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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 9:41:20 GMT
1015 words
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It was one of those lazy days when the sky was overcast and everyone in Londinium just seemed to be slow and relaxed. The streets were not as busy as usual; was it a holiday? Nah, it can’t be. There are no holidays in Londinium, mostly because there was no all-powerful governing body to declare such a thing. People of the land went about in their own pace and adventurers just went along. Or maybe the landers did have holidays but adventurers never got the memo? Caerbannog was unconcerned with such things though. The only thing that she was concerned about, and genuinely at that, was the piece of paper in her hands. The vertically-challenged samurai stood in front of an ad board. She had noticed a particular advertisement, not quite a quest but a formal invitation, it seemed. A wedding? A birthday party? A christening? Because she was in the way of other people who wanted to take on some quests, an adventurer or two shoved the samurai with a height deficit out of their way. Caer did not mind. She was fixated on the contents of the invitation. Was it a bachelor’s party? A social debut? A-
“-sacrificial feast!” the girl suddenly exclaimed, and so loudly too that nearby landers almost dropped their wares.
Adventurers looked at one another weirdly, and then they looked over to the little samurai, and then back to each other. Did the little girl just say what they thought she said? An adventurer or two thought that Caerbannog was not quite right in the head, so one by one, they shuffled away from the ad board which soon left the wolf-hair by her lonesome self. She put the paper closer up to her nose, a bad habit that she rarely ever does nowadays, as she squinted at the words in the invitation. Fairly sure about the contents of the ad which had been tacked onto the board, the wolf-hair herself did wonder about what it said:
Join us as we celebrate
The Sacrificial Feast
For He-Who-Walks-Behind-the-Rows
(A cornfield near Savill Flower Grove)
Now, in the modern world, a well-known “Feast of Sacrifice” was mostly figurative and almost always harmless. There were rituals and gatherings and certain animals were indeed sacrificed, but it was usually planned out and was in accordance with existing laws in the countries where it was celebrated. What she read was far from that Feast of Sacrifice though. Unless the typist or scribe had mistakenly shortened the phrase, “sacrificial feast” was a different thing altogether. It was pagan in origin and had underlying dark tones. It was understandable that other adventurers steered clear of Caer when she said it out loud; if she was not Level 90 in an MMORPG world where she would just be resurrected in their guild house after death, she would have been afraid too. But the circumstances that Caerbannog found herself in was ideal for a curious person such as her. If Kumori was by her side, he would have told her to forget about the invitation, that it was just some weirdo playing pranks on people; he’d always been the logical one. The assassin was not there to dissuade the samurai from what she wanted to do though, and so curious little Caerbannog hopped right out of the protection of Londinium and into the dangerous roads towards Savill Flower Grove.
As she walked on, the wolf-hair did not look back and so she was not able to notice the worried looks on her fellow adventurers’ faces. The words “sacrificial” and “feast” were ominous after all, but Caerbannog wanted to find out for herself if it really meant what it was supposed to mean. It might have just been written by a lazy scribe like @0x1dea. Clad in her usual schoolgirl outfit for greater mobility, the samurai wore her nagamaki by her side as she made her way through the Greatwoods. Thinking back on the information which was written on the “invitation”, she could not help but feel as if she’d heard or seen that before. “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” seemed really familiar, but the first thing that popped into her mind was “He Who Must Not Be Named” who was a villain in a book about an orphan who turned out to be a great wizard. Obviously, that was a different entity and their only resemblance were the words “He” and “Who”. So where did she hear that before? It was definitely something from the real world... maybe it had something to do with corn-
-fields. Whoa. Caerbannog’s eyes widened as she stepped out of the Greatwoods and into what was supposed to be a shortcut to Savill Flower Grove. Instead of the usual yalms upon yalms of dead or dying vegetation, she was greeted by the sight of what seemed to be many rows of corn. Or it could very well be many rows of some tall type of weed... who knows. Caerbannog sure didn’t. She just assumed that it was a cornfield because that’s what the invitation said. Before she could hop between the neatly tended rows though, the samurai felt a presence behind her and so she quickly turned around. Initially, the girl looked up since most adventurers were taller than her; but in this instance, she had to look down. There stood a boy in simple black and while clothing with a hat on his head and a black book tucked under his arm.
“Welcome, sister!” the boy cheerfully said, “The feast is about to begin. This way, please.”
And then the boy waved over to some place to the side of the rows of what seemed to be corn. Because of the height of the plant around her, Caerbannog could not see whatever it was that the boy waved to. He had walked on without her though, so Caer quickly hopped after the other person. She still had that nagging feeling, as if there was something familiar about all of this. Maybe a drink or two during the so-called “feast” would jog her memory.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 9:20:51 GMT
1035 words
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The sky overhead had turned to a dreary grey and heavy clouds rolled in, as if it was a sign of rain but no drizzle fell just yet. Around the vertically-challenged samurai, the rows of corn reached high as if they were aiming for the clouds. Even though she stood on the tips of her toes every now and then, Caerbannog could not see whatever was beyond the much taller vegetation. All she could do was follow the neatly-attired boy who walked in front of her as he wove through the dirt path along the corn field. They had not even gone into the field itself, just on the cleared areas beside it; even so, the corn stalks were tall enough to effectively obscure the wolf-hair’s view. The looming darkness did not help at all and it was times like this that made her wish she had Magic Light. But now was not the time to think about her skills, and here was not the place where she should lose her focus. Unnoticed by the samurai Caerbannog, something just beyond the row of corn right next to her wove and shifted through the tall vegetation.
“Hmm?” the wolf-hair stopped dead on her tracks when she finally heard some rustling close by, “Anyone there?”
But answer came save from the howl of the wind which suddenly blew so violently against the fields. There was incoming bad weather and at the worst of times too. How can anyone have a feast under such gloomy skies? While Caer wondered about that, she remembered about the invitation and the boy who was supposed to lead her to the event. But when she turned to look at where he was headed, there was nothing but rows upon rows of corn. The samurai took a few steps to her left, having remembered that the Greatwoods was right beside her since they had been walking along the rows of corn and not into it. A long green blade almost cut through the girl’s skin when she shifted her weight though, and soon Caer turned around to find that she was surrounded by towering stalks of corn on all sides.
“KYAAA~!” the girl shrieked, “How come even corn is taller than me?!”
Caerbannog stomped on the ground, clearly annoyed. But moreso, she acted that way because no one could see her. No one’s watching here. Not the usual frenmic rabbits who were strangely not found in droves in the corn field, not the weasels who usually took any opportunity to get food no matter the place, not pittered boars who would have loved corn, not those two glowing red eyes from behind the- wait, glowing red eyes?
“Who’s there?” Caer asked as she faced the direction from which a low growl was heard, but there was no answer.
Still annoyed by the fact that the corn grew taller than her, and now even more annoyed because she knew that someone just beyond the corn stalks was watching her and was probably entertained by the fact that she could not see above the rows, Caerbannog huffed and puffed and pulled out her trusty nagamaki Nottulfr. She raised her weapon overhead with both hands holding it steady, and then with one clean downward slash, the samurai used Zantetsuken to bulldoze a way past the corn field. The ground was upturned; the dirt flew to the sides and the earth that once sat where the slash collided with the ground fell destroyed and ruined. The corn stalks flew both to the front and to the sides, and a path was created through the tall vegetation.
“Oooh!” the wolf-hair sheathed her sword once she laid eyes upon what was beyond the corn rows.
In front of her, the samurai ace move had paved a way to a small white cottage made mostly of wood. A bright red barn with a tall grain silo sat right beside it. In front of the cottage, there was a line of long picnic tables with white cloth upon them. And upon the white cloth, there sat numerous dishes: corn bread, grilled corn on a cob, popcorn, grits, tortilla, chicha morada... well, you get the idea. Busy likes bees around their hive, what seemed to be children of various ages placed some dining utensils on the table.
“Hey!” Caerbannog, with her sword sheathed, raised one hand towards the children and she waved at them, “Is this the sacrificial feast?”
The children, all garbed in clothes that were similar to the boy that Caer encountered earlier, turned around in unison and stared right at the samurai. They blinked a few times before they turned to their sides and murmured at each other.
“Oi...” the wolf-hair sighed, “It’s rude to ignore a guest, you know?”
At that, the children stopped talking and they merely looked at one another. Some of them shifted slightly on the ground upon which they stood, but most of them just stared at Caerbannog as if she was some sort of anomaly. But just as the wolf-hair began to wonder if she had appeared to the wrong event, the boy with the black book stepped into view. The samurai did not even notice where he came from; the cottage door did not open and she had not seen a figure run out of the barn. Another mystery to solve or perhaps he was just truly good at disguising his presence. An assassin, maybe?
“Welcome, sister!” the boy cheerfully said, “The feast is about to begin. This way, please.”
He waved over to Caerbannog and motioned towards the long table near him. The dining utensils had just been placed and it seemed that everything was in order for the feast. There was something not quite right though; the samurai did not have the memory span of a goldfish. She could remember quite well what had just happened before she went into the corn fields. That boy, with the black book under his arm, had said the exact same thing while wearing the exact same reserved smile on his face. Upon this realization, Caerbannog felt an unmistakable feeling wash over her very being: she wanted to punch that smile off of the boy’s face.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2014 14:08:01 GMT
1560 words
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Caerbannog had only ever known about creatures that existed in the Bestiary. Mostly from landers, she had been able to glean information that pertained to creatures which had existed in the Half-Gaea lands of Elder Tale. So how was she supposed to know that even greater dangers lay in the fields? Moreover, what if the arrival of adventurers changed everything about the land? If they could bring their inventions into their new world, then it would not be far-fetched to say that they also brought along creatures from their superstitions and cultures. The samurai, albeit feeling nostalgic about the whole setup, only had one thing in her mind: she wanted to punch the boy’s face. Who’s to say that he was really just a child anyway? For all she knew, he could be a midget. Or worse, an adventurer who was using the avatar of a little boy. That was creepy in so many ways, but even moreso, it was odd that he kept saying the same thing every time they met. It was as if he was programmed to say those words, or did he forget that he told her about the feast already? Everyone else around the table seemed to be in a very serious mood. It was not what one would expect from a party or from children.
Focused on the strange scene before her, Caer barely noticed the presence that kept pacing in the cornfield behind her. Every now and then, two big red eyes peered between the corn stalks at the small gathering around the tables full of food. What was this feast for anyway? The samurai thought long and hard about the situation before her. Feast... a cornfield... it all rang a bell but she was not quite sure what it meant. The food on the table sure looked nice, but a gut feeling within the wolf-hair told her DANGER DANGER! Caerbannog’s one weakness would have been some booze; if it was anywhere nearby, the samurai would have done away with her gut feeling and joined in on the feast. But it was a gathering of children and so no booze. Too bad.
“What’s all this then?” Caerbannog, clearly an adult amongst children (or so she thought), asked the gathering.
“A feast!” one of the youngest children replied; redundant, she already knew that much anyway.
The child then hopped onto a place in one of tables and began to fill up a plate with food. The other soon followed and the feast began. Everything seemed to be in order and not a single thing was out of place... save for Caerbannog who remained on her spot away from the children. Where were the adults? Apart from the young ones at the tables and that one kid who kept repeating the same statement, the place was seemingly abandoned. Did such living quarters even exist before? How could she have not noticed it? Well, Windsor Greatwoods was a rather spacious piece of Elder Tale... there were small settlements within it that remained unknown to adventurers. This was probably one of them.
A low growling sound then emanated from the cornfield behind her. Up front, the boy with the black book began to mumble incoherently. Around them, the other children seemed to look up to him in awe or delight; Caerbannog, on the other hand, was not so amused. Being an animal trainer and an adventurer, she recognized that sort of strange speech... it was Tongue of Nature. And so the wolf-hair toggled her own Tongue of Nature skill on, and what did she hear? A conversation that was perhaps best left unheard by her.
“Is it ready?” asked the voice from the cornfield.
“Yes, my Lord,” the boy replied.
“Bring me the oldest one then, so that I may dine this day,” the voice commanded.
“Shall I assure them that this will bring about the abundance of our cornfields?” the boy asked.
“Yes,” said the voice; Caerbannog recognized a faint scoff behind it.
“And what of the new child?” the boy with the book asked as he walked up to the tallest amongst the gathered children and placed his hand on that person’s head.
“It seems to need more nourishment. Make sure that it eats properly,” the voice scoffed again.
At that, Caerbannog frowned. Were they referring to her? She was a grown up, goddammit! And what was it about dining and children and stuff?! It all clearly sounded like some scheme that Pedobear would come up with! The samurai walked over to the “Chosen” child, a blonde girl who seemed rather nervous, and Caer slapped the Tongue-speaking boy’s hand off of her head. The crowd was aghast except for the blonde girl who seemed every bit relieved. The boy, book still clutched tightly to his chest, turned to the interfering samurai. He then slapped her hand with his book, and placed his own hand upon the girl’s head once more.
“You’re sending her into the cornfield!” Caerbannog exclaimed, “As an offering to some beastie?!”
That’s right, it all made sense now. This scene was similar to an old horror story that was written in the real world by a popular author named Stephen King. In turn, it was turned to a movie that was moderately popular or at least had gained a cult following, which soon spawned bad sequels. Nonetheless, it did not take away from the fact that the original was appropriately creepy for its genre and was mildly interesting to Caerbannog who back then was a wee girl. She’s still a wee girl at the moment but technically, she was an adult now. And the samurai knew what He-Who-Walks-Behind-the-Rows and his minions do to adults: they are gutted, eyes are plucked, and then their dead bodies are strung up as scarecrows. Caerbannog did not want to get propped up like a scarecrow. Her panties were not ready for the world to see them!
“I will go to the beastie!” the samurai declared, “And have a very stern talk with it!”
Stern talk. That was Caer’s euphemism for breaking someone’s face. Maybe she would cut the beastie some slack if it was a cute creature or a polite gentleman like Mukade, but eating children hardly counts as cute or polite. Then again, she might not known the whole story; perhaps she could have some kind of talk with the beastie between punching its teeth in or after ripping off its limbs. Either way, the samurai would be the one to face the beastie, not the scared blonde girl. As she turned towards the cornfield though, the children stood up and formed a barrier between her and the fields. So that’s how they wanted to go about it huh?
The blue-eyed wolf-hair, who’d been so patient and kind up until that point, walked over to one of the tables which were full of food and cutlery. She placed her hands under one end, and then she heaved up with all her might: TABLE FLIP! In one instant, the dishes and spoons and fork and food all flipped up to the air and the table turned upside-down; some of the children screamed, others covered their eyes or ears, and the littlest ones ran behind the taller children. With the younglings scattered, Caerbannog was able to freely hop on towards the vast cornfield. What was beyond those cornstalkers? To whom did that voice belong to? It did not sound like anything that she heard before, and it was unlikely that the children would take orders from weasels or bunny rabbits... or would they? Who knows. They were children after all... then again, maybe there was something more sinister out there. The real world novel and movie Children of the Corn presented that possibility after all. Before the samurai stepped into the cornfield, she made sure to equip her items properly; she turned abruptly to the children who had just gotten their composure back.
“Before I go to war, I leave to you these words...” Caer huffed and then she spoke in her loudest voice, “THE ORANGE ONES ARE POISON!”
The wolf-hair, now golden eyed as she prepared for battle, left the children scratching their heads. While most were confused, some were still shaken; only the blonde girl was visibly relieved. Amongst those young people, one person did have a strange look to him... the boy with the black book, his face contorted to a fearful glower as his eyes remained on the cornfield and followed Caerbannog’s back until she was out of sight. One might say that his face was not that of a child; nay, not that of a lander or an adventurer, but of one born from the database of Elder Tale. Perhaps there was more to him than what meets the eye, but Caerbannog would have to figure that out later.
At the moment, the girl played hide and seek in the cornfield as the creature with the bright red eyes followed her around. It was like a shadow from the corner of her eye, one that would vanished once she turned to look. But it clearly existed and was not a mere figment of her imagination. She had heard it speak and the boy with the black book had spoken to it. What it was, she did not know but she was determined to find out.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2014 14:07:12 GMT
1025 words
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There are some things that you think only existed in dreams. There’s just no way that something like that would exist in reality. But as Caerbannog found herself more involved with the world of Elder Tale and its inhabitants, the more she knew to let go of that old way of thinking. Earth’s reality was its own; the land of Elder Tale had a different reality altogether despite having laws of physics which were similar to Earth’s own. As such, when the samurai came face to face with the red-eyed beast that walked behind the rows of corn, she was only slightly unnerved.
Slightly, because she knew to expect something that she had never seen before; yet unnerved, because the beast was every bit a nightmarish creature as one would never expect. It was the stuff of nightly terrors, with its hollow eye sockets that did not contain eyeballs but lifeless orbs which every now and then, instead of blinking, flickered a crimson red. Its face was gaunt as if it had not been nourished for ages, and yet the stink of rot and blood emanated from it. The creature had been fed recently, and Caerbannog though she even saw a severed arm between the Beast’s teeth when it grinned.
And grin, the creature did. The wolf-hair knew to check the most important factor when she was up against a frightful enemy: its level. Lo and behold, it was all seventy levels of doom. The highest that the young wolf-hair had ever encountered in Windsor Greatwoods, for Londinium was the starting point and so only low level beasts wandered around it. But this creature, this He-Who-Walks-Behind-the-Rows was clearly in the area not for a stroll but for a meal. Caerbannog had yet to decipher the true relation between the boy with the black book and the great beast before her, but already she could surmise that it was nothing good or innocent.
The Beast had risen above the corn field, finally. It seemed that it was ready to face the samurai who was a good twenty levels above its own. But the Beast did not seem fazed, and it was possible that it had something up its sleeve. Truly, it did. A red wave of energy shot forth from the Beast’s body as it stomped one foot on the ground. In an instant, Caerbannog’s level dropped to eighty. Still ten levels above the Beast but closer to its power level still.
The samurai only sighed as she shifted her sword in its saya and put her hand on its hilt. The nagamaki was equally long with regards to the blade and the hilt, and its length meant that it could be used somewhat as a spear. But more importantly, it was easier to balance and swing around- or at least, that was how it helped the samurai Caerbannog. Now, the Beast before her was unarmed. Gods be damned if she believed that though. The Beast’s weapons were its own body and its skills and its spells. Caer had hers too, but she was not as used to it as a creature that was born with the powers.
It seemed that the wolf-hair had finally met her match in Windsor Greatwoods. She had come across stronger enemies, but none that she had to fight by her lonesome. Who would think that this Beast was a dragon? Surely, not Caerbannog. To her, it looked like some dehydrated zombie that was in desperate need of a bath. The Beast was a dragon though and what do dragons do best? That’s right, they’re great at breathing fire. The Beast was no exception to the rule. As soon as Caer put her hand on her sword, the creature inhaled deeply and then it exhaled a black fire. The flames engulfed the cornfield but instead of setting it on fire, the corn stalks in its wake withered and died. It definitely was not something that Caerbannog could counter.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the samurai had prepared to meet that attack with her nagamaki, she had tripped on an exposed plant root and tumbled over towards her enemy. The flame attack missed her and when Caerbannog turned to look, she realized her mistake. Okay, no facing attacks head on then. The samurai rolled over to the side as the Beast, which was much bigger than her, struggled to look for the small target between its own legs. It was a fight that she did not want to lose though she did not have much to gain aside from, perhaps, answers. Why were the children offering their fellow children to this Beast? Why was such a high-leveled creature in Windsor Greatwoods? Why do poptarts taste so good?
The once blue-eyed wolf-hair, her eyes now golden and ready for a fight, rose up from the dirt as soon as she was able to roll away from beneath her foe. In the distance, the children were anxious about the on-goings in the corn field; however, the boy with the black book forbade them from going into the field. All of this though cannot be seen or heard by Caerbannog for she did not have the increased hearing range skill, nor was she tall enough to see above the corn stalks. The Withering Flames attack lessened the amount of corn leaves that she had to shove away from her face, but that was besides the point.
In front of Caerbannog, there was a very dangerous beast and she was not inclined to let it walk away. Even though their level difference was minimal while their height difference was great, the wolf-hair was unfazed. The initial shock of having to look upon The Beast’s horrendous countenance had left the wolf-hair and so she was ready to fight. But after what she witnessed, Caer knew to be more careful and she knew that she actually had to dodge attacks this time. Once again, her sword was by her side and her hand was on its hilt while the other grasped its saya. The girl’s eyes remained on the creature in front of her as The Beast stared right back.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 15:30:39 GMT
685 words
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"Do you know who I am, child?" the creature growled as it looked over to the samurai.
Caerbannog just stared back at the Beast. She did not know where it came from or why it was in the Greatwoods, but she knew that it was an enemy that she had to take down. Even though it had lurked about in the corn fields without laying waste to the land around it, the Beast had been taking "sacrifices" apparently. Perhaps killing landers not only filled its belly but also gave it experience points in much the same way that landers and adventurers leveled up from destroying beasts. This made the tamer wonder if she could apply the same principle to her own tamed creatures. She remembered that her enemic buster Hyzentlay had defeat quite a few enemies but she never leveled up, then again it might have required more experience points for her to get to the next level. This was a theory that the wolf-hair thought to work on as soon as she had the time, but at the moment she had to focus on the impending battle.
"I am He-Who-Walks-Behind-the-Rows!" exclaimed the Beast, almost a scream to the samurai's face.
It seemed ready to attack but then...
"Rows of what?" Caer asked. She remained on her spot with just a hand on her saya and the other hand on her nagamaki's hilt.
"Rows... of corn!" the Beast answered.
A moment of silence.
"What is corn?" the wolf-hair tilted her hear to one side and her arms seemed slack, unready.
The Beast snarled, as if it was just about to scream out another answer, but none came. Its brow, if if could be called that, was furrowed and its lifeless eyes darted about. Understandably, a creature that once lived in foreign lands would not be able to recognize the flora and fauna around it much less what it was called. This was exactly what Caerbannog hoped for and expected. Though she might act like a dunce or a child at times, the samurai was able to use her wit in the most important situations. The wolf-hair usually went about her fights creatively or at least in a way that would be entertaining to her (and to the readers) and solos were not an exception. The Beast, in all its might and power, was now at the receiving end of Caerbannog's uncanny methods of fighting.
"T-that is... the things around you! Corn!" the creature sounded unsure, even confused.
Caer decided to play on this show of weakness which she had just confirmed. She nodded over to a cornstalk to her left, and then to a taller one on her right.
"This corn? Or that corn?" she asked.
In frustration, The Beast gritted its teeth and then it bared its fangs at the samurai.
"Are you mocking me?!" it growled.
"Heavens, no! If I was, I would do this..." Caer then breathed in deeply and, in as deep a voice as she could muster, the samurai yelled, "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!"
The Beast finally snapped. Its eyes glowed a crimson red and the creature executed its Mean Look attack straight at Caerbannog. The samurai, in turn, dropped to the ground and rolled forward as she used Denkosekka to increase her speed. The skill's lightning armor was useful for absorbing some physical damage too. The Beast threw a Swipe down at her but the girl drew her sword right up to meet the attack; not a counter but a Chain 2 skill, Shunsen, which deterred melee attacks. Though the gap was only ten levels, it was still sufficient enough to allow the ace move to stop the Swipe on its tracks.
"Hey there, Corn Lord," the samurai distracted the Beast for a full four seconds as Muramasa enveloped her blade.
When the creature Swiped her again, Caer slashed the attacking arm which transferred the cursed runes from her weapon to the Beast. She doubled back as the confused opponent watched the runes that crept through its whole being. Still, being a creature of darkness, it might be able to resist the curse altogether. Only time will tell.
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