiven Disobedience, he started tapping gently at the gem with its pommel, hoping to jar it loose.

“This is basically going to be a string of fetch and deliver quests, isn’t it?  First Zackariah, then Lyle, now we’re off to go visit this Hannah person.  Who names people with palindromes!?  That’s just… wrong.”  This was probably the closest to agitated that Assassin – or Sin-chan, as he always called her – had ever seen Freyd.  He wasn’t exactly what you’d call the ‘expressive’ type. 

His brief rant ended abruptly when they reached the City gates, when he suddenly stopped as if physically struck.

“I have way too much introverted shounen protagonist in me, don’t I?”

He simply sighed, as if answering his own question, then pointed in the direction Lyle suggested they travel to reach the grove.

"What about you, Sin-Chan?  What's your take on all of this?  I'm curious."  Freyd asked sincerely.  He was still sorting out how he felt about being trapped in Aincrad.  Hearing the perspectives of other could help, and her take on things had a tendency to be novel.

@Assassin

Freyd was still attentively listening to Sin-chan's advice by the time they reached Lyle's smithy again.  He genuinely liked the roguish spark in her spirit.  She seemed so much more alive than he did to himself - like she would kick butt and take names, where he'd request patrons to sign in, enjoy the musical ambiance and partake of the decorated biscuits on display in the parlour.  Damn.  Was he really that much like a butler, even in his own daydreaming?!

Lyle, that thick, stalwart mass of a man greeted them with the mildest grunt and sneer of disdain he could likely manage.  "Did ya get wut I asked fer?" he demanded bluntly.

"Yes," was Freyd's only reply.  He was more interested in his companion's banter than processing the quest protocols.  He transferred the boar pup tusks to complete the quest requirements, then waited for Assassin to do the same.  Despite having seen her true name when they grouped, he couldn't bring to think of her as anything but Sin-chan.

"Like that, you mean?"  Freyd said, pursing his lips and putting his hands on his hips, expecting that she was trying to prove her point.  He was glad that she had taken his prodding in the intended manner.  Maybe she lived up to her name after all?  She certainly wasn't the frail willow of a thing her age and size might suggest, but he was well aware that such things could be misleading - especially here.  They had wandered back into the safe zone already.  Using the same logic she had just used against his poor excuse for a ruse, this couldn't be an attack.

"Come on, Sin-chan," he said, extending a hand, "let's get this junk back to Lyle's place.  We have more challenging tasks than killing baby critters ahead of us."

Several passing players gave them strange looks; a young man dressed like a catholic priest reaching down to help up a young girl doubled over in pain in the middle of the city streets.

Name: Flawed Dowsing Rods
Profession: Merchant
Rank: 1
Roll ID: 153020, 153021
Roll Result: 13, 18
Item Type: Trinket
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: ACC 1, LD 1
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19567-f01-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=610684
Description: A pair of 12” long copper dowsing rods rumoured to be capable of finding anything except water.

Name: Gladiator's Brace
Profession: Merchant
Rank: 1
Roll ID: 153022, 153023
Roll Result: 18, 6
Item Type: Trinket
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: ACC 1, REC 1
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19567-f01-sp-freyd/?do=findComment&comment=610684
Description: A supportive harness made of thin leather and stretchable fabrics.  It can be worn under or over armor to reduce strain on a wielder’s limbs during combat.

Reward Summary:

5 SP (3 for 60+ pages, 1 quest, 1 event)

4,530 col (1,200 for 60+ posts, plus loot rolls)

10x T1 Crafting Materials

2x T1 Rare Trinket (Acquisition ID#152554, 152698)

2x T1 Rare Armor/Shield (Acquisition ID#152782, 153018)

Gain a Familiar (Eval submitted)

Persi spent another minute approaching the patch, then digging lightly at its edges before rolling around in it, thrashing it all about like she was giving herself a sand bath.

"That was it?" Freyd said, letting his sword clank against the ground to emphasize his disappointment?  "Seriously?"  

The mongoose cared nothing about his complaints.  She was quite content and lingered deliberately, staring as if daring him to do anything.

Freyd just resumed his walk back to town.  Persi finished up, then raced back to his side, nuzzling against his leg in a surprisingly cat-like manner.  "Marking me with scent, huh?  I suppose that follows."

***

The gypsy woman met them at the gate, as if she'd been waiting there the entire time.  She gave a knowing smile to Persi, and Freyd couldn't shake the feeling like this entire thing had somehow been a setup.  Not that it mattered.  It was done, and Billy's instincts had been spot on: he was a mongoose person, after all.

As expected, the scorpion soon bled out and vanished completely.  The white marshmallowy goo that covered Freyd disappeared and Persi was quick to scramble onto his back, its head sniffing at his neck and shoulders, trying to figure out where it had gone.  Chuckling softly to himself, Freyd collected the thing's loot.  Hopefully, this would be the last of their challenged before returning to Fortaleza.  He'd had enough of this desert for a while and was looking to moving ahead with other schemes he'd left simmering in the back of his mind.  

Persi craned and stretched her neck out for a moment, sniffing at the air.  Freyd was immediately on guard again, wary of another attack so soon after the last ambush?  Her instincts had been good so far.  He had no reason to doubt them now.  Jumping down from his shoulder, she wandered over to the patch of crusted sand from which the scorpion had emerged.

"Huzzah!"  Was that the expression?  He wasn't sure.  Did anyone even say that anymore? The scorpion wished it had never been said at all.  The thing was twitching like a stuck pig with Forgiven Disobedience stuck halfway to the hilt in a gap between its head and right arm, white, pulpy goo splurting out all over the place, especially all over Freyd.  He was drenched from head to toe with it, dearly hoping that it would vanish as soon as the beast disintegrated, and eagerly watching its health bar for the moment to come.

Persistence was jumping happily all around it, ecstatic that its companion had finally figured out the importance of a well-timed critical strike.  She seemed sure that she could teach him to repeat the feat, with the proper training.  It might yet be possible to make a proper mongoose out of him.

"Don't get cocky," Freyd cautioned, "it still has a bit of fight in it.  Let's celebrate once it's gone."

His foe would be more hesitant to try another tail strike after Freyd's latest slash had nearly cut it off.  The scorpion switched to relying on its two large pincers instead, which were admittedly still formidable.  Freyd's metal blade clanged loudly as it repeatedly clashed against the thing's heavy shell.  Persi had also returned to dancing about, further infuriating the beast and causing it.

He had also neglected to consider the risk posed by its mandibles, until they nearly cut his arm in half.  Thank goodness for his vambraces.  He had to beat it with a the hilt in the head a few times before it finally let him go.

Things improved once he managed to get some distance between them again, where he could swing more cleanly.  Several parts of its chitin had cracked, leaving the pulpy, underlying flesh exposed and vulnerable.  They made tempting targets, if you could land a few well-placed thrusts.

"Yup.  I just spent all my luck again finding that familiar, didn't I?"

Freyd was flat on his back again after another heavy swat from the back of the scorpion's pincer.  A quick roll to the right just dodged the strike of its tail.  Scrambling back to his feet again he caught the same blue eyes staring quizzically at him, this time from behind a boulder.

"Don't judge," he clamored, "you have no idea what I had to go through before we found each other."  Persi did, actually; she had been trailing him stealthily since this whole misadventure began.  Freyd either wasn't a particularly good fighter, or he was often in over his head.  It could be both.  It was his good heart and determination that had garnered her attention.

"I swear that the random number generator just has it out for me."  He deflected another tail strike and batted away another pincer with a pommel blow.  It occurred to him how it was strange that he was suddenly willing to speak his thoughts out loud now that he felt like someone was listening.  The scorpion didn't care.

The two handed straight sword proved a good match against the long reach of the scorpion's tail, but the addition of its two massive claws complicated the odds.  Freyd parried the former only to be knocked prone by one of the pincers.  He was saved, unexpectedly, when Persi leapt onto the monster's back, scratching and biting at its more vulnerable joints.  The mongoose couldn't penetrate its hardened exoskeleton, but it was enough of a distraction to let him get back on his feet.  Persi darted back into shadows under a nearby cactus the moment Freyd recovered.

"Good timing!"  he said, gratefully.  "You've got pretty good timing.  I can't wait to see how well we work after some actual training - though I suppose this would also count."

A par of bright blue eyes appeared from the shadows and blinked once, before vanishing again.  The irritation on its back having gone, the scorpion turned its beady gaze back to its original target.

Freyd was on alert the moment Persi froze, then came darting back to stand beside him.  She might have caught a scent or felt vibration of its approach while wandering ahead of him.  The sudden emergence of a giant scorpion before them would have been a complete surprise, had it not been for her warning.

The chitinous grey stinger burst forth from beneath a patch of what had previously looked like compacted sand.  Its aim was wide, perhaps thrown off by the amount of surrounding rock.  Freyd managed a series of quick darting strikes against the thing before it fully extracted itself from the sand.  Persi danced around it, distracting the scorpion and forcing it to focus on two targets at once.  Freyd doubted that the mongoose could do much against its thick, armor-like shell, but appreciated the unsolicited help.  It was a promising start to their partnership that his little blue shadow friend so eagerly worked her actions in concert with his.

They soon occupied each other with an assortment of games as they walked.  Persi favoured the one where he used a polished silver buckler he'd picked up some time back to shine a spot on the ground.  Interestingly, whenever she covered the spot with her shadow-covered paw, it would vanish completely.  Whatever the nature of her shadow aura, it completely blocked the passage of light.

When Persi grew tire of chasing the vanishing spot, they switched to chasing sticks and small pebbled.  One skittered under a nearby pile of rocks and kept her attention long enough for Freyd to investigate.  Perhaps it had once been home to a group of smaller creatures, but he found nothing else of interest.  Collecting a fresh stash of pebbles, their game continued as they wandered back towards Fortaleza.

By this point, Persi had taken the lead and left him to follow her along, which was fine as she kept going in the intended direction.