JimBee

"Yes, of course. It is the will to survive and a strong purpose that keeps us going. No one has stopped me so far. Do your standards differ? Heheheh..." Hybros looked up at the arrival of Arthur, along with a few of who he assumed were his recent questmates. Among them, a tough-looking armored knight with a small dragon hatchling on his shoulder. The imp looked on wearily; he had several experiences with dragons and even fought one, and knew they were quick to anger. Even the little ones. "Ehehm, no I did not find this woman that you spoke of... I think you will be wanting this back, yes? Eheh..." he reluctantly pulled a pouch of 150 gold from his pocket and returned it to the Skirmisher.

Hybros shrugged. "Like you said, we are just mercenaries. I have no doubts that our employers are sometimes far from heroic. Anyone they want killed probably will be if the price is right. I do not think everyone I have had the opportunity to kill deserved death."

"But what is bad and what is good? Are bad choice only the ones that will come back to haunt you? What about other people? Someone you kill today may save many people later, or maybe that person could have saved many lives. Who is to say?"

Hybros scratched his head. Clearly the man had put some thought into this whole 'hero' business, but his metaphors didn't make much sense to the imp. "Black, white, grey... why do you speak of these colors? They only mean what they are. I do not think being a heroic or not is as simple as that."

"Eric? Yes, I know him... I have not seen this man in a long time." Hybros glanced around the room, just in time to see the nord exit the Hall. The imp nodded. "He will be back." He stirred the last of his tea idly. "I suppose you are right about 'heroes'. How can any of us call ourselves more than mercenaries?" Remembering his experience with the Guild of Invision at Guffington Manor, Hybros hoped that his good reputation with them would be noted when the employers of Quest 118 chose their heroes. OOC: Just a side note because I forgot about the reputation thing.

Hybros sipped his tea. "Yes... this surprises me. I have known others, even myself, to have their own agendas, but to let that control the outcome of your quest? Who were these heroes?"

Well, Hybros didn't exactly agree with the Paladin because he suspected that he was in the vision from Quest #7, and that the Paladins were the ones who would fight his people. But he "knew" that it wasn't real, and instead decided to seek the reasons rather than stop the Paladins. Also I don't think Hybros chose the new/young because they were new/young (as shown in The Lost Child), but because the child was innocent in his eyes. But yes, Hybros is more utilitarian than perhaps is appropriate for one who is so determined to find his people despite the consequences. Like when Skrall warned him before opening the void. It is an irony, and I think it will have some significance later in Hybros' development. The theme of new vs. old was definitely interesting in this quest. This theme has also been touched on in several of the other quests I've been on, which also makes it interesting for Hybros. Also the broader theme of right vs. wrong, and who's to decide that, are derived from that. Oh, and, Hewyert isn't Crimson Crown? Did I get him confused with someone else in the Baltarok trilogy? I did read all three quests, but I'm still confused about Gocklo and Hewyert. Who are they? If this information is withheld on purpose then that's different, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

"Destroying knowledge, hm? Yes, quite the opposite of what we achieved... Well whichever knowledge you destroyed, had you no desire to learn it?" "Yes, Jun Ji Pei is a close friend of mine. I have learned much from him, including the ways of the Chi Monk."

Hybros listens to Ellaria and Althior talk, and signs up for Quest 116 and 118.

"Oh, eheh..." Hybros wasn't sure if the man was joking or not. "I am afraid I have not known her as long as you, but we have become... friends from several journeys. Both of which included delivering expensive machines for the Ji Pei. Do you not remember, Ellaria? Hehehe... And for being in Heroica for so long, Althior, I am surprised we have not met before. Tell me of your most recent quest." Hybros needed something to occupy his mind for the time being. He stirred his tea with a pointy finger before sipping it again.

Hybros takes the claw and straps it onto his wrist, holding it as if he were about to strike. It would suit him well in his new style of hand-to-hand combat. "I am proficient with many blades, but long training and necessity have led me to learn other skills. I've learned to channel my strength through something other than the scythe I hold. And what is it that you practice, ehum..." The man has still not given his name, but just then Ellaria stepped up to the bar to greet him; supposedly they were old friends. "...Althior, is it? I am Hybros. How do you know this talented druid?" Hybros gave a nod and a small smile to Ellaria.

Hybros looked up from his tea, a tall man with a hint of his own expression upon his face. "Hm? It looks like you have already started with the strong drinks, eheh... Be careful where you swing that thing." He nodded towards the claw wedged into the grain of the wood he was studying. He reached over and pulled it out, and used a bit of wood magic to fix the damaged bar. He weighed the claw in his hands. "For such a fine weapon you do not seem to care much for it. Let someone take this trinket off of your hands." Hybros set a sack of 250 gold on the bar. "You would be wise to take it, mister...?"

Hybros entered the Hall after an eventful journey. He had a lot on his mind, and went to the bar to order a cup of tea. He took a seat while he waited and studied the wood of the bar surface.

Khorne, unless I'm mistaken about the First Aid Kit, using an item does not count towards targeting an enemy so the party should've received a free hit from the Mother of Dragons. Unless there was something I missed... Just trying to help out!

107: First of all, THANK YOU Zepher for hosting this quest. I wanted to move Hybros' story forward and I didn't know how to do it but in a quest. 107 did that perfectly, and I can't thank you enough for making that possible. Conversely, I also really liked that while this was a "Hybros quest," a lot of it was centered on your own storyline and the other PCs weren't cast aside. More on that later. Overall, I did enjoy the quest. I share your thoughts that it was a good story, for several reasons. First, I really liked that it related so well with your other quests, and not just in ways that Hybros and/or others would be familiar with. For example, having the city be under the sea and having knowledge from 92. The Dastanian architecture was only familiar to Skrall and Nyx, although Hybros had seen less-ancient ruins of Nu Mercution and Zoot's Temple before. Same with the whole chaos and Wren thing. Hybros was the only one familiar with Zylstra, but Nyx knew the Blue Assassins and I think one of the other PCs knew about the Imperial Order before. Ellaria was the only one familiar with the witch who induced the visions. Also, Hewyrt is Crimson Crown but Hybros doesn't know that, so their relationship was very interesting to me. As for the bits pertaining mainly to Hybros, I really liked that you included Guffy, Zylstra, Assassins, and of course the story of his people. I was really surprised and glad that the Hybros/Nyx sidequest pertained to Hybros' vision all that time ago in your very first quest (#7: The Arena). That part must have been my favorite. I had to go back and dig through the pages of that quest to find the post (linked to once in the sidequest and once in the public 107 thread), but boy was it nostalgic. That was the first real roleplaying moment that I did for Hybros, and to see it referenced to 100 quests later was a great feeling. For all my complaining about imprisoning PCs in The Arena for a month and removing them from the game, that moment probably would never have happened if it weren't for that. The other part about the quest that I liked was the side-quest PMs. I'm not usually a fan of PM sidequests but these served to deliver a very large part of the narrative and really was great for PC roleplaying, and I couldn't see it being done in any other way. For those of you who were watching and didn't realize, each PC was paired with another PC on a sidequest (along with some NPCs), and then with a different PC in another sidequest so that two sidequests were happening simultaneously for each PC. The in-story explanation is that each character was experiencing two or three realities at once from the witch's magic. The sidequests were Nyx & Skrall, Skrall & Ellaria, Ellaria & Hybros, and Hybros & Nyx. I thought these sidequests were great for roleplaying by all characters. I, too, would like to see the other ones posted when you get the chance, Zeph. I liked the bit with Zylstra and Posco. It was a cool idea to have CallMePie to guest QM (thanks for hosting by the way!). Killing Posco was... interesting. I think the decision was in-character for Hybros. And along the same lines as the story of this quest supported Zepher's storyline, it also supported and developed Pie's as well. My main criticism for this quest was that at many points, it felt very slow and/or too open-ended. There were points, like in the library, that seemed like they had no direction at all. I was a little disappointed that Skrall and Ellaria didn't get books, but at the same time asking the players to provide some the narrative (while potentially cool for roleplaying) might have been too open-ended and not directed enough for the quest to move forward and be entertaining. I'm not really sure how to expand upon that thought, but maybe you're right in your own criticism that perhaps this story didn't translate well into a quest. Besides being slow, there were also times when the narrative wasn't on par with everything else you've done - sometimes it just felt empty or awkward. For example the Hybros-Nyx sidequest: obviously there was a lot to be revealed through the Paladin's dialog, but because of the fact that it had to be prompted by a PC's words and actions, it felt forced and we weren't really sure how to have our characters respond. At least that's how I felt. One other factor that might have caused the slowness was the absence of players and sometimes the QM. I know just as well as anyone that life can get really busy, and it seemed like all five of us were, at some point or another throughout the quest, too busy to really contribute meaningfully. For my own part in that I apologize, and for the sum of all of our absences it just seems unfortunate that they had to happen all at once. That being said, I couldn't have asked for a better party for this quest. Nyx and Hybros already have a close relationship, I feel, and Hybros was already acquainted with Ellaria (their relationship really grew in this quest, IMO). Skrall was the only one Hybros hadn't met until right before the quest started, but it seems like they already established something interesting between themselves. I also liked the relationships between Nyx and Skrall, and Nyx and Ellaria. For the former, the two went to hell and back together on 53, and for the former Nyx is kind of a big sister to Ellaria. And all three of them share the same frustration from Strivvi. And again, each PC's individual experiences meant familiarity with different events in this quest, which was cool. One more random note: I liked the fact that no loot was included in the last battle, but that we got a full level of experience instead. And other than that, I don't have much to say except maybe that I would be interested in what other people thought, about the quest and Hybros' progress as a character so far. 107 made some big revelations about him, but I don't have any perspective on how confusing or realistic his character is. Thank you once again for hosting, Zepher!

Hybros shook his head. He had much to ponder. Demons, the realm of Zoot... is that where his people were? Is that where he was from? The whole time of searching had lead him deep below Uland, to the ancient library and ruins of a city much older than Eubric. To the realm of chaos that Nyx and Skrall and perhaps even Ellaria were familiar with, as he himself was since going underground to find Mephisto all those years ago. To speak to them was... incredible, but they still seemed so far away. How would he reach them? Or bring them back to Olegaia? They mentioned the forest and the earth - places his people were once native to. Perhaps he would find answers there. But where? Olegaia had many tree and a lot of mud. But he knew he would find them... some day. Before his death, if he even could die as a demon. Something led him this far; whatever that thing was would not fail him this time. He looked up. He had much to ponder for the coming times, but for now he had to return. Return to Heroica, return to searching. He was closer than he ever had been to finding his people, yet it felt so far away even now. He looked to Daneeka. "Doctor, I..." he paused for a long while. "Thank you. Please send the people of Zylstra and Guffington my regards. I have learned much on this journey." He gripped the ancient tome he found in the library. "I will be back with this book." He paused again. "...Can we not return down to that place?" He then turned his solemn gaze to the other heroes. "Nyx, Skrall, Ellaria... you are all good... friends. I thank you for going on this quest with me. I, too, hope that you have also found answers as I have." With that, he turned, headed not to the forests outside of Eubric, but to the place he had come to call home. A place to think. Heroica Hall.

Hybros exhales at the end of the battle, and helps Daneeka up. He looks to Hewyrt, then the other heroes. "Yes." He looks on with determination.

Repeat. Same BO.

OOC: Oh, okay thanks. Though poison isn't absorbed by Aura. Also I should be at full health. Hybros looks around him as Deborah disappears. There were only a few enemies left, however. The imp prepared two more darkness spells, this time directed at the Soul of Paladins in the front row. (If damaged, heals himself from the back row instead). Battle Order: Ellaria Hybros Hybros Skrall Minoid Nyx (Deborah)

I don't really care, but MDM does have a point about loot being dropped in far more excess (i.e. for new heroes) than it once was. I remember during my first quest the best loot was a plain WP:4 weapon (which I was super excited about), and then I got a Zoot's Plaything to get a WP:10 weapon in my next quest which was unprecedentedly good. Vindsval has some pretty amazing equipment especially considering he's only just returned from his first quest at level 5. Robe of the Archmagi is a THE universally-awesome artifact for Clerics and Mages, a WP:8 elemental weapon at this stage is a huge plus, and all the left over gems and armor are things that players could only dream of having at the game's start. Again, not that I disagree with it, but it's funny to see how the times have changed. I think it's fair to give newer players better loot because they just joined - those of us playing for over three years now have collected many valuable items and are way up there XP-wise. It might be discouraging to see all of the veterans with insanely powerful stuff while a newbie is stuck at the way bottom (and would take years to achieve the level that the vets are at).

Hybros rose from the cold ground, nodding his thanks to Skrall and healing him. Noticing that the soul he was fightning with was gone, he prepared to attack the Soul G from the front row, with darkness magic. "I agree, Deborah. I wish greatly to know what is behind this door... Everyone leave the Soul of the Paladins, it looks like the Golden Warden here can deal with it with her shield, heheh" Battle Order: Hybros Hybros Skrall Nyx Minoid Deborah OOC: I think Deborah should be at 61 health.

Ooc: he will attack soul g in the event of a successful heal.

OOC: I just noticed that Nyx should have received a free hit last round... I didn't know that she was going to use the Healing Staff otherwise I would've changed the battle order, but in the order that was stated, Skrall should've taken a free hit from Soul C, Deborah from Soul G, and Nyx from the Soul of Paladins, taking 50/2 -8=17 damage... just enough to knock her out.

With 107 and 103 seeming like they're going to end soon, it'd be really cool to have Hybros go on a quest with Guts and Eric. If 102 ends in time, adding Nerwen could make for the most head-butting party yet.

Hybros mumbled something on the ground. Clearly, he was coming to, just needed an extra boost to get up... and with Deborah occupied with Soul G in the back row, Skrall was the only one who could help... Battle Order: Deborah Skrall Hybros (if revived heals Skrall) Hybros (heals Skrall if unsuccessful, otherwise heals Nyx) Ellaria Nyx Minoid