[IC] Pariah Online III

[mickilennial]

_{City Streets, Thorinn}

---

As Eaudenil agreed to Alex’s question, Rael took another bite of the apple. “A business proposition, huh.”

Rael didn’t even realize Graves could come up with ideas. Planning an attack pattern was something she had seen him do, sure, but how long had Graves sat in the tavern mulling over nothing? Honestly, she was surprised. The redhead looked over to the newcomers, brow raised. They had lost a controller-type and a healer-type since they went into the dungeon and their little motley assortment of characters really needed new, able-bodied people who could handle themselves; people who could fill the little hole their group now had. Could these guys fit that need?

“So do you three suck or are you actually useful? Just gotta make sure you're worth having around.”

Rael didn’t mean to come off as harsh as she did, but in a dog-eat-dog world they really couldn’t accommodate dead weight and pretend to be nice.

[AlteredTundra]

_{City Streets}

As much as Zero claimed to be a leader and a man who liked to help out when the impatient woman pressed him on where he might have seen their friend, he froze up in an ironic turn of events. He truly did want to offer up any assistance that might lead them to find their missing friend and he did speak first when he approached them, but for a reason he has yet to grasp, he couldn't find the strength to answer back. It was as though it was sapped the minute this very intimidating woman stepped on every ounce of confidence he had just by looking into his soul.

He was a frost warrior, but her gaze was like a supernova that stripped him of all magic and armor.

Moments before he felt himself from hyperventilating, a friendly companion of thiers (he was assuming) joined the group, addressing the others in a way that gave Zero the impression they all knew each other. This was later confirmed when they acted more than just civil towards each other and the assertive woman whose name Zero didn't know was revealed to be Tessa, which he felt was a fitting name. Simply and to the point, much like her.

His heart rate was starting to calm down and he remained quiet among the reunited friends. He was an outsider, after all. That and he was mostly focused on trying not to say something idiotic or freezing up like the last time he opened his mouth, but this only lasted for a few seconds for the sight of a familiar spear came into view among the crowd. His smile grew wide and he pointed towards her.

"There she is!" Zero excitedly stated, seeing a short redhead join the others with a small group of her own.

The completed reunion only came as a reminder for Zero that he was the new guy. He didn't feel excluded per se, but there was no denying that his presence was not the priority until the spearwoman addressed him among the other newbies.

"Good day, Spearlady!" Zero greeted her with a smile. "I am Verglas Zero. I am a magical knight who specializes in frost. I have traveled as much as I can to take in the land!" In his head, what he just said sounded almost as cool as the element he commanded was.

[HokumPocus]

_{:: the streets of thorinn // thorinn ::}

---

The warm smile that had poured into the corners of Alex's face jolted into an odd shape. Suck?!

Was he a bad player? The guy really didn't have anything to base himself with. Alex's brother was a tryhard who probably didn't represent the average player, but neither did himself and his carpentry and forest wandering adventures. His lack of experience with going out into the world meant he had a hard time thinking of what the average player did in their day to day lives, and something about the faces of the people around him made him feel like they wouldn't appreciate him asking what it meant to be good at the game right now.

"Well my brother's always been good at gaming, and it was because of him that I knew what to do when choosing my powers. I can do a lot of damage at a distance and run away if things get nasty... super beginner friendly!" The last words were tacked on at the end in sync with him placing his hands on his hips. An observant person might have noticed beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

[Carlyle]

_{City of Thorinn}

Daytime

---

^{City Streets}

Eaudenil had kept quiet as the two men answered the red-headed girl. Though the girl's question was likely not meant to be as harsh as it was, the harshness in her question struck deep in Eaudenil. Sure, she was often partying with other members to assist in clearing quests or dungeons, but in truth, she was far from the top of top percent. It wasn't unusual for her characters to be undergeared or underpowered, driven by her desire to help out others, but in the end, all that mattered was that they were having fun with the game, right?

...at least, that was the case until Pariah Online had become a death game.

"U-uhm," Eaudenil spoke up, clearing her throat. "I'm not exactly the best at what I do, but I think I have a few tricks up my sleeve like crowd control—and I work well in teams, too!" She went on to explain, perking up near the end. All said and done, this had become a chance to party with people that appeared strong, which had been Eaudenil's goal in the first place.

"I don't really ask for a large share of the loot, either, so I think that'd be a plus, too. Better to give it to people who probably need it more than yourself, don't you think?"

[mickilennial]

_{City Streets, Thorinn}

---

Rael rolled her eyes.

The only person with any amount of confidence was the idiot who had boasted about how he had traveled the lands of Pariah. Apparently, he was some kind of frost knight, a role that the red-haired girl thought was amusing. Losing Redsky had cut a good portion of her parties DPS short and as one of two tanks she understood the basic concept that they just needed more damage going forward. Her eyes ran across the three of them another time, looking at their equipment and weapons. The boy was an archer of some kind and the girl, as meek as she seemed, wielded a longsword and heater shield with vague promises of being able to control the battlefield. Their group used to have people like them. Was Graves seeking to literally replace who they lost or was them fitting similar molds an ironic coincidence?

“Everyone gets equal share of the loot. We won't survive otherwise.” She commented, unexpectedly, as she turned from the three and passed by Graves as she tossed the apple in a nearby trashbin on the street corner. “Guess we'll take you in for a test run, then.”

“So, what's this idea you and Tess figured out, anyway? Must be good if you want to play daddy with some extras.”

[Supermaxx]

_{:: Streets of Thorinn // Thorinn ::}

---

Graves let out a heavy sigh at Rael's being herself.

It wasn't a useless question. Bringing a bunch of bitch-willed chaff into the party would only end in their body count going up; least they could do to quality control recruitment was ask them if they'd be any help to have around. Sorta like a job interview, in a way, if the job had the hazard of ending their miserable little lives in a single misstep. But Andrew had done enough interviews IRLs to tell that Rael was a real shitty interviewer.

'Pff. If they were interested before they sure as hell aren't now.'

The answers the three of them gave didn't exactly inspire confidence in Graves. Zero was...eccentric, but claimed to be experienced. Whether or not that was true didn't matter much, as his magic would do well to round out the party after the loss of their last sorceress.

Alex was somehow less impressive, claiming his brother, not he, was good at the game. It was hard to pass up on a ranger given the damage they could do from afar, something the party was sorely lacking in right now. And there was some merit to the idea that he'd be able to just run away if things got too sticky.

Lastly came Eo-

Eau-

Eaudenil? Pelerine. Pelerine just seemed nervous. Crowd control was something Tessa already did well, and ordinarily he'd want a dedicated healer in her place, but these weren't exactly ordinary times. The dungeon's fights had been chaotic, with enemies coming at them in waves from every side more often than not. CC was a hell of a lot more useful now than ever before, so she wasn't an entirely unwelcome addition.

'None of 'em were scared off by Rael...not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.' Graves thought to himself, a contemplative hand resting on his chin.

"Yeah...Test run ain't a bad idea." He mumbled in agreement. Wasn't the best team he'd ever built. Whether or not it was the worst was debatable. There were at least a couple of them he knew he could rely on to watch his back if push came to shove. Maybe the rest of 'em would prove themselves trustworthy, too, when all was said and done. "We'll be startin' off small anyhow. If it turns out any of ya aren't up to this, least ya won't end up dead."

Probably, anyway.

Graves let his hands fall down to rest on his belt, shooting Rael a scornful glare as he transitioned into explaining his- Tessa's, really, but he was taking credit- proposition. He briefly looked in her direction before beginning his spiel, copying some of the things she'd told him earlier. "Well as all of you've probably noticed, Thorinn's packed to shit with people and more of 'em keep streaming in every day. People are scared'a even low-level monsters now and won't risk so much as leaving. Demand for defensive items n' enchantments are at an all time high, n' since nobody's leaving to hunt monsters and crawl through dungeons, supply is dwindling, too."

"We're gonna take advantage of that. Head out into the wilds, find ourselves some low level mobs and encounters, n' get Tessa the supplies she needs to make her own enchantments. She'll sell 'em high, we'll split the cash among all'a us, and we'll make a killing. We'll make more than enough to live comfortably while we wait this bug out. Its safe enough, n' its better than sitting around here until we're all too poor to afford a piece of bread n' start to starve."

[AlteredTundra]

_{City Streets}

Zero mostly remained quiet and silently took in each of the members of the party. From what he could tell just by looking at them, they were a diverse mix of people with their own skills and whatnot. Sure, it was true that judging them from looks alone was going to produce inconsistent results, Zero liked to think he had an eye for that sort of thing. Even if he didn’t, something told him they weren’t exactly the subtle batch of players.

From the guy who spoke about his brother and the little blonde one who didn’t seem too greedy, Zero felt like he was at home with them. Like he had finally found a party who played his way and weren’t that horrible of a bunch either. The big woman still made him feel uneasy, but for the most part, they were all pretty pleasant. What more could a guy ask for out of a game that seemingly trapped their players inside it?

“I do like the sound of going into the wilds. I haven’t gotten the chance to roam with a party in quite some time and you lot seem like you play this game like it was meant to!” Zero smiled cheerfully, looking at the entire group with only a positive outlook.

[Stern Algorithm]

Eileen Fang // Ailanthus Altissima (Tessa)

_{:: The Streets of Thorinn // Thorinn ::}

"Done parkouring around town?" Tessa asked. She was slightly annoyed at the red head for the trouble of hunting her down, but she knew better than to make any attempt to restrain the free-spirit. Despite it all, Rael showing up was quite a relief, though Tessa didn't let it show on her face. She was ready to shoo away the others that she had roped in to help locate Rael, since they had outgrown the use she had originally enlisted them for, but Graves seemed to want to allow them to join the party. It wasn't a bad idea, so she didn't stop him, but she was starting to regret her initial rudeness, just because it would make working with them difficult if they held it against her. Not that she was ready to apologize for it either. Never show weakness.

While keeping an ear to the introductions and trying to think of the newcomers' place in the party, Tessa gave her attention to Tif instead. "So what's new with you? I assume if you've been training, that you're ready to try your hand at PvE again? You are in, right? I'd hate for our party to be diluted with noobs and RPers." She shot a skeptical glance at Alex, Zero, and Eaudenil.

[mickilennial]

_{City Streets, Thorinn}

---

After Tessa was finished conversing with Tiferet, the group continued their walk out of Thorinn’s town square.

It seemed like months when they finally reached the city gates, with Rael and Graves taking point leading the assortment out of the city. Rael had assumed that by a “test run” they meant doing so as quickly as possible. They needed a new, full group. Unfortunately, just as it seemed like they had cut through the anxiety-prone crowds that their designated bard piped up about needing to handle something away from the group and that she'd meet back up with them later. Rael didn’t think much of it, despite having not seen her for some time now but it wasn’t really her business.

“So, Graves. How about we see how we work with these guys before we get into too deep?”

Her question was blunt, but sincere. She didn’t seem to want to lose more people before they had gotten their bearings back. Save for a makeshift funeral and a few scavenging runs, none of them had been really outside of Thorinn’s walls in some time now.

Rael, for all her bluster, was in no rush to get everyone killed. Despite what some of the past members of the party thought of her, she was no monster. Perhaps she cared a little more about Elian’s words, even if she had split from the party as soon as their friends had been buried. Redsky had left only moments later, though the red-haired spearwoman had figured the fire mage was going to split after the dungeon regardless. If she could keep the new members of the group alive and loyal to the party, it’d be a win in her book. After all, they hadn’t scrambled upon meeting her. She shot a glance back to the group, her arms slumped over her shoulders as she carried her spear behind her neck.

She just hoped these ‘replacements’ were good enough and quick on their feet.

“So, new guys. Tell me about yourselves. May as well get to know each other. My name is Rael, if you haven’t caught that part from tank-for-brains over here. Any questions? Dreams? Anything now that we're stuck in this otaku nightmare?”

[HokumPocus]

_{:: the streets of thorinn // thorinn ::}

---

Alex watched the other players like it was tennis match, head bobbing back and forth as each one added their own two cents, unsure of what to do with him and the rest of the newbies. It reminded him of his first day of work at the Burger Shack, with the employees having been firmly split between those that wanted to get some use out of the guy and the rest who ignored his existence.

It wasn't a crazy comparison to make. There was a job that offered money and everyone present was there to accept it. It struck him how boring heroism and adventure sounded when you looked at it that way. He focused his gaze on Rael as she spoke. Would her questions make her the manager?

Trying to make his own questions got tough once he started seeing this for the job interview it basically was. Uniforms? Didn't matter. Schedule? 'Till the job got done. Starting pay? Even they didn't know.

The others not answering pressured him into wanting to ask whatever, though. Oh, that's probably important.

"What's an otaku?"

[mickilennial]

_{City Streets, Thorinn}

---

“...”

Rael raised her brow, mouth slightly open as the question came out of the boy’s mouth.

It was times like these that reminded Rael that not everyone in the world of Pariah Online was from Japan. She hadn’t exactly interrogated her party about their past lives, before the server errors, but she had some inkling. Their resident enchanter had cursed in mandarin before and Graves himself was someone Rael had suspected of being not within the sphere of Eastern Asia at all. She imagined as people fell away from the persona they had made the more this would come up. It was something she would have to get used to. She sighed.

“It’s Japanese slang.” She answered, though it was clear she said it slightly annoyed. “I guess I really do forget that this was technically an international game. No regional servers. Just a bunch of our dreams coalescing in the network, real cutting edge stuff designing a game with oneironautics in mind.”

For a moment, Rael, or rather Hanako, the Tokyo U Student, seemed to come out, albeit briefly.

[HokumPocus]

_{:: the streets of thorinn // thorinn ::}

---

A couple of Rael's words whizzed past his head, but he got the gist of it. He had the bad habit of assuming most people on the internet were American, so it came as a mild surprise to remember that this wasn't the case with her. Otaku was a Japanese word, one that meant...

Um...

"Dreams, huh. Makes it sound like a pretty big deal." A pang of guilt hit him. The only reason he'd been able to play was because of his brother bending the rules at work. He knew Logan's friends pretty well from when they'd come over, shouting at the same game screen or gearing up to do the same at a LARP in real life. They'd all probably kill to get the chance to take part in something like this.

The feeling didn't last too long. An experience people used to only dream of kind of lost its bragging rights when death got involved.

"Trying to survive in a dream world with people from every part of the world. History books are gonna have fun with this," he chuckled.

[Carlyle]

_{City of Thorinn}

Daytime

---

^{City Streets}

Eaudenil blinked in confusion whilst the red-haired girl rambled of words that she, in German and English, had simply never heard before. Otaku? Oneironautics? Though Eaudenil had tried to make sense of what Rael spoke, it only made her more confused, and so she nodded, pretending she understood what the spearwoman had said.

"History books?" Eaudenil questioned. She had been so caught up with surviving from day-to-day that it hadn't occurred to her that they could be making history. The Sonnefelds had already made history once following a failed bank robbery that claimed her father's life, and now Eaudenil had been stuck in a video game that could claim her life for real. Surely their family name had to be cursed at this point.

"Well, I suppose we are making history right now." Eaudenil continued, trying to hide the tears she clearly wanted to cry. She couldn't show weakness in front of her newfound companions; not now, not ever.

If only Vati was here; he'd tell me everything will be alright in the end.

[Stern Algorithm]

Eileen Fang // Ailanthus Altissima (Tessa)

_{:: The Streets of Thorinn // Thorinn ::}

Tiferet leaving the group once again did something that was seemingly impossible: it soured Tessa's mood further. Not that Tessa was blaming Tif or angry at her, but not having a healer (and a friend, though Tessa would never say it openly) around did make things harder. But business was business and they'd have to make do without their healer turned necromancer.

Rael, the restless redhead that she was, quickly pushed ahead and prompted the newbies to introduce themselves, but her manner of doing so left much to be desired. There was no point talking about who they were or what they wanted to do; what mattered was what they were with respect to their classes and builds and what they could do with them.

"Alright, casual fun-time is over," Tessa interrupted, clapping her hands to draw attention to herself, "Enough about dreams, tell us about your kits. I'm talking mechanics. Tank? DPS? Support? Heal bitch? Truth is, the three of us are all on the tanky side, which has been fortunate, given the circumstances, though I'm more of an 'armored mage'. My handle's Ailanthus Altissima, 'The Tree of Heaven', but people mostly just call me 'Tessa'. I refer to my playstyle as Gatekeeper or Oppressor. Basically, don't come near me or my party. I'm a walking disaster area and apply almost all of my spells through auras, with a focus on disabling opponents with damage and some light support. I can shield, but I can't heal, so one of you better be a healer. Also, this is a 'for business' run. I spec'd hard into enchantment crafting, and people are going nuts for survivability enchantments right now. But higher-tier materials won't farm themselves and no one has the balls to go out for them, making this a lucrative gig with little-to-no competition, as long as you're strong enough to keep up."

Now she waited to hear them explain their styles so she could try to consider their future strategies and formations.

[HokumPocus]

_{:: the streets of thorinn // thorinn ::}

---

If trying to process what the word otaku meant was like trying to catch a dodgeball, then Tessa's speech was like trying to juggle a barrage of them. In the precious moments Alex had to recall what tanks, kits, supports, and dee pee esses were, the phrase "heal bitch" dealt the blow needed to derail his thoughts completely. Lucky for him, all she was asking for was his class.

"I'm a DPS," he declared, jutting a thumb near his chest. His words were enthusiastic, but there was a stilted inflection to them, as if he was giving a presentation over a subject he was only vaguely familiar with. "My powers let me do a lot of damage to one enemy at a time, and I get a lot better at doing it if I can focus. When I fight solo though, I usually just run away a lot, which is kind of like my second big power. Speed, I mean. And about healing. I can really only heal myself, and there's a limit to it." He tended to lump the rest of his abilities together, as they were mostly out of the way or "passive" as he'd heard some people call them. He kept quiet about them, since it seemed like the kind of thing that would only be worthwhile sharing if it a situation for it ever came up, or he got bored during a job.

He took a step back, eyeing Eaudenil with a smile and poorly disguised relief.

[Carlyle]

_{City of Thorinn}

Daytime

---

^{City Streets}

It became quickly obvious that Ailanthus was the asshole of the group. A "for business run?" People were having mush for brains if they died in-game, yet she was busy thinking about business strategies to profit off their situation. Eaudenil was horrified; how could they take advantage of the weak and scared? Part of her wanted to turn tail and run away, shocked that someone would consider such a thing. The other half wanted to stand up for herself and the rest currently scared for their lives—they all just wanted to play a game, not die for real.

But just like before in countless similar situations, a nagging feeling refused to go away in the back of Eaudenil's thoughts. Was it intimidation, or was it her own fear of being alone and dying in this unknown world? She never could tell, though it was enough for Eaudenil to keep her feet planted where she stood and answer the "armored mage's" questions.

"Well," Eaudenil spoke, glancing at Alex as he smiled. They may have only known each other for a couple of minutes, but it at least seemed like he had her back. "As as a knight of the green, most of my abilities are dedicated to defending nature against anything that might wish to destroy it. For instance, I can trap foes in thick roots, use spores to scout the road ahead, and even sense where powerful threats are rapidly damaging the environment, such as a lich corrupting the land with unholy energies or an Orcish horde rampantly cutting down a forest for their encampment."

Looking at the others once more, Eaudenil continued. "So, I guess, in game logic, that makes me somewhat of a support. Before I forget, though, I should add that my pact with nature has turned me into a human plant in order for me to use my powers. Now, this doesn't mean I'll be sprouting flowers anytime soon, but rather that lengthy dungeon dives are probably not for me unless someone has light spells. Out here in the sunlight, however, I'm perfectly fine; better than I would be anywhere else, even. Does that explain things?"

She prayed that was enough to satisfy Ailanthus' curiosity, and maybe even secure her place in their group.

[Stern Algorithm]

Eileen Fang // Ailanthus Altissima (Tessa)

_{:: The Streets of Thorinn // Thorinn ::}

Tessa nodded in silent approval as Alex explained his build. Admittedly, the group had too many tanks and off-tanks, so a dedicated damage dealer was a welcome addition. On the other hand Tessa's reaction to Eaudenil was a little more inscrutable; before when the game ran on a predictable program, scouting abilities and classes were all but useless, but now it might actually mean something. But waht actually bothered Tessa was quickly voiced, "So, Rael, whaddya think? I'm worried we don't have enough healing, although me and Eaudenil might be enough support to get by."

It sucked not having a healer, but Tiferet just left, and getting more people to join meant even more recruiting, and splitting the profits even more. There was also the issue of everyone making it back alive, and it wouldn't be prudent to take on more people than they can feasibly protect. "And you, Graves," Tessa added, "I'm pretty sure we can keep these squishies alive, and can probably add a few more. You think it's worth trying to find some more damage or an actual healer?"