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

Post by Hijinx » Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:39 pm

"Missed again!"

Hijinx smiled cheerfully as she sidestepped another charging slash from a gargoyle, slapping it in the back of the head as it sailed by and making it slam into a wall. No matter how hard they tried, the creatures just couldn't hit her, and the number coming at her seemed to be growing with every dodge. The count was up to three now, and with a disapointed frown, the fist-fighter wondered how she could level the playing field for a few seconds. Snapping her fingers and grinning, she flipped backwards several times and ended in a handstand. If her feet were too quick for them, then they would just need a better handicap. The only problem was that now she would have to start fighting for real.

As predicted, the monsters took the chance to come in for another swipe, each of the three taking a different angle and height to avoid collision. With a hard push with one hand, she launched herself upwards, flipping around in the air and grabbing the highest critter with her lower legs. Another twist gave her the angle she wanted to grab the other two by the back of their necks. Spinning forwards hard, she pitched the captive of her right hand into the darkness, followed by the one in her left , with the last of them following a split second behind. Hijinx laughed as the triple thud of her enemies slamming into the walls resounded through the caves. Of course they would be alive still, but probably angry and injured too. Keeping a vigilant eye on her surroundings, she waved at nighthand and smiled while she waited for the reprisal.
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."

ryok
Elevated Player
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 6:38 pm
Location: Unknown

Post by ryok » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:23 am

-“Ryok, use your thunder skills! Everyone, avoid magic and focus on thunder based skills!” His legs tightened as the charm touched his stats. The speed he always longed for being temporarily given to him through a charm he was very familiar with. A tingling sensation filling his entire body as his inner elements were shifted. It was indeed a considerable change from his normal focus on fire. His elemental stats now resembling the mage’s, more then his own, as his thunder element rose sharply. He looked down at the handle of his Demonic Blade and then switched it out for the Light Giver. Pulling the newly equip weapon from it’s diagonal position across his back he moved instantly into a defensive position. The butt of the handle sat on his hip, the blade pointed across his chest. Not being able to see the creatures through the intense darkness meant sensing them in other ways, which meant his reactions would slow considerably. It wouldn’t stop him, but it would hurt his chances of defeating any of the remaining monsters.

-Ryok closed his eyes honing in on any of the slightest noises he could sense. Hoping to pick up any hint of a threat he listened. It wasn’t just that easy though. With the sounds of battle all around him he had to concentrate and hear past them. Nothing came, but something else did alert him to eminent danger. That was the ground under his feet moving as the weight of a gargoyle stepped close to him. His eyes opened, just then realizing that it wasn’t so wise to keep his eyes closed. He could clearly make out its red eyes at such close range through the darkness. Though it wasn’t much help because the creature could easily have moved in on him without him seeing such a small detail in the dark. The creature jumped forward knocking him partially over, and down on top of the monster. It went into a bull like rhythm as it hopped back and fourth frantically trying to get ryok from its back. Falling from its back he landed on his face. Lifting up from the ground he wiped the dirt from his face and looked back in the direction of the gargoyle. It had already gone.

-The fairy had gotten closer to him and he could now see quite clearly. The monster strolled back into view after planning out its next strike. Ryok stared it down as it started at him at full speed. Ryok was ready though he had it all planned out. He ran forward stabbing his blade into the dirt and using it as a pole to clear the creature as it ran blindly toward him. Normally he wouldn’t have made the simple jump because of the class he had taken, but this time he was boosted by an Ap Do spell. Landing successfully on the other side of the monster he ripped the blade from the few inches of dirt it had sunk into and spun around. With the blade horizontal to the ground he aimed low, but went to low. The blade cleaved the two right legs off of the creature rendering it harmless. Slumping over on what was left of its two right legs it shimmied its left ones back and fourth trying to get away. Ryok casually walked up to the crippled monster smiling down on it with an evil grin. Lifting the blade up above his head he let it fall unto the remained legs. With the creature fully crippled now he turned, from its still living torso and head, to seek out another more suitable opponent.

-It wasn’t long after he journeyed off into the darkness, without the aid of the fairy, before he was attacked again. Though this time he couldn’t have planned a counter-attack and he was sure to get hurt. His sword rose, as the sound of a heavy object left the ground. The wide blade shook with vibrations seconds after, as the creature’s paws flew past the accidental defense and struck both of his arms. He pushed down the on the gargoyle’s skull forcing its body to the ground. He applied extra force to it so it would stay still for a few brief seconds that his blade would leave it to recoil and strike it. Lifting the blade he dropped to back down on to the creature’s skull.

-“Rai Smash!” His blade emitted a golden yellow glow, as it took on the properties of a stick of metal with a current running through. The spell amplified through the use of Ap Raio on him and Dek Raio on his enemy. The element coursed through the gargoyle’s body as he lifted his blade and struck the monster again, and again hoping to apply the attack as many times as he could before the attacks effect ran through. He stood another now down and out.

-His body shifted to the sounds of fighting as he took his surroundings in. He had all but forgotten the little ball of light until the area around him lit up and his target became clear. Turning toward it, he realized it was too late, because it had already picked him out as prey. He swung a panicked early swing, missing by several feet. The creature’s mouth hit his hyper extended arm knocking his already displaced weight backwards. A dirt cloud emitted from the place of impact. The sound of metal on the creature’s crystalline skin erupted from the middle of the fading cloud. Ryok’s blade sat on the back of the gargoyle’s neck, it’s mouth wrapped around his thin arm. Grabbing the blade with both of his hands he pulled it vertical to the ground again. Letting out a stressful sound he pushed it back down onto the creature. It let go. He pulled his arm from its face pointing the blade back toward the creature’s backend. Twisting his stiff abdomen he reared it back and swung. Another clang ensued as the monster disappeared into the darkness. Dropping his blade onto the ground he lifted himself up with his good arm cradling his injured. Managing to raise to his feet he pulled the blade back up. Thoughts of dying in a place like the one they were in filled his head, quickly dissipating as he remembered whom he was fighting along side. It wasn’t helping that he was being hurt every five seconds though. He knew now that he had to receive the least amount of damage while still dealing enough to help the party. Stopping for a moment he listened again to his surroundings. The clear sound of the previously fallen monster getting to its feet, and another, which seemed as if it was running toward him? He had to fight smart, something he rarely did, but if he set himself to do it he could. He raised his injured arm a few inches to point at the ground next to him.

-“Vak Rom” He whispered into the cool air of the room. The dirt in which he stood glowed a dark red color as the attack started. Slowly the air around the glyph twisted around the area flames flickering in the air here and there. The air around ryok and the blaze raising several degrees as the tornado started. Light and heat billowed out of the flaming inferno as it roared. Ryok turned and looked through it to see the creature he had knocked off him half inside of the storm. It stepped closer to him, engulfing itself in the flames. Turning ryok brought his arm across grabbing a hold of his blades handle and swinging it in the opposite direction. He hadn’t forgotten the second gargoyle. His blade caught the side of the midair gargoyle’s head, a simple Rai Smash spell being whispered to help boost the damage being dealt. The creature hit the ground, a thud reaching ryok’s ear several seconds afterward. He lifted the blade up and drove it down into the creature’s bowels as the gigantic reflection of his spell started. The wind picked up considerably compared to that of the weak Vak Rom. It was now a level-three fire whirlwind, OrVak Rom. The fire sparked, ryok pressing his hand against his chest as the potentially deadly spell ensued. As the flames spiraled down to the storms start ryok released one more spell that he hoped might save him.

-“Ap Vaks.” He smiled as the wind took hold of his body and whipped him around in circles. His arms flailed uncontrollably as the flames scorched his body. He couldn’t breath, each second passing the oxygen in his blood lowering. Each inhalation filled his lungs with smoke. His unmoving body hit the ground, charred. It was all over in the blink of an eye, and he had just let his fourth victim slip past him. His ghost rose up from his dormant body. He stood stoic, and unmoving…

(OOC:That’s five so far. -_- If anyone needs to know how many are down)

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Ryok| Lvl. 27| Heavy Blade| Demonic Sword| Kagayuzen| Fire Bracer| Suzaku Fiery Pants
Karin| Kannon| Miu Lei| Vak Rom| Vak Don| Dek Vaks| Ap Vaks
Skill Drain| Death

Wish list:Black Sharp Angelic Wings| Time Headband| Unique Weapon

Tokki
Enlightened Player
Posts: 133
Joined: Wed May 28, 2003 9:17 pm
Location: Level 29
Contact:

Post by Tokki » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:58 am

Tokki followed her comrades at full speed, pursuant to the sounds of the snarling monsters they now seemed to be facing-- facing in a distance she soon realized would never come into view through any conventional means to say the least. With no spells or items with the ability to ignite a fire, nor the elemental prerequisites not to double over in what she could only imagine to be gut-wrenching pain due to her affinity to the source's opposite, she opted for a blind groping of the air in front of her as she descended. This was keep her, rather hopelessly I might add, from speeding into a wall or the floor below at 30 miles per hour. Fortunately, since with the depth the hole began to lose it's radiance, the entrance had stayed relatively straightforward with only a couple minor close calls where the long arm's premature "ice-barrier reflex" kept her shoulders and the sides of her milky visage from scraping violently against an earthen well wall. Instead, a partial sphere of ice materialized between the close points of contact and the oppositely traveling surface she nearly collided with.

As the path stretched on, and Tokki's cobalt wisps of hair blended more and more into the hue of it's surroundings due to the lack of a light source, her immense focus upon keeping herself afloat got less and less necessary-- lending her powers to other facilities within her being. Almost as if by natural reaction, her eyes, deep pools of cerulean mist soon began to glow characteristically in the all but subtle darkness, giving the monarch of the everchanging flow of water a bright blue watercolor picture of the very passageway she travelled through. It was unbelievable, for the girl would never have thought that her still impossible to control reaction to a prolonged use of her ability would ever come in use. Often times when it would occur, she would be in a state of unshakable combat focus that never allowed her to fully realize her very pupils were growing brightly until after it already had begun to dim once more.

Soon enough, Tokki began to slow her descent significantly as she felt the air begin to change in density because of the room widening below her. The trained warrior calmed her anxiety, putting a significant relief upon her nerves as she lowered to the same depth as her teammates. In turn, the bright glow of her piercing blue eyes extinguished before anyone could notice her prescence behind them. The element of surprise still belonged to Tokki; mistglaive gripped tightly in her right hand, she sped across the cavern floors towards two of the Gargoyles slowly advancing upon her confused comrades. As she neared her prey, those orbs began to glow and undeniably all would be alerted as to her presence. Unfortunately for her targets, by the time they noticed, it would already be too late to prevent the seismic assault upon their midsections.

Passing between the two bodies of bloodlusting gargoyles, Tokki committed to a full 360, lashing out with her now scythe-shaped weapon. The sharp blades cleanly sliced through the left underarm area of one gargoyle, and delved deep into the chin area of the other. When the mistglaive's blade retracted from the gargoyle's mouth and exited stage cheek, shortly after followed with a disgusting purple and navy blue gargoyle tongue and a river of thick blood whose color could only be described as a grotesque red filled with darker coagulated chunks.. Tokki turned her attention immediately towards the gargoyled injured at the left arm pit. Her glaive withdrew to a position floating at her side, and, seemingly out of nowhere, the sound of flesh and bone being sliced cleanly was heard. Tokki stood calmly, simply eyeing deep her target which had deigned not to make any further movements in advance. Seconds later, the clawed beast fell into what looked to be at least 12 pieces before her. The weapon, returning to Tokki's side immediately, was the crescent-shaped ice platform now spattered occassionally across it's transparent surface. The long arm about faced, and immediately smiled ear to ear at her old comrades.

Almost immediately, her eyes began to glow brightly. "Shall we?"

Behind her, the now tongueless gargoyle had pushed itself to it's feet once more, and planted a large, clawed foot hard into Tokki's spine, sending her skidding along the floor amongst the rest of the small group of freedom fighters. She sputtered mildly, and sprayed the stone floor below lightly with blood. Wasting little time, she stood and faced the monster that had dealt the first row of pain she had felt in quite a long time. Her eyes were narrow, and her now blood stained lower lip actually quivered at the thought of the blow she had just received.

Tokki didn't have enough time to even ponder whether or not her comrades were as shocked as she was that her speed was matched-- possibly surpassed by a mere dungeon monster. Heavily reliant on evasion and speed, Tokki didn't put too much into the stock of her physical defense. This strategy has proven very reliable throughout her time trapped inside The World. As such, only a handful of times in her time within the game has the elusive long arm ever had to feel the realistic pain that many of the freedom fighters must endure with each fight.

There's no way any regular monster in a field like this could strike me from behind without me even knowing. That kind of speed is unheard of in monsters like Gargoyles. Unless...

"The only logical explanation for this is that somehow, the lower the evil beasts health before before dying, the faster it becomes." Tokki squinted in pain visible. Between gritted molar teeth, all could see another trickle of blood drip out and around her gums. "And by the feel of that blow, the stronger it becomes as well. I could be wrong, but don't give it the chance to prove my theory!"

Tokki spat a globule of now thinning blood at the floor, before making a further addendum to her warning.

"For those of you who scoff at my presumptuousness, you must not know of me. So I can do little but assure you that if anyone should be surprised at being outclassed in speed, evasion, and wits, it's the long arm in front of you. It is in your best interests to heed my words well."
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Tokki | Lv. 29 | Long Arm | Mistglaive | Kagayuzen | Time Headband | Rue Repulse | Rue Doom | GiRue Kruz | Rue Rom | Death | Ap Do | Miu Lei | Gan Don | Life Drain | No Damage | MeRue Rom

Wishlist: Undecided

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

Post by Rayo » Fri Jul 21, 2006 8:48 pm

The wizard was filled with partial delight from something good actually happening, they had received back up. The group had all been told Tokki was supposed to arrive at the field, but the mage had wondered whether or not it would come true by the time they were against their third obstacle. Still, an extra pair of arms would help finish the battle much faster. Already around half of the beasts lay scattered on the floor, evening the numbers out and making it almost appear balanced.

Almost…Tokki had been hit but once and sounded shocked. The wavemaster didn’t think she was badly injured physically, but her pride seemed to be. Still, these weren’t normal circumstances. The party was surrounded, the enemies quick to begin with, and the lighting was poor at best. Those same conditions were the reason he had yet to summon Bell, her increased speed wouldn’t be of help here. The grunty could just as easily slice up a party member as a monster, not the sort of situation to charge around recklessly in.

Furthermore, Ryok had been taken out by the crystal beasts…even with his boosted speed. Still, the environment did limit the advantages the swordsman gained there, and the Dek Raio/Ap Raio combo only boosted his offense in this situation…his defense and stamina could only keep him alive so long while acting as a tank without good recovery.

Checking his SP gauge, the mage noted the count at 43 before going through his list of spells, searching for the only ones that would end up being much help. The majority of what he could cast couldn’t help in any way, which left support abilities. Selecting the one revival spell that the game offered, the healer simply snapped his fingers in Ryok’s direction.


“Rip Maen.”

Angelic feathers descended on the ghost, once again merging the transparent image with the physical body, allowing the heavy blade to be useful again. So long as the party didn’t allow people to remain dead for long, they would win the battle of attrition. Death only became a factor once the ability to counter it was overwhelmed by an amazingly high death rate. The occasional fall of a warrior wouldn’t limit the team, especially since their ambushers couldn’t perform the same trick.

Acting immediately once the SP count made it to 10, Rayo motioned at the risen fighter, not wanting to lose the chance to continue with his strategy. Choosing the only other support ability that would help, his newly acquired spell, and perhaps favorite of these mysterious additions would be no surprise to anyone paying attention.


“Ap Raio! Okay Ryok, enjoy round two!”

This time the lightning user managed to get close enough to be caught in the area effect of the spell, not that it would help him much right now. If anything, it was just an added bonus in the form of precaution. Not knowing if anyone else was close enough to take advantage of the boosting spell’s third appearance in the battle, the caster didn’t care. His SP was empty, his items on hold until it was absolutely necessary.

The Apocalypse Rod wasn’t something that agreed with him…darkness spells just weren’t his style. The primary statistical arrangement was also disappointing, with such a heavy emphasis on darkness and not on his own native magic. The stick would not be used for enchantments unless the situation was most dire indeed…

However, the disagreeable weapon did have one favorable characteristic, a plus two for physical attacks and the additional five points for the corresponding accuracy. The latter would matter little except for pinpointing the vitals with the most ease, but the first part was slightly better than the comparable wands.

Looking down, the lame gargoyle tried to stand, but those nerve messages would never make the full journey, for Ryok had split this creature, leaving it’s lower body a stone’s throw away from the mage’s victim. Raising the blunt pole over his head, the rod crashed down on the creature’s skull, again and again, until it eventually grayed and faded completely from view a good two minutes of beatings later.


ooc:

The death count should be at seven now…
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 » Sat Jul 22, 2006 8:05 am

Phoenix was somewhat glad that Nighthand decided to take the path that he has chosen for the group to take. As the group walked the path between the yellow trees, he noticed that the path was being sealed up behind them with jungle. I guess we can’t go back the way we came. I guess the hackers designed this way so people can’t change their minds about the path they have chosen.. The group walked for hours on the path along with the heat being down on them. Phoenix still wished for just once that they could go somewhere cold. Not hot or rainy but cold. Then the group managed to come to a structure which was a well that contain a fairy inside it. With no other path to continue on, the group went down to the well which could have been a trap. Phoenix thought the fairy could be like his own guardian, Suzaku who has advanced intelligence.

The blademaster reached down to the bottom of the wall noticing that the only light source was the fairy itself. There was no way for them to generate light like a torch for instance. They could not even go back up as the ladder disappeared like the jungle that was created behind them. It has been designed to keep the group moving on the path. With no other choice, the group followed the fairy into a cavern that contain a dozen crystalline gargoyles. Phoenix knew this battle was going to be tough with the cave being in total darkness. He decided to switch from the Matoi to the Mehnir Sword for the Vak Crack skill since hitting them with a rocky sword would not help him much. He was about to attack one of them when he noticed that Rayo used his magic on them but it had an unexpected effect. The spell was reflected back at Rayo at stronger intensity.

Then he saw Rayo casting more spells at the gargoyles which just were reflected back stronger than before and eventually kill him with a souped up Lanceror. Phoenix just could not understand why the mage continued to fire off spells at the monsters when it would be reflected back at him. He knew that Rayo should have been smarter than that but maybe it was the darkness that drove him insane temporary. He knew that resurrecting Rayo would be pointless since he cannot help the group without killing himself or the others in the process with his magic but then he notices Ryok reviving him. I guess Ryok doesn’t realized that Rayo is useless in this fight.

Phoenix noticed that Rayo was casting a bunch of Dek Raios at the gargoyles which it was to help Ryok and anyone else with thunder physical skills. He heard Rayo saying that they should avoid magic and use thunder based skills but he does not have any thunder physical skills since he is a blademaster. Thunder is one of the two elements with wood being the other that all blademasters do not have as physical skills. At that moment, Phoenix noticed that two gargoyles were heading towards him with just the eyes alone. He reduced his gravity to half and focuses his gravity powers on one of the gargoyles to stop all his movements. Then he went towards the other gargoyle that was in the air and used the skill of Vak Crack to attack it. Phoenix’s sword was enveloped by a red flame and directly cut off the left arm of the monster.

Phoenix increased his gravity long enough to quickly descend back to the ground before the monster could attack again. He reduced his gravity again and decided to use Vak Crack again on the one-arm gargoyle since he still had the other gargoyle with the heavy gravity. He knew he was going to have some pain in this battle because of the total darkness. At least the long trek here gave him time to recover from using his powers on the monkeys. The second Vak Crack attack was targeted on the gargoyle’s remaining arm which it was successful in cutting it off. The gargoyle was now confused on how to attack Phoenix without any arms. The Master of Gravity took advantage of the confusion and chopped off its body from its legs. Then he walked towards its head and lifted up his right leg. Phoenix increased his own gravity to crush the gargoyle’s head with the force of about a ton.

The blademaster focused on the gargoyle who has been suffering with the increased gravity being forced upon it. Just now, Phoenix has been feeling the pain of prolonged use of his powers on other things. He knew that he had to finish the gargoyle off quick before the pain will make him unable to do anything. He once again reduced his gravity to half and systematically disables the gargoyle being chopping off its arms and legs. The gargoyle was limbless and was under the complete pray of Phoenix as he raised his right leg and smash the gargoyle’s remaining body with the same force that killed his comrade.

Before Phoenix could regroup with the others, one of the remaining gargoyles made a sneak attack on him. The gargoyle scratched his back which hurt him greatly as the pain from the gravity use added to the pain of the attack just now. He quickly turned around to attack the gargoyle but the speed of the gargoyle was too great as it made multiple attacks which hit him on his left arm and right leg along with the midsection. Phoenix could not get a lock on the gargoyle to stop its movements with his gravity powers as he was pounded with attacks. His life was near critical which he casted La Repth on himself as the light from the spell managed to find the attacking gargoyle.

At that moment, Phoenix used his gravity powers at full force at the gargoyle. He already was beginning to feel the pain of the gravity powers as he used Vak Crack on the gargoyle. The attack went down the entire body of the gargoyle splitting it in half but it wasn’t dead yet. It still could not move its body as Phoenix did multiple slashes on the gargoyle to finish it off.

After the death of the gargoyle, Phoenix went down to one knee as he realized that he was tired and could not handle attacking another gargoyle. He wants to rest up for the possible battle at the hub. Suddenly a lightbulb came on in his head as he thinks that the hub could the fairy itself or someone that’s related to it. He took a health drink to recover more energy just in case if a gargoyle showed up to attack. Phoenix would be glad to get out of the darkness and could be able to see again without the help of the fairy.

OOC: Dead Gargoyles is up to ten now.
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

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 » Sat Jul 22, 2006 5:59 pm

Nighthand stood and watched it all, much like Nall was doing in the other field. He, however, wasn't doing it just out of some sense of pride in the group. He basically didn't want to get hit by the spells that Rayo let off. He listened in on Rayo's conversation with the fairy, and watched, amused as Ryok took out half the gargoyles himself. He watched, amused, at Tokki's entrance and listened with a smile at her assumption about the monsters. Phoenix's assault took the remaining ambushers down to two, and he decided it was his turn to step in.

Finally lifting his Smiling Blade off his shoulder, he set to work. It wouldn't take long, really. An inward tweak as he stretched his neck, and State Shift activated, pulling him into a natural Ap Do and beyond. He rushed forwards, the first of the monsters looking up at him in surprised. Surprise which didn't last long, as his powerful overhead blow shattered the creature against the ground.

Holding his ground and shifting himself back to strength, he turned and watched the other Gargoyle advance on him. It's speed left him slightly wishing he hadn't shifted to strength, as it was somewhat hard to track that way, but that didn't matter. The creature had to lunge for an attack, and that was when his blade would do it's work.

Or...

The creature rushed in, feinted, and returned to circling this threat. Nighthand grinned. It thought it was safe, but it was well within his reach. It circled and circled and finally the heavyblade swung. The blade cleaved into the onrushing crystalline creature, leaving it little more than shards of glass and dusty data.

”Haha, yes, that's more like it!” He cried, returning his stats to normal and shouldering his blade once more. ”Good of you to catch up to us, Tokki.” That said, he prompt ignored the group in favor of their fae guide.

”Elin, was it? Well, the problem is taken care of. My guess is your only mode of attack is spells, which is why these were set to guard this entrance, which makes me thing whoever is stalking you and your sisters knows where you are. That, by extension, means he probably knows we're here. On top of that, I'd venture to guess he's the guardian of the hub we're here to destroy. So... lead on. I'd like to get out of this cave as soon as possible.”

”Alright! Thank you for helping me... I know it's tough...” She began, but Nighthand had already turned away. He was looking over the group, assessing their readiness. Satisfied, or at least not too worried, he gestured or the gap in the wall. The small draft coming and going seemed to remind him of something... Eh, no matter. Slightly irritated at being ignored, Elin harrumphed and and flew off down the hallway. It didn't take long for her to slow down, though... After all, this was new territory to her as well. What Nighthand was thinking sending her ahead was anyone's guess.

It became apparent that the hallway they were passing through wasn't all that long. They encountered the end of it, passing through a series of stalagmites and stalactites, climbed into a smaller room. The floor was damp here, the breeze more powerful, and warmer. Holding Elin back, Nighthand advanced a step or two into the room, the raised a hand to halt the people behind him. Something wasn't right...

Unshouldering his blade again, the swordsman drove it into the ground.

The whole cavern shook, and a huge, rumbling cry filled the air. The stalagmites and stalactites began to close behind them. Nighthand shouted. ”Everybody back out! NOW!”

Yanking his blade from the ground, he ran for the entrance behind the rest as they piled out. Elin was the last to emerge, flitting between the great closing teeth. For that was that it became apparent that they were, as they pulled back and were lost in the darkness. A single large, glowing red eye faded into the darkness as well.

”Well... big things lurk in this cave.” Nighthand muttered to himself, peering over the edge where the “teeth” had once formed a doorway. ”Elin, can you fly down there and see how far it drops?”

The fairy responded by doing so, her light illuminating the floor only a dozen feet below. Not a bad drop for them at all. Nighthand hopped down, keeping his blade ready just in case. Nothing became immediate as a threat, at least, so the heavyblade called the others down.

The fairy began to float around the area, back and forth, leaving the group in darkness. She flew up to the ceiling and found strange objects.

”Hey uh, guys? What're these?” she called, hovering where she could allow them to see. What they saw resembled a large spotlight made of dark stone.

”Back up a bit...” Nighthand said, then drew a scroll from his cloak. If that was what he thought it was....

His scroll activated, and a lightning bolt slammed from nowhere into the black objects. The level one thunder spell normally wouldn't have done a thing to a fixture of the dungeon, but this was obviously a special case. The black thing shattered, and suddenly, Elin's light shone over a much larger area than before.

”Looks like we found the reason why the darkness is so intense down here.” Nighthand said to the group. ”Let's see if we can find and destroy any more of these... since I have the feeling that the big toothy thing hasn't left entirely.”

As if his words had called it, the great red eye opened once again, and the quivering roar shook the cavern. A tendril of the darkness reached out and batted Elin away, back into the midst of the group. The fairy cried out, whatever passing for HP in her taken mostly away. Another tendril reached out, but Nighthand slashed it away. When severed, the darkness simply melted away. The monster seemed none the worse for wear, and more tendrils started to emerge.

”Get rid of this darkness guys! I have a feeling it's powering this thing!” Nighthand called. This was probably the guardian of this cave, and also probably held the key to exiting. That was, after all, the way the hackers worked.

-----------------------ooc:
Boss fight! And puzzle, kinda. The cave monster attacks with dark tendrils. There are... seven more dark spotlights to be found and destroyed; the monster will try to guard them. Elin lights a larger area than she did before, but by no means all of the cavern; still barely any overall. Each spotlight killed increases her radius. Anything, spell or physical, will blow up the lights. Oh and uh, the monster can and will attack Elin, and if she dies, we're out of light.

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

Post by Rayo » Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:57 pm

By the time the wave master had finished beating his chosen crippled victim to death, the battle was over. The Gargoyles were shattered, and their path was once again clear. Taking advantage of the break in fighting best he could, Rayo remained in place for as long as possible, even once Nighthand and Elin led the group onward. SP regenerated the fastest when your character was neither moving or in a battle, inspiring a slow response time for actually proceeding to wherever their next trial awaited them. The SP regeneration rate was fairy impressive when given a short rest, so Rayo followed behind the group, trying to milk the intermission for all it was worth.

With his Great Elite reequipped, the mage trailed the others, fully stopping again only once the entire group halted. With Nighthand’s warning coming just in time, the wizard took a leap back, having little distance to cover given his position at the back of the group to begin with. As the creature pulled back, it raised a creepy question, had they just been inside of that beast? A warm breath, teeth, an eye….the only question left was how massive was this foe. Whatever is was though, had withdrawn…the breath no longer felt very strong.

Climbing down the side of the ledge, Rayo only skipped off the side once he was most of the way down. With all of their vision impairments, he was in no rush to see how easy it was for a player to break a leg.

Listening in as Elin pointed out her discovery and watching Nighthand’s burst of lightning, the mage was pleased to find an improvement in the territory around them. If Nighthand was correct and there were more…perhaps this place would actually be quite bright, a pleasant change from fighting shadows in a labyrinth. The body accompanying that glowing eye came forth to attack them again, striking their flashlight with a lengthy attachment. The last batch of monsters had little luck actually scoring a hit against the fairy, but this monster with the generically glowing red eye was different. Would Elin remain lit if she was slain…? If she did, it might almost be beneficial since they could carry her around, but they would be short a healer, and most likely the girl’s death would leave them in an even worse predicament. What they needed was to keep her safe…


“Ryok, can you watch over our little torch? You’re up for defense.”

Before the team could split off, most likely attempting their own things to get out of the given situation alive, the mage used a flicker of electrical energy. The light of Ap Raio targeted the entire group, even Elin. His SP had had enough time to fully recover, but that didn’t mean multiple castings of Ap Raio were recommended. At the very least the mage would be using some lightning spells, and anyone else who did should be pleased. Also, the wavemaster wanted to view the effect on their host, if it even could target her successfully. Her light did most resemble thunder, and given what path the group had chosen, it might be interesting if her light shone any brighter under the effects of Ap Raio.

Despite the fact Rayo was counting on the swordsman to guard their light source, he still moved up to her anyway. La Repth would be most effective for the defensive group that way, and Ryok could help keep those arms away from him as well.


“If one or two other people would like to help me try to find more of those darkness artifacts, I’m sure everyone else could beat that Mr. Red Eye around a bit.”

Judging by his SP and ignoring his natural regeneration, single shots would be most effective. If Nighthand had only required a basic scroll to destroy the last one, his basic lightning spells should have no issue doing the same. Spreading out his energy through a greater volume of bolts would allow him to more effectively pinpoint and eliminate more of the objects, assuming that wasn’t the only one in the room at least. That gave him over twenty five different rounds, more than enough to keep things bright and find what he desired to find.

“Rai Rom!”

Raising his staff upwards, the tornado of charged energy created a spire of voltage, lightning up a small portion of the room, but it did so vertically, covering the bases for that section, so long as the target wasn’t covered. Repeating the process, the wizard rotated fifteen degrees to his right and let go with another of the same spell. Continuing to pivot, aim, and cast, the lightning mage went through half a dozen spells before something finally caught his eye, a similar black device, suspended from the ceiling much like the last one. Tendrils shot out from the darkness and seemed intent on covering it up from sight, but it was too late for that. Tapping his staff quickly, Rayo used a spell that would beat the atrocity to the punch.

“Rai Kruz!”

The spheres of light crashed through the object, shattering it into quite a few pieces, taking out the second of the light restraints. Hopefully his light show would allow any of the others searching locate their targets faster as well. The party had been in the field for far too long already, and the hacker’s backyard was not the right place for a picnic.

ooc: Question I’ll ask here because others might be curious…can we find these in places other than the ceiling?

GM Edit: Yes, they can be on walls and even on the floor. The only exception is the center of the room; the floor is where the monster resides and the ceiling is still black no matter how close Elin gets. As for the monster, it's essentially a formless mass of darkness as well, right now; attacks cause it to dissipate, but deal it no harm.

Oh, and one spotlight of darkness is now gone.
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

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Zhao Xun
Elevated Player
Posts: 63
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 3:09 am
Location: Wherever I'm needed.

Post by Zhao Xun » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:25 am

Great. As if the darkness wasn't bad enough, now it's alive? This cave couldn't get much more strange....

Trying to get a handle on our new situation, I spent time simply observing as Rayo began to assault the strange objects that Nighthand had told us to target. He seemed glad to be of more use now than before, and his spells flew through the room, seemingly at random. However, it soon became apparent to me what he was doing. Along with Ryok, he was staying near Elin, guarding her from the tendrils that were assaulting us, while still searching the room for our objectives and destroying them. I decided to adopt a similar strategy, and quickly moved to join my allies.

Rayo continued to hurl thunder spells around the room, creating light wherever Elin couldn't reach. My eyes swept back and forth, moving to wherever his staff pointed. Unfortunately for us, we weren't getting lucky. We just couldn't seem to find any spotlights, which-

My train of thought ended abruptly as some of the black tendrils shot from the wall straight towards Elin. I instinctively swung at it, severing it in one clean shot, but then several more headed our way. It was all I could do to defend against a few of them, and thankfully Ryok picked up some slack. We managed to keep Elin out of harm's way, at least temporarily. But the attack showed that the beast knew what we were up to, and was trying to stop us in every way possible... and targeting Elin would certainly hinder us.

I began to switch my attention to defending Elin, but then I saw it out of the corner of my eye... a spotlight that Rayo had missed. He was moving on to target another area, and I spun with speed I didn't know had to let loose a spell.

"Rai Rom!"

The ensuing whirlwind of thunder slowly ate away the spotlight, reducing it to nothing by the end of the spell. The air crackled with energy, and for the first time I noticed that Rayo had increased our thunder abilities through an Ap Raio. But I had little time to think about such trivial matters, as my attention went back to defense. The tendrils weren't constant, but they posed enough of a threat to us that I thought it wise to defend Elin at all costs. I would let Rayo do the spellwork, and the rest of the team could do as they wished, my actions notwithstanding.

Tokki
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Posts: 133
Joined: Wed May 28, 2003 9:17 pm
Location: Level 29
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Post by Tokki » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:14 pm

The soft glow in Tokki's piercing cobalt eyes brightened significantly as she focused through the impermeable darkness in order to successfully locate one of the five remaining spotlights of darkness. As she scanned the area, a fixed object noticeably different from the rest of the surrounding terrain found it's way into her gaze. Immediately she tapped her right foot on the floor seemingly with very little force at all. The ensuing reaction sent her body to the left with an uncanny amount of velocity. A blur of sapphire soon reformed as the slender long arm running up the side of the wall. Each time her feet pounded into the wall, a thin layer of ice melded her feet to the wall for a split second, allowing her to maintain some level of grip. The soft patter of her feet along the wall, it seemed, was enough to draw several tendrils of darkness her way.

Her mistglaive stretched out as a two foot long icy spear blade almost immediately, and she swung it out at the first spiraling extension of darkness that swung at her midsection. The blade cut through the matter as if it were nothing at all, causing it to retract into it's origin point once again. The strikes continued, and the long arm ducked and weaved around each attack. Finally she arrived at her destination and brought the mighty blade of ice through the spotlight of darkness tied in someway to the formless entity in the center of the room. The object seemed to shatter into an endless amount of pieces upon contact with the mistglaive's edge. Tokki side-flipped off of the wall and landed in mid air upon the crescent of ice that carried her around the room.

There was, it seemed, no time to rest against this ever changing enemy. The moment her feet struck the surface of her transportation, a tendril of dark matter swung at her lower legs, forcing her to jump once again. As the darkness passed below her, a sharp edge jutted out from the crescent in the tentacle of darkness' path, slicing it in two on it's own force. The edge retracted again, and Tokki landed once more.

Stumbling slightly at the sudden and unexpected attack, Tokki's arms flailed to keep her balance before she sped off again-- back towards he comrades. As she reached the point where Elin was floating, she arced around and back towards the wall on the other side of the room. Her eyes were growing accustomed to the darkness, and soon she was able to determine those disturbances in the smooth black textures of the wall with the cerulean watercolor outline that superscripted the spotlights of darkness into the atmosphere around her.

Immediately she focused upon the traces of water in the area, calling it forth to her palms. The water formed two ice-kunai after a short amount of time. She flung them both, one after another towards a spotlight in the distance. The were spaced a few feet apart, both following the same direct path. The first kunai, as expected, was batted from the sky by a reflexive tendril. But the second was delayed enough to get by the defensive swing and shattered the spotlight in it's path.

That's two down. Tokki thought. Bringing the remaining total to three.

It seemed idle thoughts were difficult to remain tenacious to, as the relentless assault of dark appendages with seemingly no consistency at all continued. Twice Tokki was forced to leap from her crescent, and fall completely to the floor of the cavernous room. She wouldn't be able to take all of these out on her own, that was for sure. But her teammates were far from incompetent-- for this, she was grateful.

*Gasp*

Tokki turned quickly, forming in mid turn another ice kunai in her left hand, and flung the blade of ice at a tendril out of the corner of her eye. The blade flew right by Rayo's eyes and sliced through a tendril aiming for his neck, stopping it dead in it's tracks. A sigh of relief escaped her lips after the darkness begun retracting towards it's core.

She said nothing, only nodded in Rayo's direction, before turning back to the problem at hand. The problem which, despite a few of it's sources of power being destroyed, still seemed immense.
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Tokki | Lv. 29 | Long Arm | Mistglaive | Kagayuzen | Time Headband | Rue Repulse | Rue Doom | GiRue Kruz | Rue Rom | Death | Ap Do | Miu Lei | Gan Don | Life Drain | No Damage | MeRue Rom

Wishlist: Undecided

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

Post by Rayo » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:18 pm

Darkness, the absence of light, a void keeping things unreadable. It only affected a single sense, but impairing sight was enough to keep a human very unaware and useless. Taste and smell were of little concern, and touch could be dealt with if sight was and sound were still available, and even a lack of hearing was easier to deal with. Take away the precise images picked up on by the eyes however, and you were working with a very different creature. Light, fully capable of banishing the darkness, or more accurately superseding it, making visible that which was not. While an excess of light could be equally blinding, even that seemed preferable. Light was a giver where darkness was a thief.

In The World, both of these forces maintained themselves not just in their natural forms, but through two of the six types of magic. Unlike the other four more elemental choices, thunder and darkness were in a category of their own. Of the other four however, sides were taken. Wood, like the trees in the very field they trekked through, blocked the sunlight. In the depths of a deep ocean, water created darkness. On the land under the sky, light could reign by the power of earth. Finally there was fire, a creator of light much like thunder, but in the mind of the wavemaster, an inferior brand. Perhaps it explained his own dislike of the flames, they were too similar to lightning, impeded on it’s territory and were a friendly rival, one to be cast aside, not embraced. So much like the master of the opposing elements, the scorned darkness, fire was pushed aside, simply to a lesser extent. Earth, an ally that did not create the same misgivings as the magical embers was therefore also favored.

This place claimed to be the path of thunder, yet all that was there was darkness. The trees covered them, branches blocking off their paths, singling it to but one. The cavern itself was the epitome of the shadowy element, nearly extinguishing the one speck of light that was naturally there. It was up to the advancing party to make up the difference, and in front of them were tools to make that very outcome a reality. While his own magic could only contribute for a short time period, the destruction of those hideous dimming devices could restore the balance.

The series of Rai Rom incantations ceased, leaving the room in darkness except for the light provided by Elin. That which would be found so simply must have been destroyed already, meaning a new avenue of attack was necessary. Switching to his Expert Wand, the staff tapped the ground twice, summoning a steed for the second time while at this dreadful spot. If a Rai Rom could provide that light, a moving creature with a body made of flames would certainly be useful.


“Vulcan!”

The horse pounded it’s hooves, racing across the floor, revealing more of the area as it went, except for the darkest parts, closest to the monster itself. Another of the black cylinders was revealed, with the creature quicker to act to protect it. Tentacles came from seemingly nowhere, surrounded the target and covering it from sight. With all of the extra shadow to burn through, no doubt a standard spell would fail to pierce the type of armor being supplied.

The mage swapped out wands again, bringing out the heavier artillery, his own preferred element would stand the best chance in actually taking it out. As a dart passed by his face, the caster spun around halfway, just in time to witness the fall of an attacking tendril. Tracing the path back to where it originated, he spotted the lone long arm present and simply gave a nod. Even with Ryok on guard duty, there were still so many weapons for the beast to work with. Besides, Elin was the heavy blade’s main defending point, not the wizard.

Picking up where he left off, the summoner made a circling motion in the air above him with his magical device, his SP draining accordingly. Not wishing to even give it words, his summon took off without any delay. Lanceor sped along a path parallel to where Vulcan had raced by, aiming for a direct collision. Meeting some resistance at the point of impact, the wolf swept a paw over the shadows, dismissing some of them before clamping down on the item below. With their sixth eliminated, the light was steadily becoming brighter and Elin’s usefulness was increasing.


ooc:
Two more to go.
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 » Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:41 am

Phoenix was thankful that Nighthand took care of the last two gargoyles as he did not want to fight any further especially that one of the gargoyles almost killed him back there. He managed to recover his entire SP but decided not recover his complete amount of HP as he managed to recover most of it with La Repth and a Health Drink. He noticed that Tokki has finally joined into the party which she could not come at a better time. The Ice Mistress would improve their chances against what ever monsters or hackers that were guarding this hub. He walked with the others into the hallway that the gargoyles were guarding earlier. It was still dark inside the cavern as their only source of light was the fairy Elin who Phoenix believes is the actual hub itself. Then they entered a doorway that really was not a doorway at all but the jaws of a monster.

They managed to escape from being eaten by a mysterious monster that has a giant red eye lurking around in the area. Then they descended down further into the cave which Nighthand managed to destroy a spotlight of dark energy. These spotlights were causing the massive darkness in the cave along with limiting Elin’s radius of light. The destruction of the spotlight causes a bunch of tendrils to attack the group especially on Elin since the monster does not want any light at all. Even with the enhanced light that Elin gave off, the cavern was pretty much dark and had to rely on temp sources of light to get through like Rai or Vak attacks. Even though Phoenix had received Ap Raio from Rayo, he decided to use a different source of light instead of the power of lightning.

The blademaster decided to use to his guardian Suzaku and her fire breath to light his way to a dark spotlight. Suzaku, make a ring of fire around me so we can see where one of those dark spotlights are. The fire should keep off the tendrils while we look for one or at least make them come from above instead of everywhere. The firebird gave a nod to her master before spreading the flames around Phoenix. The ring of fire made the tendrils to think twice before trying to attack Phoenix but they soon realized that they attacked from above. Kazamu-sama, look out from above. It seems that you were right about the tendrils.

Phoenix had expected this as he fired off a Vak Kruz towards the three tendrils. The converging fireballs burned the tendrils into ash as Suzaku managed to find a spotlight in the distance. Kazuma-sama, I managed to find one of the spotlights but it’s pretty far into the darkness.

Suzaku, just cover me from the tendrils while I deal with the spotlight along with spotting any more of those dark spotlights. Phoenix jumped out of the ring of fire and headed towards the spotlight that Suzaku detected from earlier. The area that the spotlight was covered in darkness which Phoenix fired a Vak Kruz to see if any tendrils was coming towards him. He noticed that there were not any heading towards him and proceed towards the spotlight on the floor. Suzaku was behind Phoenix as he continued to head towards the spotlight. She threw another fire breath behind the running blademaster to keep any tendrils away from Phoenix. The attack managed to burn a couple of them along with locating the last spotlight.

Meanwhile, Phoenix used his Vak Crack attack to destroy the spotlight leaving only one remaining. Kazuma-sama, I discovered the last spotlight but it’s on the ceiling. I can go for it but it would leave you defendless. At this point, Phoenix was surrounded by a bunch of tendrils and was under multiple attacks by them. Suzaku, leave me be. There’s only one spotlight left. If you destroy that spotlight now, the tendrils will be most likely gone and the real threat will appear. Go and destroy it, Suzaku. I can hold out my own.

The guardian bird’s desire to go in and save Phoenix from the tendrils was overwritten by her sense of loyalty to any orders that he gives her. Right now, there were no tendrils heading towards Suzaku probably thinking that the bird was no threat compared to the Master of Gravity. She headed towards the final spotlight on the ceiling and used her fire breath to destroy the final spotlight. The attack managed to destroy the spotlight which at the same time, Phoenix managed to regain the upper hand with the tendrils and said, “Let there be light. Now let’s see what we have been fighting all this time now and kill it with everything we have. I want revenge for being almost eaten alive.”

Phoenix put down his hood and extend out his sword as he’s now being more serious in this fight as he waits to see the true face of evil of this cavern to reveal itself.
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

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

Post by Nighthand » Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:45 pm

With the spotlights destroyed, the cavern took on a whole new life. Phoenix's proclamation resounded through a silence broken only by the echo of his voice. Elin's light swelled and filled the area. Not so much that she was blinding to look at, and so wasn't enough to fill the room, but a new property of the cavern asserted itself.

Small crystals, bits of rock that had been hidden in the previous darkness, were now shining. Their soft, diffuse light filled the room enough to see by, with Elin's help. Together, their light revealed the monster they had been fighting; in the center of the room was an obelisk.

The center of the roof overhead was still blackened, and the monolith standing in the center of the floor jutted up almost halfway. It's surface was oily black, seeming to flow and melt, ever-shifting in the light.

Elin hovered near the group, staring at the obelisk. She gave a start, and seemed to remember that she had been hit earlier. A pair of Repth spells formed around her, and she seemed invigorated.

The group held themselves at ready, but for the moment it seemed a stand-off. The obelisk was making no move to attack; even seemed perhaps that without the spotlights, it was incapable. The group however, was waiting warily. Eyes gazing around revealed no exits to the room... Not even, as Nighthand discovered, the way they had come in.

About to cross the room to examine the obelisk, Nighthand was called up short as the wailing roar shook the cavern again. The same beast that had posed as a tunnel for them to walk into it's gullet.

The deep blackness on the roof began to unravel, slowly. Uncoiling, actually, for that was what it was. The great red eye opened on the tip of a sleekly scaled head. A massive snake, able to slither along the walls and ceiling as though it were the floor. The creature moved slowly, and yet before they could react, it had coiled itself around the obelisk. If not for the great head rising above them, it might have seemed to be a seething, churning mass of darkness in the center of the room.

The head, held aloft on a body thicker than a man is tall, could easily reach anywhere in the room, while still having much of it's body coiled around the obelisk. It seemed they were in for a challenge... one, perhaps, much harder than even the Shinja.

Nighthand held his blade at ready, prepared to fight. He could only hope the rest had some sort of ideas on how to beat this thing.


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

Black Serpent
HP: 9999
SP: 999

welcome to the boss of this cavern. I'm gonna try a new style here... After every post or two, or however many it takes to feel necessary, I'll post a short (half page, maybe page) of the boss's reactions. Since we don't have as many active people as the other team, this won't be “bordered” by a saturday post or anything, it'll just continue until the boss is defeated. I'll keep track of it's HP, say how it reacts to attacks (and what it's attacks are) as the battle progresses.

For the duration of the battle, consider my posts as normal character posts; i.e. My post isn't a reset in the number of posts before someone else posts... this is to prevent it just being myself and one other person playing out this battle.

Me, player A, me, player A, is not preferable.
Me, player A, me, player B, player A, is preferable.

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

Post by Rayo » Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:06 pm

With what seemed to be the last of the darkness artifacts shattered, light finally filled the room. It wasn’t quite as bright as it could have been, but it was preferable to how things had been just a short while ago. Everyone seemed to be taking the opportunity to rest for a moment, taking pleasure in the pause in the action. The beast was still down there, but it might move if attacked, so a bit of recovery was welcome. Remaining in the most efficient SP regeneration condition, the mage took a deep breath and waited for more of his energy to return to him. By the time the ceiling snake showed itself and cocooned the obelisk beneath, his count had reached a respectable 120SP.

The presence of the serpent changed matters though, revealing a combined threat. The snake itself was obviously mobile due to it’s own transportation, and if given enough time, it was possible the pair would either merge together or the first being would begin to move again, or regenerate more of the black spotlights. Waiting would due them no good, not right then.

The group was already boosted by the Ap Raio, an effect that would still persist for a bit longer, since it hadn’t taken too long to handle the last challenge. Since there was a primary target, it would naturally need to be weakened first. After that, then the party could blast away at it. Gesturing towards the pair of monsters, the wavemaster went with a low cost move to determine what this thing could be affected by.


“Dek Raio!”

If it worked as it should, it’s resistance to his own brand of attacks would be less effective. Given that it was a beast of the night, it would make sense if it had a lower thunder stat to begin with, and hopefully the spell would eliminate that altogether. There were no sure things, but even the gargoyles which were tricky to deal with magically, had been susceptible to the same incantation.

Raising his Great Elite, the sorcerer prepared to unleash a summon to deal some quick and effective damage, he stopped before the full word of Lanceor even left his mouth. That would handle his offense, but what about the others? Ryok could use thunder as well if it proved effective, but his previous Dek Raios and Ap Raios didn’t seem to prompt anyone else to use lightning bolts. Still, there was another player there who remained very consistent in her elemental preference. Knowing his own stock of items, there was only one appropriate action to do. He didn’t even have any water spells accessible at the moment, so why let it sit and waste away? Whipping out the Waterbane, he leveled the item at the snake and obelisk duo, letting it fly towards them before it activated, targeting them both with the item equivalent of Dek Ruem.


“Let’s see how this thing likes dealing with thunder and water after that, right?”

Turning back from the long arm, he knew the others could figure out how best to deal with the snake. Ryok knew what was available to him at this point, and Tokki was set as well. Pointing a finger at the monstrosity, the he lowered it, wishing to try out one of his borrowed spells.

“PhaRai Rom!”

The level four spell crashed down around the targets, lightning seemingly everywhere as the sparks of electricity almost danced around them. The artificial storm ended soon enough, but it surely couldn’t fail to leave a mark.

Rayo raised his own staff defensively, unsure of how the new entrant to the battle would react, whether with some sort of counterattack, nothing at all, or it’s own offense; physical, magical, or otherwise. Whatever it would choose to do, being the target of it was not the status the wizard wished to claim for his own. The caster turned his head slightly towards the rest of the party as he kept their enemies within his sight.


“Does anyone have any plans they want to try out?”
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
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:07 am

Nighthand quickly caught on to what Rayo was trying to accomplish, namely, the boost to all the elements he could. He reached into his inventory and equipped one of the older armors he had, the Face Guard.

"Ap Ruem!"

His spell settled over the party, further boosting Tokki's water skills, and anyone else's should they choose to use them. Switching out another armor, after replacing his helm, he further boosted their attack power; this time his own.

"Ap Juka!"

Seeing as how this was a rash of powerups, why not toss some physical into there as well? His standard selection of armor restored, he called on one of the skills inherant in his Kris Armor.

"Ap Corv!"

The sequence of powerups complete, he turned to the snake just as Rayo cast his spell, to see what sort of damage it would do to the beast. While the runes of the Dek spells had settled over both the Serpent and the Obelisk, it prompted the Serpent to coil even tighter, it's massive body fully enveloping the Obelisk and hiding it from sight.

The Pha spell crashed down with a roar of thunder, the stench of ozone filling the room... but when the smoke cleared, the great red eye was intact, watching. The snake let out a long hiss, it's single eye fixed on the wizard. Seeming as though it had taken no damage at all, it's neck waved back and forth, the long, low hiss filling the room, it's red eye staying mostly in place...

It was too late when Rayo noticed the rune showing above his head and on the ground around him, for there had been no warning. His body ceased functioning, at least, under his control. He had unwittingly discovered the first attack of this creature... Charm.

It remained to be seen what the wavemaster would involuntarily unleash upon his allies...


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

Black Serpent
HP: 9999

Can cast Charm


-----current status-----
Rayo: Charmed
Snake: Dek Ruem'd, Dek Raio'd

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

Post by Phoenix512 » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:58 am

Phoenix saw the true face of evil as a giant snake revealed itself along with an obelisk. He saw the snake wrapped around the obelisk which it can attack anyone from any angle. From looking at the serpent and the obelisk, he realized that his gravity powers would not be effective on the snake or the obelisk itself. The pain from using his powers earlier has been subsided for the most part but it was still there. It looks like that I can reduce the pain even further in this battle. That is if I don’t get any more pain for being hit by this monster.

The blademaster felt the grow of multiple Ap spells being cast on him which he really care for the Ap Corv one. The spell boosted his physical strength even more which adds to the gravity-boosted strength for being at half-gravity. He could switch his sword to the Singing Blade which has Rue Slash but there was not any particular reason to switch to it. If he still had his 6-Sided Blade, then he would use it but since he does not he is sticking to the Menhir Sword. Since Phoenix does not have the ability to use a physical-based lightning skill due to his class, he thinks that fire is the next best thing even though he could use Rai Rom on it. In the end, Phoenix stick with his current equipment choices as Rayo shot a PhaRai Rom at the snake.

The Master of Gravity could not believe that Rayo’s level 4 spell did not make a dent in either the giant snake or the obelisk itself. He did not have the time to panic as Suzaku pointed out something to him. Kazuma-sama, it seems that the snake has the ability to charm people. It has taken over Rayo and with his magical abilities… At that point, Phoenix had cut off his bird’s speech as he knows that she was thinking at the moment.

I know Suzaku. He would electrocuted us to death with his damn lightning spells especially he targets another PhaRai Rom at us. But don’t worry, I have something to counter that. Phoenix quickly switched his Green Guard for the Flare Guard. “RIP SYNK!” He cast the recovery spell on Rayo which can reverse any mental conditions which charm was one of those conditions. He could use a Restorative but he felt that using a spell has a certain amount of style to it. Then Phoenix started to think up of a plan.

Let’s see. Why didn’t Rayo’s spell did not affect the monster? Could it be that it has immunity to all magical attacks but without the annoying twice the strength rebound that the gargoyles had? Or perhaps it didn’t hit the right spot. I think if the group can get hits on the eye, it should go down easily. The charm ability it has should not be a problem as it doesn’t have multiple people under it. Suzaku, I’m going to attack the snake’s eye. You burn part of the snake with your fire breath. It should provide long enough distraction for me to attack it without getting knock out from the sky. Once I get in position, begin the attack.

Phoenix separated from his guardian and ran towards the snake’s head while the bird flew to one of the side of the obelisk which the snake was not looking at. He was about directly above the snake’s head when he telepathically told his bird to begin the attack. Suzaku spew her fire breath on the snake and was not sure if the attack would have any effect on the snake itself but she knows that her attack is not the main attack. Phoenix jumped up into the air and once he reached the apex of the jump, he called out the skill of Vak Crack. The skill managed to increase his height in the air and managed to reach the snake’s head. Once he completed the attack on the head or more specifically the eye, Phoenix increase his gravity in hopes in avoiding any counterattack by the snake as being at half-gravity slows down his rate of descent. Let’s hope that this attack is successful or I have to come up with another plan to deal with probably pissed-off snake.
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

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