(Event) Reclamation of Pride 2 | Page 5

Location Outside the Fortress

Nikephoros. Quite an unusual name. The man had provided the answer she needed to get her confidence back; everyone is useful in some kind of way. As Corvella reflected on his words, the man offered something else this time. She didn't remember the last time someone brought an apple into a battlefield. "Thank yo-" As she was going to take the slice of apple offered by Nike, everything went wrong. It's like the time itself stopped, but her eyes were still wide open, witnessing a black mass making entry from nowhere.

It was the thing chanting Käse earlier.

Even with the world freezing around her, one might still see fear in her eyes. Now she saw the true face of the nightmare, forcing the words again and again on her with its many mouths. It felt like an unending nightmare before finally it vanishes for good or not, the world clearing. She did know why, but she felt relieved that the thing did not 'stare' at them. The knight fell heavily on her knees, her breath unstable trying to get the earlier horror out of her mind. Is that monster, the one responsible for the many deaths of reclamation troops still lurking in the fortress?

"That was-" Wait, how come Nike didn't know about the unknown nightmare? Wasn't he with them in the reclamation? Corvella is fairly certain that he isn't with the additional transport Astorea sent. But recalling that he did not pose any ill intent and even willingly converse with her, she quickly dismissed her suspicious thought and confused face. "I don't know what that thing was exactly, but that thing was attacking us inside the fortress. Caused mass insanity and death."

A second later a certain pink-haired girl came and asked whether they were okay. "Comet!" The blonde quickly recognized her. "We're okay. The Käse thingy came before us. Couldn't move as it chanted and laughed in our face." She continued "It might be gone for good, or not." The knight got up, wiped the snow on her leggings, and picked up the earlier slice of apple. She looked to @Nikephoros, to @Comet and back to the man. "Oh. Nike, if-you-don't-mind-me-calling-you-by-that-name, this is Comet and Comet, this is Nike." Corvella scanned the archer from top to bottom "I see you managed to get through that last fight rather unscathed, eh?"

 

If he had been attempting to show coolness and aplomb, he failed to do so, as Nikephoros continued to slice bits off of the apple and place them into his mouth. His hands shook visibly while doing so, the action clearly a mechanical response as though his body needed something... anything... to be doing while his mind cartwheeled and looked for sanity and solace and answers.

Corvella provided such answers, to both himself and to a newcomer that she introduced as Comet. Swallowing, the elven man forced himself to gather his composure. He did not bother to fake any calm or bravery, but rather forced a sort of unsteady confidence upon himself... as though trying to make himself believe he was alright. It appeared to be working, for after a few seconds, he sighed and then smiled, turning to regard Comet the newcomer.

"I suppose that's easier to pronounce," Nikephoros replied to the blonde woman.
"Though I can't say I'm fond of being named after a shoe... Still, that'd be my own fault, all things considered." He took another bite of apple, clearly stalling for time, looking for something to say. He did not realize his own mistake in asking what that thing was, had not considered it a thing these people had already faced. But he was too shaken to realize the mistake yet... unaware of the thin ice he tread upon.

And now he knew its name. Kase.

"So you're an archer?" he asked, looking over the pink-haired woman, offering her a slice of the apple as well. "I favor a bit of distance, myself... The pike or the ranseur, to be precise. Never had enough hand-eye coordination for aim, but I'm a wizard when it comes to billiards, so something pool-cue like, like the lance, seemed right up my alley."

 

Location Inside the Fortress

Madison stood ready, fist clenched so tightly her knuckles were white, ready to knock Majolica's teeth down her throat. The cursemage had no fear of dying; why bother getting intimidated by a scrawny little wretch like that when you can just respawn?

Suddenly, the little girl's magic was snuffed out, shadows filled the room, and Madison found herself in a cold sweat. Wh-what's going on?

All around her, black ooze trickled down the walls. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

Get out. Get out of here. Get out now, while you still can--

Her muscles ignored every command. She stood there, frozen, every fiber of her being screaming at her to run!

And as soon as it all began, it stopped.

The two witches stood there in stunned silence for a brief moment, until the younger of the two did her stupid little "hehehe" thing and skittered out of the bedroom like the roach she was.

Madison lingered for a moment, trying to make sense of what happened. What the hell was going on here? Double-crosses, politics between her fellow players, giant killer ants, the devs' obvious anime biases made manifest in a mountain of a man who gave up his arm to save them all, that half-baked Grand Witch of Nothing, and now inexplicable black shit oozing out of every crack and crevice in the stonework of the castle.

Screw today, she muttered inwardly. We're done here.

Shifting the weight of the canvas back on her shoulder, Madison left the bedroom and made her way through the castle. She decided pretty quickly that it would be unwise to try and raid any of the other rooms. With the spooky happenings, whatever they were, the others from both the Pride and Aristocracy were probably running around on high alert--not to mention probably raiding the damn place itself. Most of the good stuff had to have been taken already.

A soft grumbling from her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in a while. Exhaling deeply, Madison decided it would be a good idea to try and find something to munch on during the trip back to Stokbon in the kitchen. And so, turning down the hall, that's where she headed.

 

Location Throne Room

The black morass opened once more, this time with less warning than the last. The promise of death whispered sickly sweet in his ears, reverberating louder until it drowned all rational thought. Kasë, kasë...

As the aspirant farmer begrudgingly began to forgive him, the deadbeat from Brooklyn lost himself once more in that horrific, insatiable darkness. Viscous, frothy and transluscent black liquid spewed from the multitude of maws that spanned the creature's unfathomable form, splashing and splattering across the throne room floor like a deject feast flung from the head table.

A gobbet of the saliva drooled down the Swordsman's shoulders, spilled over his abdomen and the chill swept through his body like plague. His crimson eyes searched from behind splayed fingers for respite. Eight gritty fingernails scratched at pale cheekbones as he wrestled with the madness that sought to consume him.

It began simple. Rage burned the fuel within the body fast, and contempt stripped away his reserves. Abject hatred churned in the pit of his stomach until nothing sensible remained, and the hunger consumed his entire being.

His teeth bared, Kijin snarled as he staggered back and away from @Magdalyn , who worried whether they should log out or not. His haunted expression screamed "yes," but his voice formed no words.

Heaving with each breath, he managed to bite into the meat of his right hand. Viscera splashed from the wound and trickled down his chin, arm, and chest as he waged war against Abyssal Hunger.

He spat a chunk of flesh to the dirt and concentrated on catching his breath.

He wouldn't lose himself to it again.

 

Location Inside the Fortress

Vina was distracted, both trying to use her Dissonance Sensor to see if it could tell her anything about this apparition that had appeared before them not once but twice, and battling with a mad hunger which made it difficult to think of anything but the need to eat. Unnatural and twisted, it made her stomach curl up as if it had been empty for months or years, desperate to get something inside of her, anything at all. It was a horrible feeling, the kind of hunger you felt not when your stomach was empty but when you were at death's door.

In a different location in the fortress Vina's lupine companion, Snøvær, was sniffing the stones and the walls, the white wolf having managed to avoid running away in fear when the seeming incarnation of darkness and madness appeared to everyone in and around the fortress. Growling and snarling he had watched it depart as suddenly as it had arrived, the wolf's instincts telling him that it was a good thing that it was leaving, for whatever would have happened had it stayed would have been much worse than what had already happened.

Throughout this journey the wolf had done little but offer warmth and comfort to his alpha and whomever she wished to offer warmth and comfort to, having found little opportunity to fight and little need as well, as his alpha remained in the back where she was safe. Only that dark monster, and that one hadn't given him a chance to fight.

Once the thing was gone Snøvær continued his exploration, until a good smell was caught and he changed his direction. He could smell food, and while he wasn't inflicted with the same cursed hunger as Vina he still was hungry, if only because the trip had been harsh and opportunity to eat had been scarce.

Entering the kitchen Snøvær noticed that some others had also come to the kitchen. The wolf didn't recognize @Madison Freebird from the people who had come to remove the bandits from the fortress, but she didn't appear to be a threat. The wolf with the coat of fur white as snow calmly walked up to the woman, sniffed her carefully, then flicked one ear before ignoring her and moving towards one of the cabinets instead. Grabbing the knob with his teeth he pulled it open, finding some salted meat the wolf began to eat from it, biting off chunks and swallowing them until he was satisfied.

Grabbing a big chunk of meat that was still remaining (the bandits really had been planning to endure the harsh winter in this place) Snøvær gave Madison one last look before walking away, back towards his alpha in case she wanted some food as well. On the way he noticed @Vivian Cruz arriving, another who hadn't been part of the group, but he'd worry about that once he had brought the meat to his alpha.

 

Location Outside the Fortress

"I doubt it'll be gone... Thing isn't sticking around for nothing," she shrugged, not too keen on thinking about the subject past an awful gut feeling something would soon go wrong. With a fine shove to keep negativity away the pink-haired woman pulled a wide smile onto her face. Partly genuine due to Corvella's excitement, and party forced due to her body growing weak. "Nice to meet you, Nike. At least the shoe looks good. Corvella could be trying to say something about you," she teased with a deep chuckle following shortly after. The stranger seemed no bother so she eased, and the tension disappeared as soon as it'd arrived. Perhaps the three of them weren't willing to allow stress or fear or anxiety to take over even after a fight. Comet pushed messy, tangled locks out of her face with a huff. "No way," she shook her head dramatically. "I was beat up bad. Glad you didn't seeing anything." her eyes trailed down Corvella's body in a quick check to see if the other had suffered as much.


Frankly, Comet had been sure until now her appearance couldn't be beat in any sort of hot mess competition. Still her skin and eyes and aura glowed. An effortless contributor to such an assumption. "Thank you," she accepted the apple graciously but knew it'd be difficult to chew and especially to swallow. "I am. Not the most interesting thing, I know, but it comes in handy when you want to keep a distance," she spoke with pride as an Archer who planned to stick by her bow for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the pink-haired woman admired the man's race and choice of weaponry mentally while keeping compliments to a minimum. Being a people-pleaser wasn't her most attractive trait, after all. "Don't think I've seen much lance users walking around. You must be one of a kind or I haven't payed enough attention. I'm usually pretty distracted during fights, really, but you're free to impress me next time we're put in battle together." the apple shifted around in her hand a few more times beforeComet shoved it into her mouth, forcibly chewing. A difficult task that damaged her self-esteem and fake confidence and fear of judgement all at once. Hardly any of these sensations were noticeable from the outside. Fortunately.

@Nikephoros @Corvella

 

Location Outside the Fortress

Eryl felt her blood sugar suddenly bottom out. A wave of dizziness came over the redhead, she put her hand against the stone wall to keep from falling over as it washed over her. She turned from @Emil Trevelyan absent mindedly, her attention going strait to her stomach. Eryl had kept her foot on the gas petal too long, and now her tank was almost on empty. She was almost sure what she had seen with the mouths and voices was a hallucination from her hunger.

Swallowing, she managed to weakly make her way into the castle, her feet dragging on the cobblestone. Her gloved hand managed to keep Eryl on her feet as she supported herself against the wall. She passed through one store room she had seen earlier. Nothing. She passed by a second larder, but it too had been raided bare, with a thorough litter of wood, hay, stubble, and debris covering the floor.


Her stomach growled menacingly, threatening to force her to drop on her face. Eryl propped herself against the doorway, moaning in dispair. She was out of the frying pan and into the fire. Her eyes spied something moving out of the corner of her eye through the debris. It was white, and mobile and to her feral, hungry state, it was food.

Pressing her forefinger and ring finger forward, Eryl flicked them towards the furry white moving object. A purple diamond of energy flicked from her fingertips, catching it in the side. The creature fluttered to a stop, falling head over heels. Its body stopped, dead so quickly it hardly knew what hit it. Eryl's mind hardly registered that it was a snow rabbit. She didn't care. The redhead's feet stumbled forwards, she gripped the carcass with both hands and pulled it to her mouth, sinking her teeth into its flesh.