[PP|F10] <<Wail of the Banshee>> Crying for Help

[ChaseR 0]

"... If you're referring to Lily, she's all the people I had in the real world. It's better to care about those that trust in you than to stick to having the moral highground in everybody's eyes.", he almost hissed back, starting to get tired of this conversation. Although he was still somewhat tired from the nightmare earlier today, he thought of one more thing to do before he'd take a break back at Shay's shop. "There's a quest not many do in the tenth. I haven't done that either. Something about a ghost.", he vaguely offered him, crossing his arms and looking to the side with squinted eyes.

It was around then that the two slowly arrived back to the settlement, starting to make their way to the teleport plaza to either move on to Tartarus or go each back to their own home. "If you want, stick to your own 'original' quest. I'm going on further ahead to take it up though.", he made his intent clear. By now, his indifferent stance towards Freyd was more than apparent, but he didn't mean to mask it anyways. All he cared about was leveling up and getting to the third tier so he could more effectively protect those he wanted and keep hold of the frontlines.

Spoiler

Name: ChaseR
Level: 37
HP: 740/740
EN: 74/74

Stats:
Damage: 14
Mitigation: 18
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 3
REC:2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Gust Raiser>> (T2/Perfect/2HSS): DMG II, ACC I
Armor: <<Wind Dweller>> (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): EVA I, REC II
Misc: <<Chained Bracelet>> (T2/Perfect/Trinket): EVA II, ACC I

Skills:
Two-Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 4]
Battle Healing [Rank 1]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Familiar Mastery: Fighter
Survival
Disguise

Mods:
2HSS Finesse [R3]
Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potions(heal 50HP)*3
Spyglass (2/3)*1
T1 Rare Health Potions (heal 40HP)*2
Woodland Armor (T2/Perfect) MIT III (2/3)*1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (-): +1 Rank to the - skill.
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

[Freyd 0]

"Yeah, alright.  One more then."  His agreement was casual, and Chase's discontent irrelevant.  So long as they could be useful to each other, that was enough. 

They made their was to the appointed site, which turned out to be partially collapsed three-storey temple on the outskirts of Yomi.  It resembles a rural pagoda, with faded red terracotta tiles.  Most of the wooden screens were broken and cracking, their colours long-since faded to the weather-worn wood beneath.  Petrified remains of plant life and landscaping still dotted the lawn and passed as ornamentation in the various vases and other containers still scattered in pretense of decoration. 

The dutiful mourning widow was right where she was supposed to be, pleading for their help in her stained and tattered silk night clothing, strangely flashing a bag with '10,000 col' written on the outside of the sack - a promised reward.

"Uh-huh," Freyd said repeatedly as she regaled them with her tragic story.  "Look lady, first, I love what you've done with the place - very chic - and it's literally unbelievable that you felt it necessary to stay here, in this place, in your filthy bed-clothes and without even the pretense the amenities for survival."  Turning to Chase, he simply rolled his eyes at the complete absence of plot on this one.  She started to protest and plead, right on queue.  "Yes, yes, we'll take the job."  He gave the great big bag of col a warm 'thumbs up' and wink, as if promising to return for it shortly.

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
Level: 48
HP: 980/980
EN: 96/96

Stats:
Damage: 16
Mitigation: 54
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 4
KEEN:1
HLY:2
BLD:12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Forgiven Disobedience (T1-2HSS, ACC 1, HOLY 1, BLD 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb [T2 LA, MIT 2, EVA 1]
Misc: Assassin's Cowl (T2-Trinket, ACC 2, KEEN 1)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival

Mods:
Precision
Finesse - Rank 3
LA Athletics
Ferocity

Battle Ready Inventory:
Starter Healing Potion (50 hp)*3
Teleport Crystals*2
Turkish March *2
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik*5
Golden Key*5
T3 Blank Dungeon Map*5

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[ChaseR 0]

As the two arrived to the quest site, Chase let Freyd take over the interactions, much to his dismay. The more that the apathetic swordsman kept sarcastically mocking the NPC, the angrier he got. He waited until the old lady waved them farewell and they began to look around for the Banshee's lair, glaring at Freyd sharply. "You're not a people's person, nor do you care enough to be one, isn't that true?", he almost damn near hissed at him, biting down on his lower lip out of anger. Programmed or not, humans were humans to him. And he considered NPCs as such.

He'd never talked to an NPC that way, nor was he planning to ever try, lest they angered him as much as Kayaba, or by this point Freyd who seemed just a little bit more sympathetic. "She got pitted in here the same way we did. Don't just mock her like that after what she's been through.", he hesitated slightly to say but ended up uttering it after all, continuing to look through the settlement for any signs of the lair they were supposed to look for. Although that being said, he didn't find anything.

Edited August 26, 2020 by ChaseR

[Freyd 0]

"You're yelling at ME about not being a people person?" Freyd was clearly unimpressed.  "Dude, what are you , thirteen?  It's like your emotions fly off the handle no matter what anyone says, and you can't seem to argue why except to state that it conflicts with your feelings or worldview.  Grow up."  He simply shook his head at the nonsense of it all.  "If you want to be angry at everything, then go ahead, but stop blaming others for it."  A wince flashed across his eyes.  "And you have NO idea what I've done for them."   His thumb jerked to point behind him.  His expression was neutral, but Freyd was starting to fume on the inside.  

He meant the NPCs, of course.  His mind flashed back to the dozens of comforting conversations he'd had with Marv at the gates to the Town of Beginnings.  Not to mention the whole Sundered Spire mess where mobs seemed to be gaining some degree of awareness and were pissed at players for killing them.  He'd only spent the last month trying to sort that out, at considerable peril to his own existence.  Cardinal having a personal vendetta against him didn't help much either.  The system overlord overrode mobs at a whim and used them for whatever vile purpose suited his immediate needs.   That reminded him that he needed to track down 'Dave', the Spire turncoat who'd promise to contact him when he re-spawned.  Heck, he even had a damned relationship with Gatsly at the Warg quest drop, after the number of times they'd conversed.

A quick, firm slash from his sword suddenly smashed open a door in the dungeon through which they'd been searching.  Forgiven Disobedience's holy blade seemed drawn towards their undead prey.

"She'll be through here," he stated bluntly.  "Don't get your hopes up for her salvation."

Spoiler

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[ChaseR 0]

Chase was beginning to get just as angry as Freyd was by this point. How little he seemed to understand or even want to objectively look at it was starting to annoy him. Especially after being told he was blaming others for it, he was definitely not having any of that shit. "I'm being fucking angry cause you claim to have done oh-so-much for the people of this world yet you dismiss them just like that! You'd expect somebody that helpful to at least be respectful to those he's assisted so far, but I guess I'm the delusional one, aren't I?", he snarled at Freyd, grunting as soon as he saw him smash the door open.

Now was the time to just put this behind for a good minute or so and take care of whatever monsters popped right out of there. He could already see one... no, a few further behind. And among them was the Banshee said to have killed the old lady's husband. "Tch, five... I can take all of them on, whatever!", he shrugged the numbers off and quickly ran right towards them, seeing four zombies around her, almost guarding her. He quickly turned his blade to the side as soon as he pulled it out of its sheathe and tried to slam it into as many of the monsters as possible with a quick turn of his heel, wanting to knock them off balance.

ChaseR: HP: 740/740 | EN: 61/74 (-13) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 18 | BH: 7
Freyd:

[Chase H: 2, Freyd H: 0] Banshee: HP: 138/250 (-112) | DMG: 200 (Full Phase on MD 9-10, Global Para on MD 10) | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun)
Undead Guardian Zombie 1: HP: 0/40 (-97) | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 
Undead Guardian Zombie 2: HP: 0/40 (-97) | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 
Undead Guardian Zombie 3: HP: 0/40 (-97) | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 
[Chase H: 0, Freyd H: 0] Undead Guardian Zombie 4: HP: 40/40 | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 

Edited August 26, 2020 by ChaseR

[Freyd 0]

Watching Chase carve a path through the zombies, Freyd hesitated for a moment while waiting for his opening.  This growing feud between them was pointless, but he couldn't seem to get through to the man, whose temper seemed to flare at everything, no matter how twisted or misconstrued.  Maybe he really is just the kid.  If so, what point is there in butting heads constantly.  It does neither of us any good.

Rushing in once most of the guardians were down, he plowed through the last of them and lined up his run to finish off the banshee.  His holy blade flared at the presence of the undead and trailed motes of celestial light behind him as he charged her.  The sword's strike cleaved her in half through the abdomen as angelic choir song rang out against the solid stone walls.  Her visage cleared as her form started to dissipate, revealing her true identity as the wailing woman who had handed them the quest in the first place.

"Fuck..." Freyd swore, appearing to sympathize with the revelation and the poor woman's plight.  In truth, he'd just realized that the big bag of col she'd flashed at them during the initial hand-off was never going to materialize.

Putting his blade away, Freyd returned to their previous conversation.  "What are you actually angry about: that I don't see the world the same way you do?  You're going to run into a lot of that, and it'll eat you up from the inside.  We need to sort this out, or at least settle on a compromise, because this isn't going anywhere good right now."

Spoiler

ChaseR: HP: 740/740 | EN: 61/74 (-13) | DMG: 14 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 3 | REC: 2 | MIT: 18 | BH: 7

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows | HP:980/980 | EN:84/96 | DMG:16 | MIT:54 | EVA:1 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12

Calamity Disaster (x12 AoE + 4 for hits): 16 EN - (Rested, Finesse 3) = 12 EN

BD: 9 (Crit +1, Holy 2, Bleed 12).  Freyd deals (228 + 12 bleed = 240) damage to Banshee.
BD: 8 + 4 = 12 (hit).  Freyd deals 192 damage to Undead Guardian Zombie 4.

Banshee: HP: 138/250 | DMG: 200 (Full Phase on MD 9-10, Global Para on MD 10) | EVA: 2 [Stun CD; 3/3] (Stun) (138-192)
Undead Guardian Zombie 1: HP: 0/40 | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 
Undead Guardian Zombie 2: HP: 0/40 | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 
Undead Guardian Zombie 3: HP: 0/40 | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 
Undead Guardian Zombie 4: HP: 0/40 | DMG: 120 | MIT: 15 (40-192)

Edited August 26, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[ChaseR 0]

Chase had braced himself, not expecting Freyd to take the other two down so quickly, but he defied his expectations and did exactly that. And then it appeared that the very same Banshee they were tasked to hunt, was none other than the quest NPC in the first place. This was certainly enough to make him wince, as she disappeared into nothingness. He turned his head back to Freyd, with the same miffed expression as before having returned as he crossed his arms. "I'm angry you live in here but don't act like you do. Anything you do will have consequences. So why are you going out of your way to make a fool of everything that hasn't seen the real world the same way you have?"

"For the NPCs, this is their real world and if you don't respect that, then-... Tch.", he turned his head away, trying to hold himself from getting any harsher. Hell, he was starting to sound like a thirteen year old now, having to explain his whole thought process just to get the message across. Freyd was so stubborn that he was making it hard for Chase to clear his position up. And he'd just helped him, too, on a few occasions, making it hard for the boy to just start cussing the man out. "... Just start treating them like humans. The same way they treat you.", his voice softened up, as he looked at Freyd with a distraught expression. "Okay?"

[Freyd 0]

Freyd stared at Chase for nearly a minute before finally making his choice.  Sitting on a half-broken table that looked like it might have once been part of a rack, he placed his hands on his knees , trying to take the least offensive stance possible.  It wasn't exactly helped by the fact that the room they were in looked like a torturer's rec room, complete with iron maiden, a dozen thumbscrews hung on the nearby wall and a broken guillotine in the back corner.  

"Look, I admire your respect for the mobs - I really do.  There's a guard by the main gate leading of the Town of Beginnings.  I call him Marv, even though he has no formal name.  I struck up a one-sided conversation with him before walking over the threshold for the very first time.  Marv and I have had some very long chats, on multiple occasions.  He's never said a single word, but that isn't really the point.  I've had the same level of interaction with dozens of other mobs.  They're not people, like we are, but it doesn't mean I don't respect them."  He looked around the room as if assessing his earlier words.   "If I sass an NPC, it's usually to chastise the people who designed them or their circumstances poorly - for not helping them seem more real."

"I also don't fancy myself as any kind of moral hero or champion of the masses.  I never said that."  His frustration was rising again, but he pushed it back down and struck a more conciliatory tone.  "But, perhaps, I could have chosen my words better earlier.  I am a pragmatist, not an idealist.  I work with what I have and make the most of it.  I get things done by any means necessary.  Like it or not, we are in a game - even if it is a death game.  It has different rules than our world.  I won't mock you for caring, but don't expect me to treat every mob or NPC we encounter like they're a real person.  We're going to have to kill an awful lot of them if we ever want to get out of here."

[ChaseR 0]

For every word that Freyd said, a thousand more to retaliate came to mind. That wasn't the point though. He was right on one thing, that being that they were just going in circles and wouldn't get anywhere if this kept up. He disagreed with him so much, but... It had been hellishly apparent so far, there was no way he would get to change his opinion, nor could he manage to agree with his own any further. This would just continue as a pointless circlejerk, going on and on and on without an end anywhere in sight.

As much as his words hurt, he was right. NPCs weren't humans in their own sense, and they couldn't be enough to replace him or anybody else either. That was why he killed his own Gemini after all, much like he assumed Freyd must have done after this monologue, clarifying his way of thinking and most importantly, seeing his attitude towards everything they'd come across. "... I... just agree to disagree. I can't say much else without provoking you, or myself... Tch... The fact he put so much detail in making even us fight among ourselves with what shouldn't be a talking point... No matter your stance on him, he's the most wicked form of evil in here and we can agree on that.", he simply responded, looking at him with a tired and annoyed look- not at Freyd, but at Kayaba.

[Freyd 0]

"I agree," Freyd replied with mild relief.  "That, at least, gives us some common ground."  He placed his right hand on his chin, pondering for a moment.

"Have you had any encounters with PKers... err... player killers?  The ones with the orange icons."  He pointed at the green one over his own head for emphasis.  Freyd had only met one, himself, and their interactions had nothing to do with the sort of business that lead to earning such a tag.  It had only just occurred to him that an encounter with such an individual might explain a lot about Chase's current state of mind.

"Something just seems to have had you stirred up before I started unintentionally pushing your buttons.  I'm just curious.  Was something already troubling you before we met?  Other than Lily, I mean.  Something more recent?"

Freyd didn't want to aggravate an already tenuous relationship with the man, but allies could be hard to come by, and Chase was a capable one.  Alienating him was counterproductive.

[ChaseR 0]

Simply at the title of 'player killers', Chase winced and looked at Freyd with a rather pained expression. "N-No, I haven't. Shay used to be partnered with one, but they disappeared one day. I don't get it. Taking another's life in Aincrad of all places...", he mumbled, realising he was about to go off on another tangent that could only mean more trouble. Keeping his focus, he shook his head again and took a deep breath, raising it to look at the ceiling silently. "... I want to get to the frontlines, but I feel like I'm getting stronger too slowly. I'm giving it my all but the damage I take feels high. Even if I've never dropped to half health, except for my Gemini fight. Only when fighting myself did I do that much."

It was... awkward, talking about this. It felt like he was putting himself on a pedestal, even if he really wasn't. He was much better at the game than he realised, and hell, maybe even more than the average player. "I'm meant to be a tank that deals damage. So... something like a DPS tank, if that's the right way to put it. I just don't want to put Shay in any danger because I'm weak. I've had a bit of self confidence issues, and Kayaba's tormenting or my nightmares about Lily not being there or being just any one of us don't help either.", the bluehead shortly finished, looking at him with the same, troubled expression he'd seen various times throughout the day. His fears were very much human, and if anything, infant for someone that resided in Aincrad so long, yet never took action until recently.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd just listened, because it was the right thing to do.  When Chase was finished, he let it all sink in.

"Sounds both complicated and pretty normal at the same time, as odd as that may sound."  Chase just sounded like a normal person going through some very rough stuff - at least, based on what Freyd had observed and been told about 'normal' people.  He knew full well that his own compass was a bit askew on these things, compared to others.

"I'm sorry to hear that Shay vanished - I truly am.  Do you know who the PKer she hung out with was?  Maybe we can look for that person in order to find her.  As for Lily, I think we've covered that ground.  But, for what it's worth, I'll do anything I can to help you get back to her.  Our end goals really aren't that different, even if our methods are virtual opposites."

Freyd motioned toward the exit, suggesting that they should leave before the mobs re-spawned.

[ChaseR 0]

Chase realised there was a bit of a misunderstanding, groaning and shaking his head. He quickly followed up Freyd and headed towards the exit, scratching the back of his head as he opened his menu. "N-No, that's not it. It's been a week since I started and Shay's still uh...", he looked at the menu quietly, flipping through his friends list and seeing Shay, before taking a look at her location. "She's at the fourth, in her shop. Probably resting while I'm out here, training. She wasn't the one that disappeared, the orange player was. She never told me his name. She was hesitant to trust me at first because she thought I might disappear too."

He quietly admitted, letting out a sigh. He was sharing so much with Freyd, even though he barely knew him and had argued with him more than he had with Yuki, someone who got to his nerves much much much much, much more. "Right now, I want to get to the third tier. There's someone strong enough I can team up with and we can start pushing for the next floor. I've covered so much ground in a week, if I keep this up, I'll get to the bottom of them, too.", his words slowly drowned out as he lowered his voice, trying not to think about Calrex and his own personal 'quest' too much. He'd get to it when he would, with the help of info breakers and plenty of research.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd just blinked, trying to process and parse the various parallel threads of info Chase had just thrown at him.

"I think you may have lost me.  Let me see if I've kept up.  Shay - your friend - is likely in her shop on the fourth floor.  It was her PKer partner - whose name you don't know - who vanished.  Shay is somehow worried that you will vanish too.  Separately, you are also very eager to reach the front lines.  I'm assuming that's because you want to get back to Lily?"  This was getting tangled, and Freyd was having trouble keeping the different plots separate.  "But, what will Shay mean to you if Lily is waiting for you when you return to the real world, and are you at all concerned about this missing PKer?!"

It felt a lot like some kind of mental parcour course, where you'd fall flat on your face if you stopped thinking about it, but might suffer a brain hemorrhage if you didn't.  

"Have I got this right?"

[ChaseR 0]

Yeah, words certainly made it hard to get through to Freyd with his story. He let out a deep sigh, scratching the back of his head even faster. "Th-That's about all, yeah. I want to get to Lily, but... I don't want to rush it. Shay means a lot to me and she knows I won't leave her behind. As for the missing PKer... No. As long as he doesn't hurt anyone, he can be wherever doing whatever for however long he pleases.", he muttered towards the end, obviously showing some distaste towards the standard orange players. If NPCs were sacred to him, then players went far beyond that.

"It's just Lily is a childhood friend, and while I want to get out... I still have some things and people to protect. My familiar, Shay, some other people I've met... It's hard to accept but I guess I've to take it easy.", he ended off with a grunt and crossed his arms again, looking down at the ground with a thoughtful expression. "To hell with it. I've already taken so long doing nothing anyways, imagine how much longer I'd take to get this game cleared out. I'll have to help Shay level as well, so we can keep being a duo and saving one another..."

[Freyd 0]

Freyd scratched his head, trying to make sense of Chase's priorities.  They seemed scattered to him, but maybe something was getting lost in translation.  Whatever.  At least they weren't on the verge of throttling each other anymore.

"So, where are you off to next?  It's been nice to actually clear a few quests without getting jumped by Spire-faction zealots, for a change.  I should probably check in with the guild and see if any other sightings have been reported." He was also getting close to the threshold for the next tier and needed to finalize his preparations.  It felt strange to think that it was finally so close.  Others had mentioned that it changes your perspective.  If so, he was curious to discover in what way.  Freyd's outlook on things was rather unorthodox to begin with.

"I have a shop, by the way.  It's in Angel Point on the thirteenth floor - not exactly on the beaten path.  If you ever need anything identified, or are looking for some unusual gear, feel free to stop in.  I tend to focus on two-handed straight swords.  Since we both use them, I might eventually have something that could be of interest to you.  We're still stocking the shelves at the moment."

[ChaseR 0]

Hearing about a new shop that he could get his stuff checked out helped a lot, especially not one that gran was running. She seemed miffed about something last time they met when she delivered his armor, so he'd wait until he saw her calmer than before to visit her again. "I've a few items to sell and identify, so... That's a good idea. Thank you.", he accepted the offer with a grin, which shortly after faded into confusion once more as Chase gave a lost look.

"You just mentioned though... What are spire faction zealots..? Is that another term you use or..?", he stammered slightly, feeling like this was yet another foolish question that he had nobody but his years of inexperience with games to thank for. Maybe it was a guild, or perhaps a monster family type that he hadn't met quite yet. "Wait, jumped by? I thought monsters were only passive aggressive and could retaliate, they've never gone out of their way to attack me first unless it's a trap..."

Impatience was starting to get to him, but he started to suspect that he were talking about players, with what little knowledge he had. "So it's a player killer guild then? Is that why you inquired about Shay's disappeared friend?"

[Freyd 0]

"Hmmm?  Oh, no.  The Sundered Spire is that group of self-aware mobs I mentioned a while back.  Remember the weird tokens with the red tower and the sword?  Yeah, that's their symbol.  It's what I've been out here searching for."  Freyd summoned one of the small stones to refresh Chase's memory.  "They're mobs that act like PKers.  I first discovered them laying false material spawn nodes on floor five.  They were baiting traps so that they could ambush lower level players.  Since then, I've seen signs of them everywhere, especially on floor twenty-one."  This chase had led Freyd all over Aincrad during the last few weeks.

"They're also the ones I mentioned that can remember the memories from their past lives.  Some of them can, at least.  I can't really blame them for being peeved at dying over and over again, but they seem to overlook the fact that they can re-spawn.  Player's can't.  Nasty business.  One of them seemed to be willing to talk, but got killed before we got anywhere.  I dubbed him 'Dave', and need to find him.  He's the only lead I have that could end this threat before it spirals out of control."  It was also why Freyd had taken afront to Chase's notion that he cared nothing at all for the mobs in the game.  If that were true, he'd simply be carving a path through their ranks.  Which he had, if he was honest, but mostly to gather information on their secretive leadership, find out what the faction was and where it operated.  It had proven to be no small undertaking.

Edited August 27, 2020 by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows

[ChaseR 0]

This all sounded like a doozie, and certianly overwhelmed Chase more than the usual. He looked at him and tried to process all of this information, remembering the few tidbits he'd mentioned them loosely here and there. That was a whole other mystery, by the looks of it. Although not necessarily fully into keeping Freyd around as a friend, this was most certainly just as unusual as the mystery of Unique Skills, and worth solving. He was deeply considering sticking around, and before he had time for second thoughts, opened up his menu and sent the blank looking man a friend request.

"I'm not the most skilled in swordplay in Aincrad, but... If it's deductive skills you need, I can make do with what you have and help lead to something. I too, run a shop. It's called Cheap Chips, so if you need a trinket, drop by. If you make any progress on that Spire, tell me. It sounds... intriguing, and bothersome. Too much to be left aside.", he agreed once more with his fellow party member, crossing his arms and tapping his foot on the ground before shaking his head and trying to clear his mind. "It's a lot to take in... I'll head home and rest. If you need anything, just... Do tell. We might disagree on some things, but... I'm sure we could cooperate if need be."

Having finished his proposal, he held a hand out to 'seal the deal' and looked at him in the eyes with a blank look. He was neither wary nor disapproving- simply blank. It was hard to tell his thoughts on Freyd exactly, but they were neither overwhelmingly positive nor negative. "Meeting was certainly an experience. Until next time then, good luck finding your lead."

[Freyd 0]

Freyd grasped Chase's outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.  Compromise, it was a pragmatist's goal and he was glad to have it.  Chase was a good fighter, but clearly had a lot on his mind.  He could say the same about himself, and so wasn't inclined to judge.  With his free hand, he accepted the unexpected friend invite.

"Thanks Chase.  Cooperation's a good start, and I think we have a lot of common ground, despite our differences."  He glanced at the world clock to get a sense of the time.  Freyd was rarely one to sit idle.  "I'll be sure to check out your shop and keep you posted on my findings.  Things are painting a grim picture so far.  You're also a good swordsman.  Don't sell yourself short.  You'll be on the front lines soon, I suspect."

Freyd released his grip and turned to head off in another direction, pausing as he took his first step.

"And Chase," he added, "Let me know if you need anything to help you with Shay or with Lily, even if it's just to talk.  I'm not normally this chatty, and can be there just to listen, if that's what it takes."  Nodding, as if to acknowledge to himself that he'd done the right thing, Freyd turned and walked off into the shadows.

***

Thread Rewards:

Freyd & Chase both receive:

4 SP (1 page, +1 event, +2 quest)

200 col (each)

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.