[OP-F29] Ope wide the gates! (Post Raid Thread)

[Morningstar 0]

Free from the clutches of the fish-frog mobs that flooded the street, Morningstar regrouped with Baldur. Briefly, he glanced at the Mother of Smiles, still paralyzed from his previous attack. The timer on the status effect ticked down, leaving a short window of opportunity for him to reengage. 

"Sheer dumb luck, I think. Cro did something--I didn't see what."

A deep one lunged at him from the side. Morningstar dodged, and slipped his blade in between its ribs, killing it instantly. Their durability wasn't the issue--it was the number of them. He chopped down two and made his way over to the Mother of Smiles again.

He dashed, so quickly that it looked like a <<Charge>> activation. This time, no barrier blocked his path. With a final sword art, he shredded through the Mother's remaining hit points. Her incoherent screams were deafening, and only dampened when her form began to crumble.

---

POST ACTION | TECH-B

ID241564 BD4+6-3=7 | 27*16 = 432 DMG to Mother of Smiles

<<Kaajh'Kaalbh - Mother of Smiles>> 0/1200 HP | No MIT | 3 EVA | 3 ACC | 200 DMG | Immune to Bleed and Burn Effects | +10 LD for searching | 64 Freeze on hit (EVA set to -1, Paralyzed) - but without ice, just a creepy, unhinged, crazy smile and a moment of mental torment | Stun Immune (1/3) | COWL OF MADNESS [0/2]- Gains 2 charges of Safeguard, must deal at least 100 damage to break through | PARALYZED | DELAY
[4] <<Morningstar>> | HP: 966/966 | EN: 100/120 | DMG: 27 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 5 | BH: 43 | LD: 6 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | AA | PARA-V
[1] <<Baldur>> | HP: 980/980 | EN: 132/132 | DMG: 23 | MIT:78 | ACC:5 | AA | KEEN: 1 | F-SPIRIT | EVA:2 | BH:49 | REC: 8 | FLN: 8 | BLI: 32/-20 | BRN: 56 | FRZ: 64 | LD:5

[Wulfrin 0]

Wulfrin was immediately engulfed in the torrential wave of darkness that befell the area once The Beast met its end. Wulfrin blinked as his <<Night Vision>> mod activated allowing him to survey the area more clearly. Another mass of dark energy took an amorphous form and threated to end the unprepared players that he and Kat were fighting so desperately to protect.

"Retreat!" Wulfrin ordered. "Run towards my voice! I'll hold them back as you get out of here!"

As the last player passed Wulfrin he took two paces forward and prepared to retaliate. The air around him began to feel heavy and thick as his HP began to slowly drop. Whatever this mass was, it had a deadly aura about it that he had to put down. With one strike, Wulfrin carved int the amorphous blob causing its HP to plummet. It wasn't enough to kill, but it could easily be ended with a follow up attack.

"Rinse and Repeat Kat!" Wulfrin shouted a command to ensure his partner had some semblance of a place to start. "It's in prime kill range!"

* * *

*Note* Wulfrin has Night Vision Active. Terrors of the deep does not impeded Wulfrin.

Recovery?: ID 241595 | CD 2 | +0 EN
Wulfrin regains 23 HP and 4 EN
Cooldowns: Rending Familiar (3/5)

Wulfrin takes 50 Damage from Blight Aura

Post Action: [x16] Tech-A (16 En) -2 stamina -1 Well Rested (2/3)
Free Action: none

ID 241596 | BD 2+8=10 hit | CD 5 | 21*16=336 DMG to Deepling. Stun Applied.

<<Hokolesqua - The Beast>> 0/1200 HP | No MIT | 2 EVA | 0 ACC | 200 DMG | 50 Bleed (2 turns) | Attack with Advantage | All attacks are AoE | Cannot be parried/countered | Rend 28 (1/2) | Stun Immune [0/3] 
<<Deepling>> 64/400 HP | No MIT | 2 EVA | 3 ACC | 200 DMG | Immune to Freeze and Shatter Effects | On hit decrease target EVA by 2 for 2 rounds | Continual 50 Blight damage -20 Mitigation Aura | STUNNED | Terrors of the deep - The effect of his area now removes all accuracy from effected players unless they have night vision. They cannot see any other players or NPCs except for Father's yellow eyes (unless they have night vision). 
<L>[1]<<Wulfrin>> HP: 703/780 | EN: 90/112 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 58 | ACC:7 | AA  | EVA:3 2 | PARA-IM | BH:23 | REC: 8 | FRB: 40 | FRZ: 64 | LD:4
<L>[0]<<Katoka>> HP: 628/820 | EN: 90/116 | DMG: 23 | MIT:78 58 | ACC:5 | EVA:1 -1 | BH:45 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16

Edited February 23 by Wulfrin

[Crozeph 0]

He crashed his sword at the crumbling face of the Mother but Morningstar had already finished the job. He looked around and saw that the evacuation continues.

"One moment this place seemed deserted, now it feels like we're helping people running away from warlords holding AKs"

The hex began thrumming at his hand and sent out a jolt up to his head making his user interface glitch as the tingles continued "shiiiiiiiit" he muttered as he tried to fight it, trying not to show them he's actually liking the jolt. 

"Green, black, orange, I don't know much with this but keep it coming or where do I get more of these?" he asked them.

Edited February 26 by Crozeph

[Baldur 0]

As Darkness descended over sections of the square, and more and more players escaped, the voids in the player's phalanx began be exploited, and the inky, wet forces of the deep slipped through, attacking the backs of players that were queuing for the teleport plaza.

<<Kumamon>> heard the calls for retreat and pushed his way towards the teleport plaza. As a scout, he came prepared with teleport crystals, but he hadn't been expecting a brawl in what should have been another safe zone. He was expecting the normal party, exploring a fresh new city, interrogating new NPCs to try and see what he could find that would help the Frontline players. He wasn't a fighter, but he did what he could to help, gathering materials and information. He always loved new floors, because on top of feeling like they were making progress to their freedom, it  helped him feel less claustrophobic.

So when hell and darkness came down on them, he gave his teleport crystal to some frightened looking kid. He didn't even see the name, but he obviously came here to see the new city like they had for 28 previous floors.

But that left him with nothing. He fought back, trying to help by the others time, but when the darkness closed in, there was nothing for him to do but run... no... there was something else for him to do... to die.. I'm sorry, Katsumi. Maybe we can get that ramen next time...

<<Kiko Omakase>> was out of energy. She wasn't a fighter. She specialized in support skills for the few times she joined others in field boss raids to farm consumables for her alchemy shop. The new floor should have been exciting. New components, new possibilities. She had even been saving up for a new shop. The frontliners and the scouts tended to hang out closer the top. She had hoped to be one of the first players up here and have her pick of possible new shop locations. Something bigger than the little stall that was the only spot left by the time she could afford one on the 5th floor. It was not ideal, and it didn't match her aesthetic at all either.

Not that this floor did. She wouldn't have ever bought a house on this floor. The background music alone had been enough to give her the creeps, but she didn't even have a chance to look. She teleported into the square before there was even a warning. So she did everything she could. She used her healing up trying to help people get out, but she could only do that a few times. And when she ran out of energy, there was no one left to help her.

Why didn't I bring a teleport crystal? It was supposed to a safe zone... such a newbie mista--

<<Sayakohime2>> covered her head with her hands and feet crashed down around her. She had fallen in the press of people.

Why is this happening?! This is a safe zone!

She only left the safe zone on the first floor. She wasn't going to risk her life. She wasn't good at this sort of thing. This was supposed to be a game! A game!

And then she felt the darkness close further around her. It was already dark from the press of people and the atmosphere, but now it was pitch black, and what grabbed her was definitely not human.

"Help! Let me g--"

<<Coldsteel>> slashed again, finishing off another one of the weird frog monsters that had been dropped in by the giant hand from the sky that had crushed the building.

"Switch!" He heard Hideki call from off to his side.

"I'm on it!" <<Coldsteel>> turned to see Hideki, his health bar hovering in the yellow to red area. It wasn't just one mob around him though, it was several.

"I got you!" Some girl named <<Kiko Omakse>> used one of her abilities and bumped Hideki up from red to yellow, before running off towards the teleport gate.

Coldsteel heaved his massive two hard sword up onto his shoulder and then ran towards Hideki.

"Keep them off the newbies! We're almost there! There's not many of them left!" He heaved the sword, bringing it down in a huge arc to cut Hideki free.

And then everything went black. He heard Hideki scream, and saw their tank's health bar go red, and then down, and down. He was being hit constantly. No one hit was big, but he had been surrounded.

"Hideki!!!" <<Coldsteel>> yelled for his friend.
"Taka! Heal him!"
"I can't find him!"
"Hideki!!"
"JUST RUN!!" Hideki, aka <<Tetsutsuru>> shouted at his friends.

And so they ran. They left Hideki behind as he spent his life to protect the rest of them and just ran.

Taka couldn't leave him.

When the tank ordered you to run, you ran. It was The Rule. Because the longer the tank had to wait for you to leave, the more chance there was that he or someone else would die.

If only she had night vision.

What could she do? She had to see him to be able to heal him. All she could see was the occasional flash of sword arts from players still fighting.

Y̸̡̖̫̮̪̘̜͗̏̀̔͑̌͌̂̽̕̕ò̶͓͎͐̊̿̀̽̑̃͊͊͗̓̔̑̃͊̚u̴̩̝̜̦̜̹̒͛ ̵̛̘̫͈͙͔͖̻̑͒̄̄̀̿̏́̓̌̓̈́̏͘͝w̴̨̧̧̛̛̰̱̼̹͍̯̹̪̄̐̉̈́̑̌̇͘̕i̷̛̭͛̓̈̿͊̌͑̈́̀̎͆̃̓͘ḽ̵̠̝̎̀̍̌̐̂̎́͂͆̋̕͘̕͠l̸̙̗͙̩̤͕̺̙̖̖͈͙̠̜͐͌̕ͅ ̷̨̧̢̤̰̭͇̠̱͈͎͑̈́̑̽̇͒̈̅͘̚d̷̨̨̼̞̩͔̥͖͙̭̬̺̙͎̂͘õ̵̧͚̭̔̕ ̴̢͕̫̀́̆̉̒͂́̀̂̽̇̓p̷̨͈͖̰̣̮̣͓̝͚̫̤̠̔̿̽͆̑́͒̍̅͠e̸͙̐̋̿͆̈͆̊͒͛̍͆̃r̴̃͜f̵̟̗͔̠̳̱̀̾̐̈́̈́̈́̈̚͝͠e̸͈̝̩̎̒̇̅̉̓̈́̒̿̒̐͗́̐͠ͅç̵̟͓̫̠̰̖̦̏̈͛̎̋̄̑̚͠ͅẗ̸̡̯̭͈̦̫̮̻͚̭͎̯̹̪̩́̊̔͆͜͜l̷̢̗̪̈́́͑͒̓́̾͝͝y̵̨̻̞̜̼̗̳̯̤̺͔͖̠̱̑̓̄ ̵̛͍̝̥̯͗́̆̉̈̆̈̋̓̕̕f̷͍̺̰̘̥̲̙̳̖̪̽͛͛̎͜o̵̧̢̝̲̭̘͍͋ŗ̶͖̬̯͖̹̦͔̙͓͕͇͖̍̃̾̓̆͜ ̸̡̡̗̳̪͖͎̖͈̋̽͗͆m̴̧̧̛͚͓̱̱̫͙͙͓̗̯̻̬͊̑͛̾̈́̄́͒͌̃̉̕̕̕͘͘͜ÿ̶̞͎͈͕̳̠̞͔̫̭́̃́̾̔͑͒̀̕͘͜ ̷̡̨̫̝͈͈̖̦̯̫̫̥͍̞̈̌̔̂͌͑̐̓̌͒̔̒̉̔̚p̷̡͇͈̟̳̯̣̭͍͇̊̆́͑͛͛͑̕̚͝u̸̡̼̤͙̲͉̻̜̇́̊̚͜r̴̨̛̻̫̥̼͔͔͍͔͉̹̊̈̈̇̋̂̍̌̐́̕͜p̶̱̗̫͚͓̫̤̳͕̻̱̯̒̌̋̔̃̑̕ǫ̵̢̱̹͎̙͉̩͇̹̪̦̖̬̟̗̓̃̎̌̃̓̾͐͘͝ͅs̴̡̨̛̤̳̣̬͙̥̝͚̦̞͍̬̖͒̉̅̈́̔͝e̵̻̩̟̲̫͈͈̦͓͇̥̻̯̎͒͗̍͛̈́́̿̈́̋͒͒͜͜ͅͅs̷͚̲̮̙̭̜̑̽̊̊̄̑̕͠

"Who... who's there?"<<Kansatsu>> called out towards the strange voice.

T̸̞͎̮͉̞͓̠̠̰̻͈͎̲̝͎͈̑̄̃́̾̈̔̅͆͘͜h̵̢̡̛̤̟͖̠̭̱͙̻̜̭̭̳̦͓͌́̾͒͗͌̕̚͜ę̴̨̧͚̗̠̹̟̣͓̘̬͙̀͋͐̀̔̋̓̕̚̕͜ ̴̛̖͓̼̹̘̄̌̊̋̑̋̾͊̓̀̊͛̚̕e̸̡̥͙̝̙͔̣̿̽̂̿̈́̀̒̋̓͌̉͋̎̾͘͝n̶̡̧̺͙͖̝͓̼̜̤̱̙̥͓̅͆̀͌͗͋̓̄͌̒̽̆͋͆͐͘ḋ̷̝̫̪̹̘̱ ̴̲̪̠̖̭̈̑̒͒͋̓̍͌̒̀̕m̸̡̨͕͓̜̮̫̠̟͚͎̩̻̤̗͐ͅͅy̴̫̾̿͆͑̽͘ ̶͉̠̙̤̟̪̗̤̫̻̫̰̹̘̙͍͚̑̅͗̐́̽̋̏̂̈́͗̋̾d̸̛͙̩͂̀ẹ̸͉̠̙͓͖̺̻͍͇̙̼̔̔͂̐̍̓̓͘͝ä̵̡̛͎̼̘̭̦͉̼͙̖̩̖̜͓̼́̆̀́̋̊̈̽͛̈́̅̚͝ř̵͙̯͉͔̣̜̺̤̲̼̬̖̪̘͒̕͠.̶̖̳̗̗͙̒̇͒̂̓̽̐̿͆́̚ ̷̲͔̬̲̭̝̤̫̮͚̠̍͛͂̈́̾͊͆͐̈́̾͂̕ͅŇ̷͖͗͋̑̀̂o̶̰͉͉̠̟͉͉̭̦̜͆͊̎͐͜͝͠͝w̷̛͇͒̊̾͋̇̿̕͜ ̸̗̘̇̆̆̅̽̈́̆͋̊̈́͂̐̆́̀̕͝ŕ̷̩̟͆̅̉͆͛͌̍̌̓͋̍͒̆̉̕͝ȩ̷͔̯̘̔̊̀͠š̷̡̛̉̓͘ẗ̵̺͎̖͝͝.̶̛͙̤̎́̋̉͛̈́͗͐̓͒̈́̿̀̓͝ ̴̨̹͙̰̩͈̯̠̱̂͂̂̉͑́͂̿͘Ȩ̸̥̫̹̗͚̼̟̺̂̽̒ͅẗ̶̥̮̳́́e̶̗͊r̶̦͉̙̰͖͔͉̩̜͔̣̽́͊̓͆̈́̈̍̍̀̚̚͝ͅṇ̴̢̢̡͇̺̲̰̩̳̅̔̀́̂̾͊̍͛̓̍̈́̄͜͝͠a̸̟̯͈͎̝̪͓͑͑̿͂̅͠l̵̛̘̫̮̠̳͈͍̗͉̙̱͕̹̗̏̌̋̾̈́͋́̑͘͝͝ ̸̡̛̛͍̰͈̭̯̖̐̿̇͆̈́̿̄̊̈̒͌̚͜͠͝ͅş̸͓͖͍͈͔̼̈́̂͗͜͝ĺ̶̛̞̪͈̻̠̟̺͔̥̏̉̇u̸̗̪͌̓͌̈̊̾̌̇̒̑̆̒̐̂͒͒͝m̴̢̦̳̖͖̻͍̀͊̇̈́͘̚b̸̛̻̣̈́̊͊̓͌̓̉͌̚͠ȩ̸̮̺̄̔͐͗̾̈́̂̊̀͌̃̓̚͝͝r̶̨̢͓̥͕̮̠̼̤͖̖̾̄́͝ ̷̩̤̭̫̳̈́a̴̡̡̺̘̺͚̫͓̥̩͚̬̖̿͂̌͌͆̕͜͝w̵̨̛̖͈̫̗̻̮̖̫͉͇̥̭̓̎̎͆̏͛̅́̎͆͝ȃ̴̜̲̤̼̼̰͚͈͇̈́̏̏̔̐͌̊̅̚i̵̡͔̩̠̼̻̱͊̏̏͑͐̏̾̋̂͒͐͌̊̐̈́͘͠ṯ̴̳̽̏̈̅̆͆́̊͌̓̈́̕͘͠s̸̢̧̨̠̤̦̻̝̟̠̞͙̰͎͓̅̒͗͊̄.̸̖̮̫͎̞̣̽̒̊̎̕͜

 

And then the darkness was gone.

Baldur looked around, and saw that all of the champions were dead. It seems that when Ryo defeated <<The Father>> all of his deeplings collapsed, and with them, their effect. With the darkness gone, and the last of the low level players departed, it took only a moment for the frontline to clean up what was left of the minions. At the edge of his vision, he saw that the ones in the back retreated back into the wildness, lost without their champions.

And a lull descended upon the square. Nothing left Frontline.

"Everyone okay? Did we lose anyone? If you're missing a partner, call out!"

---

None of the NPC players are remaining in the square. The players who died can be added to the Monument of life. Only the PC PCs are left in the square (and Hirru's merchant NPC)

2/4 regions successfully defended (Cro didn't post where, so I'll apply him to a location, and make it 3/4 regions defended)
0/35 Players remaining! All Living Player NPCs have now escaped!
5 Players lost
3/3 Waves survived.

Resolved Combat stats:

Spoiler

 

<<Kaajh'Kaalbh - Mother of Smiles>> 424/1200 HP | No MIT | 3 EVA | 3 ACC | 200 DMG | Immune to Bleed and Burn Effects | +10 LD for searching | 64 Freeze on hit (EVA set to -1, Paralyzed) - but without ice, just a creepy, unhinged, crazy smile and a moment of mental torment | Stun Immune (1/3) | COWL OF MADNESS [0/2]- Gains 2 charges of Safeguard, must deal at least 100 damage to break through | PARALYZED | DELAY
*[3] <<Morningstar>> | HP: 966/966 | EN: 100/120 | DMG: 27+4 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 5 | BH: 43 | LD: 6 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | AA | PARA-V
*[1] <<Baldur>> | HP: 980/980 | EN: 132/132 | DMG: 23 | MIT:78 | ACC:5 | AA | KEEN: 1 | F-SPIRIT | EVA:2 | BH:49 | REC: 8 | FLN: 8 | BLI: 32/-20 | BRN: 56 | FRZ: 64 | LD:5

<<Y'ha-nthlei - Father of the Deep>> 201/1200 HP | No MIT | 0 2 EVA | 3 ACC | 200 DMG | Immune to Freeze and Shatter Effects | On hit decrease target EVA by 2 for 2 rounds | Continual 50 Blight damage -20 Mitigation Aura | Terrors of the deep - The effect of his area now removes all accuracy from effected players unless they have night vision. They cannot see any other players or NPCs except for Father's yellow eyes (unless they have night vision). 
*<H>[6]<<Freyd>> HP: 1250/1300 | EN: 150/162 | DMG: 24 | MIT:197 177 | ACC: 7  | F-SPIRIT | EVA:4 | DOTE: 1/1 | BH:72 | VAMP-D: 72 | HLY 16 | FLN 16 | LD:5 | QC (1/3)
*[2] <<Ryo>> | HP: 602/680 | EN: 81/100 | DMG: 21 | MIT:75 55 | ACC:3 | BH:22 | REC: 3 | LD:2 

<<Shub-Niggurath - The Wanderer>> 0/1200 HP | 50 MIT | -1 EVA | 2 ACC | 200 DMG | 75 Thorns | 50% Phase | 50 Offensive Envenom (4 turns) | Stun Immune (0/3) | REFLECTION - Any status effects or DoTs applied, are applied to the Player who applied them as well. 50% of Damage dealt is reflected back to the player (can be mitigated)
<<Deepling>> 400/400 HP | No MIT | 2 EVA | 3 ACC | 200 DMG | Immune to Freeze and Shatter Effects | On hit decrease target EVA by 2 for 2 rounds | Continual 50 Blight damage -20 Mitigation Aura | Terrors of the deep - The effect of his area now removes all accuracy from effected players unless they have night vision. They cannot see any other players or NPCs except for Father's yellow eyes (unless they have night vision). 
*[0]<<Arabelle>>  HP: 354/680 | EN: 60/106 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 0 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 1 | FLN: 8 (6-8) | BLI: 32 (9-10); -20 MIT / 2 | BLD: 48 (9-10) | RSK: 8 | BH: 34 | VD: 10% | HB: 27 | LD: 5 | [RSK]
[0]<<Jomei>> HP: 736/960 | EN: 114/134 | DMG: 21 | MIT: 44 24 | ACC:3 | TAUNT | F-SPIRIT | EVA:4 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | VAMP-D: 106 | BLI: 32/-20  | LD:1  | Clean (0/2) | COUNTER 25%

<<Hokolesqua - The Beast>> 0/1200 HP | No MIT | 2 EVA | 0 ACC | 200 DMG | 50 Bleed (2 turns) | Attack with Advantage | All attacks are AoE | Cannot be parried/countered | Rend 28 (1/2) | Stun Immune [0/3] 
<<Deepling>> 64/400 HP | No MIT | 2 EVA | 3 ACC | 200 DMG | Immune to Freeze and Shatter Effects | On hit decrease target EVA by 2 for 2 rounds | Continual 50 Blight damage -20 Mitigation Aura | STUNNED | Terrors of the deep - The effect of his area now removes all accuracy from effected players unless they have night vision. They cannot see any other players or NPCs except for Father's yellow eyes (unless they have night vision). 
*<L>[1]<<Wulfrin>> HP: 703/780 | EN: 90/112 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 58 | ACC:7 | AA  | EVA:3 2 | PARA-IM | BH:23 | REC: 8 | FRB: 40 | FRZ: 64 | LD:4
<L>[0]<<Katoka>> HP: 628/820 | EN: 90/116 | DMG: 23 | MIT:78 58 | ACC:5 | EVA:1 -1 | BH:45 | REC: 8 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16

 

 

Edited June 8 by Baldur

[Arabelle 0]

they lost arabelle.

y'ha-nthlei's curse blinded jomei's eyes -- and he was with her last, so who could really say? fortunately, the frontlines' newest troublemaker is just as careless with her contact and location. morningstar's tracking reveals arabelle sitting idle outside an abandoned church on top of a hill.

 

 

she walks sightless, tracing a hand along a broken wall, the sound of the raging sea somewhere past the structures to her left.

"any of you still awake?"

in the sanctum, there is an open wound where a dozen monarchs once perched. it bled earlier; the nearest to the ones she lost in the attack dropped dead from grief and the butterfly corpses trailed in her wake. the heavy raindrops nailed the paper-thin wings to the muddied ground and soon they were trampled underfoot, like the spilled guts of the cockroaches.

their kin have stopped crying, but the sorrow and guilt are still there, clouding their senses. wordlessly, she nudges the flock again and tiny ripples spread through the sea of butterflies in answer.

"i am your keeper. their loss was through no one's fault but my own," she tells them.

the water reaches up to her ankles. she's approaching the far side of the hill, taking the longer route to the peak. the butterflies tell her, BEHIND US, and the backline in the plaza falls apart. the frenzied mob spills outwards as the last of their leaders are killed. fourteen floors below, standing in the rain outside of fermata's headquarters, saber slams an audio switch on a communicator and starts whispering as quietly as he can, monument watchers just reported player deaths in ilridge; this isn't your standard solo operation, hotshot, we need you to drop a trace now, or--

the sharp painful clarity of her vision returns and their leg snaps.

where is that strange and terrible song coming from? mocking death is gliding his bow through a violin's strings as blood spills into the floodwaters and the shambler shoves the player to the ground. they catch themself, barely, on the unbroken leg, spikes piercing the bone beneath the knee on the other. the sword in their hand flashes white and the shambler is stunned standing, health bar cleaved in half.

its mouth opens, as if to scream. three more insects emerge from the darkness. their limbs are overgrown. nails sharp and long. the shamblers corner them against a wall and their mouths stretch into wide smiles as the player's crystal turns into a common stone and they realize there is no escape. 

"saber," the prey breathes. "saber, do you hear me? from ilridge's teleport gate, behind the crushed building--"

the insects maul their own until they are satisfied.

 

 

 

on a balcony across the street, a door softly clicks shut.

(look at you. an afterthought.

he'd paused by a broken window, when your frontlines scattered, and you were looking back. your hair was mussed from the crash. and you -- you loved your long hair. you wore it in a particular way: the bangs straight and parted above the left brow; and as you did with everything you loved, you wore it down in a particular way: your worried fingers, twisting the strands until they were rough and knotted from the friction, fussing over the mess when you noticed. and sometimes, in the early days, you wouldn't mind how you looked when you fell asleep on lars's shoulder as the two talked about things you didn't understand.

you'd wake up and someone had fixed it for you. you'd never thought to ask lars. similarly, sibyl had found old habits too unimportant to recount.)

---

-> POST ACTION: Using Teleport Crystal.
^{i spawned some mobs that i wasn't able to kill in my previous post so this is used to quit the encounter.}