Zool

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

We have a villain who doesn't kill innocents and one of the heroes shouts in peoples faces for saving innocents. Classic fantasy storytelling, right here.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

@Dark CloudYou're good buddy. You're not annoying in OOC, you keep things lively. Don't worry about it.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

@ThinslayerTotally agree. That "Why can't we have both?" is what being a hero is all about. Had she even been a little into anime or fantasy, she would know this very basic thing already lol

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

J A R E D L A N C A S T E R

^{Location: Sealed Tower
Interactions
@Thinslayer, @Zerofighter, @Zool, @TheFox and @Conscripts}

It may have been an easy retreat for the goblin, they were making swift headway however something they hadn't accounted for was about to happen.

Within the chamber of stone sarcophagi where the group was gathered a sound could be heard muffled through layers of stone much like a howl. It sounded inhuman and otherworldly making the demon boy bristle at it's familiarity.

^{* * *}

'This can't be happening...' his heart beat at a million miles an hour, his breathing ragged and dry.

'I must be dreaming, this has to be a nightmare.' the man tried to rationalize his predicament, but upon feeling around in the stale darkness he realized he was stuck in some kind of little room. He could hear faint noise from outside like a battle was raging, then something awoke within him.

'I sense death...' it was a voice as deep as the ocean and filled with a maddening hunger for something.

'Jared want escape...' was that his name? Jared? It sounded right but the man didn't recognize the deep voice echoing in his mind however 'Jared escape and we kill...' the voice began to grow louder, and Jared felt as though something was taking over his mind.

'Wait kill? N-' it was too late the voice boomed over his own 'Jared be free and we kill!' everything began to fade and turn blurry, like he were seeing things from different eyes but couldn't control his own body.

"WE KILL," now fully in control the other spirit howled, hunger in it's deep voice "WE MUST KILL." with unnatural might it launched the stone lid covering the sarcophagus their body had been trapped within, smashing the cover to pieces on impact with the opposite facing wall.

^{* * *}

As the dust settled, heavy breathing echoed within the small chamber. It was a ragged and hungry breathing of someone maddened by hunger, from the dust came a cloaked figure brandishing both sword and shield "DIE." it rumbled, rushing after the small green-skinned creatures.

Screams filled the air as the hulking knight lumbered jarringly towards the retreating goblin, archers fired upon the knight to no avail as It reached the rear party. It swung it's broadsword and blood spattered the walls, as three archers we're hacked down by the knight.

A barrage of arrows rained upon it, bringing it to kneel upon the blood soaked stone "HUNGRY..." suddenly it stood back up, black blood dripping from it's chain coif and ripped out the arrows flecked upon his chest with a howl that shook the room.

It was a horrifying scene for the retreating goblin to behold, the knight seemed unkillable and unrelenting as it stalked after them.

@Dark Cloud

lol, don't be silly Dark Cloud. Some people can only dream of stitching words together like this.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Nah, it's interesting, it took me a sec to figure her out. She 'knows' that she's right. That's just the way she is. And the city is clearly beyond saving, no need for self-persuasion there. She's wrong though. Heroes should try and save every life they can, of course. I think she's not seeing what's important, and is just applying what she knows (which is very little) to the situation with dunning kruger confidence.

She's got some growing to do.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Thanks mate. Fox had me hyped with that mini-massacre from Yakeru. So tempting to grapple-hook the wyvern but baby-steps, ye know.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

In spite of her growing desperation to simply sit down at the roadside and process everything, MacKensie was looking increasingly more resolute as she walked. A zealous fire was burning in her eyes, although most wouldn't have noticed, for her walking pace had crept up slightly and she was now at the head of the group. Her fingers tingled with a determined and excited energy as she started to...

...be herself again.

You see: MacKensie Trydant was a soul attracted to big causes. Although far from a full-time activist, the young woman supported political and civil rights movements, unafraid of the discourse and challenges of the present day. She approached this in the same way she approached her studies and sport - with righteous passion, fierce competitiveness and the conviction of an inquisitor.

And now here she was... her old life stolen from her. Nothing on her schedule. And the greatest cause of them all, right in front of her: Saving the world.

"Oh for goodness sake," she remarked haughtily at Dexter and Jared's position on the matter. She'd already mentally rolled her eyes at Robert bragging about 'rejecting the Emperor's rule,' and now the sentiment was 'fuck the aristocracy.' She shook her head. "The Human Empire sounds like a better bet than anything that's been mentioned so far. Strength, resources, surely? And it was they who summoned us. Perhaps they have a plan alr-"

"I am not weak..."

MacKensie stopped and looked behind her. Those three words could not have better summed up this bullshit sausage festival of egos. It almost felt like a sarcastic joke - she wished it was - but much to her disquiet, she realised Yakeru was very-much being serious and was already marching back towards the city. "Yakeru, stop!" It was no use, the young man was gone. "Yakeru! Oh fuck," the last two words a mutter as she started running after him.

He'd made some distance between himself and the rest of them, but MacKensie was close enough to see four pieces of goblin collapse as Yakeru disappeared past the corpse cart. When she got back onto the city streets, she slowed a little to see the horrific massacre 60 feet down the way. A goblin surveying from the roof sounded a horn, signalling hostility in the streets and a need for reinforcements. A quick bolt tearing through the creature's throat was enough to put an end to that awful racket but it may have been too late.

MacKensie followed her enraged companion as best she could, but was waylaid by a big flying beast, piloted by a goblin. She was forced to lose ground, diving into a roll to avoid a swooping attack, before diverting her route through a series of gazebo canopies at roadside. A few arrows thudded into the canopy or pinged off it, a huge shadow and screeches ripping overhead. When MacKensie saw the refugees fleeing toward her, just as the flying beast had made a pass, she knew she had to make a distraction.

She used a quick wall-kick to vault herself up to the roof of a single-floor public house, grabbing the edge before pulling herself up. "The gate is that way!" she shouted, waving at the escapees and pointing back the way she'd come. Then came a short screech. "Oh dear."

She started runnning across the rooftops, hopping and skipping the gaps, getting away from the refugees far enough to maybe give them a chance. A spinning flip to her right side-stepped another potentially fatal pass from the flying creature, and she almost fell of the roof...

...then she saw Yakeru teleport, a little distant but in plain sight...

...and she did fall off the roof. "Waaah!"

She landed in a market stall, tearing through the hide roof which broke her fall, but hurt nevertheless. The flying beast lost sight of her, he patrolled around trying to re-establish visual contact. MacKensie half-climbed half-jumped out of the mess she'd created and saw the lone Yakeru in the middle of the street. At the same time she was so happy to see him okay, her anger ramped back up and, heedless of any potential danger, she ran out towards him.

He turned to meet her, sword drawn and ready to fight... ready to collapse, more like, she thought to herself as she neared.

"You bloody maniac," she scolded, slamming on the brakes but still almost knocking right into him. She grabbed two handfuls of his tunic. "What are you thinking!? Are you trying to die!? You should be ashamed of yourself! You choose your own foolish pride over an entire world that needs our help!? What good are you dead!? What good are you to those you just saved, when the Witch moves on and destroys the next home they make!? Do you even care, or is just about you, going out in a blaze of glory with your dick hard - to hell with everything else!?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she told herself that she might be being a bit harsh. Yakeru had just saved a bunch of people, and who knew what fate lay in store for them if he hadn't. And he was only young, no more than 18 years old, surely. (It was not the first time she ignored that voice until it was too late.) Fortunately for her, she didn't have time to feel guilty as that familiar but unwelcome screech filled the air.

The flying beast was back and closing fast..................

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

@Zerofighter@Scarifar@Rabidporcupine@TheFox@Zool@Dark Cloud@Conscripts
All right, I gotta fix this. Who's still confused about the chronology?

And yes, we have two alternate means of communication: Discord and Chatzy. The links are in the 0th OOC post.

@Thinslayer

Not confused about the broader timeline of how Rabid's posts are fitting into ours. It's the timeline of dialogue within the current group who is on the road. All the conversation threads have sort of mushed together. There's bits were inside the city gates, now mixed in with bits out of the city gate.

It's fine, once Fox posts, I should be able to just ignore the inconsistencies and move straight past it.

Ven

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S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

I'm struggling with the chronology of our party's posts and pieces of conversation. Plus, I don't know what's being planned on discord. I'll just wait for Fox to go.