[OP:NK:F18] Light Fades to Darkness (Floor 18 Boss Planning Thread)

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru breathed and took the onslaught of comments from Opal as she appeared, and he didn't mind. He knew how she felt about her, and her words didn't mean much against him. But she soon dissed Zandra, and Jomei, his close friend, and His Mentor and brother in arms Lowenthal. Hikoru was at his breaking point, he was about to turn and swipe at her, but he breathed and thought of a better idea. He turned slowly, looked at her dead in the eyes, and smiled

"Hey look everyone, there's a Big-Mouthed, Pig-Skinned, Pea-Brained, Black-Eyed little freak who is seeming to compensate for something... Then theres her familiar, who is better looking that what I just described" He said with a small smile and a laugh, keeping complete eye contact with Opal. He felt better, and laughed away the hurt and anger. He breathed then turned to the people talking about the topic at hand. "Okay, so it drools and oozes out slime or acid or whatever, and torches on the walls. Maybe it's a mechanic to give light in the room? It's a thought, but it could be used in that way. It would be dangerous to try if we think about it, but if it's all we have to do, then maybe we could try it? Because maybe it could damage the boss as well" He asked, curious. He didn't know how else the boss would work in such a dark location. It was a fifty-fifty chance of getting him and everyone else hurt, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

[Baldur 0]

Baldur sighed and muttered a curse under his breath when Opal showed up and immediately tried her old tricks again that nearly brought the last boss fight to blows. She was picking at people in their pride and ego, trying to make the meeting devolve into juvenile name calling by hitting them where they were the most self-conscious and vulnerable. It was almost impressive, how well she knew to direct her insults where they would to the most damage, and he was almost surprised when she targeted him. He shouldn't have expected to be left out, he had his own pride issues and she knew just where to send her twisted words, but unfortunately she herself was also why those words merely washed over him. He had watched her be selfish and ineffective in the last boss fight, which in turn gave him the confidence that was contributing more by being a willing participant and carving out his own place. He had gown a lot since last they seen each other in the Leonidas fight as well.

Instead, Opal was met only with sad, disappointed steel blue eyes. He had thought, for a brief moment during the spring festival in Taft, that he had met someone interesting, a kindred spirit, but that person was only a mask, and what lay beneath it was bitter and a shadow of what he had thought he had seen. That was what saddened him, that the shadow cast was so much bigger than the reality.

When Teayre asked for the sword, Baldur's first instinct was to give it to her, he knew why she asked and wouldn't want to be weaponless either, but his mind quickly caught up and he placed a thumb over the tsuba, a subtle gesture that the cursed blade was remaining in his possession. He cast his blue eyed gaze up to Teayre, trying to convey what he could wordlessly, and used the sheathed katana to push himself into a standing position. They needed order, and a quick glance around showed him that the others knew what she was doing, but seemed to find it difficult not to rise to the bait. He wanted to remind them that offense could only be taken, not given; that they were letting Opal have power over them and giving her exactly what she wanted, but he held his tongue. He would need to have faith in his Frontline comrades that they could rise above this pettiness.

Sliding the Muramasa into his belt, the Obi that Ariel had made him, he now had three katana at his side. Fudoshin, Ryujinken, and Muramasa. He couldn't possibly wield them all in a fight, but he had not expected to be handed the legendary blade either. Still, by firmly taking possession of the katana from Teayre, he hoped it would deescalate the threat of combat. Opal wouldn't pick a fight here - she knew she could never win against all of them together. Perhaps that was what everyone needed to remember.

"You both bring up good points, and I don't think that we should ignore the environmental effects either, however one of our greatest strengths in a unified alpha-strike. When we executed that on Leonidas, we almost immediately removed him from the fight, and he was by far the most dangerous. Once removed, the rest of the fight was clean up. We should make sure that we use that strength, and adjust on the fly. I'm sure the fight isn't going to be so straight forward, but I think we'd be putting ourselves in a worse position if didn't just unload our most powerful sword arts right from the start. From there, we can figure out how to deal with the environmental effect should we even need to. Players like myself who are on the lower energy of things, and support players, can then focus on whatever circus tricks this boss requires of us."

[Teayre 0]

As the bickering continued Teayre let out a heavy glancing over to Baldur. The Azure Chevalier had placed his thumb over the tsuba. The blade remained sheathed as he stood. Inclining her head Teayre sits back down by her tree. Resting her hand on her knee she listens to Baldur’s comment. “Right then. All of you scumbags shut the hell up!” Teayre ordered not waiting she continued, “We all know Opal is a beautiful mayhem mind, however if anyone has a problem leave now. If anyone tries to derail this meeting again I will not hesitate in killing them.”

Letting out a sigh, “We’re here to sort out the frigging tactics for the boss. If you all are bickering. Myself, Calrex, Oikawa, Takao and Baldur will go and five man the boss. So shut it.” She rapped her fingers on her knee, “Baldur you’re point is good and valid, those of us who are stronger should try and take the boss out ASAP, but if the boss oozes the same liquid as that on the ground, the quicker he takes damage the more crap will be on the ground for us to deal with.” Teayre closed her eyes for a moment. “What I think would be best, a low energy and a support player in each group who deals with the over flow. Three DPS, who react as needed and a single tank for obvious reasons. Any suggestions on this?”

The crimson maiden looks at each of the players who had arrived before adding, “Keeping in mind my earlier statement.”

[Jomei 0]

It was time for Jomei to make his return. He had been gone too long, and he felt after the past couple of weeks of regaining his skills, he was ready to go back out and join the front lines. Seeing all of his friends progress without him, including his own fiancee, made him want to avoid being left in the dust anymore. His duel with Calrex honestly made him realize that the front lines was where he belonged. Gearing himself up in his black and green armor, rather than just his usual, sleeveless cloak, and his rapier at his hip, the ginger haired man headed to the meeting place on Floor Eighteen.. one which he had never been to.

The meeting, unlike the usual gathering which took place inside of a building, took place out in the open, among the trees. Lucky for the man, he was able to spot the large group of familiar faces from afar. One, who he was most happy to see, was Zandra. She had been so busy with training for this fight, just as Jomei had been with getting back into shape his own, he had not seen the woman in awhile. With a smile on his face, the man continued forward quickly, though the smile did not last long as he saw another woman approaching. As Jomei got closer, fasces began to become more clear, and voices became more than murmurs. He saw Zandra place her hand on Opal, showing some kind of friendliness towards her. Thats when he saw he pull her arm back and snap at Zandra. By now, words were quite apparent to him. His brow furrowed for a moment and a fist clenched briefly as he continued to storm forward towards the group. 

As the platinum haired woman secluded herself, Jomei approached from behind her and walked directly past her towards the rest of the group, "Refrain yourself from insulting my fiancee would you, Opal? This heartless act is starting to get a tad boring.. and it would be in your best interest to not speak of Zandra as such.." His voice started out mockingly, but his second sentence came from a darkness within. Jomei turned to look at Hikoru after he insulted the woman in his own way, as he continued to walk towards Zandra. He chuckled at first, "Now now Hikoru... No need to insult a pig's skin like that." The irishman then turned to look at the shorter noirette and gave her a wink before taking his place next to her, "Sorry for being late Teayre" 

Jomei gave Tea his full attention, listening to the information she told the group about the next boss they would be fighting. He brought his fist up to his mouth and gently big the tip of his thumb, the look of a concentrated man on his face. At the moment, he did not have enough information to give an input.. but this already sounded like it would be quite the handful for the boss raiders.

[Calrex 0]

"...guess I really can't stay silent now..."

As Calrex listened to things progress after his own input, he noticed two parts of the floor boss planning begin to develop further and further. One side was engaging the in-fighting that was occurring, with most of those that were called out by Opal's opening words retaliating with either backhanded statements or other comments. He had given a nod of greeting to Jomei, whom he had seen previously in a duel by the beachside, glad that the ginger-headed player had returned to the frontlines. Unfortunately, because of what he had seen occur with Zandra, the man had come to his companion's defense, exasperating the situation.

The other half, which he had seen to be mostly those of the Spectrum Coalition, were actively participating in the planning, giving their takes on strategy and formation. This was the part he wanted to more actively add to, but as he had observed from where he was standing, there was no way to ignore either side. However, he had let things proceed thus far in hopes that the part he did not favor would just die out.

This would prove to not be the case, and in fact made him compelled to act proactively. The spark was Teayre's response to the bickering, which to him ad accomplished two things. One, it bridged the two separate conversations together, which if the intent was to force that part to be let go, would not be accomplished. "You cannot fight force with force, especially if you want to do so effectively. Maybe everyone here has not learned that yet..."

The second, and the part that put him on alert, was his wife's loose usage of flaunting her reputation, as well as combat skills. He had told her before, and apparently it was possible his words had fallen on deaf ears: Everyone on the frontlines had the capability of killing each other. It was just an attribution to their strength as a team. Many of those here was far overleveled for the current floor that was currently unlocked, and possibly it may have given some people a god or superiority complex. However, there were aspects that he himself could use to his advantage, aspects that he had used once in the past, and could only hope to use now.

"Doesn't matter what happens now. What I need to make sure of is that no fights break out here, and that Teayre didn't just paint a goddamn target on her back."
______________________________

"Alright That's Enough!"

Calrex's eyes glanced over the people that were there, panning across so that his pupils met the faces of everyone there. His voice echoed, as most likely because he had channeled his <<Howl>> skill through, but rather than amplifying it through his sword, he used his voice, as the way it was possibly intended. Looking over he gave a nod to Teayre, "Excuse my interruption Teayre, but I believe we may want to put discussions on hold for moment."

Without giving the redhead a chance to respond the Ultramarine Knight stepped forward, turning so that he was in a position to address the group, continuing to channel <<Howl>> as if his voice was coming through a speaker, "Before we continue further, I believe a bit of a reminder is in order for what exactly is being conducted here. This is a meeting to discuss the floor raid plan, as well as what is needed to survive. This is NOT a place for your petty bickerings and squabbles. Don't start pointing fingers at each other, I have eyes, and I Don't Care about who started it. It Ends Now. You want to argue and fight, there's plenty of floor space to go around, take it elsewhere. There's even a nice arena not too many floors away you can fight to your heart's content."

Crossing his arms the bluenette steeled his gaze, "That being said, no fights, duels, or arguments about useless matters will continue, Starting Now. Only those that will contribute to this conversation, without backhanded insults and slurs, will be welcomed here. If you don't have the maturity to keep your egos, bruised or otherwise, to themselves, You Are Free To Leave. I've had enough of this stupidity. Anyone that wishes to do otherwise will have Deal With Me. Is That Understood?"

Looking over at Teayre the bluenette continued, "I understand we want to get this over and done with, but I recommend to hold off on discussions until everyone here has come to their decision. If there is going to be more nonsense then there is no point to this meeting."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur was shocked to see Calrex step up to the front and center. The two of them had spoken about this previously, and how as the two highest leveled players, the rest of the raid really needed someone to step up and set the tone, and that was likely to be Calrex or Takao. With the lack of a clear leader or moderating presence, Opal had been able to pull the focus of the conversation off point, which could lead to getting people killed. They needed to focus, and have productive conversations. Elements like Opal would do whatever they wanted, but it was up to the frontline to determine if they would accept her antics or not. They could certainly simply exclude her from the proceeding if they wanted to.

"Calrex is right." Baldur walked over and put a hand on his guildleader's shoulder, but continued to face everyone that had assembled.

"We're not here to fight for ego, or pride, or to let Opal's petty taunts distract us from our true purpose. We need to present a solid front of players who can trust each other and rely on each other. There is no room for derision, or players who only act in self-interest. We have a limited number of tanks here today." Baldur looked around at those assembled in the small patch of dry ground in the otherwise swampy forest floor.

"The Spectrum Coalition can field a tank for our guild. I assume that the Knights of the Blood oath can field one for their guild as well. That gives us two parties of six players. Unless there exists a tank who is willing to take Opal into their party, then her presence here is wasted."

Baldur mentally ran through their lineup. With Calrex tanking, that put himself, Teayre, and Oikawa into their party, with two free spots. The knights had Xion as a tank, but he had not seen Seul in a while, and so his participation was unknown. Jomei, Zandra, and Takao were wild cards in the line up, being able to fit seamlessly into either the KotBO group, or the SC group. Takao might be high enough level to tank, but Baldur didn't know if he had skill enough with the shield or parry to do so well.

"Unless you plan to tank, or make amends Opal, then there is no place for you here."

[Oikawa 1]

The blonde had remained generally silent for most of the meetings exchange. His words would be wasted upon the topic and he'd rather not drawn attention to himself given the crystal floating above his head. Despite his public apology sometime ago, he still felt the need to prove himself to the people of Aincrad and even more so reflect his change in his guild as Spectrum Coalition didn't need to have a bad rap sheet on his account. Though the pointless arguments continued for sometime, Oikawa's brow raised as he heard a voice he recognized in a tone he was unfamiliar with. The bluenette boy scout had finally taken some leadership initiative and shut everyone up. His message reverberating through the fields as he spoke. A small grin found its way to the youths face, as he continued to watch in silence.

Glancing through the crowd, he spotted a ginger that wasn't there moments ago and offered him a nod. Rather than add to what the SC members had already stated, he kept his mouth shut and watched Opal to see what her response would be to all this. Thankfully Kiru wasn't in sight, as he'd very well take Opal down should she decide to cause anymore problems. And as much as he'd hate to do it, if another's life was to be endangered because of her, the burden would be worth it should the opportunity arise.

[Opal 0]

Opal's eyes widened, slurs and words out of the pompous mouth of the ginger. How dare such a weak and pathetic, spineless worm like that even speak to her in such a tone. Her violet eyes gave an intense glare and her mouth was about to open before the booming voice of the Ultramarine Knight was heard over the crowd. Opal's eyes widened even more, although he did not speak directly to her...well, for the most part, but that speech of his made her eyes go intense with what appeared to be fear and realization. She had just kicked up a [censored] storm to one of the strongest players in Aincrad. To deal with him now would be absolutely futile, but the words echoing in the back of her mind from what Tearye had said...Kill? Her? That was a laugh and a challenge worthy of being accepted. However, there was this Blue Element leering over her now. 

Opal for the better most part took her lashings and the spear to the rib from the remainder of the group. She had caused enough trouble as it was. Once more she was about to speak before a cold hand was clasped over her mouth, the scent of an ocean wafting in the air from a Gentleman's Cologne. Opal's eyes remained silent and still when those cold hands reached her mouth before she could say another word. Her eyes moved to the man's long brown hair and stood deathly chill and silent, "Excuse my Subordinate, would you? She tends to run at the mouth at times. Swallow." He said to Opal almost whispering it in her ear. There was now something in her mouth? She swallowed whatever it was an immediately her eyes started to lose their luster and flare. 

"Ah forgive my interruption...Volcano, put that silly thing away." The man beside the long haired Gentleman was a massive man who had more muscle than brains on him. Flaming red hair and deep crimson colored eyes with a small white flag in his hand being waved back and forth as he was told to stop, "But ugh...we came here for peace, right? I just wanted to let every--Oh hey! It's you!" he said pointing to Calrex, "You gave me a walloping last time. Trust me, I've been getting stronger too. Next time will be a different story, Buddy...Oh! Sorry Master Sensui." 

"Anyways, Opal my Love. Did you wish to say something to these kind people?" 

"Ugh, not necessarily..." an elbow to the rib caused her to lurch forward, "Uh, whatever. I'll take care of myself in the raid, you don't need to worry about me. Even if I wanted to kill you all, I can't now..." Her eyes soulless and lifeless as she looked back at Sensui and rolled her tongue in her mouth, "If you need another DPS, I offer my service as I always do. Damn these drugs are making me so sleepy..." the woman yawned and started to get woozy before being caught by Volcano and slung over his shoulder, "Well then. I will apologize to you all for her rude behavior earlier. I'm glad we got here before things escalated further. That's right, you all don't know who I am. Forgive me and my manners. I am Sensui, this is my right hand man, Volcano and this woman's name is...Oh! I do forget names sometimes..." there was another member of Sensui's party here as well, but she had been standing behind the large Lummox known as Volcano. The woman was breathtakingly gorgeous and her eyes shown a deep almost sun colored yellow. She did not speak, but she stood among them none the less with not a weapon to her side. When addressed, she simply looked at Sensui and didn't say a word. However, those eyes of hers did stop at Baldur and lingered there for a moment longer before closing them all together.

"Ahh, yes. She does not speak much. Where was I...? Oh! Introductions. Well, that is who we are. We are Opal's caretakers so to speak, I am the Leader of Laughing Coffin after all," it was then the air which was still had been carved into a chill as it swept by his long golden brown hair, his dark eyes smiling with his body language as he bowed to them formally, the saber at his side dangling ever so elegantly off a small chain. 

"While we had our differences, I believe we can come to some sort of agreement to allow Opal here to enter into your teams? I know she can be quite the handful," he laughed and looked over to the ginger known as Jomei. Oh yes, he had know about each and everyone of these players, all of those she had been friends with and all of those who she had betrayed. "In any case, please do go on with your meeting. Should you require Opal, she will be there at the next Boss Raid. Ta-ta for now. Volcano, come. Ugh..." The woman with no name stood silent, eyes closed and stomped away as he attempted to apologize as they left out of sight. 

--

Cal pointed out to me it might be better idea to color code who is talking in this post since I got a few NPCs. 
Sensui is this color, Leader of the infamous Laughing Coffin Guild
Volcano is represented by this color, Sensui's right hand man! And Calrex's 'sparring' buddy.
And Sexy Opal is colored Purple.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Opal

[Zandra 0]

When Zandra herd what some of the, well lets say mature ones, make her to remember why she was her, her cheeks blushed and felt like they burned. She couldn’t face anyones eyesand just looked down in the ground. She had rely behaved like a little kid. It was Opal that triggered by refused her try to make her back down and follow the real purpose why everyone had gathered here. Thou Zandra could have kept quite when she pk-guild member opened her mouth against her. Just as she told her to do. Would she be accepted if she stepped down immediately. She didn’t cared about Opal anymore, but maybe she lost her reputation by her recent actions. She looked at the present to try to read their faces, but failed.

Next, something wonderful happened. She saw someone she haven’t seen for months. She had missed this man so much. But why did he decided to show up now? Why now of all times? She already was upset and had calmed down. Now her emotions started to bouble again. Her eyes met his, and the look was filled with emotions fighting each other. ‘’You… how could you… why now..?’’ she said between heavy breaths, trying to calm down. Her eyes got a shine that she quickly blinked away. She knit her fists. He just protected her against Opal. But still, that deciding to show up during a boss meeting where she couldn’t show her feeling the way she wanted, she bit her lower lip to not burst out and succeded to let out two short words. ‘’Not now.’’ Then she broke eyecontact.

Her focus completely changed when she spotted Opal leaving together with three other players. Could they be? No, they couldn’t. Why would they show up here? Or was they? Then she turned towards the mature players of the group. She wouldn’t let anything else now draw her focus from the main reason they was here.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru watched as the things unfolded before him, his old Comrade Jomei appearing before him, Opal being somewhat drugged and carried off by the leader of the Laughing Coffin, and Calrex letting out his leader qualities once more. Hikoru stood as Calrex talked, not fazed as he had seen it before. He knew very well that he was in no danger as long as he stayed on topic, in which is what he planned to do in the first place. His comment was to only be said, then he wanted to talk about the raid, and his comment seemed to be ignored, and with a sigh he would just put it away for now. He held up his hand shyly and sighed

"I am a DoT DPS, I suppose you could call me. With my new weapon, Yamkimba, I have Double enchants of Paralysis and Bleed. If I get lucky, I can stun the boss easily and add some small DoT Damage for awhile. and my damage is sub-par after the new patch, so I don't have much to offer other than that. But me as you will, as I plan to be there. Hopefully I can be of use in this situation." And with that, he fell silent once more, awaiting to see what the plans would be, and if he would be of any use in this situation

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

A short sigh escaped Ariel's lips as she listened to some of the meeting attendants discussing something else than the main reason they were summoned here, which was the battle plan for the next boss fight. Being one of the few present that escaped Opal's verbal abuse, the blonde couldn't completely overlook her words towards her fiancé. As her left eye started to slightly twitch and with a fake smile, the prideful crowned lion summoned her HUD Inventory and looked at the item mannequin. A short "Tsk!" rolled out her tongue as she saw that besides not having her main weapon equipped, she didn't have the ideal items for pvp.

With a secondary sigh, that lasted a little longer this time, she decided to ignore the bickering and used the fact that Hikoru was distracted to sneak behind him and wrap her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. Resting her chin on his ear, she softly spoke; fully aware of how hypocrite she sounded: "Don't let it get to you, words are her only weapons right now. Even the most insane player would think twice before starting a fight here." 

The entrance of the self entitled members of the Laughing Coffin guild made her raise a suspicious eyebrow as her body tensed. If she would have to emulate Kimba's reaction to this situation, the feline would hiss at the newcomers. Luckily only her future-husband would feel the change in her mood via her overall body language. She partially payed attention to what the guy had to say, eyeing each one of the new group members for any funny moves. At the end this was... a presentation maybe? as she saw that they were about to leave as soon as the boss said his farewells. 'Why would the leader of a supposedly pk guild would show his face in public, to most of the top front liners. Did he had a death wish?' were some of the thoughts that crossed Ariel's mind as she narrowed her eyes at their figures. 

A grin crossed her expression as she stole a glance at Cal, who just a while ago stepped up to calm people down and said: "Seems like a lot of rats start crawling out right after the new patch with the HP increase. Must be hard for those into the PK-ing business right now." she said loud enough, turning her head to the side  as to not leave her own PK mark bearer deaf.

She let out a small 'awwwww' to Hikoru's words as he seld himself sort yet again. Temporarily removing a arm from her embrace and accessed her inventory, selected an item and hit the 'MATERIALIZE' option. In the next instant the HUD window dissipated from her side in a bright flash and a great, banner-like item appeared next to her free hand. The sharp small spike at the base impaled the ground with a heavy 'thud' leaving cracks on the ground; while a small flag adorned to oposite side of the banner. The flag which had embroiled on it Ariel's personal trademark on a light blue background wasn't the main feature of the item but the sheer size of the thing as it towered over each and every one present by more than half a meter. (0.5 m ~ 1.6 foot)

"Don't underestimate yourself like that. I thought I told you this before." She then continued to hug Hikoru, squeezing him tighter leaving the banner to their side to . She then looked at the future raid leader "I'll bring the raw damage if needed. Of course I could act as moral support and just wave this thing around, like one of those cheering squads." she said ending with a laugh. 

[Jomei 0]

Jomei closed his eyes and sighed when he saw the look on Zandra's face and even heard it in her voice. She was pissed at him for being away for awhile. Though, in all honesty, she was guilty of the same thing. Jomei was understanding at the fact that while he was taking a break from the fighting, Zandra was still fighting for the good of Aincrad and escaping this game. However, they still were in a relationship and planned on getting married, hell, they even lived together and Jomei barely saw her with all of the quests and training. Jomei's face took on a serious expression as he turned to face Teayre. "No. Not now." he said, his voice matching his expression. They would deal with their problems after the meeting, though he wanted to make it a point in his tone of voice that he felt the same way she did. 

Just as Jomei was replying to Zandra, he heard Calrex's voice boom over everyone else, demanding their attention. Jomei's eyes widened and immediately went to Calrex, as if he were a drill instructor and Jomei was his soldier. Jomei had never heard this side of Calrex before, and coming from someone with this much power, it frightened him. The Irishman nodded at Calrex, knowing he did not help to stomp out the Opal situation when it arose, "Sorry Cal."

As if this meeting wasn't being postponed due to interruptions enough, the group received some unexpected visitors. Three people showed up, all standing around Opal. The air seemed to get dense, for the three seemed as though they were up to no good. Immediately, Jomei took a step to the side so he stood slightly in front of Zandra, as his hand rested on his belt near the hilt of his rapier. One of them drugged Opal, and spoke for her, introducing himself as the Leader of Laughing Coffin. And just as quickly as they arrived, they were gone. "What the hell was that?" Jomei said in a soft voice to himself. He relaxed his body and turned to Calrex and Teayre, clearing his throat. "Anyway, I am a DPS as well.. and with my high speed and evasion skills, it could prove handy to avoid enemy attacks, as long as they are not environmental or area attacks. So place me in whichever group you see fit."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur listened, and smiled as everything seemed to work out and they were able to get things back on track. People were stepping forward and volunteering their skill sets, all they needed was Takao to be here to form the strategy for the raid as he had the last couple of boss meetings Baldur had been to. Unfortunately, Tak was not here, and Cal seemed just as surprised as everyone else that he had stepped up and laid down the law for the meeting.

"Well, the way I see it, we're limited by the number of tanks we can field. If Spectrum has Calrex, and the Knights have their tank, then we're limited to 12 players, but we have more people ready to fight than that."

Baldur paused and looked around the groups. Who else could follow up? Cal had stepped into Tristan's shoes as the number one tank, And Xion was probably their number two, so who would become number three?

"Does anyone know of, or have the skills to pinch tank for this fight so we can field a third team? Ideally each party is going to have at least two players who can take a hit in case someone needs to be covered."

He looked around at the assembled players, but they were all DPS with the exception of Zandra who could also fill in for support.

[Oikawa 1]

Having not said anything for the entirety of this whole meeting, the blonde raised a hand from behind the maple-haired samurai and spoke up. "I can pseudo-tank if you need me too. I don't specialize in anything in particular aside from PvP due to my collection of gear. That said, I can use this gear on the boss as well, provided he isn't immune to paralysis and damage over time effects. Aside from that, I am fine with wherever I'm placed whether its the Spectrum group or another. I just want to kill the boss and move on. We've spent far too much time on these lower leveled floors. And I don't know if I'm speaking only for myself here, but I still want to get out of this game. So lets make haste with the rest of this meeting so we can prepare and conquer."

Having said his peace, the blonde leaned back against the tree he was beneath and waited for the meeting to come to a close.

[Heathcliff 0]

Heathcliff was wondering around the 11th floor making sure everything was in order and there was no suspicious activity. He then received a message from the Vanguard Commander Macradon about the next boss raid. It was at that moment when the White-Haired man thought that it would be a good idea to join the raid as the Knights of the Blood Oath hasn't gained any new members as of late. After coming to the decision to appear at the meeting Heathcliff made his way to the center of the town and walked up the teleport gate. Teleport Floor 18. The Commander then made his way to the meeting place. The man looked at the time and figured the meeting was close to being over but he had to stop by regardless.

The Paladin arrived at the location of the meeting and walked towards the group. Sorry I am late folks. I was a bit busy with some inter guild issues. It seems as though we already have a plan of action for the raid. I will try and tank to the best of my ability and give you all time to deal some hefty damage to the boss. The man said to the group as he walked towards those in his guild.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur nodded his head once Heathcliff had showed up and volunteered to tank.

"Excellent. With that we have three tanks and enough to protect all of our teams. The Knights will field two tanks, and the Coalition will field our own as well."

Turning, he gave a humble bow to the guild-leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. He had really only seen the man once, but it appeared was stepping out more after the apparent betrayal of his vice-commander, Opal. It was good to see another active tank, even if it appeared to Baldur that he was mostly untested.

"Now then, before the fight, make sure you know which tank you'll be assigned to. Master Heathcliff, I expect you'll arrange the Knights into a party as you see fit, and pick up the remaining players who don't have a guild tank. If there is a single person who doesn't fit into one of the two Knights groups, I think we can bring one more into ours."

With that, Baldur clapped his hands ritualistically.

"I think that's as productive as we can hope. Please gather together into your parties, and we can close this meeting."

Turning, Baldur walked back over to Calrex, Teayre, and Oikawa. With Takao, wherever he was, that would make 5, giving them room for one more player.

The knights had two tanks, but only enough active raid members to fill a single team, which would mean one of their tanks would be put together with the balance of players. 

[Teayre 0]

Teayre listened with quiet contemplation as several other members of the Spectrum Coalition piped up. One person she didn’t expect to see was Heathcliff. Raising an eyebrow at the commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath. As Baldur clapped his hands together she looked at him, inclining her head. Looking at the three other members of her guild she gave a small sigh. “Calrex, Oikawa, Baldur. I’ll talk to you soon.” Turning Teayre walked away from the group, disappearing into the gloom of the floor. Her feet trudging through the soft mud of the floor. Her hand going to her hip, attempting to grip the muramasa. Letting out a sigh Teayre looked over her shoulder, “Guess I’ll just have to get used to it.” Swallowing the red head knew the next few weeks would be the hardest. Soon though. Soon. As she reached the stairs she descended to the pass in which they had faced Leonidas.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Teayre

[Calrex 0]

With his command apparently being taken, Calrex gave a small sigh as he looked at Opal being carried away by the other members of Laughing Coffin that had showed up. Backing from the center of the group he swiped on his menu, sending out a quick text to see if the white-haired woman had time to chat later on. There were some unclear things he wanted to get answered, but it would have to be after the boss planning was over. 

It seemed from there things began to go smoothly. The others present began to contribute their current build and duties, each of which seemed to fit the bill. With the information Baldur began to give his take on things, defining the makeup of the teams, and Heathcliff's appearance made things a bit easier on that part. It had been a few boss battles since Calrex had seen the guild leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath make his appearance. Being a tank as well, the blunette and he had performed similar duties, but the man's massive level, even eclipsing his own, was something to make note of.

As they began to separate into their groups Calrex noted Teayre's departure, figuring it would be a good time to take his leave. He patted Baldur's shoulder, "Looks like we've got things going well from here, so I'll be heading out as well. Of course, to be safe everyone should have a Safeguard potion on them for this next fight, just like all the other times in the past. Other than that, just let me know if there's anything else I need to take care of. I'll catch you guys later."

Giving a friendly wave of departure the bluenette made his way in the direction of the staircase leading back down to the lower floors.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru breathed and looked around quietly, watching the groups form into their own pacts. He didn't know much from the other guilds, but he knew Most from the Spectrum Corolation, or whatever they were called. He came to the remaining few players that were there and looked down, bowing slightly and looking at Baldur, who seemed to be apart of the guild, in the eyes with a look of pure seriousness

"If it would be alright with you, I want to join your party for this boss fight, if that would be okay with the group." He said with a small sigh. He wasn't one to ask for things, but he knew that if he wanted to be able to fight, he would need to be in a group, and he would feel more comfortable in this group than anything else. For now, he would have to wait and see what the player said, but he hoped that he could be apart of this group and be able to deal as much damage as he could.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked somewhat surprised when Hikoru came up and asked to join the spectrum group for the boss fight. He wasn't quite sure why he was surprised. They were already a coherent group of 5, and they had Calrex already established as their tank. If Baldur were looking to join a group himself, he would want to be in Calrex's party right from the very beginning. Perhaps it was that the Master of Shadows had spoken to him, rather than Calrex who... appeared to be leaving the meeting. He let out an amused breath that rustled his bangs.

"Hey Hikoru. I'm honored that you want to join our party, but are you sure you don't want to be in a group with Ariel?" He looked around at the two couples in the small clearing. He had just assumed that the couples would want to work together. He figured perhaps Xion would tank for the two couples, and that the Knights would have a full team of their own, but that all depended on how they wanted to operate. They were the largest of the guilds, and held the most key pieces of the raid.

"I'll have to talk with the others. I don't know if we're gonna want to try and pick up a support role for our final spot or not. Regardless, it's not my call to make."

He placed a compassionate hand on the man's shoulder, "We will speak about it though, you can be sure."