[SP-F6] The Darkest Dungeon <<Calming the Soul>> .:COMPLETE:.

[Creius 0]

Nathan was once more exploring the sixth floor. He had heard of a waterfall which new players should visit through random mumblings and was now looking for said waterfall. Though, he did not entirely trust these mumblings so he had made sure that he had his best equipment with him in case this turned out to be a trap. He looked down at the pants which he had made with his tailoring skill. They were a nice pair of pants though they had yet to be tested in battle yet so now was as good as ever to try them out. On his waist he was wearing the rapier which the smith Nikodemus_Blackwood had made for him on request. It was a great sword and had already served him well, helping him finish a sudden duel with an NPC rather quickly. After inspecting all the equipment he had on he looked around the tall trees which he was walking past. He knew the general location of this waterfall but did not have a concrete location, meaning he would have to search for a bit. He stopped and looked around, trying to decide where to go. He looked in one direction, unable to resist the desire to head that way. Gut intuition was just as viable a way to find this waterfall than every other option. With that resolution Nathan headed down the direction which Nathan had chosen, delving deeper into the forest in search of this waterfall.

Spoiler

Equipped:    Bloodletter (T1:2 Slots DMG and 1 Slot Bleed)   &   Abrasive Leggings (T1:1 Slot Mit and 2 Slots Thorns)

Stats:    HP:24    ENG:6    DMG:4    MIT:12

Skills:    Rapier: Novice    Light Armour: Novice

 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

After walking a few hundred metres he began to hear the crashing sound of water, indicating he was approaching the waterfall, or a waterfall at least. As he continued walking the sound grew louder and louder and finally he came out on a small clearing in the jungle. Looking around he took in the sight before him. This was definitely the place he was looking for, already the sound of the crashing water was relaxing him with almost mystical power. If this were meant as a spa day then he could see why it would be recommended but he highly doubted that was the true purpose of this place. Upon further inspection he noticed the semicircle of stones infront of the waterfall and approached them. They seemed almost like ritualistic seats for some sort of ceremony. Nathan walked to one of the seats and sat down, running his hand over the smooth stone beneath him and looking forward towards the waterfall. The crashing water was mesmerizing as he stared at it, causing his eyes to slowly grow heavy and close. A few times the sound of the waterfall seemed to fade, causing Nathan's eyes to snap open and look upon the reality around him. The waterfall was still there even though it seemed to have died off just moments prior and the sound of birds and animals still filled the trees. Every time he closed his eyes though the waterfall seemed to get even more distant.

[Creius 0]

The last time Nathan closed his eyes the waterfall died off completely, leaving no sounds of it or the jungle. Nathan opened his eyes and was almost thrown into a panic. He screamed at the sight before him, or lack thereof, and kept screaming as he blinked his eyes repeatedly. He could not help it, the sudden blindness was truly frightening. There was nothing in front of him and, even though he felt his eyes open and close and felt his neck turn, there was nothing behind him. Nathan was still there but there was nothing to see, that or his eyes were no longer seeing. After a few seconds of screaming the screams died in his throat, which was now dry. There had to be some logic to this, all of a sudden there would not be a failure so he could not see anymore. This was recommended to beginner's because it was a quest, that had to be it. He took a few deep breaths, doing his best to suppress the panic that had quickly built up in him, and thought this through rationally. Where could he possibly have been placed that would look like a black void? "My soul?" Nathan thought sarcastically but discarded the notion since there was most likely no way the NerveGear could pull such information from him. And so he sat in the darkness, considering his predicament and what to do.

[Creius 0]

It was quite a few minutes after he had first opened his eyes that something happened. For those minutes it was just perpetual darkness that he was staring into, deep and unrelenting. The darkness eventually gave way though to a figure who was shrouded in shadows. It was not so much that the place which he sat got brighter, it was more that the figure was a different type of shadow, making it noticeable against the pitch black backdrop. The figure seemed to stare at Nathan for a few minutes, though in reality it was only a few seconds, before it slowly raised its hand up, pointing at Nathan like he was some sort of chosen one. Nathan watched as a wide, brilliantly white smile grew on the figure's face, the only indication of anything of black in this dreary world. Strangely, the brightness did not fill him with resolve. Rather, it filled him with even more dread. It was as though this figure were indicating his doom. Slowly four doors became visible behind the figure, not quite able to be seen but obviously there nonetheless. Nathan stood up, taking his time in the darkness to make sure he stood without stumbling. Once he was standing he approached the dark figure, walking through the darkness towards an unknown challenge.

[Creius 0]

As Nathan approached the figure the darkness receded a bit, making everything a little easier to see. The figure was in fact a shadow of a human, almost like his. It had the body shape of a human but lacked the features which would have indicated any humanity within the figure. The doors bore symbols, symbols which Nathan immediately hated. He carefully studied each symbol from left to right. One was a star, generally a bright light to travelers but never to him. The next symbol was that of a skull, most likely an indication of death and misery. After that, a chain and ball with a securing system at one end for restraining the movement of one. The final one was the Da Vinci model of man, the symbol commonly used for the human race. After studying the doors he brought his eyes back down on the figure before him. The figure spread his arms wide, indicating all four doors. So this was the challenge which he had to overcome. After the indication the figure slowly melted into the shadows of this world, leaving Nathan all alone now.

[Creius 0]

Nathan stepped forward, looking at all four doors and completely unsure which to go into first. After a bit of consideration he chose the first door from the left, not for any particular reason. He just decided left to right would be as good a way to go as any. He unsheathed his rapier, ready for the combat which he was pretty sure he would enter into. Once he approached the door he raised his hand to it, wondering how to open it. Almost as if reacting to his hand the door began to grind and slide upwards, the top of it disappearing into the shadows. The door stopped just short of making the star disappear into the shadows and offered a view inside. The land was a desert, just sand dune after sand dune. It was too close to his old home for his taste. He had a pretty good idea what the star was representing now but he stepped inside anyways. Once he had taken a step past the threshold of the door the door vanished, leaving no way back into the central darkness. He looked up at the sky and sure enough, there was the north star sitting high in the sky. He knew he could follow that star and stay true if only he knew which way he had to go. He sat there for a bit and decided West and began walking, keeping the star to his right shoulder.

[Creius 0]

As Nathan walked forward a sense of dread began to fill him, the terror from his younger years returning quickly. It was intangible what was causing his fear, this quest had just struck the correct memory and was causing panic. He squeezed the hilt of his sword and scanned the seemingly endless sand of the desert. There was a rumbling from the sand and Nathan took a few moments to capture his balance once more and suddenly an eruption in the sand as a large figure jumped out. When the large figure landed Nathan got a full inspection of the sight before him. A scorpion larger than one he had ever seen before was standing before him and panic began to set in Nathan. The scorpion darted forward towards Nathan, its stinger darting forward.

.:COMBAT INITIATED:.

Creius: 24/24 HP    4/6 (-2) ENG    4 DMG    12 Mit                    The Scorpion: -1/6 HP   2 DMG    1 Mit 

ID#59865   BD:6  Base 4*2 - Mit 1 = 7 DMG to Scorpion       MD:3 Miss

Nathan watched in terror as the scorpion darted forward, the early years of his life flashing before his eyes. Too quickly the scorpion was bearing down on him and the stinger was darting towards his chest. At the very last moment Nathan dove to the side, into the sand, and rolled back into a standing position. He turned around and darted forward, his blade glowing red with Rip Ravine. Suddenly the terror turned into anger and his sword flew up and quickly fell down on the scorpion. The scorpion's body crunched beneath the sword as the armour was cut through and half the v was left. Once more the sword flew up and fell back down, cutting another diagonal and completing the V. The scorpion froze and exploded into a million pixels, just like any NPC in the game.

.:COMBAT COMPLETED:.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan felt absolutely drained, the horror of seeing his youth. He collapsed to the ground and took a few breaths as he tried to gain control of himself. He shook his head, shoving the memories from his head and a sense of relief came with that. For years he had been running from that harsh past and he felt like he had just conquered it. Nathan looked up at the North Star and saw that it seemed to be glowing even brighter than usual. Unconsciously he stood up and began walking North, following the star. He had never really faced his past before, it had always been shoved to the side. While that brief encounter may not have solved all the problems it did help with some he guessed. Maybe that was the point of this quest in particular. After a few minutes of walking he approached a door, similar to the one that had been in the central room. This time though the star had a slash through it, an indication of the conquered challenge. Nathan rose his hand up to the door and it began grinding upwards, opening up to the darkness of the initial room he had began this in.

[Creius 0]

Nathan walked through the door and into the darkness and looked at the other doors. That fight had not taxed him too much, though the situation had caused some stress. The stress mattered little though so he was sure he would move onto the next room already. He approached the door with the skull emblazoned on the door and reached his hand out to the door. Once more it grinded upwards and disappeared into the shadows, leaving only the skull beaming down at him. Nathan peered into the room but could not make out anything. It seemed to just be even more darknesss. Nathan walked into the room, the door instantly disappearing behind him, and Nathan's world became really strange. As Nathan stepped forward his arms were forced to be pressed to his side yet when Nathan tried to backup to allow more space for his arms there was a wooden wall behind him. Thus Nathan kept walking forward until eventually it felt like he was in a box. He could not see anything in the darkness but it felt like there was a certain pressure above him. With this came another realization, he was laying down. Just a few moments prior he had been walking but now he was laying down. Nathan was unsure of what was going on but it felt like he had been buried alive by walking down a hall.

[Creius 0]

There was a sudden rumbling, as though his box were being moved violently. He could vaguely here a sound, almost as though something were moving through a wet object. He strained his hearing and the sound got louder and he realized it was getting closer to him. As it got louder he realized what it was. The sound was a shovel forcing its way through wet earth and towards him. He began to panic as he realized that he was buried alive and began to move about, crashing into the sides and top of the coffin which he lay, screaming for whoever was above him to hurry up and dig him out. Almost as if a response to his plea the digging hurried up, appeasing his desire. He was not ready to die yet and this was the worst way he could imagine to die. Little by little the digging sound got closer and closer to him until there was a really loud scrapping sound as the shovel hit the wooden box and was dragged across it. After a few seconds of more digging he heard a loud crash as whoever was above him jumped into the hole. Nathan listened closely but could not hear any breathing or any other signs of life. This silence went on for a few seconds until suddenly Nathan's stomach lurched as the coffin was picked up and thrown at what felt like the speed of light. With a huge crash the box he lay in landed on the ground, presumably out of the hole now, and Nathan's head hurt from the rough landing. There was the sound of something grabbing at the dirt and knocking more into the hole as he guessed his savior climbed out to claim his prize.

[Creius 0]

Nathan listened as the thing which saved him crawled out of Nathan's grave and walked over to him with heavy steps. Whatever it was the thing was rather large and hopefully friendly. Finally the figure reached the coffin and Nathan listened as it bent down and grabbed the edge of the coffin. With a loud splinter the coffin splintered as the large thing crushed the edge with its hands, Nathan's eyes closing to protect them. When he finally opened his eyes he was looking up at the night sky, the north star still sitting high up there. With a bit more focus he saw a human above him who seemed grossly distorted. It took Nathan only a few seconds to realize why. The "human" lacked all the flesh and other organic parts that humans had. This was actually a skeleton which stood over him, and a rather large one at that. Panic grew in his chest as he saw the skeleton raise its arm, a rather large axe in its hand, and Nathan began to scramble out of the coffin.

.:COMBAT INITIATED:.

Creius: 24/24 HP    5/6 (-1) ENG    4 DMG    12 Mit                    The Skeleton: 4/8 HP   3 DMG    1 Mit 

ID#59890    BD:9   Base 4 + Crit 1 - Mit 1 = 4 DMG to Skeleton (Bleed Failed to Apply)     MD:1  Miss

Nathan rolled out of the coffin, the axe crashing down on the wood and a large snapping and crashing sound was made as the coffin was dissolved into splinters. Nathan picked himself up and drew his blade in one smooth movement, bringing it in a horizontal slash across the Skeleton. The blade cut through the ribs and the empty cavity at its chest. He realized that Bloodletter would have little effect on making something without blood bleed. He cursed his luck and jumped away from the skeleton as it clicked and clacked in its boney language and raised its axe in preparation for another attack.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius
4/3 is 1.33. Closer to 1 than two xD

[Creius 0]

Creius: 24/24 HP    4/6 (+1-2) ENG    4 DMG    12 Mit                    The Skeleton: 5/8 HP   3 DMG    1 Mit

ID#59891    BD:5   Miss    MD:4   Miss

Nathan watched as the axe was raised high into the air. He decided to take the chance to land another strike while the skeleton was focused on hefting that huge weight into the air. Nathan darted forward and was about to step closer when he saw the axe begin its descent on his head. Wisely he stopped pressing closer, swinging out but the skeleton was just outside of his blade's reach, and began backstepping. After a few steps the axe landed right in front of him and caused Nathan's entire world to shake with the force of the blow. He was instantly glad that he had not let that hit him. With a might clack the skeleton ripped the axe out of the earth, a huge spray of dirt shooting up and sprinkling back down on them. 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Creius: 23/24 HP    3/6 (+1-2) ENG    4 DMG    12 Mit                    The Skeleton: -9/8 HP   3 DMG    1 Mit

ID#59893    BD:5   Miss      MD:7   Base 3 - 12 Mit = 1 DMG to Creius    14 DMG taken from Thorns

Nathan darted forward towards the skeleton after it had ripped its axe out of the earth, thinking it would be off balance from the weight. Nathan darted forward and thrust his sword forward and was instantly saddened as he saw his blade had passed harmlessly through the skeleton's rib cage. The skeleton looked down at Nathan and swung its free hand at him in a backhand. The boney hand hit Nathan and sit him flying through the air. Nathan landed with a loud thump and all the air was knocked out of him. There was a small explosion but Nathan could not tell what it was as he tried not to pass out in the middle of battle. Slowly he picked himself up and saw the remains of the pixels flittering through the sky as they dissolved. He had somehow beaten that beast of a skeleton by being hit, that was an awful way to die but he was glad it had not been the one who died there.

.:COMBAT COMPLETED:.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan stood up from the ground and finally took in his surroundings. He had not been able to with the sudden combat with the dead but now that he looked it was fairly simple plains around him, similar to the hills just outside of the city where he lived now. Nathan was amazed because he realized this could not be simple coincidence. The game was pulling memories from him and fabricating them into reality. It was playing on all his fears which made him worry about the following doors since the fight seemed to have been ever so slightly harder. He looked up at the North Star and started walking towards it, walking over the hills of this room. It was frightening to think that this game could see into his mind like this but all he could do was press on and survive. He grinned as he realized he had just overcome death through this quest. There was nothing to worry about as long as he remained stubborn about surviving.

[Creius 0]

Nathan kept walking and soon saw the door to the central room. He had a guess that this was a representation of his mind and not just some random quest. Maybe this was supposed to help players become stronger not only in the game but mentally as well, preparing them for the rigourous trials that came with playing in a death game. He approached the door and raised his hand, the door grinding its way up into the shadows. The central room still sat there, covered in shadows. Nathan entered the room and walked to the central area and sat down, taking a quick breath and a moment to think. There was so much to consider now that he realized he was overcoming some troubling parts of himself. Already he had encountered his past and, though it did not resolve that issue, it had helped a little. The second door had addressed his fear of death, which had only perpetuated with the fact that he was stuck in a death game. Looking at the next door he took a guess that it was addressing his issue with being bound to someone. That had lead to some family issues as well as problems with his old home. With a sigh he picked himself up and walked towards the door.

[Creius 0]

Nathan reached his arm out to the door and, like all the others, it began to grind upwards into the shadows. He peered into the room which it revealed and saw it to be a musky stone room, possibly a cellar of some old castle or estate. He stepped past the threshold of the door and looked behind him to see that the door had been replaced with bars. It fit the theme but he wondered if it were truly necessary for him to be locked in a cell. He approached the bars, trying his best to stay calm. This could be worse, there were other ways of bondage that he was more afraid of. He looked down the halls to the left and right and saw nothing there. He stepped away from the bars, not wanting any sudden attack that would destroy both the bars and him. He sat in the back corner and watched the murky darkness as he waited for this ghost to come for him.

[Creius 0]

It was after a few minutes of waiting that Nathan got what he wanted. There was a quite rumbling from the far left of the hall, someone clad in leather boots that clacked soundly against the cobbled floors. Along with the footsteps there was a jingle of keys meaning this person probably had the intent of opening the door to his cell. Nathan turned his head and waited expectantly for whatever it was to come forward and reveal itself. Step by step the footsteps became closer until eventually a man appeared before the bars. The man was well built and clad entirely in black leather armour with a set of keys on his belt. A little les obtrusive was the blackjack on his belt, almost blending in with the shadows and his black leather. "Well, look at what we've got here. A sad little prisoner just waiting for death row." The man let loose a bellow of laughter and continued looking down on him. "You must be pretty used to places like these. Dark and lonely cells where you are the only living thing. Pretty much your entire essence and life, no?" A small smirk as the man took the keys off his belt and unlocked the door. "I hope you've made your peace with death because you're on the fast track now." Quickly the man opened the door and walked in, already drawing his blackjack and raising it high over his head.

.:COMBAT INITIATED:.

Creius: 23/24 HP   5/6 (-1) ENG    4 DMG    12 Mit                    The Warden: -6/12 HP   4 DMG    2 Mit

ID#59894   BD:10   Base 4 + Crit 2 - Mit 2 = 4 DMG to The Warden (Bleed Applied)       MD:8   Base 4 - 12 Mit = 1 DMG to Creius    14 DMG from Thorns

Nathan watched as the big warden walked into the room and prepared to attack. Nathan did the first thing that came to mind and rolled towards the Warden. The blackjack had already reached the height of its preparation by this point so Nathan made sure to make his attack quick and effective. He sliced up with his rapier, the blade making an incision from the bottom of the Warden's belly all the way to the top. The Warden yelled at the pain and brought his blackjack down quickly. Nathan dove backwards but the blackjack still caught him in the back and sent Nathan sprawling. There was another yell of pain and Nathan quickly turned to look behind him. The Warden's health bar was quickly depleting to zero and when it did the Warden froze and exploded into a million pixels. The keys which had been on his belt fell to the ground with a jingle. Nathan crawled forward and picked them up.

(+Jailhouse keys [RP purpose only])

.:COMBAT COMPLETED:.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius

[Creius 0]

Nathan stood up and looked around the small cell around him. That had been a rather short lived fight. Nathan admired the extra armour of his pants that he had on, glad that he had made them. They had proved extremely effective in combat already and this was one of the first times they had been used. Even for a beginner he had made a piece of good armour which made him wonder at the level of armour that was made at the Lioness' Den. He doubted he could compete with that level of craftsmanship if it were even a marginal fraction better than what he had made. With a slight shrug to himself he exited the cell and turned to the left, where the warden had come from. He walked down the dim hallways, the only source of light being the sparse amount of torches that littered the halls. He looked into each cell he passed, every single one empty of a living being though a few had the remains of prior prisoners. Tearing his eyes away he stopped looking into the cells since he no longer was curious and looking proved to only fill him with dread. Thus he continued walking down the hall and eventually came upon a door. It was a simple reinforced door that was meant to keep prisoners in but Nathan realized it was a little bit more than that with the mark upon the door. It was the same symbol which had resided on the door in the central room. Nathan took out the keys and unlocked the door, the keys dissolving into pixels, and pushed it open and entered the central room once more.

(-Jailhouse keys)

[Creius 0]

Nathan looked around the room, now three of the symbols had slashes through them. Three challenges down and one last one to go, one last obstacle before he would finish this quest. He was rather eager to finish this final challenge so he walked up to the door, not pausing for a breath. He looked up at the symbol and wondered what this door would have behind it. He had so many issues with humanity that it was not even remotely funny. There were so many people which he could easily see behind the door that he really was not prepared. All he could do though was press forward and not let himself be bogged down by any challenge. He reached his hand towards the door and it began slowly rising into the shadows. Nathan, without a pause, walked through the threshold and into the final room's challenge.

[Creius 0]

The appearance of this room was absolutely startling. In his blind rush he did not take any detail in as he had entered but now that he was paused he just span in circles and looked at all of them. The them was mirrors, a whole lot of mirrors. Dozens and dozens of mirrors that went from the floor to the ceiling, absolutely surrounding him. Everywhere he saw himself, his dark hair and light skin with leather pants and dark clothing. Bloodletter sat on his belt, menacing even in its sheath. Finally Nathan paused his spinning and just gazed at one specific mirror. He did not know what it was but there was something special about this mirror, almost majestic. He stared at it for a few seconds then realized what it was. The reflection in this mirror was not reflecting him. It was Nathan alright but this Nathan stood differently than he did, and how all the other mirrors showed. Almost as soon as he had this revelation the "reflection" took a step forward and out of the mirror. For a second Nathan thought it was his younger self but quickly discarded the notion. There was no gun in his hand, just a rapier, his choice weapon in SAO. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before the reflection spoke. "You have done many horrible things in your life and they haunt you," the reflection rose its hands to its face, looking at them. "These hands are stained with blood. Blood which was destined to be spilt but was spilt by your hands." The reflection looked straight at Nathan and held his gaze. "How do you live with yourself? For years you have struggled on. Let me end your struggles," the reflection drew its blade, "All you have to do is throw yourself upon your own blade and you will have repented for your crimes." Nathan stared at himself, unable to quite comprehend what it had just said. Surely the game could not have pulled that up. Surely this was just a guess. There was no way it could have penetrated that large wall which he had thrown up around that to protect himself. Nathan shook his head and drew Bloodletter, it rasping as it was drawn from the sheath. "No. I've come too far. You are not coming back to haunt me." The words sounded feeble, even to him and the reaction was almost immediate. The reflection began laughing at him, a deep and dark laugh, what he would imagine a demon to sound like. "You act as though you have a choice in this matter." The reflection began to step forward slowly and calmly, the rapier by its side thirsting for blood.

 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Creius