[PP-F1]<<Blade Of Dreams>>

[Kane 0]

Kane laughed out loud as he saw that gill-man's head fly off. "Nice! You got a pretty good arm, slugger." Running forward, he saw three of the azure monsters bare their fangs, and he charged his blade with a crimson light. <> activated, he whirled his blade like it was made of light and air.

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The blade turned like a vision in red, circling hand over hand in a figure eight. Once, twice the blade slashed the throats of the gill-men, and as the last one went to swipe at his side, Kane's third swipe clotheslined him across the sternum, putting all three down.

[Kane 0]

Kane's die roll: +1 to hit

[Rynn 0]

"Wow" Was about all Rynn could manage to say after Kane downed three more Gillmen with a flurry of swordstrikes that seemed to fast to be real, at least until Rynn reminded herself that technically none of it was real. Still pretty impressive, either way.

There was only a moment of silence after the last of the 5 Gill-men Fell, before Another Five erupted from the water, Screeching and Hissing with Rage. Two of them came at Rynn, spears first. Rynn was able to catch one of the spears with her free hand, bicept straining from the effort as her feet pressed into the sand. These monsters might not be all that bright, but they certainly were plenty strong. Swinging her sword, Rynn Tried to bisect the second Gill-man before he could reach her with his spear.

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Alas, she was just a hairsbredt to slow, and the Gillman Leapt backwards and out of reach, dodging the swords blade. Before Rynn could press the advantage, the Gill-man she'd intercepted tried yanking its weapon back, and she had to redirect her attention there.

[Rynn 0]

<>

[Kane 0]

Kane saw the gill-men emerge hissing from the once-tranquil water, and he turned to engage one of the monsters. It leapt at him, fangs bared wide, and he skipped nimbly backwards, letting it hit the ground in front of him. Delivering a swift kick to the one that had just missed him, Kane saw two more menacing Rynn. Swiftly reaching to the knife belt on his thigh, he hurled a <> dagger at the one whose spear Rynn had been grasping.

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The thin, curved dagger turned end over end as it flew about ten yards away, whirling in a green arc to sink into the monster's back with a SNICKT. Confident that the threat had been neutralized, Kane turned his attention to a gill man who had escaped his attention. It jabbed him with a spear, and he lost a single hit point as its spear point grazed his cheek. "Ack..."

[Kane 0]

Kane die roll. +1

[Rynn 0]

Rynn heard something wizz by her head, followed by a soft, wet thump as a dagger buried itself up to the hilt in the Gill-man that she'd been grappling with. " 'preciate it" She cried over her shoulder, towards Kane. Closing the distance between herself and the Fish that had retreated from her previous attack, Rynn shoulder checked the monster, using her superior size and strength to try and overpower him, before slicing at his exposed torso, hoping to cleve an arm from his shoulder.

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Wailing in agony, the Gill-man Reeled backwords, staggering in pain as it grasped at the stump where its arm used to be, before exploding into shimmering pixels.

[Rynn 0]

<< There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Combat Die Rolls>>

[Kane 0]

Kane focused on the lone gill-man that had nicked him a moment ago. The creature unleashed a ghastly screech, then leapt high into the air, attempting to skewer him. Kane spun to the side, sweeping his blade upwards, attempting to knock the impudent creature from the sky.

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The pale celadon blade chopped first through the short spear, then through the gill-man holding the spear. It went down with a crash and a keening wail, its body shattering as its HP reached zero.

Putting away his blade, Kane saw that the last of the monstrosities had dropped an item bubble. He motioned to Rynn, smiling at the rush of combat. "I think that belongs to you."

[Kane 0]

Dat die roll, though. +1

[Rynn 0]

With the last of the Gill-men dispatched, Rynn turned towards the waters edge and kept her guard raised. One ambush was enough for the day, thank you very much. Despite the physical exertion of battle, her breath was calm and steady. There was a steely look in her eyes and the way she herd herself, like a coiled spring ready to burst into motion. But if you could look behind that, one could tell she seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself. It was only after a few moments had passed that she assumed a more relaxed stance, and let out a breath of relief.

"Gotta hand it to you" She said, approaching the floating sphere while sheathing her blade. "That was a blast" picking up the bubble, it formed into a lump of ore that shimmered in the mid-day sun. The text prompt appeared, certifying that this was indeed the Cerulean Steel. "One part done, one to go."

[Kane 0]

Kane scanned the perimeter of the lake, seeing no more enemies. Seeing that Rynn had sustained no damage in battle, Kane sat down on the vivid green grass, landing with a THUMP that rattled his armor. "Hang on a moment, I need to regain that hit point I lost... this will only take a moment."

Drawing a deep breath in, Kane concentrated, focusing his mind and aligning his avatar's chakras. He began to glow a deep emerald, as his <> skill activated. In a handful of heartbeats, his health would be back at full.

[Rynn 0]

Ryn watched for a moment as Kane began to heal himself. After a few moments, She redirected her attention to the map location that Pepper had marked, on the fifth floor. She tried to chart out a route to take there, but was flummoxed by the many barriers and dangers that stood between their current coordinates and their destination. Also not helping was large sections of her map had yet to be filled in.

Right as Kane finished healing, Rynn decided she was content to let her more experiencedcompanion take the lead. However, right as she was motioning to close the window, she spotted a tab labeled 'friends'. Thinking a moment, she decided to add Kane to such a list. Thankfully, while ill versed in gaming, social media had equipped Rynn with the toolset needed to handle this command prompt without difficulty. "Self healing. Thats a neat trick. Might have to pick it up for myself." She mused, offering a hand to help Kane back up onto his feet. "So, oh wise and fearless leader, how do we get to the 5th floor Ifrits?"

[Kane 0]

Kane finished meditating, the glow fading from around his body. Good as new, he took her outstretched hand and stood, brushing the digital dust from his cloak. Re-arming himself by selecting the <> from his inventory, he felt the now-familiar weight of the blade settle on his shoulders. The weight reminded him that the power to take life was a burden, and a responsibility.

Rynn's comments cast his memory back to the cave under a waterfall where he'd mastered meditation, forcing him to relive his duel in the dark with the shadow clone of himself, formed from his inner darkness. He shuddered as he cast the memory from thought. "It's a neat trick, true. But it came at a cost." Raising a hand to his status window, he accepted her friend request. "Well, it's about a day and a half journey from here to the fifth floor if we make good time, take the fastest routes, and stop at the fourth floor when night falls. We can get there by this time tomorrow, and we'll find a town on floor four that will let us re-stock and prepare for the boss. Any questions?"

[Rynn 0]

Kane's comment about meditation puzzeled Rynn, for a moment. She was curious what price he was refering to, since his expression told her everything she needed to see. Whatever it had cost, Kane certainly still remembered it. However, she elected to let the matter pass without comment. It didn't seem right to go probing into something that might be a bit too personal to share. If Kane ever wanted to talk about it, that was his business afterall.

Reguarding his other comment, Rynn shook her head "Nope...well, maybe one" She smirked "Know any good places to eat on the 4th floor?"

<>

[Kane 0]

<>

The trip up to the fifth floor was a straightforward one. Passing through the various labyrinths that had been mapped on each floor, Kane and Rynn were able to navigate all the way to floor 4 by night fall on the first day with few enemy encounters, and no hostile player interactions. A small lodge on the fourth floor had rooms for the night. To keep their <

> expenses low, Kane let Rynn take the bed, and he slept on a couch in the other half of the room.

Awake and refreshed, Kane re-equipped his armor and his war blade. He made a mental checklist: His breastplate and pauldron were secured, his gauntlets and greaves were in place, his six curved throwing daggers were strapped in (three strapped to his right leg, one in his left boot, and one hidden in each gauntlet), and the <> was polished and honed, ready for action. He stopped on the way out of town, and used some of his funds to buy three potions: Two Medium Health Potions 9(restores 50% max HP) and a Potion of Salamander's Kiss (Resistance to Fire).

As they arrived on the fifth floor, it was clear that there was a section of the floor that was almost volcanic in nature. The area was steeply sloped, like foothills in the mountains, save for the ash covering the ground that choked the life from any green thing that dared to grow there. At the base of what looked to be a dormant volcano, a shallow cave could be seen. Kane was willing to bet from the map marker that this was where the Ifrit would be residing.

"Okay, here's the plan: I'm going to drink my potion, and then engage the Ifrit in combat. While I distract it and draw its fire, see if you can sneak into its lair and harvest some Ebonglass. It'll be growing in crystalline form along the walls. In its raw state, you'll be able to break off pieces easily. You'll need 3 pieces at least, (meaning 3 turns spent harvesting the Ebonglass) so I'll try and keep the boss busy for at least that long. Once you're finished, if I'm still doing okay, you can help me finish it off. If it's gonna kill me, you can help me retreat once we have the glass. Okay?"

[Rynn 0]

Rynn listened to Kane's plan. When he finished, she considered a moment, wanting to pick the best words to express her thoughts on it "Sooo...thats what, two for two now?" She started "I mean, in terms of plans where you do all the heavy lifting, while I stay out of danger for the most part" her tone wasn't mean, or disrespectfully. More like a very mild undercurrent of annoyance. "I'll admit, it was yesterday that I mentioned it, so I'll forgive you if you don't recall, but just to reiterate: I'm not the kind of person who just hangs back and lets others take care of my problems for me." She held her fist up, confidence and determination radiating out from her "If your so sure you can handle this Ifrit guy solo, then we can defiantly take it together. Then, after we've smoked this bastard, we'll have all the time we want to mine up some Ebonglass. Heck, we should grab as much as we can, sell off what we don't need." She said with a cocky smile, before getting a bit more serious "Even if your strong enough to do things by yourself, its better to work as a team. I know your just trying to keep me safe since I'm still new to all this, but I'm never going to get better without taking some risks and entering a real battle."

Drawing her blade, she stood strong and proud, with a smile equal part kindness and unrelenting willpower. "Now, lets kill this bastard, together!"

[Kane 0]

Kane nodded respectfully. "I didn't intend to give offense. You take the lead, I'll back you up. It was arrogant of me to assume you couldn't fend for yourself." He switched his grip on his massive blade, keeping the point held high as he pointed towards the Ifrit's cave. "The monster will be in there, waiting for us. When you attack, I'll attack right after you, and cover your blind spots. Lead on!"

[Rynn 0]

"Now that sounds like a plan" Nodded Rynn, her voice strong with comradery. Acting with just a touch of foresight, Rynn withdrew a torch from her inventory, the oil soaked rag and timber erupting into a low flame as it appeared in her free hand. The cave looked quite dark, and Rynn didn't want to go in to a fight where she was blind. Approaching the cave, blade drawn, Rynn cautiously entered, and scanned all around her, trying to spot something that looked like it might be an Ifrit.

[Kane 0]

Deep in the darkness of the gaping cave, it looked like there were already a few torches lining the back wall. As Rynn and Kane crept closer, however, the "torches seemed to blink... then move! The Ifrit's glowing eyes widened as he spotted the players, and it let loose a mighty howl. The cave was the illuminated clearly by the flames that emerged from the monster's back, revealing the whole battlefield.

The cave itself was around three stories high, with a much taller ceiling than it looked like it had from the outside. The Ifrit was a massive creature, standing around seventeen feet tall, looking what appeared to be a cross between a goat and a jackal in appearance, with fire spewing from a mane on its neck.

(Turn order: Boss, you, me.)(http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/158/ifrit0lx.jpg <--- What Ifrit looks like.)

The Ifrit stood back on its massive hind legs, and roared at the intruders. Galumphing forward, it swiped at Rynn with a massive claw. It barely missed her as its sharp talon rent the air a few inches from her nose.

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HP

Ifrit: 18/18

Kane: 17/17

Rynn: 9/9