Acanthus

“... and after today, he will plague our fair citizens no more. For he will come, he will try, and he will fail. For the glory of Marsonia.” The Chief ended the sentence with a sense of finality. Acanthus held her breath, waiting for the speech to pick back up. Instead, the Chief and his Honor Guard all turned to the steps at the front of the palace expectantly. Seeing the top of Uso-Tsuki’s head, she nearly jumped for joy. But her joy turned to terror as the rest of the man came into view. Drenched in the blood of palace guards, Uso-Tsuki carried himself with an air of a feral animal. Hu

Acanthus despaired; the Chief had been talking for ten minutes When he took a deep breath, she interrupted quickly. “We need to find Uso-Tsuki, and every moment is critical. Where can we find him?” The Chief paused artificially, as if Cardinal’s planned speech was cut short. “Fear not, Acanthus; he will return to us soon enough. For I know my son…” And his speech resumed. Acanthus nearly tore a chunk of her hair out. All the fighting around them, and the game was taking a lifetime to explain the deep complexities of the pro- and anti-establishment factions on this floor. And not just the

Acanthus lightly hustled over to the Chief and his Honor Guard. They had created some space with the frontline of the attacking bandits, where Lieutenant flagged her down. “We’ve pushed back the rebels from the perimeter. How did your fight go?” Acanthus checked herself over one more time. She’d only taken one injury, a gash down her arm. The red, webbed wound was stitching itself together at an unnatural pace. She’d honestly wished for a riskier fight. “It went well. His enforcers are dead.” Members of the Honor Guard murmured amongst themselves, impressed by Acanthus’ quick work of

“Alright, you’ve had a moment to talk. But I’m ready to finish up.” Purotekuta’s eyes bulged at her insubordination. “Unbelievable! You don’t even know why you’re fighting.” “Of course I do.” Acanthus took offense at the comment. But the time for conversation was over. She merely limbered up, and dove straight back into the fight. Purotekuta’s fighting had become predictable. Slash, slash, upward strike, leap back, charge. He threw in a few variations from time to time, but she recognized those core strikes over and over. When he leapt back again, Acanthus prepared herself. Rather th

Purotekuta coughed blood from the effort of keeping in the fight. But other than the luck he had hit while she finished off Difenda, she was unharmed. This quest really was proving to be easier than she had anticipated. Purotekuta straightened up and began to monologue. “You have a simple mind. You do not ask why you kill… Only who. We are here in the name of peace. For countless centuries our Kingdom’s vast cultural history has been etched in the stones. It is woven into the fabric of this land…” Ugh, Acanthus rolled her shoulders out, taking the moment to stretch. Everyone in the quest

“You bi—” His words stopped short with a quick sputter, as his body fragmented and disappeared. “Inappropriate language,” Acanthus observed. “Unusual for Cardinal, wouldn’t you say?” She looked to the remaining fighter. Purotekta was infuriated. “Difenda was my lifelong ally and dearest friend. And you’re cracking jokes at his death?” “Not jokes. Observations.” Acanthus slung her sword, as if shaking loose blood from the blade. Purotekta raised his weapon. “Upon my life, I will have your head. I swear it upon the Glory of Marsonia.” “That’s a bad thing to swear on,” she pointed

“Not that I’m mad. I really didn’t want to put in a lot of effort for this quest. But even though I expected nothing, I’m still surprised.” Difenda stood back up to attack her, but she stepped back lightly, then rammed into him with her whole body, he nearly fell backwards. As Purotekta stepped in, she parried and then moved back up the steps. Difenda was nearly done for. One more solid hit would do him in. “You crazed woman,” Difenda coughed. “Uso wishes to return our lands to glory, and you would fight him on this?” “I don’t care either way. Maybe the Chief is old and stuck in his

Uso-Tsuki would be annoying, but the two she had to fight before him would be nothing but gnats. Purotekta and Difenda greeted her with professional bows. “We are here—” “—to end the Kingdom once and for all.” “Cool,” she responded. The creative writing team had been paid too much for this script. Twins that finish each other’s sentences? It was a lazy trope. “We’re starting with you,” Acanthus said lazily. She pointed at Difenda, and he smirked. “Nice try, you weak warrior, but me and my partner are stronger than iron. We have weathered a thousand storms, been tempered by the t

Acanthus nodded. She wasn’t trying to change the quest script. It would be best to merely move along with whatever was happening, rather than try to fight it. The Chief and his honor guard picked up the pace once more, and Acanthus jogged behind them. When they reached the main doors leading outside, the Chief paused for a moment with the Lieutenant. Exchanging handshakes and meaningful words, Acanthus nearly kicked the doors open herself. The entire quest felt too self-indulgent. Just let me kill things for experience and move on. That’s the end result anyways. But the moment passed quic

The horn sounded again. Acanthus caught a glimpse out of a passing window as she moved with the Chief. The people surrounding the palace were far more numerous than she had anticipated. I guess my work on the first quest didn’t amount to much then. She and the Chief hurried down a flight of stairs. “Why are we we moving this way?” Acanthus inquired. “Wouldn’t it be best to permit the fighting within the palace? Smaller corridors will only benefit your numbers. Not their numbers; his. “I understand it is not a tactical advantage to bring the fight to them, but I believe it is necessary to

A horn sounded in the distance. The Chief looked mournfully out of the window. “It is time. Acanthus, would you escort me as a member of my honor guard?” It was unusual for the game to refer to her by name, and it caught Acanthus off guard. She wondered if this was Cardinal’s way of stressing the importance of this mission. “I can do that.” She said. “Thank you again. Convene with the Lieutenant at the entrance to the Palace immediately. We will hold them there.” The Palace was now in a state of near uproar. Guards ran from point to point; the unarmed staff could be seen scurrying through

A booming voice echoed from deep inside the council chambers. “So little faith, Lieutenant.” The Lieutenant saluted with a deep bow. “Chief, I would never…” The Chief emerged from the shadows. Gone were the robes from before. He stood tall in polished iron armor, with a sword and shield by his side. His equipment spoke to his practical experience on the battlefield: austere, well-maintained, terrifying not in its form, but in function alone. “Advantages and disadvantages are a discussion for weeks ago,” The Chief spoke plainly. “My son has cast the die, and it is up to us to play as

Something about the quest had changed. The atmosphere was electric. The guards were perfectly scripted in their anxious waiting. Some stood deathly still, while others played with their weapons nervously. They saluted Acanthus and the Lieutenant as they walked up to the council chambers. “We had no idea that Uso-Tsuki would be so eager to launch his assault. But not to worry!” He raised his voice as they passed through the halls. “He will break like the waves on the steps of the palace!” Closing the door to the council chambers, the Lieutenant’s face grew grim, his voice quieted to a whis

Acanthus immediately accepted the following quest. When she pressed the button, the world shimmered, almost imperceptibly. NPCs shifted around the landscape before her: most vanished in a strange blur. Shops and buildings seemed to twitch, materializing shutters out of nowhere. A nearby player disappeared before making it inside the palace. When the movement stopped, Acanthus was left gazing out on an expanse prepared for open war. Moving down the steps, she found herself unable to reach the bottom. A strange force held her in place, something like gravity, but it directed her away from strayi

Scent of the Wild Acanthus checked over her inventory one last time. Rope, pitons, climbing hooks. The boss fight today was going to be quite different that the others. Based on the information shared by players, it didn’t attack them directly. She’d have to climb the monster to attack its weak points. She thought back to her time climbing Mount Olympus, and how scared she had been of heights back then. No need to be scared of heights anymore; she’d conquered that fear. Along with many others. It had been quite some time since she had seen Pinball. She wondered what he had been up to

When Freyd said her name out loud, she jumped. There went any hope of anonymity. Although Cordelia’s entrance (in armor, thank goodness) strengthened her resolve. Maybe the usual meetings involved a little more battle-ready dress code. As the meeting began to wind down, Acanthus did her best to sneak over to the sign-up sheet. She tried to scan the groups, checking for names she recognized. And preferably people that knew what they were doing. She thought back to Koga’s comment. "There's too much at stake to risk people stepping on their dance partners' toes because they're not familiar w

Acanthus stopped mid-scoop. Shouldn’t they have more time? There should have been more time! Throwing the shovel over her shoulder, she ran up the makeshift battlement to view the army. A legion of frostbitten warriors marched toward the gate in unison. Throwing themselves up against the wooden walls, they threatened to break in almost immediately. She processed what Morningstar said. “Wait. We’re fighting the whole army? I really thought it was a ‘defeat the champion and they retreat’ situation.” She paled. “We’re fighting the whole army?” The mass of bodies railed against the walls

10/5 Crafting Evals All posts refer back to 10/5 crafting. Hyperlink is here. Name: Minimalistic Etude Profession: Performer Rank: 5 Roll ID: 234753 Roll Result: 9+1/LD:7 Item Type: Debuff Song Tier: 1 Quality: Rare Enhancements: Hypnosis 2 Post Link: Hyperlink

Crafting for 10/5/2024 Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 234756 CD: 1 +1 LD: 5 Critical Failure - 4 (+3 Ambition) 2 234755 CD: 1 +1

Demonic Shard Let's get demonic Evasive Charm [Jewlery | Tierless | Evasion III]: A simple green coloured band which contains a small yellow charm in the shape of a lightning bolt hanging from it. Becomes Evasive Charm [Jewlery | Tierless | Evasion III | Rec I]: A simple green coloured band which contains a small yellow charm in the shape of a lightning bolt hanging from it. Traces of self-doubt make the necklace weigh more than it ought to. (I know I can't change descriptions on upgrade. Just call it flavor) Payment. Sent 1 demonic shard to banker Second Eval

“Nymoria. It’s good to see you again. I hope you’ve been doing alright since our time in the garden.” Truth be told, she was worried about the girl. Acanthus hadn’t heard from her since their trip to the garden. While she pleased to see Silent Moments had come into its own as a shop, she couldn’t help but feel the place was a bit… somber. Not that Acanthus had any room to shame other people for that. But it was easier to worry about others than it was to worry about herself. But not easy enough to address her unvoiced concerns. “I’m here for a charm,” she said, picking out one with a ligh

Acanthus returned to the shop once she heard Ren’s work was done. She stepped into the Knight Shift yet again. If she kept pestering him for more work, eventually she would need to look into getting more permanent lodging down here just to save on time and travel costs. Then again, she did enjoy the climate and feel of floor 24 much more—maybe she could convince Ren to move upstairs. She wouldn’t have any problem bankrolling the move, but Rencesvals didn’t seem the type that was attracted to money. Even after all this time, he was still crafting armor for new players. Someone had to do it.

Yet another trip to Demian’s Kitchen. She had waited until Demian arrived on floor 24. Sometimes it took her far too much time to track the wandering kitchen down. She debated asking about adding Demian to her friends list. No, that would be too forward. She wandered into the campsite; he had chosen a covered area near the beach. It was quiet, except for the soothing sounds of waves lapping on the nearby coast. “Another order, if you have the time. Should be a big one, but nothing you can’t handle. And if you ever need some extra materials, let me know. I’ve ended up with quite a few

All posts refer back to 10/4 crafting. Hyperlink is here. Name: Steady Drone Profession: Performer Rank: 5 Roll ID: 234621 Roll Result: 5+1/LD:1 Item Type: Debuff Song Tier: 1 Quality: Uncommon Enhancements: Hypnosis 1 Post Link: Hyperlink Description:

Crafting for 10/4/2024 Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 234621 CD: 5 +1 LD: 1 Uncommon - 6 (+3 Ambition) 2 234620 CD: 5 +1 LD: