Emjajoas

Em's shoulders sag and he places his forehead on the table in front of him. He sighs, closing his eyes, and runs his hands through his hair.

Em shakes his head. "Tell your master and dear Iris I said hello," he adds. "Though all I've left to say to you is goodbye." Keeping his eye on the demon, though ignoring him, Em muses silently at his table.

Em snorts. "Yes, demon. I fear you. I fear your master. I fear your inky oculoids. I'm not so coy as to claim that my fear is less than my bravery-- it's less than my stupidity, and nothing more. I am not so cocky to think you fear me, or have anything to fear from me. I'm not so arrogant to think you see me as a great hero-- as I'm sure you know, I'm only really a hero by name. I'm not going to claim that we'll win, but until my blood stains the floor I'm not admitting defeat. I've been looking for a reason to bleed, Seerus, and you bastards are good enough." He frowns at the oculoid. "Though a worm? Really? I see myself more as a... fly. Perhaps... a mosquito. Tiny. Insignificant. A pest, really, though one that can cause... irritation on a good day." He frowns deeper. "And if I fail to reach your master, well, I'll have no right to complain. If I'm too weak, I deserve to be swatted aside like the insect I am." Em downs the rest of his drink, his hackles still raised, chills still running down his spine. Seerus bothered him. Reminded him of other things. Of cocky, arrogant idiots who got out of line. Of bodies, piled high. Of blood, running like rivers. "If you can read minds, then you understand my resolve," Em says finally, his eyes never leaving the oculoid. "I came here believing I could stop taking lives, but that was a childish fantasy. I'm ready to spend lives for the honour of killing you."

"Tacky red indeed," Em replies with a nod. "I'm sure you'll have a tough time working with it; shame, though. Dying only to be preserved in the form of art sounds rather poetic. Maybe I'll try painting you with your own blood when we're finished. You'll be remembered, at least"

Em clicks his teeth. "I quite admire your plan. If the sacrifice wasn't so great, I would probably support you," Em shrugs again. "Whether or not you succeed matters little to me. I've hardly an eye for art-- I'm nothing but a killer, after all-- so if you're going to do your art, what you do best, then at least let me do what I do best. Better yet, try to stop me." Em relaxes slightly. "Looking back, I wish we had killed Iris when we had the chance. Filthy wretch." He shakes his head. "Black blood, though. Fitting. I look forward to spilling it."

Em nods, his brow furrowing. "Seems you're not quite welcome here. What the hell'd you do to piss everyone off, I wonder?" He shrugs, regaining part of his composure, though unable to hide all the venom in his tone-- and the obvious bloodlust emanating from his visage and posture. "Ah, well, glad to hear things are going well for you. Slauhgtering you oculoids is like that there one snack-- the more you eat at once, the tastier it gets. I'm looking forward to bleeding with your master. What colour is his blood, anyway? Or yours, for that matter? I'm a little curious..."

"And here I was hoping to gossip like a couple housewives," Em replies, not bother to hide his glare, still tense. "It's been forever since I've seen your lot-- the least you could do is tell me how everyone is doing."

"So you aren't showing up because I hit my head. Huh." Em spits, shrugging. "Always a pleasure, I suppose," he coos venemously, taking another sip of his drink. "Your plans coming along nicely?"

Em glances over at the great black blob in the middle of the hall. He shakes his head in disbelief, still believing himself to be half asleep. How did that thing get in here? What was it doing there...? He looks around the hall. Nobody else seemed to mind; at least, nobody else was making a fuss. He tensed, but decided it best to ignore the beast for now.

Noticed that; Shame Em missed Masson. Looking forward to what you've got planned. Especially with the ever ominous "less than nice" tag.

So many good quests I want to sign up for! Too determined to get in on 105 to risk it, though.

I have to agree with what everyone said: 98 was an awesome experience, to be sure. I felt a little less awesome about being unfamiliar with the returning characters, but overall it was really cool to interact with them. The pacing was slow at times, and it did diminish from the overall experience (as well as some other things that weren't related to the quest) but I was happy to be along for the ride. The PCs by far made the quest for me; Having Pretzel and Hybros going at it constantly and have Pretzel constantly make jabs at Jeaux's automaton-ness. It was a really fun quest to be a part of. I've got Em (and his past) ironed out and I know what I want to do with him; I'm hoping to flesh that out a little bit more in the future, especially with his interactions with others. I'll try to be more vocal, or at least vocal in my silence, so to speak. The loot was good, I felt, and the battles were tough, though they weren't unwinnable and I enjoyed how tough they were. I felt perhaps due to the difficulty of the battles, we could have used a Phoenix Essence drop or two, but overall I was fine with what they were. Tanking an 800 damage explosion is something I doubt I'll ever get to do twice. The sets were awesome; the mirror puzzle was cool, too. I thought that entire battle with the mirror was just plain awesome. Again, I'm sorry for dropping the ball mid-quest. I was a little preoccupied for a bit, and I really let it show. Sorry guys. ^^;;

Em strides back into the Hall, passing by the quest board. He signs up for Quest 105, frowning slightly. He scouts out a table, grabbing a drink on his way by, and slides into a booth alone. He sighs and removes his armour, placing it beside him. He rolls his shoulders with audible pops and cradles his head in his hands, closing his eyes for a brief moment of rest. Em gasps, tense. He glances around the Hall, and, realizing where he is, breathes a sigh of relief. He swirls the remainder of his drink in its cup and downs it. The explosion must’ve hit him hard to jar such memories from the depths of his mind...

"It was a pleasure," he states, bowing slightly to Soryx and the Baron. Em turns to the party, nodding to each member in turn. "I'll be off, then. Pleasure working with you; and good to see you again, Jeaux." Turning, Em strides out of Zylstra, shoulders stiff, frown plastered on his face. Did they make the right choice? For some reason, he couldn't get the image of Selenrae out of his head.

"A long story," Em grumbles, before raising his voice. "Your citizens are safe; they should be here before too long. We got rid of the Shades. They're no longer a threat. Wally can explain more, but I think you ought to let him rest before interrogating him."

Perhaps you are mistaking focus for a Warden's Shield roll or something similar that draws all attacks? I'm not sure what else it could be.

So for the past little while I've been trying to think up a Quest that'd be fun to take part in/read/QM, and I've got a few ideas that I'm trying to flesh out. That being said, I can't really do much set building and I have never QM'd before (and as people probably know from questing with me, I'm still rather awful with the game mechanics and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't flying by the seat of my pants until recently). That being said, I was wondering if anyone would like to collaborate? The Quest itself is meant to be funny and playful, and hopefully if we pull it off right as amusing to RP in as to QM. I can PM anyone interested what I have so far. I'm still ironing out details and figuring out how far I can/want to go, but it's enough to bounce around.

Em watches Avina and the Scar leave, arms crossed. He sighs, turning to Soryx. "I agree. Let us depart."

Em nods to Avina and the Scar with a small wave, then frowns at Wally. He remains quiet for a time. "Would you like us to take the body to your city for a proper funeral? I'm unaware of your customs, but..."

"As do I. You fought well," he nods, glancing around. He turns to the civilians upon noticing them, as though he had forgotten they had been there. "Are you all okay? Should we fetch Posco?"

"Mortimer is a mouthful," Em replies. He knocks on his shield proudly. "She took the hits well, though. I'm honestly surprised I'm still standing."

Makes sense. Thanks! Starting to think we made a bad choice. Those would've been awesome.

Zepher, I'd be willing to part with my Crimson Haze. Moonlight weapons that damage the undead would be awesome. Speaking of, are our Starbeam blades merely for show or were they ever supposed to do something?

Em staggers to his feet, knees shaking, using his shield to support himself. "That... explosion hurt... a little..." he breathes, chest heaving. After a few moments of wobbling, he regains his balance. With a sigh, he stretches his shoulders and neck. "Left me a little stiff," he jests, wincing as his neck cracked. He nods in thanks as Avina hands him the Crimson Haze. "Soryx, I believe we are finished. Care to return my Frost Helm?" Rummaging in his bag, Em removes the Phoenix Incense and hands it to Pretzel. "I believe this was yours?"

Avina uses her Phoenix Essence on Em (or does as suggested). Em uses a Grand Potion on The Scar (or does as suggested).