[F7-PP] <<Feeding Your Enemy>> Bird is the Word

[Ivory Lotus 0]

She shrugged. "We have been in here for a long time, it used to be scary for me. But you cant feel pain, so I got a little desensitized to the mobs of the lower floors. A boar can only ram you so many times before it stops bothering you." She knelt down in the snow next to where he had brushed aside the snow, nodding. "I guess its really not that hard to find, huh. If it was the reward would probably be better." She commented, gently extricating the plant from the ground and handing it over to Randal to put in his inventory. She didn't want to misplace it, and Randal seemed to be way more reliable than her in general. She started to quietly hum to herself as she stood up, adjusting her cloak around her shoulders and brushing a strand of her long white hair behind her ear. She gave him a dazzling smile, her pale skin, red lips, and white hair making her look very at home in the snowy atmosphere they had found themselves in. If she were wearing different clothes she could probably be mistaken from a distance for some kind of cute snow elf. "I have absolute confidence that you can keep us safe."

Edited April 15, 2021 by Ivory Lotus

[Randal 0]

“That’s incredible in and of itself ya know, I still get the jump scares and jitters when something runs at me because I can never tell if my armour is enough to protect me from harm.”

Randal pocketed the white flower together with the long extending roots of the ginseng that was carefully extracted by Ivory into his inventory.

“Even if they are just digitalised code, if you feel bad for the fact that we have to hurt monsters then you probably also feel good that these herbs as part of a quest are going to a good cause to help the sick right?” Randal asked curiously, he wanted to know more about how Ivory thought about these things because she had such a unique approach to the death game.

Following that, both Randal and Ivory returned to the hut to get their reward. Who knew what the information would be, it could be directions, it could be secret cave, it could be destiny.

Randal finds 2 Mats

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188621	8	8	15	8	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 06:53:53

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

The girl grinned. "I mean, your certainly jump scared me this that punch. Now that I think about it, martial arts is fairly rare to have at that rank. That is really cool, and it definitely suits you." She nibbled on her lip thinking about what he said. It wasn't a difficult question at all, but she was internally debating how much she wanted to tell him about herself in the real world. "I've always wanted to help the sick, so yes, I'm very happy about this quest. It should feel bad to hurt another creature, even if its just code; If you hurt something that is just code and cant feel, there isn't much of a moral quandary there, but I think even doing that is desensitizing you to the act itself, especially in a VR game where everything seems so real." She elaborated on her feelings about hurting the enemies before moving to walk next to Randal as they headed back to the hut. 

[Randal 0]

Randal was very pleased to have his weapon of choice noticed. He had chosen it both due to the fact that he had grown up watching martial art films starring famous artistes like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Ip Man and Chuck Norris, Randal wanted to be like them even if it was just a game and even if it was only for a little bit. He was extra excited to learn that it was rare choice amongst players because it made him feel special. “Oh haha, thanks for noticing, I really am proud of my choices, but I am starting to fight the Swords Art related to the martial arts skills lacking. I actually commission a claw from someone called Macradon. Want to test it out for a bit and see if it works better for me. Besides, I had a really cool idea in mind for the weapon design, want to see it?” Randal offered.

The duo was now at the hut and waited briefly for someone to open the door, but no one came to, when they went inside there was no one around, it would appear that the other NPCs had yet to return.

Suddenly, a quest update occurred, they were supposed to check out the other three areas for clues to what had happened to them and why there were not back yet.

Randal finds 1 mat

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
189231	5	5	11	1	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-18 12:23:27

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

It was honestly really cute to see Randal excited about something, even if it was about a weapon. But weapons were just tools after all, it was how they were used that mattered. She tried not to judge others anyway. "I don't really know anything about sword arts honestly, so I don't know exactly what martial arts lacks. But its really cool that you're branching out. I'd love to see your design." The fact that Randal was so enthusiastic about it made her interested.

Spoiler

ID# 188626

LD: 2

LD requirement lowered to 6

She then glanced over the quest update. They had made short work of finding the ginseng, so she normally wouldn't have been worried about the NPC's taking so long, but the quest update told a different tale. There was obviously something wrong if the quest wanted them to check up on the NPCs and it probably involved combat too. She crossed her arms nervously. "That's probably not a good sign, is it."

Edited April 15, 2021 by Ivory Lotus

[Randal 0]

“Yea? Sweet, check this out, it is kind of embarrassing that the drawing is so crude, but the smithy seemed to know what I was talking about.” Randal started to geek out a little as they read the new quest information. This was definitely exactly what Ivory said, not a good thing, but a quest that did not end at the first step is also a sign of greater loot chances. “Come on, let us go check out what is going on with the rest of them.” Randal led the duo outside and followed the snow that had been marred with footsteps leading them to the area of the new quest marker. When they arrived, an NPC was found wounded and freezing the would stem the blood flow. “Help me please, we were about to pick out the Ginseng when a shadow flashed by and swiped it from us, before we could see it, something clawed at me…the other two, they fell down the ravine. Please, you got to save me…” The NPC said, giving us the option to heal him if we could or wanted to.

Randal looked at Ivory “I do not have heals on me, do you mind?”

Randal finds 1 mat

Spoiler

Name: Neptune's Tidings
Your Profession: Blacksmith
Your Rank: 10
ID: 12
Roll: 188602
Item Type: Weapon - Claw
Tier: 3
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: DMG | DMG | DMG
Description: hen equipped, gives the wearer the ability to eviscerate surronding enemies. Comes with an inscription in the native language of Atlantis that says "The Raging Oceans sends their regards." [image]39.83 kB · 0 downloads
Post Link: https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/1065-shop-f1the-blazing-typhoon-rank-10-grand-master-blacksmith/?do=findComment&comment=639419

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
189232	5	9	11	3	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-18 12:24:01

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

Ivory nodded appreciatively at the design. "An ocean theme, I like it a lot." She commented on the weapon design. It was very cool looking, that was for sure. They followed the quest marker, Ivory noting the detail of the quest. The games life likeness was something that still continued to amaze her. Sometimes she even forgot that the was in a game. She rushed over to the NPC, barely waiting for Randal to say anything to her before starting to heal them. Her hands glowed a bright white as her first aid skill activated, closing up the the wounds in a matter of moments. "We need to hurry, if the others survived the fall we may be able to save them too!" She said hurriedly, unbuttoning her cloak and placing it over the NPC she had just healed before moving to see if they could find a way down the ravine.

Ivory: 41/56 EN Used FA R5 -15 EN

[Randal 0]

Randal watched Ivory run off with a conflict expression on his face, he trusted that she could not get into too much trouble without him for a few moments so he knelt down beside the man and pulled out a hot drink from his inventory, passing it to him, even though it was just an NPC, maybe a little bit of Ivory was rubbing off on him. The NPC accepted the drink and assured Randal that he would be able to make his way back down to the hut in own piece and that if his friends really were alive, that he would rather the duo go and save them. He asked that Randal pass his thanks on to Ivory.

With that Randal ran off after Ivory. She had already spotted a trail of ledges with impacted snow on it, indicating that someone or something had fallen down in that direction. Randal pulled out the vine grown rope that he collected during his interactions with Giovanna the Gathering expert and tied it to a sturdy looking tree. He then asked Ivory to wait for him to make a few points along the way down before following because it is not safe yet.

Randal finds 2 Mats
LD 11+6=17 | CD 9

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188636	10	9	11	4	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 10:20:16

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

Ivory ignored the cold on her bare arms, her sleeveless shirt not doing much to protect her from the clod. The vambraces were a far cry from her warm cloak, that was for sure. She frowned, tapping her foot impatiently as Randal started to climb down using some vine rope. She seemed a lot more serious now, and some of it was worry that this seemingly random vine rope would snap and send Randal falling down to his death. She rubbed her arms slowly, trying to generate some warmth and waiting for Randal to signal to her that it was okay to start climbing down. There wasnt much she could do right now except wait. She started to twirl her hair in between her fingers as she waited, trying to make out the other NPCs in the snow below while she did without much luck. "Is everything going okay down there Randal?" She called out, leaning over the edge and calling down to him.

[Randal 0]

“Yes, please, you can start making your way down now, I found a ledge that I am getting off on and starting a new line of ropes down. I can see a small patch of dark colours at the bottom of the ravine.” Randal now more accustomed to abseiling down the side of the ravine managed to reach the bottom much faster than before.

The black patch that he had seen on his way down was the remains of one of the NPCs and a footprint trail of the other seemed to lead away. Randal waited for Ivory to make her way down by checking the body, the NPC was no longer alive but the odd things was that his body was not disintegrating into pixels which meant that there must have been a reason for the body to remain, inside one of the pockets, Randal found an oddly intricate flute attached to a hidden compartment.

Randal finds 2 Mat
LD 12+6=18 | CD 7

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188639	2	7	12	3	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 10:57:37

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

Ivory slowly started to climb down the ravine, taking her time and more sliding down the rope than actually climbing down. She finally reached the bottom a fair amount of time later, noticing the body and looking away uncomfortably. She had dealt with death before and it wasnt a foreign concept to her, but she was still a fairly sensitive young woman. She let Randal deal with whatever was going on and followed the footsteps a little bit further into the trees, waiting for Randal to finish searching. Whenever he did show up, she spoke up. "Do you think they were being chased? Why else would the third NPC get up and start walking, especially after a fall like that? You can see the footprints on the right are longer than the left, so he was probably limping too." She deduced, pointing to the footprints in the snow. She didnt know anything about tracking, but that had seemed fairly obvious to her.

[Randal 0]

“Actually, I found this on the body of the other guy, sorry you had to see that, I know you do not like it. Here have this.” Randal showed her the flute while pulling out a hot drink from his inventory, he had noticed she was shivering though whether it was due to the cold or due to the situation, Randal was unsure.

“I have a theory about something, but I need more proof before I can conclusively say it is the case. The wounds on the body were gnashes and claw marks, and that would indicate that a beast did this, and this flute, I have never seen anything like it before. I think that the NPC back there trained a beast to listen for the call of the flute and was trying to get rid of his companions, but I still do not know why he would do such a thing” Randal offered as a potential scenario. The key to all of this would be the last guy, if he was injured by the beast, it was either because the beast was not expected to betray the flute or that he was attacked by it and was running out of fear, if his injury was a result of the fall, then he could even in cahoots with the other NPC in a plan gone wrong.

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188643	8	6	1	6	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 11:12:43

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

"Wow, you got a lot from just that." She expressed, accepting the hot drink and taking a tentative sip, enjoying the feeling of warmth spreading through her body afterwards. She glanced around a bit, thinking about what they should do. "I think the only way forward is to follow the tracks and see where it leads us. It's up to you though." Ivory shifted a little in place, not too excited to go back the way they had came just yet in case the body was still there. The events Randal had presented seemed a bit far fetched, but this was a video game. Regardless they needed to verify if the third NPC was okay and then they could try to figure out exactly what had happened. She took another sip of the drink before offering the cup to Randal who she was sure was a little chilly as well. "If what you're saying is on the right track its also possible the NPC we saved before was involved as well in some way. After all, why didn't he go over the ravine with the other two, and why didn't the beast finish him off?"

[Randal 0]

“Do not worry about me, the cold actually does not bother me at all, I made it through the desert quest that gave me the survival skill. Regarding this? Honestly, there is a lot that I do not know yet, it could be that if he was involved, he was the only one who was nice to the beast and was therefor let go or allowed to avoid immediate death.” Randal’s analysis left a lot to be desired but that was all just something would have to be uncovered for themselves, one way would be to risk blowing into the flute to summon the beast and try to calm it down, he handed the flute to Ivory to keep knowing that she was looking for a familiar too, maybe with this she could call one down or at least find a beast similar to it. Randal suggested that they get down to the bottom of the mystery as he was getting personally invested in the storyline and intrigue.

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188722	7	2	3	2	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 21:00:24

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

It didn't seem like the smartest or most sanitary idea to try blowing on the strange flute. Ivory didnt fancy going toe to toe with some mystery monster. Wolves were one thing, she had experience with those, but who knew what this creature was that the NPC from earlier had mentioned. If it came down to it she figured they would use the flute to try to progress in the quest, but for now they should probably follow the lead that they currently had, following the footsteps or backtracking and talking to the NPC from earlier. It seemed obvious to her that they should follow the footsteps and try to find the third NPC. There were just too many unknowns currently. She took another sip of the hot chocolate savoring the taste but knowing that she probably didnt really have any time to relax. "Sooooo... Follow the footsteps?" She asked Randal, already moving to start walking beside the trail, cup held in both hands.

[Randal 0]

“Yeah, let’s go!” The lopsided trial continued not too far before it turned, there was no way the NPC was going to be able to climb up the mountain with a leg that has been busted so he must have decided to find somewhere to recuperate from his injuries.

Eventually, Randal and Ivory come across a small cave entrance, the lopsided footprints were headed into it but were marred by other longs of footprints, most of which were non-human .

Taking out a lesson from his intern to try, Randal and Ivory carefully stepped into the cave and used the light to illuminate the walls and surroundings, the show failed to cover the ground inside the cave revealing the sounds of the NPC shooting, peering around the corner to see what was happening, the NPC appears to be holding a creature of some sort, he was badly messed up but instead of tending to his own wounds, he was holding the creature hostage with a small pocket knife to its throat, fearfully shouting at a much larger beast moving in the dark get parts of the cave.

Randal finds 2 Mats
LD 8+6=14 | CD 11

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188721	3	11	8	2	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 20:59:03

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

Following the trail and noting the inhuman footprints, Ivory started to grow a little bit worried about what they were heading into. She had a feeling that whatever the situation was, it was going to be very messy and not very much fun for anyone. Following Randal into the cave, they peered around the corner almost in unison, Ivory barely managing to hold back a little gasp of surprise at what they saw. The NPC was holding a small creature at knifepoint, seeming to be threatening something further into the cave. She had no idea what to do, unsure of who was in the right or wrong in this situation. What she did know is that she didn't want anyone to get hurt and that the NPC needed some medical attention. She quietly leaned towards Randal. "What do we do?" She whispered quietly. It seemed inevitable that someone was going to get very hurt, the beast, the smaller creature, or the NPC, if they didnt do something about it. She wanted to make sure that they had some sort of plan before they just barged in there.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Ivory Lotus

[Randal 0]

Randal was at a loss, on one hand, he could probably save the creature but the man would have to be further injured in the process, if they lost the element of surprise the man might do something out of surprise or desperation, and lastly, they still did not know what the creature lurking in the darkness was but seeing as how the creature was holding back, it must care a lot for the young creature.

“I have an idea for what we can do”, Randal started to propose. “I am going to jump out between the creature in the dark and the man as if to protect him and fend off the creature, I should be fine, you will convince the man to hand off the creature to you in exchange for heals, then you heal him, save the creature and we leave the cave while protecting him, but the beast might chase us around. Hurry tell me what you think about this plan?”

Randal finds 2 Mats

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
188723	5	10	14	1	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-15 21:06:24

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Randal

[Ivory Lotus 0]

Ivory nodded. "I think that probably gives us the best chance for this to all work out." She responded, agreeing with the plan that Randal had proposed. She didn't really see any other way for this to possibly work out, and even then the chances were kind of slim that they would all get out of this without injury. She started to count off on her fingers, down from three to one, before rushing out and over to the NPC. She could only hope that Randal was doing his part as she was more focused on communicating with the NPC. "I'll heal you and then my friend and I will protect you, just hand over the animal." She explained quickly. The NPC was very surprised by their appearance, his grip loosening on what Ivory could now see was a very young white gryphon. Before the NPC could respond she batted the knife away from the animal, snatching the creature from his hands and placing it on the ground, ushering it towards the creature in the cave before starting to heal the NPC regardless. "W-what are you two donig here?" The NPC asked, obviously confused about their appearance and intervention.

[Randal 0]

Randal felt anxious as there was something at stake here and the entire plan depended on him being able to hold off the creature in the dark as best as possible. He had thus far used his body to block any advances that the creature tried to make with limited success as it was much faster than Randal. The only reason Randal was successful in keeping the creature from Ivory and the NPC was that he knew what the creature was going for and could focus on preventing that.

Randal could not see what Ivory was doing but all of a sudden, the creature in the dark growled loudly and the little white gryphon leapt out of the cave as fast as possible.

“No! Noooo! You cannot let that gryphon go outside, if it manages to get away, it will come back to kill us!.” The NPC started to struggle recklessly to catch up but was not able to stop the gryphon from reaching the cave exit.

Randal was still holding the creature in the dark back. The young gryphon turned to look at Ivory with a certain curiosity.

Spoiler

ID	Battle	Craft	Loot	MOB	Character	Link	Purpose	Time
189233	9	3	4	8	Randal	http://www.cydel.net/images/saorpg/diceroll/Msg_hover2.png	Find Material	2021-04-18 12:26:00

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Randal