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Dien
Exalted Player
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 1:59 am
Class: Blademaster
Location: The "Who's Online List," Stalking People...

Post by Dien » Sun Jan 28, 2007 9:59 pm

From: Dien
To: The Party
Subject: Re: Primal's Third Form
Message:
It appears that I'm actually inside Primal. I'm not sure all that that entails right now, but everything except my one- no, everything except his one eye is completely numb to me. As it stands, I'm helpless.

You mentioned two figures for HP: I can tell you that the lower one is close to where mine should be at my current level, but that's about all the help I can render from my knowledge. I do have a unique advantage from inside Primal, though: I can see things as he sees them, and I may be able to warn you if he's about to attack...but only by flashmail.

From here on, if you receive a flashmail, assume it's from me and move out of the way as fast as possible before taking the time to open it. If the title of the flashmail is, "MOVE," and it's from me, there won't be a message and you shouldn't have to read it after you've safely moved. I'll try to send them as precautiously as I can, but I can't give you any guarantees. Please trust me on this, it's the only thing I've got to help you guys with.

...God, this is awful. Don't think about killing me. If you have a chance to strike Primal, don't hesitate to rip as many hit points off of him as you can: I can take it.

Please guys, win.
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Image|||Level 35 Blademaster (+200 EXP)
Wishlist: EXP, Ends of Earth, Armor with Status Effects

Rayo
Exalted Player
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 7:21 pm

Post by Rayo » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:35 am

His own spell combination blast resulted in nothing, Primal almost seemed to pause momentarily but in the end dodged them both. No questions were readily answered by such a response; did Primal want to avoid having more electricity pulse around his body, or did the idea of being struck by the claws of the undead inspire greater concern? Either way, the blademaster’s actions made the choices decided upon by Primal irrelevant as it was beaten down a second time. The idea of turning on and off the fire pit, it was one complicated way to design what basically constituted a switch. Either way, this was reinforcing an idea on Primal’s capabilities to take damage. In the first situation, only two attacks actually made contact with Primal. The fist fighter’s skill dealt damage, but failed to do anything significant in the least as far as immobilizing the beast. Then, Zan’s attack which shouldn’t have been boasting anything far too different in terms of destruction capabilities, resulted in leaving the boss limp. The difference there was that the jungle gym had been removed, leaving Primal to fall from just one solid hit. In the second round, everything was dodged or negated with the exception of Dien lighting the pyre. The key thus far had been the manipulation of the environment in order to be able to take out their opponent with just one hit.

As far the door seemed to indicate, they would be at an impasse unless two more keys were collected and each time the monster rose again another one should be provided according to the theory. That meant that at any point the killer should sprout back up and launch after them. To provide a new battlefield for the new Primal, greenery found it’s way snaking up from the previous fire pits and along the surface by their feet. The height of the room proved to be questionable, but momentarily unimportant until it was used against them. The fact that the new additions obstructed lines of sight was a greater concern, the wavemaster wasn’t able to spot the team easily or completely. One of the missing members was accounted for by a flashmail; Dien had been swallowed whole the target of the mage’s growing wrath. This told them that they could be eaten, but not under what circumstances.

More importantly, Dien was able to somewhat track the movements by Primal in his current state. If the blademaster planned on warning them if Primal moved, the lack of warning suggested he hadn’t. Additionally, Nall’s eyes were functioning more than before and he also hadn’t called out a warning of the imminent doom accompanied by an approaching creature of the forest. Both of Primal’s earlier forms were fast, in this type of closed battlefield, who would win if Rayo tried to close in on him first? Naturally, there would be one ghost and an uncontested boss character moving freely about, warned by an approach vector on where the rest of the party might possibly be lying in wait. According to Dien, none of them were detected by wretched creature. Rayo also couldn’t see him, but if he treated this as an artillery strike…

Dealing a decisive blow while taking the initiative would be key; attacking while Primal couldn’t defend itself. Surely the threat would reposition itself if after the attack was done, so second attempts were out unless they could track the monster. On that note, the wizard was given a wonderful idea that was being put on hold for a moment.


“Request issued for Ap Ganz.”

Not wanting to waste any time, the summoner gulped down a Hermit’s Blood ended with a cough, and absorbed the energies of a Mage’s Soul through his other hand. Someone didn’t seem to mind his bluntness and lack of explanation, because a highly appreciated Ap Ganz was received from Zan without any delay. Weapons were exchanged for the Gaia’s Staff, leaving his chosen summon available for launch. The thought process behind his choice was already long done. Lanceor could result in an unwanted benefit like the second form, while Wryneck might be predicted. A change in elemental defenses to allow for an automatic defense from the sorcerer might already have went underway. Vulcan was just far too weak to risk using for an attack attempting to maximize damage potential, so the phoenix was eliminated purely off being attached to a lesser wand. Aiming towards the last known location of Dien and Primal, a location obstructed to the wizard but not unknown, he fired.

“Yarthkins! Yarthkins!”

Two conditions needed to be met for success, contact and damage dealt due to contact. An unexpected attack with a huge blast radius from an enemy not visible fulfilled the first beautifully. The boosts through items and spells made both the commoner’s magical attack and earth elemental stats rise significantly. Primal wouldn’t be enjoying itself from this.

The second phase of his plan now needed to be furnished with the proper tools. Turning to Phoenix and Hijinx while still addressing everyone present, the magician only hoped his selected participants wouldn’t object to their roles.


“I plan on blasting away at Primal without our two sides from ever needing to make contact. This forest like setting is a great boon for an opponent so obsessed with mobility. If we go after it, we’ll be cut apart. If it comes to us we can fight it adequately enough, but I want to avoid us having to hunt it by any method outside of the one I’m currently thinking up for the moment.

Hijinx, Phoenix… both of you have familiars and could easily cover a great deal of distance without wasting much time. Hijinx, if you could provide twelve different items, preferably associated with the numbers one through twelve, I’d like you, Phoenix, and both of your pets to place them equidistantly apart in a clock setting around of current location. They just need to be far enough that we can’t see them from here ourselves. Don’t be concerned about dying, we’ll resurrect you the moment you do if you run into Primal. I won’t bother informing Dien yet, but once we have these locations marked, our captured blademaster could spot for us through Primal and then we could launch attacks on Primal by hitting the area he’s waiting by without risk to ourselves. For that reason, it will be necessary to leave them out in the open enough that Dien will be capable of noticing them.

Between Nighthand and Nall, surely we could fend off any attacks on our base of operations if Primal closes in. If the rest of you, Zan, Senna, and Canti then joined in with me on blasting away every time Primal rests at one of our twelve designated locations, then we could injure him most effectively. We’ll be able to monitor our progress through Nall if he can keep track of the HP total. If Primal moves behind the scope of our blasting radius, we could add further locations branching out from those points, but given the limited size of the room and the fact Primal surely won’t stray too far, we can wait for that.

I’d like to ask for everyone’s cooperation on this please so that we can end this effectively. Hijinx, Phoenix, the ball’s in your court. If you don’t object, please proceed with Operation: Monkey’s Demise and report back here when the markings have been placed.”

ooc:

Blue: Ap Ganz, Ap Corma
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:04 am

Phoenix was in an interesting situation as Marionette declared that he does not care if the Freedom Fighters survive or not. The blademaster’s previous action was rendered pointless as the only choice was to fight or die. He hoped that the battle would end and let everyone go but that not was the case at all. For now, he decided to think about the current situation.

This battle has been weird since it began. Primal’s actions aren’t like a monster at all or even an Elite-lackey created monster. Usually they would attack their enemies immediately and relentlessly. With Primal, he doesn’t attack us like a monster. He waits for us to make an attack on him first and then make a counterattack that kills us in one hit. These tactics are more like a hunter than a monster of the World. Maybe. Just maybe we aren’t fighting a monster at all but a…

Phoenix’s train of thought was interrupted when Dien managed to defeat the second form of Primal. What’s going on, now?

The second form of Primal has been defeated by Dien. The landscape is changing greatly now. Suzaku changed back into her bird form as the pillars of fire are becoming giant trees. Phoenix got back up which a chill went along his back. This environment is strangely eerily familiar to me. Oh yes, the memories of almost being killed by Kurai. I probably never get used these jungle or forest environments liked I did before that incident.

Rayo suddenly attacked with a dual blast of the summon Yarthkins which Phoenix did not think it was the best course of action since because the nature of their opponent. Before Phoenix could go to talk with Nighthand and Nall about his insights, Rayo mention a plan to him. After hearing Rayo’s plan, Phoenix gave his thoughts about it.

“I liked this plan. I think you probably thinking the same thing that I’m thinking about Primal right now. I should mention that the declaration earlier was a way to end this without any more of you guys dying. Also I afraid that he would have two more forms after this which now I was right. Give me items one through three and Suzaku four through six once they're ready. I'm going to talk with Nighthand and Nall real quick.”

Suzaku, point me towards Nighthand and Nall and then go find Primal and report on his current appearance. The bird gave Phoenix a nod and flew into the air. She pointed towards Nighthand and Nall's current location before trying to find Primal.

Phoenix went towards Nighthand and Nall after his guardian left his side for the time being. After fighting the underbrush to get to them, he began talking to them.

“You guys probably want to stab me with what I did earlier but right now, killing me would be a bad idea. At least we know that Marionette doesn’t care what happen to us and fighting is the only way out of this mess. Before Primal started his massacre, I was thinking the same idea that Dien eventually did to defeat the second form. By looking at this door, I thought that Primal have two more forms after the second one which right now I’m partially right. That alone is part of the reason why I did that declaration earlier.”

Phoenix stop talking for a second as Suzaku was communicating to him by telepathy. Kazuma-sama, I found Primal and appear to have vines around him along with a venus-fly trap on its head. Also he has fins on his back, legs, and torso sections. His skin is covered with camouflaged stripes that match the current scenery. I’m heading back to you now. Phoenix quickly asked Suzaku a quick question about Dien. Do you see anything that looks like Dien in Primal? Suzaku gave a sad reply to Phoenix’s question. I am sorry, Kazuma-sama. Primal’s main shape has not shown anything that could be Dien.

Phoenix looked back at Nighthand and Nall and continued talking to them. “Suzaku has just told me what the third form of Primal looks like. From what she has told me, Dien has probably been shrunk since he didn’t die. As for Primal himself, we need to think about this in a different way. Instead of thinking him as a monster, we need to think of him as a human player and a clever one as that. His tactics aren’t normal for monsters and Elite-lackey monsters. We can’t attack him alone anymore as Dien’s current situation is proof enough that attacking alone equals early death. Rayo has a plan to attack Primal which is rather clever. I’m going to head back to Rayo now.”

Phoenix left Nall and Nighthand and managed to come back to Rayo’s location which Suzaku also arrived at the same time. “I placed the items which Suzaku did the same as well. She also told me Primal’s current appearance. He has blended well with the current environment with camouflage stripes on his skin. He has fins on his back, legs, and torso along with vines and a venus-fly trap on his head. It looks likes that Dien isn’t visibly noticeable on Primal. I don’t think we could save him at all. We’re better off killing him and resurrecting him than trying to save him. So is everything ready for this operation or the rabbit decided not to go with this operation at all?" Phoenix waited for the others to reply to tell him what he was going to do now.
Last edited by Phoenix512 on Wed Jan 31, 2007 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

Lord Canti
Exalted Player
Posts: 300
Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.

Post by Lord Canti » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:41 pm

(It was really hard to tell exactly...what it was they were suppose to do against this second form of Primal. As Canti overlooked their battlefield, he'd been trying to establish something more concrete in the pattern of the boss-monster, something more than the senseless darting from one fire pit to the next. Was it afraid of fire? If so, then why did it dash so quickly towards those little volcanic pyres? The demon didn't make any sense. It was more than the Twin Blade could immediately understand. However, before he could divine anything from the events and attacks of below, Primal decided to pay him a 'social call', a somewhat personal-looking strike involving the beast of lightning that The World summoned. Canti didn't look to mythological fears when it came to lightning. He only had one nemesis in lightning. Suraisu... As the bolts lashed into him, so soon after finding himself, the only thing he could keep on his mind was that desperate struggle with what Marionette called...The Blades. Why didn't anyone ever give him a straight answer about him? Nall wouldn't help and Marionette would give him no pleasure. Feeling the dregs of lightning's pain, Canti did not bother to move. He needed to think, and think carefully. Something was missing here. This battle couldn't be impossible. He was sure that he'd guessed the puppetmaster's plan right. Three words and three guardians centered around three communication Hubs. He heard Phoenix shouting out to their evil host, wanting to give in now, after coming so far. Canti seriously wanted to clock him one. Not worth dying for? This whole thing was the only thing they had left to LIVE FOR!! If they didn't fight the good fight here and now, they wouldn't be worth anything later. Much to Canti's sly amusement, Marionette seemed to share at least some of the Twin Blade's sentiment on this battle...)

realizE thaT whaT yoU seE iS noT whaT iS. mY allegiancE, whilE noT perhapS againsT yoU, maY noT bE witH yoU eitheR. youR failurE tO comE tO mE meanS buT onE thinG; thaT yE arE noT worthY. tO yE oF littlE faitH, mY minionS shalL withholD nothinG.

(That being said, Canti paid more attention to what was going on, his flight giving him a better view of the situation. Dien was more or less trying something innovative. He put out one of those fire pits with a Rue spell. Excellent. Maybe he could do that with a Gan spell, using earth magic to snuff the flames. But...wait a moment. Primal was reacting to that action, and the Twin Blade with the bird's eye view could see it clearly. Marbles... Marbles? No, not something as simple as that. These fire pits contained important artifacts, or pieces of him that had otherwise been separated. Canti didn't know for certain, but it seemed likely that putting the fires out could mean a really uber bad guy. Not a very keen idea...and he saw Dien doing it again!)

Canti: Dien, wait! You're not gonna get him that way!

(Too late. He'd been out of earshot. Should've PMed him instead, because now he was in the pit and Primal was following, fighting him madly for the next marble things. Wait... Madly? Frantically? Was this demon fighting just a little too real? Something was wrong about that... After it had defeated him, Canti overheard his conversation with Zan. The werewolf said that he reeked of Plures Vultus Mortis... When did that happen? Dien had taken an interest in that thing before, but how could he contract it? Seems alot of things were happening right under his nose. This is what he got for being so damn selfish in his ways. All this time, not only had Zan been in trouble, but so was Dien. Were all of his friends ailing as badly? He seemed to be the only one here strengthening. Not long after this talk, Dien went and found a better strategy in killing the damn Primal demon, activating the fire pit closest to him and FOOM!!)

Canti: Alright! Finally got him! Take that, nay-sayers and puppetmasters.

(Unfortunately, the Twin Blade had spoken too soon, as he sensed the approach of something nasty. A pod in the flames, turning everything green... The blasts were alot like his resurrection in the new, so that meant to Canti that this too was such an act, and so he stayed nice and wary. The fire pits became light pillars, and then the trees of a rain forest. Ah ha haaa... So, the bastard was playing THAT kind of game... With so many plants around, the new Primal would obviously be a plant, a wood-element creature. Confirmation of that thought came in the sudden attack on Dien, who had defeated the second Primal form. He was killed outright, eaten by that thing... Canti muttered something like "Feed me, Seymour!", only it was in shock, rather than amusement.)

I don't think any of you can see it right now, but there is definitely a third form and it's already taken out Dien. I... Don't know where Dien is, in fact. There's still something odd going on with this boss, and not all of it's stats can be seen, but I can see some things now. He has two HP totals; I don't know what that means. One is high; 6605 HP. The other is lower; only 330. I can't tell if he has SP or not, or much else about him... Just be careful. He'll be hard to fight in his own environment.

(It was pretty easy to understand, really. Primal had eaten him. A flashmail from Dien confirmed that he was actually inside or a part of the monster now, and that his HP was probably the smaller one of the split. How that helped them, they didn't know. Either this was like a two-part monster like in old RPGs where you had to be careful what you hit...or the thing was using Dien's HP as armor against attacks. He couldn't see any trace of Dien to avoid, however, and the Blademaster wanted them to attack regardless of the danger. Canti respected this...)

Canti: A man without fear... Gan Zot!

(Of course, even though he casted the wood anti-thesis twice in his spellcasting, Rayo had sort of overshadowed his acts with the summoning of Yarthkins. Let's just face it. Summoning spells were far more potent than regular spells. However, as Rayo began to outline a plan of his own, Canti regrouped to where he was and listened carefully. This could work... It had coordination, and the demon had a sure weakness this time. Though there was a definite chance that this would levy undue harm against Dien, it's what he wanted, so...that was that.)

Canti: I'll do what I have to...though getting around might be difficult. Incidentally, does anyone else think there's something off about the monster? It's just a feeling, but like Marionette's other guy, I feel like there's something big that we're missing.

OOC: Again, like with Dien's plan, I'm giving the go ahead to do as asked according to someone's "Mark!" to pile on the earth spells.
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.

Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Zan » Wed Jan 31, 2007 12:59 am

Zan's little plan of a spell-based, omni-directional assault ended up being fruitless, the jittery Primal too quick and too smart to be boxed in by the elements that ended up converging onto nothing. The lycanthrope wished then that it would all just fade, that it would all just end. The first phase of the boss had been enough of a pain in the ass, his body waging war with itself as he fought back the wave of the Many-Faced Death. The Heavy Blade had been reluctant enough to believe he'd make it through that battle, let alone the last three forms that undoubtedly lay ahead of them. Suspending the encroaching mass of the PVM with Ol Repths would only work so long. Zan really, really didn't know that he'd make it into or past the fourth. Already, only a third casting of the healing spell given, the Ol Repths were losing their original oomph. Somebody needed to figure out the current form's trick, how to catch it off guard and take advantage of its fear of the bonfires. When it happened, it came from a generally unlikely source. Dien. Zan considered the kid a good warrior, but a brain? No, he wasn't stupid; he was, in fact, too intelligent for his own good. It made him over-think things and completely miss the point of a puzzle.

But not this time.

No, Dien's smile held all the smugness in the world as he lit the bonfire pit, Primal's second form consumed by flame and eaten away into a virtual nothingness. Well...if it was nothing...were they done? Would they magically get the last three items they needed to finish off the form from the pile of ash it left behind? Some foolish, naive part of Zan believed it, believed that all was well and he'd have more than enough time and opportunity to take car of the secondary virus that churned within his bones. The smile on his face was short-lived. The eruption of green light from the fire pits told him only that more was to come. The ceiling becoming sky should have startled him, should have surprised him, but Zan was no longer moved by the sight of the outside within a building. Such seemed to be the styling of the entire field and, perhaps more accurately, a styling of the Elites as a whole. Sure, that was assuming a lot from a little, but it would be like them to take such a bizarre outlook on architecture. All of the apathetic disinterest with the field's metamorphosis was taken away as the light became trees, as the stone cracked with grass, foliage, and wrapping vegetation. The Beast in his chest that usually paced and waited, snarling, eyed the woodland and drew silent.

As soon as Zan had thought 'Beast', however, his Instinct corrected him. It wasn't simply the Beast that found itself eyeing the scenery with a sense of home, but the wolf. Although the lycanthrope had a tendency to separate himself from the wolf in a mental manner, it was him that sighed. As dangerous as the room was with all of its obfuscation for Primal, he wanted nothing more than lose himself within it. Thoughts of family, of children, and the smell of the true wilds distracted him, made him too frozen and too lost in his own bemusement to help (let alone notice) Dien's absorption into Primal's next form. How could that matter when there was wilderness to be immersed in, when there was prey to be hunted and consumed so that he could lay curled with a full stomach in the warmth of the sun with his mate and his pups? He could protect them here, could live a life free of worry or sorrow or pain. It was only then, coming back to his self, to his body, that Zan realized half of him would always belong to the serenity and freedom of the forest, away from the crushing oppression and cages of metal and glass that housed man. He knew that, even if he were to leave the game, that the Beast would always be a part of him. For the rest of his life he would be human, he would be wolf, but he would be neither. Forever to walk betwixt and between.

Dien's flashmail brought him out of his trance the rest of the way, blinking as the realizations flooded in. Shit. It had Dien. As much as Zan would have liked to say that the concern he felt was one he'd have for any of the Freedom Fighters, he knew that it was something he had been trying to avoid since Reinier's departure. To make real friends, true friends, in this game was a perilous decision. With the constant war they waged and the need to flux and flow from the group, it wasn't safe to count on anyone to really be there when you needed them. Thanks to the God damn empathic connection that seemed to have been forged thanks to the sharing of the PVM, Zan couldn't help but feel he was obligated to keep Dien safe. The pain that the Blademaster was feeling, his loss of Danielle (however temporary it may end up being), was the lycanthrope's fault. Well, Xenobia's fault more directly, but Zan's just the same. Sure, he had acted against Dien through a coded compulsion, but it wasn't like Zan to really place blame where it needed to go. Oh no, the Lycan needed guilt to drive him. Zan was afraid, truly afraid, to be free of such a thing. If he didn't have guilt or woe of some kind or another to tie him to the Freedom Fighters, he would find himself drifting from them. A part of him knew there were other ways, quicker ways, to break free of the coma then to trudge with the rag-tag group.

Shaking his head free of such considerations, Zan chose instead to focus on the task at hand. The recent Ol Repth had given him back the majority of his mind, freed from the pain and the buzz of white noise that might overtake him otherwise. That done, he should have been free to strategize around this new threat, the split of hit points. Initially, however, he was still bogged down and stumped (as he had been on the last form). What the hell could possibly be the weakness of something that seemed to look a lot like a mass of plant shit (from what little he was able to see of the mostly-hidden boss)? The obvious told him Gan, but everyone seemed to have that covered. Though Rayo had asked him to assist in the spell mass, after a use of Ap Ganz to aid him, Zan wanted to hit up another angle. After all, it was good to split up efforts to find a solution, wasn't it? That way they could really narrow down their possibilities. As much as spell spamming seemed fun, Primal had yet to be a creature of sheer hit points. Every form they had gone against had ended up having a puzzle piece that needed to be slid into place. So why not this one? While the others attacked it in more practical, more helpful ways, Zan chose instead to take an alternate route.

Before he risked himself, however, he wanted to get a quick flashmail to their mystery caller.

Flashmail!
To: Marionette
From: Zan
Subject: Alliance

Most of my friends are too wary of you to walk the path I am about to. I realize you're as dangerous to us as the Elites, in your own way. But unlike them, you don't seem to want to simply strike us down. No, you seem rather interested in staying neautral, in watching this game like a man watches a snake eat a mouse in its glass cage.

So here I am, asking you a simple question. I don't care what has to be done, not if it'll help my friends get the advantage they need against the Elites.

What can I do to get an alliance from you? If you won't do such with the group as a whole, do so with me. I can be your herald in the Freedom Fighters. I don't exactly like the idea of...working for someone, I guess it could be considered...but if it helps us lean towards getting you as an ally? It'll be worth it.

-Zan
Flashmail! End


It had come out of the weird altar of stone, had it not? Perhaps its grave would be the same place it had been birthed. Wading through the dense collection of green around him, Zan fought to get to the free space around the altar, finally coming to the sought-after clearing with a notable look of determination. If this truly was the place to find the creature's weakness, it would probably leap out at some unthinkable angle and take him down just as he was about to grasp its oblivion. That's how books worked, how movies worked. So how Zan, a kid barely twenty, supposed to think otherwise? Movies and books it was. Walking up to the stones, preparing to look down into the altar in the same fashion Dien had (ignoring the fact that his friend had been eaten or something because of it), Zan hoped he found what he was looking for. Sure, he had landed the killing blow that sent Primal to its doom on the first form, but he still felt obligated to help them all out, to end this so they could all rest. Maybe he was just being subconsciously selfish and, really, it was all about his need for rest and a solution to his illness?

Yea, that was probably it.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

User avatar
Senna
Awakened Player
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:28 pm

Post by Senna » Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:36 pm

Dien's warning had been heard and to a point understood, but it's like telling a kid that fire's hot. It's not until she actually feels the radiation of the flames, or worse, burns her fingers that she truly understands.

So it was with this. As Senna watched Canti get taken town in terrible, spectacular fashion, the spell so dazzling, Senna looked away, shielding her eyes, yet still wasn't able to completely avoid the swimming afterimages of the intense lightning. By the time she looked up, it was already over to Zan, who was falling to the floor even as their enemy reached the Wavemaster and took out his throat with simple, primitive grace.

She didn't get the pattern - there was no way to, not knowing who'd cast half the spells and knowing most had missed - but there was a feeling that Primal was just going to wipe them all out, a cold certainty that seemed to deaden her limbs even as she tried to bring up her spear into a better defensive position.

There wasn't time of course - it was just instinct, and then Primal WAS there, its hands (were they hands anymore?) grasping her by the shoulders as though it intended to shake her out of her stupor. But there was no shake, just the pressure of its grip and for a moment they were somewhat face-to-face.

It looked like it was crying.

All this was the impression of a fraction of a second. After that, she wasn't noticing much of anything. Dien had been right. Things did hurt now, and Primal seemed intent on demonstrating that better. Again electricity illuminated her vision, but it was far closer now. It traced from its origin down Primal's arms and across her, a thousand points of pain at once. Again she tried to scream. Again she couldn't. And it continued.

Three hundred and eighty hitpoints is quite a lot, as it turns out, when you experience it torn away one point at a time.

She wasn't even aware when it all ended. The pain receded, finally, at least a little, but her eyes didn't seem to work right. Nothing seemed to work right. Her body was screaming at her in two divergent veins. One was that she hurt all over in a way she never, ever had. The other was that she should prepare for when her body finally died, to move, to avoid the same thing happening again. It was going to wipe them all out-

Except she wasn't dying, she realized with a start as the first modicum of coherency began to trickle back into her mentality. Not dead, but in pain and she couldn't move. Worse than killed. Just made useless. Just set aside. It's amazing how humiliation can trickle through a hazy mind.

No, she thought. No. No! NO! It wasn't coherent words, even directed thoughts, just a most basic negation of it all in her mind. What was she negating? Being trapped here? Being stuck in stasis, unable to move, to help, to flee? The calm way the rest of them seemed to just accept this? She didn't know. She wasn't reasoning this out. No to all of it, to everything. No to being a stack of uselessness in this final room, having done absolutely nothing of value. Humiliation, ah yes. It was like Primal was taking her out of the game and setting her to the side. Before you hurt yourself, little kid. Let the adults handle this.

Frozen as she was (but no, that was part of the joke, she was frozen LAST time, this was paralysis), her field of vision was limited like a security camera's to what lay directly in front of her which, most of the time, was not what she wanted to be seeing. She could hear though, a cacophony of sounds that built on one another and fought with one another. She couldn't make out much except for the voices. People using spells, talking. The Phoenix speaking. She could only imagine his posture, his expression, but the words struck her, mostly since she didn't have anything else to do but think about them. He was giving up? And then to bring her name into it? Ask Primal to fix it? Call this an act of kindness?

She felt ill.

Then she felt a sharp blow, a spin of disorienting motion, then things went black.

What the...

And then it was back again, and THAT new sensation was followed, startlingly, by a hug which to the physical-contact-avoiding Long Arm felt really, REALLY strong. "Thanks," she managed to cough out before the hug-er bounded off. Then she turned unsteadily, just in time to see the culmination of Dien's plan, as fire enveloped the enemy. Senna felt some odd sensation, deep and savage, at seeing that and clutched her spear tighter, hugging it to her body. It got what it deserved. But...

She found the thought stopped there. Whatever it was, it seemed content to just irritate her mind. And as such things went, she soon found there were other things to occupy it as well. Such as the changes overtaking the room since Dien’s apparent victory. Pillars of green fire – that was a new one. And shortly, they were in a forest. A dense forest. Senna hopped to one side as a shrub began growing almost under her feet. Great. Another way for the elusive Primal to best them. First the grace in the bars, then the speed across the open floor, now what? Stealth through the forest?

She looked around, unnerved but unsurprised by her inability to see any of the others through the jungle that had sprouted. Warily, she backed up until her back was against a tree. Should she go searching for the others, or just stay put?

Staying put would likely be less useful, but it sounded safer. Further thoughts along this vein were halted by the arrival of a Flashmail, confirming one thought and adding a new piece of disheartening information. Senna’s fingers gripped the spear even tighter. If something had…

But that thought, too, was cut off by the arrival of another Flashmail, refuting what had her worried in the first place. At least to a point. Dien was still kicking in some manner of speaking. Nall’s Flashmail had sounded ominous. Though… it still could be. Just because Dien told them to disregard him in their attempts to stop Primal didn’t mean it was the right thing to do, did it? There were too many things to think about, and she felt paralyzed with it.

The ground was decidedly not paralyzed, as a pair of blasts – at least they sounded that way – shook the room. She braced herself against the tree as that was followed by a voice – the Wavemaster’s she through, and nearby – outlining a plan. This was a forest, and Gan spells would likely be most useful, but she had few SP and no Gan spells – it was, in fact, the one complete hole in her magical affinities. She picked through her spells, deciding on the Rue Rom. It would be simplest. If she could help. No, of course she could help. Every little bit helps. That’s what they tell kids, right? And so she forced her feet to go step by step, waiting for the mark, half afraid she wouldn’t cast when it came and feeling like a miserable coward.
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)

User avatar
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:48 am

The two summons and Canti's additional spell went off without a hitch; Primal's form unsuspecting of the attacks. Zan was the one to stumble on the scene; Primal had not moved from the fire pit that was Zan's destination.

As the dust and ash settled from the earth-based attacks and Zan found himself on the scene, an odd situation met his eyes. There was Dien, crumpled on the ground. No more would the blademaster see from the eye of their enemy. Or, until he was resurrected, would he do anything else. Before Zan's eyes, the crunched-up form faded into a ghost.

Primal, his camo-coated and vine-draped form visible for a moment, stood behind Dien. A trail of slime indicated that Dien had been recently regurgitated. As Zan watched, the boss seemed to shake himself off for a second, before disappearing completely into the underbrush.

Zan's brief glance into the fire pit would reveal one thing, but it was far from what the heavyblade had hoped. Nestled among the ashes was a single angular bar, one of the spikes that had once been driven into the chest of their previous form. It was somewhat obvious that this was their key, the second of four items needed to open the far door. In the end it was up to Zan whether to take it to the door now, or wait until later.

Flashmail!
To: The Party
From: Nall
Subject: Primal
I've lost track of Primal, but before he disappeared, I could see his HP. The smaller total disappeared after Rayo's attack, and the larger total dropped. It's now 6275.


And then Rayo was gone.

Little more than a minor rustle of the underbrush gave warning of the boss's approach, but by then it was too late. Rayo, the cause of the recent attacks on Primal, or at least the strongest of them, was targeted. Primal was once more engorged with the form of a character. The poisoned thorns on the vines had taken mere moments to dig into the wavemaster's flesh and deliver their poison, crunch his bones into nothing, and drag his form into the open maw of the fly trap.

Flashmail!
To: The Party
From: Nall
Subject: Primal
Now I can see Primal again, but I can't find Rayo. Dien's back. Also, it has two HP totals again. 6275 and 625.


Nall's flashmails were getting a little irritating, but at the moment, they were the only way anyone had of keeping track of this monster's HP total.

-------------------------ooc:

Short post, but didn't really require more. Rayo, same deal as Dien. Can't do anything aside from see out Primal's eye and flashmail.

User avatar
Marionette
Elevated Player
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:24 pm

Post by Marionette » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:54 am

Flashmail!
To: Zan
From: Marionette
Subject: alliancE

whaT caN yoU eveR dO? yE oF wolf'S crY, youR offeR interestS mE. finisH thiS. defeaT primaL. onlY theN wilL yoU bE giveN morE instructionS. speaK oF thiS tO nO onE. betraY mE noT, anD yE shalL bE rewardeD. forgeT mE, anD penaltieS shalL bE dirE.

yoU interesT mE.
whaT happenS wheN thE puppeT pullS thE stringS?

Rayo
Exalted Player
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 7:21 pm

Post by Rayo » Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:30 pm

Just as things were going so well… Phoenix had accepted his role and was only waiting for Hijinx to supply the items. Unfortunately, the plan took too long to come to fruition. The results came in from the first wave of spells and summons, but so did Primal’s counterattack briefly after. Disappearing and reappearing as he saw fit, this perfectly fit into the boss’s capabilities. Everything about this had been related to speed and mobility, and the outstretched vines proved to be no exception. The poison coursed through his body steadily, immediately taking away any chance to do anything. His body was stunned, and before anyone was able to sever the cords that bound him to his obvious fate, the wavemaster was consumed entirely.

The shape he was in must have been mirroring what his fellow victim had gone through. Unable to feel anything, hear anything, smell anything; all Rayo could do was access menus and see out of one eye. Still, the ability to communicate filled him in on the rest. If before there were two totals and now again there were also two, it didn’t take much to be convinced that one of those was him. The second total given by Nall matched his perfectly to the digit. None of their previous strikes piled up enough to determine what sort of endurance the plant beast had, but it only lost around 400 health points from a pair of summons and an accompanying spell. Had Dien’s stamina acted as a barrier for the strikes? Summons should hit everything, but there had been an exception in recent history. The black serpent in the cave had shielded the obelisk with it’s own body and prevented the summon from making contact if the blow was ill aimed. Had Dien been used the same way before? If so, each party member being gobbled up produced a temporary defense, thus acting not unlike a health boost each time. Under that reasoning the mage’s own consumption netted his opponent a sizeable benefit. Another 600 health to burn through would extend matters, and then once he was discarded Primal would take out someone else who was being affected.


<Nall

I need to confirm something. How many times did Primal’s HP drop during my barrage? Did Dien’s HP count drop simultaneously or do so first on it’s own before Primal’s own life was touched by the blasts? Please relay your answer to the others as well, we need to prevent it from utilizing us as reusable shields.

Rayo>

Wasn’t there anything else that could be done from the inside? His often scurried over menus were still available to him, so that was where the planning player started. This revealed tidbits of knowledge regarding his situation. His SP was intact, so either Primal couldn’t absorb it or just didn’t care about doing so. Likewise, the recently gained stat boosts were also in place, both the Ap Ganz and the Ap Corma. If the wizard was inside of Primal and they were still active, did Primal also have those benefits in place? The spell caster prepared another flash mail regarding a new idea, but this was addressed towards everyone. Someone might be able to take the idea the rest of the way.

<The Party

I’m not 100% sure, but I think Primal might be taking advantage of the stat boosts I was equipped with before I was…absorbed. At the very least they’re still being used to guard and empower me. If possible, it might be prudent to try to supply Primal with some bad food. If we can slip a negative status effect into his system, such as sleep or poison, we might be able to discourage him from devouring us or beat him from the inside.

Rayo>

Now came a different test, could the magician do anything magically? Obviously his physical acts were being impeded upon, but magic was magic for a reason, correct? They ignored many of the natural laws of the land by imposing one’s will upon others. Since the SP was still there, it wasn’t impossible to try some selective casting. OrGan Don was chosen from his weapon, but nothing. What did that prove? If the mage didn’t currently possess the sensation of feeling, how did he know whether or not it was even in his hand? Rai Kruz was picked next, one right off of his armor. No lightning bolts materialized either inside of Primal or outside either. The same question could be posed as well though regarding whether or not his armor was still on. The spells were listed on the menu, but the game might not have been able to register the change inside of his new location. There was one last type to be tried, one that was more firmly attached to his being than the other potential candidates. The blue magic didn’t bond the enchantments to his items, but seemed to do so to himself. The spells recently tied to his own soul were in a completely different category that those that were connected to a tool he used. The mage partially wanted to unleash the level three fire spell, and he would if his other test worked, but the link might not be strong enough. Instead by going with Rai Rom, a spell attached to his armor, long used, and bound to his digital existence, he would be relying on his oldest spell of Rai.

Nothing. Even the best justification and reasoning in the world didn’t amount to squat if the world, or in this case The World, didn’t feel the same way. Were his actions so tightly restricted that he couldn’t even get 10SP over from the supply depot to connect to his mind?
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty

User avatar
Senna
Awakened Player
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:28 pm

Post by Senna » Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:01 pm

The slow-creeping form of the Long Arm had finally come around the main obstruction between herself and what she hoped was the rest of the group – another of the large trees that seemed to be holding up the sky. As she looked through the dense underbrush, she could see that she had indeed reached at least one other – the Wavemaster whose voice she’d heard just before. There was a little bit of a rush of relief at being within eyeshot of others. Not that it had helped in previous moments, but humans are pack animals as a rule, and there’s a certain comfort at being in the company of others in a dangerous situation.

And then, as luck would have it, the danger came to them. Or rather, it came to him – to Rayo, at whose feet she assumed (based on past experience) blame for the room shaking could be laid. Primal’s new form, once it stopped moving, had grown into something more monstrous to her eyes than the previous two. It was apparently not a happy camper, out here in the forest, and made its displeasure known to Rayo with startling immediacy. Thorns and vines clutched the body, then its crazy plant-mouth took over, and soon the character was completely gone. Well, not gone –within the plant thing, she assumed, based on the flurry of Flashmails that were coming in.

She couldn’t have said why she chose to do it. It was as knee-jerk a reaction as one could possibly get, and if her faculties were even remotely in sync, they would have bid her make a hasty retreat from the spot before the thing saw HER too. With any thought, she would have had to admit to herself, she was scared of this thing, petrified of it, and if she could be anywhere else but in this room, she’d do it. But the truth of it was, she wasn’t thinking clearly. That thing had taken something from her, and now it was trying to take members from the party – first Dien and now Rayo? Which led back to the no-thought knee-jerk reaction – she charged out of the underbrush, hands instinctively seeking the Fairy Spear because of her lowered SP level. There was no real shout out of her, just a strangled sound of desperation.

This thing wanted to eat people, so the natural urge was to make it send them back up again. She’d never done anything of the sort, but in Health class in high school they’d done a section on eating disorders, and she remembered the teacher talking about how bulimics sometimes stuck things down their throats – a finger, a toothbrush, whatever – to incite the gag reflex. She didn’t remember it in a conscious way, but as a sort of general trivia, and now she put that information to use.

She slipped her grip on the weapon as she ran, letting drag and gravity pull it so her hands were near the point end, then leapt and brought it up and around, aiming the butt-end toward the thing’s mouth. She wasn’t even sure what made her do that, except for some strange mental picture that if she did shove her spear down its throat, she didn’t want to end up stabbing a teammate in the process.
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)

User avatar
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:14 pm

Flashmail!
To: The Party
From: Nall
Subject: HP
Rayo sent this to me:

I need to confirm something. How many times did Primal’s HP drop during my barrage? Did Dien’s HP count drop simultaneously or do so first on it’s own before Primal’s own life was touched by the blasts? Please relay your answer to the others as well, we need to prevent it from utilizing us as reusable shields.

So here's the answer. The first summon completely removed the smaller HP total. When the smaller one disappeared and Dien reappeared, the larger HP total dropped. As near as I can tell, the second summon did nothing.


Senna, finding herself alone against Primal for the moment, began to discover just how tenacious this foe was. She leaped and swung, intending to jam her spear into the gullet of the monster. But, she barely had the chance to make her strike before the counterattack was coming. The mouth snapped closed and the spear was shunted off to the side. Suddenly deprived of her plan, and her landing, she tried to regain control of her fall--

--but was quickly removed of that capability. Primal reached out a hand, catching her by an ankle and tossing her to the side. It didn't seem like it wanted to hide, not now; it stayed out in her view. Despite the fact that it could just as easily have slain her or disappeared into the underbrush. It was almost like Primal was challenging her, daring her to attack again.

Hijinx
Exalted Player
Posts: 591
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2003 11:28 pm
Location: New look, check it out!

Post by Hijinx » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:30 pm

Rayo's plan had it's faults, to be sure. The primary concern was that it didn't really kill people. In fact, it looked more like Primal ate them alive. While she wasn't above killing her own team members, thinking back to how quickly she had decided to smash Senna's vertabrae in, it was a little difficult to hit someone from outside their enemy. Maybe she would be better off letting Urbosh have at it. so far it didn't look like their friend was equipped to handle anything like him. After thinking it over more, Hijinx decided none of them really were. Maybe after this, a training session would be in order. Maybe they could even make a game of it! Still, that was a matter for another time, now was for paying attention. Then Rayo was plant food. Only one thing to do with that kind of problem, and it wasn't going to be any fun...

Running at a tree, Hijinx jumped, hitting with her feet and rebounding through the forest, never hitting the ground. Of course it sounded like a great idea at first, but then she remembered something about thick, jagged bark; it hurt. In fact, it hurt a lot. Every impact was met with a slight grunt and a grimace. Still, for a painful choice of transportation, it was reasonably effective. Hijinx arrived just as senna got tossed, using a repth to heal the damage her feet had taken and grabbing her pet off her back. It was high time he got put to work in this place.

"Urbosh, kill!"

The pet understood what he was expected to do already, his pliable yet lethal design was going to to put to the test again. The fist fighter threw him at the ground several feet away from the adversary, from there he shot tendrils out at right angles, those doing the same before firing upwards. What he had created was a box, one that was capable of acting from any number of directions at a time. Spikes made up of the gelatinous body fired inwards, each creating a cone that was meant to be unavoidable. Whether it was going to work or not wasn't something to be left to chance though, so Hijinx readied herself for a counter and moved towards their new friend. If he got out of that attack unscathed, she would just have to smash Primal into the dirt with her own fists. Failing that, nothing could stop the blob from firing another cone of spikes in her direction anyway.

OOC: Fun^^
Hijinx the Lucky Former Rabbit
Level 35.000 Fist Fighter
Equip: Fist Guards, Wyrm Hide, guard cap, Snow panther, silver bracers
Item: 5 ressurect, 2 antidote, 10 healing potions, 6 Emperor's Soul, 3 Raging Earth, 5 Ice Floe, 4 Gale Breath, Knights Bane, 10 Speed Charms
Money: 1103gp
"The problem with life is there's no back-ground music."

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:32 pm

Rayo’s plan took long to initialize as Primal ate the blue mage himself for the two earth summons earlier. In the process, Dien was purged out but he was in a ghost form at the moment. Hopefully Zan would resurrect him quickly before Phoenix would do it himself. Even though Rayo was eaten, the action revealed something about Primal’s eating habits to Phoenix.

It seems that Primal can’t eat more than one person at a time. And from what I remember about the HP total, the exact amount of damage that Primal took was from Dien’s total. Now if Primal is a venus fly trap, maybe killing him like a plant could be the way to go.

Phoenix began to climb up one of the trees using the scarce branches to reach to the top of the tree. Luckily for him, the branches were not going to collapse since he was very light because of his enhanced-gravity body. Once reaching the top of the tree, he used his Nightbright scroll to attack the sun in hope to kill off Primal by lack of sunlight but the attack was unsuccessful. The sun was still shining its light on the field as usual. Phoenix descended from the top of the tree at a very quick descend rate as he increase his gravity. Then as he got closer to the ground, he decreased his gravity back to his normal half-status to land softly on the ground.

Phoenix decided to see if freezing the trees would do something useful. He fired a Rue Kruz spell at the tree and the icicles only managed to wither some of the vines away along with some frost but the trees are going to stay for a bit. After observing the effects of the attack, he noticed that Senna was trying to attack Primal by herself. Phoenix just thought that Senna’s attack was going to do nothing useful which he was right as Primal just threw her like nothing. Then he noticed that Primal did not eat her like he did with Dien and Rayo earlier.

Why didn’t Primal eat her or kill her for that matter? What is he planning? Wait a second I think I understand this form.

As Hijinx saved Senna and began to attack Primal with her pet, Phoenix began to write up a flashmail to the party.

Flashmail
To: The Party
From: Phoenix

I believe that the only reason why Senna wasn’t eaten by Primal just now was that he’s making us kill our own party members. If he wanted to eat Senna, he probably would purge Rayo out and he would be at full strength. I think we should attack Primal with ice spells instead of earth spells. This place is more like the real world than the World and we got to think in the real world if we want to defeat Primal. I tested an ice spell on one of the trees and saw that some of the vines wither but the tree is still standing.

I believed that Primal could affected by ice in the same way. So I suggest that everyone get together and we all attack Primal at the same time with ice attacks. If everyone is together, we can avoid being eaten but most likely that Rayo would be killed in the attack. We can’t be alone this time. We must stick together or we die by digestion.

End Flashmail


Phoenix switched to his Singing Blade sword for its Rue Slash attack as he waited for everyone to get together so they could attack Primal as a team.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Zan » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:25 pm

Zan's eyes hovered over the mound of rock, the altar a peaceful and still thing in the field of combat and blood. There was indeed something within it, a piece of the metal that had pierced the heart of Primal's second form. The lycanthrope's first instinct was to stab it into the form, but something in him thought better of it. There was a different use for this. Through the forest his eyes peered, pupils magnifying and filtering through nonsense until the door to the Hub caught his attentions. Right there. That's where he needed to go. Zan's entire body was on edge as he sprinted through, his superhuman agility allowing him to bow and weave around offending branches with ease, something in the grace of it all whispering a truth Zan couldn't hear. When he had finally arrived, Zan lofted the hunk of metal (something that had, oddly, not weighed him down in his travel) and put it in the matching key slot, assuming it was going to simply melt it like that last one had. Turning away then, he focused his mind on the task at hand, at defeating the form that seemed to get off on absorbing his friends. Though it was true that the Heavy Blade had been minutely distracted during the fight thusfar, he had noticed that Dien had been...regurgitated...after taking damage.

The lycanthrope, banking on such being his ticket to getting Rayo out, waded back into the thick of the forest and the thick of the fight in turn. Zan could feel the PVM begin to slink back into his bloodstream, into his bones, and quickly called an Ol Repth before it could get too far. With that averted, if only for the time being, the Heavy Blade was again all eyes and ears on the boss creature. Though he was indeed studying its movements with an apt eye and honed reflexes, a part of him was still distracted by a feeling he had been unable to really shake sense the change of scenery. A distant part of him, dark and deadened by the presence of the Beast, called to the wilderness around him and reached to embrace it. Zan wanted that embrace, begged to be welcomed by Juk and all it entailed, but felt...was it rejected? No, it wasn't that. It was almost as if the element itself was simply just out of reach, looking to him with blatant anxiety in the same way he looked to it. Something in that moment breathed through his mind like an assuring weight, something that seemed to tell him that he'd be able to wrap himself in it if he only had patience. Time. Good things always came to those who waited, right?

Now free of the temporary distraction, Zan wondered how he'd come at Primal in its new form, what he'd do to make Rayo be heaved back up. Sad thing was, the Wavemaster was their only real source of returning to life. Oh, sure, Nall could do it in a heartbeat, but the bastard seemed more interested in studying the anomaly that was Primal than helping them live. He'd come to their aid if it was desperately necessary, but not before. Zan wondered how, powers aside, they had ever come to really follow him. As a leader, he sucked. Nighthand was not only powerful (quite shy of where Nall resided, but still), but had the skills and the vigor to back up what he did. Well, so it was most of the time. Right now the lycanthrope couldn't seem to spot him in the battle, but then again, he couldn't seem to spot a lot of people. The Heavy Blade would complain afterward about Nall's gaping, curious schoolboy-scientist look when they were all safe. No, he wouldn't really. No one would listen. Even if they did, Nall wasn't going to start being useful just because Zan had requested it. Sure, he had more clout than some of the others by sheer seniority, but that didn't mean that the Blademaster was ever willing to listen to any thoughts but his own.

It was then that the lycanthrope gave chase, body moving in sync with the flow of life around him. Each leaf that smoothed over him as he bolted was a welcome touch, like fingers of a parent welcoming him home after such a long absence. Even the Juk room hadn't felt this wonderful, so, what was different? Was the massing of the secondary virus stirring and shaking others things around in his head that he had almost forgotten about? Was it intensifying it that much more? Zan didn't have the time to consider such, Primal's form before him as readily as it had been elsewhere. Life Sword in his grip, Zan swung the blade, the strength of his Clabro infused. Sadly, like before, the green blur was just gone, whisked away by its own will before he could hope to land even a single blow. Well, damn, it was still a fast son of a bitch. Zan was fast, and faster still when he shed his human skin, but it wouldn't be enough to catch the thing that glided this way and that with an almost alien grace. Plus, that would requite the Heavy Blade to have access to his Garou, which at the time he found himself sadly lacking. Cracking his neck this way and that, Zan felt that last bit of doubt and unease slip away. He had to save Rayo.

----------------------------------------

His eyes closed then, calm becoming a soothing thing as it drifted through him, filled him. Only when his eyes opened did all of that go to hell. All he saw was darkness, and at first he had thought he had somehow been transported to Nonworld, but there was a palpable edge to the blackness. It was as if he was in a room that had simply been vacant of illumination, a less harsh place of shadows. Something beside him moved, a weak sound like a stirring mouse turning him to eye it as the door opened. The door? Looking, expecting to find the Hub, Zan instead found a familiar man, a scientist adorned with the expected lab coat and the name tag 'Gierin.' Zan didn't know him, so why did he feel he had? The balding head caught shine of the door's light, thin brown hair covering all but the top of his head. That small, weak sound turned him away, the light finally giving aid to its owner. Marilyn lay sprawled and nude along a concrete floor, body trembling as she looked to the man in the door. With her long, dark brown hair (so dark it was almost black, a trait that made Zan's heart and more primal things warm) covering her face as she looked at this 'Gierin', the lycanthrope knew it wasn't fear or even weakness that caused her body to tremor. It was hate. This was the man responsible for her cuts, her blisters, her pain. All of it was on him and the men he lead. Though she had not the strength to fight him as he lifted her onto the medical stretcher, hatred seethed and scolded off of her. Zan couldn't help but be shocked that he wasn't recoiling from its intensity.

The Heavy Blade was still deciding whether to be angry at her continued imprisonment or happy that they had finally come for her after days and days of starvation and only the smallest collections of water to keep her hydrated (and barely that). He whispered her name then, an idle thing meant for him alone, and it turned her eyes back to the darkness.

"Conner..." Zan's hand reached out then, a reflex that had their fingers almost touching.

So close...so close...


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And, as anyone with a brain would expect, the connection was severed. How it had been established in the first place was currently beyond Zan, but the Heavy Blade had other things to worry about. The flashmail that had been pulsing in his inbox was finally given momentary heed, eyes scanning over the contents as a dark acceptance settled in his stomach. It would be for the Freedom Fighters. He was doing it for them. Quickly deleting the contents, Zan made a mental note to contact the mysterious Marionette once he had gotten back to the Hub. What was important now, all distractions finally diminished, was Primal and getting Rayo free. Both hands coming to hold his weapon (something that was unnecessary for him, able to generally wield even Heavy Blades one handed with the Clabro's assistance) for added leverage, Zan shot at his target, flying through the air with momentum alone as he fell his weapon. Whether it hit or not didn't matter. No, Zan was more focused on continuing his assault, strikes made not simply to hit, but to cripple. Each attack was aimed at where humans had arteries; inner thighs, the neck, and the arms. There were more, of course, but Zan's brain limited him, extending to hamstrings in an attempt to make it buckle. The lycanthrope was too lost in his focus, his senses honing on each lash he made, to see if it worked. To finish his assault, Zan feigned a strike to Primal's front, using the momentum to roll beside the creature, coming up behind it to stab with all the might he could muster. If he was lucky, he'd hit the heart he was aiming for. If he wasn't, he couldn't. If he was jinxed, like he seemed to be so often, he'd probably hit Rayo.

One could only hope it was anything but the last.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

User avatar
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:39 pm

Senna wasn't attacking, but that was alright. Primal's lust for combat was quickly satisfied by a trio of assaults from slightly unlikely places. Urbosh, flexible form put to use, began firing sharp tendrils of himself towards their foe. While the speed of the boss made it easy to simply no longer be within the box in the first place, both Hijinx and Phoenix were waiting outside to make sure that an evasive maneuver would be met with harsh rebuttal.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

If Primal's plant-like form had been able to grin, it would have. This was the kind of intelligent combat it enjoyed, in this body. Terrain advantage rendered null, unable to stand still or move away...

Of course, there was more to the story than simply a trap well-planned. Primal, after all, almost had to have more tricks up its sleeve. Still, the plant-beast allowed a few of Urbosh's spikes to strike its form, before stepping away from the box entirely. While it's speed wasn't exactly the same as it had been in the second form, nor was it's agility the same as the first form, it was still superior to the blob in both. Urbosh's spikes were caught up in the tendrils of the boss as he jetted away, forcing the blob to lose shape or be forced to snap. Lose shape it did, and Primal tossed the creature off into the underbrush.

Phoe and Jinx, the unlikeliest of allies, converged on the boss. Phoenix with his Rue skill and Hijinx with her fists. Zan, too, joined the melee, his blade swinging with a frenzy.

Primal seemed to hesitate an instant, and that instant was all the blob needed. Urbosh didn't take kindly to being so casually written off, and took that opportunity to wrap itself around the legs of the boss. Thus hampered in his movement, Primal was the helpless target for the trio of attacks.

Attack after attack landed, the trio taking this change to push all the damage into the boss they could before it's inevitable counterattack. Little did they know, while Primal stood still, his counter was already underway. A twitch of a tendril, was all it took; the trio fighting wouldn't even notice the pinprick that stung them each in turn. Only when their swings grew heavy, their mobility dropping, would they notice the small thorns sticking out of tiny wounds. Poison of a different sort coursing through their veins; not the calculated numbing needed to absorb a victim, but a more random poison.

For Phoenix, the poison was quick to act, fast to show it's effects. A sealing of air passages, a degradation of thought, a tainting of blood; the blademaster would be dead within moments.

The same poison, striking a different system at a different time, would show much different effects in Hijinx. The fist fighter would, rather quickly, regain the strength in her arms, the ability to control her body. Except... something would be changed. Now her fists struck with less force. It was as though everything she fought was now imbued with physical tolerance; an immunity to her strikes.

Zan was hit perhaps the hardest of all. His body already ravaged by disease, the poison set to work with horrid speed, wrapping his body in a flare of pain. Every nerve was on fire, vision turning red with fear and rage and pain. Not a wound showed on the man, the thorn falling out and flesh healing up, but to him, he felt flayed alive.

Still, the trio's damage was done. Primal sank to a knee, clutching a hand to a stomach. They would witness what became of their partner, their Rayo, as he emerged in a broken and slime-covered mess from the maw of the boss. Barely had he touched the ground before he had ghosted, and a change came over Primal once more. He stood tall, as though the damage had done little to him.

Nall's report, a quick flashmail, would come in. Primal was now invisible to his senses, though not to the eyes the trio had. HP 5650, was the total Nall reported from the instant before he vanished.

Kicking Urbosh away once more, Primal selected his treat from among the three. One was dead, and one was no threat to him; Zan, writhing in pain, would be the delectable this time.

Primal's tendrils reached out, catching up and jabbing into Zan. The numbness that came over him was a blessed relief from the pain, but the dull snaps that he knew to be his bones being crushed made the blessing somewhat cursed. The maw opened and Zan was to be consumed, but... he found himself, immobile, on the ground.

Nighthand had followed Zan, after having made sure the second lock had opened. It had indeed, with the same melting flash as the first key. He had watched from the edge of the clearing, knowing something else was going to happen, powerless to stop it immediately. When the boss began to consume Zan, he took his chance to attack.

Absorbed in his food, Primal was unawares of what befell him for a bare moment before he realized; the offending tendrils had been sliced, the heavy attack from Nighthand both releasing Zan and severing the weapons used against them.

The Nightblade loose in his grasp, Nighthand watched, waiting for the boss to make his next move. What could he do, now that his weapons were gone?

The answer was simple, had he thought about it. The overgrown plant would come with defenses against this sort of thing. The severed tentacles were severed no longer; the pieces still wrapped around Zan were crumbling to dust, and new ones sprouting with equal speed. Seconds was all it took, for the boss to be renewed.

Seconds more was all it took for the small thorn to dig into Nighthand's shoulder, releasing it's poison into him and halting all motion of his body. Paralysis, like what had struck Senna before, only not so easily cured.

Seconds beyond that, and Nighthand had taken the place of Zan, caught up in the tendrils and helpless to stop it, his nearby allies either dead or helpless as well. He followed Dien and Rayo into the nothingness that was the numb oblivion inside Primal. There was no question now of where the players went, though the 'how' of it was a challenge to answer.

With Phoenix and Rayo dead, Hijinx unable to deal physical damage, and Zan numb to everything, their party was significantly depleted. Nighthand absorbed meant one of their strongest members was out of the fight, at least for the moment... So what were they to do?

Nall's flashmail came in, once more. Two HP totals; 5160 and 1050. Nighthand was missing from action.

--------------------ooc:
Primal's poison lasts for one round; that is, until next thursday. Except for the death effect; Phoenix is a ghost and able to be resurrected. The paralysis that struck Nighthand would have lasted for a round, as well as the pain that struck Zan, had they not been usurped by the stronger Consumption Poison. The Null Poison which affects Hijinx lasts for the round as well. The exception is, if the player affected is either consumed or killed.

Post was late due to headache and long thursday. But here it is. Enjoy?

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