.HACK//Sandbox [Semi-DM'd, Explanation Inside]

[Roland Karloseth]

Eric "Chaos" Smith was in a particularly good mood at the moment. "Another job completed, and the funds have been transferred to my account. I need to go pull that money tomorrow, but more pressing is the fact that I need to delete the cyber trails leading those mods to me. He gets busted, I could care less if he rats me out. There would be no proof..." Eric thought aloud, and snickered.

"Anyway, how about playing some games?" Eric said, and logged onto The World. Immediately upon logging on, Chaos received a bunch of messages from other players, saying stuff like "Can you run me through this dungeon?" or "What do you want for that sword?" or (And this was the one that irritated him the most) "How did you get all that stuff?" He responded to each with "no" "nothing" and "I worked for them, like you should be doing" respectively. He then decided to roam around a bit, looking for something amusing or interesting to do.  

[Sentama Lin]

Sitting at the edge of the street, the gondola rivers below him, Heilig smiled and lifted up a new acquisition. It was another stave-class weapon, perfect for a Wavemaster like him. He lifted it up to observe it's quality (he bought the most recent VR Visor and Gamepad so the sensations he felt while touching the item was quite uncanny).

The rare weapon was a golden flute the length of a wand (which fell in the same category as staves for Wavemasters). It matched his attire very well, was bored with skill, felt smooth, and was also quite useful, imbuing him with some nice status spells to help out his allies and annoy his enemies. "It should definitely bring some charm into the battlefield in this hopelessly unfashionable world..." He said, sneering at some others who merely equipped the most powerful things in their inventory.

He turned on his Discovery signal, to tell the world that he could be asked to play in a dungeon if he wanted to, then began to play around with the flute, playing a simple melody as he watched the eternal sunset of this city.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu. Status, Available for Play/Contact.

((This isn't required, but I figured it's a nice thing that I'll do to help you guys know where I am))  

[xDarkPisces]

The icy blast of A/C took David Belfrey's already ragged breath away as he shoved through his door, tossed his briefcase on the rickety, unmade bed, and slumped down in his desk chair. The chair, being the most well-kept item in his apartment, looked quite out of place against the shabby desk, three-legged table, and iron-frame bed. Rubbing his temples, David rose to take off his suit jacket, threw it on the bed beside the briefcase, and sat back down, facing his computer.

He powered up his computer, which, though it looked ancient, had been built from the floor up by a close friend as a birthday present. A combination of top-of-the-line processors and components with a liquid cooling system made the machine perform better than David had originally thought possible. The ALTIMIT logo faded into view, with the familiar happy jingle, and a bright blue screen appeared with several icons. David ignored the flashing mail icon and opened the one labeled "The World" instead.

Blank Luck opened his eyes just as the digital surges faded away. Reaching behind him, he grasped the stiff leather grip of his polearm tightly and pulled it from his back harness. The weapon felt light, but powerful in his hands, and his heart raced with excitement. A full week without logging on had left him more than antsy.

He stepped from the gate platform and strode down the wide street lined with shops. He stepped up to the inventory booth and cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the dumpy looking clerk behind the counter. "Myes? How can I be of service, sir?" the clerk droned.

"Yes, I'll need to withdraw the weapons I have stored, please, along with ten healing potions and ten antidotes."

"Right away, sir." The clerk nodded and went through a creaky door in the back. He returned several moments later with the requested items from Blank's vault. Thanking the man, Blank turned and walked to the river's edge, staring down into its cool, clear depths. He could relax here, but what he really wanted to do was go level a bit, or maybe even tackle a dungeon. He looked up suddenly as he heard a sweet tune floating across the breeze. Listening hard, he set off to find the source of the sound.

After a few minutes, he found the source in the form of a well-dressed wavemaster. Slinging his polearm, Nihonmaru, across his back in its harness, he approached the flute player. "Sounds good to me. Where'd you get such a nifty item?"  

[Sentama Lin]

"Well, I got it from a... a --" Heilig was about to answer, but was interrupted by the other man's appearance.

"...Gawds! That outfit is hideous!" Reiyaku thought to himself as he watched the screen and observed the Long Arm in front of him. He considered the other fellow quite seasoned in battle, and he definitely did look intimidating. He ignored the other's appearance, however, as the man's Nihonmaru caught his attention.

"...Oh! You have quite a beautiful piece of work as well! Um... ah, well, my name is Heilig." He replied, though not exactly to the other's questions. He stood up and walked hastened circles around Blank Luck, looking at the outfit and the item and everything in between. On occasion he'll gasp, and giggle, but also admire.

"Hrm, hrm... oh... oh, yes! my item! Well, I ran across it at the bottom of last dungeon I was in. People didn't want it because they said it was 'horribly' weak. But I disagree!" He added, finally answering the other man's questions after all the other utterances from his mouth. He looked at the other's face and smiled, putting the flute onto a prepared holster on his belt and picking up Amor Vincit Omnia, his main weapon of choice.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu. Status, Available for Play/Contact.  

[xDarkPisces]

The eccentric personality of the Wavemaster amused him, and he looked around him with a chuckle as the other circled him.

'What an odd player...' David pondered, readjusting his position in the chair. 'So excitable... I wonder if he'd be interested in partying up.'

Eying the flute a bit closer, Blank realized the basis for the conviction that the weapon was weak. Smiling, he shook his head, "It's not necessarily the strength that matters, as you seem to have discovered." He unharnessed his polearm once more whipping it around him gracefully with a quick twirl for show. "I love my Nihonmaru, for example. I've found more powerful weapons, but I prefer the look and feel of this one. You see, it's all based on preference." He nodded, placing the end of his weapon on the ground.

"Pardon my poor manners. I'm Blank Luck." He extended a hand in greeting. "Say... Would you like to party up and maybe tackled a dungeon together or something?" It had been quite a while since he'd been able to form a party with another player. For the past month, his play times had all been too short to warrant any sort of lasting partnership.  

[Sentama Lin]

Heilig's face seemed to brighten, his eyes widening, and a small smile slowly growing as he heard the suggestion about partying. He would be more than happy to accompany the other in exploring a dungeon, especially if it meant he might find some rare items.

"Hm, Blank Luck was it? Oh, oh, oh! I'd be happy to accompany you!" He said with a small hop. He searched around his person for something, nodding to himself as he felt and groped bulged pockets full of items and pouches full of items to make sure he had everything.

"Hm, uh-huh, uh, huh, yeah... Oh! There's enough healing stuff... I think I only need to carry twenty -- no six -- NO, two wands with me..."

He seemed to ramble on and on and on, then suddenly stopped, lifted his hands, palm down, over his face, and lowered them slowly as he exhaled deeply. "...Alright. I'll party with you! I need to get some stuff ready though, will you meet me at the gate?"

He smiled and handed Blank Luck his User Card so he can contact him via messages in-game, then accepted his group invitation.

"See you at the gate!" He said before taking off. As he walked over he saw a Blademaster in an ebony tabard with a Moon insignia, and the armor intrigued him. He paused his run and walked up to the man, circling him and looking at the outfit, nodding and sighing and gasping as he did before with Blank Luck.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu, Status: In A Party.  

[Saverio C.]

Nathan got home from school and logged into the world as soon as he got settled. He loved his little escape, perhaps a little too much if you asked his dad. He put on the white visor and put in his password. He looked at his in-game mail and saw the Crimson Knights announcements. It was mostly mundane stuff, a good job to the clan for it's work and special accolades to members who did something important. He scrolled down and found what he was looking for, the hot spots for PKers. Nathan frowned as he was suppose being shipped off to Delta Server. He mumbled to himself as he read "I don't really think that they understand how to root out the problom." Nathan wasn't ready to leave his current post, but orders where orders and he logged in and went to Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu.

Garland appeared at the gate and looked around. He would have to spend some time in town to pick up where PKs had been striking before he went off and partied up to go hunting. Until then he would simply wander. His great ax was hanging off his back lackadaisically with the head pointing down. Garland could hear the metal tapping on the stone walk ways, and hear his crimson cape rustle in the wind as he walked through the city. He wasn't dressed like a stereotypical knight (nor was he armed like one), so he could get away with eavesdropping easier then a normal Knight. Unfortunately the city wasn't talking about the PKs at all. "Some hot stop this is" he said to himself as he walked past a man playing a flute and two others.

He kept on walking but made sure to stop and sit nearby. One of them was a rare item hunter, and they attacked PKs. Having a party of people with items like the groups was like dumping seal blood into the ocean. The PKs would either fallow them or if they saw them in the field they wouldn't pass up an attack on them. Of course they themselves could be PKs and that's how they got their items, and traveling with them would be suicide. Garland wasn't worried about item loss, nothing he had was that unquie, but the things it would say about the Order did worry him. He didn't want Pks to think they would be able to beat the protectors of the people. He would have to sit and wait, and try to listen to their conversation from a safe distance away.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu, Status Preparing  

[Roland Karloseth]

Chaos was looking around at the various people walking around, conversing and other such things. Someone threw a rock at him, just to see it bounce of his shield. Chaos glanced at the person who did it. The character was a man, wearing the basic villager clothing. Chaos walked up to the man and pointed his sword at him "You ever do that again and I'll parade around the town with your head on a stick. Look at that, you've gone and messed up the shine on my shield! I ought to make you compensate me for the repairs... Bah. your not even worth my time. If I wanted to even take the risk to kill you, it wouldn't take more than two seconds. Keep in mind, some people will have less regard for the rules, and they WILL kill you. Now get out of my sight" Chaos said, and watched the man scurry off. He then saw someone else walk up to him, inspecting his outfit. "Can I help you?" Chaos said.  

[Sentama Lin]

Heileg jumped as he heard the other man sputter such words of malice. He scrambled together, flailing his arms and dropping his wand onto the ground.

"Ah, ah, don't hurt me, I'm a, um, yes, just, what, oh, oh, yeah, I'm just, oh, looking, at, uh, what what, what but, oh, um, yeah. I was just looking at your outfit. No need to make me ang -- er make you angry, you see!" He sputtered, mumbling this all the time. After what seemed like a minute he raised his hands in front of his face again and exhaled like the last time.

"Er... You have very good items... would you want to go to a dungeon with us?" He asked the other man before picking up Amor.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu; Status: in a party, freaking out.  

[xDarkPisces]

David stood up from his computer for a minute, stretching his legs and removing the black visor with a yawn. This promised to be a long evening, and that pleased him. Preferring not to call the game an addiction, he seldom even spoke of it to anyone outside of his small group of friends. It was more than a game, really. A social network, a means of relaxation, an outlet for frustration; the game was all of these things and more. He poured himself a steaming cup of coffee from a thermos on his bed table and sipped it slowly, sitting carefully back down in the computer chair. He slid the visor back on, squinting his eyes to adjust the focus.

Blank Luck leaned his neck from side to side, popping the upper vertebrae with satisfaction. He picked up his polearm and swung it over his back with a swooping, liquid motion. Then he headed off in the direction of the gate, stopping only once to answer a newbie's inquiry as to the direction of the potion shop. As he walked away from the timid-looking Twin Blade, he shook his head and smiled. "Ah, newbies... Gotta love their determination," he sighed, heading up the cobblestone strip towards the chaos gate. Twenty minutes online and he'd already partied up and gotten a user card. This promised to be an eventful evening.  

[Roland Karloseth]

"Heh heh, no need for such an obvious display of fear. As long as you don't attack me, we'll be just fine. Anyway, I'm a bit bored right now, I suppose I can do a dungeon run through, since you actually CAME UP to me and asked me." Chaos said, glancing around. He sheathed his blade, which hung from his waist, and pondered for a bit. The shield was bugging him quite a bit, it always got in his way when unsheathing his blade. "If you'll excuse me for a bit first, I could do with finding a decent back-mount first. Just to make life a bit easier." He walked up to the nearest vendor. "Do you have a decent back-mount hiding back there?"

"Why yes, I just bought one not too long ago. And it has enough space to fit your nice blade into as well, so you can get both sword and shield onto it."

Chaos inspected it closely, and asked "How much?"

"5000 gold, good sir."

"Hrm... a bit steep for just a leather belt with straps. However, out of necessity only..." Chaos handed over the gold and equipped the back mount. "Ahh... much better." He walked back over to the other person and extended a hand "Names Chaos."  

[Sentama Lin]

"Chaos was it?" Heilig replied with a smile and a small bow. "Ah, good. I think I heard about you somewhere... probably... I think, and that means I'll probably find some very good items!" He said with a smile. His eyes wandered over to a heavily-armoured Garland (though, at that time, he did not know who he was) and then turned back to Chaos.

"Well, me and um... um... oh, right, Black Rock were just about to head somewhere. I'm waiting for him near the... where is it, oh, we are near the Chaos gate. Never mind. We're just waiting for him then." He said before sitting down to sift through his inventory as he waited.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu; Status: Sitting, Waiting, Idle.  

[Saverio C.]

Garland watched as a low level player threw a rock at one of the three men. He was about to intervene when the higher level player drew his blade and made a very auspicious threat to the man. That was what he needed to see, they were PKer's getting ready for a raid. As Garland was about to take a round about way to the gate to see where they were heading he heard one of the three asking to join the newly discovered PKer's group. "If they where changes things not in the group before then he must be the only...." Saverio sighed heavily as he had to protect the prey from the predator. "Standing up slowly he walked over to the group and approached the man who drew his blade. Looking amused he started talking to him "You look like fun to have in a fight. Let me tag along for some EXP in the next run you guys make." before he would be able to respond he added, you gonna need a tank if you want to do any real fighting." He stuck his chest out a bit to show off and looked for a response from the man.

Current Location: Delta Server, Aqua City Mac Anu; Status: Looking for group  

[Sentama Lin]

Heilig smiled and nodded. "Ah, I wouldn't mind you joining our group!" He replied, excited. This will make it even easier to survive. "Oh, but we definitely have enough damagers though... I think I'll take out Wellgunde instead."

With a flick of his wrist Amor disappeared into a mass of sparkles and out appeared the flute once more that he was playing before. "There... this should help us out greatly... Now, you don't mind this do you, Chaos? And I wonder wh -- oh! There he is! Brack Wok!"

He yelled over to Blank Luck, for he could see him walking toward the group. Cupping his hands into a megaphone he shouted: "You won't mind two more people joining us, right? Right?!"

Current Location: Delta, Aqua City Mac Anu; Status: Yelling.