Black Zenith [Adventure RPG / Chapter Four: Fires of Heaven]

Chim are you timing these balances now? Four in a row is a little suspect.

I thought it's whenever he has a chance to be the pagetopper

nah its actually completely coincidental

in fact i posted the bit about updates first then noticed i topped the page again and thought i might aswell add that up there since i was planning to anyway

Moving to exit the cavern, Razan absently waves for you to follow. After only a little while, you encounter signs of debris that definitely wasnt there before. Indeed, you soon arrive at a veritable hill of ancient rubble, blocking your passage.

"Bah. One of the walls must have caved in. Is this your doing?" He asks, though he doesnt seem too concerned. Walking up to the edge of the debris, he prods at it with the butt of his staff, stirring up dust and broken glass shards.

"Stand back." he calls out, bowing his head and leaning on his staff. Almost immediately, the debris starts crumbling into dust, a mild wind picking it up and carrying it away. Within moments, the way is clear once again, and up ahead looms the large central glass dome. Where do you go from here?

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SpoilerOn another note, do inform me once y'all have decided which, if any, items you want to trade around or whatever.

also why yes that took me long enough for such a puny tiny update. I have excuses, but they are bad ones.

Map

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Spoiler

"You should have blown it up." Nos says to Razan, sniffing unnecessarily. After a few seconds of silent, awkward standing around doing nothing he faces the rest of the party. "So? Are we just going to stand here?" He gasps. "Have you all been rooted to the ground!?" He runs over and inspects Watson's feet. "No, no you haven't! So let's get moving, come on!"

((Guys I don't think Nos has a lot of metaphorical pull when it comes to moving the party around))

Yah

What im looking for is basically some indication of what way y'all are walking. I mean yes towards the nearest exit is super obvious but thats not the point now is it.

Myra had been looking around her surroundings, watching Razan with interest as he fixed the exit. With Nos' urging, Myra stopped her flapping around, swooping down to settle on Razan's shoulder. "Show us the way to the town, please. I'll just be reading this book here while on your shoulder, if you don't mind." The ravenfolk followed suit to bring the Book of Warding back out, and cast the levitation spell on it again. She opened the book, making sure to keep it out of her perch's face and immediate field of vision, and began reading its contents.

((Yeah, I'm 99% sure Watson gave Myra the Book of Warding, so she's reading that now while they're traveling. Also, I assume that we're all exiting, and going in the direction of town? The town that very likely needs help? o_o))

oh yes i forgot about that thank you for reminding me.

also my excuse is player freedom.

Yes hello once again. Just a status update.

I should be updating, but i am not. My excuses involve learning 3d modeling, a whole bunch of awesome games suddenly being relevant, and a mild case of stress. So basically i am a horrible person who cant take some time off to keep his shit running and instead spends all his time on worthless things and you should slap me around or something.

Funny enough, though - im working on some 3d stuff that is somewhat relevant to Black Zenith. I know it'll turn out badly though since i only have three days to finish.

But yes in short it'll be a couple more days until update. Unless inspiration gets better at playing hide and seek with my brain.

The party moves onwards, through the anti magic field, Razan noting that it would not harm Mayor in any way, through being inside the field feels incredibly uncomfortable for everyone, regardless. Picking one of the two far corridors which should lead to the entrance, the party moves onwards through the stagnant ruins. Myra manages to read the introduction to the book - apparently several many pages long. According to the introduction, the book is about utilizing defensive shielding magic in a number of ways, and though most of it is apparently theory on how the basis of a shielding spell functions, the introduction mentions that the book also contains a method of layered etheric shielding, resulting in a particularly tough magical shell, or Ward as the book names it.

Soon enough, though, footsteps become audible, echoing through the stone corridor, the footsteps growing nearer quickly. Preparing weapons and spells, the party is ready to face whatever new threat this is.

The footsteps keep growing louder, until it feels like they are on top of you. Then they stop, someone exclaiming "Oh, thank the light!"

Suddenly, an armored figure pops out of thin air just in front of you, clutching a shield and shaking visibly, his posture indicating that he is wounded in some way. Its the captain of the squad that was sent with you to this place. "Atlast, i found you! I thought i was doomed to rot away in this forsaken place... We were ambushed... They're all dead, i think. Some kind of murderous band, just four of them, wielding dark magic... We never had a chance. They've trapped the entrance with some kind of magic, and theres more of them now! Please, do you have a way out?"

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Spoilerno, that really shouldnt have taken me that long. But it did. This was what i spent my time on; A low poly Decharion.











He is incomplete, ofcourse, and doesnt look quite like i wanted, but that can be fixed sometime if i want now that im not locked to a deadline. He looked better in high poly i suppose but that wasnt the point of the assignment. Ofcourse, most of you dont even know who Decharion is. Shame on you. Now, get postin', gotta pick up the speed to make up for my slack.



Also who deleted one of their posts on the last page? You ruined my awesome 4x patch notes reacharound. That wasnt very nice.

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SpoilerOh sorry, that was me, because I made a post about a potential offer Watson has for Bohw and then regretted it later

"Please, do you have a way out?"

Also I think someone else has the answer to this.

so is chim still busy with exams or is everyone dead

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Spoilerno, i just thought it would be more appropriate for one of the party leaders to respond first. I think this is a severe case of the Bystander Effect. Poor squad captain, being ignored

uhm, exams were over like four months ago i think?

im waiting for someone to actually say something.

Also dont be like that, even if you dont want to take action for the entire team you can always drop a comment or something. Or you CAN act like your character presumes to take action for everyone but then immediately everyone else go like HELL NO WE AINT DOING THAT because it was a dumb idea or something.

Much much much better than eternal, awkward silence.

In all fairness though i think everyone else are out on holiday or something.

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SpoilerTo my knowledge, Masterblade has just gotten out of his Terraria binge.

Blazer is

I don't know where/how/what Blazer is. (Busy as always????)

Psych is not going to suddenly make a cameo appearance to greet this soldier.

Frolic is a BIRD PERSON who has as much authority to greet these chars as I do, and I came in at the 67th page in the first thread! (In retrospect, I regret all actions taken before Nos and Watson met up at the palace)

Nos is Nos and is thus not mentally stable able to appropriately greet near-dead soldiers without laughing.

Takumi's in jail though I still haven't seen him post.

Savannah = Watson = Myra in terms of "appropriate authority"

yeah I think that's everyone.

Also, masterblade has leaderly instincts. I have no idea how to respond to this guy.

spoiler echo was the soldier the whole time obv

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SpoilerWatson goes mad and launches a nuclear bomb in the soldier's face.

im still stuck in a terraria binge

i havnt farmed all of the new lewts yet! more farming must be done.

Want help with that? I still need a broken sword

yea i can give you a couple of those, i have some just lying around, but no the stuff i need are some of the rarest things around. Paladins hammer and Rod of Discord* in particular, but also need a corruption key and maybe some of those sickles, just for completion. Oh and that dino.

* Got it :>

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SpoilerOh hey guys.

Currently, I am without a computer for a month, due to an argument with my father who believes I have an addiction with my computer and just out right took it off me, for a month. That said, I have a new phone now that actually works so bear with me as go about fixing all my other internetly duties and nonsensery, then continue to slowly go mad from stress as always.

Really sorry about that, it couldn't be helped. Lets try and get this moving forward again, but for future reference, it might be an idea for another player to become a co-leader or have my friend Frolic have semi control over Bohw for such situations. (Alternatively she can just contact me I suppose)

I also got a job too so yeah

"Four... of them?"

Bohw's expression takes a turn for the worst as she turns pale(er), she had almost forgotten about Echo and her allies. But if they managed to take out the entire squad, even in the wounded state they left them in, then clearly they were stronger than she originally thought. Was she simply toying with them in that fight? No, she couldn't of...

But there is more pressing matters as of now, Mayor lurches forwards almost on instinct and offers to support the wounded man while Bohw takes ahold of the situation.

"I'm... sorry." She states, lowering her head in response to the grim news. "If it's any consolation, our mission was not for naught, we have recovered another one of the jewels and we found very valuable information on the other's locations... First things first though, lets get you healed and return to Ziras as soon as possible. Possibly find any survivors..."

Bohw beckons Razan over with a quick wave. "Oy, druidy, can... can you heal this man?"

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SpoilerMan, it sounds like your parents are constantly bugging you with that, and it must be horrible. Isnt there some way to placate them for extended periods of time?

And congratulations on the job.

Seeing the man staggering dangerously, Mayor rushes to steady him, just in case. Meanwhile, Razan nods silently, stepping forwards to lay a hand on the man's shoulder, channeling renewing magic.

"It is this sort of senseless death we hope to stop, if we but had the means." he mutters, as he completes the spell.

Visibily better, if still obviously shaken, the man - his name is Taran, you might recall if you were paying attention at the time - stands up straighter, giving his thanks.

"Well, atleast we now know that there are enemies ahead, even if it took a terrible price to give us that information. I havnt fought a head-on battle for years. How would you proceed?"

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Spoiler

Man, it sounds like your parents are constantly bugging you with that, and it must be horrible. Isnt there some way to placate them for extended periods of time?

get a tranquilizer gun

Also the following will prove to you that I have NO KNOWLEDGE OF TACTICS or what I should be doing at all!

Watson had paused at the arrival of such information, as if deep in thought. He is not very knowledgeable in tactics as he only ever had experience in 1-on-1, gentlemanly close-combat. So he put forth all his Wits towards finding an effective solution for this conundrum.

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Spoiler[quote='chimericWilder' pid='83048' dateline='1382452972']
[spoiler]Isnt there some way to placate them for extended periods of time?

It's called moving out.

Relatedly, my dad changed his mind after we had a talk, instead I am down to 5 days a week for some time now. Welp.

Meanwhile, Bohw actually thinks of an actual plan.

"We've fought them recently actually, they weren't that tough and they even got the jump on us... but... it could of been possible that they weren't using their full strength. I think her goal could of possibly of been to separate us from the squad..."

Scratching he head, Bohw contemplates the options before them. "I think our best bet is to prepare for a fight for now, but don't actively seek them out. We gain very little from their deaths and it's an unnecessary risk, when weighing revenge and the fate of the world... it's not a hard choice."

Bohw draws a rune infront of her, blue streaks of mana forming a demonic symbol in the air. The rune, once complete, flies into her chest and becomes bound there, but not yet activated. The Rune will activate once in danger, to which Bohw's rune will nullify her strength against multiple targets in exchange for making her more accurate. (Once in combat, temporarily remove The Old Brimstone trait and gain a Hit boost for the duration.)

"As for an actual battle plan however... we will want to focus targets, if we can kill off even a single one that will weaken them in any future encounters. Echo is a good target, presumably the leader and she's the spellthief human lady, not to hard to pick out from the others. Any objections to just walking out the front door?"

Razan nods, considering. "A spell thief? Sounds awfully hard to catch without proper preparation. They always have tricks."

Meanwhile, Watson also goes over the situation, in his own fashion. Initially, it seems there are two options; Fight, or find another exit. You could go back to the small plateua where you met Shanterel and just sort of walk away, but that presents its own problems. The area surrounding the plateua was particularly hilly, and you'd probably have to find a safe path down from there, which might or might not take time depending on the terrain, or risk someone breaking a leg to an untimely fall or suchlike, which would slow you down even more. Regardless of which, that route would very likely take longer, and you are in a hurry. Besides, Echo would probably just chase after you.

The alternative is fighting Echo on her terms. According to Taran, she is in the entry into the ruins with some kind of magical traps in place. You'd probably have to deal with those, then either try to escape her or beat her. Bohws idea of focusing on Echo or one of the others with her is a good one, but might prove troublesome depending on whether or not she has more of those shadowy beasties lurking around; they attacked alongside with her when you fought her earlier, and Taran says he didnt actually see her or the others again after he escaped, only the magic they cast. You also remember that she used some kind of spell to trap Bohw for a short while in that earlier battle, and Taran says she used it on him aswell, and he was forced to watch his men get slaughtered, unable to help. As for the others, you personally remember that lithe, blackclad woman whose daggers somehow struck you, even when she didnt actually hit you with them. The other fellow was some kind of spellcaster, and you remember more of those little vicious shadow fiends appearing as he cast spells. You dont remember seeing anyone else who stood out - you killed a couple of cultists and a particularly imposing shadow creature, but that was it.

As you think about it theres probably a third option in addition to the others. You could try diplomacy. However, considering how she has dealt with you in the past, you figure that will only give her more time to do nasty things to you.