[PP - F4] Crows and Kings

[Takao 0]

If Takao hadn't hated the ice-covered settlement of Snowfrost before, and he most certainly had, then his new armour certainly didn't lend itself well to mending his ire. Even with the scale-clad familiar sitting on his shoulders and a scarf around his neck, the teeth-clattering frigidity of floor four cut through him like a hot knife through butter. However, like every other time he'd come to the fourth floor, he had a purpose for being there. NPC chatter and a bit of player-acquired information on the side had lead him to a tavern named the Long Barrow. A plume of white breath was exhaled as he read over the sign, leaving a trail behind him as he quickly ascended the staircase and into the building. It was empty, as he'd expected it to be given its position just shy of Snowfrost's outskirts, save for a few players conversing with one another and the various NPCs that lingered.

Tired eyes glanced over cursors and faces until he examined the grizzled features of one in particular, sitting against the wall near the back of the tavern. He made his way closer to the NPC and stopped in front of the table. "Hi," He said simply, garnering its attention. It was a bit awkward to verbally communicate with an NPC in which he knew had limited responses, as well as being just programmable AI. A brief stint of dialogue had learned Takao of the NPC's name, Joramun, and the story of his wife's death. The glorified flavour text of the quest was of little interest to Takao; he knew fully well that the AI was emotionless outside of what it was created to be, and that its story was created for the sake of the quest. When the conversation was over and the quest had appeared in his list, Takao stood and hastily made for the door. He was eager to be done with it and out of the cold.

[Calrex 0]

After completing the new quest of the floor Calrex gave a wave to Zandra as the two parted ways, giving a small sigh of relief that their ordeal was completed, "That certainly was not something to be worried about, but still that area debuff will be something to keep in mind. We've already seen it in the floor boss battles, so the fact it is now appearing in quests could spell more dangers in future battles."

Looking over at the tavern where he had first started the quest the bluenette saw a familiar brown-haired swordsman enter in, another comrade and fellow Spectrum Coalition member Takao, "Huh, I guess he might be taking on the new quest as well?"

Deciding to peek inside Calrex opened the doors to the tavern, seeing that Takao had already seated himself down to listen to the NPC's background story surrounding the quest. The bluenette had already heard it before, and it seemed the AI had stuck to nearly the exact same script, "Come on Kayaba, if you're going to be sticking personalities into the unique skills, at least have the creativity to change up the script a little."

Grabbing a drink Calrex went over and sat down next to his fellow guildmate, "Hey Tak, taking on the new quest?"

[Baldur 0]

If there was a floor that Baldur loved more than the snow covered 4th floor, they hadn't found it yet. There was just something about the sleep snow covered settlement, and the way it lit up at night through the softly falling snow that warmed Baldur's heart. Gram shook his head slightly, shaking off the snow that had built up a little too thick around his white fur. The wolf was from this floor, deep into the valleys on the far end, and to Baldur this floor felt like home more than any other. Smiling at the sight of his breath, he tugged his blue and white haori closer about himself, and then continued down the street, clearing a furrow in the snow behind he and Gram. Coming upon the inn, Baldur caught sight of what appeared to be Calrex walking inside.

He had heard of a new, very difficult quest that took place on this floor. Something about an undead king. He had wanted to take it, but it was flagged as something he would need a full competent team to handle. If Calrex was here to pick up the quest, then that would be a wonderful break. The quest was one of the few Baldur hadn't completed which also gave a sizable experience reward.

Pushing open the door, he smiled as he was bathed in light and the warmth of the fire burning in the hearth. Yes, this was by far his favorite floor.

"Hey Cal-" Baldur paused when he saw that Calrex was apparently talking to Takao already. He made his way over to the two of them, a bit more somber in the face of someone he didn't know well. He had only spoken with Takao a few times, but the impression the teen had left on Baldur was strong, though the gaijin samurai did not yet understand him well.

"Calrex, Takao, how are you both? You aren't here for the new quest, are you?"

[Itzal 0]

Why?  Why on heaven and earth did it have to be this floor?  This was by far his least favorite floor.  Why was he even considering this quest?  There were thousands of other quests he could be taking.  Why choose this one?  Because he promised Alisa, his apprentice that he'd bring her back ice cream, that's why.  He shivered and pulled in the usually unused hood on his twilight cloak deeper, completely concealing his face in shadows behind the insulated cloth.  It was specially designed by Ariel, specifically to keep the wearer warm.  Yet the combination of a cloak, plus the survival skill he had received was still not enough to remove all of the cold.  He hated the cold so much.  In scientific terms cold was when the molecule's vibrations slowed down and heat was when the vibration speeds up.  So he hated the cold on both a literal, and philosophical level.  The cold was irritating and represented laziness.

He had heard about this quest but he didn't exactly know what it entitled.  All he knew was that the quest giver was in a tavern called the Long Barrow.  As his eyes scanned the signs he noted how none of the above had pictures of warmth whatsoever.  The last time he was on this floor was for a meeting with his friends about constructing their guild.  And Jonathan had selected what Itzal thought was the worst place on this floor:  And ice cream shop.  No warm meals, no warm drinks, just, freaking, ice cream.  He'd be stopping by to pick up ice cream for Alisa but for now he had a job that needed to get done.  As soon as possible.  Finally his eyes landed on a sign that held the title he was looking for.  As he approached he switched to Niger Natio, knowing full well that shops needed to be at least a little bit warm in order to stay functional.  When the black cloak engulfed him, covering every portion of his skin, he noticed a familiar figure wander into the tavern.  Baldur?

He followed Baldur inside without a sound, despite the ice that lay before him.  He had worked hard to master this skill and was not about to let ice mess him up.  It was his hope to become a stealthy scout for the front lines, helping by finding dungeons with ease, finding and selling materials to the shop owners, and finding the floor bosses the minute the floors opened up.  In the boss battles he wanted a way to help with minimal chance of dying and he had a plan for that.  A very effective plan he thought.  When he walked in, lowering his mouthpiece but keeping the hood up, he saw Baldur walk over to two other figures whom he seemed to know.

"Mind introducing your friends Baldur?" he asked with a smile.

[Takao 0]

(Sorry for the slow response; my time is being spread pretty thin. Also, just as a heads up because I literally cannot remember what my stats were, we'll be using the new SAs/HP/Stats/etc from the September update in this thread.)

"S'gonna be a pain since it drops damage like it does, but it should only take-..." Takao said aloud to his familiar, who had expressed some wordless distaste for their upcoming excursion into the frigid wasteland that was the fourth floor of Aincrad. His voiced trailed off upon seeing Calrex, who had seated himself nearby and was quick to greet. Takao halted his pace mid-stride and lifted his hand slightly in a stationary wave.

"Oh. 'ey Cal." Takao said, his hand dropping down and seamlessly sliding into the pocket of his jacket. "Yeah, figured I'd pick it up 'n get it out of the way. Sounds like y'already done it yourself?" He asked, having gotten the impression that Calrex recognized the dialogue. It was a relatively new quest, so he should have expected to see a few familiar faces, yet the appearance of Baldur was a sobering sight. It was yet another reminder of how Sword Art Online picked apart the players in small doses, where the harsh realities of the game could change people so starkly. Much like he greeted Calrex, Takao's hand was raised in a stationary wave before finding its way back into his pocket.

"Guess it must be a popular one or somethin'." Takao said in response, exhaling a dry chuckle to accompany the words. It was beginning to feel like he'd forgotten how to be himself, and how to socialize. Twas a daunting realization to suddenly dawn upon all at once, but as was usually the case, Takao's exterior showed no change. His eyes trailed sidelong to the familiar who prepared to jump from his shoulders and held his arm out, allowing Otoko an easy path onto the nearby empty table. Shortly after Baldur's appearance another had arrived, and although he looked entirely unfamiliar Takao still regarded him in a similar way to how he had Calrex and Baldur. "I was 'bout t'head out 'n do it if you guys wanted t'come."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur was surprised to see so many people he knew gathered around for this quest. It was just another sign of how great this floor was. Everyone seemed to love it here, and it always seemed to be heavily attended by many player. Having so many friends to run this new quest with was perfect, especially since Takao and Calrex provided that buffer of safety that would ensure they all stayed alive.

"Itzal, This is Calrex, my guild leader and the highest level player in Aincrad. This is Takao, the second highest level player in Aincrad, and the man responsible for scouting the last several floor boss raids. Guys, this is Itzal, he's a new up and coming player with his eye on the Frontline. I think you're hoping to join us by the time we hit the 20th floor, is that right Itzal?" Baldur smiled at the junior player. He would have to be careful, because at Itzal's rate, he would pass him quickly.

"Thank you for the offer, Takao, I would be honored to join you."

Baldur patted, the swords at his hip, indicating that he was armed and ready.

"I have read up on the quest briefly, but is there anything special we should bring? I think I have a Cerberus soul laying around somewhere if that would help."

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a friendly nod and a laugh as the conversations that went on around him, "Good to see you too Baldur. Itzal was it? It's nice to meet you. Good to see another people working hard for the frontlines. Just don't be in too much of a rush, heh."

Having already recent knowledge of the quest the bluenette gave a nod to his teammates, "Tak, you are correct. I actually just completed it a little while ago with Zandra. It's a fairly simple quest, one that we should be able to knock out fairly quickly with the team we have here. When I took it on, we needed to defeat four frozen zombie-like creatures to clear up a snowstorm that was preventing us from locating the castle of the field boss. Upon entering the castle, there is a field effect which appears to reduce strength down to a certain point. Even the extra damage from using Charge is negated, but the stunning mod still works. Between the two of us we were able to mop up the boss before it had a chance to inflict any significant damage."

[Itzal 0]

Itzal listened as Baldur made introductions and his heart beat faster as he realized he was in the presence of the most powerful players in all of Aincrad.  Not only was this a great chance to get to know them, but a way to get tips and advice from them as well.  The thought of impressing him never crossed his mind as he wasn't the boastful type, nor was it a good tactic for gaining higher player's attention.  Actions speak louder than words, but the wrong actions make you look like a fool.  He realized that he wasn't going to be much of a help with whatever they had planned as they not only had the highest level player with them, but they also had the greatest scout in Aincrad as well.  Seeing as how Itzal intended to become a scout he could technically learn a thing or two from him, but he would probably do nothing but drag them down being the low level he was.  He didn't enjoy being useless but he knew this was a fact of life.  Maybe if the scout could take him as an apprentice he could rise in skills faster.  He almost chuckled aloud as he thought of his own apprentice and decided that if any request was going to be made it would be after he was done training her.  Nervous now that he was surrounded by powerful players he walked a little closer but not in their group as he felt he didn't belong and nodded to them, greeting them with respect.  "It's an amazing honor to get to meet the strongest players in Aincrad.  And here I thought this would be a boring day," he finished with a grin.