[PP-NK-F10] <<Wail of the Banshee>>

[Teion 0]

Spoiler

<<Wail of the Banshee>>

This quest takes place on Floor 10
This quest is repeatable for the item only
This RP does not count towards the Benchmark

 

 

Those who venture near Tartarus say they hear an unholy wailing. If they linger too long, that wailing becomes louder, many flee before the sound reaches them. Those foolish enough to stay encounter a deadly fate!

As you wander the tenth floor you hear more and more rumors of this. A suspicious old lady with wry black hair, who wears a dirty, silk night gown approaches you, she speaks in a very distressed voice as she almost pleads with you. She asks you to get rid of the banshee, for the banshee has killed her husband. Should you accept she promises a great reward and shows you a large bag containing 10,000 col. She states she no longer needs it for without her husband there is little to life. So you accept...

 

 

 

Requirements:
-Players go out in search of the <<Banshee Lair>> within Tartarus; a rundown jail-like building on the 10^th floor. they must RP searching for it in each post, whilst rolling a Loot Dice. To successfully find the cave; players must roll a LD of 15 or higher.
-Banshee has two undead guardian zombies per players present. (If there are two players she has 4 guardians)
- Banshee and her guardians must be defeated
-Upon defeating the Banshee you discover that the Banshee is the old lady, and there is no Col reward.
-At least two [2] FULL Pages (41 posts or more)

 

Rewards:

1. Bottled Banshee Scream: A Potion that when used on Weapon adds Paralyze to it for the duration of the battle: If you rolled a 9 -10 Enemy is paralyzed on their next turn.
2. 2 Skill Points

 

<Undead Guardian Zombies> is a Field Mini Boss and has the following statistics:
Health: 40 HP
Damage per Attack: 120
+15 Damage Mitigation

 

 

<Banshee> is a Field Boss and has the following statistics:
Health: 250 HP
+2 Evasion

Damage per Attack: 200
Banshee ignores armor mitigation on a natural roll of 9-10
-Banshee's Screech: On a natural roll of 10 she will add a scream to her attack that will paralyze all players present for 1 turn.

Parties or Groups of low level players are advised.
Recommended Level: 25

A gloved hand hovered in front of Teion's mouth as a yawn escaped the woman. There was no telling whether the sun had set or not by now, and she hadn't the motivation to open her menus to check the time. A quick glance upward from the stone bench she rested on awarded little more than the sight of the cavern ceiling. As her hand fell back to the surface beneath her, Teion leaned back onto her arms and felt a frown make its way to her features. She had taken up the habit of "exploring" in her free time, making it a point to visit any floors up to the twentieth that she hadn't before. In this case, "exploring" meant hanging around in the main settlement of a floor and occasionally poking around for a reasonable job or quest.

A lazy swipe of her hand brought up Teion's menus, allowing the woman to scroll through her options and pull up her friends list. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if having second thoughts on the idea that had crawled into her mind. Mentally shrugging off the doubt, the blacksmith pressed another option to open up a messaging interface.

'Do you know of any good quests on the tenth floor?
-Teion'

As she sent the message off, she dismissed her user interface and crossed one leg over the other, leaning back once more before letting her mind wander.

@Shield

[Shield 0]

The shop, while having been abuzz the previous day in the celebrations of maxing out his profession and appraising the various quest items from the Child of Rohk quest, was a ghost town today. Much of this was likely due to having closed the shop in the morning to clean, but as his message indicator sounded and he saw the nature of the message, he went ahead and locked up his shop before heading out for Taft. As he wandered, he looked through the tenth floor postings, seeing some details about a rich reward for the quest that took place in the prison called "Tartarus."

A location secured, he set about sending Teion a reply, mentioning the location where they were to meet and that there was a five figure Col reward. His research had taken him some time, so fortunately, by the time he had sent the message, Taft was already looming at him through the trees.

Spoiler

ID# 82473 results: Loot: 18 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 23 - +1 T2 Material (1 total)

On his way into town, he spotted a small patch of iridescent mushrooms, the center one seeming to be displayed with a certain prominence. Tapping the object, a menu appeared, denoting that it was indeed a collectible item, which he happily stored away.

Once he had reached the plaza, he stepped hurriedly into the departure pad.

"Floor ten!"

Finding Tartarus proved simpler than he had hoped, considering that the floor was often thought of as a labyrinth in its own rights. Still, he was sure that the quest inside of the prison would involve plenty of exploring and dead ends along the way. He sat himself down by the gate, keeping his eye out for @Teion.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

"Ah." The sharp pinging sound of a notification rang in her ears. The woman went through the same motions, opening up her menus, navigating to her messages, and opening up the reply from the brunette tank. "Hmm." She mused for a moment before dismissing the interface and pushing herself up to a standing position. Teion gave her arms and legs a stretch before heading off to the safe zone's border. The man's message was straightforward enough, and with the expensive cost of player housing still fresh in her mind, a quest with an impressive col reward sounded right up her alley.

She didn't think it had taken her long to reach the designated meeting spot, although when she spotted Shield sitting by the gate she wondered just how long he had been there waiting on her. The woman scanned the massive structure she had approached--what seemed like a prison building that looked even older and more worn-down than most of the cavernous floor. The blacksmith held up a hand for a moment in casual greeting. "Hey." She said simply, coming to a stop with a few paces left between the two players. The woman shifted her weight, cobalt eyes scanning across the building before them once again. "So, it's in here?"

[Shield 0]

"Supposed-"

Before he could get the word out there came a shriek from behind him, he flinched, clasping his hands over his ears as the intensity of the words physically shook the inner workings of his ears. He spun around to see the source of the noise.

"BEWARE!" crowed a bent, semi toothless woman in a tattered shawl. She was stooped with age, though aside from her lack of teeth and her long, protruding nose, not much else was visible beneath the hood. "In that prison is the harpy who killed my husband! A banshee! And a ruddy awful one at that!"

Shield used a finger to try to clear out his protesting ear canal and shook his head.

"I'm sure there is, ma'am, and for all I know, she screamed and killed half of the players in Aincrad when you yelled a moment ago," he groused. She was clearly an NPC, or he might have gone to greater lengths to be polite, but that shout had put him on edge, to say the least.

"I'll offer you 10,000 Col if you can exact my revenge," she croaked, holding up a bag that sagged under the weight of the coins within. A quest invitation sprang up in front of him titled <Wail of the Banshee>. He nodded and tapped the button to accept.

"I guess this is the place."

@Teion

[Teion 0]

Just as Shield was startled by the screeching sound in the distance, Teion winced and brought her hands up to her own ears. "Augh!" The woman growled with a furrowed brow. What could only be politely described as an unkempt-looking old woman hobbled towards them, addressing Shield with her plight. Teion maintained a look of annoyance even after slowly bringing her hands back to her sides.

With not-so-pleasantries and quest acceptance out of the way, Teion followed Shield's lead as they approached closer to the entrance of Tartarus. "If that's the quest giver, I can't wait to see what we find in there." She grumbled, still a bit irritated at the earlier exchange.

Though crossing the distance between their meeting place outside the main gate and the actual entrance to the decrepit prison building was rather short, a glitter of light caught the blacksmith's attention. Taking a couple of steps to the side, she quickly unearthed a fragment of crystal, identifying the item as a material and depositing it into her inventory.

@Shield

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 82526
  • LD: 18 + (2 Skill) + (3 Equipment) = 23 - Success!
     
• Teion: (1) T1 crafting material

 

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82528 results: Loot: 19 + 3 LD item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 24 - Cave found!

"Well, it looks like we have some searching ahead of us," Shield said, looking at the expansive prison that stretched out on either side for a considerable distance before turning his eyes to his HUD where he now pulled up the quest information. "If the details here are to be believed, we need to search the prison to find a cave entrance that will lead us to where we need to go."

He stepped over to the wrought iron gate that stood outside of the prison yard, pushing against the bars. The gate swung inward on loud, creaking hinges. Stepping carefully, he picked his way to the building and began working his way through the various halls, trying to be consistent and always explore with his hand on the right wall, so even if they hit dead ends, they would always be exploring new stretches of wall and wouldn't miss the door.

He bypassed cell after empty cell, each one telling a different little story of the prisoners that had supposedly been kept inside Some had died, some seemed to have escaped, and some . As they passed by one in particular, he saw light that seemed to seep out from the corners and seams in the masonry. Pushing his way inside of the cell, which consisted mainly of pushing down the rusted gate that fell entirely off its hinges at his touch. Stepping inside and crouching low, he touched the masonry which slid aside entirely under the bench of the prison cell, exposing a hidden passage.

"I think we just found our way."

@Teion

Edited April 17, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

"Hmm," Teion mumbled after Shield's explanation of the quest. Sounded simple enough. She assumed there would be plenty of undead things to fight inside; at the very least, this banshee the old woman was going on about was probably going to be a decent fight.

The woman had pulled her weapon from behind her, brandishing her new scythe for the first time. It seemed only appropriate that Tartarus was the first place she was bringing it into combat--perhaps the only better floor to debut the weapon would be on the thirteenth. Keeping the blade at the ready in front of her, she let Shield take the lead while they explored the winding corridors within. The woman kept on eye on the passageways behind them as they traveled past several prison cells. Teion hadn't expected him to enter any of them, so as he did the blacksmith stopped and waited cautiously at the rusted cell door.

His words caught her ear in the otherwise silence that loomed over them, causing Teion to glance over her shoulder at the man and the hole in the wall beside him. She frowned, doubting for a moment that they had found the right place. "They could at least give us a proper door." The woman grumbled with half-sarcasm.

She allowed herself to step inside of the musty cell, her eye catching on a piece of cracked bone that lay on the floor. As she stared a moment, the system identified the item to her as a craftable material and allowing her to add it to her inventory. "So, you want to go first?" She had considered taking the lead for only a fleeting moment before the thought of the banshee laying in wait on the other side of the wall dismissed the idea.

@Shield

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 82571
  • LD: 10 + (2 Skill) + (3 Equipment) = 15 - Success!
     
• Teion: (2) T1 crafting materials

 

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82573 results: Loot: 10 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 15 - +1 Material (1 total)

Shield nodded, and as he knelt down to make his way through the small opening, one of the bones near his hand caught his eye. Much like the one Teion had collected, it too bore an item tag. Assuming it to be a reagent to be used in alchemy, he tapped the item and stashed it in his inventory. With that, he slipped into the passageway on the other side of the brickwork wall.

When the brokers had used the word "cave," Shield had not pictured something quite so dismal, but then again, on this floor, he should have known not to expect anything otherwise. There was no light except that which came from through the open doorway behind them, if it could be called a door. The tunnel was low so that he had to stoop to walk comfortably through it. Furthermore, the ground was uneven and littered with fist-sized chunks of stone that seemed to have fallen loose from the ceiling. 

"Sure know how to make someone feel welcome, don't they?" he mumbled to Teion, though even this subdued noise echoes crisply down the long, stone passage. "Do you have any light?"

@Teion

Edited April 17, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

Teion inhaled through her nose, holding her breath a few moments as she dismissed her weapon. It would only get in the way trying to navigate such a small passage. Lowering herself to the ground, the woman slowly followed after the brunette.

'Oh god...' Emerging on the other side of the wall, Teion's hands brushed against the rocky surface behind her as she hesitantly stood up straight. While small spaces gave her a general discomfort--as much as anyone else, she imagined--complete darkness was another thing. The sound of Shield's voice reminded her of his presence, and at the mention of light the woman tried to think if anything in her inventory might do the trick. After a few moments of silence, Teion gave a small shake of her head. Realizing a second later that he probably hadn't seen the motion, she reached behind her and pulled her weapon forward once more. "Just this..." A handful of light blue gemstones placed along her weapon would occasionally emit a soft glow, but it was hardly a reliable light source. Not only was the bit of light it provided rather dim, but they would go out for a few seconds every so often. Still, Teion held the item tightly, allowing it to give her what little comfort it did.

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 82579
  • LD: 2 + (2 Skill) + (3 Equipment) = 7 - Fail!
     
• Teion: (2) T1 crafting materials

 

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82589 results: Loot: 4 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item -1 darkness = 8 - No Materials (1 total)

"It's a lot better than darkness," Shield said, giving a nod in the midst of one of the dim flashes of light. He placed his hand on the wall, using it for both stability and guidance as he made his way down the impossibly dark passage. "Total cave darkness," he said aloud, his words soft but still carrying  clearly for some distance up the passage from the tight acoustics. "That's what they call this. No way for outside light to penetrate, so it really is a complete absence of light. A person would go blind eventually without a light source."

His footsteps and the grinding of the occasional stone under his heel would echo crisply down the narrow passage, almost sounding like a slight reverberation rather than a proper echo due to the close proximity.

"You doing alright back there?" he asked quietly, trying to keep his ears sharp and forward. He had never had a reason to doubt Teion's resolve, but this was unusual territory. Not everyone had the stomach for it.

@Teion

Edited April 18, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

Teion's grip around the charcoal handle of her weapon was nearly tighter than it ever had been. She held the scythe in her left hand, with the other pressed against the cavern's wall to guide her. She was thankful for the occasional glow of the crystals hovering in front of her; even if it wasn't much, the soft light was comforting. 'Better than nothing.' The woman found her footsteps hesitating each time the blue light disappeared, but pushed herself forward without waiting for the minuscule light to return.

Shield's words did well to remind her of the man's presence, which quelled her anxiety a bit further. "Y-yeah." The word got caught in her throat, and she felt a brief annoyance toward herself as a result. She spent a few moments trying to think of something else to say, leaving them in eerie silence in the interim. "Is...your turtle okay?" Her voice left her in little more than a whisper before the cave carried it away. Her question was hesitant, this time because she was well aware of how forced her side of the conversation sounded.

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82653 results: Loot: 17 + 5 -1 (darkness) = 21 - +1 Materials (2 total)

The hitch in Teion's response was not lost on Shield, but he decided it would be best to not draw attention to it. Her question regarding Norbert however was much easier to address.

"Is Norbert ever okay?" he answered back, the rhetorical nature of the question evident even without the visual cues of a properly lit face to face conversation. As if to punctuate his sentiment, Norbert chose that moment to let out a small audible grumble. Whether he knew he was being talked about was unclear, but Shield had long since dismissed any hopes of intelligent communication with the beast.

As they walked, Shield's foot nudged something that by its sound and feel were softer than a stone. While he normally wouldn't have stopped, his earring had chosen that moment to light, indicating whatever it was may be of value. He spotted a mushroom in the dim golden glow, but instead of storing it, he picked it up and kept it out in the open, allowing his earring to continue shedding light on the passage around them.

"That's a little better."

Edited April 18, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

Shield's reply, followed by the timely grunt of the familiar in question, caused the corners of Teion's lips to pull upwards just slightly. Not much later, her eyes were pulled over to a new light source. She had seen the glowing earring that Shield wore before, but had never considered it would be useful in a situation like this. "Heh," The woman let out a half-hearted chuckle. "That's clever."

She wasn't sure how long they had been walking, but then again she could tell her footsteps had been much shorter and slower than they typically would be in favor of balance and caution. Another minute or two passed uneventfully, and it wasn't until the soft blue glow of her scythe's gemstones pulsed again that the woman stopped short, the soles of her boots skidding against the rocky cavern floor. She only had to reach her hand out about a foot in front of her before her gloved fingertips pressed against musty wood. She glanced over to Shield, or at least at his position from the soft glow of his earring, before holding her weapon close to the structure. "A door?" She breathed out, eyebrows narrowed as she strained to perceive the object. "Think our banshee's hiding behind here?"

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82682 results: Loot: 8 + 5 -1 = 12 - No Materials (2 total)

Shield nodded, acknowledging Teion's guess, as he had made the same assumption. He pushed against the door which swung slowly inward with a loud creak, the high pitched sound echoed down the corridor as light spilled through the gaps. It was fairly dim, but after adjusting to the complete darkness, it was enough to make the backs of his eyeballs ache.

As his vision compensated for the new sources of light, a large entry way came into view, as that of a once grand mansion. However, with cobwebs strung from every surface to every other surface, it definitely painted the picture of a room undisturbed since time out of mind. Above them, a usty crystal chandelier cast an even glow across the room that, after adjusting, was mild to the eye.

"Geez, that burned for a second," he hissed, rubbing the corner of his eyes before storing away the mushroom.

@Teion

Edited April 19, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

The faint source of light washed over Teion along with a sense of relief. Anything was better than that pitch-black tunnel, and she nearly shuddered at the thought of having to go back the way they came to get back to town. Pushing the thought from her mind, the blacksmith's eyes traveled across the room before them, squinting as her sight took a moment to readjust as well. "How... Are we underground?" She spoke softly, wondering aloud. From the outside, she hadn't the slightest memory of a building like this near the prison, but then again she hadn't bother inspecting around the premises before they entered. She gave a small shake of her head as if to dismiss her scattered thoughts. As strange as the journey had been, she should be concerning herself with their objective, not analyzing the layout of the area.

"Well," The woman lowered her weapon but kept cautious hold of it. "wonder if there's any good loot in an old, abandoned mansion?" She gave the brunette a sideways glance.

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82802 results: Loot: 2 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 7 - No Materials (2 total)

"It's the tenth floor," he marveled to himself in response to Teion's question. "Everything is underground. If this is a mansion, it has to have been built underground, just like the prison."

He proceeded cautiously, his legs and arms slowly turning into cotton candy as he waded through a sea of cobwebs. It was times like this that he was grateful that he did not have crippling arachnophobia.

This must be nightmare fuel for anyone who does. I wonder if it's like this for everyone or if we just rolled the cob-webby, underground mansion version of this quest.

In the distance, he could make out the very beginnings of a shrill, muffled voice. Likely hidden behind multiple layers of wall and doors. It was hard to say if it was simply the ambiance of the quest or if that was the banshee herself they were hearing.

"Do you hear that?"

Edited April 19, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

"Mm..." Teion mumbled an acknowledgement as she finished wrapping her head around the floor's design. She took a few steps forward, her head swiveling slowly as she took in their surroundings and watched for anything out of the ordinary. As no monsters fell from the ceiling or crawled out from behind the peeling wallpaper, the woman relaxed just a bit and began looking to the walls and floors for clues of their next objective.

"Ah," The sound escaped her as her gaze locked on to a piece of silk cloth. Whether it was her luck enhancements or search skill, something led her to believe the scrap of cloth was worth taking. The article in question was held in place against a wall by the tip of a spear, the wooden handle of the weapon appearing as though it had been snapped off at some point. Stepping carefully so as not to put her boot through a hole in the decaying wooden planks of the floor below, Teion walked over to the item, pulling the spearhead away and tossing it to the floor. She inspected the section of fabric, obviously torn away from a larger garment, but her display still identified the item as a crafting material, presumably for tailors. Satisfied with her find, Teion deposited the item into her inventory.

She turned her shoulders towards Shield as he mentioned a sound. Her eyebrows narrowed slightly as her eyes drifted to the ground, listening carefully for a few moments. Sure enough, a far-off wail barely broke the silence, causing Teion's eyes to flicker back up to the man. "Yeah." She began to cross back to the center of the room. "Guess she's hiding in here, somewhere."

@Shield

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 82977
  • LD: 20 + (2 Skill) + (3 Equipment) = 25 - Success!
     
• Teion: (3) T1 crafting materials

 

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 82978 results: Loot: 3 + 3 item + 1 skill + 1 skill item = 8 - No Materials (2 total)

"In the mansion, I'm sure," Shield said, glancing around the room, empty but for the cobwebs and the chandelier. "I don't think she's hiding in this room." Curving around the central area lit by the chandelier, twin staircases climbed to a second landing above the main floor, upon which there stood a double doorway. "Only way to go from here."

He went and gently took the remains of the spear from Teion, holding it out in front of himself to clear cobwebs. The stair creaked something fierce with each step. He kept his feet towards the edges, wanting to avoid the weak centers of the planks, each of which groaned out in pain as it bore the weight of both the man and the turtle that pushed down on them. He reached the top, with no small amount of caution, testing out one step after another until the door way was within reach.

"I guess the benefit of me going first is you'll for sure know if the areas I step will hold your weight."

@Teion

Edited April 22, 2017 by Shield

[Teion 0]

The woman let out a puff of air through her nose as the corners of her mouth turned up in a smirk at the man's comment. While she gripped the railing of the staircase, ignoring the layers of dust that she dragged her hand across, the anxiety in her chest caused by the decaying wooden planks beneath her paled in comparison to that from the dark tunnel they had traversed minutes ago.

Upon reaching the top, she continued to step cautiously, peering past the man at the set of doors before them. Along the way, her eyes caught on the green shell upon his back. The relationship between Shield and his familiar was certainly more estranged than what Teion had seen among other players. While most familiars seemed to have outgoing or loyal tendencies, Norbert just seemed to begrudgingly accept his fate in between the occasional outbursts toward his owner.

Putting aside distracting thoughts, Teion readied herself as Shield opened the doors to reveal what appeared to be a banquet hall. An impressive table ran along the length of the room before them , a dusty and worn tablecloth resting underneath barren place settings at each seat.

Material Gathering:

Spoiler

• ID#: 83070
  • LD: 4 + (2 Skill) + (3 Equipment) = 9 - Fail!
     
• Teion: (3) T1 crafting materials

 

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 83071 results: Loot: 1 - No dungeon

Swapping gear:
- Finder's Keeper (- 1 skill rank: search & detect), -Seeking Aura (- 3 LD), + Pain Drinker (+ 54 Regen), + 1 Manticore Mask (+ 1 taunt, + 16 flame aura)

As the doors opened and there was one fewer barriers between them and whatever the source of noise was, the sounds of wailing doubled in strength. Shield gave a cursory glance around the room before diving into his inventory menu, swapping out his gear. His usual Bloody Hell axe was replaced though with a mundane one, mainly fulfilling the necessity of having something in hand with which to parry while his Razor Ire and the grizzly, fanged Manticore Mask handled his offense for him so that his Pain Drinker shield could handle the defense. The mask he cocked back on his head, keeping his face open and visible, at least for now. 

Although equally as abandoned, the banquet hall seemed to be in better repair, or at least the creaking of the floor hinted as much. It was still loud and pronounced, though this was more of a friendly warning to watch one's step rather than a cry for help as the boards clung to their last strands of life and tenacity, as in the room before. As they stepped further into the room, two place settings appeared at the table on top of the tattered and dingy white table cloth, and the candelabra that separated the settings roared to life, burning with a warm, yellow glow. Shield looked at Teion and shrugged.

"I think we're expected," he said, cautiously standing behind one seat and gesturing to the one opposite him. "Ladies first, I suppose."

@Teion

Edited April 24, 2017 by Shield