Morningstar

Thread Closing:

Dungeon Wave #1 (Floor 24) = 48 mats per player
Dungeon Wave #2 (1400*20) = 28,000 col per player
Dungeon Wave #3 (2000*50) = 100,000 col / 1 players

Dungeon Drop | ID220992 | ld5 | 100,000 col, 48 materials

Morningstar receives:

7,106 EXP (Word Count (5,510/10*6*1] + Quest [2,000] + Dungeon [1,800])
290,065 col (1 page [400] + Quest [5,000] Dungeon [228,000] + Loot [55,600] + 15% P5 Reward [1065])
106 Materials (Dungeon [96] + Loot [10])
Rare Weapons [3]: 220946b, 220954a, 220991a
Perfect Weapons [3]: 220948a, 220948b, 220948c
Rare Armor/Shields [1]: 220947
Perfect Armor/Shields [2]: 220854a, 220973a
Rare Trinkets [1]: 220940
Perfect Trinkets [1]: 220973b
Uncommon Consumable [2]: 220954b, 220991b
Rare Consumables [1]: 220946a
Perfect Consumables [2]: 220854b, 220854c

Kage closed his eyes as Morningstar moved in for the kill. He cut quickly through the assassin's waist, severing him in two. Then, he moved on towards the palace.

Lesser assassins lined the edge of the palace, hiding in the shadows of buildings. A few appeared to Morningstar, challenging him. He made short work of them; they were small inconveniences on his path to the end.

He broke through the front gate with ease. No guards remained at the entrance, likely already defeated by Uso-Tsuki and his remaining assassins. Star sped through the garden, into the palace, and down the winding hallways.

At the center of the palace, halfway to the Chief's sleeping quarters, he ran into a familiar face. He had seen it only briefly, after he was caught eavesdropping on their plotting. Uso-Tsuki and two others stood across the room from him, weapons drawn in preparation for his arrival.

Kage was stunned by Morningstar's tenacity. They reengaged for the final time, both swordsmen at the end of their energy. The assassin ducked a high slash, countering with a stab at Morningstar's midsection. He was fast enough that Kage thought he had teleported to safety. Morningstar attacked from the side, interlocking blades once more. Three metallic chimes rang out before Kage was disarmed, in the literal sense. His dominant arm, up to his elbow, flew through the air, shattering alongside his blade before they could even touch the ground.

Kage conceded defeat, offering a few final words before his death. "You should know that you're too late. By now, Uso-Tsuki and the others will already be inside the palace. The Chief is as good as dead."

The sinister machinations of Morningstar's enemies were on the go. Any more words between the pair were a waste of the tiny bit of time he had left. The palace was close by. He could make it before Uso-Tsuki reached the Chief.

Using his blade, Morningstar flicked dirt at Kage's eyes. Kage knew better to be caught in such a trap. He sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the blinding tactic. Though it momentarily disrupted his concentration, Kage reacted with remarkable agility, deflecting Morningstar's ensuing barrage of rapid strikes.

As fatigue began to set in for both fighters, Kage picked through strategies that would give him the upper hand. Then, a burst of inspiration struck him as he spotted an opening in Morningstar's guard.

Seizing the opportunity, Kage launched a daring maneuver. He feinted left before swiftly changing direction, driving his blade towards Morningstar's exposed flank. Caught off guard, Morningstar stumbled backwards.

Sensing victory, Kage pressed his advantage with a final, decisive strike that sent Morningstar crashing to the ground.

As Morningstar hit the ground, the force of impact stole him from reality. His vision blurred as his head slammed into stone road. Kage looked down on him, a smirk growing on his face. He probably thought that he had won.

Grunting, Morningstar rose to his feet, shaking off the disorientation that clouded his senses. He would persevere.

Kage jabbed with his katana, following it with a horizontal slice that would have touched Morningstar, if not for the little trick he had picked up from the Gemini. In a short burst of speed, he maneuvered below the blade, circling Kage from behind. The assassin's senses heightened by years of training, Kage anticipated Morningstar's next move. With lightning reflexes, he spun on his heel, parrying the oncoming attack with his own blade. The clash of steel echoed through the air as their swords met, each combatant striving to gain the upper hand in the fiery duel.

As they fought, Kage's mind raced, analyzing the player's style, searching for any weakness to exploit. He noticed a slight hesitation in Morningstar's defense after a particularly aggressive series of attacks. Sensing an opening, Kage pressed forward, launching a rapid series of feints and strikes aimed at breaking through Morningstar's guard.

But Morningstar was no novice. With a calm resolve, he adjusted his stance, deflecting each blow with expert precision. Then, with a second burst of speed, he countered, launching a powerful strike that sent Kage reeling backward.

Regaining his footing, Kage steadied himself. The duel raged on, each combatant pushing themselves to the limit, determined to emerge victorious. In this clash of swordsmen, only one would prevail. Their fates hung heavy in the cold night air.

Morningstar stepped forwards, bridging the gap between himself and Kage. The assassin, caught by surprise at the audacity of the swordsman, attempted to evade the oncoming stroke of Dying Sun.

He felt the blade's sting, his body going numb for what felt like a millennium. The flames sprouted at the sword's tip, burning through Kage's shoulder. He made not a sound, and when the paralysis wore off, he was back to his fighting stance.

Kage took off. Every movement was elegant and more powerful than the last. He swayed around Morningstar, their blades resonating through the otherwise silent air. The city, past midnight, was dead.

The golden glow of Morningstar's blade was brighter than the lanterns on the side of the street. He and Kage, an even match, stayed near each other. Neither of the pair would let the other out of their sight, for they knew that it would spell their demise.

The stranger dropped to the street. Now, standing on the same level as Morningstar, he introduced himself.

"I am Kage, of Uso-Tsuki's inner council. The twins were as well," Kage admitted, frowning. "They are a great loss to our cause. You will repent for what you have taken from us."

"I'll repent? I don't think so, pal."

"Very well," Kage bowed before sliding a katana from its long sheath.

The difference in power between Kage and the twins was night and day. If they were on the level of Uso-Tsuki's inner circle, then Kage was at Uso-Tsuki's level himself. They clashed blades, longsword against katana.

Morningstar's eyes widened as flames spit from the end of Dying Sun. Morningstar had never seen it happen before, granted it was a new blade. They snaked their way down the blade until they reached the hilt. Kage was taken aback by this as well, disengaging to reevaluate the fight.

One second.

The twin's dagger swiped air, contacting nothing. Morningstar's longsword did the same, although it came far closer to his foe's neck than the twin was comfortable with.

Two seconds.

A parry into a tumble and the twin was out of Morningstar's reach, deep in the shadows of the alley where he attempted to slip into stealth. Morningstar squinted, carefully scanning the area with his night vision.

Three seconds.

The attack came from behind. Morningstar spun, meeting the twin's dagger with a resonating clang. The small blade snapped in two, sounding the defeat of its wielder. Another sway of Morningstar's sword and the remaining twin was dead, alongside his brother.

From the rooftop, Morningstar heard clapping. He looked up, only to discover an onlooker. A robed man smiled menacingly from above. Morningstar wondered how much of the fight had been observed and why the man had not intervened.

"Nicely done," the stranger in the shadows called.

A scream caught his attention. Another knife caught his shoulder as Wādā Twin B tackled Morningstar off the rooftop. Fury seethed from the mob, and understandably so. Morningstar had murdered his twin brother. It was in character for the remaining twin to act in such a way.

They wrestled in the air until Morningstar felt his back touch stone. He bounced on contact, quickly gathering to his feet. The assassin did the same, less dazed than his opponent. Morningstar had taken the full brunt of the force, while Wādā Twin B had felt little of the impact at all.

"You're awfully light on your feet," Morningstar taunted, pulling more of the assassin's hate his way.

If he could catch him in a fit of rage, the blonde would win. Alone, the twin was nothing but a liability. An instant later and they were at each other's throats once again, dagger on longsword.

Twin A scaled the wall in seconds, returning to the rooftop battle. They sparred ruthlessly, each side focused only on survival. Star swung at Twin A's midsection, only for A to drop low and pull a second dagger from his boot. The twin swiped up, catching Morningstar's eye along the way. The blonde stumbled back, half blind. Twin B sprinted across the shingles, cracking them with each step.

A quick succession of stabs caught Wādā Twin A off guard. It was clear to Morningstar that he thought they had won. A single eye would not be enough for the lone swordsman to battle both of the Twins. Holding his damaged eye, however, he lunged forwards, diving his blade into the stomach of the red-haired man.

Wādā Twin A tumbled to the ground, where he lay for but a moment before death took him too. Morningstar turned at just the right moment.

Morningstar remembered the twins. Wādā, he recalled their names were. How their boss could tell the difference between the two was beyond him. Not that it mattered to him which was which. A bloody trail slipped down the cheek of Wādā Twin A as he moved in to attack, a frustrated frown painted across his face. Morningstar ducked low, slamming into him with the full force of his body, knocking him off the rooftop. Wādā Twin B made an attempt at Star's life while he was distracted with Twin A. A succinct kick to the gut kept him at bay.

"Uso-Tsuki mentioned you two during the meeting. There was a third name, too, I think. What was it again? Kamo? Kare?"

Twin B attacked once more, this time from a range. A loose dagger slipped through the air, whizzing by Morningstar.

"Oh! Kage! That's it," he eyed the knife, stuck in the wall of the building opposite them. "Where's Kage? Too busy to join you?"

"You won't get the chance to meet him," came a voice from below.

"I think we should."

A flick of the left twin's wrist prompted the three Marsonian assassins to attack. Their movements were simultaneous. Their strategy was sound, overpower him with numbers. Morningstar was accustomed to that type of combat, however. A swift arc of his blade and all three of the assassins were dust. Bloody pixels floated off the tip of Dying Sun. It burned hot, even in the dark of night.

In unison, the twins clicked their tongues, frustrated.

"Fine," one said.

"We'll do it ourselves," came the other.

They were distinctively quicker than the other four men, and stronger as well. Still, Morningstar had no trouble keeping up with their agility. He deflected slash after slash, playing with the reach of his longsword. Their daggers put them at a disadvantage. Put him against two of Hogo-Sha and it might have been a different story. He clipped one of the twins on the cheek, the fresh wound setting them apart.

Six assassins perched about fifty yards from the palace. The twins at the front whispered to each other. The left brother flashed a signal and the party moved, quickly and stealthily closing on their target.

A muffled yelp escaped the throat of the assassin at the very back of the group. The twins took notice first, glancing down mid air. The assassin's body crashed to the ground, landing face first on the sandstone. They pivoted as soon as they set foot on the next rooftop.

Morningstar stood directly opposite to them. The remaining three lesser assassins joined them at the side, awaiting their orders. The twins smirked, their dark red curls messy in the breeze. "Who've we here?" the left twin called to Morningstar.

His face was masked in the dark, but night vision allowed him to see theirs clearly. He wondered if they, as assassins, carried the same skill. They primarily worked in the shadows, he believed. The right twin laughed. "I think that's the guy from earlier. The one who took down Hogo."

"Oh, yeah? Still kickin' around, huh?"

"What do you say, brother? Should we teach him not to meddle?"

He hid away in a tavern, somewhere near he center of Marsonia. The Chief's decision to cut him out annoyed him. He knew that Uso-Tsuki was capable of entering the palace undetected. He would not have offered up his plans on a silver platter if he couldn't follow through with them. The Chief would die tonight and but at his own hand, not Uso-Tsuki's. Morningstar was fully capable of protecting him. The palace soldiers would not stand a chance.

A long sip off his drink was followed by a low "damn it."

He stood from the one-person table he had picked out for himself and turned for the street. The sun had fallen. Uso-Tsuki's plot was already in motion. Morningstar used what extrusions he could to climb to the roof tops, from which he watched the sleeping city.

Shadows danced from building to building, heading straight for the palace. Keeping a distance, Morningstar followed.

The Chief looked grimly at the pair as they explained the contents of the message. He didn't believe them the first time around, but allowing him to read it for himself changed his mind. "Very well. Thank you for your assistance in the decoding of this message, Morningstar, Professor. You may go."

A hefty sum of change flowed into Morningstar's virtual col wallet. Professor Chi turned to leave; however, Morningstar did not. "Go? I should stay and defend you, should I not? Uso-Tsuki and his men will be here tonight," he said, a hint of frustration in his words.

"My guards will suffice. Now, leave my palace at once. I no longer require your services, mercenary."

He could see why they wanted him dead. The Chief was a real piece of work. Morningstar left, following in the Professor's footsteps. The walk through the palace was quiet. Guards watched him warily as he walked, keeping a close eye on his every move. He imagined that spies would trail him out of town as well.

Purchasing

Dimensional Backpack | [5,000col]
Adds +1 to Battle Ready inventory. This item does not take up a Battle Ready inventory slot. A player may only have one Dimensional Backpack at any time.

"It's done," the Professor called.

Morningstar turned. He had been gazing out at the city, mindlessly for the most part. Professor Chi read the contents of the message to him and his eyes widened. Their plan was exactly as explained during Uso-Tsuko's meeting.

The Professor was just as surprised by this when Morningstar told him. "It's strange that if they knew you were there, they would openly discuss their plans. Still, it's not impossible for them to change them at the last minute. Or, perhaps this is a ruse as well," He shook the message.

Professor Chi opened the door and asked for the guard to call for the Chief. "The message has been deciphered. Please send for him."

Morningstar's gaze returned to the city. It was quiet, like the calm before a storm. The quest, technically complete, was only the beginning. Another replaced it, with a different title but the same premise. He was to stop Uso-Tsuki from assassinating the Chief at all costs.

It didn't take long for the guard to return. By his side was a sophisticated looking man with short hair, round glasses, and a burgundy robe. He introduced himself as Ai Chi, Professor of History and Anthropology at the University of Marsonia. Morningstar didn't realize that the game had universities. Apparently, he learned something new every day.

"Good. Now that you are both acquainted, please have this decoded by sunset."

The Chief and his guards left Morningstar and the Professor alone with the message. Professor Chi seemed unthreatened by the Chief, despite the fact that decoding it by sunset was obviously non-negotiable.

"Interesting..."

Morningstar squinted, peeking at the message. "What's interesting?"

"This language is old—no, dead is more accurate. It's an ancient language, similar to Sahaginese. There are discrepancies though; the letters sway strangely and some words are spelled differently. Actually, some letters are entirely exempt."

"Layman's terms?"

"Yes, my apologies. The Sahagin are a fish species that dwell at the bottom of the sea. They are ancient; however, many believe that there was a civilization that lived long before them. I've spent years searching for proof of their existence, but I've found nothing of substance. Some documents have arisen, but there is no concrete evidence linking them to an era pre-Sahagin. What's interesting is that this message appears consistent with what I've studied... of course, it is entirely possible that the writer simply made mistakes, but..."

His sentence fizzled out at the end, thoughts overtaking his mental stack.

"Can you translate it?" Morningstar asked, after a while.

"Hm? Oh, yes. I can. Give me some time..."

Morningstar didn't hesitate, but his reply was not immediate. He took his time, considering his word choice carefully. The Chief, while a commendable leader, was not exactly a trustworthy ally of his. He was not a Marsonian citizen, he was a freelancer. A spy for hire. A mercenary. And twelve armed soldiers circled him, each one holding a glaive. One order was all it would take for them to put him down.

Not that he would let them, of course, but senseless violence was not in his nature.

He held up the coded message. "This is the key to Uso-Tsuki's plans. He is intent on assassinating you and he does not work alone. I was able to intercept this at the cost of being caught. Hogo-Sha, who I believe was a member of his inner circle, was defeated this afternoon. I found this coded message on his body. Correctly deciphering it will reveal their true plans."

"True plans?" The chief asked. "Do you mean to say that there are 'untrue plans'?"

Morningstar stared at the Chief. "I overheard a plan, but it was intentional. I don't believe that it was their true strategy."

The Chief stared back, his fingers entwined. He didn't show it, but Morningstar imaged that he was nervous. "Hm. Very well. What resources do you require to decipher this message?"

"A translator."

"Is that all?" He laughed. "Very well. Send for the Professor," he gestured towards the door and a guard hurried out.

Pacing around the room for a bit helped entice his brain to get to work. His mental gears turned slowly as he sat back down and took another look at the cipher. It made no sense to him.

Except for one bit, that looked the same as another. He thought that, maybe, they went together. A journal materialized before him, alongside a pen. He scribbled down combinations and rearranged unreadable words in different orders, trying to see what stuck.

There was no way he could get it, not without a translator of some sort, but if he could put together a theory it would save him some trouble down the line. When he finally had a result that looked almost like sentence structures, he called it quits.

Then, the Chief and his entourage of guards entered.

"Morningstar," he smiled, although not in a friendly way.  "You've returned. I look forward to hearing your good news."

He scanned for patterns in the code, looking specifically for similarities between symbols. He would have killed for a Marsonian to English dictionary, or for Google Translate. The system only seemed to translate Earth languages, though. It was probably because of scenarios like this that they didn't include easy-to-access translation tools. Cardinal wanted players to be resourceful and to work for their solutions.

It was a real headache.

He thought about checking at a local library, but decided against it, worried that the guards wouldn't let him leave the palace until after his debrief with the Chief. A sigh escaped his lips as he puzzled away, mixing around bits of the coded message.

The symbols, which were probably their version of letters, resembled languages like Arabic or Persian. They had flow to them, some strings connecting while others were left on their own. They were also entirely undecipherable from his narrow-viewed western perspective. He knew a handful of languages, all of Latin origin and of little use to him in the game. If he were to speak Portuguese or Italian, the system would simply convert it to whatever languages the people around him spoke. It was brilliant technology—Morningstar could not argue that. He expected it would have negative long-term effects on his efficiency with languages, too.

Impatient, he took to the cipher. He analyzed its cryptic components, seeing if he could pick out any pieces that made sense to him. None of it was in English, which did not help his case. He wasn't sure if it was a real language or something that the system developed specifically for this quest or city. Educating himself on foreign languages was difficult when none of the languages were used by relevant people. A quest in a tiny part of the world didn't exactly warrant hours of study.

If only he knew more about Uso-Tsuki and his followers, maybe he could have some idea of what they were thinking when they developed the coded message. He flipped the unreadable words and phrases around, treating it like a puzzle. It almost reminded him of his first visit to Glyndebourne. Puzzles were a specialty of his. They were a hobby of his, in his old life. He was out of practice, aside from a short stunt at Magdalyn Manor.

yay unique ! \o/

Name: Killjoy's Collar
Your Profession:  Appraiser
Your Rank: Rank 5
Roll ID: 220858, 220859, 220860
Roll Result: 3, 3, 10 (Guaranteed unique on 220860 LD: 10)
Item Type: Trinket
Tier: T4
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: LD, LD, Bloodclot
Description: The green collar of Killjoy, the Anti-Social Dog. A tiny pendant shaped like a witch's head hangs from it.
Link: URL
Acquisition ID: 220856a

27/3/24 .