Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alyx nodded. "I'd be happy to go with you. I've always wanted to learn more about this place, and questions yield answers." Another notice flashed on Alyx' HUD. He touched the golden exclamation point. Achan had killed another admin. "But I can't go just yet. There have been whisperings in the Wood of a man who wanders the trees, slaughtering those incapable of defending themselves. No one has the means to stand up to him, and no one has ever been able to defeat him. I aim to find him." Alyx' grip tightened on his shield. "And end him. He has taken several of my friends, none of them inexperienced warriors. He needs to be dealt with. If I survive, I would be happy to come back and explore this mystery with you."

Alyx nodded. "The people are calling him Crow, but his given name is Achan. There's no telling how many he's killed, but I do not intend to be his next victim. I have to go find him, though, before I let this go on any further. I leave soon; I have received information on his recent whereabouts, and it's the closest I've been to finding him in a while. I would not ask you to come, but I also would not stop you from accompanying me. But we would need to leave soon." Alyx opened his inventory and began scrolling through his supplies. He felt prepared as he could be. It's certainly not like he'd find anything in the encampment that would assist him any more than what he already had.

Alyx nodded. "Very well. I'll be back. I need to get a message out." Alyx turned and stepped into the Encampment, moving away from everyone until he had some privacy. He opened his administrator's tools, making sure that no one could see him (he had stepped behind the Alchemist's lean-to) and began putting together a message to the other administrators. He let them know that he was forming a party to hunt the hacker down and would let them know how it went. The admin who had just had to re-roll told Alyx to be careful, and that the hacker had abilities not meant to be given to players at this level. Alyx thanked him for the intel and closed his services. He looked around and nodded, deciding he'd given Rota enough time. The Gloomking returned to the demon's favorite forge.

Alyx looked at the blade with no small amount of respect. "A magnificent blade. You've come a long way, Rota. I will wear it with pride." Alyx swapped it out in his inventory and put Gloomfang in his back pocket in case he needed it. The massive amount of poison damage that he did was better served when he was in his light armor and playing at speed. The incredible single-strike damage that the Gloomshard could deal would be more beneficial in his current ensemble. The Gloomking looked at Rota. "Are you ready? There is no telling if we will come back from this." Alyx sighed softly as he flipped a setting and changed it, moving to OOC.

~There are rumors that this man is a hacker. There's no telling what he is capable of, but he will not have mercy on us.~

Alyx nodded and clasped Rota's arm. "And I yours. Let's go." They set off into the Gloomwood. Alyx' tracking system was only able to give them a vague direction, and he did his best to avoid the wildlife as they searched. It was a while before they came upon the sounds of combat. Alyx drew his blade and adjusted his shield on his arm as he began to run toward the sound.

Achan stood in shining black armor, his crow-feather cloak billowing behind him as a disarmed woman knelt before him, throwing her broken dagger to the dirt where it shattered.

"Please! Please, no! I've worked so hard! You can't do this!"

The cruel, sickly pale man raised and lowered his axe before anyone could do anything, and the woman screamed and exploded into a shower of white shards. He laughed as he killed her. His voice was shrill and his yellow eyes shined in the low light. "Oh. Hello. How convenient."

Alyx had been running, but he wasn't fast enough. She was gone. Ice formed in his heart. Achan's name was clearly displayed. "It's time to die, Achan."

The laugh that came was fearless and mocking. "They finally sent the Gloomking to stop me? And who is this? A gift? A sacrifice to my glory? You shouldn't have. If you think you can stop me, just try it. But I'll have that sword by the end of the day."

Admin Quest:

Alert! A Hacker has been located! He has begun to kill players, and has hacked the console to recover his health and heighten his skills. Anyone responding should be use extreme caution. He has killed three players so far, and seems to be roaming the Gloomwood to find low-level players to fight. The character is level 5, but his hacked abilities make him extremely dangerous.

Achan Crow:
Level 7
HP: 175
HP recovery: 35 per turn
AP: infinite
heavy armor reduces damage by 6 per attack
+9 damage per attack, 1 bleed per turn for 3 turns

One Handed Axe Arte: Slash
+10 to attacks with OHA

35 One Handed Axe
10 heavy armor
35 endurance
35 combat regeneration

1-75 will 150% attack a random party member
76-100 will 150% attack a random party member with his arte

Achan is dressed in black, shiny beetle carapace heavy armor and wields a large One-Handed Axe. He has long black hair and yellow eyes, with pale skin. His gauntlets are cruel and barbed, and his boots are large metal talons. From his back hangs a long cloak made of black feathers. He received the surname 'Crow' for his first playerkill.

In his inventory are several items he's taken from other players:

A ring from a bear that gives +10 HP
A ring from a boar that gives +1 bleed damage
A necklace from a Dire Wolf that grants +3 AP
A strong THSS
A strong OHSS


He wears a crow's head necklace that deals +5 damage to players
He has a ring that increases gathering checks by 5
He has a beetle carapace heavy upper and lower
He uses a black, beetle carapace OHA with +4 damage, and
He has 3000 gil that will be split among the people who kill him