PaulHaynek

Arknights: The Dark Woods (ENDED)

@TinyKiwi

We finally have our own Hellagur!

Although, two things:

1) Please PM me his clinical analysis.

2) Don't forget to read the rules. :D

Arknights: The Dark Woods

Bump! Looking for players!

Arknights: The Dark Woods

Bump! Looking for players!

Arknights: The Dark Woods (ENDED)

Old Woods

~@Rune_Alchemist~

"I dunno what's going on, my little avian friend, but when we get to Riventor, we'll get a nice warm drink and maybe tell stories about how we escaped some big bad monster by relying on our wits, hm?"

Zasada

"How are you still so smug after all this?!" Ibon asked as she practically dragged you onward. "I suppose that's we need right now. Reckless courage."

Fortunately for the two of you, nothing else happened during your mad dash to the town. The thick, seemingly endless forest finally gave way to civilization. Technically civilization, Riventor was a quaint little town with no remarkable buildings save for a small mansion in the distance which had a sizable chimney that spewed black smoke into the sky and spread all over the town. "We-We're here! We're here!" Ibon cheered.

As the two of you arrived, you see a familiar figure at the village entrance. "Wu? Is that you?"

---

Old Woods

~@Kuroakuma, @Lunarlord34~

"Speaking of which, we should get going there yeah? That's where the teams would be meeting after the uh...early landing procedure."

Will-O-Wisp

Wu was silent for a moment, gazing to the obscuring woods around them. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get to Riventor." He said, giving up his search for the missing Operator.

With Wu retracing his steps, it did not take long for the group to reach the clear dirt path that lead to the town of Riventor. The Defender told the group to keep their eyes open and their guard up since their missing Operator was suddenly whisked away without anyone noticing. Not even when someone was directly looking at her.

Fortunately, nothing happened when they arrived at the town. It was a quaint little settlement with no remarkable buildings save for a small mansion in the distance which had a sizable chimney that spewed black smoke into the sky that spread all over the town. "We're here. Thank God." Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wu? Is that you?"

---

---

Old Woods ---> Riventor

~@Rune_Alchemist, @Lunarlord34, @Kuroakuma~

The two groups of Haynek Institute Operators reunited at the entrance to Riventor. Ibon had ran into Wu with a hard embrace, crying again but this time with tears of joy. "Wu! You're all right!"

"Y-Yeah, I just ran into a feral dog. A big one." Wu then parted from Ibon. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find Longgui. I did find survivors from the other teams though." He then motioned at Dragonheart and Will-O-Wisp. "W-Wait, where's Blizzard and Rex?"

Ibon shook her head and Wu immediately knew what happened to them. "Damn it. Damn it all." Wu clenched his fist at the seeming helplessness of the situation. "At least you and Zasada are still fine." Walking over to Zasada, he then lightly slapped her shoulder. "This must be all pretty exciting for you, isn't it? Anyway, we should enter the town and look for help."

Riventor was quiet but populated, mostly by Kuranta. The air was heavy and tense but also peaceful although the group was given some pretty sharp glares from the locals. "Ugh, what's that smell?" Indeed, a foul stench assaulted the Operators' noses. It smelled like food that was spoiled for a few days and Wu and Ibon were already covering their noses with their arms.

For some reason, Zasada did not smell anything out of the ordinary.

The group ventured further into the town without interacting with anyone. Not for lack of trying, the locals were quick to clear out when they approached. "Hey, you there. You people look lost." The group was called out. A brown-skinned Archosaur boy was leaning on a wall of a dilapidated house. He had short green hair and plain clothes and had more reptilian features about him than a typical Archosaur, having scales on his hands and feet.

"Outsiders, eh? We don't get much of those. So who are you people?"

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

~@Restalaan (YNG), @13org (ADA), @Rezod92~

"Do you mind if you make some for her? I'm not allowed to cook nor consumed meat."

Yang Bethlehem

Nero saw that Ada was also looking longingly at the well-done steak the now-pacified Ushi-Oni was chewing on. With a sigh, he shrugged in resignation. "Well, it'll be rude to keep the ladies hungry. Hold on, just give me a minute." Nero then put his apron back on and returned to his cooking station. "Feels like the contest ain't over."

The fires of the mini-kitches was lit once again. The area was mostly vacant now save for the guild members and Nero. The Ushi-Oni herself had also left after being cooked an extra two orders of Nero's well-done steak. Now only Ada remained as the customer.

The cooking contest was over yet, someone was arriving to the area.

------

~@Stern Algorithm, @Restalaan (YNG), @13org (ADA), @Rezod92~

"Maybe we should go get some food first, then. There's got to be some good food at the competition, and we can reconvene with some of our guildmates."

Sylvia Altissima

"Hey, who knows? Maybe you guys can still participate as a special guest or something." Heeding Sylvia's advice, the Altissima sisters made their wat to the festival's cooking competition alongside Neil who carried them.

Unfortunately, the contest was long over when they arrived with the area mostly empty save for a few familiar faces. Yang, Ada and Kira were all there and there was short-haired and fair-skinned blonde man over at one of the stations, cooking an aromatic meal of steak. "The contest's over but what's with the guy still cooking?" Neil remarked.

"Hey all!" Neil announced his and the Altissima sisters arrival. "How'd the cooking competition go?"

---

Bullesye
~@13org (FYR)~

You and the Cupid loose your arrows, yours intercepting the angel's and ruining her shot.

Everyone at the competition was stunned at the seemingly blatant sabotage that you inflicted on the Cupid. Once the moment of surprise passed, you were immediately seized and held accountable to your seemingly malicious actions. Regardless if you explained yourself or not, the Cupid's side was taken. You see that she had already covered her tracks by changing back her arrows.

Needless to say, you were disqualified from the tournament and you left with Haley and Sir Reed with nothing but shame. You at least saved Haley, something she was still not aware of. "You better have a good explanation, Freyr!" The Siren angrily told you off. "Why?! Why would you do that?! Were you so unconfident that you had to prevent someone from making their shots?! I can't believe you!"

"Milady, please calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Reed!" Haley rebuffed. "We had a good thing going there!"

"Haley... that wasn't me." Sir Reed replied.

From behind came the Cupid who was going to shoot Haley earlier. "Please, permit me to explain. While I would not like to cause a commotion to my detriment, I would hate if a rift appears between the two of you because of me." The Cupid cleared her throat and began. "In truth, Sir Rabbit over here discovered my plan flawlessly. I was really going to shoot Miss Siren."

"What?! Why?"

"I am a Cupid, Miss Siren. I think you know why." The Cupid's words made Haley blush and turn away. The angel turned to you. "Please do not worry, I meant no harm. I merely wanted hidden feelings to come out in the open, as commanded by Lady Eros. However, I do see that I have caused you much trouble so please, accept this apology."

The Cupid presented you three strange but beautiful arrows. Finely-made, the arrow heads seemed normal at first glance but the steel-like material gleamed with a magical shine. "These arrows are crafted with a heavily-modified form of Demon Realm Silver. It sucks away its target's strength and energy and it can pass through barriers until it hits flesh. They are also sturdy and thus, reusable. Please take them as my apology. Now then, I bid you farewell."

The Cupid then disappeared in a flash of pink light and feathers. Next to speak was Sir Reed who started with a whistle. "Nice. We sure could use that in the future. We didn't win the prize but we got that, right?"

With the archery contest behind them, you and the others were free to go someplace else in the festival. "Huh, I wonder why no one there saw that you're a male monster except the Cupid."

---

Quiz Bee
~@ShwiggityShwah~

"Aww. I'd rather look at you."

Ozzy Skyway

The remark earned you a raised eyebrow from the Owl Mage, as well as a slight blush.

"Yes! All human monster couples produce monster children!"

Ozzy Skyway

"Correct! That's another point for Mister Skyway!" Riñas proclaimed.

"May I ask why?" The Lich interjected a question. "As you can clearly see, Sir Skyway here is a male monster. The laws of this world have clearly changed or at the very least, bent. Who knows what a human-monster couple can give birth to if Sir Skyway was made from a union of a human and a mosnter?"

"Uuu, I'm not really good with that kind of stuff. I'm just going with the answers that come with the questions." Riñas replied.

"I see. We have overthought this again." The Owl Mage sighed. "The answers are fixed. Now I know how to play this game."

Armed with that meta knowledge, the rest of the trivia contest went much more harder for you. In fact, you haven't answered a question since then with the Lich and the Owl Mage and even the Kikimora catching up to you on points. The points were now evenly distributed, two for each of the contestant. It was the ninth question but Riñas had a special announcement when a Holstaur woman ran up to her and whispered something to her some time earlier.

"Alright, contestants! I have unfortunate news for you. I am required someplace else so we need to end this as soon as possible. Since all four of you have the same points, the next will be the last and will decide who wins this contest!" Riñas then pulled the last paper from the bucket. "Now for the last question: Are all the oceans and the seas in the world controlled by the goddess Poseidon?"

The other contestants raised their hands as fast as they could. Yet, none of them was as quick as you. After being beaten to the punch for six questions, you intensely readied yourself for the next question. Probably not even pondering if you knew the answer or not. Fortunately, your efforts paid off and you had the honor of answering the last question and deciding who the winnder was in this trivia contest.

You had this in the bag. Right?

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

Hey guys, update will be a little late again 'cause I'm having trouble putting what I want to write into words.

Sorry for the incovenience.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

The Journey Begins

~ Unknown Location ~

Interacted with: @ERode, @Pyromania99

Now that the threat was taken care of and the sword given to Isidore it was time to head on out of here. There were more of the wretched creatures but they were not in the way and they seemed content in loitering around this decrepit place than give chase to the trio. Nick wondered what was inside this seemingly abandoned and mysterious place. Perhaps they, or at least he, could return here once he was more prepared.

Finally, they found the exit to the building. A cool, gentle breeze greeted them and Nick felt the crunch of snow on his shoes. The stone path that lead them out now lead them to a frost-covered courtyard of sorts. Right in the middle was a buried stone slab made of the same black rock material that they saw earlier back in the prison cells. There were smooth swirl patterns engraved upon it alongside other markings. Nick wondered what could they mean. Perhaps his contemporaries have an idea.

“Do your eyes glean anything from these patterns?”

Isidore

"Not so much. I think I can only use this on living things. Creatures or such."

Augusta?

Well so much for that.

Beyond were more of the stone slabs but they were smaller and lacked the intricate carvings. The path curved around to their left and presumably lead out of the courtyard. Or it could lead further into whatever this place was.

The view on the right, though, was a sight that Nick could barely fathom. It was a view of the open ocean, its waves crashing upon the base of the cliff they stood on. The rocks, hundreds of feet below, were of the strange black stone that seemed to be all over the place. From the cliff, they could see an island in the far distance. And in that island was a gigantic black pillar so tall it disappeared into the blue sky.

And that was not all. As Nick's eyes beheld the sky, he saw that there was no Sun to provide light. Instead, there was a massive blue moon that covered most of the sky alongside a smaller gray one hidden just behind its larger sibling. There were no clouds to block this captivating sight. Oh, how Nick wished he had a camera right now. This was a view of the century!

"What in hell...? How do you guys feel about that sky?"

Augusta?

"We're not in Kansas anymore, that's for sure." Nick shrugged. He hoped they would get the reference.

Nick watched Augusta return to the stone slab in the courtyard. At the same time, he noticed that the anxious feeling was subsiding. Did that mean they were relatively safe for now? "Hmm, it doesn't look like there's anything dangerous here. Those wretched things are certainly not around here." He remarked offhandedly.

"This thing feels odd. It just has a feeling to it. I don't really know how to describe it."

Augusta?

"Yeah, this stone is definitely strange. We've been seeing it all over the place." Nick joined Augusta. "I know. Why don't we take a piece along with us? Maybe we can find something, or someone, in this world that can tell us what it is. There has to be just a small one here. A sample, I guess."

Nick then began looking a small, portable piece of the black stone. Whatever it was, its wide presence meant it was probably important. Hopefully, it was not dangerous though.

Arknights: The Dark Woods (ENDED)

Old Woods

~@Rune_Alchemist~

"In any scenario...it seems like whatever it is doesn't want us here....so why? Are they keeping us out, or something else in? Heh, maybe I'm letting my imagination run a bit too much."

Zasada

"Uuuu, I was hoping you'd say it was something normal and explainable." Ibon was disheartened to hear that even you had little idea what happened in the freak storm and crash. "And don't be so cheerful about all this!" She added a complaint.

"Haaa, you sure you don't want some? Never a better time to start than when imminent death is upon our doorstep.

Zasada

"I-It's okay. My mom said I wasn't good with alcohol." Ibon declined the offer again. "And don't pat me on the head. I need to get taller and besides, I'm the one who should be doing the patting since you wouldn't wake up."

Wait, what?

-

You jolt awake. Beside you was Ibon who immediately embraced you, sobbing. Moments ago, you were watching Rex, who had Blizzard on his back, marching in front of you. Was that just a dream? If it was, it was so vivid that it felt like a memory. But if it was a dream, when did it start?

Looking around, you were still in the path on the Old Woods. There was no one else around save for the Liberi Medic who was still crying with her arms wrapped around you. "Zasada! Zasada!" Ibon cried. "You-you were just talking to me and you just suddenly... collapsed! Knocked out cold! And-and Rex, he just kept walking and walking. He didn't follow the path anymore and walked straight into the forest!"

"I-I called out to him and he doesn't respond! I wanted to follow him but I-I couldn't leave you alone!" Ibon explained everything that had happened. Quite the feat considering she was probably scared out of her mind right now. "We need to get out of here, Zasada! Come on, before we're attacked again!"

Ibon pointed something at the distance, a pillar of black smoke. "Look! I bet it's Riventor! We're close! Come on, come on!" The Medic attempted pulling you to your feet and possibly drag you. "I don't wanna be in this place anymore! Anywhere but here!"

---

Old Woods

~@Kuroakuma, @Lunarlord34~

"Move if you don't want to get hit!"

Will-O-Wisp

Wu acknowledged and jumped back from the huge dog when Will-O-Wisp's orbs were close enough.

The orbs smashed into the predator, the small explosions making it flinch. The Vulpo Operator landed on top of it but the huge dog was not out yet. The huge dog jerked violently and bucked Will-O-Wisp's off of its back, with Wu coming just in time to catch her. But the creature's small victory was short-lived when Dragonheart's lance impaled it right into its hind body.

The huge dog let out its dying whimper before expiring. The fight was over.

"Never seen a dog that large before." Wu remarked before addressing Will-O-Wisp and Dragonheart. "Are you two alright? Dragonheart and Will-O-Wisp, right? I've read your files at the last day. Uhh, sorry for getting dragged into all of this. It was only supposed to be just me and my team but Sir Haynek made last minute changes."

Wu then saw that Will-O-Wisp was covered in cuts. "Jeez, you look like you had a rough time. Don't worry, my team has a Medic who can patch you right up. Ah, speaking of which, what happened with your team? Did you see what happened to Raven Three?"

"My team's already down an Operator, by the way. Disappeared into thin air. I'm actually here looking for her but..." Wu's face darkened. "...I doubt my efforts will bear fruit."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

~ Cal Family Mausoleum ~

Interacted with: @VitaVitaAR, @Crimson Paladin, @Krayzikk

Jarde watched as Sirs Fleuri and Nicomede both attacked the vampiric Damon Cal. The latter moved to counter but the Iron Rose Knights emerged the victor in the clash when they managed to hack off the vampire's limbs, specifically an arm and a leg. Victory was guaranteed, but Jarde thought it to be too easy.

And his fears would come true, Damon landed as if he had lost nothing. Jarde was momentarily confused but a chill ran down his spine when the blood the vampire lost from his missing limbs condensed and solidified. They then acted as threads that connected the arm and leg to their stumps, moving to return the limbs to their proper place. In a moment, Damon Cal was restored fully. The efforts of Sirs Fleuri and Nicomede seemingly for naught.

The vampire aimed and fired his crossbow at Sir Fleuri but the bolt was intercepted with a shot of water conjured by Sir Nicomede.

"Sirs FLeuri, Jarde! Sever its limbs!"

Nicomede Durante

Hold on. Did that not work? Perhaps Sir Nicomede had a plan. Jarde trusted his fellow knight and prepared to move.

"Jarde, can you restrain him? We have to keep him from moving around."

Fleuri Jodeau

Restrain? How-- Jarde quickly realized he was talking about the chains attached to his sickle weapons. "That's not their true use but alright."

Jarde released the locks that connected the sickles to the chains. He elongated his chains by letting them fall off his arm and rushed forward. His plan was simple, throw his chains around Damon and hold him there for Fleuri and Nicomede to tear him apart. He wished he could do something more extravagant but they needed to restrain him and that's exactly what Jarde would do.

As soon as he was close enough, Jarde would throw one of his chains at the vampire in an attempt to wrap and bind. Damon was more than capable of deflecting the oncoming chain attack so Jarde would delay throwing his second chain just in case the first one was blocked. Obviously, he would need to be there to hold the chains together but he doubted he had the strength to resist Damon's. Jarde was a speedster, not a brute!

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

@Crimson Paladin

The full thing. The sickles and the chains.