Farewell, Sir Crab! [Solo | Celestial Arms Part V/VI]

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

The ship creaked as she touched land, a testimony to the age of the boat and that it was time for a maintenance check lest she fell apart in her next voyage. After thanking the crew of the People of the Land and giving them what was promised to them, he hopped off the boat, falling the height of the boat before landing on a rock a little above sea level as the ship did whatever it needed to do and reverse the heck out of there. A rocky area would do the ship no good, so it was in their best interests to escape the rocky beach while they still could. As for transportation home, the Swashbuckler had the Call of Home skill, so he could return to Londonium once he was done with whatever he needed to do here.

...Wait a minute, he could have used that when he needed to go from the Thames Coastline back to Londinium, didn't he? He guessed he forgot about it until he was thinking of a way to get back quickly.

There was no rain today, but the skies were cloudy, blotting out the sun though the light was still present. He should move quickly; this area was known to rain often, so he should find shelter before visibility fell. While the rain did not affect his Adventurer body in the slightest, it did make him slip sometimes. It also masks footsteps, and him not being able to summon Skuggi due to the terrain, it was an issue since he had no one to guard his back. He should tame a water creature next. It would at least save him the boat fare, plus it would help in aquatic battles. He made a mental note to that, though he was sure he would forget all about it by the time he came to the thought of taming again.

~

Word Count: 317
Total word count (Swashbuckler): 317 x 1.1 = 348.7
Notes: Post 1 of 3 for part V of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

While he would usually spend a minute or so to decide which direction to head to, today there was no competition. A huge looming structure, uh, loomed in front of him imposingly, the ruined state of the building enough to give off that abandoned vibe. It was clear that this was the temple the Sage was referring to, though he still did not know how the Sage could tell it was this building, in particular, that was drawn on the stone blob. He couldn't even tell it was a picture!

As he entered the hallways of the deserted building, he soon found that it really WAS deserted. It was even devoid of monsters. He expected that there would at least be a small welcoming party of a few skeletons, or maybe a reception of Sahaugins, but no, all he had were more ruined bricks and the chilly sea air to contend with. There wasn't even a door for him to kick down and rush in all dramatic, the door in question a rotten mess by the side of the entryway. Perhaps all of the monsters thought that no one was stupid enough to go through the front gate? Even so, where were they? They should at least have the forsight to guard the main gate. It was like a defending army guarding underground tunnels leading to the city while leaving the ramparts above devoid of people, so sure that the gates would not be assaulted.

Well, less fighting was always a nice treat, though. He was not really feeling up to fighting today, so skipping out on the combat part would be a treat. It should also be mentioned that his equipment was severely lacking in updates, so until he patched them, they would be insufficient in dealing with mobs of his level that came his way.

As he walked further into the ruined temple, he kept his eyes peeled for movement, almost certain that there were some hidden creatures lurking in the darkness. This was further compounded by the start of the rain, which, as expected, served to block out the sound of footsteps, though visibility could not get worst in a ruined temple.

...Or it could, because there were holes in the temple's ceiling. Talk about a gloomy temple, this temple definitely had the right atmosphere.

~

Word Count: 388
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 ) x 1.1 = 775.5
Notes: Post 2 of 3 for part V of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Healthy / Rested

~

Minutes after traversing the mess of hallways, the Swashbuckler soon found himself at what he assumed to be the center of the temple. A fountain sat before him, seemingly unperturbed by the whole rainy, gloomy atmosphere around it. Interestingly, the roof was completely not here, nor where they any indications of a roof. It only made sense that a temple in the middle of a rain would have an open area with a swimming pool as the center, after all. The fountain was made of the same grey stone as the rest of the temple, with what might have once been intricate carvings now a faded version of their previous glorified selves. Water came forth from the top of the fountain, cascading down onto the clean, deep blue waters of the swimming pool it sat on. If this was yellowish water, he would have assumed it was a hot spring, but alas it appears that it was just an ordinary groundwater deposit. Not that he would have bathed here anyway. Who would want to bath here with numerous monsters stalking the passageways? What if you get caught by some other Adventurer naked? Granted, the second question was only really applicable to females? But he had some human dignity too.

He stepped forward to the edge of the pool, and touched the surface, not making any noticeable ripples because the rain kept pelting the surface of the pool. Didn't seem acidic. He could not see into the depths of the pool, it being too deep for him to do so. Guess he found another reason to not bath here. Too deep.

While it was true that he did not want to go swimming here, this was probably the center of the temple, and if anything important was here, then it was going to be the center of the temple. Since this was a temple worshipping the sea, could they have possibly dropped any rare stuff into the waters? Worth a shot.

Holding his breath, he dived into the pool, and the first thing he thought was that he was thankfully there was no illusion and he did not hit the ground. The second thing he thought was that he could see the bottom of the pool clearly, and there was pretty much nothing of interest. The walls of the pool were made of solid rock, and the bottom was covered in a pristine sheet of sand, only blemished by a single point, a small stone which lay in front of the rock pillar that probably shot the water up to the fountain.

Well, he doubted the cleaners of the pool floor were going to purposely leave a stone there to break the monotony of their clean sand floor, so he surmised that there was some significance to it. It was too dark to look, but it should be a pebble.

As he went down, he realized that the pool floor was farther away than he expected, and he really needed to draw breath. Not even his Adventurer lungs could help him. Just as he touched down on the floor, the combination of the desire for air, and the pressure of being underwater forced the air out of his lungs, and he was forced to take in the unholy saltwater which no doubt destroy him from inside ou-

Oh wait, he could breathe underwater? Neat trick. This water reservoir held some strange properties, with the water supply clearly friendly to land creatures. He should take a sample back with him. Stopping right in front of the pebble, he withdrew a flask from his inventory, only to see it shatter into pieces because pressure. Guess he would need to go up for it later. Anyway, upon closer inspection, the black blob was indeed a stone. It was a nondescript stone without any particular features, but since it was here, it should have some importance, right?

He was right on that account. When he bent down to pick it up, everything seemed fine. When his fingers curled around the stone, things got ugly.

~

Word Count: 679
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 ) x 1.1 = 1522.4
Notes: Post 3 of 3 for part V of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

At the very moment the pebble fell into his possession, which meant it was surrounded by his fingers, shit hit the fan, assuming there was a fan for the shit to hit in this ruined temple. Also, that was assuming there was shit in his colon. To be very specific, what happened was that the very sand that the pebble stood on shifted, then burst into precipitate in the water as a huge thing with glowing blue eyes rushed at him. Being in the water, he was obviously unable to dodge, unless he used Fold Step, which he forgot to do. Anyway, he got tackled by the water creature, and in less than a few seconds, he somehow covered the distance he travelled to get to the bottom of the swimming pool and landed painfully on the ground outside. Groaning, he sat upright, and came face to face with what could only be described as a bizarre creature who had a face only a mother could love. That is, if it had a mother.

If he had to hazard a guess, he would say that it was a crab, albeit one with a humanoid shape. Or was it a humanoid creature with crab characteristics? The similarities to anything he had previously encountered ended there, though. Where a human should have either white, yellow or brown skin, or something along those colors, the thing before him stood in skin that was a deep shade of blue, much as a clean ocean should be, which could be found in abundance here and not really in the old world where there as so much pollution going on. It also stood at roughly three meters in height, something which he would liken to a giant. The limbs was another issue. Arms were replace with two pincers on each side, each one looking sufficient to crush his body should he be unfortunately to get in its grasp. And the feet, don't even get him started with the feet...

~

Word Count: 333
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 ) x 1.1 = 1888.7
Notes: Post 1 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

He needed a double take when he saw the feet. Where an ankle should connect to a perfectly normal foot, a grotesque swell took its place and sprouted two crab legs each, which probably partially accounted for the height, aside from the larger than normal torso.

His scrutinity of the abomination of nature done, he noted that there was an awkward silence, as though the crab creature was waiting for him to say something.

"Uh, greetings! What can I do for someone as... gentlemanly such as yourself?"

A pregnant pause.

At he moved to get up, the pebble came into view as he pressed it against the ground with the hand holding it because it was a burden. When the crab thing saw it, for he assumed that was the trigger, a loud rasping sound echoed forth from what he assumed was the voice box of the thing. "Sssurrender the Pebble of Philosssophy..."

Pebble of Philosophy? Was this the Philosopher's Stone? Man, he was rich now! They can now turn regular stuff into gold! He could have a huge house and hire many People of the Land to do all the chores! He coul-

~

Word Count: 194
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 + 194 ) x 1.1 = 2102.1
Notes: Post 2 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

He flung himself out of the way as the crab bulldozed past him, clearly intent on smashing his face in again. Which reminds him, that first attack took out a huge chunk of his health, and that means that he was clearly outmatched. This was further compounded by the status of the creature, which he only examined in detail now.

[M1: Brachyura / Level 90 / Field Boss Rank]

The best course of the action was to escape, right? I mean, no sane Adventurer would solo a Field Boss by himself or herself unless they had a level advantage or a strategy, righ-

As the field boss crashed into the wall surrounding the small entrance to this area, which just so happened to be the only entrance to the area, he suffered a major migraine. It felt as though someone had gotten a hold of his brain and ripped it wide open, and he collapsed on the ground, oblivious to the field boss as its attack animation ended and the wall collapsed, blocking his only path of retreat.

Of course, he could not see what the field boss had done. All he could see was total darkness, enamating from the Philosopher's Pebble. I should have just given it to the field boss, it might actually be his...

Amidst the darkness, he felt that minutes had past in silence, while in reality, the field boss only had enough time to turn around.

Amidst the darkness, a tunnel of light appeared. He could not avoid it. He entered a world of bright white light.

~

Word Count: 260
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 + 194 + 260 ) x 1.1 = 2388.1
Notes: Post 3 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

He found himself in the middle of a warzone, a battlefield where both soldiers and proud heroes alike fell. A place of destruction and sacrifice, reeking of death. The monochrome colors of the vision washed over him, the smell of blood overflowing in his nose. He took everything in, startled, and noted that it was fortunate that none had seemed to notice him. Where was he? Was he transported away from the field boss into his battlefield? If so, for what purpose? He instinctively dodged a sword as it swung past him, though it aimed for the Lander soldier right behind him. He was about to thank his savior, until he remembered that he could not notice him. Was he in a dream of sorts? Or a memory? He could not tell the difference. Or were they the same thing? One thing was for sure, he was not in the ruined temple anymore.

He briefly pondered the reason behind his being here, now that he was slowly getting used to swords passing through him on occasion. It was clear that the Philosopher's Pebble did this, but how, and why? He had no answers, and it was frustrating, almost as frustrating as not knowing the Sage's gender. He expected he would drive himself crazy thinking about it, but strangely only found peace and serenity. Was someone tampering with his mind now? Great, that was just the thing he needed. Something probing in his mind.

~

Word Count: 243
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 + 194 + 260 + 243 ) x 1.1 = 2655.4
Notes: Post 4 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

As if reading his thoughts, a voice resounded all around him, as though it were an event waiting for a certain script to be completed, a certain switch to be triggered, a certain cue to have gone by. This disembodied voice sounded, like the Sage's, of no particular gender, but at least it had grandoise.

"Adventurer, what is it you seek?"

Adventurer. The Philsopher's Pebble knew what an Adventurer was! Recoiling at nothing in particular, he drew one sword, while the other unconsciously clutched the pebble which caused all this trouble. The voice continued all the same, ignoring his reactions.

"Do you desire power beyond measure? Power to stand before the Genius before you?" What Genius? He did not see any geniuses hanging around today, the most prominent thing today being a human crab. Maybe it was referring to that?

"It is as you think. I shall give you the power to rise against even the strongest of the Genius. WE SHALL." At the last two words, the voice seemed to have gained a body, that is, every body on the battlefield uttered that sentence at the same moment. He swore that the corpses said it too. Creepy.

Suddenly, a soft light shone forth from the stone, encapsulating his arm and quickly extending over his body in a mere matter of seconds. It was a warm light; there was no searing pai-

"AARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" At the very moment he thought that there was no pain, if felt as though sharp needles were piercing his skin from every direction. His organs felt as if they were on fire, and he felt himself get ripped open over and over again, as though experiencing the death of every soldier that fell on this forgotten landscape.

And then he blacked out, opting for a painful nap over the raw pain of being cut open over and over again.

~

Word Count: 313
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 + 194 + 260 + 243 + 313 ) x 1.1 = 2999.7
Notes: Post 5 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

He did not know how long he slept, but when he awoke, it was when one more sharp object was added to the collection of scars contained within his body, which ragdolled across the floor as the Brachyura unceremoniously mauled him with one of its pincers. The force of the blow toppled him into the water, which he came out of, spluttering and gasping for breath, forgetting that he could breathe underwater.

He had barely gotten out of the water when he was met with another swing of a pincer, the Brachyura seeming to have swam the length of the pool in the time he took to get out. However, some unknown force pushed him to the side just as he drew one sword and braced himself for the hit, knocking him to the ground as the pincer slashed the air over him. The same force rolled him upright in a fighting stance, as if certifying that he was ready to take on a Field Boss by himself.

And then he noticed two things: Firstly, his level, stats and skills were strangely the equivalent of that of a level 90 Swashbuckler, which was kind of cool, and secondly, his equipment was still the same. Well crap.

He knew not the reason he got stronger, and there were still a pile of questions left seeking an answer, but he had to bail. NOW. Despite the queer upgrade compelling him to fight and face the Brachyura in mortal combat, he forced himself into cover behind a chunk of stone wall as the human crab blew bubbles in his direction, clearing the cover by a meter as he leaped for it and tumbling to the ground painfully, but at least he avoid the nasty bubbles. He had to come up with a plan, and fast, before whatever was mentally encouraging him to fight completely took over.

~

Word Count: 313
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 + 194 + 260 + 243 + 313 + 313 ) x 1.1 = 3344
Notes: Post 6 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.

[Icyferno]

Status: Fine / Rested

~

So here was the plan: Step 0, put pebble in satchel. Done. Step 1, drink health restoratives to recover from damage taken earlier. Done. Step 2, dodge the next swipe from Brachyura. He feinted by bending low as if to duck, then leap with superhuman capabilities over the three meter tall giant, just barely clearing the head by a few centimeters. Step 3, hurl smoke grenade in face to buy time to find new cover. A small canister flew from the hands of the Swashbuckler, coming up to meet a humanoid face with eyes still glowing in rage. It burst into smoke as it smashed against said face, the surge of mana from the Adventurer clearly having a good effect on reducing the explosion time. Step 4, find said cover. Diving into the water proved the best choice, given that the clear height disadvantage meant the field boss could find him quickly.

Final step: Call of Home. Holding his breath despite it being pointless, he triggered the skill which would pull him to safety. He only hoped that he could hide for five seconds.

A huge roar could be heard, enamating from the surface, even from within the water. He saw the fountain being smashed, and a pair of glowing eyes bearing down on him. So much for buying time, it hardly even bought three seconds!

But three seconds bought meant three seconds closer to success. The next second entailed a huge human crab racing through the water to get to him. In the last second, his vision was filled with a huge gaping maw threatening to close on him.

He was covered in a bright green light, and the next moment, he was staring up at the skies of Londinium.

It was raining, as it was in the temple, but he was already drenched, so it did not matter. Shakily, he got to his feet, the rush of battle gone from his blood. A quick check showed that his status was back to normal, but what had happened in that temple...?

Opening his satchel, he picked out the pebble and stared at it, and he found more questions than answers. He sighed. Just another confusing day.

~

Word Count: 367
Total word count (Swashbuckler): ( 317 + 388 + 679 + 333 + 194 + 260 + 243 + 313 + 313 + 367 ) x 1.1 = 3747.7
Notes: Post 7 of 7 for part VI of the Celestial Arms questline.