So, the rumors were true. Given how it was all anyone she spoke to yapped about, she couldn't say she was really surprised. "So," Madison whispered into the dead air, "this is The Fade..." Spread out before her was an endless horizon of death and decay. From her perch outside a silent inn nestled at the outskirts of an empty hamlet a couple hours' trip from the edge of the canyon, Madison could do nothing but quietly contemplate the state of everything. It reminded the witch of one of her past lives in an old MMORPG that had been shut down years ago. Tasked with tipping the scales of a clan war in her superior's favor, Madison released a plague on the small island nation where the battle took place. The war ended in a stalemate, the island and its people scarred until the day the servers were mercifully unplugged. Except she did it with a couple wagons loaded with rats and some viruses and bacteria. She had no clue what was going on near the edge of Astorea. But that's why she was here, wasn't it? Her naturally-curious nature, coupled with her love for all things related to disease and blight? Madison made the trek to do some research. What was the origin of this plague crippling Naryu Canyon? Was it a spectacular all-consuming curse, or a naturally-occurring outbreak that had no discernible cure? This problem had Madison's full attention from the second she heard the first details traveling in the wind. Madison took a swig of the water in her canteen, mindful that it was probably the last clean drink she'd have for a while. Same for the packet of tough-as-nails jerky she swiped off Eyas before she made the trip. Rationing would be key; and her two companions for this venture better have brought their own supplies. Speaking of, one of them, @Portia Ahrens, agreed to meet Madison there in the ghost town. The other, @Alric Stalwart, pinged them to let the two women know he'd meet them on the road closer to the maw of the canyon. Fine by her; waiting around would give Madison more time to try and work out the nature of the blight that crippled the western edge of Astorea.
Naryu Canyon; it was a name he had become familiar with through his vocational studies. Admittedly he hadn't paid it too much mind before now because it wasn't anything more than a mere hole in the ground. But with a new mystery surfacing in the area waiting to be solved, Alric wasted no time making his way west in the days following the Pride’s victory against the Black Wolf Bandits. It seemed he wouldn't be alone either as many other adventurers were drawn in by the canyon’s allure as well. It was best to travel in a group; especially with the rumors of everything near the canyon dying off. Most parties had been filled long before making the journey to the border though so it was only by pure luck he managed to cross paths with @Madison Freebird and @Portia Ahrens who just happened to have room for a third member. While they weren't quite ready to head to the canyon yet, Alric decided to scout ahead. Once he reached the path that would lead them into the depths of the world he sat beneath what little remains there were of a tree affected by the blight. One thought came to mind as he waited for the girls to arrive: The possibility that exploring this place would give them insight regarding the Great Calamity. This alone was all he needed as motivation.
It happened without previous notice. The accounts which had once suggested the matter to be cause for concern, easily dismissed in the past by the same folk who now pleaded for help, had in recent times become common whisperings spread across the whole of the players' community, immediately drawing attention to itself. On her way to her current destination, Portia had been fortunate enough to find some of the various groups who would go to Naryu Canyon in order to investigate, reminding the white-haired girl to play her cards right and behave properly. After all, not only creatures were dying and it wouldn't do much good to get on her group's bad side should things happen to go south. Portia was the last to arrive at the meeting point, her curious grey gaze scanning her surroundings to try and lean some sense into them. The glimpse she got of familiar raven hair told the youth all she needed to know as she approached, a pleasant smile dawning on her features to accompany her steps. Not long ago, the two of them had embarked on their first mission with the Aristocracy, only for the whole affair to leave a sour taste on their mouths as a reminder of their failure, and here they stood now: joined under a common purpose yet again. ''It's nice to see you are still alive,'' her first string of words came as she chose to position herself at Madison's side, folding her arms over her chest as she looked at the other member of the party, Alric. She lifted a hand and waved to him in a silent greeting, allowing a sigh to escape her as she beheld the scenery around them. Scarcely able to see fifteen feet ahead of herself without encountering the first effects the blight had upon the land, her brows furrowed and her lips tightened to form a thin line, leaving all traces of her previous smile to disappear. Were her magical abilities better than they currently were, her mind suggested she could've tried to detect if this was the result of any particular magic spell cast by a player with desires of glory or recognition to themselves. Alas, they were not, and she could only be left wondering. ''Any ideas on how this happened?''
Madison was quietly happy to see not only had Portia survived the night in the tunnels under the Bandit King's fortress, but that she would be by her side for this little adventure as well. She quickly came to respect the white-haired woman for how she handled battling the queen ant. Both the witch and the fighter were practically freshly-spawned when they signed up for the Aristocracy's little mission, bright-eyed pawns in a game played from the shadows. While Maddy stayed in the back and tossed hexes every which way, Portia brought the pain directly to the monster, joining Zeus in punching the ever-loving hell out of the queen. Her eyes drifted towards the shiny pair of gauntlets that Portia molded from her share of the ant's corpse, similar to the tarot deck that Maddy herself had crafted using some of the crystals she got stabbed with. It looked like she was better prepared for whatever laid ahead in the canyon as well. Madison shifted in her seat. "If I had to make a guess," she began as her gaze drifted back across the blasted landscape outside of town, "I'd say this land is cursed." She motioned to the gray decay that surrounded them. "I mean, think about it. In a world like this, where people are running amok with lightning-charged fistomancy, or seeing the future, or calling upon actual friggin' gods to assist them in combat, do you think that a little infection would have caused this much damage in such a short time before a plucky band of healers got their shit together and cured the place?" The witch shook her head. "Besides, even with all the rules that Terrasphere breaks, you can't really engineer a plague that nukes everything." Believe me, I've tried, she left unsaid. "I've been studying a lot on Black Magic lately," she said, glancing over at Portia. "Books on curses, hex mages, first-hand accounts from those who witnessed rituals and felt their effects. It's fascinating stuff, if you like the spooky and macabre. Anyway, I came across a tome or two detailing the effects of grand-scale curses. Stuff that only the most powerful can employ to cause widespread damage like this." "It's the only reasonable explanation I have for something as all-consuming as this mess. And hey, maybe that explains why all the villages are either dead or getting there." Her sapphire eyes flickered momentarily. "Something as big as this probably took a lot of sacrifices to pull off." Madison pushed herself off the bench and straightened out her dress. "Anyway, let's get moving, yeah?"
Portia listened to the woman's speech with apt attention to each and every word that fell from her mouth, the frown that graced her features subsiding to leave a more welcoming expression, a result from finding her own observations matched those of the Witch herself. The world and the theme it was based on wouldn't allow a simple infection to make people vanish into thin air with no one knowing where they had gone to nor without leaving corpses behind, and with all the extraordinary feats and adventures she had been part of, it was only safe for anyone to assume that this was indeed the work of a curse. For what purpose, she didn't dare ask. ''I'm afraid my progress has yet to move forward regarding my only magic mastery, should I ever hope to compare it to yours. My magic capabilities are, well, lacking. These gauntlets will only take me so far, and when I have fought the good battle, only to find that they aren't strong enough and my foes are still standing where they should have perished... When I find myself at a need for a different approach rather than force, what will then become of me?'' A pause, the silence in between her sentences disturbed by the rustling of her armored hands against one another, earning a little spark of light as the crystals came in contact. ''I cannot hope to win by punching my way to victory, entertaining as the idea might be,'' she spoke in response to Madison's comment about her studies, both hesitation and concern coating her speech. The invite she had received to join the Lions from the leader himself had left her mind in utter turmoil, urging the woman to consider every step ahead, urging her to question herself. Regardless of her motives, that wasn't the point she was trying to get to. ''I had heard magic users could feel the energy around them if a curse or a spell had been cast, not enough to find out who might've been the great mastermind behind it, but enough to find alternative effects applied to it. An imprint of sorts, if you'd like to call it like that.'' ''As much as I also think we have a curse upon our shoulders to thank for this mess, some part of me remains... Doubtful, truth be told. That a player or an NPC this powerful worked on a curse so terrifying to devastate the land without anyone noticing... Forgive me, sometimes I let my thoughts get the hang of me.'' Portia clasped both her hands behind her back and offered her companion an earnest nod as she stood from her seat. With a deft movement of her dominant arm, the game's UI appeared before her, checking all parameters available before they moved further down the rabbit hole. ''The bastards will hopefully learn not to ignore the rumors anymore.'' With nothing more on her mind to give voice to, her menu went to a different category before disappearing entirely from her vision. It was a quick, precise message to alert their teammate, Alric, that they were on their way to the path leading into the Canyon. ''Yes, I wouldn't like my rest, hunger and thirst meters to drop just because we stood around longer than intended.'' Portia lowered her right hand and the menu faded into nothingness once again just as the pair started walking towards the meeting point with the stranger.
The longer he sat, the harder it seemed to be able to breathe the air surrounding the canyon. Alric was likely only noticing now because he had stopped moving altogether as he waited for the girls to enter the scene. Isolation, courtesy of this distorted land, gave him plenty of time to theorize why The Fade was even happening. None of it really mattered though. He didn't care why it was happening; the man just wanted to put an end to it. To find a way to stop the senseless and widespread devastation wrought by the phenomenon. --- Occasionally Alric would lift his head up from the inside of the coat he wore and look down the road. After several attempts of this he was finally met with the sight of both women walking in his direction down the path leading into Naryu. After they were close enough he jumped to his feet and greeted them with a smile. “Took you two long enough... So I've been thinking: Going into the actual canyon would likely be too much for just the three of us. I mean everything around here looks dead, right? So if we ran into a monster down there it'd have to be really strong to survive whatever’s going on here. The surface on the other hand seems safe enough to explore though so I’d rather look around up here. I might even be able to find a lost spirit to interrogate using my magic.” @Pandora
Alric's words were quite accurate. As the canyon housed something far worse than any mere curse. For the various teams that were coming through this region that was for all intents and purposes the edge of the players world on the west side. This groups time of arrival was not exactly the best for their health. Or perhaps they were luckiest... Their conversation would be cut to a end. Any chance of doing much exploring would be put to a halt. The massive quake that caused splits in the earth all around them was now the star of the moment. Fog rose from the massive crevice in the distance as the sky itself turned black. The cracks in the earth shot steam that stank of something grotesque and ancient. It stopped for a moment. Only a moment... Before the hump of 'something' began to rise out of the Canyon. It was so dark and covered in fog that there was no way to fully make it out and it probably was better that way. Everyone felt their mana, no their very souls burning as if something was looking into them and licking it's lips at the morsels that had come so deep into it's claimed land. Their real life selves would begin to sweat heavily while wearing the dive equipment they used. A sense of fear swept over them. The weaker they were, the worse they felt. Then came another tremor. This one brought with it... Tendrils. Tendrils that burst from the cracks and towered above the party, Each were extremely thick, like a army of squirming writhing towers of deep purple. They came out of cracks leading all the way to the Naryu. The air carried no sound beyond the cracking earth. Luckily for the party, they were spread out and were seemingly unfocused on the small humans in their midst. Rather they were wiggling into the air and everything began to gray that much faster. Trees melted into goop. The ground turned to sand. The air became difficult to breathe. A single enormous tendril rose up before the party and... The party were given notice. They were recognized as prey. Rules You may choose one of the following options. Follow the directions for each. Attempt to escape from this eldritch hell: Roll a d100 and use +5 per tier excluding beginner of a mobility based mastery. Success on a roll over 80. Success must be met within 3 cycles or death. Each member must succeed separately. A roll of 1 or 100 activates a event. Fight the Tentacle: DC 1000, use a combat mastery and use +5 per tier excluding beginner. Success must be met within 3 cycles or death. You may switch to Run at any time however used up rolls will remain used. You can use Reckless. A roll of 1 or 100 activates a event.
Well shit. That escalated faster than he would have liked. With little time for either woman to react to his statements, his hypothesis had been proven true as tentacles sprang up around the party. Only this was much worse than anything he could have imagined. Seeing the destruction this thing was able to unleash in such a short amount of time, at least it was safe to assume this was the source of The Fade. It was likely more powerful than anything he had fought until now.part of him wanted to run. Having already experienced death once, he wasn't in a hurry to do it again and on top of it all the chances of a kind healer curing his death sickness for free again were unlikely at best. It made no sense to stay and yet, despite the bone-chilling and intense aura the thing gave off, he didn't wait for his party members to decide their next course of action before charging the creature. As he ran Alric drew his sword and used his spell ring to trace out the words for an incantation, focusing its magic on the blade. The sword glowed with the power of his soul and in the next moment he had closed the distance, delivering a flurry of slashes to the tentacle monster in an effort to drive it back or give the others time to escape. Reckless tentacle boi with +30 from mods: Thrown dice: 64 89
Madison stood in complete awe as eldritch tentacles burst from the dead earth, towering over her as they swayed back and forth. So much for curses, she thought. No, this was something different entirely, something more. The witch's mind was immediately assaulted with thoughts that were not her own. Visions of darkness, of extinction, of pure malevolence. She saw the... the thing tear life and spirit from Astorea, its very presence draining the essence of the world and turning all it touched to ash. The horror looked upon Madison, probing her mind with ethereal tendrils, and it saw nothing. It told her as much. For the first time in a while, she was truly afraid. Madison wanted to run, but her legs disobeyed every command they were given. Her mind frantically tried to separate itself from the creature, her right hand refusing to unclench so she could open up her UI menu and log out. Instead she stood frozen, her mouth agape, all color drained from her face, sapphire eyes locked on the gigantic purple mass. Shouting. There was shouting. Alric? Portia? She didn't know who. Everything was fuzzy. She could feel the life slowly draining from her body, the will to do anything oozing out of her as the seconds ticked by She tried to push through the fog, cut through this unspeakable horror's icy grip on her mind. She couldn't let her journey end like this. Oh, I think they're telling me to fight. That seems like an incredibly shitty idea. Madison furiously shook her head, her thoughts once again becoming her own as Alric struck the first blow. The creature was now occupied with someone else, and the witch prepared for an assault of her own. The deck crackled with lightning as she drew it out of her inventory and shuffled up. An arc of green tore through the air as the cards sprung from one hand to the other. Madison fanned out the cards and ripped three out, tossing them in the air. Faded sunlight caught on the crystallized backs as they spun in place. Madison poured as much mana as she could into the brewing spell. The cards suddenly came to a halt and arranged themselves face-up in a triangular pattern. Dark purple flames erupted from them, the spell manifesting itself as a ghostly, gnarled hand. It was a little trick Madison picked up from one of the tomes she'd scoured through late at night in one of the many libraries in Stokbon. A nasty spell that would "swipe" at its victims, rending not the flesh but their very life force. With a single, struggling thought, Madison commanded the hand to lash out at the nearest tentacle. A violet blur tore through the air, heading straight for the creature's tendril. It exploded as it made contact, reforming on the other side as the magic coursed through the thing. Dark energy trailed in wisps behind the hand as it finished its path and dissipated. The creature buckled, but did not fall. A bead of sweat trickled down Madison's temple as she prepared for the next spell. Thrown dice: 41 6 Reckless / +15 Black Magic mastery / +15 Tarot Cards Total: 77 Combined rolls: 260
Portia reared back, mind whirling with panicked thoughts with every careful step back. The glimpse of unknown horrors told her all she needed to know about how quickly their scouting mission had turned sour, and soon, the adventure that was supposed to be light-hearted with a fair share of witty exchanges and comments from the party itself turned into a fight for their survival. One of her companions took the apparition worse than she ever could, bringing the raven-haired woman to a halt as they were both hit with an assault on their beings. As the beast soon realized, she wasn't willing to go down as easily. Although she struggled with her thoughts and words alike, her desire to stay alive proved stronger than the fear of their horrendous discovery, and as she turned to meet Madison, she began to shout above the chaos in hope she would catch anything she said and start fighting for her own life. She didn't stay in place to see the result of her efforts. Her knuckles clashed against one another, the stained porcelain features of the female soon illuminated by the small cracks of the crystals' thunder and sparks of cerulean light dancing along her skin as she concentrated her energy on the most dangerous bits of her body: both her feet and fists. The noise made by the gauntlets echoed far in the distance, reverberating in the once-familiar space in which now stood a poor, decadent replacement of what it had been not long ago. This... The pride in feeling one's power in the midst of combat, the amazement at how easily she could grasp her energy in situations of dire importance, the need to hold onto life for a moment longer. Untamed, wild, hers. It was in moments like this one, when the thrill of battle took over anything she ever felt, that cleared any possible doubt she ever had about her stay in Terrasphere. And, in this fashion, it was simple to devise a plan of her own, much like she had done back in the tunnels when fighting with Madison and the rest of the Aristocracy veterans against the Ant Queen. ''Heads up!'' Her voice rang far louder above the environmental sounds and those created by her team's doing, be it either by their spells or the movements of their blades. The words of the female directed at the sole male in their party, who was swinging his sword against the tentacle and dealing an impressive amount of damage at the same time. Portia's own feet propelled her closer to Alric's position, and should he pick up on the woman's calling, he would've stayed his position and chose not to move as much as he was now doing, lest he risked hurting himself in the process. She dug her feet deep into the sand for stronger momentum, and when she was close enough to her teammate... She used this advantage and simply jumped, looking to land on his shoulders to jump yet again and strike their foe while airborne. Her steel-covered fingertips sought to sink deep into the strange flesh as she began to fall, allowing for the white-haired woman to use the claws the gauntlets provided to her advantage, rewarding the beast with deep cuts. It proved to be useful, as this attack implied that not only would she manage to hurt the monster, but it would also serve to slow down her own movements. By the moment she landed on the ground, a smile appeared on her face. There was also a prickling sensation bothering her despite her little idea, quietly reminding the girl not to be so happy when there were enemies to fight. Thrown dice: 37 16 +15 from Martial Arts | +10 from Crystallized Gauntlets
Maddy stared in disbelief as the realization hit her--her rend soul spell did next to nothing, compared to Alric's efforts. Her hands shook as she began shuffling up for another spell. Was she going to have to get up close and personal with the horrible thing living in the canyon? When she was initially selecting her masteries, she had taken Martial Arts, but quickly pulled out of that in favor of more magic. Deep down, she began to wonder if it was a mistake. You will fail them, a thick, deep voice whispered in the back of her mind. Fuck you, she spat back at the presence. You will fail them, it repeated, scraping the inside of her skull like nails on a chalkboard. And once you fall, I will consume you as I have done with all you see around you. Madison considered the promise, and the tentacles that towered over her. Her imagination drew a few conclusions that didn't sit well with her. She'd seen enough anime to know where that was headed. Cards arced and crackled with brilliant energy as they sprung from hand to hand. Until her companions fell, she would fight by their side. More out of annoyance than anything, really; Madison had been expecting a little investigation, a little exploration, and maybe a smidge of combat with whatever twisted being survived in The Fade. But not battle with an eldritch monster of unknowable proportions. But if Alric and Portia couldn't get the job done, she was completely prepared to bend the knee and plead for mercy in exchange for servitude. Backup plans are always good to have, and being the earthly servant of a Cthulhu McGiygas wasn't necessarily the worst fate, right? Out of the corner of one eye, Madison spotted Portia leaping off the back of Alric and digging her clawed gauntlets into the flesh of the tentacle, allowing gravity to pull her back to the ashen earth. The creature thrashed around, its limb violently waving through the air as the brawler tore deep wounds into it. A dark liquid oozed out of the gashes, filling the air with a horrid stench that made the witch gag. But she finally saw her opportunity to strike. Fanning her deck out, she selected three cards and began casting a spell that would rot the tentacle's wounds even further, infecting it and amplifying the pain. Madison threw the cards into the air, and with a flash of purple light, the spell was cast. Thrown dice: 70 74 Reckless / +15 Black Magic mastery / +15 Tarot Cards Total: 174 Combined rolls: 512
Things had been going pretty smoothly so far as his teammates were quick to pick up on what had to be done here. Chances of all three of them escaping together were slim at best, at least while the tentacle blocked their path anyway. Fighting was the only option if they wanted to survive. He grimaced slightly as Portia decided to use him as a step ladder to get a better angle for striking the beast. Thankfully he was too preoccupied with not dying to say anything to the woman. For now Alric would simply tighten his grip on the sword and continue his assault. Reckless +30: Thrown dice: 86 75
The creature hadn't stopped its assault, and neither had the adventurers who fought with the only concern of getting out of the Canyon alive to tell the tale. Portia landed on her feet quickly enough to witness Madison's curse come to life after the attack she had done to the tendril protruding from the earth beneath them, faithfully followed by Alric's blade connecting once again with its target. However, and as much as she would've liked a moment to assess the situation and prepare a better plan with her comrades, the creature didn't allow the group a moment's respite. The arcane power circling through her veins started to vanish, slowly fading from every spot it had blessed with the volatile energy. She had known it to heavily depend on the user's own ability with the use of magic and whatnot, but never in her wildest dreams had Portia expected it to disappear with such swiftness without its master giving the command. Later, she made a mental note of it, there would be some heavy training to do with it if she ever expected to get anywhere as more than a simple melee fighter. Arcane magic empowering her blows or not, her assault continued. She dashed into their foe's proximity, standing next to the sword-wielding male, and attacked with a flurry of punches of her own. These gauntlets, she hoped, would serve her well, and if not... Well, they were screwed. Thrown dice: 36 79 +15 from Martial Arts | +10 from Crystallized Gauntlets
To the cursemage's infinite surprise, their little assault was actually working. Madison grit her teeth against the thick wailing that echoed inside her head as her spell practically sent the thing's nerves into overdrive, sending searing jolts of constant pain up and down its slimy purple appendage. The tentacle thrashed about in the air, swinging wildly over the heads of the group. Dark liquid oozed from its wounds, dripping out in increasing amounts as Portia and Alric continued to tear into its blubbery flesh. A wild grin stretched across her face. "Keep it up, kids! We've almost got the fuckin' thing!" She wasted no time shuffling up for the next spell. Rather than fan out and pick three for a specific spell, Madison opted to draw three off the top and go for some style points. Whipping the cards in the air, she watched as they ignited in arcane flames and assembled themselves before her. A thundering sound filled her ears as the spell pulled mana from her and erupted forth, singeing the already dead ground at her feet. A bolt of amethyst energy, a spell that she had not seen more than once or twice in her time on Terra, slammed into the eldritch abomination. The witch held her breath, hoping that she hadn't blown their shot at felling the monster. Thrown dice: 89 50 Reckless / +15 Black Magic mastery / +15 Tarot Cards Total: 169 Previous total: 843 Current total: 1012@Pandora
It would seem that the trio were doing well against this unknown creature from the depths. As they were able to cause one tendril to wither and disintegrate. It left behind no blood, no smell. It simply ceased to be. That ONE tendril ceased to be. The others were now approaching in mass as the shadowing being in the distance began to radiate a dim light. More tentacles many protruding large spikes began to burst from the earth. Distortions of some untold magic began to gather in the skies above as the trio would feel their strength being drained. Checking the UI would show that something was leeching all of their health meters away simply by being in it's vicinity. The monster's threat level would not even register. Only showing jumbled data in place of the normal color indicator. Now with no tendrils immediately in range to attack... It was a good time to leave this place for now... [Congratulations: This thread is complete. You may post this for your reward when you are ready.]
