-Indominus- -Smarter'n'me- Day 16 -> 17 / Midnight / LVL 16 [HP][b]100%[/b] [color=00a651][b]/ / / / / / / / / /[/b][/color][] [b][HP][/b][i]100%[/i][color=007236]//////////[/color][b][][/b] Indominus puffed out his chest as his blood pressure rose, a twitch in his eye clearly telling his annoyance as he realized this woman was 200% bat shit crazy. He took the food he was offered angrily and sighed, his anger deflating as his shoulders sunk along with the rest of his body. To the dirty ground he sat next to his long time friend Smart and just shook his head. All the events leading up till now had been a cluster fuck of activity he had been unable to concentrate on his own feelings. Here he had power, not just combat prowess but the damn capability to move without some joint or the other screaming for his bone bag of a corpse to just crawl under the porch and die already. Smart was the same way, but both were too proud to admit it. How many years did they both have left. [color=fdc68a]"Somethings been bugging me. A lot. Not the fox girl, not Scarlet, not the game.. You. Said you weren't interested in this game, Dan. Suddenly we stumble on each other in the gorge? What made you change your mind." [/color] Dom thought the reason he had come was the old fool had gotten bored. Smart had been disappointed. Ah well, it looked like he couldn't speak the crazy dialect of the rat eater after all. It was a bad sign when she checked his temperature. The crazy one shouldn't be the one worried about his health. He took a bite. Then again, with food like this, maybe she should be. His face froze for a moment. Yes, it tasted more like food. But food for what became the question. Still, he had eaten worse with a smile in his younger days. That had been a long time ago, though. He took another, smaller, bite as Dim-Dom sat down and started trying to think. Things never went well when Dimitri spent too much time thinking. But, this time he managed to hit something that wasn't total B.S. That sucked. Now he could try to lie, badly, or try to tell the truth, also badly. He chewed slowly. [color=00a651]"Well... I got bored customizing your beard and replacing your porn stash with skeleton-vore fetish magazines."[/color] [color=fdc68a]"Take this serious, Dan. Why are you really here?"[/color] [color=00a651]"Word gets around the net pretty quick these days, Dim. It didn't take more than an hour or two for the first deaths to be reported online. You always kept that indie news feed up on your desktop, ya know."[/color] [color=fdc68a]"So you hop into the deathtrap knowing full well its a DEATHTRAP?"[/color] [color=00a651]"Yup."[/color] Smart said, taking another bite. [color=39b54a]"Wouldn't you?"[/color] [color=f9ad81]".. In a second. Been friends too long I think, if we're both this willing to leap headlong into death. But I fear our time is still runnin' short. Our bodies in the real world were frail to begin with. What's going to happen now.. Are we one day just going to fall over and die in this world too? No warning?" [/color] [color=39b54a]"And that's different from being out there, how?" Smart waved his chunk of meat in a vague indication of the real world. "It's not like we're good bets on the futures market."[/color] [color=f9ad81]"Do you not get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, we won't be one of those who make it to the end and not because we were awful. Every moment we live people are going to think 'it should have been them who died instead of my friend'."[/color] Dom had been an officer of the law in his younger days, eventually becoming chief of police for a few years before retiring after a knee injury ended his career. [color=f9ad81]"We don't belong here, Dan. But we are."[/color] His thoughts went to Scarlett and felt a pain in his chest, the fear that something had happened. What would her father say if she didn't make it and the old windsack did. [color=00a651]"The only person who belongs here is that Kayaba. Alleycat-hairball-sniffing-scat-of-a-catheter-moth that he is. This is his litterbox kingdom."[/color] Smart had been a lawyer, well paid too, and he was far from being willing to put the blame anywhere else but where it belonged. [color=00a651]"There were ten thousand copies and several times that number of fans waiting in line to buy them. Would you feel better with two more teenagers in here, finding out how lucky they are?"[/color] [color=f9ad81]"You make a good point. Still.. Can't escape that feeling of time running out."[/color] He looked to the stars and lost himself to the view. Normally he wasn't so sentimental but something was eating away at him. Probably the rock meat he had cooked.. [color=00a651]"At least we've saved two already. You know what I did for a living. I'd like to save more than one kid, myself, before this is over. And, you know... I don't much care how it ends for me."[/color] [color=f9ad81]"Strange as it may sound, I feel the same. I get the feeling we're in for a lot of rude encounters with the snot-nosed little mouth breathers here to cause trouble. Pickin' on younger or weaker players for the laugh of it."[/color] A familiar grin took his face as he glanced at Danny. [color=f9ad81]"You remember in college when we used to put on the masks and go pick fights? Well how we're on the other team this time around."[/color] [color=00a651]"Well, the other team has to win sometimes. The bookies gotta make their money."[/color] Dan said with a smirk as his eyes drifted up to look at the faintly visible tower of the dungeon. Somebody would have to punch their way through that thing. [color=00a651]"Besides, I'm tired of backing the big shots."[/color] [color=f9ad81]"I know the feeling. I got tired of listening to the lies and bullshit, watching families destroyed and killers walk free. Seen enough of that world. Maybe this time we won't need the courts or people like me. We can make a place where people can just.. let that shit out. Get it over with. In a controlled way."[/color] [color=00a651]"Frag it. I'm tired of telling the lies and pulling the heartstrings of stupid jury members who couldn't tell an orphan apart from a circus clown without three graphs and two experts." [/color] He sighed. [color=00a651]"Idiots who can't figure out their own cactus-blowing problems should have their wattles punched."[/color] [color=f9ad81]"So what say we make a place for them to do that? Find a nice place on some upper floor and create some kinda PvP zone. Folks come and get physical, and others intervene before it gets... final. Maybe structured duels or something. Or maybe we run around punchin' things and saving people. Maybe we don't die and become what we always thought we were. Free."[/color] Smart rubbed his bearded chin in thought for a moment. [color=00a651]"Could work."[/color] Already thinking of the possibility. A sideways glance at Nena had Doms eye raise in question. [color=f9ad81]"Problem now is what do we do with her. Crazys fine and all but she's outright nuts. Take her back to town or keep goin'? I was aimin' for the gemstone pillars abotu a days travel ahead. Take her with us?"[/color] [color=00a651]"Problems for the morning, Constable. For now, let's focus on sleep."[/color] Before Dom could even think of sleeping he opened up the private messages, scrolling through his list of people to reach Scarletrain. A few swishes of his fingers and a message was off across the cosmos to his grandaughter, who he hoped was ok. [color=f9ad81][i]HOPE YOU'RE SAFE AND WARM TONIGHT, KIDDO. WE PICKED UP A CRAZY FOX LADY AFTER YOU LEFT. FOOD IS PASSABLE. DIGESTION-WISE. DON'T HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP.[/i][/color] Both of them shrugged, glanced at Nena staring at the fire, and layed down on their individual bedrolls. Dom had only laid there for a few minutes before that vague sense of chivalry got the better of him. [color=f9ad81]"Listen, whatever your name is, it's gonna get cold. You want my bedroll or do you wanna share."[/color] If she asked for the bedroll he would give it to her. His armor was thick and there was a spare blanket. ----------------- -Delcastle- -Afternoon / day 17 / LvL 12- Delcastle slumbered peacefully throughout the morning, a rare event for the ever driven leader of World Walkers. Even on the lower floors he could not risk falling too far behind or they would all be in a lot of trouble. Others were already starting to form up farming groups for the sake of currency and security as Del had done with his brother Bulwar. Groaning, Delcastle rose up from the bed and rubbed his eyes with a tired yawn, stretching muscles gone stiff from the night on the floor with Cinera. The events of the night flshed by him as he looked around the room, noticing Cinera asleep on the other bed with Sappira comfortably sharing the small space. His heart was warm at how caring this girl was to everyone she came across, but the moment was stolen from him the moment his eyes saw the scarred ear again. Players had done that. Cinera was clearly struggling with the concept that people could be so cruel with a persons life on the line. Delcastle walked quietly to the door and left the room, closing the door softly behind him, as he made for the streets. Hunger and exhaustion not slowing him in the slightest as he made progress through the streets, finding every vendor he could and making custom order after order. The opportunity to welcome his target from day one was so close at hand he could practically taste it. Even if she did not join him, the girl might just be indebted to World Walkers for helping her. About a half hour after he had left he found himself in traders square with the trading merchants hawking wares left and right. A quick PM was rattled off to Tailpin when a courier arrived with the samples of materia that had been sent Delcastles way. Stowing those away for later he noticed the unread PM and smirked as he read it over. "So you found the trail too eh. Good to know you've a sharp eye at dusk or dawn." Delcastle replied, PERSON INJURED WAS A SHOPKEEPER FOX GIRL. MYSELF AND CINERA DISCOVERED HER AT TOWN SQUARE TOOK HER TO INN FOR REST, THIRD DOOR ON THE LEFT DISFIGUREMENT OF THE EAR, ATTEMPTED MURDER BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ANY INFORMATION ON A GUILD CALLED GLITCH FIXERS I WILL PAY ANY PRICE FOR INFORMATION CURRENTLY IN TRADERS LANE The PM was sent off with a soft ping noise. Decastle bought a new set of cloth armor from a tailor in the square. He was not sure if Sapphira preferred a skirt or actual pants so decided to get both and spare himself the trouble. The armor he had purchased was a level 10 set, a simple affair that had been closer to what Sapphira had worn the first time he had seen her weeks ago. The only addition was a long cloak with a hood that he prayed would not be.. offensive to her.