Scene #6790: Old Content 4: The Inn Keeper's daughter.

Owner	Pose
Tomoe	SAO Earth Japan Island of Hokkaido Tomoe had taken some time off to go hit up a hot spring for the weekend the week before and she'd enjoyed her time there. What she hand not expected was that just a little while after she left? Orcs would strike the place. While no one was killed? They ran off with the owner's daughter and took her away into the hills. Thankfully Kizmel's scouts had been on the job and reported back that they had found the location of the lair. Though they were hesitant to go in, with the elves feeling adventures would have far better odds than them going into the monster lair. Tomoe was already there out front talking to several Dark Elves. Once the interested parties had arrived, Tomoe would address the assembled parties. "I'll keep this quick, the Orcs hit a hot spring while no one was killed? They kidnapped the owners' daughter her name is Mai. The Dark Elves will be covering possible exits in the event the Orcs flee. However, we'll be heading in, if there are any questions? Ask them now as we shouldn't waste any more time." The Area about the cave is hilly and fairly well forested the time of day is early morning, and the entrance looks like something unsurprisingly out of a fantasy novel. What can be seen within are brazer and toches within the dark dank cave and a whole lot of bones...
Silica	Silica arrives not long after Tomoe. She's idly petting her Dracotiger mount's side as she listens to the briefing, well... the quest log, anyway. "How much space will we have to work with inside? I'm going to guess 'not much', but I'd like to confirm whether my larger pets can fight or if they'll have to sit this one out." she says, feeding Tetsu a cut of meat from some monster or other. he happily chows down, emitting a deep, resonant rumbling that makes the air shudder nearby. The little Cait Sith doesn't look like much to those that don't know her. Looking like a little kid instead of a seasoned SAO survivor.
Alexis	Alexis stuffs her hands in her coat pockets with a snort. "Are they really dumb enough to think no one would come after them, or are they just programmed that way?" It's.. actually a semi serious question. This world has gotten to the point where she has trouble telling where the real stops and the virtual starts. Especially after the mix enabled one of her pokemon to evolve last time. "Oh well, doesn't matter. We're gonna go up there and kick their butts either way."
Staren	"I thought we killed them all! Are they respawning?!" Staren throws up his hands in frustration. "Or is CARDINAL gonna run a quest where we have to go to the orc village and kill all the orc women and children and elderly and whatnot?!" He sighs and hangs his head. "At least they're game NPCs making a plot so they hopefully aren't ACTUALLY mistreating her." He looks back at Tomoe. "Still, I'm surprised the police and other local augma-users aren't up to the task. Are they worried there will be another army? I guess another one could spawn at any time, though... Maybe if we do some kind of quest to purify the land and ward off evil or something?" Later, they reach the entrance. "Well. We can go in the front door..." Staren takes his matter manipulator off his belt. "Or we can sequence break." He's not inclined to be the ONLY one going a different route though, so if they decide to take the front door he'll stick together.
Rosa Borrasca	There's a new arrival to this little shindig. Word must have reached Rosa through one of her newfound contacts in the Watch, because the large black jaguar had shown up on time, and dressed..Well like she normally dressed, really. She didn't know if there was any kind of disguise thing needed for this, "So go in, beat up some orcs, whatever those are, and rescue a girl. Sounds straight forward. Almost too straight forward. What's the catch?" Upon arrival at the cave, she takes a few sniffs of the air, trying to see if she can pick up an orc scent. She's still not entirely sure what an orc is, but from what she's found on her phone, they're supposed to smell bad.
Sarracenia	"I have a question." Sarracenia says. "...why would orcs kidnap a hot spring's owner's daughter? That doesn't really make sense from any kind of standpoint. Unless it is as Alexis suspects and they have only video game AI to guide them." The princess was one of the first here thanks to her dealings with the dark elves, and as usual when she is expecting a fight she is wearing her black and red battle dress.
Tomoe	"I'm going to expect close quarters, so I'd not be using very large weapons. That's a good way to get it stuck in the ceiling then to get mobbed to death while you are trying to get it out. We should also avoid splitting up." Unless someone stops her? Tomoe will be moving in on point a short sword and a smaller buckler rather than large kite shield out. "This smells like a scripted event, and they are more like animals really, hostile mobs tend to not have anyone home." She notes but she has to wonder about that, doesn't she? Also, she'll not be able to fly down here. "OR there were more spawned this game zone is bigger than anyone that isn't part of one of the premerger games." She looks at Staren with a good deal of concern on her face. "You are starting to scare me a bit Staren. As for that? I never have seen any monsters outside the Dark Lady quest being given much development by CARDINAL." She pauses thinking. "Actually yes, and those Aguma users who are not tied up in that are helping the Dark Elves hunt down the dragon's location. Given the terms of the agreement is there has to be at least one with every Dark Elf scout team." Staten has a good point there, maybe they would find something. "I have seen two types of NPCs ones like Dark Elves, or Bolt Vanderhughes'c party. Then ones that are just problems to be solved. I fear the day when I'm not able to tell the difference. That idea that we may have to do a quest? Could be on to something." The new arrival gets a look over by Tomoe for a moment. "PRetty much and the name's Tomoe." The towering pointy-eared woman doesn't seem bothered at all by Rosa's appearance. As for the sniffing, she would pick up on a human sent farther into the caves. "I think Alexis may be right." The good news is Rosa has picked up the scent of someone, not an orc likely a human and the kidnapping target. The torches peter off more the deeper they get and the more closed up the rooms get, there's a long corridor down on an incline this, can't be good as Alexis moves she may just step on a trap trigger, there's a rumbling behind the group and from above, is that the sound of a rolling stone? Yes, it's a boulder, seriously. Tomoe is confused for a second and starts to run, maybe someone else has a better idea? Yet The Iron Lily is calling for people to run deeper and she's looking for the nearest side passage. "CARDINAL NEEDS TO GET MORE CREATIVE THAN THIS!"
Alexis	Cut Alexis a little slack, it's not an obvious trigger like a teleport pad or one-way moving pathway like Trainers are accustomed to. She does that pause right after stepping on a trap and realizing what you did moment, then looks up. "That can't be good." Then looks back as the boulder drops into the tunnel and starts rolling towards. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..." Rather than panic though she flicks out a Pokeball. "Go, Grindcore!" Her Aggron appears, the metal-plated saurian positioned in the tunnel to catch the boulder before it can steamroll anyone over. Hey at least she's cleaning up after her own missteps, right?
Staren	Staren shrugs. He's always been able to think thoughts others flinch away from. Regarding warding the land, "Maybe we should look into that. If we get a bunch of people talking about it... Can we give the GM ideas for a plot? Do you think it would care if we had shinto priests put up a bunch of those paper ward things?" He shrugs again. In they go. A rolling stone trap is triggered. Staren motions for others to go past him, and starts building a ramp towards the ceiling, hoping the boulder will get stuck while doing minimal damage.
Silica	Silica dismisses Tetsu before entering the cave system. She instead summons forth Nana, Kobayashi, Pina and Hibiki in her usual quartet defensive formation. Nana takes point, while Kobayashi, Pina and Hibiki land on Silica's shoulders and head, perching there as the girl moves. It's a good thing, too, as she clicks her tongue when the boulder starts rolling, surging forwards and using her wall running ability to pass Tomoe in the narrow space, Nana just ducks between the Salamander's legs while Alexis and Staren work to stop the trap. "I'll scout ahead." she calls over her shoulder, skidding around one corner and using the wall to add momentum to her turn, vanishing from sight.
Sarracenia	The catch for Sarracenia is the advisory against large weapons. What the heck is she supposed to do then? The only weapons she has are her six foot long DK Hammer and her explosives, which would probably be even -worse- to use in a cave. So, she just won't swing her hammer. She keeps her grip higher up on the shaft as she follows the others in. Rosa gets a bit of a glance, but she isn't the first animal-person Sarra has seen. And, the princess employs an entire army of plant people. When Alexis steps on that trigger, Sarracenia blinks before giving her friend a look. "Really..." She sighs softly. "I thought you went on adventures like this all the time!" Sarra prepares to deal with the boulder as well, but with Staren and Grindcore dealing with it she figures she may not be needed. But, just in case, she goes into an unusual stance with her hammer, holding it much more like a spear. She then makes a thrusting strike like someone playing pool. With that hammer of hers it should pulverize the boulder. Having their way out blocked wouldn't be ideal, after all.
Rosa Borrasca	"I can smell...Something. There's a unique scent, might be the girl we're looking for." Rosa says, as she motions towards the entrance to the lair, "It's deep inside though." After giving her advice, she follows. The rolling stone trap does make her do what she can to dodge out of the way, though it seems unnescessary, because the others who are far more experienced at this particular kind of thing seem to have it well in hand. Breaking the giant rock would not have been the first thing she would have thought of. Still, at least it seems the situation is well in hand, for the moment, "Probably a lot more booby traps in here. Plus we can expect they know we're here."
Tomoe	Alexis is quick to respond to the trap with one of her many pokemon teammates. With Grindcore who is very aptly named will catch the boulder and be able to stop it but it will strain the pokemon to do so, at least for the moment, gravity is still a thing and with Staren setting up his ramp for when Grindcore lets go? It should impact with the ceiling with anyone else. Tomoe will think about Staren's idea once she's not in danger of bringing run over as she sees Silic who is able to just get past Tomoe with no issue an then Nana scoot between Tomoe's legs as the party runs for their lives from the boulder, with Silica going ahead will get the group som added information. "Silicia! Wait don't split the pa...." It's too late, the small cat lady is ahead of the rest of the party now. What SIlcia would find as she head on ahead deeper is there are traps more traps, pressure plates, tripwire traps, obvious loot that is likely a trap as she descends with some effort she will be able to map a safe way down and relay it to the party. Seriously where did Cardinal get these ideas? The most notable trap Silica would spot would be a freaking slide trap that would send the party down into the heart of the dungeon though it could be a way to skip some level and the sent for the missing girl is down that way. Once everyone is clear and Grindcore lets go the boulder will impact into the ceiling shattering into a thousand shards of light before vanishing. Tomoe will press on more carefully now as Rosa made a very good point, too. The orcs know they are here now. Given all the noise from the boulder there, may very well be Orcs waiting for them at the ready now.
Alexis	Alexis waggles a finger at Sarracenia's remark. "Pff. This is nothing compared to the Self-Destructing Geodudes and GODDAMN ZUBATS I'm usually dealing with in caves." Zubats? Dangerous? Yeah, go have half your team knocked out because the bloody things know Supersonic AND Confuse Ray, then say they're not dangerous. Don't get her started on the weird nerds wearing Charmander pants or Slowpoke pajamas either. Once everyone has moved out of the way Grindcore lets go, letting Sarracenia hit the boulder up Staren's ramp so it's disposed of. Though Alexis makes a bit of a face. "It derezzed instead of smashing the ceiling. So much for realism. Good job Grindcore." She recalls the pokemon, and with a bit more cautious step follows the others. Trying really hard to not groan when Silicia runs ahead. It's suppose to the stupid escort mission NPCs that do that! "I hope there's no lava down here for her to run into."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia hasn't met a Geodude or a Zubat yet, and so gives Alexis a confused look. "What?" The boulder disintegrating makes the princess blink in surprise. "Well...I suppose this area is as good as being in a video game now." Silica runs ahead, and Sarracenia raises an eyebrow at the rest of the party. "What are you so worried about? She has a veritable army of little helpers, just like Alexis." She continues to follow the others, not seeming worried at all about the orcs they might encounter. They beat an entire army last time, and in here an army would be a sitting duck for well equipped adventurers. Or, at least that's what she thinks.
Rosa Borrasca	"Well that was weird." Rosa says in response to the boulder shattering into sparkles of light, "Is it supposed to do that?" She asks, looking around at the rest of the group. She follows along behind them, doing her best to take a sniff here and there, to make sure they're on the right track towards the human smell, "We're heading the right way. Just try not to get turned around or wander into any dead ends.."
Staren	The rock is dealt with. Staren sends out drones and passes out glasses that let everyone see a map overlay and share information. As Silica's reports come in, they're marked. "Don't worry. With these, we can't get turned around."
Silica	Silica keeps light on her feet. Nana sensing the trap plates and avoiding them automatically, which gives Silica a general location for them. She drops little pellets on the trap plates and near the tripwires, which pop into a bright marker paint to show where the traps are. Unfortunately, she falls afoul of the slide trap, and stops just a foot too far after triggering it, and ends up sliding down into the depths of the dungeon.
Tomoe	Thanks to Silica's warning's she's able to mark most of the traps so the rest of the part, at least up to the point of the sliding trap. Tomoe is chasing after Silica as fast s she can making use of all the warnings that Silicia laid out for the party at least until she gets to the slide. "Hang on I'm coming!" With that she'll end up sliding down right after Silica, Tomoe's at least not shouting her own name as she goes. As Silicia falls and tomoe does as well they would find a massive pool of water below them. Tomoe will impact with the water with a loud splash, and wills tart to try and swim herself out of this mess. Those following would hear the splash and the sound so movement, of metal on stone, not to mention footfalls. Those who search will find a stairwell down rather than the sliding trap, it seems the Orcs used the trap to funnel people right into where there are the larges number of them. As tomoe fishes herself out she'll look up and just stare at a large bond fire that has a bunch of orcs about it who all turn to /look/ at her. "Umm hi!" THere's a bigger orc there about the fir. Rosa would find the missing girl's sent is stronger once she gets down here and that she would be in one of the larger huts, that looks like someone actually cared about its construction. She with anyone else aiding he might be able to do something about that as Tomoe? Unlike everyone else has the orc's attention d she gets lighting bolted by the lead orc. Which has her cry out and fall back into the water. Orc Chief Ziptar Thunderhammer
Silica	Nana strikes the water, causing a section to freeze from the icy nature of the ice boar. Silica lands next, splashing down and flailing slightly. Pina, Hibiki and Kobayashi all flutter away from the water, keeping altitude. When Tomoe comes splashing down, swims over to the side, then gets summarily zapped by the Orc chief, the Cait Sith is quick to dive down after the salamander, while her pets posture and squawk, chirp or skree at the Orcs, trying to draw their attention away.
Alexis	Oh look, they found another trap. Alexis stops and looks down the sliding passage for a moment. The splash down below from the other girls finding the end of it is audible. She looks around. One would imagine the Orcs would have a different passage, so they don't take their own trap to get wherever it goes. But that's the simple way, the safe way, and frankly not very much fun. Sometimes you have to take the trap even when you know it's a trap. That train of thought is what gets us to a few minutes later, and everyone down at the end of the slide would hear the gleeful thrill ride whooping from Alexis as she comes down the slide. Standing on the back of her Floatzel like a wakeboard, while he's using Surf to turn the trap into a waterslide! As they shoot off the end of the slide Riptide inflates the lifejacket-like air sac around his shoulders and back, using it to skip off the pool of water at the bottom and redirect them towards the shore. Alexis hops off his back as they do, and both Trainer and water weasel hit the ground to skid to a stop. "What's this a pool party and we weren't invited. That means we're gonna have to crash it!"
Staren	Staren flies down the hole. His cait sith wings are only lookalikes -- they work fine underground. He draws an SMG and... holds his fire. The misunderstanding with Mothra's larvae comes back to him. But if the orcs attack anyone who didn't attack them first, he sweeps bullets and beam cannon fire across the gathered horde from the air.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia also looks down through the hole in the floor, then watches Alexis just leap down. The princess gets a bit of a mischievious smirk, then she pulls what looks like a frog plush from her purse. She squeezes it, and in a puff of white smoke...she is in a rubber full body frog suit with just her face visible! She goes into a diving pose, and with the grace one might expect of a princess she dives onto the now water slide. "Wheeeeee~" She springs from the water a few moments later to land by Alexis, her oversized hammer in hand. "Release your prisoner now, or you will face the wrath of Sarracenia's Smashers!" Apparently she's chosen a guild name for them. Of course, that declaration is just for fun, because the fight has already started! In this big chamber Sarra is free to use her weapons as she pleases! And while still in her frog outfit she pulls out a number of Bob-ombs. "You were warned!" she exclaims in a tone bording on gleeful as she tosses those explosives into the crowd of orcs. She blinks as she realizes Tomoe was hit, then gasps. "Tomoe! Are you alright?"
Rosa Borrasca	The jaguar is a bit hesitant to jump down the hole. After all, cats always landing on their feet is a myth. But once everybody else follows on the way down the hole, she figures what the hell. She jumps into the hole, folding her arms across her chest and crossing her legs at the ankles, as she goes down. Once she hits the water, she is quick to get back to the surface, coughing a few times. She wasn't expecting to get soaked on this mission. Not that jaguars aren't good in water, they can be. But its the principal of the thing, "At least it was water and not a pit of spikes or something.." She mutters to herself, ghetting ready for a fight.
Tomoe	Thanks to Silica's efforts Tomoe is going to get out of trouble fairly fast. Though it might seem somewhat comical with the far smaller Silica helping the towering Salamander out of the water. Tomoe is hurt but should have it and she's sputtering once Silica gets her to the surface, and she'll try to help them both get to the edge, to get out of this mess. Why does not another bolt strike the pair? Alexis and company is the reason why. The Orc led is now focusing on them and firing several lighting bolts their way while yelling at the other orcs who are starting to move in. Staren's would find they are attacking so he will open fire on a large number of the orcs some go down, in the salvo. Some survive the damage but not unharmed, but they can now do something. There is no attempt for them to get into melee combat. No, they are drawing bows or making use of spells to counter-attack upon him, he has cut down a good number of them though. One has some sort of bottle it's throwing at him, a bottle what one might term greek fire, he might want to do something about it before it hits him. Sarracenia is able to throw the orcs into chaos with all the explosions thanks to her Bob-ombs. Tomoe looks like she's hurt "Thanks... Silicia and yes Sarra I could use a heal." Meanwhile the orcs are taking a pounding it looks like none of them even the name ones are actual major bosses still they are not done yet as those who have attacked them also get arrows or lightning bolts.
Silica	Silica manages to get Tomoe out of the water. She's glad she worked on her Strength stat a bit now! She whistles sharply, and Pina flitters over to heal the Salamander with a puff of her breath, while Silica herself begins chanting a mid-level healing spell, holding her hands out toward Tomoe to focus the magic onto her. It's a good thing the others are drawing attention, since the little Cait Sith is pretty exposed while using her magic.
Alexis	Lightning! That can be dangerous for a Water type. Evident in the way Floatzel briefly glows as he's kazapped and then flops on the beach. Though a moment later he shakes himself off and jumps back onto his feet, grinding his fangs together. That stung, but it takes more than weakness exploiting hit to keep him down! "Hey, does Thor know you're knocking off his shtick? Sheesh, what rude hosts." "Grrrr." "You see, now you've made my otter friend here mad. You shouldn't of done that." Alexis takes a moment to adjust her gloves. "Sic 'im." As he kicks off from his position Floatzel's twin tails start spinning rapidly. Normally they're for propultion in the water like a motor boat, but they work pretty well as a propellor turbine as well. The pokemon rockets in, his entire form becoming engulfed in an aura of surging water, barreling right into the orcs towards the leader! A lot of force in a strong, narrow current? Yeah, the name Riptide is pretty accurate.
Sarracenia	""Do not worry, we have you covered!" Sarracenia exclaims, and with one leap she launches through the air thanks to her frog powers and lands in front of Tomoe and Silica. "Jaguar-lady! As the newest member of Sarracenia's Smashers, let us see what you can do!" the princess exclaims to Rosa. "Do not worry about these creatures! They are nearly mindless things generated by a computer system!" Sarra has barely finished saying this when she is hit by one of those bolts of lightning. She yelps and gets knocked back a bit and her green frog outfit disappears in a puff of smoke, reverting her to her battle dress. But, the princess won't let that slow her down! Much like the last boss they faced she charges and leaps, somersaulting to bring her massive hammer down on the orc's head. "Taaaake! THIS!" Wherever her hit lands, the impact is likely to crush the floor beneath and send out a small shockwave.
Rosa Borrasca	"You got it, boss lady." Rosa replies to Sarracenia, as she leaps into action, quite literally. She drops to all fours for a moment and then bounds through the air, towards the nearest orc. She wheels around and kicks him in the side of the head with one of her heels. Not content to stop with that, however, she immediatly launches into a pair of strikes from her hands, intending to put him down with the rapid strikes. She grabs him before he falls, and wheels him through the air towards one of the other orcs with a judo style toss. Clearly she's quite capable, as long as she can get up close and personal with her opponents.
Tomoe	Tomoe is not in the fight so much right, now but she is out of direct danger it seems her party is tanking for her today. Silica has done well to rescue Tomoe in turn as she's now being healed and that's helping a lot the plain is fading and her HP bar is going up, Silica is out in the open to be sure, yet with the rest of team Smashers at work? The orcs whose numbers are dropping thanks to the ongoing assault here. Orc Chief Ziptar Thunderhammer is not ready for an attack like this as Alexis sicks her pokemon friend on him the creature goes smashing into it the orc leader. It's just melting its hp is just about gone here and then as it's trying to get back up? Stop hammer time, for Sarra is on it slamming into it with her hammer whose shockwave takes out a few orcs coming up to support the boss behind it. this leaves the Orc boss on its last legs and it won't last much longer. Rosa sees some serious kung fu fury here, just beating what left of the orc's life away and it finally explodes into a shower of shards. As for the other orcs? Well, Staren has taken care of that with his heavy weapons, leaving the cavern empty of orcs this almost feels like it was a lead up to something else. Tomoe now back on her feet thank her friend help will start to search the remains of the place. If the party searches it wont' be long before they will find Mai, the missing girl, unharmed, but chained up in the Orc leader's tent where there's a shrine, of some sort which on closer inspection looks a heck a lot like the dragon they re hunting further digging would find orders they can get the dark elves to translate for them later. "Just ... who are you people... I just want to go home." Mai says looking the strange assortment of people over.
Alexis	Alexis dusts her hands off. "And another one down... Though, y'know, if the NPC AIs ever evolve to compensate for non game 'mechanics', we're gonna be in trouble." But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is finding the girl and... what's this? Alexis is distracted briefly by the shrine she's chained up near. She takes out her C-Gear and uses it to snap a couple of pictures. "Kind of reminds me of how ancient civilizations worshiped some Legendary Pokemon as deities because of how comparitively powerful they were compared to normal pokemo---uuuh..." Alexis stops as something dawns to her. She peers at the shrine, glances aside at the girl, then at the shrine again. Was it possible they intended to appease the dragon by-- "Bastichs," she finally growls under her breath. "That's totally unexceptable, doesn't matter if it's another NPC or a real person. Let's get her back home before more orcs show up with ketchup to make her crunchy taste good."
Staren	Staren activates the forcefield reflexively. The greek fire surrounds him, trapping him inside a fireball. The air won't get hot enough to burn through his armor, but... if he drops the field, the fire will get directly on him. Thanks to technology he can see, but he has no way to fire. "Alexis, do you have a water pokemon that can wash me off? Or does this wear off once the battle's over...?" Well, one way or another the battle is won and Mai is rescued. "Today, we're heroes. You can go home now, but... did the orcs say anything about why they took /you/?"
Sarracenia	With the boss and the adds dealt with, Sarracenia shoulders her hammer and smirks. "Good work, Sarracenia's Smashers!" she exclaims, then joins the search for the missing girl. They find her and free her. But, the shrine and the orders are perhaps of even more interest. "Hmm...perhaps this document will tell us." she says to Staren, then slips it into her purse. She can deliver it to Kizmel later. "I wonder if the dragon itself is actually leading them?"
Rosa Borrasca	"Heck I don't even know who most of these folks are." Rosa says in response to Mai, "But I heard somebody needed help so you know, here I am." She will let the party leaders take care of getting the woman back home, so long as she ends up getting paid for it.
Silica	Silica didn't end up doing all that much. Not that she minds, She's much more of a support fighter than a front-liner. Speaking of support, as the last Orc falls, the Cait Sith begins chanting again, and a wash of healing water drips over all the other party members, restoring some of their vitality. When Mai is found, Silica moves to undo the restraints. "I'll escort you home... don't worry we have a safe way out." she says. "I'm Silica. And does it really matter who we are? We're here to rescue you."
Tomoe	Mai thinks for a moment as she's helped by Silica and she will thank her. "Thank you Silica was is?" She pauses for a moment and peers at her. "Wait I think you were in a few articles on MMORPG Today." The webpage that Thinker and Yuler still run to this day. "Thank you and yes this would be welcome..." She thinks for a moment and looks over to Staren. "Something about a dragon's bride?" She shrugs a bit. "I don't know they were hart to understand." She looks to Rosa nodding with a grin and at that point, Tomoe will look to Rosa. "What's your name? It was good to have your help don't have many unarmed fighters who run with us normally these days, a monk being around is always welcome." Tomoe listens to Sarra and comments "That's the best plan, let's get out of here and hopefully once we finish whatever CARDINAL has going on here it will settle down as most other game zones do. Before that leads get Mai home and hit up the restaurant at the springs I'll spring for it."
Rosa Borrasca	"You can call me Rosa. Rosa Borrasca." Replies the jaguar to Tomoe, as she offers one of her hands to the party leader, "I'm uh, kinda new to this whole thing, I'll admit. But I'm always learning everywhere I go, so I'll get it down pat quick, I'm sure."
Staren	A dragon's bride? "Ugh." "/Hopefully/ it will settle down?" Staren turns to Tomoe. "How long are you going to remain at the mercy of whatever is doing all this to your world and HOPE it takes pity on you? Is it alright as long as it 'plays nice' and hasn't killed anyone THAT WE KNOW ABOUT yet?" Staren looks away. "I remember thinking that way. Just back down when the Union asks. React to the forces that hurt people, don't make things BETTER. That kind of thinking doesn't improve a multiverse where uncounted multitudes suffer and die every day. It won't improve YOUR world." Staren sighs. "Well, it is YOUR world. I have Amistel Majoris to manage. But maybe you should think about it. You augma users are lucky... All elites are." Staren tilts his head towards the kidnappee. "But they aren't. Are you and your friends" He nods to Silica "going to remain the kind of hero that just shows up to fight the monsters that go out and make noise? ...Not that we don't need those. The Multiverse always does."
Tomoe	Tomoe says "I go by Tomoe the Iron Lily, or just Tomoe most of the time." She'll accept Rosa's hand and shake it in turn. "Well feel free to ask for help and be clad you arrived on the stage in a fairly quiet period. Tomoe turns to Staren, her tone gets low and icy as she looks at him. "We have no idea where it is if CARDINAL even has a physical body or is it now just part of the laws of reality here." She continues. "You presume we haven't been looking into it? We have been, Kirito most of all." She pauses. "Ah yes Amistel Majoris and the rest of the sector the Concord invaded. That the sort of shit that gives me nightmares." With that she will lead the party out.