Fantasy Into the Dread Labyrinth

[Thalia_Neko]

Decaying flesh was rend from Blobjun's form. His innards spewed upon the ground, and it looked like the zombie would topple over into a myriad of strewn pieces. "Hang in there!" Daeva called.

Despite how he looked, it seemed her words of encouragement (her order?) kept Blobjun together and in the fight. Well.. together enough.

They were fighting this thing?? She could sense its power from here, and did not think it was a smart idea. But if they had decided to do so.. then the entire party should be focused on it. She skid to a halt, having already ran a clear path around it. The Path of Sacrifice lay before her, but her team needed her. She had managed to recharge enough mana for some amount of Dark Usher casts, but... If she depleted herself here, then she'd be useless for the boss. She couldn't waste too much mana here.

"Dark Usher!" She cast once, thinking that may be all she could afford to spend of her mana, sending out a burst of dark energy.

At the same time, the others were already in the process of fighting the perverse valadeer. Samara's Anchor Pull obviously could not pull this creature, so she was yanked towards it, and began to fight it in a power struggle as her reinforced shield smacked into its side, causing the Dread to roar out, and turn its attention to the woman for the moment.

Seymour's brave attack was... brave, but foolish. While he had the ability to avoid attacks from monsters (although he could read nothing from the Dread), he did not have the ability to avoid attacks he himself inflicted upon himself. As he leapt towards the beast and kicked it, the Dread didn't even flinch, yes, it made no motion it had felt the kick at all. Instead, all that occurred was Seymour managed to scrape his leg across the twisting antlers of the Dread. Its antlers were easily its most dangerous part -even more so than its sharpened teeth and spines. Its antlers were as spread out and winding as tree branches, and sharper than the stakes around them. Seymour scraped his leg against those, cutting himself.

The second kick had a bit more force to it, and was aided by Samara's own slam, which was enough strength to throw its balance off.. only just so. The Dread only took a couple of steps back, enough to pierce its side on one of the broken stakes that just so happened to be angled towards it. However, the Dread pulled its form back to meet the Raiders, its flesh sliding off the stake that had pierced its side. It didn't even seem phased by it, their attack, or being pierced.

By now Daeva's Dark Usher struck the target -it didn't even notice. And a small purple-blackish spot appeared on it, which was sorta hard to notice against its rippling red-and-black body. For all of Seymour's strikes, the thing barely reacted, only when he cut where Daeva had hit it did it seem to notice. With deer-ears flicking, its heavy, thick tail swung to intercept Seymour, cutting straight through his path like a knife through butter. But even so, the Dread was focused on Samara.

It's vicious black claws pummeled at her shield, as it bore its weight down upon her. Its weight and power was many more ties that of Blobjuns, and Samara would feel it. Even though she was blocking... that wouldn't last long. Its wizened claws cut through her improved block, scratching down her shield, leaving nasty imprints upon its metallic surface. Then it gripped her shield, with claws appeared around her shield, as the beast's head appeared over it, reddish eyes glowing staring at Samara with such baleful hate that it felt she would melt under its gaze.

For Jiànlong, he looked for an opening. But so far.. he could see none. Seymours onslaught was only serving to annoy the beast, and while Samara had its attention, he still could not comprehend where he could safely strike -if he had a better Swordsmanship talent, perhaps he would see a better opening, sooner, but he did not. Sure, he could make a reckless attack, but... He didn't want to accidentally hit Samara or Seymour or whatever, either. He would sit tight, hoping a better opportunity would present itself to strike.

 

[TreasureSniper]

Just as the monster had ignored Seymours attack, the young man was also unfazed by the injuries he had sustained. As blood flowed from his wounds, he simply did not care, his speed remaining the same as ever. "Tch, those were my favorite pants." He has suffered worse from the pit, such injuries might as well not be there for him. He did, however, notice how the attack he made on the surface affected by this Daeva's dark usher did more damage than every other area. "Interesting." Finally, something was working. Without hesitation, Seymour pointed his sword at the creature, casting a Defense cut on the beast, lowering its defenses for the next few seconds, a window of opportunity for him and his teammates. "Walker, strike it at the purple spot, at its back" With his keen eyes, he was able to easily distinguish the color differentiation on the monster's skin, he just hoped that the boy was also accurate enough to take advantage of this information.

And just as he finished the sentence, out of the corner of his eye he could see the monster's tail swiping towards him with killer intent. Fortunately for Seymour, he was just fast enough to dodge the brunt of the attack, only leaving a small scratch on his cheek. This dodge was however enough to activate the damage bonus on his next move, his intercepting strike, a powerful blow. This combined with the bonus damage from the limb buster and the defense cut should mean this attack would be significantly stronger than whatever he had been throwing thus far. Sheathing his gladius, Seymour swiftly grabbed hold of the zweihander and swung it at the tail with both hands, seeking to finally wound this creature properly if not completely severing this troublesome appendage.

Regardless of whether such a strike worked, he quick to follow this attack circling the creature, and moving himself closer to the large stake one that had jagged edges, . With his amplified might, he would pull the massive piece of metal out of the ground, wielding it as a giant weapon. Despite not having the skill to do so, the sheer stat bonus his skills and talents afforded was more than enough to make up for it. This was where his adaptability kicked in, his ability to think on the fly and use his environment to his advantage made him a dangerous foe in the arena, even against superior statted opponents. With his first few swings, he would aim them at creatures's arms, striking them with great force, trying his best to take attention away from Samara, giving her time to recover from the devastating attack. "Not yet, its not over yet!" He defiantly shouted as he swings got faster and stronger. At last, his grit was finally kicking in full force.

He swung the stake one more time at the beast's head before charging in a ramming stance. "Hold it steady! We gotta soften this bastard as much as we can for Walker!" Relying on both Samara and Blobjun to hold the monster down for a short moment, he pushed forward trying to impale the monster with the makeshift weapon from the side where it was not paying attention. If nothing else, he would at least be able to contribute towards destabilizing it to collapse on the other stakes that were nearby.

Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse

Looking back on the lancer and against his usual nature he decided to call out to her and ask for assistance. "Lancer, I need your help hammering this thing in." The plan was simple, Seymour would do his best to push the stake into the creature while Kirsten would assist him in slowly hammering it in.

ERode

 

[ERode]

It was strong, but she already knew that. Ken not finding a target was a disappointment, when Seymour was able to land (ineffectual) hits upon the monster's hide constantly, but that was to be expected. The kid was normal, compared to the younger dungeon delvers present. A more pleasant surprise to see that Samara had withstand its own blows, that none of them had died yet. The Comet remained in orbit, building up speed, building up strength, knowing still that there wasn't much time left before everything ran out.

The duration of the Strong Block. The duration of the Sanctuary Bubble. The duration of the Red Razor Rush.

The amount of time they had left before the Blobjun fell to pieces.

If an opening couldn't be made, then an opening had to be forced.

Kirsten shot forth, passing behind Samara. The Shieldmaiden would feel an arm wrap around her waist, before she was shifted out from beneath the Dread's might. The monster, the force it was resisting gone, would inevitably lurch forwards, exposing its head, its crown of antlers, that had been leering down upon Samara just moments ago. But Kirsten was past that now, her steps leaving deep marks in the ground as she twisted into a tight turn, a whole 180 degrees. One hand on the ground so she didn't flatout fall onto it. Another hand upon her lance, though it served no purpose.

"Drop it down on its side!"

And she was upright once more, slamming into the Dread's backleg with all the force of the Sanctuary Bubble that served as an inviolable boundary between man and monster! If Samara could pull it by its antlers, if the Blobjun could push up on the other side, if Seymour could prevent the Dread's tail from stabilizing it, if her own charge could force the ground beneath its hooves to shift favorably, they could cause it to fall upon the stake that Seymour had stuck into its side.

And they could, if only briefly, expose its belly, the whole lenght of its underside, for Ken to target in a Long Step.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Samara Morghan​

Samara could feel Seymour's presence all around her, moving at such speed it felt as if he was everywhere at once. A brief flicker of fear and shock lanced through her mind when he launched himself at the beast, going airborne against an adversary covered in deadly spines. Were the spikes poisonous? Toxic? Paralytic? They had no way of knowing and couldn't afford such risky maneuvers against an enemy more than four times their level. Nevertheless, the shieldmaiden doubled her efforts and did everything she could to keep thoughts of his safety out of her head, no matter how much her motherly instincts rebelled.

We are nothing to this monster, merely insects to be crushed, She thought, as the soles of her boots dug into the ground. She had momentarily driven the monster back, just a little. That, in itself, was a small victory. But now she had its attention and with that came the full force of its might. At least, she hoped this was its full force. If the creature had more in reserve, they were doomed…

We… I can’t keep this up, Samara thought as she grunted with effort. She still had stamina and mana to spare, but her strength was inadequate here, even with Lumi's narrative. The giantess’s muscles rippled beneath her plate armor. She was iron, clad in steel, but it was still not enough. “Jian!” she called out. A futile effort. Was the boy paralyzed by fear or was he truly such an amateur that he could not see an opening when one was provided? Was he expecting more than this!?

She felt another presence rapidly approaching from that direction and momentarily thought the young man had finally answered her cries. However, a brief glance to the side proved it was Kirsten. Her trajectory made it clear she was not aiming for a fatal blow and Samara quickly realized the Lancer’s intent. At the last moment, the shieldmaiden violently adjusted her stance, wrenching her shield free of the Dread’s claws, just as Kirsten’s arm hooked her waist, and tore her free of the beast.

Speed was certainly not something Samara was accustomed to. The brief moment she found herself in the Lancer’s grip was… eye-opening, to say the least. However, the moment she was jettisoned from the Comet Express, her Surefooted Talent kicked in. The big woman hunkered down, as she slid across the cracked earth of the Path of Sacrifice, but never lost her footing. Her shield dug in, sending up a shower of soil and muck, and her helmet tumbled from her head, leaving a cascade of messy blonde locks in its wake.

"I’m on it," she said the moment Kirsten suggested they should try to drop the creature. If literally tucking it in for bed is what Jianlong required to find his courage, she would try. Samara began to run toward where she had just been dislodged, but, after only a few paces, transitioned her momentum into rotation. She spun and hurled her mighty greatshield at one of the beast’s forelegs, just as its weight began to bear down upon them, hoping the one-two punch of being off balance and being impacted by such a weighty chunk of steel would be enough to down it.

To even further her efforts, she hastily shouted an incantation. Yet another blue orb began to swirl in her hands. As she rapidly compressed and condensed the mana, Samara certainly felt drained this time. If there had been any doubt about the state of her mana reserves, she was sure they were now depleted. And her stamina wasn’t faring much better.

She hurled the Sanctuary Bubble at the beast’s foot, with the force of a major league pitcher. The spinning tower shield impacted the Dread’s front leg with a monumental metallic ‘CLANG’, followed almost immediately by the dull 'WHUMP' of the Sanctuary Bubble striking the ground at its other foot. The bubble rapidly expanded beneath it, lifting the creature’s foot as it did so, to further throw it off balance. Not only would it help tip the monster (if it didn’t immediately shatter under its weight) but would provide some cover for Jian to get in and strike. He would be able to pass safely through the barrier.

Breathing heavily, Samara returned the thrown shield to her inventory, using Quick Swap, as she quickly gathered up her dropped helmet and slammed it down atop her head once more. “If…” she paused to catch her breath, ”If this... doesn’t work… we retreat. One of you, grab Sera. Too slow,” she said, probably referring to herself, though she could mean Sera was 'too slow.' It didn’t really matter, either way. “Lemon and Lumi will… have to fend for themselves. Scatter… into the stakes.”

And with that, she found her second wind. The shieldmaiden pounded an armored fist, once on her chest, and rejoined the fight.
Interaction(s): Thalia_Neko | TreasureSniper | ERode | Tau | Skyswimsky

 

[Thalia_Neko]

The tail was cut deeply -nearly clean through. However, as it dangled on a few pieces of flesh, blackened tendrils shot through the severed part, and within seconds, the tail snapped back together, tendrils of flesh repairing it to brand new.

Wherever Seymour struck left a nasty gash on the Dread. When looking within ... they could see strange black innards, pulsing with red energy. It didn't look like the insides of any creature they were familiar with -and not even the same as the monsters of the labyrinth they were familiar with either. However, when Seymour tried to make the best use of his stake that he could, the beast growled and retaliated with a vicious headbutt, smashing its antlers into the stake. -The stake, this time, did not fare well, easily snapping in half, splinters flying everywhere. The impact of which sent Seymour flying backwards; his idea to use this stake was now gone. "GRAAIYHHHRRR!" It roared, as if satisfied with this outcome.

Then another roar released from its nasty maw, "GIYYERRRRR!" With black spittle flying out, splattering onto Samara as Samara's shield slammed into its forelegs, splitting apart one of its legs, literally cutting off its front clawed paw. It began to stumble forward as it was lifted from behind by the expanding barrier.

But just like with the tail, blackened tendrils began to immediately reattach any rend flesh, pulling the numerous wounds across its body back together, reshaping the monster.

Reshaping it did. The began to fall forward, but the creature wouldn't allow itself to just be thrown about! "RRRRRRREEEHHHYYYYAAWWWRR!!" The Dread roared, its mouth bursting apart, its head no longer resembling a deer's. Its antlers were split, naturally, as its entire head split down the middle, all the way down its neck and chest. Its hindlegs, now lifted into the air also snapped into unnatural positions, as if the concept of a skeletal structure was foreign to it. Its back hands -with opposable thumbs- formed fists, and each punched hard at the lancer woman that was attacking it back there, smacking hard down upon her own personal shield. The very first punch put cracks in the shield, with each punch cracking it more. It only took four punches for it to completely smash through, with the fourth smashing straight through, aiming at the lancer woman's chest.

"Blobjun!!!" Daeva shouted. Her undead stumbling forward under her command.

Its new split head served more like new appendages, with each brandishing an antler like a weapon. It swung them at Samara in front of her. However, one was intercepted by Blobjun. The antler stabbed straight into it, cutting through the fat monster like butter, its fat and innards splattering all over the antler. But the other antler was unimpeded, aimed for Samara.

But it didn't reach her. Even as the beast split apart, becoming more like some sort of worm-like creature, only one straight out of hell, with all of its limbs spread out to reach the various Raiders, it was still in a position, exposing the "weak point" that Daeva had made. It was exposed, despite its counterattacks on the Raiders, and Jiànlong had used Long Step to get into position - just underneath its lengthy, exposed chest. Well, half its chest was now split apart, with black tendrils flicking at the air, and many, many, many razor teeth all along its maw, neck, and inner chest. But Jiànlong was aimed at the part of the body that wasn't split -the thickest part right where its hindlegs connected.

"My name is Jiànlong!!!" He shouted at Seymour, bringing up his sword. I'm the best! I'm the strongest! I'll win! I'll kill this gross monster!! They'll all praise me as 'awesome'!! "AMASSED ENERGYYY STRIKEEEEEEEE!!!" Shouted the newbie Raider, swinging the blade. It lit up with a light blue energy, and swiped through the air with a blue swath of energy that literally sizzled and crackled. A clone -or afterimage, or shadow, or whatever you wanna call it, appeared beside Jiànlong, literally following his motion, slicing the monster with a blade of blue. The power of this Echo put cracks into the blade.

The cut crashed upon the Dread, causing it to scream out from.. its.. well whatever its newly split mouth was. The cry was loud and piercing, enough to hurt the ears. Jiànlong's cut dug into and tore through its black flesh. Then the cut sliced through, severing the beast, with only tendrils trying to hold it together.

The Dread screeched and shook and shivered and recoiled. Its .. heads whipped around, which was dangerous with its antlers -the antlers on one head yanking free of the bloated undead. More tendrils whipped out between the two halves, trying to reattach, trying to pull it back together. Every inch of its body twisted and turned and clenched, as it screamed and screamed.

Finally, the tendrils snapped.

The back half of the Dread fell and splat against the ground, leaving a sickly black sludgy "spill" mark under it over the earth. The other half... Still screeching, it took its two clawed hands and they struck the ground, then it suddenly, with intense, crazy speed, began running away. Actually, it more like fiercely pulled itself forward, with unparalleled strength. They watched as the top half of the Dread that was split apart and indescribable, yanked itself repeatedly forward with such speed, as it raced away, still screeching.

That half of the Dread disappeared into the swirling brown mists of the dust winds just beyond them. Its painful, piercing screeches became echoes then gradually disappeared.

However...

It wasn't time to celebrate just yet.

Jiànlong stood there, gasping for breath. He hadn't actually done all that much to lose his stamina. But just the mental effort it took to do that.. left him winded. It then, that the gasping boy noticed...

The back half of the Dread stirred. Its hands hit the ground, and lifted itself up. Where he had cut through, a maw of crooked teeth formed. One of its hands lifted up and split in half, with one half hitting the ground again to steady itself. The other 'hand' opened a red eye. "RREEEHRR! REEEHRRRRR!!" It hissed. The nameplate above it now read:

FLEDGLING DREAD EMISSION Level 7

With another scream, its teeth spread apart. Only blackness could be seen 'within' it. Suddenly energy began amassing.. First it was whitish, silverish, then it turned fiercer, and began glowing orange, then took on a deep red. It was aimed straight at the boy that had done this to it! But Jiànlong was too stunned to move, only left staring into the maw of death.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Samara Morghan​

Their combined assault sent the Dread into overdrive. As it twisted and writhed, seemingly attacking them all at once, the true horror of this creature began to make itself apparent. Seymour’s cuts left inky, black wounds, which looked like windows into a demonic flesh-scape. It was like nothing Samara had ever seen before or wished to see again. Its body changed with each attack, as if adapting. Its hind legs became fists which pounded at Kirsten’s barrier. Its split head and its antlers became a blender of flailing blades.

Samara re-equipped her tower shield, just as the bubble she had projected around Kirsten shattered. She thought she might aid the lancer, as Kirsten had aided her, but the defender had her own problems to deal with right now. There was no time to help or show concern for others. Samara’s shield tumbled out of her inventory –no Quick Swap this time, she must conserve her stamina-- and she desperately slipped her hand into its enarmes, just as a vicious strike came her way.

Blobjun staggered into the path of the attack and was savagely sliced in two. As the shower of gore and entrails parted, it revealed an antler-blade, coming straight for her. Every warning bell in Samara’s mind told her not to block this one. Too late to dodge, she bent backwards, while angling her shield to deflect the attack upward. There was a shower or sparks as she fell onto her back amidst the blood-soaked earth. She quickly rolled to her feet and scrambled away, but spied a metallic glint in the corner of her vision. The blade had sliced off a corner of her shield.

Samara narrowly avoided a follow-up strike as she quickly found her footing and resumed a defensive posture while backing away from this living meatgrinder. Her right pauldron was heavily dented, limiting her range of movement on that side, and she could feel the warmth of blood trickling down her arm, beneath the armor and padding. Even missing a chunk and covered in scratches and gouges, her Great Wall was still the best defense she had right now, so she hunkered down behind it as she gave the flailing beast some distance. But, more troubling, was the way the Dread’s wounds sealed themselves instantly.

“Well… Fuck,” she muttered through clenched teeth. It could regenerate. That was all she needed to see. With the level disparity, they stood no chance of out-damaging such an ability. They needed to get the hell out of here! Samara was about to prematurely call for a retreat when Jian’s voice cut through the deafening roars of their enemy. Well, he cut through much more than that…

The blinding glow of his Amassed Energy Strike filled her with hope, even if for just a moment. Samara stood in awe as the Dread’s severed halves fell to the ground. And her excitement only grew as its top half stood and fled the scene. They had actually put such fear into this monster that it ran away from them!? The shieldmaiden pumped her fist in the air, victorious.

Would they see the Dread again? Would it seek vengeance? Would it come back stronger than before? None of these thoughts crossed her mind in this moment. She was merely glad to be alive and glad to share this moment with the people who had made it possible. Thames had not died in vain! The Labyrinth was not unbreakable.

But those feelings had come too soon. No sooner did she breathe a sigh of relief than the Dread’s remaining half rose once more. Its level was halved, but the writhing black tendrils and amorphous nature of its body proved it was just as dangerous and possessed the same tricks… and more. Its lifted hand sprouted a crimson eye, glaring at the young man who had so disrespectfully cleaved its former body in two. And the gaping maw of its mouth began to build energy.

”No! Jian!” Samara cried out as she hurled her damaged tower shield at the creature’s only eye, ignoring the sharp spikes of pain that went down her arm as she did so. She began to run to the side, perpendicular to its position, toward the stakes lining the roadside. The limited space of the Path of Sacrifice gave little room to escape a beam attack, but she had to try, for Jian's sake. Samara lifted her right hand and tried to activate Anchor Pull, but winced in pain and promptly dropped it. Switching to her left, she outstretched her hand in his direction and shouted the incantation.
Interaction(s): Thalia_Neko | TreasureSniper | ERode | Tau | Skyswimsky

 

[ERode]

Three strikes shattered the Sanctuary Bubble, but it had given Kirsten time enough to sprint past, the fourth punch striking thin air as the comet rerouted, into orbit once more. Their attacks had exposed the slime-like nature of the monstrosity, its black tendrils draw closed the wounds that they marked it with, its form a protean thing that transformed as necessary in order to strike at its foes. Skeletal structure didn’t matter, nor did cutting wounds, but then again, she wasn’t expecting anything from regular attacks either.

There was only one question to be answered: whether their greatest source of damage, the Amassed Energy Strike, could leave its mark.

And that?

That was answered very satisfactorily.

It was an azure lightning, a bolt thrown by a warring deity. It cleaved through skin and flesh, bone and black, leaving its mark upon the earth itself, a scar that marked the very Labyrinth. And the Dread screamed in true agony, enough so that it no longer wished to remain whole. Its top half scampered away, faster than any of them could pursue. Its bottom half gestated still, a disgusting, living thing. Still alive. But halved in efficacy.

Kirsten knew that they could not let the halves rejoin. They had to make this halving permanent, or a level 15 monstrosity would still run riot upon the upper floors, spelling doom for every adventurer that came after them!

The Comet shot forth once more, grabbing Ken by the collar, pushing him one step away before Samara’s Anchor Pull caught up and zipped the Walking Swordsman towards the defender’s embrace.

“Crimson rites, dragon scale, qualia of ember. Flame Enchant.”

There had only been one reason that she had helped Ken out of the Emission’s budding maw.

Flames wreathed the Echo Blade, the cracks upon the weapon burning golden as it was infused with the Fireblood’s power. Her blood roared, the culminations of their efforts was at hand. Any other time, she would have gladly thrust her lance into the maw of the monstrosity, allowed it to choke upon its own gathering energy. But the curse weighed heavily upon her; there was another who would better finish off this blackened stain, this anomaly that ought to not exist.

“Seymour!”

She threw the blazing sword up, its arc peaking above the crown of the misshapen Emission.

Leaving the afterimage, perhaps, of a sun.

 

[Thalia_Neko]

That azure lightning struck twice, but it wouldn't strike a third time. Kirsten knew this. So perhaps, fire? She ignited the Echo blade, after retrieving it, and tossed it over to Seymour with a hope and a prayer.

"BLOBJUN!" Daeva cried out at the same time, her voice cracking with distress.

Blobjun caught the thrown tower shield, holding it with its arms, up against its body, and threw itself in the path of the monster's attack. A violent energy released from the Dread's mouth thundering and cracking through the air, cutting through the dust path with a red blast of pure hatred. The attack made the AES look like a papercut. The beam attack seared and burned the ground, leaving a blackened, orange scorch mark, like magma. With Blobjun meant to protect Jiànlong, it now stood between the quick-footed spear woman and the half-beast, after the others' quick attempt to save the boy. Brandishing Samara's tower shield it took the brunt of the attack. Even though its body was shredded, barely hanging together, no longer resembling the fat creature they all once knew, it was an undead, so it didn't need to be entirely put together to function properly -well.. function, nonetheless.

The Dread's attack struck the new obstacle in its path, hitting the tower shield with enough force to spread the beam out, blasting all around it with energized fall-off. The power was immense, however, as the attack continued to assail the undead holding the shield. Only a moment it took, before it tore through the tower shield and through the rest of Blobjun. Finally ending the decaying creature's existence entirely, as it crumbled to ashes. The beam attack wasn't completely dispersed, it continued onwards with its vestiges; its brutal embers charring Kirsten, who now stood where its intended target was.

All of this took place within seconds.

Presumably, as Seymour would catch the blade, ready to make his own counterattack against the malformed creature, Jiànlong was shoved and yanked back in a one-two effort to save him. And the saving didn't come too soon, too. For even though he was well away from the monster's attack, he could still feel the heat from the blast as he flew through the air towards Samara, bumping against the large woman when all was said and done. Jiànlong glanced up at her, and the blonde weakly chimed, "Guess, I'm through then. Sorry I can't be of more help..."

Unless she was to use more mana and cast Dark Usher again, Daeva was through, too. If they wanted to kill this half-beast, it was up to the remaining melees, who were all running low on stam.

 

[Tau]

Seraphina blazed forward with her heavy sword at the speed of a fashionably late tortoise. Each step carried with it an awkward wobbling as she struggled to keep the pointy bit aimed at the incarnate nightmare. Alas, or perhaps fortunately, she didn’t even make it half way there before a suddenly onset of coughing forced her to drop the heavy weapon on her boot.

"Oww!— coughcough," she cried in pain between coughs. At least she hadn’t dropped the sharp part on herself, or it could’ve been way worse.

The rest of the battle was a blur, but a terrifying one. Tendrils, exposed shadow sinews, busted zombie bones, seared flesh, chomping noises that would surely keep her up all night, and… fists? Lasers? Blue lighting, red fire, green… oh, that was her dinner. She collapsed backward, wincing as she landed on a shattered piece of blobjun bone that had probably just given her leg a bruise. She didn’t even have the energy to cry out anymore.

"M-mana potion…" Seraphina implored her inventory system, like a man in the desert pleading for water. And like a good little oasis, it provided her sweet relief in a bottle.

By the time the world had stopped spinning long enough to gather her bearings, Sera was met with a little shop of horrors, and from the look of it, Seymour was ready to feed the unholy maw a heaping helping of sword.

"O-oh no— cough —get out of the way!" Shouting was all Sera could do, watching the hand laser charging to full. She felt so completely and utterly useless… worthless to save anyone she cared about. But what else was new. Sera scooped the sword into her inventory and slowly backed away, letting herself fade into the background. It seemed the best she could do was not be a burden, and seeing Daeva tapped out for lack of the potions she was hoarding, she couldn’t manage even that…

 

[TreasureSniper]

Seeing the creature injured for the first time by his intercepting strike was satisfying for the young man. It showed him that this creature wasn't that special, it could be injured and with enough power, it could be killed. And seconds later, his theory was proven correct. Wiping the blood away from his cheek, he couldn't help but grin at the creature, noting it had been a while since anything had drawn this much blood from him.

With the Dread seemingly losing its patience with its prey, the timid dragon of the party would finally bear his fangs, demanding to be addressed by his true name, yelling with all his might, and releasing a powerful strike that shook the very ground they stood on. He had to admit, it was unlike anything he had seen before, it felt like such an attack could be part of both the ocean and the skies with one swing.

"Glad I backed the right horse. Good job, Jian."

Despite how much his mind wanted to shut off his adrenaline, something didn't feel right. His eyes darted around the area, activating his prey seeker only to see that the Dread was still in fact, and active threat, prompting him to click his teeth with slight annoyance. "Get back! It's still alive!" Seymour shouted, making sure that everyone knew that the fight wasn't over. But the team wasn't exactly in the best position to continue this fight. And yet...he felt like this was his chance to make things right. Without much delay or hesitation, Seymour took out a lesser stamina potion from his inventory, chugging on the liquid as he charged back into battle, feeling no regret, no remorse, only the thrill of the hunt, and the promise of a glorious kill.

Seeing the other members continue to resist, to struggle to fight against this monster...even the undead monster was giving it's all in this fight. Sera, no matter how sickly she was still trying to contribute towards the fight. Hearing thoughts of his comrades in arms, their determination was palpable, and their reluctance to give in the face of overwhelming odds was inspiring, to say the least. He liked fighting alone....but this...this was something he could get used to. He was certain, there was no place he'd rather be.

This was the moment he had been waiting for. The climax, the curtain, the money shot.

With one swift motion, he sheathed the zweihander and caught the blazing blade choosing to hold it with both his hands, a weapon that the comet had entrusted him with by the comet. "Leave it to me." He did not stay still, not even for a fraction of a second, he could not afford to waste a moment. At best, he only had a few seconds left of his Red Razor Rush. One way or the other, he needed to make the next few seconds count. Crossing the distance with blurring speeds, Seymour ignored whatever residual heat that came his way with near misses of the beam and pressed on.

He could hear them, the cheers of a crowd within the arena, shouting his name, encouraging him to press on with the attack. With each strike or dodge, there would always be a strong choir of awe. While his party was much too small to be considered a crowd, the energy they collectively gave off was equal. No...it was even stronger.

"HahahhahahAHHAHAHAH yes..YES! This is what I LIVE FOR!"

"Defense cut!" His first strike was aimed at the weaker arm of the creature, the one that was forcefully split into two limbs. The point where those two limbs meet, close enough to center mass but still part of the arm to be considered a limb for limb buster, and seeing as he had just avoided an attack, his bonus damage at this point was stacking on top of each other. And with the echo blade's ability in full effect, an echo would soon materialize, repeating the devastating attack once more.

Right before his echo would finish its attack, he would have already landed another strike, on the other limbs, be it the tail or the other leg. He had learned from his mistakes, and instead of attacking, the limbs in general. At every chance he could take, he would purposely run toward attacks just to dodge them at the last second, maximizing his counterstrike bonus damage. He concentrated the repeated strikes specifically on the joints of each limb, with each hit never being too far away from the other seeking to overwhelm whatever limitations it had on its coporeal body, or reduce it's hit points to zero. His eyes glowed with crimson radiance from the Prey Seeker vision, leaving an etheral trail each time he moved around the battle field. With the echo's leaving afterimages of their own, it looked like there was a whole squad of Seymour's swarming the monster, overwhelming it with its sheer quantity. For the creature, it was as if the frequency of attacks was getting faster and faster, likely overwhelming what little senses the creature had.

As the red razor rush grew closer to ending, the aura of redness that surrounded Seymour would begin to flicker a few times, signaling the end was near. With one final push, and whatever strength remained within the young man, whether it'd be from the red razor rush, his grit, or Lumi's blessings, Seymour propelled himself diagonally, running the echo blade across the length of the entire monster, starting from the tail and eventually ending at the creature's makeshift "head". If this strike did not finish off the monster, then his doppelganger would surely finish the job for him. With one final strike, Seymour would find himself landing in front of the monster with his back turned towards it. His red aura was gone and he was panting heavily on the brink of losing consciousness. Going beyond his limits, and then some was truly unexpected especially this early in the journey.

Ole!

ERode AnonyMouse Thalia_Neko Tau Skyswimsky

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Luckily for Seymour, after gathering such energy and firing off such an attack, the creature was in sort of a "downed" state. That is to say, it need a momentary reprieve to recharge and regain itself. And that was saying something, since it was already half a beast. It was during this time, that the man launched his assault.

As half a beast, it basically had half of its parameters, too. And Defense Cut cut down its defense even more. Under Defense Cut, Seymour's Echo'd attacks were dealing heavy damage. It began squirming and roaring in protest, thrashing about under this onslaught. Its roars were not like before, guttural and monstrous, and more like a whining, sniveling wretch, squealing under protest. It was a sickening sound, but not one that the party likely regarded with any amount of pity.

The creature attempted to fight back. Even while a limb was severed, it began to morph and grow. It didn't need its full self to grow beyond its own flesh. It began bulking up, and its 'head' -or hand eye stalk- whatever you wanted to call it, began shifting and morphing. The two fingers still on that stalk grew and elongated. More fingers began to grow out of them, changing shape, forming into tough, sharpened edges, regrowing a pair of antlers... Or trying anyway. Only one fully formed antler grew, but it didn't get any use.

"GEEEAAARRRRRRR!!!" The Dread Emission screeched one final time. Before collapsing, splattering on the ground. Its entire body completely broke apart, and ran off like spilled water. Only this was a black liquid substance, spreading across the dust, congealing and making the area sticky and stink.

Seymour's Echo blade shattered into four main pieces, but he was rewarded with the kill of the Dread Emission.

GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Its last cry seemingly echoed across the labyrinth.

And with that, little video gamey 'tings!' could be heard in each of their heads as each party member leveled up -even Sera, who had only ran at it and fallen, providing no real aid. It was a team effort! And they were successful!

Spilling out of the spillage was loot, as well!

1 Dread Half-Antler​

??? Material.​

​

Dread Source​

A strange 'egg' of swirling black and red fibers in an egg-like shape. Foul to the touch.​

​

1 Beacon dropped. Even though it was submerged in the black sludge of the deceased thing, its golden hue shined straight through, like a beacon in the miserable dusty world.

Two strange turquoise 'crystals'. (They're shaped more like Sim diamonds.) An amber colored crystal.
Purpose unknown.

Two Narrator Talent Scrolls Skyswimsky

Stam-Hype Interchange: A simple skill that sacrifices Stamina to generate Hype.​

​

Fan Reciprocation: At the request of the caster, others can now choose to return some Hype to heal and buff the Narrator.​

​

​

​

1 Unidentifiable Scroll​

(Monster Lineage Skill Scroll​

Dreadful Infestation level 1​

Infested with the strange black innards of the Dread. Once activated, uses the strange physiological makeup of the Dread to stitch injuries back together with black tendrils. Confers a "Corrupted" status on the user when used. (A bar of "Corruption" appears. Repeated use fills the bar. Once its filled, user gains "Corrupted" status effect.)​

​

and finally...

A Labyrinth Goodie Bag​

Sealed by some mystic force.​

For Jiànlong, something special would occur. Within his DS, the Talent Labyrinth Pioneer would be glowing. He would be rewarded, as the first person in human history to deal significant damage against a Dread. Seymour would've earned something similar for being the first to kill a piece of a Dread, but he had no such Talent. Instead, a trophy dropped specially for him: Dread Eye. The orange-yellow red eyeball that had grown out of the hand stalk. It was perpetually unblinking, and perpetually burning with hate. It lowered Seymour's strength by 6, but raised all other parameters he had by 3. The grudge within burned his strength stat out of hate because it was that strength that annihilated it. Would he keep the trophy, or toss it into oblivion? TreasureSniper

Unfortunately, it did not seem Samara was granted anything special by this encounter. In fact, she was left with her Tower Shield in a terrible state. It was mostly worn away, leaving only a third of it left, seared, and eroded away by a blast the low level tower shield wasn't built to protect against. AnonyMouse

For our necromancer girl, upon reaching level 5 Necromancer, she'd unlock a new skill.

Blight Resistance level 1
Resists various blights, such as poison mists, miasma, and cursed fields. The resistance strength increases with level. (As the necromancer enters such blights, appears as a video gamey 'bar'. Once filled, the necromancer will suffer the effects like anyone else.)

Her Raise Unique Undead skill also leveled, but at the cost of Blobjun..

Anyway, while it had been a harrowing encounter, the party managed to overcome the ordeal and come out victorious! They were each rewarded with levels, new skills, and interesting loot! Although, the toll of the battle was felt by all of them. They were running on fumes. Stamina and mana for the entire group was low, even Seymour, after his brutal onslaught, was left with next to no stamina. There were injuries across the party, too, of varying degrees.

But, unbeknownst to them, help was on the way!


Back in Ambition, not too long after their group set out. More S ranks were discovered. They came forward, after hearing that a party of S ranks were sent into the Labyrinth to 'save' humanity. Those new S ranks were, Katja Galinka, the Angel Healer Karcen , Valter, the Warden Megilagor , and Sharon Ironblood, the Battle Maid RedArmyShogun . They were immediately formed into a party of their own, given resources, and then pushed into the labyrinth, sent to catch up with the other S ranks that had been sent in before them.

Along their path they would encounter monsters, and it was up to Sharon to protect the party, for while they were S ranks, she was really the only combat-oriented person they had. Still, with her rifle, early floor mobs were nothing. They would take a single shot each, if she shot them at all. However, her bullets were precious. Labyrinthian ammo was scarce, and hard to come by on early floors. Wasting shots on low level monsters was... well, it was not recommended. So however they dealt with those monsters, they would have to figure that out as they traveled.

The trio had made it to floor 2, and were currently traveling across the dusty wilderness, perhaps taking a slightly safer route than our group did. No, they were not going to run against any Dreads -or half Dreads or otherwise, either.

Regardless, they made good time. Other than low level monsters, nothing stood in their way. The first group had to fight the first Floor Boss. Had been stopped in a lengthy interaction with Ripoff. And had an altercation with a beast no one saw coming. Surely group two had plenty of time to catch up!

Maybe they would arrive in time to help group one out? Especially since the boss of Floor 2 loomed on the horizon...

 

[Skyswimsky]

Clap clap clap.

"I knew we could do it! With our hearts ablaze and spirits unyielding, we claim triumph over despair! Fabolous! Magnificient! Spectacular! Superb! Splendiferous! Just... impressive." She gave a satisfied nod. Lumi had been following the battle, after her initial declaration of war, in amazement. Somewhere deep down, the slacking Narrator has had her doubts about them being truly the Chosen Ones with everything that had transpired so far. Yet, this victory pretty much restored her, and hopefully the rest of the parties, morale. This time, even nobody important died! Next time, they would strike it down entirely!

"Is everybody alright?" She then asked with a continuous big smile. Too bad she did not have a more proper healing talent yet. However, it didn't stop the hat-wearing woman from walking toward the pile of muckus-covered(?) loot. Grabbing the two scrolls and looking at them in wonder. "Mhmmm...." The first one sounded very useful, nearly even quite broken, in her understanding! Though the second one sorta implied that her 'fans' could generate their very own hype? Well, the Labyrinth worked in mysterious ways, so she had to see about that.

"Since we're all very special, unique, and awesome. With an S-Rank talent unique to only us, I suppose those aren't worth much beacons." Speaking her idle thoughts to nobody in particular, Lumi put the scrolls into her hat. That done, the young entertainer pulled out a first-aid kit from the very same place before giving another look at her broken-down comrades.

Unlike the others, Lumi wasn't really looking beat. Neither did she feel useless. And right now, she could at least still provide some care and first aid to whoever needed it the most. "Anyone? I can take care of the rest, you should all relax~" Her big smile wasn't scary at all.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Samara Morghan​

Once again, the lancer came through with a last-minute assist, using her enhanced speed to scoop up Jianlong and propel him toward Samara’s Anchor Pull. If not for the woman’s help, the giantess may not have been able to pull the boy out of harm’s way in time. Sadly, Kirsten herself was punished for such an effort; she was burned by the edges of the Dread’s deadly attack, yet managed to escape the brunt of its fury.

As the fleet-footed young swordsman collided with her, Samara wrapped her arms around him and fell back, cushioning the blow, lest he be injured by her armor. She slammed into one of the stakes lining the path. Bits of bone and tattered clothing fell from the desiccated Wega corpse impaled high upon it. With no shield on-hand, she quickly repositioned to the other side of the stake, putting it between themselves and the Dread’s deadly beam.

Unknown to her, Blobjun had taken up her tower shield and attempted to block the strike, but only partially succeeded. Its scattered rays dispersed, razing the ground all around them, and reducing the Floor 1 boss to dust before the Dread finally relented. Blobjun’s ashes were carried away on the wind, leaving only the charred, mangled remains of Samara’s second most-prized possession.

She remained crouching for a moment afterward, shielding Jianlong with her body, until errant lasers no longer seared the earth and sky around them. So often, the Labyrinth liked to punish those who had scored even a small victory. This young man had cleaved a level fifteen enemy in two just as she began to fear all hope was lost. He deserved better and she was willing to put her body on the line to ensure he lived to see it.

As Jianlong lamented that he could do no more, she merely smiled down on him. "You’ve done more than enough, sweetheart. Thank you. Thank you sooooo much," Samara said, her cheeks reddening as she gave him an affectionate peck on the forehead. ”I know I asked a lot…. But you delivered. Well done.”

But the battle was not yet over. The shieldmaiden got to her feet, and helped Jian do the same. Only now did she realize the Echo Blade was missing, plucked from his grasp by Kirsten, who wisely imbued it with flame before passing it to Seymour.

Yes, I definitely had the wrong idea about her, Samara thought, as her eyes followed all the moving parts of this battle. Until now, she thought the lancer was content with standing back, letting her allies do the heavy lifting, and saving her own strength for the killing blow. The only time she thought of others was when she was barking orders at them. And yet… I got it all wrong. This team is so much more than I imagined, Samara thought, feeling rather guilty.

When Thames’s death didn’t bring them together, she feared all hope was lost. But now, despite the loss of her best shield, Samara felt more powerful than ever as she watched Seymour dance around this level seven adversary, spurred on by Lumi’s narrative and the combined assistance of everyone around him, even Sera, who refused to be held down by the curse. Samara could only hope he knew this as well, knew he had friends now, and could achieve his dreams with them.

You are not alone, she thought as his final blow sundered the Dread, reducing it to a mewling, whining, pathetic creature, before silencing it forever. Normally, she would feel some sympathy for such a death. But not today. This victory was for Thames, Callidora’s lost innocence, and the countless other things the Labyrinth had taken from all of humanity. The shieldmaiden cautiously emerged from the field of stakes and slowly approached the churning puddle of black sludge, as loot began to bubble to the surface. A new skill materialized before her, but she swiped it away, for now.

While Lumi claimed the pair of scrolls, Samara knelt beside her and fished the strange egg from the Dread's putrified corpse. She did not like the way it felt in her hands. But, she had said earlier, that she would take on the task of collecting the strange and dangerous loot the Labyrinth sometimes bestowed upon them. If it were to explode or release toxic gas or teleport the first person who touches it straight to Hell... well, that was the Defender's burden to bear, right? Fortunately, no such thing happened. Curious as it was, the item appeared to be more gift than curse --for now-- so she deposited it into her inventory for safekeeping. She pondered the 'Labyrinth Goodie Bag' as well, but that one didn't seem quite so dangerous, so she left it behind for someone else to collect.

"Lumi's being coy, so I suppose I'll say it," Samara said, with a smile at the announcer who had made all of this possible. "Today, we lift our heads in defiance of the Labyrinth!" She raised her fist skyward, despite the pain lancing down her arm, and spoke in a booming voice. "We should all stand proud... umm... those of us who can stand, that is." She dropped her arm and returned to a less celebratory tone as she uncorked a stamina potion and took a swig before continuing. "Whoever needs healing, I am ready. Let's... stabilize our wounds and then find a place to make camp, not quite so close to... all of this," she nodded to the puddle of black ooze.

"I know we are eager to see these curses lifted, but it may be wise to slow down to speed up, as the saying goes. The floor boss isn't far. I suggest we recouperate at the swamp's edge and plan our approach from there."
Interaction(s): Thalia_Neko | TreasureSniper | ERode | Tau | Skyswimsky

 

[AnonyMouse]

Each floor of the Labyrinth had its own story to tell, but humanity could not yet understand what each one meant. The second floor told a sad tale of desolation and desperation. Upon descending from the first floor, would-be adventurers and explorers emerged from a reddish mountain, and found themselves confronted by an expanse of yellowish-orange sand. A cruel wind blew across this barren landscape, warm to the skin, yet cold to the heart. The terrain was mostly flat after leaving the mountain behind. On a clear day, it was possible to see for miles... if one can shield one's eyes from the stinging sand and silt. It was the perfect environment for a sniper.

The soft footing harbored sneaky, burrowing creatures, such as dustswimmers, man-sized humanoid lizards who could burst forth without warning to ambush travelers. Each unassuming boulder could be a rockshell, a dangerous, crab-like monster whose stony carapace made them difficult to spot and even more difficult to cut down. Adventurers would march for hours through these dangers and, should they survive, find themselves upon a cracked and hardened plain, where the sand became more packed and parched. Blackened, wiry trees speckled the landscape, as if there had once been vegetation here, eons ago. What little semblance of a path or trail there was, became obscured, yet our heroes continued on, choosing to put faith in their Guide.

The Labyrinth called this expansive area the Land of Desperation. It appeared on the adventurers' HUDs as they entered the region. In the distance, far across the windswept plains, shambling humanoid figures could be seen, sometimes in groups, sometimes alone. They appeared frequently, but always far, far, away. These are the Wega, a race of Labyrinth monsters, who appear almost human, if not for their grayish-black skin, stringy black or white hair, and soulless, pupilless eyes. They are a frequent sight for adventurers, but not a great threat, so long as they are given a wide berth. Their tattered cloaks flapped in the wind, revealing glimpses of their emaciated bodies beneath the rags. When approached, they attack viciously with tooth and nail. But, if left alone, will merely wander the wastes as docile spectres, as if this arid land drains them of all semblance of peace or purpose.

Surely, the Seraphim's heart broke at the lamentable sight of such destitute 'people.' As the trio of s-ranked adventurers traversed this realm, attempting to catch up to the larger party which had departed before them, they spied these Wega in the distance, as was normal for travelers. However, some were... different. Every once in a while, one would stop... and stare. The expanse of space between them and these s-rank adventurers seemed insurmountable. They were but mere specks on the horizon, even when viewed through the Sniper's scope. Yet, when they halted their march to stare back, their intent seemed so very real and present, reaching across vast distances to grip these newcomers by the heart. The message was very clear:

We. See. You.

And then, without warning or incident, these creatures would continue on their way. The erratic rhythms of the Labyrinth returned to their usual pace. Life went on. And so, too, did our trio of adventurers.

Beyond those windswept plains lay yet another well-known point of interest. As the adventurers continued on their journey, they would find derelict structures. Ancient homes made of rough white clay dotted the landscape. Their windows and doors had long since rotted away or been destroyed by weather and time, leaving behind only bleached stonework and the ragged ribs of what used to be fences and awnings. Wind whistled through these empty shells, like wailing spirits. This abandoned village housed no residents and appears to have been that way for a very, very long time. Even the Wega seemed to avoid this place.

As our adventurers passed through, perhaps they noticed a guitar, abandoned by an empty home, lying in a small pile of dry bones which appeared to be much older than the instrument itself. In this place which held nothing else of value, it was strange to see such a thing. How had it gotten here? Who would leave it behind? It still appeared functional, as if, perhaps, it had been strummed recently. Was it left behind by the other party of S-Ranks? Was this a sign they were catching up? Perhaps...

Only the road ahead could say for certain. But which path would they take?

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Sharon Ironblood​

What a shit show. Get a little power, then these dumbasses thought you were superman. Two of them can't even fight effectively, and one... where in the hell is she?

"Great. Just great! Alright! listen up, stay with me, I'll handle the fighting, just keep me alive or use your own talents and skills to paint the way forward. Name's Sharon, Sharon Ironblood, I guess until today you could say I was an adventurer, so I know the lay of the land a bit, well, what bit you can in something that is as random as this yah know." She said of way in introductions. If they had one benefit it was in their non-combat skills, be they the healing abilities the Sister in the... interesting clothing had, or how the old man just seemed to randomly pick up facts about their mission... though he mostly seemed like a motivational speaker.

With this uneasy alliance, Sharon would use her swords, something she was barely above average with to dispatch most foes, selectively using the rifle to pick them off one by one, cursing as she did so, not because of the loss of "life" or some foolish notions, but for the scarcity of her ammunition. She only had 18 rounds left by the time they sat off on the road, with her luck gaining four more from drops within the labyrinth. Twenty-two rounds, then there was her pack of other things, what good they did in battle.

Following the cursed road and seeing the enemy look directly in her eyes, Sharon pondered shooting one of them, deciding the bullets were better spent elsewhere, she in place looked upon it with disdain. One day she would have enough bullets to kill them all.

Still, that day was not today, with divinations, with her own tracking skills, with scattered bones and a giant literal road leading from the defeated boss room, it proved rather simple, if not time consuming. It seemed the safe bet, at least for the Maid was simply to ignore some of the oddities on the road, including the Guitar as she pointed out a few landmarks, they would in short order find the other team, find the boss room, or find both.

Hopefully. As to the missing fourth, not her problem.

Interactions: AnonyMouse Karcen Megilagor Thalia_Neko

 

[ERode]

A breath escaped Kirsten’s lips as she saw the Dread Emission fall.

It wasn’t a sigh of relief. The Labyrinth did not allow for such luxuries.

It wasn’t a wince of pain either, however. Her body was burnt, but it had only clipped her in the end. Charred flesh wasn’t anything she was unaccustomed to; the exhaustion that clung to her frame after just a few clashes was more concerning. She uncorked a stamina potion herself, downing it in one gulp.

“Samara.”

Another stamina potion was tossed towards the now-shieldless maiden, who had taken up Lumi’s mantle of inspiring speeches. She disregarded her own injuries, waving away Lumi’s first aid kit. Her level up had granted her some measure of fire resistance, after all, and she had some tolerance for pain to begin with. The remaining loot was collected instead, before Kirsten strode towards Seraphina. Her complexion was still poor, but she hadn’t been in the thick of it either. Salutem Benedicto gradually erased whatever wounds the party had incurred; it was only a matter of willpower that would prevent them from going onwards.

“Seraphina, how are you feeling? I predict that if we continue to push at double-pace, it would be one day, maybe a day and a half, before we reach Floor 3’s Boss. By your measure, are there enough potions to last you?”

 

[TreasureSniper]

Seymour stood still for the next few seconds as he heard the death screech of the unearthly monster reverberate from behind him. The death of the monster was met with relief and cheers of victory from his fellow teammates. They had won this fight. Finally allowing himself to relax a bit, Seymour fell to his knees, completely out of breath, having expended whatever stamina he had and then some. His eyes would find their way to his hand, still clenching tightly onto the hilt of the precious echo blade that was now in pieces. "Ha...hahahahah!" Letting out a short chuckle, Seymour fully collapsed on the ground on his back. For the first time in years, he experienced some semblance, with other people no less.

His thoughts would ponder on what he had overheard from Samara's mind during the fevered pitch of battle. While there were indeed many things being said by every party member, he couldn't but find this one interesting. "Friends huh.." He thought it was a bit too soon to call any of them his "friend". But one thing was for sure, from now on, every one of them were his battle buddies.

A few seconds passed, and the stamina potion's effect persisted, allowing the young man to regain just enough stamina to get back up on his two feet. From his DS interface, he could see two notifications. He had leveled up and unlocked and new skill, something he had already expected. After defeating such a strong enemy, it would be an insult to not level up. The second notification was something much more noteworthy in his eyes.

"Trophy dropped: Dread Eye."

Without missing a beat, Seymour pocketed whatever remained of the echo blade into his inventory and rushed to the monster's corpse, eager to claim his prize. "Hey! Wait up! Aren't we supposed to share the loot?" If he didn't move fast enough, the narrator might stuff all the loot into her hat. Walking toward the creature with pride, Seymour triumphantly ripped the eye from the monster's arm, taking it as his trophy. Despite being supposedly dead, the creature's eye continued to stare into him, just as he continued to stare into it. "Guess you're not that special after all." It wasn't too long ago that the same words, what uttered by his captors.

Seeing that, there was nothing else of interest to him, he made his way back to his teammates to quickly evaluate their current condition. The echo blade was broken, Samara's shield was heavily damaged, Jian had expended his Ace in the hold move. And despite that, it seems like everyone's injuries were within acceptable parameters. Overhearing, Kirsten conversation, he decided to chime in his thoughts on the matter. "Thanks for the light, Kirsten." He opened with an expression of genuine gratitude, before addressing the elephant in the room. "She's a tough gal, but I'd say even she has her limits. I agree with Samara's suggestion." It seemed sensible enough, to rest up as much as they could at a location that minimizes their travel time. "That said, what would be the plan of attack for the Shaman? The intel suggests we burn down the bog to flush it out. But even if we do flush it out, what would be the most efficient way to kill it?" All the intel in the world was not that useful for someone who had little to no experience in the labyrinth itself. The way he spoke about this intel was accompanied by an air of confidence indicating that he believed this information to be from a reliable source. While he wasn't inclined to fully reveal his secrets, if push came to shove he was at least willing to tell them half of it.

Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse ERode Tau Skyswimsky

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Jiànlong had slashed the monster in twain with his most powerful attack, then he had been kicked and yanked towards Samara. Now, he was within her arms, held tight. She kissed his forehead and gave him words of encouragement. But it was a bit... odd, like a mother consoling her child. But he wasn't that young! So it made him feel slightly awkward being babied like this. Maybe she had been worried because of his initial hesitancy. Well any normal person would hesitate running into the fray against a monster like that!.. But anyway..

"Uhh.. hahah... W-well, yeah! Of course! I'm Jiànlong Xiaoxiao! The Resolute, Walking Swordsman! Easy enough! Just another day in the life of the Walking Swordsman! Xiah ha ha ha!"

He hoped his boastful tone would help alleviate Samara's worry.

Glancing into his DS as she gave her rousing speech, he noticed he had leveled up. All of his skills had as well. But it wasn't that he was looking at. There was something odd about his DS. It was like it was glowing. Or radiating. A special whitish-gold light was ignited over all the interface. The letters, the border, everything. And in beside his currency -or where it usually displayed one's Beacons- was something new. It read: Labyrinth Point: 1. That's when he noticed his Talent, Labyrinth Pioneer glittering most of all.

Suddenly he got a notification and 'opened' it. A new pop-up appeared. Reading:

Congratulations, Walking Swordsman!
A new achievement has occurred!
First to confront, and damage the Dread.
Enjoy your reward.
Accept/Deny

He clicked 'Accept', and another pop-up appeared.

It said:

1 Labyrinth Point

New Mystic Skill
Spirit Sword
A spectral energy encases the blade, preventing self-damage to the weapon when used, and granting a buff that deals small magic damage. Buff applied lasts for 9 seconds, and takes 18 Vit to use.

Once he had accepted, all the strange energy disappeared, and his DS returned to normal. He was excited about the new skill, but he was more intrigued by this strange "Labyrinth Point" he had acquired. Like, no one else had that right? What was that about?

Actually, when he was looking at it, he had gained a skill upon level up, too!

2-Steps Strut
Passive. For every step you take while walking, you have made 2 steps.

Huh. Jiànlong wasn't the brightest, but that sounded pretty good, right? If he understood what it meant. Man, most of his skills were passives. If he hadn't been -uh- granted a new skill by the DS, he wouldn't have gained a new activatable skill.

Still, all this seemed insane! Almost like cheating. Jiànlong was feeling like he was on cloud nine with his progress! He got all this from killing the Dread -or well, halving it. This was what it meant to be awesome! Sweet! He'd be more proactive going forward!

Meanwhile, there was someone who was feeling the opposite of Jiànlong.

The dark girl was feeling terrible. She collapsed to her knees at a pile of ashes, a busted-up shield laying in the dust beside it. A grim cloud hanging over her head.

"Blobbykins..! Blobbykins!!!" Daeva wailed, running her hands through the ashes, the ashes slipping through her fingers. "OHhhh, Blobbykins~~!!" She cried.

She didn't even have enough mana to try to resurrect him. Though, in her head, she had a sinking suspicion she couldn't anyway. One and done, her skill was. Plus, there were no remains this time, just ash. He had gone out trying to protect the team. Daeva sniffled and cried, "Why, Blobbykins, why?!" She bawled.

She glanced over at the remains of the Dread Emission. A pile of sickly sludge. A toxic waste polluting the land. She wondered if she could raise... She lowered her head. She had no mana to even try. She doubted it would work anyway.

For the time being, she couldn't be thrilled that her Raise Unique Undead skill now read: can control two Uniques at a time. Daeva was too busy being consumed by anguish and depression to care.

 

[Tau]

As she backed away, Sera felt something hard strike her back, and she shrieked in panic, whipping around, only to notice it was one of the wooden stakes, sitting there harmlessly. By the time she turned around, she'd missed the final blow. Tragic, but relieving all the same. She took a moment to calm her breathing. Could she finally relax? Probably not, but screw it, she leaned back on the gruesome stake and watched as the rewards flowed out.

She sure didn't feel like a level 6...

"I'm fine, I just drank a potion," Sera answered Kirsten, forcing a smile her way. "Nice work. Uhm... possibly. It's hard to know for sure, but it'll be close. I have 7 potions left," she answered, confirming by opening the menu.

"Seymour, I guess you can keep my sword a little longer. I can't really use it right now..." There was an apologetic sorrow in her voice. "I'm well enough to continue if you all can."

 

[AnonyMouse]

Samara Morghan​

Location: Floor 2: Path of Sacrifice​

Samara began to remove the damaged parts of her armor, particularly her right pauldron and sleeve, which had been slashed and partially caved-in by the Dread's blade-like antlers. The dented metal restricted her movement, though it could probably be pounded out with some brute force and still offer decent protection. That was the worst of it, but nearly every inch of her armor had some form of dent, ding, or filth on it, such as Blobjun guts or Dread slime... and a bit of her own blood.

Heh, been a while old friend, she thought, slightly amused by that, for some reason. Still red, I see.

However, as she did so, Seymour's words reached her ears and the shieldmaiden stopped in the midst of unbuckling her vambraces. Although she said nothing, the sudden pause and the way her gaze fell upon the man said more than words ever could. After the way he handled the negotiations with Ripoff, she had been quite cross with him, but the journey from there to here had given her some time to cool off. And, after his performance against the Dread, she was nearly ready to forget his secrecy and dodgy nature (pun unintended).

But now, hearing him speak of planning their next encounter, while holding so many cards close to his chest, rekindled her wrath anew... though it was more of a slow burn this time.

"Ahhh, yes... the Shaman. I'm eager to hear about these 'sources' and 'intel,'" Samara cooed. She seemed rather friendly, but there was something darker lurking beneath the surface. "We should discuss that and more. But not on an empty stomach!" she said, suddenly becoming very chipper. "I promised rockshell. There will be rockshell! Let's get moving."

* * * * *​

Location: Floor 2: Marshland​

After regrouping --and peeling Daeva away from Blobjun's ashes-- the adventurers continued along the Path of Sacrifice. Along the way, Samara urged them it won't be far. Those who had not been through here before could be fooled into thinking this dreary trail went on forever. But, alas, it did not. The dead Wega, whose dessicated corpses hung stiffly from the stakes along the roadside, could demoralize even the toughest adventurers. Even an hour or so in this place could cause despair to set in.

Fortunately, the landscape soon began to change. The stakes became less dense until the 'Path' could barely be called a path any longer and opened up to a marshland. By this time, the way forward was plain to see: a swampy marsh stretched out before them. The hard-packed ground of the Path of Sacrifice became softer, muddier, and if they were to continue any further, became murky brown water. Where there were once a multitude of stakes, there were now white, chalky trees jutting from the muck. The same stakes could still be seen dotted around the swamp, but were far fewer. The group finally came to a halt here, to make camp. If they were to travel any further, they would be properly into the swamp itself, where the ground became too wet to start a cooking fire.

The shieldmaiden had already used Quick Swap to ditch most of her armor, in favor of plain clothing, keeping only her boots and grieves and a single shield, in case they got ambushed... though that was pretty rare here. She didn't particularly like this area, mostly because swamps and heavy armor do not play nicely together. However, this place is a popular staging ground before the final push to the floor boss arena. It is not uncommon for raiding parties to pause here, take stock of their supplies, and plan their next move.

It won't be long now, Samara thought as she looked to the battle ahead. Their last floor boss hadn't gone so well. As for the Dread... charging at a level fifteen enemy was a fool's errand. They did good, but she couldn't shake the thought that the Labyrinth had shown mercy on them.

Mercy? Hmmm...

Anyway, Samara found a cluster of logs and stumps where they could all take a seat if they wanted, rest their legs a moment, and consider their next move. She walked a short distance away to rinse her shield off in some (relatively) clean water, though that wasn't saying much. When she returned, she retrieved the rockshell meat from her inventory and began slicing it with her hunting knife, using the round shield as a cutting board, and sprinkling a little salt as she did so. Labyrinth cuisine wasn't exactly glamorous, and certainly wouldn't pass a health inspection, but it was good enough to keep hungry adventurers on their feet.

"If someone would be so kind as to get a fire going, I'll have us something to eat in no time," she said, with a brief glance at Kirsten. That was probably a waste of the lancer's abilities, which is why Samara didn't ask the woman directly, but she couldn't be bothered to pull out her flint right now. Not while she had other things on her mind.

"Seymour... you can't fool me," Samara said, meeting his eyes for a moment, knife in hand. She paused in her meal prep and gestured for him to come closer. "Saw you had a bit of a limp on the way. I won't coddle you the way I did Jianlong, but you are going to get this healing spell, whether you like it or not. Come hither and be my first victim."
Interaction(s): Thalia_Neko | TreasureSniper | ERode | Tau | Skyswimsky

Franceska Feiss ​

Location: Floor 2: Somewhere...​

After months of these strange blackouts, Fran had learned to play it cool. She was getting used to awakening in strange places, surrounded by strange beasts and landscapes. In the early days, she would freak out, maybe scream a little, or start to hyperventilate. These days, she could usually manage to keep her composure. Compared to the things she had seen, a nun, some old dude, and a maid was no big deal. Just business as usual.

Where the fuck am I this time? And who the hell are these people? she thought, her eyes darting from one suspicious-looking traveling companion to another. You never let me near people. What the fuck is this? Fran began to slow down, falling behind the others.

Keep walking! a sinister voice snarled within her mind. It was her voice… but not her voice. Those two sharp words prodded at her subconscious, demanding obedience. Fran resumed her previous pace, but still lingered behind the others. Act natural, Faust said, now in calming tone. We've been with them a few hours, now. They trussssst ussss...

No, they trust you, Fran said. And it's gonna come back to bite them in the ass.

Nonsense. I'm here to helppppppp, Faust said mournfully. The Labyrinth calls. You'll be glad you answerrrrrrred.

Fran merely scoffed and shoved her hands deep into her pockets as she trudged onward with these strangers. The way the voice trailed off, she hoped that meant Faust was gone... for now. It was always like this. That 'other presence' would sometimes disappear for hours, or days. But it always came back, eventually.

As she walked, her gaze lingered on the Maid's gun and the unspoken threat it told. The others appeared to be unarmed... which was actually highly suspicious in a place like this. They must be dangerous. They have to be. Her pulse quickened. Her palms began clam up. She could feel the hairs on her neck standing on end. Fran shook her head, trying to rid herself of those intrusive thoughts, but to no avail. She hadn't seen living people in so damned long. Now, here were three of them and she was... afraid?

Nah… nah, fuck this. I’m out, she thought before veering off to the side, as if to leave. But, she only got a few paces before she found herself back with the group, even closer to them now, right in the center of the pack. Another blackout. More lost time. The landscape looked different now. Her 'brief' departure earned a side-eye from the maid, whose name she didn’t know.

Sharon, Faust sneered.

“As if I fucking care,” Fran snapped and then grimaced when she realized she had said that aloud. So much for playing it cool.

Fear not, I handled the introductions. I always had a way with wordssssss, Faust chided. The man goes by Valter. The healer, Katja. And we are the lost doctor, Fran, ever-willing to help those in neeeeeeed....

That is such bullshit...

They are all S-Ranks, like usssssss. The words slithered through Fran’s mind, like the hiss of a serpent. We have finally found our purpose, what the Labyrinth sent us here to do. It's calling you home. All of you. Deeper. Deeper! DEEEEEPEEEEEER!!!

I don’t work for the Labyrinth. So, fuck you and your ‘purpose,’ Fran replied mentally. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. During the last few months, the entity in her mind had carried her deep into the Labyrinth, but she hadn’t been lucid for most of that. She had seen glimpses of floor 3 and 4. But this… ah, yes it was coming back to her. This was the second floor.

“I thought you wanted to go deeper?” Fran asked, keeping her voice at a low whisper. It was risky, but felt better than carrying on a conversation in her head, like a crazy person. “You came all the way back to meet these weirdos?” She cringed as she took in the oddly-dressed trio she was traveling with.

She waited, but Faust said nothing in reply. Good. She could leave properly now.

“Hey. Hey, old dude,” Fran said, catching up to the man guiding them. She strode up beside him and briefly met his gaze, but promptly looked away and thrust her hands back into her labcoat. She had something to say and thought she had the nerve to say it, but the ol' social awkwardness kicked in harder than ever.

"Look, I don’t know what kind of kinky-cosplay-fetishfest this is, but I... uhhhmm… I-I-I think you wanted a 'nurse' not a doctor. That'd fit the theme better, aye?” she said, with a nervous chuckle. After that, the floodgates opened and words began to spill out like verbal diarrhea: “What I'm trying to say is, umm, I... I think I'm just gonna bounce, if that's cool with you?" She jabbed a thumb in the direction they had come from. "This ain't really my kind of party and you guys are headed toward the boss area and th-th-this just aint workin' out, alright. So, uhhh, whatever I said earlier 'bout wantin' to help and shit, that was my bad. I been goin' through some things, not really thinking straight, tend to just run off at the mouth... sort of like I'm doing now... so... yeah.... umm... I'll be shutting up now, 'kay, thanks, bye.”

She promptly turned to leave...

'Faust'​

Location: Floor Doesn't Matter: Within The Labyrinth's Warm, Loving Embrace​

"Just. Kidding. Hahahaha!" she said, immediately turning back around to face him, with a cheerful smile. The redhead gave the man a friendly slap on the shoulder as her laughter subsided, to let him know it was all in good fun. "How much further? I can't wait to meet the others."
Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun | Megilagor | Karcen

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Daeva

Daeva ambled along, feeling quite dejected; the necromancer girl looked even gloomier than usual. No usual crazy eyes or manic smile. For once, she was not accompanied by some rotting corpse, or undead. She looked lost, as she forced her footsteps. Her footfalls squelching into the light-brown mud. She came up to the waters edge, where trees that looked like bones reached up, and blackened, rotting, rusted stakes stuck up out of the water, decayed bodies hanging like decorations off of them. Or simply broken apart, with bones floating at the surface, or sunk below, long ago. It was like the Path was being swallowed up by the marsh. It's smell, too, was not pleasant. Like the rotted bodies permeated those hot waters. Hot, stinkin', brown murky waters.

For Daeva, she was feeling strange. Or you could say, she wasn't feeling much of anything at all. Completely out of it. But just before her there was a sign. A strange sign, made of wood, stuck haphazardly in the muck, leaning to one side, as if to fall, but stuck fast, as if held firm. It was caked with mud. Dried mud.

Daeva took the time to brush it off. The dry mud cracked and crumbled off, revealing the contents of the sign underneath.

"Hey, look at this," she said to the others, no energy in her voice. But loud enough the group at the gathered campsite would hear.

Path of Sacrifice
To Enter the Land of the Wega
You Must Sacrifice Something

..and a line, that seemed to change with the group's arrival appeared..

Three of You Have Sacrificed
To You Who Have Not, What Will You Sacrifice?

Daeva's eyes swept over it. There was something odd about this. For everything they knew about this floor, the Path of Sacrifice, the marsh, and Floor 3, nothing like this had ever been reported. Surely someone would've noticed a sign like this before?

It claimed they 3 of them had sacrificed something. Her mind thought back to Blobjun, fighting a fierce fight not too long ago, burning up in an outrageous attack to save the others. She felt a pang in her chest once again. If she thought of that as her sacrificing something, then perhaps this sign meant she was one? But who were the other two?

Also.. why did they need to sacrifice anything at all? It mentioned the land of the Wega -which was floor 3 and beyond, they knew this. But never before did floor 3 require a sacrifice to enter... She thought back to a certain snarky skeleton. She wondered if he knew about this. If only they had talked to him.. If only they still could.. She missed Blobjun. Daeva sighed, wishing to use her necro powers again. Eh, whatever, let the others discuss this. Leave this stuff up to them.

 

[TreasureSniper]

"As you wish, Sera. Next time, I am getting a curse and maybe you'll get to carry my sword." Seymour joked, trying to lighten the mood of the young girl who was slowly wasting away. Time was of the essence her, but rushing into the next boss encounter without a plan of attack will do them no good. His thoughts went over to what Samara said earlier in her mind, a theory that they are only able to do things because the labyrinth wills it so. If that were true...why did the labyrinth allow them to defeat this monster that held its namesake? More questions to be answered later.

While talking to Kirsten, he could hear Samara's voice chiming in from another direction. Turning to face her, he could sense the shieldmaiden's frustration from earlier coming to the surface once more. It seems all his secrecy was slowly coming back to bite him. Fortunately for him, she would then swiftly switch gears, suggesting they prepare a meal first before furthering their discussion. He was thankful for this course of events, fighting the dread was tiring enough without any further complications, though he had a hunch that would not be the last time he had to deal with the topic. "Hmhm, very well, we shall discuss this further after a hearty meal."

---

* * * * *
Location: Floor 2: Marshland

While Daeva was reluctant to part ways with her "blobikins", now a pile of ash, she eventually came to her senses, allowing the group to press forward and make camp right at the entrance of the bog. Seymour has been to swamps before in the old world, but none of them looked this place. The young man had been walking with a wound on his leg, something he had completely forgotten about. Only when compelled to lower his gaze and mind his every step did Seymour become aware of the bloody stain on the end of his trouser. "Damn...I am gonna need new pants." At least it was mostly dry, indicating that the wound had partially clotted.

Leaning on a collapsed tree trunk, Seymour silently watched Samara work her magic on the rockshell collected from their earlier encounter. He couldn't but admire the shieldmaiden's skill with knife, but it should be no surprise to him considering she was after all a mother in the old world. The young man wisely chose to let someone else handle the fire as things did not bode well for him the last time he tried to start a fire, but fortunately, no one had a chance to see his blunder, at least that's what he thought.

Hearing Samara call out to him with some less-than-friendly words, he turned his eyes toward her to see what exactly she was unhappy about this time. As per usual, she was displaying her caring and nurturing side to another party member, albeit this time with less aggression. He still remembered vividly the squeals of embarrassment coming from Jian. Hilarious. "Nothing gets passed you huh? ..Don't worry about it, its a mere flesh wound...." He paused for a moment, thinking his next words carefully. Knowing just how important things like this were to her, Seymour relented, giving in to her demands. "You can take a look at it once the meat is cooking. I rather not delay the meal." If there was anything he hated in this world was to slow things down on his accord.

Theres been something bugging his mind as of late, be he didn't if now was the appropriate time to address the matter. Sighing, Seymour decided to walk towards shieldmaiden to take a closer look at the cooking process, trying his best to hide the limp that he had become much more conscious about. "See ! It's not that bad." Seymour reassured her that his injuries were not as serious as she thought, but he was still willing to let her have a crack it.

"You know...you've been snappy towards me as of late..." Not the best opener, but he had a feeling she would be willing to continue this line of thought regardless of his approach. "Is it because I am not "nice" enough to certain people?" Despite his cavalier tone, he was very much so taking this matter seriously. While he overheard Daeva saying something about a sign, he much rather settle this matter first before it becomes something much more complicated.

 

[Karcen]

Katja Galinka
Mentions: AnonyMouse
Location: 2nd layer​

Katja had mostly been quiet during the journey down to the second floor as part of the reinforcement forces. She had been a little surprised that the groups had been split by those in charge, but maybe they had felt they couldn't wait. Katja had just prayed that everyone would be fine when they got there. Katja really didn't have to much to say or do during the journey down as the first few layers were well known and while dangerous people came down all the time so there was little in the way of extreme surprises. Katja did hope that the other team had as simple of a time as her group did, but she doubted it.

With the others skills they didn't have to worry about getting lost so just following along and helping out when she could was about the extent of what Katja had to do. When they were in the second floor the doctor, Franceska spoke up and Katja was confused. They had been traveling for days and no one had really complained, yet now she chose to say she would turn back. That made no sense as well, while the trip down might be safe the way back could easily be filled with monsters and only the sniper of the group had really killed anything on the way down. The doctor didn't really seem a fighter. Franceska did seem a little different from how she had been during the trip when she spoke of leaving and not wanting to be here. It was kind of odd to act differently then want to leave after coming down here.

It was odd and Katja wondered what sparked this change, but then Franceska went back to normal. Katja wondered if it was a curse or perhaps some unseen enemy. She didn't really think anything was to wrong, well something messing withy our mind was very bad, but she thought it at worst was some lingering soul wishing to leave. Katja wanted to be sure that everything was okay, as this could just be nerves or well a weird prank.

" um mrs Franseka you seem nervous " Katja said a little white lie but if it really was something other than nerves Katja had to make sure it wasn't aware she was confused by the mood whiplash. " Perhaps joining me in a prayer will help calm you down, even if you don't believe not having to think for a bit might help " Katja offered in a friendly tone never trying to force things on others.

 

[Megilagor]

Valther Vincent Vernedotte
Location: 2nd layer
Mentions: RedArmyShogun , Karcen , AnonyMouse ​

The labyrinth, a place that is unknown for its purpose could be anything, is it trying to train us for what is to come, is it here to entertain some higher being with our suffering or is it just some cosmic level joke. Honestly, Valther couldn't care less about what this labyrinth is in its existence, but he was sent into it with a few eclectic young whippersnappers, a not so nun nun, what he can only surmise was a battle maid, and a lass who might as well be a tad crazy, but consider the current times who isn't a tad crazy, after all just a few years ago, Valther was still a retired merc and a headmaster of an orphanage.

"I'll trust your aim, Sharon, even though I doubt the maid outfit fits but even my old eyes can see you are proficient with your weapon of choice. And please call me Vincent, Valther was my pops name."
Valther introduced himself a bit to his little group, as they wandered the labyrinth floors with him leading the way for his skills made it easier for him to find a path of least resistance for this little group though knowing that skills come from the labyrinth it could very well play a trick on him and feed him false information every once in a while which he needed to discern by himself whatever to follow it or not.

So far their journey had little reason to fight, even though they did meet an enemy from afar. Still, it was only staring at the group, so Valther just offered them a one-handed prayer and a small wink before going forward on their journey to catch up with the first group that came there before them.

Not soon after he heard the voice of a young lady call out to him a bit rudely, it turns out it was Fran, and he listened to her speech before giving his answer.
"Little Fran you seem to be battling your own inner demons. So I won't mind your choices, but so far my talents tell me it will be hard for you to separate from us. But if your inner demons bother you, you can talk to Katja or me, either one of us should be able to help clear your noggin even if only for a moment, for faith and wisdom that comes from old age in a profession where men die young, can help in those situations. As for when we can meet the other group, is a question I know no answer to. Sure I am taking us the safest route I and my skills know forward but where the other team is, is unknown to me, but I doubt they are further than the third layer of this labyrinth" Said Valther with a bit of a sigh as he massaged his temple with his fingers, their road so far was easy, but what if his skills start to malfunction, sure it never happened to him but he heard a few young chucklefucks say that it can happen to some people, so all Valther could do was pray he wasn't one of the few.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Samara Morghan​

Location: Floor 2: Marshland​

'Tis a mere flesh wound, Samara thought with a slight chuckle at Seymour's remark. I don't think he's old enough get that reference. Then again, some things are timeless. Her smile slowly faded. She didn't want to be reminded of the Old World now, of all times. She was gradually learning to carry those memories at arm's length, not too close to her heart. Even silly little pop culture references and memes felt like an old wound being ripped open.

"Y-yes, we'll wait 'til after dinner," she said, putting on a forced smile. But it didn't take long for it to become a genuine one. It simply wasn't in her nature to stay down for long. "If it makes you feel any better, I was kidding. You aren't my first victim," she said, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the wound on her shoulder had completely healed. She had tested out the spell while they were traveling here. The shieldmaiden flexed her absurdly large bicep, to ensure him all was well. Not a drop of blood remained. Although, to be fair, her wound hadn't been very deep, either, thanks to her armor... which still needed attention.

While she resumed preparing the meat, Kirsten set about starting a fire nearby. The ground may be damp, but the trees were quite dry and provide excellent kindling. it did not take long for Seymour to ask yet another, more presing question. It seemed her earlier anger had gotten through to him and her attempts at being friendly now weren't enough to completely smooth over the fact that something was wrong. Actually, maybe she was being too friendly.

Samara sighed. here we go, she thought as she let the silence hang for a moment, while she retrieved a small skillet from her inventory and set it over the campfire to heat.

"Snappy, hmm?" she said, finally properly meeting his gaze. That wasn't quite how she interpreted it, but so be it. "Look, you've been plenty nice, Seymour. Exceptionally so, actually. I can't speak for others, but I think we all see you as a valued member of this team. You're coming dangerously close to getting those 'friends' you said you weren't looking for," she said with a nod. "But... how do I say this...?" She sighed and resumed slicing meat.

"A friendship is built on trust," she continued, finding it easier to speak her mind when she wasn't looking straight at him. "Even if we're just brothers and sisters in arms, that still requires trust. And... I mean, you don't have to tell us everything, but it feels like you're holding a lot back. All this talk of 'sources' and 'intel,' from a man who claims he has never set foot in the Labyrinth? A-and you won't even tell us what your Talents are? And the way you threw yourself at that Dread, so recklessly, without a care in the world, as if there isn't someone right beside you concerned about your well-being!" The knife came down hard, slicing right through the rockshell meat and into the surface of the shield she was using as a cuttingboard.

She finally looked to him and he didn't have to be a mind-reader to see she was hurt by his actions. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess of doubts and second-guesses. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe she was seeing something that wasn't truly there. Maybe I'm being unfair or foolish, she thought. But that's fine. I would rather say foolish things than die a foolish death.

And now, of all times, Daeva called out, beckoning them to come and see... something. What now? What anomaly or oddity or weirdness awaited them here?


Interactions: TreasureSniper
Mentions: Thalia_Neko | ERode | Tau | Skyswimsky

'Faust'​

Location: Floor 2: Somewhere...​

"Yes, I think I would like that," Faust said to Katja, with a warm smile. What's the worst that could happen? She's not a real nun anyway... certainly not dressed like that. But, first, Faust turned her attention to the old man.

'Inner demons,' he said. Althought Faust's mask of friendliness did not slip -in fact, she smiled a little harder and shared a laugh at his 'joke'-- but deep inside, she felt a flash of anger at the unintended insult. Demon!? No, she was no demon! She was a guardian angel, a helpful emissary of the Labyrinth, here to guide them deeper. Fran was the demon. Her quirks and antics and crass behavior were getting in the way, soiling their collective reputation. That parasite! That imbecile!

Unfortunately, I need that parasite, Faust thought. This body was not her own. She couldn't manifest indefinitely. At some point, she would slip back into the quagmire of this girl's mind and, when she does, That idiot will be in charge again. For this to work, they had to come to a consensus. For months, they had been at odds with one another, fighting for control. But now there were witnesses afoot. Such behavior would tag them as problematic... and they couldn't afford to be 'problematic.'

If you can't be sane, be useful.

"The Labyrinth makes me so nervous, I sometimes forget myself, and become a rambling idiot," Faust said to the old man. Blasphemous words, but she would have to bear it, for now. "Before meeting you all, I've been stuck down here a long time. It's hard to trust anything... or anyone," she said, looking from him to the nun, as well as a furtive glance at the sniper before quickly looking away. Sharon was sharp, perceptive. If 'bullshit detector' were a stat, hers would be off the charts. What others saw as strange behavior, she might see as a threat to be eliminated.

For that reason, Fran was afraid of her... but Faust didn't give a fuck. Blood in a sack of meat. You are only what We allow you to be and We are many. There are not enough bullets in the world, fool... But, it helped to keep up appearances. So, she played the shrinking ingenue, if only for a millisecond.

"But that time has given me knowledge," Faust said to the old man. She nodded. "The group we are pursuing, if they wish to go deeper, will have to fight the floor boss. Unless they somehow take it down incredibly fast, we'll catch them there. Perhaps even sooner. I'm sure of it." At last, she turned to the nun and outstretched her hands. "Let us pray. I admit, I'm not very religious, but perhaps you're right. It may calm my mind."

It's not as if it could do much else. There was only one god down here, and It would not hear this girl's infantile pleas... right?
Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun | Megilagor | Karcen