Freyd

Yoink!

The rasping wretch reared back, all remaining chain whips ready to lash and bludgeon Wulfrin to pieces for his boasting, no matter how warranted. What should have been a danger had proven little challenge for the two of them, its health bar clinging to hope with the thinnest of cellophane. Ready to heave, the Pallid Mask's hood suddenly jerked back exposing a mess of rotten flesh once called its head, the worst of it concealed behind a grimacing porcelain face. Yanked roughly, it teetered, all four arms flailing and failing to find purchase as it fell backward toward the greetings of a keen

"That would be Reliq," Freyd replied, watching as the gaunt horror resumed its movements to the clink and clatter of bells and chains. "Elora and I found him in my workshop, playing in all the unidentified gear I keep laying around." He left out the bit about how Elora had freaked out, thinking their home was somehow haunted because of all his clandestine puttering around. It had taken nearly a week to clear out all the anti-voodoo tchotchkes she'd layered all over the place. "I think he's some sort of mimic, but can't get him to sit still long enough to be sure." A flash of deep blue

“Oww! Dammit, Mari!” Perpetually predictable panic visible in the tangerine, even from his current vantage. Freyd reached out with still-ensnared arms and snagged her ankle before she could get away. “We’re not doing this.” Preferring a solution to dignity, Freyd dismissed his cloth prison and solidified his grip. “You’re a guest in our house and not leaving until we’ve at least served you a decent breakfast. Not ‘buts!” Releasing his tenure on the woman’s dainty feet, before she kicked him in the face for his trouble, Freyd winced from previously delivered pain. His head h

Thread Closing: Freyd receives: 13,150 EXP (Word Count [3131/5*20] + 5% Guild Rank bonus) 974,383 col (Loot [972411] + 15% P5 Reward [1972]) 244 Materials (Loot [244]) +22 Demonic Shards +42 Gleaming Scales 1 Mon Random Dungeon Maps: 246856 | 246857 | 246858 | 246859 | 246864 | 246865 | 246866 | 246867 | 246872 | 246873 | 246874 | 246875 | 246880 | 246881 | 246882 | 246883 | 246888 | 246889 | 246890 | 246891 | 246896 | 246897 | 246898 | 246899 | 246904 | 246905 | 246906 | 246907 | 246912 | 246913 | 246914 | 246915 | 246921 | 246922 | 246923 | 246924 | 246929 | 246

"Close enough." Barely heard above the din of battle, Nemo's gaze spoke volumes. "Maybe you can learn, after all..." Roaring again unleashed successive concussive blasts the broken another wave of knights, flattening many ranks beyond. Another momentary reprieve. "Don't forget this, Freyd. Or your promises." "Wait... wut?" Before he could utter another word, a massive claw wrapped itself around him, tossing him high into the air, where the deadly tail that had nearly killed him earlier was waiting. Slapped incomprehensibly silly by the blow, everything went dark as Frey

A derisive snort lost in a tornado blast that scoured a dozen knights from the field. Freyd fought with ferocity enough to warrant the guardian's unexpected respect as wave after wave crashed against them from all sides. They couldn't win. There were simply too many foes, and for each one felled two more would take its place. Freyd kept pace, despite this energy reserves depleting. There was no other choice. "If we get through this, I'll stick strictly to finish from now on. Swear to... whatever." Nemo looked at him with confusion. "Never been the religious type. Sorry. What wou

"CORRUPTION... THIS BLIGHTED SKY... IT ALL BEGAN WHEN A MAN IN YELLOW CAME TO MY VALLEY. FIND HIM. STOP HIM." Yellow? Yellow. Liked the masked figure from the moments when all the gawkers has arrived, right after the raid. He was the one who'd summoned the fiendish fish hordes upon them and loosed the champion monstrosities. "Someone said something about a King in Yellow. You mean him?" The conversation ended, barely stillborn, as more of the wretched knights surged over the rapidly disintegrating remains of their brethren. Little more than mindless peons to whatever po

"I REMEMBER, LITTLE THIEF. FOUL MURDERER AND..." "Oh please. Playing the altruistic high and mighty card? Look around, Nemo. This isn't really the time or the place. And this is me actually trying to help you!" Flurried blade set to rest the few lingering mobs spared the worst of the dragon's assault, buying them a momentary reprieve. "Look. We can argue semantics or try to purge whatever this all is. And, if you have any insights on that topic, I'd live to hear them. None of mine lead anywhere good." The glaring pair of furious draconian eyes debating whether or no

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?" Sheer size made Nemo's query mid-battle frenzy slightly deafening, Freyd's ears wringing within his cowl and regretting for the first time his disdain for helms. Mirror lances speared towards them from all sounds, manifesting as a most unfriendly pike wall. Most failed to pierce the dragon's thick hide, but enough did for concern. Parrying and fancy footwork had spared the Whisper the worse of the coordinated assault. "A friend, who stumbled onto your realm after stumbling through another nightmare world. How did this all happen? Were

Slipping through the momentary breach with the slickness of a greased eel, Freyd found himself standing in the heart of the only remaining untainted section of the entire valley. All else had fallen, the rain sluicing their way from all directions along with an army of cuddly critters turned deadly mirror mob. Nemo, in his dragon form, was far larger and fiercer than Freyd remembered. Either time had been kind, he'd been working out hard, or there was more to the kindly mob than most suspected and he'd been playing them all along. Covered in punctures and raking wounds, the dragon foug

Colliding with the rear of the amassed mobs assaulting the place still somewhat resembling Nemo's grove, the first (last?) few ranks fell quickly. It took them a few seconds to realize they were getting slaughtered from behind, suggesting they thought the greater threat lay in the other direction. Nemo? Really? I didn't think he had it in him. A deafening roar granting plausible credibility to the unlikely forced the throng of humanoid wind chimes to falter and fall back, at least for a moment. Bulls in china shops could only aspire to the cacophonous mess reverberating from up ah

Like a shambling horde of sludge zombies moping about Angel's Point, they first gaggle of knights to discover his return had very little to say, mostly because they died instantly. Streaking back into battle, his armor made mince meat of stealth as an option, leaving him no other choice. This was gonna get messy, Oscar-styles, with glassy body bits flung about with complete disregard. Somewhere in there would be at least a few phallic references made in homage to the glizzy man. Something, something, paying the piper. There wasn't time for effort, and this crowd wouldn't appreciate the ef

Propping himself up on his blade, Freyd found himself staring at the shimmering mithril-laden blade. Mentor's Pride. Wilfrin's gift, given and accepted with shared gratitude, reforged in absolute commitment. People are counting on me... Catching the reflection of his own weary eye, night vision piercing the gathering gloom to spite the gathering darkness, Freyd found the well he required. Soothing resurgence reinvigorated his limbs, granting strength where none remained mere moments before. Rising to feet steadying beneath him. "Nemo. I have to find Nemo. He holds the k

Breathing heavily, his armor back in place as quickly as shaking hands could send the proper signal, Freyd's nerves were shaken. Not a thing that happened easily or often, and never lightly. "The somber malaise afflicting ten... " "The Blight on thirteen..." "Shadow the Malevolent on twenty five..." "Now, the black consuming twenty-nine?" Could they be related in some way? Would its power grow the higher up the castle they climbed? Was it climbing even when their progress stalled? Forcing himself to stillness, redirecting his thoughts towards the peace and sereni

A fissure, narrow, but leading to a broader cave beyond, he'd set up camp there once before, in another lifetime. If he could reach it, the mouth could be sealed. He knew its secrets and other points of entry, which meant other exits. Racing like a madman, Freyd fell like a comet upon the last spectral warriors between him and his only lingering hope, shards of glass and broken mob skittering against stone in every direction. Boots pounding the ground buried the last ground dregs into the growing muck at his passage. Elation nearly turned to panic as he wedged himself sideways into th

Dread nested into a pit in his stomach, abandoned since floor twenty-five's raid boss fell. Epic beyond recounting, that battle had rattled Aincrad's foundations to the point of failure, possibly even beyond their bearing. Everything had been swallowed by the bile spewed by that malevolent entity, on a magnitude that made his and Mari's Gemini regurgitations look like a mild case of the hiccups. Watching the darkness grow, nature's bounty wither and die at its touch, the Whisper cringed at the implications, all while fighting off its latest wave of corrupted minions. Clashing steel and gos

"Storm clouds? Here? This place is always a paradise." Thunder cracked, leaving no doubt that whatever malaise had swallowed Ilridge and its surroundings was also making its way here. "Just like in Glyndebourne. What the hell is going on this floor?" Sliding out of reach just as another cohort of knights lanced the rockface beside him with their freaky spider fingers, things were slowly getting hairier. Fat rain droplets splattered against the soft fresh grass, sizzling and steaming wherever they touched, like the clouds were weeping acidic spite meant to do nothing more than spr

Exploding tree back and tree branch shrapnel signaled time for a change, the Whisper cursing under his breath as he dodged the latest pack of mobs to breach his hold. The entire valley grumbled and groaned, as if the place were alive in the worst possible way, rousing itself to devour him by means of landscape if its minions failed. "You know, Cardinal, you and I really need to have words someday." Convinced that the system had been his earliest nemesis, Freyd never fully shed the notion, Even if it were nothing more than Kayaba's computational engine, Freyd hated how much power it ha

"Well... I suppose I could kite them in circles? If Ren, Foyle and Jeeves made it work... worth a shot?" Carving an opening in the thinnest part of the advancing waves, Freyd surveyed and chose his path with care. Getting cornered with so many converging on his position would seal his death sentence. If he could funnel them into small, more manageable numbers, he might be able to hold them and pick his pinch points. "Staying in any one spot too long will only worsen the odds." He'd need to pick his choke points and timing carefully. "Come on Freyd. You've done this a dozen, dozen

Fighting an entire floor full of mutating mobs hell bent on his destruction didn't seem like the best of ideas. Caverns full of creepy-crawly phasing death spiders seemed positively charming by comparison, and almost made him miss crawling about the Chittering Halls. Almost. "Send word. Let the others know what we've found in here." I can't talk. Welll. more like they all aren't very good at listening... "Shut it, Montjoy! Improvise." Maybe a bit harsh, and tad too on the nose, but the sentiment was forcefully conveyed. His shadow stared at him a moment as if to add more.

Open melee is rarely a silent business, especially when there is little to nothing left to clutter the ambience with anything else. No sooner had Freyd waded into the first group - to be fair, they started it - than another cluster of knights fall upon him. Bigger... more... converted than the first batch. They were toughest, taller, the added reach of their limbs enhanced by the viciously lancing mirror shard shoots the fully evolved mobs had demonstrated to lethal effect. "This place is crawling with these things. It's like whatever is behind this has been breeding in here, treating

Freyd gives to Rencesvals: Destiny's Edge +4 (T4 Perfect Weapon (Katana) - Freeze, Bleed, Para) Acquisition ID [195929a] | Roll ID: 199864, 199865, 199866 | Reroll IDs: 199867, 199868, 199869*, 199870 An arctic white steel blade with a red guard and hilt, its very touch can give pause to its wielders foes. Memento Mori +3 | T4 Perfect Weapon (Katana) | Para I | Holy II Acquisition ID: 237867b | Roll ID: 246813, 246814, 246815 | Reroll IDs: 246816, 246827, 246818 An ethereal blade forged from shattered celestial fragments left behind by Persistence's noble sacrifice, the katan

Rank 5 Appraiser (Base: BD 10, CD 8+ for unique, 10 identifications per day) +1 to CD from Hermes’ Scale +1 to CD from Deliberate | 244885c +1 to CD from Witche's Brew | 244267d +2 EXP: Hard Working (also +1 IDs per day) +2 EXP: Lucrative (Firm Anima) (also +2 IDs per day) +1 EXP: Custom Ambition Tool (bought from own shop 2020-07-16) Crafting Respite | Dragon's Breath | [174622] Identifications: 26x T4 Perfect Items (@3040 col) = 79,040 col 26x 1st Rerolls (@1,000 col) = 26,000 col 26x 2nd Rerolls (@2,000 col) = 52,000 col 26x 3rd Rerolls (@4,000 col) = 104,000

Smacking a pair of dry lips parched by horror-laden sea air and the unintelligible burblings of tentacle pirate custodians, Freyd woke with a start. A glacial chill creeping down his spine, internal spidey senses attuned to pending domestic disharmony keened in a pitch high enough to make banshees and falsettos blush. Head perking, eyes still mostly bleary and tethered shut by the after effects of drink, his clothing crunched disturbingly as he moved. Why do I smell like a mixture of campfire, wet mimic and the comforts of home?! Moving sluggishly, like he’d been swallowed whole b