Conquering the Third Hall [Solo]

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

As the young Swashbuckler stepped into the Hall of the Third Twilight, he was confronted with the sight of a rather large room with a door at the other end, which was probably the door to the fourth hall. A few Jacks floated around, providing the only light in the room save for a few candles which illuminated a silver suit of armor next to the door, a greatsword stabbed into the platform it stood on. What stood between him and the next door was a plain stone tablet with a plaque written in golden letters. If there was any way to make the question obvious, this was probably it.

He stepped forward to examine the words and scanned its contents several times to make sure he understood the gist of it. Fear erupted from his chest as he confirmed what he had just read. A number of field bosses...? He was going to be killed before he made it to the next hall.

Skuggi, as though sensing his distress, quietly muttered from behind, "The field bosses were only summoned because the party of Adventurers broke through the doors to get to him."

His fear ebbed away at that sentence, though he knew not whether Skuggi was telling the truth. "So they won't just pop out and attack me, right?"

"Yeap. Though there may be other monsters to do that job for you."

Oh yeah. He almost forgot that as he progressed through the halls, the monsters got stronger and stronger. If there were agressive monsters in these rooms...

Even if there was danger lurking in the next room he entered, did he have a choice? It was either be killed, or possibly be trapped forever in this dungeon. He did not like either option, but these were his only choices, so he opted for the 'be killed' one. At the very least, he would be killed knowing he tried.

~

Word count: 320
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

With these thoughts in mind, he stepped into the first room to his left. The room was rectangular in shape, a long table which he presumed had seen many meals dominating the center. There were five chairs on the longer side of the rectangular table, and a single chair on one end which was obviously meant for the master of the Mansion. Where the other chairs were simply cushioned wooden chairs, this particular chair was inlaid with a few gemstones and had a slightly higher back to signify the importance of the one who had the right to that sight. Typical of people of the past.

Dusty windows replaced most of the wall on the side opposite the door he had just entered the room from, letting only some pale moonlight enter the room, which was only lit by the light of Pocky and Skuggi. As they neared the table, they noticed a single plaque embedded onto one of the wall dividers on the window wall. He approached it, skimmed through its contents and went on his way. After they left the main room, he noticed that there were no more Jacks around. Were they too afraid to venture the halls? Pocky's light flickered, clearly showing its distress, while Skuggi simpy followed without a word, a strong light enamiting from its core to help the Swashbuckler see.

Shadows danced around as he stepped into the adjacent room, which he quickly identified as the living room from the dusty furniture. A cold fireplace was installed next to a few armchairs, with the next plaque embeded right above the fireplace. He made his way over quickly, the silence of his surroundings making every step he took sound far too loud. He almost wished to hear the a Frost Jack cackling in his ear, just to know that he was not alone in venturing the rooms.

He quickly noted down the message in his memory, which he hoped would serve him long enough to get through this puzzle without needing to run through the rooms again. It was only the second room he had visited, yet it was already taking all his willpower not to flee back to the safety of the main room with the Jacks bopping around peacefully.

Just as he finished reading the message, he felt a chill crawl up his spine. Spinning around, he drew his sword and pointed it at the darkness. It met him with only silence.

"Adventurer, I would recommend moving."

He jumped slightly at the sudden subtitles which appeared in his vision. Then he relaxed a little and murmered. "Hmm, maybe you're right. This hall seems... hostile."

As the Swashbuckler left with his 'party' of Jacks, he swore that he felt eyes watching his back. Yet he did not dare turn around. Whatever it was, he knew that he was far too weak to challenge it. Fortunately, whatever it was that gazed upon his back did not make its move, and the Adventurer safely made it to the next room.

~

Word count: 505
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640 | 1010 = 640 + 1010

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

The door which was supposed to lead into the next room surprisingly did not lead to the next room. Instead, he found himself going down a winding set of stairs which curved around a smooth stone wall, an empty, dusty candle holder a little above eye level as he descended into the depths of the unknown.

His short journey downwards ended as he encountered a solid wooden door, just as dusty and faded as the rest of the building. He opened the door and entered the room that lay behind it, carefully eyeing the darkness for enemies. Fortunately, none showed up to bite off his neck.

The room itself was something he supposed would be known as a cellar in most buildings of this nature. Old barrels were stacked upon each other neatly to one side, with a wine rack containing a few bottles of ancient wine next to it. As with the rest of the Mansion, this place has been undisturbed for a long time, the signs of disuse so evident, it needed no description. The only thing of interest, apart from the barrels and the wine, was the broken furniture in the center of the room, which was probably once a table and some stools. Unlike with the other rooms, it was very obvious a battle took place here. But that led to the question of why, out of the three rooms he had visited so far, this one was the only one which was not restored to its former state. A question formed, but no answers given.

This was one of the rooms mentioned, he guessed as he spotted the plaque he needed to find by the light of Pocky in between two rows of barrels. He slid in as silently as he could, and noted down the next clue under the mystical core of the Jack. He was done with this one.

As he moved back to the center of the room, he took in the four doors which were in four different directions. Hmm. If he were to include the cellar as a room, then there would be two rooms he had not visited yet. Which meant that the cellar possibly led to all the other rooms, and he had simply missed the entrance when he was in the dining room. Facing the door he entered the cellar from, he quickly made a rough guess of which door led to the dining room and made for one of the two doors remaining, the one closer to the staircase leading to the living room.

~

Word count: 428
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640 | 1010 + 856 = 640 + 1866

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

The Swashbuckler followed the stairs back to the ground floor, Skuggi quietly trailing behind while Pocky swam about the air, making happy Jack sounds as it circled him over and over. How the Jack could be so happy with such a simple action as they traversed potentially dangerous territory, he did not know. Maybe it was just in their nature.

In any case, the Adventurer entered the next room and was quick to note that he was in a library, as it was obviously so from the shelves of books which lined the fairly larger room. The first thing he noticed was that he could not find the plaque he was looking for. Dusty, aged books encompassed his vision, yet he knew that the plaque he was looking for should be somewhere around here. If I recall correctly, it seems that each plaque was mounted on a wall, save the first golden one.

So the simplest course of action he could take was, of course, to follow the walls lined with books as he passed between the book paradise. Curious, he stopped to pick one of the books and flipped it open, only to discover faded words of a time long past and a writing system he could not comprehend. Shrugging, he replaced the book and continued his search, till he found the plaque hidden in plain sight in between two adjacent shelves of books. He quickly noted down the contents of the plaque somewhere in his mind and left the maze of books behind him, heading into the room which, according to the layout of the cellar, should be the last room.

The last room was the most surprising room of all. First off, it was a game room, the least likely room the Adventurer had expected to see in the partially abandoned Mansion. Personally, he had expected some sort of bedroom. Secondly, not only was it a game room, it was a modern game room. Obviously, without electricity, one would not expect to see an arcade there, however. The game room he was talking about was the kind you found in bars, coming equipped with a pool table, a medieval drinks bar and a table meant for playing poker, a mouldy deck sitting in the center of that table. Third, and lastly, were the obvious plaques. Yes, plaques. Unlike the other two rooms, this room had three whole plaques to itself. It was glaringly obvious that some biasness was at play here. Perhaps the master of the Mansion was particularly fond of this one room? Would its hints be more obvious, more direct, more insightful than the other confusing hints which made no sense to the young mind of the single Adventurer attempting the question?

The answer to that question was, no. He examined all three plaques, and none of them were any closer to giving him the answer than the first one. It was all probably meant to link up somehow through the process of elimination, but that was going to take a while. Hopefully, he had time to solve it, for he felt uncomfortable remaining in this particular hall for some unknown reason. Unlike the other halls, this one felt... hostile. As if it did not welcome him, not that the others felt particularly welcoming. It was a sort of pressure just out of reach, telling him to get out of its territory. He instinctively knew he had not much time.

After examine the game room and finding little of use, the Swashbuckler returned to the room where the Jacks were floating around, hoping that their cackling would calm him.

However, they were gone.

The room was dark, save for the light from the Jacks in his party and the golden plaque emitting light. The Jacks that were there when he had first entered the room were gone, off to some unknown place. All that was left was a cold room which emitted the smell of danger.

Drawing his swords, the Adventurer cautiously moved forward, eyes scanning the area for movement. But there was none. Glancing back at his companion Jacks, he saw that Pocky was no longer being a happy Jack; it was shivering slightly, as though it wanted to bolt. Skuggi, on the other hand, had drawn its blades as well.

"Hurry, Icyferno. Danger is coming."

Wow, he totally did not figure that out on his own.

~

Word count: 733
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640 | 1010 + 856 + 1466 = 640 + 3332

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Working under pressure was never his thing. The environment, the warning, and the atmsphere in general were creating a massive strain on his brain functions. He knew not what was out there, but honestly, he did not want to find out.

He quickly pieced together the information he knew. Imagining a table, listing permutations, removing possibilities...

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door leading to the dining room. The sound of wood being struck made the Swashbuckler jump, before staring at the door which was knocked. Pocky quivered on the spot, as though sensing danger behind the door. Even Skuggi, that confident pumpkin, was also tense, and he could not help but notice that it had taken a few steps back.

The door was knocked once more.

The Swashbuckler edged towards the door on the opposite end, unsure if bolting in the opposite direction would be the safe choice. What if it was a pincer trap? Such thoughts flew through his head, the fight or flight mechanism fighting for dominance in his mind.

Suddenly, the door knob turned with a click, and a figure stepped through the open doorway. Or rather, he saw part of the figure step into the doorway. As he was some distance away from the monster, the light of the Jacks could not penetrate the darkness nearly enough for him to make out what it looked like, but the interface identified it as 'The Faceless', a level 35 monster.

That was all he needed for the flight mechanism to overpower the fight mechanism, and he bolted in the opposite direction. The two Jacks followed without needing to be told, the monster clearly out of all of their leagues.

He burst into the Game Room and quickly rushed to the next door which led to the Library. Crap, it was locked! When did this happen? He scanned the area, looking for the doorway which he knew led to the cellar as Skuggi slammed the door behind all of them, which would hopefully buy them a precious second or so. There, behind the drinks bar! He rushed over, and turned the door knob, only to find it locked, as with the door to the Library! They were trapped!

"Move aside!" The Ripper shouted as it hurled a small object at the door to the cellar without hesitation. He had just barely made it in time to duck behind the drinks bar as it exploded, a loud ringing in his ears as the bomb exploded in the door's face. Peeking up as the smoke cleared, he saw that the door was blasted in.

There was a knock on the door to the starting room. They were out of time.

Without hesitation, the three of them charged down the staircase to the cellar, which was just as empty as it was when he first saw it. Breathing heavily, he tried to think. If he could find the answer, hopefully that thing would stop attacking, just like the time in the Hall of the Second Twilight. But how long could he last before 'The Faceless' caught up to him?

~

Word count: 519
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640 | 1010 + 856 + 1466 | 1038 = 640 + 3332 + 1038

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Just as he was deciding which room to run into, he felt his vision change. Everything before him seemed to be shrouded by a layer of static, as if he were still in the old world and was watching a poor video recording through his computer screen. He stumbled forward a few steps, and heard an explosion behind him.

At that instant, his vision was cleared. Turning to look behind him, he met face to face with "The Faceless", and got a good look at his pursurer.

The man, or thing, as the case may be, wore a black suit and tie, white gloves attached to unnaturally long arms and had a pair of gleaming black shoes which was likely the result of many hours of careful polishing. It wore nothing on its head, exposing a white blob where one's skull, and face, should be. He was vaguely reminded of a game where the player ran away from a foe known as Slender man; was this its incarnation in this world?

Static begin to fill his vision again and he stumbled away, desperate to get away from it. He chose one of the other three doors at random and dashed up the flight of stairs, bursting into the living room, where he breathed heavily as he crouched behind one of the armstairs around the fire.

"How... how does it move so quickly?" The bewildered Swashbuckler asked of no one in particular.

The reason he was asking this was because he was basing this new opponent off what he knew of Slender man. The game was based off of an Internet meme, which was based of something else. A photograph? Maybe. In any case, the skillset of Slender man was unknown, so he did not think any information he could have gleaned would be useful.

The static came again. Looking behind him, he saw 'The Faceless' sticking its featureless face out of the wall next to the fireplace. It can appear from walls!

He dashed for safety into the next room, heart pounding hard in his chest with the two Jacks floating hard behind him. Skuggi tossed another one of its grenades at the monster, but the ensuing explosion seemed to have zero effect. "Save your bombs. It's probably immune." Skuggi did not reply, but stopped lobbing bombs after that.

Instinctively, he ducked just as he crossed into the next room. Above his head, a tentacular appendage flew straight, then jerked and retracted back to its owner. Just how many abilities did this thing have...? He slammed the door shut behind him and made for the central room.

The door behind him did not open. He knew that because there was no creak, the sound of wood gliding against carpet absent as well. Or perhaps he did not hear because of the danger. But he knew Slender man was behind him, and if he did not spew out a few answers to the suit of armor in time, he was finished, and his journey in the Mansion, over.

~

Word count: 507
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640 | 1010 + 856 + 1466 | 1038 + 1014 = 640 + 3332 + 2052

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

The short journey across the dining room seemed to take an eternity as the Swashbuckler weaved his way through the onslaught of tentacles coming up from behind him. For a brief moment, he was entertained by the thought of a female Adventurer getting caught by the tentacles and hauled over for some nightly adult funtime. He wondered if the faceless being currently chasing him would do such a thing should it capture a female Adventurer. It might certainly be something he did not want to find out. Or was it?

He ducked, rolled, and jumped his way across the room, taking cover behind chairs and the main table where appropriate as the tentacular onslaught continued. The Jacks were completely ignored, as though they were never part of the equation. Well, they were technically part of the Mansion. Perhaps it was only going after intruders?

In any case, after much dodging, he finally got to the end of the room, where he stepped in and slammed the door shut, only to be blasted back as the door burst into splinters, the wood flying everywhere. He rolled himself upright, and met face to face with the faceless being, if such a thing were possible. Immediately, his head began to hurt, static filling his vision as he faced the featureless face. It really was like looking at Slender man.

A small black object flew towards the monster, and the bomb detonated right where its face should be, forcing its head to the side. Skuggi was trying to buy time, and there was not a lot of time to buy. It was do or die.

He lunged towards the suit of armor which was seemingly unaffected by everything surrounding it, and began to speak of the answer which he believed was what it sought. As he did so, the being known as The Faceless seemed to stop in its tracks, as though it were listening to his answer as well. As the last word of the answer left his lips, he was met with silence for a brief second. Then the suit of armor spoke: "You may pass."

Suddenly, the wooden splinters from the door vibrated, then flew back into the place, where the Swashbuckler noticed the missing Slender man. It had probably returned to wherever it was at the start, to wait for its next adversary. Bright light suddenly filled his vision, and while he averted his eyes while they adjusted to the light, he could hear cackling. The Jacks were back to floating around, it seems.

A soft click, and the doors the armor was guarding began to creak open, the hinges groaning in protest as the door swung inward to admit a Swashbuckler and two Jacks.

Glancing at the two, Skuggi was as cool and collected as the time he first met it, while Pocky was already shivering in fear. He felt that he should take Pocky's wellbeing into consideration and ask it to leave, for he knew not what dangers lay ahead. With such thoughts in his head, he moved forward, one hall closer to the master of the Mansion.

~

Word count: 520
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 640 | 1010 + 856 + 1466 | 1038 + 1014 + 1040 = 640 + 3332 + 3092