PP-F3 "With Friends Like These!" (Hikoru, Noctis, Azide, Calrex)

[Xanatos 0]

The Third floor was practically my home base in this world. The shop was here and the secret cave where I collect all of my mats was here too! The day was gorgeous as I stepped off the pad. I called up my HUD and sent Azide, Calrex, Noctis (Acting as if our other RP was somewhat done XD Hikoru, you're gonna have to get creative on how you tie in here. Never met your character yet!)

 

To: Azide, Calrex, Noctis.

 

Hey Guys! You are invited to join me on a gallant mission to clear a secret cave in a rock structure on the third floor! Now the mobs may be a bit tough but I'm sure we can handle anything we encounter!

Your friend, Xanatos!

 

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru recieves the message from his aquaintance Xanatos, and is thrilled he was invited for such an adventure! He runs to the nearest portal.

 

"Teleport! Floor 3!" He says, and soon he is transported to a floor he had never been on before, and marvels at the new things he sees. He looks for the location of Xanatos, and starts to make his way in that direction, running as fast as he possibly can.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a small sigh of relaxation as he materialized on the third floor, looking around.

 

"I don't believe I've been to this floor before. It's fairly nice. Now let's see..."

 

He quickly swiped down on his menu to call up the message that Xanatos had sent him. He definitely seemed to be in good spirits, going from the message. He gave a smirk as he closed his menu, looking around, "Alright, now to find him."

 

The settlement, Delilah Village, seemed to be similar to the second floor settlement of Urbus with its medieval European influence as Calrex made his way through. However, compared to the mountain-like appearance of Urbus, this floor seemed a little more towards the middle-class side, with more humble looking structures and such. He took in the sights as he weaved his way through the crowds, finally coming up on his old vampire-like friend, "Hey Xanatos, long time no see!"

[Azide 0]

A swipe of his hand in the opposite direction sent the message away. Normally, he'd reply out of courtesy... but he had a feeling that Xanatos wouldn't mind his lack of a written response. As it turned out, he happened to be on the very same floor himself. What were the odds? "Well at the moment, roughly one in ten, actually." It sounded less like fate and more like a lucky coincidence the more one thought about it.

He pulled up the friend-tracking feature and set Xanatos as his target, then slowly made his way to his guildmate's approximate location. His head poked around the corner of some sort of shop, and he spotted just the guy he'd been looking for. Without any warning, he took off running at the man full-speed- his hand clenched as if he were holding a small blade.

The soles of his shoes skidded across the ground as he came to sliding stop, less than an arm's length away from actually colliding with him. He touched his fist to Xanatos' shoulder and flashed a smile full of mischief. "Sorry if I caused a stir for a moment- I was just pulling a Mari," he took a step back and readjusted his coat. "On the other hand, your shoulder's looking good as new. You get a replacement or something?"

Azide then turned, noticing the presence of a player he had yet to encounter in his previous adventures. "I don't believe we've met before," he said, offering the man a hand. "The name's Azide, of Square One."

[Noctis 0]

I step on the teleportation platform on Urbus, and closed my eyes. "Delilah Village, Floor Three." I commanded, as I materialize into the air, and sent flying towards the next floor. As all the data settle down on the teleportation pad of Delilah Village, I received a message from Xanatos. "Hm? A gallant mission, eh?" I said, as I swipe the message away. I place my hands behind my hand, and stepped off the teleportation pad.

 

Delilah Village has a different feel when I scan the area, but it didn't mind me at all. "Looks cozy enough to stay." I said, as I continue my search for Xanatos. "So we're going to clear a dungeon basically. Sounds fun." I said, as I took a running position and ran towards the exit of the village. I dodge any obstacles in the way, and almost bumped into two players that were "blocking" my way. I luckily stopped myself, before looking at the two in front of me. "Excuse me. I'll be on my way." I said, as I dash off to the exit.

 

I heard someone state that they are from the guild Square One, and I stopped and came back over to the two players. "Square One? You must Xana then. May I request for his location?" I asked the two players, not knowing which are from the guild. 

[Xanatos 0]

After walking out of my shop I was surprised to find Azide running at me with what looked like a dagger in his hand! He moved so fast, barely stopping before he collided with me. He nudged my shoulder with his fist "...Puliing a Mari" made me chuckle. "Yeah it healed up pretty nicely with the help of that crystal you used!" Clarex arrived, he was as punctual as ever. Azide introduced himself to Calrex. I wasn't aware that they had never met. Then Noctis, in all his sleek fashion, ran up to our group, he didn't seem to notice me at first until I poked out from behind Calrex. "Hello Noctis! It's good to see you! Well it seems everyone is here except for Hikoru! Hopefully he will be along shortly and we can begin the journey!"

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru looks around while running a streets, and run right past the boys he was supposed to meet. He did his best to stop, but he accidentally tripped and tumbled and rolled across the gravel. He finally stopped, and look to see that little to no damage came upon him, and he took it as a blessing. He stood up, brushing the particles and pixels off him, and made his way over to the group

 

"Hey guys, apologies for the lousy entrance..." He said, chuckling about it. "But im here now. So where are we headed?" He asks politely, seeing what the plan was, and where they were going.

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex arrived he saw a few more players walk up to Xanatos as well. It looked to be a decent sized party for this little adventure Xanatos was planning. As he looked over one of the players came up and approached him, introducing himself as Azide of Square One. Calrex recognized one particular detail from Azide's words. He was also a member of Square One, Oikawa's guild, and it looked to be that Xanatos has become a member as well. He put on a welcoming face as he accepted the handshake, "It's nice to meet you Azide, I'm Calrex."

 

After the introduction was exchanged he looked over to the other two players. One appeared to be dressed in an all black outfit, and seemed to remind him of a character from a game still in development, but just barely. His outfit reminded him of Teayre's beginning clothes before she switched out to the dresses she had picked out. The second...had just completely missed the group and crashed along the ground before coming back over. He gave a wave over to the two, "It's nice to meet the both of you as well. I'm Calrex."

[Azide 0]

From the very edge of his peripheral vision, he'd noticed another figure running at them at top-speed, and it crossed his mind that perhaps somebody else was going to pull an obligatory Mari joke. But his hopes were dashed, as the boy tumbled and kicked up a cloud of dust, coming to a literally grinding halt just a a few feet away from them. Thankfully, his injuries seemed more superficial than anything.

"Well, Xanatos," he began; he gestured to you with an open palm, "by process of elimination, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that Hikoru's just arrived." As he turned to his guildmate, his eyes met Calrex's, and it dawned on him that he'd seen this man before.

He scratched his head and smiled. "You were there that day I stopped by at Mari's, weren't you?" he asked, recalling his short trip to the Alchemic Contagion. "But we'd never formally introduced ourselves at the time. I guess it's better late than never," he remarked.

With the rest of the group having gathered in full, he waved at the two who had yet to introduce themselves. "Azide," he said, offering a slight bow of his head.

[Xanatos 0]

With everyone arrived I had everyone huddle as I explained our mission. "Today we will be exploring what I have called the "Cave of Harmonies". I discovered this cavern while searching the Forest of Wavering Mist here on the 3rd floor. Now any of you familiar with the quest "Search For The Hoya" know that in another cave on this floor is an amulet guarded by minotaurs. This Amulet, "The Hoya of Minos" is the key to opening this cavern. *Gestures to Immortal Fang" Courtesy of Oikawa the blacksmith, I have the Hoya of Minos socketed in my hand guard. We will journey to the Cave of Harmonies and explore the furthest reaches of its structure. I have only seen the first few rooms. The cave itself is lined with crystals containing what I believe are the souls of an ancient people led by King Minos. They respond to music, thus make a great material farming place for performers such as myself. Our mission, should each of you choose to accept it, will be to uncover the mysteries of the Cave of Harmonies, and the rewards that may lie beyond" *Sends each of you a Party Invitiation*

 

 

Xanatos has sent you a party invitation!

Accept? Yes/No

[Noctis 0]

A party invite fades in on my HUD, and I place my index finger over the accept button. "Rewards that lie beyond, eh? I'll take you up on that offer." I said, as I hit the accept button. The invite flies towards the top right corner showing the current parties status. Suddenly I realized something, "My apologies, if you haven't already notice, I go by the name of Noctis." I said, scratching the back of my head, and chucking nervously. "I blew that one.. Heh.." I thought to myself, as I shook away the thought. I swiped down to open my menu, and search for the Cave of Harmonies, but I had no marker on it. I gave out a confused expression, but if Xanatos knows where it is, I trust him. I quickly swipe away the map, as I await for the rest of the players to accept.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru eagerly pressed the accept button, because he knew there were chances of treasure, And possible friendship. Being the lowest level out of everyone, he knew he had to guard not only the others, but himself as well. One false move, And he could be the next dead player, and that was not on his bucket or to do list, so he knew not to plan to do something stupid in these caverns

"All right, let's get this show on the road!" He said enthusiastically, petting his plushie slightly

[Calrex 0]

"Noctis, seems like his name matches his attire."

 

As Xanatos sent out the party invitation Calrex nodded as he accepted it, seeing the other players' name appeared next to his own. He made sure to have all of his equipment was ready and equipped as he put his hands in his jacket pockets, "Alright, I'm ready when you guys are."

 

"Looks like our party should be more than enough to take on anything on this floor, especially with two double digit players here. I think we'll need to be careful of Hikoru. Even with the best equipment his health will be low enough that if he ends up getting targeted it might be trouble. I'm not going to let anyone die on my watch."

[Azide 0]

His finger pressed against the virtual screen, meeting resistance as he clicked 'accept'. The sensation had always felt strange to him- in that the holographic panels had no feel or texture of their own. Rather, the feeling was more comparable to the force that one felt when pushing two repelling magnets against each other. It was interesting, to say the least.

He pulled out a pendant from one of the pockets on his coat, and it danged in front of him from its silver chain. "Actually, I carry the Hoya of Minos around myself," he explained. The one he was in possession of consisted of a deep blue sapphire, set in a silvery metal. It was simple, yet elegant. "It's different from yours, of course- but perhaps it can still be of use."

He held it out to Xanatos. It appeared as if his friend were better versed in these myths than himself, so who better to inspect it?

[Xanatos 0]

I inspect the Hoya carefully. "I think it should work just as well! With that being said, we can be off follow me!" Setting off on our journey I couldn't help but feel an inspiring sense of adventure with my party mates! "The cave is just here past the out cropping here on the left. When we reach the entrance, it should open with the presentation of one or more of the Hoya's!" This being said, We reached the all too familiar wall of rock that I found just the other day. I presented Immortal Fang to the wall and it began to crack open. The wall rumbled and the entrance was in full form! "Ah, there we are!" I said as the crystals began to light the path to the main chamber. "There's nothing to fear in this first section, just watch your head."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru followed close behind, making sure to watch his sides. He looked to see everyones levels at the top right of his eye-screen.

 

" A level 15, a 10, two 7's and.... one Level 4, me." He said, learning who he needed to stay near, which was about everyone, since he was the weakest level, he could rely on anyone to watch his back. He smiled as he watched the trees pass by, the grass swaying in the wind. He enjoyed the look of this game, how realistic it felt to his backyard back in the real world, and he smiled as he remembered his little sister playing on the swings. And grief fell on him, as he knew she would be worried sick about him, and he had a real reason to stay alive, to make it back to his little sister. He felt his face bcoming grim, and he brushed it off, hoping no one had noticed

[Noctis 0]

And.. we're off to the Cave of Harmonies. As we exit the safety zone of Starter City, I grabbed onto what seems like an invisible sword, but materialize the Blade of Time. We could all fend for ourselves, but one person in the entire group. Hikoru. "Hikoru needs to stay safe, because the monsters around here are stronger because the present of Azide." I thought to myself, as I slowed down besides Hikoru. I notice his expression changed dramatically, and I place my hand over his head. "What's with the long face, Hikoru?" I asked with a grin on my face. "You were so eager not so long ago." I stated.

[Calrex 0]

As Calrex followed the group to the cavern he looked in surprise as Xanatos and Azide both present what appeared to be called the "Hoya of Minos."

 

"I guess it's some kind of trinket that you can get from a quest or something? Pretty interesting that it actually unlocked this cavern."

 

As the group entered he unlocked his sword from its sheath, although he didn't fully draw it. He made sure to keep his head low as Xanatos made mention of so that he wouldn't go slamming his face into anything he would not prefer hitting. Since it seemed like the others were really eager he made sure to bring up the rear in case anything came at them from behind.

 

"So what else should we be aware of once we clear this first area? Any traps of anything else we should know about?"

[Azide 0]

Azide was the last to enter cave. Taking Xanatos' words to heart, he ducked low to avoid low-hanging stalactites as he stepped through the opening. It was more typical for him to take the lead, but after a cursory glance at his party's statistics, he'd determined that it would be best for him to position himself as the rear guard. "From the front, I'd be all but blind to the predicament of everyone else. But from here, I should be quick enough to assist anyone at the first sign of trouble," he reasoned.

His eyes drifted from party member to party member, examining each of their names and health bars for a second time. At level ten, he trusted that Calrex could handle pretty much anything up until the tenth floor, as far as mobs were concerned. Xanatos and Noctis, both at level seven- were likely more than competent enough to be no cause for worry.

As his gaze finally shifted to Hikoru, he noticed Noctis stepping over to address him. "I'm glad I'm not the only one keeping an eye on you, Hikoru." His faint smile was nearly invisible in the dim light, but it was there nonetheless. If another player were ever to die in his sights, it would be too soon.

[Hikoru 0]

(I know im replying early, but I wont let this thread die Dx)

 

Hikoru looked at Nocits, wiping the grim off his face, replacing it with a smile

 

"No nothing wrong. Just thinking about home is all.... Really homesick, yknow?" He says, trying to get them to not worry about him. If they worry about his self being, it could cost them all their lives, and he wouldn't take for that. He wanted them all to live through this, including himself, and he was not about to get people killed because he missed his sister.