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

Hey look, this is a subject line. POST PEOPLE!

Post by Nighthand » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:00 am

Damnit you guys, hurry up! He’s getting away! We can’t let him get to the top in this condition!

Nayru’s wings strained, flying up and down the mountainside, alternately chasing after Nall, sighing, and hovering at the slower pace of the group. Now and then an ambitious rock spider would leap at it, but the small creature was surprisingly quick to dodge, and invariably the spider fell to its doom far below. The few birdmen seemed oblivious to its presence, as well as its piercing voice.

Nighthand, however, was not so fortunate.

”Damn you, bird, we’re going as fast as we can!”

He slammed his blade horizontally into the wall, cleaving a twitching rock spider in two, then sheathed his blade again. Reinier chimed in.

"Not really, I'm just going at a stroll at the moment... I know you could easily pick up the pace though Nights."

"Yeah, you're right, but I'd leave the rest of you slackers for dead. Wouldn't be long before we're ALL kibble if we can't speed up though."

"It's not like a giant birdman that's bigger then Nighthand's ego is going to show up out of thin air."

”Stow it you two! Less chatter, more clamber!”

”You’re not exactly useful yourself, bird.”

"Yeah, just pipe down a little Nayru... unless you can pull me up this mountain, then you can talk as much as you want."

For once, the creature’s voice didn’t have an immediate response. The break wasn’t long, however, and it soon chimed in.

”Well, there might be a way! No, I can’t pull you up, but there IS a shortcut!”

“A shortcut? Why didn’t you say so a hell of a lot earlier, bird?”

”Because you’re so mean to me?”

“Granted, but this is YOUR hide too, you know.”

”Fine! But don’t say I didn’t warn you! Follow me!”


The bird-creature shot off, moving laterally across the face of the mountain rather than upwards. About a hundred feet around, the group came to a relatively level ledge. They were at least able to stand without having to grip the wall for dear life.

Looming in front of them was a dark opening, to a cave in the mountain. It was plain that this was where the bird was leading them, and yet it paused at the opening.

”This is the shortcut! Inside, there’s a large cave, and a nice easy ramp spiraling up the inside! It’s not the easiest route, but it’s safer than challenging this drop! We should be able to make fairly good time!”

Together, the group started in. The light quickly faded, and they were drenched in blackness. It wasn’t long before a faint light could be seen ahead, however. As they drew closer, it grew evident that the light was coming from the large cave Nayru had said was there.

Then, just as abruptly as the cave started, it ended. They stood in a large, dome-shaped cavern. On the far side of the room was another opening, clearly the ramp. Around the two sides were a myriad of punctures in the rock, letting in hundreds of small, thin beams of light, sufficient to light the room moderately well.

”This seems too easy…”

As if his words were a command, the room began to shake.

"Way to jinx us numb nuts. If you didn't say anything we'd be fine. Now, thanks to you, we won't find the solution to our problems OR a stairway..." Reinier seemed obliged to chip in.

Suddenly a large chunk of the ceiling dislodged itself and fell, settling in place in front of the ramp. Nighthand grimaces, and took a step forward. Then, suddenly, the rock stood up.

It was then that he recognized it for what it was. A gigantic rock spider, one that must have been growing here for a very long time. It stood on eight bulky legs, about as tall as a man each. Its body was the size of a van, with a small, heavily-armored head sticking out the front. Myriads of eyes glittered evilly like black gems studded in the rock head. Large, blade-length mandibles clicked. It took a step forward, and shook itself. Light and shadow danced crazily around the room. Its back was faceted and highly polished. It was as if it was made of mirrored diamond. A stray beam of light from its reflective back could easily blind any of them for long enough to be fatal.

The spider took another step forward, light dancing as it moved. It didn’t seem too fast, but if there was anything Nighthand had learned by now, it was that appearances could be deceiving.

The underside of the spider was a sharp contrast with the faceted top. Instead of bright, flat surfaces, it was tightly packed with sharp spikes. They didn’t extend far, no more than six inches, but they would make dodging under it very dangerous.

”And THIS would be the guardian! I did say it was dangerous!”

”Well? Aren’t you going to tell us how to beat it?

”Why should I? Oh fine, alright! As you can probably tell, it’s immensely powerful and its defense is near unbreakable! Its only weak spots are the back of its legs, and even then you’ll be hard-pressed, literally, to get to them! And even if you DO manage to hit all eight, it will only be defenseless for a short time! If you don’t kill it fast, it’ll get right back up! Magic has very little effect on it, EXCEPT for when its defenseless, that’s the only time it’ll hurt!! Oh, and one more thing! Its name is Klippe!”

Nighthand took it all in fairly quickly. ”Alright, here’s the plan. Let’s hit its legs, then hit it hard and fast!”

Nighthand drew out his Corona Blade, and studied the spider. It wouldn’t be long before they had sized each other up, and it would attack.


-------------------------------Klippe Stats!----------------------------------

Alright, first off, this is a miniboss. Let’s get this rolling! I might have to add penalties for being overly slow.

Klippe:

Attacks:
(note, it will not “announce” any attacks, they just happen)

Shell: Due to the environment, Klippe’s shiny shell casts unpredictable beams of light around, possibly causing blindness for a short time.

Mandibles: It’s jaws are akin to blademaster blades, prone to grab and pinch. They don’t do too much damage (one hit won’t kill anyone in our group) but they do inflict poison 100% of the time on its victims.

Legs: It’s legs are thick columns of rock, and rightly considered weapons. They’re painful to be hit with, and being stepped on will deal critical damage to anyone here, killing instantly the weakest few. The underside isn’t very armored, however, that’s the “weak spot”. Magic doesn’t affect it at all, just dissipates, however a single physical strike is sufficient to take out that leg. Beware the spikes above, however.

Underside spikes: This is it’s primary mode of defense against those going after it’s weak spots. Unless you’re fast about it, it WILL see you go under it, and 90% of the time it will immediately fold its legs and drop. This spike attack is devastating, and WILL instantly kill anyone here, including myself.


It has a low physical and magical evade, but (other than the weak points) both types of attacks will do little, if any, damage. Once all eight legs have been hit, its defenses temporarily drop to zero against both. Use this chance to strike!

Let’s get ‘er done!

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Lighteria
Well-Oiled Machine
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:59 am
Location: :noitacoL

Post by Lighteria » Wed Jun 08, 2005 12:38 am

This in insanity... It feels like my arms are about to snap off... We've been climbing for who knows HOW long now... and not a stable cliff in sight... If this keeps up I'm not going to make it... I'm going to get too tired to climb well... My vision will haze and I'll miss a climb spot and... death. man... I don't even know what'll happen to me then... ...

...There must be something we can do... If only we had...


“A shortcut? Why didn’t you say so a hell of a lot earlier, bird?” Lighteria stumbles on the wall, hearing Nighthand shout to the obnoxious guardian. The twin blade lets out a whimper, one of both relief and pain as the jolt caused Kit to sink her claws into his shoulder.


One rather horizontal climb later....

"Mew... (Repth...)" Kit purrs out, graciously restoring the player his HP he'd lost from the monster fights and the constant claw clenching.

"Thanks Kit." Lighteria says, petting her softly.

Dang... That didn't even restore me to full... Guess I've just been getting stronger. Kinda funny really... My body may be getting stronger... but for some reason I still feel weak inside. ... ...Maybe it's just my shyness... I haven't talked much to anyone... I still feel so clueless after all this time. I have to get a moment to think...

*CRASH*

Lighteria hits the ground as a gigantic boudler... thing lodges itself in front of the stairs. He blinks for a moment, watching the rock until it seeminly sprouts legs and hisses a spider hiss. The twin blade gasps as it rears itself up to full height and glares at them menacingly, the light shining from its back catches Lighteria's eye for a second.

"Gah!" He slaps his hand over his eye, starting to see spots. "You little-!"

He growls and rubs his eye as the frustrating pet flies around explaining about the monster.

Klippe? Who names a monster Klippe?! Grrr... whatever though. Let's just beat the stuffing out of this one and get out of here.

Getting his ryokugens from his belt, Lighteria yells and charges forward. As he gets withing range one of Klippe's esitmated 52,525 eyes spots him and swings his front right leg at him with surprising speed. Lighteria gasps and barely manages to tuck and roll under the giant swinging leg. For an instant he glances above him to the belly of the beast. His eyes widen as he spots horribly long and jagged spines on the beast's underbelly. His awe is cut short as the belly suddenly drops in altitude. Lighteria turns pale and flings his body wildly to the side, barely getting himself out of reach.

"GUYS!!" He shouts. "The underbelly has- UNF!!" His sentence is cut short as one of the giant stone legs whacks him in the head. The twinblade is sent flying into the otherside of the room, crashing into the opposite wall with a resounding smack. He tumbles down to the hard earth and lays prone, his head spinning, too dizzy and in pain to get back up.
Lv. 37 Twin Blade (180 SP)
Weapon: Rashou (Thunder Coil- 30, Suvi Lei- 20, Mumyn Lei- 30) (Life Drain)
Armor: Holy Tree Mail (Juk Kruz- 20) - Scarab Earring (La Repth- 20, Rip Maen- 40) - Time Sandals (Ap Do- 15) - Forest Gloves (Juk Kruz- 20)
GP: 14384

Wish list (In order of priority): Angel halo accessory, chibi angel wings, Bone Armor, Professional

Lighteria: "Obsessively updating my profile since Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:10 pm"

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

Post by Zan » Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:43 pm

Distant, somewhere distant, the sounds of persistent bickering echoed like some far off dream. Zan was only half aware of the words Nighthand and Nayru, some unimportant bout he couldn't bring himself to fully hone in on. No, his mind was forcefully put elsewhere, his body following the rest of the Freedom Fighters like a drone would, some selfless zealot. The concussion had just begun to settle in, just begun to make itself known in a number of...unpleasant forms. The Heavy Blade's complexion had grown rather pale, his eyes ringing with dull green hue that only barely began to show the nausea that held just a vice grip over the man. It was as if his stomach was dancing in league with the harsh vibrations of his eyes, struggling to make the former college student heave and lose what lunch he had all over the useless heap of rock. Lunch...did he even have food in his gut? Could he even throw up? Zan wouldn't past the coma to induce such things; he did seem to have some mild brain trauma, after all, and the sudden insertion of pain in the game was one of said unpleasant things.

Then it happened, a fleeting glimpse, a flash of sight that had a small smile dwindling over his expression. What the...injury had induced, it seemed to have knocked his brain in other directions as well. Somehow, though the Heavy Blade didn't really seem to give a rat's ass how, he had caught the image of Leo at the edge of his hospital bed, chin cradled atop his fists, eyes intent. The flash of awareness had Zan's real world eyes slid open for a moment and the look on Leo's face made guilt well up in Zan's belly. He had given him false hope, made him think that he had stirred from his coma. Though he had initially prayed to get another chance to see the real world, to glance about the sterile, bleak room of the hospital, he now prayed that, unless it was a permanent job, he didn't wake. His best friend deserved more than that, deserved more than a reckless hope that Zan himself wasn't even sure was worth holding. It was a thought he had to hold off for now, a thought he had to indulge in only once they had managed to crawl out of this mess. With his vision as blurred as it was, Zan allowed his smell to kick in, allowed that sense to roll around him. Locking in on Nighthand's scent, dulled over and diluted with a power that was frightening to say the least, he wondered rather ungracefully forward.

The Heavy Blade was only vaguely aware of the cave when they entered it, a number of footsteps sending light reverberations through its confines. The scent in there was unnerving, hinting at a life form Zan was unable to locate. It was up there, somewhere, somewhere behind the sheets of rock and iron granite. Were his senses going haywire in unison with his concussion? It was possible enough that the former college student simply let it go, simply let himself take in what he could. Why had they come here? Not that he wasn't glad to be through with the climbing, but he simply couldn't grasp a reason to be fumbling through a cave. Had Nayru explained it? Most likely. Not wanting to look like a fool for asking, Zan kept his mouth shut, let the others discuss it amongst themselves. Zan was crouched in a defensive position, fingers splayed on the ground, before he even realized he had done it. A huge, undeniably huge rock had come down and obscured their destination. Zan's initial idea of doing some creative smashing was lifted when the...thing sprouted legs, rose up, and revealed the swelled version of a Rock Spider that it was.

The multitude of blinking, almost rat-like eyes, pitch black in their make up, seemed to stare everywhere at once, every angle impossibly covered. The threatening gnash of its mandibles only made him hesitate further, his weight pressing back against the balls of his feet. Lighteria, it seemed, had managed to drudge up a bit more bravery than the Heavy Blade, the diving figure shouting off a warning that directed Zan to gaze at it's under belly, peer at what potential dangers it possessed. Even as the Twin Blade shot past him he stayed firmly set and unflinching, eyes bleeding into a bright amber. Only then did he did the threat Lighteria had half-cautioned them about, a blanket of jagged spikes that spoke of pain unending. Zan had only a second to look up at the creature before a beam of light collided with his heightened-vision, a white sheet filming over his irises, blinding him rather significantly. Frantic hands clutched over his injury, his suffering coming out in small hisses between his teeth. The strong digits on his face shook with the sudden slam of his head ache, every part of him calling for retribution.

Such vengeful thoughts were quickly quelled by a sweeping pain that sliced along his arm as he completed a roll he hadn't realized he had started. The poison left him a feverish mess on the cave floor, eyes rolled back, throat gasping for some air, any air. The Heavy Blade could only hope for some help, could only beg for someone to keep it busy. Another hit and Zan knew he'd be lost, tossed to whatever substituted for death in The World. A trembling push to his knees was the best he could manage as he meekly began a crawl into the pitch white of his vision, searching for some wall to huddle against, beg against. There was a disappointment in the back of his head, a disappointment that didn't belong to him, not really. It belonged to him; the Beast that haunted him without relent, without any possible refute. He spoke such sweet promises to Zan, whispered relief if only he'd let him take over, really take over. Could his allies afford such a thing amongst them when they already had the foul spider to bout with? Would it be wise to--oh, hell, the pain was too intense. With a sigh that trembled past his lips, he let himself go, let him claw to the surface. The moment he did, however, he instantly regretted it.

There was no relief, only more pain, worse pain, an agony so consuming he thought his skull, his entire body was going to rip down the middle. Zan's blood boiled in hot lakes beneath his skin, skin that had begun to drip with perspiration, his body's last ditch effort to cool himself down. Every part of him felt like it was on fire; a melting collection of sinew and viscera. Then the true torment tore through him, came through him a ragged scream that stung his vocal cords. Bones snapped and fractured through his skin, burrowed past muscle to gleam a raw white in the cave air. Blood slid in rivulets down his body from the opening orifices, staining his body with a light crimson. Bones that peek through slid back in almost as soon, his entire body convulsing as he reformed in a writhing heap on the floor. Fur washed over him in tides as his entire body swelled, muscles rippling over him in relentless waves. Even past the pain he could feel himself healing, poison diluting, ocular tissue regenerating in a slow, steady process. A muzzle had pushed itself from face, a jutting extension that had bigger, sharper teeth pressing through his gums. Though he had expected his clothes to rip asunder with the transformation, they only seemed to filter in through him, reminding him that even now, even through the incessant agony, he was in a game. It was the only comforting thought he could clutch to his as his fingers budged and sported a rather wicked looking pair of claws, claws that seemed to have a matching pair on his feet. Then it was gone, pain receding in an instant, leaving him a panting, heaving creature. The Garou, half-man half-wolf, form stood at a good nine and a half feet and prided itself it in the couple hundred pounds of muscle it sported. Zan's new height seemed to compensate for the muscle mass, everything seeming rather athletically proportionate. The moment his Beast had control of the now-healed eyes he felt him draw his sight into a human fixture, afraid of being blinded so extremely once more.

The claw was falling upon him the moment he stood, a giant leg that promised harsh consequences if he didn't react. The blur of his own arm was frightening as he watched the events unfold, psychologically detached from his own body. A strong, toned, humanoid paw stopped the claws decent mid swing, his arm shaking with small tremors as he held the leg in the air. His lips shook in a snarl, lifted to bare teeth that dripped with saliva like a snake's dripped with venom. In another inhuman jerk of speed, his free hand smashed a palm into the leg, dislocating it at a rather ackward angle. It cried out and wavered a moment, blinking furious eyes his way.

Time to get down to business.
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).

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

Post by Hijinx » Sun Jun 12, 2005 5:27 am

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

Hijinx swung over to the ledge with her pet, humming and being cheerful as she went about the business of making fun. She reached it with ease and waited for a while before her attention wandered elsewhere. All that came to mind at the time was clocks and funny versions of infinity.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

An odd feeling creeped of caution followed by nothing cam and went in a heart beat, leaving her vaguely confused and mostly intrigued. Maybe she would look into it later; for now her only mission was to race nall to the top or something. Everything was looking easy for a moment too, then the spider decided to show up. The list of things to check out was growing with the addition of Zan turning into a big dog and a suddenly obvious ticking noise from the way they had come. Her left ear flopped a little as she listened harder and confirmed it, the right one twitching in time to the switching tones. A surge of alarm ran through her entire body in a flash, making her muscles tense. There was only one thing that could mean.

Urbosh was sleeping happily wrapped around her wrist when she snatched him up and flung him at the monster. He landed under Klippe with a burble, taking in his surroundings and making a note of the spikes. Before the blob could move though, the giant spider had it's leg removed and fell hard. Lashing out in shock, Urbosh sent tendrils out in every direction and snapped them around, slapping anything in range.

"Nighthand, take care of him for a bit, I have to go do something really really important, okay? Bye!"

The twinblade was off, out of the mountain and falling towards a poorly drawn pixel door in the sky. It opened slowly as Hijinx grew nearer, making a display of it's guady brown and orange color until she passed through what looked like empty air. Slamming shut, the portal folded itself out of existance with dramatic emphasise on the squeeky hinges.
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."

Reinier
Awakened Player
Posts: 164
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 4:49 am
Location: UNKNOWN ERROR, please try again later
Contact:

Post by Reinier » Sun Jun 12, 2005 9:18 pm

((OOC: Hijinx’s biological clock is ticking ^_^)

“Fuck!” Reinier yelled, looking up the side of the mountain. “Damn you Nall! You too Nights for seeing this coming…” Reinier muttered, walking up to the side of the mountain with the group. The claws he had used against the lizards were still in effect, so he would use those to climb up the mountain. The group approached the mountain, and as acting leader, Nighthand was the first to begin climbing. Bickering between him and the cat-bird hybrid continued, as he reached a small height above everyone else.

With a gasp, a body fell in front of Reinier. “What the hell?” Reinier muttered looking up, then down at the body. Just as quickly as the spider appeared, it vanished in to the side of the mountain. Reinier chuckled as Nighthand climbed up to his feet and after yelling at Nayru decided to give it another go and began climbing up the mountain. Reinier followed after him, climbing up the mountain. “Damnit Nall… you really suck at life…” Reinier muttered as he began to climb upwards. Immediately he noticed this would not be fun, nor easy.

The group quickly came in to contact with a challenge: freakish birdmen. Reinier just hung around in the middle of the group, not really wanting to help destroy this batch of foes. Nayru decided to give a “pep talk” to the group, involving him yelling at the group to hurry up. Reinier sighed, as he jabbed his blade in to the wall once more. The blades were new and sharp, so cutting the rock felt like cutting through baby sea-cows. Bickering between Nayru and Nighthand continued, as Reinier decided to join in. “Yeah, just pipe down a little Nayru... unless you can pull me up this mountain, then you can talk as much as you want.”

“Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! Shortcut!”
Reinier’s ears perked at the last statement by the cat bird hybrid. The group seemed to pick up the pace as they followed Nayru in to a nice indention in to the mountain. He followed behind the rest of the group having an odd feeling in his stomach. Reinier had knew it was a matter of if, but a matter of when, something would happen. It came in the form of a towering boulder falling from the roof.

A dome of rock had fallen, but eight legs sprouted out from under the dome, making it come upwards. Bits of light reflected off the top of the spider, one wayward stream of light catching Reinier in the eyes. “DAMNIT!” Reinier screamed, clasping his hands over his eyes and falling down to his knees. In the background, Reinier could hear the screeching voice of Nayru explaining the weaknesses of the massive spider.

“Oh fine, alright! As you can probably tell, it’s immensely powerful and its defense is near unbreakable! Its only weak spots are the back of its legs, and even then you’ll be hard-pressed, literally, to get to them! And even if you DO manage to hit all eight, it will only be defenseless for a short time! If you don’t kill it fast, it’ll get right back up! Magic has very little effect on it, EXCEPT for when its defenseless, that’s the only time it’ll hurt!! Oh, and one more thing! Its name is Klippe!”

Reinier stumbled to his feet, and gradually opened up his eyes. Everything felt brighter, so for awhile he would have to stay in the back. The claws glowed a dark purple, and took the form of orbs, which smashed together in front of Reinier. He held out his hand and caught a warm to the touch gem, formed out of the energy of the claws. He clicked the gem in to place on his bracelet, and pulled out the dark azure gem. Before he could quite form the weapon from the gem, a loud smack echoed throughout the cave.

Reinier looked over to see Lighteria collapsed against the wall. He seemed rather open to any sort of attack, and the group would need all the help they could get against a foe like this. Lighteria, the quiet one of the group of misfit players. He kept to himself most of the time, and from what Reinier could tell, didn’t talk to anyone except for his kitten. Perfect way to make a friend, save his life.

Taimat, run distraction.

… what? Me? Do stuff? For you? Hell no.

Do it, or else.

Geez, someone’s a little grumpy. What do you have in mind, oh master of mine?

You’re smart, think of something.


The small wings on Reinier’s back grew a bright golden color, and formed a large orb. The orb flew over Reinier, landed on the ground, and out came the dragon Taimat. He waved his wings a bit, knelt his head, and took in a breath of air. Bits of flame flickered out of his sealed mouth, gradually getting brighter and brighter. He shot up his head, and when he opened his mouth, a stream of flames shot towards Klippe. The area illuminated from the rash attack of the dragon, most likely distracting the group from whatever they were doing.

By this time, Reinier had already darted towards Lighteria. All seemed well, the spider didn’t even think of coming near Reinier with a stream of fire heating up his body. Reinier had neared Lighteria, but he soon found his head smacking downwards in to Lights’ ribs. He had tripped over a stalagmite, and his head lashed downwards in to Lights. Uttering a small profanity, he picked up the player and slung him over his shoulder. He jogged far away from the battle as he could, but found the cave to be rather small. He found a nice corner, with an arc of stalagmites all around forming a quarter circle, with the rest of the circle being the wall. On the way to the corner, Reinier muttered the same thing in to Lighteria’s ear, “Juk… Juk… Juk…”

He remembered Lighteria’s odd abilities to form orbs of different elemental qualities, so Juk would be the perfect element for him to become at the moment. Reinier put Lighteria down in a sitting position, so that his head rested against the wall. “Repth…” he muttered, casting the spell on the pained warrior. The blue aura surrounded the player, and brought up his health, but a hit like that would still keep a person slightly comatose. “Oh, and Juk… Juk… Juk…” he said once more. He turned around and began running back to the scene of the fight.

Just as he arrived, a ball of something smashed against the wall. Taimat’s body rested on the ground, the dragon breathing heavily. His tail curled around the left side of his body, his wings down on the ground. He opened his eyes and looked up to Reinier and two words left his mouth, “You suck.” With his job done, his eyes closed and he drifted in to a deep sleep. Reinier knelt down and patted the dragon on the head, “Yeah yeah, just sleep… you done good,” Reinier muttered to his friend.

Reinier pulled out the gem from his pocket as he casually walked towards Klippe. He rolled the gem between his fingers, a smile crossed his face. He popped his hand up in to the air, and swiped his hand across his face to catch the gem. A deep blue light cracked out from his fingers as it began to encase his arm. A brace surrounded his hand, with three claw like appendages aiming downwards in to his hand. On his wrist, one claw like appendage. The smaller claw shot out in to his hand, which he caught. In an instant, it shot outwards more, forming the four spikes of the shuriken.

The shuriken seemed more like two plastered together, because of the fact it was divided in the middle to go up a few centimeters. The middle had an opening large enough for a person to put their hand through, but more importantly it rotated around with the cord, which connected to his bracer. Reinier rested the shuriken on his shoulder as he began walking towards Klippe, who seemed busy with something in front of him. Most likely Zan or Nighthand, what great friends.

With a small hop forward, Reinier pushed all his weight backwards as he reared the shuriken back. He rotated his whole body from his hips, until a point where his upper body faced at a ninety degree angle to his lower body, and he pushed downwards with his upper body. Pushed all the way down until his face practically kissed his knee, and let go of the shuriken. The shuriken cut through the air as it bounded towards Klippe. The shuriken smashed against the front of one of its’ legs, missing the soft part. At that point, Reinier pulled back, and with a string of luck, the cord wrapped around the leg of the spider. He grinned as began to pull back on the cord.

The shuriken stood up against the leg and began to roll upwards on the leg of the spider. The cord wrapped around the soft part of the spider three times, and with the momentum of the shuriken, it was going to hurt. Reinier ripped the cord back with both hands as fast as possible to rip the shuriken back. The spider jolted forward a tad with the first cut, turned around with the second, and slumped down for a bit with the finishing of the third. At that point, the shuriken jumped out from the leg of the spider and lay flat on the ground. With a jerk back on the cord, the line fed back in to the bracer and Reinier caught the shuriken before it smacked him in the face.

Reinier rested the shuriken against his leg, the grin on his face gone, to be replaced by a cold stare. He reared the shuriken back and threw it horizontally this time, aiming for one of the second back leg. The shuriken whirled past the front legs and impaled the back leg of the beast. It let out a scream of pain and stumbled backwards for a bit, before getting back up to its’ feet. He ripped the shuriken back, and gulped. The spider loomed over him, making Reinier look up at the massive beast. “Hello beautiful. What lovely mandi-” and before he could finish his smart ass statement, the monster smacked its’ leg against Reinier’s chest, sending him flying backwards.

He smashed against the wall, arms and legs spread out, with his head being the last thing to hit the wall. He pealed off the wall and landed on the ground next to Taimat. The shuriken which slain two legs impaled the ground at an angle a little ways away from him and the dragon, with one spike nearly touching the ground. The blow to the head knocked him out, and now his fate rested in the hands of his friends. He had done his part, to an extent, so now the rest was up to the group…
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Reinier's Wishlist: Sakabatou|Sharktooth
Abraxas' Wishlist: Complementry|Summon
The Hack's Wishlist: Wall lvl 2

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Lighteria
Well-Oiled Machine
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:59 am
Location: :noitacoL

Post by Lighteria » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:08 am

Oh man.... I got creamed.... My head is spinning.... It feels like the entire room is hurtling out of control.... ugggh.. NOW it feels like someone's picking me up... ....and am I hearing voices? Ugh, I hope not. We don't need another Nighthand in the group.

With a painful groan, the twinblade opens his eyes and gasps in surprise. He was indeed being carried. And by a heavyblade. The assumption is that the player is nighthand, but only because the name was in his mind just now. After a second though, the player sets him hurriedly down by the wall and Lighteria catches a clear glimpse of his face before it's obscured by a blue healing glow. The twinblade takes a labored breath, his strength returning and meeks out a quiet sentence.

"Reinier... thank you..." He says weakly, but it doubtful he heard. The heavyblade soon rushes towards the spider, a shuriken soon glistening in his hand from the cavern light as the battle with the awe-inspiring arachnid restarts. Before long, Kit is by his side again, trying the rouse him from his daze.

"Mew... Meow, mew mew. Mew meow mew! (Lighteria... come on, get up. They need you!)" She says, trying to paw his cheek so he gets up.

Ugh... for some reason I can't get Juk outta my head... feels like I was sleeping with a broken record.... Damn that's annoying.

Woozily, he gets to his feet and watches Reinier, his guardian and.... some sort of wild beast the size of a player, fight the oversized monstrosity. Lighteria grits his teeth, trying to focus his eyes and step forward.

Alright... They've got it distracted... I'll go for a leg.

"Kit. Watch my back." Lighteria says to his guardian, gritting his teeth and rushing forward, getting his eyes focused on one of the giant legs.

"Meow-?! Mew meow mew meow MEW?! Meow mew!! (Watch your-?! How am I supposed to do THAT?! I'm a kitten!!)"

Regardless of that, Lighteria rushes to Klippe, gripping the claw handles of his ryokugen. Reinier's shuriken cutting deep gashes into two of its legs before the lumbering beast manages to smack him away. Lighteria takes the opportunity and the rage that springs up from seeing his brother in arms hurt, and lashes the back of one of the legs, the claw points digging into the leathery backside of the leg. It hisses and swipes a leg at Lighteria but the twinblade makes a quick climb up the beast's back leg, letting the spider hit its own weak spot for a second time. Kit blinks on the sidelines, watching her partner maneuver up the carapace of the beast, climbing on top of it.

Time to use this thing against him...

He shuts his eyes to block out the light and screams out, blindly slamming his claws into the creature's back. The blades clink off harmlessly from its back, little pieces of carapace flying off the creature's shell. Lighteria nods to himself and tosses a few fragments of the carapace to the ground.

"Kit!! Grab that and shine light into its eye- EIEEE!" He says, Klippe suddenly deciding to buck him off. The twinblade sails through the air and tumbles into the rock and dirt near the entrance to the cavern. "...ow." He groans and gets back to his feet. Kit, in the mean time, grasps a piece of the shell between her teeth and angles it in a beam of light from the top of the cavern. She shuts her eyes and the shell catches the glow, making a blinding beam of light shoot into the creatures eyes. It hisses and ducks its head, pulling one of its massive legs over its face to shield its eyes.

Now's my chance...!

Lighteria rushes as fast as he can, zipping under the beast and ramming the claws of his wood-type weapons into the back of its leg.

"Splinter Slash!!" He yells, tearing into the back of the creature's leg, leaves and green magic tearing into the wound, spilling the black blood of the beast onto the ground. Klippe hisses out loudly, most of its legs now disabled. It teeters and begins to drop. Lighteria blinks as his attack ends and looks up, the spiked underbelly now hurtling towards him. His blood runs cold and he whimpers.

"Meep-!" Is all he manages to say before the creatures underside crashes to the floor, leaving a gigantic dust cloud in its wake. The room shakes a little from the impact of the beast's belly, rocks occasionally tumbling down from the sides of the cavern. ...However, the dust soon settles and the creature is seen slowly rising up, dozens and dozens dark green orbs seeping out from its underbelly, wafting into the smallish cavern, filling it with a green glow.

Consciousness at last...
Lv. 37 Twin Blade (180 SP)
Weapon: Rashou (Thunder Coil- 30, Suvi Lei- 20, Mumyn Lei- 30) (Life Drain)
Armor: Holy Tree Mail (Juk Kruz- 20) - Scarab Earring (La Repth- 20, Rip Maen- 40) - Time Sandals (Ap Do- 15) - Forest Gloves (Juk Kruz- 20)
GP: 14384

Wish list (In order of priority): Angel halo accessory, chibi angel wings, Bone Armor, Professional

Lighteria: "Obsessively updating my profile since Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:10 pm"

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

Post by Zan » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:56 am

The rage...God the rage was so overwhelming, so overtaking that Zan felt himself scream, heard himself cry out in his head, but no sound dare escape his mouth. His mouth? No, it definitely wasn't his any longer. That is, not right now, at least. Was this permanent? Was he going to be in control from this point forward? The questions were an incessant sea of madness billowing out from the cracks of his sanity, culling him to simply fall into the pit, fall into the abyss his subconscious so temptingly created. It was relief; it was a gut-knotting release that he so painfully needed to indulge. Yet...there was something holding the Heavy Blade back, something that prevented him from taking that last, dreaded step. Looking down from his mental perch on the ceiling, he realized it was the people that fought so valiantly below him. The former college student had known them for only a few days, a few weeks if one counter their initial meeting, and yet he felt an obligation towards them; a duty. Did he owe them a damn thing? No, this was, in essence, their fault. They had indirectly induced this and still he wanted to help them put down this menace.

Watching Reinier's selfless mini-rescue, the ensuing battle with his shuriken, everything made Zan proud to be a part of them. Though the fellow Heavy Blade always seemed to have a light heart about things, a humor that persisted even through the handful of rough times Zan had seen him experience. Yet, in the end, when it mattered, Reinier always seemed apt to impress. Be it with the sudden, engulfing stream of fire from his...pet...or the oddly constructed weapon he wielded, Zan's newly inspired instinct and a little old fashioned gut told him he could trust him at his back. Then there was Lighteria. Though Zan had experienced a little less of his abilities, what he had seen was something Zan had come to appreciate. Though some of the more one dimensional people might count off the Twin Blade because of something as passive as his hack, the former college student saw it for what it truly was. Zan had only really seen it in action twice, but both times it had both cut the fight times in half and saved countless injuries from taking place. Nighthand, as powerful and helpful as he had proved, was a bit more of a wild card. Every time his scent would catch the air all Zan could sense was unease, a beast of his own stirring beneath the surface. Was it his other self? Possibly, but was Zan going to let his guard down that easily? Hell no.

Through the clash of the battle and the general upset of his thoughts in general, he had missed the majority of what had occurred. A spill of orbs had taken place of Lighteria and the giant Rock Spider now hobbled on only three functioning limbs. Everyone, besides Nighthand, seemed indisposed in one way or another and Zan simply didn't have enough trust or control to fill a grain of sand. All his plans of assistance, all his will to help was washed away by the limp form of Reineir not too far off. A hunger then, a hunger to tear, rip, shred, filled his stomach, made his throat clench. 'Free meal' was the only thing to fill his mind then as he bounded towards the unconscious Heavy Blade, a blur of inhuman motion that left the air hissing as it rushed through his fur. With his claws mere feat from closing in on Reinier's throat, the sudden scream of pain down his back had him twirling to stare at the blood-thick claw as he hit the ground. Though he could already feel the wound cease its bleeding, the flesh was still torn and roaring with pain, stitching together rather slowly. Knowing that waiting to heal it would be suicidal, the Beast leapt to a crouched position in a single, fluid motion, hand splayed in ginger fingers spreads before him on the cave's ground.

The massive claw was swooping under him as hurled into the air before Zan even realized he was doing it. He was becoming more and more detached, more and more some floating bundle of thoughts around the cave walls. A second claw came in an overhead swoop as the former college student still steadied mid-air. The Heavy Blade's hands shot out to grip its decent, legs swinging up to curl about the claw as it fell harmlessly to the ground. In a series of jerking movements that seemed pushed to toss him from his latched position, he felt the nausea from his healing concussion push to the surface, beg for him to let go. Though the Beast wanted very much to finish off the abomination, he didn't want to be hindered anymore than the back wound had already made him. Even now he could feel it knitting back together, assuring him a close all too soon. That in mind, he flung himself from his vice grip, soaring through the air at a rather unsteady spin. Yet another claw flung up to impale him on the wall and, using both his momentum and the claw's, he grabbed the appendage, using it as cushion as he barreled towards the cave wall. An audible crack reverberated through rock as the claw crumpled, twisted against the jagged formations.

The Beast rolled forward as it fell, using the spin to take a lot from the fall, a pulsing pain in his arms the only display of pain offered up, thankfully. With yet another leg taken out and unusable, the Rock Spider fell on its stomach, the remaining pair of limbs arched and scraping against the ceiling of the cave. Stab after stab of the assaulting claws had the werewolf scrambling around in frantic rolls and panicked dashes, a number of crack-rippling holes left in their wake. Only when one wiggled to free itself from a hole made far, far too deep, did the Beast get a chance to retaliate. Setting his weight on his palms, he launched a paired kick behind him, steel-toned feet colliding with rock, forcing it into a paralysis. The fury rolled in waves off of the creature, explosive hisses shaking from its equivalent of a throat. Stallion bucks had the claw smashing into the walls time after time. Initially, the Beast thought the Rock Spider to have lost its mind in the haze of pain and battle, but as moderate boulders began and fogs of dirt began to rain around them, he realized the plan it had resorted to. Though the boulders were becoming simply small tumbling rocks after a few seconds, the initial boulders had made weaving towards the remaining claw annoyingly difficult. A few minutes of dodging and minor dings from the falling rocks later and his hand had layed a crippling blow against the upper area of the back of the claw. With all appendages now twitching heaps, the creature was forced to lay helpless and still, eyes burning with the promise of more damage if it was given time to recover.

The lycanthrope wasted no time in launching himself toward the downed-torso, landing with a thud on the reflective surface of its shell. Reflexively, the Beast's eyes had come to a close, knowing he didn't need sight to hit the rather large target. Long, wicked looking claws tore through the soft flesh of its many-blinking eyes, thick fluid dribbling form the array of wounds. As fun as it was, the Beast knew all too well it wouldn't accomplish the needed amount of damage to fully subdue the creature. Curled fists and clenching knuckles slammed into the thick carapace with the force of an out of control car, loud thuds vibrating through the air. The creature shuddered under him and, in a last ditch effort to rid itself of the Beast's rather pesky presence, flipped over, the spiky underside exposed as it pinned him beneath its unbelievable mass. The motion had left his already damaged head slapping against the floor, robbing both Zan and the Beast of their consciousness. In a receding wave of fur and sickening crunch of reforming bone, Zan was left beneath it human and unbreathing.
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).

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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 » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:48 pm

For once, this mis-matched group of fighters happened to be working together. Whether this was by design or coincidence, was another matter. Either way, they were mostly doing Nighthand’s work for him, taking out the legs left and right. In what seemed like a record amount of time, the boss was down and ready to be taken out.

Man, it looks like I might have to re-think my opinion of how this group can work together…

Unfortunately, with the last heroic effort, the last of his teammates were taken down. The spider was vulnerable, but he was alone.

Have at it, let’s see what you can do when you’re alone.
You know full well what I’m capable of…

Nighthand, almost subconsciously now, shifted himself a little over to speed to make this all that much faster. His strength was diminished, but still overpowering compared to anyone else in their little gathering. Grasping his Corona Blade in both hands, he heaved it horizontally across the creature’s underside. The massive blade shattered the now-brittle spikes on its underside, clearing a large space to stand on its writhing form.

Doing just that, Nighthand hopped up onto the monster’s underside. He brought his blade up over his head, and with a slight grimace at the creature, he slammed it home. It lodged into the spiders belly, secure enough for the bladesmage to be able to leave it there for the time being.

Reaching into his scrolls pouch, Nighthand withdrew two of his older scrolls, a pair of Gale Breaths. They were weak scrolls, both level 1, but they were wood, which was all that mattered to him.

Grasping one in each hand, he activated them at the same time. Rather than let the energies flow to the ground, where they would activate in a rise spell, he gathered them up into the palms of his hands, where he could manipulate them much easier. (16)

He felt the energy, now free of its idle form, pulsing with life in his grip. Whether that was an effect of the instability of his control, or of it was the nature of the life-based power itself, he had no idea. Either way, it was rising.

Around him, like a green constellation in an alien sky, Lighteria pulsed and flared, giving off small waves of wood energy himself. The little increases in energy were quickly absorbed into the whole, further increasing the power of the spells he held.

Feeling that they had powered up sufficiently for the task at hand, and feeling the spiders trembling under his feet increase, Nighthand decided it was time. Since the spider would soon be regenerating itself, he had better kill it quickly. As powerful as he was, he doubted he could take out all eight legs and still have the power to kill it on his own.

Nighthand silently willed the power to form one globe, rather than its two separate handfuls. (18 ) It streamed from palm to palm, centering in between him and continuing to absorb the energy Lighteria let off.

I seem to have unusual control over this power at the moment…
Nevermind that, you’re running out of time!

It was true. The spider’s rocking had grown even more intense, as it tried to flip itself back over. Nighthand grabbed his blade, and yanked it from the creatures underbelly.

Nighthand leapt.

In this short amount of time he was in the air, Nighthand had all the time he needed. He willed the energy he had gathered to join him. It obeyed, hastily, and gathered once more in his hand. By this time, its power was intense enough to be visible to the naked eye, as a bright green orb clutched in his hand.

Not that anyone was conscious to see it, anyways.

He slammed his palm against the base of his blade, and let the energy flow into it. (16) A move he had used many times before, to give himself elemental attacks he didn’t have. The power flowed up the blade, changing the red and orange markings covering it to greens and blues. It was almost as if his blade has changed form, for a moment, except the energy writhed around the blade as it settled, ensuring the color change was merely an illusion. Even now it absorbed more and more energy pushed outwards by Lighteria.

He began his descent.

He twisted his blade back behind him, and grasped its handle with both hands. He reversed it in his grip, and landed, slamming it up to its hilt into the underbelly of the spider. There was a green pulse, and then nothing.

Well, that was somewhat anti-climactic.
Shush, and watch. Oh, and you might want to pull Zan out from under it now.

Nighthand stepped off the now-immobile spider, and grabbed his fellow heavyblade by the arms. A couple of swift tugs, and he was free from beneath the monster’s heavy weight. Nighthand pulled him to rest against the wall along with Reinier and Taimat. Then, he turned to watch the spider’s demise.

The cavern began to rumble, as the energy he had driven into it began its work. Sudenly, six vines shot from the ground around the beast. They pierced the air with a whistle, arched inward, and drove down with unearthly force into the monster’s cracked carapace. It’s writhing began anew, as the vines split and divided, like a time-stop photography of ivy scaling a wall. The monster, primarily made of rock, was quite literally shredded by the power of the growing vines.

After the monster was nothing more than a pile of rubble in the center of the room, the vines withered and disintegrated, as if afflicted by an immense age right there.

”Well… I done good.” Nighthand muttered to himself, and then turned back to his fallen comrades.

Nighthand grasped a stray orb the floated around, a fragment of Lighteria. He held it for a moment, then spoke. ”Lights, would you re-form now? You’ve done your part, now it’s time to rest.” He tossed the ball of light over his shoulder and ignored them all, concentrating on Zan and Reinier.

He packed away his Corona Blade and drew out his Life Sword. Though the blade wasn’t too powerful in battle, it was invaluable as a healing tool. It’s Ol Repth had been drawn upon many times before, and would see use once more today.

”Ol Repth… Ol Repth…. Oh, and I suppose I’ll do you too, Taimat. Ol Repth.”

None of the three stirred, but at least they had full HP to rest with. Rather than a comatose state of pain, they slept peacefully.

”Wow, you actually did it! You beat Klippe! Hurry, we must rush to the top and get to Nall!” Nayru fluttered around like an idiot.

”Yeah, okay bird. Which one of these do you want to carry, the wolf-man or the dragon? We’re waiting here.”

Nighthand ignored the bird, and for once logic seemed to overpower its feeble mind and it shut up.

Well, we did it. But the worst battle is still ahead. I can feel Nall above us, scaling this mountain… And the power at the top… I’m surprised I couldn’t sense it at the bottom, it’s so immense. We need this rest, before we can dream of facing that.

”Sleep well and deep, guys. You need it.” Nighthand said, and took up a position on the opposite side of the room, a watchful eye on both entrance and exit in case anything should show it’s ugly head.

User avatar
Lighteria
Well-Oiled Machine
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:59 am
Location: :noitacoL

Post by Lighteria » Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:12 am

The orbs still pulsed in the air... The green waves of Juk energy had been powerful when Nighthand powered up his spells. The natural will of the wood element felt strong today, most likely threatened by the surrounding earth. Perhaps the element naturally has a fight or flight mechanism, trying just a little harder the more urgent things get, or maybe it was the expert handling of Nighthand's spell. The team had seen him fail a few times before, sometimes with dire consequences, but today his control was exemplary. As such, the Juk power that constantly flowed from the orbs were given the perfect target to swarm on and boost. In his fragmented thoughts, Lighteria came to admire that kind of control. That kind of power would serve them well in the coming battles without a doubt. Perhaps it was simply his basic instincts moving to the surface, or the element's will to become stronger, but Lighteria, at least parts of him, were inspired. Inspired to become stronger... to have more control...

<Focus Reaches Level 3>

"Aahh-ooo!!" Lighteria's voice suddenly rings out in the cavern, the player finally able to achieve reformation after a minute and a half of concentrating. As his feet touch the ground, he sways a little and collapses onto his rear in exhaustion. His head was still spinning from the battle and the utter confusion of splitting his consciousness into 84 different parts was NOT helping matters. He groans and plops onto his back to rest, a great deal of his body pulsing black with death. The unwilling spilt may have saved his life, but the lumbering beast was easily able to catch a good chunk of the orbs under its belly. The defenseless orbs instantly crushed under the massive weight and the even deadlier spikes. As a result, Lighteria had lost a lot of HP, health that could not be restored for at least five minutes. With that fact, the twinblade merely groans in pain, trying to cover the black, pulsing wounds with his hands as he rests.

Uggh... what a pain.... But it looks like we did it.

He grunts and rises slowly to sit up, seeing the others in clearly worse shape than he is. All except the near invincible Nighthand, dutifully keeping watch over them as the rest. Lighteria sighs gently, looking at the sword strapped on his back, thinking of his old friend.

I have to start taking care of myself.

He hangs his head and sighs.

What good are these powers if I can't use them to save my friends? What do I do now? Just give them a little boost of power and weaken the enemies a little... that's all... I don't know if I'm even helping them or not. I just float around like a coward...

He looks to Reinier as he rests, dried blood still staining his shirt.

I have to figure out some way to attack... The random shocks with the orbs just aren't going to cut it... They barely cause any damage at all.

"Mew (Repth)." Kit says behind Lighteria. The player blinks and looks down at himself, the black wounds fading into nothing. He smiles over to his companion and scoops her up in his arms, petting her back.

"Thanks Kit. Good timing" He says with a smile. The kitten simply purrs in reply, loving the back rub and, of course, the attention. After a moment, the twin blade sighs and scootches back against the wall to rest his back against it, still petting Kit softly. He sighs and looks casually to the entrance way, wondering if there were any beasts that were following them.

Maybe I'm just paranoid.
Maybe I'm just paranoid.

I don't see why. You're about as strong as I am right now.

Oh honestly... We can't start fighting with each other now.


"I'll... take watch for a while." Lighteria says after a few minutes, Kit perched on his shoulder, the player standing next to Nighthand.
Lv. 37 Twin Blade (180 SP)
Weapon: Rashou (Thunder Coil- 30, Suvi Lei- 20, Mumyn Lei- 30) (Life Drain)
Armor: Holy Tree Mail (Juk Kruz- 20) - Scarab Earring (La Repth- 20, Rip Maen- 40) - Time Sandals (Ap Do- 15) - Forest Gloves (Juk Kruz- 20)
GP: 14384

Wish list (In order of priority): Angel halo accessory, chibi angel wings, Bone Armor, Professional

Lighteria: "Obsessively updating my profile since Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:10 pm"

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

Post by Zan » Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:30 am

Conner...

Go...away...

Again, Zan lay bathed in the empty nothingness that threatened to consume him, that threatened to wash him away in its never ending, ever receding tides. The ocean was thick with shadow, salted with fear and darker things, things that promised to send Zan screaming through its depths. Though, unlike his usual experiences that left him wading through the empty pool, Zan could feel himself laying on his back, the solid press of matter a comfort to his ease his thoughts. The voice was so close, a proximity of blissful distance. Zan didn't dare to sit in fear of colliding with its bearer, its origin, the irking pulse of its core. Whoever, whatever it was couldn't simply be dismissed and disregarded by the high likelihood of the former college student's dismal sanity. It was real, familiar, a painful prickle of a time he had forgotten. Only one had called him by his real name when he lounged in The World and that person would only cull up memories of the insane, the asinine, and the absurd.

Conner...get up...

I said go away...

AND I SAID GET UP!

Behind closed eyes and heavy lids he could see the sudden shine of light, a bright scream in his face. The man's voice...his voice...was a slam to the senses, a screech that made his entire body shake, quiver, rumble with a fear the Heavy Blade wasn't ready to confront. It was a laughing skeleton in his closet, a skeleton he had left in there to claw its way out, to slam against the lock he has so firmly placed on it. Eyes fluttering, squinting in an attempt to focus in the new illumination, Zan discovered only he was aglow, a single sphere of iridescence that only made the ping of loneliness swell in his chest. In a moment he begged for that loneliness back, pleaded for the blaring addition of company to fade and die away. No longer was he bathed in tendrils of blackness, but a wash of everything, a white expanse that showed no true end. A hurried glance upward revealed the towering form of the actual Zan, clothed in the wardrobe the game had permitted while Conner lay adorned in his real world outfit, a part of him clinging rather unhealthily to what he had lost. Zan's arm splayed fingers for Conner, an offering to help the man off his back.

Alright...alright...get your hand out of my face.

Sorry I had to yell, you were pretty zoned.

The offered hand wavered and dispersed, clutched back as the replica took a few steps back. This...Zan had been the result of a hacked monster's attempt to replicate him indefinitely. When Wulo, the dreaded, cursed Wulo, had severed the connection the monster had made, it had simply left a single replica, a replica of its own thoughts and its own building memory. Conner's initial attempt to get to his feet only proved unstable, a wobble nearly taking him down as he fought for balance. The step Zan took forward was countered by the step Conner retreated, the man's eyes hidden behind the dark brown of his bangs, eyes awash with the amber glow of the wolf. Even here, even in the realm of his own twisted consciousness (if that truly was what this place existed as). Though, if it were his consciousness, what as Zan doing here? Why did he seem so real? So palpable? The thought only drove a pulsing headache into further assault, Conner's hands slipping to grabble his temples. A few minutes and deep breaths later and he rose, unhunched to eye the being of pure data before him.

What do you want, Zan?

I wanted you to snap the hell out of it, Conner.

Wha...why are you here?

Do you even have the slightest clue where 'here' is, Conner?

This is my mind, my retreat....isn't it?

Their words reverberated through the place like self-perpetuated gongs, an echo that flew without their mouths ever opening.

No...you still haven't figured it out yet, have you?

Let's skip the cryptic bullshit and get to the point, alright?

Fine. When you...break down, at all, when your mind feels it has to go somewhere else, away from where you are, you come here.

Again, I'll have to ask where 'here' is.

Dead parts of The World. Failed servers, fields, a badly crafted dungeon. I'm not too sure, really, all I know is you're mind just searches for the best way to escape, a place not even he can find you.

Who's 'he'?

The Beast, the Dread, the It that stalks the corner of your thoughts.

Alright, but why are you here? How'd you find me?

Alas, you forced me here, Conner. I'm the voice you can talk to, someone who knows you, someone who is, in essence, you.

Wait, where have you been? Why are you still, well, existing?

No, no. Not now. You have to wake up now. Nighthand is waiting for you, the others are waking as well. Get your ass in gear.

Yes sir, ass munch, sir.

Aha. Ahaha. Funny. Now wake up.

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

A quick blink and everything was gone, everything was pulled from him in an instant. He was suddenly aware of the dull ache trailing down his back, an oh-so-kind token of the fight. The dull glow of magic faded as Nighthand's spell took effect, the last of his aches diluted and forgotten. Though he was still afraid to move, afraid it would stir some pain the magic had missed, his eyes continued their wary movements hither and thither, scanning the room for any possible nasty surprised. To his relief, everything seemed decently laxed; Lighteria was putting himself back together, Nighthand was standing watch, and Reinier and his pet were still recovering. The damp musk of the cave bit at his nostrils as he sat up with a slow, cautious motion. Nothing seemed too terribly sore except the faint beat of his still-healing concussion; something he feared wouldn't be leaving for quite some time. The Heavy Blade carefully rose to his feet, a hand reflexively coming to caress the back of his skull, the area still notably tender.

Winces decorating the pained canvas of his face, Zan edged towards Reinier, head canted slightly as he regarded his injuries. Though the fellow Heavy Blade had been one of the first to truly be knocked out for the count, he had also been the one to truly inspire a lash of momentum that led to their victory. Sure, everyone had played their valuable parts, but the spirit of the fight seemed to stem from the damage done by the shuriken. Thinking back, Zan would have liked to credit himself (being the first to have disabled a leg), but knew the sheer energy had come from the two Reinier and taken out. It showed hope for team work, something Zan had been hoping to obtain for a little while now. A single hand was offered up to the still-unconscious person before him, digits splaying in a similar fashion as the replica's, a gesture Zan hadn't realized was really his own. The thought brought a fleeting smile twitching at his lips, a smile that withered almost as soon as it was spawned.

"Reinier?" Was that his name...? "Reinier, wake up. We don't need you asleep if something else comes, now do we?" Again a fading smile appeared. "In all seriousness, if you can here me, try and get up. You fought pretty damn good. We'll need you if some other big bad gets cranky and rears its ugly ass little head."

Zan's mind drifted as he waited for the player to stir, hand still outstretched and waiting to be taken. It was a normal day dream, thank God, but one that was rather trancing in its own right. If that thing had only come from a small little crevice in the damn mountain, what was waiting for them at the top? What had Nall been so driven to meet? The Heavy Blade had no doubt that it was another hacker of some variety or another and, if that giant Rock Spider had been its lackey, Zan was not looking forward to making pleasantries. Nighthand seemed rather patient against the wall, a careful eye checking entrance and exit for any unwelcome patrons. As uneasy as the man made Zan, he knew that he was probably the best candidate to have on watch. A wandering gaze swept to Lighteria, a brow lofting as he absorbed the look that seemed plastered on the Twin Blade's face. Was there something bothering him? Well, obviously, but the question was: what?

"You alright?" Zan's voice soothed out in a genuinely concerned tone, an odd sense of comradery sliding through his thoughts. Perhaps the day was looking up.
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).

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