private [RP] Equestria Online

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @,

 

Hollow Shades, Floor 1, Day 3 Night

 

Synapse sat alone in the inn room, checking her inventory and menu. She had long taken Shady Daze, which was still on an expedition with an unofficial group called the Equestrian Defense Fighters, from her party list. After Shady has privately messaged her to ask if she was fine, Synapse believed that she should not pull other ponies into her business. He needed to do something that was more important to the ponies trapped here.

 

When she opened up her notification, Synapse detected a red flashing circle. When she opened the Notification symbol, which appeared to be a envelope, there was a friend request from Zephyr. Synapse paused and remained in silence for quite some time, her hoof hovering around the two fateful buttons, "Accept" or "Decline".

 

It was a game, she thought. A game of survival and death, but also a virtual reality. She wondered if she should be helping complete strangers in this game. Does anything they do here transfer to their real lives?

 

Synapse closed her eyes, and pressed the "Accept" button.

 

((Going to time skip a few days.))

 

Hollow Shades, Day 5, Floor 1.

[Scratched Disk 48]

@

Zephyr swallowed a large bite from his sandwich, he never really considered what was happening to his body on the other end. "I suppose that they have us hooked up to IV's... But I wonder how long that will last. I'm sure that they are doing everything that they can, but that just means we have to get out of here sooner." He was no beta tester, but he felt that even them would have no idea about what was going on. He munched on the last bite, stood up and brushed the crumbs off. "Kayaba is a smart stallion, I'm willing to bet that he has made every precaution to make sure that the players wouldn't die from something so insignificant as sever issues! At the same time, I'm sure that he has the entire system wrapped around his hoof, and hacking into it will be no easy task. we just have to trust that those in the real world know what they are doing and we just have to do our best to survive!"

 

Even as he was saying it, he was doubting his own words. "Were they making any progress? It's been over 3 days, they surely have to have thought of something by now." He looked back to the sky as if he might find some answers there, but only the clouds and the birds seem to respond. He looked back to the battle and the ponies that he met. Even if this was just a video game, he felt more alive in here than he did in a long time. And even if he has to watch his back every moment, it gave off his own kind of thrill. One that he hadn't felt at home when he spent hours on the computer.

 

The warm rays of the sun seem to agree to what he was saying, and he felt more cheerful. Picking his sword back up he looked to Terra and asked, "You ready to head back now?"

 

@

 

It was late afternoon, when Zephyr received a notification. Apparently Synapse had accepted his friend request. "That's good," he thought "That pony seems to have her head screwed on right." She was a pony that he felt that he could trust, even if she seemed to distance herself from others. He turned his head and looked at Terra. Terra noticed and gave a smile, Zephyr returned the smile and thought, "Terra is another whom I can trust on, I know that everpony has their secrets, but Terra seemed quite open." He saw the town in the distance and increased his pace. "So we are close to finding the dungeon?" Zephyr was getting excited for the upcoming battles. Time to get some new equipment.

 

Day 5

 

The dungeon has been found and several players have been exploring it. Rumors tell of strange new monsters with great treasure to be had. Zephyr had spent day 4 with Terra who had used the sword and took the metal from it to make a new lance and dagger for Zephyr. Terra had gained a level from it, and Zephyr had sold the wolf's drops to buy new armor and supplies. At last, they were ready for some dungeon diving. He walked up to Terra's door in the inn and knocked. "Terra? You up?"

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @,

Hollow Shades, Day 5, Floor 1.

 

News Notification: First Floor Dungeon Found, First Step of Progress

 

Synapse plopped the newspaper next to her, leaning against a fence. It was a day of progress indeed. She had finally level up to level six, found a new weapon, the "Curved Cutter", which looked more like a normal lumber axe with a red edge, and looked less deadly than it was supposed to be. Thankfully, it had decent statistics, so Synapse had no excuse.

 

Most of all, the players finally found a dungeon entrance. Most players didn't go past the base of the dungeon, however; the enemies were high leveled and dangerous to fend alone, and the dungeon itself was difficult to navigate. Some had already expected that, thanks to the player-made free guide book. So far, only party groups have managed to discover a few paths, though it would take a while to find the boss room.

 

There was obviously excitement with the new dungeon, despite the danger and the suspicion of the dungeon not being placed in the original beta area. A few had found valuable treasure in chests. Other, more daring and hardy players have used the dungeon and the forest nearby it as their fighting ground.

 

Synapse wasn't interested in that. It was the early game; she didn't want to rush getting Col or EXP, and wanted to play it carefully. Besides, the boss battle was the true prize. Whoever dealt the most damage or the final blow gets a good deal of items and Col, and even without the kill bonus, it was still rewarding enough.

 

And she needed to solve the player killer case. Some players chose to forget it, though Synapse remained and wanted to find the truth. She had been working with a group of ponies: two stallions by the name of Cleave and Streak, and a mare called Lirosa. Of course, that was their SAO usernames, in order to keep secrecy. As a result, Synapse referred to herself as Crevass.

 

The first thing they investigated was the weapon. It seemed casual enough, but when I was identified by a blacksmith NPC, it was crafted by Lightning himself. Deductively, that meant whoever traded with him used his weapon to kill Lightning. But again, it was a typical weapon, one of no specialty.

 

"The problem is, why would the killer kill Lightning without any motive?" Cleave reasoned. He was a pegasus stallion, claiming to be in reality a university student. He had a blue mane with a yellow coat, and had a gray cloud as his cutie mark. Cleave looked a bit upbeat and bright, yet had that naivety in him.

 

"Perhaps to steal," Synapse answered. "There was a backpack of Lightning's left at the scene, apparently emptied. I'm sure Lightning had not done that himself, and the whole room was in a mess. We know it's a sleep PK, so the killer's stealth skill would need to surpass his listening skill in order to successfully make a silent kill."

[Delernil 952]

Stumbling out of the cave, Traveller realized just how low his Health had gone. 87/396! 'Jeez. I need to go in there better prepared next time...' He mumbled, slipping the sword into its sheath. He had barely escaped the cave. He was now standing in a large, grassy field. 'Well, that's what I get for using a defensive based combination without any help...' He said as he trotted away from the cave, looking for something that could heal him. His inventory had been depleted while fighting in the cave. He shifted his weapon until it felt more comfortable, half with its abilities. It was an extremely strong shield and sword, and the shield was probably why he wasn't dead. Within 20 minutes he had grew tired. He stopped under a tree and dropped his weapons, taking inventory.

 

X1 Loaf of bread

X2 Water Bottle

X1 Stone

X1 Fur

 

Not a lot, but it was good enough. He munched the bread and took a few sips from his water bottle, making him feel slightly better as he got up and continued on his way.

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @@Delernil,

 

West Tower Area, Day 5

Synapse was around a remote area of the Dungeon Area, farming from monsters. Most of them were under leveled, mostly to prevent herself from being anywhere near death. It was slow, but the trashy loot at least had some decent value and some can be used for crafting. She had taken on a new skill, «Chemistry», which actually deconstructed items for potion making or adding special effects. Synapse was considering creating «Charcoal», though Synapse barely saw its usefulness; she was barely a night dweller. Plus, it was useless without Synapse learning to make a «Fire Starter» first.

Synapse had checked her EXP gain. Barely half the bar was filled. She sighed, resting temporarily to set up her general points, placing four points in accuracy and two in agility; she had forgotten to add on her stats points after leveling up last night. Strength was apparently buffed and was slowly increasing as she placed the points onto other features, mostly because of her species passive effect that she added placed a small portion to strength and health for every non-strength or non-HP point added. Of course, the strength added was miniscule, so sometimes, Synapse found it better to just add strength. (On the other hand, adding strength increased health as well, though not as much as directly placing the point on health itself.)

Synapse then checked the player count. 9673. That was about three hundred or so dead already. She remembered viewing what happened in the «Starting City»; depressed and crazed ponies who were forever imprisoned in the walls of stagnation. A few even committed suicide by just standing there and drawing aggression from mobs, or by assisted player killing. It was a madhouse there, and Synapse escaped, not wanting to be involved in that mess.

Actually, imprisonment didn't quite fit. All of them were imprisoned, imprisoned in Aincrad, but the only difference being the psychological being of the players. Synapse, being a psychiatrist, wanted to be of help, but she reconsidered getting involved with players possibly "beyond repair". This was different. It was a survival game, not real life. She can't deal with all the problems here, and even so, who was going to stop her patients from doing things they shouldn't?

A thousand players or so were grounded in the barriers of the «Starting City». That was a lot, and Synapse gulped. They had better finish this floor quick, otherwise every player is going to die in this prison.

Deciding to put herself away from such thought, Synapse proceeded on, detecting a young stallion leaning on a tree with his sword and shield. His armor was somewhat clean and a bit sophisticated; Synapse believed that these armor may have cost a considerable amount of Col. Iron chain armor, straight sword, kite shield...he was a seemingly normal player. Synapse waved to him, noticing he was eating his bread. "Good day," she greeted.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Suri the Superior

[Delernil 952]

@

 

'Oh. Hia.' Traveller quipped as he finished his bread. 'Im Traveller. What's your name?' Traveller asked as he took a sip of water and put his weapons back into their place. He out what he got out back and stood up, extending his hoof to the new pony that had appeared before him.

[Scratched Disk 48]

Zephyr knocked a few more times, but meet with the same response. "Maybe he already headed out" He thought. "I'll check back later." And with that he turned and left the inn.

 

Zephyr waled to the edge of town and looked in the distance. "So the dungeon has already been invaded?" He took his time and thought deeply of it. "The rewards that people have been boasting of, are quite amazing. This might just be the push that I need to join the top ranks!" Zephyr knew that he doesn't have the levels of the beta testers, but if he could survive a few hours in there, he would have equipment that would be on par with that of those testers. But there end lies the issues. Surviving. He had no doubt in this new equipment, but rather the new monsters. He had not faced anything other than the wolves by himself and even then they knocked him on his flank.

 

"No, I've gotten better!" He almost shouted as if to convince himself. He knew that it would be challenging, however he wasn't the same ignorant newbie that he once was. With his new determination, he set out for the dungeon.

 

It was mid day when he arrived. He received a map in town which was quite accurate that led him straight there without too much issues. He defeated a few boars on the way so that he would have something to eat should this trip go longer than he wished. The dungeon's entrance was as gloomy as he imagined. Piles of skulls were scattered along side the door, signs were placed around saying things like, "Keep out!" or "Danger". He couldn't tell if these signs were part of the game, or if players post them there. He walked boldly up to the door and opened it. He was greeted with a cold blast of stale air. "I will not be stopped here!" he exclaimed boldly and took his first step in.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Zephyr Vortex

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

((OOC:If you can all slow down for exams time that'd be great))

Terra hadn't decided yet on what to do. He felt comfortable with mining and blacksmithing. He even took his time to examine the way the smiths at the game did it. Taking notes every time he noticed something interesting. Doing that he decided he might as well cartograph the town to know where to look. He made a rough map of the city and was slowly expanding as it went. Of course the first attempt was a bad one he made the shapes a bit too big but on the third and fourth try he started to manage and get details correctly. Distances and all that stuff.

While he spent his days exploring praciticing and make his weapons and armor better he had been looking for the dungeon Synapse was talking about. Seeing sings of danger and warning he thought of no more obvious signs that this was the place. Marking the location on the map so he could return later he rolled it and got it on his back. Taking out the shield that he had now placed on the side of his front left hoof he begun to tread in.

((OOC:Interactions are welcome))

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @@Delernil,

 

Synapse shook her hoof with the stallion. "And my name is Crevass, though I prefer my real name, Synapse," she answered. It was true; with Equestria Online being a death game now, she rather be a bit more outgoing and honest. They were actual ponies, after all. 

 

She drew and spun her axe before sheathing it again. "So, do you have the «Shades's Hunt» questline? It's for some Fly Darts and a rare drop of the Copper Defense Axe, and I need to find a pony by the name of Soffer. I was wondering, since it was multiple quests, that we team up for the questline, if you have it. I'm sure they have some loot you are interested in."

 

Synapse, of course, needed the help, and maybe this stallion could; he seemed warming and nice enough. To be honest, she didn't really intend to share much of the loot, but she had nothing else to do with the fact that she can't enter the dungeon. It was already said that the dungeon monsters were significantly more difficult than the ones on the floor, and was dangerous and deadly without a proper party. 

[Delernil 952]

@

 

'Yeah. Had that one but never even started on it. Ill team up with you. Besides, I can probably find some good loot, even if you keep the quest loot.' Traveller said as he smiled. 'You ready to start? I'm fine now.' He said as he flapped his wings and did a loop before coming back down.

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @@Delernil,

 

Synapse smiled, opening up her menu. "Okay then," she started, sending a party invitation to Traveler. "If you don't mind, I will reiterate the quest description for you.

 

"The first part of the mission is to search for the rebel camp and find our target. His name is «Silnis, Yellow Army Officer». We have to follow him, but we can't kill him unless he leaves the premises of the camp. The assassination needs to leave no witness. Did you get all that?" Synapse explained.

 

She closed her window and glanced around. "The difficult part is, the location is not given. We only know it is on the west section of the map, around three kilometer radius around Hollow Shades. That's why I'm looking around here."

 

-------------

 

Cedarwood, Day 5, Floor 1

 

Today, the small town of Cedarwood was at its lively heights. It was definitely above the capacity the town can hold, as it was quite crowded. Cedarwood possessed a fountain and a small park, along with some necessities, such as a general store, weapons shop, blacksmith shop, forge, and a inn. There were a few NPCs as well, giving out quests.

 

Cutaway was sitting on the town square fountain, boredly looking around the city. He did not have this much free time before. I should not have been so careless,, he thought. Cutaway had accidentally broke some of his armor from the duration effect. At least it was only his shirt. Being of a class that favored agility more, it was cloth armor. He couldn't wear plate, chain, or even metallic armor anyway. The weight was shockingly high for his limits.

 

He was a bit tired after all that farming. A new cloth shirt was on him, mostly a replacement. His clothes weren't too difficult to get; they could easily be bought or looted. Only his cloak had a special effect, which is somehow a slight weapon quickness buff.

 

A young mare stood Cutaway, also cloaked, except her hood made her near unrecognizable. "Hey, Algol," he greeted, waving his hoof.

 

Algol was one of the information dealers of the game. She was cheap and could set prices on literally everything, but Algol had good information. That was undeniable. Without little communication, Cutaway subtly gave her two hundred Col. She took it, and finally said, "What do you want?"

 

"Any latest news on the opened quests?" Cutaway asked.

 

Algol opened up her information book, a scene which made Cutaway smirk. Algol, the game info dealer, was reading from her own information book. Perhaps it was a way to recall her memory. "So, I have to warn you, this is from the beta test. I am not responsible for any loss, nor will I give out any personal info. Is that clear?"

 

Cutaway nodded. "You can always trust a gentlecolt," he bowed. "You already said that several times it's getting tiring."

 

"Yeah, yeah," Algol muttered. "«Medicine of the Forest». Ever heard of that? It was out for a few days, and whoever successfully does the quest gets a reasonably powerful item that can be useful for the early game. The «Anneal Blade»."

 

Cutaway slid toward her, causing Algol to step back and continue. "Anyway, it's rare. Not sure if you can get it. Beta testers have been scrambling for it, and several have died. It's a risky feat."

 

"So who succeeded the quest?" he inquired.

 

"A beta tester, a name I would rather not reveal," Algol answered.

 

"What's the quest cool down?"

 

"A week," she replied.

 

Cutaway kicked a pebble. "Damn it. Any other quests?"

 

"There's the «Wolf Cleansing» quest. Gives you a Cedarwood officer cutlass, a Greaves of Accuracy, or the «Reinforced Shirt»."

 

"Well, I know what I'm going to do today," Cutaway stood up, drawing his scimitar. "Thanks."

 

As he ran off, Algol looked at his money, and paused. "Hey!" she shouted angrily. "This is only fifty, you scammer!"

[Scratched Disk 48]

Zephyr's hooves echoed across the dungeon's floor. It was very spacious, but very cold. Torches flickered across the area, but it almost seemed to produce no heat. There was a chill in the air that no amount of flames could remove. Zephyr couldn't decide if it was due to the game or his own imagination of the danger he felt all around him. He was ten minuets in with no problems. The suspense was intense enough to cut with a knife.

 

"I don't know what's worst, the waiting or the scare." He wondered. None the less he proceeded every step with caution. He stopped at a corner to a room and listened... He heard nothing coming from within. He peaked his head around the corner.

There before him was a chest. It appeared to be unopened! Zephyr felt the adrenaline rushing as he slowly approached it. He looked all around it for any kind of traps. He found none, but to be safe he held onto his crystal. Unlatching it, he raised the lid, unbeknownst to him the trigger was inside. He never heard the trigger pull, and the trap axe started it's fatal swing down from the ceiling. It drew closer and closer to it's unsuspecting prey. And then...

Edited January 24, 2014 by Zephyr Vortex

[Concerto Dusk 240]

rainbow tech walked out of the town of beginnings, "guess i overslept" talks to self

 

"either way, id better be careful, everpony and their brother is gonna swing faster unless they've got a war hammer" he mutters as he shoulders his massive zweihander.

 

"two hander my hoof, this baby is nothing compared to what people say it is"

  "weell i should see if my freinds are still ok"  goes through freinds list seeing with despair that none of his albeit few freinds were still alive, after only 5 days

 

 

"what in the name of celestia happened" he screams, and rushes out towards where a merchant stands with his stall

 

 

"heres all the money i have, holds out fifty col,  "wheres the dungeon, tell me now and its all yours" he yells loud enough for anypony to hear him

Edited January 25, 2014 by mirrorwing

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

((OOC:I have no idea how we shifted from the dungeon to other quest so i'm gonna create something until people interact))

After a monster or two came back running from the dungeon. It was obvious that this dungeon was hard and the monsters did not show any pity to newbies. He had almost lost the shield there and it was a warning as not to attempt this soon enough. He checked the area for quests eventually encountering a hidden NPC near the woods. It seems that he was a ranger... a guardian of the forest and he had spotted some bandits making business out of the local wolfs. It seems that after he had done the cleansing of the wolves this was a chain-quest who's source he had to find. Once he did the quest would activate to him as he assumed was the case now. Nevertheless Terra jumped at the chance of routing some outlaws instead of wildlife this time. A new chance to get better at the game and earn experience both in-game and in fighting opponents of different kind.

[Delernil 952]

 

'Yeah, I got it all. Shall we get moving?' Traveller smiled as he began to walk in the direction he figured Hollow Shades was. To be honest, he was dropped into a field and ran into a cave. He didn't know the first thing about locating things here. 'So around 3km?' He asked.

[Anneal 2,194]

((OOC:I have no idea how we shifted from the dungeon to other quest so i'm gonna create something until people interact))

(( I'm doing a quest that only involves Delernil and me.))

 

 

@, @@Frosty V, @, @@Delernil,

 

West Tower Area, Day 5 

 

"Uh, Hollow Shades is that way," Synapse pointed away from Traveler, toward another direction. She opened the map that she charted herself, pointing on a small cluster of squares. "So this is Hollow Shades. If we're talking about a three kilometer radius –" Synapse produced another of her own ruler-compass, and began to draw a rough circle on the paper map "– then its around here. Logically, it would be easily to notice a camp ground around the plains over here. I was assuming it could be on the mountainous area in the north."

 

"By the way," Synapse added, "what is your level? The enemies may be quite difficult to handle. I don't want you dying when we do find the rebel base. A good deal of players are losing their lives every day because of the sudden changes in the game system and recklessness, and hopefully we're not going to be the unfortunate ones."

 

The two of them continued on, this time toward the north. As Synapse traversed through the plains, she couldn't help but notice how marvelous and appealing this world was. Everything seemed so...real. While she did want to return to the real world, the possibilities in this world was so broad and infinite. Only by seeing the gaming features did she recall that this was only a game, and like all games, its boundaries were actually limited. 

 

She thought for a while. Was this why Kayaba trapped them into this game in the first place? To stay in another different world to escape the original real world itself? 

 

Starting City, Day 5

 

Later that day, Cutaway found himself returning to the same old place, the Starting City, to purchase a drink at the tavern. The quest had not been necessarily hard, since it was only killing regular mobs. Subsequently, he had acquired his first "unusual" weapon, which was quite some way to "rare" weapons such as the so-called the Anneal Blade or Wolf Tooth Sword, but was reasonably powerful. In fact, he had already noticed that the quests were in fact the best way to gain equipment and experience quick. 

 

Today, he had made some progress and leveled up to level 6. It was probably the reason why, Cutaway thought, every player was eyeballing him like there was something wrong. Maybe it was the equipment. Cutaway had found out most players here were still wearing their starter clothes, idling a

[Frosty V 309]

@, @, @, @@Delernil, @Anybody I missed

 

Town of Beginnings

 

Frost sat in one of the local pubs, one that was more high end than others. He drank and ran through his stats over and over and over again, mumbling what he read so that only he could hear is low voice. "Level: 14, Acquired Skill Sets: Cooking, Blacksmithing, Building. Weapon: Black Mace, Weapon skill: high, Col: 1300. Fri....." he stopped when he looked at the list of all the players he had met since he started playing the game. He had only seen them all one or two times, now it ached him, not knowing what had become of those ponies. Injured, dead, or worse, killing others. He took another swig from. his cup as he opened up his message menu.

 

He set the recipients of the message to all the ponies he had fought the wolf with last night. The message read: I don't know if you all remember me or will even read this message, but if you do I need a group to join, being a solo player is not working out well emotionally. If you are welcome to this idea just message me back with your next location or your current so I may meet with you. My skills can be relied on. he finished the message by putting his avatar name and location.

 

The only thing he could do now was sit and wait for a reply. If none came he would coupe.

[Delernil 952]

@

 

'Im actually level one...' Traveller said as he put on a weak smile. 'But my equipment is actually pretty good! Well , for level 1.' He quickly added. He looked at the map and shrugged. 'We should go check that out first then, I guess.' He said as he followed her to the mountainous area.

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @@Delernil,@

 

"Still Level 1?" she repeated, raising her eyes. After viewing Traveler's attributes, Synapse sighed. "Okay then, just stay by my side and I'll defend you. If you see a monster, just hide somewhere. They have the power to knock out a good deal of your health."

 

When she said that, Synapse became a bit uncertain herself. She had only played a few days; did she have the ability to even defend a player? Did she even have the power to be commanding players and assuming the spot of leader?

 

Town of Beginnings

 

Cutaway was drinking from a bottle of apparently unknown liquor from the tavern, finishing it up with one deep swig. Obviously, there was no alcohol in the drinks at all, since they weren't real liquor, though it tasted like it. The system probably didn't want to allow players to get intoxicated while they were playing, let alone get intoxicated in-game.

 

This particular drink, he noted, had the flavor of grape in it. The drinks weren't what mattered the most, however. It was the tavern events itself. Simply buying a few drinks and talking to the NPC patrons or the bartender unlocked «Rumor Quests», possible «Chest» locations, and in some cases, uncharted territories.

 

A stallion came sitting down to his right, appearing depressed and searching through his inventory. His armor and weapon made it fairly obvious that he was not a newbie resident. "What are you doing here so far from the frontlines?" he asked. "You know, the dungeon is unlocked already, and a few of the ponies in Hollow Shades are rallying up an expeditionary force."

 

Cutaway suddenly heard a discernable voice outside, and he opened the tavern door to look. Not surprisingly, there was another player, again, not a newbie native, angrily talking to a NPC for a dungeon location, which nearly made him laugh. If there was one thing he knew about NPCs, it was that their knowledge were limited. They were still simple AIs, and most of the time, they only respond to questions that they are able to reply to. And reasonably, merchant NPCs don't have the broad power to know anything outside the city borders, so it was just ridiculous to even interact with one without the intention to buy, sell, or repair.

 

But, the player looked quite adept from the tell-tale armor and weapon, and he looked kind of dismayed. What is he doing here where the NPCs have no knowledge of the dungeon? If anything, the NPCs from Cedarwood or Hollow Shades might have a clue.

[Frosty V 309]

@

 

Frost looked at the pony that had sat down next to him, taking another swig from his drink, not being able to get drunk was really beginning to piss him off, but his morals weren't going to let hi m take out his anger on somepony else. He let out a small low chuckle before speaking up. "I'm aware of the dungeons discovery." He said in a friendly tone. "I am taking a break from the fighting....I was hoping on finding a few more ponies with good skill to party with before returning....so far I haven't found any that tickle my fancy." He said, taking another swig

[Scratched Disk 48]

Zephyr was pulling loot from the chest as the axe came dangerously close to him, however right as he was pulling a bag of col out, a few coins escaped his grasp. With his hooves full, he reached down and grasped the coin between his teeth. The axe swooshed extremely close causing a breeze and clipping off some of Zephyr's mane. Zephyr yelped in surprise and dove into the chest before the axe was able to start it's swing again. "That was too close. It missed me by a hair. I have to be more careful!" He scolded himself. He reached up and stopped the axe. Surprisingly he was able to take the axe. Which got him thinking, if this was a room trap, why could he take the axe? then it dawned on him. It was a player made trap. He had completely forgotten about PK'ers and a dungeon would be the best place for it. He quickly shut the chest and bolted out of the room. Surely, whoever placed the trap will be back.

 

@@Frosty V @

 

He considered turning back with his new found loot, but the excitement made his blood pumping. He decided against it and continued into the dungeon. He was peaking around a corner when a bell noise nearly jumped him out of his skin. He had received a message. Thinking it was from Terra, he quickly opened it, but was a little dishearten when it was from Frost. "Where had Terra gone off to?" He wondered. Casting that thought aside he opened the letter. The message read: "I don't know if you all remember me or will even read this message, but if you do I need a group to join, being a solo player is not working out well emotionally. If you are welcome to this idea just message me back with your next location or your current so I may meet with you. My skills can be relied on. Sincerely, Frost, Town of Beginnings."

 

Zephyr took a second to give it a deep thought before replying back. He selected the 'Reply' icon and began speaking, "My Friend Frost, I remember your skills from the wolf battle, and I have to say, I'd be a fool not to team up with you. At the moment I am occupied in the dungeon, but when I surface, I'll send you another message. Hope to see ya soon! Zephyr" and with that he hit send.

 

He closed his menu and got back to the task at hand. He took another five steps before he heard noises. First it was laughter, then voices, not monster voices, but pony voices. "Could these be the ones who set the trap?" He wondered. He realized that the hoof and voices were getting closer, and Zephyr had no choice but to try and run.

 

He turned a corner and darted down a hall way. The voices got louder, and he knew that they were on his tail. He caught the attention of a few goblins, and quickly out ran them, but the group behind him wasn't so lucky. This was just the break he was hoping for! He dashed to a side passage and slowed his breathing. He strained his ear to hear anything. It was hard to listen over the beating of his own heart. A moment passed... then two.

 

Satisfied that he heard nothing, he let out a sigh, and opened his map. He wasn't able to chart while on the dash, so he was in a middle of a blankness on the map. He saw the entrance and decided to see if he could work his way back around towards it. He closed the map and turned a corner... Right into a patrol of two goblins! "Crap!" Zephyr shouted and the goblins belted their challenge back. He readied his lance and prepared for an attack!

[Concerto Dusk 240]

Rainbow turned to see somepony poking their head out the tavern door. "hey, you" he yelled, "ill give you my money for information" clearly pissed at having gotten nowhere with the npc, and distraught for some reason or another, he runs over, to ask yet again for help. "look im not rich, but im not a newbie to these games either, i know that people need stuff in return, if you need a temporary party member, i work with you, i dont really care, but i need this info ok?"

[Anneal 2,194]

@, @@Frosty V, @, @@Delernil,@

 

Starting City

 

"Oh, I was just speculating..." Cutaway noted, awkwardly shuffling his hooves. "It's just that I noticed your armor were rare drops for this floor, so I was wondering if you're one of the dungeon front liners. Speaking of such, I've heard some of the players who found the dungeon yesterday were killed. The fourth dungeon floor hasn't been passed yet. I heard that unlike the previous floors, which were puzzles and traps, it basically became a monster labyrinth. Hope we get out of this floor, though it could take some time."

 

Cutaway nearly jumped at the stallion turned to him. He never expected for the stallion to see him, let alone place his focus. Cutaway calmed however, when he realized the stallion just wanted information. Remembering the business-like personality of Algol, he opened up his map. "If you really want the information, I will tell you. Information doesn't come free, however. But since you're a decent stallion, I'll give you a discount. One hundred and fifty Col for the exact location of the dungeon entrance."

 

Rebel Base Camp

 

The sun was slowly falling into the horizon as the moon rose from the opposite direction. Synapse felt the temperature immediately cool down. The sky turned into a dark scarlet color, and she checked her time. 17:46. Time to move.

 

With Traveler most likely nearby her, Synapse hid into tall grass, using the dirt as a way to camouflage her brightly colored orange coat. The darkness helped limit the enemies vision. She peeked out into the camp, seeing a bonfire surrounded by simple branch tents. A few were covered in cloth and had some better quality. There was an aged house that seemed to droop and decay that was probably abandoned before. That was patently not the case anymore, since Synapse could see bright lights coming out of the cabin.

 

There were a group of ponies, clad in blue clothing, that were only distinguishable by their dark red markers. Synapse chose not to provoke them, for the sake of Traveler's life and the difficulty of actually beating them. Directly attacking them could probably result in them sounding the bell alarm and calling reinforcements. She didn't want to risk that, and wanted to go for a single elimination with a silent kill. She just had to wait for him to come out.

 

And after a few minutes, he did. The target, Silnis, could be seen. Synapse whispered to Traveler, "Hey, are you seeing this? We have to move soon and eliminate him. Don't get detected, and be quick."

[Delernil 952]

(Oh god, I thought I posted! I'm so sorry!)

 

Traveller saw the pony and nodded. He crawled through the grass to a position left of the target. He readied his shield and inches towards the cabin. The grass was tall around all sides except for the front, which gave the two attacking ponies an advantage. Traveller slumped against the cabins foundation quietly as he waited for Synapse to make the first move. He took out his sword and prepared for an attack.

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

@, Terra had opened his friend list out of interest. Subconsiously he was being reminded that he needed to speak a bit with Zephyr... what for? Now that was a different question... but he sent a PM to him regardless to scout the situation he was , maybe he needed help or something. 

"Hey Zephyr what's up? Doing some poacher-slaying quest. Think it's a chain to the one we did earlier."