Fairy Tail RP

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

• Patch Notes •                 • New User Guide •                • Guild Information •

    The deep places

    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 27th May 2020, 8:42 am

    In this place so close to the Phoenix mountains, there was always a harsh breeze passing down from the frozen peaks that chilled the skin. Looking around the village, old memories of a past life came to him. The amount of children that had died here just to be used as fuel for a demented wraith. Before Solmar had destroyed her and her minions, the wraith had told him exactly why she had killed all of them, claiming she heard the whispers of a dark god that promised to bring her back to life if she could provide him a soul pure enough. In her eyes, there were no souls more pure than those of children, untainted by experience and hardship. While part of him could understand the reasoning behind it, Thagirion had come to the conclusion that it was probably unwise to deal with forces one could not see or hold accountable for anything. But even with the wraith and her minions banished, that was not the end of it.

    There was always danger in these mountains, either from wild animals such as bears or mountain lions, bandits and brigands, but also from far more insidious forces. While not many were aware of it, there was a place on the mountain on the western side where elemental forces had faced one another in a battle to control the area. It was there that the elemental lords of wind and fire had both perished, but not before scarring the terrain for many years to come. Ever since that time, that part of the mountains had never truly been the same ever again, though that went both ways. Due to the way in which the land had been scarred and saturated by elemental forces, strange new minerals had begun to appear there that were in high demand already. Ever since the fighting ended a year ago, followed by the excavation of the first minerals, the Mountain village had started constructing large mines.

    Funded by a rich company that helped them distribute and aided them in sales, the mines had gone deep into the mountain, stretching far into the deep places where humans should not be. When the elemental forces clashed, many fire elementals and earth elementals had retreated into the depths, where they were now at times disturbed by all of the mining operations. This obviously caused quite some altercations, leading to people being crushed or charred to death, though the elementals getting destroyed gave rise to more minerals being formed out of their lifeblood mixing with the earth and soil. By the time the people responsible for funding the operation heard of this, they started hiring capable individuals who would venture down into the tunnels. Some were hired under the guise of “preventing casualties” among the workers, while others were simply hired for their combat skills and told to go down and destroy a bunch of elementals.

    To say that these mountains had seen great hardship and strive was an understatement, though that was exactly why Hanzo had come here. Being one of those people that had been hired for the simple purpose of getting rid of the elementals, there were others that had also responded to the same call to arms. Whether it was to protect the workers or simply for the sake of killing for money, it did not matter a whole lot to him. Depending on how things went, he could either work with them or have them work for him, it did not matter which to him. Wearing the traditional shinobi garments of his clan, Hanzo had come from Hosenka in order to earn money to bring back there. It was the purpose for which he had been trained, to do these kinds of dark deeds and see to it that the treasury remained filled and future students could be raised for the same purpose. It was what one might consider to be a never-ending loop, at least for as long as the reputation of the clan remained and the treasury kept being filled.

    Waiting at the foot of the mountain, the member of the Ten no Michi clan barely felt the cold as it was one of those physical issues he had learned to repress. Another thing he had learned to repress was his magical signature, allowing him to blend into the darkness in order to assassinate just about anyone before being noticed. Meditating at the last building in the village before it was all a steep, uphill walk to get into the actual mountains. Considering how the sun had come up from above the horizon about two hours ago, it made sense to believe that the others would likely be here soon, after which their journey could begin towards their undertaking. With the warmth of the sun to accompany them, the road towards the mines would at the very least be pleasant. Because even though he would not allow himself to feel the cold, the fact that it was detrimental for his body was nothing to scoff at. If he was to kill elementals with his blade, he wanted to be in as good a condition as possible, which was why he was meditating until the rest of the party made it to where he was.


    883

    appearance:
    LibertyGear
    LibertyGear

    Player 
    Lineage : Wraith of Spirit
    Position : None
    Posts : 175
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 80
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 7,812

    Character Sheet
    First Skill:
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by LibertyGear 28th May 2020, 2:08 pm

    It had been a long since Libbier had gone out of her way to do a job this far away from where she usually stays, but then again, ever since Rakshasa got disbanded, the time spent between jobs has been increasing greatly, especially for someone like Libbier that has some issues to deal with herself, issues that can cause real damage to her surroundings if she cannot suppress them. Still, food costs money, double that for sweets, and she cannot live without food. She certainly can live without sweets but that would be hell and she does not want to live in hell. Her exceed friend, Nero, is also a first-class glutton, and his very large body also has a correspondingly increased sustenance cost, but luckily he can put it to work doing some hard labor with decent pay for himself. It's a steady income for both, as Libbier's jobs are rare and far in between even if they pay larger amounts for far less time spent.

    And this is why Libbier is currently making her way towards the location of her new job. For what she was able to understand it was a simple search and destroy the type of job where she had to look around within some mines for elementals and dispatch them. She was wearing her usual combat attire as, for bad or for worse, she did not have any kind of problems dealing with nature's temperature, be it high or low, it all felt mostly the same for Libbier, so she was comfortable even if she suddenly found herself in the top of an ice mountain or the middle of the desert. At least when it was regarding the temperature, she still disliked both none the less, desserts for being too dry and the sand gets in everywhere, ice mountains for tending to have far more zero vision snowstorms than she would like.

    Thankfully, she didn't have to walk all the way to these, far from the beaten path, villages alone, as Kindred was with her. This mysterious being that had a dual personality, much like herself, while at the same time having these personalities control individual bodies while still managing to be a single entity. It called its separate personalities as Wolf and Lamb, always referring to itself as we unless talking with itself. It was weird, but Libbier had managed to grow accustomed to its quirks, and also learned a lot from it on how to control herself, or not control herself has it had put it, in order to avoid losing herself. It also had the advantage of being a spirit body that did not require food, so that was a plus.

    "Bah. I wish Nero was here so I could fly to the location on his back.", Libbier complained to no one in particular.

    "That is true.", Lamb replied before Wolf added, "But we would miss all the prey along the way."

    "That was nothing more than hunting to eat... well, for me to eat, you just had fun chasing rabbits and deer as you pleased."

    "I wonder what prey we will find soon.", Wolf imagined as Lamb reassured, "Worry not, master, we will not fail you. For we were born from you, for you."

    "So you say, but I do not yet understand how this magic works so I will check the veracity of those words with my own eyes."

    Kindred did not reply, although Lamb did not her head in acceptance to Libbier's decision.

    Soon enough they arrived at the base of the mountain they were supposed to meet with the rest of the subjugation team they were to be part of. Libbier never shied away from making new friends, but she was always wary of meeting new people. There did not seem to be that many villagers around the village as Libbier walked around the outskirts to avoid crowds, to begin with. When the rendezvous area was within sight, Libbier noticed she was not the first to arrive as a large man stood there, dressed in all black while carrying two swords on his back. It screamed assassin no way you looked at it, and Libbier imagined his first victim had possibly been fashion itself. But then again she was not one to judge too much, after all, one can not argue preferences.

    "Hello, there!", Libbier called out as she approached, "This is the meeting point for the subjugation job right? My name is Libbier."

    Libbier introduced herself as she stretched out her hand once she was close to the man, while Kindred stayed back keeping watch.

    769//769


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    The deep places HDmjsgrThe deep places KUQCIHKThe deep places X1kAwR0
    The deep places FcdH2WXThe deep places W38viX9The deep places MDo1fJqThe deep places FgF7RP0
    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 30th May 2020, 3:33 pm

    Feeling the approach of several “people”, Hanzo could clearly tell that the one leading the troop was a mage that was stronger than most of the ones he had met in the past few months. While this was not exactly a feat of strength on account of how he had been secluded for most of those months, the shinobi magician had come across a few others mages. Their magic was quite different in feel though, but that did not really matter. By the time this person came close enough to him to prove that it was in fact one of those he had been waiting for, he opened one of his eyes ever so slightly in order to create an image in his head. Spotting two strange looking creatures accompanying a female mage, the first thing that came to mind was that they were either allies she had summoned through her magics, or actual creatures from a different plane of existence that were here for the very same reason.

    No matter what the case might be, being around more combat oriented folks would decrease the odds of the enemy focusing their attentions towards him. As a shinobi, he worked best when all eyes were not on him, allowing him to dispatch enemies before they could respond to his attacks. Only really being here to create a list of confirmed kills he could take back for payment, Hanzo did not really care much for making friends along the way. The Ten no Michi code of conduct stated clearly that people were supposed to stick to themselves, as attachment made one weak. Attachment meant people made decisions that were not based on logic and training, but based on matters of emotion, this being the reason why shinobi of the Ten no Michi clan earned their lord more money and generally lived longer.

    … Hanzo. I take it you’re also here for the subjugation quest regarding the elementals in the mines. Good, additional hands are always beneficial towards establishing a profitable outcome.

    With that, he closed his eye and continued his semi-meditative state, not bothering to shake hands or exchange further courtesies. He had been prepared to embark on this job several hours ago, and he was just about ready to leave the last member of their team behind. When in this line of work, time was equal to money, meaning wasting time was the same as wasting money, and that did not work for him. Willing to give the guy thirty more minutes before he would set out to do the job with just the two of them, or rather, the four of them, he wandered whether or not this Libbier person was willing to go along with it. From her introduction, it seemed that she was here for the subjugation, not so much for the actual killfest that he had signed up for. It was however for the sake of maintaining the cover of the people he was working for that he would not state to be here for reasons other than ensuring the safety of the miners.

    For the time being, he would bide his time and wait for the final member of the team to arrive, or head on up the mountain with or without Libbier to claim his just due.


    1436
    Knight Owl
    Knight Owl

    Player 
    Lineage : Psionic Soul
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 428
    Guild : Sabertooth
    Dungeon Tokens : 4
    Experience : 1,421,385

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Psionic Ascendance
    Second Skill: Manifold Armory
    Third Skill: Sepulchre's Sigil

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Knight Owl 6th June 2020, 12:05 pm


    "No fight left to fight... no life left to live..." A voice echoes around him as he found himself in darkness, with a spotlight revealing only himself. Great, it was going to be one of those dreams again, he thought. It has been at least a month since his last incident and the discovery of the demons inside of him, and his encounter with several demons in his dreams has him come to that conclusion. Though he only has met one demon in particular - Halcyon, the self proclaimed Wrath of Justice, an avian demon whose blades and skin are incomparable to regular steel; harder, stronger, sharper.

    A sudden flash of light robs him of his vision momentarily and he suddenly finds himself standing in a field of wheat, the sky a somber orange and sun setting by the village to the west. Oddly enough, this is all to familiar to him, yet it all seemed strange. Instead of the empty village by the east, he is met with a town bustling with a different kinds of demons, from fox demons to ogres, all wearing what seems to be eastern garb, though it all looked ancient. Children prowled the streets, and the lanterns light up bustling streets of the town.

    He scans his surroundings, finding a statue of a familiar sight behind him. It was Halcyon. The statue itself was riddled with chains, locks, and sealing papers, as if something was supposed to be sealed inside it. As the sun set on the horizon and darkness loomed over the fields, the statue's eyes glowed a bright red. Suddenly, he felt himself whisked away from the statue towards an endless void. And...

    ...he woke up, laying on his belly. "Oh! Good morning, Michael!" The woman beside him greets him. It wasn't until his vision was clear that he realized it was Giselle, the magic engineer accompanying him on his endeavors. She was about to finish modifying his HeXarmament magic to add in something. After the previous incident, she deduced it would be wise to put some of his previous tasks on hold so as to not risk him going berserk like what happened back in the outskirts of the Neutral Grounds. The two of them had traveled to the village near the Phoenix Mountains for a job, and a chance for Giselle to try out a code in his magic that suppresses his emotions to a certain limit. It was absolute anger that triggered Halcyon to take over his body and mercilessly annihilated an entire dark guild which, in his defense, was rightfully deserved. 

    "Aaand... there! That should do it!" She yawns after finishing her work which took her all night to finish. Coding his magic is no easy task, but it is a rewarding one should it all work as it was intended. "How are you feeling? You best get ready for the job though. Like, wouldn't want to be reprimanded for being late. As for me, I'll, like, be in my room, sleeping." She leaves before Michael even had the chance to speak, too tired to barely function, leaving Michael all alone in his room. He got himself ready, wearing his armor and helm, preventing anyone from seeing his face, and inspected one of his magic's unique features - cyberspace storage. He conjures his gun that was stored inside. It is all functional. All prepared and ready for the day, he leaves the inn to the rendezvous point.

    He finds himself near the designated area where he should be meeting with other mages of equal combat experience. As much as he hates being in a team due to his trust issues, it wouldn't do for him to do this job without adequate help from other mages. Otherwise, he would be met with his death, or worse, his demon taking over him completely without him knowing. As he went nearer, he finds 4 creatures, 2 of which he deduced to be the mages he will be working with, while the other two seemed to be companions of one of them. "I take it the two are here for the elemental problem?" He says rather coldly without greeting them properly. He has not time to chit chat, which is why he'd rather get this job done quickly.

    To an average wizard, he is nothing more than a magic user who is assumed to use some sort of Requip Magic. To those who can detect the presence of demons or those with sensitive magic sensory, however, they would be able to feel ominous magic emanating from him - one of pure malevolence and reeks of bloodthirst, all due to the demons trapped inside his body. It is a mystery how he survived.

    [ Word Count - 790 / x ]



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 6th June 2020, 3:09 pm

    As much “fun” as it was to meditate while waiting for the sun to rise further and further, Hanzo was quite pleased to see that the final member of their party announced himself. Under the guise of meditation, he himself had constantly been scanning a wide radius around himself for anything of note, and just as much as Libbier had been a person of note, it seemed that this new person was to fit into the same category. While most of him felt about right, there was something rather ominous about him, or maybe not so much about him as it was something coming from inside. Due in part to his nature, Hanzo was quite adept at finding out that which was concealed from normal sight and senses, believing this to be the case in this particular situation. He had seen and fought demons before, though this was different, convoluted in ways he could not unravel at this point in time.

    That said, if given enough time, he was certain that he could figure out what this guy was hiding. And luckily enough, the three of them would be spending enough time just traveling to their next location, not to mention the time they would spend inside the depths of the mines while fighting beings of elemental origins. Keeping his sensory abilities going did not require a whole lot out of him, and since the process was in and of itself concealed from mortal means of sensing, it made it easier for Hanzo to not just keep an actual eye on his surroundings but actually get a far wider and more precise view through his mind’s eye. As he would not figure out what was going on with this guy at this point in time, internally speaking, it seemed wise to move things along. Deciding to leave it for what it was for now, Hanzo rose to his feet in response to the rather half-assed greeting provided to them by the new arrival.

    Osokarishi..

    Looking at the currently unnamed man with now opened eyes, Hanzo made sure to take in as much about this person as he possibly could in what little time they had before their departure. While the word in itself did not mean much, he figured this man nor the woman that was accompanying them would not know what it meant. While the word itself could be translated simply to “being late”, the word had taken on a different meaning to him. Back in the dojo, the temple and the lodgings where he had spent his life, certain phrases and tales had been drilled into his skull by those that taught him most of everything he knew. Believing many of the locals of his home to be aware of the tale, Hanzo believed a quick explanation would be in order, both to let the man know what his current feelings regarding the situation were, as well as in the spirit of moving things along.

    My people tell the tale by the name of Yarunosuke Oishi, a teachable moment for times such as these. As the story goes, a retainer by the name of Yarunosuke arrived too late to bid farewell to his lord, only arriving after the latter had committed suicide by disembowelment. Thus leaving Yarunosuke a warrior with no master, nor a cause. Though simplistic, it teaches us the importance of being on time, and banishing tardiness..

    That said, he did not address the fact that the man had rudely kept from sharing his name with the group, feeling that him not doing so meant Hanzo did not need to do so either, a fair enough exchange. After his little speech regarding tardiness, the shinobi did not say much else as he nodded towards the mountain and simply started walking. Being fairly certain as to where he would need to go in order to reach the mines, the locals of the Mountain Village had established a rather easy to follow trail that would guide the miners back and forth between the village itself and the mines deeper in the mountains. Figuring that the two, along with their entourage would likely follow him, he would not make any attempts at stopping or slowing down to wait for them. His stride was of a decent pace, though it was by no means too fast for them to keep up with. If it came down to it, he would just take on the job by his lonesome, though he welcomed the help.

     
    2189
    LibertyGear
    LibertyGear

    Player 
    Lineage : Wraith of Spirit
    Position : None
    Posts : 175
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 80
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 7,812

    Character Sheet
    First Skill:
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by LibertyGear 9th June 2020, 4:40 am

    "...Ok?", Libbier said to no one in particular, as she slowly retracted her hand as she realized the man that had called himself Hanzo would not reach out his own hand. Instead, he just made a small remark on how more helping hands on the job were useful and returned to doing what he was doing... whatever it was, possibly meditation. Libbier looked back to Kindred, but all she got from it was Lamb raising her shoulders and not caring much about it, and Wolf letting out a low growl aimed at the man. Both responses were something that Libbier had already gotten used to getting, as for someone that affirmed to live for her and not fail her, neither really helped her much outside of battle.

    "Well, at least its good to know I'm in the right place, I guess.", Libbier said to Kindred as she walked to it as Hanzo did not seem interested in striking a conversation. She was used to the silent moody types due to her time in Rakshasa, so she didn't think much of his behavior. Then a new guy appears, coming from the town. Libbier can almost tell from his looks that he is not the fun type.

    Almost as if sensing something from the newcomer, Libbier feels her other-self trying to take over, as the iris of the left eye turns momentarily red. Kindred, who was checking out the new arrival, notices the sudden albeit change on its master's disposition. Being an entity born from the same power that is locked inside Libbier, Kindred had the keen senses to notice the fluctuations on that power, and even if from the outside it only looked like Libbier's eye color changed for a few seconds, Kindred could clearly see the second owner of its master's body gleeful look when she saw the man that had just arrived as if sensing something no one would normally notice.

    Quietly Lamb placed her hand on Libbier's shoulder, while Wolf was keeping an eye on the man that had failed to introduce himself but was clearly going to join on the job.

    "I'm ok.", Libbier whispered, "It just suddenly flared up for some reason."

    Libbier felt slightly frustrated as she had been training to contain her other-self for a long time, and even after Kindred's insightful advice, she had only been able to fully contain it when she was not under stress. And even so, she had just failed to truly do so just now.

    As this was happening, Hanzo began to talk about a story for some reason. A story that by his own standards was simplistic, and yet Libbier could not fail to complain in her mind. He had just said that a story with a man killing himself was simplistic. What kind of story with that kind of scenario is simplistic? Especially when it comes to talking back at someone arriving late? Seriously.

    "This job is going to be so much fun.", Libbier said sarcastically to no one in particular, as Hanzo just suddenly starts to walk towards the mountain without saying anything else.

    Still, this was the job she accepted and she still needed to do it to pay her own expenses, so she follows without saying anything herself. If everyone was going to be like this, at least she hoped that they would be professional and efficient, otherwise this was going to be a very long, painful job. Right now, Libbier was wishing that Lily was with her. If not to have someone she knew around to talk to, at least to heal her already tired mind.

    Kindred followed soon after, Lamb staying close to Libbier's right and Wolf to her left.

    619//1388


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    The deep places HDmjsgrThe deep places KUQCIHKThe deep places X1kAwR0
    The deep places FcdH2WXThe deep places W38viX9The deep places MDo1fJqThe deep places FgF7RP0
    Knight Owl
    Knight Owl

    Player 
    Lineage : Psionic Soul
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 428
    Guild : Sabertooth
    Dungeon Tokens : 4
    Experience : 1,421,385

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Psionic Ascendance
    Second Skill: Manifold Armory
    Third Skill: Sepulchre's Sigil

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Knight Owl 9th June 2020, 5:31 pm


    [ OOC: Received permission for the rest to be affected by HeXcry ]

    'Let's just get this over with', he thought to himself after he arrived and met with the rest of his comrades who will be joining him on the subjugation mission. He had assumed the worst of being in a company of incompetent mages, that he will be the one holding the responsibility of keeping them in check as he had done so in the past. Or rather, it was just a vague memory of him leading the charge, though the memory is insignificant to his job. Although it gives him relief to find the mages he will be working with are competent ones, he felt disappointed at the size of the company. He believed it to be too small to operate a subjugation, one he is familiar with but can't quite pinpoint why as he has lost majority of his memory after the trauma. Still, a small band of competent mages are better than an army of incompetent ones, which means lesser risk and liability on his part.

    As the man recalled a tale, one that teaches a lesson of punctuality, he can't help but get a little irritated at him, as if the man had told this tale for the purpose of reprimanding him of being late. Can't fault a piece of parchment that did not specify the exact time of the rendezvous. He simply glared at him, finding the words he needs to try speak his mind. "A lone wolf is never late nor early. He arrives exactly where and when he needs to be." He remarks coldly to him. He had done missions where his skills as a soldier was required, and he was working on missions alone and succeeded all the time. He made a note to himself to ignore the man's ramblings during their mission.

    He walks with the mages towards the mines while using his HeXcry to bookmark their tags - "Shadows" for the man who had remarked his 'tardiness', and "Swarm" for the mage, with her companions marked as "Wolf" and "Sheep" respectively. He makes it a point to always bookmark their identities due to the fact that he can only see dots on his HeXcry, not the person itself. That, and to make sure he can find them wherever they are should they get lost - a feat made possible by the magic engineer, Giselle, intended to keep track of the positions of soldiers within their order as well as being wary of unidentified creatures. Peak magic engineering marvels, one would commend back in their day, though that is now long gone.

    Michael could not help but feel unease as they near the mines. What if some of the elementals have gone out of the mines? A terrifying thought, should one back in the village ponder, as there would be civilian casualties if an elemental made its way to the village. With his magic, he has access to tools designed for reconnaissance, not just for warfare. "Drone Squad, mobilize." He says as he summons a group of small drones hovering above ground. With commands received telepathically between drones, they set forth to survey the area while maintaining low profile to avoid confrontation with rogue elementals. 

    As the drones left their summoner, Michael felt compelled to explain to them his course of action. "There might be rogue elementals who left the mines. Worst case scenario, one has already gone out towards the village. We can keep moving while my drones survey the terrain for any signs of their movement, should there be any." He says while facing the mines, focused at the task at hand and considering the possibility of encountering one while they move. He can rest easy knowing his HeXcry isn't showing signs of suspicious movement, one he would distinguish easily with the movement of the dots along with the fact that their marks are empty.

    For now, he's currently surveying the lay of the land for any elemental threat that may have escaped the mines, actively looking around his surroundings while they walk. He had also cast an enchantment that allows his eyes to see beyond the distance like a pair of binoculars. Up until now, however, he is oblivious to the fact that the two had reacted differently to him when he first arrived. 

    [ Word Count - 1506 / x ]

    HeXwarm Emergency Drones - 3 posts

    HeXighted Visuals - 3 posts



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 18th June 2020, 2:17 pm

    ….As a lone wolf, I can tell that makes exactly zero sense, though it was a good attempt.

    Replying to the slowpoke, Hanzo walked on with the other two mages, headed towards the part of the mountains where they would be able to enter the mines and begin searching for their query. Being the kind of person that he was, he had already started to wonder what kind of things he might be expecting from these two in terms of offensive or defensive spell powers. Since one of them was accompanied by two otherworldly companions, it left a bit of speculation as to what they were capable of, as well as whether or not they had any powers of their own. More so, it left him with the thought of whether or not she was a summoner, or if she had other magical powers in store for the sake of these battles. With that, his attention went to the other guy, who has as of yet not shown anything as to what he was capable of yet, though this would remain this way for very long it seemed.

    After using a spoken command, a group of mechanical constructs formed and began hovering above the ground. These things called “drones” were most likely yet another piece of human ingenuity, which was something he had come to enjoy about them. When the summoner brought up that some rogue elementals might have made their way out of the mine and could be making their way to the village, Hanzo could not help but shake his head in disapproval. The mines themselves were several kilometers away from the village, a thing they had apparently done for good reason, it being exactly to make sure no rogue elementals would pose a threat. This meant that if any did make their way out, they would probably run into them along the way, at which point the three of them would surely dispatch the lot of them if their numbers remained within manageable quantities.

    If any of them did make their way out, we will see them long before they reach the place. That is, unless they either fly over us or tunnel beneath us, though those are possibilities I myself am not equipped to handle.

    Speaking honestly as his swords would not do a whole lot to help him fight against those that were gifted with the ability of flight or those who could move beneath the earth, he hoped that he hadn’t jinxed the group by bringing up these possibilities. Coming up against things he could not kill because they were out of his reach would be quite upsetting, even for someone who had trained to keep his emotions under wraps. So once the drones started doing some scouting, Hanzo just kept on leading the way towards their destination while ignoring most of the remarks made by the people he was supposed to be working with. He wasn’t daft nor dim, so he understood entirely well what was intended with certain remarks, things such as sarcasm even making their way into the strict training facilities of the Ten no Michi clan. Controlling his urges, the stride continued.


    -----Roughly Two Hours Later-----


    With the drones keeping watch over them and making sure to also look for any potential runaway elementals coming from the mines, their journey towards their location was rather uneventful. Although boring, it was a good thing that the elementals seemed to contain themselves to this place. Given their past, they most likely believed the depths of the earth to be the only place that was safe for them while they were barred from returning to their elemental plane, especially their respective lords had been slain in an attempt to take all of earthland and turn it into a place more suited for their kind. As elementals stuck to their own kind, it was highly uncommon for those of different types to stick together, which was why claims of fire and earth elementals living within the deep mines struck Hanzo as odd, as well as interesting.

    His time alone in the village had allowed him to do a bit of questioning into why this might be, which was also why he had heard the tale of the mage who had fought against four elemental lords at the same time, destroying the lords of fire and wind on the same spot where they had now built the mines. As the lords of water and earth had died in different locations, the location of the mine being the epicenter of a great battle seemed to be a strange coincidence to many. But the only thing that seemed like a strange coincidence to Hanzo was that two types of elementals were holed up in the same place without actively trying to destroy one another to gain the favor of their betters. Wondering whether these guys he was with had any idea as to what they were about to step into or if they had even done any kind of reading into the situation, he felt like it was up to him to at the very least try to inform them of it.

    Before you go wandering in, there is something you should know about this place. Some time ago, several elementals were slain here. And not just any kind of elementals, but the kind they call Lords, possessing the kind of power that could eradicate cities and reshape nations. Some believe that this is why this place became the primary location for the new minerals found in these mountains.

    Taking a short break to let his words sink in, Hanzo imagined this was exactly the kind of thing these two needed. Not because they seemed like they were idiots, but because they seemed like the kind of people that did not much enjoy heeding the words of others. In a way, that would work out to their favor once they went about fighting the actual elementals, seeing as they would not be needing constant orders and pointers as to what they needed to do. However, when briefing them on some of the things they needed to know beforehand seemed like information that would likely be falling on deaf ears. If he did not tell them however and they got injured or killed because of it, there was the one positive in that he would not need to share the bounty with them, though there would be no honor in it. As such, his personal code dictated him to share his findings with these guys before allowing anyone to approach the mine.

    Also, there is a unique situation going on down there. Sighting of fire elementals and earth elementals living in the same cavern systems is not just rare, it simply never happens. But for whatever reason, these mines are the exception to the rule as scorch marks and blunt force trauma are not uncommon in the attacks, while the victims have been quite clear in describing their attackers. Regardless of the reason behind it, be ready to encounter more things that are out of the ordinary, for where there is smoke..

    With that, there was no longer any reason to keep anyone from moving around him and venturing closer to the mine. As there still seemed to be work going on in the upper levels of the mines judging by the lights and sounds from inside, it seemed relatively safe to assume that the danger was contained to the lower levels. For the time being, they had all the time in the world to make their way into the mines and find their targets, mark them for elimination and get to doing the deed.


    3477
    LibertyGear
    LibertyGear

    Player 
    Lineage : Wraith of Spirit
    Position : None
    Posts : 175
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 80
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 7,812

    Character Sheet
    First Skill:
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by LibertyGear 25th June 2020, 11:42 pm

    The fact that her other-self had flared up for no reason was still lingering on Libbier's mind. It's not normal for such thing to happen without some kind of stress being applied to Libbier in the first place, be it physical or mental. And yet, it happened out of the blue without prior notice, as if there was just something that was drawing it out by force. Could it have been the new guy? It did happen on his arrival but it could have just been a coincidence. Libbier could not really be sure if it only happened one single time.

    Looking back at the new guy did not cause the same reaction to resurge. All that Libbier could feel was the normal levels of weird as she looked at the interaction between the other two men. All the lone wolf remarks did was make Libbier look at Wolf, as she hoped he would never start making this kind of one-liners, which made Wolf tilt his head wondering why she was looking at him. As she was thinking this, the new guy suddenly summoned a number of things that looked like machines, but Libbier could not really tell as she didn't usually interact with the modern day's technology, especially ones related to movement and transportation, so she couldn't be too sure.

    "Those are some interesting looking beings.", Lamb commented, before Wolf adding with an eager growl, "Can I hunt them down?"

    "I do not think those things are alive, to begin with.", Libbier answered to Lamb, before stopping Wolf, "And no, that's clearly an ally, so no, you cannot hunt them."

    Certainly, it was not something one would see every day, but considering the situation, it was nice to see that Lamb and Wolf would not change that much regardless. Even so, after hearing the words of Libbier, Lamb moved as if she was highly interested in the drones that had begun to disperse and get into the position their master wanted them to be. Wolf was really eager to pounce on one of the drones, to the point that Libbier, while listening to what the drones were going to be used for, had to actually grab one of his ears, as she knew he would certainly go off on his own if she didn't.

    Well, it's not like she didn't understand the mentality of the new guy wanting to be sure no elemental got past them, but she was pretty sure elementals were rather hard to miss. But she could be wrong so she decided against rebuking the idea, especially since he had already gone out of his way to send the drones. That and Hanzo pretty much said what she would have said so no reason to go around repeating stuff.



    After a couple of boring hours filled with walking, the group was still progressing at a reasonable pace, and although Libbier was pretty much bored out of her mind since she couldn't freely explore the caves, Kindred was still its normal self, as Lamb walked with no care in the world, while Wolf stayed in high alert. Libbier suspected that Wolf was acting as a scout more to find prey than to help the group with their task.

    After a while, Hanzo began to talk about something that he had learned about the situation. It was nice since Libbier had pretty much rushed over for the job and had no time to learn the story behind the location. Usually, she just explores at her own pace and figures things out as she goes along. Still, the idea that this area was inhabited by beings that could eradicate cities, moreover several of them, was rather interesting and Libbier was glad to know about it, although she didn't really know what to say about the fact that said elementals had been slain.

    As Libbier was thinking about this new information, Hanzo continued, added the fact that this location seemed to be housing both fire and earth elementals, and the attacks suffered by the people around here showed signed of both elementals. But this left something on Libbier's mind as she reached for a hand-sized rock that was loose on the floor. The attacks had signs of both elementals, but were they done by each elemental separately?

    "Can we be sure about this information?", Libbier asked as she began to heat the rock on her hand. As the rock turned liquid Libbier began to manipulate it with her magic to form what looked like a small doll shaped figure, "Is there a chance that there are elemental fusions happening here?"

    It was just speculation on her part, but it could also explain the reason for both fire and earth elementals to be in the same area. After all, Libbier had seen her fair share of weird foes, enough to be able to imagine some pretty strange although not impossible possibilities before she even got to confirm things, and something like a magma elemental caused from the fusion of both fire and earth would cause the same kind of attacks. Even if none had been spotted, there was always the possibility.

    860//2248‬


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    The deep places HDmjsgrThe deep places KUQCIHKThe deep places X1kAwR0
    The deep places FcdH2WXThe deep places W38viX9The deep places MDo1fJqThe deep places FgF7RP0
    Knight Owl
    Knight Owl

    Player 
    Lineage : Psionic Soul
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 428
    Guild : Sabertooth
    Dungeon Tokens : 4
    Experience : 1,421,385

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Psionic Ascendance
    Second Skill: Manifold Armory
    Third Skill: Sepulchre's Sigil

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Knight Owl 28th June 2020, 2:05 pm


    The drones have kept him abreast of any signs of elemental runaways, but so far, their trip towards the mountain has been uneventful. The past hour and a half of walking was met with silence, one that he appreciates the most as he needed the silence to recover from his addled condition after he woke up. By now, he should be fine and in proper condition to fight, not that there are any signs of any elemental movement. He decided to keep the drones searching for traces of elemental movements and actively looked around for any signs of elementals with he help of his enchantment. Things have been going smoothly until it was not, for him at least.

    A whisper echoes behind him, one he is all too familiar with.

    "No fight left to fight... no life left to live..." The voice of the demon inside him whispers menacingly. Michael kept his cool and shrugged it off as he doesn't want his 'comrades' to fuss over him, possibly delaying them from reaching the mountain. For awhile, there was another silence. He kept his focus on his HeXcry and the broadcasted feed from his drones, which worked until the whisper came back. The silence has afforded him the focus he needed to perform his task effectively, and it was all fine until the voice came back.

    "You can't trust them."

    This made him stop in his tracks and stare at the two in front of him. To him, they aren't doing anything suspicious, and even if they did, he trusted them to cooperate to get the job done in a timely manner. He was confused as to why the demon would say something it doesn't even know. Regardless of his own circumstances, he must move forward to reach the mountain. Walking to it in itself is tiring enoug, and his vision darkens until he could see the demon in front of him beside his companions. He could barely see anything save for his comrades walking to their destination.

    "Don't you see? They were staring daggers at you earlier." The demon once again whispered, this time tricking him into getting angry. "They must think you weird. Look at these savages and their flimsy magics. They must think they're better than you." The demon tempted Michael into giving in to his anger, a cheap trick to advance its influence over its host. To think that mere words could change and impact an individual proves just how powerful words are against mortals like Michael. "We could kill them, and take the reward for ourselves. No more cocky mages and their pathetic excuse of magics." 

    That would have worked if it weren't for the magic module Giselle implanted on his magic which suppressed his emotions up to a certain degree. He was about to enter a trance and he felt himself get dragged into the darkness when he felt a slight shock bring him back from reality. The demon was gone and his vision returned to normal. He played it cool to avoid drawing suspicion from his companions. To them, nothing should be out of the ordinary while he was confronted with one of his inner demons.

    Eventually, an unfamiliar voice rang inside his head. He was sure enough it was going to be one of the demons. At this point, he was already a little paranoid from the sojourning demon in his subconscious. What did they want from him? "Michael." He heard the demon call out to his name, but he can barely hear it. Seeing as it the voice was faint, he deduced it fine enough for him to ignore it. He kept hearing the faint voice call out to him again and again. He kept ignoring it until he could hear the demon loud and clear.


    "MICHAEL!" The voice called out. Everything went black as he felt himself dragged into the darkness.

    Standing before him is no ordinary demon. It looked like an anthropomorphic lion with white colored fur and mane. It bore a striking resemblance to his sibling, Francois, donning intricate and expensive attire, though the lion demon before him looked like it came from the east. It was slightly bigger than him, its large stature towering over him. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

    Michael looked around. Everything was in darkness. He noticed he wasn't moving at all, just standing on the black floor. Nothing was showing from his HeXcry, though it looked like his HeXcry isn't even working at all. "Don't worry. Your body is on autopilot. We can talk here without raising suspicion from your peers, but we don't have much time." Michael squints his eyes at the lion and tries to bring out his pistol, hoping that this is a chance for him to slay one of the demons inside him. Unfortunately, he couldn't summon his firearm. This left him no choice but to converse with the demon. "What do you want?" He begrudgingly questions the demon despite his unpleasant experiences.

    "Pardon for my rude interruption. I am Aslan, and I've the mind to help you in your quest." The demon extends his hand as means of goodwill, though it proved futile as Michael is reluctant to deal with him. "What makes you think I can trust you?" He questioned Aslan's motives in bringing him here, wherever they are in. He didn't trust him for the fact that he was a demon, and the likes of him has caused irreparable damage and frenzied onslaught, thinking back at the time when he lost control of himself and let his emotions get the best of him. There was also the demon who tempted him into betraying the party. "I'm not coercing you into doing anything stupid, am I? That should be proof enough, though I understand. We barely even knew each other."

    "Fine," he reluctantly accepted Aslan's help, "what can you give me that won't turn me into a bloodthirsty maniac?"

    "I am a master of magic and my knowledge for anything magical will surely help you in your endeavors. I will let you borrow... a piece. Of myself. Specifically my eye, and at the same time, a part of my consciousness will be brought forth whenever you borrow this part of me, where we will become one temporarily. Do we have a deal?" Aslan didn't offer that much to him, but if he really is a master of magic, the eyes should be a useful tool in his quests. On the surface, it seemed pretty harmless. Aslan extends his hand to him once more, expecting him to shake it to signify that their deal has been made. Michael extended his and shook his hand. "Deal."

    "Excellent." Michael felt himself being dragged away from the darkness, leaving the demon behind. He was brought back to his own body and everything was fine. He could still feel Aslan's presence inside him, and it's slowly fading away. "I will await the time you will make use of my eye." He says, his presence fading out until he could no longer feel him. Everything was back to normal.

    Roughly 30 minutes went by as 'Shadows' relayed to them the history of the mines as well as current situation inside it, observing an odd behavior between the two elementals. He had also listened to 'Swarm's ramblings of the accuracy of the information given to them as well as the possibility of elemental fusions. He didn't skip a beat as he closed his eyes to draw upon Aslan's power, opening them once more. Everything looked sharper and clearer, and what was new to him is that he could see the presence of ethernanos everywhere. He didn't expect Aslan to lend him his eyes, but any help is good help. 


    "See as I see." Aslan's voice echoed inside him. He faced the mountains and saw faint traces of ethernanos that seemed out of place. "I am pretty sure you know nothing of mage speak, so I shall briefly take charge." As this happens, Michael felt himself unable to move himself or speak, but he can still see. 90% of Aslan's consciousness was brought to surface, and Michael didn't expect that. In a way, he was telling the truth, but he felt betrayed by the amount of control Aslan has over him. He isn't complaining as he trusts Aslan to do what needs to be done.

    And, as if in unison, he found himself talking with Aslan. He wanted to address the question regarding fusion between elementals. "Unless you're practicing forbidden alchemy or using advanced magic, fusion between two beings is impossible. If you put it in another perspective, it would make sense." He says as he scratches his chin, or rather, the chin part of the helmet. "What would you get if two races had an offspring? It would result to a hybrid. It is a possibility that such is the case for an elemental fusion." As he explained in detail about elemental fusions, he pointed his finger at the mountain, before continuing. "In which it is also a possiblity there are elemental hybrids in that mountain. Something is amiss in the mines, I can feel it. The flow of ethernanos seemed faintly corrupt, but from where we are, I cannot say for certain."

    [ Word Count - 3056 / x ]

    HeXwarm Emergency Drones - 2 posts

    HeXighted Visuals - 2 posts

    Eye of Aslan - 8 posts



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 2nd July 2020, 3:17 pm

    All of this talking about elementals and a fusion of elementals felt rather stale pretty quickly, because there were reasons as to why he had come here, and doing research into the nature of these otherworldly beings was not exactly one of them. That said, he had gathered up enough information to know what he was likely going to be up against and what he should be prepared for. So while swords would most likely not be the best means of fighting such beings, swords enhanced with plenty of magic would surely do the trick even if it meant him having to get close to them first. So while he pondered on that and listened to the explanation that seemed almost a bit too smart to be coming from the guy that had come up with faulty lone wolf statements before, he felt that the reasoning made a lot of sense. So when he said that there were likely some of these hybrids inside of the mountain along with a faint sensation of corrupt ethernano, Hanzo felt the need to chip in and angle the conversation into a rather specific direction.

    Well, as I had mentioned before, the mines are directly below a site where the four elemental lords once fought one another, and where two of them met their end. When their respective lord died, most of the elementals in the direct area got vacuumed into a portal that transported them back to their own dimension. Therefore, it makes sense to believe that the ones who managed to keep themselves from being transported back where powerful enough to anchor themselves here somehow.

    Once he finished explaining, his mind went towards whatever the source of this corrupt ethernano might be. While he had a pretty good idea as to what it might be, he hoped that it had not been the reason why these elementals had managed to stay here, and get stronger to boot. So while it did not matter a whole lot to him if elementals were capable to mix breeds and create more powerful offspring, it did bother him that there was something beyond his sight that had kept these elementals around long enough for them to attempt such things. After all, it had been a year since they had gotten stranded here in these mountains, and the literal lifeblood of their fallen lords had seeped into the very soil, giving rise to this new mineral these humans were boldly mining away at the cost of their own lives. They were after all, making a very conscious choice of going into the mines, knowing they could get attacked or killed at any time when the elementals began to rampage again.

    If these hybrids are in fact real, that means that the mission will be that much harder, as dealing with animate elements is hard enough as it is. As such, I believe the best way to deal with this problem is to head straight down to the lowest possible level and see what this place will throw at us. Once we head in, ignore the workers or we’ll likely be here all day.

    With that, Hanzo made a quick hand gesture, signaling that he was going in before walking towards and through the entrance to the mine. Once inside, all natural light quickly faded and made way for light made by old fashioned torches. For places like these, lacrima based lighting was most likely too expensive, especially since there were these rogue elementals running amok and destroying whatever they got close enough to. As expected, it did not take long before the workers noticed that mages had entered the tunnels, leading them to lay down their work and come at them with lots of questions. So while Hanzo simply powered through without making eye contact, he still heard and registered all of the questions thrown their way. Asking if they could go and find a lost relative or friend that had gone missing down below, asking them what was going on and if their superiors had been lying to them about there only being some earthquakes, the usual kind of question asked by frightened people in a bad situationed environment.

    Making his way out of the forming mob, he left them behind him without acknowledging them, both because he did not want to waste time and because he did not know what to tell them that would make things any better. At this point, there was nothing he could say that had any legitimacy as none of them knew what they were getting into yet, and that was the long and short of it. Regardless, he maintained his confident stride towards the elevator shaft that seemed like it had not been used for some time. That said though, it seemed surprisingly sturdy, even though it really had to be if it was going to go up and down with large amounts of mined minerals in carts and barrels. Luckily for them, it only had to carry a handful of people down into the bowels of the mountain, meaning the elevator would not be under nearly as much strain as it normally was. By the time the entire party was inside of the elevator, he started turning the mechanism that would lower them at a gradual but slow rate, as going too fast might cause complications no one would want.

    It will likely be a few minutes before we get down to the bottom, so lets use this time to discuss strategy. If we are about to face beings that the outside world has never seen before, as well as whatever they have been cooking up down here for the past year, it might be good if we were all aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what to expect from your allies might mean the difference between living and dying down there…

    Uncharacteristically throwing that out there for the rest to hear, he truly felt like this would be by far the best way to handle the unexpected threats they would face down there. Even if they had a figment of an idea as to what was coming, none of them would truly be able to tell and arm him or herself against it. As such, if the whole team was aware of what the person by their side or having their back was capable of, it might lead them away from any unnecessary deaths and mistakes that might leave them gravely injured. That said, Hanzo first tossed the idea out there to see how the others would reply. Because if they were to refuse, he would not go as far as to let them know what he could do either. In the worst case scenario, the last thing he wanted was for them to be able to use that knowledge against him, meaning he would only let them know about his magical abilities once they agreed to the terms by sharing a thing or two about their own abilities. It was only fair after all.


    4656
    LibertyGear
    LibertyGear

    Player 
    Lineage : Wraith of Spirit
    Position : None
    Posts : 175
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 80
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 7,812

    Character Sheet
    First Skill:
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by LibertyGear 13th July 2020, 6:00 pm

    According to the lone wolf guy, the chances of the elementals fusing were very low, but the same could not be said of the chances of their offspring having both aspects of their parents. Well, in the end, the results would be the same, its not like it would change there being fusion ones or not, their job would be the same regardless. Corrupted or not, the elementals had to be dealt with.

    Libbier let the small magma elemental wanna be on her hand fall down as it had done its job of been an easy example, and the hot magma quickly cooled down as it hit the floor. Wolf, who seemed focused on the small being closed in and smelled the now hard rock, but since Libbier was no longer moving the dollish figure, he quickly lost interest and returned to Lamb's side and aimed again at the drones he could see. Lamb of course kept him in line with a look.

    Hanzo then gave his own take on the possibility of fusion elementals, mentioning the elemental lords that had once existed in this place, and how it could be troublesome if they did exist since the remaining elementals would be the strongest ones, to begin with. Then he mentions that they should ignore the workers.

    "Wait!", Libbier exclaimed, "There are still workers inside?"

    Libbier never imagined that, considering the need to hire mages to deal with the elementals, there would still be miners within the mining area.

    Following Hanzo inside, LIbbier was surprised to the number of people standing around the elevator entrance. It was almost like they were waiting for them and quickly swarmed around the group. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the sudden mob surrounding them, Libbier fumbled on her attempts to reply to the numerous questions thrown at the group.

    "I... Wait... I don't...", Libbier tried to start an answer before another question was thrown at them, "Let me..."

    With this, she tried to follow Hanzo, but maybe his stoic look made the people give up on asking him anything, and Libbier's attempt to answer made her an easier target and she was flooded. Seeing this, Kindred moved in, with Lamb grabbing Libbier's hand to force her to follow, while Wolf quickly moved around the two, letting out audible growls to force the miners to open a path. Libbier was glad they were with her, otherwise, there was a good chance she would become confused and not be able to move forward fast enough and maybe even have her other side take advantage of that confusion to take over.

    The group quickly moved to the elevator before Libbier even had the chance to realize what was happening and prepare herself. As the elevator began to move, at a snail's pace, Hanzo suggested that they shared their capabilities in other to better organize their strategy to fight the elementals that had been living in the mines for over a year. His mention that they should share their strengths and weaknesses was ironic considering Libbier's current condition. This condition being she being on the ground with her head on Lamb's lap, as her eyes were violently spinning and all she could do was groan as her sense of balance was completely wrecked by the moving elevator.

    One of her greatest weakness, being a dragon slayer, with two different elemental slayer magic at that, caused her to have an absurd amount of motion sickness that pretty much left her completely incapable of any action. With this, the rather weird situation, where their master was completely out, Lamb was giving Libbier a lap pillow while gently patting her head, while Wolf looked at it as if he was looking at a completely hopeless person with a seriously disappointed expression.

    Since her master was completely out, Lamb answered for her as she combed Libbier's hair.

    "I guess I will have to answer that in my master's stead. As you can see, the master suffers from severe motion sickness while riding anything.", Lamb started, and while Libbier wanted to rebut it and say that she could ride on Nero's back just fine, she was currently not in a condition to say anything, so Lamb continued uninterrupted, "She has rather weak control of her magic when it comes to long-range attacks of magical nature and is currently suffering from a condition that makes it risky for her to be in fights where allies are present for extended durations."

    Libbier wondered what the hell Lamb was thinking in blurting all that out, but another wave of dizziness hit her so once again, Lamb continued, "As for strengths, Master has exceedingly high melee combat capabilities as well as a good range of support abilities for both her and allies alike, as well as the ability to absorb magic from magma, fire, earth and ice elements. Furthermore, she is cute."

    Libbier was surprised as Lamb started to number her strengths, but for good or for bad, failed to listen to the last sentence Lamb uttered due to her motion sickness.

    There was nothing she could do. Being a dragon slayer she had already accepted that this would happen every now and then, even if she did not enjoy it in any way... well maybe she enjoyed being pampered by Lamb a little, but her pride took a hit for being taken care by someone that called her 'master'. The way Wolf looked at her didn't help either.

    Even so, the elevator would stop eventually and she would be able to move again immediately when it did. It's not like the elementals would be able to use elevators as weapons to deal with her... right?

    948//3196


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    The deep places HDmjsgrThe deep places KUQCIHKThe deep places X1kAwR0
    The deep places FcdH2WXThe deep places W38viX9The deep places MDo1fJqThe deep places FgF7RP0
    Knight Owl
    Knight Owl

    Player 
    Lineage : Psionic Soul
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 428
    Guild : Sabertooth
    Dungeon Tokens : 4
    Experience : 1,421,385

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Psionic Ascendance
    Second Skill: Manifold Armory
    Third Skill: Sepulchre's Sigil

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Knight Owl 13th July 2020, 7:40 pm


    As the group neared the tunnel, Michael could see from afar a group of workers deep within the dark cave through the use of his enchantment. The interiors of the tunnels provided ample lighting for him to see several workers minding their own business. The tunnels are wide enough to move forward unimpeded by the working miners, which is relieving to see as he doesn't want obstacles impeding his path, even outside of battle. If this was where the battle would take place, alot of innocent lives would have been lost to the rampaging elementals.

    Through Aslan's Eyes, the faint trails of corrupt ethernanos have grown to be more prevalent the more he moves forward, and the trails are shown to be coming from deep within the mines. It felt ominous for both him and Aslan, but Michael wouldn't sign up for this job if he wasn't prepared. He was more than prepared to tackle on any given mission, be it assassination or subterfuge. It was what he was training for as a soldier, not that he remembers any memory of him being one before.

    Nearing the cave entrance, he observed more and more miners working around the torch lit tunnels. He stopped for a bit before pressing on to see if the miners are going to question the arriving mages, and he used his comrade's passing to affirm that the miners are indeed questioning them about the goings on in the mines. They stopped working just to ask them a few questions. This poses a problem for Michael, as he isn't one to chat and satisfy the curiosities of strangers. Before doing anything else, he dismissed his drones to avoid the miners from noticing the third mage. Given that some parts of the tunnel are shrouded in darkness, and with the mob of miners distracted, he used this to his advantage and vanished as he used a spell to render himself invisible.

    He managed to get through the tunnel unimpeded and avoiding touching any of the workers to avoid them detecting his presence. He saw the two mages entering the elevator, which must mean they are to descend immediately and get to work. He opted to use his short range teleportation spell to get to the elevator quickly once he was in a decent range, but that would cost more of his magic power. He deemed it unwise and briskly walked towards the elevator, dispelling his invisibility as he entered. With that, he managed to avoid getting ganged up on by a mob of miners and get barraged by questions he will not answer. It was annoying.

    As the group descended towards the deeper levels of the mines, 'Shadows' had inquired the two of their strengths and weaknesses to form a strategy. It is a sound plan to know your comrade's combat capabilities as what they can do will affect how the job plays out. Without knowing what your team is capable of, the mission will end up in a failure. Worst case scenario, it would result in the death of your comrades. He looked at the one of his party members, one he labeled as 'Swarm'. She wasn't feeling fine, as he quickly noted and assumed her to be motion sick. His assumptions were proven true when the one he named 'Lamb' mentioned the girl's extreme motion sickness.

    Then 'Lamb' mentioned about her weakness in long ranged combat and some sort of condition he is entirely unsure of. He has no knowledge of such condition which must mean it is magical in nature, and that is something he cannot look for in a public database as it is unique. Then 'Lamb' mentioned of her strength in close combat and her ability to absorb some listed elements. He thought mages who were 'slayers' could use an ability like that, and he was positive she was a slayer of some sorts, though he could be wrong in his assumptions. He was fortunate to have a team mate who is close combat oriented as Michael's specialty is long range combat.

    "So she incapable of long ranged combat, huh? Fortunately for us, I specialize in long ranged support."
    He says as he summons from his cyberspace his rifle, ASR-01 "The Farsighter". It was a weapon he would use frequently to assassinate targets from afar without suspicion of his involvement. "Though my magic lacks the whimsical powers of the elements, it makes up for supporting me in making sure kill my target in one shot. To be precise, it is a type of magic made for use in a military. However, since we are in the mines..." He pauses as he dismissed his sniper rifle and summons his pistol. It was imperative he had several weapons at his disposal to avoid being at a disadvantage. "There will be places where I won't be able to use my rifle, which would put me at a disadvantage as I can't fire against targets in point blank range. My pistol will make up for that if that happens."

    He dismissed his pistol and stored it to his cyberspace as he did with his sniper rifle, finishing his demonstration of his strengths. Now he has to tell them his weakness. He very much prefers to leave some of the details out as he doesn't trust his comrades. Exposing and telling them of your weaknesses would mean you're giving them the means to betray you using your weaknesses as their leverage, as he would think of. "As for my combat experience, I've had my fair share of troubles as a soloist. I was trained a soldier, not an amateur. I can take care of myself in close combat, as I've said previously. And since I was a trained soldier, I am proficient in both close and long range combat, though my specialty is the latter. As for what I am incapable of, let's just say I barely have the firepower necessary to decimate an entire platoon of soldiers." He wasn't lying when he said, as he specialized in single target assassination.

    He then turned to 'Shadows', who he believes it is his turn to share to the team what his capable of.

    [ Word Count - 4090 / x ]

    HeXighted Visuals - 1 post

    Eye of Aslan - 7 posts



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 18th July 2020, 3:39 pm

    Watching as the woman suddenly went down in what was just about the weirdest display of motion sickness he had ever witnessed in his entire life, Hanzo came to conclude that these kinds of things affected different people to various degrees. He had heard odd tales regarding specific types of mages being particularly harshly affected by things such as motion sickness, be it on a boat, a chariot or in an elevator. If this was that same type of deal, it made sense to him that this Libbier woman was a Slayer mage of some sort, though he really couldn’t be sure about that kind of stuff just yet. At this point, all of that was just an assessment based on hearsay, as well as the shared experiences of others which had made their way over to him at some point in time. So when one of the creatures started to provide the group with the things the woman was capable of, Hanzo was pleasantly surprised.

    Stating that she could in fact control various elemental magics ranging from lava up to ice, it meant that they would most certainly have an edge when it came to dealing with actual elementals. If earth and fire elementals were to be their enemies, being able to use their own elements against them and even overcome one of them with ice magic, that would most certainly be useful. However, the fact that she possessed little to no ranged prowess and had to do it all in close range meant that both Libbier and himself would find themselves fighting quite closely as he too was the kind of fighter that did not possess a whole lot of ranged capabilities. After all, he wielded a sword through which he channeled most of his magic, and a shooting sword was not exactly his type of deal. While on the topic of capabilities, the “lone wolf” was the next to do a bit of sharing.

    Bringing up his guns, he seemed to be the type that was capable of dishing out hits from mid to long ranged distances, making him the person that would stay behind while Hanzo and Libbier would hold the frontlines. With her followers by her side, the shinobi was under the impression that if they were all combat ready, holding the line and dishing out hits from up close while being covered by someone who claimed that he could kill a target with a single shot would bring them the victory he desired. More importantly, if it all went as well as he had pictured it in his head, chances were that none of them would even have to risk injury as long as they managed to work in unison. The ranged one-shot kills mixed with the mage that possessed the very elemental magics they faced almost seemed too good to be true, though Hanzo did not want to question it at this point. If things did turn out to be just that however, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

    Indeed.

    Speaking in response to Libbier’s follower and the gunner who had turned his attention towards him after they had both finished sharing what they were capable of, it had now fallen unto him to let his temporary compatriots know what he could do. In response, he lifted up his arm and reached behind his shoulder, taking the sword and scabbard from his back and holding it in front of him. To most who would look upon the handle and scabbard, it would not be that much of a stretch to come to the conclusion that it seemed rather ornate, perhaps more like the kind of sword one would mount in their home as decoration. Grabbing hold of the scabbard with his left hand and the hilt of the katana with his right, he unsheathed part of the blade to show that it was pitch black and released some kind of hazy black smoke. As he pushed the blade back into the scabbard, the haze strangely moved along with it, drawn back into it as it followed suit.

    As you might have figured, I too am a close ranged combatant. All my life, I have practiced the art of the sword, and the art of silent killing, a form called “Muon Satsjujin”, soundless murder. I work best when my enemies do not know that I am there, and it is quite easy for me to remain hidden for as long as I wish to remain unseen. The black magic I use however, is quite volatile, and works best when channeled through a medium such as my sword. Without it, the indiscriminate attacks might cause the mines to collapse around us, so I choose to limit myself to fighting up close.

    Sharing just a glimmer of what he was capable of, he did not feel the need to do as the gunner did by divulging what he had done to provide him with combat experience. Neither Libbier nor the gunner needed to know how he had honed his skills by murdering dozens of civilians, rogue shinobi and warriors from other clans for the honor of his own. To him, the Ten no Michi had been the only way of life that he knew, and he had therefore shut off his emotions to the rest of the world a long time ago. At this point, all he truly cared for was that his and their honor remained upheld, and that he finished all of the jobs and missions he took on for their combined sakes. He was after all one of their finest blades in the dark, perhaps unequalled in assassination without being seen or noticed by anyone, at least up until the point where he wished for his targets or bystanders to know exactly who was doing the killing to send a message.

    When a soft thud resounded through the elevator, it seemed that their conversation had covered most of the time they would be spending in there as it slowed down its descent. They were just about at the bottom now, meaning they would reach the lower levels of the mines at any second, probably something Libbier would appreciate most out of all of those involved. Placing the katana over his shoulder and on his back, Hanzo prepared himself as the elevator finally came to a grinding halt. Grabbing the door with both hands and pushing it open, what they saw was a dimly lit quarry that stretched on for about twenty meters. At the end of those seventy meters, it seemed that there was a much larger open space, though they could not exactly what was out there. All Hanzo could see was that the dim light came from up there, meaning that this was most likely the place where the elementals came from. Stepping outside, he did a bit of detective work before moving onward.

    The ground here seemed scorched, while overturned and crushed over here. And over there, it is not scorched but almost entirely molten down and cooled over time. If these elementals burn hot enough to melt down rock, your theories might in fact check out. Follow me, quietly.

    With that, he sunk through his knees and moved through the roughly seventy meters long corridor towards the end, where the quarry turned into a massive open space. Moving quietly and quickly, it was as if his footsteps barely made any noise, like a shadow in the night. Upon reaching the end, Hanzo noticed that the corridor did not just lead into an open space, but that there was a rather steep ledge going down about twenty meters. But at the end of what would be a twenty meter drop, it seemed that what they stumbled upon was some sort of living ground and spawning location for elementals of fire and earth alike. With the ceiling being high above them, the open space seemed to stretch out for hundreds of meters in all directions, going far enough into the darkness to where Hanzo’s sight could no longer reach. Spotting elementals of various shapes and sizes, the terrain down there seemed to be a mixture of many jagged and sharp rock formations, as well as streams and pits full of lava, which seemed almost alive.

    Due to their elevated position, it was likely that the elementals had not found them yet, or that they simply ignored their presence for the time being, though it was quite clear that this was not just your average “Go and kill this monster for a reward” type of quest. Trying to turn around and talk to those that had come down here with him, Hanzo was interrupted before he could utter a single word by a low pitched howl that echoed throughout the underground space, causing the very ground to shake and churn. In response to it, the elementals that he could see retreated into the ground or wandered into the fiery pits of lava, leaving the place barren and devoid of life. To Hanzo and the other two mages however, it was now common knowledge that the place was far from abandoned, though it also just became clear that there was something out there in the subterranean darkness that ruled over all those that dwelled there. Either that, or it was feared enough by them to where a single howl could send them into hiding. Whatever the case, it was now up to the rest of them to venture into the unknown, or to turn around and leave this particular stone unturned.


    6257
    LibertyGear
    LibertyGear

    Player 
    Lineage : Wraith of Spirit
    Position : None
    Posts : 175
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 80
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 7,812

    Character Sheet
    First Skill:
    Second Skill:
    Third Skill:

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by LibertyGear 25th July 2020, 8:26 am

    Keeping her eyes closed, as seeing the world spinning around her did not help her condition, Libbier listened as the other two party members began to number their own strengths. Libbier was not happy to hear someone else saying that she was incapable of long-range combat, especially since she had taken an extra effort to get her hands on a sniper rifle that would allow her to have a decent capability at ranged combat. The man even went as far a showing off his own rifle, or at least that's what Libbier assumed since her eyes were closed so she couldn't see it to be sure.

    "Woo. That looks like master's stick.", Lamb said, which made Libbier certain that the guy was certainly showing off his weapon. This made Libbier show her own, but Lamb calling it a stick and her current situation made her rethink that idea.

    The man seemed to also notice the disadvantage of the long-ranged weapon, which although obvious was one that took some experience to acknowledge. Since her own strength was close range, it was not really a problem for her, but seems that man had a backup weapon for such situations. Wolf seemed a little interested in the small weapon momentarily, but since it didn't seem to move like the previous things the man had brought out before, he quickly lost interest.

    The other man, Hanzo, then began his own explanation, and Libbier could already see what he would say. She had already predicted what Hanzo's abilities were when she heard it. Long story short, he was a freaking assassin. Art of silent killing? Yeah, assassin all the way. Of course, her other prediction was martial art monk due to all the meditation that was done. As for the volatile magic, it felt a little like her own, as she couldn't really use most of it in such a close environment.

    The elevator soon came to a halt and Libbier's world quickly stopped spinning, although she still felt a little sick from it, she was at least already able to get up on her own two feet. Or she would if Lamb let her. It seemed Lamb was enjoying patting her head as she didn't seem to want to stop. Libbier had to force herself up, and if Lamb was not wearing a mask, Libbier could imagine she would be seeing a sad face right now. That or a mischievous smile, it was hard to tell with Lamb some times.

    Getting out of the elevator, Libbier was greeted with a weird sight. Well, not really considering they were in a mine, but unusual non the less. As Hanzo moved in front of the group, Libbier had time to fully recover in the short walk they made. She could smell the remnants of the fresh burned stone around the area. It was clear they had arrived at an area where they would surely find elementals. The area was clearly burnt to the point it was easily noticeable that no normal fire was the cause of it.

    Hanzo stopped to check the area and he himself noted that considering the type of damage of the area, there was a good chance that the elementals had indeed achieved some form of fusion. Wolf was clearly not enjoying the smell, but he wasn't one to complain, especially as it meant that he would soon have prey to hunt down. Libbier on the other hand did not think much of it, as it was just a job to pay the bills, and she would fight what she had to fight regardless.

    As the group moved further down the narrow path, they reached a wide area where a lot of elementals were standing. Libbier could see elementals and immediately glanced at Lamb, to which she quickly grabbed Wolf by the ear to prevent him from lunging forward to chase the elementals. That had a too good location to take advantage of the element of surprise, there was no point in losing that advantage due to Wolf.

    It was clear as this was going to be a messy fight, and Libbier was about to start discussions about the engagement plan when a loud sound something caught everyone's attention. The elements were clearly aware of the source as they quickly scattered to the seven winds. Something was out there, and it was not something simple to deal with for sure. The current location's light did however prevent them from seeing too far. For that Libbier decided to use her magic eyes to check on the situation ahead.

    Using Left Eye of the Dragon, Libbier's irises began to glow with a faint blue light, while her left eye pupil stretched vertically to resemble that of a reptile. As she did, the darkness disappeared and she became able to see the area as if it was an open space in broad daylight. Not only that, she became able to see farther and with greater detail, while magic was now also clear to her sight as if it was a transparent coat with a color that was unique to each individual. And what she saw was beyond what she was expecting. The absurd amount of magic and heat made things difficult to distinguish at this range still but she could tell it was massive in size.

    "Can you explain the details of the job again?", Libbier asked with a complicated smile on her face, "Because I'm pretty sure that is not just a simple elemental standing there."

    Left Eye of the Dragon" - 5 posts:

    922//4118


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    The deep places HDmjsgrThe deep places KUQCIHKThe deep places X1kAwR0
    The deep places FcdH2WXThe deep places W38viX9The deep places MDo1fJqThe deep places FgF7RP0
    Knight Owl
    Knight Owl

    Player 
    Lineage : Psionic Soul
    Position : None
    Faction : The Ironheart Pact
    Posts : 428
    Guild : Sabertooth
    Dungeon Tokens : 4
    Experience : 1,421,385

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Psionic Ascendance
    Second Skill: Manifold Armory
    Third Skill: Sepulchre's Sigil

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Knight Owl 30th July 2020, 12:51 pm


    The party finished exchanging information of their strengths and weaknesses, and Michael listened well on what each of them could do. In his experience as a soldier, or what little remains of his memories as a soldier, having a long range support to complement a team of close combat fighters is a sound strategy, with the long ranged support dealing with the troublesome individuals like ambushers and healers, which from what he still remembers, can be only be described as ‘annoying as fuck, but easy to kill’. The only challenge he would have to deal with is if the enemy has a long ranged support to eliminate his comrades. He’d have to actively look for the sniper and give them a brutal takedown, but clearly that won’t be happening here in the mines. Obviously, elementals are incapable of thinking. Or at least, that was what he assumed of them. He doesn’t recall fighting elementals, or maybe it’s just beyond the recesses of his mind.

    However, he cannot afford to be complacent just because they’re going off to kill a bunch of elementals. He has to think of every possible outcome and respond accordingly without irrational judgment. Only cocky amateurs do that. He knows full well that his targets are not just some humanoids for they have different physiology. Different bodies. Different hearts. He is not well versed in everything magical but he sure as hell can take out an enemy with one hit if he knows where their heart is.

    As they finished their descent and left the elevator, Michael opens up his HeXcry to find the next area after the narrow passage as a rather large cavern. Perhaps it is an understatement because the cavern is huge. Titanic, even. The room looked bigger than he imagined it to be when he went through the narrow passage with the rest of his comrades. This just makes his work easier if only the elementals remained in that same place and behaved like targets. Clearly, this won’t be the case as the reverberating howl coming from the steep depression echoed around the room. From his HeXcry, he detected movements from the depression moving all about, with some he saw getting into pits of lava. The dots on his HeXcry were moving away from the room until he could no longer detect their presence. The cavern was now empty.

    “Drat.” He mumbled to himself and sighs in disbelief. He wanted this job to be over as soon as possible but clearly he has to do a little surveillance to find where the elementals have run off to. It is most efficient to have his drones scour the premises to locate these troublesome elementals.

    What bothered him right now was the howl that shook the mines and how the elementals behaved in response to that howling. Was there a powerful creature within the mines that the elementals obeyed? Is it an encrypted message from their leader? He doesn’t know. But perhaps Aslan does. “I was hoping for these elementals to behave like still targets, but clearly that isn’t happening. I will have to do some surveillance work to locate our targets.” He says as he leaves the party a little far off but just enough for them to see him. He summons his drones to do what they do best while he contacts Aslan in hopes of getting answers from him. He avoided the young girl’s question to focus on what he’s doing.

    “Aslan.” He called out his name in a low voice in order to avoid suspicion from his comrades. “Yes? What do you need? And you can just telepathically communicate with me while you have my eye.” The white lion responded, his deep but gentle voice echoing in his mind. “What do you know of the elementals?”

    “I thought you’d never ask. Alright, I will answer your query.”


    “There exists four separate dimensions, each housing a different element. You can refer to them as the Elemental Planes, if you’d like. Or realms. It’s all the same, honestly. I prefer calling them the Elemental Planes, but I digress. Basically, the four separate planes, aptly named the Elemental Planes of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, have their own respective elemental lords which are born every few hundred or so years. Maybe even a millenia or two. These elemental lords are far too powerful than your average elementals that you would encounter, however, and when this happens, these elementals wage war against each other to determine which plane would expand their influence over Earthland.”

    “And what of the elementals here in the mines?” He asked, uninterested in the history or lore behind them. “If you’re asking why they are here, I believe it’s because they are what is left of their brethren after the war between the four elemental planes. They are what remained. If you’re asking why the earth and fire elementals are coexisting in the mines when they should be fighting against each other, I hypothesize that an elemental lord of both fire and earth have been born. Which… shouldn’t be possible. But it’s definitely not impossible. I surmise that the howl came from an elemental lord. Just a most likely guess, though I know I am right.” Aslan responded.

    “Ok. What are their weaknesses? They should have a vital point I can target and shoot at to kill them in one hit.” Michael telepathically questioned Aslan while he’s making himself look busy by surveying the large cavern. The drones have so far yielded little to no results in any elemental activity around the perimeter. “Just as living creatures have hearts, the elementals possess a core. It’s hard to tell if you’re using your own eye to tell where they are. Elementals are malleable, and thus the placement of their cores may vary. Some are more obvious than the others. Your magic won’t be able to help in finding out their weak points, but you did borrow my eyes. You should be able to locate exactly where their cores are.”

    The drones have finished their surveillance and have detected elemental activity within the caverns, though a little too far from where they are now. With what information he had gathered, he returned to the group and projected a 3d map that details the interior of the mines, and bookmarked locations and pins to where the elementals can be found. It also displayed the location of where they are, except without the names. “I’ve finished surveying the area. Some of our targets are below the ground while some are in the lava pits. Some might even be hidden behind stalagmites and stalactites for all I know. In short, they’re hidden in plain sight, camouflaged. Thus, I advise caution, but that’s a little too obvious with what we’re dealing with.”

    [ Word Count - 5226 / x ]

    HeXwarm Emergency Drones - 3 posts

    HeX Map - 3 posts

    Eye of Aslan - 6 posts



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Thagirion
    Thagirion

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Rising Star- Demon Slayer- Complete Your First Job!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to the Void
    Position : None
    Posts : 483
    Cosmic Coins : 100
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : ‭1,126,090

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Abysmal Blackness
    Second Skill: Mortal Coil
    Third Skill: Border-Realm

    The deep places Empty Re: The deep places

    Post by Thagirion 4th August 2020, 12:34 pm

    The details of the job were quite simple, kill any and all elementals that pose a threat to the miners and the mining operation. That said, I don’t think it likely that the men and women up top had even the faintest clue as to this … hollow, being down here. To be fair, I doubt anyone had an idea as to any of this being here, or they would likely have shut down the mining operation already.

    Even though he realized it when he said it, he imagined that the miners would likely have left if they had known about it, though the people in charge of them would likely keep the operation going by just offering more money for the work than they could refuse. That way, if a bunch of them died during an elemental attack, they could say that they were given plenty of money and were aware of the risks. It seemed like that was often the case when rich folk were dealing with the lower class, they did not even treat them as fellow humans. They were just fodder to be tossed into the furnace so they could be foreseen of wealth and luxury. But even if that were to be the case, there was not a doubt in his mind that anyone who could see this being with his or her own eyes would know better than to venture down into this place, or to send down someone else, knowing that they would most likely not make it back out alive.

    Whatever it is that is back there, it is the source of the dark magic that was sensed, of this there can be no doubt. That said, the fact that it has not done anything to attack the miners itself is probably the sole reason why the mines themselves are still operational. All I can say about it at this point is that it feels powerful, and clever.

    In truth, there were rarely ever any combinations that spelled as much potential doom as a mixture of being both very powerful and very clever. If someone was just very clever but extremely weak, one could just blow them up before they could get to pulling any of their shenanigans. If someone was just very powerful and as dim as a candle, that meant that by proper plotting and strategizing, one could still overcome their sheer power. But to face a combination of the two meant that the one holding the power was also strategizing against them, just as plans were being made to face it. At that point, it all really came down to whether or not they were more clever than the thing they faced, or possessed more raw fire power to balance the scales, or tip them in their favor. As Hanzo watched the terrain, he tried to map out every elemental he could sense while listening to the muttering of the gunman.

    Whenever someone started just talking to themselves for whatever reason, it often gave rise to the people around them believing that they had some kind of mental disability or were just straight up deranged. While Hanzo did not want to pin these things on anyone just yet, he figured it best to just wait it out and see what came out of it. After all, maybe this was just the guy’s process of handling his own magic, which had his “drones” going around the place to do some recon of his own. And judging by the magic Libbier was using, which was strangely a magic he could remember from the past, he knew that she was doing the exact same thing. While he was already prepared to go down knowing that the rest of them were at least aware of the danger around them, he waited around until the gunner was done talking to himself. Unfortunately, this took quite a while, though it eventually ended up in him sharing a thing or two with the party that he deemed useful.

    Alright, that is good to know. I already had my suspicions about those things, seeing as they are either setting up a trap or are clearing a path for us to walk on over to whatever it is that is orchestrating the attacks on the upper levels. Regardless of intent, I think we should walk towards it while we can. Sooner or later, we’re going to have to fight anyway, and the longer we wait, the more time they have to plot out their response to us being here.

    With that, he nodded at the two before taking a step back and leaping across the crag and down to where the elementals had hidden. From there, it would be a rather straight forward path towards the source of the most powerful magical presence down there. Slowly trailing ahead before the others would follow, he made sure that these elementals were not just going to pop out and take them out one by one. Moving dangerously close to where he knew one of them was hiding beneath the ground, he figured that it was most likely waiting for direct orders from whatever it was that was ruling over them down here. Wondering whether or not he was right in assuming that the big cheese was planning on meeting with them or if they were just waiting for all three of the mages to touch ground before attacking, the assassin imagined that it could potentially be both of those things. For now, he would keep himself contained as he now awaited the other two to join up with him.


    7196

      Current date/time is 5th November 2024, 6:35 am