[EV-F07] Storm of Shadows

[Katoka 0]

The warmth of Elora's hand was a comfort Katoka needed at the moment, so she help onto her green haired friend without hesitation. Her heart was pounding in her chest from the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins. Was this finally going to be it? After all this time of fighting and training were they going to die to this? She could hear strange noises in the distance, howls and groans, grunts and barks. What was happening?

"Elora?!" Kat called out as she trailed behind, giving her hand a squeeze, "Elora if something happens to me..." she trailed off for a moment but she shook her head, "If something happens I want you to keep going ok? You can't give up. If you do I'll kick your butt ok?" she let out a choked laugh to hide a sob. "But I want you to know that you're my best friend, and that I'll always love you ok? No matter what!"

The inky rain falling over her hid the tears she was shedding, she attempted to wipe her face without success. "Alright," she said and slapped her cheek with her free hand, the silhouettes of people taking a more defined shape, "Enough of that, let's get to this other group alright?"

Spoiler

ID: 179782
Roll Value: 11
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 11

 

[Lessa 1]

Her hands shook so violently that Lessa struggled to summon her HUD. When it finally appeared, the jingle of chimes lost to the roar of the storm, she immediately tabbed to her friends list. Alkor. There he was. He wasn't dead. As her gaze tracked a bit lower on the list, she caught two names, one right after the other. Bahr. Baldur. Both still on the list, both still alive. Despite the adrenaline coursing through her, fueling her pistoning heart, there was comfort in knowing the most important people in her life were safe. 

That single shred of hope was enough to pull Lessa back toward calm. "They're okay," she heard herself murmuring. "They're okay. They're okay." When she finally turned back to the small party, some of the crazy had gone from her dark blue eyes.

It returned the moment she felt the jaws clamp onto her calf. With a scream that was mixed parts pain and surprise, Lessa bent at the waist, grabbing instinctively for her throbbing leg. The sudden motion threw the girl off-balance, her boots slipping in the mud, and sending her thudding to her knees.

This was the opening the Shadow's minions had waited for. She heard only snarls, saw only blackness, felt only searing pain as the creatures swarmed her.

Spoiler

ID: 179783
Roll Value: 7
Receiving: 1 from Daemien
Final Roll Value: 8

 

[Azhoda 0]

Shion saw the panic in Lessa's eyes even if Shion could not read people all to well she knew she had to help the blondina, as Shion remembered the spa day they had. Shion moved fast to Lessa's aid seeong her struggle. Just before anything the black ink moved and snarling beast move right for her, this was the time Shion took out her spear and attacked back.

As soon as she connected her attack with the shadowed beast created from the ink she noticed that her spear went straight through them with no effect. She turned back to Lessa who got a bit of help someone else as Shion tried to fight of the beasts of the shadow. "Lessa, u alright. I made a promise remember, not to let anyone get hurt," she said reminding herself and Lessa of the small promise Shion made back way then. "We are going to find them, no matter what it takes," she said sounding angry yet full of determination knowing they weren't dead, at least it didn't feel that way.

Spoiler

ID: 179808
Roll Value: 18
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 18

 

[The Shadow 3]

Round Ten

In only an instant, Aincrad had become a Lovecraftian horror. Shadows birthed hellish creatures, their claws, teeth, and tentacles lashing out at the frantic lesser beings. While humans were clearly the main target, both players and NPCs alike, animals were not spared the nightmare. The birds who had not already taken flight did so now, spiraling upward into clouds that spiraled down to meet them, then consume them. Deer bounded by, appearing to also seek higher ground. Even a lone mountain lion loped by, more occupied with his own survival than the potential prey who also climbed the mountain.

Dax Reynold's horses, however, responded to the large cat in a much more dramatic fashion. His team of six Clydesdales shrieked in unison, simultaneously rearing backward to tear their lead ropes from their harried handler's hands. "No!" the man bellowed, voice booming like a canon even over the raging storm. "Get back here!"

But the thunder cracked like a whip overhead, further upsetting the horses, and sending the massive creatures galloping straight for the narrow trail's edge, and the people who trudged along it.

Round Ten will end in 72 hours [Dec 19th at 1:00 A.M EST]
[Timer]

The LD Threshold is 9.

[Aquan 0]

He placed his hand softly on Jevi's shoulder as she regained her composure from almost being taken into the storm. "We need to get everyone up. I agree. I don't know if scaling buildings would be the best idea in the wo-. Oh no, Get to high ground. I have to go." His eyes stared at the stampeding horses, and all the people, NPC's and Players alike, that are in the direct path of them. He sighed and swiped some water off his body, running as fast as he could towards the animals.

He ran up to Lessa, a stronger player already trying to help people evade the horses. "I'll try to calm the horses down!" He yells to her through the storm, wiping his eyes to see the horses more clearly. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, the ground a muddy mess of dark ink and dirt. He raised both of his hands up into the air and walked towards the horses. "Horses are calm with others are calm. They calm down when you have a calm voice. You act calm, they act calm. I've done this before. I know this. I can do this." He mutters to himself and approaches the animals. "You're okay! You're okay!" He speaks louder to the horses, trying to give off a happy demeanor. "Wooooah there. You can be calm, I know you can do it. Just calm down." He didn't know if he was talking to himself or the horses, but he hoped his calm demeanor and words were reaching the animals.

Spoiler

ID: 180246
Roll Value: 9
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 9

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Aquan

[Setsuna 0]

With Mishiro assumed in tow, she had not a target to prey upon. The soft patter of her feet upon beige and brown tile as they clatter against the panels that composed this rooftop. Feral shouts in a writhing mass that spreads like ink through water, howls, and growls bleed throughout and the sound was deafening. The sky tears asunder and reveals faint coils of tendrils, the animals native to this place begin to stir.

Deer, birds, and all the fauna scamper from their hiding places rushing eagerly for higher ground, they could not climb but their pathfinding would prove useful. "I always knew we were in hell." Setsuna exclaims through her blindfold to the screams and sounds, allowing her hearing to give her direction. It had been quite some time since she had to rely on this part of her senses. Where the light fades and all would be stuck on the hindrance that was their own eyes, Setsuna did not need them. She was born without them.

A single bound from roof to roof, allowing faith to carry her as she braces for break fall or connection. Following the footfalls of the animals just beyond purview. Her hand meets the ledge, sliding down just a bit as it's misplaced. The cardinal in the background was ablaze and abuzz. Lines of code were angry at her loss of sight in a place where she should be able to see. Desperately it tries to find a solution, eager to restore what it deemed necessary for her to play Kaiba's little game.

ID# 180247 results: Loot: 12
Roll Value: 12
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 12

Edited December 19, 2020 by Setsuna

[Demian 0]

He could've sworn he caught the player before she fell. But right before an answer could be relayed to him, Daemien took his leave, huffing with a bite of venom stuck rooted in the back of his throat.

"—You should be watching yourself before the others." A red glare underneath his lifted eyepatch, before he continued. "I think they need you more than you might realize."

The youth's departure was quick, world shifting past in echoes right before any of the group could catch his figure. He continued to pace, holding tight to his shrouded garb once he'd dropped a hold of his optic's cover; by now, it had to have been stained with ink. All the more reason his escape should've been smooth had it made him blend with his surroundings.

Right as the mountain took a bend, Daemien's paces slowed, keeping his breathing silent, an ear open to the wind. Indeed, he had the right company back by his side.

"What are you, some shadowy figure that helps from the dark?"

He knew it to be fruitless to search the area around him. Through a sea of players, and none of them had managed to catch a glimpse of the gold cursor? The man would save his effort, scoffing heartedly as he trudged up the footpath.

"You sure are one to talk, all things considered. Is it your intention to be playing Paradox?"

---

ID: 180254 | LD: 19 | Escaping the Storm.

[Jevi 0]

The sludgy human that dragged Jevi towards the murky depths was scattered with a swift kick. The tendrils that sprung out from its form, with nothing to hold them down, crashed back down into the water, forming with it once again. The woman let out a heavy gasp as she grasped for solid ground. A helping hand from Aquan got her to her feet again. The woman shot golden daggers at the space where the ooze had held her, "I've had it with this shit!" she shouted into nothingness. Regaining her composure, she turned back to Aquan, who seemed just as lost as she was. "We just need to get out of the city, follow everyone's lead and make it up the mountain." Her finger acted as a guide, pointing towards the highest peak that could be seen over Nimbus' walls. "I can't guarantee we will be safe.. but we will have more of a chance that being within the city walls." 

There was no straight shot to the nearest city gates without swimming, so they would need to use the rooftops, both collapsed and still standing, as their path way. With a quick swipe of her hand to summon her inventory, Jevi's form shimmered in a white light and seemed to decrease in mass. As the light faded, her heavy armor was gone, leaving her in her more casual adventuring attire. Eying the next closest rooftop, the woman took a running start before leaping over the gap. Her foot slipped, but she was able to catch herself with her arms. After pulling herself up, she looked back towards the other group. "Come on!" 

ID# 180255
Roll Value: 9
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 9

Edited December 16, 2020 by Jevi

[Mishiro 0]

"Did you catch that?"

There was no time to stop and listen; the unnamed player had taken the lead and it was all she could do to match her pace. She was fast, despite the cloth covering her eyes, and somehow she could pick apart portions of ruin that wouldn't immediately crumble at their feet. What if it was a player? The idea was considered, then discarded -- she buried it along with the harsh well of emotion that was beginning to stir in the depths of her consciousness. If they hadn't been climbing upwards, she would have long lost her way.

As Mishiro hauled herself up a ledge and found the girl already crossing a gap with a small leap, she cast a glance towards the trio in her periphery. Lightning pierced the weeping skies in that same moment, and it illuminated the pack of spooked silhouettes rolling down the road, directionless in their terror. If they didn't move, they would be trampled over. She sped back down the collapsed gables. There was a section where the incline wasn't so steep: portions of rock jutted out of a felled wall in a way that could be used as holds for a player who needed to climb over. She stooped down in front of it and called out to the players who weren't attempting to calm the horses. "Here-- climb up over here!"

| 180256: LD 14

[Elora 0]

"If something happens I want you to keep going ok? You can't give up."

"Why would it matter, Kat? Why would it make a difference if I joined you or if I survived to live for just a few more minutes? Do you really think that I would be able to save anyone else in that amount of time -- in something like THIS?" Elora didn't want to make Katoka cry anymore than she already had, but unlike her friend, she was not able to command her nerves or stop the panic from taking over. So what if she didn't see the point? Maybe her life wouldn't be worth living if she lost the people she cared about, or maybe, that was just her nihilism talking. Either way, she doubted that she would be capable of going on without having Katoka there to support her. She knew that death would find her eventually, she just hadn't expected that it would threaten to drag down someone else along with her.

Releasing a raspy and heavy sigh, Elora continued, "You're my best friend too, you know. That's why I'm not going to abandon you. It's probably selfish -- but I'd rather die with someone like you by my side than die a hero for someone else. You're worth so much more to me than any stranger" 

She squeezed her guildmate's hand gently, then released it so that they could prepare their weapons.

"Anyway..."

"Enough of that, let's get to this other group alright?"

 

Spoiler

ID# 180260
Roll Value: 14
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 14

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Elora

[Katoka 0]

Katoka was going to retort but she knew that Elora wouldn't change her mind. Instead she let the moment wash over her like the disgusting ichor around them. She could hear the sounds of the wildlife around them, also attempting tp flee like the rest of them. What was even happening? Would Cardinal really wipe out not only it's entire player base, but it's NPCs and wildlife too? What even was this storm?

Elora's last reassuring squeeze gave Kat a bit of confidence. A flash of lightening illuminated the sky as she drew her katana, large tentacles of inky darkness reaching from the sky above made the samurai's blood run cold. For a short amount of time she could see deer, horses, and even predators bounding around them, being chased by dog like creatures.

Katoka cut and slashed at the creatures as the sky darkened again, making sure that any that got too close were dispatched with ease. The two kept their pace, a slight run or jog as they came upon the group finally. A blonde with woman trying to handle horses and a few others together. "If you haven't yet you may want to draw your weapons," she told the group as they got close, "these creatures are attacking everyone and everything. Animals included." she nodded to the horses as they attempted to run.

Spoiler

ID# 180265
Roll Value: 16
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 16

 

[Lessa 1]

There was a sound that she knew very well.

The chorus of panicked cries immediately tore Lessa's gaze. As the team of Clydesdales reared up, front legs lashing out like a boxer's jab, lightning burst in the sky behind them. The eerie backlighting cut demonic shapes against the storm, and as the enormous equines came crashing down, the whites of their rolling eyes stood out in impossibly stark contrast. 

She knew what came next - spooked horses never simply stood still. At the same time that Lessa lunged forward, so too did the horses, the roll of their hooves on the slick earth mimicking the roll of the thunder. Together, she and the horses tore across the small space, barreling through both NPCs and players who dove out of the way.

What are you going to do? she asked herself, even as the collision point neared. You know better than to throw yourself in front of a frantic horse, especially one that's easily nineteen hands tall. 

But she also knew that standing idly by and watching half a dozen horses fall to their deaths was not something she could do.

Leaning into the curtain of rain, the Guardian prayed for just a little more speed. When her body obliged, and she reached the ledge before the horse's did, Lessa allowed instinct to take over. Throwing her hands up in the air, and waving them like a fan at a rock concert, she bellowed above the storm. "Back! Back! Get back!"

Spoiler

ID# 180275
Roll Value: 17
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 17

 

[The Shadow 3]

Round Eleven

Like candles snuffed by a sudden wind, lights in Nimbus slowly winked out, one by one. The eerie sight harkened back to post-apocalyptical horror movies, complete with an ominous thunderstorm soundtrack. When lightning did fork through the sky, momentarily shattering the oppressive darkness, it illuminated hulking, nondescript ruins. The storm had consumed the heart of Nimbus, and the lives of those who had not fled. And that was only the beginning.

Horror painted every line and curve of his face as Dax watched his precious team gallop toward the edge. Fortunately, a handful of players intervened, attempting to slow the horses before they toppled off the mountain path. They succeeded, or so the NPC originally thought. The greenest member of his team reared again, hooves cutting like daggers through the cool air. He hit the ground running, kicking up wet earth as he descended back down the mountain. 

"No!" Dax cried out, his agony nearly palpable as the gelding plunged into the rising tide.

† Azhoda and Grimm Reaper have been consumed by the Storm of Shadows.
Round Eleven will end in 72 hours [Dec 24th at 11:00 P.M EST]
[Timer]

The LD Threshold is 10.

[Setsuna 0]

In her quick leaps and bounds, she moves easily despite the blindfold. The system however would not allow her to remove her sight completely, it was arguing with how best to respond. Perhaps destroying the blindfold? Or maybe locking her in place. But it is here that it makes a decision, the girl had available skill slots, and she was pushing her boundaries.

A trigger of a skill, one that would give her little to no benefit for it was faint and if anything, more blurry in resolution than normally bestowed sight. But as she began to perceive more and more through solid objects. Players become highlighted by their own monikers, in greens yellows, and blues as if luminescent. As a result, as a single player swelled and became consumed by the darkness, a faint outline of red showing a central mass within its hold. A glimmer of her steel and the sound of a draw.

Iai rips across the field, with it a scattering like a bolt of cyan, and with a click of her weapon into its saya a sound of dispersal and a pop. Looking down to the player to which she could not make out the details on his face, she would mutter coldly. "Stand, and keep moving." As she lunges to keep her ground raised, pressing further into the helm of the deep. All the while she cannot help but feel robbed, she wished to keep herself blind.

<<Setsuna obtains X-Ray>>

*ooc note: No mechanical benefit given the lack of clarity, only for thematic plot point. PS. This variant has no ability to see through clothes only solid stationary objects.*

ID# 180372
Roll Value: 17
Giving Receiving: 6 to @Aquan
Final Roll Value: 11

Edited December 24, 2020 by Setsuna

[Katoka 0]

Katoka kept her katana ready, quickly surveying the people in the group around her. She was beginning to feel the exhaustion in her bones now. She was wet, cold, and had been on the move for cardinal only knew how long, not to mention how many times her body had been pumped full of simulated adrenaline. She was surprised she was able to keep her blade as steady as it was.

"We need to move up the mountain as far as possible, the path Elora and I just came from is out. A mudslide block us off from out original group. Let's head this way." she said aloud to everyone, pointing to the path opposite of where they came. She hoped that they would follow her lead at least a bit. Kat knew she wasn't the most seasoned person here, but she felt like someone needed to speak up, even if it was to point out a direction to go.

Spoiler

ID# 180374
Roll Value: 16
Giving Receiving: N/A
Final Roll Value: 16

 

[Aquan 0]

"We did it! Holy s-" Aquan's exhausted celebration was cut short by the creature plunging into the darkness. He stumbled backwards, almost toppling over Lessa in the process. His eyes seemed to be stuck in a wide expression, and his right arm moved to cover his mouth slightly in shock. "No... No." While a NPC horse was just a NPC horse, the fact that this storm refused to hurt everything, even those created by the game. This was becoming the last straw for Aquan.

It was strange, but it seemed as though the storm's volume started to lessen in a way. The shock was setting in for Aquan and he started to hear less and less of those around him for the moment. Grimm, Valentine, now these animals were all gone. He had no idea if his companion Jevi was gone, or how long Lessa had before she was taken by the storm. Only the words of Setsuna cut through his mental break long enough for him to stumble over to Lessa and place a hand on her shoulder. "P-Please... Not someone else." He mutters barely audibly.

Spoiler

ID# 180375
Roll Value: 4
Giving Receiving: 6 from @Setsuna
Final Roll Value: 10

 

Edited December 25, 2020 by Aquan

[Lessa 1]

Lessa's scream joined that of the horse's as it plunged into the dark. Terror gripped her, it's cold fingers like a vice around her thundering heart as she fought to draw breath. It wasn't as if Lessa hadn't seen loss before. The past hour had been riddled with it, and she had watched numerous entities succumb to the storm. Yet something about watching the horse disappear, the darkness rising to meet it, then consume it, simply broke her. Suddenly weak, her knees buckled, and Lessa splashed down into the mud and the muck. Wet earth oozed into the cracks in her armor, and the incessant rain continued to batter her. The storm had found her weakest points, exploited her most extreme vulnerabilities. Much as the game did now.

Get up, a small voice wailed from somewhere in the distant reaches of her mind. But she couldn't. Panicked NPCs bumped into her as they passed, too consumed by their own programming to notice the pathetic player trembling at their feet.

Spoiler

ID#  180376
Roll Value: 10
Giving Receiving: -
Final Roll Value: 10

 

[Mishiro 0]

Placeholder.

| 180377: LD 2

[Demian 0]

The horses were new. Never before could Daemien claim to have seen sight of such a stampede -- but now he presumed he could. Up the mountains was probably no place for equine constructs to be salvaged upon, but there was little the crowd could do now, when the depths were already lapping at several ledges of stone down below. The youth could barely catch sight of the trees now, waves devouring them all, a literal tsunami crashing upon the forest.

"Best get a move on," his companion echoed to, finally slipping out of hiding and running on past his stooped figure. He pried himself from the edge, eyes trailing from the slew of horses below the ledge he'd ascended onto, before taking after his amicable guide. "Unless you're thinking of riding one upwards? It'd certainly be faster."

Their finger pointed towards the player he'd saved in the distance. What a twist of fate.

---

ID: 180378 | LD: 10 | Escaping the Storm.

[Jevi 0]

From rooftop to rooftop, making sure to watch her footing with each leap. A feat such as this would not have been possible for her in the real world without months of training and practice. Lucky for her, in this moment, this wasn’t the real world. She watched as the dark waters rose, almost fully engulfing the entirety of Nimbus. At some point during her parkour session above the atop a flooded settlement, she lost interest in making sure the others made it out. At least, she was no longer making it her problem. Holding back as she was earlier caused her demise nearly three times. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. The rest of them were capable, they would be fine.

Finally out of Nimbus once more, Jevi took no time to celebrate. She no longer had higher ground to travel upon, but at least the waters were rising at a slower pace. Her boots sloshed through the sludge and muk as fast as she was physically able until there was nowhere to go but up. She had arrived at the base of the mountain. 
 

Using the path when possible, the brunette scrambled up the mountainside, climbing up the slippery sidr whenever it was possible. However, sometimes it was just too slippery, and one wrong grab would send her sliding back down to the path below her. Her knees scraped against the dirt covered path, glaring up at the slope to find a better approach.

She did not even notice the other potential danger that hurried towards her at an uncontrollable pace. The pounding hoofbeats masked by the roar of the storm,  a pack of spooked horses intended to push through the woman towards safety. 

ID 180386
LD Value 2
Giving/Receiving: 8 from Elora
Final Value 10

Edited December 25, 2020 by Jevi