[table] [row][cell][h2] L O R A L I E & S H A R O D [/h2][/cell] [cell][right] 7 days and counting to floor collapse Floor 1 Viewers: 0 | Followers: 0 | Favorites: 0 [/right][/cell][/row] [/table] [hr] [quote]"You first, and we are gonna do this one at a time as a class. Once we get the basics situated, you all have a quest. Your gonna have to find a saferoom."[/quote] Loralie blinked, still relatively shell shocked from the entire experience. But there was a hopelessness in resistance that felt even more depressing. So she moved, opening her menus and popping boxes. She’d neglected to check previously, but she was nearly level 2. Probably kicking an enemy would put her over the edge. [color=gold]Gold Asshole Box -[/color] - 1 x Oathkeeper’s Pall - Passive - Records names of the fallen. +1% Damage Resistance, +1% Healing per Name Max 20%. Active Ability hidden until Class Selection. Binding. Igva clapped once and pointed at the item. “It’s a shield. That’s gonna be the best thing you get until floor three. Unfortunately- after you put it on, it’s not coming off. Like, you can ‘hide’ it, but you will only be able to attach this to that slot for the rest of your time in the dungeon. Unless you find something else of course- but the chances of that are close to 1%.” Loralie reads the ‘Records names of the fallen’ line 10 solid times before she opens the next two boxes. The wet knees of her pants heat her blood. Through a grimace she asks Igva- “And you’re sure I’m not going to regret it?” [color=silver]Silver Killstreak Box -[/color] 2x Healing Potions, 1 x machete [color=sienna]Bronze Spider Box[/color] - 2x Glue trap, 1x mana potion She closes her eyes and leans back for a moment, considering her options. She equips the machete, gives it a slash, and puts it away again. “Lets see what everybody else gets, but you better equip that shield before you go into the dungeon. You’ll regret it if you don’t, I can’t say if you’ll regret equipping that eventually. The goblin then shifts her attention away from the shell-shocked blonde and to her soulbound crawler. Hannah was interesting. She was slight, and looked like she didn’t get a lot of sun. Probably someone who was very busy in the rat race of the outside world. Or, the world before this one. “So- we’re going to travel together then?” Igva snorts- “that’d be something- huh? No, you'll be separated until later floors. That’s when things will get interesting. Until then though? Focus on now. You don’t have the energy to be doing anything else.” Loralie couldn’t understand it. Why would she be bound to someone that she couldn’t team up with. If Hannah got into a bad spot, what would she do? Glancing at the taller woman and then at Sharod, she felt at least a small bit of relief. Zoe looked like she’d been through a lot, and someone like that would always keep moving. No matter what life took out of them. Sharod had a chance. Glancing at Hannah, she wasn’t so sure that they did. Between Loralie’s heart condition, and a lack of brawn between them. Loralie had to admit that she was scared. She catches Hannah’s eye- embarrassed of her own train of thought, she looks away. Her blood rushes in her ears. Igva helps Hannah next, then Sharod, then Zoe. Sharod’s boxes were next. [color=silver]Silver Killstreak Box -[/color] - 1x Brass Knuckles w/ Blades [color=sienna]Bronze Spider Box[/color] - 1x Glue trap, 1x health potion [color=sienna]Bronze Asshole Box -[/color] - 2x throwing knives “Those brass knuckles are pretty good- but you gotta get out there and get some more boxes. This isn’t setting you up for success.” Igva flips thru his menus and becomes still. She investigates a flag he’s got in his stats menus: Passive Flag Applied: Unseen Liability “That’s- not ideal.” Sharod looks like he’s stressed about her comment, but just nods. He’ll ask her about it later. The broader audience shouldn’t know what his weaknesses are. Something about the word ‘unseen’ stresses him out, but he doesn’t know what to do about it. In the meantime, Loralie has shifted to sit closer to Hannah. “So - where are you from?” She waits for her answer, and introduces herself in turn. “I’m from Pennsylvania- I’m a mechanic and a late night radio dj.” Her eyes are a bit hollow while she communicates, but she forces herself anyways. She’d hate for the person she’s relying on to stay alive to be a stranger. “What did you get in your boxes?” Loralie pulls the machete out in the meantime. Giving it a turn over in her hand, she shows Hannah. “Never even held one of these, but it kind of feels like a big wrench.” Once Igva has finished with everyone’s loot boxes- she turns to the broader group. “Alright. Are you all familiar with the concept of ‘grinding’ in a video game?” Loralie grimaces but Sharod hums in affirmation. He leans over to Loralie whispers- ‘complete tasks to level up.’ The action is kind. Just like Sharod always is to her. Too kind. “I need you all to get out there and start. Stay alive, kill monsters, and come back here with loot. You can open them as you go through, but whatever you do- do not equip something without reading the description and talking with me first.” Loralie looks unconvinced but Igva stalks up to her and points a finger in her face. “I mean it. If you can’t even follow those directions you’re as good as dead.” Igva projects a big aura as she moves through her space. Loralie swallows- and nods. Their game guide stalks away to a bookshelf where she pulls down a notebook and begins rifling through it. “For now- you should stick to smaller mobs. Bigger ‘neighborhood bosses and above that are going to wipe any of you out at this point.” The more Igva talks, the less Loralie feels she can pay attention. Luckily, this is where the guide stops for today. “Okay- like I said before. Get out there, and find a safe room, I’m sick of looking at your faces.” And from there on- Igva does her best to ignore them. Sharod is immediately on his feet, taking Igva’s earlier comment about his loot to heart. If those spiders were the easiest- flashes of horrible creatures from common media scare him into action. Loralie doesn’t move, so he grips the back of her shirt, and pulls her up to her feet. “Come on dude, we gotta get going.” She rolls her shoulders back, and looks at Hannah one more time before she moves to leave. When they step into the dungeon- Loralie feels the weight of the situation gravely. An echo of her earlier thoughts comes back Sharod leads the way. ‘All lefts lead back to Diane.’ Her heart squeezes, tears sneaking out the sides of her eyes silently. Wiping them on the back of her hand, she follows closely behind Sharod. Sharod continues to follow her previous rule- he’s doing it for her sanity- every turn he makes is left. Two lefts away and the familiar skittering of spiders sounds from up ahead.