Morningstar

"Left it is then," Morningstar agreed. Left happened to be the direction the footsteps were coming from. They turned the corridor, running face first into a trio of Skyrat Raiders. Each one held an old, rusty dagger, and grinned menacingly at the sight of the rushing players. "Lookie here laddies," the middle pirate said to the others, "we've got ourselves a couple of-" He was interrupted by a swift punch to the jaw and crumbled to the ground. The pirates stared down at their comrade, sprawled out and holding his face. Each one was stunned by shock, looking back and forth betwee

He twisted around, slashing in a wide arc and chopping the flying demons in two. The spearless fellow remained, panic rising up slowly as he began to realize how imminent his death was. Morningstar spared him the chance to cry out, slipping his blade through the winged monstrosity's abdomen. It shattered, and blue pixels spread out through the air before disappearing entirely. Another day, another dead mob. He waltzed across the bridge, double-taking as he glanced down at what lay below. Magma spat up, but came no where near the metal plates of the bridge. The body of a dragon poked

In the air, hung ashy smoke. A bridge lay in his path to the castle's gate, guarded by two demonic figures. They were clad in chainmail, and wielded black halberds. "Halt!" One demon commanded, pointing his spear straight at Morningstar. "State your business. Why have you come to Castle Oryx." Star wasn't sure what to say. "Fuck if I know," he shrugged. He wasn't sure if it was the fowl language or the lack of sense, but neither of the demons seemed to appreciate his response. One charged, while the other blew into a curved horn. Star deflected a few weak strikes before chopping the

II Hellscape The image of Typhoonflame and Tolbana faded away, replaced by a fiery hellscape. He swore he had sent himself home. What should have been a blue sky was a layer of red, smokey clouds. Smog polluted his senses, slowly suffocating him. Around him were crags of black stone and the cries of monsters. Rivers of magma flowed and fell over the edges of the cliffs, and he could feel the heat emanating from them. A castle, shrouded by shadows, vile and demonic, stood before him. He was expected. But by whom? The large castle gate opened as he neared. Not om

Star jogged back over to Pinball, their exit secured. "You're good. Sewallus has agreed not to attack you. Can't say the same for anyone else though," he glanced about at the onlookers and passersby. "We should be quick." --- In the forest, away from prying eyes, they hunted the Monkey King. Their escort stood far behind them, keeping a close eye on the criminal. Morningstar felt none of the tenseness that Sewallus was experiencing, going so far as to confront Pinball directly. "So, what'd you do?" He asked, assuming that the context was obvious. He didn't mean to pry—exce

"Come with me," Renault gestured for Star to follow him, and explained that he had a gift to share. He took him to an artisan's shop, and introduced him to the NPC at the front counter. She smiled at them both. Much like the rest of the town, she was welcoming and excited for visitors. "How may I help you today?" She asked. Renault placed the bag of scales on the counter. "What can ya do with these? A necklace, maybe?" She took a peek inside. "Ah! Lurker scales! A necklace will do just fine." She got to work, taking the scales into the back and returning some time later wit

Before they could celebrate, the Fossil Fish that Morningstar had stunned reappeared. It jumped on Renault's back, strangling him, threatening to pull him under the swampy water. "He-help," he managed. Morningstar sprung forwards, slicing off the creatures hands. It screeched and then fell backwards, disappearing forever. "Whew," Renault dropped to his seat. "Close one." "Glad I could help," Morningstar rolled his eyes. They rowed back to Dayurga, mostly unscathed and with a fair sized haul. Five of the six Fossil Fish remained on hand, and an enormous Lurker was pulled up into

It circled their boat from the depths, biding its time until another opportunity to pounce approached. The remaining Fossil Fish drew near as well, squealing at them. It spat up saliva-thickened water, disgusting as it climbed onto the rowboat. Morningstar blasted it with a stun, and it flew backwards, back into the water. It sunk out of sight. For now, all that the pair had to worry about was the Lurker. Renault had quieted down, sensing that they had reached the climax of their fishing journey. The Lurker's next move would seal the deal. If Morningstar could catch it on its jump, they w

One at a time, the Fossil Fish regained authority over their limbs. Three of them dove under the water, swam beneath the boat, and jumped on top from the opposite side. They attacked in unison, and Morningstar hit back in one smooth swipe. Dying Sun finished them of cleanly, and Renault began dragging the limp bodies to his side of the tiny vessel. He was more interested in preserving his food than staying alive. "You don't have like, a weapon or something?" "Nope. Just this knife and my cane," Renault said. "Those do count as weapons," Morningstar said, swatting away a leaping

IDS 8/12/2024

The troll lumbered, trying its best to catch the six of them to no avail. It was slow, both mentally and physically. Between the party members, it stood no chance. Freyd slammed it with enough force to kill off the dinosaurs a second time. Wulfrin followed up with a well timed slash, and they all watched as its health bar crumbled. They were making him look lazy. Morningstar dashed in for the final hit, weaving by Wulfrin and Freyd on the way in. With a three-step approach, he leaped, smacking it on the head with the pommel of his sword. Ugzeke floundered, wobbling until he toppled t

The stranger was quiet, and so was their walk to Florenthia's gate. Star didn't push for conversation, although he was rather interested in it. Instead, he spent the time coming up with a way to get his new acquaintance out of the city. Sewallus was on guard duty, and unfortunately he was their next checkpoint. "Might be best if you wait here," Morningstar said, gesturing to the armed guard standing at their exit. "Orange cursor and all." Alone, he approached his old friend. "Sewallus." "Morningstar," the elf looked surprised. "Back again so soon? You're not hunting the Monkey King,

The horde approached, and as they neared, Morningstar blasted them with an arc of golden energy. The sword art faded, leaving four of the fish, the Lurker included, bobbing up and down in the water. The fifth Fossil Fish evaded, however. It lunged, clamping on to his shoulder with its gnarled jaw, clawing at him with slimy hands. He struggled, trying to push it off, and ended up flipping over the edge of the boat, into the opaque water. He smashed against the fish's head with the pommel of his sword until it loosened its bite and swam off into the depths. Bubbles floated up from his mouth

Morningstar threw his line out once more, this time a bit further into the distance. All the while, Renault was providing unsolicited advice. "Bring your shoulder back more," he said, "and put your back into the toss." His interest in fishing was so small that he wanted to throw the rod away and go home. He didn't, though, because he had a Lurker to catch. Morningstar leaned back while Renault told him the end of his alligator story. "BAM! Just like that, I was out. No lizards have come by these parts since." "Alligators aren't lizards," Morningstar muttered. "What was that

"Get the bugger! Quick, before he escapes!" Renault shouted, swinging his cane around like a madman. Morningstar would have been perfectly happy with the fish escaping, but obliged anyway. He shoved his blade into the gut of the Fossil Fish, heavily rocking the boat. Instead of disappearing, like most mobs did, it flopped to the floor, lifeless. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEEEEE," came Renault. "A mighty fine catch, sir, a mighty fine catch indeed." Morningstar returned a grimace. He wouldn't have called his catch "mighty" in any way. Renault had already gotten busy, chopping of

It was as Renault had predicted. One Fossil Fish hung from the end of Morningstar's rod, flailing about. It squirmed, and Morningstar held it out far. Fish were not meant to have arms and legs. It looked like a demented anglerfish. Something went very wrong while it was being created. "That'ns dinner," the fisherman grinned, imaging the feast they would hold. "You eat these fuckers?" Morningstar scowled in disgust. "You bet we do. A little bit of butter and garlic 'n you've got yerself a damn fine meal." Morningstar, for a brilliant second, forgot that it had thumbs. The Fo

Morningstar almost wished he had chosen Derrick. He seemed like the quiet type, focused more on spearing the fish than casual chitchat. For God's sake, Renault was not that. "So there I was, alone, in the belly of a hundred foot alligator, with nothing but a spear, a day's rations, and a stick of dynamite." He kept going on and on about his fishing tales, most of which were exaggerated or made up entirely. By the time he told Morningstar what he had done with the dynamite, he had all but tuned him out. Occasionally, he'd chime in with an "hm," or a "that's crazy," but he tried n

Morningstar noticed the orange cursor first. It was a peaceful town with a small team of guards. It was no wonder he was able to get in without being arrested. Remington didn't appear to be afraid of the player, but was definitely on edge. His previously chatty attitude was replaced with seriousness. Succinctly, he explained the details of the quest. He explained that all the player needed to do was wander off into the forest, and the Monkey King would do the rest. "You don't find him," Remington said. "He finds you." Star was only half listening. He was more interested in the crimin

I Just for the Halibut His eyes flipflopped between the two fisherman. Derrick, the Spear Fisher, was one of two things: a liability or a really, really good shot. He carried a spear over his shoulder and a harpoon gun at his waist. Clearly, he was no amateur. The tip of the spear was stained with blood. Derrick didn't need to show a resume; his experience was up for display. Slung over the shaft of the spear were a dozen dead Fossil Fish, the very things Morningstar was hunting. Renault was less of a combatant and more of a strategist. He was older, gruffer, and wiser with a

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Star stuck his sword into the ground and leaned up against a craggy magma rock. Hirru made a good point. Their list of field bosses was long and the hunter had his own stamina to worry about. He peered at his energy bar. He had more than enough for a few more rounds. It was Nian's that they needed to worry about. Her level was lower than the rest, and that meant her energy supply was smaller too. He estimated that she would have plenty for the next Phoenix that spawned, but beyond that he couldn't count that she'd have any left over. She had impressed him, though. Behind her rough exterior, sh

Remington did most of his work in a large white tent near the center of town. As Florenthia's zoologist, it was his job to catalog and study the local wildlife. Deer, firefoxes, rare fauna. He had data on every known species on the Fourth Floor. That was the reason he and Morningstar had met in the first place. His expansive research included that of the Monkey King, and the two of them, alongside a Florenthian guard, had worked together to hunt the creature. Star had come back on a few expeditions into the Fourth's forest since then, and challenged the King on multiple occasions. He rare

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