[F05-PP] Shark Bait Training Program v2.0 <<Bloodstained Land>>

[Freyd 0]

It had virtually become routine for Freyd to visit Fortaleza's sweltering heat in recent weeks.  In truth, he did it so that Persi could visit her family's den in the desert.  His tiny shadow mongoose familiar was a surprisingly familial creature, though you would never have guessed it by her arrogant attitude.  Actually, that wasn't quite accurate.  She was only arrogant and pretentious towards him.  Everyone else got nuzzles and cuddles.  Freyd was convinced that she was just trying to scam anyone she could into parting with their snacks.  Being made of void and shadow apparently meant an unending appetite.  Who knew?

 Routine visits also meant repeated opportunities to pester the local gang boss, some preening fop named Abdullah who thought himself above the rest of the residents in floor five's backwater streets.  Backwater?  Like there was even such a thing in a place like this.  Barren, crusted earth, searing winds and scouring sands were about all this place amounted to.  Barely a waypoint for local trade caravans, the local capital's only real claim to fame was the presence of its teleportation arch, making it the primary source of player traffic.  Its deep and ancient wells were likewise essential for what scrabbling sustenance was possible here. Abdullah controlled those wells, at least Freyd suspected he did, wielding them as weapons against the local populace and lavishing in wealth while the rest wallowed.  So Freyd prodded and taunted him regularly, under the guise of accepting one of the local quests that mandated some interaction with the gaudily dressed mob mobster.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it.  Kill the mutant sand shark, thingy.  It's not exactly rocket... err.. camel... science?  Nevermind."   Waving a hand dismissively even as he slid surreptitiously through the beaded curtains that served as barbicans to Abdullah's abode, his appearance was all wrong.  Deliberately, actually.  Freyd had irked Abdullah enough to provoke him sending his goons after he and Wulfrin during his last visit.  They'd trounced the thugs, of course, but Freyd had taken on one of their appearances and fooled their boss into thinking they had succeeded.  As far as Abdullah was aware, Freyd was dead, and it tickled him to no end to maintain that deception.  There were other reasons, but those were his own business and never openly shared.  

And so he stood, wandering about the central square, dressed like some Bedouin scout, and looking entirely native to the area, a large placard propped up against a nearby building that read:

Shark Bait Training Program  Sign up with mongoose, if you can find her.

If he was going to have to keep doing this quest in order to push Abdullah's buttons, some other players might as well benefit along the way.  Persi, meanwhile, hand already mangled someone's woefully unprotected leftover kebabs.

***

@Oli  @Bee

Freyd consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) - takes one portion and shares the rest with the party [filled]
Armageddon Juice (Potion) | Damage 3 | 197173
Madlad Muffin | Tierless Rare Meal | EVA 2 | 216701
Divinity's Wait (Meal)| T4 Mitigation 3 | 188391-1

Freyd | HP: 1160/1160 | EN: 154/154 | DMG: 24 | MIT: 105 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 8 (inc. AA) | BH: 63 | LD: 6 | HLY: 16 | FLN: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8 

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.

Spoiler

"Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
Level: 33
Paragon Level: 126
HP: 1160/1160
EN: 154/154

Stats:
Damage: 21+3
Mitigation: 45+60
Evasion: 2+2
Accuracy: 4+2+1+AA
Battle Healing: 63
Loot Dice: 6
AA
HLY: 16
FLN: 16
PARA IMMUNE
REC: 8

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride | T4 MA | FLN 2 | HLY 2   
Armor: Black Cowled Traveling Garb | T4 CA | VD 2 | REC 2
Misc: Shadowed Rose (ACC 3 | Para.Imm.)

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

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

Active Mods:
Night Vision
Tracking
Athletics
Emergency Recovery
Untraceable
Detect

Inactive Mods:

Addons:
Focus
Precision
Nimble
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
T4 Vitality (+16 EN) 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:  Fight O'er Flight (ACC 2 | EVA 2) 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]
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: n/a

Fishing: Level 5 | 576XP

 

Edited March 25 by Freyd

[Bee 0]

Her usual attire, consisting almost entirely of dark fabrics, proved to be a mistake. It was made for mild temperatures—nothing too cold and nothing too hot. She did not have an alternative for desert climates so instead, she suffered. Her skirt made it somewhat bearable. She welcomed what little breeze there was and grew miserable every time it passed. No price would have been too much for an ice cream cone from a specialty street cart or a cold plunge in the ocean. Unfortunately, the only ocean around was made of sand and ice cream on one of Aincrad's hottest floors seemed like an unlikely find.

Sweat and discomfort aside, she was excited. It took thirteen months, but her appointment with a local healer had finally gone through. Rosa, who liked to advertise herself as a top three support who worked with some of the most powerful guilds in the game, owned a small shop at the edge of town. It was there that she took on students of varying skill levels for the insignificant fee of 25,000 col an hour. Bee had already paid up front for a three hour lesson in medicine and looked forward to learning from a certified hero of the frontlines.

She knelt on a cushion on the floor of the shop. The small space would not have fit more than a few people at a time, comfortably at least. It was decorated rather poorly. Rosa preferred bare walls and surfaces, except for a framed award that dubbed her "Healer of the Year." Bee had yet to meet Rosa. She had spoken to her assistant, albeit briefly and ages ago, but never the master support herself. She could hear her though, laughing from the opposite room. Via eavesdropping, she gathered that behind the large red curtain across from her was a lunch room, where Rosa was finishing off a large plate of leftover spaghetti from the night before. Also, she had found herself in a pile of debt and was strapped for cash (mind you, Bee had transferred over 75,000 col a few days prior).

After much patience, what Bee thought was a voice call ended and Rosa swooped through the red curtain, jumping at the sight of the blonde. "Oh!"

She followed her surprise with confirmation that she had forgotten about their scheduled appointment. "Can I help you? If you're here about mentoring, I can give you my assistant's name. The waitlist is quite long at the moment," Rosa smiled awkwardly.

"Actually, we were supposed to meet today? I'm Bee?" She stood up, hands on her hips, speaking each line as if she, herself, was unsure.

"Bee? Bee... Bee... Bee..." the woman tapped the tip of her boot against the sandstone floor. "Oh, yes! Bee! Of course! How could I forget! Unfortunately, I won't be able to meet with you today but contact my assistant—she'd be happy to help you reschedule!" She proceeded to guide Bee out the front door.

"But—"

"Bye bye now!" 

The door slammed before Bee could protest. Like clockwork, she found herself out on the streets of Fortaleza. Grumpier than ever, she glared at the tiny shop, not noticing the critter at her feet until it wrapped around her leg. Her instinctual scream startled them both. Persi unattached herself from Bee, far less afraid than the latter was. The shadow mongoose scurried a few feet away and then turned back to the girl. They stared at each other for a moment before Bee spoke to her.

"Do you want me to follow you?" She asked.

Persi, who was presumably a non-English speaker, did not reply. Instead, she scurried away, leaving Bee to chase the sandy trail the mongoose left behind.

***

Bee consumes:

Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (4/6) - takes one portion. [filled]
Bee | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20 | DMG: 2 | ACC: 2

Spoiler

Bee
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 2

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: N/A
Armor: N/A
Misc: N/A

Skills:
Axe R1

Battle Ready:
x3 Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

 

[Sora 0]

Sora was having.. a bad day, he has not eaten, he has nearly died four times, he has been lost for hours, and frankly… he has no idea what he is doing. He was sent out here, told by another player that there is an NPC by the name of Abdullah, and that all he has to do is speak to him for a travel quest, which wouldn’t require any combat.

Of course Sora believed them, why would he not? He did not expect people to lie, considering the situation they all share. He still has yet to find any sort of shelter, nor has he seen a single player or NPC. He just walks slowly through the blistering heat, dragging his sword through the sand, making a long trail with the tip of the steel blade. His body can’t feel this heat, but he can only imagine how much he’d be sweating right about now.

“Oh lord.. if you’re going to trap me in a game why did it have to be this!?” He says, feeling parched.. it’s a good thing he can’t actually feel the need for fluids, or else he’d probably collapse. He stares off at the horizon, watching the rippling heatwaves wriggle in front of his eyes from the sandy dunes. “Hmm.. another tumbleweed, guess that makes eight.” He says to himself, it seems he has been keeping track to pass the time. 

About thirty minutes later, when he had almost lost hope… until, he saw a glimpse of the top of an old building in the distance. He walks over a mound of sand and tumbles, rolling down the hill with his sword and laying out at the city entrance, flat on his back. He sits up, teary eyed. “Could it be? H-have I found it?” He asks himself, looking up to the sky, as if speaking to a GM. Only to be blinded and quickly look back downwards. “Ow-” He takes to his feet and begins walking forward, his Claymore strapped to his back in its manky, old scabbard.

He roams the city streets before coming to a stop, he sees the skirt adorned girl chasing after what he could only presume to be a rat. He jogs after her, hoping she could provide some assistance on where this Abdullah individual might be. “Hey! Please, stop running!”  

Spoiler

 

Sora
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats
Damage: 3

Equipped Gear
Weapon: Steel Claymore
Armor: N/A
Misc: N/A

Skills
Straight Sword R1

Battle Ready
x3 Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

 

 

•  

 

[Freyd 0]

Persi rounded the nearest street corner while devouring the last of her pilfered snack, ensuring that no evidence remained of her shenanigans.  Half-expecting an angry merchant to be chasing after her, Freyd was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of youngish looking players instead.

"What have you found there, Persi?  A pair of wayward souls in Fortaleza?  They'll fit right in," he added with a charming and sympathetic grin.  Dressed in a more dusty version of his normal if spoopy attire, he'd allowed himself to go a bit local over time.  Visits here had become a staple, of sorts, fulfilling a purpose and need to which few still paid attention: filling the ranks with capable, competent players.  For those few still occasionally trickling out from the Town of Beginnings or other shelters, this was a daunting world - as it had been for him.  A stranger had helped him, and he'd been paying that practical gift forward ever since.

"You're looking a little parched there, my friend," he added to the male.  "Can I offer you some refreshment?"  Conjuring a glass of ice-filled lemonade, it crackled and popped the instant it appeared as the floors oppressive heat immediately attacked its alien contents.  "Don't linger.  It won't last long around here.  You look like you might have just wrapped up the survival quest, or perhaps just underestimated the intensity of the local climate?"

Persi wrapped herself affectionately around Bee's leg, providing an oddly cooling sensation as the void within her drew tentatively against all ambient heat.  She was made of shadows, after all.  Typically aloof, bordering on snobbish, his familiar wasn't usually one to offer such gestures.  Freyd immediately took note, still wondering if she might be the kebab merchant.  Bee definitely didn't look the part, but appearances were frequently deceiving and meant nothing to the Whisper.  "And who might you be?"  Manners were always a preferable option.

[Bee 0]

Slow down, ya damn mongoose, came Bee's inner voice.

They rounded a corner, past a museum and what might have been a pawn shop. She had almost run straight into the dark-haired man on the other side, stopping just in time. Another player joined them as well. She hadn't noticed the guy following her—or maybe he was chasing the familiar as well.

The mongoose seemed to have taken a liking to Bee, for some reason or another. The shadowy form wrapped around her leg, coiling like a much cuter version of a snake. "I'm Bee," she introduced herself without looking up from the strange familiar. "Is she yours?"

Bee's first observation was not of Persi's perplexing body, but of her eyes that sparkled like crystal. Her second observation came from within—a growing envy that tightened in her chest. She wanted one too. Bee bent down, reaching towards the shadow creature. It climbed up her arm like a slinky, spiraling to her shoulder where she perched, staring Freyd in the face with a tilted head.

"Oh, and, hi," she said to the other man.

[Sora 0]

He takes the glass of water from Freyd’s hand, smiling brightly. “T-thank you… so, so much.” He pours the water down his gullet, swallowing the ice cubes whole. “Huh? What? Oh- yeah, I didn’t expect it to be so hot. I’ve never been here before but some rando said I have to speak to an NOC named Abdullah. That he will give me a letter which I’ll then have to deliver to another NPC. Any idea where to find him?”

He says, adjusting the blade on his back due to it being a bit crooked in the straps of his armor. He nods his head at Bee, then looks at the animal on her shoulder. “Woah what the heck is that thing!? It’s.. adorable! Can I have one? Where do I get myself a stoat?” He then slowly reaches his hand up to touch the back of the weasel’s head. His eyes wide and his mouth. Agape as he prepares to pet such a gorgeous creature.

“The fact that these animals can bond with players and replicate human emotions and animal behavior is truly remarkable. Kayaba knew what he was doing with this game, huh?”

 

[Freyd 0]

"Too well," Freyd replied with regret, addressing Sora's last statement first.  "Persi's people can be found in the deep desert on this floor, though they are very reclusive.  It took quite a bit of persistence to find her."  Emphasis was clear, suggesting that he name might have been inspired by the same word.  "Familars can be found just about anywhere.  It depends on what you want.  If you're looking for a stoat, search the biomes where you might expect to find them in the real world, but consider any more fantastic elements that pique your interest.  An elemental stoat, for example, might be found anywhere you might find its preferred affinity.  Search the fire fields of floor thirteen, for example, or perhaps the poisonous swamps of floor twelve for a venomous variety."  Lazily flicking a finger towards the door, he conjured a second glass with ease and nudged it across the table with a casual press of black-gloved fingertips.  

"If you're looking for Abdullah, his place is across the street.  Look for the beaded curtains with the letters 'F.U.' built into their pattern.  The man is an arrogant git whose only purpose is to leech the life out of the other residents in this town and hand out a quest or two.  If it wasn't for the latter, I'd just as soon never deal with him again.  Unfortunately, there is an abnormally large and ferocious sand shark that tends to spawn near Fortaleza from time to time, devasting the lives of the already impoverished locals.  Persi and I make it a point to wander by and clear the thing out when it does, which is why we're here today."  He watched with interest as Persi slunk up Bee's arm, melting into the folds of cloth around the young woman's shoulders like she was made of liquid.  Inky shadow was more accurate, but the effect was basically the same.  Freyd imagined that her doing so would have a cooling sensation that would be most welcome in this heat, also noting that she'd never given him the same benefit.

"She must like you," he added, looking surprisingly amused.

"And, my name is Freyd, to continue with our introductions.  You're both quite welcome to come with us when we face off against Terra Firma.  Just be aware that it is a particularly nasty, deadly mob.  You'll want to let it focus its nibbles on me, unless one of you is an especially competent tank. I always prefer not to lose newly met players on my watch."

[Bee 0]

Bee wasn't sure who this Abdullah fellow was, nor was she familiar with the sand shark referenced; however, if combat was her long term goal then this seemed like a good place to start.

"She must like you,"

Bee smiled, not sure what to say. The shadow that engulfed her shoulders was soothing. It almost felt like the temperature had become normal, like she wasn't smack dab in the heart of a desert city. Freyd's invitation was a kind gesture. She would never have had the courage to take on a creature like Terra Firma alone. Not that it was a bad thing—it would kill her in a heartbeat. "I'd like to join you," she said, her eyes finally leaving the inky weasel.

She knew she would be little help in the coming fight and that there was always some level of risk leaving a safezone, even with the strongest players around. Still, she wanted to try.

And after Rosa, she was happy to have someone offer to teach her for free, even if it wasn't specific to healing.

"I might need some direction. I've never actually fought anything before," she admitted.