[F14 - PP] The making of a contract and maybe a new friend

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

And there she was, having a head start on the other players... Ariel reached the main setlement of floor 14, Stonewall. "Great another dark floor" though the blonde looking at her HP bar. There was no mark of any negative effect like at the 10th floor so she let out a sigh of relief before reaching the intended coordinates. She'd corresponded via PMs with a certain character about a particular trade. Or better said, forging of a contract between the two. She'd meet him before in a couple of situation and even did a joint quest but they never really gotten to talk to each other but they had something in common. They both care or... cared for a certain bluenette that now was missing. Who knew? maybe this little deal was the start of a dialogue between the two. 

[Ssendom 0]

Dom had received a message of coordinates from a somewhat familiar name, "Ariel, I know I hunted the Lord of the Sea with her. And she was in a few of the Front Lines runs, but I have never actually talked to her... Heck I forgot what she looked like." He spoke to himself whilst laying in his bed inside the Azure Brigade Guild Hall. He stretched and got out of bed and began to adorn himself in his standard full unique gear, and the armor that a certain bluenette had crafted him, the very first armor he had ever obtained in this world.

After having made himself completely ready he left his room and closed the door then locked it. After which he proceeded to waltz himself to the teleportation gate that would take him to the fourteenth floor. He looked at the soot that resided on the stone and the ash that plagued the air, all of which he sighed. "I guess I will be slaughtering a lot of minions on this floor in the near future. Possibly find the first sub-dungeon on this floor." He mentioned to himself as a Blonde haired woman came into view, while he approached the proposed coordinates. He sauntered up to the woman and extended his hand with a blank expression in his eyes, the only things visible through the Hydra Helmet, "Nice to meet you, that name is Ssendom."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

While waiting the blonde began scouting her surrounding as this was after all... undiscovered territory, at least to her so all her senses were on the edge ready to react more or less instinctual to any stimuli. But that is beside the point as nothing unexpected came to be, well that's not entirely true.Something did happen, she could hear heavy footsteps in the distance and would turn her gaze towards the origin. The sight was unexpected as a bulky figure came into view. That's not the unexpected part but the fact that the armor clad man was wearing something she knew belonged to only one particular golden boy.

Unconsciously resting her left hand on top of her weapon's hilt while she was greeted by him. She let out a soft chuckle and shook his hand: "Had me worried there for a second, thought I PMed another person instead of you." she replied with a smile."I see you got a new look now. I'd say it fits you more than the previous owner." she continued making a circle in front of her face with her free hand removing it from the hilt, making sure he understood she was referring to the helmet.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Ssendom 0]

Dom chuckled a slight bit as Ariel explained why she had been so confused, "Yeah, well between the two of us. I would have to agree in thinking That I look more natural in it." Dom towered a good head and slightly more over Ariel, which wasn't uncommon to him. The only person eho ever felt unnatural in height was Tristan since the Red-Headed God-Tank was so lanky in comparison to the rather well built Berserker. He cleared his throat, "So what was the true reason you called me out here Ariel? I don't think we're here to pick flowers and braid each others hair." He asked, a sound of Dom trying to hold back laughter could be heard, "I do think my hair is rather braidable though." He joked causing him to chuckle at his own bad joke.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde let out a couple more chuckles at his suggestions: "I think another floor with more...living things on it would be better suited for that activity." Then she caught a couple of times and asked in a tone that was slightly more serious... but not too much though. "Is that going to be an issue or will it remain simply cosmetic during our conversation?" she asked pointing with her right index at the orange marker above his head. Then changing to her usual mood with a low tone "Whatever..." she directed her index towards her neck and reached down towards her generous bosom. She retrieved from there a blue colored unique item that shouldn't be in her possession.
"A little birdy told me you're interested in this particular item so I traded her my recently gained item. Healing isn't really what I'm looking for, you know?" she said with a grin slowly surfacing on her expression.

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom dropped his finger bringing up his menu, he scrolled through a bit in the system menu and suddenly after a button press his helmet disappeared, "I love setting helmets to invisible. They're still there, but you don't feel them, yet you still gain their bonuses." His very masculine features and 5 o'clock shadow were very prominent now, His spiky brown considerably lengthy hair was now set free from the helmet's grasp, "The orange marker above my head holds quite the story behind it. But best to be saved for a time where we're not in the front most fields." He explained to her.

After she said what ever she began tracing her finger down, the movement caused Dom's eyes to follow and becoming surprised more with where she was diverting his eyes too. He was about to look away before he noticed exactly what item she had dangling on her neck just above her ample bosom. She explained about a certain trade she had done with some intent in mind, Dom grinned and looked back into her eyes, "Ah, so this was what this meeting was all about? You have my undivided attention milady." He said in a bit of a mischievous tone.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Of course, if I wanted to small talk I would visit you guys at your Guild Hall. Go down the memory lane with my ex-guildmates and friends... To be fair I'm quite fond of the new Brigade and am cheering for you guys." she said forcibly removing the trinket from her neck by breaking the chain and starting to spin it around her finger as she continued. Her tone was meant to be casual with a laidback attitude. She wasn't sure what she wanted so she decided to ask what he'd have to offer for the Icicle. Well she'd want a unique weapon or item in return that would suit her needs but wasn't sure what he had in his inventory. She had some idea as she saw him gain the pauldrons in the last boss fight but seeing as he had one of Zelrius' items she decided to inquire: "I'm willing to trade this little thing as I'm not the type to go on hunting... nor do I have the AoE to attack groups... Why don't we start by seeing what you have to offer for it?" asked the blonde, catching the small crystal in her palm at the end.

[Ssendom 0]

"Ah, so you used to be a member of Azure Brigade before it disbanded the first time?" He asked, he put his heavily armored gauntlet to his chin as he began to ponder over her body language. She was trying to keep things casual, so she wasn't actually afraid of the Dreadnought unlike some people he had come across. She then began explaining what she was after, all he could do was lean back cross his arms and shrug at her. "Unfortunately, I am unable to pass off the Commandant's Pendant and the Hydra Helm since me and Zelrius pass that off to each other on a frequent basis via our Friend Shared Inventory. The Tainted Shoulder pads and Despair will be staples for a very long time to come thus I cannot pass them off as well. One of the few things I have left to offer is something I haven't yet shared with many people and that is my Healing Fog." He retrieved the concoction from his inventory. "The item has incredible healing properties but it takes a long time for it to become ready again. So aside from that, I have no unique equipment readily for trade." He was reluctant to inform her.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Yes I was a member of the original Azure Brigade." she replied with a sour smile, as memories and mixed feelings started resurfacing but was quickly brought back from memory lane by his following statements. The enumeration of uniques made the blonde cringe as after all this time, she managed to obtain but only one..and that too due to chance. "As I mentioned... healing items aren't what I am looking for. That pendant has some pretty interesting stats and was the one I'm interested in..." she let out a sigh and began once again playing with the trinket she had in her hand. "It seems our negotiation had come to a stalemate... Col is pretty much useless to me as well. The only thing I do care about is making high damage and continue working in my shop, where my home is." The blonde wasn't sure how negotiations will continue but after all, getting a unique used for hunting in exchange for a healing one was a good deal to her nonetheless.

[Ssendom 0]

Dom bowed his head to Ariel when he saw the sour smile, "I am sorry for whatever happened back then, I wasn't in the picture during that time." He apologized deeply, he wasn't really good with people who were feeling down upon themselves. He was about to speak again but the woman continued back up again, luckily even his mouth was covered by the Hydra Skull since the only visible body part was his eyes. He listened closely and she mentioned something about working in her shop since that was where her home was, "Well, if I don't have items I can actually pass away since they are gifts from a good cocky blonde friend of mine-" Referring to Zelrius, the slight laugh he had when saying cocky made it seem like he was actually proud of the boy being able to be that way in this world, "-I have two other things I can actually offer that might be of interest to you." he stated waiting to see how Ariel would respond to his statement.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"You don't have to apologize. It's all water under the bridge by now. It's been too long since then. As I mentioned before, I quite like the new Brigade as its been almost completely reformed." she showed him a sincere smile to accompany her words as he looked into his eyes. She could see his full facial expression as he just moments ago set his helmet to invisible.. That was most definitely NOT the attitude of the Commanders she knew.
"In any case let's leave the past in its place, after all we have a deal to come to right now.... Tell me what else can you offer?" she asked with a sheepish smile. She was expecting a serious proposition that would continue with the same tone they've had until now. Internally she'd swear that she would pierce his heart with her black rapier if he offered some sort of carnal compensation, like she was offered on another occasion. As remote as the chance would be for the same thing to happen twice.

[Ssendom 0]

He found it weird how he was reacting to what she was saying, after a while he forget his face wasn't hidden by the Hydra Skull. All of his expressions and facial actions were displayed to the blonde woman. He placed his face into his palm, "Sorry about that, I have been spoiled by the fact that helmet can hide all but my eyes. I tend to keep most of my emotions in check." He chuckled.

She continued forward, pressing on the point he had made earlier that he had something of worth to offer. He crossed his overly armored up arms in front of his chest then leaned back on his left leg which he motioned behind himself for a feel of comfort, "Now, I am not like those teenage boys thinking they can try and offer personal services. As if women were stupid to fall for that." He chuckled, "Everyone in this world knows due to the information brokers following me and writing down my every move since I gained access to the Berserker Unique Skill. I can farm more col and materials than any other player in this world-" He interrupted himself to start up a trade offer with Ariel, immediately he set in 355,466 col in the money trade portion, "Tell me of another player who has that amount of cash just sitting on hand at a moments notice?" He asked her

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Maybe she was a bit too early to draw conclusions...that was her opinion once she heard what he had to say next. 'Everyone in this world?' she raised her right eyebrow to that overstatement and sighted. It seemed that the trademark 'azure pride' was still there, well at least in smaller amounts or not so ostentatious. She would dismiss it as an attempt to prove a point in this case as he showed her hs available Col amount. After taking a glimpse at the trade window she swiped her hand to the right, dismissing it. A name or two did pop into her head, players who gained ridiculous amount of col from shop sellings before the sword arts update but decided to keep quiet about that.
"As I said, I have no interest in Col. I'm gaining more than enough through my shop... Thought, things are getting rather difficult in acquiring materials. I don't get enough time to go searching and I don't have any strong AoE attacks to deal with larger groups..." she said thinking about that. Lately her mat came from a dear friend that made 'donations' when she was short off but it pained her to keep relying on him every time. She wasn't the type to use her friends like that, not unless it was some sort of equivalent exchange involved.

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom laughed when the woman made a statement about the col generation from the shop. She dismissed the trade window claiming she had no use from it, "I was using the trade window to make a point. I haven't really made any sales through my shop in the past few months. I simply use it to fund my damage prowess." He explained in thorough detail, "All of this col has come from slaughtering countless amounts of monsters. And I've sold nearly four hundred materials in the past few months to continue to fund my damage prowess. I just accumulated over eighty materials just the other day for a ton of tier two damage crystals from Zandra." He continued, he was beginning to wonder when the light would click in Ariel's head about being able to farm materials.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Not wanting to delay this any further the blonde decided to amuse him and ask herself. If she was going to listen anymore to his 'I this I that' she might lose her marbles. Taking a deep breath she was about to pose the question but instead grinned and asked a different question instead, prolonging these negotiations with some more idle chatter as a familiar name reached her ears: "Oh Zandra!!! How is she doing? haven't seen her since before she permanently set up her shop at the same floor, next to mine. I see that she ascended to being one of the most popular alchemist since you guys are ordering from her in these vast amounts... good for her." she ended by closing her eyes and slowly nodding, while putting her left arm under her ample bosom and bringing her right hand under her chin.

[Ssendom 0]

Dom sighed, he had no idea if Ariel was getting on board with what he was saying. When she changed the subject to Zandra it was clear that this negotiations were coming near an end. "Zandra is doing well, we recently cleared an advanced dungeon. I don't know of another person who has even attempted an advanced dungeon. Was well worth our time." He stopped and cleared his throat, "Alright back to the matter at hand. I will stop gloating as I have just realized that's what I've been doing up until now. How about I trade mats for the Shining Icicle. We can even make a contract for a weekly amount of materials to be delivered to your door. And that Shining Icicle will help solidify me obtaining mats for you, how does that sound?" He asked trying to get the point of the negotiations back on track.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"Ah yes, the trade." she said in a bit of an exaggerated tone, then listening to his proposition. Finally hearing words that were of great interest to her, the blonde couldn't help but pay attention and absorb his proposition. She keep quiet a few seconds more to take it into consideration: This would definitely resolve her material income problem for a while...but for how long? she needed not to ask as she knew her ultimate goal in her tailoring career. Then there would be the problem of the amount...
"What a bother... let's keep things simple. I like the contract idea since it's not a foreign term for me and my shop. Long ago I used a contract made with a guild to ascend above all other tailors. And here I am today, now about to make another contract with just an individual this time, seems like an appropriate follow up in order to achieve the rank of Grand Master Tailor." she puffed her chest with pride as she spoke of her job selection.

[Ssendom 0]

Dom's head looked to the upperright to check the time it was. He sighed knowing he was going to need to get to work soon if he was going to do some farming on the fourteenth floor before all the strong respawn points were taken, "Look I'll make this simple. You want Grand Master Tailor, I want the Shining Icicle. How about I feed you a weekly amount of materials until you hit the rank of Grand Master. And we can find a generalized amount based on the weekly amount you consume?" He stated in a very blunt voice, making it slightly obvious that he was trying to get out into the fields, "Don't take my words the wrong way, I respect you as a fellow front liner, but I got farming I need to do here soon. So let me know an amount that you feel comfortable with. I'll let you know an amount I am comfortable with and we'll compromise?" He asked.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Finally she got a direct offer, so the blonde decided to abandon the easy going attitude and once again revert to the businesswoman she was during these kind of negotiation. She flexed her shoulders backwards and cranked her neck to the sides before looking at SSendom straight in the face. The earlier attitude she had now being dominated by a different vibe. She rarely let this part of her reveal itself away from the private confines of the shop and she addressed brunette in front of her:
"Good, you went straight to the point. There might be still some hope for you Commander. Okay it's like this: currently I'm in the middle of 8th tailoring rank, so my weekly material consume would be precisely 63 materials if I go all out and craft everyday, like back in the good days." Her lips slightly curved into a smile then continuing: "Once I achieve rank 9, which by my estimates won't take too long, that number will increase as I'll be burning through 70 materials per week." she let out an audible exhale after she presented the numbers then continued: "But you're no stranger to that since every job apparently has the same skeleton for the ranking structure."

"But I know that those are ideal numbers that would help me get on top in the shortest amount of time. Now I want to hear your reply in what you find a acceptable amount as I can't even begin to fathom how much materials you gain in a normal quest or just a simple walk in a park, with those AoE skills of yours." She lightly spread her hand and raised them to shoulder level as if saying: 'So Illuminate me.'

[Ssendom 0]

It was high time Dom got straight to the point, he had been beating around the bush to keep an eye of how Ariel wanted the conversation to go. But now that time was wearing thin, Dom decided to finally start making his point clear and concise. With Ariel taking a more serious tone now, Dom would oblige and give the woman the same. "Now it wouldn't be right for me to fund the exact amount of materials for you to keep up your profession. I can supply roughly sixty materials a week, regardless of what rank you are. And atop that to add a little cherry to the sundae, I will continue to fund you until you have Grand Mastered Tailoring. That is as high as I am willing to go, there is no point in negotiating about how many materials you can get from me since we both know I can clean house relatively easily." Dom was putting his foot down and showing exactly how favorable he was going to be, but not over the top to show some respect for his abilities as well. "You'll need to do some light farming so you also feel as though you contributed the last two skill levels yourself, but my offer stands as sixty materials a week until you are grand mastered. Take it or leave it." He finished by readjusting his pose to a more stoic and proper standing one.