PP F5 [QUEST] Blood in the Sand (Raidou+ Zero)

[Mari 1]

Mari stood in the blistering heat of the 5^th floor town; Armadillo. The buildings were almost impossible to differentiate between one another, they were all carved out of sandstone and hardened rock. “God Dammit..” Mari muttered, wiping her eye for the fifth time in a minute. She didn’t like the feeling of sand being whipped up against her face.

“Why am I here again?”

She glanced down at the quest she had accepted from a wandering information broker; something about having encountered an unknown enemy in the sand dunes. “Swimming..in sand… really?” Mari asked incredulously. It didn’t make sense to the pink haired girl. She was frustrated and looked out of place, completely out of her element, but Mari needed this. Blondie did ask for them all to grind the quests before fighting the Hydra – and if Mari couldn’t cut this she wouldn’t stand a chance against the multi headed beast that to the best of her knowledge, probably spat fire and censored lava.

“I don’t think I can do this alone….Mgrgrgr…”

[Raidou 1]

Wandering like he always did, Raidou ascend the case to Floor 5. The raging heat beat down on the tan sands as dust danced over the dunes. Following the beaten path, Raidou's red cloak breaks even this hot environments portrait as he sticks out like a sore thumb. Intending to pass through Armadillo, Raidou enters the entryway making strides through the almost sandstone graveyard. Stopping at the foot of a well, Raidou draws some water and lifts the pail overhead. Looking out in the myriad of NPC's he spots a girl with pink hair, seemingly frustrated out of her mind. Dumping the bucket onto his head, Raidou means to slip by unnoticed. Given the harshness of the floor, most players stay out. Slipping toward the gate...

 

 

[Mari 1]

Mari noticed him out the corner of her eye. Partially because he was like a big red hot dog amidst the dry desert bun, and partially because he was dripping what Mari hoped to GOD was water on her. "HEY!"  Mari turned, grabbing hold of the tail of his coat. "I hope that's water and not sweat you just shook all over me!" She huffed, curling her fingers into a tight ball, clutching the stark ruby material in her hand. 

Still, as far as bespectacled hot dogs went - the man was somewhat attractive. His hair, upon first inspection looked to be black but now he was up close; Mari could see that it was a deep purple. "Like a prune...." Mari accidentally slipped, describing the colour of his hair. She stared, purplexed at it. The man was taller than her so she had to stand on her tip toes, she reached out to deftly brush her fingers through his fringe. "A bespectacled hotdog; with snazzy hair." Seemingly over the angry fit she had mere moments before Mari gave the man a twisted smile. "So, how you going to repay me for splashin' your smelly sweat water all over me?"

[Raidou 1]

Raidou had a bit of his previous self creep up on him, as his face contorted into anger as the girl was sprinkled with water and made sure to let him know. Quickly subsiding as his uncomfortable feelings passed with a thought of Haine, Raidou looks down at her as she continues to berate him. First looking down as she tugged on a bit of his robe, Raidou looked at her a bit perplexed as the insults fell harmlessly in unison on deaf ears. Raidou had an easy 10 inches on the girl, yet she somehow managed to get up to his hair to run her fingers through his hair.

 

"So, how you going to repay me for splashin' your smelly sweat water all over me?"

 

being the only words that stuck, Raidou was indeed the same. looking down at the pink haired girl that reminded him of Ruri. Raidou simply nodded, and stood there for her to think of something.

[Mari 1]

Mari felt flustered when he simply stared at her - first his face contorted into anger, and that almost excited Mari; she loved conversations with a bit of bite in them. Her best friendships always had vitriolic tendencies. Yet that anger quickly faded, and changed into what she could assume was shock or some sort of disbelief. He didn't say anything to her, he didn't even react beyond his initial facial contortion. Mari let go of him in a huff. "Pfff...don't be a bore." She muttered, crossing her arms as she angled her face up to match his downward gaze. 

Finally the man gave a nod at her, "Is....that a yes?" Mari asked, raising a single brow in confusion, she waited a moment before continuing. "Ya know - if you're strong you could help me - see I'm on a suicide mission to help fight that hydra thing, so I need to sort of up my equipment. Does that make sense? Do you speak English?" 

[Raidou 1]

The girl released him, and looked puzzled and Raidou. Crossing her arms, The pink haired girl seemed to be expecting from the the red wanderer. Looking up at him with blue eyes, Raidou was struck again with a blast from the past as he gazed in the small pink haired's windows to the soul. She continues to talk at him, but they sound only like words spoken underwater. Quickly shaking his head, Raidou finally speaks as the memories finally pass "Hi there, I'm Raidou." he says as his right arm outstretches from the opening in his robe.

 

"Are you here to complete anything, you should be careful here. Its not exactly safe, I've almost died here before?"

 

 

[Mari 1]

Mari shook her head, glanced at him, then shook her head again. Utterly bewildered. The man left her speechless; and that was hard to do, especially for a girl as tactless as Mari. "I...wh-what?" Mari asked, still trying to piece together what exactly happened.

He ignored her.

No...it wasn't that, it was as though he was looking right through her at some far off place. The man, who Mari now knew as Raidou seemed to snap out of his stupor, extending a friendly hand and offering his name in a friendly manner. Mari shot him a glare, her face red and flustered - she didn't appreciate the behaviour, furthermore she hated that she had no reaction to it. 

"Ya Sure it's not airhead?" Mari asked as she clasped his hands in her own - shaking him with both her petite hands. "I'm Mari, did you forget what I said already, or are you just that slow you haven't processed it yet?"
 

[Raidou 1]

Mari's face turned red as she was obviously angry due to his quarry. Raidou's strong grip wrapped around Mari's hand, as his fingers around the back of her hand, not fully aware of his maxed out strength attribute. "Relax, I understand you need help." Raidou speaking as he remembers his own aggressive self-defensive mechanisms. "What are you here to do, a quest or gathering? I'd much rather not leave you here on this floor alone?" beginning to shake her hand with his overbearing sword arm. Looking at what Mari was speaking with, a quest giver «NPC». Pointing with his left arm, the silver plates string up his arm with scratches along them glisten in the false sunlight. Raidou points to the NPC and asks a simple "A quest...?"

[Mari 1]

Mari felt her whole body shake as Raidou in turn, wrapped his hand around hers and shook her hand. "Whoa there." Mari exclaimed, attempting to pry free but to no avail. "Gosh damn, son." Mari exclaimed. It slowly began to dawn on her that this Raidou character was not good with social interaction. Mari had half a mind to climb up onto his shoulders and  force the interaction down his throat; well, into his ears.

But that was a childish endeavour and he was much too tall to perform such an action, "Yes." Mari said slowly enunciating each syllable as though she was speaking to a child, purely to get on his nerves. "I Need. Help. Fight Sandsharks. Spe-cial. Im-port-ant i-tem." 

She paused when Raidou pointed, she took this as her chance to finally pull away, she rubbed her hands, attempting to get the blood flowing back into them. She wasn't sure exactly what the metallic symbols meant; perhaps he was indeed a strong player. That was good. She'd rather get this over and done with and move onto the next quest.

Mari wasn't one to get close to people, or bother with people's needs; but she had a guild and felt responsible for their lives. To her, they were children and without her guidance they'd run straight into an oncoming truck - if that truck had several heads and breathed fire.

Mari sighed, rubbing her left eye, "I had to run into a socially inept person...didn't I..." Looking up at him Mari tried to keep a level tone. "Yes. Help. Please?"

[Raidou 1]

Raidou was a bit taken back by Mari's response, thinking to himself "Perhaps shes a bit slow, better not confuse her." Continuing the conversation with care, Raidou responds "Well go ahead and accept it and we will move on." as he flips his hand downward snapping open his HUD. Silently to himself, Raidou thinks "That was pretty straight forward I think..." as he taps the Party Invite, on his active HUD.

 

Raidou sits on the ring of the fountain, awaiting Mari to finish the acceptance of the quest so they can get a move on, with her HUD reading.

 

Raidou has invited you to join a party, do you accept?

[Mari 1]

Mari sighed, rolling her eyes. She had hoped that the player was stronger than he was smart, they generally say brains over brawn, but hey- if she could have brawn at this point she'd take it. "I've already accepted the quest." Mari said, being careful to use a clear and concise tone.  "I was asking if you wanted to join a party. Are you ok, you seem to only hear every second word I say."  Mari added the next part under her breath, "more like every single word I say..."

At that moment, a party invite appeared before Mari;

Raidou has invited you to join a party, do you accept?

She watched as he wandered over to the fountain, did she really want to form a party with him? She couldn't exactly do it alone...and the other member she invited along was beyond fashionably late. Mari guessed she would have to continue without him. Mari clicked accept.

>> Yes

>Party formed with Raidou<

"No point in sitting down - how long do you think it takes to click 'accept' ?" Mari muttered in an annoyed tone - already forgetting that she was planning to be clear and 'nice' toward him.

 

 

[Zero 0]

Zero had taken his time to head back to the fifth floor and meet up with Mari. She had asked him to join her in a quest when they were having a talk in a tavern in the desert floor. He knew she would probably be mad, but it was better to be late than not showing up at all. He hurried into town as quickly as he could and searched for his companion, trying to find her as quickly as possible.

After a few minutes he spotted the familiar cottoncandy hair in the distance and hurried over, slightly raising his hand at her. "Hey Ma-" He stopped himself seeing she was speaking to someone else, though she seemed slightly annoyed from the expession on her face. "Sorry for being later, had other business to attend to at the last minute." He lowered his hand, and wlaked to her and her unnamed companion.

[Raidou 1]

Raidou snapped up as he heard of her acceptance of the quest in question. Raidou stretched real quick and walked toward the exit, seeing a third member entering the town. Suddenly the mans face came into view and another flashback with it. This time of the failed boss raid, where dozens were wiped out in an instant. Raidou stood there lost in memory as the two conversed. Raidou stood there reliving the screams as players plummet to there doom, as Zero was also an unwilling participant.

[Mari 1]

Mari gave a sigh of relief, as she saw the familiar tuft of white hair approach them, "Zero!"  She turned to him, sounding awash with gratitude. "You're here."  She jabbed him hard in the chest with her finger, chastising him. "And you're LATE.  I was beginning to think you forgot." 

Mari gestured toward Raidou, "This is Raidou." Mari then pointed toward Zero, "And this, is  Zero. He was my original partner for this quest - but the a**hole was late."  

Mari quickly sent a party invite to Zero; "You're going to have to make it up to me later - Jerk." 
 

Mari has invited 'Zero' to join Party:
Do you Accept?

Mari turned to Raidou, noting that his expression seemed far off. "Err... you ok?"

[Zero 0]

Zero rubbed the back of his neck when Mari jabbed his chest with her finger and somewhat scolded him for his tardiness. "Yeah sorry I made you think I forgot." He sighed and gave her a slight smile, but tried keeping it back slightly. He glanced at the player she had introduced as Raidou, which he knew already. "Good seeing you again Raidou." He looked back at Mari nodded in agreement. "I promise to make it up to you later Mari."

The small window opened up with the request to join their party.

Mari has invited 'Zero' to join Party:Do you Accept?

X O

He hit the blue circle button accepting the invitation and scratched his head. He looked at Raidou when Mari asked if he was okay. "Hey Raidiu something the matter?"

[Raidou 1]

Raidou shrugged it off as the words broke through the silence. "Yeah long time no see Zero..." his words seemed to slipped away said looking at the pair, standing under the entryway to Armadillo "Anyway why don't we get a move on, these things tend to despawn at night. You wouldn't want to have to wait until tomorrow would you?" Raidou says toward Mari, as he tries to match her energy and break some tension. Softly walking out of town, he moves slowly to allow the others to follow.

 

The desert seems calm, bright and humid today. The sun is beating down on the sands, causing one to squint slightly. The floor is barren of players and monsters, a bit strange but not exactly that outrageous. Way out on the left of the entry is a high rise of stone, typically the sand shark's hang out. The party would need to pass through the mass of his tribe to get to him.

[Mari 1]

Mari scoffed, giving Zero a nod - "Damn right you will, guess I will be eating well this week." Mari exclaimed, more or less deciding that Zero's punishment would be to feed her. Her blue eyes darted between Zero and Raidou - so the two knew each other? Not uncommon in this game, the higher levelled players all seemed to know each other, if not by name then at least by face.

Raidou, the softly spoken man acknowledged Zero - then wandered off out of the town. Mari gave Zero a 'is this guy serious?' look before following Raidou. "No, I don't want to wait, why do you think I was trying to rush us?" Mari muttered in an annoyed tone under her breath. She was annoyed at Raidou - but she was equally annoyed at the sand, she hated the desert. 

The trio made quick time, leaving the stone carved city behind them - now just over the horizon. Mari was already sweaty and uncomfortable. She glanced to the side, noticing a stone structure; similar to what was outlined in the quest. "Guess we are pretty close then."

[Zero 0]

Zero nodded when Mari spoke and told him what he would have to do for her to make up for being late. He followed the two players as they made their way out of town and sighed as tensions between the two players grew. Mari was annoyed, very noticeable, and Raidou wasn't helping lower her annoyance. He looked at Mari when she pointed out the structure from the quest and nodded slowly. "Alright, we better keep our eyes open then." He stopped walking when he felt the ground shake slightly, looking around, and spotted mount sand slowly making its way to them. "Speak of the devil..." He muttered as the creature jumped from out the sand and back in, circling the group.

Sand Shark: 50/50

Mari: 19/19

Raidou: 45/45

Zero: 29/29

[Raidou 1]

(OOC: I'll post for the sand shark because its annoying for anyone but the tank/3rd parties to control hate mechanics as long as thats fine with you two)

 

Raidou sets up a parry, as the monster moves toward the party. A quick slap of his weapon draws the monsters attention, as Raidou quickly rotates as the monster emerges from the sand. Mid spin, Raidou has set up a Mass Parry.

 

BD: 5+2 ID 1277 Parried!

 

Turn Order:

1. Raidou
2. Mari
3. Zero
4. Sand Shark

 

Hate:

Raidou: 4

Mari: ?

Zero: ?

 

Sand Shark: 48/50 -2 (4*½)

Mari: 19/19  5 Damage, 4 Damage Mitigation, 2 Evasion

Raidou: 45/45 4 Damage, 4 Damage Mitigation, 2 LS 8-10, 2 Accuracy

Zero: 29/29 3 Damage, 2 Evasion, 2 Accuracy

[Mari 1]

Mari grinned as the shark finally appeared; well, more so quickly appeared. she had hoped that they would make short work of the beast. Zero had yet to attack but Raidou managed a successful Parry. Mari charged - darting underneath its underside she attempted to strike at it from underneath - but the Sand Shark dove back down into the ground before Mari could get a shot at it. The beasts massive tail whipped out, aiming for the pink haired girl but she deftly jumped out of the way - skidding along the sand she lowered her body into position, ready to strike again.

 

 

Rolled a 3 on the d10 (battle) dice.

Rolled a 5 on the d10 (mob) dice.
Eva - 2

 

Sand Shark: 48/50
Mari: 21/21
Raidou: 45/45
Zero: 29/29 

 

 

 

Perma Roller ID #1311