Vance's first message was, for the most part, rhetoric to get C to acknowledge that he was around without drawing attention from the other players that were there. He didn't expect her to know what was going on, really. And he could infer from her lack of knowledge that the others probably didn't know, either. Not unless a CC Corp exec or someone like that was lurking among them. His mic still muted, he quickly typed out his next response.
Vance Finiraldi: I know where we are, at least. And I'll spare you the wall-of-text lecture and tell you this much - this place should no longer exist, both in lore and out of it. It seems we're about to have the "honor" of being drawn into one of those incidents the company is known for.
He was speaking as if it hadn't happened to him before. It wasn't necessarily because he didn't trust her; he simply quite intent on
not dragging people in these incidents any more than was necessary. If she found out that he had a measure of vested interest in what was going on in
The World, then who knows how curious she'd be. For the entirety of their stay, he intended to keep everyone safe and feign ignorance, hoping that they ultimately would not learn a thing that would provoke further involvement.
The Crusader was asking for more than luck was probably willing to give him.
As he waited for either something to happen and a response from C, Vance finally became attentive of the rainfall that took over the entire field.
'Did Carmina Gadelica ever rain...?' He tilted his head up, peering slightly upward. The weather was unusual for this place. At least, back when it was a legitimate map. What was usually a clear, starry night sky was now deeply overcast, as if in preparation for a violent storm. Then came a flash of lightning and the rumbling of thunder. And as if those two things were the cue, something in the swordsman's head clicked.
They couldn't have possibly be sent here to witness
that, out of all things, right?
Still, there was little possibility of him being wrong. Once he had started to grasp at the players' reasons for being there, Vance finally started to pay closer attention to the NPC's that were around them. Warriors and Wavemasters everywhere. Some gathered into groups. Others moving around in an organized fashion. This was the sight of a city that was about to engage in an epic battle to either fell some great foe or die trying.
He then managed to catch C's comment about the waning weather from afar. Indeed, her assessment was quite correct; the storm going on right now, for lack of a more poignant term, was complete weaksauce. It'd hardly cause collateral damage by the time it ran its course. What was Lanceor doing? If he was to destroy this city, as ordained by the game's lore, then he needed to do much better. A few beats of silence passed before he connected the dots to the overall oddity at hand.
'For fuck's sake... what, do you want us to instigate it or prevent it from ever happening in the first place?' At the moment, it was hard to tell. Whether they were to save or gently lead things to the way they were intended, it seemed that drawing out Lanceor from wherever he was hiding was in order.
Vance had wanted to meet Lanceor, and now he was getting his chance. What better way to do so than to encounter him during his deed of infamy?
He shot a glance toward C's direction; her group had amassed to three players so far. With great care, he sent another Whisper.
Vance Finiraldi: I don't know about that other guy, but that girl you're with looks pretty mousy. Be careful.
The implication of things to come, he hoped, should have been clear to her.
'Now to set the stage.'Once again, he glanced over his immediate surroundings, moving a fair distance away from the organized crowds of NPC's just enough to where he would, hopefully, not be spotted by any them doing what he was about to do. Slipping his casting hand, now faintly glowing with power, behind his back just in case, he silently called forth a power that would most likely bring attention to and confuse the God of Thunder.
Thunderstorm (Target: Area, Lvl.requirement: N/A)
Summon a thunderstorm to strike at enemies at random with lightning for over 5 posts.