[OP-F6] Tropic Thunder

[Shard 0]

*Drip-Drip-Drip-Drip*

 

Cool liquid falls from dense foliage above- perfect, perhaps too perfect tear shaped drops, wet the face of a man unmoving below. With slow, rhythmic timing, each crystalline tear impacts his nose, cause small tremors of movement from still closed eyelids, the water then melting into his glistening brow. The heat of the amazon inspired forest causes a low lying haze which obscures the ground, and soaks anything in a slurry of warmth and moisture. Auto-generated jungle sounds- cawing birds, scurrying critters, and a distant rolling thunder colour the air, making the computer generated landscape feel all the more real.

"Grrruuuhhh"

A moist crunching noise echo's through the forest as the man slowly eased himself up into a sitting position, the username <<Shard>> hanging over his low hung head. Little crunching noises sound in his spine as he agonizingly keeps himself propped up and dark eyes peel themselves open. Shard looks around listlessly, taking in his surroundings in a similar fashion to one who just woke from a long, deep sleep. Sleep seemed to be the only thing he was capable of anymore- sleep and a lust for wandering.

 

*Sccccrunch*

 

A scrapping noise reverberates under him, as Shard shifts his weight. He looks down, mouth curling downward as he notices that he was sitting on his two-hander, the once impressive Fortis Gleam, a blade which had- and still continues to see him through any conflict which he was stupid enough to stumble into. Pulling the large, double-edged blade from under his bottom, Shard runs his worn, soiled hands along the face of the sword. Dozens of nicks and craters cover it's once razor sharp ventsteel construction, the signs of it's lack of mantainace showing.

You treat that thing better than you treat some people...

Shard's right eye twitches, remembering a voice he would rather forget- an old memory of better times haunting him. Shaking his head, as if to toss his toxic thoughts out, Shard pushes himself up onto his legs. He doesn't bother to brush off the various debris of leaf and dirt that cover his iron breast-plate, or cling to his dark-cloth pants. Lifting his Fortis Gleam into the sky, Shard swiftly places the blade back into it's sheath on his back with practiced precision, before taking another moment to take in his surroundings.

"Huh"

Lifting a dirty hand to his head of messy inky black hair, Shard tried, and failed to remember how exactly he had gotten himself in the middle of the sixth floor mob-infested jungle, let alone how he had passed out there. Activating his menu, Shard scans the map to confirm that he is indeed smack-dab in the middle of the jungle- an area he hasn't cared to venture into since many months before. The young man's face twists slightly, nose sucking in as if in a reverse sigh. His inventory was nearly empty, apparently having used most his stock of bread, all his water, all his HP potions and teleport crystals- oh wait, he still had twenty-eight flasks of ale. So empty of anything that would help him.

Shard rubs his eyes and lets loose an explosive sigh. All the signs point to him getting black-out drunk. Again. What would they say?

*Crunch-Crunch-Crunch-Crunch*

Shard whips around, facing a hazing opening in the foliage, silently brandishing his sword to face whatever is moving towards him- whoever is moving towards him...

 

 

(OOC: Feel free to join in- I gave whomever an opening!)

[Reusririasuir 0]

Making his way through the jungle, Reu spotted a black-haired player up just ahead. The player hadn't been particurally hard to spot, in fact, Reu SMELT him from quite a ways away. The entire area was permeated with the unmistakable smell of ale, the cheap kind. Reu had been watching the player leaning against a tree, probably passed out, but then, as Reu was watching, the player rose and opened his map.

 

He must be lost, Reu thought to himself. This wasn't exactly anywhere near a safe-zone, and for a player to be sleeping, or passed-out, way out here, well, that was extremely dangerous. Reu decided to make his way towards the player. Stepping through the jungle's foliage, the black-haired player suddenly turned around with his sword levied at Reu. Reu, despite keeping non-confrontational, non-committal eye-contact with the black-haired player, calmly reached down and placed his own hand on the hilt of the sword danging from his side.

[Shard 0]

Hot, moisture permeated air fills Shard's lungs as he focuses in on the man closing in on him. Shard's two-hander dully gleams in the mid-day light of the jungle, his sturdy arms easily keep the heavy blade pointed directly at the newcomers centre of mass. It was relatively simple for even Shard's hungover mind to tell this man was a higher level, simply based on his fancy looking equipment. Also, funnily enough the man looked foreign. Probably American or Eastern European- a rarity in a game dominated by Japanese players. 

There sure are all types...

 

Shard snorts softly, watching as the man stands there impassively as if gauging him, his hand on the hilt of his weapon. Could Shard take him? Probably not- especially with his equipment being in disrepair. Let alone the abysmal state of his inventory- unless this newcomer was here to raid Shard's ale stock. Truly rich men come in all shapes and sorts. Just call him Shard, King of the Alehouse. Actually, that doesnt sound so bad to Shard right now.

Returning to reality, Shard lower's his own blade slightly, more-so pointed towards the man's crotch. His own face just as impassive as his companion, the corner of Shard's mouth curls upwards, a small flash of amusement in his dark, tired eyes.

"Drink?"

In a single un-threatening movement, Shard holsters his blade, opens his menu and brings one of his many sealed flasks of ale into reality. Lazily leaning against a large tree, Shard gestures the drink towards the yet unknown man. 

"I feel like if you were gonna PK me, you would've while I was passed out- also, your green."

[Reusririasuir 0]

Reu felt slightly incensed at the implication of those words.

 

"You don't know me, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me, and you'll be armed."

 

Letting the words hang in the air, Reu thought of his next words very carefully.

 

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine. I just happened to be out here getting some leveling in." As he spoke, Reu gestured to the forest around them.

 

The burning humidity of the floor, combined with the tropical climate, created a deep, 'muggy' feeling, one which permeated every fiber of your being. Not only did the humidity make you feel like you were swimming in your armor, but it was also just plain, hot. Not one of Reu's favorite floors by a long shot. He knew baths in this game were only virtual, but he was still looking forward to one back at the Inn tonight. Once again Reu paused before he spoke.

 

"You know there are better types of booze in this game right? That stuff you have, is really terrible." >.>

[Shard 0]

Shard looks at the other man, then down to his offered- declined drink. The mystery man was right that the stuff was cheap. Right out off a first floor tavern- if anything, it tasted like a mix of water, sugar, wood-shavings and sadness, but did it have kick? Taking a sip from the flask, Shard frowns. No, it was pretty weak too. With a sigh, Shard looks back up at the man dispassionately, as if he just insulted a favored sports team or politician.

"It's cheap too."

Letting those words hang in the moisture steeped air for a few moments, Shard grunts and tosses the flask, the liquid container exploding into a flash of pixels as it bounced on the jungle floor. Waiting a few moments after the piss-water vanished, Shard looks back up to the man, his eyes dark, a bit tired, but as non-threatening as Shard could muster.

"I'm Shard. You?"

[Reusririasuir 0]

Feeling covered in sweat, Reu couldn't help but think about the time he was wasting while conversing with this player. It wasn't that he wanted to be rude, it was just, he was on a limited enough time-ac to begin with, and the two had already been talking for about 15 minutes. Quietly he was re-mapping in his head, thinking he might have a plan, Reu noted that if they did that, then they would need to travel through Amazon's Folly, a dense area filled with more powerful monsters, but doing so would let Reu earn more experience, and get them back to Amazon faster--. Pulled from his thoughts, Reu brought his attention back to the conversation, smiling he quietly said...

 

"I'm Reu. It's a pleasure to meet you Shard."

 

"...Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but I came out here to do some hunting, and if I don't keep pushing I might be beat out by some other players that are hunting in this area, and I just, well...I just can't afford to be set back in my level raising right now..", However, Reu wasn't finished speaking, deepening his tone and adding 'command presence' to his voice, Reu continued "At the same time, I wouldn't feel right leaving you out here. If I make some changes to my hunting plan, I can continue to earn experience and we can get back to Amazon faster. But we would need to go through Amazon's Folly, it's dense, hard to navigate without getting lost or separated, and the monsters levels will be more challenging. However, I'd like you to accompany me Shard, I feel we can make it through safely and earn good experience on the way. What do you say?"