Current
Now running: World of Light: The Tale of the Dark Itself
4 mos ago
Forever and ever, amen
8 mos ago
Calling out from Scatman's world
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like
10 mos ago
Called into action - by threats that seem harmonized
1 yr ago
Tomorrow comes
Bio
Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.
Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.
A vicious outburst of Curse from the monstrosity’s hurled weapon put a momentary stopper in Barney’s plans to roast it like a marshmallow, but not for long. Rather than a graceful dodge roll the hatted man pulled off more of an ungainly flop, but considering how much stronger this aberrant Shadow looked than those gangly Shaxes, anything beat getting hammered by that terrible element again. Once well out of harm’s way he got to his feet, hefted his flamethrower, and let loose.
From his makeshift flamethrower gushed a torrent of vivid neon blue, an unnatural and alarming shade of energy that seemed almost as much liquid as it did fire. The Nuclear tide slammed into the Shadow like it had physical weight to it, and though it had been idealistic for Barney to hope that his own element might reveal itself as this monster’s vulnerability, he discovered a profound sort of enjoyment in the act nonetheless. He couldn’t quite understand, let alone articulate, the primal satisfaction that bathing this thing in Nuclear fire brought him, but after a hellish couple hours of supernatural suffering he wasn’t about to dial it back. Only after a moment did he realize that the yelling that filled the air was his, and it took a handful of clicks before he registered that his flamethrower had run dry. With his magic and firepower depleted, and any physical skills liable to render him unconscious from the backlash, he could do little but let his firearm disappear and sink down to the ground. The rest was up to the others.
Luckily, the other guys didn’t seem eager to let the Shadow regain control over the battle. Caelum, bless his heart, seemed to be taking action once more. The guts it took to come out of one monstrous encounter, gain nothing but bruises and fatigue for Caelum’s efforts efforts, and then willingly take up arms to fight through the next, filled Barney with awe. After the first time any sane person would have gotten as far away from a fight like this as possible, and been thoroughly justified in doing so, but Caelum did not run away. If anyone deserved to get a Persona, it was this guy.
Of course, he needed an opening to introduce that rebar of his to the Shadow’s vital areas, and even with his own Persona powers diminished Dakota, Dakota was determined to help. In the corner of Barney’s eye a radiant light suddenly blared into existence, flying forth in a parabolic arc. A flare? Barney shielded his eyes from the miniature shooting star, which turned out to be a great idea when it exploded against the enemy’s body. The brilliant flash left the Shadow dazzled, blind and unable to stop a surprise impalement at Caelum’s hands.
It hit the dirt, broken and vulnerable. In an instant Barney recognized the same critical opportunity that gave him the chance to end things with his own blasted nemesis back in the cathedral, but Nick didn’t need someone else to tell him to strike down this disturbing parody once and for all. “Kick his ass!” Barney cheered, mustering what spirit he could. The pounding of Nick’s feet against the littered ground brought him into melee range in seconds, allowing him to put all his anger and frustration into a mighty hammer swing straight into the Shadow’s head. A bloodcurdling crack sounded out, and the wall of Curses flickered. That was all Barney needed to pump his fist, celebrating one more demon conquered. “Yes!”
With blistering speed, however, he found that his celebration had been premature. Not to be done in so easily, the Shadow lashed out and felled Nick with a single blow. Barney’s blood froze as the monster then picked him up, filling the tense air with jeers. Their gambit hadn’t worked. Nick was going to die! “Dag...nabbit!” The war cleric grit his teeth as called forth his wheel, which he used for support as he fought to stand, but his tired muscles just didn’t want to listen. “Hold...on!” He managed to get to his feet, but a couple dozen feet between him and the Shadow might as well have been a couple dozen miles. After shooting a bewildered look at Vincent, as if to scream do something!, then at an unknown punk-looking guy who’d appeared out of the blue nearby, he realized that he had no other choice. “Samsa…!” he groaned, invoking the bestial Persona that could fight on his behalf. “Save...save!”
Before he could do anything, a wall of pressure struck him, and as Samsa faded it became all that Barney could do to keep himself from falling over. He looked up, taken aback, to find Nick at the center of it all, surrounded by familiar azure flames. It dawned on the spectator that he must be witnessing the very same phenomenon that had overtaken him not so long ago: the liberation of his soul, and with it the birth of a power strong enough to save himself from destruction. The man in the monster’s grip now looked less like a scared teenager and more like a soldier, and though Barney couldn’t see any Persona floating by his side, he knew what had taken place. Nick Waller had awakened.
“Hell yeah!” Spindle whooped. “Welcome to the wakin’ world, soldier boy!”
A burst of submachine gun fire ripped into his tormentor, breaking its hold as it reeled and roared in pain. Free from the monstrous thing in more ways than one, Nick rallied the troops. Inspired and more than ready to put the freakish Shadow to rest, Barney steadied himself and manifested his own Persona beneath him to carry him forward. If what happened during Barney’s own awakening held true here, this creature would begin to mutate out of control, having been hollowed out by the loss of what became Nick’s strength. Reduced to a chaotic, gibbering mess of self-perpetuating negativity in a last ditch attempt to destroy the original, it was nothing more than trash that needed to be disposed of. Almost like an inauguration ceremony--out with the old and in with the new.
Either way, they needed to act fast, and none knew it better than Spindle. Having been flying so low as to endanger herself in the fight, she spotted her chance when the wretched mass went to pursue Nick, and reached out with Odradek’s power. The next instant the Shadow ran into a web of silken threads, stuck tight for as long as it took to ooze through the gaps. “Yah! Got that sorry sumbitch! Alrighty fellas, time to cream its corn!” She looked back to save at Vincent, Barney, and Dakota, noticing Lorenzo as she did with no small amount of surprise. “Hold on, who’n tarnation are you?! Wait wait, it don’t matter, just hurry up and help us kick that thing’s keister ‘fore we’re all toast!”
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news today, but I figured I'd post this in the OOC: A lot has been going on, and due to personal reasons I'll not get into, I'll be taking an indefinite leave from Guild. This last year has been incredible and a great experience and I'm thankful to have taken part, and I apologize for the potential inconvenience this could cause. But I hope that overall, you all keep trucking and find a ton of fun in the future.
I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I hope that you'll be okay, and I know you'll be very missed. Goodbye for now, and God bless you.
The persistent cold downfall drenched friend and foe alike, and the odious tide of gibbering pelagic fiends surged forth to crash against the Seekers like a wave against the shore, but nothing could douse the vengeful heroes’ spirits, and Nadia’s least of all. A fang-toothed grin stretched across her face ear to ear, a smile wholly different from the expression she’d worn in the warm glow of the campfire earlier, when in a moment of peace a profound and hitherto unknown joy fluttered in her innermost heart. A jokester who seldom took anything seriously, the cat burglar known as Ms Fortune adored playing around with her opponents, but this wasn’t that, either. It was nothing more complex than a vicious glee at the prospect of finally cutting loose and venting all the pent-up stress and frustration piled upon her soul by the nightmares of the Maw. It was past time that she erased something evil and foul from this world, and her allies were on the same page.
When the first murloc poked its head over the edge of the roof, Nadia let loose the surprise she’d been laying in wait to unleash. Her leg, pulled by her arm to an impossible angle behind her back, lashed out with the elasticity of its muscle fiber in a killer axe kick and split the fishman’s grotesque head like a watermelon. It hurtled off to the side, what remained of its brain struggling to come to terms with what happened as it disintegrated, and two more slimy, teal-scaled murlocs hopped up to take its place. One held a rusty billhook longer than it was tall, its curved, scythelike blade ready to reap limbs like grain, and the other wielded a giant crab claw like a cestus. They attacked at the same time with a stab and a slice, forcing Nadia to scramble backward to her feet, and in that moment one more friend of theirs joined the party. Blue-scaled and ridden with repugnant tumors, it carried both a leviathan’s tooth as a club and a seashell shield, and without hesitation lunged straight for her.
Nadia sidestepped its swing, spinning up her arm like a drill as she did, then drove the deadly point into the mottle flesh just behind the murloc’s vivid violet eye. To her annoyance she found the monster’s hide a little tougher than she bargained for, having hoped for an instant kill, and with the others coming she didn’t have the time to dig deeper. Instead she tore free in a visceral spray and sent the wretch off for a spin kick just a hair too late to deal with the claw murloc’s haymaker. Her rushed attempt to block it hurt like hell, so when it came back the other with for round two, rather than try to block she went low in a corkscrew slide, leaving the monster a victim of its own inertia as she knocked it off its feet. She sprang to her own and narrowly avoided a thrust from the third murloc, but when she went to counterattack the creature adjusted its grip and pulled back. Its billhook blade caught Nadia’s upheld arm and sliced right through, dropping the limb to the ground. The feral’s face lit up with horror. “Oh no!” She scooped the fallen limb up with her foot and popped it into the air. A blast of bloot erupted from the stump to shoot it forward, its claws piercing through the baffled monster’s mouth like a five-set of fishhooks. Nadia snickered as she shot out a bundle of fibers from her own stump to reconnect her arm. “Anyway!” She pivoted backward, using centripetal force to haul the murloc off the roof and over her head in a judo-like throw. It cratered into the wooden planking behind her, which both shook the whole roof and gave Nadia another devilishly clever idea, if she did say so herself.
The other two descended on her together, attacking on both sides. In dodging the big one’s shield bash she took a painful slice to the back from the lancer. She rolled with it to keep it from cutting too deep, then while bent over struck back with a One-Two Punisher. The move softened up and then sliced into the billhook-swinger’s nose, but for her troubles Nadia received a frenzied club swing each to her shin and upper arm. “Me-owch!” she gasped, dashing backward with the aid of sprayed blood. Normally she’d be fighting a lot more mobile than this, but without a good idea of the roof’s size or integrity she couldn’t jump around all willy-nilly. The sight of her bruised and bloody, however, brought both murlocs right back in--just as she wanted. Seeing no reason to change strategies, they attacked from both sides once more, but this time Nadia went low with a Hand in Hand. The extended double-strike went beneath their defenses and hooked upward to pierce through the bottom of their jaws, which meant that when Nadia retracted her arms into place both fishmen staggered toward her, reeling. She dropped to one hand to execute a Kitt N’ Spin, tearing through their legs with talon and tail to both sweep and deposit them in a pile with their spear-wielding friend. Finally, the feral grabbed the planks to either side of the heap and leaped into the rain-filled air. Silhouetted before the moon at the apex of her jump, her muscle fibers pulled taut, and with a terrific cry she shot back down like a giant rubber band. The next second her full-force kick smashed all three murlocs straight through the roof and into the hovel below.
Simultaneously there came a loud splash and a wet, sickening crunch. All three murlocs more or less exploded when they hit the shack’s rotted floor, although they did cushion Nadia’s fall. She sprang away from the mucky mess and landed, as always, on her feet, her heart pounding from exhilaration. As the malodorous mound melted away into gunge-soaked ash she dusted off her hands, laughing. “Whoo! Didn’t even pull a mussel!” Her elation faded as she realized just how bad it smelled in here, prompting her to look around. As bad as the village outside had been, if this sorry excuse of a dwelling was anything to go by, it was worse indoors by far. Shielded from the elements, the place seemed to be a breeding ground for all sorts of horrid aquatic life, from urchins and sea cucumbers to clams with teeth and dubious polyps to things that she didn’t even want to look closer at. For goodness’ sake, even what she thought were candles were actually just wax-white sea slugs, burning away quietly in their little dishes. Noticing that the murlocs left their weapons behind, Nadia grabbed the billhook and made for the door. She slammed it open, smacking a rogue murloc into the deep water of the plaza, and leaned out of the doorway using the polearm against the doorframe. “What’d I miss?”
Much had happened in just a couple minutes. To begin with, right after she jumped away the Koopa Troop assembled into a tight-knit firing squad behind the cover of a horde of bouncy balls, which explained the absurd racket that Nadia heard from that direction when fighting. The moment the Bytans gave way to the fishman onslaught, Bowser and company opened fire, laying into the incoming shark giant with everything they had. Nadia regretted missing it; they must have had one hell of a shootout, although it must have been one hell of a gamble, too. Packed tight between the buildings on the sodden street, the Koopa Troop blocked everyone who hadn’t scrambled early to fight in the central plaza, including Geralt and Bella, neither of whom could either get through or get a shot without fear of hitting their allies. Once Bowser’s crew started shooting, their ranks became a maelstrom of chaos--a singularity of gunsmoke, concussive force, obscuring rain, headache-inducing noise, and dangerous recoil. Shipgirl armaments, unlike normal vessels whose hulls transferred the force to the surrounding water, dealt with recoil by pushing their water-skating wielders in the opposite direction, and in a confined space that made things risky. Projectiles collided in midair, strikers and minions got hit, many shots went wide, and just about nobody could see or hear what they were doing. In return, they mowed through a handful of the murlocs before they took cover underwater, and dealt incredible damage to the shark giant even as he plowed towards them. Taking the bombardment like a champ, the giant fought through the flame, force, lightning, poison, and confusion, and for just a moment it looked like he and that huge anchor of his might actually reach the Troop. In the end, however, even that abominable juggernaut went down, and the Koopas’ fusillade came to an end with ringing ears and blurred vision.
Eager to get out there and help Sakura, Bella took the chance to push through the first opening she found, splash along the remainder of the street, then dive headfirst into the waters of the plaza. Beneath the surface the Abyssal could fight in her element, her leviathan tail a force to be reckoned with as it slaughtered murloc after murloc. She swam in the direction of Sakura, but ended up slowing down when she realized that the Street Fighter was doing just fine. Better than fine actually, as Sakura dispatched fishman after gurgling fishman with finesse. In fact, she ended up falling victim not to a murloc, but to a sudden sneak attack from a crabsnake lurking in a jellyshroom by the plaza’s edge. Bella’s massacre came to a swift end as she charted a course for her beloved savior.
Sakura’s call for help found a swifter answer. Having been picking off stragglers while on the move, Link came to her rescue long before Bella would have made it, bifurcating the offending crabsnake so that Sakura could rejoin the fight. Of course, that exchange didn’t stop a distracted Mirage from falling victim to exactly the same trap only seconds later. The commotion brought the attention of the murlocs, and though Delsin did a pretty good job fighting a few back two at a time, he misjudged the depth of the plaza basin versus the streets and submerged himself right after Sakura tossed him. That put the tally of teammates in danger to two, and though Nadia decided it was about time she started helping, she couldn’t help but be distracted as the courageous Ace struggled against fearsome shark giant, all on his lonesome.
In an instant she decided that the others could take care of the vulnerable. In fact, Blazermate had already jetted over and deployed her ubercharge, which prevented the crabsnake digging deeper even if it didn’t break its hold. Her protection, however temporary, meant that he had nothing to fear from the gaggle of murlocs headed his way. Sakura, Bella and Link, meanwhile, were well-positioned to help Delsin out while he swarm for the shallows. All that mattered right now was the shark giant pummeling Ace. But the pelagic brute had driven him into the shallows on the north side of the basin, where the heroic hunter no doubt meant to keep it away from his allows. How could she get over there?!
Nadia rushed back into the shack, then took a running jump from the doorway, billhook in hand. Knowing she didn’t have enough height, she airdashed backward in midair and jammed the butt of the billhook into the soft wood, where it lodged fast. She grit her teeth and started to swing, using high-pressure blood bursts to build up speed until she could let go a moment later and fly into the air. With the last of her pressure she airdashed forward, aiming for the well upon the promontory in the basin’s center. No stranger to high-flying maneuvers, she stuck the landing, then sprinted along the top of the overgrown well frame. The unique fishman by the wall watched her come, ready with his trident for an attack, only to be ignored as she dashed overhead. As she got closer Nadia saw that Ace had managed to escape his pummeling and even turn the tide somewhat. Instinctively she could tell that the meaty uppercut he landed with his shield would be a perfect chance for a follow-up, and with a sudden strength Nadia launcher herself toward him, spinning through the air like a propeller. As Ace’s blow knocked the shark giant’s head up, Nadia came down with her tail extended like a sword, skewering through the monster’s clammy white flesh.
It would take a lot more than that, however, to stop it. Blubbering uproariously, it bodily hurled itself at Ace. If he did not move he would be pinned beneath its terrible weight as it smashed into the big shack behind him, where it rolled to its feet ready for more. Nadia’s attempt to jump clear sent her flying over the balcony and into the hovel’s mossy second floor. This time, sadly, she didn’t land on her feet. Her tumble came to a quick end when she found herself confronted by another pair of murlocs, already fanning out to surround the stranger hurled into their midst. “Ugh, more?! I don’t have mari-time for you!” Ace had done great on his own, but if it took the entire Koopa Troop to put the other one down, he was going to need help. Nadia lunged for the murlocs, carving through each throat in turn, then left them to mull it over while she jumped down to give Ace a hand.
As the heroes soon found out, however, when it rains, it pours. All the ruckus from the fighting in, on top of, and around the basin, particular from the Koopa Troop, had not gone unnoticed. The island's degenerate peace had been disturbed, and now it was waking up.
Right as the fishmen were just about depleted, a number of the shacks in the basin’s vicinity opened up to divulge another nine or so angry murlocs, including a couple behind Bowser’s crew. More fishmen the Seekers could handle, but nobody anticipated the next source of enemies. So great was the disturbance that the massive sea monster in the pit harbor to the east, Scylla, stirred to wakefulness. Somehow, even in a pitiable state of merciless torment and harvest at the hands of the murlocs, it clung to life. Its gruesome head lolled back and forth, then opened wide its gaping maw to projectile vomit a trio of Sea Crawlers into the water. Rather than relief, however, Scylla found only further agony. A moment later a portion of its chest cavity burst open, revealing another, even bigger anchor-wielding brute than the shark giants that preceded him: Tidehunter. As Scylla sank backward, dying, he waded forward with a roar.
Peach, having just shotgunned the last lamplight murloc into oblivion, gave the green behemoth a miserable look. “Come onnnn…”
Then, up from the well in the center of the town, a malignant horror crawled forth. A conjoined abomination of staggering decreptitude, it hacked apart the well frame with its green-tinged brazen blade so that it could emerge in all its stultifying hideousness. It raised its scales and shook them like bells, each clang piercing into the depth’s of the princess’s mind in an all-too familiar fashion. A vein popped in her forehead. “COME ON!” she screamed, taking out a grenaduck to hurl at the blotch on reality across the water. The time for mowing through fodder had already come to an end; the elite enemies had arrived.
Along with the curses, however, came an unexpected blessing. A sudden fit of hollow laughter drew Peach’s eyes to a rooftop across the basin. In the flash of lightning she spotted a pirate skeleton, along with some sort of living anchor that floated behind him. After a moment Spinal leaped from his perch, with his Dhelmise in tow. He landed on one of the rowboats scattered around the basin and surged forward, slicing at the murlocs who lunged for him in true swashbuckling style. He landed on the little island with the well and immediately charged straight for Fizz and the Judicator, evidently happy to take on both at once with the aid of his floating anchor. If the situation had already been chaos, now it was pandemonium.
The Chalk Prince, the Fallen Child, and the Skullgirl
New loot acquired: Souls x620 A sort of ephemeral quantity bound to oneself, immaterial and conferring no burden. Souls, sen, runes, echoes, scrap, geo, widgets, haze...whatever you call them, they are a universal currency that, if not usable outright, can at least be exchanged most anywhere. But beware: death will drop one’s whole sum on the ground for others to collect Young White Branch x2 Use to transform into something that blends in to the surroundings. Little Dusk's first sorcerer's staff eventually became a seedling, and then three white birch saplings. The young branch is said to still contain echoes of little Dusk's capriciousness. Alluring Skull A skull resplendent in the scent of souls. Throw to shatter, spreading souls which attract enemies. Not effective for all foes Burn Heal A minty-cool aerosol tonic that can be sprayed on a target to quell a painful Burn NeverMeltIce A spiky fragment of a glacier’s frozen core. Even if it sweats in sweltering heat, it will never grow smaller. Although pokemon can just hold it, it must be fashioned into a charm or other accessory for others. Increases ice damage by 20% Ice Bomb A magical throwing item that does pretty much no damage but can freeze water
Grateful for a warm respite, Albedo settled into the booth, allowing the characteristic coziness of the diner’s orange-hued interior to flow into his being and chase out the chill. Even in the face of hypothermia the alchemist managed to keep himself rather composed, so he couldn’t blame Linkle for not noticing his deteriorating condition, and he certainly hoped she didn’t blame herself. No matter how well she kept the sepulchral influence of the Skull Heart lodged within her at bay, she couldn’t avoid the fact that the way the unconsciously looked at things had changed. With no heart to beat and no blood to pump, the undead archer couldn’t feel the cold like Albedo did, and given her traveling partner’s general unemotive restraint she really didn’t have much to go on. “Don’t worry about me,” he told her, trying to set her mind at ease. “I should have spoken up sooner.” The two of them had enough problems without having to grapple with internal conflict.
Maybe sensing the diminished heat within his customer, Grillby worked fast to prepare the alchemist a warm beverage, and before long the hot cocoa was on its way. It arrived, however, in unexpected form. When he turned to retrieve his drink Albedo found himself looking down at a young kid, inconspicuous and unidentifiable. He dimly remembered seeing this child around Snowdin here and there during his prolonged stay, perennially quiet and unmemorable. They had never spoken, let alone been introduced, which made the person who came bearing sweet relief a stranger, for all intents and purposes. Then again, looking at it from Frisk’s perspective, Albedo was a stranger, too. Stranger than most in all likelihood, given the indifference he showed the townsfolk while going about his research and experimentation. It occurred to him for the first time that the average person in this town might very well fear or mistrust him, given his repeated contact with the tattooed man who drunkenly stalked these Highlands. Yet here this child was, all the same.
He accepted the hot cocoa. “Thank you,” he told Frisk. The urge struck him to say more, maybe start a conversation or at least extend some pleasantries to show that he didn’t mean to be as cold as he felt. Curiosity as to why this child would approach him now tickled him; did they want something, or was it out of the kindness of their heart? But he couldn’t figure out how to start, or what to say, so instead he took a sip of the cocoa. Hopefully it would limber up his mind along with his body.
Luckily, he had Linkle to handle the whole talking thing. She brought up the dog he’d been taken care of, wondering where it was. Before Frisk could respond, however, Grillby chose that moment to speak up. The attentive bartender had been keeping an eye on Albedo’s condition, and being the one in whose care the alchemist left his canine companion, felt responsible enough to interject. “I asked Treat to look after him,” he told them, his sputtery voice carrying across the quiet restaurant. “You know, the wolf girl? I figured she could use some company.” He pulled out a phone, bulky thanks to its copious insulation against fire, and made a quick call.
With further interaction with Frisk left to Linkle, Albedo waited in silence, nursing his cup of cocoa as the heat flowed through his fingertips and up his arms. He remained almost motionless until a gray blur abruptly hurtled by the window mere inches away from him, taking him by surprise. Rather than spilling his drink with a sudden jerk, however, the alchemist maintained his composure, and managed to avoid losing even a single drop. He breathed a sigh of relief, and after another moment Grillby’s door opened with its characteristic chime to reveal the white-haired wolf girl Treat, bundled up in gray for the wintry weather, with none other than his corgi snuggled comfortably in her arms.
“...Hi?” she greeted them, breathless from her sprint over. Despite the speed with which she arrived, she hung there for a moment in the restaurant’s threshold, as if the eyes of all its occupants on her created a physical barrier she could not break through. In fact, she almost looked like she wanted to bolt away as quickly as she came, but the moment the little dog spotted Albedo he perked right up, letting out an eager whine. After that Treat couldn’t possibly keep them apart, and with no small amount of reservation headed for the booth where Albedo, Linkle, and Frisk had congregated. “H-here!” Linkle accepted the squirming offering and wasted no time introducing the creature directly to Albedo’s chest, so fast that he barely got his cocoa out of the way in time. With the corgi, the chocolate, and the kindness of so many strangers, he figured he’d be warm again in record time.
Personality: Therion is cynical. During the time spent with his seven fellow travelers ("friends," he has to remind himself) he has worked through most of his deeper trust issues, but the fact remains that for most of his life he's seen some of the worst humanity had to offer, so it stood to reason that you can't take someone at face value, especially someone you've just met. It's one of the reasons he prefers working on his own. Or... was one of them anyway. He still says he works better solo when actually on a heist. He is a thief, one of the best, and his confidence is due to his sheer skill at his occupation. Sure, the few times he's gotten caught were pretty devastating, but he was still a pro among pros. He exercises his skill liberally, and has certain rituals he follows to ensure success rather than actually plan things out in advance.
His personality can be abrasive, his confidence coming off as arrogance especially when mixed with his dry sense of humor. He is sarcastic and rough around the edges, with a sharp eye and sharper tongue. He isn't friendly in the slightest, though despite his harsh past he still holds a sense of camaraderie with those he travels with. He shows he cares in his own way, not directly but with subtle gestures or weak jokes. He holds a sense of pride that prevents him from admitting things easily, and he tends to deflect rather than let his true feelings be known. Unless those feelings are negative, in which case he won't have a probably saying it aloud. That said, being a thief Therion would much rather avoid trouble than make a fuss - but he will hold a grudge.
Background: Orphaned at a young age, Therion grew up on city streets and alley ways. He was a street urchin, with a talent for pick-pocketing that got him into trouble one too many times. Sitting in a prison at age twelve, Therion met an older boy named Darius who convinced him to team up and break out. They were successful, and the two of them formed a dynamic criminal duo once they'd escaped. For four years Darius and Therion made a reputation for themselves as master thieves, performing all kinds of elaborate heists. At some point Darius was approached by a gang called Cianno, with a proposition. Get rid of Therion, and you can join our group.
Darius called his partner out to meet in the heights of the Clifflands, the most recent stop on their cross-country thieving journey. He told Therion about the offer he'd been given, and like a fool Therion thought there was no way Darius would go through with it. They'd known each other for years, and why would be come clean about it if he was planning on disposing of him? However, Darius lashed out with his blade, catching Therion off guard. He'd slashed at Therion's face, cutting him but missing a fatal blow. Off balance but already drawing a weapon to retaliate, Therion moved to defend himself when Darius moved in, shoving him hard from the cliff.
It was a long, long fall.
But he'd survived. It was a miracle, though many times while enduring the pain Therion kind of wished he hadn't. He'd been found by some good samaritans who dragged him back into town. That was six years ago. Ever since Therion had kept a low profile.
Well... sort of low. He had become something of a 'phantom thief,' because while no one knew his name or face, tales of his escapades still swirled around rumor mills. He had to keep himself fed after all. He had mostly stuck to the Clifflands, venturing out only when tales of a mark were particularly interesting to him. And there was one such tale that tickled his fancy, right in Bolderfall. A manor with a huge treasure inside, in the upper part of town. Therion made quick work of getting passed guards, dogs, and locks. Inside the manor he found an exquisite gemstone, but before he could snatch it he was discovered by the manor's butler Heathcote. They dueled, and though Therion emerged victorious Heathcote had managed to shackle Therion with an iron cuff around the wrist. It was a Fool's Bangle, the mark of captured thief. They weren't designed to be removed.
This one, however, apparently had a special key to take it off. Heathcote revealed that the rumors were planted, the whole thing a set up designed to attract a thief that the lady of the house could use for a mission. Cordelia Ravus, whose family's prized Dragonstones had been stolen away, was looking for someone good enough to steal them back. The reward was the removal of the Fool's Bangle. Upset and shamed, Therion reluctantly agreed.
It was on the road out of town that Therion met a strange duo around his age. One was a tall, scruffy young man with a lazy smile on his face, who radiated a friendliness and warmth that was almost nauseating. In contrast the beautiful woman with him was stand-offish, and the smile she wore was obviously fake. It was the kind of awkward meeting of a group of strangers who just happened to be heading in the same direction at the same time, and the cliffs were not at all wide enough to keep away from each other. The young man introduced himself as Alfyn, not hesitating to strike up a one-sided conversation with Therion. Despite the slightly uncomfortable journey filled with small talk, shifty glances, and fending off Birdians, after they'd all exited the Clifflands Therion was shocked to hear Alfyn invite him to journey with the duo. At the time, Therion recalled rejecting his offer. But then the three of them just kept traveling in the same direction. He knew they had seen the bangle on his wrist at some point, and yet they said nothing. Even the woman, who Therion had come to learn was named Primrose, began warming up to him after a week or two. If asked Therion would say No, I'm not with them, but despite himself he began warming up to them, too.
The rest was history as they say. The now trio met Olberic, H'aanit, Cyrus, Ophilia and Tressa after that, and explored the continent together. It would have been a lie to say that after a few months Therion didn't enjoy their company. Even Tressa whom he regularly quarreled with had a special little place in his heart with the others, as much as he was loathe to admit. The group even proved useful while hunting for the Dragonstones. It turned out having a support network made life easier, who knew?
After obtaining one Dragonstone and failing to secure the others, Therion's return to the Ravus Manor was bitter and frustrating. They had tracked the stones down to a black market, but a run in with his old partner left old wounds aching. Darius, the man who had betrayed and left Therion to die all those years ago, was in possession of the remaining Dragonstones. He would have to face Darius, but he needed time to recover and track him down again. In the mean time the group of eight travelers pursued another target: the Obsidians. Arriving in Noblecourt, their dancer stated that she would face the crows alone. She always said that, the hypocrite. Of course they didn't let her. The eight split into two groups of four, one to accompany Primrose and the other to secure supplies for their journey further North. There was no dramatic scene accompanying Therion's passage in the World of Light. He was leaning against the outside of a shop while his fellows bartered inside. Tressa had forbidden him from "making trouble" while Primrose was dealing with her past here, and begrudgingly he obliged. Idly he rolled a coin between his fingers - and then noted a blinding white sweeping towards him. There was no time to even draw a dagger before he was engulfed.
Specialty: Rogue
As a thief, Therion excels at speed, stealth, and sleight of hand. In combat, his specialty is evasion and debuffing.
Level: 1
Experience: 0/10
Powers:
Thieves' Specialty
The ability to debuff opponents. In this case, the skills Shackle Foe to lower an enemy's physical attack strength, and Armor Corrosive to lower physical defense. Perhaps most importantly, Therion can steal from enemies mid-battle.
Strengths:
Master Thief
He can slip in and out of a place without being noticed, pick all but the most complex of locks, lift items directly from people who remain unaware until hours later, and has enough of a discerning eye to tell when something is valuable.
Fleetfoot
Therion is very speedy, letting him take the initiative in battle and more easily evade attacks. Of course it also helps him outrun trouble in the first place.
Precision
Or in plainer terms, Therion is able to land critical hits more easily. It also help when throwing, catching, or really doing any kind of intricate work.
Weaknesses:
Short-Sighted
He doesn't think that far into the future. He has a tendency to go in to situations with no back up plan, with only the devil's luck to carry him through. If things don't work out he shifts into winging it. Naturally in a fight this can lead to some sticky situations.
Prideful
The ego that kept Therion literally shackled with the message "caught red-handed." Therion's stubbornness means he relies on no one but himself, and he'll carry on with disadvantages just to prove a point.
Poor Magic Control
Therion's low SP pool coupled with his lack of proper training means that his control over magic is sorely lacking. That's not to say he has no talent as a caster, but the only spell he really knows is called Wildfire for a reason. His spells have a tendency to spread wider or flare up stronger than intended.
Thieves' Tools: lockpicks, rope and grappling hooks, small pry bar, etc.
A simple short sword
Stinging Dagger, a blade laced with poison
A couple of throwing knives
Some ill-gotten gains?
I'm hard-pressed to find any fault. Excellent work! We can coordinate a way to get Therion involved when you like. In the meantime though, we should decide what 'ill-gotten gains' he has on him.
New Striker spiritbound: Ezio Auditore da Firenze A highly versatile, masterful, and valuable spirit. Ezio can strike with a variety of weapons from a variety of angles, appearing from hiding in Fox's vicinity as if he'd always been there, rather than from Fox himself. He possesses a rapier, a hammer, a crossbow, a flintlock, and his iconic hidden blade; he can appear from grates and trapdoors, spring from bushes and haybales, and also just fall out of the sky directly over opponents. Although his up-front damage and defense are low, his assists can deal high critical damage at good speed, and a moderate cooldown means he can be utilized frequently
As pleasant as Tostarena Town seemed to be, nobody deluded themselves into thinking that they’d be here long enough to enjoy its various diversions, refreshments, and amusements. Anything beyond a quick meal and a visit to whatever shops might offer the heroes aid on their upward journey could wait until after they’d finished their mission. A reward to spur them onward would serve them a whole lot better, after all, than a distraction to swindle their progress. Still, it took a lot of effort for Tora to shut out the spirited symphony of guitarrónes, vihuelas, marímbulas, and maracas that the Tostarenans had struck up once Ellie’s performance died down. Even after the long train ride and his grueling defensive training, the delightfully lively mariachi music -a total novelty to him- made the Nopon want to bust out dancing, so it was with a heavy heart turned his attention away from the spectacle and to the matter at hand.
He rejoined the conversation just as the topic of mountaineering gear got into full swing. Midna pointed out that the Phantom Thieves had already done some groundwork for them, but while Skull grumbled about the vertically challenged Twilight Princess calling them ‘kids’, Panther spoke up to set the record straight. “Er, actually, we couldn’t even get enough for ourselves, to be honest. We didn’t have a lot of money left over, and there wasn’t, like, a great selection, either.” From her inventory she produced her own acquisition, a hefty overcoat made from the thick fur of a sand seal. “Aside from some scarves and earmuffs, this is it, basically. Mostly ‘cause the boys are pretty much covered, while I’ve got…” she gestured broadly to her red snakeskin catsuit, which thanks to her Lamia fusion couldn’t even be zipped all the way up anymore. “Y’know, this.”
It didn’t take long to realize that just about everyone else shared in the Thieves’ financial woes, too. Raz gallantly offered Midna some cash, which earned him a couple stares from the other broke heroes, but luckily nobody stepped forward to pinch any more of the youngster’s pennies. Still, that left the vast majority of the heroes without suitable preparation for an arduous, freezing climb. Remembering the frigid depths of Tantal made Tora shiver despite the desert heat, although he also remembered the solution employed by a certain Welsh catgirl during those wintry misadventures. “Poppi,” he began, turning to his artificial blade. “What think about switch to Fire core and give Tora piggyback ride on mountain? If Nia get through Tantal by clinging to Pyra, then surely Tora can do same?”
Poppi looked up at the frosty peak with a hand on her chin, considering her Masterpon’s suggestion. “Not bad idea. That way we save on money, and also not get separated even during snowstorm. Plus, can even fly with Tora on back in QT mode if something go wrong.” She glanced back down at Tora with a smug smile playing about her lips. “Plus, Masterpon in terrible shape for rock climbing. Not nearly agile enough on own.”
“Exactly, meh!” Tora agreed, happy as a clam. In one fell swoop he’d just ensured that he would not only stay warm thanks to the ambient heat of Poppi’s ether furnace, but also not need to exert any effort!
“Just make sure that Masterpon keep sharp eye out,” Poppi added. “If Poppi going to be doing all work, Tora need be ready to point out threats and defend Poppi at any moment.”
And there it was. By now Tora expected some sort of catch, although in this case he’d been planning to watch out for his partner anyway, so he didn’t begrudge her one bit. “You got it, meh!” With that taken care of, he dispersed along with the others, heading to the town’s fountain to watch his comrades figure out their own cold-weather accommodations. A number headed over to Deportes Bienes, the sports shop, but his attention quickly drifted when a tantalizing aroma drifted past him on the breeze. “Meeh!” he marveled, breathing in deep the fragrance of Mexican cuisine. “Tora think it good time for lunch!”
Rather than the least bit surprised, Poppi looked amused, as if she’d been running a stopwatch in her head to see how long it would take her creator to broach the subject. “Shocking. Lead way, Masterpon!”
While they scoped out a restaurant where they could grab a table for everyone, Big Band and Peacock joined the crowd inside Deportes Bienes. Raz wasted no time consulting an inner voice of his, albeit in a pretty weird way even by World of Light standards. Even if it took Ellie by surprise, though, the display with Ford didn’t even register for the other teenage girl in the place. Being more or less a living embodiment of zany madcap hijinks thanks to the Avery Unit, goofs were Peacock’s bread and butter, and her baritone chaperone couldn’t have been around her for long without getting at least a little desensitized to such things, too.
Peacock wasted no time getting down to business. “Awright fellas, watch the merchandise!” Eschewing the polite moderation showed by Primrose, she summoned her thuggish pals Andy Anvil and Tommy Ten-Tons to help her scour the place for anything useful. Jesse quickly found herself with even more to be apologetic to Ellie about as they rifled through the place, shouting back and forth.
“Hey, take it easy, kid!” Band admonished. Rather than join them turning the place upside down, he headed for the counter to get help from the wide-eyed cashier. “Hola, amigo. My crew and I are fixin’ to come to terms with the monster flyin’ ‘round the mountaintop, and we were hopin’ to grab some gear for the trip.”
Between the trio of hoodlums perilously close to ransacking the place and the heavy metal giant looming over him, the Tostarenan looked more than a little nervous. “Hahhah, uh, c-certainly! W-well, uh, we’ve got just about everything anyone could...could, uh, possibly need! Cleats, ropes, climbing spikes, bounce pads, zip lines…”
Toward the back of the store, the Heavy voiced his dismay over the hat selection. “What is this puny headgear?!” he bemoaned. “Where is ushanka? Heavy need keep ears warm!” He tossed a baseball cap behind him, which Blue Poison -currently trying on a dark gray cloak sort of thing that went down to her knees- only narrowly avoided.
“Oi!” the Scout, also present to gear up for the ascent, pulled a giant yellow weapon from a nearby shelf, an industrial tool nearly as long as the dwarf was tall. “Wot’s the idea, mate? This is the same Platform Gun the Engineers use back home!”
“Platform...gun?” Band’s eyebrows went up. With his trench coat and mostly mechanical body allaying the need for warm clothes, he considered himself in the market for anything that might make the climb easier. “Not bad! Guess I gotta have me one o’ those!”
The Scout nearly leaped out of his skin when Tommy jumped over and crashed down next to him, his massive weight shaking the whole store. “You ‘eard ‘im!” The toon grabbed hold of the Platform Gun and attempted to pull it away.
“Piss off!” the Scout erupted. “If the Engineer ain’t around it’s moine! Besides, finders keepers!”
The sharp note of Band’s trumpet blared through the store to calm the chaos. “Take it down a notch, folks!” Although the argument subsided, the detective’s efforts did little to set the cashier’s mind at ease. “Hey now, don’t fret. What else ya got?”
Clearing his throat, the rather overwhelmed Tostarenan continued. “Well, uh. We’ve got lots of our best sellers in stock. The Indie Mantle is, uh, weather-resistant, nice and cozy, and...inconspicuous? And our Basic Glider means you don’t have to worry about falling ever again!”
His eyes were drawn to a comically large pile of items headed his way, mostly Indie Mantles and Basic Gliders, carried by Andy Anvil with great difficulty. With a groan he dropped the goods on the checkout counter, then stood there wheezing while Peacock sauntered up. “Greetin’s! We’ll be takin’ this to go!” Tommy stomped up behind her, having lost the Platform Gun but gained the imprint of a heavy-duty boot in his forehead, and crossed his arms.
The cashier eyed the heap of items. “Er, right, uh...well, I’d need a minute to make sure, but that’ll run you at least a…” Despite having no throat, he managed to swallow. “A thousand gold?”
Band’s eyes widened. “Hold up, we don’t got that much even if everyone chips in.” Two mechanical arms deployed, one to raise his hat and the other to massage his scalp. “Hmm. I don’t s’pose you take credit?”
“Credit?” The Tostarenan looked confused. “What does that mean?”
Peacock grinned. “Means I’ll gladly pay ya Tuesday for a knuckle sammich today!”
“Y-you mean I give it to you today and you’ll pay later?” Tugging at his collar, the cashier looked unhappier than ever. “N-not to, you know, be rude or anything, but how do I know you’ll actually do that? This doesn’t seem like a good idea!”
“Oh?” In an instant Peacock’s mood turned. “Wise guy, eh?” She reached up over the counter and with menacing slowness deposited a George Bomb.
Band deployed a mechanical arm with which he swept the George off and into Peacock herself, in whose face it exploded. When the smoke cleared it revealed her pretty much unharmed, though. “‘Scuse us,” Band said hastily. “That was just a joke, she don’t mean a thing.” He cleared his throat. “So no credit. That’s fine. But what if we just borrow the stuff?” The cashier’s incredulous look did not deter him. “We’ll give it right back after we get done. Look, you can take my word for it. I ain’t just a detective, but also a personal friend of King Validar. Ya know, the head honcho over in Al Mamoon? Check it.” In quick succession he showed the cashier his badge, even though it meant pretty much nothing in this world, then the Gold Pass. “Listen here. If you ain’t down, I’ll respect your decision and get these fools outta your hair. But I ain’t puttin’ on the ritz here. We gotta go up either way, and if we don’t got what we need, some of us might die. So I’m askin’ ya. Will ya lend us a hand?”
The cashier looked skeptical, but after considering his options he relented. “Um...well, okay. I’ll just take whatever you have on you right now as collateral. And if you haven’t paid by Tuesday…uh, well, you’ll be terrible people!”
Peacock whooped in triumph and immediately began gathering up the new loot with her gang. Band, meanwhile, held his hand over his heart and gave a solemn nod. “Don’t you worry, sir. We’ll get it all back in your hands before ya know it.”
A few minutes later, the shoppers found most of the other heroes gathered at the Happy Hongo, Tostarena Town’s main restaurant. Midna’s best attempt to find quests, secrets, or other ways to get rich quickly bore little fruit; aside from a handful of purple coins found floating throughout the place, this town seemed to offer only ways to spend money, rather than make it. In a stroke of luck, however, Happy Hongo didn’t actually seem to charge for food, so everyone could forgo the tomfoolery that went down inside Deportes Bienes and enjoy a tasty lunch. After meeting Ciella and receiving an explanation from her, a pair of local heroes, Juan and Tostada, were on hand to both keep an eye on things and get to know the new arrivals better.
Once the whole group was together the Conductor, having left his train to take advantage of the free lunch, could reach a more-or-less accurate headcount while everyone munched on their tacos, tamales, enchiladas, and chimichangas. “Eh?! Twenty-peckin’-four of ya’s are all gonna climb yer way up that gigantic mountain?” he questioned, incredulous. “Don’t that seem like a wee bit too many?”
Not so distracted by the smells that she couldn’t consider the situation, Poppi spoke up. “It would be hard to keep track of everyone. There lot more that could go wrong, and not everyone have skills or powers for big climb.”
Tora quit stuffing his face for a moment to chime in. “But if we do boss fight, we need everyone we can get!” He went right back to chowing down as the discussion that would pave the way for the coming ascent continued.
Seeing everyone okay did wonders to lift Nadia’s spirit, even in such a wretched place as this. Sakura’s sheer joy at being returned to normal warmed the heart, and though not everyone could find it within themselves to express their relief with quite so much exuberance, she really did speak for all of them. The Seekers’ escape from the hellish bowels of the Maw, now just another of this foetid island’s lifeless, beached ruins, as well as the return of their true selves, was something worth celebrating.
Closing out that abominable chapter of their adventure also meant any even greater communal debt to Blazermate. Full-size and flight-capable, she could have left the kids behind at any time inside the Maw to save herself, but instead she remained behind to see them safely through. Without her medical aid, the acid rain sustained by just about everyone in the Depths might have been the end of the Seekers’ tale. Now, with everyone collected from the pounding surf, she could practice some well-earned self care.
New item acquired: Beloved Hand Mirror I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. What ever you see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful--- The eye of a little god, four-cornered. Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over. Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, Searching my reaches for what she really is. Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon. I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish
The only other team member not to see a substantial size increase was Hatty. Though she didn’t look happy by any stretch, the little girl was okay, and seeing that even the group’s smallest and possibly most fragile member made it out of that nightmare alive and well (or at least, as alive and well as one could hope) put a lot of worries to rest. Now that everyone knew how much it sucked to be both miserable and tiny, the Seekers were only too happy to share with her what comfort they could.
Nadia was relieved to see that the Koopas made it out in one piece. It honestly came as a surprise to the feral how integral the troop of goofballs had become. At some point, with nobody noticing, that oddball family of dragon-turtles came to be both the physical and emotional core of the team, which made the realization that Junior especially was back to normal all the more impactful. Still, the lack of Chef Bros and baby behemoths was a sobering reminder of the danger they’d all endured.
New Striker spiritbound: Chef Bro Summon a small gang of Chef Bros, who are Hammer Bros (pictured above) with chef hats and frying pans instead of hammers, to deliver a volley of hard-hitting cast-iron skillets to batter down anything in their path. Highly effective against anything weak to blunt force and a good distraction
Accompanied by Peach and Rika, both shipshape in their own ways, the Koopas joined the others in their coral shelter with an extra surprise in store. A little magic from Kamek restored the Atomos to its full size, instantly providing the whole group with a dry and spacious refuge from waters above and below. A quick examination confirmed that something about this accursed island rendered its magitek engine practically nonfunctional, but given the circumstances, any blessing was a welcome one.
Nadia was also glad to see the team’s offensive backbone of Link, Mirage, and Geralt okay. Although the’d been sort of cute and surprisingly capable as kids, the team needed their full might now more than ever, and though all three weapons experts would be indispensable, nothing screamed ‘full might’ more than the giant Witcher’s imposing size. No matter how many monsters lay in her team path, Nadia felt certain, their own monster would reign supreme.
Nobody’s welfare, of course, struck her quite so much as Ace’s. For a minute there Nadia had begun to worry anew that maybe all of the monster hunter’s layers of gear had gotten so soaked that no warmth could reach his body, or that maybe one of his many weapons wounded him during the tumult. But Ace’s never-say-die attitude would not be so easily extinguished, and when he stirred at last Nadia heaved just about the heaviest sigh of relief in her whole life. Although her instincts just about made her jerk away when he started moving, she stubbornly stuck it out beneath his arm, hoping with held breath that he didn’t mind. Her worries came to an abrupt end when he suddenly squeezed her in a hug, which left her red-faced and grinning like an idiot. It was hard to explain, and even kind of hard to think, but for some reason no amount of cold, rain, brine, muck or corpse-stink could wipe the smile off her face.
After another moment they slid apart, with the hunter needing to make sure nothing on his person was amiss. Nadia tuned into what Sakura was saying, and agreed that lingering here didn’t make a whole lot of sense when they didn’t know what awaited them elsewhere on this island. The street fighter also mentioned her fusion with Arashio, which made Nadia remember the state of her own. “Oh, that’s right!” she hopped up and went over to Peach, grabbing her by the arm. “Can you undo mine? I can’t use my guns or water-walking any more because I’m out of oil, so I guess I’m ‘ship’ out of luck. Might as well go back to Ms. Fortune Classic.” Nodding, the princess obliged, extracting the spirit of ill-fated Northampton from Nadia’s chest. When the light died down, the feral was back to her original self from head to toe, and not just that--every trace of water and grime was gone, leaving her as clean as could be. Her ears perked right up the moment she realized, after which she twisted back and forth, looking herself over. “Whoa, hey! I thought I’d be soakin’ wet fur-ever!” Given the heavy rainfall she wouldn’t be dry for long, of course, but even just a few moments of comfort would be wonderful.
The idea of re-fusing with Northampton, and hopefully regaining her powers at full, hit her a moment later, but when Nadia tried to insert the spirit again she found that it wouldn’t go in. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” she allowed. “No use tryin’ to game the system.” She glanced around between the others and offered the spirit. “Anyone want her?”
It was at about that time that a stranger showed himself, an ordinary-looking human who looked only a little less put-upon than the refugees from the Maw. In a place like this Nadia couldn’t help but be suspicious of anything she didn’t know, but the wood that Delsin offered wasn’t just real, but also dry. Before the Koopas could light a fire inside the Atomos’ cargo bay Peach wisely pointed out that the smoke buildup inside could present a hazard, which left the group’s shelter beneath the coral trees as the best option. With added material from the airship’s inside the team got a lively campfire going in no time. It plus the privacy of the airship’s rooms meant everyone could warm and dry both themselves and their clothing, undoing the damage done to them by the elements. That left only the possibilities of food and rest, but given the atrocity of consumption they’d suffered through, the heroes could make do without eating for now, and with all the energy lost during the Maw voyage undo, another few minutes’ rest would be enough to get everyone going. Nadia sure as hell wasn’t going to eat these dead things, after all, no matter how much she liked fish.
They spent part of that time learning about Delsin, and though those who questioned him were more concerned with his presence on this island than anything, the Conduit -as he called himself- went ahead and prefaced his explanation with a few shreds of his life story. Another shipwreck, huh? The mention of weird things ignited the cat’s curiosity. “Miss Fortune,” she told him, encompassing both her name and his situation. “I split apart. What kinda weird stuff, dude? Anythin’ you can tell us, we wanna know.”
Delsin didn’t know much about the island or the village, but his account of the sailors’ fate certainly complicated things. A few moments into the conversation, however, a lightning strike brought it to an abrupt end. The bolt struck the Maw, it being the highest metal object around, far enough so that it endangered nobody but still close enough for the flash and thunder to take everyone by surprise. In the moments that followed the heroes were quiet, with no noise except the rainfall and the occasional squelch of parasites hard at work eking a living from the carrion, such that it was. Peach took a deep breath. “Well, I hope everyone enjoyed being dry for a little while. Let’s go.”
Nadia steeled herself for the wet and the cold as best she could, then stepped out into the rain.
Going inland along the river that emptied into the sea, the heroes found the terrain quickly getting dicier on either side. Large outcroppings of rock, encrusted with barnacles, grown over with seaweed, and forested by ghost-white corals, rose precipitously. Everything looked hard, sharp, and slippery, making the idea of climbing both difficult and dangerous. If something ambushed her group the moment they stepped into the village, Nadia worried that everyone crammed into the little river valley would make for easy pickings. Luckily, nothing jumped out at them as they approached the first buildings, each nestled tightly against the rock and packed together like sardines, showcasing a certain economy of construction. Maybe whoever built this place cannibalized their ships in order to make these homes, requiring them to make the most of every plank. The result, however, was a claustrophobic and squalid cluster of hovels, and with everything horribly overgrown by sealife it was nigh impossible to tell where one house ended and the next began. Gurgling, sucking noises issued from within that Nadia didn’t care for one bit. She ran her fingers along the wood, found it soft and slimy, and shivered. Although the stink of death had faded, a fishy foulness so thick she could taste it had taken over, and the feral couldn’t say that she liked it better.
The group proceeded down the street, sloshing through the ankle-deep water. It looked like the whole village lay under at least six inches of water, though at least the earth beneath turned out to be mostly even. They found signs of life straight away, taking the form of sea maggots among the barrels and nets. Slow but extremely tough, they spewed stinging brine at anyone who got too close, then retreated into their shells when threatened. Nadia gave one an annoyed kick and moved on, unwilling to spend any effort on the pests. With the others she splashed by a lone lantern sitting out in the rain, its candle long since extinguished, then passed beneath a crude bridge silhouetted by that bizarre, sickly yellow moon. It was at that point that the Seekers entered the village proper.
They found themselves at the edge of a wide-open area surrounded by walls of decrepit, sealife-infested shacks, some two or even three stories high and many connected by ropes if not bridges. The ground fell away in front of them, forming a basin in the roughly circular plaza, at the center of which it abruptly rose again to create a little island topped by a well, upon which grew a number of hideously pulsating sacs. Many of the buildings featured little piers and boats, suggesting that this sorry hamlet may have always been submerged. The chief issue, however, wasn’t the water. It was the monsters. A multitude of glassy-eyed, slack-jawed fishmen scuttled around the place, some agile, some bloated with pus, and a few ghoulish things with organic lights dangling from their foreheads. Most of them seemed intent on the area’s east side, where the water deepened into a harbor ringed by leaning, peaked shacks, and a great pit down through the island into the depths provided ocean access. A huge and especially horrid carcass was lodged there, perhaps having come up through the tunnel at some point in the past only to get stuck. The murlocs chipped away at its still-living body, harvesting it piece by piece for food and materials to make their weapons. Still, a good few murlocs lurked throughout the town center, and when gangs of them spotted the intruders they moved to attack. They slid through the water with eerie fluidity, then emerged to hop through the shallows in a jarringly inhuman gait, wielding their weapons of bone.
Nadia’s lip curled, and she bunched her muscles before leaping into the air. She climbed onto a nearby building, ready to do her fighting somewhere the fishmen didn’t have an advantage. The creak and bend of the rotted planks beneath her gave her second thoughts, but any cat worth her salt could be light-footed enough to make do. “Up here, fishsticks! Who wants to get chummy?” With claws at the ready she waited for murlocs to come after her, eager to slice them to repugnant pieces, and when a handful leaped up onto the roof after her she got right down to business.
A good twenty-five murlocs infested the fishing hamlet’s center, fourteen green, seven blue, and four glowing. As she fought, cutting and drilling through the monsters’ flesh, Nadia spotted an unusual fishman who looked tougher than the rest hanging back near the well. Meanwhile, the two shark giants didn’t hold back one bit, instead plowing forward both through the water and across the land to tear the Seekers limb from limb as they roared. Even if they couldn’t reach Nadia on the roof, the rest would need to be wary of their brutish power. Even worse, if anyone got too close to the jellyshrooms growing here and there, a crabsnake would lunge out to grab the hapless hero and try to drag him or her in, creating an opening for the fishmen to do their worst. It was a tough fight in a terrible arena and awful conditions, but after the Maw, everyone was itching to do some damage.
While typically just about anyone would loathe the prospect of being assigned additional work after just barely scraping through a previous assignment, the members of Nero’s little team took the news pretty well. Pit seemed eager to see the sights that the ultra-variable composite world had to offer, and Nero couldn’t really blame him. Though not the type to go on safaris, hikes, and travel abroad in search of novelty, this crazy realm sure did have an awful lot on offer. Mostly an infinite smorgasbord of various monsters to fight, according to Nero’s experience so far, but finding something could would be a nice change, and the name ‘Rocket Arena’ left the devil hunter cautiously optimistic.
Though not nearly as jazzed by the idea, Yuri at least seemed to agree to the exploration mission, and to Nero’s surprise the thoughtful kid immediately paid some mind to practical concerns like food and water. It struck him as funny and maybe a little sad that this high-schooler was being more responsible when it came to team welfare than he was. “Yeah, yeah, let’s do that,” he said quickly. “The diner can probably box some food up for us. How about it, Banjo?” If the bear and bird consented they’d be given a portion of mission funds to buy some meals and drinks for the road. Meanwhile, Nero made for the gas station shop. “I’ll find us a map, see if I can figure out a route for us to take.”
Several minutes later everyone reconvened in the Minotaurus, plans made and rations acquired. Cindy cheerfully waved farewell to Nico and the rest as they pulled out of Hammerhead and took a road headed north. “Good luck, fellers! See y’all real soon~!”
The Paved Wilderness was pretty large, but compared to the Land of Adventure, it wasn’t that big, especially going north-south. Northward travel also had the added benefit of bringing the van and its passengers steadily closer to the unfathomably vast black pit at the center of the continent, giving them a better look at the vast array of asteroids, planetoids, and other cosmic debris floating up from below. Nero could only imagine, as crazy as it sounded in his head, that some sort of space-themed area must exist down there. He’d only been on the brink once, back in the Dead Zone’s Charnel lane when the Suffering attacked, and he’d been a little too busy trying to save the van to peer down into the depths, but that was the impression that his brief glimpse gave him. Of course, that beggared the question of if -and how- the forces of Alcamoth might operate in such an impossible region. For now though, he didn’t want or need to think about any of that. Exploring the Paved Wilderness was his mission, and that started with the Rocket Arena.
Nestled next to some pretty extreme crags, which themselves featured industrial pipes big enough to drive trains to and a giant skull big enough to flatten an apartment building were it to fall, was a glass-domed arena surrounded by towering multi-tiered spectator stands. In front of it stretched an immense parking lot home to vehicles of all kinds, from relatively standard cars and sports cars to more futuristic hover bikes and racers to mega machines like the Apocalypse Sasquatch and the aptly-named Mammoth. Naturally, a whole bunch of vendors lined the parking lot, mostly food trucks of various stripes. The whole thing made for one crazy sports supercenter, and Nero knew he’d be lying if he told himself he wasn’t at all interested in seeing what a game of Rocket League actually looked like.
“Well, looks like we’re here,” he announced as Nico pulled into an empty parking spot between a tough-looking buggy and a bathtubmobile. Everyone vacated the van and set off through the parking lot, headed for the main building. As Nero watched, a car rode up the inside of the glass well, defying gravity through sheer speed and grip to intercept a soccer ball as big as tall as a two-story building. His eyebrows rose. “Huh. Well I guess this won’t be boring, huh?” He glanced between the others. “Any thoughts? We probably wanna get in touch with some locals, figure out what we can about the area. Probably no need to stick together, either.” As the group neared the stadium, he listened for any suggestions from his company.
Even if he seemed rather impersonal at times, Albedo remained a living being at the end of the day, and that meant he couldn’t stand the aura of extravagant cold that radiated from Linkle in the midst of her tranquil fury. He backed away, giving the Skullgirl a wide berth as she approached the remains of Tuley’s home. Her every step crystallized the grass and soil in a small area around her, a couple feet in diameter, leaving behind a flash-frozen trail. When she reached the briar patch, however, she allowed the true, lethal strength of her cryomancy to really shine. Her frigid touch glazed over and then into the entire loathsome plant, chilling it to the core foot by foot and yard by yard, until all that remained was an ivory-white sculpture spiked with icicles. Then it shattered, its brittle mass crumbling to nothing under the power of Linkle’s kick.
It was a more symbolic than functional act, since that alone wouldn’t restore Tuley’s livelihood, but it helped take the edge off Linkle's temper. Her aura of absolute cold faded away, though it would be a while before the chill left the air, and a while longer before it left Albedo’s spine. Throughout his travels with her so far the alchemist had seen so much of the girl’s warm, friendly side that he’d almost forgotten about the side of her that trapped the Stranger beneath a mountain of ice. He was glad that this young woman, a veritable avatar of cold and death, was a good person at heart--and not the monster either the goddess Freya or the detestable Skull Heart made her out to be.
For now Albedo didn’t spend much time wondering what drove the witch of the woods to do exactly what she did. Instead he moved forward to lend a hand. Once Linkle went quiet, he picked up the slack. “She’s right. It would be unwise for you to stay,” he told the little old gardener. “We will help you as best we can. It is only fair that we do our utmost for you, seeing as our arrival played a part in this debacle. You did nothing to merit such cruelty.” When it came to helping with Tuley’s things, he made overt use of one of his more subtle abilities, stowing the gardener’s various belongings in an invisible Inventory on his person that did not burden him in any way.
In short order everyone was ready to go, and a good thing too, since Linkle realized something important. Albedo nodded and picked up Tuley, following Linkle to the flagline. Just as before, they rode the gravity-defying rope banner skyward, flying up through the mists with their little passenger held tight. After ascending past the clouds Tuley gawked at the glory of the Alpine Skyline with wide eyes, seeing for perhaps the first time in his life a glimpse of the world’s vastness. With no time to waste, the teenagers took flagline after flagline between the peaks and soon arrived at Goat Village, where they explained the gardener's situation and pleaded for the villagers to lend him a hand in these trying times. Luckily, the mountain folks accepted wholeheartedly. Before he knew it Tuley found himself surrounded by villagers eager to help him get situated, offering to carry the seeds, tools, and other things the pair salvaged from Tuley’s ravaged home.
Now that the sorry affair had as happy of an ending as they could hope for, Linkle and Albedo sped onward, zipping higher and higher still until they reached the Cold Monastery. Father Guerra was surprised to see them again so soon, and when confronted by their urgent questions and warnings assured them with placating hands that there had been no new arrivals or disturbances since their departure. A thorough search, with the battle priests and priestesses helping, turned up no sign of Freya. Skadi, meanwhile, was just as the blonde teens left her. Nothing seemed to be amiss.
“Plants, hm?” Guerra mused, rubbing his whiskers. “Might be her power’s limited up here in the cold. Whatever the case might be, rest assured we’ll keep a sharp eye out. We’re a peace-loving place, but anybody who might think us weak is in for a rude awakening. The average monk here is a master of kung fu, the clergy can weaponize their faith, and even I...” With a rather dark chuckle, the good father crossed his arms. “Well, I have my ways. If this Freya is as bad as you say, she will not escape justice. As they say, may God forgive her, for I will not. Peace be with you, my children...”
With no sign of the errant goddess and the Cold Monastery about as secure as it was going to get, there wasn’t a lot left for Linkle and Albedo to do other than follow their original plan. Since Albedo didn’t know a way there other than one from Snowdin, that meant retracing their steps across the icy cliffs and through the pine-dotted snowfields. There, they got the chance to re-experience the delight that was constant ice elementals and, just when they thought they found somewhere to hide, the deceitful and painful Tree Women lashing out at them with icy breath, whiplike branches, or ember clouds. By the time the pair finally made it back to Snowdin, it was mid-afternoon, and even if Linkle was raring to forge onward they couldn’t set out straightaway, either.
“I am sorry, but I need a moment,” Albedo gasped after entering town, his already soft voice weaker than usual. “The cold has set in. The ice from the mountains most likely melted while we were down in the glades, dampening my coat and decreasing its protection. If I go too much longer, I may risk serious and perhaps permanent damage.” He pointed in the direction of Grillby’s, and the two hurried inside the alchemist’s usual haunt. Albedo removed his coat and with Grillby’s permission hung it by the fire to dry, then eased into a booth. “Hot cocoa, if you don’t mind,” he requested, and with a nod the dapper flame elemental got to work. Rubbing his hands together, Albedo did what he could to get the heat flowing through him once more, and not keep Linkle waiting too long.
Umm...I don't know! Yes to both? I would like to get started early. I would also be okay with waiting. I mean I did solo RP with you for both Sakura and Jesse, and it was a lot of fun, but also a little more necessary story wise? just to integrate them into the main plot? meanwhile Karin is already established. If she was doing anything exciting by herself, it would probably be battling more evil like how she helped with hunting down Sephiroth. But that's a whole other sidequest you'd have to come up with that would just be a Karin solo adventure. But not like, something super important involving a whole new area and a powerful artifact and a whole frickin heroes journey like with Linkle.
I guess my main issue is I would feel guilty adding a whole new post for you to do every week just for little old me XD
Well, if me putting in extra effort would make you feel bad, not doing so kind of sounds like a win-win, doesn't it? Still, I could probably still do something for you on an off update day, maybe Wednesday, or we could do another small collab. Just something small-scale and fun to position Karin somewhere. After all, Limsa is dealing not just with the post-Sephiroth situation, but also the fallout of the Battle of Black Bay. We could definitely come up with something, and maybe provide a hook for the post-boss plan.
Sounds good! Frisk could help them get through Snowdin, if anything.
Linkle's already been once, and Albedo's been operating out of it for some time. Frisk will have probably seen him around, quietly researching, reading in the library, drawing in his sketchbook, or fetching samples from the wilds. They probably wouldn't have interacted, but the sight of him out and about with the mysterious, friendly, and a little scary new arrival could get Frisk's attention. They're bound to pass through on the way to the hospital, their current destination, in search of a 'modern' place where they could look up some much-needed information on the internet. Of course, being both from medieval times they're just doing the best they can.
Oh no, I was never disatisfied in the slightest! It was just a mix of my attention span and me not thinking through picking Joker. I actually lurked a few time here and saw that you kept him and the Phantom Thieves around for a bit as NPCs. Pretty neat!
And with the mission in The Maw, I was tempted to bring Six back, but decided against it.
The save rework on the other hand sounds good, give me a bit to edit it in!
I see. If that's the case, I can only hope for the best this time!
Yep, the Phantom Thieves are still around. Picked up Mona, Fox, and Necronomicon too. The whole bunch of them are with Yellow Team, just about to climb Split Mountain in search of the boss of the Sandswept Sky region.
I think Frisk it pretty much good to go. The only question of course is, go where? Between player characters and NPCs Yellow Team is totally loaded, and Blue Team's in a dangerous and remote area. It might actually make sense for Frisk to join Linkle and Albedo when they pass through Snowdin, in the Frozen Highlands. What do you think?
That's good to hear! It definitely came to me more naturally than Sakura or Jesse's which i kind of stagger-stepped through.
Yessir, they sure do, Gray Damage. And the same with V-Shift Breaks, actually. I'll put that in, just slipped my mind.
In that case Karin is approved. We should be able to get her into the mix pretty soon, all things considered. Would you want me to get you started solo back at Limsa while Blue Team's last area is underway, or would you be okay waiting until the Deep Blue Seaside's boss is defeated?
....Hmm.
I'm actually concidering throwing my hat back into here. But I know I gotta resubmit either a new character or Joker again.
So I worked on someone I think will be easier to work with, Frisk!
Name: Frisk
Game Origin: Undertale
Appearance: Pictured Above!
Personality: The type of person Frisk can be always varies with each timeline. Though for this one, Frisk is a tried and true pacifist with a heart of gold. They're stubborn yet jovial, with the belief that anyone can be a good person if they try. They're a bit of a jokester thanks to a certain bad influence, caring, and careful.
Despite this, even Frisk knows when to get serious. Due to their nature they'd rather focus on keeping their allies alive than to fight head on, or to stall as much as possible. They're rather quiet, almost to the point of selective mutism, and even they get scared too.
But even if they're scared, they know they have to keep going. They have to stay determined.
Background: Many know the story already. About how humans and monsters once lived in peace, until a war between them condemned the monsters underground with a barrier. Only with the power of seven souls can the barrier be broken. Asgore, the king of the Underground, was only able to claim six.
However a prophecy fortold that the 8th human to fall from the surface would be the one to leave the Underground empty. Whether or not it would be through violence, or if the monsters would finally be free...
That would be Frisk's choice alone.
At some point in time, Frisk stumbled unto the mountain where the monsters were trapped in, Mt. Ebbot. Whether they fell by choice or accident, they made their way through trials not through conflict, but with kindness. No one expected it, but they eventually accepted the child as an ally. Even going as far as intercepting their fight with Asgore before it began.
Though as a certain flower started to take things into his own hands, an otherwordly light engulfed every single one of them. Even Frisk.
The next moment, Frisk was alone. But their determination never wavered. They set off to find their friends, and find a way home.
Specialty: Negotiator
Level: 1 Experience: 0/10
Powers: Checkpoint: With their determination, Frisk was once able to save, reload, and reset the timeline to their will. But since the rules of other worlds conflicted with their own, their ability to save became a checkpoint. Just have to look out for a golden star.
However if they "save" their progress at a checkpoint, then get themselves killed, the time to respawn can be at random. From just a few minutes, to an hour, to even a day. No one really knows.
Strengths: Determination: Their original soul trait. Not only does it make the checkpoint power available to them, but allows them to adapt into a different soul trait. But no matter what, they'll always be determined.
Agile: Frisk's time in the Underground made them more agile, more experienced in evading enemy attacks. May get some scrapes on the side, but can always come in handy!
LOVE and EXP: Well, the option will always be on the table...
Weaknesses: Only Human: Despite Frisk's achievements, they're still just a human. Not to mention a kid. They can get stubborn. They can get reckless. They can get themselves killed easily if they're not careful. Not everyone will listen to the whims of a pacifist.
LOVE and EXP: Every time Frisk kills an enemy, they gain EXP. Gain enough EXP, and their LOVE will increase. But they'd never resort to killing, right?? There's gotta be another way to get stronger.
Spirits: None. Not even a Napstablook.
Guest List: The Underground: Every monster, big or small, that Frisk managed to befriend. With their current predicament, Frisk is keeping an eye out for anyone they may recognize, in hopes that they're alright.
Chara: The first human to fall, and Frisk's guide, even if they weren't aware of it at first. Would Galeem's light even reach the dead?
Kris: Who? Frisk never knew a Kris, but somehow the name seems...familiar.
Inventory: Stick: It's bark is wore than it's bite. Bandage: It has already been used many times. Can be unequiped into a healing item. (Heals 10 HP)
I'm kinda unsure about the nerf to their SAVE (aka the Checkpoint power), so if you have any suggestions, I'm open to hear them.
Hey there, Majora. Although I'm not by any means against old players joining anew, I would naturally want to do my part as a GM to improve upon whatever it was that left you dissatisfied last time, and to make sure that you're firing on all cylinders and down to participate for the long haul.
In regards to Save, the idea of being functionally unkillable and having a random amount of downtime until you can participate again is indeed a source of potential frustration. We might envision Save another way; rather than set a checkpoint that Frisk automatically returns to upon death, why not set one that Frisk can consciously return to while alive? Save a checkpoint at a spot, then Load that checkpoint to teleport to that spot, without restoring HP. Just like the Save/Load that's forcibly used on Frisk by another character from that world.
Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.
Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Current GM of World of Light. When it comes to writing, there's nothing I love more than imagination, engagement, and commitment. I'm always open to talk, suggestion, criticism, and collaboration. While I try to be as obliging, helpful, and courteous as possible, I have very little sympathy for ghosts, and anyone who'd like to string me along. Straightforwardness is all I ask for.<br><br>Looking for more personal details? I'm just some dude from the American south; software development is my job but games, writing, and trying to help others enjoy life are my passions. Been RPing for over a decade, starting waaaay back with humble beginnings on the Spore forum, so I know a thing or two, though I won't pretend to be an expert. If you're down for some fun, let's make something spectacular together.</div>
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