CollectorOfMyst

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

@Zanderkvothe I don't know if you'd be accepted right now, and if you are, it would only be on special permission. You might see near the top of the page, just under the title, there's a thing which says 'Join Status: Full'. From what I know, there's three - 'Jump-In', where you join without any prior approval needed, 'Apply', where you can submit an application (usually it's a character sheet), or 'Full' - meaning that the game isn't currently looking for new players. You'd have to ask Zeroth personally, but I don't know if today's a lucky one for you.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

Keeping them on as NPCs would be our potential best bet, I think. The story has become integral enough that I don't know if we could feasibly leave them behind.

The Depths of Blackmire Keep - Dare You Enter?

Hmm... well, I'm definitely liking this. I wouldn't be happy if my character lost a limb or a life, but that's what makes the narrative worth it. Probably won't get a character sheet up just yet, but you can bet that you'll see something.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@shylarah Well, yes. The original Clash of the Titans was made in 1981, and had a movie remake in 2010. Guns were certainly made before then.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@Lovejoy True, true, they could be different words. Honestly, there's a lot of gaps in my theory. For all I know, T'sarae or Muraad were the ones to make guns first, and they weren't exactly strong contenders in battle. And I always forget that the thing about fantasy worlds that aren't the present Earth could be speaking anything, but it's translated into whatever we read it in instead. It's a strange thing.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Scott

When the lizard came to a halt before Naji, Scott watched for a moment with bated breath, frozen by his own nervousness. But then the lizard drew its head back. In his condition, the other pixie wouldn't even survive that. Scott felt his heart pang. He wouldn't be able to get there in time, would he? And even if he did, would he even have managed to live past the first blow? Dark clouds filling his thoughts, Scott raised his hands to his head. And he looked away.

Coward. You stupid coward. You could have done something. Trying would have been better than doing nothing at all.

Scott curled up into a ball, covering his ears, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Trying to block out what his own head was saying to him. But there wasn't any defence from it. His breath quickened, and in his throat, there was the horrible feeling of wanting to throw up.

Just ignore it. Just ignore it. Just ignore it.

Warm tears fell down his cheeks as he tried desperately to recover from his spiralling, dizzying descent, panic overtaking every atom in his body. Why couldn't he stop? Why?

---

The feeling faded after a few minutes, though for Scott, it took an age. Covered in sweat, and grime from the cavern floor, he opened his eyes, blurry from their extended closure. As his vision refocused, he began to reconstruct himself, what he could see, hear, feel. He needed to establish it, stabilize it.

He saw stalactites. Or were they stalagmites? He saw the soft glow of distant mana crystals, fainter than they used to be. He saw rock, stone and dirt. He saw herbs over by the water, in the soft mud that the pool created. He could feel the ground beneath him, felt the small bits of gravel that clung to his skin. Felt the sting of his eyes as his tear ducts stopped flowing. He could hear the pounding of his head, blood pumping to and fro inside, trying to carry oxygen and nutrients to where they were needed. And he could hear the soft murmuring of voices, people in some conversation.

Wait.

Slowly, he broke out of his fetal hold, raising his head and twisting around. He saw Ash and the wisp from before, as well as the lizard that had been freed. Eventually, the wisp broke off, floating down over to where the bodies of the two goblins lay. A wave of simultaneous guilt and relief washed over him. Naji was alive! ...And currently chowing down on an eyeball.

That turned his stomach just enough for his earlier nausea to take effect. Again Scott turned away, and let whatever happened, happen. It was not pleasant, to say the least, but he didn't exactly have an option here, either. Once that was done, he gathered his strength, and fully aware that he didn't quite look the best, given his tear-stained cheeks and whatever other detritus he had managed to gather, Scott pushed himself out of his hiding spot. He staggered slightly on the landing but managed to stay upright. He began to walk over to Ash, hoping that she wouldn't reprimand him for his... inaction.

Now that he was closer, he noticed the scars and wounds that the lizard had. His heart panged, and he bit his lip. He'd known the Goblins could be cruel... anyone could, really... but he never understood why creatures sought to hurt one another. He fully intended to just approach her and give a simple 'Hey, Ash', but that idea was cut short when the other lizard bolted, before tumbling over. And then Ash bluntly smashed it on the head, trying to show herself as the stronger one. And Scott couldn't help himself.

"Hey, Ash- wait, don't hurt it!"

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@The Angry Goat@shylarah@vietmyke

I believe that Love mentioned that guns are powered by ether batteries? White ether, but that's what they'd be using instead of gunpowder. As for the usage of the word 'fire'... maybe it began as an intimidation tactic? Fire is a forgotten myth to these people, but they've been fighting one another for centuries. If the first people to make guns said that it gave them power over fire or something, wouldn't it kinda scare the bejeezus out of their enemies? And it's just stuck around since?

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Ash's Ambush - Scott

@Zeroth@Rune_Alchemist@ghastlyInc@duthguy

Scott started when Ash suggested they eat goblins. He wasn't so sure about eating something that could be so... well, intelligent, to be precise. Sure, he'd scavenged off a few of the other carcasses he'd seen around, but only the rats and the lizards - the fights the two species had protecting young or territory occasionally bore some rather gruesome fruit. As far as he could tell, their minds were those of animals - they survived off of instinct. The goblins, though... even if it were just simple cruelty, they'd been emotive. And Scott didn't know if he could stomach the thought, let alone actual flesh.

"...I, uh - I think I'll stick to beetles, for now, thanks." He paused, then added, "B-but I appreciate the offer!"

Sticking close to Naji, Scott climbed up to the top of the rock and lay down atop of it, so that he had a semi-concealed vantage point. From this angle, he could see pretty much the whole scene taking place, but any looking this direction would only glimpse his head, and he'd probably be able to duck back before they'd see him, in that instance. Tracking Ash's movements with his eyes, he watched the brief altercation take place... the lizard's jaw must be very powerful to do that.

Following this, to his complete surprise, one of those Wisps shot their magical-blast-thing at the other goblin. Once released, the captive lizard immediately turned on him, and presumably bit it - he didn't see, because he was instead looking at the Wisp, falling down, down, down...

And then he realised the newly-freed lizard was coming towards them.

"...Naji." he hissed, glancing down at the other. "You need to move. Or hide. Or both. Doesn't matter. Just get somewhere that a comparatively large poison-spitting reptile coming this way won't find-slash-reach you. And stay out of sight!"

He turned his eyes back to the incoming lizard, which was still quite a ways away, but near enough to be a concern. And it could be hungry. In that instance, it wouldn't go for the physically fit, able pixie. It would go for the easy target. Scott stayed where he was, for the moment, trying to see if he could judge its intent before it got too close. If he needed to distract it somehow, he would, but he needed to think of something he could do, first.

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

The Second Day, Naji’s Home - Scott

@Rune_Alchemist@ghastlyInc

---

Scott blinked as the stone glowed a soft green, before returning to how it was before. He looked at Ash, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I should mention that, as-as far as I know, that stone will only work once. After that, well, I'd need to reenchant it... or maybe you'd just need to discard it. I don't know if I can use the same object twice... but you should be able to use that stone at any point. It might not teach you magic, but I think it might help you understand it..."

He nodded and listened as Ash spoke for a little bit, tilting his head.

"If you'll follow me, I could use both of your help...it'll benefit the both of you, if you help me since you'll get EXP for the killing, and food. Hopefully."

He frowned and looked at Naji.

"Ah... well, I don't know about that. I'm pretty sure I've only got enough in me for one spell right now, if any and Naji..." He gave the other pixie a pointed look. "...Well, not to be rude, but you look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards, and if you've been stuck back there for as long as I think you have... well, I'm just saying we need some kind of supplies before we move."

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

If I wanted to I could probably powerbuild to a +30 bonus in Pathfinder

I dunno why I'd want to do that though :P

@The Angry Goat

Damn min-maxers...