Alright, ladies and germs. Newest post is reddy, and if I do say so myself, it's a bit long!
Edit: GOODNESS GRACIOUS.
I FORGOT FIGHT MUSIC.
Edit: GOODNESS GRACIOUS.
I FORGOT FIGHT MUSIC.
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The trio of Blur, Swarm, and the Mad-E, alongside the duo of Wessex and PM awaited their order to "Commence Mission" from their Captain. When it came, their engines rocketed them out of their collective hangar, and they split up, each headed for their own destinations. It wasn't long for either team to meet up with their temporary allies, a Paragon hover-train quickly floating over the dunes to some random outposts, and a duo of Volkov gunships, loitering not too far away from their designated combat zone.
As they were just a bit closer, the Volkov gents met their assistants first, and opened comms. In Russian accents, with somewhat sub-par english, the leader of the two greeted the three coming to join them. "Ahh, lovely, our comrades have arrived. This is Akula 1, how are you mercs doing? Ready to hunt Denver-Vegas dogs? We arrived not too long ago ourselves, we've been talking about god knows-what for the past half-hour. Can't wait to crack some tough nuts!".
Volkov gunships were usually considered to be the best in the world, actually commonly using NC grade technology to achieve superb automation and ease-of-use, allowing the pilots to focus more on fighting then running their own craft. Of course, no actual neural connections were involved, so they still weren't on the level of true NC's. Still, it wasn't unheard of for two gunships, the standard squadron, to flatten a standard tank battalion in a few minutes. Sadly, they weren't fighting standard tanks at all today. These ones, commonly nicknamed 'Prowlers', had a single eight-bladed helicopter rotor propelling them (alongside small turbojet maneuvering thrusters), and two stubby wings carrying anti-armor vulcans, alongside air-to-ground rocket batteries.
Denver-Vegas' 'Siege Tanks' were really rumbling fortresses, twice the tonnage of the second-heaviest tank in the world at the time. They didn't use tech any more advanced then other Denver-Vegas combat vehicles, but their very well-thought out, and rugged (and some say over-armored) designs allowed them to fight NC's on equal footing, assuming that NC already had some damage beforehand. Of course, they were hellishly expensive to maintain, even if they were relatively simplistic designs... These ones were of a newer make and model, more similar to battleships with treads then actual tanks, having two double-barreled turrets, one on the back and one on the front. These 'Crutchley' model super-tanks were also equipped with powerful side armor, in addition to anti-laser smoke deployers. Rumor has it that one of Denver-Vegas' tank commanders personally modified his standard model Siege-tank to something just like these after a run-in with Paragon that he barely escaped from, and its' effectiveness had it taken apart and studied to create a new breed of tanks. Even when not going against their dedicated Paragon marks, they're going to be difficult adversaries...
"Sir, RADAR's picking up new targets alongside those Volkov vultures that have been trailing us!", said one of the tanks' sensor and radio specialists. The Commander of the tank, and squad commander of the trio of land-battleships, pondered his options. "Hmm... at this range, they're definitely hostile and planning an attack. Let them take the first move, aim for anything that has anti-armor measures afterwards. Tell #3 to set their turrets' Vulcans to Point Defense, make swiss cheese out of any missiles or close-rangers that come our way." "Roger boss!", said the specialist, as he began relaying orders. Jameson, the Tank Commander, was worried about how this fight would pan out. They're out-numbered by two, and his personal tank was suffering. Its' aft turret had a barrel malfunction, the left one was inoperable and couldn't fire safely... This was going to be a difficult fight for both sides.
"Team A, your targets are those three RADAR signatures, your long-range sensors are telling us one's already smoking a little it seems and the third one has different armaments then the rest. Crutchleys' are suicidal to try and circle around, their broadsides are devastating. Pick the front or back and stick to it. We'd prefer the front, it's harder on your end but more salvage will be available, since the crew module is in the front. Back is easier, ammo storage. Of course, don't get too close if you're taking that option. Commence attack."
About 50 kilometers to the east, a Paragon hover-train 'conductor' greeted her escorts. British in voice, she started. "Hello, mercenaries. We're happy to see you made it here, please commence the escort. Most of our defensive armaments are situated on the sides, please focus on defending our front and back. That would be highly appreciated.". Paragon hover-trains were pretty modular, this one was the standardized engine/command module, connected to a dedicated defensive array, and a bulk-transport unit. A total of six plasma-casters were on it, two on each side of the command module, and four on the defensive one. Whatever it was transporting must've been particularly important, if it had six directed energy weapons. Paragon loved their expensive and flashy toys, but this wasn't too standard, especially for a train so relatively small.
"Team B, that's the train. Rendezvous. Wessex, you take the lead and follow alongside and forwards its' path, should be showing up in your vision. Papa-Mike, you cover its' rear and do the same. ...Y'know, I can't be the only one wondering just what we're escorting, here... In any case, you only have to escort it for so long. When it reaches the end of that path, we're fulfilling our end of the contract. If anyone's attacking it'll likely be Volkov or some crazy independent. You two'll be able to handle it, I'm sure. Commence escort."
As they were just a bit closer, the Volkov gents met their assistants first, and opened comms. In Russian accents, with somewhat sub-par english, the leader of the two greeted the three coming to join them. "Ahh, lovely, our comrades have arrived. This is Akula 1, how are you mercs doing? Ready to hunt Denver-Vegas dogs? We arrived not too long ago ourselves, we've been talking about god knows-what for the past half-hour. Can't wait to crack some tough nuts!".
Volkov gunships were usually considered to be the best in the world, actually commonly using NC grade technology to achieve superb automation and ease-of-use, allowing the pilots to focus more on fighting then running their own craft. Of course, no actual neural connections were involved, so they still weren't on the level of true NC's. Still, it wasn't unheard of for two gunships, the standard squadron, to flatten a standard tank battalion in a few minutes. Sadly, they weren't fighting standard tanks at all today. These ones, commonly nicknamed 'Prowlers', had a single eight-bladed helicopter rotor propelling them (alongside small turbojet maneuvering thrusters), and two stubby wings carrying anti-armor vulcans, alongside air-to-ground rocket batteries.
Denver-Vegas' 'Siege Tanks' were really rumbling fortresses, twice the tonnage of the second-heaviest tank in the world at the time. They didn't use tech any more advanced then other Denver-Vegas combat vehicles, but their very well-thought out, and rugged (and some say over-armored) designs allowed them to fight NC's on equal footing, assuming that NC already had some damage beforehand. Of course, they were hellishly expensive to maintain, even if they were relatively simplistic designs... These ones were of a newer make and model, more similar to battleships with treads then actual tanks, having two double-barreled turrets, one on the back and one on the front. These 'Crutchley' model super-tanks were also equipped with powerful side armor, in addition to anti-laser smoke deployers. Rumor has it that one of Denver-Vegas' tank commanders personally modified his standard model Siege-tank to something just like these after a run-in with Paragon that he barely escaped from, and its' effectiveness had it taken apart and studied to create a new breed of tanks. Even when not going against their dedicated Paragon marks, they're going to be difficult adversaries...
"Sir, RADAR's picking up new targets alongside those Volkov vultures that have been trailing us!", said one of the tanks' sensor and radio specialists. The Commander of the tank, and squad commander of the trio of land-battleships, pondered his options. "Hmm... at this range, they're definitely hostile and planning an attack. Let them take the first move, aim for anything that has anti-armor measures afterwards. Tell #3 to set their turrets' Vulcans to Point Defense, make swiss cheese out of any missiles or close-rangers that come our way." "Roger boss!", said the specialist, as he began relaying orders. Jameson, the Tank Commander, was worried about how this fight would pan out. They're out-numbered by two, and his personal tank was suffering. Its' aft turret had a barrel malfunction, the left one was inoperable and couldn't fire safely... This was going to be a difficult fight for both sides.
"Team A, your targets are those three RADAR signatures, your long-range sensors are telling us one's already smoking a little it seems and the third one has different armaments then the rest. Crutchleys' are suicidal to try and circle around, their broadsides are devastating. Pick the front or back and stick to it. We'd prefer the front, it's harder on your end but more salvage will be available, since the crew module is in the front. Back is easier, ammo storage. Of course, don't get too close if you're taking that option. Commence attack."
About 50 kilometers to the east, a Paragon hover-train 'conductor' greeted her escorts. British in voice, she started. "Hello, mercenaries. We're happy to see you made it here, please commence the escort. Most of our defensive armaments are situated on the sides, please focus on defending our front and back. That would be highly appreciated.". Paragon hover-trains were pretty modular, this one was the standardized engine/command module, connected to a dedicated defensive array, and a bulk-transport unit. A total of six plasma-casters were on it, two on each side of the command module, and four on the defensive one. Whatever it was transporting must've been particularly important, if it had six directed energy weapons. Paragon loved their expensive and flashy toys, but this wasn't too standard, especially for a train so relatively small.
"Team B, that's the train. Rendezvous. Wessex, you take the lead and follow alongside and forwards its' path, should be showing up in your vision. Papa-Mike, you cover its' rear and do the same. ...Y'know, I can't be the only one wondering just what we're escorting, here... In any case, you only have to escort it for so long. When it reaches the end of that path, we're fulfilling our end of the contract. If anyone's attacking it'll likely be Volkov or some crazy independent. You two'll be able to handle it, I'm sure. Commence escort."
Ah, thanksgiving. Feel free to take your time (up to a certain point ofc), I'd much rather have a slightly late post of decent quality then a post on-time that's sub-par.
Kekekekekekekr
Maaaaybe
Maaaaybe
Alexander wandered the town of Coalstrike, sadly, not finding anything. Imgor would use what was left of his 'allowance' to acquire whatever ingredients he desired, and soon noted that Sapphire suddenly got out of range of his tracking spell, going eastwards. Larion would be eager to climb the towers of Coalstrike, but Ironback lizards such as himself are suited and used to climbing wooden trees, with plenty of branches and whatnot. Perfectly cylindrical structures made of stone are alien to him, in terms of being able to climb them.
Imgor would get an understandable feeling that perhaps he should follow Sapphire to the east..
On the towers of Coalstrike...
The individual seemingly going after Sapphire could be easily heard by the aforementioned, alongside the faint jingling of metal. As the person apparently got halfway up or so, (at least, it sounded as such), he or she must've accidentally pulled out a brick, as a mumbling could be heard and a small impact towards the ground. Sapphire was staring at the moon no doubt hearing all the comotion below her. Despite it she choose to not pay attention to it. Ruby was stood right next to her observing the edge of the tower where the unknown assailant would likely emerge.
As a small amount of time passed, a hand was seen grabbing at the top of the tower, ready to pull itself up. After a short moment, the begginings of a man climbing up could be seen, a golden-blonde head of hair, about ear-length, revealed itself as this man rolled unto the top, getting up and dusting himself off and pausing as he noticed the existence of Sapphire.
Sapphire slowly turned her head towards the man as if she wasn't even fully awake.
What seemed like an eternity of awkwardness ensued as Sapphire likely began to recognize this fellow. It was that strange guy they noticed as they entered Coalstrike, the one who was apparently covered in ropes for some strange reason and carried around a damn greatshield as his primary weapon. Why was he up here? Where was his rope? And his glorified slab of metal?
"Uhhhh. . ."
, he started, looking to the side and scratching the back of his head. He was a nicer looking fellow to be honest, sort of young. Trying to grow a beard down the line, as he had a small stubble. "Hello? Why are you u-" Sapphire suddenly spoke up with a rather fierce sounding tone, "If you know what's best for you, you'll leave. . . now. I am not in the mood."
"I apologize, miss.", he began to retort, "But this is my spot. Get your own roof to marvel at things... on."
Sapphire sighed as she stood up and at the same time her crimson eagle took flight aswell.
"Fine." she said as Ruby prepared to pick her up.
"... Well I didn't mean it like that. We can share if you want.", the man spoke, "...It really is beautiful this time of year, isn't it? We really are blessed, wouldn't you say?", Commenting on the moon. He sat down, marvelling at the view.
"No." Sapphire responded , further denoting the fact that she wasn't in a talkative mood.
"Really? I think it's nice to have something so marvellously grandoise in our skies. What a... beacon of hope, perhaps?"
Sapphire repeated her previous statement while adding to it, "No, I don't think we're blessed and by no means do I consider it a beacon of hope."
"...Well, okay then... Would... would you mind if I asked what's, how to say... ruffling your feathers?" He seemed to muffle a laugh at his own poor joke, glancing over to Ruby.
"I wonder why you would ask me that. I wonder what you might have to hide from me or others." Sapphire seemed to get angry. "I wonder how much time I'd have to spend with you until you'd start judging me aswell. Until you'd start pushing me around like the rest!" The final sentence she almost yelled at him. She let her head rest on her knees as wrapped her hands around her knees.
"oh."
"I'm not really one to hide things. I'm not much more then what you see, just some guy who's trying to be a Hunter. Hunters are supposed to help eachother, yes? All I see and care about is a fellow Hunter going through a rough patch, and it appears my assumption is correct. I'm just thinking I'd help out..."
"You can't help me." Sapphire's voice was trembling and it was clear she was on the verge of tears."Just leave me alone."
"I.. I suppose I shall, then. There must be something I could do, though. Would... would you like to hunt some beasts in a while? It could take your minds off things... I know a little area that ones' apparently stalking."
"It.. might be fun or.."
Sapphire didn't say anything for the longest of time. It almost seemed like hours passed, spent in complete silence.
"Sure. . . it's not like I have anything left that I can do." She finally said. Her voice was steady and emotionless. The shell in which Sapphire hid constantly cracked for a moment but she worked fast to repair that crack and hid back in her own realm. [color=00a99d]"All... alrighty then. So... head out now, or do you want some alone time?"[/color
Sapphire finally lifted her head again and stared at the moon once more, trails of tears still visible on her cheeks.
"Sure, let's go."
"I'm Arnold, from the north."
"...Yes, 'From The North'. I know, it's weird. Blame my parents. So... uh... what's your name?"
"Sapphire. Sapphire Amaryllis."
Imgor would get an understandable feeling that perhaps he should follow Sapphire to the east..
On the towers of Coalstrike...
The individual seemingly going after Sapphire could be easily heard by the aforementioned, alongside the faint jingling of metal. As the person apparently got halfway up or so, (at least, it sounded as such), he or she must've accidentally pulled out a brick, as a mumbling could be heard and a small impact towards the ground. Sapphire was staring at the moon no doubt hearing all the comotion below her. Despite it she choose to not pay attention to it. Ruby was stood right next to her observing the edge of the tower where the unknown assailant would likely emerge.
As a small amount of time passed, a hand was seen grabbing at the top of the tower, ready to pull itself up. After a short moment, the begginings of a man climbing up could be seen, a golden-blonde head of hair, about ear-length, revealed itself as this man rolled unto the top, getting up and dusting himself off and pausing as he noticed the existence of Sapphire.
Sapphire slowly turned her head towards the man as if she wasn't even fully awake.
What seemed like an eternity of awkwardness ensued as Sapphire likely began to recognize this fellow. It was that strange guy they noticed as they entered Coalstrike, the one who was apparently covered in ropes for some strange reason and carried around a damn greatshield as his primary weapon. Why was he up here? Where was his rope? And his glorified slab of metal?
"Uhhhh. . ."
, he started, looking to the side and scratching the back of his head. He was a nicer looking fellow to be honest, sort of young. Trying to grow a beard down the line, as he had a small stubble. "Hello? Why are you u-" Sapphire suddenly spoke up with a rather fierce sounding tone, "If you know what's best for you, you'll leave. . . now. I am not in the mood."
"I apologize, miss.", he began to retort, "But this is my spot. Get your own roof to marvel at things... on."
Sapphire sighed as she stood up and at the same time her crimson eagle took flight aswell.
"Fine." she said as Ruby prepared to pick her up.
"... Well I didn't mean it like that. We can share if you want.", the man spoke, "...It really is beautiful this time of year, isn't it? We really are blessed, wouldn't you say?", Commenting on the moon. He sat down, marvelling at the view.
"No." Sapphire responded , further denoting the fact that she wasn't in a talkative mood.
"Really? I think it's nice to have something so marvellously grandoise in our skies. What a... beacon of hope, perhaps?"
Sapphire repeated her previous statement while adding to it, "No, I don't think we're blessed and by no means do I consider it a beacon of hope."
"...Well, okay then... Would... would you mind if I asked what's, how to say... ruffling your feathers?" He seemed to muffle a laugh at his own poor joke, glancing over to Ruby.
"I wonder why you would ask me that. I wonder what you might have to hide from me or others." Sapphire seemed to get angry. "I wonder how much time I'd have to spend with you until you'd start judging me aswell. Until you'd start pushing me around like the rest!" The final sentence she almost yelled at him. She let her head rest on her knees as wrapped her hands around her knees.
"oh."
"I'm not really one to hide things. I'm not much more then what you see, just some guy who's trying to be a Hunter. Hunters are supposed to help eachother, yes? All I see and care about is a fellow Hunter going through a rough patch, and it appears my assumption is correct. I'm just thinking I'd help out..."
"You can't help me." Sapphire's voice was trembling and it was clear she was on the verge of tears."Just leave me alone."
"I.. I suppose I shall, then. There must be something I could do, though. Would... would you like to hunt some beasts in a while? It could take your minds off things... I know a little area that ones' apparently stalking."
"It.. might be fun or.."
Sapphire didn't say anything for the longest of time. It almost seemed like hours passed, spent in complete silence.
"Sure. . . it's not like I have anything left that I can do." She finally said. Her voice was steady and emotionless. The shell in which Sapphire hid constantly cracked for a moment but she worked fast to repair that crack and hid back in her own realm. [color=00a99d]"All... alrighty then. So... head out now, or do you want some alone time?"[/color
Sapphire finally lifted her head again and stared at the moon once more, trails of tears still visible on her cheeks.
"Sure, let's go."
"I'm Arnold, from the north."
"...Yes, 'From The North'. I know, it's weird. Blame my parents. So... uh... what's your name?"
"Sapphire. Sapphire Amaryllis."
Yeah sure
Okay ladies and gentlemen, these are pretty much approved, aside from Blizz. Blizz, your arachnids' name needs to be alliterative with their species name. Because.
Anyway, the player arachnids can be bigger then your average member of its' species, but not by too much. I mean you can't be a jumping spider the size of a watermelon or something like that, y'know?
Also, adding notes at the end of each CS, so you can say 'oh my scorpion is really big for your average scorpion, he's like nine inches long." and whatnot.
Anyway, the player arachnids can be bigger then your average member of its' species, but not by too much. I mean you can't be a jumping spider the size of a watermelon or something like that, y'know?
Also, adding notes at the end of each CS, so you can say 'oh my scorpion is really big for your average scorpion, he's like nine inches long." and whatnot.
In a world, where fucking idiots dump toxic waste into hidden nature reserves, a bunch of radioactive, mutated, and ever-so-slightly self aware arachnids decide 'Fuck This Shit'. Two days before this'll start, all the mutated arachnids gathered around a tree stump and discussed the coming winter and how it's going to be cold and shivery as fuck. As the spiders couldn't think of anything better then 'well let's pack our shit and leave', since, y'know, they're spiders they have no idea how the hell you make clothes.
Anyway, the SPIDERS are the THINKIER, SILKIER, and SNEAKIER of the arachnids. They'll do shit like thinking up ways to get across rivers, make traps for animals the scorpions can't kill out of really big webs, and just generally be sneaky little fuckers. The SCORPIONS are FIGHTY, HUNTY, and SPOOKY, so their job is to fight shit like small lizards and whatnot, hunt stuff (because the arachnids had an agreement that flies get really fucking boring after the twentieth meal and the scorpions decided to be nice), and be as spooky as possible to ward off big predators.
So, basically, if you're a spider you're gonna try and be smart, if you're a scorpion, you try to murder literally everything that isn't another arachnid. Your overarching objective is to go west, while still making sure you're doing arachnid things. Y'know, laying eggs and finding mates to murder and stuff.
RULES:
Be spidery
Be scorpiony
Go west
Don't be too serious m9
CHARACTER SHEET:
Name (not being alliterative with your species is heresy!)
Spider Or Scorpion?
What specific species?
How old are they?
Favorite Food? Spaghetti, perhaps?
Notes? Pretty much everything else. Maybe they're really big and fat in comparison to other members of their species?
Anyway, the SPIDERS are the THINKIER, SILKIER, and SNEAKIER of the arachnids. They'll do shit like thinking up ways to get across rivers, make traps for animals the scorpions can't kill out of really big webs, and just generally be sneaky little fuckers. The SCORPIONS are FIGHTY, HUNTY, and SPOOKY, so their job is to fight shit like small lizards and whatnot, hunt stuff (because the arachnids had an agreement that flies get really fucking boring after the twentieth meal and the scorpions decided to be nice), and be as spooky as possible to ward off big predators.
So, basically, if you're a spider you're gonna try and be smart, if you're a scorpion, you try to murder literally everything that isn't another arachnid. Your overarching objective is to go west, while still making sure you're doing arachnid things. Y'know, laying eggs and finding mates to murder and stuff.
RULES:
Be spidery
Be scorpiony
Go west
Don't be too serious m9
CHARACTER SHEET:
Name (not being alliterative with your species is heresy!)
Spider Or Scorpion?
What specific species?
How old are they?
Favorite Food? Spaghetti, perhaps?
Notes? Pretty much everything else. Maybe they're really big and fat in comparison to other members of their species?
well then go piss man, no one minds.
A small group of five, An experienced hunter and his disciples, were doing their own things at a place called Coalstrike, a reasonably important and prosperous 'Fortress-City' of Kiruth, one of the few places that is, for the most part, absolutely safe against Beasts. Two of the students, a Nickolaus Schulze and a Sapphire Amaryllis, put the generosity of their teacher to good use, acquiring new clothes to replace the remnants of their old ones, tattered by the recent 'incidents' they've been in.
They were mostly just waiting for their first Switch-Weapons to be produced and tweaked to their specifications, and when Joshua, their teacher's, list of errands was completed, he showed them to a little 'hideout' he had saved. He notified it was effectively collectively theirs, and went to do 'unrelated, private things'. As the party began to settle in, it was not long before an arguement started unintentionally. Nickolaus, leaning on a wall, was beckoned into one of the rooms by Sapphire. Schulze took control of the situation.
A conversation turned into an interrogation, but the other two in the little housing couldn't hear the specifics, aside from a loud bump as if something was knocked over, and the door swinging open loudly as Sapphire, angrily began to walk out, raving. "I should've known better then to trust you people!", she yelled, dissapointed and furious. exiting the building, she slammed the door behind her, finishing with a "You're all the same. You make me sick."
Eventually, Sapphire, in her bottled up anger, found herself sitting alone at the top of one of Coalstrikes' few towers, jumping there from one of the rooftops. It was somber as the sun began to set, but she could still feel she wasn't completely alone.
...Not in the metaphorical sense, she actually began to hear someone else apparently climbing the tower after her. Who the hell could this be?
Back at the Quartets' hideout, the headcount continued to decrease as Schulze followed Sapphire's example, angrily, yet also sadly, mumbling things about the unbelievable unproffesionalism of everyone, including himself. Not wanting to even associate with this group of idiotic misfits anymore, he quickly exited and made his way out of town, abandoning Joshua's 'teachings' and deciding to make his own damn path.
Now, Imgor and Alex were pretty much alone, together, as the Quartet turned into a Duet.
That escalated quickly...
In the harbor of Kiruth a different group of Hunters in training arrived just after sunset. They disembarked from the boat that got them through the fairly long journey. The harbor itself was the definition of deserted. After sunset few people ventured near it as it was one of few places still vulnerable to plagued beings. Even fewer sailors dared to dock there at night, but there were exceptions.
Four people stepped on the ramp leading from the boat to the pier itself. Willo Luelle, Ramone Truvo and Aelar Starseeker were all nearing the end of their training under Drake Lazarus, a man with dark, shoulder-length hair who typically wears a fancy, black trench coat with red sleeves. Despite training under him for months on end they barely knew anything about him except that he had a straightforward and sometimes rather cruel attitude. He was an enigma to them and everyone else, but somehow he was famous at the same time. If you would ask around for his name, you would find that every other person has heard of him at some point, yet nobody knows anything about him.
The fact that he had managed to train his quartet through words only already hinted at skill. During their training he had not revealed the nature of his combat abilities even once, yet when sparring with him he proved untouchable without even having to use any spells or weapons. The second clue was the fact that he was one of the few if not the only hunter not to carry any physical weapon. And his training was not to be taken lightly. The four individuals training under him found themselves facing seemingly insurmountable tasks again and again. And for some of them it proved to actually be insurmountable. What once was a quartet of Hunters in training had become a trio. Ironically, Darke’s favorite among the four was the one to lose his life during one of the assignments. The trainee was cool headed, logical thinker yet ruthless at the same time and didn’t show much emotion. His fellow team members on the other hand. . . Willo usually maintained a generally cheerful and lighthearted attitude of which Drake disapproved. Likewise he questioned Ramone’s dislike of killing and Aelar’s preference for support rather than offensive. He constantly voiced his disapproval including during their trip to Kiruth. Regardless of all that he had taught them all to the best of his abilities. Weak points of plague beasts, advanced combat techniques with the weapons they had chosen, the importance of knowing your enemy and not rushing into battle. But most of all, he offered them opportunities to gain hands on experience in combat.
As they reached the end of the ramp Drake began explaining. His voice was deep yet oddly soft.“I’m sure all of you have heard of Castle Bloodleaves. It was built centuries ago by a dynasty of nobles. They had a curious fascination with blood.” Drake paused as he pondered on what he had just said, realizing he hadn’t given it a lot of thought in the past.
“It holds plagued beasts that a long time ago could not be killed by normal means. As such they had been imprisoned in this Castle. Some of them have vanished, possibly escaping and now some freely roam the basement of the glorified prison. Your assignment is to secure the first and second basement of the castle. I will be joining you one last time as we clear the first basement. Successfully do this and I will declare you fully-fledged Hunters. For your sake I hope you have retained what I have taught you. Take note that the second basement is of . . . extensive size. You may have to setup a camp while in there. You can stock up in town tomorrow but I would hope that you have already prepared as necessary so we can move on straight to the castle right now.”
He stopped and turned around facing the trio. His expression was bland and emotionless as usual. The trio had never seen him show any form of emotion throughout their time spent with him and today was no different. They stared back at him for a few moments without saying a word.
“Well?”
They were mostly just waiting for their first Switch-Weapons to be produced and tweaked to their specifications, and when Joshua, their teacher's, list of errands was completed, he showed them to a little 'hideout' he had saved. He notified it was effectively collectively theirs, and went to do 'unrelated, private things'. As the party began to settle in, it was not long before an arguement started unintentionally. Nickolaus, leaning on a wall, was beckoned into one of the rooms by Sapphire. Schulze took control of the situation.
A conversation turned into an interrogation, but the other two in the little housing couldn't hear the specifics, aside from a loud bump as if something was knocked over, and the door swinging open loudly as Sapphire, angrily began to walk out, raving. "I should've known better then to trust you people!", she yelled, dissapointed and furious. exiting the building, she slammed the door behind her, finishing with a "You're all the same. You make me sick."
Eventually, Sapphire, in her bottled up anger, found herself sitting alone at the top of one of Coalstrikes' few towers, jumping there from one of the rooftops. It was somber as the sun began to set, but she could still feel she wasn't completely alone.
...Not in the metaphorical sense, she actually began to hear someone else apparently climbing the tower after her. Who the hell could this be?
Back at the Quartets' hideout, the headcount continued to decrease as Schulze followed Sapphire's example, angrily, yet also sadly, mumbling things about the unbelievable unproffesionalism of everyone, including himself. Not wanting to even associate with this group of idiotic misfits anymore, he quickly exited and made his way out of town, abandoning Joshua's 'teachings' and deciding to make his own damn path.
Now, Imgor and Alex were pretty much alone, together, as the Quartet turned into a Duet.
That escalated quickly...
In the harbor of Kiruth a different group of Hunters in training arrived just after sunset. They disembarked from the boat that got them through the fairly long journey. The harbor itself was the definition of deserted. After sunset few people ventured near it as it was one of few places still vulnerable to plagued beings. Even fewer sailors dared to dock there at night, but there were exceptions.
Four people stepped on the ramp leading from the boat to the pier itself. Willo Luelle, Ramone Truvo and Aelar Starseeker were all nearing the end of their training under Drake Lazarus, a man with dark, shoulder-length hair who typically wears a fancy, black trench coat with red sleeves. Despite training under him for months on end they barely knew anything about him except that he had a straightforward and sometimes rather cruel attitude. He was an enigma to them and everyone else, but somehow he was famous at the same time. If you would ask around for his name, you would find that every other person has heard of him at some point, yet nobody knows anything about him.
The fact that he had managed to train his quartet through words only already hinted at skill. During their training he had not revealed the nature of his combat abilities even once, yet when sparring with him he proved untouchable without even having to use any spells or weapons. The second clue was the fact that he was one of the few if not the only hunter not to carry any physical weapon. And his training was not to be taken lightly. The four individuals training under him found themselves facing seemingly insurmountable tasks again and again. And for some of them it proved to actually be insurmountable. What once was a quartet of Hunters in training had become a trio. Ironically, Darke’s favorite among the four was the one to lose his life during one of the assignments. The trainee was cool headed, logical thinker yet ruthless at the same time and didn’t show much emotion. His fellow team members on the other hand. . . Willo usually maintained a generally cheerful and lighthearted attitude of which Drake disapproved. Likewise he questioned Ramone’s dislike of killing and Aelar’s preference for support rather than offensive. He constantly voiced his disapproval including during their trip to Kiruth. Regardless of all that he had taught them all to the best of his abilities. Weak points of plague beasts, advanced combat techniques with the weapons they had chosen, the importance of knowing your enemy and not rushing into battle. But most of all, he offered them opportunities to gain hands on experience in combat.
As they reached the end of the ramp Drake began explaining. His voice was deep yet oddly soft.“I’m sure all of you have heard of Castle Bloodleaves. It was built centuries ago by a dynasty of nobles. They had a curious fascination with blood.” Drake paused as he pondered on what he had just said, realizing he hadn’t given it a lot of thought in the past.
“It holds plagued beasts that a long time ago could not be killed by normal means. As such they had been imprisoned in this Castle. Some of them have vanished, possibly escaping and now some freely roam the basement of the glorified prison. Your assignment is to secure the first and second basement of the castle. I will be joining you one last time as we clear the first basement. Successfully do this and I will declare you fully-fledged Hunters. For your sake I hope you have retained what I have taught you. Take note that the second basement is of . . . extensive size. You may have to setup a camp while in there. You can stock up in town tomorrow but I would hope that you have already prepared as necessary so we can move on straight to the castle right now.”
He stopped and turned around facing the trio. His expression was bland and emotionless as usual. The trio had never seen him show any form of emotion throughout their time spent with him and today was no different. They stared back at him for a few moments without saying a word.
“Well?”
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