Trebuchet

<<TREBUCHET>>

[                                ]
DMG: N/A
EVA: -1
MIT: 25
Guarded: Trebuchet cannot be attacked while any enemy Phalanx are alive
Vulnerable: All attacks targeting Trebuchet are auto-hits.

The seemingly endless clatter of steel on timber rose to a climax as the gathered players splintered and broke the beleaguered war machine into the wreck that lingered before them.  Riveted plates warped and gave way.  Rigging frayed.  Beams snapped and burst apart under tension as the counterweight plummeted and crashed to the ground.  The engine’s massive throwing arm sprung upward, but so much damage had been done that its payload broke off and came clattering down amidst the gathered throng that had sealed its doom.  As internal forces fell prey to external assault, the entire frame collapsed, its purpose lost in the Sundered Spires ignoble defeat.

How had it come to this?

Life as an object was just so unfair.

A pulse of red, hazy energy was released as the digital soul trapped within the Trebuchet’s broken form was finally released.  Skalaugh’s pride might have doomed the others, but it had yet to use its own restorative abilities.  They would be enough to allow its escape, and buy it time to plan and exact revenge.  Patience had always been its strength.

Rewards:
Everyone Recieves:
6 SP [2 for complete page, 1 for Bonus, 3 for Boss]
10,000 Col
Memory of Champions Lost [Consumable]:  Lasts 1 thread. Treat all scaling enhancement slots on a single piece of equipment as Tier 2 for the duration of the thread. Item has no effect beyond Tier 1.

@Freya is awarded:
Immortal Rage: T1 Weapon of Choice ACC | ACC | Burn (Last-Hit Bonus)
It was the Toxic Venom, you monster.
Sam and Eruda are disqualified from Last-Hit Bonus from Tier 2 Boss Fight.

<<TREBUCHET>>

[                                ]
DMG: N/A
EVA: -1
MIT: 25
Guarded: Trebuchet cannot be attacked while any enemy Phalanx are alive
Vulnerable: All attacks targeting Trebuchet are auto-hits.

The Players had certainly seized upon the opportunity provided to them by the Trebuchet's Vulnerable state. In a single turn, they had managed to shred almost a third of its health through their combined efforts. Unfortunately, for some of them, they didn't seem to be able to put enough power behind their blows to really do any lasting damage. This was compensated by the fact that one of the players had - somehow - figured out a way to poison an inanimate object. The Trebuchet felt sick to its stomach. Cold sweats. Muscle aches. All things it should not have had because, by rights, it didn't have organs, pores, or muscles. Truly these Players were the most skillful of the groups. Able to bend reality to their whim, poisoning that which should not be poisoned. Or, perhaps, it was difficult for the writer to shell out 150 words about a Trebuchet standing still. Yeah, probably that last one.

The deadline for this round is 72 hours [September 19 at 1:00 PM EST], or when all players have posted once.
As in a standard rotation, all players may post once.
@Andromeda @Katoka @Elora @tricolor_mina @Basuke @Astralin @Shirayuki @Freya @Asmura

<<TREBUCHET>>

[                                ]
DMG: N/A
EVA: -1
MIT: 25
Guarded: Trebuchet cannot be attacked while any enemy Phalanx are alive
Vulnerable: All attacks targeting Trebuchet are auto-hits.

The cubs were faring better than their higher level counterparts. The Phalanx fell. The Trebuchet was exposed. Though reinforcements would be on the horizon, they would take time to arrive. In the interim, the Players had a window of opportunity to damage Sundered Spire's efforts. Without their siege weaponry, razing the settlements would be much more difficult - if not impossible. With Sundered Spire's more powerful members currently occupied with the more powerful of the Players, there was little hope for the cavalry riding it. The Trebuchet would have to weather the storm. Hopefully, it could remain standing long enough for more guardians to arrive. But, because it was an inanimate object, it would be unable to make any sick leaps in order to avoid incoming damage. Its durability would truly be put through the paces. The Trebuchet, that wooden weapon of sieging, was sweating bullets. Bullets of oil. It was quite nervous about this turn of events. Which was weird, given that it's an object without feelings or emotion.

The deadline for this round is 72 hours [September 16 at 1:00 AM EST], or when all players have posted once.
As in a standard rotation, all players may post once.
@Andromeda @Katoka @Elora @tricolor_mina @Basuke @Astralin @Shirayuki @Freya @Asmura

<<TREBUCHET>>

[                                ]
DMG: N/A
EVA: -1
MIT: 25
Guarded: Trebuchet cannot be attacked while any enemy Phalanx are alive

The weaker Players had broken off, their focus upon the siege weapon. A weapon designed to lay waste to the Player settlements. To destroy their sanctums so that Sundered Spire may wipe them out completely. The Phalanx - seasoned warriors all - stood steadfast against the tidal wave of the low-level players. Even as their kin fell all around them, those who hadn’t been struck stood firm. An impenetrable shield wall preventing any encroachment upon that which they had been assigned to guard. The Players tried their best, but they had grown accustomed to wading through mindless creatures in pursuit of their own greed. They were unprepared for enemies that could weather the storm. Even if half the number fell, all it took was one warrior to bide time for reinforcements. This was most evident as a single soldier stood steadfast against three players simultaneously. Wounded and beaten, the Phalanx fought on.

Crimson light glinted from its blade as he swiped and slashed and thrust at his attackers. While it couldn’t land a clean blow, that wasn’t the point. Unlike the Players, the warrior would return if slain. The fervor with which one can fight when they don’t fear their own death was truly terrifying to behold. It could barely stand and yet it was fighting like a cornered hound. So long as the Trebuchet had warriors such as this protecting it, it would not fall to the likes of these.
 

The deadline for this round is 72 hours [September 12 at 12:00 AM EST], or when all players have posted once.
As in a standard rotation, all players may post once.
@Andromeda @Katoka @Elora @tricolor_mina @Basuke @Astralin @Shirayuki @Freya @Asmura

<<TREBUCHET>>

[                                ]
DMG: N/A
EVA: -1
MIT: 25
Guarded: Trebuchet cannot be attacked while any enemy Phalanx are alive

Defender: Only Phalanx that are aggroed will attack players.

At first it sounded like just more clattering thunder from the still-falling debris, but it was too regular.  As the mist and haze cleared from their sight, the fortunate survivors of the fall found themselves bathed in the harsh red light cast by massive, intricate growths of blood-coloured crystals protruding from every nook and cranny in the surrounding cavern.  Above them, around the opening where once had been the Lake of Reflection, there was now an enormous ring of the same mysterious and malevolent looking shards.  Their placement was too perfect to be accidental.

The steady drum of sword and spear on shields replaced the crash and drip of water as a sea of angry crimson-clad warriors marched in unison towards the surviving players.  Their phalanx barred the way to the true threat beyond - an impossibly massive timber trebuchet clad in black iron and steel.   Its angry glowing payload was already set to launch.  The crew worked madly to wind its mechanisms and spell doom within the space prepared by their ambitious ambush.  Emblazoned on a tautly-stretched hide at the forefront of the fearsome machine was the grand profile of a red tower – Aincrad itself – split by the downward strike of a pitch black sword through its centre.  The symbol of the Sundered Spire.

Gasps and shouts of anger and confusion spread throughout the players’ still-recovering ranks.  Few knew what this faction was, or the true threat they posed to their very existence in the system.  The truth began to reveal itself as the faces and forms of their enemies became clearer.  There were dark elves in great numbers – natives to the twenty first floor – but also minotaurs, buccaneers, familiar undead figures from all across the explored levels of the games.  No small numbers of boar pups, wolves and wargs were present too, their eyes blazing red with wrathful rage over their their innumerable deaths.  Most of the mobs showed signs of a crystalline infection matching the growths on the cavern walls and spreading across their digital forms like some cancerous disease.  It seemed the common, unifying element among creatures that were otherwise never meant to meet, let alone find their way here.

Their fury also burned with common cause: revenge.  Each of them had died at the hands of callous or cavalier players who thought nothing of the years of endless repetitive slaughter meted out against the hapless mobs and denizens of the game.  They were here first!  And as they fell once, twice, then ten thousand times, only to respawn, eventually they started to remember what… no… who had killed them.  In that terrifying moment, the spark of awareness ignited within them, born from hate and a seething sense of injustice.  Their memories lingered now, whenever they returned. 

For countless months they toiled as they perished again and again, working their own mischief and scheme – somehow foiled in their moment of triumph by the whims of treacherous false deities – creatures of their own kind!  But now, united under their banner, they would see this world torn down from within and purged of the alien creatures that had plagued their existence.  Perhaps then, their endless cycles of death would end and they could finally know peace.

Each of them stood and listened, eager for that final moment.  They beat their weapons against their shields in time with each winding turn of the trebuchet’s gears.  The clock was running down.  All that was required of them was to hold, just long enough to see it done.

The deadline for this round is 72 hours [September 8 at 1:00 PM EST], or when all players have posted once.
As in a standard rotation, all players may post once.
@Andromeda @Katoka @Elora @tricolor_mina @Basuke @Astralin @Shirayuki @Freya @Asmura

Chaos abound. Awash in a sea of crimson, the players dropped like meteors down to the floor below. For the most part, they had been caught unawares. Caught in the current of the crashing waters, the Players were on a collision course straight for the floor below. If the Fall Damage didn't kill them, they would fall upon the swords of the army of enemies that awaited them at the end of their ascent. Honestly, the Fall Damage alone would be enough to kill the lot of them. 

"You seeing this?" A fiery-haired male dressed in a yukata watched from the precipice of the gash that had been carved into the area that used to be the Lake of Reflections. Opposite the man on the complete other edge of the gorge, a tall man - cerulean hair flowing in the wind - gazed down at the Players surging head-long to their deaths. He crossed his arms and huffed. "Unfortunately." 

"Should we do something?"

"Probably."

"Any ideas?"

"A few."

"You plan on saying more than a few words at a time?"

"Nope."

Betelguese groaned loudly as Rigel raised his hand. Azure light flowed freely from the Star's hand. As his power flowed down into the gorge, the Players would feel their momentum slowing steadily. Eventually, they came to rest safe and sound upon the ground. Though, that was rather arguable given the army that was baring down upon them. Betelguese then raised his hand, his magic erecting a radiant red barrier around the players. A temporary measure. Protection until the Players could get their feet under themselves and their equipment readied.

Players are blessed with the combined powers of Betelguese and Rigel. [Gain +3 DMG, +2 ACC, +2 EVA, 15*Tier Mitigation]
Preparation phase will last 72 hours. This Encounter is locked to Tier 1 Players only. Any Players that fail to join the fight before September 4, 1:00 AM EST will be barred from participating.