Freyd

The swarm fell upon him like a flood, gnashing and gnawing as it sought to grasp and weigh him down to drag him into its depths. 'So this is what it felt like,' he realized, fathoming for the first time what those outside the raid must have experienced. Countless mouths and claws ripped and tore at him, gouging flesh wherever they could find it, but to little actual avail. In the instant that he realized the absence of a serious threat, the ink turned itself back to vapour and dissipated, withdrawing to the outer portions of the chamber where it resisted the natural urge to fall. Shadows n

Expecting the surface to be dry and rough, Freyd was surprised to find it slick and inky instead, like a think, viscous soup that pulled at his fingertips like a current and scooped him up to bring along for the ride. Swirling lights dominated his vision, glaring and overwhelming his sensations, as if staring at the sun too long. When the field of dots and blemishes vanished, only a dim violet haze remained, like standing at the edge of a penumbra. This was a place between light and darkness, on the very edge of being shadow itself. Nothing moved or made any sounds. By what little he coul

"You know the danger. It must not be permitted to return." There was real passion in Orgoth's voice as he spoke, perhaps even a little fear. The champion had suffered untold horrors at the hands of the malevolent raid boss. Freyd knew very little of him prior to that point, but had heard he'd played a crucial role in allowing the frontliners to escape from the Labyrinth guardian battle. "We know the danger," Freyd rephrased. "It must not be permitted to return." Paroting the words, he couldn't help but think of how much functionality and control he'd gained over his own shadow since

"There is another matter we should discuss, if you will permit it." Orgoth's tone had become much more serious and quieted substantially, especially given his size. "Entering the Labyrinth still seems to bring with it some of his taint, for those of us sensitive to it. There is a ritual that can be performed to help cleanse you after your passage, but it is harrowing. I know that you touched a part of him, in the raid. It was part of what helped set me free. We both know the consequences, should any part of him still linger within us, or be allowed to escape the confines of the maze."

The sounds of metal grinding against metal and stone filled the air around them, coming from up ahead. Light streamed down the passageway framed by the form of a familiar, large minotaur standing guard. Not willing to look a gift... bull?... in the mouth, Freyd made his way promptly to the opening and nodded in thanks at Orgoth as he breached the threshold. "That didn't take long. Did you just run away from it?" The beast-man's eyes twinkled with jest. "No, I didn't just run away," Freyd snipped back at him jovially. "I had him in pieces within seconds. Have a bit of faith!"

Rounding another corner as they gave chase, Freyd jumped to perform a full parcour climb, bouncing back and forth from the adjacent walls to be left clinging between them thirty feet up when the hunters came after. Falling like a stone, he crashed right into the goblin and flattened him and his mount in a single blow, then rolled off to the side to break his fall. Beast and rider staggered, too dazed to figure out which way was up and were soon finished off for their trouble. Persi sat aloofly aside, grooming herself and admitting nothing about the skill which her lummox may or may not have

Another howl echoed off the impossibly high walls of the maze as a second rider whipped around the corner to spot the last dregs of its companions showering the floor at Freyd's feet. "Uh... would you believe that I found them like this?" He grinned and shrugged. They charged. Preferring confusion, Freyd did exactly the opposite to their expectations and ran straight towards them, screaming like a maniac as he did so. The warg seemed hesitant and momentarily lost its speed, long enough for Persi to streak past and scratch its nose. Yelping in surprise, it rear, allowing enough of an

Sidestepping by instinct, the massive mutt's maw snapped shut on nothing but air while Freyd kicked the nearest leg out from underneath it with a sickening crunch. Equally startled, the goblin rider on the warg's back flailed and failed to grip his saddle or the mangy beast's coarse fur and fell off to the side only the be crushed beneath his own mount's weight. A quick booted stomp made sure to finish the job, even as Freyd punched the teetering target in its nearest widened eye for its trouble, the bulk of its remaining form crumpling into glittery dust an instant later. "At least I k

He'd barely had time to regain his footing when the first of the howls started echoing off the walls. Wolves, wargs, or some other variety of canine threat was surely heading his way. Rushing for the door he'd where he'd first entered, he found nothing but smooth stone. "Yeah. That figures. The way in is never the way out." Crouching low and avoiding any more loss of time, Freyd darted along the shadowed wall in search of another exit. Soon enough, the baying of the hounds fell behind and he allowed himself a slower pace. There was no sense exhausting himself needlessly. As expec

Ricocheting off the wall opposite from which he'd just bounced, Freyd drove himself fist-first into the warden's back. A gigantic pulse of light and force erupted the moment the two made contact, throwing both combatants in opposite directions. Freyd slammed into the same wall from which he'd just launched himself, the wind leaving his lungs in a hurry. His target got the worst of it, the thing's torso have ruptured on the far side and sprayed its motes through a newly created hole in the labyrinth wall on the far side. The rest of the titan was already starting to decay, its core having b

Rolling to a stop against the far wall, Freyd instantly leapt into action by pouncing onto the thing's colossal arm and racing up towards its head. A satisfying grin spread across his face as he climbed and the screeching keening of his weapon split the silent gloom of the maze. A single passing swipe caught the juggernaut's head on its left side, smashing and eating it away including one of its eyes. A hand that might have been meant to grab him pawed at the missing portion of its skull instead, poking and prodding as it attempting to process why its vision was so suddenly impaired. F

All limbered and ready for a sprint, Freyd rushed in the moment the gates open only to run headlong into a wall of solid metal blocking his path. Tumbling sideways to avoid the worst of the impact, he rolled a few times before righting himself in a crouch and glancing up to figure out what he'd just run into. It was a giant metal humanoid, with veins of molten metal running between the titanium plates. "Wait. What? HERE!? But, I've barely set a foot inside!" Behind it, only visible for a moment as the entry doors shut to lock him in, a wide-eyed Orgoth stared, stupified at the

He'd deliberately avoided returning to floor 25 for some time after concluding the raid against Shadow. Its traumas were still too fresh in many ways. The din of pleas and cries still rang out in his mind many months later. Faces lost in a flood of inky blackness and the mocking voice of a deluded would-be god were its accompaniment. The Whisper's eyes still flinched when recalling Elora's face flashed by, only to be washed away with the others. But there was a mysterious mob within the maze that had been causing consternation. The few who still foolishly delved inside in search of loot

Note: Post deleted as player has become inactive. It would be nice to have the 1 demonic shard and 1 gleaming scale sent to Zenshu returned to Freyd.

"Humanity's worst enemy is itself, more often than not. Just look at Kayaba. He's got every other PKer's kill count beat by the hundreds, if not more." Freyd grimaced at the thought, the image of those countless names carved into the Monument of Life flashing through his mind's eye. "I regret to say that we have to be careful about who we trust, most certainly out in the wilds. Steer within safe zones whenever you can, and try not to travel alone. That's when you'll be most vulnerable. They're like any other predators, you see. Some will travel in packs, and most will seek wounded or i

Freyd claims: Dagan Crystal-B | (Tierless/Consumable - Instant (during healing effect)/Re-usable) | Once per thread, as a free action: Add an additional +5% to any post action healing effect. This value exceeds normal maximum HP, and will become temporary HP. This effect is applied before Life Mending is calculated and benefits from it. (This item must be present in battle ready inventory to be used.) ID Tag: 218298 Ordsea Crystal-B | (Tierless/Consumable - Instant (during any action that generates hatred)/Re-usable) | Once per thread, as a free action: Add an additional +5 hatred

"Oh, right! That's why it always sounded so familiar. I grew up near Coquitlam as a kid. Not really the same, but the cadence is similar." Shrugging off the woman's dour demeanor, he crumpled her note and let it fall to the broken flagstone street beneath their feet. "He'll be the easy one to find. They next won't be found the same way. Yet another opportunity for you to shine, Vice-Commander," he added, beaming a grin at Hirru. "I'm equally glad to see that the curse has yet to claim you. Let's keep it that way." Crouching on bended knee, Freyd dipped his gaze to the ground. At

Eying his Wristwrap's Luck of the Sea suspiciously, Freyd was very skeptical that the wet burlap would amount to much of anything. He was right. Weaving and bobbing around the mob, as if to pacing of some unsung sea chanty tune, he simply couldn't get close enough for a strike. "How the hell is he moving that fast on a peg leg?! Is it spring-loaded? Maybe a pogo or something?" Verbal barbs were about as close as the Whisper managed to get, though the effect was mutual. Swinging his cutless as crazily as he was, Burlock wasn't likely to ever hit much of anything himself. "Have at

Reading the message, Freyd had forgotten that the recently added next episode in the Arabian saga had been planted in his own backyard. Perhaps not literally, the monastery ruins being a more factual boundary, but so few players chose to make their home in the zombie-infested wastelands of floor 13 that it was easy to think of the whole thing as his own overgrown lawn. It had been ages since the two of them had worked together, other than the recently completed raid. Event the last Arabian quest they'd completed seemed like ages ago. Hirru was also good people. There were few in Aincrad t

He was grateful to Katoka for ending 'herself.' The toll of taking out another friend might have proven too much. So many familiar faces cut down out of necessity. When was it going to be enough? Memories drifted to his mind's eye of a manhunt in the woods: he hunting down his own dark essence that had literally clawed out of his mouth to wreak havoc on the world. The effigy had spawned dozens of copies of itself, each in the shape of a friend. Each had been felled in turn, without mercy. They were not real. But what was real anymore? Trapped in a digital world where your own face was

Each of the three poll questions had various strong points and shakier elements. Rather than skew either way, I’ll just skip the poll and offer the following as creative feedback. It’s also worth acknowledging how hard it can be to plan for raids when the designer doesn’t yet know who will be participating while creating the boss. Mad respect for those of you who put in the effort. Hopefully, some of what follows is useful. 1. Narrative Honestly, this raid’s narrative struggled a bit regarding engagement. The text itself was great, but was often so heavy with internal monolog

"Cardinal..." Katoka had never before heard him speak a word with such utter vitriol and contempt. The hatred was visceral and came from Freyd's very core, as if speaking to the very antithesis of his own being. Regaining his footing while true Katoka held the newcomers at bay, her frantic calls cut through the haze and din ringing like a fog over his senses. 'System static,' he told himself, not really knowing why. Where is Takeshi when I need him? Oh. Right. I killed him... again. Fingers pressed against wetness on his face. Blood? Stained tips drew back black with some so

"Busy? Dude. This is just about as not-busy as I ever get. My name's Freyd, by the way. Nice to meet you. And you may want to avoid assuming that floor level determines difficulty. There are things here on floor one that could challenge a frontliner. Along the same lines, the areas around the teleportation portals on most upper floors are perfectly safe." A grimace crossed his face as he spoke. "Honestly, your biggest threat won't even come from mobs, but from other players. PKers come in all shapes, sizes, and even icon colours. Just because it's green, doesn't mean they can't be s

"So, how did you manage to find a place like this Freyd?" Kat asked between mouthfuls, "Another once of you many grinding adventures I assume?" "I make it a point to get to know all the nooks and crannies of the floors we unlock - all the secrets and hidey-holes. There are always more to be found. This?" He waved his hand towards the incoming surf. "This was one of the most pleasant surprises I've yet to find, and one that needed to be shared." Uncharacteristic serenity found the Whisper in that moment, his features actually relaxing for once to take in the scenery as well as the com

Standing back up and stretching his arms high with a twist of his lanky torso, such actions should be completely unnecessary within the confines of the game. And yet, they granted a sense of realism and normalcy that could also other wise be lacking; it just felt right. From each high-held hand dangled a skinned with of gamey rabbit in looted form and prized particularly by players. "Oh, sweet! Bonus loot drop. That helps make up for all the time I spent chasing this damned thing." Both sets of meat strips vanished with a flash, vacuum sealed in whatever elsewhere space played host