Scene #6916: Welcome to Alfheim

Owner	Pose
Rean Schwarzer	It's nighttime in the in game version of the Salamander capital city, and there's a few players milling around tonight. This includes a Salamander in newbie gear with tanned skin, short curly red hair and maroon eyes. "Whoa..." he says, looking around, eyes wide. Yep, that's definitely Rean's voice. Y'know, if his player tag literally being <Rean> didn't make that obvious.
Tomoe	Tomoe does not log into the actual games of GGO, ALO or the like anymore. As she put it the games after the multiversal barf followed them home. It just felt off hell if she admitted to anyon to use an Amuisphere made her feel weak and vulnerable. That was neither heard no there Rean and Lory were interested in the game and she would be happy to help them out. She would have also asked Lory to roll A Salamander as well just so they didn't have to spend half an hour and dodging PVPers who might still remain to get to one of the other capital cities she's standing there waiting not in armour but some casual town clothing you might expect out of a video game or a fantasy anime if you are aware of such things. She looks to Rean and just visibly sweat drops thank you emotes and she facepalms. "You had to do that, oh well I can't say Asuna was any better." She will end up sending Rean and friend and guild invite. "Now we just need to wait for our friend and we're good to go I bet you want to fly as soon as possible don't you?"
Lory Thumper	Lory is amazed by this world. It looks almost real, and the amusphere makes it feel mostly real, too! She can't say that a Salamander would have been her pick based on the information she browsed, but it is not her account and Tomoe said Salamander. She nods at Tomoe when she mentions flying and giggles a bit at what she says to Rean. "Seriously. I don't play games that much but everyone knows you shouldn't use your real name." says the bunny, who is currently a surprisingly tall purple-haired Salamander with mint green eyes and an athletic build. She starts practicing with her sword as they wait. "Is someone else joining us?" she asks, then smirks lightly. "I would like to try out flying soon. But, I don't mind waiting a bit to get the basics down."
Silica	"It's been a while..." muses Keiko as she settles her Amusphere over her eyes, clicks the wire into place then begins power-up. "Makes me wonder if it still works, sometimes." She moves over to her bed, laying comfortably then takes a breath. "Link Start." Her vision fills with colour as the Full Dive system takes over her brains input and output, pulling her into the Virtual world of Alfheim once again. She appears where she logged out last, an inn in Aurun. She opens her friend list, checks where Tomoe is, then bolts outside of the building, activating her wings and zipping off towards the Salamander Capital. "OPina!" she commands, causing her pet to manifest on her shoulder. The pair then fly toward their destination... soon becoming a glimmer of yellow light in the night sky above the Salamander hometown.
Rean Schwarzer	"Hey Tomoe and...Lory?" Rean says. It's a bit weird hearing her voice not coming out of a bipedal rabbit, but it's definitely her. Rean also visibly sweat drops. "O-oh. We don't have games like this where I'm from, so I guess that just slipped my mind." It made sense, though. You basically became someone else when you logged in here, so of course you didn't use your actual name. Rean accepts the friend and guild invite, remembering this from their foray into GGO. And then Tomoe mentions flying. "Definitely." Rean says, just barely grinning in an attempt to contain his excitement. He'd flown a few times before on missions, but this would be the first time he'd have license to just go anywhere. He then looks up, noticing the yellow spark in the sky. "Is that another player, or...?" Rean says pointing up at it.
Tomoe	Tomoe grins at Lory for a moment. "That is pretty true and that's fine you should learn how to use the menu systems. She'll take a moment before she starts giving a rundown of menus, inventory and the like this doesn't take too long as the Salamander seems quite experienced with giving the basic rundown of how to use the basic she'll go into detail about the flight controller, she's long stopped using it as she's adapted to manipulating her wings without it. Still, she seems to know how to explain the basics of it. She then looks up for a moment at the bright light in the sky. "I think that's one of my guild mates." She looks over Lory for a moment more. "Like your look too." She'll instruct the others to flare out their werks and follow her up to meet with Silica.
Silica	The yellow light grows brighter, then begins to resolve into a small girl with cat ears and a white dragon on her shoulder, trailing a yellow energy contrail behind her, wings buzzing rapidly as she dives down towards the group. Just before she faceplants directly into the ground like some kind of adorable feline lawn dart, she pulls up, and skids along the street, bleeding speed and coming to a stop in front of Tomoe, Rean and Lory... almost like she calculated exactly where she'd end up. "Miss Tomoe, you should have told me they were coming in today!" she pouts at the Salamander... her voice is young sounding, but sounds pitch shifted rather than natural... like an older person's voice is being modulated to fit the young looking body. Silica is a tiny thing, and looks barely a day over 13 years old.
Lory Thumper	Lory giggles and nods to Rean, giving a salute. "Yep! But for now, call me Cora." she says, pointing to the lable above her head. She listens to all the instructions about the menus, and grins at the compliments to her appearance. "Thanks. I didn't make it though. This crazy game just gave it to me. I am certainly not used to feeling so tall." she says. In the VR game she is really only barely above average fairy height. She also looks up as Silica arrives, then blinks. "Oh, hey. Didn't we work together against a Lost Logia?" she asks Silica. Of course, Silica might have difficulty recognizing Lory since she is not a bunny at the moment. "Officer Lory Thumper. MPD. And you were...uh..." Her nose wiggles a bit, though not nearly as much as the bunny's nose really is wiggling IRL.
Rean Schwarzer	"Mmm." Rean says, reaching up to fiddle with a bit of his now curly hair. At least his avatar was only a little bit shorter than he was, appearance shift aside. And the yellow light iiiiis...Silica! "Hey, you alright?!" Rean asks as the small catgirl crashes into the ground. She seems to be no worse for wear though. Rean nods to 'Cora.' "I think we had a mission on Lilian's world together a while ago. Silica, right?" Once everyone's settled in, Rean grabs hold of the flight controller. His wings splay out and he hovers for a moment, gently floating around as he gets used to the controller. He then rockets off after Tomoe, making a red streak in the sky. He's laughing pretty hard when he catches up to her.
Tomoe	Tomoe says "Cora? Got it." Given the whole notation that Cora noted about never using your real name in a game? Implies that Tomoe isn't Tomoe's actual name but what most of the multiverse knows her by. She will let the others catch up to her and she grins a little bit. "So yes I figure a bit of a flight might be a good idea. Things are a lot quieter since most of the movers and shakes ended up with Augmas. Most of us don't log into the 'game' much if at all anymore." There are others sure from other parts of the world and the multiverse who might be playing. Still, things have changed a fair bit. "Oh look they are getting the hang of is come on catch me!" She'lol call out and start flying away going for a flight over a hilly forested area trying to get the others to follow, she's deliberately not making herself hard to track as she doesn't want to lose anyone.
Lory Thumper	Lory is a bit confused about why they are flying to Silica when...the cat girl is right there in front of them after sliding to a carefully calculated stop. But, it's an excuse to fly so Lory takes up the flight controller as well and joins the others in flying! She is soon laughing as well and seeing just how hard she can push things without crashing. 'Cora' ends up crashing anyway, and only a few feet from Silica. She coughs from the dust, which makes her blink in surprise before laughing and taking off again. "Come on!" she calls to Silica, then takes off after Tomoe, spiraling and looping through the air.
Silica	Silica nods to Rean and 'Cora'. "I remember, yeah." she smiles, and bows formally to both, before dismissing her wings. "I'll, actually let Miss Tomoe continue teaching you the basics... I'll hang around here in case she has to go. It feels nostalgic to just be in this body again after so long." She speaks like some old maid putting on a favoured dress she's not worn for a very long time.
Rean Schwarzer	Rean's still going as fast as he can without passing Tomoe, doing a few barell rolls as he does so. For an artificial world, this place was really pretty. As the group passes by the wooded area, he flies really low, brushing up against the leaves. The sensation isn't perfect, he finds, but it's still pretty damn close.
Tomoe	Tomoe says "I think one of the best moments of my life was the first time I could fly under my own power! She does a loop before she keeps leaning the group on towards a floating landmass ahead of them with a few ruins from the looks of it. "Take care then Silicia I'll catch you later!" Knows this particular lowbie area has an encounter that would be very good for two day one players and fun for them too. She will dip down once towards the woods once last time then make fort the island comming to land at the base of a ruined tower.
Lory Thumper	Lory waves goodbye to Silica as she says she is staying there, then tries to overtake Tomoe and Rean! She is still a novice so that probably doesn't happen, but she does as much acrobatic flying as she can on the way to those ruins. "Yeah! Flying is even more amazing than I thought it would be!" she says to Rean and Tomoe as they fly along. Those ruins come into view on that floating island make Cora's eyes widen, and the purple-haired salamander makes her way toward it without even being directed. "What's that?! A floating island! Come on!" she exclaims excitedly. She comes in for a landing and...well, kind of crash lands, but with her acrobatic nature she recovers almost instantly and laughs. "So! Where are we?"
Rean Schwarzer	"See you later, Silica." Rean says. There's a bunch of ruins up ahead, and Rean speeds up again...and accidentally overtakes the island, missing it completely. He does the flight equivalent of skidding to a stop and turns around going much slower this time and landing next to Cora. The ruins kind of remind him of Lohengrin Castle, although the castle was still intact and not ruined like this. "Are we here to explore?" Rean asks.
Tomoe	Tomoe grins "yes it is." She will move to help Cora but it doesn't seem to be needed. "The ruins of flame watch." Tomoe noted. "An old guard tower that's been long left to ruin and has some monster problems. This show will be all you two, I'll be here to keep you from getting into trouble. So yes it's up to you two to explore here." Tomoe grins and will let the pair go in ahead of her. The ruined tower has several levels here and there ruined furniture and other items can be found there's also sounds coming from deeper within of movement...the rattle of something on metal.
Lory Thumper	Cora smirks at Tomoe as she moves to help, then laughs a bit as Rean goes flying past. She watches him come back around and smiles as he lands beside her. "Good of you to join us." she says teasingly, then looks to Tomoe. She blinks as Tomoe declares that they will be the vanguard in this monster hunting run. "Oh. Uh...alright!" She pulls her sword and starts inside. Lory's ears twitch...IRL at least...as she listens to those sounds. Were this IRL she'd probably be able to tell just how far and what was rattling against metal. If the sound processes are good enough in Aincrad then maybe she still can. Either way, she slows and starts acting more like an officer clearing an urban environment. Moving from cover to cover, peeking out to make sure it is clear before continuing. "What's that sound?" she asks the others in a whisper.
Rean Schwarzer	Rean laughs. "Guess I got a bit too excited." Monster problems? That's definitely not a new experience for Rean, especially not running around clearing a ruin out. ...Maybe Sarrencenia had a point about his world being eerily game like. Rean draws his blade, a western style longsword rather than the eastern style one he normally carried and enters the ruins. He tries to see if he can still sense out what's ahead of them in here...and frowns, picking up a very incorrect signal. Did he just sense the other people in his dorm instead? It made sense since he wasn't here physically, but it felt /very/ weird. He follows after Cora's lead, crouching behind nearby cover as well. "Dunno. Sounds like it might be armor."
Tomoe	Tomoe will keep back as she said this is Cora's and Rean's adventure here not her own after all. She's just here to keep things from going sideways, right? The towering woman just hangs back and Tomoe says quietly "You should both find out." She hangs back and she looks to Rean for a moment. She can't throw stones about his world being game-like, given the state of her own and herself. The pair would go on ahead as the push into the tower ruins and then they would catch a glimpse of the thing a hulking figure in armour which had mostly rotted away the empty eye sockets had a red glow from them and the pair could see one it's HP bar and its name. The Fallen Warden. It snarls noticing both Salamanders and lunges at them swinging it's rusting great sword at them both.
Lory Thumper	Cora's eyes widen at the sight of the hulking armored and possibly undead figure. "...guess it's that." she says to Rean, peeking out from around a ruined wall. She pauses...and then suddenly grabs at the upper part of her head before letting out a soft sigh of relief. "Still there." she says, then shakes her head and smirks a bit. "Okay...flanking maneuver. We'll try to get in behind it and attack from both flanks. Looks like it might be pretty strong, so be prepared for heavy, single hits." she says. Then, snickers just a bit. "Of course...this is a game. There's no telling how it will actually move." But, it seems her plan is for naught as the Warden notices and rushes them right away! Lory is pretty fast and agile IRL, but she is new to this system and these controls and so as it lunges her character stuttersteps instead of actually moving...and she is caught squarely in the middle by that sword and sent flying back, crashing through a bit of ruined wall and letting out a groan as she lies there a few moments.
Rean Schwarzer	Rean nods. "Got it." They could totally handle this. The Warden attacks them, And Lory ets slammed into a nearby wall. "Cora-" Rean shouts, then brings his sword up in an attempt to block the Warden's incoming blade.
Tomoe	Cora makes a good guess on the boss given the monster has some sort of claymore type sword an infamous two-handed weapon from Scottland that is not known for its speed or finesse but just how hard it can hit. Cora's hp bar will drop into the yellow from that hit but it's not the end of the world just yet for her. However, she does have agro on the monster which is going to raise it's blade again to bring it down on Lory unless someone else does something. Rean blocks the attack but he'll take some minor damage from the blow Cora and Rean are going to have to act fast as Tomoe is just hanging back and watching them fight for the moment.
Lory Thumper	It takes a few moments more for Lory to get up after that hit. "Nnf...sh-should have tried the gun game." she says, laughing a bit. She gets out of the way of the downward swing this time and rushes in with her gladius to attempt a piercing thrust and get in under its range advantage. "Not sure I can take another hit like that! We better bring this guy down quickly!" she says to Rean as she pulls back from her thrust and moves to flank the creature with Rean.
Rean Schwarzer	Normally, this would be a good chance for Rean to heal Lory, but given their current location that wasn't going to happen. Maybe if this thing stopped moving for a second he could check the menu and see if he had any spell to use. Otherwise, they'd just have to be careful. Rean moves into position to flank the Warden, swinging his blade at its side.
Tomoe	Tomoe seems amused at this. "It's a good game but nothing like having a sword in hand I say." She would continue to watch the fight the two new players seem to be getting the idea. The monster is big it hits fast but it is also slow. Rean ends up distracting it as it moves to try and parry his attack leaving it open to Cora's own attack scores a nasty hit the good thing is this isn't a dungeon boss and she wipes out a third of the things life bar as she crits while Rean chips away a bit more at it. The undead monster now is casting something it's going to take some time so our two fighters need to act, quickly as golden runes dance about the thing's body much like they do Tomoe when she's going to cast a spell.
Lory Thumper	Lory doesn't know any spells or sword arts or anything like that, so when it starts casting a spell she blinks before gripping her sword more tightly. "Alright! We better try and finish it before whatever that is goes off, I think!" she says before she leaps in. The rig must be syncing up with her more effectively, because her avatar is starting to move like she does in IRL. She closes in quickly and uses her martial arts background to start delivering lots of quick blows. Thrusts and slashes rain, and she finally leaps up to land on the thing's shoulders before aiming the tip of her sword for one of those gaps in its helmet and stabbing as hard as she can manage. "That's enough out of you!"
Rean Schwarzer	The thing's casting a spell now,and Rean settles into a stance familiar to anyone who's seen him fight. He rushes in, taking advantage of the Warden staying still, trying to gain as much speed as he can and putting all that momentum into his strike. Given the gap between this world and reality, he wasn't expecting it to have quite the same effect as it normally would but maybe he'd accidentally trigger a sword art or something.
Tomoe	Several things happen all at once, Rean lucks out trigging a very basic sword art button mashing more or less Reans blade will glow bright blue, as Rean launched into a double strike attack his body isn't moving under his own volition for a moment the system assist is kicking in there and he scores two powerful hits finishing off the second HP bar of the Fallen Warden. It's now reeling from Rean's attack and that leaves it up for Cora to just savage into it again scoring a hit on a weak point to finish. The boss's last HP bar empties. The undead thing staggers for a moment then explodes in a shower of light shards before vanishing. Loot will fill the inventory of everyone in the party and Cora gets the last hit drop of a badass looking cloak. The words congratulations. Hover there in white text and Tomoe if either aw watching acts like someone has just punched her somewhere sensitive for a moment She quickly shakes her head and mutters something. "I figured something quick and interesting like the Warden here might make for a good intro."
Lory Thumper	Cora lets out a triumphant laugh as her sword buries into the head of the creature...and then blinks as it suddenly evaporates into motes of light. She yelps as she falls the short distance to the ground, flailing a bit before landing in a three point stance. And finds a cool-looking cloak in her inventory! "Hey, what's this?" she asks, activating the menu and trying it on. She looks over at Tomoe and grins a bit. "I'd say it was a good intro. We're just awesome." she says, moving to put an arm around Rean's shoulders and give a squeeze of comradery and looking pretty proud of herself. "So! Do we keep going? ...is there more to do here?"
Rean Schwarzer	The system assist kicks in and drags Rean into an attack he wasn't quite expecting to perform but is effective anyway. This gives Cora an opening to do her thing, and they win! Rean does a triumphant fistpump, as the congratulatory text crosses the air. "Nice work!" Rean says, giving Cora a high-five as she throws an arm around him. Tomoe looks...kinda disturbed for a minute, and Rean tilts his head in response. "Everything ok?" He then nods. "Yeah, it was."
Tomoe	Tomoe says "There's a few other rooms, The warden's spawns randomly in the tower but you might be able to find a few more things." She opens a trade window with Cora and Rean giving them her split of the loot after all she was just watching. "Last hit drop blame some of the SAO players who work for Yamir now for that." She grins a little bit at this. "Also a few other things you can only fly when you have 'natural' light. Moon, stars or the sun. Otherwise, you have a few seconds per hour." It also shows Rean did spot her reaction to the victory message. "Yes, it just reminded me of some very bad things...However, we're not here for my history! We can check out the tower." Tomoe would let the others check out the rest of the tower. There would be some chest with a bit of money and some minor crafting items also an item that would require an NPC to identify for them.
Lory Thumper	Cora tilts her head with some concern as Rean's question draws her attention to Tomoe. "...I see." Cora looks like she might have a guess about what Tomoe means, but she doesn't press the issue. When Tomoe turns over her share of the loot, Cora declines it. "Hey, no need for that. I am using your stuff here, after all." she says with a smile. "If you feel like we just have to take it, let Rean have it." she adds. The rest of the tower is apparently uneventful compared to the warden. Cora continues to use her training to deal with monsters, striking with fast hits rather than any big powerful swings. "Not much flying inside, huh? I guess that makes sense. People would just skip over encounters." She gets a bit excited at some points and runs ahead of the others, which naturally lands her in trouble and gives Rean more chances to be a hero like with the Warden.
Rean Schwarzer	"Thanks." Rean says, accepting the trade. Rean nods at the explanation about flight. Kind of made sense, though there were probably some indoor areas that were open enough to fly in. "...I see." Rean says. Maybe something that happened here once, or during the death game gave her a bad association with that message? "Anyway, let's get-" Rean starts to say, but Cora's already going in ahead of him. "Hey, wait!" Rean laughs, going in after Cora. Cora might also need to do some saving herself, since he's pretty excited too!
Tomoe	Tomoe says "All right it's not like the in-game items form this really can go anywhere but here." Unlike things from the game zones in reality items here can't cross over. She'll take her split of the loot and give it to Rean once they are done with the tower she just hangs back for the most part. "Only one race can do that it's their racial." She notes and soon she's following after the others laughing as she goes.