[PP-F9] Guardian of Fire - Quest

[Mack 0]

Mack stepped into the teleportation portal on the fourth floor in Snowfrost town, where he had set up his shop for the simple reason that he preferred the chill cold of that floor to any other place he had yet discovered in Aincrad. What he emerged out into was very nearly unbearable. Vulcan Village was a small village with buildings constructed of metal suspended by massive steel cables over a lake of roiling lava at the pit of an active volcano. The heat was oppressive, made only slightly better by the fact that it was a dry heat. Throwing back the blood red hood of his Grandmaster's cloak, Mack turned his grey eyes on the portal plaza, seeking out the familiar blonde haired swordsman that served as the Seneschal of the Crimson Blades. Xion was supposed to meet him here so they could tackle the Guardian of Fire quest and receive the rewards of loot and skill points that the quest gave out upon completion.

[Xion 0]

Xion sighed as he materialised in the middle of Vulcan village, the heat of the lava below hitting him instantly and making him recoil, despite him having the <<Survival>> skill. "This quest better have some good rewards" he mumbled as he started to walk, searching for the blonde haired warrior that was the leader of the crimson blades. Xion was wearing his full Maelstrom armour set, but he had added a little touch since the last time that he and Mack had met in person. He now had a crimson shoulder piece on the left side of his armour, with a cloak that ran down the back and side, the shoulder piece had multiple different emblems, which represented his achievements and profession, relative to the guild. 

 

It didn't take him too long to fine Mack, as the burly blonde stuck out like a sore thumb. "Mack..." he said as he approached the guildmaster, nodding out of respect. "I took the liberty of buying some healing crystals, this will be a tough one, even for us"

[Mack 0]

"I loaded up as well, this one sounds like it's going to be much more of a challenge than Avalanche was, if the guidebook is to be believed," the burly blonde man rumbled. "I also don't think it's all that likely that the heat is going to get any better the closer that we get to the final location," the blonde man replied with a sour look on his face. "We're fighting hell hounds and Cerberus in a place that's entirely too hot. I've also got camping gear in my inventory since we're going to be on this quest for several days." The scowl on the guildmaster's face deepened still further at the thought of having to spend multiple days in such an inhospitable environment.

"Well, there's nothing for it and standing around complaining won't get this task over with any faster. Let's move out," the Guildmaster rumbled, lifting Guillotine from where it was planted and shouldering the axe as he began moving towards the gates and out towards the proper wild lands of the ninth floor.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan was wandering around when he saw Xion talking with a tall blond man, someone of the same height but clearly a very different build. Where Tristan was slender from fighting, this man was all muscle. Well, he supposed it came down to how one was naturally build to an extent. He had memories of his comrade Ssendom, who was similarly built. Either way, while walking toward the pair, he heard within earshot something that piqued his interest, which was the Cerberus. It was in fact one of the few quests he had not done yet, so maybe he should jump in on this party.

Walking up behind Xion and giving a playful clap around the back, he then slung it around the mans shoulders as he walked. "Why hello there my tanking protégé, I hear you are taking on the Cerberus. May I join you on such a quest?" he spoke with his usual friendly beaming smile and calm british accent, betraying his nationality. He had all his equipment on with the Breastplate of the Iron Lord (and similar black scaled metal equipment on,appearance for all equipment in sig in spoiler), his Serpents Pierce and the unique Twinfire Reflector. There was also the long flowing hair and the scars on his face, which to those who had seen it extended to parts of body as well, testaments of his experience fighting in the real world. "So, what do you say?".

[Xion 0]

Xion's conversation was stopped abruptly by someone's hand clapping him on the back, and then moving onto his shoulder, followed by a familiar, British voice. He turned to see the giant of a man that was Tristan Delaney, fellow tank and Brit. "Tristan you glorious bastard!" Xion said, his face lighting up as he looked upon the man that he considered a friend, maybe even a mentor of sorts, in a way. "God it's been too long Tristan, I would be more than happy for you to accompany us, assuming that Mack is ok with it too" he said, a smile visible on his face as he looked up at the man, he was wearing different equipment from when they had last met, they looked more Status affliction based than his previous setup, which was probably better in PVE. 

 

Xion then realised that he hadn't introduced Tristan to mack, and vice versa. "Tristan, this is Mack. Grandmaster of the crimson blades and crazy axe warrior. And Mack, this is Tristan, lead group tank and a living legend in every sense of the word" he said. 

[Calrex 0]

"Why did I come back to this floor again? I swear it's like the heat keep me away, yet also pulls me back in every time."

Calrex gave a small exhale to cool himself down as he wandered through Vulcan Village. Due to the high heat of the floor's theme, he had opted out of donning his deep sea full-body armor, the Grand Chariot, instead opting for the barebones version of the Grand Dragoon. He was still wearing his casual combat clothing, with the pauldrons of the armor fitting over his light blue jacket and white undershirt, with the poleyns hugging his pants. Strapped to the back of his hip was the Grand Blade, with the Amethyst Charm attached onto the end of the handle. Lastly, the Ocean's Defense hung around his neck.

"Now what was I doing here? I guess I was inquiring about the Iron Guardian que..."

As he was continuing to walk along he looked to see the tall armored figure of an acquaintance, Tristan. It was only recently that he and the titled best tank in SAO had taken on the <<Wail of the Banshee>> quest and easily completed it, without no significant amount of damage dealt to either one of them. "Hm...it looks like he's talking with two other lower level players."

Figuring he'd drop in and say hello he gave a calming breath before walking over, moving into the redhead's eyesight before waving, overhearing the trio discussing talking on the field boss Cerberus from the <<Guardian of Fire>> quest. He had soloed the quest a significant amount of time back, and it was certainly a grueling ordeal, to the point where he needed to actually exit the cavern and rest to heal up before continuing, "Hey Tristan, long time no see. I'm guessing you three are planning on doing the Guardian of Fire quest?"

[Mack 0]

Mack and Xion were within sight of the gates leading out of Vulcan Village, which were truly impressive given that they were intricately carved from what appeared to be obsidian colored volcanic glass, when the pair of warriors were abruptly halted in their progress by the arrival of two more people. One of them, a ginger haired swordsman, clearly knew Xion based on the way the pair of them greeted one another. Mack halted and was on the verge of asking Xion who the red-head was when the swordsman was introduced as Tristan. From beneath the hood of the white cowl of the Angelic Sheath, the blonde axe-man's grey eyes widened slightly. Rumors had been circulating that Tristan was the strongest warrior in the game, Mack had no idea that Xion knew the man.

"A pleasure," Mack said, offering a hand for Tristan to shake and noticing that the swordsman, who was every bit his equal in terms of height, had a green cursor above his head. Certainly a good sign. Mack was just about to continue to add that he would be quite pleased to have Tristan join their party for the quest when another player, with an even more impressive health bar, wandered over. Clearly, the high level swordsman also knew Tristan and with a green cursor over his head that made him alright in Mack's book, at least until proven otherwise.

"Well," the blonde warrior said in his low rumbling tone, "If you two are serious about wanting to come along, we're not foolish enough to turn down the aid of two high level players. We would welcome the assistance. I'm Mack, Grandmaster of the Crimson Blades and this is my Seneschal, second-in-command, Xion," he continued, offering the same hand that had been offered to Tristan to Calrex in turn to shake. "In that case, I propose Tristan or Calrex take point to tank with the other bringing up the rear as the secondary tank, assuming you're a tank player," Mack continued, with a glance towards Calrex who's name he did not yet know. "Xion and I will fill in the formation's middle with Xion taking on the job of tertiary tank, not that I think we'll need one. Also, if either of you are without a Guild and looking for one, I suspect you'd both be more than welcome in the Crimson Blades."

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan laughed to the praise Xion gave him when he was addressed and took Macks offered hand to shake it firmly. "Well I wouldn't quite say living legend, however I suppose I did win the S&Z recently, even beating Calrex over there in a duel. Although it does help that I have a unique piece of equipment too along with the well optimised build." he spoke with a chuckle, thinking of the strength possessed in that shield. He was glad to have unique equipment and could see why it was so coveted. "And I am already part of the elite guild Azure Brigade, however Calrex here is a solo player, so may be interested.". He retreated slightly from centre attention to allow Calrex to speak for himself and waiting to see what would happen next, having no qualms with the plan.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a small laugh as Tristan commented on the S&Z event that had occurred recently, although he did make note that his particular character build and unique item certainly played a hand in his victory, "Yeah, no kidding. That Twinfire Reflector of yours is something else. I might as well have been hitting a wall...that hit back, heh."

Before he forgot introductions he looked over at the two other players, accepting Mack's handshake, "Oh, right, sorry about forgetting introductions. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you. I'm Calrex, like Tristan said, and you could say I ended up progressing to become what would be called a bruiser, so I can function as either a tank or a striker, although I don't particularly specialize in either, unlike our redheaded comrade here."

He swiped a few times on his menu before replacing the Grand Dragoon with the Grand Chariot, as his simple version vanished and his whole body became encapsulated in the deep-sea blue armor, his head becoming surrounded by the stoic appearance of his helmet, with only the two white slits indicating the location of his eyes, "As for your invitation, I'll have to decline. I've been a member of a few guilds in the past and am perfectly content as a solo player for now."

Finishing the formalities he nodded in response to Mack's plan, "I can bring up the rear for defense, although if you would prefer I can also take point from time to time. I'm trained in the Reveal skill, so that allows me to keep an eye out for any potential ambushes that the monsters have set up."

[Xion 0]

Xion nodded as Calrex declined the offer to join the blades, after all it made sense, he was leagues above them, why would he? Nevertheless he was thankful that the player was going to be assisting them with this quest. "I find it rather funny how we have three tanks in the group, one of which won't be tanking at all" he said with a chuckle, as he looked at the two higher levelled players, Calrex in his Grand Chariot armour, and Tristan with his Breastplate of the iron lord. 'The time an effort that must have gone into making those...' Xion thought as he looked upon his own armour, and then to Mack's. Honestly, out of the three his seemed the least...impressive, but that was a matter of opinion. 

 

"Anyway, are we ready to get going then?" he asked with a smile. 

[Mack 0]

OOC: Setting the posting order for combat. After this one we'll go: Calrex, Tristan, Xion, Me.

"I didn't think you'd want to join a guild with so many low-level players, but it was worth a try. The invitation is an open-ended one that you may accept at any time," Mack said, shrugging his broad shoulders in response to Calrex's turning down the offer to join the Crimson Blades. The blonde guildmaster couldn't blame Calrex for the decision. In his place, Mack probably would have made the same decision. Still, as long as they stayed on Calrex's good side he would likely prove a valuable ally, at least as long as Mack and the guild proved to be competent fighters. Mack then considered his options for the group's formation before making up his mind.

"Let's go with Calrex, Xion, Myself, and Tristan while we're in transit to the cave and, once we hit the cave we'll enter with a formation of Calrex, Tristan, Xion, and then myself," the blonde warrior said. It made the most sense to him to have strong bookends while they were traveling through the area to the cave and, once they hit the cave system, it made more sense to switch out with all the heavy hitters up front. The next two days of travel time were passed fairly uneventfully, only to occasional mob would attack and they were all fairly low-level mobs for the ninth floor. At last, after two days of traveling by foot across the hellish floor, the quartet of players was standing before the yawning mouth of the cave entrance that would take them down to fight the beasties.

"Alright, let's get into combat formation for the caves. Calrex, you're still on point then Tristan, Xion, and me in that order. If you need to switch out, Tristan is the next tank in line. In the meantime, if we get swarmed Tristan and Xion can focus on paralocking the hounds and Cerberus," Mack said, issuing commands to the group. It felt a bit odd to be telling two of the most powerful players in the game what to do, but his training as a senior NCO in the Army had kicked in, so it wasn't as if he was incapable of issuing orders when the situation called for it. "And I'll just beat on whatever since nothing's going to be attacking me. Let's move out."

ID: 30195
BD: 2 - I wasn't going to attack, but since it missed and won't draw aggro... I decided to take the stack of Heavy Momentum.
MD: 8 (9-1) - Will just use one roll, like Tristan did with the zombies in the Banshee quest
CD: 4
Calrex: 124/129 (-5 Dam. each, Mit. 7 each)
Tristan: 75/75 - Hate: 0
Xion: 53/53 - Hate: 0
Mack: 54/55 (-1 Heat) - Hate: 0, Heavy Momentum: 1
Hound1: 27/28 (-1 Thorns) - Base Dam. 4
Hound2: 27/28 (-1 Thorns)
Hound3: 27/28 (-1 Thorns)
Hound4: 27/28 (-1 Thorns)

For the first several hundred yards into the Inferno Cavern there wasn't much to see or worry about. As they came to the end of the entrance tunnel the cavern widened out into a circular chamber that was, perhaps, a hundred yard across. As the group entered the space and began to traverse it the forms of four canines shimmered into being. The dogs were the size of mastiff's, covered in dark black fur, and they were foaming just slightly at the mouth. En masse, the beasts charged down on the lead warrior in the party, Calrex, as he was the closest target. For the briefest of moments, the tank disappeared under a solid wall of dog flesh. Just as quickly the beasts yelped and tried to get away from the swordsman, clearly his armor had some thorns damage attached to it. As the beasts scrambled away from the tank, Mack moved forward and launched a wild strike aimed at one of them as he tried to do his part to help clear the animals off of Calrex but the blade of Guillotine sailed just past one of the dogs as Mack chopped with the bearded blade, striking sparks off of the stone where the steel blade hit it.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Mack

[Xion 0]

ID: 30204

BD: 5 ( miss) [+1 Heavy momentum] 

CD: 2 (-1 DMG)

 

Xion watched as Calrex was practically buried by the massive pile of hellhounds, the beasts ripping and tearing at his armour, only for them to be damaged by the thorns, and for Calrex to take minimal damage. Xion then tried to focus on what he thought was the lead hound, as it was always standing closer to the players than it's peers. He ran towards it, aiming for a quick and simple lunging attack, but was cut short by one of the hounds knocking him to the side, not dealing any damage but definitely preventing his attack. 

 

Xion hit the ground with a thud, before getting up, relatively unaffected by the strike, but he did begin to feel the heat of the area getting to him, dealing a small amount of damage. 

 

Calrex: 116/129 - Hate: 0

Tristan: 75/75 - Hate: 0
Xion: 52/53 - Hate: 0 [1 Heavy momentum] 
Mack: 54/55  - Hate: 0, Heavy Momentum: 1
Hound1: 27/28 
Hound2: 27/28 
Hound3: 27/28 
Hound4: 27/28 

[Calrex 0]

ID: 30606
Battle Dice: 2 (Accuracy +3) = 5 (Disregarded Due to Howl)
Craft Dice: 7 (Success)
<<Howl>> Activated

As the four players entered into the cavern Calrex made note with his <<Reveal>> skill of the four hounds that were waiting in ambush. Going into their planned formation he went forward, "Normally I would be worried about taking the hits, but with the huge health boost I got this should be no problem at all."

Immediately as he entered into the area the four monsters leapt at him, each one scoring a critical hit as their jaws latched down on his arms and shoulders. Everything was still for a second before the Thorns ability of his Grand Chariot armor activated, surrounding the struck areas with light blue aura chains before they immediately exploded, knocking the hounds back as shards of the aura chains bombarded them, scratching off their health.

Following this Calrex gave a smirk, although it was not betrayed by the stoic appearance of his full-face helmet. Drawing the Grand Blade in a reverse grip he raised it high as the aura chains appeared once again, spinning rapidly around his limbs before exploding as he brought his sword down, stabbing it into the ground. The sound created from the steel impaling the earth combined with the chain's explosion as his <<Howl>> ability activated, the sound shockwave emanating outwards from him. As the wave passed by the four dogs their eyes flashed red for a second as their heads turned to face Calrex, making it clear that he current had the most aggro of the group, "Alright guys, all yours."

HP List (Making this in terms of our formation order)
(Hate: 3) Calrex: 124/129
(Hate: 0) Tristan: 75/75
(Hate: 0) Xion: 54/55
(Hate: 0) Mack: 54/55

Enemies:
Hound 1: 27/28
Hound 2: 27/28
Hound 3: 27/28
Hound 4: 27/28

Edited September 6, 2015 by Calrex

[Tristan Delaney 0]

ID: 30640
Battle Dice: 5+1 = 6, 5 damage
CD 7 no damage taken
Disguise activated, 12 turn cooldown, -1 to enemy BD against Tristan

Tristan grinned and took the opportunity presented to him by Calrex as his Howl drew the attention of all the foes. He hadn't actually taken on Cerberus before, despite his seniority in time spent fighting in SAO compared to the rest of the group, but he was confident with a team such as theirs that this shouldn't be hard at all. Tristan wasted no time, running forward towards a hound with a spear charge. It looked like they were going to side step away, but Tristan confused the opponent by turning into a hound himself using <<Disguise>>. With that, he hit the opponent and slammed the spearhead at them, though to what the hound looked like he was being rammed by one of his own. Tristan then withdrew from the attack to let the others go in with their own.

HP List
(Hate: 3) Calrex: 124/129
(Hate: 2) Tristan: 75/75 Disguise 12/12
(Hate: 0) Xion: 54/55
(Hate: 0) Mack: 54/55

Enemies:
Hound 1: 22/28
Hound 2: 27/28
Hound 3: 27/28
Hound 4: 27/28

[Mack 0]

OOC: Calrex is up next. Then Tristan, then Xion.

ID: 30195
BD: 5
MD: 9 (10-1)
CD: 1
Calrex: 120/129 (-6 Dam. each, Mit. 7 each) - Hate: 3
Tristan: 75/75 - Hate: 2
Xion: 52/53 - Hate: 0
Mack: 53/55 (-1 Heat) - Hate: 0, Heavy Momentum: 2
Hound1: 21/28 (-1 Thorns) - Base Dam. 4
Hound2: 26/28 (-1 Thorns)
Hound3: 26/28 (-1 Thorns)
Hound4: 26/28 (-1 Thorns)

While there was, initially, some indication that the hell hounds might decide to separate out and each of them take a different target as soon as Calrex howled they abandoned any thought of using that tactic. The roiling, snarling, masses of fur exploded into motion and, once again, there was a dog pile on the group's tank as he was buried, however temporarily, under a solid wall of canine fur and flesh. As the four hounds raced past to leap on Calrex for a second time Mack hauled Guillotine back over his shoulder and chopped the blade vertically straight down, aiming for one of the dogs. Once again, the only thing he managed to hit was air and the floor of the cave which sent up a shower of white sparks as sweat poured down the blonde man's face. "Starting to get a little pissed off, someone paralock one of these things for me," he snarled, moving around to a different location to ready another strike.

[Calrex 0]

ID: 30648
Battle Dice: 7 (Accuracy +3) = 10
Craft Dice: 1 (1 Damage)

"Alright, these dogs are starting to become a bit of a nuisance..."

As the dogs chomped down on his armor once again Calrex gave a small sigh as his Thorns ability activated once again, blasting the dogs back. While they were falling back his eyes locked onto the hound that had taken the most damage, quickly extracting his Grand Blade from the ground before using his <<Sprint>> skill to quickly accelerate, slashing through the first monster with a reverse grip passing slash. After completing the strike he quickly turned around, twirling his sword into a hammer grip.

"Alright, so far it looks like Tristan was the only able to get some of their attention with that last strike of his. However, it looks like I still have the highest aggro. Better focus on taking out that first dog. That way at least I can catch a break with their freaking bites."

HP List
(Hate: 4) Calrex: 119/129 (1 Damage from Heat)
(Hate: 2) Tristan: 75/75
Xion: 52/53
Mack: 53/55

Hound 1: 12/28
Hound 2: 26/28
Hound 3: 26/28
Hound 4: 26/28

Edited September 7, 2015 by Calrex

[Xion 0]

ID: 30770

BD: 6 (5 DMG

CD: 9 (No damage) 

 

Xion watched as each member of the party took turns attacking, Tristan and Calrex both landing impressive blows, but Mack missing completely, shouting angrily as he did. Xion had to chuckle as he listened to his guild master rage at the fact that cardinal had decided to be especially sadistic today. Shaking his head, the blonde focused on the dog with the least health, before rushing at it, bashing it with his shield before driving his blade into it's chest, dealing a decent amount of damage. 

 

(Hate: 4) Calrex: 119/129
(Hate: 2) Tristan: 75/75
( Hate: 1) Xion: 52/53
Mack: 53/55

Hound 1: 7/28
Hound 2: 26/28
Hound 3: 26/28
Hound 4: 26/28

[Tristan Delaney 0]

ID: 30778
Battle Dice: 2
Craft Dice: 8 (Safe)

Tristan went with the same momentum Xion did, attempting to once again land a strike against with the hounds. He did a running charge, aiming and hoping that he would hit them with the attack. Alas, he had missed much like the blonde of the same height of him did, missing them rather hilariously and stepping back so he could adjust his aim this time. He thought about how to approach this, but decided to just wait and see first what they would do before he took more action against them, waiting for Mack to once again attack.

HP List
(Hate: 4) Calrex: 119/129
(Hate: 2) Tristan: 75/75 Disguise 12/12
(Hate: 1) Xion: 52/53
Mack: 53/55 Heavy Momentum 2

Hound 1: 7/28
Hound 2: 26/28
Hound 3: 26/28
Hound 4: 26/28

[Mack 0]

OOC: This is not funny. I'm paying for my incredible crafting rolls today...

ID: 30784
BD: 1
CD: 7 (Safe)
MD: 0 (1-1) - Roll for all and all for roll.
(Hate: 4) Calrex: 119/129
(Hate: 2) Tristan: 75/75 Disguise 12/12
(Hate: 1) Xion: 52/53
Mack: 53/55 Heavy Momentum 2
Hound 1: 7/28
Hound 2: 26/28
Hound 3: 26/28
Hound 4: 26/28

With a roar of unbridled fury, Mack charged into the middle of the hell hounds. The enormous blonde blacksmith had yet to land a single blow on the roiling masses of snarling black dogs. Guillotine darted out this way and that, first the butt cap of the weapon swinging one way and then the bladed head knifing down from a different direction. Every single time, the foul dogs managed to be just a few inches to one side or the other. The result was that despite and impressively quick flurry of strikes, Mack managed to miss the dogs every time. Throwing his head back, the blonde man bellowed in rage and as the lead dog went to pounce on Calrex again Mack dove and tackled the beast out of the air. It did no damage, either to the dog or to Mack, but it did seem to mollify the blacksmith for a moment as he tried to choke the life out of a digital hell hound, momentarily forgetting in his rage that the beast had no need to actually breathe.

[Calrex 0]

OOC: Lol dang Mack! Btw I've got 2 Evasion, not 1 XD, just to clarify.

ID: 30826
Battle Dice: 9 (Accuracy +3) = 12 (+1 Damage)
Craft Dice: 5 (1 Damage)
Loot Dice: 3 (Search and Detect +2) = 5 (No Loot Found)
<<Parry>> Activated (Half Damage Taken Until Next Turn While Dealing Half Damage / Full Damage Dealt Due to Critical Hit)

Calrex gave a nod as his three teammates took their turns striking at the first hound, with Xion landing a hit while Tristan's spear flew by the creature. Mack seemed to have attempted a more drastic maneuver as he tackled the monster to the ground as it tried to leap at Calrex. Taking advantage of the hound's helpless state he quickly became a blur of blue as he used his <<Sprint>> ability to almost instantly appear next to Mack, his sword in a reverse grip and pulled back across his body in a stabbing position, "Don't move Mack."

In a quick motion his sword lit alight with a light blue hue as he shot it forward, impaling the hound through the neck, the sword's tip hitting the ground behind it as a small metallic clang echoed out. For good measure Calrex quickly brought his other arm back, clenching it into a fist as his <<Martial Arts>> ability activated, the yellow glow surrounding his hand as it shot forward, slamming into the back of his sword's pommel, sending the blade deeper as the first hound dissipated into crystals.

He quickly extracted the Grand Blade from the ground, extending a hand to help Mack to his feet, "Alright, that's one down."

HP List
(Hate: 6) Calrex: 118/129
(Hate: 2) Tristan: 75/75 (Disguise 12/12 Turns Remaining)
(Hate: 1) Xion: 52/53
(Hate: 0) Mack: 53/55 (Heavy Momentum 2/2 Charges)

Enemies:
Hound 1: -4/28
Hound 2: 26/28
Hound 3: 26/28
Hound 4: 26/28

Edited September 8, 2015 by Calrex