the soaring misterioso

[guardianxwitch-blog]

“ huh. ”  lyra takes in her surroundings a bit.  she’s never actually really been to weed; she was here for a brief visit, yes, just enough to read up about it.  she has no taste for abandoned, run-down buildings and deserted streets, nor does she think she’ll acquire one.

it looks about as shady as she thought it might.  and this was essentially the fringe of the territory.  not very… appealing.  yes, she would be relieved when she was back to clean and bright, not this depressing and dirty avenue.

“ let’s see here.  we could search around for metals first.  alternatively, we could find an enemy group close by and gauge the general strength of this area.  i would personally suggest that, since we can easily leave right now.  your thoughts? ”

[ardxnstempore]

Homura gave it some thought. The idea of fighting enemies typically meant better loot, but if there were incredibly large groups, it could be an immediate wipe. Although with this place BEING so dangerous, there could have been so many undiscovered deposits of crafting materials needed. And she didn’t wan to leave them behind just quite yet.

“ Lets investigate the area and grab what we can. At the first sign of immediate danger we’ll escape. We wouldn’t want to waste our times by leaving empty handed, after all. “ Bending down, Homura saw what looked like a trail of empty shell casings. Rather cheap in how much they could be sold for, but if there were in tact shells or even better, guns and the like that could either be equipped or smelted down for crafting material, they’d be in luck.

“ Lets see what we can discover up ahead. I’ll cover the sides of us. “ Pulling out her gun, she’d give it a quick cocking before keeping it held in hand just to be on the safe side of things. 

[caesuramermaid-deactivated20161]

God only knows how many more were coming.  Sayaka has enough confidence (or stupidity) to believe they can take on the incoming reinforcements.  She braces herself only to be dragged further into the swamp.  Following along, she stares at the hand on her wrist.  It isn’t like she expected Homura to abandon her, but neither did she think Homura would protectively drag her from danger.  

“We could have handled it.  They’re just frogs.”

Despite expressing doubt over the necessity of running, she keeps moving forward.  The wooden boards groan under each footstep and eventually one gives way.  With a foot stuck in the mud, Sayaka looks over the shoulder and can’t make out the Merlocs or their starting point past the fog.  Having determined that they are now out of danger, her attention turns to the disgusting feeling of mud seeping into her boot.  

She yanks her leg out, only for the boot to be left behind and for her to have to fish it out.  Even after giving it a good few shakes before putting it back on, it’s still feels gross.  She’ll just have to live with it for the time being though.

“So try again?”

[ardxnstempore]

“ Try again. “ 

While it may have seemed odd of Homura to run in that case, she had to think intelligently considering the fact that while this was still just a game, they had to employ some kind of strategy revolved around encounters with creatures like these. Merlocs were.. nasty in that, they could swarm a party before they even realized it. And so to counteract that, they had to take them in as few groups as possible. 

“ We’ve lost their attention but we’re going to be grabbing it again, soon. We’d better clear out the area as best as we can to make this more of a fair encounter. And by fair.. “ And with a quick load of her gun would she aim it at a single Merloc, not around any to aggro them before firing off at it several times, leaving it to die and fizzle out of existence.

“ Fair for us. Now. “ And one quick reload later. 

“ Find out the best way to aggro as few as possible and take them out in small clusters this time. They’ll drop the same amount if we were to handle them normally so advance with caution. “ 

[jithrill]

crunch time

[jithrill]

“Anti-frustration features, huh?” Smashing the card reader hardly made up for burning virtually every cooking recipe available or randomly clipping through the floor, but the game wasn’t really functioning like a game anymore, now was it?

He quietly raised his tire iron and inched ahead of Homura, on the lookout for anything lurking in the shadows. They had two crawlers on the floor, gnawing on a corpse. Another was shambling against the wall.

Jil took the floor-munchers by surprise, bashing in a skull while kicking aside the other. He’d leave the third to Homura as he wrenched out his weapon.

[ardxnstempore]

Watching as Ji kicked aside one of the crawlers on its back, Homura was quick to follow up the attack with a quick and hard smash downward onto its skull, splattering the contents of its head across the pavement in a rather disgustingly messy manner. Once that had been dealt with, she would take one more look around before giving Ji the sign to move forward a bit.

“ It doesn’t seem like there are any more around. “ She’d let out in a hushed whisper before giving the clear. Moving the bodies out of their way in case they needed a distraction, Homura would get to work on searching through the shelves. 

“ Lets not be picky. Take anything you can carry and hide the rest if we need to come back. “ 

[jithrill]

crunch time

[jithrill]

He wasn’t so selfless that he’d forget about his own needs; Jil wasn’t that desperate to make friends, lonely as he’d been even before the apocalypse hit his hometown. She needn’t worry about him like some sort of incompetent bleeding heart.

Jil nodded. Sound advice. Anything that wasn’t broken meant that no one had passed through it yet. Granted, there were doors tied to ID card readers, sophisticated tech that mindlessly ran in spite of their hectic times, which would be likely yield better bounties. The question was which corpse or shambling body contained the card they needed.

“Huh… This looks like a storage room.” Jil scratched at the back of his head. (Still not used to the lack of hair.) “Needs a card, though. Should we bother hunting it down?”

[ardxnstempore]

“ Stand back. “ Picking up a discarded cloth and placing it against the card reader, Homura would fix it into place so it would hold before she took a step back. Taking hold of the rusty pipe she had managed to gather would she brute force her way into things, smashing apart the reader. The cloth was to prevent much noise being made from the combination of the metal against metal and glass and to collect everything so it made less noise. Still a bit vocal, it wasn’t anything serious. 

“ Lets hope it has what we need. “ Very carefully would Homura stand to the side of the door, giving it a light push open just in case if anything did come out, they would get the sneak on it. 

[caesuramermaid-deactivated20161]

It’s not too different from how things used to be.  Sayaka and Kyoko were the only melee fighters in the group, and even Kyoko attacked from more of a mid-range distance.  She doubts that she could fill any other role quite as well.  She challenges a new Merloc every other sword swing, drawing its attention to her.  

Surrounded as she may be, she isn’t overwhelmed yet.  There’s less danger here, and it’s easier for her to keep her head.  While she’s never been a tactical fighter, she isn’t quite as reckless as she has been in the past.

The sound of three gunshots is quickly followed by a grunt of pain from one of the Merlocs behind her.  She spins around to follow up on Homura’s attack on the other girl’s order.  Her blade connects, and the frog creature falls back into the mud of the swamp before disappearing.    

“Yeah.  Shouldn’t take too long.”

She lowers her sword for just a second, but it allows one of the Merlocs steps back and croaks loudly.  The sound echoes across the otherwise quiet swamp.  Maybe they spoke a little too soon.      

[ardxnstempore]

That was bad. A call for reinforcements no doubt, probably a mechanic neither of the two knew about prior. It seemed as if there would be trouble in a moment. Before she could even say anything, Homura was quick to grab Sayaka’s wrist before pulling her along into the swamp even further, where it started to smell especially bad. Not before tossing down a pile of Caltrops behind them, one of the skills she had in this game.

This would stop any kind of advance or at least slow it down enough for them to try this strategy out again. At the very least if they could remove any aggro for the time being, they could hope to restart this fight in more of heir favor. 

“ Keep moving. I wont have this up soon enough if they keep chasing us again. “ 

[sanctummilitis]

The sight of it was repulsive those moving corpses feasting on something left as sacrifice in the street. And the mere sight of them further rumbled her collective meters, inching closer to what would be safe to assume a danger zone.

But fleeing would entice them after her, further damaging her sanity, health, hunger - those three lone readings which determined their survival. Instead, she braced herself, one steel boot against the road and hands about the hilt before launching into battle.

One which had lasted longer than one would have preferred; perhaps it might have been safer for the parameters to simply take flight. A link of thought ceased upon the registering of whispering. The huddled figure of another, evidently suffering from an encounter her own. Slow in approaching, it became priority effective immediately to get her out and away from the area, festering with the enemy.

“Can you stand? It’s become clear that staying together increases our chances of getting through this anomaly in one piece. Please, allow me to lend you support before more come about - I fear they might descend here shortly”.

[ardxnstempore]

The sound of another was quick to have Homura turn around to face them, and while she continued to stand strong despite what it had looked like, the bags under her eyes and her otherwise exhausted appearance made it look like she would topple at any given moment. Seeing it was just another person though.. she managed to relax only enough to not immediately attack them.

“ I’ve been standing for some time. “ She’d retort back, looking off to the side. She didn’t want to be quite viewed as weak in this, just doing what she needed to survive. But at the same time, what she had done was near unforgivable. For a game, this was taking things a bit too far. 

“ Might isn’t a worry. They will at some point. I don’t know how long I’ve been running for.. but I’ve been doing so long enough that they don’t stop. All we can really do is keep going and collect what we can.. “ 

“ Food and medicine take precedence. “ 

[jithrill]

crunch time

[jithrill]

Homura.

Thoughts raced through his mind. The girl was a capable fighter but managing to keep her cool in a situation like this revealed plenty despite her quiet demeanor. Truth be told, it rubbed Jil the wrong way, but he didn’t make a fuss over it. Whatever reason there was for her cold and calculating disposition, it was none of his business.

In answer to her question, Jil explained, “I’m keeping an eye on survivors. They need medicine. You’ve noticed, right? Resting doesn’t do a lick of good. You have to actually pop pills before your health goes back up.”

[ardxnstempore]

How good-hearted of him. That only made her wonder just how well he was taking care of himself. Was he leaving portions of survival gear for himself instead of handing it out to others blindly? It made her curious if he was going to be like this the entire time. 

“ I see. In that case we’d best find as much as we can. However, we also need to leave some for ourselves. It doesn’t help us if we end up going down as well. “ Looking back around to her surroundings would she lower her pipe. 

“ Be on your guard and find locked doors. In times of panic I don’t quite think anyone would have a calm enough mind to try and use a key or break down a door. Those might be our best chance. “ 

[jithrill]

let me impress upon you

[jithrill]

He understood her concerns. Your actual name carried with it a lot of weight. Though he doubted anyone was out to steal their private information (if they were this advanced, why bother with them?), Jil could respect her caution.

“Fair’s fair. I’ll expect the same from you, then~”

[ardxnstempore]

“ Of course. “ Taking her last bite of her meal, she would leave it seeing as an NPC maid or whatever would be taking it away. Feeling the need for rest, would she stand up before nodding her head. 

“ I’ll be off now. “ 

/JITHRILL Take care, Ji. 

[guardianxwitch-blog]

“ don’t worry, not a problem.  i just restocked. ”  she usually obsessively made sure she was loaded up on everything she needed every time she came back from a mission.  “ we can leave anytime you’re ready. ”  anyways, it wasn’t like she had anything else important to be doing.  and being thoroughly prepared for things was something lyra was very good at.  this girl seemed to share her mindset.  although it was a little early to begin judging her.

“ let’s see… we should teleport to weed first, and then we can go to the streets and look around for metals, i believe.  is that all? ”

[ardxnstempore]

“ That should be everything. For the time being, our weapons and levels might not be enough to gain the higher up metals. “ It would be flat out reckless to even try that. No amount of running would save them from the likes of that. With everything prepared, Homura did one quick double check of all of her equipment before giving a nod of the head over towards the other.

“ Lets go. “ Looking through town and finding finding a teleporter, the two would make their way towards the area before stepping forward into it. While not deep into enemy territory, there were some that would take you to just outside the safety boundaries of cities which was pretty convenient regardless. 

[ardxnstempore]

It was only a temporary retreat for now but Homura had to have watched her step for some time. Just by making even the slightest noise would.. whatever those things were hear her. And coming across some poppers used in cap guns and stepping on them would she have been the target for the chase. She knew she could outrun them but not for long. She had to steady her breathing and give them something else to fight over. 

As disgusting as it was, using a corpse as a distraction was her best bet. And finding a rather ‘ripe’ one would she brace herself, lifting it up and tossing it to the hoard. It seemed to have picked up their attention rather well but now, as she found herself alone in an ally with her hand over her mouth she’d kneel over. 

“ Stay calm..! Stay.. alive.. “

@sanctummilitis

[ardxnstempore]

“ Disgusting.. “ 

Looking over the scrapped remnants of canned foods and rotting vegetables in one of the local markets, it was clear whoever developed this game were serious about the realism in play. Although to go this far and to ruin anything edible with little chance of actual food was going a bit far.

Picking up one of the cans, she’d examine it from a few angles. Busted open and already spoiled. It was almost as if just by being around the air would it just immediately go bad. That meant in order to find actual food, it had to be canned and in near perfect condition. She sighed. Not realizing her surroundings as she continued to examine the store would she walk through the halls. A bit dangerous for her but she wasn’t exactly ill-prepared.

@watsonians

[ardxnstempore]

caesuramermaid:

Considering its a site wide event. Sayaka’s a little surprised that it’s just the two of them making their way through the swamp.  On one hand, it makes them lucky.  Less people fighting over the same resource.  People always seemed to lose sight over what was important during situations like that, and she doesn’t want to argue with other players over something as silly as hats.  On the other hand, they were still walking through stagnant water when they could be someplace else… like outer space.  

Sayaka stops walking down the wooden walkway when she hears the frog-like residents of the swamp over the sound of her own footsteps.  She takes a look at the yellow lines connected to herself and the ones connected to Homura and draws her sword.

“It’s not like I was going to run away.  And yeah, I’m ready.”  

Getting aggro off Homura and onto herself was the biggest reason as to why she was even here.  She charges the Merlocs with yellow lines connecting to the other girl in order to draw them to herself.

The second one of the Merlocs was hit, the ones nearby would perk up and see their own kind being attacked, looking at Sayaka as the main source of damage. So as long as she was spreading out her damage, she could hold the aggro on them and keep them off the much more defense light Homura. 

She was doing a good job at it, which meant Homura could safely attack from a distance. With her pistol loaded, she’d watch carefully for the amount of damage each shot would do. She’d account in for Sayaka’s damage later but for now, she was trying to see what she could do to give them an idea on how easy this would be, and who might have to pull double duty.

Aiming at the Merloc with the lowest health just to get it out of the way, Sayaka fired off a quick burst of three shots, each one finding their mark in the Merloc’s body, it stumbling backwards from the pain. However, since Sayaka was the closest and constantly attacking those in its aggro range, she was still their main target. The three shots did bring it to what was basically execution range. 

“ Finish the first one. We can run through this first mob without much trouble as long as nothing else enters the aggro range. “ 

[jithrill]

let me impress upon you

[jithrill]

“Forgive my ignorance and correct me if I’m mistaken, but the proper way to address you would be Akemi-san, right? Or maybe Homura-san if that’s too formal. Right, right, names~ I’m Jibril Katdare but everyone just calls me Jil.”

The fact that she was willing to trust a stranger with her whole name over the interwebs said something to Jil; he boldly returned the gesture, not once thinking that she could have been hiding behind an alias just for the sake of lowering his guard.

[ardxnstempore]

“ I’ve been called both. “ She’d look to the side a bit in contemplative thought. She hadn’t remembered being addressed like that. In particular, she remembered being addressed by ‘Homura-chan’ by someone.. much closer she thought she was with. The thought of them put a twinge in her mind once more as to her concerns in this place an what she was trying to remember but.. nothing. Just the occasional migraine. 

“ I’d prefer if you only referred to me as that through party chats or private messages. Personal reasons. “ 

[jithrill]

crunch time

Death and decay riddled the halls of the hospital. Few corpses were intact. Most had risen, threatened something, and been torn asunder in response. Every now and again, Jil would find an arm halfway across a room from its owner.

“God… Has someone already been through here?”

No good. He was putting his life at risk out here; he wasn’t going to go back to the complex empty-handed. People needed this medicine. Without it, they’d die.

Either searching this place was a waste of time or he’d be missing out on a cache of stuff if he wasn’t thorough. Decisions, decisions…

@ardxnstempore

[ardxnstempore]

The plethora of corpses around her feet wasn’t quite enough to phase her, but the scent and sight of the more worse for wear bodies would put her off considerably. In this situation, she had to have a strong head and a stronger stomach, and to make sure she could stand doing some rather unholy things if it meant getting what she needed.

In this case, ripping the keys from a dead doctor’s hands in order to get to a cabinet. Looking at her hip, all she had really managed to come across was an officer’s hand pistol. But the thing only had four shots last she checked. Poor guy must’ve went out fighting. For most of this, she had to rely on a rusty pipe. Beating something down to death was.. new for her. 

At the first sound of someone approaching would she turn her head with the pipe, expecting an attack but eyes widened at who it was. 

“ What are you doing here? I wouldn’t think anyone would try to roam these streets alone. “ 

[ardxnstempore]

Lets breathe some life into this event shall we? (It’s a joke) Like for a mini pertaining to it! No cap! 

[caesuramermaid-deactivated20161]

It’s a quiet trip all the way to the swamps.  Not getting a response from her last question, Sayaka’s given up on trying to hold a conversation.  Thankfully, their destination isn’t particularly far away.  Having to travel for hours in silence probably would have driven the girl insane.

Even having been to the swamps before, the smell still hit Sayaka pretty hard.  She’d also cover her nose, but she already knew it didn’t help the rotten egg smell all that much.  

“Yeah, and it’s not any better than last time I was here.”

She takes a step onto the wooden planks that act as a trail through the stagnant water.  The wood creaks underfoot, so she assumes it probably won’t be too long before they run into any enemies.      

[ardxnstempore]

Well, give them something mutual to hate she thought. If it meant giving them like minded thoughts, then that was always good.. right? Homura would still grimace a little bit as the two of them made their way through the waters. Initially at the entrance, there wasn’t a lot around them in terms of actual enemies, probably giving players a chance to start prepared.

Once entering deeper into the jungles, would the gurgling noises of the Merlocs be now audible. Staying in neutral for the moment, they seemed to have just been messing around. Yellow lines connecting to some of them indicated which would be aggro’d if one were to be attacked. Cocking her gun, Homura would look back at Sayaka.

 “ No turning back. Are you ready? “ She’d ask, priming and aiming down her sights. 

[guardianxwitch-blog]

so, there was crafting in this game… apparently not implemented yet, however.  and this person was preparing ahead of time?  smart move.  perhaps she should as well.  and if they’re going the same way, teaming up may be advantageous…

“ i see, you have a point there.  mind if we team up?  i’m sure it would be easier to take down enemies.  we could just split whatever we get. ”  an odd request from some stranger, maybe.

[ardxnstempore]

Ever since having begrudgingly accepted Sayaka’s help, she had to relent to the fact that this game was not something meant to be solo’d. She needed to team up with people. Well, so as long as it was just the two of them, they could still receive a number of items without much total net loss. If anything, having a second person might up the rates. 

“ I don’t see a problem with that I suppose. Just know we may be at this for some time, as I plan on being thoroughly prepared for this. So if you haven’t restocked on food or potions, do so now. “