Things seemed to really be picking up, now. As he began in his chosen direction an item name popped up into view and he stared at it in annoyance for a long moment while deciding whether or not it was even worth picking up. In the end, he was already covered in sewage and it MIGHT have a value of some significance on the surface, or be of use later in the dungeon. Perhaps he’d come across something with coprophagia and be able to buy himself safe passage. He took the item and wrapped it up in a loose handkerchief, glad that it was at least a dried pellet, and put the thing away for later use before continuing on down the leftward path. From ahead came two roaches of the same size and ferocity that Noah and Cat had encountered, and he smiled. Those had been easily defeated by the pair, while he had faced down the much more hearty and imposing slime. Encouraged by that foreknowledge that roaches were easily crushed under heel, pun intended, he sprinted towards them with weapons drawn and began to swing in berserk fashion, aiming one strike at each creature with his dual-wielded clubs.

Noah’s warning not to shot seemed unimportant now, considering the number of creatures coming out of the brick cracks to attack them all. But the man had had a point, and of course limiting the amount of noise each person made would prevent more of these… encounters from happening while they were all split up. Still, if all they were going to be facing was roaches then he wasn’t worried in the slightest; the things practically exploded for you! Perhaps there was some kind of Roach Queen they could find and kill for an extra reward? That would be pleasant.

• OOC: attacking each roach once using dual-wield + berserk

 

As he silently crept along the path, his scanning picked up something...trash? Noah bent down and examined the piece of junk that was left on the ground, careful not to touch it for fear that it could give him a status debuff like The Admiral received in the water. Perhaps he was being too careful but he was not in any mood to die right now down here. As he stood back up he heard what sounded like the shuffling of feet behind him. He turned around and stared off into the abyss trying to see if he was able to notice anything coming. His pathway was narrow and so far he had not noticed any cracks that creatures like those roaches could slip in and out of as they did before. Plus the water made a barrier of sorts for other creatures, if something was going to come after him, it would most likely be coming from straight ahead.


With that in mind, his grip tightened on his sword and he began to once again go deeper into the tunnels. He would keep not only his eyes on alert but his ears as well. There were a couple holes in the ceiling above, most likely from the occasional sewer or storm drain, letting in just enough light for him to be able to see comfortably. He just hoped the others would be alright, he was particularly nervous for The Admiral. While he had gotten on Noah’s nerves early on in the encounter, he was all alone and had the lowest health out of the group. He might have been able to dish out a good deal of damage but not having good armor or backup would certainly spell doom for him if he was not careful.


As Noah continued on his path, he made sure that his footsteps were light and he hugged the wall as best as he could. This would allow him, if needed, to blend in by pressing against the wall. While it was not total camouflage, in this low lighting it could be enough were anything that was approaching him might not notice. This would of course cause him to move slower but as the saying went, slow and steady wins the race.

 

Splitting up was always a hard choice to make. On one hand, you cover more ground and can therefore explore more of the dungeon by splitting up. On the other hand, you risk being thrown into a combat situation under less-than-ideal circumstances. Nevertheless, the group followed through with it, pairing Beatle with Catharina and sending them down one of three possible tunnels.

“This isn’t so bad...” Beatle thought, looking around the tunnel absent-mindedly. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some kind of treasure? ... To be honest, I’m not sure if I want any treasure that’s been down here for a prolonged period of time. I mean, maybe if it’s inside a chest or something? That’s a strong maybe. But if I find a sword-in-the-stone down here, no way in hell am I taking that thing. Who knows what smells it’s collected over the years.”

As he thought, a pair of overgrown sewer rats came around the corner, sniffing around and hissing at each other until one of them caught on to Beatle and Catharina’s presence. “Of course,” Beatle muttered inaudibly. “Silly me, I was getting ahead of myself. It’s never that easy, is it? I hope the other’s had some better luck.”

For now, Beatle cast Vine Snare on the second rat, allowing the first to come close enough for Catharina to hopefully engage and defeat before the snare expires. Beatle’s hands began to move on their own, drawing a swift, flowing rune in the air with his main hand. He was still inexperienced with his Naturamancy, so it took him longer than he’d have liked to actually cast the spell, denying him any time for much else. As he finished the rune, a Slew of mossy vines erupted from the wall next to the 2nd rat, attempting to wrap around it and pull it to the wall, hindering it from moving.

 

The group split up, it made her a bit unsure how they would cope if either of them ran into a large monster party but they all seemed alright with the idea. Maybe it was better this way, less conflict about powerplay. She was with Beatle and she was totally fine with that, the Bard seemed nice and really handy. He could heal and have other nice mage tricks to help.

She headed with Beatle to their designated path. ‘’If we get attacked, I’m sure we can handle a few. I’ll act like the powerhouse and try to take the hits. Maybe we get lucky, find some treasure between all the goop.’’ She grinned but her smile was soon wiped when she saw two giant rats. The nasty kind, the rats that had bald spots, missed an eye or toe. They weren’t the cute little gray rats in the pet store. Sewer rats, Catharina decided, were disgusting. Without hesitation she took a good few steps in front, her rapier sliding out the sheath. ‘’Yush, let’s do this Beatle!’’

Without a battle cry, no way she was going to alarm more nasty monsters to their path, she headed for the rat captured in Beatle’s Snares. Her rapier going for a pierce through the mouth and into their brains through the roof of their mouth. Instant deaths would be the quickest. Otherwise, she would go for another quick pierce through the stomach. Little pests. ‘’Good move Beatle, can you stall the other for me?’’ She asked as she made herself ready to defend a possible attack of the non-targeted rat.

(Ooc: Attack Rat in Vine Snare and prepare for taking a blow.)

 

As Noah slowly crept through the sewers he had to wonder if the others were fine. While they had not been separated for a long time, Noah had made significant progress into the sewer network. Looking around and judging that the area was indeed safe for the moment he pulled up his screen and started to compose a message to check in on the others. “Yo, has anybody had any luck? I feel like I’m not getting anywhere in this place…..Let me know if y’all want to meet back up…. -Noah” He quickly dismissed, the screen and continued on his path into the sewers.


Still using caution with every step, Noah quietly and still hanging on the wall progressed deeper into the sewer. He was expecting to see something, anything, perhaps an enemy, perhaps a ladder to the surface, or perhaps another fork in the road. Whatever he would come across he had to be ready. He once again scanned the area around and in front of him, hoping to find something of some use or value, heck at least something of interest. Really though if he did not find anything anytime soon he would most likely head back and try to find the others. No point in continuing down a path that had little to no interests, the only thing he had found so far was a pile of rubbish and he was too afraid of being poisoned to even touch it. He hoped the other three were alright though... Beatle had little raw battle strength but that Cat girl seemed skilled enough with a sword. The Admiral had a decent amount of strength and power but he had already lost nearly half of his health. How long would he be able to handle his own if a couple of those slimes tagged teamed him?


(Scanning and walking further down the path)

 

Battle Post

As Noah continued on the path before him the sewage seemed to disappear and the path widened. Feeling that this was a signal that he was near the end of the gross dungeon he went ahead and sent out a message to the group, still a bit worried since nobody else had answered him… “Yoo, I think I might have found the exit guys! All the nasty water is gone and the path is much larger!”[/I] As he sent the message a strange whiff caught his nose...was that booze? As he continued he saw the silhouette of a gross old man. By his feet were dozens of broken bottles. What the hell was he doing down here? Was he the leader of the roaches and slimes or was he just drunk and lost? A few yards behind the man rested a sewer drain, Noah’s ticket out of here. As stealthy as Noah thought he was being the man noticed him and in a drunken fit started to run towards Noah. As he did three giant roaches appeared from Noah’s left and behind.


Noah lept into action at once. With a few quick steps he built up enough momentum that he was able to jump on the side wall and with a few steps and a strong push off was able to navigate around the drunk man. This of course was all thanks to the acrobatic skills that his rogue class offered. Noah hoped that by putting the man between him and the other roaches they would at least all three crash into each other, the roaches would attack the drunk, or by him some time in some form or fashion. As he landed Noah would swing his blade, almost like a baseball bat at the roach that was coming from his left, now coming to his right thanks to his repositioning in the field. He hoped the force of his swing would kill this one in one go like the other one earlier, while the drunk would buy him a second to prepare for the other two coming his way. If his attack was able to land, he would at least rid himself of one enemy and if he was lucky the roaches would rid him of another. He was going to have to play this fight smart if he wanted to live.



(OCC: Jumping over the old man and attacking the roach that was coming at my side x.x praying this old man is not the roach king….)

 

EXPLORATION POST

As he had imagined, the roaches were dispatched with swift impunity as hammer and definitely not a table leg came crushing down upon their weak bodies, causing the most disturbing of crunching sounds to grate against the Admiral’s ears and send a reflexive chill up and down his spine. Horripilation nipped at his arms as he moved past the corpses of the roaches, going further down the winding corridors of the sewer dungeon. Behind him came the sounds of some kind of commotion, and a message from Noah popped up which caused him to pause briefly. Apparently the man had been curious about meeting back up considering he had not yet found anything of note and was becoming disheartened by his lack of success. The Admiral chuckled lightly and took a few more steps in his planned direction, musing over how the rogue seemed so intent on finding action and not at all interested in the legwork that a quest like this often required. Certainly everything they had found thus-far was trash and refuse, but that was because they were on the surface levels of what was probably a much larger and intricate structure. Not to mention they had literally just split up moments prior and had not yet had the time to fully investigate things.

Another message appeared and he skimmed it, no longer bemused but now annoyed. How could the exit be so close to the entrance? Did he really expect for their whole adventure to be so brief? Sighing, he pulled up his menu and shot the group a message in response to Noah’s own.

-Probably leads to a miniboss, don’t get yourself killed investigating. Meet up with me or join the others for now, and we can tackle it as a group once we’ve all had a chance to explore more. Not everyone is as fast as you, remember.

Sighing, he began to look around the sewer for any new paths or the possibility of hidden and lost treasures. Noah hadn’t mentioned any word of enemies or a need for help in a fight, and so he did not feel inclined to rush back. For all the man knew, Noah was just being impatient as a scout.

• OOC: Using another search point

 

Thrown die:

89

 

BATTLE POST

Her rapier pierced magnificently through the rat’s tiny brains. The blood and liquid trickled down her blade as she retracted it from the body. For a sweet, fleeting moment Catharina felt the song of victory and bloodlust. It was only a mere rat, a giant one but still a rat, but the sight of the animal actually dying instead of running off without a head was a lot more satisfactory. The moment was rudely interrupted when the other rat came at her sword side to take its vengeance. Catharina tried to quickly sidestep the assault, unsure if it would be enough to save her from every possible disease the rat would be carrying. Miss Fortune was on her side today as she dodged the giant gray shitball. Vaguely she saw the messages Noah was sent, either the rogue was really damn lucky, not walking into any enemies, or the rogue was a quick faster as he was a runner. Either way, she ignored the messages, a bit too busy with the rat problem. She frowned and was determined to pierce the abomination right through the abdomen and make some Rat Marshmallow ready for the fire. Otherwise, Beatle might have some fancy tricks to finish the thing off.

After the rat problem was fixed, she finally felt obliged to give some shoutouts to the others. Noah had already sent another message about the exit, Admiral seemed to have other plans. These two really had different agendas, she sighed and made a message of her own. - Had a little Rat problem, do you need us asap? I would like to explore a bit more on this side, we haven’t had the chance to admire the decoration in this place. -

(OOC: Dodge and Attack)

 

Battle Post

As his blade sank into the flesh of the cockroach, Noah felt a bit of satisfaction. This was quickly washed away once the beast seemed to auto regenerate just like the one Cat had attacked before. Much like the one before this one also was afraid and scurried back to whence it came. His attention quickly turned to the other three intensities that were in this hell hole with him. While the hobo had stabbed one of the roaches, they were still going after him like a prime rib steak. Noah contemplated helping the old man or just leaving him in the dust, he was a drunk after all. His conscience seemed to get the better of him. In a similar move to his past feat, Noah used the wall to get around the hobo and would attempt to land on the roach that the old man had been stabbing. While both the roaches were distracted he believed his plan would succeed without a hitch. As he would bounce off the wall and hopefully onto the neck of the roach his sword would swing with the added momentum of him falling right onto the spine of the other roach. It seemed that the whole going after the head seemed fruitless, it might be best to attack the spine region and stop the regeneration skill that the bugs possessed.


As he did this the old man was screaming and still trying to stab the two roaches, maybe once the dust had settled this old man might be in a more reasonable state. As Noah would descend onto the bug’s back a faint noise in the back of his head would appear. It was almost like a bell chiming. It was the sound that he had mail...or at least a message from one of the other three members of this rag-tag party. Hopefully, they had received his message about the end being nearby that or they were at least okay. Either way, it was nice to know that somebody out there got his message and actually felt like responding.

(OCC: another rogue jump on the wall and onto a roach followed by swinging my blade at the other roach)

 

Beatle sighed, putting away his guitar. Somehow they’d managed to defeat their foes without a scratch. He looked at his energy bar with concern. “45% huh... I need to fix my energy usage. Probably need more skill in Music. Maybe there’s some magic cloth gloves or something that I can get to help with that?”

Beatle smiled at his partner, thankful that no harm was done. He was sure that he’d need all the mana he could save, because if this is truly a dungeon, then sooner or later there’s a chance they’d encounter a boss. He wasn’t sure what kind of boss would exist in a sewer tunnel, but he was absolutely positive that they’d need his healing spells to survive it. Perhaps there would be some way to rest for the night and recover some energy? He’d have to remember to ask the others about that, but it could wait for now.

Catharina sent a message to the party, informing them of their recent successful encounter. It was true, they hadn’t really had a chance to explore much just yet. There could be something awesome right around the corner that the rats came from? Beatle fantasized about turning the corner to a large open area with a treasure chest in the middle, ripe for the picking. He imagined turning the corner to some ancient armory, acquiring some better cloth. He fantasized about turning the corner to see a swarm of man-sized rats, angry and hungry. There were so many possibilities that Beatle felt a need to learn the answer, and there was really only one way to find out.

Beatle motioned to Catharina, signaling that he wished to proceed. Assuming she would follow, he would approach the corner as quietly as possible, nearly pressing his back to the wall. Once there, he would peek around it, checking for more enemies. The last thing they needed was another encounter.

(Exploration post)

 

EXPLORATION POST

Well, things seemed to be nice and quiet as Noah failed to respond. Probably either sulking or dead… really it didn’t matter either way. Cat sent a message that made it clear she also wanted to continue adventuring, and she didn’t seem to say anything about Beatle… Nor did the boy respond, so it was safe to infer that he was also keen on going further. Pausing, the Admiral stooped and picked up a vial he had almost stepped upon which was buried under what looked like a torn burlap pouch. Within it were several smashed glass containers, only one of which wasn’t damaged. He inspected it carefully and saw the labeled which simply read as POISON, then shrugged and pocketed the item in his inventory. It appeared to be common tier, and a small double-fist-pump into the air served as celebration for the lot he had stumbled across. Still it was no treasure chest, and he hadn’t encountered any more monsters or problems yet. If everybody else was still busy exploring their directions, he might as well do the same.

Humming, the berserker bard continued in the direction of the fork he had taken, exploring the sewers and keeping an eye open for new paths. The loot he had found put a proverbial spring in his step and, giddy, he began to drag his heels and clap his hands, pelvic thrusting from time to time and otherwise giving the most embarrassing and unflattering dance he knew how since he was all alone to enjoy such things. He’d continue exploring in this direction, until he came across something worth reporting to the others or encountered danger perhaps. Though the roaches were a threat he welcomed, there was a distinct worry of encountering more slimes or something even fiercer down here amidst the furtive passage of Stokbon’s sewers.

-Good job Cat and Beatle. I found a Common item that looks to be some kind of poison, so there’s definitely loot down here. Stay safe and report what you find; I’m going a little further ahead. No rat problems here.