Snail Buddies [Shepard/Open]

[Pandemonium]

She was insane. That's it. Otherwise there would be absolutely no explanation as to why the cat found herself wandering from Town into this sludge filled place. She hated slimes so why, in all of Elder Tale; did she come to the birthplace of nastiness?! A question for centuries to come. A question that the cat will continuously ask herself over and over against as she bumbles through sticky marsh and spoilt land - completely lost. If it weren't for Carbsy sticking to her side like the swamp mud itself, Pandemonium was quite sure she would have gone insane. Why? Just like in the woods the slimes somehow found her and were following her. She would swear so too seeing as how every time she had the courage to turn and look behind her, there they were. But these ones were worse, so much worse. They weren't just any slimes, these were sludges. Animated Sludges to be exact.

The feline had probably run all over the place for an hour to an hour and a half (or at least until she finally tripped and fell head first into a dead log) before she could stop. Said log became her bench as the kitten-like girl gagged as the nastiness that gripped her face. Rushed hands aimed to get off the soggy greens and soggier green mud before the adventurer would lose her lunch. The place stank. That was the only comment that the formerly adventurous girl could give the damnable place.

More quick work to shove off any grime that stuck to her came into place. Carbsy, her Carbuncle Follower; sat patiently on the log next to her. She continued her work until something very cold touched her back. Like the cat she was, her fur fluffed out with eyes bigger than her head staring forward. Slowly she truned her head to see two stalk-like eyes. A brown mass into view after that but the cat was too busy jumping to her feet with her arms sticking out like twigs to notice it slowly climbing toward her head. A snail, Grimy Swamp Snail; had found itself a home on her battered beginner's robes. And there was only one word that could come from the feline's mouth at that moment.

"EYAAAAAH!"

And the cat was off into the marsh once more, running about like a chicken with its head cut off. Smacking into rocks, more wood, and tripping in decieving marsh puddles. All the while her Carbuncle merely followed after its master, unable to attack as the girl's mind was only filled with how freakishly big that snail was.

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Word Count :: 437
Tag(S) :: Shepard Dagon

[Shepard Dagon]

Weird Coincidences.

Shepard went through many things since he got in this reality, recognizing that this reality was much stranger because of the lack of repercussions the adventurers saw in their actions.
Many adventurers where normal people, but many others acted carelessly about what the landers and many other adventurers thought about them... And Shepard had to get used to it as that became his reality. 

He was walking around the marshlands doing some recon of the perimeter, something some scribe asked for him to do a map with some shortcuts. After a few hours of exploring the area Shepard sat over a tree to rest for a moment, but before he managed to get some sleep, a shout came from the near bushes, ending in him going down to check.

When Shepard reached the place he saw some kind of cat-person, running in circles for some strange reason, getting closer he saw the snail so he lifted the little being and place it over a tree, then checked if the creature was ok, wondering what kind of business would bring that kind of npc to a place like that, so he decided to ask.

-Shepard-
Excuse me if I'm being obtrusive, what kind of matter takes a lander to a place like this?

He placed the npc in the ground and checked the near place for some dangers, but the area was clear of any kind of aggressive monster, so he felt relief.
The creature was strange for him, never saw someone alike, but he did heard stories about the cat like people and their characteristic way of being.

Shepard was intrigued, so he disguisedly examined the being as he wonder why the usual npc name came up of his head, maybe was some event hid in the area or something alike, whatever it was, surprised Shepard.

[Darko Lipowitz]

The northern marshlands of Thames was a vast swamp filled with rumors, and a boy who looks as if he was fourteen years of age decided to enter here to see the place for himself. This was supposed to be the game creator's rendering of the Thames, but the sight of the swamp did not remind the young Englishman of the river. Some rumors also say that the waters here had a healing effect on those who bathe in here, but as the water itself is murky and filled with creepy aquatic plants and algae it seemed as if no one would attempt to bathe in here due to the scary feel of the place, not to mention there were a lot of unknown creatures in the river and the place smelled very horrible. It is as if he had entered a river filled with a lot of trash and excrement, except that the smell was all-natural. The apparent realities that he had seen had made him definitely think about what kind of idiots were the persons who talked about the rumors and spread it to him. This river was no Thames, this was Grimes.

He then continued to walk along the riverside, his boots making a good impression on the green semisolid ground filled with moss and algae. He then heard a shout coming from near the place where he was walking. He then moved towards the place where the shout came from, but, as he turned towards that direction, he saw a green thing apart from the ground and the prints that his boots made on the ground. While the blob was in his sight, he pointed at it with his hand, and then shouted the skill that would reveal all information about the blob, "Evaluate!" As he stared at the two interfaces that said everything about that creature, he then realized that it was an Animated Sludge, the poisonous counterparts of the slimes in the forest, and like their forest cousins, they seemed to follow the people who used magic-based skills. As a Sorcerer, he would not use his skills unless he would attack, and therefore the sludge would not follow him yet. He then continued on walking towards the direction of the shout, and saw something that looks like a cat running in circles, and another being was running with the cat, seemingly not knowing why was it running. Also, some Animated Sludges were also tailing the cat as it was running, which made the impression that the cat uses a magic-based skill, and if the boy was right, the cat was a Summoner, and the being that ran with it was a summoned creature. Something was stuck on the clothes of the cat, and that might be the reason why that idiot was running around in circles as if it was chasing its tail. He then opened his grimoire with his right hand, and then flicked the wand on his left hand, pointing at the creature on the cat.

"Don't worry, scaredy-cat, I got this," he muttered as he took aim with his wand, the magic energy accumulating to its tip, when, another person came in and picked up the creature on the cat. By the looks of him, the boy remembered that it was the same person who collapsed at the middle of the street in London. It seems that he became veritable enough. He then turned back, and then he saw the animated sludge behind him move towards him in a slow manner. He then flicked again the wand, and the magic bolt made its way to the sludge, injuring it on its center. He then strode backwards to distance himself from the sludge, and after 2 magical missiles steadily connecting to the sludge, it disintegrated. He then slung back the grimoire on his bandolier and sighed.

[Pandemonium]

Around and around and around and... up. It took a second... or sixty for the feline to realize that she was being held up. The cold weight of the snail disappeared before long which left the feline in an even deeper stupor. It was only until after she was placed back down that the summoner finally realized what just happened. Like the tiny midget she was, Pandemonium couldn't help but stare up at the other being. His armor consisted of chain which confirmed that he was an adventurer (she could never really tell the difference between the more human-like species) but what his class was, the summoner could only guess. Chainmail meant tanks but he held no sword on his belt, nor axe, nor mace. Not a melee type? Then he sounded, taking the cat completely off-guard with his question.

"Lander?" She echoed, her head tilting slightly. "I'm... an adventurer, a Were-cat to be exact. Aren't Landers all human?" The girl continued to tilt her head until she looked like a curious puppy- er, kitten. On the topic of Landers, Pan couldn't recall any Landers being anything but human. She'd expected at least elves but still she had not spotted a single one in all her time. Shaking her head of the thoughts, the girl raised up one tiny hand; "Almost forgot. You took that nasty thing off my back right? Thanks for that. Thought I'd spy me some goblins and less sludge. Bad choice for a swamp eh?" Her raised hand went to her whiskers as she twisted them. Carbsy, who had been standing by its master as patiently as ever; perked an ear toward an off direction.

And with the cat still a little paranoid in this marshland, instantly thought it to be another snail. The moment Carbsy turned its head toward another newcomer, Pandemonium thought it a nasty creature come to stalk her once more. Like a cat who had been poked while dozing off, she jumped to the side, ready to throw the dagger that had been resting ever-so-peacefully at her side.

And she did too. The figure was humanoid but didn't register as something 'non-monster'. "Goblin?!" Was the only thing she said before she realized her mistake. Off the dagger went flying toward the mysterious figure, that she now recognized as human; both her hands flew to her mouth to hold back a muffled "Oh!" Whoops. And this is why sludge-hating cats shouldn't go to dark swampy places. They throw sharp objects at people. Well if anything the guy who she just threw her dagger at would understand. Right? It was better than ordering Carbsy to shoot at him since the follower's beams could pass through barriers...


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Word Count :: 452
Tag(S) :: Shepard Dagon | Darko Lipowitz

[Shepard Dagon]

Double Stabbing.

Shepard's shock came just after he heard the words "I'm... an adventurer"... realizing he just mindlessly lifted not only another adventurer but a woman, as his entire body shake and his muscles straighten every possible particle of his entire existence. Sweating he started to think how could he for such insulting act as his face blushed a little bit, softened by the image of just a cat and not a common woman.

He got a bit loose while she talked and tried to act more normally, when a sound of magic cast came from the other end of the place in which they were, resulting in an sludge being slain after two arcane missiles landed on him. Shepard's shock didn't allowed him to see the threat but he did notice the good intention from the one who protected them, contrary the cat-like girl who was apparently more exalted than him.

The sound of the wind being cut by the dagger warned the shaman about what did just happen, so he hastily moved closer to the guy there and casted a barrier on him one or two seconds before the dagger landed in his chest, worried the shaman shouted at him.

-Shepard-
Hey, are you all right? Are you hurt?

Shepard didn't saw what happened after he casted the barrier, hoping he did it in time because he had no healing skills yet, walked towards the guy to check his integrity.
Relieved that everything was ok he looked at both of them, when the discomfort started to appear in him, looking for an excuse, the shaman began to walk away.

-Shepard-
Everything is ok, no need for me to stay, travel safe. 

And in like he was in a rush, looked for some stuff in his inventory, looked to his map and activated his passive skill of pathfinder, while marking this space as secure enough to camp with minimum carefulness, tracing his route from the city to this point by following the path he took as free of monsters and safe for merchants. 

The next thing he did was closing everything and walking into the dense area going back to the city, as his part of the map was finished for an scribe to diagram the map and finish the quest, hoping he will not get followed by any of these two, but Shepard never got anything his way, and a hunch confirmed it.

Tags: Pandemonium Darko Lipowitz

[Darko Lipowitz]

As the boy landed on the ground on his feet, he noticed that the cat-like creature flung a dagger towards him. As the dagger flew towards him, he was thinking of how ungrateful that creature was. After all the lengths that he went through just to serve and protect, a dagger to his chest was all that he would receive? Fortunately he was protected by the other person who picked up the snail from the back of the cat before; casting a barrier to protect him from the knife that might have hit his chest. Though he could dodge it anyway, he was still grateful.

But when did he say that he was grateful for anything? He could just show by his actions that he was grateful although his words might say the reverse. In that way, only those who had the interest to know him better would see his good side, though his words might be scathing. Only those who wanted to know better about him would know better bout him, and he just ignored those who were otherwise.

He then turned towards the shaman who had cast the barrier, and then said, "You're a far better shot today than you were before when you just collapsed in the middle of the street." He then turned his head towards the cat, and, as devoid of any emotion as he could, he said, "Quite a good shot for a fraidy-cat like you."