[SP-F3] Ruining an Elf's Day <<Worn out Welcome>> .:COMPLETE:.

[Creius 0]

Nathan had grown quite a bit over these past couple weeks, glad with the progress he had made as he tackled quest after quest. It had been lonely work, since he rejected the notion that he needed help at the moment. That also made it dangerous work but he was surviving and that was all that mattered to him. Now that he had grown a bit he had passed the skill level of a few quests but he wanted to go ahead and do them anyways for the rewards of experience. That was what he was doing this particular day in fact. He had heard of a quest on the third floor, where he was sitting at the current moment, which awarded a piece of armour upon completion. He had the slot available for such a piece of equipment so he decided to take this quest. He looked around the market district from where he sat, searching for the shop that he needed to enter in order to take up the quest. The third floor was beautiful in Nathan's opinion, a nice expanse of green everywhere and this town was quite a comfortable place and the elven inhabitants seemed kind enough. He would have to try and come up here more often, it seemed like he would enjoy such journeys. Picking himself up he walked down the streets and looked at the various signs along the street, searching for Griswold's Shop.  Finally he came upon the old man's shop and stepped inside, into the coolness that came with shelter.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan walked into the shop to see a burly old elf, presumably Griswold the Smith. He was standing behind the counter, which as Nathan approached he could feel the heat of the forge coming from a door to the elf's left. Nathan approached the counter and a door behind the large elf and to his right burst open, an elderly elf coming out. In the sort of sing-song voice that elves always had she said, "Griswold, someone is in the shop!" Then, noticing her husband already at the counter she smiled and joined him. "Yeah, I noticed. What can I do for you? I can make light or heavy armour, just let me know." Nathan turned his head away from the wife and looked to the large man behind the counter and listened. "I would like some leather armour, please." The decision was easy, he had already put the time into the light armour skill so all he really needed to worry about was getting the materials. The old smith nodded slightly. "Okay, I can do that. As for payment, I just ask that you bring me some materials. I have been making money all my life and it is time that I do some charitable work for you new adventurers. Listen, a few kilometres to the South there is a large forest. Locals call it the Forest of Wavering Mist. There are dangerous beings, minotaurs and dark elves who will rip your guts out and feed 'em to you. Those dark elves though, they are like us other elves. They know how to gather really good materials but they are evil creatures so buying them does no good. You will have to find one and kill it. Try and find one that has some leathers which I can use. Any will do, whatever that elf has on it will be good enough quality I'm sure." Nathan listened intently, taking in all the details that the smith threw at him. South, dark elf, leather, he could do all that rather easily. With a nod Nathan accepted the quest prompt that had come up. "I'll see you later then," the smith bellowed. Nathan turned away and exited the shop.

[Creius 0]

Nathan walked out of the shop and looked up at the sun. He turned towards the South, using the sun as guidance, and headed forward knowing he would eventually exit the town and be on his way. He looked down at his equipment, making sure that he was battle ready in case he ran into any of those minotaurs and in case that the Dark Elf turned out to be a formidable foe. Bloodletter, the now familiar blade of his, sat comfortably on his belt, ready to be drawn at any moment. His Abrasive Leggings were on, giving him defense and the thorns ability that had finished off quite a few enemies already. There was a ticklish sensation and Hector the Scorpion crawled out from beneath Nathan's shirt and onto his shoulder. And one familiar that did nothing but kept him company to top it all off. That was everything that he could possibly think of to have on him so he was as ready as he could possibly be. Nathan smiled slightly and kept walking to the South, eventually leaving Delilah town and onto the prairies of the third floor. 

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan walked through the prairies of the third floor and looked around. Everywhere he looked there was just greenery, the perfect type of environment to hunt for materials as a tailor. There were probably plenty of fibres which would make great use as he made lighter armours and clothing. Nathan kept his eyes wide open for any plants which would make good use but did not notice anything particularly special in the sea of green. Nathan kept scanning though, knowing full well that any extra materials would be helpful. On the horizon he could already see a slight haze of a darker green, most likely the forest that he had to enter. It was still a good kilometre or so away so Nathan busied himself with looking for materials and playing with Hector, who sat on Nathan's shoulder while Nathan took long strides down the road towards the forest.

ID#60146   LD:12

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Step by step the forest grew closer but still Nathan was not close enough to pick out any details about it. All he could make of it was that the trees were tall and a really dark shade of green. While he stepped closer he kept looking for any more materials and kept messing with Hector, just keeping his mind busy. Still, he did not see anything in the sea of green plants that seemed he could take with him and turn into something special. It may have been that his feet were carrying him too fast that he could not make out the specific details that were needed for finding the materials which were useful. Nathan just kept his pace though, there was a quest that needed to be completed and that held precedence over material gathering. He could do that at a later time. The next time he brought his eyes up he noticed that he had almost come upon the forest. Nathan pressed on and quickly closed the small distance to the entrance of the Forest of Wavering Mist.

ID#60147    LD:1

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan looked up at the dark forest, the faint sound of screams being carried through the darkness. Nathan shivered slightly, the hairs on his arms standing up straight. He had not even entered the forest and it was already creeping him out. He shook his head slightly and looked over at Hector, who sat there stoically. No point in just standing right at the entrance so Nathan walked past the initial tree line and into the darkness of the canopy. Nathan shivered slightly as he passed the threshold and looked around the trees, scanning the darkness for any movement. That old smith's warning about minotaurs had spooked Nathan a bit, especially considering he did not know how strong such beasts might be. He had heard of Minos' story though and the labyrinth so he doubted they were push overs. Plus, it never hurt to be cautious of potential dangers that he might encounter. After seeing that there was no immediate danger he took some more steps, delving deeper into the forest in search of his target.

[Creius 0]

Nathan looked around the forest and began hearing quiet mutterings as he walked, causing his head to turn from side to side as he tried to catch whatever, or whoever, was making the quiet noises. One time he swore he saw a tall figure dart between the trees a bit away from him. Nathan was feeling absolutely surrounded, as though the forest and its inhabitants were all closing in on him. Nathan kept walking though, keeping his breathing even so that the slight fear he felt did not grow into terror. Drawing his blade, so he was ready for any combat that he might have to deal with. The familiar weight in his hands was a slight reassurance, helping him suppress the fear that had grown in his throat. Hector's weight on his shoulder also gave another point which he could focus on instead of the fear. All in all, it was not terribly difficult to press forward into the darkness because so many things kept him from falling into fear.

[Creius 0]

Nathan took a few more steps and then felt a foreign presence coming close from behind. Nathan turned around immediately and looked at the figure who was standing behind him. It was a figure dressed in a dark cloak and wielding a dagger in its left hand. Upon closer inspection the figure was dark-skinned, presumably a dark elf now that he thought about it. The dark elf gave Nathan a smirk and made a few flourishes with its dagger. "Well, I was going to stab you in the back and take your belongings but now you know I am here. I guess I'll just have stab you in the chest and take your belongings." With that the dark elf darted forward and slashed out at Nathan with its dagger.

.:COMBAT INITIATED:.

Spoiler

Creius:   40/40 HP    9/10 ENG (-2+1)   4 DMG   16 Mit      ID#60150   MD:1   Miss        CD:11

Dark Elf:   20/20 HP   17 DMG   5 Mit                                  ID#60150   MD:3   Miss

Nathan back stepped away from the elf, getting out of the dagger's small reach. The dagger sliced through the air right in front of Nathan's shirt and Nathan stooped low to the ground. Hector scrambled down Nathan's arm and scurried off some distance so that it would be safe from the combat. Nathan then picked himself up and darted forward. The elf had already saved itself from the attack it had made and was easily able to dart out of the way of Nathan's rapier.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   39/40 HP    8/10 ENG (+1-2)   4 DMG   16 Mit      ID#60152   MD:4   Miss

Dark Elf:     6/20 HP   17 DMG   5 Mit                                  ID#60152   MD:6   Base 17 - Mit 16 = 1 DMG to Creius (14 DMG from Thorns)

The dark elf let loose a short and evil sounding laugh before it darted forward and slashed out with its dagger. Nathan made an attempt at cutting the elf as it charged into his range. The elf's nimbleness allowed it to easily dodge Nathan's thrust, the blade slicing past the elf's cloak with a few centimetres to spare. The elf stepped into Nathan's space and made a shallow cut on Nathan's side, slipping out of the space before Nathan could counter attack. The elf let loose a laugh, obviously jolly at the damage that it had dealt. The laugh was cut short though by the immense amount of damage that the elf received from the thorns effect of Nathan's armour. The elf winced and fell to the ground, holding itself in its arms. It recovered itself in a few moments and stood up, snarling at Nathan. It took its dagger back in its hands and darted towards Nathan once more.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   39/40 HP    8/10 ENG (+1-1)   4 DMG   16 Mit      ID#60153   MD:10   Base 4 + Crit 2 - Mit 5 = 1 DMG to Dark Elf (Bleed Applied)

Dark Elf:     5/20 HP   17 DMG   5 Mit                                  ID#60153   MD:4     Miss

The elf thrust its dagger forward, aiming the weapon at Nathan's heart. The elf quickly moved forward and into Nathan's space once more. Nathan timed his dodge so that the elf flew past his side, offering Nathan the perfect opportunity to strike. Nathan watched as the elf flew past him, circling his body so that he had full view of the elf's backside. Nathan darted forward as the elf came to a halt and thrust his rapier forward. Bloodletter pierced the dark elf right beneath the heart, or where the heart would be on a human, and was immediately withdrawn. The elf winced once more, its health bar dropping a bit more. As it turned the health bar above it continued to drop, the bleed effect of Bloodletter starting to drain the elf's health.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   38/40 HP    7/10 ENG (+1-2)   4 DMG   16 Mit      ID#60154   MD:1     Miss (8 DMG dealt from Bleed)

Dark Elf:    -17/20 HP   17 DMG   5 Mit                                ID#60154   MD:7     Base 17 - 16 Mit = 1 DMG to Creius  (14 DMG from Thorns)

LD:11   100 Col + Material

The elf charged forward quickly and Nathan thrust his rapier out to meet the oncoming enemy. The elf used its dagger to parry the blade and ran the dagger down the length of Bloodletter until it reached the hilt. Upon reaching the hilt it took the dagger off the blade and stepped closer, within Nathan's space. With the close-quarters advantage the elf brought its dagger across Nathan's abdomen, leaving a thin, red line of pixels  as an indication of the attack. Immediately the elf winced and its already low health bar immediately plummeted to zero, and probably well past it, as thorns took effect once more. The elf started to scream out but it quickly froze and exploded into pixels. After all the pixels dissipated the only indication that the elf had been there was the small window informing Nathan of the loot he had gained. Two leathers, one for the quest and one for personal use, and a bit of Col, all around a fair reward for the fight. Nathan accepted the reward, all of it going to his inventory, and turned back towards the way he had come.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Blocking his way though was a rather large figure, easily over two metres in height. Its eyes were a bright red and he could not make out what it was exactly since it stood in the shadows. Slowly it emerged from the shadows and studied Nathan, who was likewise studying the figure. He assumed the monster had been drawn out by the noise caused by his fight with the elf. The monster was a really tall half-man and half-bull concoction, a minotaur, and was snorting as it stomped at the ground. Nathan readied Bloodletter, knowing full well this could be a difficult fight.

Spoiler

Creius:   38/40 HP    7/10 ENG (+1-1)   4 DMG   16 Mit        ID#60167   MD:7     Base 4 - Mit 10 = 1 DMG to Minotaur

Minotaur:    39/40 HP   20 DMG   10 Mit                                ID#60167   MD:5     Miss

The minotaur charged forward, ducking its head down so that its horns were aimed at Nathan's chest. It was a headlong charge, just like the ones that boars on the first floor made. Nathan quickly was able to see that the minotaur would not be able to change direction immediately to hit Nathan if he dodged or to dodge if Nathan attacked. Therefore, Nathan did the obvious thing and rolled out of the charge's path. Coming out of the roll he slashed at the minotaur's legs, Bloodletter barely penetrating the thick hide of the legs.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   37/40 HP    6/10 ENG (+1-2)   4 DMG   16 Mit        ID#60168   MD:10     (Base 4+2)*2 - Mit 10 = 2 DMG to Minotaur (Bleed Applied)

Minotaur:    37/40 HP   20 DMG   10 Mit                                ID#60168   MD:4       Miss

The minotaur kept on running, despite its pain, and charged straight into a tree. Its horns got lodged inside the large tree, restricting its movement as it tried to escape. Nathan took the opportunity to dart forward, towards the minotaur, and try to land another attack. When Nathan reached the backside of the minotaur it tried to kick him, sending one of its feet flying backwards. Nathan jumped over the leg and accessed his sword art. In mid air he slashed out with Bloodletter, creating two diagonals on the minotaur's back which made a V. The minotaur yelled out in pain and continued trying to rip its horns out of the tree, its health bar still dropping as bleed took effect.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   37/40 HP    5/10 ENG (+1-2)   4 DMG   16 Mit        ID#60169   MD:10     (Base 4+2)*2 - Mit 10 = 2 DMG to Minotaur  (Bleed Applied)

Minotaur:    27/40 HP   20 DMG   10 Mit                                ID#60169   MD:4       Miss (8 DMG from Bleed)

Nathan fell back to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. Nathan watched the health bar of the minotaur continue dropping and could not help but smile. This was already going really well, especially since the minotaur had done something especially stupid. Once again, the monster tried to kick out at Nathan. Once again, Nathan dodged the leg, rolling underneath the leg as it flew up. After picking himself up he jumped up again, accessing the sword art system again, and raised his sword for another attack. Nathan's blade flashed two times, creating yet another V but in a different spot. The minotaur yelled out again in pain, the health bar simply falling as bleed and damage took its toll.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   33/40 HP    5/10 ENG (+1-1)   4 DMG   16 Mit       ID#60171   MD:7      Base 4 - Mit 10 = 1 DMG to Minotaur

Minotaur:     4/40 HP   20 DMG   10 Mit                                ID#60171   MD:8      Base 20 - Mit 16 = 4 DMG to Creius 
    (8 DMG from Bleed and 14 DMG from thorns. 2nd round/1st round )

The minotaur ripped its horns out of the tree with a mighty yell. Nathan quickly slashed out with Bloodletter and left another incision on the mighty beast. The minotaur screamed out, its health bar dropping quickly past the half way point. The minotaur flat hand slapped Nathan, sending him flying through the air. The slap had knocked the wind out of him, probably would have broken a few bones in real life if such a force had hit him. Nathan's first thought was that of a train hitting him, that was how strong it was. Nathan flew through the air and crashed into a tree, sliding down the trunk to the ground. His vision was blurred and his hearing had a slight ringing tone to it from the blow. He could still easily hear the yell of the minotaur though, which came from the pain of the thorns. Once his vision righted Nathan was able to see that the health bar of the minotaur was nearly depleted. He smiled softly. Being hit once was perfectly fine with how much damage was done to the minotaur.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Spoiler

Creius:   33/40 HP    2/10 ENG (+1-4)   4 DMG   16 Mit          ID#60172   MD:7      Base 4 - Mit 10 = 1 DMG to Minotaur (Stun)

Minotaur:     --5/40 HP   20 DMG   10 Mit                                 ID#60172   MD:7      Stunned
    (8 DMG from Bleed. 2nd round of Bleed)       LD:9   Mat only

Nathan picked himself up off the ground and stared at the minotaur. He reached down and picked up Bloodletter once more and watched as the minotaur began charging towards him. Nathan gripped his sword lightly and ran towards the minotaur, accessing the sword art system once more. Nathan jumped up into the air, watching as the minotaur's fist flew towards him once more. Quickly Nathan brought down Bloodletter on the minotaur's head, the flat of the blade landing solidly. The minotaur faltered and stumbled to the ground. Nathan fell to the ground lightly and watched as the health bar of the beast depleted entirely thanks to the bleed. The minotaur froze on the ground before shattering into pixels. Soon after the small window of loot popped up, indicating the bull hide that Nathan had won from the fight.

.:COMBAT COMPLETED:.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

With the minotaur defeated Nathan immediately turned towards the way he had come from and ran. He stopped momentarily to let Hector scamble to him and crawl up his arm onto his shoulder. He wasted absolutely no time in departing after picking up his familiar. If the fight with the dark elf had been loud enough to attract trouble then he was certain that the fight with the minotaur could spell his doom if he waited any longer. He ran as fast as he could through the forest, passing through the trees without pausing to breathe or look around. It took him only a few minutes to begin to see light which indicated the end of the forest. Even when Nathan eventually ran out of the forest he kept on running. Nathan ran for at least a few kilometres before he slowed down to a jog and finally to a fast walk. Once he reached the walking speed he looked behind him and scanned the road for any pursuers. Seeing nothing he relaxed a bit and took a breath,

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan stretched his hands above his hand, taking deep breaths as he tried to recover from the sprinting. He maintained the speed walking though, not wanting to waste time to get back to Delilah Town and get that armour. That had been an eventful time in the forest and rewarding, even without the reward from the quest. While he walked he kept an eye out for materials, hoping against hope that he could get yet another small reward for coming up here. That would just make his day if he could end up with even more materials to make items with. As he walked though, the entire trip back to Delilah, there was nothing that he noticed to be special along the side of the road. As Delilah town came into view Nathan sighed softly, realizing that if he wanted to find something on this floor he very well might have to step off the road unlike how he gathered on the first floor.

ID#60173    LD:6

Edited May 31, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan entered Delilah Town, not looking for materials anymore as he headed towards the market district. He walked down the street, watching the elven NPC's go about their lives in this world. Some elven children playing here and some elven adults talking about the recent issues coming from the forest he had just come from. It was still amazing how much detail was put into this game. The entire fabricated town was like this all the way to the market district. Even in the market district Nathan noticed the NPC's even buying items from other NPC shops, small weapons for defense and food and drink for that night's dinner. Such detail was simply amazing to Nathan, the fact that someone would go through so much trouble to put that into the game was astounding. Nathan watched all of these small events until he came upon Griswold's shop, thinking about how much planning and money had to have gone into this game as it was developed. Such things tended to interest him but not others usually.

[Creius 0]

Nathan pushed his way into the shop and saw the elderly couple talking to each other quietly, carrying on some private conversation. Nathan waited and eventually the burly smith turned towards him. "Well, do you have some materials?" Nathan nodded and walked forward, taking one of the leathers he had grabbed from the dark elf and handing it to the smith. "This is pretty good quality stuff. I'll be right back, let me go work this into something nice." The smith disappeared into the room off to his left, where the forge could be seen for a few seconds before the door closed. The wife smiled softly at Nathan and nodded towards the door slightly. "He won't be long. I am going to go ahead and run to the back and prepare some dinner. Thanks for coming, good luck with your adventures." The wife pushed the back door open and headed into the kitchen, disappearing from view. The smith's wife was right, it was only a couple minutes before Griswold returned to the main room, holding a piece of leather armour. "Here you go, good sir. Have a nice day." Nathan took the armour into his hands and accepted it into his inventory. Nathan waved his thanks at the smith and exited the shop.