[PP-F11] All Hands on Deck (KoB - All Members)

[Mack 0]

OOC: I'd like all KoB members in this thread please. You all need to be informed, IC, of what's being discussed here. @Heathcliff, this seems like something you should be present for as well. Please post here as soon as possible, this meeting will advance no later than Friday (6 May).

Mack sat in his seat as the Commander of the Vanguard and Third in Command of the Knights of the Blood Oath. With the Boss Fight against the enormous spider Limbo now being, officially, at an end it was time to get down to the brass tacks of dealing with Guild Business in the wake of Opal's announcement that she had been an agent of Laughing Coffin all along. The gigantic axe man ground his teeth softly as he waiting for the rest of the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath to arrive. Given the nature of the business that needed to be discussed regarding guild leadership and what to do about Opal it was important that everything be discussed immediately and Mack had called an emergency meeting for just that purpose.

Mack could pretty well guess how things were going to play out. He expected that he would be nominated and named as Opal's successor in the Vice Commander's position within the Knights of the Blood Oath. That seemed to be a foregone conclusion, especially if all of the former members of the Crimson Blades voted for him as their leader, which seemed likely. Once he had taken over the position the leadership of the Knights would finally be completely crystallized with the vacant posts of Chief of Finances and the Guild Council roles being appointed and filled. It was time for there to be some proper leadership within the guild though, no doubt, his decisions on the leadership would be less than popular with some people, not that the giant red head cared all that much.

Leaning back in the luxurious chair that he assumed he would shortly be turning over to Macradon as his hand-picked replacement for Commander of the Vanguard, Mack gazed around the small circular hall and allowed his mind to wander a bit. Once he was confirmed as the Vice Commander, as he assumed he would be, there would also be a series of standing orders issued to all Guild Members concerning the former occupant of the Vice Commander's post. The last thing that was needed was for Opal to be provoked into attacking the Knights, most of them would have difficulty in standing up to her. Mack was well aware that, without proper buffs from items she would prove difficult even for him to handle in a solo fight. But, the ginger giant had a plan for that as well.

All in due time.

[Beoreson 0]

Beoreson saw that he had received a message from Mack telling him to report in for a briefing. The man gets into his armor and then heads out to the building that he was told to report into to. He enters the room and gives and with one look can tell that Mack is beyond angry. He avoids going to attention but says to him, "Beoreson, Reporting in for duty." He then sits down and thinks to himself, "S#$*, I've been neglecting my duties. Well, I can't do anything about it now anyways." He eases his armor straps lose a little bit and sets his sword to lean on the table. He waits for the others to fill in at the table or around the central area.

[Xion 0]

Xion sighed as he looked through his menu, spotting the PM from Mack, one of the guild's higher ups. Initially the tank was puzzled, he was being called to a meeting, but what the meeting concerned was not included in the message. "Strange indeed..." The blonde mused as he went about preparing himself for the meeting, donning his armour and half cloak, although he expected that Mack would not approve of the latter. 

After a few minutes of walking followed by a journey through the teleport gate...and then more walking the tank finally arrived at the guild hall. "Mack. Good to see you" he said with a nod as he entered, taking one of the many seats at the round table, leaning back in his chair. "May as well relax while I wait for the others..."

[Grave 0]

(Stop sighing, Xion!)

Ding ding.

"Hm?" I hummed as I halted my stirring of... whatever I was trying to make. I had given up on being creative; I had too many fancy shmancy items in my display case, and yet no one made use of them! I turned away from the pot, allowing my little orange speedster take over, and I flicked open the white HUD, dragging the bright orange light to my messages; the circle had a smaller golden circle in the top right, signifying I had been sent a message. Biting my lower lip, I opened my messages and noticed it was from Mack, informing me about a meeting to 'discuss some news', as the words seemed to tell me. "God... here I was hoping to take the day off my duties." I grumped, swinging my Knights cloak around my neck and clasping. "Hold the fort, Hikari." I told the weasel over my shoulder, and she squeaked loyally in response, giving me the green light to leave the Diner.

I placed my crimson palm against the polished wooden doors to the KoB meeting room, where Mack laid back in a rather kingly chair, with Beoreson and Xion chilling out too. "The Ardent Pugilist, reporting for duty, sir." I called to Mack with a mock salute. I found my little personal spot on the wall and leaned back against it, just behind Xion's seat. "Hello again, Mr. Cactus." I taunted, before looking to Beoreson. "Great to see you back in action, Beor." I told him with a gleeful grin. The room felt... empty, all of a sudden; I realised Opal was not in the room. Why did she not turn up?

[Hirru 0]

It had been some time since the main battle unit went out to defeat the 15th floor boss.  It wasn't as long as the battle with Rohk, but that didn't matter to the hunter.  With a message to all Knights of the Blood Oath, the hunter would be called upon to the guild hall.  To be frank, this was his first time at the new guild hall, but his friends were at the same place so that finding the place wasn't too hard.  Though, that didn't mean that he couldn't feel the haunting feeling within its halls.  Something wasn't right in the air, as Mack wasn't one to call everyone, nor did he have that power.  There were many questions going through the hunter's head, but none would be answered outside the main hall.

Entering the hall, the hunter would notice that he wasn't the first, but as he would suspect, not the last.  For the most part, there were mostly Blades or former Blades here.  Probably a direct response to how the original Blades were, as Mack was known to make his orders to all, without fail.  Standing to one side, the hunter stood at attention.

"Jade Hunter, Hirru, reporting as ordered."

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal rubbed the back of his neck as he entered the hall. A meeting, most likely to discus 'what of the guild' and 'the treachery that is Opal'. How it all annoyed him. It was no secret that Opal was a member of laughing coffin. That both Ssendom and Zelrius had died by Opal and Oikawa's hands. That Tristan had abandoned the front lines, and graced Calrex with his unique skill. He had heard all of it from Hikoru after he nearly smashed his door down in an emotional wreck. Lowenthal had seen the few amount of people, and sighed in annoyance again. Lowenthal let out a small laugh as he spoke. "Any reason as to why I was pulled away from my evening with Shizuka?" Lowenthal asked aloud, mostly to Mack who seemed to be the only official one in the room.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would yawn as he stood outside of the big guild hall, soon to enter. He was tired, not really knowing what to do right now other than attend this meeting, and he needed a good attitude at this meeting. He would get his straight face on and would enter the big white building located on the 11th floor. Macradon was wearing all his usual armor with the guild colors to represent the guild, as well as having this feeling of uniformity. His helmet was placed upon his head, covering all his face but his lower jaw and the thin slit to just reveal a bit of his eyes. His halfplate armor strapped onto his torso, his wrath pouldron strapped to his right shoulder, his vambraces on his forearms, his poleyn on his knees and the demi-greaves strapped over his shin. Everything would be tied together by his grey bodysuit that he wore underneath, as well as his tabbard that would be adorned on him. Having all parts of his uniform on, he would enter the meeting room and get into position. As the lieutenant of the Blades, Macradon would stand behind the leader of the Blades, Mack, and slightly to the right. "Good to see you all" he said before he got into position. As he got into position, he would stand up straight and be like a knight stationary behind the one he served, for now his main superior was Mack, as Heathcliff was not present.

[Heathcliff 0]

Heathcliff was sitting at a bar and watching some the players that were there when a message from Mack came across his screen. He then got up and left the bar. The man in red armor, bearing the Knights of the Blood Oath's guild emblem, made his way to the central teleporter and called for the 11th floor. The teleporter then activated and sent the Paladin to the 11th floor as requested. Heathcliff checked the time and noticed he was running a tad bit late. He made his way up to the guild hall and opened the doors. The white haired man made his way through and saw some members, that were currently present, staring at him as the meeting was supposed to start a while ago. The Commander looked around at the players, "My apologies for being late. I had some prior engagements to attend to." He said as he looked at Mack who was currently sitting in the 3rd Commander chair. "Did I miss anything yet?" The man asked so he can get on the same page as the others.

[Lawfer 0]

Running his fingers through the bangs of his hair, Lawfer looked at the urgent message he received from Mack. It was a hailing to meet at the guildhall. A large wrenching feeling reverberated in his stomach. Something wasn't right, why would Mack send the message. It was all a bit strange given the fact they had just completed the rais. Shrugging his shoulders, he stood from his perch and lept down from a tree that had been on the outskirts of Delilah Village on floor 3. Sprinting to the middle of town, "Taft!" he spoke as the teleportation gate lit up and he was absorbed in light. 

As his feet touched down in the center of the Taft, he began walking towards the guild hall. Raising his right hand, he selected his cloak and scarlet armor. As it encased his body, he strutted along until he reached the doors of the hall. Pushing the door open, he looked at the members of his guild who had already claimed their spots at the planning table. Finding a free seat at the table, he sat down and removed his helmet then brushed the long strands of hair back over his shoulders. Looking over to the commander, he smiled. "Good to see you Commander Heathcliff." He stated, before turning his head to Mack. "I apologize for the tardiness." He commented as he placed the his helm on the table in front of him. 

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg groaned. He'd fallen out of activity AGAIN! He really needed to stop doing that. Bringing his attention back to the situation at hand, he had arrived at the meeting that Mack had arranged and requested every member of the KoB to attend. "I'm here. Sorry I'm late." Greg said to the others. He just really hadn't been feeling up to it recently. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he just couldn't find anyone to party up with- and he didn't want to go it alone, because given his luck death was a highly probable outcome.

[Seul 1]

(OOC: Can we get this thread rolling?)

The floor boss had been cleared, which was evident by the message sent out by Mack telling everyone to meet up at the guild hall. But something was off about the whole situation. The guild never gathered in such an official way before that wasn't purely for recreation and of course the message left out any details as to why they were now. Regardless of the reason, Seul listened and arrived shortly after being summoned. Though many of the other memebers were already present, he figured he probably wouldn't be the last to arrive as there seemed to be quite a few other knights who were still absent. "So... Vague messages aside, what exactly is this meeting supposed to be about?" He asked while strolling over to claim one of the seats at the large table.

[Mack 0]

Mack leaned forward in his seat at the table, the one immediately to Heathcliff's left as he was the Commander of Vanguard, and steepled his fingers together before turning his attention to everyone that was assembled for the meeting. Carefully, the giant red-bearded man made notes of everyone who had not showed up for this meeting that he had called. There would be consequences for their failure to appear, exactly what form those consequences would take was anyone's guess at this particular time. Thinking for a moment, the soldier considered his next words carefully before speaking.

"Effective immediately there are going to be some changes in the organization and running of the Knights of the Blood Oath. For those of you that have not yet heard and been informed, Opal has betrayed the guild and murdered another front line player, Ssendom. She did this during the lead up to the fight against Limbo. Oikawa struck at the same time and killed Zelrius. At this point, I don't know if they were working together or not. Still, Opal has been removed from her position with the guild and she is permanently banned from ever being a member again. I will be elevated into the Vice Commander's position, Macradon will assume my old duties, and Lawfer will be appointed as the Chief of Finances for the Guild. I'm also placing an order on everyone in the guild to avoid contact with Opal and to not go after her to seek revenge. In all honesty, we don't have the necessary strength to bring her down. Frankly, she's capable of killing most everyone here, our Commander being the exception if what I saw during the Limbo fight was any indicator. Questions?"

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal raised his hand. "Yeah, I've got a question." He said, his voice breaking out of the silence. "So what now? Zel and Dom are dead. Oikawa and Opal are more than likely to avoid the front lines. Ive retired with Shizuka. Im just curious as to what the game plan is, seeing as a majority of saos finest are either dead, or leaving." Lowenthal asked aloud, ending his question poised to Mack and Heathcliff.

(Mobile post, may edit later. Premise the same)

[Macradon 0]

Macradon nodded as he was mentioned, taking over the Third in Command spot and become the leader of the Crimson Blades. He awaited for Mack to finish talking and would then look towards those that were part of the Crimson Blades. He would clear his throat quickly as he would take the word "I have no questions, and would therefore begin to talk myself" he said, continuing on as he took a step forward "From what Mack said, I'll be the new Third in Command and will therefore take Mack's old spot as he ascends the ranks. I may not be as good a leader as Mack was for the Blades, but I'll try my best. I'll try to level everyone up to at least Tier 2 level as we all will have to meet up at the boss raids to proudly present the guild. I will as well make a Uniform for the Crimson Blades as it seems like the Crimson blades like to keep their old colors, which I respect. The new Uniform will not ruin or break any other color scheme you have going, it will just be a sur-coat over the armor that will display the Vanguard Squad when doing frontline work. Of course, if you're against that, we can arrange something else". He took a step back again and would stand up straight.

[Greg Baxen 0]

Greg sighs. "I'm not going to stop fighting to get everyone out of Aincrad, but I'm probably going to stay away from the Frontlines for a while after hearing something like that." He said, referencing Opal's defection, and the deaths of Zelrius and Ssendom. While Zelrius did not make the greatest first impression on him, He did respect the man's power, and, being who he is, Greg just couldn't muster up any ill will for him. As much as Zelrius annoyed him, he wouldn't have wished such a fate on him. As for Ssendom, Greg felt more sad about his death, despite Ssendom being a PKer, since he did assist Greg in leveling up and, in essence, was a man Greg deeply respected. "I'm gonna spend time away from the Front Lines leveling up." he explained, "And promptly bail as fast as I can if Opal shows up."

Edited May 23, 2016 by Greg Baxen

[Grave 0]

Finally the room began to fill, with more members from KoB filing in and seating themselves.  Before long eleven people had taken their place in the meeting hall, including myself, and Mack's voice boomed across the cavernous room. My silver eyes were locked onto the red-headed giant as he spoke... and my heart stopped only five seconds into his speech. The light sucked from my eyes, the fire from my heart. My body had shut down as I processed what he said.

Opal had betrayed us and murdered a player.

I could not breathe. I began choking up, my teeth grinding together, before I rushed off, not fain to stay around for the rest of the proceedings. I shouldered the giant doors open brutishly and found myself a nice little section of the wall past the threshold. I stared at the grey cobble, nostrils flaring, tears beginning to well. "DAMNIT!" I roared as I reared my fist back, glowing a brilliant sapphire, before crashing into the wall, sending purple sparks showering over my body. My knees gave out and I collapsed to the floor as the 'Immortal Object' notification popped up.

"Why... Opal...?"

(If someone wants to pull Grave back in and fill him in on the details, please do, it would be appreciated. If not, this is where I finish my business in the thread XD)

Edited May 24, 2016 by Grave

[Lawfer 0]

Lawfer sat back in his chair, as he heard the news come directly from the big man himself. The Dragoon had suspected something was amiss but this was all but sureal... they had all been played for fools by the caniving woman. It was hard to grasp and he knew that this was simply one side of the story, if he wanted to know the rest he would need to hear it from Opal. He had one guess where the woman might be but he would need to wait until the meeting was adjourned. As the rest of the knight chimed in, Lawfer let the words seep in and tried to listen carefully but all in all it was difficult to remain focused. He was appointed a new position as well, one that put him in charge of the finances for the guild. "You got it Mack..." he replied. Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus at the task at hand. "Now that I am in charge of finances, will I still be apart of the Strike Team? Or am do I need to remove myself so that I can dedicate all my time to the treasury?" he asked as he brushed aside some of the stray hairs that had fallen forward when he sank his head slightly.

[Hirru 0]

The light seemed to dim from the hunter's eyes from the news that he had just heard.  Their vice commander, Opal, had betrayed them all, and planned the killing of two of the strongest front liners.  Though, everyone here seemed to have some closer intimacy to her, the hunter had something else.  It seemed to pull on him more as he realized that, up until now, she was the only one that was actively seeking out the killers of Lindow, other than himself.  That was their shared bond: vengeance.  To find out that was all a lie, that everything that we knew was just a game.  The hunter could barely keep the thoughts from rampaging, but..  They didn't.  

"Huh.."

He wasn't giving into his emotions; his memories.  Something about this wasn't adding up, and didn't seem to cause any sort of relapse in consciousness.  The hunter didn't notice anything as he pondered what this was all about.  Was this a sign that he should not think much more on the matter?  That he should let it go, for now?  Shaking his head to get his bearings straight, the hunter looked around at everyone.  Most seemed downcast, but still willing to keep up the fight.  After all, we're the Knights of the Blood Oath, and we won't turn our backs from the future of everyone. 

[Beoreson 0]

"I Beoreson, Black Ops would like to be set back to active duty and my extended leave revoked.", states the man to Mack. His face gone stony and a look of determination filling his eyes. The warrior now was not overly surprised that someone had betrayed him and the fact that it was Opal only moderately surprised him as well. She never really seemed to be of honest intention expect when dealing with Lindow's death and her leavening.

"If you could change my status to active on the guild roster that would be much appreciated. When I reach an appropriate level I would like to reapply to the Blades as well in till then however I need to train more." states Beoreson. He shifts his armor around and tightens a strap or two before looking over to the big red haired man. "Anything else I need to know before I leave?" He asks as he finishes getting ready to leave. But, waits for an answer before leavening.

(Beoreson leaves thread, assuming Mack doesn't stop him.)

Edited May 25, 2016 by Beoreson

[Seul 1]

He simply leaned back in his chair as the information sunk in. Why had any of this happened? He didn't know whether to be enraged or saddened by the development. To be betrayed like this was a huge set back just as it seemed they were all making the most progress. The others weren't taking the news well either. Despite the severity of it all they needed to stay strong. As for him he would train to get to the frontlines since they certainly sounded like they'd need all the help they could get. Hopefully nothing else would arise until then, but the world was unforgiving at times. "No questions here. I know what I need to do to get to the frontlines. We can't give up, I know we'll all see the top of this castle one day."