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    1. Haeo 8 yrs ago
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3 yrs ago
Current Pirates, monsters, magic, islands and no civilization to steal from. Hmm.
4 yrs ago
Now, what happens when you have a bunch of monsters that were living in a forest and they get transmigrated into a futuristic urban setting?
5 yrs ago
I know that few, if any, people on this site would be interested in it... but... I just got an idea for a SAO/GGO/XCOM/UFO crossover... fun tingles...
5 yrs ago
Life has never given mankind sufficient time... nor sleep... nor comprehension. If it had, we would have stopped trying.
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6 yrs ago
It can be greatly refreshing to return to a thing that one has long loved.
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Most Recent Posts

There's going to be one more heading to the boss fight. I'll get him over there with my next post, barring other engagement.

Edit: And there's that post! Ready for the next battle... so long as nobody needs another vulnerary.
@Zeroth@Stabby

Femus listened carefully as the wild pixie came and took the flower crown and flew off to its next amusement. Distracting the creature had been fairly easy. Unfortunately, Nira had gotten herself… socially entangled. It could be dangerous to break the two pixies up but it would be far safer for the two to relocate.

The green wisp remembered that there was an even larger tree closer to the center of their little patch of forest. It might prove to be a worthwhile place to visit, now that his homey hollow was no longer secret. But, he would need to either linger nearby until Nira was free or help her outright.

First, however, he needed to get ready. He gathered three more Blue Yill flowers, being careful to keep their roots attached if possible, and a small piece of thin vine which he used to tie them together into a slightly stronger circlet of sorts. He hoped that this would be an easier way of carrying them. With this circlet on his… top… he did his best to dim his glow and avoid making sound as he prepared to slip outside.

Then he had an idea. Cultivators frequently made use of formations to gather ambient energy when the local concentration was too low for them to use. This Old Kao Tree had a little more magic than the surrounding trees. It might not be enough, but it could be worth trying…

Femus pulled at some of the tree from inside the hollow while trying to amplify his Lesser Force with more mana. He was hoping to gain a few pieces of living wood as well as some sap which he intended to use to coat the pieces of living wood before wrapping them in fresh leaves from the same tree that grew from a low branch just outside. Maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to use these components to establish a lesser weak mana gathering formation somewhere near that bigger tree. At least, he might get a start on the skills needed to make something like that work.

He tried to hurry as much as he could while preserving the quality of the components. If he fell below half mana then he would stop to meditate until he was over maximum again before continuing. Once he finished gathering, he would slip out and move up into higher branches without being seen or heard. If a chance to get Nira’s attention presented itself then he would take it before continuing up. Moving through the leafy branches would probably be safer than further down. However, pushing himself up higher would take more mana. He was certain of that. So, if he could, he would push up to the target elevation before meditating back to his accustomed, higher than maximum, mana level. Then, provided that he was hidden, he would wait for Nira.
Trace Retloth
Merchant Row



Trace heard the bandit archer die and swung his spear sharply to reduce the amount of bandit blood on the blade. The immediate area had become more dangerous with spreading fires and more bandits likely to arrive any minute. But, his mind was preoccupied with the person that he was staring at currently.

Artimesia... the Dark Mage... with whom he had spent the afternoon. It wasn't a terribly enjoyable afternoon, but he had experienced far worse. He had suspicions about why she was seeking a sick person, but even a casual examination revealed those thought and feelings to be based almost exclusively on stories he was told as a child. There was probably truth to those stories. But, he had learned that few things are really as black and white as they seem.

He took a look back at the guardsman's stunned face. That guy was loyal to the boss/Prince... whatever... Leaving him behind wouldn't look good unless he was taking his wounded self to the Castle. But, Trace had a strong feeling that his employer was probably in the thick of the worst combat zone right now. He had seemed that type.

Dead men pay poorly.

"Artemisia." He said, closing the distance between them while they were still out of the guardsman's hearing. "Here." He took out his vulnerary and offered it to her. "I need to keep my employer alive and paying. You should go to the castle with that guard. He's wounded but better than nothing. Use this on him if you need to help him move faster."

His tone was as simple as ever, but it felt out of place now... as though that flat mundane voice was a cloak that kept the truth in shadow. His eyes were a different story. Even shaded by the edge of his helmet, they shone with a raging mix of emotions. But, the strongest one wasn't fear. It was something else, perhaps... respect.

There wasn't much time to talk in the midst of an attack and evacuation. As much as he wanted to have a more substantial conversation with her, there really wasn't time and this wasn't the place. So, whether she accepted the vulnerary or not, he said, "I'd like to talk more... In a quieter place."

_________________________
Status: Uninjured and Deliberate
Class: Recruit
Inventory:
  • Iron Lance
  • Vulnerary(Offered)


Exp:10

<Snipped quote by Haeo>

I envisioned it being a side route off the main street to the castle. but its exact position is up to the GM's discretion.

I believe I'll wait to post until you do again, to give Trace the chance to act on his new knowledge about Artemisia and potentially cause some interaction before Artemisia skedaddles.


Alright. Thank you. They are both people of few words, when it comes to speaking at least, so their interaction will need to be concise and dense with meaning.

I think that I'll be taking Trace to join the battle against the Bandit Leader. After all, a dead employer doesn't pay well.

After you reply, I'm planning on taking Trace to the Western Street Battle Zone in my next post and following a pattern of rapid engagement, if necessary. But, I will finish up their interaction as well as my skills allow before he leaves. After all, they can talk more later and we still need to colab that conversation. My arm is well enough for us to start on that when you're ready. Though, we have the option of setting it as previously discussed or after they meet again at the rendezvous point.
Where is Merchant Row relative to the Western Street and the Castle?
Trace Retloth
Merchant Row en route to Plaza



Trace had only brief moments to plan and act but he was accustomed to thinking on the fly. The street between him and the bandit was wide and clear of obstructions. He held his lance at half-haft and waited until the bandit was committed to his strike. The moment the man's arms tightened to bring the axe down happened to be the moment when Artemisia loosed her spell, causing a convenient distraction that Trace was quick to take advantage of.

He shifted his body to his left and lowered his stance, sliding into the area that the bandit could strike with a backswing. However, Trace had a clear shot at the man's side from here and just enough room to thrust his lance toward the hollow of the man's underarm. If he succeeded, the bandit would be out of the fight very quickly. If the bandit managed to move his body back enough to protect that strike point then the tip of the lance would pierce his head or neck instead.


_________________________
Status: Uninjured
Class: Recruit
Inventory:
  • Iron Lance
  • Vulnerary


Exp:0

I have the primary problematic symptoms under control and I'm hoping to kill the root of the problem by tomorrow, if I can't do it sooner.
And now I developed a nerve pinch that has effectively robbed me of my right arm for the time being. I will post as soon as I have recovered sufficiently.
I got caught in a mandatory meeting so I don't have enough time to get a post ready before the end of my work day. So, it'll probably be another six hours or so before I can try to post.
Trace Retloth
Mercenary Camp to Merchant Row en route to Plaza



The meal went about as well as Trace expected. Neither of them divulged secrets or deeper truths but Artemisia did give him a valuable clue to hers. She was looking for someone, a person with distinctive characteristics. Pink eyes weren’t something he had seen but there were mercenaries who hid their faces. Also, some who fought for money were saving up to purchase treatment for themselves or others who had more troubling diseases. So, he extended an invitation to her to tour the mercenary camps and activities. She could check if anyone had knowledge about such symptoms.

The trip proved to be a waste of time on that front. There was no news and no sightings. Still, it had given Trace a chance to check through his tent and confirm that the items there were all cheap and replaceable. He also looked into the distance. He still had that brooding feeling that this was the calm before the storm.

He was just thinking about this very feeling when Artemisia suddenly gave up on using him to help her search and said her brief and perfunctory farewell. Unfortunately, she chose the moment after she successfully identified the artillery grade spell that had slammed into the town a moment before. It might not be the last time that he would have this thought… but she seemed either too dedicated for her own good… or a complete fool. A surprise attack could come from any direction at all and she abandoned the company of the one combat ready acquaintance she had in town.

Then again, she was a mage.

Confidence can become arrogance all too easily and confidence came quickly with magic. Trace had learned that much pretty early in life.

He had also learned to not judge a person based on a short acquaintance. What he did know was that she was a small woman who chose to get caught up in the stream of evacuees and was likely to be trampled and left behind.

He followed her but remained on the fringes of the crowd, holding a relative position that put him between the obvious guards and the people they were herding. It made him look like a coward, less of a threat. That was probably one of the reasons why the helpful guard that went to aid Artemisia after she was predictably, though accidentally, bludgeoned got shot by the bandit archer’s first shot rather than him.

Trace was about to move to assist when he saw the early stages of a spell in Artemisia’s hand. If he hadn’t been trained in magic when he was young he would never have recognized it so quickly. Or, rather, it was its unfamiliarity that gave it away. Trace knew what the early stages of black magic and white magic spells looked like. This… this was not any of them. That reality left only one likely possibility. Artemisia is a Dark Magic Witch.

For the first time in combat, Trace froze. The shock didn’t last very long, a beat or two of the heart. But, during that time he was able to piece together a few things. She was seeking someone whose name she didn’t know. She had refrained from telling him things rather than lying and giving him a false story. There was a chance that she didn’t mean well for the person she was seeking. Those who intend harm for specific strangers are frequently willing to lie, cheat, steal, and kill to get what they’re after. However, Artemisia had helped at a clinic instead.

He didn’t know what she was up to or why. But, he didn’t think that she was a danger to him and he had no specific reason to turn on her that was worth spitting at. Besides, being near a mage increased his chances of survival and escape.

He moved.

While Artemisia still held her spell and the gauntlet wielder was still getting over the initial shock of his injury Trace dashed along the side of the path between them and the archer. He had a simple plan. He had greater mobility than a man with a wounded leg. He would make use of it by becoming a greater threat to the archer than Artemisia was. If the second shot came his way then she would have a clear line of attack to the archer. Personally, though he was charging, he kept his awareness high and his defenses up. He didn’t know how many enemies were close enough to intervene and he was determined to evade any close combat first strike as well as the possible arrow.


_________________________
Status: Uninjured… And Unhappy
Class: Recruit
Inventory:
  • Iron Lance
  • Vulnerary

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