[table] [row][cell][h2] [color=palegoldenrod]L O R A L I E[/color] & [color=darkorange]S H A R O D[/color] [/h2][/cell] [cell][right] 7 days and counting to floor collapse Floor 1 Viewers: 0 | Followers: 0 | Favorites: 0 [/right][/cell][/row] [/table] [hr] The skittering increases volume as Sharod equips his weapon from his inventory. Loralie's heart beat is pounding in her ears, tunnel vision is the only thing that moves her forward. Through a grimace she 'shows' her shield in the menu and finds her arm weighed down by its heft. She'll need to increase her strength if she wants to become more useful with this thing. [color=palegoldenrod]"I'm gonna try to take them out like bowling pins."[/color] Loralie waits until the spiders get closer, and then she slams the shield down in front of them. Four rollerskating spiders hit the front of her shield, and fly over to the top. Inexplicably, the Scooby Doo scrambling sound accompanies their ascent and descent to the hard ground. At that point, Sharod is on top of one, stabbing down through its head with the brass knuckles. The knife of the weapon cleaves open the skin in a slash after the initial impact. ‘ Breath rushes into Loralie’s lungs as she lifts the machete into the air with her right hand. At the height, a shout escapes her. It carries her through the slash. Blood spurts out of two cleaved limbs. The head of the beast leans forward taking a chunk out of her forearm. Red stains her skin and her jeans are completely the color of wine at this point. A strangled noise leaves her throat, and she kicks the spider against the wall. As it comes down, she slices it in two. Her pained outburst causes Sharod to swivel in her direction, fist raised in her defense. The spider jumps on his back, mouth digging into his neck. He swears, throwing himself back into the wall in an attempt to knock the spider off. ‘Crunch’. Pressure relieves from the bite at his neck, his blood dripping down the front of him. The last spider approaches his front, spitting a blue-green substance. Its ass-end shakes back and forth like it’s about to leap. Loralie pivots, bringing down her machete- cleaving its body at the natural break in anatomy. Lightly crushed against the wall, the spider hisses. Sharod doesn’t waste any time spinning and punching it in the face a few times. [color=darkorange]”That-” wheeze “was a really good strat. Rinse and repeat.” [/color] Sharods chest is heaving, the tops of his cheeks turn a maroon that looks like it would be hot to the touch. His toothy smile lights up the room. Loralie’s eyes are deadly as she rolls her shoulder. The shield is heavy, and her joint feels loose from the stress of bowl-striking the spiders. She casts a heal spell on both of them. [color=palegoldenrod]”If I cry out again like that, make sure to take care of your own surroundings first.”[/color] The venom is truly unheard of from her. [color=palegoldenrod]”I need to be able to do it myself.”[/color] Each word carries a bite. Jaw dropped- Sharod’s eyes are dinner plates. [color=darkorange]”Woah- okay fine- no friendly fire dude.”[/color] He raises his hands in defense. This kind of lashing out is new for her, he’s used to her brutal looks and accompanying silence. A heavy sigh wracks her frame, and the dungeon pipes up around them- awarding them both a level, and Loralie with a bowling joke. [center] [table][row] [cell]LEVEL UP! Level 2 [hr] You get 3 stat points! You must reach floor 3, and choose a race and class before placing them. [/cell] [cell]NEW ACHIEVEMENT!! Trailblazer Movin on up [hr] Among the first 1000 Crawlers to level up! That’s pretty good, maybe you’re gonna go somewhere with that. [hr] REWARD!!! Bronze Number Goes Up Box [/cell] [cell]NEW ACHIEVEMENT!! SPARE [hr] Bet you played a lot of Wii Sports with a move like that one. We don’t have a bowling mechanic [sub]yet.[/sub] [hr] REWARD!!! Silver 10 Pins Down Box [/cell] [/row] [/table] [/center] Sharod hides a tiny smile from his friend, knowing that this has likely been the worst day of her life. Probably his too- but he’s had to be able to joke about things like this for a very long time. He rumages through the rollerskates, and finds a spool of thread, a few gold pieces, and a simple gold ring. Not thinking twice, he slips the ring on his finger. A popup alert in his HUD appears. [color=darkorange]“It’s probably just loot scaling.”[/color] [color=firebrick]Ring of Negative Space: Item: Gold Ring, Red Jewel Rarity: Unknown Description: “Occupies less.” +5% Evasion Chance -10% Enemy Target Priority.[/color] Loralie leans over to him in question, and when she sees the ring on his finger she shakes her head at him. Her shield hangs at her side, her shoulders slumped, as she begins walking away from him and down the hall. He’s making mistakes, and it’s not like him at all. Loralie can’t fathom why Sharod isn’t taking this more seriously. Someone is dead. Wait no, [i]everyone[/i] is dead.. They’re not even really [i]on[/i] Earth anymore. As she reaches the end of the hall, she starts to smell something acrid. Blue, green sludge smeared down the hall to the right. Sharod is a few feet behind her when she stops. Ramrod still. Her machete hand lifts slowly and freezes in the air. His steps get lighter as he approaches her. Careful to avoid the sludge, they creep along the hall the right. Each step they take, the worse it smells. At a certain point, Sharod covers his nose with the neck of his shirt. He breathes slowly, and that’s when they see it. A creature is leaning against the wall of the hall, rivulets of blue ooze creep down the brick. In the center, another creature, its figure more clearly defined as humanoid, drags itself forward on what are presumably its arms. The smell is so horrendous that their eyes start to water. For a moment, the ooze drips away from the side of the creature on the floor, and a matted bloody mess of hair is visible underneath for a moment. Loralie turns and hurls. Sharod takes a step back and prompts the creatures. [color=darkorange]”Are you alive?”[/color] The creatures stop, and the one leaning against the wall turns their head over their shoulder. Black holes where their eyes might’ve been stare back at them. It’s mouth falls open and a horrible creaking sound builds. It starts low, and its rattle increases until it’s above speaking volume. Sharod stumbles backward, his close range weapon completely out of the question. He pulls Loralie up by the shoulders, ignoring the dribble of puke on her chin. [color=darkorange]”Time to go.”[/color] Wet squishing sounds begin. The edges of the slime pile begin to creep toward them. [color=darkorange]”Now.”[/color] The upright mob turns slowly, and falls into the sludge beneath it. When it impacts, the sludge reacts like cornstarch mixed with water- hard at first, and then it melts around it. Unfortunately- the impact squishes red blood out of the rotten corpse. That’s enough. Is this the dungeon cleaning crew? Loralie pulls him forward by the arm, just as the edge is about to touch his shoe. Then they’re running down the left hall. She supposes they should have gone left and skipped the spectacle entirely. A vision filters through her thoughts of this same creature devouring her friend, and for a small moment, she wonders if one of them was Diane. Mid run, she stumbles to a stop. [color=darkorange]”What? Why are you stopping?”[/color] Sharod slows to a stop, dancing back and forth sideways- towards and away from her. He’s on his toes as he does. All lefts lead to Diane. Maybe it’s a warning. Yeah- she can work with that. Trust left, first. Okay. Yeah. All lefts lead to Diane. She doesn’t notice, but with the thought, an invisible pen etches ‘Diane’ into the face of her shield. On the inside arm band- “All Lefts Lead to Diane” carves itself into the leather. It’s ornate, created with a precise hand. Dead ahead- is a group of 5 spiders, skating in perfect formation. “I’ve been searching for an answer, but I ain’t found one. I’ve been known to tear shit up and go off like a gun.” One of the spiders is excellent at beat boxing. They leave that one last. It seems like what they witnessed down the hall increased their stakes and they both are immediately down to business. [center] [table][row] [cell]NEW ACHIEVEMENT! - Sharod Impulse Control is for Cowards [hr]You equipped an unidentified item In an active dungeon hallway. Bold. Stupid. We love to see it. [hr] REWARD!!! Bronze Mystery Regret Box [/cell] [cell]NEW ACHIEVEMENT!! - Loralie All Lefts Lead to Diane [hr]You assigned meaning to randomness and Survived because of it. [hr] REWARD!!! Bronze Pathfinder Box [/cell] [cell]NEW ACHIEVEMENT!! - Both Smells Like Floor One [hr]You identified advanced decay before physical contact.We’d prefer you keep it that way. [hr] REWARD!!! Consumable Nose Plugs (Single Use – Resist Stench Debuff) [/cell] [/row] [/table] [/center]