Night of the Triffids (Saber)

[Capsule]

Tonight was supposed to be something quite spectacular. There were rumors of a meteor shower around 2 A.M. in the morning, and as Capsule did not have any work or other business to attend to the following day (like that would really stop her), she planned on being among the many to stay up and watch it. Unlike those many, however, the Adventurer was not going to be viewing it from her home. There were still too many lights out in the city of London, and too many people to disrupt what she wanted to be a peaceful affair. The last thing she wanted was for someone else who felt lonely to see her up on her roof and join her to "keep her company." She wanted to be in nature, all on her lonesome.

Capsule left the safety of her ramshackle home (and the city) to head out to the Windsor Greatwood sometime before midnight, her blanket tied around her shoulders like a cape, and a Magic Light hovering just over her shoulders. In her hands she gripped her level five wooden staff, an object she had bought from a Person of the Land. It was several levels below her main, but it was still superior to her starter wand and grimoire. She used it mostly as a walking stick, but would occasionally trip other Adventurers or People of the Land with it if they came too close to her personal space. There were too many people here (particularly men) that liked to grope or harass strangers in the dark, and although she wouldn't resort to violence, Capsule would not stand around and allow them to have their way with her.

People were actually less grabby tonight, so the number of trips she caused were low for once. 'They better not be trying to get in on my thing,' she thought as she squinted at the other people in suspicion. Some of them looked like they were setting out tonight, too, though they could have been simply out to do some late night questing. It was hard to tell with some people.

The redhead decided to quicken her pace and stroll off, before a small group of Adventurers that were tailing her could ask her to group up with them. They were a group comprised of muscle and no healers or supports. Shouts of "Hey, Red!" and "Yo, hold up!" were ignored and only made her quicken her pace until she was practically running away from them. The group - a dwarf, a stocky werecat and a chunky human were unable to keep up with her, especially once she desummoned her Magic Light and plunged herself into darkness. It was a good thing that she wasn't afraid of the dark, as that was all there was to greet her outside of London.

The Magic Light warded off the inky blackness that surrounded and threatened to engulf her. She was out of the safe area that was London, and into the dangerous outside world. Most of the monsters that roamed nearby were pretty harmless unless you struck first; it was the PKs she truly had to look for. 'Not to mention that most of the monsters should be asleep at this hour.' Save for the nocturnal ones, of course.

As expected, some Adventurers had come out to grind, mostly on mobs that were trying to rest, or trying their luck with the nocturnal monsters. A few of these had also haplessly walked into an enemy and agitated it in some way. Capsule showed more caution in where she placed her feet and body, and was thus able to largely avoid detection. Smaller, insignificant things saw her, but there was only one need for Inversion to be used; a pittered boar was disturbed in its sleep and charged blindly at her, but was sent running in the opposite direction when the skill was cast.

There was thankfully no more run ins like that one, which could have made things annoyingly complicated. She was far from accustomed to battle, and if that thing had woken up its brethren during its panic…

Those vaguely terrifying thoughts were left behind as she plunged further into the forest. The site of lit campfires made her frown as she sought to find an end to them. 'Of course they would.' Why hadn't she thought the same and set up a small camp site, too? 'Because one of those fools might have been attracted to my fire or surround me and bathe the area in light.' No; it was better that she had started out late, so that she knew what to avoid and find an isolated spot. 'Too much light pollution.'

Finally, after over an hour of searching, Capsule found the perfect spot - a tall tree that towered over the others like some kind of giant. It was so tall that Capsule couldn't see the top, even when she craned her neck back as far as possible. It would surely give a fantastic view. Unaware of the Nepent Snatchers (or Triffids, as she liked to call them) were slowly amassing to "watch" the meteor shower with the eager crowd of Adventurers beyond, Capsule began to climb the tree. A passing Nepent paused to turn its body towards the climbing Half-Alv, but lost interest once it realized its potential prey was too far above it. It seemed to nod at one of its fellows before continuing on.

If there was a lettered rank for tree climbing, Capsule's was bound to be A++. There were many boyish pursuits she was forbidden from doing, but that never stopped her; Father Pfeiffer couldn't watch her all the time. Tree climbing, as well a few other things, were one of the essentials if she was going to play with her brothers as a child. She was constantly forced to prove her worth to them as a girl, and although they would never leave her by herself in an area far from home, they would threaten to leave her home the next time she failed to climb a tree, hop a fence, crawl under barbed wire, etc. It was thanks to those fools that she learned bits and pieces of free running. She was far from the best, but what she knew could get her up a building or other obstacle with few broken bones.

She employed much of that knowledge for this tree, which had branches at odd angles and in stretches, but also the branches and trunks of adjacent, smaller trees to aid her. The use of surrounding trees became impossible once she was high enough, so she resembled a spider monkey even more as she climbed, until she found a sturdy branch to perch upon. It was high enough that she was able to view most of the world below as miniature versions of themselves, and even had a bit of shade from the tree's overhang of foliage for shade. The campfires were now mere specks in the wood, and the large group of Nepents she had failed to see earlier was now forming a snaking line on the path below.

Those Nepents would be a pain in the ass later if they were still hanging around by the time the shower ended, but she could deal with that later. For now, a lone meteor that was streaking across the black sky caught and held her attention.

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[attr="class","benetbar"]

Words:
1239

Muse:
Children of the Night

Notes:
I hope Saber remembered to bring his gardening shears.

Tags:
Saber

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

Hisssssss…

The strange noise of alertness echoed into the small lake area as a human-sized plant creature, which looked to be something out of a horror movie or some kind of mythological beast, craned its stem upwards and stared towards the distant shadow in the tree in front of it. The creature stuck out a strange tongue from its flytrap head and continued to hiss loudly as one of the tree branches shook near the top of the tree. Up above and well out of the creature’s range, a man dressed in ragged clothes rolled over from his back onto his side as he tried to remain asleep. The man groaned and waved down at the creature, motioning it to go away and leave him to his dreams. However, the persistant creature continued to hiss and flailed its annoying tongue-thing at the man, wiggling it and trying to show its dominance even though it looked puny from where the Adventurer was. The sleeping man continued to wave the plant away, his hand motions becoming more aggressive as the thing’s hissing grew worse over time. He wanted to sleep, as his day was going to begin in a few hours, not deal with some another critter that didn’t know what the hell sleep meant. The final straw was when the plant-beast spit acid.

After the long standoff, the plant arced its head back and then flung a mouthful of burning acid up the tree in an attempt to strike the person above. The burning, toxic liquid didn’t make it far, but when it touched the tree; the sizzling sensation made the waving hand freeze. It was at that instant that the plant paused. The hissing stopped and the surrounding area became eerily quiet, aside from the burning acid which melted the side of the tree. The effect didn’t last very long, but the damage had been done. As the creature stared up towards the frozen shadow, it seemed to have realized its mistake. The man above was not someone it should have bothered and after shooting its toxic waste, the plant turned and began to flee. The animated, human-sized plant of doom made it almost halfway across the open space and circled around much of the lake before something whiffed by its fly-trap of a head. The plant immediately froze and looked down to its right. There, stuck in its shadow, an old looking arrow was drilled deep into the black figure. A curious squeak escaped the animal’s strange mouth and at the sound of shuffling, it looked back. When it did, the player which it had disturbed was standing a few paces behind it, bow raised and arrow nocked.

“mee?” The last noise the plant made was another squeak, one out of fear as its shadow was suddenly grasped by dozens of black tendrils. Before the plant could even react to the freezing motion, an arrow pierced its head. Lightning flowed through its stem and began to boil the acid inside of its stomach. Another arrow struck the middle of its stem-like neck, critically damaging the Nepent Snatcher. Several more arrows followed, piercing the immobilized plant in several places, all of which caused the critical marker to show up. When the shadow tendrils released the plant, the Nepent toppled over, falling towards its side. Yet, before the creature could touch the ground, it burst into a mass of bubbles. Saber released a sigh and strapped his bow across his chest as he dismissed the victory screen which appeared.


Two hours, that was all he had asked for but the stupid flower just didn’t understand what “go away” meant it seemed. However, now Saber was awake and he had some free time. Initially, the player was going to sleep and let the other players have some fun grinding in the fields. Usually around this time many players began to return home to sleep, or get food and rest before going back out. This left the fields open for those who were more prepared. Saber was prepared, but he probably wouldn’t consider himself at one-hundred percent. The run in he had with the pair of Soil Golems the previous night had shaken him up and he was much more aggressive when a fight occurred. Just like the plant he just slayed, Saber was less patient and used his skills more than he used to. Rather than focus on simply executing his kills, Saber tormented them a little more. It was strange but it was probably because he wanted to return the favor to nature after she had sucker punched him. Though, it made him feel bad. Taking his anger out on those who didn’t even have a clue about his past wasn’t ever a good thing to do and it wasn’t fair to them. Maybe a night off was in order. Maybe.

“Oh… That’s cool.” Saber’s mouth moved on its own as he saw something streak across the sky. It looked like a shooting star of sorts. The child in Saber giggled and quickly made a wish, while the Hunter on the outside only grinned and stared towards the sky. While passing through town last, he had heard a rumor about a potential meteor shower. He had not overheard the date or the time, but it seemed like it may have been tonight. If that was true, then he didn’t have much time to spare. He could have stayed by the lake, but with the sight of the Nepent; it wasn’t safe.

Instead, Saber made his way into the forest and quietly made his way through it. There were a few places he could go to see the sky; the lake, London, the tree tops, or the extra-high treetops. As Adventurous as he was, the courageous player tended to stay away from the extra-high treetops. He was a good climber but he never felt comfortable with extreme heights. The highest he ever went only had the potential to break one of his legs if he fell, not kill him. The same instinct transferred over to the world of Elder Tale. Even though Saber knew he could spawn after a short time of being dead, or he at least assumed that he could, he didn’t exactly want to experience the falling sensation. It would injure not only his body and fill him with extreme pain, but the player knew full well his mind would be destroyed by the sight. He probably would never climb again. So, he remained grounded or limited himself to a decent height. Though as he made his way through the forest, he noticed that majority of the players he guessed would be returning to London were still out and about. The trees he wanted to use were already filled with either players or were too small to use. The man grumbled to himself at the thought and continued to wander.

The forest’s activity only grew worse the closer to London Saber became, and he slowly began to realize that he might have to share a spot with someone. Or he would have to remove them. That would be a last resort, as Saber didn’t exactly want to waste time with a brawl over a tree. Someone else seemed to already be doing that a short distance away near a fire. The Hunter shook his head and walked in the opposite direction of the commotion, blocking out the echoing shouts and sounds of arguing. Eventually, the noise did dissipate as did the number of players. Activity seemed to die after a certain distance, almost like an invisible barrier had been placed that halted anyone from moving further. Just beyond that, Saber essentially stumbled onto a lovely find. There was a very small opening between some trees, filled with only one massive tree. The tiny human craned his neck and leaned back slightly in an attempt to see the top, but gave up when he almost fell over. It was a massive tower and Saber whistled at the sight. It was a Christmas tree for the Gods; there was no doubt about that. In addition to its size, there was an extreme lack of players in the general vicinity, adding to the value of the thing.

“Well then.” The decision had been made, so Saber adjusted his clothes and walked up to the massive trunk. Bending his legs, the Assassin used his own strength as well as his in-game strength to help him hop several feet into the air. He snagged onto the tree and dug his fingers into a small space in the bark. Then, he planted his feet and lunged upwards further, snagging onto a low branch with his other hand. With all of his might, the man lifted himself up onto the branch and used it as a platform to continue off of. He didn’t feel comfortable going to the top, so Saber was careful only to go high enough where he could use the surrounding trees for assistance if he fell.

But, when he looked up to try and see the stars, another handful of branches got in his way. A heavy groan escaped the man’s lips and he grumbled loudly in annoyance as he hopped up higher and higher, clawing at the tree and the small number of branches before he was finally content. When he was settled, the player plopped down onto a sturdy branch and deposited his bow, arrows, and quiver into his inventory. He leaned back against the massive tree trunk and pulled his scarf comfortably over his face to keep the lower half of his face warm. It was a lovely view of the stars and it seemed he had made it just in time. He had missed the actual start, but it looked like the shower was just picking up when Saber finally stopped moving. It was a dazzling sight, and Saber elected to just let his mind go as he watched the beautiful show…

: Post Title :
-Myths and Stars-

: Word Count :
1664

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber

: Notes :
Stupid flower alarm clocks...

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Capsule]

The lone meteor soon became two, three, four and more as the shower began. Capsule's mouth formed into an "o" as she watched, her eyes now glued to the skies. She was utterly oblivious of her surroundings, which was generally a bad idea, given the PKs that usually prowled around for unsuspecting prey. This would be one of those perfect times to strike, though they wouldn't bother the larger crowds unless they had an advantage; they would be looking for stragglers like her. "...Beautiful," she muttered as she watched the sky bleed streaks of bluish white.

The meteor shower was estimated to last for a few hours, and she planned on staying here until it was finished. She was not going to wait until later to see the residual streaks left behind for the next few days. It could not hold a candle to the gloriousness of seeing a real live meteor shower. As someone who rarely left the city and would certainly never trust herself to go camping, Capsule was always plagued with light pollution on those few times meteor showers had passed through Germany, so this was definitely a first for her. She was thus of the opinion that first times should be special, or at least followed through to the end.

Capsule took out the small slice of cake she had bought from a Chef in celebration. She normally did not buy her food if she could help it, and it was even rarer for to buy something that wasn't simple bread and cheese, but tonight was supposed to be "special". The corner of the slice was carefully placed in her mouth, and slowly nibbled upon as she stared up at the night sky. The meteors had grown in numbers that almost overcame the distant (and foreign) constellations in the sky. 'The one in the back kind of looks like a frolicking puppy.'

Eventually, that puppy was completely obscured by the sheer number of meteors falling across the sky. Capsule snorted through her mouthful of cake as she reached into her magic bag, searching for the small flask of clear water she kept for general usage. It was a task that took far too long when she tried to do it without peeking into her bag, so eventually she had to tear her eyes away from the gorgeous sight. 'Now, where on earth did I - aha! There it is.' The little flask was out in her hands with two shakes of a puppy dog's tail, and was being stripped of its cap while Capsule raised it to her mouth - and froze.

One of the meteors was bigger than the others. "Muu?" Capsule inclined her head to the side, but did not move from her spot. There was something mesmerizing about the way the meteor. It spoke of danger and excitement, but she could not muster up the will to move so much as a hand to cup her face. 'What on earth…?' She blinked once, twice, as the meteor deviated from the path its brethren were following, and seemed to plunge into the atmosphere. This time the woman did move, but to throw up a hand to shield her body from the sudden disturbance above. What happened next she would not be able to comprehend, even during the aftermath.

The falling meteor penetrated the air of this world, and exploded into smaller pieces. A shockwave followed, causing the tops of the trees in the surrounding area to blow to the sides. The stronger trees remained standing, albeit crookedly, but the weaker ones fell to the ground with a series of hard thuds like prolonged gunshots. Capsule issued a short scream that was overridden by the sounds of chaos around her. At first it was just the cracking and splitting of trees, but soon screams from the camp beyond followed.

A burning fragment, perhaps the size of a grapefruit, struck Capsule high up on the shoulder. The woman's short lived scream joined the others as she felt her body slide sideways and spill off of the branch she had nested in. She curled her body into a ball as she fell, whimpering in pain each time a branch slapped into her flesh or tore at her clothing. None of it was as great as the burning pain that absorbed her shoulder and most of her right arm, however.

Something akin to a car crashed to the ground several feet away, shaking the tree at its base but not uprooting it. If the meteorite's sudden impact was not enough to fell the tree, the flames it had licking around it soon would. Capsule, at least, had the mind to use her Nightmare Sphere skill before her body could slam into the ground and shatter in a million pieces. She was mostly acting on instinct when she threw down the violet orb of mana, but it saved her a nasty trip to the cathedral.

Time seemed to slow down as the spell took effect and greatly reduced the speed at which Capsule - and whatever debris around her - fell. The weightlessness was somewhat of a thrill, even if her situation was a dire one. The woman felt her body gradually lower until she was resting on the ground, where the wind was still coming to a slow. She curled back into a ball and covered her head with her hands, allowing the wave of dust and other debris to litter her blanket covered back. She was dimly aware of sound she was not aware of losing slowly making itself known to her ears.

High pitched shrieks that sounded far from human were the first things she heard, and the source was not difficult to track at all. A few of the Nepent Snatchers had caught on fire, and were now flailing about in desperation. The ones with any sense were heading away from the crash site and towards the campers, who were in trouble of their own. Capsule pushed herself back onto her knees and just sat back, blinking in confusion as she took in the aftermath of the crash.

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[attr="class","benetbar"]

Words:
1023

Muse:
A Promise

Notes:
lel

Tags:
Saber

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The black night sky, which was usually only filled with the flickering, frozen stars, came to life as the heavens seemed to assault the planet below. From the place Saber was comfortably sitting in his tree, he had no qualms with the Gods as they gave judgment to those whom lived in a far off land, providing everyone else with a lovely show. For him, the sight was beautiful. As terrifying as the meteor shower was, as the shooting stars were actually chunks of rock flying at hundreds of miles-per hour without anything holding them back aside for the atmosphere, which they were cutting through like butter, Saber found himself at peace as he watched. While he watched, the man chuckled as he thought about the term “wish upon a shooting star”. On a night like this, he knew full well such a term would be abused by many whom were awake. Though, what was sad was that Saber could safely assume that a lot of players that were using their numbered wishes were wasting them. Saber could almost feel that a lot of people were wishing to go home, wishing to see their family, wishing to eat real food, wishing for a way out. Sadly, the odds weren’t in their favor this time; there was no way out of this game, not by wishing at least.

The stars above would not opened up and turn into a countless number of exit portals, no. As people wished for escape, for safety, and for love, the stars would continue to twinkle and shine without any sign of even caring to answer. Not even the stars which shot through the clouds would bat an eyelash in the hopeful players’ general direction. It was a sad, pitiful thing to consider but it was one Saber himself found sorrow in. If wishing on an inanimate object in the heavens would set him free, he would have done so the moment he was unconditionally transported into Elder Tale’s clutches. If there was a way out, and it was as simple as something like wishing; then Saber doubted anyone would still be playing the game. Yet, he also doubted that someone would have found it. To his knowledge, no one had even attempted to search the ruined city of London for a mysterious button, a secret door, or for anything else which was out of the ordinary that could constitute as an “exit” from the game. Everyone had simply entered the game, felt their depression hit them like a train, got over said depression, and got on with their lives. Some still were upset about being trapped, but there were plenty of people, like Saber, who lived in Elder Tale as if it was their new life.

In a nearly lawless land, as there were no actual rules to live by in the city except for no player-killing in safety zones due to the guardians, players were finding ways to survive and continue on as if nothing had happened. People were adapting, growing, building on the lives which they had lost. Plenty of people took advantage of the new world and charged forward, sprinting into the forests on their own in search of new adventurers and stories. Others took things much more slowly as they kept near the city’s walls, electing to remain safe rather than potentially die and never come back. Saber was in the middle. He disliked venturing out to far but he found himself wandering like a dog at times because of the quiet voice in the back of his mind telling him that he would be fine. The player’s level allowed him to search many places and engage monsters few others could, but it was also a hindrance. His equipment was pathetic to say the least.

Releasing a huff, Saber glanced down at himself. He wiggled his nose and stared at his ragged looking self. The staring only lasted a few moments as Saber decided that bringing up the topic of his own homeless-looking image was starting to become obnoxious. He hated how he looked, but he would deal with it whenever he felt like it. Yet, when he looked up; Saber wished he could have gone back in time and never averted his eyes. Just as the man looked up, his view was filled by the sight of a meteor which had deviated from the path the others were heading. Not only had it deviated and changed course; but its deviation caused the boulder from hell to come straight towards his area. Oxygen became scarce as Saber held his breath, his body frozen as his mind raced. So, the gods had used the shower as a cover up, hiding their true targets. Narrowing his eyes, Saber suddenly became filled with anger as the meteor he glared at blasted apart, shattering into dozens of pieces of molten shrapnel. The shockwave which extended outwards from where the meteor cracked swept the ground below with a devastating wave of power, forcing Saber to raise his arms as shields. The man shut his eyes and grunted as he was shoved backwards against the thick tree trunk behind him. The flimsy armor composed of bark that protected the tree stabbed into Saber’s back, much of it flaking off or latching onto the player’s shirt from the impact.

Daring to look, Saber lowered his arms and snarled as the world around him became a firey inferno of sorts. The meteor fragments shot through the canopy below and the sky rained down all around him. Screams mixed with the sounds of trees breaking and the ground being pelted, and Saber could see players and monsters alike scatter for their lives. As he looked around, something caught his eye above him; a shadow of sorts, no, a person! Saber cursed and quickly lifted up onto his knees and kept his eyes fixed on the body which came down from the tree top. Someone had actually climbed that high?! Either they were brave, or stupid and at the moment Saber didn’t care. He gripped onto the tree and leaned forward, extending his right arm outwards as the person fell, attempting to position himself so he could grab onto them. However, as he did so, he learned that it was impossible. Saber sucked his teeth and was on the verge of jumping which his vision was snagged once more. The player glanced to his right for only a second to see that a large chunk of the meteor was coming right towards the tree. By the time Saber looked back, the balled person whiffed only inches away from his hand.

“NO!” The shout exploded from his lips as he swatted at the air, barely missing the shirt of whom he learned to be a woman. He stared, frozen in his extended position on the branch as the person he had failed to save dropped the rest of the distance to the ground, the branches below barely slowing her down. He didn’t want to look, Saber didn’t want to watch her fall, but he couldn’t help but stare. In his mind, she was already dead and he could feel it in his stomach; that sick feeling of helplessness.

Just before the woman hit the ground, the meteor piece Saber had eyed smashed into the ground and shook the entire tree. In an attempt to save himself from the same fate of the woman, Saber pulled himself back towards the tree, but due to the amount of force the meteor hit the ground with, it did much more than just shake the tree. Chunks of the fireball splashed out into the surrounding area and ignited the dry bark of the aged tower as well as plenty of others. The hot flames scorched the canopy just below and made getting out safely a difficult task. Saber cursed at the thought but he was left with no choice. The flames which nipped away at the tall tree’s armor were beginning to work against the player; it would not stand for long.

Before the situation could get any worse, Saber dropped down onto his stomach and slipped down onto the branch to his right. He was unable to hop down the same way he had come up due to the other player making her dramatic descent, thought he didn’t have to go far. After only a few jumps, Saber landed on one of the thick branches below and began to run away from the tree. Fire raged in front of him and all around where he was going, but it was his safest way out. It wouldn’t be his smartest decision, but he would rather this choice than risk falling with the big tree as he would most certainly be impaled or crushed beneath something. So, as Saber ran towards the end of the tree branch, he raised his forearms up to protect his face and dived into the burning canopy headfirst. The moment he leapt into the air, two branches above the one he jumped off broke away, slamming into the thick platform Saber had used and caused it to fall away as well.

Instantly, flames attached themselves to the falling player’s clothes as he broke through the upper decks of the trees below. The man winced as he felt his flesh burned and grunted as he felt a branch slice across his right bicep. Tucking his head down, the player rolled over his shoulders and quickly forced himself to switched from descending head first to feet first, allowing him to break through the branches much safer. Though, when the last branch gave out, Saber had one other problem to tackle; landing. Of course, it was a rough one, but the moment his heels touched the ground the player tucked into a ball and dove forward, rolling several times before finally coming to a rough stop on his back. The flames gave him no time to rest, and Saber was forced to return to his feet to avoid a collection of falling torches from above. He needed to move and get to safety, but he needed to check on that other player first. If she survived the fall, then she would need more attention than he did.

Using his right arm as a shield to protect himself from the falling debris, Saber quickly started jogging back towards the large tree he had escaped from. It wasn’t far as he hadn’t jumped more than twenty feet from it, but his rolling had added to the distance. When he returned, he noticed that there were no items on the ground where he had expected the woman to land. Due to him never seeing a player die first hand, Saber didn’t exactly know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. However the moment he stumbled through a group of burning shrubs, he caught sight of the same figure he had seen falling and she was… sitting?

“What…?” Saber paused for a moment, fighting to catch his breath as the hot air dried out his mouth and throat. It seemed that she was fine, but Saber found it extremely strange that she had decided to just sit down and watch everything. Or she was far to shocked to move and Saber was an idiot. Most likely the second one, so he didn’t spend much time thinking of anything else.

A loud pop echoed into Saber’s ears and he was attracted to the large tree. The flames were beginning to spread on its outer shell and the number of burning branches above was steadily increasing in number. Indeed the area was not safe anymore for anyone. The moment that beast would break loose was near, and it would be in that moment that Saber knew full well he did not want to be anywhere in the area to see it fall. Without daring question that knowledge, Saber moved to the direction of the woman and quickly made his way to her side. He looked down at her, forcing himself to calm down inside, and then extended his left hand. His right arm was far to injured to be of any help.

“We need to leave. The tree won’t last long and there’s no telling which direction it will fall.” Saber spoke just loud enough to be heard over the fire and the sounds of the chaos around them, but not so loud as to frighten the woman in front of him. Though, even if he did frighten her and she ran away; it would have been a better outcome than her just sitting there.

: Post Title :
-Through the Fire and Flames-

: Word Count :
2107

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, [Unknown Woman]

: Notes :
The Gods must hate us.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Capsule]

Capsule would have sat there until the chaos ended or she was killed and returned to the cathedral, had it not been for the mysterious stranger offering her a hand. The woman stared dumbly at the Adventurer, and then lowered her head to gaze at the proffered hand. She was still in a state of shock from the suddenness of the recent events, so she did not move - until she heard the sounds of something large and wooden splintering. That sound was not foreign to her ears; she had heard a few times while out camping with her family as a child.

Father Pfeiffer was quite handy with an axe, and she had seen him and her brothers in action before. The trees they felled were always on the smallish size, since they only needed what they could use for the night. Those trees had all made the same sounds - a creak, a moan, and then a shriek of pain and indignation as they went toppling to the ground, and a heavy thud that made the forest floor reverberate. Her father always told her to stay out of the way, as a even the little trees would be heavy enough to crush several bones in her body. Remembering that fear of pain right now, Capsule sprang into action.

Her right arm screamed in agony as she reached out to take the man's left hand. "Nngh…" The pain she felt was very real, too real to be her imagination. Little beads of tears swelled up at the corners of her eyes, which she forced shut and gritted her teeth as she rose to her feet. Something damp and hot was now snaking its way down her arm and plopping to the ground. 'My blood,' she thought with mounting alarm. Was it possible to bleed to death in this game? The woman did not want to find out, nor did she wish to be crushed under the swaying tree. Being crushed to death, regardless of being revived a few minutes later, scared her shitless; who knew how long it would take her to die, anyway? She could be trapped there in agony for days.

It hurt like hell, 'Oh God does it hurt,' but she hurried onto her feet and stepped forward, incidentally colliding with the person who had helped her for a moment. She dared to risk glancing up into his face, but even with the light from the low flames, could not see any distinguishing marks other than the fabric that covered his face. Behind them, the sounds of cracking grew ominously loud.

That sound was enough to spur Capsule into running, an act that was slower than usual, thanks to the hand of the man she was still clasping. She released his hand to avoid dragging him down or tripping him up, and assuming the man was in a better frame of mind to keep up, bolted. She had barely gone more than five steps when the great tree finally split free and plummeted into the ground. The felling of this tree far surpassed the others she had witnessed, both in size and the amount of forth wrought from the collision. The woman could feel the ground beneath her shaking, and almost went sprawling face first into the ground. She stabilized herself by grabbing onto a nearby tree, and kicked out at one of the dying Nepent Snatchers.

The sentient plant hissed out at her as it swayed on its stalk. Capsule kicked out at it again, causing the plant to trip and fall flat on its back, where it lay twitching. It did not look as if it would be able to rise anytime soon, so she decided to leave it be. All that mattered was getting away from that tree and the flames - and possibly the herd of Nepent Snatchers she was running straight into.

Capsule wanted to cry.

The Nepents were fleeing the scene as well, and flooding the Adventurer run camp. They odds of them turning around to deal with a few stragglers was slim, but still the woman hesitated. On her own, she would surely perish. Her current gear was pretty much standard starter gear, and she was an Enchanter, to boot. How the hell was she going to fight her way through a bunch of man eating plants? It was possible to slip past the mob, though, if she had help - assuming the help she had in mind would lend her another hand. 'He did it before.'

She gazed over at the man, looking much like a lost child. Her mouth opened and her lips moved, but no sound came out. This feeling of helplessness always frustrated her to no end, but Capsule was never what you could call a leader. She did best when she followed and took whatever orders were given to her. Taking charge in a situation like this was definitely beyond her. ’Weak…’

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Words:
828

Muse:
Underworld (LoZ remix)

Notes:
wot

Tags:
Saber

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

A moment after he extended his hand towards the girl before him, Saber considered simply picking her up and carrying her out of the fires around them. The trees popped loudly and threatened to topple over at any point, and there was no doubt in his mind that Saber would probably die if he was struck by any one of the numerous flaming towers if one decided to give out. Yet he stayed his ground; he wasn’t going to abandon someone simply because he was feeling a little hot. His father had taught him how to live under pressure, how to stand on the edge, and how to push ones limits. As Saber stood there, looking down at the woman only inches out of reach, he felt as if he was staring at the devil. At any moment, his soul could be snatched because of his decision to stand by. The woman would decide his fate, but if only she had acted as such.

Even as their lives were in danger, she remained quiet and still. Saber could see in her eyes that she was still confused, more probably of where he had come from or who he was. He could nto read her minds, but her hesitation was a good sign that she probably didn’t trust him. Whether she did or didn’t, Saber didn’t care. The game threw a curveball at him, and all he knew was to swing back. He knew that he had to survive. Survive, survive, survive; that was what his father taught him. No matter what; survive. Press on against whatever problem shows up. Step into the abyss and jump off the cliff into the depths below. Survive the fall, and keep moving. That was what Saber knew, and as he looked at the woman in front of him, he wanted to help her survive. If it meant losing, if it meant that he wouldn’t, so be it. At least he would help someone else.

Then, before the woman even moved, a loud splitting noise thundered into the air and caused Saber to glance behind him. The large tree was standing, but it was on the verge of tumbling as the trees all around it began to bend and give way. It was a horrific sight composed of a brilliant showing of pure power and beauty mixed together, and it struck a tinge of fear in the man’s very soul. The falling of the trees looked as if Nature was playing dominos, and the two players were the target. He hissed at the sight and growled, his hair sticking up on their ends as a wave of heat washed over his body. He wouldn’t die here, not because of his failure to act, and not because of some game the Gods had tried to play. Saber was no toy, and neither were any of the other countless players in the current vicinity. If he was the goal, and he was just a point on the scoreboard in heaven, then he wasn’t going to be an easily added tally. As he glanced back towards the woman in front of him, he watched as she grabbed his hand.

With a gentle pull, Saber assisted the girl in getting back to her feet with as much care as possible. He watched her face fill with pain as she moved so he tried not to pull to hard or use any excessive force. At the same time, he extended his free hand as a brace to catch her if she fell back down. It was an unnecessary act though, as the woman was able to stand up to her feet. With her up, Saber was on the verge of taking a step back, but was forced to keep still as the woman stumbled a bit. Using just the palms of his hands and the tips of his fingers, he caught the woman’s sides and helped her keep steady long enough for her to stabilize herself again. He didn’t speak or ask if she was okay, as the questions would be wasted breath at the moment. For now, he focused on keeping her upright and ensuring that she didn’t topple over. Whether she was okay, in pain, or perfectly fine wasn’t an extreme matter of concern just yet. Her health bar was steady aside from a small marker, so Saber had some time to get her moving. Although, Mother Nature seemed to enjoy kidnapping his lines as a tree nearby blasted apart, reminding the two players that their time was short. Saber glanced back towards the toppling trees just long enough to see how much time they had, but he didn’t have long; the woman began to run and tugged on his hand.

The tug caused Saber to stumble and he nearly fell on his face. He saved himself the humility by slamming his palms into the charred dirt and shoved his body back upright. Moving quickly, Saber ran behind the woman at a close but safe distance, allowing her to remain ahead so he could ensure she was safe. Though, he didn’t move so far as to eliminate the chance of catching her if she felt or the chance of him blocking a tree branch if that fell. His own safety wasn’t a priority and it wouldn’t be until his temporary companion made it safely out of the surrounding inferno. They were in what looked to be a living hell, and he didn’t exactly want to meet the owner of it unless entirely necessary.

As if reading his mind once more, Nature answered Saber’s thoughts with the sound of a low, deep, and long groan which filled the air. The man heaved air and listened to the loud sound as he watched to woman in front of him run; it was frightening and it was much stronger than the sound of the small trees. When Saber looked back to see the culprit; he froze. The massive tree he had been sitting in just a few moments ago began to tilt, its thick and healthy trunk shattering apart as its burnt skeleton could no longer fight the hungry flames. Saber watched in awe as the towering spire of life was pulled down, tugged into the pit of soul devouring mouths surrounding it, all of which were waiting to feast on the massive trophy. As the tree fell, it fill just off to the right of where Saber stood and forced the player to lift up his arm like a shield even with the distance. Upon impacting the hard ground, the player felt his boots shake and a light gust of hot air shoved him backwards a step. Ash flew up into the air and he felt his cheeks burn as dozens of them landed on his face. When he took in a breath, his lungs burned and his automatic respiratory system forced him to cough to try and remove the volatile fumes he had inhaled. His body hurt all over now and it was hard to keep standing, but he had to.

Looking over his shoulder, Saber watched as the woman he was with kicked at one of the plant creatures. It looked like one of the things he had killed before the situation around him started, but it wasn’t exactly in a position to fight as after a few kicks; it fell right over onto its back. Though, as he looked up, he caught sight of a handful of other plant-beasts; a herd of them, all fleeing from the flames. Saber grimaced at the sight but he could see that their best course of action would be the most dangerous; the shortest path through the middle Serpents. It made him grumble at the thought of fighting in such a horrible situation, but he didn’t exactly have a choice. Running back into the scorched area behind him was not a good idea and was definitely suicide. Glancing at the woman, he noticed that she was looking at him.

“So this is why you trained me, wasn’t it Old Man?” Saber could see his father grinning at him. That Greek bastard from Sparta was a true follower of his ancestor’s beliefs, and Saber had learned first-hand how serious his Father was about remaining old-school. It had paid off in the sense that his training had given Saber a drive to succeed, a drive to never quit. Yet, he had never thought that his Father’s guidance would teach him how to deal with such a situation as the one he was in. It made him wonder… what would dad do?

“Fight.” That was the only word that came to mind, and it was the only word Saber could agree with. Right now, there was nothing else that he could do. Whether it was to fight the Serpents or to fight the flames; he had to wage a battle, and he had only one victory condition. He had to get the woman, and potentially himself, back to London. So, without another thought, Saber pulled his bow off his back and walked up beside the girl; his eyes adjusted and he focused down range towards the distant plant monsters. In his mind, he could see a path; he just had to clear it.

“Keep your head low and run straight. Don’t look back. I’ll make sure you get out.” Pulling an arrow out of his quiver, Saber nocked the projectile before glancing to his right. He nodded to the woman and smirked.
“I’ll keep you covered. Now get moving.”

: Post Title :
-Fight-

: Word Count :
1595

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber, [Unknown Woman]

: Notes :
The true reason... right?

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Capsule]

With every passing moment, Capsule could feel her will to move reducing by the second. Although she was free from being crushed to death, there was still the patch of fire behind them to worry about, as well as the Nepents that were in front. Going back meant death. Staying still meant death. Going forward could easily mean death, too, but only if she was clumsy and allowed herself to be seen or caught by the vampiric monsters. Yet, the idea of running towards them scared her as much as dying did. 'But I don't want to die, either. I don't care if I revive after. I don't want to die.' She would have stayed like that forever, had the man not spoke up just then.

“Keep your head low and run straight. Don’t look back. I’ll make sure you get out.” The man was now beside her, and busy nocking an arrow. The sight was enough to sober Capsule up a bit. She could either continue standing around like an aimless fool, and disappoint the man who had helped her, or she could trust him further and brave the swarm of triffids. It was still terrifying, but it was necessary if they were to make it out of her alive. “I’ll keep you covered. Now get moving." She gave him a curt nod, and then forced her legs to move her body forward.

It felt like she was running for the first time, like a newborn giraffe or foal, a fact she had to attribute to her in-game height. She still stumbled or fell from time to time, but it was imperative that she did not do either right now. Out here, falling or tripping would only get her killed. The one true advantage, however, was the distance she was capable of covering.

Capsule shrugged off the blanket she was wearing as a cape to wrap it around her bleeding wound as she ran. It would help soak up most of the blood and keep the plants from smelling her right away. If they came too close, the man might have difficulty singling one out without hitting her in the process. 'I can't mess this up. I just can't.' She had to keep running, and straight, as was ordered. That was the only way she could help the man clear a path for them; anything more would just cause chaos and end with one or both of them being overwhelmed by the horde.

Her hand lowered to her side to grab the wand she kept stashed in her belt. As long as she had a means to protect herself, even pitifully little, she should be alright. Had she been thinking properly, Capsule would have tried casting Keen Edge on the man. The skill would help boost his physical attacks, and thus incapacitate the Nepents faster. Instead, the woman flicked her wand at the monster closest to her, and shot out a beam of light towards it. Her Inversion skill caused the plant to change direction, but also made it trip over itself in its haste. A low hissing caught her ear as the murderous plant tumbled to the ground, still hissing in anger.

She wanted to laugh and cry at what she had just done. The Nepent had been so unaware of the redhead's presence, and would surely suffer for it. She was lucky that time, though. The other Nepents were more likely to notice her (like the cool hearted senpai), so stunts like those would have to be reserved for more desperate situations. She lowered her head and tucked her injured arm towards her, but kept her wand lowered at her side, ready to throw out another Inversion just in case.

The next Nepent she came close to was a lot quicker (mentally and physically) than its brother. It abandoned the frontal charge to swoop down at the redhead, who instinctively whacked it with her wand as she charged past it. She gave shrieked uncontrollably when the monster lunged out and tried clamping its "jaw" around her waist. This thing resembled a Venus flytrap, which were known for trapping their prey (mostly small bugs) in their leaves, and slowly digesting them with acid. The plant missed, but still managed to snag the back of her shirt. A light coolness brushed against Capsule's back when the Nepent tore away a piece of fabric. 'Bastard-'

A blob of acid came raining down on her, making her yelp out in surprise. She wanted to dodge to the side, but that would take her out of a straight line. Capsule gritted her teeth to the point of pain as she forced herself to go forward, head lowered. The air around her sizzled and crackled as the acid bypassed her as a whole, but stray drops found their way to her hair and back. Her vision distorted as her tear ducts went into overdrive. The burning, though light, was maddeningly sharp. It was like the time she had tried frying bacon, and like a silly git added a bit of oil to the pan. Little bits of grease had popped her uncovered skin in unrelenting bursts. This was far worse, since the acid was actually eating its way through bits of cloth, skin and hair. The desperation to leave this area and to curl into a sobbing ball in her home returned with an even greater force.

With the third brush of death today, Capsule doubled her resolve and picked up her speed. She never strayed from that straight path, nor did she even try waving her wand. The woman was in a state of panic as she brushed past Nepents, a few of which she shoved out of her way like a shopper on Black Friday. Several Nepents tried snagging her, but the woman pulled free each time. When one Nepent tried upchucking acidic bile on her, she ducked and the mess latched onto another monster instead. Fortunately for her, some of the Nepents were too busy trying to escape as well, else she would have faced graver danger.

'Stranger danger,' Capsule thought as hysterical laughter burst from her parted lips. Ahead of her, she could see a small group of Adventurers and People of the Land streaking forward. The Landers hung behind the Adventurers, their arms laden with pails. The Adventurers were hacking up the front row of Nepent Snatchers, which were dangerously close to the camp. The camp itself was a mass of confusion and excited yelling. They were as good as free, but Capsule did not stop to celebrate. While these last few minutes may hint at escape, they were also the deadliest; the Nepents would be killing anything that got in their way now.

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Words:
1126

Muse:
Stage 1-1 (Go Straight)

Notes:
So squishy. ;;

Tags:
Saber

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

In the corner of his eyes, Saber saw the woman twitch and watched her in his peripheral vision start to run forward. The Hunter grit his teeth as he watched and snapped the bowstring in his hand back, drawing the arrow he held back until the tension was at its peak. Narrowing his eyes downrange, he took in a deep breath and focused on the closest group of plant beasts. More precisely he focused on only the ones in the path. For the moment, they were the highest level threat to the woman as she moved, and Saber would need a gap for himself to get through as well. Although, he didn’t need as big of one but he still needed a tunnel to run in. The creatures that were off to the far sides were out of attack range unless they spit acid, and even then it would be tough for them to hit the woman as she ran. Saber would probably have a problem with them later, but that was later. He needed to focus on now.

So, he released. The arrow shot forward like a homing missile, dug into the neck of a Nepent to the woman’s right, and gave her a chance to cast a spell on another. The plant he struck hissed loudly and turned to look at the distant Elf. It snarled and began to move back, heading right towards the bow-user. However, Saber adjusted his fire and turned away from the plant. He nocked another arrow and drew it back as he targeted the next plant. Taking in a breath allowed the shooter to focus his aim and he centered on another. This one turned away from its fleeing state and began to target his ally. Squeezing the back of his arrow, the player prayed that he wouldn’t miss. The distance between the friendly player and the Nepent was short, and the risk of striking her was just as high. So, he left it in the hands of the Gods. Saber aimed the tip of his arrow at the Nepent, sucked in air to stabilize his shot, and fired. The moment he released, he snagged another arrow. By the time his arrow came close to its target, Saber was ready to shoot again.

With his next shot prepared, Saber watched his previous one dig into the lower abdomen of the Nepent targeting the woman. The arrow stabbed through the lower part of the creature’s body and stabbed into the ground, essentially acting like a leash. As the creature lunged forward, the arrow pulled back and Saber watched as the woman continued to run forward. He couldn’t see from where he was how damaged she was, or if she had been at all, but the fact that she was still moving was enough for him. Saber nodded to himself and adjusted his fire. The Nepents had picked up on the presence of the female Adventurer and were beginning to target her. That was enough to get Saber’s attention as well, and the man began to fire on them. Off to his right, the Nepent he had attack earlier was drawing close so he didn’t have long.

Pulling out three arrows, the Assassin nocked one while holding the others between his fingers. He took in a breath and held it as he drew back on the bow string. Without another thought, he ignited the skill -Accel Dance-. His thoughts began to fade, the world slowed, and darkness began to fill the sides of his vision. The distant area became much more detailed and imaginary outlines covered the bodies of the Nepents. As he focused, the world slowed further until he was comfortable. Then, Saber began to act. Like a machine which had been turned on, Saber began to unload his volley of arrows onto the cluster of targets. He fired one arrow after another, keeping his bow raised as his right arm moved constantly back and forth between the string and his quiver. The air was not filled with arrows, but Saber pushed himself far enough that he was able to create a constant stream of fire. After a few seconds of opening up, the distant plants began to twitch as the rusty metal tips of the player’s projectiles struck their bodies.

The herd of Nepents began to adjust their movements from attacking to running again, but several in the distance continued their attempts to nip at Saber’s VIP. The woman never stopped running, so Saber never stopped shooting. His eyes began to strain and his head started to hurt due to the sheer amount of focus he had to keep, but the Assassin continued to fire. One arrow after another, he struck each and every plant beast that even looked like it would try to attack the woman. The ones which did were hit with more than one shot, and those which became a deadly threat were met with deadly force as Saber turned them into dart boards. However, as much as he wanted to remain stationary, he was out of time. The flames at his back were not all around him and the Nepent was almost right on top of him. As he ran out of energy to use for his skill, he caught sight of the close threat preparing to spray him with acid. To his content, the woman looked to be basically free; now he just had to play catch up.

Dropping to a knee and slipping backwards into the fires behind him, Saber quickly moved out of range of the acid strike as the plant released the built up wad of deadly spit. Strapping his bow to his back, the player exchanged the ranged weapon for the knife on his hip. Saber heaved air and shook his head, attempting to ignore the pounding headache he now had. Kicking forward, the player darted straight into the fire on the floor in front of him and took the quickest lane to his target. He focused his sight on the Nepent and put it right in the middle of his view. Then, he clutched his knife. With another use of a skill in his arsenal, -Quick Draw-, the player dashed straight through the raging inferno and appeared only inches from the Nepent’s lower body. The creature released a surprised screech before the player dug his knife into its lower body. Saber dug in his toes and pushed forward, overtaking the beast’s center of gravity, and tackled it to the ground. Now mounted on top of the beastly flower, Saber withdrew his weapon of death and gripped the monster’s stem. In one single, fluid motion, the Assassin sliced the Venus fly-trap of a head right off. At the same moment, flames engulfed the world around the two combatants, and Saber was forced to move rather than finish his kill.

“Dammit.” The curse slipped as he realized his situation, but the man continued to move. Trees snapped around him and branches began to fall from the sky once more. Hell had returned is seemed, and this time the Devil wasn’t to content with letting him go.

When he began to run, Saber noticed that the Nepents he had attacked were closing in just like their fallen brother had. It seemed that the Hate-meter was still a thing even in a crisis. However, Saber wasn’t going to let himself burn simply because some angry roses wanted to prick him with their thorns. Rather than engage them, the Assassin adjusted from running linearly to vertically. Before the Nepents could get close enough, he kicked off a tree and climbed into the canopy. The fire was right at his heels but it was spreading slower than he moved, allowing him to escape the hot air fairly quickly once he was able to open up his stride and move. With Nepents no longer an issue for the moment, Saber focused on speed and picked up his pace. The man sheathed his knife and darted through the tree tops, but he didn’t stay up in the green forever. There was a camp in sight and the remaining Nepents he hadn’t aggroed and left behind were still moving forward.

Once more, the player pulled his bow off his shoulders. He seemed to be trading weapons regularly in combat, so he would most likely have to look into a weapon which allowed him to incorporate multiple weapons into one; like a Swiss army knife of sorts. Keeping everything readily available was good enough though, and he would have to deal with it for the time being. The time it took for him to reach back and nock an arrow was miniscule, and as Saber dropped back to the ground; he decided that increasing the quality of his arrows would have to come first. Some that he had shot before had barely dug into the ground at all.

The man sucked his teeth and started to move forward again. After taking a shortcut through the trees, he had closed much of the distance between himself and the woman. She was only a few meters ahead of himself and the Nepents weren’t much of a threat for the time being. However that wouldn’t last long. The camp wasn’t far off. Saber considered running straight through, but leaving the people there to die wasn’t exactly a choice he could take. The woman could run, but there was no way he would be able to live with himself if he left the Adventurers there deal with the threat.

“Keep running! You should be safe from here on!” Saber shouted loudly, hoping the woman ahead of him would hear him. He wanted to defend the camp, but what the woman did was up to her. He had no more “orders” to give her per say, so he didn’t want to tell her to do something if she didn’t want to. A glance at her health reminded him that she wasn’t at one-hundred percent fighting capability. He wasn’t her leader or her keeper so he didn’t plan to make her risk her life. That was her decision.

Saber on the other hand had already made his choice. There was a herd of what looked to be between ten and fifteen Nepents attacking the camp. Several Adventurers were dealing with the initial wave but they would overrun shortly if the reinforcements reached them. Rather than sit back and watch, Saber pulled back on his bow string and fired. He struck one of the front Nepents with his chaining spell; Atrophy Break. With the help of the spell, as well as the large amount of damage Saber caused, the player attacking it was able to use the opening to strike down the plant beast within seconds. Saber quickly nocked and fired another arrow to assist another player.

“Time for some artillery fire…” A sly grin crossed the Assassin’s face.

: Post Title :
-Metal Rain-

: Word Count :
1819

: Skills Used :
Atrophy Break, Accel Dance, Quick Draw.

: Tagged :
Saber, [Unknown Woman]

: Notes :
Fire from the Heavens

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M

[Capsule]

Capsule skidded to a stop near one of the Adventurers, who was busy trying to fend off two of the Nepents. He looked to be of the Samurai class, but his health was dropping too close to the middle. Either there wasn't a dedicated healer, or they were busy helping someone out. "What are you doing, just standing there?! Help or get out of my way!" He sent one of the Nepents sprawling, and then hacked into the other.

"Keep running! You should be safe from here on!" It was a little faint, due to the roar of the wind and fire, but she heard the man's words clearly.

'Should I stay or should I go now?' If she stayed there would be trouble, and if she left it would be double. If she decided to stay around, she would only get in the way if she didn't help, and if she left… The feeling of panic returned when she saw that some of the campers were just children, and that not all were Adventurers. Dying would be especially hard on the kids, and the Landers would be gone forever. Besides - was she really that much of a coward, to think of only herself and leave the others to their fates? 'No…' She kicked idly at a nearby clump of grass. What she lacked in offensive power, she made up for in support.

"Damn it! Leafy little bastards!"

"Astral Bind!" Shackles snaked up from the ground and entwined themselves around a Nepent that was trying to catch the Samurai off guard. "Mind Shock!" This latter spell was casted on the second Nepent, leaving only the first for the Adventurer to deal with. He grunted out a thanks as he rushed in to finish off the first, and then sliced into the second, which was stumbling about like a kid drunk off of tequila. She nodded at the man before running forward, past the Landers carrying their pails of water. Although she did not play much of a big role, she had at least bought the archer and the others some time - for now.

A large, robust woman stepped in her way, two buckets balanced on her bulging biceps. "Oi - powder puff. Get back there with the rest of the women and children," she said, as if she wasn't one herself. "Abbey can't round up all of the youngins on her own, and you'll only get in the way if you hang over here."

"You'll only get in the way.'

The skinnier woman could feel her shoulders slump in rejection. 'Am I really that much of a nuisance?' Whatever confidence she may have felt diminished as she trudged towards camp, wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball and disappear. Even if she had been one for confrontation, she was far too tired to do so right now, and would only slow them down further with her bickering. If she couldn't help them take out the Nepents and beat the back the fire, she could still help by clearing out the camp and leading the campers to London. 'It's better than just running away.' It took her a few minutes to realize that she was crying, and hastily wiped her face clean with the back of her arm. The last thing she wanted was pity.

"H-hey," she called out to a small group of wide eyed children. They wore the gear and held the weapons of Adventurers. "You kids! Come on, we have to get out of here." None of them looked a day over twelve. Two of them -the girls in the bunch - were quietly weeping and holding onto each other. The boys kept straighter faces, though they looked ready to crumple at any minute.

One of the boy's gave in and began to quietly sob to himself. He buried his forehead into her stomach when she approached, and his shoulders heaved up and down when she held him. "Come on," she stated in a voice devoid of emotion. "I'll lead you kids to safety, all right?" The girls and two of the boys flocked to her at those words, but the last just stood there, his hands clenched into fists. When it didn't look like she would change her mind and stay and fight, the boy turned, eyes brimming with tears of frustration and anger, and joined them. He had probably been rebuffed for trying to help, much like she. That feeling of usefulness was mutual between the two of them.

Capsule collected more and more kids like these, Adventurers and Landers alike. A few Adventurers her age joined as well, though these were largely the ones who were too under leveled, weak, or afraid of the monsters and raging fire. She didn't care what their reasons were; her mind was focused on getting them out, before the Nepents could break through the line and strike. As for the man - that archer that had come to her aid - she hoped he made it out unscathed. It was rather morbid of her, but she would be waiting outside of the Cathedral just in case; in case she missed him altogether, or he succumbed to the whirling chaos that threatened to consume him. If neither occurred, she would just have to grow stronger, on the off chance they met again someday.

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Words:
897

Muse:
Smile

Notes:
ƸӜƷ

Tags:
Saber

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Saber]

Do you believe in ghosts?

A hard and rough impact shook Saber to the core as he slammed down flat onto his back, his head bashing against the solid dirt floor beneath him. It happened far too quickly for him to realize his mistake at first, but as he rolled over his head and popped back to his feet, the player cursed at himself for looking like a fool. As he ran through the line of Adventurers and attacked the Nepents, he failed to notice a small dip in the floor. Said dip was perfectly placed and trapped his right foot in his jaws, causing the inattentive Assassin to fall straight back onto the ground. He groaned at the tingling feeling and rolled his shoulders in order to help his body. It hurt a little and he was dazed by the impact. Yet, waiting for his body to recover gave him time to evaluate the area. There wasn’t much to see, but there was enough to make him concerned. The camp wasn’t a large one, and the lack of numbers put the Adventurers at a disadvantage. He needed a plan, and fast.

The number of Adventurers on the line was low. Each of them had a different set of skills it seemed and there weren’t any pure support characters to speak of in front of him. The supports were dealing with the flames in the camp at his back, so pulling them out to the frontlines would be a stupid idea. He needed to defend the camp, not watch it burn. However, there were several players who were of the tank-specialty; Samurais and Guardians. They were taking up at least two or three Nepents at a time. The others fighting were a mix of dagger users, fist-fighters, and there were even a few rangers. As Saber looked further out to the edges, he noticed a few players with staves and wands.

“This is going to suck.” The man sighed and lifted up his bow. Nocking an arrow, Saber aimed down into the middle of the group of Nepents and injected an electric charge into the metal tip of his projectile. Taking in a deep breath, Saber focused on an approaching Nepent. It wasn’t near the group yet, but it was a prime target. The flowery creature hissed and sprinted forward, and just before reaching the pair of Guardians holding the center, Saber fired. His arrow shot through the air between the two Adventurers, striking the Nepent in its “head”. The acidic water within the fly trap ignited with electricity, sparking and boiling to the point that the Nepent released a loud, screeching outcry of pain. It health declined rapidly and the creature fell over onto its side, stunned from the critical blow.

“Everyone! Listen up! Follow my orders and we’ll get through this!” Using the Nepent as an attention snagger, Saber quickly shouted over the combat and the sounds of the crackling flames. Several of the other players ignored him, but a handful looked back.

“What do you want us to do? There’s to many of them!” One of the Samurai’s retorted as he kicked a Nepent back.

“We have to run! This camp isn’t worth it!” A mage added, only feeding the flames of fear. Saber hissed and shot an arrow over the man’s shoulder, piercing the Nepent he was holding off in the stem. A large chunk of the monster’s health vanished and the creature flailed its limbs in the air.

“You either listen to me or you’re going to die.” Saber lowered his voice and stared towards the Mage. The man stared back at the archer, frozen in fright because of how close the projectile came to striking him.

“I’m in! Where do you need me?” The front right Guardian held up his shield, protecting himself from the plant beast in front of himself.

“I am as well! I’m not leaving those people behind!” The other Guardian barked out, and then sliced his sword through the air, cutting down another Nepent. Saber nodded and looked to his left. One of the dagger users backed off and switched to a bow. It seemed his playstyle was similar to Saber’s, but his speed wasn’t as refined.

“Guardians and Samurai, attract all of the attention you can. Aggro everything! Everyone else back off! Mages, get to the back row! Attack and clean up those that are almost dead! If you have a healing spell, use it! DPS, assist the Tanks! Attack the Nepents with the most health. Ranged users, fire on the Nepents coming in. Lighten the load on the tanks!” The situation was fragile, but as Saber began to shout, a handful of players began to move. It wasn’t a perfect exchange from a simple standoff to a full defense, and a handful of people lingered in their previous positions as they ignored the new arrival, but the majority of Tanks had moved together. Saber didn’t need everyone to listen, but he had a decent number of believers. All he could pray for was an end to the monsters. As he looked beyond the wall of shields which had formed; such an end was a while away.

Several DPS players composed of what looked to be primarily Assassins and Swashbucklers stepped backwards and moved behind the tanks. In response, the tanks began to draw the attention of the creatures the DPS players had abandoned. As expected, when the Mages attacked, a small number of Nepents vanished into light. It wasn’t much at first, but it was enough. The Guardians took their chance and began to use skills Saber remembered very well. A mix of skills like Anchor Howl, Shield Smash, Taunting Shout, and Aura Saber smashed into the herd of Nepents as the Guardians enforced their dominance over the battle. Supporting them, the Samurai class players used their chain skills to break into the fray, shattering apart some of the weaker Nepents while ensuring the attention of the others fell upon themselves or the Guardians.

“Now! DPS, cause as much damage as you can!” Saber pointed his bow forward like a sword and watched as several of the sword and dagger users assaulted the group. Many attacked from behind, pinching the Nepents between the iron shields of the Guardians, the vicious katanas of the Samurais, and their violent mass of slashes and hacks. The initial assault wounded many of the plants, but several players were injured in response to the attack. Although before he could say anything, several green clouds appeared around the more heavily damaged players as a pair of Support players switched places with two mages.

“Mages! Take out the weaker ones! DPS, fall back and protect the Mages from the curious! Tanks, ensure you keep the hate on you!” While he shouted, Saber pulled an arrow out of his quiver and quickly fired it into the large number of Nepents. The shot flew through the large group, finding its new home in the stem of a near-dead Nepent towards the rear. The creature released a pained snarl before falling over onto the ground. A mass of magical fires rained down shortly after, striking multiple other Nepents and caused many more to perish beneath the attacks. Not every monster which was attacked died, but the instant they broke off and tried to make a move on the mages; they were assaulted by the DPS players who were thirsting for blood.

“Second wave is getting close. All ranged, attack before they can get to the tanks! Mages! Adjust to attack the second wave! Tanks, DPS, clean up the first group quickly!” Saber pulled out another arrow and was already thinking of the next one he would have to grab as he fired into the air. There weren’t a lot of rangers on his side, four to be exact, but it was better than shooting alone. The mages behind him added their own attacks to the artillery barrage, and that only increased the amount of damage dealt to the incoming threat.

“Zeus give me strength…” Saber prayed as he fired another shot. This was going to be a difficult fight.

: Post Title :
-Taking Command-

: Word Count :
1356

: Skills Used :
N/A

: Tagged :
Saber

: Notes :
This better work...

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M