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(SoC) Great Undead Hall
| >A message soon finds its way unto the chat
/What kinda quest?/
>Its from a player known as KnightHeart
| >Standing by the questboard is a familiar golden tower. Cross armed and sleeping
| /It's a fetch quest. I don't know anything else apart from the location and the item we need to fetch./
> A reply comes by in a zap. The sender was, of course, Aria; the swordswoman herself.
"Hey, Golden, you there?"
> She spots the tower, idle in his share of narcolepsy, as usual.
| >>237301
/Aight, been feeling up for some fetching, sure I'll join/
>The reply comes almost as quickly
| /We're two. We need at least one more player. I have a candidate here, but he's AFK./
> As she enters the chat, Aria nudges the sleeping Golden.
"Sleeping still, huh."
> She swivels around, looking for other players — and waiting for the tower to wake up, that is.
| >>237325
>As she looks around she sees a man approching her, wearing what can only be described as an old Officer Garnement, with several guns and blades strapped all around his body
>His name is KnightHeart, his title: 'Ligthing fast'
"Yo, you that Aria gal? Heard you guys did some bigshot raid recently or somethin' I'm happy to help in whatever this quest ends up being"
>He laughs, quite boisterously
| >Golden mumbles incoherently giving a thumbs up. Before his head collapses sideways into his shoulder plate as he fades back into unconsciousness
| >>237330
"Why, indeed. I'm Aria, nice to meet you, KnightHeart."
> She sees the man, the various gears around him raises wonder in her, but it was none to importance for now.
"This is here is Golden. He is my teammate during the raid. He is.. sleeping."
> Aria points to the sleeping Golden. His shining golden armor was no less brighter than what she remember.
"I don't know if he is in for another party with me — we'll have to see for that."
| >>237341
"Hey, come on now, this is still in the midst of day!"
> She complained, the tower gave a sure signal, but seeing him back to trance annoys her.
"Don't tell me I have to call Trapped to wake you up."
| >A girl in a chef outfit clammers in, pots and pans clammers in, although it is hard to tell, granted the different character nameñ this is most certainly definitely, TRAPPPED
"Sh... I'm indiguise"
| >>237348
"And what are you doing, missus?!"
> Aria immediately recognizes the girl — of course, in her mind, who else would she be?
"Sheesh. I swear this party never assembles normally."
> She mockingly said; despite the fact that she herself has never assembled any party of her own.
>>237349
"N-no, he's just like that since I first met him. Don't bother asking him about it."
> Turning to Knight, she replied.
| >the customary soft flash of light as a player signs in, appearing near the quest board.
"Wow, it's been a hot minute since I last logged on..."
>He stretches. Player tag is Ffzdf. He pokes the black note
"Sounds interesting! Anyone else doing this?"
>He looks around
(sry trying to get smth down really quick b4 class)
| >>237352
>Trapped rushes in and gives aria a quick hug and cheek kiss
"Sorry bout the get up, angry mob dropped by and tried to collect the bounty on my head."
| >>237353
"Yeah, we are doing—"
> Aria was cut short as she was hugged and kissed — all before she expects any of those.
"Between you and Golden, I have no idea which is worse at doing their shtick in the middle of day."
> She pats the girl hugging her before looking out to the party she has collected. Four. That is above the minimum needs.
"So, let's recap. Aria, KnightHeart, Golden, Trapped. Are you joining there, Ffz.. err.. lad?"
| (random cameo cuz im bored.)
>perhaps. Just perhaps one can hear a voice from the other side of town.
COME AT ME YA BALKAN MOTHERFU-
>i wonder who it could be? Is a he. And he sounds familiar...
>hmmmm
| >>237368
(Not joining there?)
"—What the hell is he doing now?!"
> Aria mumbles quickly, and rather silently, as the passing sound goes to silence.
| "Oh yeah I forgot about that."
>He laughs nervously
"It's just a placeholder; I've been meaning to get a name change. You can call me Spark."
>He extends his hand with a friendly smile.
>His model is of middling height with a lean build, covered by a cloak of deep blue. As he extends his hand, plain leather armor can be seen covering his torso. His outfit is complete with leather boots, plain, dark green pants, and leather bracers.
| >>237385
(nope im the original DM after all.
Besides i wanna see how this goes without magpie involvement)
>after the crrap about balk
| >>237390
> Aria chuckled upon hearing the reason for the strange spaghetti soup.
"Aria."
> She replies with a gentle handshake, signifying their meeting.
"Are you joining us? We have about four people here. It would be great to have more."
| >>237396
(oops finger sliped)
>after the crap about Balkans a loud boom can be heard probably.
>then 6 figures can be seen getting Blown sky high
| >>237397
"That sounds cool! Jumping back in solo probably wouldn't be a good idea on my part anyways."
>Spark turns and greets the other three members of the party
| >Knight nods
"Aye Aye, glad to have you on the team"
>He says, before turning to the rest of the people
"So how we handling this?"
| "Well... If it's a fetch quest all we need to do is get to point a and then to point B"
>Trapped flicks a piece of link off her clothes, ignoring the explosion
"Where's the place again,
| >>237398
"That guy never changes."
> Aria shortly turns to see the mess caused by the explosion. She simply smiles at it, knowing the person, he might have just done it for something in his reasons.
"Welcome, Spark."
> She smiles at the newcomer before turning to Knight.
>>237412
"Let's see. We need to form a party first—"
> Aria opens her menu, highlighting the players, and then a message pops in front of each member of the party.
> 'You are now in a party!' the message says
| >Knight takes note of the message and then approaches the board
"Alright, let's see this quest then"
| >>237420
"Let's try accepting the quest first."
> Aria tears off the dark paper from the quest board, confirming her acceptance to the quest.
> 'Quest Added: Grand Hall of Wyth'
> 'Received Item : Remnant of Wyth'
> She notices the new item — and so does everyone in the party — she calls it forth from her inventory.
"This is strange. Do you guys have it as well?"
> In her hand is a chipped piece of rock. It radiates a strange aura all around it.
| "Glowy rock... Great Halls.. wonder who this Wyth is"
>Trapped pulls out a map
"Now let's see..."
| >>237441
> A quick search on the map reveals nothing in relation to 'Wyth' — there were some 'halls', but none of them matches the name quite perfectly.
"Found anything, Trapped?"
> Aria walks to Trapped, seeing the map herself.
| >Spark pulls out his rock
"Hold up, do we each have a copy of the same item? Or are they each different? Maybe it's a clue for where we need to go?
| >>237454
> Aria takes a trace back, she ponders in her mind. The rock held in their hand are the same, but the minor details can easily fool the eye.
"It might be me, but they all look different enough. Maybe it's a key item?"
> She holds up the rock, letting sunlight shines the most of it. The light let out a detail not visible from before: the rock was mostly hollow; one can easily break it, if they want to.
"This reminds me of something…"
| >>237448
>Trapped shakes her head
"Nothing about a "Wyth" on the map, probably a secret location or somethingcc
| >Knight looks at his item, passing one hand in his glorious and neatly trimmer beard
"Hollow and fragile, well aint that a depressive item, maybe we gotta piece em together or something?"
>He says
| >>237464
"A quest-only location, huh."
> Aria mumbles, still taking a close look at the rock — trying to find any use of it.
"We clearly can't walk to the place, or even know the place at all. So, this is all the clue we have."
>>237469
> She nods to the idea.
"Here, try mine."
> Aria threw her piece of rock towards Knight, letting him try piecing them together—
> But somehow, Aria misses Knight — the rock shatters as it crashes to the ground below.
"... Uh…"
| > The now-destroyed rock releases a faint earthy smell, along with an even-fainter clot of soot.
"..."
> Aria is still at loss — it's painted clearly in her face.
| >Trapped is thrown off guard, acidentally crushing her rock too
"uh..."
| >*the rock in her hand
| >Knight's face is completely blank, he turns to Aria slowly
"..."
| >>237476
> Aria was too stricken to notice that Trapped had dropped her rock.
> The two rock amplifies the soot. The smell of wet soil — ichor — was more noticeable to anyone close.
>>237478
"I'm sorry."
> It was all Aria could let out. She must have increased her 'Klutz' stat to have done something so obtuse.
| >Spark scratches his head
"You guys smell that? Someone remind me how portals work."
>He laughs
| >Knight just waves his hand
"Well, who cares"
>He puts his rock on the ground and shoots it with one of his flintlocks
"There ya go"
| >>237491
> Suddenly, and in an immediate response to the rock's destruction, the soot became irresistibly noticeable. It was no more faint — it encapsulates the party in a claustrophobic darkness.
"What is th—"
> Aria's voice falls to nothingness. There was no seeing, no hearing. All the player could ever sense is a distant void.
> The sound of cheery Primaria was no more; it was silence, a sound of dripping droplets, and a hum of a hollow space.
| > The party was transported, magically, to a cave-like structure. They all lie still, frozen in an unconscious state. Their collective breathing can be heard, and surely, it was all the sound they make for now — at least, until one wakes up.
| >Knight gets up, dusting his coat
"Well there's that mystery"
| Wow
| >Spark wakes up with a loud grown.
"What the shit, now I remember why I stopped playing..."
>He rolls over onto his hands and knees, still moaning.
"Yo, what happens if I throw up in the game?"
| >>237507
"Dont think you can mate"
>Knight says, laughing before looking at the surroundings
"Mind waking up the rest?"
| >>237513
"Maybe I'll just vomit on them."
>Spark jokes weakly. He crawls over to the other three, shaking Aria and TRAPPED on the shoulders.
| >>237513
(ID change is fun.)
> The surrounding was all just that: caves. Stalactites, and stalagmites grow wildly. Traces of civilization was not naught either. Swords, spears, bows, arrows; they all rest unmoving, scattered across like a litter.
> There doesn't seem to be any clear path in the horizon, however. The only clear indication as to where to go is only a lonely lantern to the north — and even that leads to a rock solid cave wa.
| >>237517
(How did I miraculously get my ID back?!)
>>237514
> Aria was unresponsive to the attempt at waking her up. She is still immobile, and a calm breathing pattern is an indication that she is alive — just asleep.
| >Knight looked north
"Well, good thing I built up my WIL, north it is then..."
>He looks at the party, waiting for them to wake up
| "Fucking hell..."
>Spark muttered under his breath
"Wake up already!"
>There was a small pop as a thin filament of electricty arced from his finger to Aria's cheek.
| >>237517
(*wall. But that's a bit late.)
>>237531
"Nngh—"
> Aria responded to the electricity by swatting it — only finding it useless moments later.
"What is it?!"
> She wakes up in a tantrum, and yet, a new realization dawns on her: she was still in a quest.
"... No, more precisely—"
> She stands up, looking at the area around her. Her tantrum was clearly short-lived.
"—Where are we?"
| >>237536
"A dank gloomy cave, is the easy answer I guess. But really, I dont know"
>Knight says, chuckling
| >Spark just shrugs, shifting his focus to waking up TRAPPED and Golden.
"Either of you know a better way than shocking them?"
| >>237542
> Hearing Knight's answer, she purposely opened a map of her own.
"Wyth's Gate."
> Aria echoed the name.
"There is no map data. At least, I don't have any."
> She closes the map, feeling its uselessness in such a dungeon-like setting.
>>237546
"You can't get Golden to be awake by a simple jolt, and Trapped is.. uh—.. you don't want to hear my idea for her."
> Aria replies to Spark, a slight worry in her face as she definitely knows what can wake the loli up.
| >Spark stands with a frustrated look on his face, brushing off his hands.
"Well, it doesn't look like we're going anywhere any time soon."
>He wanders over to the north wall and peers at the lantern.
| >>237557
"At least now is a nice time to plan things out."
> Aria suggests, a calm tone in her voice.
"So, Knight, Spark, mind explaining your areas? No need for an overall stat — I just need to know the areas you both excel at."
> She said, as she herself is arranging a few skills and spells of her own to a more tactful positioning.
| >>237566
"Shooting stuff really fast is what I do best, basically a heavy DPS glass canon"
>Knight says
| >>237583
> Aria nods at Knight's reply.
"Right. We now have three glass cannons."
> She doesn't look all perturbed by the fact — instead, she marks a new idea in her head.
"Well, more reason for Golden's existence in the party."
| >>237566
"I call myself a Stormcaster."
>Spark says with a grin. He raises both hands in front of him, summoning a swirl of ice and snow around one and a crackle of electricity around the other.
"Good for burst damage and crowd control. I've also got some knife skills for backup."
>Dismissing the magic, his hands vanish into his cloak before reappearing with a flourish, a dagger in each hand.
| >Spark made his knives disappear with another flourish.
"So you and Trapped are also dps builds, Aria?"
| >>237616
> The swordswoman gave an optimistic nod upon hearing the two reply.
"Thank goodness — I didn't pick the wrong people."
> She exhales a breath, closing all the menu in front of her.
"Now that I know about those, I can rest easy when a battle commences. Knowing this game, that'll happen in whatever area opens up next."
| >>237627
> She heard Spark's question afterwards, taking time to answer by reluctantly looking at the stats of herself.
"I'm in the zone of ambivalence. I deal damage, but not to the point of being a fragile stick — but I can't defend nor support much either."
> Aria finishes her reply, knowing how bad she had built her character.
"Plus, I have a huge number of spells I can't use because I don't invest in any catalyst devices."
| >Spark squinted back at her.
"What kind of fighting style do you prefer? I might have something..."
>He trails off as he opens up his inventory screen.
| (I hope this is okay)
>Out of nowhere, a familiar, immobile, pimply teenager with a sniper rifle, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, appears on the ground next to golden.
| >Trapped roles over in her sleep, snoring
| >The newcomer mumbles something, but you can't understand it. He looks pretty excited though, in an erotic sense, and he's smiling widely.
| >Spark peers around his inventory screen.
"Uuuhhh..."
>He looks over at Aria and Knight
| >>237822
> All this time, Aria was considering what style would fit her. An eventual 'hmm' can be heard before she words up her sentence.
"Maybe something quick? I don't need to deal one huge damage, I'd rather deal a multitude of smaller damage—"
> It takes her a while to even notice that Spark was trying to signal something.
"—Is there something behind me?"
| >Spark shakes his head
(one thing at a time)
"So, you're a sword wielder, correct? I didn't really get a good look at your equipment earlier, and it's kinda dark down here. I'm trying to figure out what kind of catalyst would be a good fit for you."
(since I'm new here, I don't really know anything about your character lol)
| >>237349
>More like a Fire emblem general with Ludveck's color scheme
>A redheaded gothic maid appears behind Golden. Aria would recognize her as Beryl The npc stone defender maid.
"Please excuse my master's... Rude behavior"
| >Knight suddenly jerks up, almost like his rper fell asleep in the middle of writing, but that was definitely not the case!
"Back, my daughter wanted attention"
>He then looks around at the members, and starts counting
"Huh, are we more than we used to?"
| Yeah, we got this pimply sniper kid and a maid?
>Spark jerks his head in their direction.
| >>238180
(huh...
I always imagined it as fate/ modred with ludveck colour Scheme.
But like with a different helmet.)
| >the redheaded gothic maid gives the two a polite curtsey as she explains her situation
"I am Beryl. Stoneguard of the ruins of symphony and servant of my master Golden. I do not participate in combat but primarily serve to maintain his armor, keeping it as lustrous as possible. As well as by his word... being ever fabulous"
>A look at her profile shows that she isn't in fact, a player but an NPC
(I literally got her as some sort of loot reward lol)
| >>238217
>Knight looks at the armor set and then nods, a hand on his chin
"I see, I see"
>He turns to Aria and The sniper
"You're Noscope arent you?"
| "Unless he's faking, I think he's asleep, like we were."
>Spark walks over to nudge the teen with his boot.
| "Fuck! Where am I?"
>The teenager suddenly wakes up, and starts checking out his surroundings.
"Oh! Aria! And the loli!"
>He looks around some more, and notices Golden.
"Oh! The trap is here too!"
| > Aria let the two new member be familiar with the sight of yet another two not-so-new member.
"So, everyone, that is Beryl — she is supposed to be a combat maid, but Golden told her not to."
> She turns to the hentai maniac, who just now was awake.
"And this is Scope; NoScope, but just call him Scope. He is a long-range attacker."
> She then realizes what she had done when she was inviting people to her party.
"I must've sent the invite to you as well, huh?"
| "Maybe! I'm not entirely sure, but that might be it!"
>He looks around some more, and notices the new members.
"Who are those two?"
| >>238457
"Good heavens, I'm left introducing everyone."
> She sighs, turning over and pointing each new member to Scope.
"That's Knight, and the one there is Spark."
| >>238457
"Yo, name's KnightHeart, but you can call me Knight or 'Ligthing fast KH'"
>He says with a wide grin on his dandy face, taking some kind of salute
| >>238463
"That sounds really fucking dumb, so I'll just call you Knight! I like your gear though!"
>He looks at spark, waiting for a better introduction than just a name.
| >>238469
"You dare call my amazing name dumb? I think I like you already"
>Knight laughs boisterously while slapping his knee
| >>238479
"You take that well, and you have cool gear! I like that!"
>Scope turns back to Knight.
"How did you earn your title?"
| >the golden armor moves slightly
| (Was sick, sorry)
>Trapped Jumps to her feet and stands up. She notices golden move slightly, so she does the only reasonable thing, begin whacking it with a skillet
| (sry I was sleeping)
>>238469
"Nice to meet you, Scope. Yeah, just ignore my werid ID and call me Spark."
>He raises a hand and lets some electricity play around his fingers before dropping it.
"Now that that's out of the way, how about we find a way out of this bloody room."
| >>238936
>Scope turns back to Spark, and seems happy about the introduction.
"Yeah! You should do something about your name! Until you do I think I'll call you FFZDF as a reminder!"
| >or more accurately. TRAPPPED
| "What is it? would you like another ride? oho~"
| "So, now that the introduction is done—"
> Aria scans her surroundings. The tall ceiling reaches an extreme height — no sky was visible to her; they are, from what she sees, underground. Deep underground.
"Golden, Trapped. Good to see you both awake and fine."
> She notices the two, but quickly goes back to scouring the place.
> They are all encapsulated in a cave with no plausible path. It's dimly lit here, cold seeps slowly from crevices of the cave.
| >Seeing as there's only one apparent way, up. Golden looks to trapped then back up
"Hmm actually it seems like I'll be taking a ride on your sword again."
>he says in a deep, pondering voice ever muffled by his helmet
| "there also seems to be parts in the wall where we could break through. But I fear a larger collapse"
| >>239062
"Hmh. That idea sounds nicer than breaking the ceiling above."
> Aria sighs, feeling glad that they won't be doing any meteor strike again.
"Maybe I can do Clairvoyance on the structures around?"
> She opens up her skill menu, letting the skill be easily accessible to her.
| "Let's blow it up then!"
>Scope aims his rifle at the western wall and uses
[Explosive Shot]
(7)
>His attack hits the wall, but the impact is about the same as that of a normal shot.
| "Fuck it. Not like there's anything else we can do."
>Spark grabs the lantern by the north wall and points.
"Is this one of the places you could break through? Seems like an obvious hint."
| >>239064
> The wall is that: a wall. The shot grounds deep, but there were no other visible effect from it. The stalactites above did rattle, however.
| >>239072
(I think the post still makes sense. Scope shot a wall to the west, which is a tad far from the northern wall. The shot basically did nothing.)
| >Scope looks disappointed, and looks back at the others.
"Well that didn't do shit! Big boy? Do you think you could charge through one of these walls? Maybe the northern one, as FFZDF said?"
| "Ah. A basic light spell [Dancing lights] may be useful here. We simply insert them into any crevices we find to see if there is a cavern or path behind them."
>Golden says as a wisp-like ball of light floats up from his hand. obnoxiously reflecting light off his armor at the same time.
| >Trapped walks up slowly and punches the wall. causing a lot of dust and impact to be felt
| "Sounds like a plan."
>Fiz joins in by summoning a light of his own, although harmless sparks occasionally arc from his.
| (fuck me I used the wrong name)
| (it's early in the morning)
| >>239083
"Smart idea, Golden! I thought you were going to ram any wall recklessly."
> Aria did an 'oh!' gesture, proudly complimenting Golden's idea.
> Of course, she didn't see the loli punching the wall in a clear blast.
>>239085
"TRAPPED, WHY?!"
| > The dust flies off from the wall, revealing an embellished pattern. An echo was heard shortly after the punch, suggesting that the wall is either hollow on the inside, or it's not bearing any load whatsoever.
> Shape forms in clarity as the many dust settles from the wall. What was once thought to be a wall was apparently a gate all along. Various indentations is now visible on it.
> The punch does not let it bend to the player's will, however. It stays shut, strongly so.
| >Spark blinks in surprise, then begins examining the gate, looking for a latch or locking mechanism.
| >Scope turns and looks at the gate.
"I guess we need to get that open then! Shall we destroy it?"
>He reloads his rifle, and aims it at the gate.
"I will fire at your command, and I will use my sponge!"
| >>239106
(You're free to roll d20 for investigation.)
> Aria was startled, but notices the connection between the name of the area and the obvious gigantic gate in front of her.
"Wyth's Gate. Right. I should have that figured out early on."
> She obviously did not see the connection at first. Obviously.
| >>239107
"naw, if i can't break it open i doubt you can, do whateber you were doing with the lantern, it might work."
| (11)
>Golden looks at the gate. But he remembers something
"ah! didn't we all receive an item? [Wyth's Gate Fragment]. Perhaps it can be used as a key"
| >>239109
"I guess that's true! Ok then, keep investigation the gate. I'll sit in a corner reading my new doujin while I wait!"
>Scope lowers his rifle, puts it on his back, pulls out a book from his inventory, sits down in a corner and starts reading it.
| >>239113
> Spark's investigation came to a light. The indentations were visibly a slot for something — and there are countless of them; some of them are even in the upper parts of the gate.
> There is a peculiar hanger in the center as well. It seems to be a weighing mechanism. What could it be for?
| >>239114
> With this knowledge, it seems viable to think that the item they received is also a key for something. The identations in the wall are in the shape similar to that of the rock they all had.
> Sure, a few of them are rotated, but they all hold the exact same shape.
| >>239114
"Maybe you're on to something..."
>Spark pulled out his rock too, and slotted it into the gate, choosing an indentation at random.
| (Do I have a rock, and does that mean that the number of rock slots would increase if more people joined in now?)
| >>239137
(As Aria have said it: she accidentally sent a party request to more people — I want an excuse so people can join freely. With that said, the rock slot is innumerable; think of this as the game's way of telling that you can bring a whole guild and still have a way to fit the rocks in. Additionally, yes, you do have a rock — anyone that gets a party invite before the quest will have a rock.)
| >>239135 >>239139
> As two rocks were inserted, the gate began opening at a slow pace. It slides against the hard rock floor, creating a distinct sound of a heavy surface being dragged over.
"—I don't have the rock."
> Aria said, albeit a bit late. Her rock was destroyed a while ago — and of course, the same can be said to Knight's and Trapped's rock.
| >>239147
(I slipped and forgot to add this in.)
> Although it was a happy sight seeing the gate opens, it soon shuts close again — not even letting anyone enter with its small opening.
| >Spark looked back at the doujin-reading teen.
"Hey, perv! I think you're the only one with a rock left."
>He gestured towards the gate with a sound of frustration.
| >>239141
(Nice.)
>Scope looks up from his doujin.
"A rock? I think I got something like that right before I was teleported here!"
>Scope checks his inventory, and there it is. He takes it out and balances it perfectly on his bulge he got from reading the hentai.
>[Thrust it in]
>Scope somehow flies across the room, crotch first, and perfectly slots his stone in the door, before hitting his head against the wall and falling to the ground.
| >Spark facepalms
"Why is that even a feature in this game?"
>he asks no one in particular
| >>239151
> The gate rattles — no — it's better to say that the whole room is quaking. The gate drags across, opening the secret it hid. Debris of rocks fly out at random as the gate pushes them through.
> After a good five seconds, the gate was wide open. An entrace to a dark corridor, barely visible ahead.
(Everyone can freely roll, and activate a support spell to see/light up the corridor before entering.)
| (I'll be away for about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Just assume I'm afk or fainted from the thrust or something.)
| >Golden pulls out a floating cart and stands inside. Crossing his arms and nodding off.
>Beryl pulls on the handle following the group along
(Sorry I need to sleep)
| >>239167
(Good night!)
> Aria sees the events unfolding. The darkness beyond her was unmeasurable, her eyes could barely see a single inch of the corridor.
"Now would be a good time to do Clairvoyance."
> Her right eye glows, showing the activation of [Clairvoyance]. All she saw was, however, a vision of a black-coated room.
"That's a strong Clairvoyance barrier."
| >>239166 (I think we can just have you on "autopilot" following us and stuff. Just melt into the background lol)
>Spark raises the lantern he pulled from the north wall.
"Well, what are we waiting for?
>He steps through, wary of traps.
| >>239205
(That's the tradition, hah.)
"I don't know. Dark corridors don't exactly paint a safe picture in my book."
> Aria closely trails behind Spark, gesturing the rest of the party to follow the lantern-holder.
> With the lantern, visibility was close to zero — but it was better than actually zero. The lantern's warm orange hue provided enough to see what is in front of Spark, but not anything further away.
| > As they step inside, the corridor echoes their footsteps. The stone floor was cold to the touch, and so is the air around. The freezing temperature penetrates the skin — granting the party, except the lantern-holder, a [Freezing] debuff; effectively reducing their movement, physical defense, and health regen status.
> The bare-minimum visibility is claustrophobic, every drop of sound startles the unwary.
| "It's getting pretty cold in here! This would be the perfect time to use something that makes things less cold! I'll try to doing something with my sponge!"
>Scope takes his sponge out, holds it up, and squeezes it.
>[Get Hot]
(16)
>Scopes sponge suddenly warms up the party, but it's starting to get a little hotter than expected.
(A slight heat debuff maybe?)
| > While the heat was indeed felt by the party, there was something strange, should any of the player notice; they are still under the effect of [Freezing], but now they are also given [Burning] — thanks to Scope's sponge — which halves the party's defenses even further.
> On a more strongly positive side, the [Burning] dusts off the cold surroundings; the freezing air is now, thankfully, no more of a sensation. It was left to a mere status debuff.
| "Scope, what did you just do?"
> Aria wonders, the chill from the air before disappears from around her. She hadn't bothered to check her status, or her HP for that matter.
> Her HP, or anyone's HP for that matter, was supposed to drop due to the [Burning], but it seems that [Freezing] counteracted the health-burning effect of [Burning].
| (I just typed 'for that matter' twice. I is very English talented.)
| "It doesn't seem too bad! I'm not at one hp, like a lot of the other times I've used it! I can't really control this thing!"
>Scope doesn't seem surprised at what happened, but he definitely doesn't seem happy about it.
| >Spark, noticing the burning status wasn't counteracted by the cold, due to the lantern, quickly applied a light chilling effect to himself.
| "Damn, we just keep going deeper and deeper, with no end in sight."
| >>239564
> Aria looks back behind — the gate was way further back than what she had remembered. They have walked a good meters out into the endless corridor.
"I'm more worried by the fact that there has been nothing greeting us. Not an NPC, not an enemy."
> Looking around was useless for her, as all the light was only supplied by the lantern.
| >>239556
> Hearing Scope's answer worried her more than anything, and the moment she saw two debuffs in place: [Freezing] and [Burning], she was sure that Scope had given her a drop in luck.
"You know, at least—.."
> Aria had to hold in her vial of negativity.
"At least none of us are dying due to your action."
| "I don't think you have to worry about that! This time it was because I tried to help the entire party! If I only try to help myself, the bad effects will only affect me! It's kind of like gambling!"
>Scope doesn't seem worried at all, but he's probably either stupid or just doesn't care at all, which in itself, might be stupid.
| >>239605
> At first, Aria gave no response but a chuckle, she had to pause her quiet laughter to talk.
"I'm okay with everything as long as it doesn't actively try to kill me — and I hope the rest of the party is on the same page with me on that."
| > A new sound was heard, and it was coming from the frontal direction of the party. Rumbling, vibrating; heavy in nature. The sound of a weighty object being dragged across lazily, and with a great force.
> The sound repeats, but in each of its cycle, it fades and fades. All until it was nothing but silence yet again.
| >Scope looks pleasantly surprised, though it's hard to notice in the dark.
"Fuck yeah! That sounds like it's both big and an enemy! This quest has had like no action yet, except for that doujin!"
>Scope would have looked through his inventory, but he never really has anything except for his equipped gear, a few small explosives, and maybe some healing.
| >Spark raises the lantern higher, hoping to catch a glimpse of what lies ahead.
| "I could try my sponge! If I try some kind of self illumination thing, it could only hurt me!"
>As he talks, he pulls out his sponge. Ready to squeeze at commando.
(Xnbc, could you do a D20?)
| >Knight who was following the party along takes a flare from his inventory
"I could throw this if you want to see whats ahead, but you might wanna be careful and prepare yerself"
| (Going to sleep now. Bye.)
| >>239737
>Spark gestures with his free hand.
"Do it."
(Man, we must all be on different time zones lol)
| (Sorry, I fell asleep. I'll have this written and get some more shut eye.)
>>239702
(I've got me a nice 8.)
>>239677
> There was nothing, from what eyes can see, that Spark can discern. A few damages were on the floors ahead, but there isn't a way to tell when those damages were done — at least, not with a naked eye.
> In the pause of the party, a bellowing lament echoes across the corridor. An inhumane gurgle. Like the sound before, it turns to silence moments later.
| >Knight clicks his tongue
"Victory belongs to the swift, and the cheaters who dont get caught cheating!"
>He throws his flare after activating it, a large light illuminating the hallway ahead as he puts his hands unto his guns
"Lets go mates!"
| >Spark raises his free hand, preparing to cast a spell, if necessary.
| > A faint silhouette was highlighted by the light, standing in at a towering height, there was no discernable feature from the figure.
> The figure stood still, as if catatonic. It doesn't make a single sound, not a single movement. It was there, being a statue.
> The same rumbling sound can be heard, but it moves faster; it approaches the party, and the figure standing in front of them. The corridor shakes from its mere presence alone!
| "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?"
>Scope tries to run further back into the corridor, to get some good range between him and the whatever.
(6)
>He stubs his toe after three meters, and decides to stop there. He aims at the big, quick thing.
[Rapid Fire]
(8)
>He empties his magazine, but only four of his bullets hits the target.
| "Goliath fucko, spotted!"
>Knight says, laughing and un-fastening his guns
>He shoots with one gun and throws it a the ground, quickly taking another one with amazing speed and precision before shooting it again, repeating the cycle a few times he must have crazy AGI!
(1d20+5mod=13)
>Most of the shots glance the target but a few select hits seem to reach it as Knight slowly backpedals away
"Tank! Ill be moving back a bit"
| > Apart from the shooters, no one had any time to react whatsoever to the happenings. The figure was shot multiple times, unknown to the players how much cause it delivered.
> The figure turns to the party; revealing a tall, somehow green-ish, suit of armor. It doesn't attack nor give slight reaction; it stood there, like a lifeless statue.
> Blood drips from where it was shot. The sound that accompanies it was short-lived.
| "What is that ugly son of a gun, living armor? When the fuck did I enter a Light Novel about dungeoneering and evil gods!"
>Knight jokes, while laughing loudly, he turns to NoScope
"Yo, you know anything about this kinda beastie?"
| > The rumbling comes close, there is not a single way to tell where it came from, until the corridor vibrates entropically.
"An earthquake?!"
> Aria fears for the worst, but it wasn't the worst. Sadly.
> In a short snap of a second, the armored figure was impaled by a greatsword — its size was huge to match, and it cleanly penetrated the chest of the figure; blood spurts as the figure kneels in its last breath.
> Soot comes seeping out of the dead body in front of the party.
| "I WANT THAT SWORD! GIMME GIMME GIMME"
>Knight screams, looking at the large living armor's demise with stars in his eyes before he suddenly comes to realization
"Wait, if that big sword killed... Oh, okay I think we got a big boy to beat"
>He starts sweating
| > The rumbling had stopped, and the light Knight threw was no more.
> A short silence follows. The smell of an earthy decay was more vivid with a corpse in front of the party.
> A strong trepidation creeps to the faint-hearted — an aura of walking death stood idly; close to the party.
| "Knight, I don't think it's the right time for that."
> Aria comments, unsheathing her sword with her left hand. She takes a stance, but she is still unaware of what she would be fighting — the unawareness was leaking anxiety onto her.
"I knew this would only lead to battles."
| >>240335
"Life's a game lil' missy, and I am honest to a fault. Seriousness is wasted on me, and on my everlasting desire for loot!"
>He says with a large smile, unsheating his two largest blades from his back before taking a stance... You've never seen anyone hold swords that way, its almost like... He's planning on throwing them...
"Yo let's move, I'll leave the Agro to you though"
| >>240340
"Always the case."
> Aria gestures Spark to move forward, not wanting to linger long in the place — especially not when one casualty was just made.
| > In the party's idle chat, the kneeling figure fades completely — burnt to ashes, generating only soot to cover the corridor.
> The greatsword fell with nothing to hold it in place. Its shining blade was tainted with marks of rust and erosion; it looked old, and worn out.
(Roll a d20 for luck if anyone's planning on picking the sword up.)
| (Got no need for it.)
"Let's go then! I'll keep a little distance between myself and that giant thing!"
>Scope reloads his guns, and starts walking a little behind the others.
(Fuck me! Time for school! Guess I'll be on auto for a while.)
| >>240371
> The sword was lifted with a great attempt. It was heavy, as the name implies.
[Iron Guard Greatsword]
> While at first it looks nothing special, a peek in the sword's stat reveal a variety of infomation.
[A once-proud sword grafted by the smiths of Wyth. Its weight bears resemblance to the heavy guards patrolling around the kingdom.]
[+2 Damage to Undead]
[-1 Resistance to Fire]
(Need to get some breakfast, will be AFK for a while.)
| (someone else has to take the lantern, it's my turn to sleep lol sry)
| >>240376
"this will make a fine addition to my collection"
>Knight says, making the sword disappear into his inventory for later use.
>>240377
(Donmai)
| >>240377
"Hey, Spark. Hand me the lantern for a minute."
> Aria said before curing herself of the [Burning] with a vial of status healing liquid. She took the lantern in place of Spark — something had.. sparked her curiosity in here.
"How wide is this corridor?"
> She walks to the far left side of the corridor, reaching a wall only seconds later.
"Not wide enough for a destructive AoE, I see."
> She returns to the party, nudging them to move forward.
| >Knight follows along, whistling
>He looks happy about his loot
| > Echoes follow the party, reverberating more as they walk deeper into the darkness.
> For a solid thirty minutes, all they had spent was only walking. A look behind tells the gate they opened is out of reach — its light barely a dimple in size.
"What a nice walking simulator."
> The moment Aria said her words, she spots something just nearby. Urging the party to move closer, she sees it clear.
"A lantern holder?"
> It was a stick protruding out from the ground.
| >Golden steps out from his floating display platform to do nothing
| "Uh—.. I'm not sure if I should trust our only light source to a random stick here."
> She said, being cautious about the lantern holder; it could very well be a trap — a trap that could cost anything to her and the party.
| >Knight grabs his weapons, looking around
"Yeah, lets not try it, and I'd rather not expand any other flares for now"
| "It'll be fine it'll be fine"
>Golden waves his hand nonchalantly nudging Aria to put the lantern on the stick. Even just to see what happens. Four [Dancing lights] float around him accentuating his luster in the darkness of the cave
| "Okay, describe to me what's the worse that can happen."
> Aria is still, as possible as it is, unsure of what to do.
"I can only think of the stick eating the lantern for itself — and after that we would be fighting a boss in the dark."
> Clearly she isn't thinking straight right now.
| "I have light spells"
| >Golden uses them to look shiny
| >>240495
"I don't know, are you using them right now? I can't see them."
> Aria notifies Golden of what she saw: bare minimum light coming out from him — unusual of Golden since, for as long as Aria remembers, Golden has always been a sun.
"Maybe, if I do this—"
> As she turns to face Golden, the lantern reflected the light, and the [Dancing Lights] — all combined makes for a brightly lit Golden.
> Aria immediately swivels the lantern away, not wanting to blind herself.
| >Golden couldn't help but pose with pride and laugh his hearty laugh as Aria turns away
"In the darkness... I am the sun! Hah Hah hah~"
>Golden begins to shine brightly. Growing into a point of unpleasant luminosity. Offensive enough to make some nauseous at the sight, but useful in a dark cave. So long as one doesn't stare directly at him
| >>240519
"You convinced me enough, let's try this."
> Aria worriedly hung the lantern to the stick. It's.. now a lantern holder holding a lantern.
"Huh, I expected something more."
> She exhales a breath, feeling glad that it did nothing more than holding the lantern still.
"That worry was all for nothing."
| "That was dissapointing, I was expecting some kinda big boss reveal"
>Knight says, letting go of his weapons and sighing
"Yaa, this feels like getting a losing popsicle"
>He jokingly adds
| "Yeah! That was way too anticlimactic!"
>Scope lowers his gun, but doesn't put it away.
"Let's go then! I want to find that big thing! Every second we waste here, is a second that could be spent killing and reading hentai!"
| >>240757
"Yep, I like this guy"
>Knight says, laughing boisterously before looking at the group
"Lets move, no way im staying in Satan's dank funland for too long, I hunger for loot and the fresh air"
| "Satan's dank funland? That reminds me of something! I'm not sure what though!"
>Scope walks over an picks up the lantern with his left hand, and starts leading the way, but only for a second.
"Fuck! I'm still burning! Knight guy! Take it!"
[Lantern Toss]
(4)
>He tries to throw the lantern, but due to the sweat caused by the burning, it slips out of his hand, and hits the ground.
| >Knight rushes to pick up the lantern, hoping it didnt turn off
"Come on!"
(2)
>He fails to take it fast enough, the flame flickering off as he looks at it
"M-My god... Its dead..."
>He says, in a dramatical fashion
| "Aria! I can't really see you, but I guess you are still there so, I'm sorry!"
>Scope sits down, though you can't really see that.
"Should I use my sponge, or wait for someone to use a spell?"
| >He tries to read his doujin, before realising that he can't, due to his own stupidity.
"FUCK!"
| >You can hear Knight's sobbing
"I-I'm so sorry, why did you have to die, why is it always the one I care for the most who go first, WHY!?"
>He seems completely cut off from reality at this point
| "Wait what! IS ARIA DEAD? HOW DID SHE DIE!"
>Scope can be heard standing up, and he starts fumbling around in the dark, searching for Aria.
| >Knight suddenly stands up
"Wait, ARIA IS DEAD??"
| "I THINK SO!!! FUCK!!! WE ARE DOOMED!!!"
>Scope suddenly walks right into something big, hard, cold and polished. He starts touching it all over, but is quick to realise that it's Golden he's touching.
"FUCK!!! SORRY!!! THAT'S YOU, ISN'T GOLDEN??? I THINK ARIA IS DEAD!!! I THINK WE MIGHT BE DOOMED!!!"
| "AHHHHH, LIGHT LIGHT PLEASE GOD WHY AM I INNTHE DARK SGSVSBBAU"
>Knight screams, flailing around before suddenly stopping, no sound can be heard from him
| "Please. Open your eyes..."
>Golden is just taken aback at the hysteria. Having had already lit the way sometime back
| >Knight suddenly lights up, he is holding a lamp!
"Guys, huh, dumb mistake... I had a lamp"
>He says before doing a tehee~ pose
| "WAIT WHAT??? ARE YOU SAYING MY EYES ARE CLOSED???"
>Scope goes quite, while trying to open his eyes.
>[Open Eyes]
(5)
"I THINK YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT!!! MY EYES ARE CLOSED, BUT FOR SOME REASON I CAN'T OPEN THEM, AND WHERE DID KNIGHT GO???"
| >Scopes eyes fly open, and he looks pissed.
"Golden! I thought you were better than this! You should NEVER treat a doujin like that!"
| >Knight pulls back, having created chaos despite himself
"Whoops"
>He then sits down and watches
| "You know what! I'll forgive you Golden, if you give me that doujin! That's a good deal, isn't it?"
>Scope looks expectantly at the big, shining, trap. Squinting, trying not to hurt his eyes.
| >Trapped sighs, with patented goldenproof sunglasses *tm*
>she picks up scope and begins princesscarrrying him down the hall
"there there..."
| "This actually feels really nice..."
>Scope let's out a long sigh, as all stress is removed from his body. It feels so good in fact, and he feels so relieved, that snoring soon can be heard coming from him.
|
| (I applaud you guys for going in despite my missing presence, haha.)
> Moments later, the lantern was seen shutting off. It flickers briefly before turning itself to darkness.
"Guys, guys. Guys."
> Aria just had to calm the whole party down from their burst of emotions.
"Okay, everyone take a big pause. Golden is still here, he is shining the room. Let's no worry about the lantern."
| > However, Aria — and the rest of the party, was so wrong to assume the game would let off such event pass easily.
> The lantern holder began to enkindle a magical fire — its warmth rises, creating a fire greater than what ought be possible in such a cold environment.
> Within seconds, the whole place is lit up with light; all coming from the walls, and all are shining brightly.
> The darkness dissipates, but only for this room alone, and the room is a grand hall.
| > Once the place was given more than enough light, it's possible to discern what is what, and where the party is.
> They are in the center of the hall — with the lantern holder seemingly being an anchor to where 'center' is.
> Three halls extend, they all covered in a wall of darkness — separating them from the grand hall. One is to the party's back, it seems to be the place where they came from. Another up front, and the other was to the west, relative to the lantern holder.
| > They all look the same: a coat of dark soot covering them, as if a curtain on a window. Nothing is able to see anything beyond the darkness.
> To the lantern holder's east was a stairway — or at least, what used to be a stairway; none of the stairs connect, and most of its structure has been reduced to rubbles.
> The grand hall itself is dilapitated-looking. Fragments of what was the ceiling was on the ground. Faded paintings, and banners hung on the lifeless hall's wall.
| "no... onee-chan... don't do it..."
>Scope, still asleep, is mumbling to himself. He says no, but it seems like he is enjoying his dream quite a bit.
"no... what will otosan think..."
| >>240997
"Trapped sure loves bride-carrying people."
> Aria mumbles, seeing Scope in his sleep whilst Trapped carries him still.
| "no... don't kill her..."
>Scopes dream seems to be escalating.
"I know... yes... I will..."
| >Spark, tired of his rambling, stepped near Trapped and poked the sleeping teen on the cheek, careful to touch a patch of skin without acne.
>Subsequently, electricity arced from his finger to Scoped's face with a loud snap.
>With that done, he turned to the rest of the party.
"So, which way? I think the old mantra is 'always go left,' yeah?"
| >Scope wakes up immediately, and falls out of Trapped's arms. At first he is a little confused, but then he looks happy.
"Holy shit! That was horrible!"
| >>241016
"They are pretty much the same. Doing dice rolls do the same justice as picking them at random."
> Aria responded, unsure of it herself.
"I'll go wherever."
| "West it is, then."
>Spark replies cheerily, heading off to that hallway.
| "Hold on a minute there, Spark. We'd need a light so—"
> Aria tried to protest, but as Spark comes close to the hallway, it was lit by the light source similar to the one in the grand hall.
"—Never mind then."
> She quickly paced behind Spark.
| >Scope stands up and starts following them.
"Thank you FFZDF! That dream was getting pretty out of hand!"
>Scope takes his rifle of his back, and carries it in his hands. It's pointing downwards.
"Let's find something to kill already! We have been in here for like over an hour or something, and we still haven't killed anything! Remember my inspirational quote! That still stands, and it will forever!"
| >Spark continued towards the western hall, nodding slightly. Scoped may have been a nuisance, but at least he was right about that.
| >>241518
"You don't seem to like me! Why is that?"
>Scope asks Spark curiously, but with a slight hint of seriousness in his voice, while following a little behind the others.
| >Spark shrugged
"I don't know what you're talking about."
>He replied without turning around
| "I guess it's the way you act! You don't seem to want to talk to me, and your facial expression makes it seem like I bother you!"
| "Might be my imagination though! I've been a little paranoid lately! Lot's of shit happening!"
>Scope turns his focus back to the corridor they're walking down, and tries to see if he can look through the darkness, to no luck.
| "Honestly, you guys—"
> Aria clearly has no proper way to respond to the conversation happening before.
"—Also, I much rather not fight anything, and be respawned elsewhere. You know; with these quests you usually would be respawned miles away from where you died—"
> She continues walking, letting Spark lead the way.
"Let's hope this is not one of those nuisance-filled quest."
| "Yeah! That would be shitty!"
>Scope is still slightly behind the others, but he has started looking behind the party as well.
| >>242177
"Have you guys ever taken those permadeath quests? It's the ones where you can't redo the quest once you've either died, or failed the quest itself."
> Aria continues the conversation whilst the party forward their walk in the hallway.
"They're not a very nice quest to take—"
> She reminiscences that one sponge quest she took; quickly shrugging it off her memory.
| >>242231
"Sure did, it was quite the experience, but with my level of skill, it was a doosey"
>Knight says, smiling smugly
| >>242250
"I only joined the game some weeks back."
> Aria pondered, not taking the smug stance of Knight clearly.
"—My experience is a tad short compared to everyone here."
> She chuckles, scanning the path ahead of her.
| >>242262
"I just rushed, not like I got anything else to do all day 'xcept taking care of my cutie daughter"
>Knight says with a shrug
"it was worth it"
| >>242264
"Oh yeah; you mentioned something about your daughter when we were at the starting area as well."
> Aria hints at her curiosity. Maybe her curiosity is a bit off limits, but in her mind, it's perfectly normal.
"—That makes me wonder about everyone's real life—"
> She trails off in her talk, but stops before going any further.
| "I think I did one of those not too long ago! I only found out after the fact though! It's where I got this!"
>Scope takes out his sponge, and holds it up for a little bit.
"It wasn't that difficult though!"
| >>242269
"Please don't tell me the quest you took was a fetch quest—"
> Aria sees the sponge and immediately remembers the quest she took in a long past before.
"—And the fetch quest involves taking a sponge from a farmer."
| >>242272
"Yeah! It was that one!"
>Scope looks surprised.
"I have actually become pretty good friends with that quest giver too! Joey! Have you heard of it before?"
| >>242300
"N-no, I certainly haven't."
> Aria turns away from the conversation, trying to hide the embarrassment at her total failure of the quest.
"Hey, that's a dead-end."
> She points to a wall, still far away, but enough to tell they're going to reach a stop in their walk.
| >>242320
"Should we blow it up or go back?"
>Scope stops, and aims at the wall in front of them, sponge in his left hand.
| >>242329
"No, let's just—.. let's just take a ponder there."
> Aria suggests as the party reaches another hall; quite a circular one, seemingly used akin to a ballroom, but all the vanity has faded away.
"Hey, another of those stick. This one's lit up though."
> She goes to approach the protruding stick, but as she does so, the hall began quivering — everything rattles, it's the distant sound of something moving close.
| > Aria stumbles and fall, the trembling was too much for her to bear — and it was for a good reason—
> The wall in front of the party was close to breaking, and as the quake increases in strength, the wall is closer to being imploded from the other side.
> A sound of a heavy footstep comes through audibly, and with one loud, strong push with the same tremor, the wall breaks.
> As the dust settles from the collapsing wall, a tall armored figure can be seen from the other side.
This thread is permanently archived
| > In Primaria's quest board, only a few papers beneath was a peculiar piece of note; it was stained black, engraved on it was the details of the quest.
"So, this is the quest?"
> A familiar swordswoman read through it. She hampers every now and then — the quest looked odd to her.
"A minimum of three players? What?"
> She looked around her, a pool of players were available, but none known to her; thus, in a desperate attempt, she pinged the local chat.
/Looking for party!/