Re: Epic Clash Round 3 - The Ascended City
07-11-2010, 11:41 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.
"No, no, no, what. No."
Each contestant, each piece of debris, each tendril of flame slowed to a halt around everyone as an exasperated voice spoke slowly and calmly from everywhere at once. The participants found themselves completely unable to move anything except their eyes, their bodies suspended perfectly in place. They felt their awareness of themselves separate from their bodies and float upwards. They were cognizant of a new place, but unable to tell where they were in relation to it or whether it was even real at all. The area was dominated by several floating mirrors, whose reflections were mostly replaced by scenes from the city they had just left.
The Overseer and Chronicler were present, the former reclined in a computer chair with his feet up on a desk, his head tilted back. He massaged his temple and sighed loudly. The Chronicler looked back and forth from the Overseer to vaguely in the direction in space occupied by the contestants' consciousnesses. "Uh, Bryce? A-are you gonna...?"
"Dammit. What. Look, it's The Overseer in front of..." he waved his hand vaguely in the players' direction.
"Oh. Um. Sorry. Overseer, are you gonna start the new round?" The Chronicler replied. He looked back to the disembodied minds, shot them an apologetic smile, and mouthed out the word "Sorry."
"No, no, whatever," Bryce cleared his throat loudly, stood, and spat on the floor. "I got this, dude."
He snapped his fingers, and the split awareness each of them were experiencing broke. Each of their bodies popped into place right around the space their minds had been occupying, Asteira in particular being ripped from Michelle's lifeless body. They were still unable to move. Their host took a moment to roll his shoulders and pop his neck before he began.
"Okay, so usually I have this thing set up where it like... stops you all and takes you to here when someone dies but I uh..." He trailed off and pursed his lips as if trying to decide how to phrase what he would say next. "I been busy. Forgot to set it up," he finished.
"So. Michelle dead. New arena. You made a real mess of the last one. Uh, good job, I guess." He paused for a moment, then turned to address The Chronicler. "Man, where were they going this time?"
The Chronicler perked up and responded eagerly. "The fortress, remember?" Bryce continued to stare, as if he did not. "You know, the one in that place with the thirteen divines, with the plane of magic and those mage guys who use the stars to-"
"Oh right, right. Sexy nature goddess."
"I, uh, I mean she was but-"
"Right, s'got nothing to do with anything these guys're gonna have to deal with, probably." He turned back to the contestants and gestured to one of the floating mirrors, which approached and blinked to display new scenery. The view flew over a half-finished, imposing stone fortress perched atop a high bluff. "Okay dudes, new arena. Haunted fortress."
The mirror enlarged and dropped down over them as the view in its reflection moved down to ground level. Miles spoke up as the mirror popped out of existence, leaving them all standing in the center of a large circular tower. "I wouldn't...it's not really haunted. Uh, possessed?"
"I dunno, man. That makes it sound like the whole thing's alive or something. I mean, kind of, but...maybe infected?"
"Unholy?"
"Whatever. It's a bad place." He turned back to the prone contestants. "Right. So, these colonist dudes went out into uncharted wilderness to... uh, colonize and explore and they built this fort here. Seemed like a good spot, right? Most of the forts around here, they have decently-sized underground bits. These guys were digging out some rooms and stuff underground, but they just felt compelled to keep digging, deeper and deeper. That and their architecture got a little...strange." He paused, likely for dramatic effect. "They dug too deep, found something they shouldn't have, and lost some things they needed. They haven't come up yet."
He pointed to a four of the doors around the open courtyard in the center. "Those doors all lead down into the tunnels. They all meet up in a few places down there. You might feel a little...urge to see what's down there. You also might meet some of the colonists. I'm honestly not sure how they'd take to you. Just, y'know, a heads up."
He paused again. After its conspicuous absence throughout the duration of the speech, Bryce's smirk stretched its way across his face. "One last thing. Have fun."
He snapped, and each player was lifted into the air and flung towards one of the doors. They opened just in time, closed behind them, and then glowed briefly accompanied by a low hum.
Each contestant was re-mobilized, their bodies laid out however they had landed when paralyzed.
"No, no, no, what. No."
Each contestant, each piece of debris, each tendril of flame slowed to a halt around everyone as an exasperated voice spoke slowly and calmly from everywhere at once. The participants found themselves completely unable to move anything except their eyes, their bodies suspended perfectly in place. They felt their awareness of themselves separate from their bodies and float upwards. They were cognizant of a new place, but unable to tell where they were in relation to it or whether it was even real at all. The area was dominated by several floating mirrors, whose reflections were mostly replaced by scenes from the city they had just left.
The Overseer and Chronicler were present, the former reclined in a computer chair with his feet up on a desk, his head tilted back. He massaged his temple and sighed loudly. The Chronicler looked back and forth from the Overseer to vaguely in the direction in space occupied by the contestants' consciousnesses. "Uh, Bryce? A-are you gonna...?"
"Dammit. What. Look, it's The Overseer in front of..." he waved his hand vaguely in the players' direction.
"Oh. Um. Sorry. Overseer, are you gonna start the new round?" The Chronicler replied. He looked back to the disembodied minds, shot them an apologetic smile, and mouthed out the word "Sorry."
"No, no, whatever," Bryce cleared his throat loudly, stood, and spat on the floor. "I got this, dude."
He snapped his fingers, and the split awareness each of them were experiencing broke. Each of their bodies popped into place right around the space their minds had been occupying, Asteira in particular being ripped from Michelle's lifeless body. They were still unable to move. Their host took a moment to roll his shoulders and pop his neck before he began.
"Okay, so usually I have this thing set up where it like... stops you all and takes you to here when someone dies but I uh..." He trailed off and pursed his lips as if trying to decide how to phrase what he would say next. "I been busy. Forgot to set it up," he finished.
"So. Michelle dead. New arena. You made a real mess of the last one. Uh, good job, I guess." He paused for a moment, then turned to address The Chronicler. "Man, where were they going this time?"
The Chronicler perked up and responded eagerly. "The fortress, remember?" Bryce continued to stare, as if he did not. "You know, the one in that place with the thirteen divines, with the plane of magic and those mage guys who use the stars to-"
"Oh right, right. Sexy nature goddess."
"I, uh, I mean she was but-"
"Right, s'got nothing to do with anything these guys're gonna have to deal with, probably." He turned back to the contestants and gestured to one of the floating mirrors, which approached and blinked to display new scenery. The view flew over a half-finished, imposing stone fortress perched atop a high bluff. "Okay dudes, new arena. Haunted fortress."
The mirror enlarged and dropped down over them as the view in its reflection moved down to ground level. Miles spoke up as the mirror popped out of existence, leaving them all standing in the center of a large circular tower. "I wouldn't...it's not really haunted. Uh, possessed?"
"I dunno, man. That makes it sound like the whole thing's alive or something. I mean, kind of, but...maybe infected?"
"Unholy?"
"Whatever. It's a bad place." He turned back to the prone contestants. "Right. So, these colonist dudes went out into uncharted wilderness to... uh, colonize and explore and they built this fort here. Seemed like a good spot, right? Most of the forts around here, they have decently-sized underground bits. These guys were digging out some rooms and stuff underground, but they just felt compelled to keep digging, deeper and deeper. That and their architecture got a little...strange." He paused, likely for dramatic effect. "They dug too deep, found something they shouldn't have, and lost some things they needed. They haven't come up yet."
He pointed to a four of the doors around the open courtyard in the center. "Those doors all lead down into the tunnels. They all meet up in a few places down there. You might feel a little...urge to see what's down there. You also might meet some of the colonists. I'm honestly not sure how they'd take to you. Just, y'know, a heads up."
He paused again. After its conspicuous absence throughout the duration of the speech, Bryce's smirk stretched its way across his face. "One last thing. Have fun."
He snapped, and each player was lifted into the air and flung towards one of the doors. They opened just in time, closed behind them, and then glowed briefly accompanied by a low hum.
Each contestant was re-mobilized, their bodies laid out however they had landed when paralyzed.