Castle of Glass [Solo]

[Quinn]

He hated to admit it, but it was about the time that he really should acknowledge the facts and try to face up to the consequences, even if it did hurt his ego a little bit in doing so. Quinn was, to put it mildly, lost. Quite hopelessly and irrevocably so, if he was going to be completely and brutally honest about it. He didn't want to go quite that far on his journey of admitting things to himself, though. Not just yet at least, when there was still a small, if remote, chance that he could get himself unlost. Not that unlost was really a word, the correct phrase probably being something like not lost, or found or something, but the invented word seemed somehow appropriate to his situation. I'm going to get myself unlost, Quinn mused to himself, smiling at his new Frankenstein esque creation of a word.  Really though, he was just trying to distract his mind from another thing he should probably get around to admitting to himself as well. The part about where exactly he had managed to get himself lost. The middle of the Windsor Great Woods was hardly a location for first level adventurers, after all, and Quinn had spent a good deal of his time being lost running away from monsters of much higher level than himself. He had well and truly ventured out of the starter zones that were considered 'safe' for lower leveled beginner adventurers such as himself, having left them behind a good half hour ago. In truth, he had never really intended to get so hopelessly lost as he was. He had simply been curious to see just how far in the woods went, and followed along the path all carefree and curious. Now that had been a pretty dumb idea, granted, but he had assumed that he would be able to deal with most of the things out there. It was a start zone after all, right? He had been pretty wrong on that account. "Well, I feel like a bit of an idiot, "Quinn mused out loud, his eyes scanning the woods around him warily, "I have no idea how to get back, and all the monsters around here are just waiting for a chance to kill me." The woods belied his words. For the time being, they were surprisingly quiet. All that was really there, were thousands upon thousands of ancient oak trees, with a dense layer of bushes and dead leaves coating the ground below them. The sun was hidden up above, its dappled light occasionally penetrating the leaf cover to dance across the ground, leaving tiny oases of sunlight to chase away the ever present gloom of the shadowy forest. Well, this place is certainly creepy enough, Quinn's subconscious told him, sounding smug, you did well to get lost in a place like this. Bravo. Shaking his head to clear it of the strange thoughts and the voice, Quinn shuddered. He hated it when he heard voices in his head like that - it was usually a fairly good indicator that you were going slightly insane and thoughts like those were best left in their own special corner of his mind and avoided like a new and highly viral strain of the bubonic plague. Quinn valued his sanity. He was a bit weird at times, and certainly distrustful, but his own mind was a sanctuary and he refused to let some nagging voice into his one last safe haven. As cruel as the world could get, and as many times as he was hurt or left to die, so long as he stayed sane and kept that place to himself he knew everything would be all right in the end. Of course, present circumstances weren't really sanity inducing. He was willing to admit that much, at least. Fingering his staff contemplatively, Quinn's eyes jumped from shadow to shadow more cautiously as he continued further into the forest, looking for any change in the seemingly endless expanse of trees that could indicate a way out. Of course, once upon a time when he had been much younger Quinn had gotten lost in a forest much scarier than this one. That said though, one could hardly call the city of London a forest, per se, but it was definitely large and the urban sprawl resembled a forest in some ways. If you squinted a little bit and looked sideways, and ignored the teeming masses of people everywhere, of course. And probably the signposts telling you exactly where you were, while you were at it... At the time though, Quinn had been much younger than he was now, and hadn't been able to read said signposts, so the feeling he had had then was much akin to the one he felt now, trapped and lost as he was in the Windsor Great Wood.  Back then, Quinn had gotten lost while on a school field trip. It had taken hours, and an inquisitive police officer wondering what a child as young as Quinn was doing wandering in the city alone, before he had been reunited with the school group. His teacher had been fired after that incident. Something about failing in her duty of care. As a primary school student, Quinn had not understood what exactly had happened, at the time. What he did understand though, was all of the other children hating him for making their teacher go away. The following school years had been really hard on him, right up until he had moved on to high school. "This place sure is creepy," Quinn told himself, trying to comfort himself with the sound of his own voice, though admittedly talking to yourself was yet another sign of impending insanity, "the forest can't just go on forever though, can it?" This was getting stupid, really. Quinn had only wandered out this far because he was trying to level up his druid class, and explore his surroundings a little. He had succeeded in the second, and hopefully a bit in the first, but getting lost had never really been on the agenda. Why did I never pay any attention in my Outdoor Education classes? Quinn thought, feeling somewhat despondent, and a little bit hungry as well. Someone really needs to invent a compass already.  Thinking about food had been a bad idea, Quinn quickly realised. That rumbling sensation in his stomach came back full force, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since morning, and would actually kill for a well made sammich right about now. Yes, a sammich. Not a sandwich. He was a strong believer in the fact that a person should never make an inferior sandwich, when they could instead create a true masterpiece of bread and ingredients in the form of the almighty sammich. It was simple logic, after all. The young albino felt a brief twinge of regret at not having taken the Chef subclass, which would ultimately make the art of sammich making beyond his meagre skills in this world. Instead, he was a woodcrafter. Which was debatably more useful, depending on who you talked to. Eventually being able to make, or fix up, his own house here in Elder Tale would be nice, after all. He could always hire a personal chef, to make him all of the sammich's that he wanted... Brought back to the virtual reality around him by a loud sound, as though something metal was being clashed nearby, Quinn spooked and started sprinting away. What was it? Glancing behind him, he spotted what looked like a goblin of some kind. He might be able to defeat the thing, but then again it was only a might. Better not to risk it unless he ran out of other options. Which could well be the case, in very short order. Quinn was surprised when, after a minute or so of running, he stumbled across something even stranger than a goblin or endless forests. He had found the edge of the woods, and there -standing in all its medieval glory, was a castle.

HP: MP: WORDS: 1353 TAGS: Quinn SONG: Castle of Glass NOTES: Hehe. Exploring things and getting lost. Probably going to end this thread with character death, but we will see how it goes...

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[Quinn]

His first thought upon seeing the giant castle looming up out of nowhere like that, irrational and strange as it was, was of the Hollow Bastion castle from the kingdom hearts games he had played so much as a kid. It wasn't even that the castle looked particularly like how hollow bastion had looked in the games, it was just the sheer scale of the thing. The way it kind of jutted out of the landscape and dominated the area it was in, like some massive thing dropped out of the heavens and placed there by some mythical being of immense power. It was... breathtaking. Quinn had thought that skyscrapers could be massive, and maybe it was just a matter of scale compared to the things surrounding it, but Quinn could feel himself suddenly become breathless just on seeing that castle sitting there. Of course, the breathlessness could have as much to do with the fact that he had been sprinting the whole way here, as it did anything else. In fact, that was the more likely reason for why he was suddenly short on breath. Still, it was the thought that counted in these kinds of situations.  "Now that is one big castle," Quinn said out loud, panting and still out of breath, "Guess that is probably a dungeon or something. Best to avoid it for now, I am thinking... If I go in there I am definitely dead." Glancing around cautiously, Quinn sighed in relief. It appeared he had lost the goblin that had been chasing, giving him time to examine the grounds of the castle and the castle itself. The grounds looked over run, as though no one had tended them in years, and he could spot the occasional monster wandering through them. He would need to be careful if he intended to explore this area any further, as no doubt many of the monsters this close to the dungeon would be a lot higher leveled than those further out. Monsters or not though, and shabby maintenance or otherwise, the grounds were spectacular.  From where he stood, Quinn could see the entrance into a hedge maze, as well as what had no doubt once been beautifully trimmed bushes and trees, along with a large open area that could only be the remnants of a polo field. It was almost terrifying how realistic everything was, considering this was supposedly a virtual reality. Quinn could honestly not tell the difference, other than the fact that everything seemed so... deserted... it was as if this world was every bit as real as the old one was. Sometimes he wondered if one day he would even remember the old world, or if he would instead forget it in favour of memories of this new one. That would not necessarily be a bad thing. Quinn was slowly starting to fall in love with this new world and the beautiful things that seemed to fill it. Everything was so different to the old world - there were no planes, cars and trains everywhere, filling the world with noise, smog and pollution. Instead, there were vast forests, hidden flower groves and now... castles. Every child who ever was had dreamed about being a prince or princess, and of castles, knights and most importantly giant scaled dragons at some point during their lives. It was simply part of growing up in the United Kingdom, after all. Despite his childhood being spent in an orphanage, even Quinn had dreamed of one day waking up as a prince in a world far far away from his old one. The teenager smiled at the thought. In a way, his dream had come true. He had woken up to find himself in a brand new world, one without all the trappings and institutions that filled the old one and made it impossible for anyone but the filthy rich and the CEOs of big oil companies to find happiness. It was a new start. A new world, where everyone was free and everyone was equal. True anarchy, where no one could lord over others or tell them that how they wanted to spend their time was in some way wrong.  Every human secretly desired it, Quinn had found. No matter who you were or where you were from, in the end everybody wanted one thing - the freedom to do and think as they wanted, without interference from others. That was another dream every child had, to be the ruler of their own world.  Power. Power was the key. As yet, no-one here in Elder Tale held that power, but soon someone would find a way to claim it. Right now level was the main differentiator, with those of higher level being able to exert power over those of low level. He had seen it, some players choosing player killing and looting as a way forward within the Elder Tale world. It was a way to do things, sure. But if Quinn wanted to keep his new found freedom he would have to become higher leveled himself and able to exert his own power, not to rule over others but to protect their freedom and this state of blissful anarchy that the world was currently in. It was a worthy goal. Quinn secretly wondered if the game designers had shared his desire for freedom, as they had not instituted any NPC police forces or other powers to necessarily limit players in doing whatever they so wished. It was an interesting thought, sure enough. Perhaps... The designers were among them, as adventurers? Hidden here to experience the world they had created for themselves, and to watch how the people they had brought here changed to adapt to it. It wouldn't surprise him - had he been a creator of a world like this, he would want to watch on as well. Shaken from his musings by another, crash Quinn quickly realised something was horribly, horribly, wrong. He had though the had lost the goblin that had been chasing him. It turned out, he thought grimly, that that was not in fact the case. Dodging the spear that had been flung at him from the concealment of a nearby bush, Quinn gripped his staff tighter. Fortunately, the goblin was not of an incredibly high level, but it would still prove a tough adversary. Especially if there are more nearby, his subconscious mind chose to remind him, returning back from the corner where he had locked it away earlier with a vengeance, because where there is one, there will be more, with goblins. They are going to come for you, and rip you to pieces, Quinn. Shaking from fear, Quinn shook his head mutely, tears trailing down his face, "No! It's not true!" he yelled at the sky, trying to quiet the insidious voice in his mind and get rid of the defeatist thoughts, "shut up!" Spurred to action, he shot an energy blast from the end of his staff towards the goblin in question, which it promptly dodged. Quinn rushed forwards, tears still streaming down his face, but determined to fight and to live. He didn't want to die in this new world just yet, he wanted to experience more and to become more. He had dreams, goals. There was not a chance that he would let one silly little voice in his head drive him from himself and the sanity he so cherished. No way would he listen to some idiot voice that wanted him to curl up and die when he could instead fight, and make a difference. The goblin, obviously alarmed by his insane rush and yelling and the spell he had flung at it, crouched down into a readied stance, another of its spears held forward to counter Quinn's rush. He would need to time his attack perfectly, or he would end up skewered on the end of that spear and the voice proven right about his impending death and doom. What could one measly goblin do, though? It was going to be the one to die today, not him. he would make sure of that. Let the world crumble and humanity fall, but when it all comes to an end I will be standing there with a smile on my face and a spell ready to go, Quinn thought, as he reached the goblin with staff swinging and the nasty voice locked back into its own dark corner of his mind once more.

HP: MP: WORDS: 1415 TAGS: Quinn SONG: Castle of Glass NOTES: Aaaandd, Quinn's inner anarchist has decided to come out and play. Also the slightly violent part that wants to ignore the voice in his head.... Well, this is getting interesting at least.

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[Quinn]

Dodging past the goblins spear with a yell and some fancy footwork, Quinn smashed it across chest with his staff before triggering his Flameburst skill, catching the goblin in an intense, flamethrower like blast of heat and fire. Dancing back out of its reach, Quinn swiped at it one more time with his staff, this time towards its legs - knocking the goblins feet out from under it. He wasn't quite fast enough though, the tip of his enemies spear catching him across the side and tearing a bloody gash.  Cringing in pain, Quinn quickly blocked it out before stepping on the haft of the goblins spear, effectively disarming the monster, and then going after it again with his staff, quite literally pummeling the flaming goblin to death with blunt force. Quinn was short on breath by the time his violent fit of rage had subsided, surrounded by a pile of gold coins and other miscellaneous junk that the goblin had exploded into once the fire had finished running its course, effectively killing the creature. It had been a while since his subconscious mind had triggered him into one of these episodes, and he hated it when it succeeded. Generally, Quinn was able to keep the more violent and abrasive part of his nature under wraps, but sometimes that little voice goaded it out of him, usually with him, the victim of said goading, completely unaware that that was what it had been doing until after the fact.  Up until just now, he had only ever caused serious harm to something as a result of a violent fit of rage one other time, and that time he had beaten another student at his school black and blue. It had never gone reported, as the other guy had come after him in the first place and had known himself to be in the wrong, but even so Quinn felt guilty about the whole incident. It was one of the reasons he kept that voice in his head locked up in its own separate part of his mind - to keep events like this one from happening too frequently, if at all.  This time though, it had come in useful. Normally - while thinking straight, and not fighting dirty and going for the metaphorical jugular as he had - that goblin would have killed him easily in a fight. Because he had gone after it so mercilessly, beating it while it was down and using every dirty trick in the book - he had gotten away from the encounter with little more than a gash. Quinn knew he would not always be so lucky as this, but it was still a relief to know that such... violence... could prove useful at times. Not necessarily all times, but it did still have its time and place, as with all things. Occasionally hurting other things, even people, was a necessary act. Quinn knew that as well as any - and would not hesitate to attack another player should the need arise. Not to say he would go out looking for players to kill, but at the same time... If they stumbled across Quinn in a bad mood, it was their own fault if they went on a one way trip to the cathedral. Collapsing to his knees and gasping for breath, Quinn quickly gathered the loot before forcing himself back to a standing position. The wound on his side was painful, but despite his class he had yet to actually unlock any healing skills and thus could do nothing to alleviate the pain that was now wracking through his body. Clasping a hand to the still bleeding wound Quinn suddenly felt a wave of dizziness rush over him, before he started puking his guts out on the forest floor. The reaction made the injury start burning even more, forcing tears from his eyes as he slowly rose back to his feet. "I feel like an idiot right now..." Quinn told himself, through clenched teeth, "What kind of idiot am I, to go out and get myself hurt when I can't do anything to fix it. Hopefully that passive regeneration thing will start kicking in soon..." Glancing around once more, Quinn was alarmed to see that - a few hundred meters away in the forest - there was another goblin coming towards him. More than one. In fact, it seemed like there was a small group of the things - far more than one low level druid could possibly take on with any hope of victory. His wound temporarily forgotten, Quinn leaped to his feet, and continued running. He needed somewhere to go to get away from the mobs, or he was surely going to die out here. But where? He realised, with a dry touch of amusement, that the only place he really could go was that hedge maze he had spotted earlier. If he could lose them in the maze, then he would be safe. At least for a little while. Putting on a burst of speed, he sprinted towards the large, overgrown entry to said maze, tapping into energy he hadn't even know he had.  He almost made it intact, and everything. Despite his efforts, Quinn was struck in the leg and the shoulder by some spears thrown at him by his pursuers. Crying out in pain, he stumbled through and out of the line of fire, quickly taking a few turns through the maze and finding himself lost before he knew it. Better lost in a scary place, than dead for sure, though. At least, he could keep telling himself that. This maze was seriously creepy. Everything was way overgrown and the light from the sun didn't quite penetrate all the way through the leafy top part, giving the interior of the place a vaguely disturbing perpetual gloom. It was made worse by the heavy bleeding from his various injuries, and the fact that his health bar was hovering uncomfortably low as a result of them. Nevermind the fact that being almost run through by spears in several different locations of his body really really hurt... No-one had ever told him before he came wandering out that being hit and hurt by the monsters was actually a painful experience. Technically he did live in this world now though, so it made sense. "Well at least I got away..." the teen told himself, clutching at the injury on his side and gritting his teeth through the pain. Quinn was starting to feel a bit... dizzy. It was probably a combination of exhaustion from all the running and fighting he had been doing, and excessive blood loss. Right now he was seriously regretting not having taken a healing skill just yet. If he got out of this ordeal alive, or otherwise, it was going to be the first thing he would take once he got the adequate level. Slumping down in the middle of the passageway, Quinn's eyes slowly drifted closed. He was sleepy. A short rest wasn't going to hurt too badly, now. He hadn't seen any monsters in here just yet... When Quinn came to again, it was to a sharp stinging sensation in his right arm. Crying out in agony, he realised quickly that falling asleep in her had been a very, very bad idea after all. Looking over towards what was causing the pain, the young druid had to bite back tears as he watched what was happening to his arm. An absolutely giant tree monster of some kind had picked up his arm and was eating it. The monster must release some kind of paralytic venom, Quinn thought dazedly, as he realised that he could barely move at all. Just enough to turn his head and watch in horror as his arm was slowly eaten away.  Whatever the case, it had caught him. There was nothing he could do now but, wait and hope that his hp hit zero before he had to endure much more of this agonising experience. Tears streaming down his face, Quinn tried his best to struggle, barely able to cry out as the venom sunk in even further.  It was pointless, though. No amount of struggling meant he would get away, just causing him to become steadily weaker and weaker, eventually going numb once the monster reached his chest. Death was slow in coming, but when he finally faded over the precipice and left his shattered body behind, it was a relief.

HP: MP: WORDS: 1396 TAGS: Quinn SONG: Castle of Glass NOTES: Mmm, being eaten by giant tree monsters is always fun. Anyways. Fin.

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