Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #41 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) "Persi," he called out, his trusty familiar never having wandered too far afield, "See if you can buy me some time." Her scurrying form was instantly lost among the other roiling shadows, their enemy likely using the same for cover. And be careful, he added, only to himself. They had faced countless dangers together, but something about this mysterious threat seemed to break or even exist outside the regular rules and conventions of Aincrad's digital existence. Anything could happen. Dashing deeper through the tree line, Freyd was searching for advantage - any advantage - he could use to turn the tables on whatever had just sprung itself on him a few minutes ago. Wild crashing and thrashing behind him signaled that Persi had found her target and was hopefully making its life miserable. A smile died stillborn on his lips at the sound of a bloodcurdling scream, explosive splintering of wood and the tumbling of heavy trunks bouncing off of their neighbours. Stopping to listen, tempted to turn back and rush to his familiar's rescue, Freyd knew this wasn't the right place to do so. Please, Persi. Be safe. A lump of unfamiliar concern lodged itself in the Whisper's throat. *** Freyd recovers 60 hp. Now at 1043/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #42 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Snarling at his own indecision, Freyd turned back to his original course. If something had happened, there was little he could do about it while fighting on enemy ground and on the enemy's terms. Flitting across the twilight terrain in the manner his shadow mongoose had taught him, Freyd blended in with the undergrowth. No footstep, no broken branches or snapped twigs. No sign that he even existed was left behind. Finding a safer perch and observation among the higher boughs of the trees, he had previously avoided climbing out of concerns about the increases presence and density of the gossamer cloud. Taking a chance, he'd found himself a vantage where there existed a bit of a gap in their coverage and he could better scan his surroundings, searching for whatever was after him. Nothing was visible below, at least for the first few minutes, until at last a pair of spectral wolves with grisly, ghostly miens rounded a nearby rocky outcrop. Several more emerged from out of nowhere. An entire pack. *** Freyd recovers 60 hp. Now at 1103/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #43 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) These aren't what attacked me. But who or what are they hunting? The grim beasts meandered along the floor, sniffing as they went, but it wasn't clear that they were actually looking for him. Could whatever was playing cat to his mouse equally provoke the native mobs? Could whatever twist and turn these filaments contrived conspire even against Aincrad's unnatural order? Wouldn't that be interesting...? As one, every wolf's head turned in a common direction. The pack moved as single unit, of one mind and guided by instincts combined with programming. Sensing opportunity, Freyd followed silently from above, hoping to catch a glimpse of their prey, and perhaps and opportunity to return its previous favour. And maybe, to find what had befallen his familiar. He wouldn't have to wait long. More splintering could be heard in the distance. She was still at it. Lunging and leaping from branch to branch, just below the pulsing ceiling webs, Freyd kept up with the hunters on the ground below, until fortune snatched once handhold away and left him plummeting through the air. *** Scouting | 218925 | LD 8+16=24 | Stealth challenge Total: 256/300 Freyd recovers 60 hp. Now at 1163/1311 Stealth roll | ID 218926 | LD 6+2=8 (Fail). HP reduced by 328 to 835/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #44 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Landing with an awkward tumble managed to dull some of the impact, but still left him surrounded by a host of angry spectral dread wolves. Startled and leaping back from the crash, he knew their moment's hesitation would be all he had to make his break and try to reach Persi's position. Hopefully, she had managed to lead their foe somewhere more manageable for a final showdown. He just needed to give these beasts the slip. "Sorry pups. No time to play today." Raking his hands across the leaf-covered ground, Freyd took full advantage of the Fall's offering and filled the air with clouds of fallen leaves. It wasn't much, but it gave him the briefest of moments to dash forward and obscure his movements long enough to get away - maybe. Jaws snapped, their eerie toothy canines flashing brightly in the darkness against the backdrop of leaves and shadows. At the pace he was running, Freyd left a turbulent wake behind him that might just be enough to throw them off his trail. *** Freyd recovers 60 hp. Now at 895/1311 Freyd consumes Lich Loogeys (Salve) |HP Recovery 3 | 166161 (+196 hp). HP now at 1091/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #45 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Sparing only an instant, Freyd snatched and spread a pair of healing salves over his wounds as he ran. 'These thing were ancient, having sat in his inventory for some unfathomable duration. I really hope they don't expire,' he thought, inwardly cringing at the concept of 'lich loogeys gone worse.' While he carried a ridiculous assortment of these things, Freyd forever clung to what-if scenarios playing out in the back of his mind, hinting that they should always be preserved in case they were needed for more dire circumstances. Nope. Not this time. This whole mess officially counts as 'worse' enough. Most importantly, he didn't want to face whatever lay waiting up ahead at anything less than full strength, if it could be avoided. Feeling the healing effects take hold, he charged forward at full speed again, channeling his best inner Oscar superhero moves to reach Persi's position as quickly as he could. *** Freyd recovers 60 hp. Now at 1151/1311 Freyd consumes Lich Loogeys (Salve) |HP Recovery 3 | 166170 (+196 hp). HP now at 1311/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #46 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Bursting into a web-laced clearing from where he'd last heard sounds of combat, Freyd finally found his enemy, and also his worst nightmare. Sickly slurping sounds echoed around the open space as a small hunched figure wrapped in coiled sinew-like fabric, bearing an overwhelming similarity to muscle flayed free of any covering skin. It was feasting, or sounded like it, causing Freyd's heart to drop into his stomach at the thought of its potential victim. "You get away from her," he growled, the timbre of his voice darkening to a low and hateful growl. The slurping stopped as whatever this was slowly lifted its head turning an ear to his direction. "But we wants to play," came a twisted, girlish voice that might once have been melodious and heartwarming. Now it was anything but, sounding more akin to wrenching rusted metal apart while slicing through violin strings with a hacksaw. When it turned its face his way, Freyd recognized the face from the painting in the magistrate's office, its dainty lines and freckles marred by bloated, fuzzy sinew and mass like coiled wool wrapped around a tiny frame. "Delilah?! What happened to you? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" "I made a friend. See?" Standing and stepping aside, Freyd saw the twitching, reddening form of his familiar, her silky inky form pierced and laced with the same red threads that coiled sickeningly around Delilah's tiny body. She looked like a half-way patchwork doll, as if bits of her had been replaced by this vile crimson menace that continued to twist and force its way into her digital mesh even as he watched. "Persi. No..." *** Scouting | 218927 | LD 4+16=20 | Two elite mobs Total: 276/300 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #47 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) "And now it's going to be your turn, mister. You've made a mess of my room, and I'm going to make you clean it up." Delilah stood, filaments still linking her fingertips to Persi's gradually corrupting form, her voice reverberating across the webs wrapped all around the clearing and linking to what he'd first thought was the base of a massive tree. "The Labyrinth." It all came together now. This wasn't even its heart, merely the gatehouse to the true threat that lay within, meaning that Delilah was just as likely a victim. "What happened to your father? Where is he?" "Father? He never came with us. He's been in the ground for a long, long time, but mother is still near. She sings to us!" The strands sang ominously overhead, their words spoken to the wind in a shrill yet distant voice tinged with the slighted feminine lilt. "The magistrate is your mother." "Yup! And she's really, REALLY cross with you. So Muffet, here, and I, are going to have to kill you. Won't that be fun?!" Freyd tried to seize the initiative and failed, his own corrupted familiar darting between he and Delilah to smash him in the chest, raking her claws along as she went. Delilah, meanwhile, sought to stay at range and lance him with spear-like coiled strands from her fingertip. Too slow to catch Persi, Freyd focused his efforts on the 'girl' instead, dodging and grabbing her projectiles, then yanking forward to throw her off her feet. A swift kick to the gut folded her in half and sent her sprawling across the yard. Freyd was mad. Very mad. And wasn't about to pull any punches. Nobody messed with his family. "I'll show you what it means to be cross." *** Spoiler Post Action | AoE-I (x15, 11 EN, +2 shift, +2/hit): 17 EN - (Rested 2/2; Stamina) = 13 EN. Free Action | None ID #218928 | BD: 1 (miss) ID #218929 | BD: 5+5-1=9 (hit). DMG (15*24=360-120=240) to Sentinel 4 ID #218930 | MD: 9 (Crit +1). DMG (281-40=241) to Freyd ID #218931 | MD: 4+2-5=1 (miss) Freyd | HP: 1070/1311 (1311-241) | EN: 139/152 (152-13) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 80 | EVA: 5 | ACC: 5 | BH: 72 | LD: 13 (16) | PROSP: 3 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | TXV: 32 | TRLBLD | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8 | V.D.: 144 Sentinel 3 (Persi) | HP: 1200/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase Sentinel 4 (Delilah) | HP: 960/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase (1200-240) Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #48 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) A whip-like lash struck at him from the right, Persi streaking across the field and trailing unraveling threads like she was weaving a dreamcatcher as she went. Several strands snared and cut at Freyd's form, sizzling with acrid smoke wherever they touched. Their affliction was less pain and more numbness, as if the red threads sought to drain its victims very identity to absorb it into its own. Every such moment matched a pulse in the gossamer filaments overhead. This thing was learning, growing, becoming more dangerous with every entity it touched or absorbed - woven into itself, quite literally. "YOU'RE MEAN!" Scrambling back onto her stomach, Delilah came charging at him on all fours, her bloated body resembling a cross between an angry Ki-raion and some T-virus mutant out of a Resident Evil franchise. Pouncing on him, she wrapped her lower limbs around Freyd's waist while raking at him with the rest. "Yes. I AM!" Plowing his forehead straight into Delilah's childish face, he broke her hold and sent her reeling backward. Spinning in place, Freyd reversed Persi's ploy and made it work against her, winding the very thread she'd sough to snare him with and using it to whip her against a half-dozen trees on the outskirts of the clearing. *** Spoiler Freyd regains +4 EN Freyd regains 72 HP from BH CD 9 (+8 REC proc) ID #218932 CD 5 (No VD proc) ID #218933 Post Action | AoE-II (x18, 14 EN, +2 shift, +2/hit): 20 EN - (Rested 1/2; Stamina) = 17 EN. Charge (CD 0/3, +8 EN) Free Action | None ID #218934 | BD: 7+5-1-1=10 (hit, Fallen +16, Charge +3). DMG (18*43=774-120=654) to Sentinel 3 (CD 5 | ST-B locked) ID #218935 | BD: 4+5-1-1=7 (hit, Charge +3). DMG (18*27=486-120=366) to Sentinel 4 ID #218936 | MD: 9 (Crit +1). DMG (281-40=241) to Freyd ID #218937 | MD: 9 (Crit +1). DMG (281-40=241) to Freyd Freyd | HP: 660/1311 (1070+72-241-241) | EN: 126/152 (139+4+8-17-8) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 80 | EVA: 5 | ACC: 5 | BH: 72 | LD: 13 (16) | PROSP: 3 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | TXV: 32 | TRLBLD | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8 | V.D.: 144 Sentinel 3 (Persi) | HP: 546/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase (1200-654) Sentinel 4 (Delilah) | HP: 594/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase (960-366) Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #49 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) A chorus of screeching voices cried out as Persi's bindings were ripped from her through the force of Freyd's attacks. Clenching his teeth to fight back doubt, he lunged for the ground behind Delilah, entering her shadows in a desperate gambit he prayed might somehow spare his longtime friend. She was the one who'd shown him how to navigate the void between shades, his eyes finally opened and understanding after touching that very substance in the battle against Shadow the Malevolent though its possession of Orgoth, the minotaur champion. His target was they very shadow he was trying to save: Freyd's goal was to burst out through Persi herself on the far side. Still dazed from being beaten against the forest wall, Persi stumbled to recover her footing, her normally blue eyes currently tinged vibrant, burning red instead. Those eyes suddenly widened to the size of saucers as her diminutive body suddenly bloated like a balloon, the threads lacing her inky being exploding or disintegrating, lacking any ability to contain something the size and magnitude of a player emerging from within. Delilah screamed, furious at her new toy being ripped from her control, even as Persi vomited out her true master and spill him back onto the field. All traces of the red thread menace faded from her as the last of the woven filament dissolved into nothingness. "Mine! She's mine and you can't have her. You can't have any of them. They're all MINE!" Rage reverberated through the gossamer weave overhead, making it clear that Delilah herself was also just a pawn. Someone... something... else was pulling the strings. *** Post reference, where Freyd touches Shadow: Spoiler Freyd regains +4 EN Freyd regains 72 HP from BH CD 3 (No REC proc) ID #218938 CD 4 (No VD proc) ID #218939 Cooldowns: Charge (1/3) Post Action | AoE-I (x15, 11 EN, +2 shift, +2/hit): 17 EN - (Stamina) = 15 EN. Free Action [Skill] | Brawler (CD 0/5, 5 EN, +40 MIT for one turn) Free Action [Item] | Imugi's Inspiration (Crystal) | Mass HP Recovery 3 (Instant) | 157462 (+131 hp). ID #218940 | BD: 9 (Crit +2, Holy +16, TRLBLD). DMG (15*42=630*2=1260-120=1140) to Sentinel 3. Dead. (CD 8 | ST-B locked) ID #218941 | BD: 4+5-1=8 (hit). DMG (15*24=360-120=240) to Sentinel 4 ID #218942 | MD: 5+2-5=2 (miss) Freyd | HP: 863/1311 (660+72+131) | EN: 110/152 (126+4-15-5) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 80 (+40) | EVA: 5 | ACC: 5 | BH: 72 | LD: 13 (16) | PROSP: 3 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | TXV: 32 | TRLBLD | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8 | V.D.: 144 Sentinel 3 | HP: 0/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase (546-1140) Sentinel 4 | HP: 354/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase (594-240) Loot Sentinel 3: ID #218943 | LD: 15+14=29 | CD: 6 +2 materials (+2 LD odd) 18000 col (HP[1200]*15 - incl. +2 CD even, +7 from roll, +3 Prosperity) T4 Perfect Weapon 218943a T4 Perfect Weapon 218943b T4 Perfect Weapon 218943c Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #50 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) "I'm sorry, kid," Freyd started, climbing back to his feet after having spilled out of Persi's digestive tract in reverse. He never wanted to do that again. "I can't pull this same trick on you. And that only leaves on option. This thing," he added, pointing at the lattice of interwoven filaments overhead. "It needs to die. And I am very much afraid that doing so might kill everything... and everyone... who is still connected to it." Pangs of something unfamiliar gripped Freyd's chest as he spoke. Though he never realized it himself, the Whisper had a serious soft spot for children, and he didn't know why. Maybe he saw in them the potential to live as he was denied the opportunity to do himself. Maybe it was their resilience and wonder, still persistent in advance of being swallowed by the cruel tides of life and reality. A yearning to protect that innocence had always been nestled deep inside him, emerging in rare moments like these. "You will join the fabric," the child screeched, its voice far too deep and sinister for such a small frame, even embellished as it was by the grafted filaments. "You will hear our song and OBEY." Freyd just shook his head. "You're going to find that I am really, REALLY stubborn, though I'm far from the only one. We don't want your stupid 'fabric' if it's to be forced upon us. You can't just take people into yourself. That's called... nevermind. Too creepy. Now, release the child, or I will take her back by force." "You can try, fool, and fail." Freyd's hands shifted, the wraps surrounding them replacing the sealed darkness of Samael's Pride with worn and beaten handwraps stained red with blood and brutal necessity then tempered by the scent of blossoms and the pure silence and clarity of the frozen morn. They look to have once been part of a larger garment since adapted to another's use and legacy. Hope's Covenant - Resolve - the same wraps he'd worn in the raid against Wushen, and crafted from a tattered shred of the Wanderer's red coat. There could be no more apt implement with better potential to break this awful curse *** Spoiler Freyd regains +4 EN Freyd regains 72 HP from BH CD 1 (No REC proc) ID #218944 CD 3 (No VD proc) ID #218945 Cooldowns: Charge (2/3), Brawler (1/5) Post Action | AoE-II (x18, 14 EN, +2 shift, +2/hit): 18 EN - (Stamina) = 16 EN. Free Action [skill] | Quick Change (CD 0/3, replacing Samael's' Pride with Hope's Covenant - Resolve +4 (T4 Demonic Weapon (MA) - AA, Phase, Frostbite, VO) ID #218946 | BD: 9 (Crit +2, TRLBLD). DMG (18*26=468*2=936-60=776) to Sentinel 4. Dead. VO heals Freyd for 144hp. (CD 12 | ST-B unlocked) Freyd | HP: 1079/1311 (863+72+144) | EN: 110/152 (110+4-16) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 80 | EVA: 5 | ACC: 6 (inc. AA) | BH: 72 | LD: 13 (16) | PROSP: 3 | FRSTB: 40 | TXV: 32 | TRLBLD | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8 | V.D.: 144 | V.O.: 144 Sentinel 4 | HP: 0/1200 | DMG: 280 | MIT: 120 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 1 | Phase (354-776) Loot Sentinel 4: ID #218947 | LD: 15+14=29 | CD: 3 +4 materials (+4 CD/LD odd) 7200 col (HP[1200]*6 - incl. +3 Prosperity) T4 Perfect Consumable 218947a T4 Perfect Consumable 218947b T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218947c T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218947d Scouting can resume. Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #51 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Red thread monster clashed against Whisper in Shadow, both roiling, dancing, stabbing and thrashed violently, each seeking to gain the upper hand. Delilah kept trying to engulf her target with her weavings, only to have them unravel in the face of a swift parry or dodge. Freyd was just too many places at once, too quick for her to corner. Beyond that, his own strikes now turned her strength against her. Every blow drained a little more colour from her sinewy armor, restoring Freyd's health in the process. All of the cuts and contusions inflicted upon him were slowly fading as his health bar rose in precisely the opposite manner to the thread's intentions. "I've learned a few valuable lessons along the way," he added speaking to whatever overlord controlled the child and held the puppet strings. "Do I call you magistrate? Aldenbrook? Scarlet Yellow-Yarn-Belly? That last one has a certain ring to it." "We are the weave and the woven. We infiltrate. We spread. We control. All of this existence will be ours. All of you, will be us!" Dipping low, then leaping high, Freyd crashed back down with a blow the ruptured the last of the thread's grasp upon its victim. Glass-like fractals burst outward, exploding like shrapnel made of light and leaving only the broken form of a child laying, weeping on the ground in her night clothes. Eyes still steaming with rage, Freyd's pulse thundered in his ears, dimmed only gradually as he stared down at the defeated pawn laying at his feet. A dozen bits of red filament, lamprey-like inch worms slithering away, scattered in all directions. "So that's what you look like." A snap of his fingers had Persi ripping the stragglers to shreds. None would survive. *** EN recovery (1/2) Freyd recovers 60 hp. Now at 1139/1311 Freyd consumes Lich Loogeys (Salve) | HP Recovery 3 | 169214 (+196 hp). HP now at 1311/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #52 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Kneeling down at Delilah's side, Freyd had watched the last of her health bar vanish, a telltale sign of impending and inevitable end. "You're okay now," he consoled, more gently and quietly, taking her hand in his even as her skin began to flake away and turn to dust. "It's gone, and can't hurt you anymore." Delilah cried, her body convulsing in the motions but voice already gone, tears streaming down the broken orange mesh of her avatar, revealed along the near side of her face. "I'll find your mom, Delilah. We'll stop the thing that did this to both of you, I prom..." She placed a solitary finger on his lips to halt his words, terror wide in her eyes. Her head shook rapidly to the negative, though he couldn't be entirely sure why. Did she not want him to do so? Was it a warning about how powerful this thing actually was? Or was her parent truly the greater evil that she didn't want spared? Freyd couldn't help wonder which came first: the monster spreading across floor 28 or the one that might have been its magistrate. The last of Delilah crumbled to dust and spilled into the wind still shrieking its way through the gossamer blanket smothering the woods. Freyd flinched, unexpectedly. These things didn't affect him. Not normally. But today? Perhaps. "Just a mob," he claimed, swallowing hard while assertively attempting to dismiss the wave of emotion sweeping through him like those very same winds, knowing that he didn't believe his own words. *** EN recovery (2/2) Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #53 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) More howling broke the silent solemnity of the scene. "The wolves," Freyd declared, cursing his luck. "Look like I didn't manage to lose them after all." A second call echoed from farther to the east. Then a third, closing off the only remaining option for escape. "Cornered. Great." Taking stock of the dwindling options, Freyd realized he hadn't yet checked on his fighting partner since Delilah's passing. "Persi, are you okay?" Shadow mongoose never made any vocal sound, but she came close and pressed her muzzle against his forearm, wrapping herself around and ultimately slinking her way back under his armor, where she normally hid. The measure of her purring was different. Cosier? Persi had never been particularly affectionate, which had always suited him fine, but something about today's encounters had shaken her usually indominable resolve. "Yeah. That's fine. You hang out in there for a bit, okay?" Gently patting his chest, he felt a shimmy around his ribs as she nestle in close. "Looks like we don't have a lot of options left." Turning around to face the entrance to the labyrinth where all the gathered gossamer strands collected and merged, he know that there were no other remaining choices. *** Scouting | 218948 | LD 7+16=23 | Stealth challenge Total: 299/300 Stealth roll | ID 218949 | LD 19+2=21 (Success). Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #54 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) The passage itself was quite tight, most of it already choked by the same thick translucent strands that he'd been encountering since he first entered this forest. A sickly, pinkish-red hue clung to them, providing minimal amounts of light that made him feel like he'd just entered a submarine rigged for battle stations. Hints of worked stone poked through, here and there, but most of the available space was consumed by the threads, which wove themselves into patterned bundles as they clung to the corridor walls and ceilings. Heat? It was also uncharacteristically warm in here, with increase moisture as well. Nothing was damp, but you could feel the difference on your skin as you moved through. Moving as quickly as he dared, Freyd stayed close to the walls, all while listening for more braying and barking from behind that never came. Perhaps the dogs never came in here? Maybe their spectral natures were kept out? Or, he was starting to believe, maybe they were never the enemy after all. He'd never actually been attacked by them, and every indication was that they were most likely after Delilah herself. "What battle are you fighting out here, Cardinal? And with whom?" Nothing about this seemed benevolent. Could it be that some aspects of Kayaba's vaunted system weren't overly pleased with their maker, or perhaps straining at their leashes? Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #55 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) Spiralling stone tunnels soon turned into stairs, ever changing in direction, yet consistent in the pace of their upward climb. The filaments pulse more loudly and steadily now, their rhythmic pattern falling into the familiar cadence of a heartbeat. "Yeah. That's not creepy at all," Freyd muttered under his breath, wondering where this was all leading. He had joined a few raids, but never hunted or face a labyrinth before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. All reports received to date suggested that these mobs could be entirely unique, on par with raid bosses in that respect. It wasn't the sort of enemy you wanted to face on your own and cornered, though he apparently had little choice. Following the final passage to a large open chamber spanning several hundred feet across, the entire space was decorated in massive sweeping fabrics and tapestries that all inevitably melded into one - draped directly over a central, ornately carved wooden throne. Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted February 11 Author #56 Report Share Posted February 11 (edited) A woman, regal and matronly, sat quietly upon said throne, wrapped in endless layers of cloth straining the eyes as they covered every imaginable shade from terra cotta to deepest maroon. He hair, replete with symbols of office and intricately delicate decorations, was splayed over the seat back and merged into all of the surrounding fabrics. It took little effort to realize that the entirety of the chamber and all he had witnessed beyond originated here. All of those sickly gossamer strands and glowering filaments originated here, of the top of this singular mob's head. Thousands of stringy tendrils suddenly shot out from every imaginable direction, wrapping themselves in a cocoon lattice around Freyd and squeezing him in both body and mind. When her voice came, it was from the inside of his head. "You were foolish to come alone," it chided, dripping in malignant sweetness the way he might imaging a spider queen might when pridefully secure in the power of her own lair. Creaking and tearing wrenched his clothes tighter as the tendrils coiled around and pulled him forward into line of sight. Her features were gaunt and pale, as if, despite all she had taken, it was somehow still not enough to sustain her. Parched, greying skin laden with wrinkles from too many burdens demonstrated the toll this expansion had taken on her. Freyd just couldn't be sure whether the woman before him was the actual source or just another host of the red thread menace. "I get that a lot," he eeked out, struggling to replace lost breath for the sake of a witty quip. "Oh, and Delilah says hello, Lady Aldenbrook." An angry sneer twisted her features, only adding to her aura of palpable malice. "Clever, but futile. That information will never leave this room. You will join with us, or you will die." "Yeah," Freyd seemed to agree, stressing his discomfort. "I get that a lot too. By the way, I love the way the light from your hair bring out the hag in your face. It also leaves a lovely shadow behind your throne." In the moment it took for the magistrate's face to drop, Freyd had made his move. Exhaling and compressing himself using his mastery of the disguise skill, he slipped his bonds and dove into the darkness, making his impossible escape. Good luck, guardian. Now we know who and where you are. As far away as Glyndebourne, players and mobs alike turned their heads at the thunderous, raging cries emanating from the distant Wailing Woods. *** Scouting | 218950 | LD 6+16=22 | Stealth challenge Total: 321/300 Stealth roll | ID 218951 | LD 5+2=7 (Fail). HP reduced by 328 to 983/1311 Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
Freyd 0 Posted March 24 Author #57 Report Share Posted March 24 (edited) Thread Closing: Freyd receives: 21,287 EXP (Word Count [11087/10*16*1] + 20% Mega-Slime Farm & highest contributor bonus) 71,393 col (2 page [800] + Loot [67400] + 15% P5 Reward [3193]) 24 Materials (Loot [24]) +1 Demonic Shard Random Dungeon Map 218897 T4 Perfect Consumable 218895a T4 Perfect Consumable 218895b T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218895c T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218895d T4 Perfect Consumable 218914a T4 Perfect Consumable 218914b T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218914c T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218914d T4 Perfect Weapon 218921a T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218921b T4 Perfect Consumable 218921c T4 Perfect Consumable 218921d T4 Perfect Weapon 218943a T4 Perfect Weapon 218943b T4 Perfect Weapon 218943c T4 Perfect Consumable 218947a T4 Perfect Consumable 218947b T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218947c T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 218947d Edited March 29 by Freyd Link to post Share on other sites
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