Castle Dormont When Yladia and the three player guilds, YULAN, VALOR, and COVEN sieged and took Castle Dormont by force (season 1 finale), it was discovered that Vampire Wurms had been nesting beneath the castle for generations. When the players blew up the teleportation stone, the detonation had unearthed these unholy creatures. Now, parties are gathering to plunge into the darkness and rid the castle of the broods which fester below. ♪♫Entering the great hall of Castle Dormont, it is impossible to miss the shattered floor which drops into a cavernous abyss of darkness. Little of the damage from the siege has been tended to, as piles of debris still litter the halls and the chasm sits invitingly within the hazarded floor. Still, much of the dust has been swept up and wooden platforms rest over most of the chasm to prevent people from falling in. Several ladders descend into its darkness, where torches and magical lanterns provided pockets of illumination for those that prepared to adventure. But above, within the ruins of Castle Dormont, there is no less hustle and bustle. In preparation of the large quest to 'clean out the cellar,' several stalls have been erected in the great hall to provide food to hungry heroes. The smells of suckling pig and wild turkey waft through the air, while sweet potatoes and fruit pies adorn desert trays. Festive fall-style cooking is in abundance; a free feast provided by the kingdom of Astorea to thank those that are assisting with the wurm broods. A small stage set up near the throne is occupied by a small live orchestra which fills the halls with cheerful notes, though others are welcome to perform should they wish. Eat, drink and be merry as you mingle with friends and make new acquaintances, before and after exploring the darkness below. InstructionsThis thread will persist until the world quest is over. There is no cool down or max word count for posts, but please do not do super long posts or flood the thread. The rule is the same as other megathreads; i.e. there is no posting cycle, if you want to interact with someone, tag them. This thread is open to all players.
_____Reaper’s first real visit to the player ruled kingdom, and only to start building a name for himself and to search for his precise items. But that was no reason to not slightly enjoy his trip here while waiting to find a group, and being away from that annoying women already had him in higher spirits. Gloved hands ran across fallen rubble as he remained as out of the pack as he preferred. His black cloak within in his inventory as he looked like a regular adventure in all cloth gear, minus the helmet so his hair would not get messy, and the fact he could not afford it. _____Moving forward a bit Reaper decided he would go eat something while he waited. His hand reaching to drop some gold at a meat stall before taking a piece and fading into a group of people. Social places always left him on edge as he kept waving his way until he found a nice dark and quiet shadow area to rest his back against and enjoy his food. His slightly jagged teeth cutting into the meat as he tore a piece and watched for anyone that might be worth speaking to. _____He himself was not that strong, however he still needed to find people either equal, or slightly over him, and preferred nobody weaker than himself considering just how weak he was at the current time. Ripping another chunk from his food as the dark mage kept his eyes peeled for anyone of interest, and the state of the area below. If they needed so many groups, he sure as hell was not simply going to trust the area below to stay so quiet, the fact the area was so destroyed made Reaper wonder how long it would take for this entire place to fall into the darkness. But as he took another bite and nothing happened blow Reaper went back to looking for party members.
The Admiral gazed down from the second floor of Castle Dormont, her legs kicking lightly as they hung from the precipice. Where once a grand portal had occupied the room she was in, much of the floor had been blown away by one careless dropping of a bomb. That action had deposited her and many others into the wreckage of the first floor below, which then itself erupted in chaos as the Elder Vampire Wurm burst up angrily from below the ground. So it was that from her vantage at the destroyed second story floor she could see down into the great hall, and further still into the chasms and caverns below. The sight made her vision swim and her heart thundered in her chest, mind awash with a horrible panic as she could almost feel the ledge she sat on crumbling around her. She forced herself to breathe slowly, deeply, staring down in abject horror... but staring nonetheless. She didn't know why she was so horrified by heights these days, but slowly forcing herself to acclimate to them was not working. She had been sitting there for nearing two hours, white as a sheet and unable to budge for fear that she'd go falling into the hole in front of her. She'd managed to watch everybody set up the tables of food, and watched as people gathered and began to mingle below. It'd be nice to join them... if she wasn't glued in place, staring into the abyss, jumping back and forth between deciding upon a heart attack or a stroke. So she sat, wearing her heavy plate armor, with her two war hammers strapped to her sides and ready to be wielded in violent fashion once she managed to free herself from the spot she was glued in. Who would she adventure with? Gwyn was an obvious choice to drag along on something as exciting as blood wurm hunting. Perhaps Nathair could slither down the ladders and assist in fighting the wiggly bastards. His crushing strength could be iffy when they had such soft bodies, and his teeth were not meant for tearing. Meanwhile, Gwyn's bow would have limited functionality in the cramped stone corridors and tunnels. But when she landed a hit? It would get results. She considered Roland but... would he be sober enough? Or perhaps even wanting to risk his hide by going down into the most dangerous levels of the caverns? She had explored briefly with Gwyn and found that they went deep beneath the foundations of Castle Dormont and into the cold confines of the earth. More likely than not he'd want to stay closer to the surface, and the free food and drinks being provided in the great hall below. Aaron Marone would be a man she'd like to fight alongside down there. His strength was growing slowly, but surely. She'd rather go alone and naked than work with the runt again. That bubbly child that always seemed to tackle things the exactly most annoying way? Applebetty, or something. The one with the circus animals following her around... And then there was Steel, the leader of Valor, who had vanished just as swiftly as Astor. Both had been powerful forces, but both seemed rather absent from the world stage of late. Perhaps they were held up in private conferences? She had fought alongside him during the siege and TRIED to build bridges, to no avail. Now she was simply keen to ignore him entirely. And finally there was Noah, who could prove a useful and capable addition... if he could stick to the group plans. She'd worked with him time to time, with increasing effectiveness on each occasion. It appeared to be a work in progress for both of them. Her thoughts snapped back to the present as she saw Reaper enter the great hall and grab a healthy amount of food, then deposit himself in a dark nook to wait and gorge. He was not a face she recognized. A new player, perhaps?
Gwyn found it unsurprisingly when she entered the domain of Castle Dormont once more that she felt ill at ease. The call to clear the levels below it had gone out, not in small part by her exploration with The Admiral after the initial fight. The archer had gone so far as to wish for more of the Ancient Vampire Wurm's spawn in an attempt to try her hand at taming one. They seemed interesting and their parent had offered a damn fine fight, one surely worthy of remembering. Still, she was so unsure in the face of this new player nation and its purpose here in this not quite right virtual world. Terrasphere had already shown it offered consequences as much as it did freedom in its coding and she didn't have enough of a head for politics to foresee where Astorea would take them. So when she stepped foot once more from the treeline, moved deeper into the courtyard, and passed the threshold into the great hall, she felt herself warring between the uncomfortable crawl across her skin and the tremble of excitement for the coming fights. Even after all her time injured as Sabine back home, her history and Gwyn's present easily overwhelmed her time stuck indoors and in the big city. No, she was made to be under the canopy of trees and the wide swathe of stars in the night sky. Entering the dim dark of the castle and the presence of so many people breathing the same air was uncomfortable. She would deal with it all the same. She had done it during the siege fine, her only hestitancy then had been trying to spare as many Falderen soldiers as she could manage, but then the purpose had been to aid the Yladians. She never intended a new nation. She never intended a lot of things that came back to bite her square in the ass. Nothing for it now. The huntress snagged a bottle of mead, but left the food. She had eaten before and didn't care to linger near the crush of bodies and clamor of those partaking. She needed somewhere set aside until it was time to find her motley of a team and head down below. Remembering the layout of the castle, Gwyn circumvented the crowds and slunk toward the stairs. In the shadows, thick long the walls inside the castle, moved her tame as it slowly moved after her. It was in no danger here and thus was content to wander some. She would be worried about it scaring folks around the tables heavy with meats, but it had a fox and the doubly unfortunate rabbit said fox had been chasing earlier. She was quick up the stairs, still eyeing the faces that came and went when able, but was happy to feel the weight lifted some as she reached the second floor. Much better. From her new vantage point, the archer felt a little more at ease. She could see all below and nothing was out of the reach of her arrows. Her sight uninhibited and the air more open. Gwyn shifted her stance some to make a space as her massive anaconda slid by, purposefully nudging into her boot to force her to move. Absolute pest, it was. Gwyn glanced over at it curiously when it kept moving, but she started when she saw @The Admiral with her boots over the edge looking rather odd in expression. Nathair slid quiet along the wall behind her and Gwyn hastily moved over to call it away from the woman. It seemed the anaconda thought it might be fun to give her a little... nudge. "Nathair, no!" The emerald head snapped back before it could touch the heavily armored fighter and it hissed lowly in annoyance. "Absolutely not," she spat before glancing at the only thing besides Nathair she could call companion, considering how often they fought together. "You heading down soon or are you waiting for someone?" Gwyn moved to the edge to look down, eyes skating over the many people before she glanced back down at The Admiral. "Anyone of interest show up yet?"
Ash was nervous when she returned to Castle Dormont for the first time since the invasion. She was unsure of whether or not she would be welcome, if anyone would recognize that she stood against the Yladians in the siege. But her anxiety faded away as nobody seemed to raise a fuss at her presence. Or at the presence of a large lion walking by her side, for that matter. Perhaps everyone was merely too busy with what was happening. It seemed as though there wasn't an unoccupied space left in the remnants of the castle. A little bit of asking around let her know that this was an area of preparation and relaxation for people who were intending on heading beneath the castle to clean out the wurm infestation. Remembering her own encounter with the creatures, Ash shivered. Ugh. That was a rather gory experience she wasn't eager to repeat. Well, she didn't think that she would be headed below. But, there were other ways she could assist. Ash made her way over to a food stall that seemed awfully undermanned, frantically trying to keep up with the flood of requests. The pair managing the stall gratefully accepted her offer to help when she pulled out her utensils, and she set to work helping them cook up some dishes: arranging tableaus of grilled boar and roast duck, helping to fry some kind of meat that oddly reminded her of mushrooms, conjuring up an extra apple or two to help fill the cloyingly sweet pies. And if she snuck a little chunk of meat every now and then to toss to Naixi, well, it wasn't as if they were lacking for food. She happened to watch as Reaper entered, recognizing the man from their brief interaction at Druuk Island. He didn't seem very interested in talking, as he moved over to a corner and watched the people as he ate. But there was a woman that caught her eye, however briefly. She was seated above the commotion, looking out at everything over the second layer. At first Ash thought she was just enjoying the quiet, but when she looked up again, the woman was still there. There wasn't any indication that she had moved from that spot. She was, however, joined by another woman, this one accompanied by a... really, really big snake? But she didn't look like she had any food either. Ash bit her lower lip and made a decision. She gathered up some of the dishes (and, a little bit of raw meat for the snake, as an afterthought) and scrounged around for a scrap of paper and something to write with. Quickly scribbling a note, she took a break from the stall to head over to an area somewhat directly beneath the pair on the upper level. Getting it up there would be an issue... but she managed to grow some vines through the mossy jagged remnants of the walls, and devised a simple pulley system to bring the plates up to @The Admiral and @Gwyn ap Herne's level. She aimed for an unobtrusive, out of the way spot. But made sure that the note was clearly visible, reading: 'Hi! I'm sorry if this is presumptuous of me, but I thought that you might be hungry. Here's some food for you and your friend, hope you two enjoy! Don't worry about the dishes when you're done, I can get them again. Or, if you want to return them, just look out for the lion. Can't miss her!' That done, Ash returned to her stall. Couldn't leave people waiting for their food, after all.
She looked around the hall, taking in the orchestra's melody and the smell of cooking food. The castle was crowded, heroes and adventurers banding together for whatever purpose they had: to test their skills, to reap the rewards, or even to just sit in the castle looking pretty to get a good meal. Luna swept through the hall, her eyes glittering as she spotted a woman making a unique pulley system out of vines and magic. Then a little further off, a dark figure swooping through the crowds and trying to melt into the darkness. Her eyes went up, to the two sitting on the edge of the broken floor, looking down at the festivities. And then to the massive anaconda coiled around them. She broke her gaze, looking around the crowd a little longer. There were many fascinating people gathered today, it would seem. She had little coin to spare, so she appreciated the free meal. After a quick nod, the mage scurried away to the stairwell, sitting down to tuck into the food. It was out of the way, but the extra height let her keep an eye out for any more interesting persons.
Astorea // Castle Dormont // Monday // 3:25PM Falderen Standard Time Well here she went. All around her was rubble and remnants of what must have been a fortress for the Falderen Kingdom. A kingdom that was known for being a holy kingdom of sorts. It was even said that the King himself could summon down lights from the heavens to aid him. Beretta only knew one thing. The game was very realistic and the backstories were well thought out. Too well thought out. How far back did the creators go with this? Beretta had yet to find a end to finish learning everything about the world history. It was seeming to be a never ending task. "Still blood residue on these stones." Beretta focused her sights on the hall around her while in investigation mode. Blood was still spotting the room iin various places. Mostly around the rumble filled areas on the outer ends of the hall, away from the gathering. Beretta bent down to touch the blood with a gloved finger. She smelled it being certain to not touch it to her nose. She rubbed it with her fingers. Dried blood all right. It did not vanish, even though the battle had taken place so long ago. She held her chin in thought. Eyes glancing over to a few others in the room just to see the kind of players here. Names appearing next to each of them in varying colors to show how they stood in power compared to her using the games idea of comparing statistics. That did not mean anything about them outside of Terrasphere though. Some of them were not even players. Nor did they officially work for King Astor as he was called. Hmmm... a guild leader who somehow became a king and went against a established nation in the game. He did that in such a short time. Curious. It sounded unreal to become that powerful or influential that quickly in a virtual game that was designed to be played for years on end. At least if it wanted to make any profit. The avatars of players here were the norm. Warriors, knights, mages and so on. None seemed too suspicious. It was good that she did not bring her badge into the game. Her look was the same but she had a false story for anyone who asked too much about her. A event of some kind was supposedly happening here soon. Beretta was using that as cover as well so that she might learn some about these Yulan Dragons that had basically evolved into Astorea. Continuing her deep thoughts, Beretta brought up her pane and began to see where she had been so far in the castle. She was happy to see she had entered every possible first floor room before coming here. Good. Beretta had a completionist streak and if she missed a room, it would have bothered her until she went back. The feeling of not having uncovered a needed clue is not something she could tolerate during a assignment. Closing it up, Beretta adjusted her tie. She would go and try one of the drinks that were being served. She preferred coffee honestly but they did not seem to be serving any. There must be a lack of coffee connoisseurs playing the game so demand isn't high. That's unfortunate. Instead she settled for a Elven tea. It was rather good. Beretta looked carefully at cup and would ask the NPC who poured her it if they had any information on how it was made. Taste was 100% real here as well, and able to fake a unknown flavor of tea that did not exist on earth? The game was beyond anything Beretta had investigated before.... that much was certain. At least she got a good cup of tea out of investigation so far. It was very impressive.
