Field Quest: The Cave Of Unknown Treasures

    Xander stands outside of a deep, damp, dark cave right off the beach. The area is rocky here and this cave is probably flooded when the tide rolls in. For the moment is exposed to the outside elements.

The Salamander has a map in his hand that he has studied and seem to be talking to a Lander of all things, before handing the NPC human some silver, before the Lander walks off. At that point, Xander rolls back up the map and waits for those willing to assist him to show up. His tail slowly moving side to side as he listens to the waves roll across the rocks nearby.

It's likely that Mikage has been there for some time. The ranger had a habit of running into the Salamander on the beach. It just seemed to keep happening. She is perched on a nearby rock, crouched in her usual hunter's gear, watching the strange display.

Rama, on the other hand, is not so interested in stealth. The little lynx goes racing up along the sand, running up to Xander and bouncing around his feet. "So much for a quiet approach." Miki muses to herself, hopping down from the rock and following behind.

The Were Fang makes her way over, looking at the Lander before glancing back at Xander, "So what was all that about?" She asks.

"You know, I've always liked the ocean.  Large, beautiful, full of wonder, and possible adventure.  Kind of like our situation now, wouldn't you say?  Poetic in a way," Is the deep voice of a Spriggan who has decided to walk up.  Dressed in vibrant blues and purples, with a bow and a harp on his back.  

"A pleasure to meet you all, I am U.L.P..  So I am told that there is a treasure in this here cave.  Potentially guardians for it, and perhaps an adventure in the making?" He says all of this with a slight grin on his fair face.  

While they wait, he draws the harp and plays it idly.  Something to do, after all, they say idle hands are the devil's tools.  

Tired and a bit sleep deprived from what feels like a game of cat and mouse with her mysterious stalker, Shaskur is all too willing to leave town for a time when she sees Xander's notice. She scouted with the salamander before and they made a good team. She needed a familiar face.

After some travel she starts to approach the indicated meeting location, and she does see a cave and the raven-blue scaled salamander waiting nearby. As Shaskur continues to sneak closer she sees a lynx suddenly race out along the sands towards him. Looks like there will be more than just the two of them this time.

Breaking cover herself she approaches and raises her hand in greeting, "Yo. Another scouting job, Xander?" She then turns to the brightly dressed spriggin, "Shaskur" she says as she points to herself. She then intently looks at the lynx as she slowly edges closer to it, hand slightly outstretched as if she is considering petting it.

    Xander looks to the Lynx as the little one comes running over, he reaches down and gives the feline a few good scratches behind the ears, before looks up to Mikage with a smile, "I am going to start wondering if you are stalking me Mi--" He pauses as he hears Shaskur first, "--kage." Then waves to her. "Hello Shaskur and yeah, it looks like it."

He then motions over to Mikage, "This is Mikage, a good friend of mine." The Salamander then motions to Shaskur, "Mikage, Shaskur. She helped me handle some goblins."

Just as he goes to explain to Mikage what this is about, another voice breaks the mold and explains the general gist of it. "Hello sir, and you are correct." He extends his hand to ULP, "Xander, I'll be the party leader." Which then Xander sends them all party invites.

    He goes to place away the rolled up paper. "I got some details about this cave from a Lander. It Apparently belonged to some mage pirate, or something like that. Been hidden away for years." Xander furrows his brows as he looks at the cave. Another quest that wasn't here till now. How this world like to throw in strange oddities.

The Salamander shrugs from his thoughts, "Some other Adventurers have tried to get the treasure as well, been a few PK skirmishes if I've heard right, so we need to keep an eye on our six. If we can find the treasure, I've been told it is ours to keep. We just need to bring it back to the Lander you saw me speaking too."

He hrms softly, "That is /if/ we find the right treasure. If not, we might get some coins out of it, but not the actual real loot." He rests his hands on his hips, "Seems like /no one/ has been able to get the real deal. Apparently a ton of false chests for those that have gotten in there, since no one has yet to figure it out." Xander shakes his head, "But that is all I know."

With the others offering out introductions, the Ranger gives a nod of her head, lifting a hand to brush a few strands of white hair from her eyes. "I'm Mikage. The lynx is my companion, Rama." The lynx peeks out from behind Xander's legs, obviously knowing him but not the others. The little creature twitches his nose at the two newcomers, tilting his head towards Shaskur. It doesn't seem scared of either of them, but is getting attention from Xander so he leans into that and purrs.

"Maybe." The girl replies with a wink towards Xander, "You'd never know if I was, anyways." He never seemed to notice her when she did sneak up on him. She nods given the more proper introduction from the Salamander. "He's good people, this one." She thumbs at the 'party leader'.

The pale-haired Were Fang listens to the story, eyes glancing over towards the cave. "So, magic, pirates, mimics, traps, fake treasures... and the possibility that other players would want to kill us over it. Sounds like you've found an interesting enough adventure to set us on." Miki chuckles to herself, shaking her head.

"Sounds pretty mysterious, but I love a good mystery..."

U.L.P. pauses his strumming to take the hand of Xander, giving it a firm shake.  "A very American greeting!  How interesting!" he says, though seems not very put off by it.  If anything, the man is seemingly flexible, but let's hope that applies to not just being social.  He does, however, give proper greetings to the rest of the group.  He is careful to bow just enough, enough for respect but not enough to show that he is in any way their subordinate.

"Hmmm..." he says, as the explanation of the cave happens, and accepting the party invite he listens.  "I assume the normal amount of PKing?  Not a specific PKer?" He asks for no apparent reason other than to ask.  Still, false treasure, danger, a mystery.  "Now this is a quest...mhmhm!"

While they finish their preparations, U.L.P. Takes the time to gather some driftwood, seashells, and some rope he has.  He lines the entrance to the cave with the string and ties the shells and wood onto it...a makeshift noisemaker.

"There.  Now if anyone enters to cave behind us, there is a good chance they'll stumble into this and give us some warning.  Hopefully, it will scare off other questers, and warn us to bumbling PKers.  We should still watch our backs, who knows who is already in the cave.  Or heavens help us if we have a PKer who is actually stealthy!"

Being distracted from her focus on the lynx, Shaskur accepts the party invite and turns to nod at Mikage during their introduction and raises her hand in her typical greeting, "Yo." She then looks a bit torn between listening to the details and going to pet the lynx, and finally settles on a compromise by sitting down on her heels and stretching her hand out to the lynx in the hopes it comes over while listening to the rest of what Xander has to say.

Shaskur's eyebrows raise in some surprise at hearing that there has been competition to the point of PKing. That wasn't unfamiliar to her from her time in the Silver Swords, but she briefly looked down into the cave wondering what might be drawing so much attention.

She then tilts her head and asks, "We can keep it if we give it to the Lander? Why not just keep in the first place?" then she hums in thought and points her finger up in realization, "Oh, he needs to verify it is real or something, right? There are lots of fakes."

    "Good idea." Xander says to ULP after the noise maker is crafted, but he doesn't comment on the 'very American' part, seeming to let it slide. "But yeah, seems to just be folks just, being well, normal jerks." The Salamander gives a helpless shrug. "Who knows, maybe give this cave belong to some mage, it makes people crazy or something!" There is a laugh there, but he realizes it is a horrible joke and rubs the back of his neck. "A-anyways..."

His attention turns over to Shaskur, "That is my guess or maybe it has something to do with the way this quest is scripted, given it is bad enough that you can't even gain access unless the tide is low. Apparently, most of the time the cave is covered by water, so limited window. Probably explaining all the competition over it..."

Xander gives a nod to Mikage and grins, "Not sure about 'good', but I'll take the compliment all the same." The Salamander then looks inside, "Anyways, we better get a move on before our window closes in order to find this stuff... Or even get back out." Then he goes to make his way inside, leading the others as he conjures up a small ball of light.

After Xander stops giving him attention, Rama seems to go looking for it elsewhere. Shaskur, being the obvious choice since she is the one offering out her hand. The fluffy little feline bumps at her hand, then begins to circle around her feet, batting up at her fingers.

U.L.P's comment about 'normal' PKing does cause a curious look and a raised eyebrow at Xander, "So long as we haven't had any sightings of anyone who looks like Kite around...?" She asks, not knowing how much the others here know of the PKer who is rumored to have attacked someone in Alne.

She is careful not to get in the way of the trap that the Spriggan sets, then follows Xander in towards the cave. "So we need to make sure we're out of here before the water level rises. Or hope that we can hold our breath a very, very long time." Alas, none of them are Undines.

"I am sometimes full of those," U.L.P. says towards Xander with a grin.  Though Mikage says something interesting, and apparently is in the know about what he was actually referring to.  "Oh, do you know more about the rumor?  Also, I am not sure who this Kite is, care to explain?" He sounds interested!

Stepping inside the cave, he lets Xander and most of the party go first.  He falls in step soon after, taking his time and watching as much of the cave as he can.  "Well, the tide should not come in for a bit.  If it was a home for a mage, I imagine there is a safe place inside just in case."

"Otherwise, yes, we should hope that we can hold our breath for a long time.  Or that water levels work as they do in most video games that do them incorrectly." a pause, "And that we can breathe as long as there are air bubbles."

Shaskur's eyes twinkle in delight as the cute furball comes over to her and she pets contentedly as it circles around her. So soft. Heaven. Yep, this was heaven. Alas, it cannot last forever and she reluctantly stands as Xander indicates they need to get moving.

Shaskur pats herself off briefly before her eyes narrow slightly in concentration and she draws twin daggers. They are simple steel daggers that tapper to a sharp point, low level gear but effective enough at her level. She then nods to ULP as she looks at the alarm, and then silently and moves forward as she scans the cave for any kinds of traps.

As she scans the walls and floor she also intently listens to the conversations. It sounded like they were on a timeline. She was also quite curious what this Kite story was about and was glad ULP asked.

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    Challenge 1: Underwater Dive

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    This section of the cave is carved out by years and years of water. The rock is smooth, moss grows along some surfaces that the tide barely had a chance to touch. It's damp, wet, and a bit slippery.

From the looks, there is no way to pass through here, the only way seems to be is a pool of water that seems to go under a low section of cave wall. Light can be seen on the other side, which gives an indication that there is passage behind the wall and that small, cold, pool of water might be the only way through. Though what is causing the light source is another mystery all together...

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-- Manipulate The Water: +roll Water (with card) vs 6
-- Go For The Swim: +roll Physical (with card) vs 5
-- There has to be another way!: +roll Searching (with card) vs 8

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    End of Challenge Summary

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    Xander peers at the pool of water, kneeling down with some care to give it a look. His eyes slowly follow the slight gap in the cave wall that the water goes under, including the very edge of light escaping the other side.

He points it out to the others as he dims his own orb of light. His voice goes low, "... looks like we might have company or /had/ company." He then goes to stand up, "The water looks like the only way to the other side." His draconic, fiery gold eyes look around. "Unless anyone else has any options?" Xander's vote seem to go for a swim. It doesn't look that deep after all. Though he also pays attention to the Kite story, if Mikage goes further into it.

"Yeah." Mikage inclines her head towards the Spriggan, "I was there when the man respawned in the church." She explains, "I don't really know much, but there is supposedly this PKer called Tri-Edge, who wasn't leveled down like the rest of us. He's rumored to be able to actually kill people permanently when he wants to, or seemingly wipe memories from others." The question about Kite has her looking uncertain, "People claim he looks like the player Kite. He's a member of the Scale alliance, but I've only met him a couple of times."

She explains this as they walk, trailing off only when they reach the pool within the damp cave. Rama, who had been bounding at the group's heels, doesn't seem to like the idea of going swimming. He paces back and forth at the edge of the water. Miki doesn't seem bothered by it, though. She steps into the water, "I can probably get through with some of my magic."

Extending her sword, she channels energy through it, causing it to glow fiantly blue. She uses it to force the water away from her, allowing a shallower path through.

"Either stay here, or try to find another way around, buddy. It's probably safer that way, anyways." The lynx gives a yowl of displeasure at this, then starts to circle around Shaskur's legs.

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    Challenge 2: Questionable Adventurers

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    As you arrive in the next room from the underwater pool, by means of water manipulation or a slight swim; Though one of you decided to squeeze through the hidden, tightly fitting cave tunnel just above; You find the source of the light belonging to some fellow Adventurers like yourselves. When doing an examination on them, they are clearly player characters and not Landers. To attack them could you get PK-Flagged, but the same could go for them as well, but given they were already and a grave was already nearby them. They seem to have no issues taking on other players.

However, without knowing what is ahead, it may not be wise to pick a fight with unknown players. Maybe there is another solution, given this group seems to be content to just camp out here as if this is their own private little spot. The question is, what will you do?

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-- Try To Sneak By: +roll Sneaking (with card) vs 7
-- Attempt A Negotiation Of Some Kind: +roll Negotiation vs 4
-- Death To PKers!: +roll Attack Choice (with card) vs 4
NOTE: All other success will be null & void if you attack. It will begin combat round.

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    End of Challenge Summary

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    The Salamander listens to what Mikage has to say and furrows his brows, "I see." He says softly. "Kite huh?" Given the Scaled Empire is his alliance, it will be someone he'll need to go check out or at least maybe have a word with.

Xander moves himself through the water that is present, even if it now wading as the others do as they do. This leads him to going a bit low as he spots the group of Adventurers. While he has no problem picking a fight, he has no desire to deal with the three fellows that are present. Two of them looking human, one of the a Undine. The Rune Knight chooses to go the sneaky direction and try to skirt by without being seen; As difficult as that might be.

    Xander nearly trips thanks to some moss, which causes the three to look directly at him. "Why hello there! Would you like to hear about my savior, mistress of the flames!"

The Three Adventurers just give him a dead-pan stare.

They enter into the cave, it is damp making the rocks slippery. Shaskur does her best to move carefully, but the cave seems to come to a fairly abrupt end other then the pool of water. Shaskur listens to Xander as he inspects the water.

Narrowing her eyes, she did not want to get wet if she could help it, she starts to search along the walls. Her imp eyes were well attuned to the darkness, giving her an advantage in situations like this. She searches along the cracks in the wall, pressing and tapping to see what could be discovered.

Listening to Mikage talk about this Kite looking character was a bit scary. Permanent death? Erasing peoples' memories? That.. was terrifying. She shook her head slightly, she has to get more powerful to keep herself safe!

She glances over at the others, they seemed to be preparing for a swim, and starts to search just a little bit more frantically. There has to be another option! Getting wet would be so cold! She then sees Mikage's magic and how the water parts for her. Well, that might not be soooo bad, but it was still too close to the water for her tastes.

Finally she found was seemed to be a small switch hidden in a fake portion of the cave wall. As she presses it there a small door that opens up and she is able to squeeze through to the other side. Phew! Escaped the water so far!

"How very interesting~!" The man says listening to the story and has already pulled out his harp.  He starts to strum a few lines, but not because he's about to concoct a song about Kite and Tri-Edge.  No, it is because of the water in their path.  

"Come all ye young fellows that follow the sea
To me weigh hey blow the man down
And pray pay attention and listen to me
Give me some time to blow the man down"

As he sings the magic starts to work, as the waters start to move as he aids in trying to keep them separate.  However, as they travel they have to go into verse two.

"I'm a deep water sailor just in from Hong Kong
To me weigh they blow the man down
If you'll give me some rum I'll sing you a song
Give me some time to blow the man down"

On the other side, the shanty stops, and the water sinks back to normal.  This of course ends with giving the leader of this party a deadpan stare.  "I'm good, thanks."

Luckily for Rama, Shaskur finds another way around the whole water problem. The lynx follows her into the hidden passageway. It also means that Shaskur has a little feline shadow for the time being, since he seems to be avoiding the direct path that Mikage took.

Miki is careful coming out of the water, perhaps catching that glint of light even before the other Adventurers come fully into view. She is slow to climb out of the water, masking her presence with the sounds of moving water, slinking into the shadows of the cave and making sure to step only on solid pieces of stone.

Of course, Xander is not quite so stealthy, so she winces inwardly as he makes himself quite well known. She moves towards the other side of the other party, waiting to see what they will do. Her hand stays on her sword, ready to jump into the fight if they decide to attack.

The moment Xander goes face first, he motions to the others to keep going.  Keeping to the shadows he finds a good place to notch and arrow and then keeps his hand steady.  Moments later an arrow flies out of the dark, followed by another and another.  

Each one is perfectly fired, aiming straight for the center of mass on each player, aiming to either take them down or at least, drive them off.  Hopefully, he can give Xander some cover and a way out...and drive out rivals in the process.

He's not looking to PK them per se, but if they fall...oh well?

Moving out along the wall Shaskur was still hidden in the darkness of the cave along with Rama. She was happy to have a silent friend along with her. She watches in dismay as Xander trips and then tries to cover by greets the other party. Uh oh. She really wished she had found that secret door sooner so she could have scouted for the party

Shaskur silently maneuvers along the edge of the cave to position herself behind the other party in case things go poorly. Watching to see what happens, but ready to strike if the situation demands it. Her daggers posed.

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    PKERS POSE (1 of 2)

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    The three stare at Xander and raised their brow at him slowly, "What is this idiot? A roleplay?" One of the asks. Though they had no time to react to the situation as an arrows come flying their way.

They do leap back as the arrows come in, but they also draw out their weapons. The Undine female points her sword at Xander and at ULP, "Kill them! We will figure out those runes yet!"

And so one human male goes right for ULP, while the other for Xander, leaving Mikage and Shaskur with a chance to do a stealth attack (one hit kill) against the PKers.

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    PLEASE STAND BY FOR ROLL RESULTS

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    PKER POSE (2 of 2)

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ROLL CALL -
PKer 1 vs Xander - Failed (6/7)
PKer 2 vs ULP - Success (8/7)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>One of the human's PKer 1 ends up nearly pulling a Xander and nearly trips himself up while going toward ULP. While the other PKer 2, manages to get a swing with his mace right for the Salamander!

The Undine PKer 3 however is slowly slinking back for the pool. It seems that while she might act touch, she has no interest in actual combat.

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         --WARNING --
!! PKer 3 attempting to escape !!

-- Normal Combat: +roll <combat> (with card) vs 5
-- Stealth Combat: +roll Sneaking (with card) vs 3
NOTE: Please designate target you are after.

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    Xander brings up his shield to block the blow, but is slid back by the impact, before he moves back in and attempts to bring his own sword to attack the Human Adventurer (PKer 2), "Just get out of our way!" The Salamander barks out!

Well, they were warned about the possibility of PKers in this dungeon. Miki curses internally, seeing the other party move into action, their intent set on killing her companions.

Seeing Xander forced back by one of the PKer's blows, Miki gives a silent motion with one hand. In the next instant, the one attacking the Salamander has a lynx leaping right towards their face. The battle cat latches on, clawing biting. At the same instant, Miki charges from the shadows, using the element of surprise to send her sword straight towards the PKer's back.

"You picked the wrong party to fuck with." She growls under her breath. The girl might just be a little bit protective, and fiercely so at that.

The arrows seem to have shaken the PKers up and put them on the backfoot.  The downside is that they're now like a hive of angry murder hornets, and riled up.  The one that goes for Xander falls flat, and the one that goes for him is less of a failure.

However, U.L.P. is quick on his feet, and with a little help from Xander he manages to get distance again.  Turning around, he notices his allies on the one downed and noticing the one retreating.  "Ah I see, you're only brave when you think you have the advantage.  Go, run..." he says, knowing that her time is short.

Instead, he fires an arrow right into the chest of the one that was trying to hit him.  "You, on the other hand, could learn something from your friend.  Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day.  Also, pick your friends and allies better.  Hopefully, you won't forget that!"

As ULP launches an attack against the other players Shaskur knew where this was leading. She shrugged internally, this was normal enough before the apoch, so no big deal for her. If she were to admit it to herself she enjoyed the challenged.

It was time for Ms Dagger to meet Mr Back, it really had been too long. As the Undine calls out for her party to kill them Shaskur starts to move, activating an art that causes darkness to bleed off her blades. She watches as the Undine then starts move to escape.

Nope. Not on her watch.

Lunging forward Shaskur imbeds both daggers into the Undine's back and twists as the darkness streams off to soak into the Undine. Looks like the Undine was caught by complete surprise and Shaskur lands a critical strike.

Not hesitating Shaskur immediately leaps back into the shadows.

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    PKer Pose

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    One of the humans (PK 2) who was on Xander leaps out of the way of the sword swing, "That Treasure is gonna be...!" However, whatever he was going to say is quickly interrupted as the Lynx attacks itself to the PKers backside. He screams in pain and while he runs around trying to get the Lynx off, as his deplete's where he at last is 'Killed', as he falls to the ground, fading into wisps and a tombstone remaining where he was with the 24 hour timer.

    The Undine (PK 3) is attempting to escape, but Shaskur has other things in mind as the Undine goes down and like the other PKer, her body leaves behind a tombstone with the timer.

    This just leaves the last human of that group. Which as ULP fires off the arrow, he attempts to use his sword to knock away, but fails as it goes right into his arm.

The human (PK 1), notices at that point that... ULP has a /very/ good point, "Shit.... Shit shit shit!!" He then gets down on his knees and places his hands on his ground, wincing at the digital mark still in his shoulder. "Please! Don't kill me! I'll-- I'll give you a warning about one of the rooms ahead! Ju-just let me go and I'll tell you what I know!!"

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    -- CHOOSE AS A PARTY --

Spare Or Kill

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Recovering from her attack Shaskur is able to watch as PK2 screams with the lynx clinging to him before finally poofing into a tombstone, and Shaskur's eyes twinkle in amusement. But there was one left, and she readied herself for another strike when it seems that ULP's comment has completely demoralized the final opponent.

As the human grovels on the ground Shaskur hesitates to see what the rest of the part will do. If it was just her, he would already be dead, but with the party she will hang back to the shadows and see what they decide.

"Hands behind your back," U.L.P. says, and if he complies he uses some rope to tie them up securely.  The man seems ready to deal with the surrendering man, but also keenly aware that people say anything when they feel their life is in danger.  "So while we walk, you can talk," he says, lifting the man to his feet and pushing him forward.  

"Don't think about running, my two friends here can do a repeat performance on you as easily as your friends...and of course, I can easily notch an arrow to nail you before you escape.  So what is going on in the next room?  Also, what guild do you belong to?  Is it just the group of you, or do you have more friends?"

"Essentially, keep talking if you want to live."

Under normal circumstances, Mikage is not the sort to get involved in PVP combat, but she has no qualms whatsoever about destroying people who pose a threat to her and her allies. As she withdraws her sword, there is a look of satisfaction on her features, watching the tombstone drop in the PKer's place. "You alright?" She asks to Xander, still gripping her sword as she looks towards the others.

In the end, there is only the one that remains. She isn't the largest or most imposing of the party, but the Ranger has that look of someone cute but deadly when she's angry. "You didn't have much respect for other players lives, but maybe yours might still be useful." She spins her sword threateningly, but allows U.L.P. to tie him up if he complies.

"We should make sure he drops his gear, too. It will at least delay him from being able to turn back into a red player." She suggests.

    Xander watches as the group deals well with the situation. Though when the man gets on his knees, even as Mikage and the others talk. While ULP ties him, Xander gets done on one knee and places the flat of the blade under the man's neck.

Xander looks him dead in the eyes, before glancing up at ULP. "He might be more trouble than he is worth taking along." Then he goes to stand back up, "But your call if you want to make sure he doesn't cause us trouble... Though I agree with Mikage," Xander gives a sadistic smile as he looks back at the poor PKer, "We should make him drop everything." Then leads on.

    The PKer simply gulps and follows...

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    Challenge 3: Locating The Hidden Passage

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    The cave continues on, as dripping sounds of water echo through the damp, dark space. The ground however shows signs of old foot traffic, the walls have strange glyphs on them that seem to glow in the dark, and it all seems to come to a dead-end. Even the strange path, less natural, and more man-made doesn't really seem to lead anywhere. Yet there should be a hidden door around here somewhere that leads on.

    Just the question is, where is it?

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-- Try To Understand The Glyphs: +roll Cryptography (with card) vs 5
-- Force The Magical Glyphs To Show The Way: +roll Divination (with card) vs 5
-- I am Indiana Jones: +roll Searching (with card) vs 5

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    End of Challenge Summary

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    During the walk into this room the PKer is indeed talking along the way, "We killed a few, but managed to get one to tell us about the room after the glyphs. He got it from some dumb book, I guess." The PKer explains, "I-I don't know all the details. Just the passage way leads to a room with skeleton guards. That only the worthy may cross the sea of gold. Apparently ya got to like, not touch any of the gold tiles and only stay on the silver path." He tests the bindings of the rope. "One wrong step and BOOM, the skeletons wake up and then you gotta fight for your lives!"

    Xander doesn't even respond to what the PKer is saying, he simply looks at the room, dimming the orb of light once more. "... So nothing about this place huh?"

    The PKer shakes his head, "Nope! Natta! We been stuck on this thing since the tide went down. No one has been able to solve this puzzle."

    Xander looks at the group and smiles, "Well, shall we start to be the firsts?" Then starts to see what he can find. Though as he walks by Mikage, he gives her a pat on the shoulder before whispering to her, then continues on looking.

"Hmmm...interesting.  We'll see about that the moment we get there...for now let's try and figure out the path.  Also yes, the moment we get to a point we should let him go, we can strip his gear and kick him on his way.  For now, I rather keep him as...insurance," U.L.P. says with a gleam in his eye towards the prisoner.

Turning his head to the rune, he considers them and knows there was something he was forgetting.  Snapping his fingers, he brings the harp out again, and starts humming, in tune with the strings, before another tune comes out.  

"Fehu, Uruz, Thorn, and Ansuz
Raido, Kaunaz, Gebo, Wunjo
Hagalaz, then Nauthiz, Isa
Jero, Eoh (that's a dipthong)
Pertho, Algiz, Sowilo, then
Tyr, Berkana Eihwaz, Manaz
Laguz, Inguz (that's the Ng-sound)
then comes Dagaz, last Othila
All twenty-four letters in this
order form the Futhark that the
All-Father discovered when he
hung himself on Yggdrasil."

Then with that inspiration, attempts to decipher the runes themselves, to gain some knowledge in how to get through.

Though they'd dealt with the PKers, Mikage lingers near the back of the group to keep watch. It's possible that they might have friends somewhere in the caves, and right now she isn't about to take any chances. Every now and again, Rama growls or nips at the bound Adventurer's heels, making sure he keeps walking. It's a stark contrast to the lynx's usual friendly behavior.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Miki's eyes take in the glyphs, "I've seen markings like these before, but I haven't a clue what they mean." U.L.P. seems to be far more knowledgable, enough so that she stares for a moment as he starts humming and naming runes.

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, the Ranger mutters, "Keep an eye on the prisoner, Rama. I'm going to go look around." She takes to searching the walls, trying to find any sort of notch or alcove or other place that might be hiding secrets.

It seems the others are feeling merciful today, Shaskur shrugs slightly and continues along with the party listening to the PKer. Don't touch the gold? That's too bad. Still, we were here to find whatever was the big prize, the gold might all be a fake or illusion or something. It sounded like this place was full of fake stuff.

With the others already giving a fair bit of focus to the now captive PKer, she placed most of her focus on searching the area for traps. As they approach the wall with glyphs Shaskur tilts her head in thought. She did some scouting of new raid areas with the Silver Swords before, and she had some thoughts on what might be possible with this.

ULP then sang out a tune, and Shaskur was hit with inspiration. Indeed, with the others handling the glyphs she could get some time with Rama! Genius! Moving over the fluffball and she begins to scratch Rama behind the ears as it watched the prisoner.

So soft. Yep, this really was Heaven. What a great idea.

    "Nice--- kitty?" The PKer says when he realizes that him and Rama are looking eye to eye. Yep, this guy is a coward without his group.

    Xander goes over the runes, as watches as Mikage looks around, ULP plays his song to help gain some insight, as Shaskur does, well, Shashur things!

Mikage and Xander come close to solving it, but it seems ULP gets it solved first with his bard melody, which seems to, well, trigger something. How or why it triggers. It triggers. The ground vibrates and the PKer's eyes go wide.

    The PKer falls down and scoots back a bit, "You done it! We are all dead man! We are so all dead!!"

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    Challenge 4: Skeletons In The Cave-Closet

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    The glyphs glow brightly as a loud hum can be heard. There is heavy vibration on the floor, one can hear something whirling to life, before part of the ground starts to shift and turn. Slowly those man-made floor tiles start to become stairs that make a spiral heading down below.

While the glyphs still glow, there is now a slight mist that escapes from the opening as torches light up going down the stairwell, leading to a room blow with runes on the ground, but skeletons stand there on guard it seems down the hall, at least seven of them in total that still remain. They are heavily armored, all holding long swords.

None of them seem active or even moving, just standing there lifeless. As if waiting for something to happen. Though with the party having the information they have from the PKer they spared, they can easily navigate the floor tiles to not trigger the magic in this room that would awaken the Skeletons.

    It's just following the silver tiles, not touching the golden ones and home free to the next area. At least once someone uses a little air magic to clear the floor so they can actually see where they are going; Darn dust.

... Though they do have a PKer with them that /should/ know the way, right??

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    No rolls, because ULP has /plans/.

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    End of Challenge Summary

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    Xander walks careful down the stairs, till they arrive in the main room. He looks it over and steps the side, careful to not get off the main, rocky tiles. He can somewhat make out the gold and silver floor panels, but he isn't really sure thanks to the lighting.

His eyes drift to the Skeletons. "... I can only imagine this fight would have been a pain... Unless." His eyes do drift to the PKer once he is down there with them. "You are lying to us, which case, you'll be our distraction!" Yeah, Xander can be an ass.

U.L.P. in fact DOES have a plan.  "First, strip him of his equipment," and when that's done he puts a hand on the shoulder of the PKer.  "Well, my friend, this is where we part ways, we'll cut you free and..." Then shoves him forward onto the first silver tile.  

If the skeletons activate, he casts dark ball to keep them out of the site and let the PKer take ALL of their aggro, with no gear.  This will give them a chance to sneak by them the moment he's being stabbed to death.

It is a strange sight, as Rama leans into Shaskur's attentions, purring, and then almost as quickly snaps his jaws at the PKer. The lynx clearly knows who his enemies are at the moment. When the man falls backwards, he actually chomps right on his ear, making sure that he doesn't try to retreat any further. Afterwards, he sort of makes a disgusted face. PKer pixels don't taste good, apparently.

"Got to give credit for the special effects here. Whomever designed them deserves a gaming award." The temptation to reach out and touch the glowing glyphs is a strong one, but Miki keeps her curiousity in check.

"He does seem a little too afraid of this room, especially for someone who supposedly knows their way through it." She takes her sword, lightly tapping it on the ground in a threatening manner. "What do you guys think?" She doesn't step foot into room, showing some measure of caution.

ULP really did have things under control. They seemed to be nearly as inspired as Shaskur was and unlocked the secret passage. Well, I guess it was inevitable. Time to move. She gave the prisoner a final glare, and more importantly gave Rama a final pet, before moving down the stairs with the rest of the party.

She continues to scan the the area for traps, but is impressed with the detail here. There was a beauty to the gold and silver. Still, Shaskur is wary. She kind of assumes traps are everywhere. But It seems everyone has a plan. Oh, that poor PKer. Looks like he was going to get what he deserves anyway!

    The PKer has a nice red data mark from whre Rama bit him on the ear and when they strip him, he is shivering, and ULP throws him on the silver tile, he curls up.

Yet nothing happens.

    Xander frowns a little, "Well, that was anti-climatic." Then he motions to the PKer, "Up with you and /lead/"

    The PKer gulps and leads the group across the silver path, Xander's sword poking him in back a few times to make sure he just keeps on going, at least till they get to the massive doors. "... Are these trapped?"

"N-Not that I am aare of?"

    "Then open it up."

    The PKer turns to look at Xander, "How can I?! My hands! They are tied together!"

    Xander gives him a dead-pan look. "Based on the hinges, they can be pushed open. Now, open the damn door."

The PKer looks at the group, as if hoping one of them would maybe have different ideas.

As they approach the large doors Shaskur ignores the banter between Xander and the Prisoner, instead scrutinizing the doors themselves. Moving closer as she looks them over. She hopes to see a blue highlight indicating her Searching skill activated, assisting her in spotting traps, but nothing shows up. Then she sees a dead rat on the ground by the door.

She quickly raises her hand palm out and states, "Wait!" She grabs the prisoner and pulls him back a step, as he moves up to the door. After inspecting the dead rat she says, "Suspicious." And points at the rat.

"Well, isn't it your lucky day!  For one, not lying to us, and for two actually not being told the wrong information.  Anyway, let's keep moving, your usefulness isn't over yet!" he says with the most cheery of demeanor, belying a very dangerous mind.  

At the door, he likes how Xander thinks, but when Shaskur goes to check the door for traps, he nods.  Good idea, and when no obvious traps are found, he shoves the PKer through.

"Next time you try anything, he'll take more than your ear." Mikage warns, though the threat doesn't quite seem natural on her lips. The Ranger isn't exactly used to playing the 'bad cop' sort of role.

She crouches down to pluck up Rama, knowing that the lynx isn't quite smart enough to avoid the trapped tiles. Instead, she carries him, making sure to step only in the places that their prisoner had already proven were safe to traverse.

The door looks a little too easy, in her opinion, but nothing particularly stands out, except for that rat... Which Rama notices a moment after Mikage does. He starts to squirm, obviously wanting to get over to it. "Rama, no. Stay." She doesn't let go of the flailing cat.

Instead, she looks to the prisoner. "Get going."

    Xander in time with ULP shoves the poor PKer through the doors. The PKer does a few trip steps into the fog as his body easily shoves the massive doors open and then seems to vanish into the fog.

Xander narrows his eyes and he calls over, "You still alive, bob?"

    "My name is not bob you a-holes!!!" The PKer responds and then goes, "... Holy hell its massive... in-- aaah!! dead corpse! dead corpse!!"

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    Final Challenge: Mirroring Chests

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    The room is massive! Pillars that stand up tall, the magic here has preserved the room of black marble and ivory stone. Yet magic mist lingers here, causing a mirroring effecting, making one wonder just how much is real and how much is fake. Even at times, the Adventurers can see themselves, even if just faintly.

Or maybe, they really did see a ghostly image of themselves. The mist really was playing with their heads!

Worse is that the chests that are here all looked the same, but was that a trick of the mist as well? Did they really look the same or was it just more mind games? They needed to find the real chest and quickly before this place leaves them confused and the end up like many dead remains they might stumble upon.

-- Force Clear The Spell: +roll Magical (with card) vs 8
-- Call Upon Unseen To Help: +roll Divination (with card) vs 6
-- Use Air To Clear The Fog: +roll Air (with card) vs 6

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    End of Challenge Summary

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    Xander walks through first, though carefully as he does. "If anyone finds our prisoner, make sure he doesn't run out..." He rumbles lowly, moving through the fog. For a moment he thinks he sees himself, smiling back, and has to shake his head. "... What the?" As it seems to vanish and picks up another case of movement, before he nearly trips on a chest.

Then sees a line of them. "... Well, someone has a sick, twisted way of protecting his loot."

"Calm down, Xander...the more wound up you are with illusions like this, the easier it is for them to work on you.  Unless you go down berserker trees and get that immunity.  There is something to be said for being so angry you can't be fooled," he says with a laugh, and an attempt to lighten the mood and everyone's hearts.

With that, however, he looks towards the others.  "Well, I think we can deal with this in the brute force method.  How about coordinated magical spells," he suggests and raises his hand.  He doesn't care much about the last PKer being in the range, but instead...

Rains fall, trying to force the spell by simply overpowering the mist with a rain of ice!

As Shaskur moves into the giant room she narrows her eyes and peers around her. The mist was think, but she could see her party. Was it just a reflection? Was that two Mikage over there, and what happened to ULP? She shook her head slightly. She needed to focus.

Concentrating on an arte, her eyes seemed to start absorbing the light around them, and she was able to see more clearly. Then moving quickly to a nearby chest for cover she inspects the area more closely. Were their any opponents? Where was the prisoner? Was there a pattern which would indicate which chest was the real one? She could see through the mists which were also clearing because of the rains, but did she puzzle it out?

When the PKer continues to shout, it is sign enough that he is still alive, at least. Miki sets Rama down, though the lynx continues to look at the dead rat for a moment. "Food later, buddy. See if you can find our new friend, will you?" The lynx darts off into the fog, likely meaning the others get to see multiple lynxes running around.

Miki steps into the room, taking in the various reflections. Seeing herself shown back at her actually has her eyes widening slightly. It might very well be the first time she has seen herself in game since the character generation screen. Then, she spots Xander moving past, except he's smiling. Nope that isn't right. "Not Xander." She confirms. "He never smiles."

"Let's see if we can't clear a little of this mist..." She raises her sword, channeling magical energy through it. With a spin of the weapon through the air, a wave of energy sweeps through, freezing moisture with it and causing some parts of the mist to solidify and fall to the ground as ice shards.

    Xander can hear ULP but can't see him, beyond maybe the magical created reflection, same with the others, including the several Rama's. "This place is insane." He rumbles lowly and he responds back to ULP, "Y-eah. I.. I am trying."

Rama will find their prisoner who is just shivering in a corner.

Xander looks at the chests, as other starts to conjure their spells and just in time, as he feels a presence over his shoulder, as he turns he sees a distorted face and hears a whisper, that only he can hear, his eyes go wide-- but then the mist is lowered and soon displaced.

    The Salamander nearly falling backwards and breathing heavily, whatever he saw, whoever-- it rattled the Rune Knight. Thankfully this also shattered the false chests, leaving behind the real one.

He looks over to it, even as the PKer gets knocked over by Rama onto the ground and shouts, 'Get this thing off me!!' to the group. Xander moves over to the chest, trying to pull himself together, "This-- this is it. Lets get this outside and, to the NPC... Call it a day, yeah?"

Mikage, may notice Xander's hand shaking a little, before he goes to try to lift the chest, though can he do it alone?

    NOPE! He sure can't. Xander will need some help carrying this chest out it seems.

Now with magically enhanced sight Shaskur scrutinizes the room, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She needed to find that chest quick. She needed to spot any dangers that were present. She.. watches mesmerized as dozens of cut lynx reflect on the mirrors around her.

Was that a stun debuff icon floating at the edge of her vision?

All too quickly the lynxes vanish as Rama pounces on the prisoner in the corner. Shaskur frowns, but then realizes Xander was saying something about finding a chest. Oh, they did it!

Truly, Shaskur was at the top of her game this day. She felt great. It was like a little piece of bliss was still with her. Or maybe that was just the stun debuff. Either way, after a moment and a shake of her head she rushes over to grab a corner of the chest to assist Xander.

There is a split second where Mikage is looking into the mist at herself. A phantom image that almost seems to flicker, replaced by another, more familiar face. Her breath catches. Then, the illusion shatters. She is left staring into a place where nothing stands, now.

Shaking her head, the girl sheaths her sword, glancing over at the shout from the prisoner. "You'll sit still or I'll order him to bite you." She states in the direction of the PKer.

Then, she moves over to join Shaskur and Xander at the chest. She might not have any idea what it is that the Salamander saw or heard in the mist, but something obviously has him shaken. For a brief instant, her hand comes down warmly over his shaking fingers, giving him a nod before it moves away to grab onto part of the chest. "We've got this."

U.L.P. offers no more advice to the PKer, after all...well, there isn't much more to say that hasn't already been said.  That and the treasure was more important.  As Xander fails to carry it, he moves to help with the others.  

"All we gotta do is get it all the way back to town.  Just put your legs into it and we'll be there in no time!" he says, cheering up the party, or trying to.  After all, it was only all the way back to the quest hub, no big deal!

"Just think of the treasure."

    "This better be worth it." Xander says as everyone carries a part of the chest. He only gives Mikage a slight smile and inhales deeply. "Okay party! Lets move on out of here!!"

As they go to pass by the Prisoner who is staring at Rama, Xander calls over to him. "Come on, Bucko, unless you want to be left in here when the mist rolls back in."

    Which does get the Prisoner back up on his feet, chasing after the group, with probably a Lynx nipping at his heels. Thankfully having the chest seems to deactivate all traps, so its easy to get back out, including using the narrow gap above the water to push it through that Shaskur found early on.

Once outside and out of the beach area, Xander goes to roll his shoulder before giving everyone a gentle, warm smile. "You all did a great job. Now we get this to that Lander and find out what all the fuss was about inside this heavy thing. Be nice if its like, some actual colored gear... Instead of the constant white stuff." Xander paused and peered over at ULP, "By the way, if you don't mind me asking... Why the name ULP? That has been bugging me the whole quest."

Though when they do make it back to the NPC, they find part of their reward is some silver, along with a gold coin, and some cheese. Why cheese? Who knows! The item description says the cheese is apparently was one of the Mage's favorite foods, after he made some chickens rain on people who were deathly afraid of chickens.

    Now, it was just a waiting game to see what they would all get as a reward from inside.

"Hey, no smiling." Mikage quips back at him, "Otherwise I'll never be able to tell the real you if we run into illusions like this again." She's obviously teasing, but with the weight of the chest and the lingering uncertainty about what they'd just experienced, well... a little levity is in order.

When they get outside, she prods at him in the shoulder, "You're doing it again." Yep, he's going to be dealing with this from the Were Fang girl for a while, it seems. Poor guy. "No smiling! Not allowed." Of course, it has her grinning ear to ear like a fool in the process.

"Mmmm...that's quite the question, and asking so soon?  You are the most forward person I have met yet.  However, I think I'll leave the name a mystery for now.  Perhaps we'll meet more in the future, and perhaps then some part of my name might be uncovered!  Think of it as an adventure!"

The man is somewhat playful but mostly friendly.  He does end up cutting the PKer free.  "Might I suggest finding a party who is either more competent or less murderous.  Especially with your level of backbone...it's not a judgment, but we all must accept our personalities, and either work within them or rise to overcome them."

And with that, he has some cheese, some coin, and waiting for the results of the quest.  "I will give you one clue, I have decided.  One of the letters has something to do with what job I work in real life."

    Xander goes to use his tail to prod Mikage in the side gently "And you stop harassing me about my smile! I can /smile/. I'm not always stone, cold serious face." He then stick his tongue out at her, playing a long a little with her.

The Salamander peers over at U.L.P and hrms, "Union? Undefined? Labor? Person?" Xander can't help but shrugs, "That is the best I got."

    As for the PKer, when he is cut free, he runs off in his underwear yelling, "I'm free!!" while maybe taking the advice of ULP to heart or-- He'll just get himself into more trouble later. None may know the fate of the poor man Not-Named-Bob.