[PP-04] Ominous Omens (Harbinger of the Night)

[Freyd 0]

Floor four had a summer?!  Who knew?  The fact that it apparently only lasted for three days was ironically appropriate... but shouldn't it last four?  Any why did so much always happen in this particular level?  Mentally shrugging while his brain daydreamed through the mental gymnastics, the majority of Freyd's focus was on the festival unfolding before him.  Never had he seen Snowfrost as delightfully decked out in brilliant symbols of warmth.  Red and yellow pennants draped every street and building facade.  Vendors he had never heard of were suddenly lining every nook and cranny along the main street, offering treats and nick knacks to celebrate the Sun Solstice - a once in two hundred year event, if local legends were to be believed.

Children ran giddily every which way while cheerful smiles affixed themselves to every face, warmed by the closest thing this place ever experienced to a blazing summer sun.  In actuality, it was only a few degrees above freezing, and the whole place looked like it was experiencing global nasal drip, but everyone was too excited to care.  Ebullient vendors soon shoved some sort of frothy drink into his hands that looked like a root beer float mixed with what the system could never actually admit was golden ale. The glasses were likely chilled by having been left on someone's back porch the night before.  Catching a whiff of something grilled and savoury, Freyd wandered deeper into town following his nose.

"Is that... sausage?"  His free hand tried and failed to send a message to invite others to the join him.  There simply wasn't enough room in the press of the growing crowd to clearly access his UI.  "Oh, the hell with it," he finally concluded, giving up and setting himself to the daunting task of making the most of a rare opportunity just to have a little bit of fun.

***

@Oscar @Elora

Note: CS (Shades of the Gemini) is in use.  If any other player objects to this, please state in first post and it will be considered inactive.

Freyd consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (6/6) - 1 portion 
Armageddon Juice (Potion) | Damage 3 | [179641] 
Mega Slime Farm Applied (+10% EXP, Nov.19/23)

Freyd shares:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6)

Freyd | HP: 1180/1180 | EN: 152/152 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 103 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 7 | BH: 64 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | REC: 8      

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadow
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 122
HP: 1180/1180
EN: 152/152

Stats:
Damage: 23+3
Mitigation: 103
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 4+2+1
Battle Healing: 64
Loot Dice: 5
FLN: 16
HLY: 16
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride | T4 MA | FLN 2 | HLY 2
Armor: Fallen Angel Garb | T4 LA | MIT 2 | REC 2
Misc: Fight O'er Flight (ACC 2 | EVA 2)

Combat Mastery: Damage R3
Combat Shift: AOE
Familiar Skill: Grappling Familiar
Custom Skill: Shades of the Gemini

Skills:
Martial Arts R5
Battle Healing R5
Light Armor R5
Searching R4
Charge
Energist
Quick Change
Extended Mod Limit
Extended Weight Limit
Fighting Spirit
Howl

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Meticulous
Emergency Recovery
Untraceable
Detect

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Ferocity
Precision
Resolve
Reveal
Stamina
Focused Howl

Active Extra Skills:
Disguise
Survival
Meditation
Forgotten King’s Authority

Inactive Extra Skills:
Frozen Hide
Brawler
Photosynthesize
Hiding R2

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable) x1
Rhino's Horn (Reusable) x1
Hmr.Pk: Hope's Covenant - Resolve +4 (T4 Demonic Weapon (MA) - AA, Phase, Frostbite, VO) x1
EWL: The Thing Behind All Lies (T4 Demonic MA, AA, Blight, Static, Para.Ven (Off)) x1
EWL: Dagan Crystal-B (Reusable) x1

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
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +2 Fishing EXP per attempt
Practiced Angler: +2 Fishing EXP per attempt, addition +1 LD/CD to fishing attempts
Advanced Training: +10% Exp to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1] - APPLIED
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

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:
Tanos Statue: +25 Mitigation for a thread.

Wedding Ring:

Fishing: Level 4 | 461XP

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Freyd

[Oscar 0]

Very rarely was Oscar in the right place and the right time. Having arrived on Floor 4 just as the festivities began, he had the good sense to leap onto a nearby rooftop so as not to be completely crushed by the swell of the crowd. When you're six-nine and built like the Statue of David, it's hard to move around on a wide sidewalk, much less smack dab in the middle of a celebration. Looking down at the hustle and bustle, something odd caught his eye. Oscar could pick the Whisper in the Shadows out of a crowd pretty easily. Not just because they were buds, but because Player Characters stood out. It was the eyes, really. When the peepers glow like a pair of headlights, it tends turn attention your way. As the surge of people hemmed him in from all directions, the instinct had been to give the poor fella a hand. 

For about 2.2 seconds.

Watching the man get battered by the crowd like a newborn sea turtle in stormy seas was the funniest goddamn thing he'd seen in months. To his credit, Freyd went with the flow. He looked like he was having fun. Which was weird. If he hadn't just seen it with his own eyes, he would have called bullshit. Freyd getting down at a random NPC festival? No fuckin' way. And yet, here he was allowing himself to get carried away by the festivities. As much as he wanted to talk smack in this moment, it did Oscar's heart some good to see his friend cutting loose once in a while. He could talk shit later. For now, he'd lean against the chimney of the house he was perched upon and enjoy the scene from afar. He didn't want to take up too much off the already demanded real estate.

But oh boy, would he not let Freyd hear the end of this one.

Oscar consumes: 
1 Portion - Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) -> (4/6)
Liquor of Light - +3 DMG
Evasion Dog - +2 EVA

Mega Slime Farm Used +10% EXP to thread, next use on 12/22/2023

Spoiler

Oscar,
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 52
HP: 920/920
EN: 124/124

Stats:
Damage: 26
Mitigation: 147
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 4
Battle Healing: 50
Loot Dice: 5
AA
PHASE
REC: 4
V.O.: 151

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: <<Kyūketsuki>> T4 KATANA//ABS.ACC/PHASE/VAMP2
Armor: <<TACTICAL UNDER ARMOR>> T4 HEAVY ARMOR//MIT/MIT/MIT/REC
Misc: <<IVORY GOLD LEAF RING>> T1 TRINKET//ACC/ACC/EVA/EVA

Custom Skill:
Veteran - MA

Skills:
Katana R5
Battle Healing R5
Heavy Armor R5
Searching R5 (Attic - Bedroom 4 -> 5)
Energist
Fighting Spirit
Howl
Quick Change

Active Mods:
Impetus

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Ferocity
Iron Skin
Focused Howl

Active Extra Skills:
Parry
Meditation
Survival
Restorative Strike

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (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
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +10% Exp 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
Decor []: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:
Tanos Statue: +25 Mitigation for a thread.

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Oscar

[Elora 0]

  ♪  The Festivities Begin  ♪  

 

Large globs of melting snow slopped onto the muddy ground from evergreens above. Elora swayed with the grace of their crooked bows as she set to keep her brimmed tankard from sloshing over. Unfortunately, she had long since replaced her means for elbowing and shoving spatially-unaware celebrants from her path. While her right hand guarded her golden grog, her left pinched the hem of a gathered woolen skirt. Anyone paying mind would be able to recognize the garment's utility for toting around an assortment of delicious samples. An even more astute bystander would wonder why she wasn't simply making use of her inventory. Elora certainly wasn't the brightest bulb in the lantern, but that only seemed to add to her charm.

A clumsy exchange between two unobservant players suddenly sent a stray body smacking into her side. In an almost beautiful cascade of inertia, the majority of her drink suddenly lurched into the air, then sprayed across her chest.

"THAT'S IT!", she huffed aloud. In an instant, her head threw back, momentarily silencing a string of curses as she downed the remaining beverage. "Make a door or I'll cut one through ye'!", she snapped after the disintegrating vessel gave way to a shaking fist. The harshness of the threat caught the couple by surprise. Only a second spared to consider escalation was enough for Elora to push her way past them and into a narrow vacancy. Bunch of blubbering half-wits! With her ceremonial gown so unceremoniously soiled, Elora seemed resigned to defeat.

Guess I'll get another drink..., she sighed just as her eyes distinguished a familiar face from the shopfronts. Freyd's here? I didn't think he'd enjoy this kind of thing. She wasn't sure she did either. Regardless, it was her intention to try and get out from the Inn every once in awhile. By now the 'dressing up' part was even beginning to feel more appealing.

Elora managed to squirm her way over, about to greet him just as an overhang of snowmelt promptly dislodged itself to plummet directly onto her head. 

"I don't want it to be spring anymore", she sulked instead.

 

***

Elora consumes:
1 Portion - Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (4/6) -> (3/6)

Elora | HP: 700/700 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 98 | EVA: 3 | ACC: 8(+2) = 10 | BH: 35 | LD: 3 | AA | BLGT: 32 | FLN: 8 | REC: 8 | STK: 40

Spoiler

Elora
Level: 32
Paragon Level: 6
HP: 700/700
EN: 104/104

Stats:
Damage: 26
Mitigation: 98
Evasion: 3
Accuracy: 8
Battle Healing: 35
Loot Dice: 3
AA
BLGT: 32
FLN: 8
REC: 8
STK: 40

Equipped Gear: Teleportation Crystal x1

Weapon: Essential Verdigris (T4 Dem Polearm | AA | Blgt | FLN | STK)

Armor: Defense Mechanism | T4 Demonic Light Armor | MIT 2, REC 2

Misc: Emerald | T4 Demonic Trinket | ACC III, EVA I 

---

Custom Skill:


Skills:
Polearm R5
Light Armor R5
Battle Healing R5
Charge
Energist
Searching R3

Active Mods:
Meticulous

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Stamina
Precision
Focus
Resolve

Active Extra Skills:
Concentration

Inactive Extra Skills:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild:

Wedding Ring:

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Elora

[Freyd 0]

"This better not be reindeer piss," Freyd grumbled, staring dubiously at the giant glass mug full of steaming something yellow that someone had shoved into his hands.  The locals laughed at the comment, even as he sniffed the foamy head with trepidation.  "Because it also kinda smells like it."   More laughter.  

"Don't worry, stranger, the brew's just been aging since the last Sun Solstice festival.  It's just long into its fermentation.  But I assure you that it's quite fine and mostly palatable."

"Fermentation?  You mean that this is actual booze?!"  Freyd's eyes grew to saucers, sensing an instant market opportunity.  He'd fill his inventory to the brim if it meant he could actually deliver hooch to players in the game.  

"Sadly not," a nearby player responded, his table packed with empty, foamy glasses, and groaning dangerously under their weight.  "We had the same hope."  His partner was folder over a nearby chair, looking green and belching ominously.  Judging by their bulging bellies, they'd pushed beyond any reasonable limits their attempts to confirm it. 

"Here, this will help."  A bawdy waitress slid a plate full of steaming spiced sausages, potatoes and something that might once have been vegetables onto the heavily stained oaken bar against which he'd found refuge. The crush of the crowed was less imminent here.  Not quite inside a building, the streets had been lined with these surfaces for patrons and revelers to use during the festival, supported directly from the exteriors of various homes and shops.  Freyd would have been pissed if they'd done this to his place, but it would be hard going to do so against a hole in the ground.  Whatever the meal was, it smelled delicious and he always carried a few antidotes around in case of trouble.  Why not indulge a bit?

Barely one bite into the trial, something bumped against him hard enough to nearly cost him a precious tater, saved only by a quick bit of aerial stabbing with his fork.  "Hey!  Watch it, kid."  

Eyes wide, a young man in a pale poncho with algid blue eyes under a mop of white hair mumbled his half-hearted apology then scrambled away as fast as he could. Something in his demeanor caught Freyd's attention: panic and terror.  Swiveling his attention towards the boy's point of origin, Freyd picked up the tail end of a tense conversation between several dour-looking NPCs, all of them lumberjacks by their looks.

"How could his eyes be more weird than his condition?" 

"They were wild, almost like he was chasing something. It was like he saw everyone as a threat or something." 

"Well what happened to him?" 

"Ran away after he snuck around the festival a bit. I think he was heading towards Darian's campsite by the lake." 

"Well if he's gonna run into Darian we've got nothing to worry about. That guy's as strong as they come."

[Oscar 0]

The smell of the food reached Oscar even on his perch upon the rooftops. From such a high vantage, he was able to get the lay of the land much better than if he'd allowed himself to get caught up in the festivities. Well, a little better. He still towered over most of the NPCs. Even so, his attention was drawn to the kid dashing through the crowd like a bat out of Hell. It was weird, but maybe he had somewhere to be. Just like Oscar did. He couldn't very well stand on the roof all day. He leaped from his perch, the sudden shock upon the roof sending snow cascading off the edge and onto the heads of the NPCs below. He soared through the air, arcing high above the chaotic festival and landing heavily just to the right of his friend. Though he'd not noticed it, his impact was sudden and jarring enough that another snowmelt would be loosed upon Elora's head. Though quick feet might avoid his unintentional assault.

"Been a while, buddy," Oscar said. The barmaid passed by carrying another laden with bowls of stew. Quick hands stole one away as she passed. Balancing the dish on the palm of his hand, Oscar dug his spoon into the hot blend and took a bite. Having as high a cooking skill as he did, it was difficult to find NPC-made food that competed. He was very happy this was an exception to that rule. He swallowed his first bite but before he went in for the second, he remembered the weird kid from earlier. "Am I the only one who smells a Quest?"

[Elora 0]

Before Elora could talk to Freyd about the skittering stranger, another sleuth of snow came rushing down directly beside her head. A swift side-step averted the miniature avalanche and sent it sloshing into her glass instead. With an accepting shrug, she arced the vessel around her to be topped off by the eager barmaid. The resulting beverage seemed a surprisingly appetizing combination of mulled cherries and mystery slush. Raising the rim to her lips eclipsed the arrival of another player, one far taller than most she'd seen.

"Been a while, buddy,", he casually greeted. A second sip dismissed his presence. That was, until she realized he was addressing Freyd. "Am I the only one who smells a Quest?", he continued with a smirk.

"Oh, already?", she remarked somewhat obliviously, "Didn't take long for them to spring one on us. Here I thought the festival might last a day before something significant turned up. Guess I should have known better..." Her eyes performed recognizance on a nearby platter, sending out a fork to pierce the appetizers that caught her interest. These ones were far greaser than the sweets she'd collected in her skirt. Considering her options, she resigned to consume them immediately: a skewer of caramelized vegetables, a bowl of spicy chowder, and a seared applewood sausage would suffice for the time being.

[Freyd 0]

"Subtle," came Freyd's deadpan reply in response to his towering friend's acrobatic arrival. He'd actually expected him to bowl over a dozen NPC's like some cataclysmic orbital strike at a carefully arrayed set of pins.  Oscar wasn't exactly hard to miss, whether in a crowd, stuffing his gob gob full of free samples, leaping ridiculously from low level rooftops.  The Whisper had learned his own gymnastic shenanigans from the best, after all.

"And, also, yes it has."  Distracted and now keenly alert to the potential of a fresh threat or mystery, Freyd 'Spidey' senses had triggered at overhearing the locals gossip.  Combined with the strange boy stumbling past him in the crowd, it was too much coincidence for him to ignore.  Damnit, Cardinal!  Something about the man-child's appearance was simply too unique to dismiss as belonging to just another background mob.  It was in the eyes, or maybe that ridiculous poncho. Any self-respecting spook would have also worn a proper cowl.

"I'm not so sure about smell... that might be a 'you' thing," he added, drifting back towards the conversation and allowing a wry grin to crease the pallid smoothness of his face, "but something is definitely up."  Poncho-boy had skedaddled towards the lake, precisely where the locals mentioned Darian's campsite could be found.

"Oh, already?"  Elora's charm cut through the crowd, ever tinged with an subtle undertone of sarcastic snark. "Didn't take long for them to spring one on us. Here I thought the festival might last a day before something significant turned up. Guess I should have known better..."  Freyd spared a moment to look her outfit over appreciatively, offering praise via twinkles in his eyes.  She didn't often switch out of her adventuring clothes, but then few players did. Funny how normal habits changed as one became accustomed to life in a digital world.  Could I stun a PKer by reminding them that they might one day have to do laundry again?  The thought came unbidden, yet accompanied by mental images of disheveled and emaciated escapees from Kayaba's personal Hell hole, each of them tipped over the psychological knife's edge by their inability to re-grasp the concept of ironing.  It would be like slapping someone across the face with a wet fish while standing in the middle of the desert.  Non-sequiturs were so tempting, and effective.

"Seems inevitable with these types of events.  Every time I start to have a good time, the bottom falls out."  Pausing, his eyes drifted to the swish and slop of snow turning to slush beneath their feet.  "Yeah.  So... what could happen? Right?"  A stomach gurgled, possibly his own in protest at the absence of libations.  It seemed especially likely given how everyone else around him was chomping down on some form of delicious sampling.  A flick of the wrist was all it took to summon a small mountain of col at his side, crushing the adjacent stall under its cascade and weight.  Freyd, meanwhile, downloaded its entire inventory into his own.  

"Come on, you two," he muttered through sticky mastication, lips smeared with powdered sugar that made him look like he'd just devoured some poor, dehydrated snowman. 

"Maybe this Darian dude has more snacks?"

Edited December 13, 2023 by Freyd