[F5-PP] A reflection: Exchange of The Recluse (The Traveler)

[Raidou 1]

Through the blaring sands that were doing their best to rend the flesh from Raidou's face, the heat dry and aggressive. Seems in his travels he had yet to happen upon this quest, and now given how strong he'd become it should be no affair that was demanding. The red wanderer was rather reluctant however to waste a day on this, for this meant he'd be one day behind, even still he chose to comb the city of Fortezela in its sandstone structures for the quest start point. For good reason, the settlement was rather empty, in part to the heat, and due to the timing. Early departure for an early return. A red robe emboldened by the burning star above, a flick of the quest board open, and a flash of it closing as he taps one of the few that remained unfinished. "A journey is made with a first step, I hope this one leads somewhere worth the trip." Raidou mutters.

@Alkor

Raidou | HP:1490/1490 | EN:146/146 | DMG:18 | MIT:106 | EVA:4 | ACC:3 | BH:74

Spoiler

Raidou, The Red Wanderer
Level: 73
HP: 1490/1490
EN: 146/146

Stats:
Damage: 18
Mitigation: 106
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 3
BH:74

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Auric Sol - Corona [T3/Perfect/2HSS]: Damage 3
Armor: Tactician's Gaze - Ogma [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +3 Accuracy
Misc: Red Wanderer's Robe [T1/Perfect/L.A] +3 Evasion

Skills:
Gatherer [Obtained]
Two Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit R3 [Obtained]
Parry [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 5]
Charge [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Mastery: Protector

Mods:
Vengeful Riposte
Focused Howl
Finesse Rank 3
Athletics
Sprint and Acrobatics
Emergency Recovery
Detect
Tracking

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal*1
Mass Heal Crystal*3
Pillar Fragment [Unique/Nightvision Mod]
Round of Beef (T3/Rare/Snack): Vitality 2*3

Housing Buffs:
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.
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

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.

[Alkor 0]

Where one man shone brightly under the fierce sunlight, the other braved the sands with dark colored robes. They drew in the heat, perhaps, but they also kept in the moisture and saturated the skin. Once you became used to the heat, it was far more comfortable. The wind actually worked with the wetted clothes to refresh the body. He'd learned about that sort of lifestyle in History classes over the course of his young life, but Alkor never thought he'd live it for himself.

Aincrad brought with it many new experiences. So, this quest wants me to...

The darkly dressed swordsman glanced over his menu as he wandered through Fortaleza, searching quietly for the start point. When he found her, the distress of a merchant losing her wares was only outweighed by the marvel of a feverish woman braving the sands for so long with no help.

How did the system expect Alkor or anyone else to do better? This was a test of endurance, the likes of which most Players in an MMO would only undergo if they wanted to strengthen aspects of their character related to health or energy...

...well, that made enough sense for him.

Alkor started toward the desert, pulling part of his cloth cloak around his face to keep the sands out.

Alkor | HP: 820/820 | EN: 80/80 | DMG: 10 | MIT: 48 | EVA: 1 | ACC: 4

Alkor

Level: 40
HP: 820/820
EN: 80/80

Stats:
Damage: 10
Mitigation: 48
Evasion: 1
Accuracy: 4

Blight: 24

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Blightsteel [T2/Demonic/OHCS] 2 Damage 1 Blight Cursed
Armor: Nightmare Bomber [T2/Perfect/L.A.] 2 Mitigation 1 Evasion 
Misc: Eye of Osiris pin [T1/Perfect/Trinket] +3 Accuracy 

Skills:
One Handed Curved Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 3]

Extra Skills:

Mods:
Athletics

Precision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Mass Heal Crystal*1

T2 Recovery III Potion ×3

[Raidou 1]

Receding from the board as a triggered pulse like sonar rung on his HUD with a tap of his finger, reverberating with a ping of its own in a lime green marker. "There..." the nomad spoke traveling down the halls built from varied buildings. Shade cast leads him to a tavern in the rough, to which a loosely clad female nursing a pitcher of liquid to which he knew not its contents. What was a frail pale white hand the only skin shown, a dark tapestry covering the lot of her. "I've came about your caravan..." Raidou asked of her to which the response was not as expected.

"I've already sent someone, although your welcome to join him. It'd be a shame if the desert did him in, but I have no other options." she spoke with a voice that trembled in weakness, showing further that some illness was attempting to claim her tongue. With nothing more than a silent nod, steps behind he'd begin through the dunes of fire. He chose to help, either it be NPC or another player made no difference.

[Alkor 0]

The wind buffeted him immediately when he left the protection of the town's walls. It always seemed to rage, but he was suddenly more aware than ever of the gale force and the coarse sands that tore at his flesh and sought to bring him to his knees. 

He felt the fierceness of the impact take him and braced. Beneath the cloth covering his face, Alkor bit his lip. The sand was slowly rising and his feet sank with every step. Compounded by the heavy winds, he was instantly aware of just how dangerous the quest he had taken was.

Alkor took a moment to catch his breath. For the briefest of moments, he thought he might be better off not taking this quest alone... but did he really want to go back now?

ID# 169365 Craft: 6

[No damage]

Edited September 29, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

Strong winds beckoned a stronger resistance, resilience was in fact the nomads forté. The sands beneath his heel threatened to tear through the lining of his footwear like knives in a gale. The robe although hot pulled closely provided another service, Raidou removing a vial of liquid the color of milk from his pocket and pulling the stopper. Sometimes it paid dividends to be an apothecary, a draught that stabilized one's temperature against the heat from floor 4. The very same he had shared with Lessa. 

On the heels, another locked in his own safety, without a name but purpose assumed the red wanderer did what most would come to expect. "Here, this will help." Tapping the gentleman on the shoulder and offering him the same bottle of white, aimed to offer him the respite from the desert winds. It would do him no protection against the sands themselves, but at least the heat would not attack his ability to keep mobile.

Cold Drink (Vanity) offered: For the duration of one thread, the player ignores heat based plot elements. Damage sustained is unaffected. A draught of pure white liquid crafted from herbs found in the snow, Cold Ivory as a sort of failed crafting respite.

ID# 169384 results: Craft: 6 [No Damage Sustained]

Edited September 29, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

Alkor got himself to his feet after the man shook sense back into him. The heat was undeniably stifling, and together with the dry wind that threatened to steal the breath from his lungs, the elements were doing far more than Alkor wanted to admit to keep him down. When he opened the trade window and accepted the item, a sense of relief washed over him and a weight seemed to fall off his shoulders. "...thanks," he replied as the draught appeared in his hand. 

A moment passed as he guzzled down the contents of the glass phial and he felt the coolness irradiate his body. The effects mitigated the heat based annoyances associated with the floor; but ultimately, any damage sustained from the storm itself would still incur. Not such an easy answer, it seemed. That was fine though. Without the heat, he could at least focus.

"Looks like we're on the same quest," he observed. "Maybe if we work together, we can find the caravan faster?"

He didn't usually jump at the chance to work on a team, but this particular mission seemed like it would be less dangerous with someone watching his back. And the mysterious stranger had already come through with that potion...

ID# 169537 Craft: 9 [No damage]

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

Giving the player, the hermit who had begun the journey first the chance to quaff the mixture. The sandstorm was ever present in an aggressive howling that cast red hung flags upon posts aloft, being placed here as a sort of marker to help breakthrough. "We are, the NPC eluded to you taking this trip. It's why I am here." Raidou spoke honestly, looking off through the distance with a tinge of green upon his eye.

Searching was having little effect here, the storm was fuzzing the lense. His demeanor was plain and calculated as one would expect an accountant to pour over books. Not a man of flashy behavior, from outward perspectives he'd seem rather droll. "My detection is obscured, I assume intentionally by the system as to feign difficulty. In these cases where perception is your most valuable asset." he paused and tussled the lenses upon his nose "Two pairs of eyes are better than one."

ID# 169538 results: Craft: 7

Raidou activates Vengeful Riposte

Raidou | HP:1490/1490 | EN:140/146 | DMG:18 | MIT:106 | EVA:4 | ACC:3 | BH:74 | VENGEFUL

Edited September 30, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

"Yeah," he replied, then added, "the questgiver mentioned that the goods were at least a day out of town, even by fair weather standards. We might be able to spot a beacon or trail if we're lucky, but those supplies are going to be a long haul." Alkor pulled the cloth from his face and gasped in a gulp of fresh air. He was rewarded for his brief respite by hacking with a mouthful of sand. After spitting out several gobbets of wet, grainy emulsion, he lifted a Spyglass to his eye and took a look around to get a feel for their surroundings.

There was nothing immediate jumping out at him, but he got a bit more clarity than he had with the naked eye. "Must be something out here to give us a clue, or something we're not able to glean with a quick glance. I do remember a very old game where you had to have a specific item, or you followed an NPC's footsteps exactly to cross the desert. I doubt Kayaba drew any inspiration from Shigeru Miyamoto, but... maybe there's something we're missing?"

ID# 169540 Craft: 4 [No damage]

Edited September 30, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

Against the jagged winds, Raidou attempted to perceive through the passing obscurity, while his companion took to a spyglass. It appeared as though the sands were going to offer no obvious sign to bleed through, the journey would be a difficult parade through nothing more than an educated guess. "Perhaps the flags, at the very least they will offer us a sense of direction even if they do not lead to our destination." Raidou spoke his voice barely loud enough to overtake the howling of the winds. There was indeed something that remained from purview, some major defining clue that would give some semblance of a direction to take. But given the conditions, even Raidou's maxed out perceptions were doing nothing to locate such a trail. It was obvious why the NPC in question, especially given the state she was in had lost what she had wrought to the sands.

ID# 169898 results: Craft: 9 [No Damage]

Edited October 2, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

"At the very worst, we wander for a long time, get hopelessly lost, and teleport out," Alkor quipped as they both set about different ways of attempting to locate a trail. Truthfully, they knew everything they were going to about where they were going and what they were looking for, so all that was left was to apply the knowledge. The difficulty there was finding the path to take.

Even if they were only off by a fraction in terms of direction, they could lose hours or even days. The risk was too high with the sand steadily rising and threatening to bury the cargo entirely. "I say we pick the direction that seems like the path of least resistance and stick to that one," he suggested. It made the most sense, because there was no other way that the merchant could have braved the desert and made it out alive.

"You got any ideas on which way that is?"

ID# 170634 Craft: 11 [No damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

It seemed as though Alkor had no discernable location to suggest as well, it appeared that the spyglass had offered him no aid either. "Perhaps a simple comb, I would assume the NPC simply has more experience at the layout than we might. Know how something looks well enough you could do it blindfolded." Raidou spoke in conjecture, beginning to parade down the screaming sandstorm toward the first flag upon high rise pole in sequence. It was their only guide, the only thing he could make out clearly amongst the tan flurry and at least served a direction. Keeping a mental note of the compass as it began to haze into a static. An eye peeled for a silhouette in the rough, using these pillars as monikers of which steps were taken he would begin to disappear into the rough unfaltered and unconvinced that it could deal him any real harm.

ID# 170636 results: Craft: 12 [No Damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

At that point the problem became how far out they had to go. It was a full day and night into the desert, according to the Merchant herself- although the delirium caused by her fever gave Alkor reasonable doubt about her perception of time. He wouldn't question it, though. The game never took those specific details into account. It wouldn't give you flawed information.  Incomplete, perhaps, but never flawed.

There was an inane fairness to it that made the system seem that much more diabolical. Nothing was set up to fully favor the system. Every rule in place was a rule for both the Players and their surroundings. And yet, someone had trapped them here fully aware of their ability to die and be gone forever.

Alkor perished the thought.  "Yeah, I'm up to comb the whole desert, but just remember how far out she said she'd been. If we're not careful, that's a lot of lost time, and we're already on a tight schedule."

 

ID# 170638 Craft: 3 [No damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

The major trick was how draining this would be on his schedule, could very well be a major setback. "Notable enough, a days travel for her. I would be hesitant to assume that her pace would match ours." Raidou dropped a simple notion, the sands doing a fair job of obscuring the male who he was speaking to. He was unsure about his party member's constitution, but he seemed fit enough and the wanderer's was not waning. With any luck, they'd see the claimed caravan from a distance should they keep an eye peeled, but the best way to sus out the needle in this haystack was letting conjecture to scatter to the wind and walk.

Time was limited, but being trapped for too long on specifics would cut that length even shorter. Not a religious man by any right, he chose to take that gamble for knowledge was failing. He'd leave his vision open, and travel on faiths alone.

ID# 170639 results: Craft: 7 [No Damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

"Well, at least one of us is a betting man," Alkor exhaled quietly as the strange Player decreed that there was a distinct possibility that the woman was slowed by her condition, and what they were looking for wasn't nearly as far as they had been led to believe.  Alkor had to shrug and go all in, because he didn't want to waste an entire day in the desert any more than the other guy.

"Alright, then," he proclaimed as he started skimming the horizon with his Spyglass,  moving as they'd agreed upon toward the fred flag beacon ahead of them. "Speak up if you notice anything," he added a moment later.

They were moving for nearly a half hour, over and down the backs of massive dunes. The treacherous winds continued to assail them, but together they made better time, making gestures rather than using lengthy sentences to convey that their side was all clear. 

It didn't give Alkor much to be hopeful about, but it was faster than working alone.

 

ID# 170641 Craft: 11 [No damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

It appeared as though the players had reached an agreement, seeing in honesty that neither had a direct direction to head it would be simply a guess. "I'd hesitate to say that I am, but I don't believe we have the time to waste. It would be more difficult should night fall, reducing our chances even further." his perceptions making words he thought were spoken loud enough audible when in fact it was a whisper. "Will do, with two pairs of eyes looking we have much greater odds." Raidou remarked pulling his robe tight to his shoulders as the sands in a cyclone caused it sporadic movement violent enough to rip it from his back. A winding and rolling hills, a half turned to one over what seemed like infinite inclines and drops. Nothing more than a myriad of poles visible both behind and forward. No sign of their target, but progress had been made but it remained to be seen if it was in the wrong way.

ID# 170796 results: Craft: 7 [No Damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

Alkor had to agree that if night fell over them, the chances they would find the cargo would decrease dramatically. Not only would visibility fall close to nil, it already was bad enough. He swept the half of the desert that they had agreed he would cover with the Spyglass once more, frowning a pinch deeper.

If the woman really had lost something out here, there should have been even a small trace of it. The probability that whatever it was, was on the other Player's side seemed to grow much higher as Alkor's spirits varied inversely.

They reached the marker without much conversation, both men seemingly more task oriented than conversational. The only words they spoke were absolutely necessary, and focused entirely on the task.

Or, token sarcasm from the acerbic one.

On the other hand, the Player he was working with was mathematical in his approach. Surgical, direct even. He had no interest in words that didn't push them toward their goal. 

And when he responded to any of Alkor's witty comments, he did so with such nonchalance that Alkor had to imagine he'd taken them seriously.

ID# 170797 Craft: 11 [No damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

Yellows tinged to orange, the sun began to consume some of the lightings as it descended in the sky overhead. Hours burned by in silence which suited the nomad fine. This was what he was accustomed to, although typically alone in his endeavors. A glimpse from the base of the closest flag as he approached: foot prints. "I have something." Raidou remarked to his compatriot in this affair, kneeling low and inspecting it deeper. They were almost buried by the sands, only slight impressions remained but the signature trail bled off eastward from the path they had been walking. They could follow but a risk remained, once these tracks were taken back completely they'd have no sense of direction. "We need some way of making it back here." The nomad remarked as he flashed open his menu as a form of thought process. Needed a sort of bread crumb trail, something that would still be visible through the sands and not blow away.

[Alkor 0]

"Could probably toss a vanity item down," Alkor suggested. They didn't generally carry useless items as Players because their inventory was limited, but often they forgot to ditch items after they upgraded. It seemed as good a use as any for the items, which didn't bring enough money to make selling them worthwhile.  "Preferably something with a little height, like a sword or a spear."

If they used a longer item, it would take more time for the sands to consume it, thereby leaving them with more breathing room. Still, it meant nothing if they didn't actually find the cargo. The nomad seemed to have a lead, though. "What did you see?" he asked.

He made his way over and glanced out in the direction Raidou had been looking, wondering if he might catch a glimpse of whatever the man had seen. True to form, he caught a glimpse of something, though he couldn't speak to it being the item they were looking for. Nonetheless, anything out of the ordinary was worth investigating at this point.

Alkor saw his health tick suddenly and spoke up. "Hey, I just lost some HP. Be careful, not sure if its the storm or I'm just starting to feel it."

ID# 170798 Craft: 1 [-20 HP]

Alkor: 800/820 HP

Edited October 6, 2020 by Alkor

[Raidou 1]

Something catches his eye, the very thing that he had an almost infinite supply of. "Height not so much, but the number I can leave a trail. In theory, any glare would aid in our efforts to find them." The alchemist comments as he extracts a hand full of empty bottles. "Footprints, willing to assume they may have been hers." Rising from the ground and beginning to leave the small vials in the sand behind him as a precaution. The caravan: sure as day as the trek was followed, at first a blackened shade with no features. But it began to take shape as an expired camel with the pack still latched to its back. "The chances of two missing animals with gear strapped to it should be slim. I believe we found our culprit." Raidou remarked as he began to break the lines that adhered it, getting it prepared to move.

ID# 170799 results: Craft: 7 [No Damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Raidou

[Alkor 0]

Alkor paused and watched as the other man played meticulously in the sand. His eyes were raw, and he wiped at then to no avail with his sleeve. "What did you find?" he asked as the man wiped away a layer of sand and seemed to have some kind of epiphany. The darker dressed of the two stepped closer and crouched beside Raidou, then set about helping the man sift through the deep sand.

"Oh... hey, now that's something," he remarked as the shape of a container became completely visible as they wiped away the coarse, grainy substance. "You got any digging tools?" he asked, even as he began to dig around the newfound item with his bare hands. If they were lucky, what they were about to excavate was the quest item. If not, well, the Aincrad Archaeology department would have to make a note of their contribution when they donated the sizable item to the fifth floor museum.

...what do you mean, 'the fifth floor doesn't have a museum?' Of course it does. Educate yourself and get cultured.

ID# 170802 Craft: 2 [No damage]

Edited October 6, 2020 by Alkor