Freyd

Freyd tapped the stone with his left as the right re-cast his line. His companion sat and stared in silence for awhile, content to enjoy the pastoral ambience and relaxing atmosphere. Freyd could tell that there was something on his mind, but chose not to push. Fishing was about patience, after all. Finally, Quaestor cleared his throat, staring down to his breastplate when he spoke. "I can't possibly thank you enough for everything you did for Miri, Typhon, Jeeves, and most especially myself. You gave us back lives that were stolen, and thought gone. That's a miracle, Freyd."

Persi tapped at the chest to open it while Freyd and Quaestor conversed on the side. The slightest swish of her tail was all it took for the system to acknowledge contact and unpack the contents. Freyd frowned, noticing the container's pop-up confirming the deposit into his inventory, but kept his main focus on his friend. "Is the Madrigal back up and running? Does this mean you're all going about questing again?" There was a tone of optimistic zeal in Freyd's voice that he had no desire to contain. Quaestor just laughed, raising both palms to temper his eagerness. "Relax! We'r

No sooner had the bobber struck the water and resurfaced, than another treasure box appeared at his side. "Wow. What's the drop rate on these things? It's a damned good thing that they vanish after opening, or we'd be having some practical storage problems." A hearty laugh and barritone voice boomed suddenly off to his left. "Freyd? Is that you?" An older man, at least by SAO standards, approached him. Being in his late twenties put him at the tail end of the pack, compared to most of the player base. Clad in an ancient style of armor that made him look like some sort of h

"Another map!? Does each chest contain one of these things? Not gonna lie... that would be amazing." The box disappeared even as the contents were automatically transferred to his inventory by the system. Already bored by a single instance of repetition, Persi scanned the rest of the rock to determine the best spot to warm herself under the sun, then promptly plopped herself there. A few twists and rolls were inevitably required to help her find the optimal position, because that was always the way of things. Her azure eyes closed, confirming that she had found her perfect spot, leaving

"Seriously," he said to no one in particular, gleefully surprised. "I had no idea that fishing could deliver dungeon maps!" Persi snuck out from her nest, cradled in the tiny folds of his black leather jacket, where she could suck up warmth and avoid unwanted attention. Freyd's ruckus had roused her. Peeking out, her eyes grew wider as Freyd fished out another box from the stream. "What have I been missing? Hey, Nemo! I'm loving this place already!" Slinking free from his clothing, completely, Persi wandered over and sniffed at the mysterious box, wondering if it might

Other than a recent experience with Setsuna, Freyd had never actually fished with any other intent than relaxation in the game. He knew about the fishing skill, but materials were of no real value to a merchant, save as an alternate form of currency that could be traded. Sam apparently had a nasty habit of finding boss monsters whenever she used it, which prompted him to keep his weapon handy. A notion to try using it as a fishing rod crossed his mind until he pictured it getting snatched away by some pesky aquatic monstrosity. That quashed any appetite to attempt it rather quickly.

"Oh, hey Freyd!" Dingo waved as he spotted the Whisper's approach to the edge of the mega slime farm. It was little more than an overgrown low point at the back of the monastery they all called home, nearly constantly obscured by the thick fog that permeated floor thirteen. Beside his meek and unfocused apprentice was another man, this one and NPC. "Meet Nemo." As if that was supposed to explain everything. Freyd raised an eyebrow and glanced at the newcomer. "Oh, uh... hello. I was just mentioning to Dingo here, that your pond as a special connection, here, where it touches th

This thread has been abandoned due to significant modifications to the Fishing skill and Nature's Treasure mechanics. Completed narrative posts have been transferred to a new thread, but all expended consumables, including slime farm activation have been considered lost. New thread can be found here:

"FREYD! Och, thank goodness ye'r alive! how come did ye hae tae gang 'n' mak' us hawp otherwise, ye eejit!" Quip's squat, but brawny figure had him in a bear hug almost instantly the moment he arrived on the grounds of his shop. Blond hair, thick and coarse like straw, pressed itself against the underside of his chin, even as her hefty middle threatened to suffocate him. "Yes, yes, I'm fine, Quip. Relax! Please, at least just a little? I'm not as tough as I once was." Stepping back, she quickly matted down her weathered apron and set a fist on either hip as she glared at him with

"Ladies," Freyd offered to his mysterious companions. "You are both as reliable as ever. I thank you for your diligence and assistance in this matter." A nod to each was all he required to conclude their business before returning his attention to the woman he'd unintentionally dragged into this mess. "You're right. This never should have happened, but it did, and you did well." His form lengthened by a few inches and morphed in colour back to his previous monochromatic fashion, most of his features still shrouded beneath his cowl, which he unexpectedly drew back. Exposed, his face w

A shadow fell in behind the farther mob while both remained focused on Freyd's silhouette still lingering behind his flagging allies. A sliver of black burst through the front of one's chest, screeching as it devoured the very digital fragments of the mob's form, leaving a fist-sized hole as Freyd yanked sideways and sent it sprawling into its companion. A quick spin and Samael's Pride found solid purchase on the other man's foot, crunching bone and crippling his mobility. Deking low, the Whisper dodged a flailing riposte, dancing around them with grace and lethality in equal measure. They

Looking genuinely puzzled at Ariel's request, Freyd halted his withdrawal. "Riled? Oh, this isn't riled, it's 'business concluded' with a sprinkle of 'disinterested'. We know who's coming and have generally sorted out who will be working with whom. There intel on the boss room is too sparse to be of much use, and guessing is more likely to lead us to the wrong assumptions than the right ones. I favour the effective use of my time, Ariel. There are no small number of other duties still requiring attention." He glanced back towards the ongoing discussion. "These meetings need to

A double-take performed as some blue-clad nurse approached him with expressions of concern. "Sir?!" Freyd looked behind him, on the assumption that the figure meant to address somebody else. A shake of his head cleared his vision while unleashing a clatter of metallic clanks and clangs. Locking the swivel at his neck, Freyd's eyes curled upwards with dread. Fuck. The thing even had bells. Shoulders slumped in a semblance of defeat, but his focus restored itself. "Baldur?" Tilting left, with more jingling annoyance, he looked beyond the self-styled samurai and recognized a

Palpable hatred emanated from Freyd form, roiling in the mirror of his own shadow, busy shooting daggers of its own at the creature that had dared to assail them. Movement flashed at the periphery of his vision: Mina charging forth and striking with audacity. The girl had guts, plus enough sense to know when not to argue. A good combination, but False Mari also knew she was the most vulnerable point in the arsenal arrayed against her. It was time to tip the scales. "Nothing cute," he issued by way of instruction to the newly arrived pair. "Just cut her down." A sudden downward

"Here, old timer, let me give you a hand. That load can't be easy on your back." Slipping an arm under a loose strap before Zamek could object, Freyd lightened the NPC's load by half. "Outburst?" He could have been playing coy, or actually oblivious to the reference. The man's disinterest could rival Crozeph's at times, or even Koga's. More often than not, it was a deliberate ruse. The captain rarely showed his hand, and more often provided false leads to confuse any who might pick them up. Persi hopped out from beneath his illusory armor, scampering around giddily and enjoying a r

"You are an abomination," Freyd growled at the image of Mari that surged back towards them, spinning with such agility that the Whisper struggled to maintain position between her and Mina. "I put you down before, and will do so again, as many times as necessary." Feinting left, his misdirection exposed her intentions. Mari made a go at his ward and walked right into his trap. A solid hit to her abdomen by the trailing end of his staff sent her flying backwards and crashing into the trunk of a nearby birch, her breath forced from her lungs. Twitching and sickened by contact with Freyd's mi

Freyd shrugged, a schoolboy grin plastering itself upon his face as he walked casually up to the nearly broken mob. Grasping his staff by one end, like an oversized baseball bat, he rotated his shoulder a few times to loosen up, then assumed the proper stance. The force unleashed at the moment of impact was such that it launched the entire serpent so high up into the sky that they actually lost sight of it. Hirru was caught up in the updraft it created, such that it lifted him nearly a foot off the ground as air rushed in to fill the void left by the giant snake's sudden, violent absence.

After wrapping up his business in Skalabis, Freyd checked in with a few local agents and brokers. He'd been looking for clues about a strange skeletal figure that was apparently popping up all over Aincrad. Something smelled fishy, and Freyd preferred to catch fishy things for added scrutiny. Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck. This dude was elusive as oily pasta in zero gravity. A message window popped up and he nearly ignored it until he saw the name of the sender. "Eruda? This ought to be interesting." He still wasn't quite sure what had happened to her in the aftermath o

"Never downplay your contribution to a battle based on damage output," Freyd replied. Hirru could tell that he was dead serious, though his delivery was casual and lighthearted. "Some of the most capable and powerful players I have ever met in Aincrad were not the ones with the highest damage output, but who instead provided other options." Rousing itself from its stupor, the giant snake darted suddenly towards the Whisper, who somehow sensed its impending strike and sidestepped it at the last moment. The beast flew past him, exposing its already badly beaten head. Taking advantage,

Watching the battle unfold before him, Freyd witnessed Lun'Rael flail in desperation like a caged animal, or one in its death throes. The tanks had gathered in defiance, with Raidou's fury at the centre, flanked by Eruda's righteous rage and Griswold... uh... still-existing feet? Somehow, it had worked. They were mad. Mad and united on a scale the system could not fathom. A common singularity of purpose set against Cardinal's twisted minion, her power expended and made impotent. "Do you see it yet, Lun'Rael? Do you see what you taught us? Look closely. It's been staring back at yo

"Nah," Freyd added in response to his companions' question about the troll's durability, completely glossing over Raidou's changing demeanor. It wasn't an immediately relevant factor in the current combat. His machine-like mind had already filed it away for future investigation. "It's the right troll - same old Ugzeke. He'd just not used to having four full-fledged members of Firm Anima wailing on him all at once." Bracing himself on a pair of massive, muscled arms, their enemy heaved his bulk up from the Ugzeke-shaped crater they had created by their repeated attached. Freyd swung h

"It's a gemini," Freyd offered to his companion, by way of explanation. "Unleashed by ill fortune and circumstance within these very woods. And defeated at least once before." The warrior assumed a hostile stance, clearly on edge about the danger this creature posed. He had seen the darkness within Mari like few others. This thing was as vicious as it was insidious. The couldn't to flinch for an instant or it would pounce, and was fully capable of dishing out some serious damage. Real danger. It made the whooping he'd just taken from those bears look like a spanking. He only hoped tha

Freyd's eyes rolled silently in their orbits before settling on NIGHT and narrowing at her reactions. First the hooded figure in the boat, and now this? His curiosity was piqued, which usually meant a lot of very uncomfortable scrutiny for those who preferred their privacy, and few didn't. "Still picking fights upon entry, Purple?" A jab at Hidden's sensitivities over her hair colour, discovered during past encounters, and an open reminder that the Whisper rarely forgot the little details. "Priorities. I understand. But you're not wrong that we need to work together, and that we'r

Freyd simply arched and eyebrow and listened as his companion sought to scold him. It found no purchase, but he'd indulged her bout of venting if it helped. His eyes followed her gaze upward as she commented about possibly getting her killed, getting the gist of her innuendo. "No armor..." he said, glancing back down at her. "I'm guessing that you were trusting on the safe zone to protect you, possibly trying to just enjoy a bit of downtime." Be human Freyd. Sigh. Fine. "Look, I'm sorry, I was after this sneaky little skeletal shit who keeps popping up all over Aincrad