Freyd

Dipping a hand into the barrels procced a system message confirming an experience gain on his fishing skill, prompting a hearty snort from Freyd. Whatever. Two birds with one something something. Grabbing the barrel with the aid of another crewmen, they tossed the contents at the fire, causing no end of sizzling and popping amidst the stench of two-day old catch getting crispified. It did the trick, and Freyd was the first through the gap, bursting onto the bridge. A handful of skyrat pirates had become trapped here and were desperately looking for a way out, rushing for Freyd's point

"Persi! Watch our backs. I need to scout out a path ahead or we'll walk into an ambush, which I'm absolutely sure that these nutjobs are setting for us." A small sinewy sliver of darkness slunk down from his jacket, darting aft in search of sneaky bastards who shouldn't be there. Twin cries of surprise followed shortly thereafter. The mongoose was used to fighting some of Aincrad's most fearsome field bosses. These lunkheads were hardly going to give her a challenge. Freyd smiled, trusting his familiar to get the job done. "That way," Lavi cried over the ongoing barrage of cann

Another blast, this one causing the ship to list hard to starboard, their previously steady course deviating sharply. "Shinsa, take Hoshi and get to the stabilizers, or we're all dead!" Nothing motivated an engineer more than a ship in crisis. "Quickly now! And be safe!" Freyd knew that she might have just sent those two subordinates to their deaths, even as he fought the next band of ragtag pirates attempting to bar their way. She had the instincts of a leader, even if she hadn't quite realized it yet. Stressful circumstances have a way of bringing out those traits in people,

"Alright, Lavi. You're with me. You stay glued to my ass and tell me where we need to go. Got it?" "Yeah! Yeah, I- watch out!!!" Sweeping his staff low to the ground, Freyd tripped the pair of incoming pirates, trusting to falling cargo and sheer chaos to keep them occupied. A turned head and raised eyebrow glaring from beneath his cowl urged her to continue. "That way! The bridge is beyond that bulkhead. The patrol likely thinks we're dead and will bring down the ship rather than letting her fall to pirates. We need to get to the bridge and signal them." Clear a path

"Th... the captain's dead," stuttered a young woman smeared in oil and grease. She was most likely the ship's engineer and one of the few surviving officers given the way the rest were turning to her for guidance. Freyd deflected a large metal crate falling towards her head and sent it crashing into another nearby pirate. "If this ship crashes, a lot of people below will get hurt. I'm making that a you problem, as I doubt you'll be able to help me much with the pirates. Keeping you alive while you do it is a me problem. Deal?" Ample positive nodding followed. Any kind of plan a

More explosions filled their surroundings as the Ladonian's launched another salvo. Some moron with an improvised loudspeaker was mumbling something indecipherable to them, reminding Freyd of the announcement on the subways of Osaka. He swore they just made them to pretend that they were actually being helpful, and to provide a plausible defense when things went sideways, as they currently were. "Get to the lifeboats!" Nhiks spat the words out with visible venom, anger frothing on her lips even as she glared at the Whisper taking down her men. "Whatever happens, that one doesn't get o

"Crap." Freyd and Nhiks said in unison. Their went their deal, hurtling down in flames to crash into whatever unlucky district currently lay below them - most likely the slums. Leaping down from his perch, Freyd brought his weapon down on the nearest pirate, splitting him in twain. Shards splashed in a bubble as he exploded, momentarily blinding his compatriot and dooming them to the same fate. Sweeping his staff under the next target's legs, he pulled his feet out from under him and drove one butt end down onto the wererat's face. The other two managed to get their weapons up, but w

Nhiks honestly didn't know how to react. She's have willingly killed the hostages, but to hear the callousness in her counterpart's voice made her reconsider the nature of their standoff. He was after something else, not them. This wasn't an interloper, but a passer-through who'd just stumbled into their business by accident. And, he was willing to just keep walking, if there was any truth behind his words. It made sense. Confrontation was pointless. "We keep our loot." A pause in the darkness. "Fine by me, but I'm not the one who will have to answer for it." The cre

There were too many to fight in the open. Dodging a series of stabs and lunging thrusts, Freyd gave ground and retreated into the crates and shadows, but not before he'd felled a third of their remaining numbers. Panic set into their ranks, one of the smaller ratmen suggesting that they should take their booty and go. The tip of a serrated cutless pierced his chest from behind, the reddened blade wielded by Nhiks herself. She would tolerate no dissention or cowardice and was willing to slay another one of her own to motivate the rest. Freyd admired her ruthlessness. Yanking her weapon fr

Sparks flew across the gnarly wooden deck boards as Freyd burst into the open. Hoping to pick up That Guy's trail, he forcefully skidded to a halt instead. Before him stood a dozen of the barge's crew their hands in the air and surrounded by twice as many of the same ratfolk whose kin's guts were now tinkling alongside their outlandishly oversized boots. "Who the hell is this guy?" One of them asked, a female who was also clearly the alpha by dress and the deference from her peers. Her bigger, brighter, flashier hat helped to seal the deal. The crew shrugged, looking just as confuse a

Freyd groaned, pressing his hands to his forehead against imagined pain that the game system automatically prevented from passing. It was more a manner of habit than a real sign of stress. It was also a ruse. Before chuckling born in arrogant confidence could fully take hold, a silver staff raked across their lines of visions, whacking all of them in their extended and oh-so sensitive noses, causing them all to retreat amidst yelps of pain and surprise. "I don't have time for this." Just then, as if on queue, a little blue coat went darting by in the narrow field of vision between

Something skittered by on his left, too big to be some sort of critter, but small enough to be his quarry. As best as Freyd could determine, the little guy was barely more than four feet tall wearing a navy blue hoodie and shorts that somehow didn't just drape over his bony body. Large dark eyes with small yellow irises gave him an especially cartoonish appearance. And dude was fast! "Hah!" Freyd pounced into an opening in the piles of random cargo. "Finally got you, you little cretin." Found hunched figures paused, their shoulders tensing, then turning as one. Long furry snout

He'd finally cornered the sneaky little rat. Chasing bony shadows through the glittering streets and dank alleys of Ladonia, alike, Freyd had followed the small skeletal figure across half of Aincrad by now. Every time his tracking skills felt like they were finally starting to get a proper bead on him, something would shift and he'd lose the trail again. It was as if Cardinal itself was protection one of its more sensitive agents, keeping him just far enough off the radar to tease and torture Freyd during his pursuit. The trail had led to a Xenathi sky barge - some branded local airsh

"Enemy ahead. They're shifting lazily around, low to the ground. Shamblers. Look... blobbish?" The Whisper shrugged in the darkness, lacking a better for what his keen eyes could see. "If we engage over there, we'll have better light and might place them at disadvantage. At least no one on our side would need to sit around, holding a glowstone." Weapon in hand, Freyd skirted to the left of the tunnel, meaning to herd their enemies towards the vanguard as soon as the battle began. The ever-present drips of unseemly substances from the ceiling masked what little sound lingered from his f

Another broken soul. This place had so many; too many. Yet also another candle capable of being lit with hope. "Goddamn it, Raidou." The words actually managed to slip out. She wouldn't understand the significance, or relevance of the promise made. Images of a prancing monochromatic 'hope' fairy danced across his eyes and he groaned. Nisa called you her messenger. Did Raidou convince you to label yourself in the same vein, but a more focused purpose? Freyd's hand found his brown and pressed against his temples to keep his head from peeling open like an overripe banana.

Freyd's mouth opened, as if to speak, but nothing came out. His left eye twitched randomly as he just stared, rather incredulously, as Blueberry rambled on. Twice, he tried raising a finger to interject a query, but decided against it on each occasion. Don't. Just, don't. It's not worth it. She's Shiina 2.0. You can only win by not engaging. For once, Freyd actually listened to Montjoy's advice. "So, no pastry-based sword arts, or anything?" He couldn't help himself, and, truth be told, he really wanted to hear if she'd actually developed something so completely outlandis

Trading the following unique item to @tricolor_mina Silver of Shiver +4 (T4 Perfect Weapon (Saber) - Para 1, Bleed 1, Frostbite 1) Acquisition ID [195932c] | Roll ID: 200672, 200673, 200674; Reroll IDs: 200675, 200676, 200677, 200678 A needle-like cerulean crystal blade mounted on a white steel hilt with guard, adorned with a brilliant sapphire in the pommel.

Respect item from 3.0 conversion consumed.