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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=#dc143c][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Dungeon -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria[/right][/sub][/color]
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The way behind them shut with a thunderous crack, causing Graves to jump. He glanced over his shoulder quickly. [color=dc143c][i]'Hope nobody caught that.'[/i][/color] There were more nerve-inducing noises coming from above them: the hideous laughter of shadowed things, ready to pounce. If only. They activated some kind of trap in the ceiling, causing spikes to jut out and- worse still- for the whole thing to start descending toward them. There [i]was[/i] a way forward in the form of a door on the other side of the room, yet it seemed to be locked behind some lever-based puzzle. Great. The worst parts of Pariah were always the things that could kill you but you couldn't kill them back.  

To make matters worse the [i]floor[/i] seemed to be spiked up, too. Rael managed to avoid getting shish kabob'd, if only just. For all his many complaints about her, Graves couldn't doubt her speed or flexibility; nobody else in the party could replicate that maneuver. So instead he stepped up next to her and gave her a cheeky wink, [color=dc143c]"Don't you worry your pretty lil' head off. I got this." [/color] And he took a step forward onto the tile left of the one she'd checked. No trap was triggered so he put his full weight onto it, looking back at everyone else. Seele look like she was prepping to do something about the upper half. Alex had an arrow notched and ready to go at...something. But most of them were clueless. [color=dc143c]"Alright, everybody, keep in a line behind me and don't do anything stupid and we're gonna make it across just fine."[/color]

Just as he was starting to go Alja tapped him on the back, muttered something, and he felt an ice cold coat of armor wrap itself around him. He just shot her a thumbs up as thanks for the assist and pressed on to the tile in front of him-

A spike came flying out! He stumbled back, trying to avoid the point, only for it to catch the bottom of his boot. The tip pierced the hardened leather like a needle pierced cloth, and it kissed flesh not a moment later. Graves fell back into the arms of whoever was standing behind him, and a howl left his throat.

[color=dc143c][b]"GAAARGH! FUCK!"[/b][/color]

It was a terrible, agonized bellow from the deepest part of his gullet. Pain shot through his foot and up his leg like he'd never felt before. Shock rocked his system. He'd been playing Pariah Online since its Japanese release, and in that time he'd suffered all manner of injury: impalement, limb loss, full-body burns. Yet none of that could compare to being nicked by one of these spikes. Confusion, panic and rage at his own stupidity flushed his mind as he stumbled on one foot, ushered to the back of the party. [color=dc143c]"What the fuck- what the fuck was that? What the fuck?!"[/color]
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