(OP-NK-F4) The Frost Bites

[Morgenstern 1]

Jonathan stood on the fourth floor, grinning mischievously. He stood at the most common place on the fourth floor. Frostbite Lake. There had been multiple large player meetings recently, but none had been on his favorite floor. The one where the Frost Bites. He adorned his favorite white Jacket with Gold Trimmings and blue Jeans. His golden sword lay on his back, just because it felt comfortable. He had recently sent out a world message stating that there was going to be an event at frostbite lake, where there was going to be skating, dueling, fun and possibly food. He put possibly because he was not bringing it but somebody else might. He took a deep breath. He was a bit nervous to set something up like this himself, but was happy to be doing it. Let's see if they will come. I am not exactly sure because its on the fourth floor. Jonathan smiled looking at the frozen over lake. He had talked with the NPC and had it decided that they would give out skates for free. For 24 hours. A few hundred yards away were five circles in which the snow was packed down. They were spaced out and 20 yards in diameter which was perfect for a few duels. Jonathan smiled, he was quite impressed with himself. Now, all we need is for people to show up. 

[Beatbox 0]

Floor four... boy did Beatbox like this floor, so much so that Beatbox used to have a shop here, but abandoned it to move to a better location. However today while walking on floor four he had received a message, he read the person who had sent it and grew a little silent. "Jonathan..." he said to himself, as he opened the message, he was hoping it wasn't about him leaving the guild, but instead it was for a party. "Another one...? Well looks like October is Partytober at this rate..." he whispered to himself as he walked toward the area in which the location was at. He was one of the first to arrive, the only person he really saw at the current moment was Morgenstern. With a grin he walked into his visuals and said to him "Hey Jonathan... how are you today...?" he asked of him in almost a nervous tone. He was worried to what he would say to Beatbox.

@Morgenstern

[Bhairyuu 0]

Bhairyuu had once again taken a break from exploring that creepy old castle in the back alleys of the <<Town of Beginnings>> and was now looking something or someone amusing to encounter when he noticed the world message icon light up and a small, red "1" superscript appear over the icon. He opened the world chat, wondering who sent the message and what it could be about at this hour. He read through the brief description the poster had put up and at the end, he sighed as he realized it was by yet another play he did not know in the game

"Geez...just how many players do I not know in this death-game? And what's with this trend of OP gatherings lately...Ah well...fun is fun regardless of the source, I guess...and I shouldn't complain...the host of this new gathering just saved me the royally painful chore of searching for something fun to do...so over to Floor 4 I go..."

With that, he had turned on his heel and walked over to the teleport gate, wondering if his current outfit would be enough to protect him against Floor 4's environment which he had heard was rather cold. Once at the gate, as per the regular routine, he announced in a clear voice

"Teleport! Floor 4!"

A split second after that, Bhairyuu had disappeared in a blinding swirl of bluish-white light and almost the next moment, he appeared in the safe zone of Floor 4. Once there, to his great chagrin, a sudden, unexpected blast of icy-cold air rushed over him, causing him to shiver violently even though he had a full length thick white woolen cloak on. Not wanting to waste any time suffering the bite of the ice-cold wind, Bhairyuu hurried over to the coordinates of the meeting. Once there, he saw a man dressed in jeans and a thick white jacket with gold trimmings, so he walked over to him and once he was within earshot, he called out, his deep voice cutting through the cold air over the lake

"Hello there, I hope you don't mind me joining this soiree...It promised to be quite amusing, so I thought I would come check it out..."

[Teayre 0]

Teayre looks across the ice of Frostbite Lake, her eyes flick to one side the snow where she had duelled X. Her teeth clenched. “If I see him again… I’ll…” Movement over the other side caught her eye as a blond boy started to set about his business. Watching him as the snow drifted down settling smooth, her ears perking up as she heard a few crunching sounds her spotted Beatbox. Lips twitching she remembered the boy from when he had come into her shop a couple of times. Both of them bore the same symbol next to their names. “The Celestial Ascendants… It might be worth keeping an eye on them.” Closing her eyes Teayre saw the symbol next to Hikoru’s name. “So he’s involved with them. Perhaps it’ll be good for them.” Settling down next to the tree the red head leans in resting against it as a wind whips the snowflakes around the lake. One hand was loosely holding onto her weapon, the other curled a piece of hair over and over again. “What will happen? I wonder if they see me…”

[Aereth 1]

"The message said possibly food so I guess he didn't bring some." Aereth thought while he was making his way over to Frostbite Lake. Some minutes before, he read a message from his guildmate Jonathan, that he wants to have a good time chilling, dueling and skating. So Aereth decided to get some sandwiches and drinks for the party.

As he reached Frostbite Lake he could already see that Jonathan, Beatbox, and another guy he didn't know were already there. He decided to head over to them, but as he passed a tree he saw a red-headed girl sitting next to it. He didn't know her either, but it looked like she was observing the party. "Hi, the name is Aereth. Don't you want to come over to the party? There are better places to rest than on the ice cold ground, you know." He asked the unknown girl.

@Teayre

[Opal 0]

Opal had been in her casual attire when she got the message on floor four. There was a thick smile on her face, she enjoyed the colder floors much more so than the dry and humid ones and especially more so than floor five of the desert. She had been settled in her long black turtleneck sweater, a pair of tight black jeans and some boots. The rest of her body was adorned with small bits of jewelery which served no other purpose than looking pretty. However, she spotted several individuals coming together already. 

Giving a mischievous chuckle, Opal scooped up a handful of the fresh powder and packed it tight into a ball. Her smile never ending as she chose her target, anyone would do of course but who. The faces were unfamiliar, which meant she didn't know most of these people. She took in a small breath and held it in as she narrowed her eyes, her <Reveal> skill activating to get a better look at the players and then she launched her <Snow Ball> at @Bhairyuu, hitting him square in the back of the head. She laughed lightly to herself and scooped up another mound of it, packed it up and launched another <Snow Ball> @Beatbox. 

"You boys look like you are having too much fun standing around to be target practice." The woman scooped up another handful and packed it up tight, "Who wants to start up a snowball fight?" She continued packing snowballs in her little space as she eyed the two men and the others, "If you don't wanna play..." she narrowed her eyes slightly, "I'd advise you move out of the way..." Her grin stretched ear to ear as she got ready to launch another <Snow Ball>

[Morgenstern 1]

Jonathan turned as he heard a familiar voice. One of which was owned by a member of his guild. (Jonathan does not know yet.... Going to remain that way) He smiled at the man. Hey man! Doing Great, I decided to actually throw an event. It seems to brighten everyone's spirits. Jonathan frowned as he noticed the man's expression and the sound of nervousness of his voice. You okay man? Jonathan turned as he heard a voice. This one was unfamiliar. Another man had arrived, and wished to join. Sure! The party is for everyone man. He seen a red headed woman leaning against a tree who seemed to be observing them. The unnerving thing was that her cursor was orange. Jonathan grimaced. He knew not all Orange Players would usually do such a thing, but he did not know this character. Then behind him, once again another voice appeared. Jonathan smiled as he turned. This one was also familiar. Jonathan smiled. They were beginning to start to have some players. Hopefully there would be a few more Frontliners. It was one of his things to do today. He wished to make himself familiar with a few frontliners, because he was nearing being a frontliner. He heard the sound of an impact and noticed Beatbox had been hit by a snowbball. Jonathan smiled, This is War! He grabbed a snowball and chucked it @Opal Take that!

[Gotz 0]

Winter is probably my favorite season of all time. The whiteness of the snow looks so appealing to my eyes and I had many happy memories of winter and Christmas during my years in Akihabara. As I get a message that invites everyone to Floor 4, I decide to go there just to waddle myself against the snow. 

For warmth measures, I want to buy some winter clothes for the trip. However, Sri Rama insists that I should receive total warmth from him instead. I ask him how he can do so, and he says that it can be done by merely blowing hot wind towards me. I even remark that this is quite contradictory to his statement about his refusal to use psychic powers, but he makes himself clear that he only uses them for good, non-offensive benefits, and nothing else. 

I am thankful that I do not even need to go through that f**king forest to go to the next floor. It doesn't take long to arrive at the snowy fields and head to the location of the gathering as marked by the invitation.

As I arrive, I immediately recognize Beatbox and Teayre from a distance. The party doesn't seem to start, but at least I can enjoy the quietness for a while. Sri Rama phases out of my breastplate and looks around his surroundings in delight.

"It has been great years since I experience the breeze of the snow. Ramayanas do not often visit here, as there is no valuable resource or land to take over. Even the snow covered grounds would hinder our shadows from their surface."

[Bhairyuu 0]

Bhairyuu had been observing all the other people slowly filing in and gathering and was in the process of looking any amusing ones to interact with when he was abruptly pulled out of his reveries by the all too familiar feel of an ice cold mass against the back of his head, in other words a <<Snow Ball>> that someone had apparent chucked at him when his guard was down. Shivering as the cold snow slid down his outfit, he turned about on his heel to see just who it was that had thrown the snow-ball at him and to his surprise, it was a woman whom he had seen only once before a while back at another party. As he heard her warning, he chuckled, his deep voice echoing through the ice-cold air

"Opal, was it? Well well, if you want a snow-ball fight, then bring it on!"

With that, he knelt down, quickly formed a few roughly round balls of packed snow and threw them at  @Opal with a slight smirk on his thin lips and waited to see if they would hit their target.

[Opal 0]

She let out a small, girlish noise emit from her mouth as she attempted to dodge the oncoming blitz from the two players. One ball had smacked her right into her bosom, which made her even colder than she already was, the next flew right by her cheek grazing her skin enough to feel the chunks of snow give way. "Two against one? And against a woman? Have you no decency?" The woman had a small pile of the snow globes gathered around and chucked another one at both @Morgenstern and @Bhairyuu. Her fingers were tingly and cold from the sensation of running them through the cold snow, but she was close from being numb in the joints. 

Opal had taken refuge behind a tree after her last two lobs towards the male players. However, she wouldn't count out their lack of accuracy for much. She would be open for attack as soon as she was spotted coming out and lobbing a few extra snow balls. Of course, there didn't seem to be too many enjoying her idea. Getting the idea, she ended up deciding to launch as many <Snow Balls> as possible at everyone in the vicinity and hope to get them into the game as well. Nothing like some down time before  Boss Raid, and nothing like feeling like a kid again. 

 

[Bhairyuu 0]

Bhairyuu was chuckling as he was busy dodging the other snowballs being thrown about by the players gathered on the shore of the lake, but unfortunately for him, the one that had just been thrown at him by Opal happened to catch him between his legs, causing him to shiver violently and grasp his nether-regions with his teeth chattering due to the sudden cooling effect, giving him quite the comical appearance. He shook his fist at Opal, calling out

"Oi Opal...h-have s-some mercy on me...o-one more h-hit like that and I-I will end up with h-hypoxic nether-regions..."

Regardless of his uncomfortable nether-regions, Bhairyuu knelt down to gather some more snow, formed it into about 5 <<Snow-Balls>> this time and hurled them at Opal wth his teeth still chattering and his body shivering. Sadly, his throw was not as good as last time and so he did not really expect any of the balls to smack into Opal as he flung them quite awkwardly.

[Fate 0]

For a player literally just starting out, Ken had managed to find himself in this snowy wonderland that was the 4th floor. He had heard rumors of a supposed party of sorts where there would be people and food. He mostly here for the food. Actually, he was only here for the food. Bread and Water can only last for so long before it become monotonous  and boring. This was a chance to eat something else, and from the looks of it, it was going to be free.

As he took his first steps outside the town gates, a frosty breeze blew by. Snow silently fell to the ground as he trudged through the snow in his beginner armor and clothing. He had no cloak or coat of sorts to keep him warm, but the thought of free food that was different from bread kept him going. As he finally made it to the lake, he began to see more people coming in. A lot of them to be in the higher levels of the game, but that didn't bother him one bit. He knew the feeling of being different from everyone else. If you got it flaunt it. Well, maybe not the latter. That was far from his character. For ken, it would be more of "If you got it, keep it hidden cause no one gives a f***"

Once he got closer to the party, he made sure to avoid the high leveled players. He was not in their league, and he honestly didn't want to bother them with his noobie self. Instead, he made sure to keep to himself, while casually searching for the supposed "food."

Edited October 27, 2016 by Fate

[Gotz 0]

As I am about to don the first part of my plate armor, Sri Rama speaks out: "Why are you wearing armor in a peaceful gathering? Will there be a duel here, Gotz?"

I shake my head as I never really want to engage in duels right now. But this doesn't detract Sri Rama from talking to me. 

"You know, you already receive my hot wind. Are you not here to enjoy the snow?"

That last sentence makes me stop my attempt to wear my sabatons. And soon I question myself, even though I only want to enjoy the snow, why am I still donning my armor? Sri Rama glides around me, looking at the other players as I get onto my feet.

"It will be pointless to wear armor since there are no visible threats. Unless...you are doing so to hide yourself from the others, Gotz?"

"No." I shake my head and try to shift the nature of the topic. "Let us find somewhere open and wide to make snow angels on the ground."

"Snow angels?" asks Sri Rama. "Are they a holy entity?"

"Nah...it is a reference to an action that involves moving your limbs at horizontal directions across the snow. It feels pleasing to do such a thing in my opinion."

Sri Rama moves his arm in a way that he seems to understand my explanation. We walk past some of the players and the tables to see a lone, large tree that bears snowy leaves.

[Morgenstern 1]

Jonathan watched as his snowball flew at the girl, and she made a female squeal as she ran behind a tree. Jonathan smiled. She spoke of two against one, and chucked a few snowballs in there way. Jonathan smiled, dodging the balls of snow. The man to his right chucked another one, but threw them awkwardly due to his shivering. Don't like the cold? Jonathan chucked another one @Opal and then veered hard right and threw one hard at @Bhairyuu. As he did, he activated a skill increasing the speed and impact of the snowball making it impossible to dodge. Jonathan laughed as the snowball hit the man hard in the chest. Jonathan smiled readying himself. Now he had two going against him. That man said Opal. I believe Itzal said something about her, and the I have seen them talking before. According to Itzal, she is a high leveled Frontliner. As Jonathan began to falter back from the battle, trying to remain out of range, he seen another player. He wore starting clothes. He seemed to be looking for something in a dreamy state. Jonathan smiled and chucked another snowball, this time at @Fate. 

[Opal 0]

There was a blank expression on Opal's face when she heard the roaring of the random player. She did not think her aim was so good as to soak his mid section like that. Her facial expression elated and changed into a mischievous kitty when she was hit with another barrage of snow balls. With the fresh powder staining her clothes, the woman took a moment to hide behind her little tree and brush off the coldness. Her fingers felt raw and numb from the constant brushing of the snow from her body, and she too was starting to feel the effects of dampness against her skin. Shivering lightly, the woman dropped down to the ground where she was. Her expression changed into one of silence as drove her body into the shadows of the massive snow mounds that were created from the lofty flakes. 

In her stealth prowling ninja cat like pose, the woman moved like that of a panther as she ducked and weaved into the shadows. She would get payback on that man who had yawped at her. She was gathering snow in her hands and knew just the way to get him back. Oh yes, if she would not be seen, she would pounce on her victim and stuff as much snow in his face as possible until he screamed she was the Master Snowballer (ahem). Therefore, Opal stayed to the shadows as she rounded the corners of the snow mounds keeping her body out of sight. With the lack of snow balls being tossed, perhaps they would think she had given up on them both. 

--

Notes: Opal is stealthed: LD: 20+ (Since she is wearing black I wont take the full stealth bonus). If after a round, no one spots Opal, she will pounce on @Bhairyuu and dump a ton of snow on him. 

[Bhairyuu 0]

Bhairyuu was about to continue yammering at Opal when all of a sudden he noticed she had vanshed from view...or rather, she had gone into hiding again. Bhairyuu knew that his <<Search & Detect>> skill was nowhere near high enough to detect Opal whom he surmised had to have a pretty high <<Sneak & Hide>> skill level to be able to apparently vanish among the many large piles of snow like that, so he did not bother trying to look for her since he figured he would probably fail and end up looking like a total doofus in front of all the rest of the group that had gathered there. Thinking thus, he sighed and started to make more <<Snow Balls>> so that he could retaliate at least a little and catch Opal with a flurry of the cold white orbs of snow once she stopped hiding and enacted whatever diabolical plan she was cooking up. After he had finished making about 10 of the <<Snow Balls>>, Bhairyuu stood up again and called out as if looking for a lost cat

"Here...kitty, kitty...come out come out wherever you are...let's continue playing...here...kitty, kitty..."

After that he waited patiently for Opal to show herself so that he could set his own plan into motion, wondering all the while what she was cooking up in that naughty mind of hers.

[Khrysaor 0]

Khrysaor had decided on a whim that he wanted to walk around in a colder climate, so he headed up to one of the only floors he knew where he could enjoy the winter. As he walked around at a lazy pace, he observed all that was happening around him.

Khrysaor noticed something small, and white flying through the air in his direction, out of the corners of his eyes. This in turn, made him turn his head in the direction and he squinted his eyes to see what was coming at him. As he watched on, he thought with a sigh, 'That is heading in my direction, what a drag, now I have to get out of the way of its path,' and Khrysaor quickly side-stepped towards his right. Just as he dodged the ball of snow hit the spot he was in before.

He looked around for the source of the snowball and a few seconds later he noticed a few players out in the distance making snow balls and throwing them around at everyone. 'Guess it must have been one of the stray snow balls that was thrown in my direction. It looks like it is the perfect way to amuse myself with for the time being.' was thinking Khrysaor.

With that decided he slowly made his way towards the group, all the while weaving through a line of trees, hoping no one spotted his approach. As he got closer to the group, he stopped behind one tree, and started to make a small pile of <<Snow Balls>>, hoping that no one spotted him getting closer.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Khrysaor

[Gotz 0]

"Gotz, do you want to build a snow sculpture with me?", asks Sri Rama as he already gathers a pile of snow from the ground with his telekenesis. 

Snow sculpture sounds like fun to my ears, but it looks hard to carve out even a decent shape as far as I can remember. Luckily, I can have Sri Rama to help me on sculpting a lion's head, which he wants to do in his personal opinion. So we set to work, and throughout the process we try our best to not let our hands freeze beneath the cold snow. 

It takes us around minutes to get the work done, and I have to constantly watch out for any stray snowballs that might hit our sculpture. As I am getting a little better at sculpting, Sri Rama let me carve any finishing touches onto the lion's head. 

The result is better than we expected. The lion tilts his head upwards, roaring majestically while bearing its sharp, large fangs. Its eyes are ferocious, for they clearly show his total anger of whatever cause him to be so. I end up sitting in front of the sculpture as Sri Rama hovers over my shoulder.

[Morgenstern 1]

Jonathan ducked and grabbed a snowball. He would sneak up on the woman. He moved to the tree but did not find her there. Where did she go? He surveyed the area but did not catch sight of the woman. The other man was looking for her as well and was calling her kitty. Do perhaps they know eachother? Or is that actually her username? Jonathan sighed. Not as many people that he expected showing up. I wanted to be able to meet some of the frontliners" , he muttered to himself. What did Rin do to bring so many people to her party. Jonathan looked around seeing what appeared to be two players making a snow sculpture in the distance. Is he even here for the party or? Jonathan sighed. It did not matter. To be able to meet frontliners he would actually have to move to the frontlines. Its not like I won't meet them eventually. The celestial Ascendants have begun to be noticed by many players. You can not hide forever! My Snowballs will melt before you get away, and the game does not allow them to melt! 

OOC Not even going to try @Opal

[Opal 0]

"Is he seriously calling me a Kitty?" Opal thought underneath a large snow mound. Her hands were cold and she was nearly chattering her teeth as a strong gust of wind and snowflakes blew past her. She knew how to warm things up however. Her eyes were set on @Bhairyuu, the player calling her out as she sat there for a moment. When his back was turned...She began her slow jog, then she burst into speed with her <Charge>. With a 'meow' she jumped from a distance towards him. Both her legs were bent back as her body fell ontop of him and straddled his down like a bull at a rodeo. Her black lips curled then she began to shovel snow into his face. 

"Hahaha! I got-chu! Now you gotta say that I am the Greatest Snow-Baller ever! Say it loud so everyone can hear you..." the woman placed both hands down on his chest and looked around, the others were not too far off. She could easily be pelted by snowballs if they wanted to take her down. Her violet eyes narrowed, and her plump black lips curved into a grin. 

"I got your buddy here as a hostage," Opal was breathing pretty heavily at this point, her busty chest going up and down as she looked down @Bhairyuu, she gave him a small grin, "Keep your hands where I can see them, Buddy. Just because I am on top does not mean this is any kind of foreplay." The woman shot her head around and slowly got back to her feet but she kept a boot on his chest, "Which one of you brave soldier boys wants to rescue this poor soul? He is my prisoner and I get to do anything I want with him." Her lips curled into a smile again as she beamed down at him, "Anything I want." before her eyes flicked back at the others. 

"Unless someone wants to take his place. How about you? Pretty boy with the blonde hair?" Opal laughed smearing the frosted snowflakes from her face with the back of her sleeve. She wondered how far she could take this little game without it becoming too serious. Did they even know who she was?