Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 3: Castle Suterrea)
09-08-2011, 07:35 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.
Sarika was by no means heavy so Karen could barely feel a thing as she helped the seer down the stone steps. She knew that the weight difference was probably due to her not being human, but she wondered just what, if anything, the bird woman ate. She could hear the steady rhythm of the two sets of footsteps behind her, one a pair of heavy boots, and the other... some kind of sandal from the sound of it. Karen half expected the elfish Lloyd to be wearing flip flops, and barely managed to stifle a chuckle at the idea. She needed the humour. If a girl her age couldn’t laugh during these situations she would no doubt go mad with despair.
Soon, a large wooden door blocked her path. She didn’t even check for locks before she shifted her weight and kicked, planting her foot heavily onto the door and shunting open. She admired the result as she thought to herself; you didn’t enchant two doors in a row to block the treasury. If they broke one, the second would just be a laughable waste of resources.
She should have seen the dragon-like creature coming. Tabletops always had them, people made fun of the title of the most famous one if they were ever missing from the action. She heard Sarika ask to be let go, so Karen freed the use of her left arm by doing so. Her right hand instinctively went for her sword. Dragons were always a pain. The hardest bosses were always dragons in Legends of Fate. People had tried for two years to become strong enough to beat them, but even hardened guilds and groups would fall apart at the seams to defeat them.
They always wondered who the Karen was that kept getting the kills first. They always wondered who the player was that could do what ten could not. Sometimes she brought Coal along if he was around, but he was nowhere near as levelled as her. Nobody was. Now she thought of how this creature would attack. Sweeping tail, check. Fire breath? Always a possibility, but fire was something she was more than comfortable with now, and had ways of stopping it from hurting her.
As Sarika walked forwards she managed to have their presence announced. Karen watched the monster’s tail rise above the open doorframe, and as Sarika made to dodge backwards she too retreated into the safety of the staircase. Yeah, this thing was going to be a tough fight. But Lillian had to be somewhere passed it. If she was wrong about all of this, no, she forced that train of thought from her mind.
Nothing prepared her for the accent of the monster. High strung, old English and completely out of place. What was even more shocking was to find Lloyd bursting out into a fit of hysterics. The almost muted Elven version of him was being uncharacteristically loud, which Karen was being slightly creeped out by.
“So, how do you want to handle this, being what I assume is the person most used to this kind of thing?”
“Chopping of its head, ripping off all the scales and talons and then selling them at ridiculously high prices to anyone dumb enough to waste all their money is usually the normal tactic with dragons. But I think I’ll just keep attacking it until it either stops fighting back or dies.”
“ “You going to need backup for this? I’m pretty sure dragons aren’t immune to guns.”
Backup. Let Sarika and Lloyd, both recently intoxicated, one a criminal mastermind and the other heavily wounded walk towards almost certain doom alone and finish off a mere obstacle between them and Lillian, or let them do the rest while she finds something to replace her sword.
She hated being selfish, but her eyes knew a prize piece of loot when they saw one.
“Piece of cake. Besides, this thing is just blocking our path, not holding the hostage. I’ll be leaving the rest up to you three.
She stepped out from the corridor as the serpentine monster rose to its full height.
“Soooooo, you’re going to make me do this the hard way aren’t you?” It sighed, obviously not happy with her choice.
“I’m prepared to take you down if it means they get through that door, if that’s what you’re implying.”
The monster was obviously finished with its diplomatic act and lunged out. Karen had her sword drawn in the blink of an eye, even with its seemingly overbearing weight. As its head barrelled towards her she coiled her body and swung, cleaving into the pointed chin and hitting the jawbone. It recoiled backwards, getting clear from her swords range. Karen assumed this was going to go well for her, she was far more powerful than any rulebook would allow in this setting. On the other hand, she was on a tight schedule, so decided to go all out from the start.
As it coiled around the room, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, Karen did something the others couldn’t understand. She rammed the blade of her sword into the stone floor, leaving the blade jutting halfway out. She clapped her hands together and muttered an oath, a spell, and began to shimmer.
A second image of Karen split from her, and another and then another until there were five in all. They each seemed corporeal to begin with, but began to solidify within second. Each of them approached her immovable sword, and touched the hilt. The first pair drew the two katanas from inside the staff-hilt. The third just removed the entire staff itself, twirling it around for effect. There was enough of a hilt for the original Karen to remove the sword, as the fifth simply stood barehanded.
Karen knew this was the only time she was going to be able to use this spell. She was actually scared of it, in the realistic workings. She feared each would have their own mind, would preserve their own being above anything else. But they were temporary forms and they would know that.
Clones. Simple, throwaway copies with less than a minute of lifespan. She hoped they understood that the end justified the means. What she had done was immoral on so many levels. But she would remember her own sacrifice as if she was in their place. All five of them charged, two slicing away with as many attacks as they pleased. They could use any amount of force or magic they wanted. They wouldn’t be around to care about pain, injuries or magic levels. She knew they would use berserk, apart from the magic casting one. The beast tried to crush, bite or claw them but every Karen inherited her speed and agility. They each made short work of it, drawing enough blood that much of the treasure began to be soaked in it.
As each Karen began to disappear they combined the staff once more. But the beast was nearly done, as Karen leapt high above, readying the strike that would end its life. But she was too sure of herself, as the monster threw out a long tongue that wrapped itself around her midsection. She was instantly aware of her folly as it careened her into the wall, crushing her. The pain wracked at her body explosively. Her vision became blurry as she realised that the tongue was holding her in place as the head approached. But she had her sword. She couldn’t rely on the exploding sword idea, she needed time to prepare that. But from the corner of her eye she found a fatal flaw in the snakes plan.
In one deft movement she swapped the direction of her sword, and lifted it as a javelin. In front of her loomed the gaping maw that threatened to end her life, or a huge target to finish the fight. She overexerted the muscles in her arm and threw the massive blade with all her might. It plunged into the pink wall of flesh and into the creature’s gullet causing it to writhe in pain. It swung its head around bringing her into an arc as she remained in its deathgrip. She tried to burn her way through the flesh, blackening as much of it as she could. Its grip finally relaxed and she slipped free, falling painfully into a pile of rather pointy treasure. As she lay panting, she barely heard the monster crash into the opposite wall as it bled to death.
The next thing she knew Marcus was standing over her, offering his hand. She gladly took it. He hauled her out of the shining pit of expensive looking objects, congratulating her on a job well done. She just checked to make sure she was able to walk, reprimanding herself for making a stupid mistake. You don’t try to make a flashy finishing move when your life was on the line. She was an idiot. She could have died.
And in a way, she had. Four copies of her gave their lives to help her and she nearly died anyway.
She just tried healing all the painful spots as they rejoined the group.
“Your sword landed somewhere over there.” Sarika pointed out, wincing as she did.
She didn’t care about the sword any more. She raised her hand, calling her staff to return. It lifted from the ground and sped towards her waiting palm. She felt within it, feeling the presence of her dual swords. The chunk of metal she had been using as a sword was too heavy and unwieldy for her tastes. It needed both arms to use, and a lot of room to swing. She couldn’t maximise her potential as a witch while using it. But another sword was waiting for her, she knew it. She made a detour to where the serpent had first been waiting, finding the blade wedged into a solid gold podium. It was big, shaped to a curve with several edges jutting out. The hilt had an almost dragon like appeal to it, with the blade having a point sticking out from the bottom. Across the length of it was an emblazoned dark patch that separated the dull back from the keen edge, and two semi circles of sword were missing from near the point and just above the hilt.
It was a sword designed to kill monsters, not to be wielded by one. Karen prepared it for her own use, and within a minute was swinging it around to get a feel for it. Satisfied, she swung the staff infused blade over her back and into the leather holster, joining the group as they finally moved on from the treasury, all the while Karen felt they really were getting too close to something even she was getting more and more fearful of.
And hoping that Lillian didn’t die before they reached her.
Sarika was by no means heavy so Karen could barely feel a thing as she helped the seer down the stone steps. She knew that the weight difference was probably due to her not being human, but she wondered just what, if anything, the bird woman ate. She could hear the steady rhythm of the two sets of footsteps behind her, one a pair of heavy boots, and the other... some kind of sandal from the sound of it. Karen half expected the elfish Lloyd to be wearing flip flops, and barely managed to stifle a chuckle at the idea. She needed the humour. If a girl her age couldn’t laugh during these situations she would no doubt go mad with despair.
Soon, a large wooden door blocked her path. She didn’t even check for locks before she shifted her weight and kicked, planting her foot heavily onto the door and shunting open. She admired the result as she thought to herself; you didn’t enchant two doors in a row to block the treasury. If they broke one, the second would just be a laughable waste of resources.
She should have seen the dragon-like creature coming. Tabletops always had them, people made fun of the title of the most famous one if they were ever missing from the action. She heard Sarika ask to be let go, so Karen freed the use of her left arm by doing so. Her right hand instinctively went for her sword. Dragons were always a pain. The hardest bosses were always dragons in Legends of Fate. People had tried for two years to become strong enough to beat them, but even hardened guilds and groups would fall apart at the seams to defeat them.
They always wondered who the Karen was that kept getting the kills first. They always wondered who the player was that could do what ten could not. Sometimes she brought Coal along if he was around, but he was nowhere near as levelled as her. Nobody was. Now she thought of how this creature would attack. Sweeping tail, check. Fire breath? Always a possibility, but fire was something she was more than comfortable with now, and had ways of stopping it from hurting her.
As Sarika walked forwards she managed to have their presence announced. Karen watched the monster’s tail rise above the open doorframe, and as Sarika made to dodge backwards she too retreated into the safety of the staircase. Yeah, this thing was going to be a tough fight. But Lillian had to be somewhere passed it. If she was wrong about all of this, no, she forced that train of thought from her mind.
Nothing prepared her for the accent of the monster. High strung, old English and completely out of place. What was even more shocking was to find Lloyd bursting out into a fit of hysterics. The almost muted Elven version of him was being uncharacteristically loud, which Karen was being slightly creeped out by.
“So, how do you want to handle this, being what I assume is the person most used to this kind of thing?”
“Chopping of its head, ripping off all the scales and talons and then selling them at ridiculously high prices to anyone dumb enough to waste all their money is usually the normal tactic with dragons. But I think I’ll just keep attacking it until it either stops fighting back or dies.”
“ “You going to need backup for this? I’m pretty sure dragons aren’t immune to guns.”
Backup. Let Sarika and Lloyd, both recently intoxicated, one a criminal mastermind and the other heavily wounded walk towards almost certain doom alone and finish off a mere obstacle between them and Lillian, or let them do the rest while she finds something to replace her sword.
She hated being selfish, but her eyes knew a prize piece of loot when they saw one.
“Piece of cake. Besides, this thing is just blocking our path, not holding the hostage. I’ll be leaving the rest up to you three.
She stepped out from the corridor as the serpentine monster rose to its full height.
“Soooooo, you’re going to make me do this the hard way aren’t you?” It sighed, obviously not happy with her choice.
“I’m prepared to take you down if it means they get through that door, if that’s what you’re implying.”
The monster was obviously finished with its diplomatic act and lunged out. Karen had her sword drawn in the blink of an eye, even with its seemingly overbearing weight. As its head barrelled towards her she coiled her body and swung, cleaving into the pointed chin and hitting the jawbone. It recoiled backwards, getting clear from her swords range. Karen assumed this was going to go well for her, she was far more powerful than any rulebook would allow in this setting. On the other hand, she was on a tight schedule, so decided to go all out from the start.
As it coiled around the room, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, Karen did something the others couldn’t understand. She rammed the blade of her sword into the stone floor, leaving the blade jutting halfway out. She clapped her hands together and muttered an oath, a spell, and began to shimmer.
A second image of Karen split from her, and another and then another until there were five in all. They each seemed corporeal to begin with, but began to solidify within second. Each of them approached her immovable sword, and touched the hilt. The first pair drew the two katanas from inside the staff-hilt. The third just removed the entire staff itself, twirling it around for effect. There was enough of a hilt for the original Karen to remove the sword, as the fifth simply stood barehanded.
Karen knew this was the only time she was going to be able to use this spell. She was actually scared of it, in the realistic workings. She feared each would have their own mind, would preserve their own being above anything else. But they were temporary forms and they would know that.
Clones. Simple, throwaway copies with less than a minute of lifespan. She hoped they understood that the end justified the means. What she had done was immoral on so many levels. But she would remember her own sacrifice as if she was in their place. All five of them charged, two slicing away with as many attacks as they pleased. They could use any amount of force or magic they wanted. They wouldn’t be around to care about pain, injuries or magic levels. She knew they would use berserk, apart from the magic casting one. The beast tried to crush, bite or claw them but every Karen inherited her speed and agility. They each made short work of it, drawing enough blood that much of the treasure began to be soaked in it.
As each Karen began to disappear they combined the staff once more. But the beast was nearly done, as Karen leapt high above, readying the strike that would end its life. But she was too sure of herself, as the monster threw out a long tongue that wrapped itself around her midsection. She was instantly aware of her folly as it careened her into the wall, crushing her. The pain wracked at her body explosively. Her vision became blurry as she realised that the tongue was holding her in place as the head approached. But she had her sword. She couldn’t rely on the exploding sword idea, she needed time to prepare that. But from the corner of her eye she found a fatal flaw in the snakes plan.
In one deft movement she swapped the direction of her sword, and lifted it as a javelin. In front of her loomed the gaping maw that threatened to end her life, or a huge target to finish the fight. She overexerted the muscles in her arm and threw the massive blade with all her might. It plunged into the pink wall of flesh and into the creature’s gullet causing it to writhe in pain. It swung its head around bringing her into an arc as she remained in its deathgrip. She tried to burn her way through the flesh, blackening as much of it as she could. Its grip finally relaxed and she slipped free, falling painfully into a pile of rather pointy treasure. As she lay panting, she barely heard the monster crash into the opposite wall as it bled to death.
The next thing she knew Marcus was standing over her, offering his hand. She gladly took it. He hauled her out of the shining pit of expensive looking objects, congratulating her on a job well done. She just checked to make sure she was able to walk, reprimanding herself for making a stupid mistake. You don’t try to make a flashy finishing move when your life was on the line. She was an idiot. She could have died.
And in a way, she had. Four copies of her gave their lives to help her and she nearly died anyway.
She just tried healing all the painful spots as they rejoined the group.
“Your sword landed somewhere over there.” Sarika pointed out, wincing as she did.
She didn’t care about the sword any more. She raised her hand, calling her staff to return. It lifted from the ground and sped towards her waiting palm. She felt within it, feeling the presence of her dual swords. The chunk of metal she had been using as a sword was too heavy and unwieldy for her tastes. It needed both arms to use, and a lot of room to swing. She couldn’t maximise her potential as a witch while using it. But another sword was waiting for her, she knew it. She made a detour to where the serpent had first been waiting, finding the blade wedged into a solid gold podium. It was big, shaped to a curve with several edges jutting out. The hilt had an almost dragon like appeal to it, with the blade having a point sticking out from the bottom. Across the length of it was an emblazoned dark patch that separated the dull back from the keen edge, and two semi circles of sword were missing from near the point and just above the hilt.
It was a sword designed to kill monsters, not to be wielded by one. Karen prepared it for her own use, and within a minute was swinging it around to get a feel for it. Satisfied, she swung the staff infused blade over her back and into the leather holster, joining the group as they finally moved on from the treasury, all the while Karen felt they really were getting too close to something even she was getting more and more fearful of.
And hoping that Lillian didn’t die before they reached her.