[PP-F1] Outfitting the guild (Ebon Vanguard)

[9Lives 0]

9Lives sat peacefully on the roof of a shop in the market place watching the commerce interactions. he now had this skill to smith and contemplated the idea of setting up a shop for col but customer service wasn't one of his strong points. No he saw no point in crafting items for the masses. it would mean selling items below their worth or making inferior items for players who would probably get themselves killed. He would instead only craft for the guild, making items for his group to further their pursuits.

[9Lives 0]

The guild didn't have a headquarters yet and he wasn't going to set up a shop which meant he needed to use the crafting table at the crafting trainer. 9Lives made his way through town on the rooftops leaping from building to building and avoiding the crowds and not being stuck to using the roads. He dropped down to street level just in front of the crafting store. his black cloak fluttered as he hit the ground falling down behind him.

[Saix 0]

With so many of the crafting stations centered around the central hub that was the Plaza of Starting City, 9Live's antics were not unnoticed. A swordsman wearing basic iron armor and a red cape like mantle separated from the crowd as 9Lives made his spectacular aerial entrance. "Rooftops are likely a faster way of getting around in a place this packed, eh?" said Saix, as he stopped a few feet away from his friend and guild mate. He gave a rueful shake of the head, glancing down at his own armor "Almost makes me wish we had another option for forward so I wouldn't need to wear all this heavy armor. The Rapier skills I have seen are pretty sweet." he adds, rather wistfully. Craning his neck to look at the crafting table, he smiles. "Oh? You picked a profession? Congrats."

[9Lives 0]

surprisingly the crafting table was open. He approached the table which brought up a menu before him asking him if he wished to craft an item. he pressed the <> button and the crafting gui opened displaying his materials and the items he could craft. As he looked down the list he saw the curved blade choices. he knew he wasn't far form earning the Katana ability and didn't want to waist material on crafting something he would not need. Selecting <> in the menu brought up a set of variables that were much more extensive than the introduction quest had shown. He set the curvature, blade appearance, saia, tsuba, wrapping and skinning. once his customization was set he his <> and waited while the system built his creation.

[Axel 0]

Axel walked through the market place, his hands behind his head and his arms spread out. He yawned slightly and looked around at all the vending stalls, seeing what was for sale. At first he didn't see anything interesting, but then hear something about a teleport crystal. He inquired about what the item did, and was told it could teleport him to any teleport gate plaza. He shrugged and purchased it, watching the Col disappear from his inventory. He sighed as he turned and walked off, hoping it would be worth it. He kept walking and as he did, he spotted two members from his guild. He walked over and recognized one as the leader and smiled. "Hello Captain. How are you doing today?" He let his arms drop to his side and put his hands in his pockets.

[Nikki Styx 0]

The market was busy today, as it was yesterday, and as it would be tomorrow. It seemed everyday that Nikki came here it would prove to be too crowded. Though today things were different. She hadn't come here to trade supplies or deal with vendors. Instead she needed help. She had been camped out near a crafting table waiting for someone with the blacksmithing skill to come by and use it. Some would wonder if she had ill intentions waiting for a smith, but her intentions were pure. She needed help getting a new shield, and she needed a smith to forge one for her.

Many people had come by, many people had used the table, but none had the skill she required, either that or they simply did not look like the kind of people she should inquire for help. Again this was another problem with the city, all these low level crafters couldn't do what she actually needed. Nikki let out a sigh as she continued to lean against her spot on the wall. She had been watching for several hours today alone and boredom was starting to over come her. A single thin braid of blue hair hung from her raised hood and she twirled it absentmindedly as she waited.

occasionally she would open her menu's and look over things, such as her skills, stats or even recheck her inventory. It was while she was doing this that she noticed a figure drop down from a nearby roof and approach the crafting table. This caught her attention as she looked around her open window watching him with interest. Another figure joined him and the pair shared a brief conversation before the first person began to work on the table. She couldn't see from here what was being made, but considering how many different menus he had to actually go through she figured it had some difficulty.

Nikki closed her own windows and prepared to cross the narrow stretch of open street to speak with the crafter, but hesitated when a third person joined them. He called one of the men captain. Nikki froze for a moment considering her options. Captain meant guild member, and high ranking guild member possibly even leader. This could be both good and bad for her cause. They could be leetists and shrug her off, or even become hostile towards her. Or on the other hand they could ask her to join their guild and help them if she wanted help. She contemplated the second option for a moment. It really wouldn't be so bad if that happened, as unlikely as it were. After all she had been alone for some time and did want some company.

Nikki lowered her head for a second and sighed. There was no harm in at least trying to get help now, and besides maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "OK," she thought to herself. "Time to do this." She pressed herself off the wall with her hands and crossed the street, making sure to approach the men slowly. Despite her slow pace she still managed to reach them rather quickly, and stood behind them for a few moments before finally speaking.

"I'm sorry to bother you Gentlemen, but I could use some help."

((OOC: I hope this is ok, If not I can delete it right away.))

[9Lives 0]

((crafting got worked out so we can continue this topic))

9lives stepped back as the loading screen processed his craft. his eyes darted out to Saix who came in just as he started the craft. he didn't reply at first. just smirked to the comment of his rooftop antics. As Saix continued to 9Lives turned his attention back to the loading bar. "your the guild leader, recruit." he said as if it was that simple. to him it really was. just as Saix congratulated him for picking a profession the bar finished and his inventory marked a new item. His eyes widened as he looked over the details. a devious smile widened over his face as he put the blade in his hand. He still couldn't use it but he wanted to admire the blade.

Fire tempered blue steel blade 2.4 shaku (2'5" in length). Blackened steel tsuba with the embossed design of a ouroboros on one side and a pentagram on the other. the Tsuka has black dyed thresher shark skin with black leather wrapping and a flat blackened metal cap. the Saya is mat black with lacquer drops to give it the appearance of the morning dew. "I call it, Aitsuu" he said displaying the stats to his guildmate. Sharpness +3, Accuracy +3, Quickness +3. it was an impressive weapon.

as others began to come in he put the blade away and stepped away from the bench. his eyes staring down the two as they each made their appearance.

[Axel 0]

Axel looked to the man staring him down, unsure of what to say. Luckily, he didn't have to say anything because a girl approached from behind and asked for help. He turned around slowly, smiling as he saw the young woman. "What do you need help with miss? I'm sure we could help...most likely anyway. The name's Axel by the way." He held out a hand, smiling warmly, his left hand in his coat pocket. He took in the appearance of the girl, noticing she was probably a slightly higher level than himself. Despite this, however, he kept his smile and waited for a response.

[Nikki Styx 0]

She hesitated a moment before pulling down her hood revealing her long blue hair and shaking Axels hand. She pulled up her inventory window and activated her shield, A moment later it spawned on her arm. It was in a serious state of damage, and looking at its own item stamina bar one could see it was nearly destroyed. "I need to borrow the skills of yer guild smith. I cant continue much further with this low level shield, and desperatly need a new one." She was aware of how pathetic it sounded to be asking for help, most people went and bought new things from the NPC's, but she needed something stronger than a baseline shield, She needed something forged.

"I can pay... I dont have much, but you can have it all. I can kill things for you too."

[9Lives 0]

9lives glared at the girl who came in asking about a smith. his eyes shifted to the new comer who was overjoyed to talk to her and then moved to Saix. 9lives shook his head. I don't do favors and my talents are not for sale. I only work to promote my guild. he said turning his attention back to the girl. that would have been it in his mind but the timing was so perfect to ignore. he turned back to Saix. you wanted and option? looks like you got one. and with that the matter was out of his hands. The only way he would help the girl is if Saix let her in to the guild as the new forward. sure he was ranked high enough to recruit her himself but he didn't care for the public and wasn't about to start recruiting people who just wanted to use him.

[Saix 0]

"Fascinating." pretty much summed up Saix's feelings upon the completion of the weapon. He was one of the few players to have successfully obtained the <>, likely one of the most sought after items on the First Floor, but this new weapon, Aitsuu, put his Anneal Blade to shame. Realizing that he was spacing out, he straightened and responded to Axel's greeting with a smile. "No need to be so formal Axel, I mean, we aren't a military. Saix is fine." He says, in that easy way he interacted with everyone. Being the son of a foreign affairs minister, groomed himself for a career in politics, Saix certainly knew his way around a conversation. He could be decisive and a leader when needed, or he could be a friendly face to those around him. The possibilities were endless.

When the young woman crossed the street and appealed for Nine's help, he stood silent, waiting for his taciturn friend to formulate a response. Nine had picked his crafting profession for much the same reason Saix himself had, and boldly stated that he used it for the same reason, the guild. Technically, Saix might have tried overruling that, telling him to accept Col to craft, but that simply wasn't a very Saix thing to do. Because Nine's next sentence weighed true. Another forward? the thought was certainly tempting. If she had worn that shield down, she had been in combat. Forward was the most dangerous position in most guilds or parties. Not having raised skills to the level where a player might become a true Tank, a forward engaged and pulled enemy monsters while the rest of the guild focused damage to put it down.

On low level floors such fights ended quickly, as the combined focus of a group of DPS players made quick work of the low HP creatures that dotted the area. Against creatures like a Floor Boss, or an Event Boss, it was dangerous work. Saix should know, he had acted as the forward for The Ebon Vanguard all this time. Be stepped forward, bringing one hand up to stroke his chin, supporting his elbow with the other hand. "I'm sorry if that was not the answer you were hoping for." He said, referring to Nine's refusal to forge her shield. "My name is Saix, and I am the Leader of this Guild, The Ebon Vanguard." He continued before his speculative look disappeared like melting ice and a smile appeared. "Looks like you have been out in some heavy combat. <> perhaps? They can do a lot of damage to equipment. We all pretty much started that way, solo players who leveled slowly on the first floor before joining up to make sure we survived the higher floors."

He glances back at his guild mates as he speaks, rather fondly, before his attention returns to Nikki. "You are obviously a skilled player, especially if you have survived this long solo. Why don't you join us? In order to survive, we need skilled players who are willing to use their individual talents for the sake of the whole. The sum of our team work is far more than the individual parts themselves. That is what we believe will allow us to beat this game." He says, his tone serious now. Saix, Inu, and Nine. Those were the core members who had originally started forming the concept of how they wanted their Guild to function. They had used the Information Brokers to gather as much combat and leveling data as possible, learning how the game worked, and then set out to form a Guild that would use the loopholes in the game against itself. They wanted to create a tactical guild, one where every player was a vital part of a team dedicated to ensuring victory, and through victory, survival.

[Nikki Styx 0]

For a moment Nikki was concerned that she would receive no help from here. The individual who had been smithing was not interested in selling his services, and his tone suggested that bartering was out of the deal, it would seem that he worked for the Ebon Vanguard and no one else. However the nearby man named Saix, who just so happened to be the captain of the Vanguard seemed to have taken an interest in her. He had even extended her an invitation to the guild. For a second Nikki was unsure of how to proceed, there were so many things to consider, the first being why would he trust a stranger so readily? Perhaps he was being foolish, or maybe he figured himself to be a good judge of character? Also While Nikki had thought about joining a guild, the prospect of joining one right here, right now, sight unseen, was... it was a stretch to say the least.

She hesitated a few moments longer before finally coming to a decision. "If you think I can be of value to yer guild... Then, Yes, I can join you." It had been Saix's Description of the guild dynamic that had really won her over. Teamwork to achieve victory. In many of the games she played, even the best solo players were always overrun by good working teams. Obviously as a perk she would then have access to the guild smith, but that would wait. If they needed her help she would do that first, help them achieve their goals and then ask for their help again. She would not be a burden.

[Axel 0]

Axel smiled as everyone exchanged words, deciding to keep quiet and listen. He heard that Saix was offering for the girl to join the guild and began to analyze her. He looked to her equipment, a spear and a shield. She would most likely make a good forward, distract the monster and allow everyone to do some serious damage. Axel liked those types of people. They allowed him to get bloody without his own blood being spilled, which made his job easier. He was brought out of his pondering when the girl stated that she would join. Axel grinned and said, "Well then, welcome to the guild. Nice to get a new member." He looked to Saix for a moment and then turned his attention back to the girl.

[Saix 0]

Saix inclined his head to the side, a mischievous smile on his face when she spoke. "I believe that everyone can be of value to a guild." He replies, straightening his back. "We all have our own strengths, and we can all survive out there on our own, to a point. But there are limits as to how far a solo player can go in an MMO; bosses, events, and challenges that we can't take on alone. Not to mention, every single weapon type has it's weaknesses. So while we may be able to do alright on our own, we decided that it would be best to pool our talents, and eliminate our weaknesses. I'm not saying I expect you to just be a cog, but my goal is turn this little group into a well oiled fighting machine." There is a certain seriousness to his voice, a depth that underscored his words. Hearing him explain his view point, it became clear that this wasn't just an idle pursuit to Saix, victory, survival, his guildmates, these were very important things to the enigmatic swordsman in red. "So, welcome to the Guild. I'm sure that you will be able to help us just as much as we can help you." He punctuates that welcome statement by flexing his right hand, opening his menu. A few flicks of his finger to scroll through the appropriate menus, and a pop up appears before Nikki, a formal invitation into The Ebon Vanguard.

[9Lives 0]

9Lives was not so moved by the prospect of a new member to the guild but it did build a better dynamic. He planned to transition to Katana which meant he would no longer be playing the forward. if Saix wanted to make the switch as well it meant they had to have more players in the guild. It was just math. the formula 9Lives and Saix had built by pincering an enemy between two forwards was flawless in its effectiveness with only the downside of it taking longer to defeat the target. more members meant other rolls could be filled in the group then just defensive posture. this was what he was pleased with, the idea of the guild fulfilling its ideals. "Hitting an accept button is far from being a productive member" he said folding his arms. if either of these two new members were going to make use of his craft, they had to show their commitment to the guild.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki looked over at 9Lives. He had just spoken some harsh but true words, and it seemed this was not the guild to slack off in. That in itself was ok as she had no intention of being carried to the end, she was after all destined to be one of the greatest players in this game, in her own mind anyways. She suspected that time and accomplishments would provide proof of her intent though, and that was exactly the way she would prove it to them. "You are right" She responded thoughtfully. "Its One thing to Simply join a guild, and another all together to be a part of it. I will be a part of it, and I will be the best that I can, and help everywhere possible" She had a feeling that her words would sound like idle promises though until she had proven herself. It seemed the guild smith was the one she needed to prove herself to.

[Axel 0]

Axel nodded in agreement. Both had pretty good points, and he had no intention of being unproductive. "Trust me, we know that pressing a button won't make us productive. That's like saying by playing SAO, you're one of the best gamers around..." He smiled, not necessarily trying to be rude. But he wouldn't be treated as if he didn't know anything about being in a guild and was a mere child. He looked to the new girl and then back to 9lives, nodding and then looked to Saix. "So, what can we do to prove we aren't absolute scrubs?"

[Saix 0]

Saix paused for several moments, before deciding upon something he had wanted to embark upon for a while. "Ice Crystal Run..." He said, glancing at 9Lives for a few seconds, before turning back to his new guildies. "Alright, time for a real challenge to test us all. There is an extremely tough enemy on Floor 4, it's a special enemy type called a <>. It's basically a floor boss that respawns in the wild. Anyway, this enemy, called the <>, drops an extremely rare crafting material called <>. If we want to improve our standing as a guild, we are going to need good equipment. <> is a very powerful crafting material suited for creating speed type weapons. It's possible to get up to 6 Crystals from defeating the Dragon, plus creating extra crystals from <> dropped by <>. We will need to kill enough of the <> to draw the <> out so we can battle it. Killing the <> isn't too bad, I was able to solo <> on Floor 2 pretty easily, so as a group we can burn through them pretty quick. However, the <> is a whole different matter entirely. It is basically the same as fighting a <> from Floor 3 or 4. So, what do you think? Up for a challenge?"

[9Lives 0]

9Live wasnt impressed by the enthusiastic newcomers. Its not that he didnt believe their intensions, he just was the type to act and would only be impressed by impressive actions. Bavado and redoric meant nothing. He remained quiet which was not uncomon. Saix' idea of a crystal run was fitting. It would allow them to test the dynamic while getting him the crafting materials he would need to outfit the guild. "agreed." he responded plainly.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki smiled. This was the perfect opportunity to prove her mettle so to speak. She had heard of the ice dragon and the young ice dragons, they were certainly worth their individual hassle. She knew right off the bat that as a foreword her job would be to hold agro, and tank the creatures as best as she could. This unto itself would be no problem, it was what she built her stats around. Her only concern in fact was that she would need to buy a warmer cloak for the frigid temperatures that existed on that floor. "That sounds like an excellent idea" she piped in excitedly.

Nikki took a quick second to view her own inventory. She was concerned with the durability of her shield and wanted to make sure it would hold up a little longer. While its individual stamina looked like it would stand the test of dragons she wanted to make sure that if anything else came up it would hold up fine,. That meant she needed to get it repaired as good as she could. She made a note to get it patched when she went to buy a warmer cloak. "When would you want to go?"