[PP-F3] Quest for the Hoya (Completed)

[Tyger 0]

"Hoo-yah."

"Hoo-yuh?"

"Hoo-uh. I dunno how to pronounce this!"

 

Tyger paced at the outskirts of the forest, waiting for Baldur to finish getting ready before they trekked inside. The information broker had mentioned a mini labrynth with a highly-sought out pendant inside, so Tyger and Baldur were going to take it upon their selves to go ahead and plunder. While Baldur prepared, Tyger went over the specifics.

 

"Okay, so there are 2 Mini-Minotaur-taur guarding this place. Okay, not so Mini, but it's hard to say that work and not sing that stupid song from back home. Anyways! They have about as much health as our Queen Bee friend, and hit even harder than Avalanche. So, leave the tanking to me. I even picked up a new skill just for situations like this. But, we should only come into contact with one of the 'Taur's, and then it's just finding the thing. Sound good?"

 

Tyger wouldn't be a raid leader one day, only because of her sucky explanations of quests and how they're to be executed. But, she'd probably be a great tank on the field. 

 

"Any questions?"

 

She looked over her shoulder to check on Baldur, and readjusted her shield for vanity sake.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur looked up from the little book he was holding with whiskers decorating the cover, then closed it and looked up at her.

 

"Makes perfect sense babe! Great explanation."

 

She would never understand how hard it was for him not to giggle like a school boy over her attempt to sound out the name of this quest.

 

"Just consider me your expert Hoya finder." He literally had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

 

What am I, 9?

 

He swiped at the air with two fingers to call up the menu and then went through his inventory to make sure he had everything he needed.

 

"Not that I think you'll need it, but you got a health pot, right?"

[Tyger 0]

It never occurred to her that the way she was pronouncing the quest was as... interesting, until Baldur could hardly contain his laughter. Her cheeks grew red, and she glared over at Baldur, turning away from him with distaste. 

 

"You're totally a seven year old, I swear..."

 

She checked her inventory, but eventually nodded. 

 

"Yeah, i've got a potion. Let's go ahead and get this over with, rover."

 

She wasn't mad, but was more embarrassed she hadn't picked up on what was going on. She wouldn't mention anything more about it unless Baldur did, though. They would be coming up on the Labyrinth soon enough. 

 

"Now, with this, I can't attack the first turn, but it's gonna attack me, alright? You just wail on it, and i'll have allll the aggro, unless you crit twice and I just miss twice."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur grinned and bumped her shoulder with his, "I hope you don't mind if I just cross my fingers for lots of criticals" He gave her a playful look.

 

"So why do you think its called the Forest of Wavering Mists? There are so many cliche fantasy names to choose from. But I guess every games gotta have some kind of 'Forest you wish you had GPS for'"

 

Baldur rubb his chin in thought, "I guess that's why you don't get anything like that in modern day games anymore. Now we just have cellphones... its like all those old movies that don't work anymore because a cellphone solves all the problems."

 

He laughed to himself.

[Tyger 0]

"We're gonna want a GPS to take us to the pendant, and then get us out. It's a giant maze."

 

She joked back with him.

 

"I prefer scary ass forest with random screams at night. That's why we're going now, when it's still bright-ish outside."

 

Even in the real world, Tyger wasn't afraid of the dark, but her imagination was powerful. All sorts of crap could jump out at her, like giant spiders or liontaurs or something. 

 

"It'd certainly come in handy at some points."

 

That she'd have to agree with. It didn't take long to encounter the labyrinth, so Tyger stopped just outside of the Maze's vision. 

 

"When we approach, it's going to summon the Minotaur. So, you ready?"

 

She was ready to get this over and done with. This forest gave her the legit creeps. Baldur probably picked up on it.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur drew his scimitar from the scabbard at his hip and ran a gloved thumb down the flat side of the blade, admiring the excellent workmanship.

 

"Are there fruit hidden in the corners that let us eat the ghosts which inhabit the maze?" He smiled at her, "Sorry. Hopefully it doesn't just immediately become night time the moment we step into the maze, but those trees look thick enough to block out all the sunlight."

 

He swiped two fingers down and brought up the menu and then he opened up his map. It would automatically track where they went. Much better alternative to breadcrumbs.

[Tyger 0]

Gritting her teeth, Tyger took a few deep breaths before closing her eyes.

"Only if you say waka waka with every step. I'd find some freaking fruit just to see that."

Baldur got a small smile out of her. However, after a few seconds, she opened her eyes before stepping out into the clearing. True to the word, when she did, the Minotaur materialized, holding a two handed axe and towering over the two. The HP bar was full, but they'd change that soon.

"Listen here, you. This can be ended quickly, or painfully. Up to you."

The Minotaur roared, and snorted air from it's nostrils. It charged forward, and Tyger moved her shield in front of her. As the creature attacked, Tyger used her shield to push the creature's head to the side before stabbing it with Tiberius. The Minotaur yelled angrily, staggering to it's feet after such a painful opening.

"Told you. And he hurts more than me, trust me."

ID 7644, BD 10, MD 2, CD 5

Minotaur 1 - Misses

Tyger - Hits for 7 Damage

Baldur-

Minotaur 1- 16/23

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 22/22

[Baldur 0]

"Heeeeere I come to save the daaaaay!"

 

Baldur came tearing around from behind Tyger as she brought the Minotaur low. Just as he was closing in on it, the minotaur reared to its feet again. Baldur was thrown off by the sudden movement but was able to recover as his sword slashed through the minotaur's arm, rather than its head.

 

"Is he more of a Dodge Ram or a Ford Taurus?"

 

Baldur smiled at his joke, but his blue eyes remained serious and calm, focused on reading the minotaur.

 

---

 

[iD: 7645 BD: 4 (+2=6)]

 

Minotaur 1 - 

Tyger - 

Baldur- Hits for 7 DMG

 

Minotaur 1- 9/23

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 22/22

[Tyger 0]

"He's gonna be a junker by the time we're finished with him!"

Tyger replied, a sneer light on her face. This battle was going much better than their previous one with the Avalanche. These two really were pretty fantastic.

"We might just have 'em!"

She smirked. The Minotaur didn't like that though, and charged forward like a bull, horns extended. He plowed into Tyger, actually doing the most damage she'd felt in a while. A bit of it got through, but after her quick slice to the Minotaur's head as it tried to sit back up on it's two feet, she lifestealed it back up.

"Looks like I won't need that skill this battle after all."

[iD: 7646 BD: 9, CD: 9]

Minotaur 1 - Hits for 5 Damage

Tyger - Hits for 6 Damage, Mitigates 3 Damage, +2 HP LS

Baldur-

Minotaur 1- 3/23

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 22/22

[Baldur 0]

Baldur shook his head. After the minotaur had charged Tyger, it left itself completely exposed with Baldur behind him.

 

"Too bad for him, we've got this down to a science."

 

Baldur smirked almost sadly as he whipped his sword back and forth in a figure eight, slashing the minotaur and sheathing his sword in a single fluid motion. When the creature shattered into Polygons, she could see Baldur standing behind its once massive form completely at ease.

 

"I think the <<Wasp Queen>> was a much harder fight. I am almost disappointed." His laugh suddenly rang out unbidden when he realized how ridiculous that line of thought was. Baldur's laugh, however, was a deep belly laugh that resonated from everything and carried throughout the forest. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, pausing and listening as carefully as he could to make sure that he hadn't disturbed anything. After a few heartbeats, he released his hand and let out the deep breath he had been holding.

 

"Man that was a---" He got cut off as suddenly a horn was rammed through him and then sent him flying into a nearby tree where he struck hard and crumpled to the ground, dazed by the surprise attack.

 

"Whaaaa?" Baldur moaned as he put a hand to his head as a second giant minotaur loomed over them.

 

---

 

[iD: 7648 BD: 4(+2=6) MD: 9 LD: 4]

 

 

Minotaur 1 - Drops 1 Mat

Tyger - 

Baldur- Hits Minotaur 1 for 7 DMG

Minotaur 2 - Hits Baldur for 6 DMG (5 Base + 1 Crit) - Baldur Mitigates 2 taking 4 DMG

 

Minotaur 1- 0/23

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 18/22

Minotaur 2 - 23/23

[Tyger 0]

As the first minotaur fell, Tyger's shoulders relaxed and she opened up her map while Baldur spoke to himself. Sure, the Minotaur was weaker than the Bee, but it wasn't a laughing matter. Especially that loud! She shot him a look as soon as he covered his mouth, and she grew tense once more. She didn't move, and re-equipped her shield as she peered around. Baldur felt safe, so she knew he'd keep an eye out for himself while she looked around.

 

Or... not.

 

The Minotaur hit him for a ridiculous amount, sending him spiraling into the tree. 

 

"Baldur!"

 

Tyger snarled, immediately running forward slamming her shield against the stone of the Labrinth. Since this was the only other Minotaur, she wasn't worried about making too much noise. She examined the health bars in the corner of her vision, and gritted her teeth when she saw Baldur's stop. It wasn't too much damage, but just with one critical? Sometimes he didn't have a brain to save his life if he tried. 

 

"Hey YOU! That's right, you, you big cow!"

 

She Howled, gaining his attention with the shield banging against the wall. Her sword was ready, but she needed to get the Minotaur off of Baldur. Hopefully she'd annoyed him enough to keep all his attention on her, so Baldur could recover and start nipping at it's ankles. Maybe that'd give him a lesson in humility, saying dumb things like 'this death game boss was too ez lulz.' She loved him, but she worried that his competitive spirit would get him killed. He liked the game too much sometimes. It was easy to forget you could die.

 

ID 7705, BD 6, CD 8, LD 11, MD 7

 

Tyger - Howls

Baldur- 

Minotaur 2 - Gains 3 Hate towards Tyger

 

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 18/22

Minotaur 2 - 23/23

[Baldur 0]

Baldur groaned and shook his head, forgetting for a second what was going on around him, when suddenly Tyger made a huge racket. There was an explosive energy about her as she used her new <<Howl>> ability to peel the mob off of him. His eyes quickly flickered to the corner of his UI showing his HP had dropped, but he was still in the blue. That was one hell of a hit he took, but once again her armor saved his life.

 

"I really owe her for this one."

 

As the Minotaur turned to engage Tyger, Baldur pushed himself off from the tree and sprinted faster than he had since he used to play sports, clearing the ground between them in the blink of an eye. He was razor focused. As he got closer to the minotaur, Baldur half spun so that he was facing the mob's back and did a sideways skip to build up momentum and then struck the back of the Minotaur's legs using the full torsion of his body and a concussion BOOM resounded as he crit the minotaur's leg, causing its own attack to veer off to the side and miss Tyger.

 

This time he didn't celebrate. He didn't hoot or holler. His eyes were serious. His look could kill.

 

---

 

[iD: 7721 BD: 10 MD: 7]

 

Tyger - Howls

Baldur- Hyper Crits Minotaur for 9 DMG

Minotaur 2 - Misses

 

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 18/22

Minotaur 2 - 14/23

[Tyger 0]

Rage flowed off of her in orange waves as she kept the Minotaur's attention while Baldur recovered. Her eyes were steely green, and focused. Life wasn't in them currently, only pure concentration and anger. This thing had hurt Baldur. Granted, she would have hit him for that comment, but that didnt give the Minotaur the right to do so. Especially with such a hard hit. The Boom of the attack resounded, and Tyger prepared to intercept the attack. However, Baldur's slice had thrown the beast off balance. Because of this, it gave her the right opportunity to attack and keep the hate flowing between the two of them.

 

Jumping up as the Minotaur stumbled, Tyger landed on it's shoulder and brought down her sword between the neck and shoulder, causing the beast to howl out. The magnificent amount of damage literally halved the rest of the Minotaur's HP, and Tyger jumped down to avoid getting swatted at. Her eyes were still focused, despite the fantastic damage she just inflicted. She wasn't in the mood for games, currently.

 

 

ID BD 10, CD 8, LD 9, MD 5

 

Tyger - Hits for 7 Damage

Baldur- 

Minotaur 2 - 

 

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 18/22

Minotaur 2 - 7/23

[Baldur 0]

As the Minotaur reeled back from Tyger's blow, Baldur wasted no time in executing the beast. The cyan light trail from his sword cleaved the mob in two, causing an explosion of polygons to fill the air. Baldur stood there for a moment, breathing in a controlled manner before slowly sliding his sword back into the scabbard. He slid his hand down the handle and with an exhalation of breath, let go of it. Immediately he blinked, and then smiled at Tyger, his old face returned and the battle left behind.

 

"Well done pretty lady, that crit was awesome!" He smiled proudly at her, leaving unsaid how she had saved him.

 

"Now we have to find some hoya around here, right?"

 

---

]

 

[iD: 7723 BD: 5(+2ACC=7) LD: 14]

 

Tyger - 

Baldur-  Hits Minotaur #2 for 7 DMG

Minotaur 2 - drops 115 Col & 1 Mat

 

Tyger- 22/22

Baldur- 18/22

Minotaur 2 - 0/23

[Tyger 0]

Tyger held her ground, sword in front of her, staring the creature down. They locked eyes as the Minotaur labored to breathe. Before it could even attempt another attack, there was a flash of cyan before the guardian of the Hoya exploded into the familiar polygons of victory. It took a few seconds, but Tyger's shoulders eventually relaxed. Her shield was placed on her back, and Tiberius Surge was re-sheathed. Baldur approached, and she managed a weak smile. 

 

"Thanks, handsome."

 

She liked getting complimented, but her heart was still a flutter from watching him shoot across the field to hit the tree. 

 

"Yeah. There shouldn't be anything guarding it now. We just gotta find it."

 

Her finger pointed to the entrance of the maze that held their prize. With the two guardian's fallen, there was nothing in their way.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur walked up to the entrance and peered in, then turned back to smile at Tyger.

 

"Tanks first." He smiled and made an over-the-top gesture beckoning her forward into the maze.

 

"I feel like I should have brought a torch or something, but I haven't seen any for sale anywhere..."

 

He shrugged as if it were nothing, but as a precaution he drew his sword.

[Tyger 0]

Tyger shuffled into the entrance, somewhat glad she was going first. If something was going to swoop in and hit her, she'd rather take the brunt of the damage. 

 

"A torch would be nice. Or an NPC with ANYTHING to give us under the premise of it's too dangerous to go alone."

 

Anything would be useful, so even getting a pendant would fall under that category. They had a few mob drops mat wise, and even though they didn't know anyone getting married, or anything that would want the necklace, it was better than sitting at home, right?

 

"Keep your eyes peeled. Thankfully it's not dark outside those trees or we'd really be in trouble."

 

Tyger took a few turns here and there, thankful she could see where she was walking at least.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur kept his eyes peeled for anything that Tyger missed. Typically he figured that his being a man would prevent him from being able to help find anything - what with genetics and all - but he had honed his skills in the the trial by fire of looking for Tyger's glasses when she fell asleep on the couch and couldn't remember where she put them.

 

The thought made him smile.

 

"Hey babe" He whispered to her. He was a jerk to her sometimes, but he just couldn't help prodding the tiger.

 

"There aren't any giant spiders in this forest, right?"

[Tyger 0]

As she walked along the path, she just honed into the rhythm of their feet against the ground, and their breathing. Everything had some sort of rhythm to it, even if it wasn't heard by everyone. Printers at work had rhythm. Cars driving by had rhythm. Once you fell into it, even the testiest, boring chores of walking in a tall maze seemed amusing. Until of course, Baldur prodded the tiger. She wheeled around, snarl on her face. 

 

"If there are, I swear to god i'm stripping your armor off and feeding you to them, don't jinx us."

 

She meant it well enough, but she didn't want to come across a spider. They'd have to come to her hospital room and clean off her bed after she soiled it. Brains were powerful, man. Instead of imagining giant maze spiders, she attempted to find the rhythm in their walking once more. It was really hard though, because she was imagining the rhythm of a spider following them with eight plodding legs. Damnit, Baldur.

[Baldur 0]

The spider tease really hit the mark, but in the face of her rage, he could only smile. He knew what if they faced any spiders, it would be up to him to tank the fight.

 

As they wandered through the maze, they found several dead ends and had to start over again. After one of these such dead ends, Baldur noticed that Tyger was walking in step with him. Slowly he started to vary his steps. Taking a slightly longer one here, a shorter one there. A skip here, a shuffle there. He knew she hated it, but he couldn't help but smile as she kicked up dirt keeping her pace locked with his.

 

He let out a slight, quiet laugh.

 

"So are we just supposed to be looking, or finding the center of this place, or what?"