[Closed/Kumori] In my restless dreams, I see that town. -end

[Deleted]

1020 words HP 100%		Pet: Kumori MP 100%
Even though they had recently been married and managed to purchase their personal home, the couple Kumori and Caerbannog had little time for themselves. Between managing the guild, renovating their home, researching new smithing and tailoring recipes and exploring the new areas which had recently been unlocked, the two were able to spend time together as comrades but not as husband and wife. The assassin Kumori, who had always made it a point to show his affections towards the samurai, had suggested that they go on an out-of-town trip; just the two of them, hand in hand. Surprisingly, Caerbannog agreed and for the most part, she even played the sweet little house wife who walked beside her hubby; her hand in his hand, their arms swinging gently as they made their way out of Londinium. Up the familiar roads they walked and Caer did not even mind the stares and murmurs and worries of those that they met along the way. Such comments included “is he a lolicon?” and “how old is she?”, even “are they brother and sister?” followed by “or lovers?!”. At that time, a marriage system for Adventurers was yet to be made so nothing really told the public about their relationship. Still, the couple walked on. Caerbannog assured her husband that she knew of just the right place for their trip. She found it one day when she was exploring the new areas with Foreman Mukade IX. The samurai had taken to using the centipede as some sort of mount, and the massive creature was not above letting the runt pet him like a mutt. Soon the assassin was led through some unfamiliar terrain by his wife, but the road and the ways were not so strange that it would warrant some worry. They seemed to just be rarely used roads that were far from the main path between the two known cities. Their direction was obvious though: the couple headed for the recently opened Avon District. The area that Caerbannog led her husband to was not the familiar Stratford or the Castle, but the Avon River which had many small villages around it. Was she leading him to a secret villa that she purchased or rented? Or perhaps a small hotel for newly-weds, run by unassuming landers? “We’re here!” the samurai suddenly exclaimed when they reached a slope that led somewhere upwards. It was difficult to see more than a few meters in front of them for a thick fog enveloped the area. Caerbannog pointed directly ahead to a sign board that was soon revealed both to her and to her husband. It had faded green paint and some weathered brass lettering, but the words on the board were unmistakable. Anyone who knew even a bit about gaming culture in the real world would probably recognize it, or if they had seen some really bad horror movies lately, the name would ring a bell as well. Welcome to SILENT HILL A lot lamp flickered ominously right above the board. Caerbannog squee’d in glee and she began to tug at her husband’s hand. If he did not budge, the samurai would just let his hand go and walk up all the way into town. Either way, she’d go first. Dressed only in her usual school girl outfit, Caer was without her usual weapons but she was far from unarmed. The samurai could punch a hole through most things, and even the supposedly horrifying creatures of the real world Silent Hill probably would not hold a candle to her strength. Except for Pyramid Head. Nobody messes with him. Scary thoughts aside, there was no evidence that this Silent Hill -was- anything like the Silent Hill from all those games that Caerbannog liked to play. Aside from the name, the thick fog, the cold air, the creepy atmosphere, the signage and the siren that blared in the distance, there were no similarities between the Silent Hill in front of the couple and the- wait, a siren blaring in the distance? Upon hearing that sound, Caer’s eyes widened and she raised her hands over her head in an exclamation of glee. The samurai then ran into the thick fog and soon vanished from her dear husband’s sight. From this point onwards, the assassin Kumori was on his own. His wife had disappeared into the fog that enveloped this place called Silent Hill. The fog was so thick that he would be able to see only up to two meters around him. If there was no ear-piercing blast from the siren, he would have been able to hear some footsteps nearby. They did not sound anything like the soles of landers and adventurers though; the footsteps sounded more like something that was dragged along the ground. But even through the loud sound from the siren, it would difficult for the assassin to ignore a small contraption on the ground. It made an equally loud white noise which would be easier to hear for the assassin due to his proximity. The contraption was a small metal box with wires and a mana fragment inside. The white noise would sound louder as each second passed by, and as that noise increased, Kumori would then be able to finally hear the dragged footsteps nearby... and they seemed to be headed for him too. As for Caerbannog, she found herself in the middle of an empty town. Well, not quite empty because there were some figures that moved in the fog. Also, a house or two had their lights on when she arrived, but someone turned them off as soon as she got close to what seemed to be a clinic. It had the symbol of medicine, the Caduceus, on a banner above its doorway so naturally, the samurai thought that it was a clinic. It was too small to be a hospital, then again she was in an equally small town so it could be their version of a hospital. Beneath the Caduceus symbol, the word “Alchemilla” was written in bold letters. The samurai giggled before she ran up its stairs and punched the door in.

[Kumori]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 5MP every 5s	Kumori :: Level 77 :: Assassin Armor: Cuirass of Shadows with Cloak of Darkness Main Weapon: Night’s Kiss by 黒 with Nectar Scabbard and Alvan Blade by 黒 Quick Slot: Heaven's Wrath by 黒 Other: Something
WC: 1038	Tags: ?	Skills: Skill name

Now things all seemed too good to be true when Kyuu was agreeing to every single thing that he was asking for, especially if it was a date together. He allowed her to choose the location, but who knew that he was in for a big surprise. Kyuu was all happy and giddy as they were walking towards their destination. Well, while they were making their way towards who knows where, the two were getting comments about the “age difference” between the two. The reality was that there were only a few years between them and she was legal. Well, it was typical, even if they were still somehow thought to be brother and sister by complete strangers. I mean if it was their friends, he’d have understood. It was most likely due to their Asian heritage and the fact that most people couldn’t tell the difference between the two of them. (Hell… the origins of the face claims were even from different countries! Ignorant bastards!)

So where were the two going? They were going to the Avon district, and unfortunately, Ryuu had never been here to scout or to even check out what the heck was going on around here. Did Kyuu really surprise him with some sort of honeymoon spot? Was he about to get lucky tonight? Ryuu was, at this point, really excited about what was about to happen. I mean, all he could think about was the fun times that they would have. wink. I know where your mind went, but don’t linger too long, or you’ll have to take a shower. He saw all of the houses on the riverside. He was actually ecstatic, at this point, hoping that his waifu had a great surprise for him.

Oh boy, did he get a surprise. The fact that Kyuu was so willing to do this, it made him sort of happy, that is until he saw an eerie fog begin to surround them. Ryuu looked around and his happiness slowly deteriorated into a contorted look of horror. He read the words on the bronze plaque and wanted to run, but Kyuu gripped onto him tightly. He could actually hear eerie music to match the terrible atmosphere that his wife had brought him to. How? He wasn’t really sure, but it was there, and he could only expect that every time something was going to pop out at him, he would hear the appropriate music to go with it. Of all places she had to bring him, it was a horror game setting… Silent Hill. This place was not only infamous about its atmosphere, it was infamous for the ridiculous monsters and gory details that these monsters had. This game was supposed to be rated Teen, but they decided to make the expansion M for certain reasons, and he could only guess this was one of the reasons.

The samurai tugged at his hand and he followed reluctantly. He wanted to turn around and run back home, but he couldn’t leave his wife alone, not in this place. Surely she could take care of herself, but there was no way in hell he was going back alone. Ryuu was dressed in his casual clothes as well and he didn’t bother bringing any of his weapons either, except for one he didn’t care about using all that much, a low level dagger. He took it out and he held it in front of him, but his hand shook violently. Ryuu was obviously nervous. He looked at Kyuu, and if she turned around, she would’ve seen the “y u do dis?!” face. Kyuu had told him not to bring much, so he didn’t. She said it’d be a relaxing day, but it wasn’t. Ryuu wanted to cry, but his manliness told him he couldn’t. The words “nut up or shut up” continued to echo through his mind. “Kyuu…? Where are we going?” he asked her.

And then there was a siren. No, there really was a siren. Oh man, he was going to die. He wanted to die! He didn’t want to live through this nightmare!!! Unfortunately, his instinctive will to survive would keep him alive, and he would have to go through this nightmare anyways. It was then that Kyuu had run off on her own and disappeared into the fog. Ryuu tried to run after her, but the fog grew thicker and he couldn’t see anything save for a few feet in front of him.

After standing there for several seconds, he began to hear static. If there was anything that he learned from Kyuu, even if he hated playing this game, it was that static was a bad thing. Static getting louder was even worse. Footsteps with static means: “RUN LIKE HELL!” So he did, after he grabbed the radio. He ran forward, as far away as he could from the radio static and from the footsteps. There was no way he wanted to die in the most gruesome way. He wanted to stay alive. He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to find his wife! Please, God, please help him find a way out without any incident! But knowing the irony of things, he wasn’t going to get off that easy. After running for a few minutes, he stopped and looked around. The static had become silent and he sighed in relief. Where was he? Ryuu didn’t know. He didn’t have a map of the place and he sure as hell didn’t play the game of Silent Hill or traverse through the city with Kyuu. He usually turned away from the TV or put on headphones so he didn’t have to hear the ridiculous soundtrack of it. He really wanted to get out of here, but Kyuu dragged him into this. Ryuu expected a very large reward from his wife, should he get through this and find her. He shuddered and sighed as he looked at the mansion that was in front of him. He knew it was probably a bad idea to go in, but honestly, with a low level dagger, he needed equipment, and he had little to none. He was really hoping to stay at a hotel. Q.Q

[Deleted]

1155 words HP 100%		Pet: Kumori MP 95%
“In my restless dreams, I see that town...” Caerbannog telepathically called her husband, “...Silent Hill.” That was the beginning of Mary’s letter, a plot element of the second Silent Hill game. She had found the town by accident when she strolled along the riverbank with her pet centipede, but the samurai back then had stayed far from the entrance of the town. She had only observed it from a far and noticed the fog that settled around it. It was reminiscent of the game series that she played in the real world, and one that she enjoyed playing in the dark. The assassin, even when Silent Hill was just a game on the girl’s television screen, had disliked having to deal with it or anything related to it. Occasionally, Kyuu was able to convince him to sit down beside her and watch her play the game but those instances were very rare. He seemed to prefer it when the girl sat on his lap as she played the video game Silent Hill, or maybe he was not able to move then because of the hundred pounds of sheer terror that was a spurned Kyuu. Back then, the young man was barely able to sit still for one play-through, so one can only imagine his horror when the nightmare became “real”. As for his friend and wife though, it was a dream come true! Caerbannog was finally able to explore Silent Hill or at least the Elder Tale version of that place. She noticed the differences from certain versions of the game, such as Alchemilla being a small clinic instead of a large general hospital, but for the most part, the eerie atmosphere remained. Having been used to Dokuganryu which created a cloud that could cover and hide her presence, the samurai was not too worried about the fog. She had stopped at the doorway of Alchemilla; literally, it was just the doorway because Caer had punched the door in. It was really just a wooden cottage which had been fitted with medical equipment and first aid boxes, and a healthy dose of immobile nurses. Wait, nurse? Caerbannog gasped and only then did she remember a self-imposed rule regarding monster nurses: don’t make a sound in their presence. A nurse immediately turned to look at the samurai’s direction and it was every bit the same as the ones that she had encountered in her games. Truth be told, the wolf-hair felt rather afraid and genuinely too for she, more than her husband, knew about the dangers of Silent Hill. The nurse did not move and neither did its companions. They merely stood there “looking” at Caerbannog’s direction. The girl knew that they did not have eyes though, and so the creatures only responded to noise and movement. If she made a run for it, they would surely follow her outside since she had recklessly destroyed the door. She wasn’t sure if Ryuu received her telepathic call as he was yet to reply. The samurai thought to leave and never return, but a ray of sunlight that shone through a back window made something glimmer on a table. It looked like an open locket with something small and red inside... rather out of place, but she knew that it had a connection to the original Silent Hill’s ending. Could it be THAT thing? Caer glanced at the closest nurse. It had a stick in its hand and could probably bludgeon her, but a stick was just a stick and she was Level 90. The one that worried her a bit was the nurse that was close to the table with the locket on it. The back window was on the far end of the next room, and Caerbannog would surely attract the attention of the nurses on her way there. That last nurse, instead of holding onto a stick or something similar, had a big red fire extinguisher in her hands. That would probably hurt if the samurai was hit with it, or worse she could get knocked out and then subsequently dog piled by the other nurses. The wolf-hair made up her mind though. If that locket did contain the substance that would be key to ending the “game” of Silent Hill, then she would risk life and limb to take it. Caerbannog activated Denkosekka for its speed boost, and then she dashed off into the other end of Alchemilla Clinic. Someplace else in Silent Hill, Kumori ran off like a scared little princess. Fortunately, he picked up the radio even in his panic and as he distanced himself from the dark figures in the fog, the static died down. Every now and then, he would be able to hear some static from the radio but unless he ran off blindly into the sides of the road, he’d be safe. Eventually, the young man arrived at the foot of some stairs. At first glance, the place seemed to be a mansion but if the assassin stepped through the double doors, he would immediately recognize a certain old-world theme to it. He had found a theatre, and there were only two things that he could do: he could go back out, at which point his radio would go crazy and the sound of static would grow louder with each step... or he could explore the theatre and shut the double doors behind him. The latter would make the radio’s static quiet down, but there will always be a faint SSSSSHHHHHZ sound... just a bit of static that was enough to keep him on his toes. There were no attendants or theatre personnel, of course; all he would find are some half-used wax candles and a matchbox beside it, the box containing only three unused match sticks. Beside the door, the theatre map was posted and if he put that dagger of his to good use, he could take it off the wall and carry it around. There was no telling what he would find inside though. If he had paid any attention to a game that Kyuu played, he would know well to turn off any source of light on his person. Even if he found a working flashlight somewhere, Ariels - which were the annoying little bitches in the theatre- were drawn to light and would flock to him like moths to a doomed adventurer. On the other hand, he might need to turn the lights on to see any wayward Straightjackets that tended to roam around hallways. But of course, the place could just be an ordinary theatre with some popcorn and candy on the counter. Kumori could even watch a movie, maybe. Who knows? Maybe he could try contacting his waifu, or he could wait the shitstorm out. It’s not as if the double doors won’t be able to hold off the monsters outside forever. BAM! Did something just hit the theatre doors? BAM! There it goes again!

[Kumori]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 5MP every 5s	Kumori :: Level 77 :: Assassin Armor: Cuirass of Shadows with Cloak of Darkness Main Weapon: Night’s Kiss by 黒 with Nectar Scabbard and Alvan Blade by 黒 Quick Slot: Heaven's Wrath by 黒 Other: Something
WC: 538	Tags: ?	Skills: Skill name

A message came from Caerbannog. The message was eerie to fit the atmosphere, and it didn’t make him any more comfortable. “Are you trying to scare me even more?” he said to her with a slight hint of a whimper. He didn’t like showing his weaknesses, but if it was to Kyuu, he didn’t mind as much. Still, he hated having to be in this position. “Soo… any idea where we are? Any way we’ll be able to meet up? Any way we’ll get out of here alive?” He wasn’t really expecting much of an answer. Kyuu was probably enjoying this and enjoying the torment he was going through. He would, however, like a bit of comfort that his wife was still alive, so he would try to keep a conversation going. “So… who knew the creators of Elder Tales had a thing for Silent Hill… crazy, huh?” he asked rhetorically. He was trying to lighten the mood, and well, he did all he could to do so, by keeping the conversation light.

Scared little prince! Get it right! And he’s not scared… he’s just spooked! Besides, wouldn’t you be spooked if you couldn’t see anything aside from fog and entering a random building you thought has supplies in it? Any sensible player would look in places for supplies, especially since he was foolish enough to bring nothing except for his dagger. He brought it out in front of his face to make sure that he was protected, somewhat. The radio’s volume began to decrease, but the static didn’t stop. He guessed that the reason was because there would always be monsters around unless he purged them all with fire.

Ryuu looked around and saw a few things that would prove useful. First off were matches and half-used candles. A source of light was nice, but it also drew a lot of attention. It wouldn’t create a fire that was big enough to protect him, so he stopped himself from using them, but he did put them into his empty inventory. He also used the dagger to cut the map off the wall. It would be useful for establishing objectives. Oh wait! 3 matches! He could set the whole place on fire! Too bad he knew that the match didn’t have enough fuel to start a fire and that each match was precious. He should save to use them for the right time. Besides, his vision was beginning to adjust to the darkness.

That was when the double doors behind him began to bang really loudly. You’ve got to be kidding me, he thought. He turned towards the auditorium and opened the door. He looked intensely into the darkness, watching for any possible motions or movements that may signal some crazy monster that could attack him or try to kill him. Also, this was a lot like fighting blind. He had to rely on sound and his instincts. It wouldn’t be easy, but fighting blinded wasn’t new to him. He had to deal with it with several different monsters, but he still hated the lack of light.

Ryuu entered into the auditorium, hoping to make it to the stage, but who knows what he’d find in the seats.

[Deleted]

3210 words HP 100%		Pet: Kumori MP 97%
Just before she dashed off towards the other end of Alchemilla, Caerbannog had received confirmation that her dear husband Kumori was doing well. Or rather, he had not complained of any missing limbs so he sounded well enough. Because the call was telepathic, she did not hear any of the odd noises from his location so she could not give any advice. Moreover, even if he wanted to talk with her, at that moment the samurai had her hands full. She dashed off and stepped a little to her right just as a nurse brought down its stick towards her head. Though quick to attack at close range, nurses moved slowly towards targets so the best way to avoid getting shanked or bludgeoned to death was to stay away from them. In this situation though, the most that Caerbannog could do was to use her ace move’s speed buff to move away just as the nurses attacked. They were rather slow to recover after each attack, a long recast perhaps? Anyway, Caerbannog exploited that disadvantage of theirs. Compared to her, they moved sluggishly and even as the nurses converged towards her path, the samurai was able to get past most of the nurses just before they attacked. The nurse that was armed with the fire extinguisher though was able to move right in front of the table just before Caerbannog reached it. The samurai did not slow down. She played chicken with that nurse, the final obstacle in her path. But then. just one step into the nurse’s range, Caerbannog came to an abrupt stop. As a result, the nurse which thought that the samurai would come within its reach bludgeoned an empty floor with its fire extinguisher. At the point, Caer ran up the extinguisher which was stuck in the ruined floor boards, and then she knee’d the nurse’s face. She would have felt back if it was a real nurse, but it wasn’t so the wolf-hair could not care any less. Dazed, the nurse fell to the side as Caer hopped victorious onto the table. She picked up the locket and put it around her neck, and then without looking behind her, the wolf-hair crashed through the back window. The nurses reached out to her but the window was too small for them to go through, and because they reacted by instinct, the nurses ended up restricting one another’s movement. Caerbannog left them to their own devices, knowing that they would stop moving as soon as she was out of their range and when they no longer detected foreign movement. Once again, the blue-eyed wolf-hair found herself in the thick fog. But instead of the main road, she had stepped on soft grass… a low growling sound emanated from her right side but there was no shadow or figure close to her. Having no way to determine the proximity of what she assumed to be an incoming monster, the girl went along the side of the clinic which was a structure large enough to be discernible through the fog. She could hear the nurses move inside it so Caer made sure to be wary of any windows or doors to the side of the clinic. The fog was difficult to see through but she just made sure to stay away from any telltale sounds of attackers. Caer soon found herself on the main road again and from there, she ran away from Alchemilla with its busted double doors. The theatre was silent save for the occasional banging on the front door. Up ahead, the stage was dimly lit with just a few spotlights that shone on the heavy curtain. Unlike regular stages, the auditorium’s curtains were far too heavy to be manually lifted and a mechanism would have to be activated to lift it up and reveal what was behind it. But did Kumori want to find out what’s behind the curtain? Most importantly, would he even get to the control room that was just a little way to the right side of the stage? The radio’s static would grow louder as Kumori walked on. The first few rows near the door were empty but around the middle of the room, some figures sat close to each other. Their heads twitched every now and then, as if it was some guy talking excitedly to a friend. But as soon as Kumori was just two rows away from them, the Straightjackets would stand up and rear their ugly faceless heads at him. It was difficult to see but the light from the stage was enough to make it clear that the moving figures were not human. They twitched violently and their sides pulsated as if they were trapped in their own skin and wanted to break free. Three creatures moved in from the assassin’s left side and two moved in from the right. It was too late to double back though, for the entrance of the auditorium was already occupied by a monstrous Two-back. It was a rather gruesome representation of something that will probably get people banned, but that’s not what Kumori should worry about at the moment. The radio would go haywire at the presence of the monsters in such close proximity, and there were few things for him to consider in that dark place. He could take his chances by going around the first few rows which did not seem to have any monsters, but the problem was that it was shrouded in darkness. The rows which were illuminated by the light from the stage were infested with monsters, and the way back to the front door was blocked by the Two-back. At that moment, a telepathic call came in. “Where are you?” it was Caerbannog, “I think this place is a mix of all the Silent Hill worlds. I hope the Butcher doesn’t show up…” Less impressive-looking than Pyramid Head, the Butcher was, however, more frightening due to its sheer violence. While Pyramid Head, or the Red Pyramid, usually showed up as a reminder of guilt and distanced itself from humans, the Butcher did not discern between monsters and humans. It would gut anyone regardless. As for the samurai, who worried about the presence of either powerful monsters, she walked up the main street and then came to a halt when the wind blew in a folded letter down her path. It read: I still remember that day clearly as if it happened yesterday. It was a long, lonely drive across a grey highway northeast of my city. There were few cars and trucks headed the same direction but curiously, none came from the other side. I thought nothing of it, not at first. But as the hours passed by and the day moved on, I began to wonder just how long that highway actually was. Speed limit was sixty miles per hour so I couldn’t go any faster. Besides, my truck was fairly heavy- if I stepped on the gas, chaos might ensue. And so I continued that long, lonely drive across that unknown highway to the other side. I looked at my hands; they were calloused. Such were the hands of a working man. I reached out to turn the radio on because I was getting bored. At first a familiar song began to play but it was quickly replaced by static. I switched stations; still there was nothing but static. So I was stuck on that seemingly endless journey with nothing but static on my radio. For how long was I traveling? I had no idea. My wristwatch was busted so I stuffed it into the dashboard between some unpaid bills and mortgage notices. I looked to my left and noticed that the sun was just about ready to vanish beneath the horizon. Damn, I was losing daylight so quickly. Maybe I should have left the city earlier. The fog which covered the road up ahead didn’t help either. It was difficult to see the road; I looked at the sun again as its light was replaced by the moon. All it took was that one moment, just one second of distraction when my eyes were off the road. When I looked back, a dark-haired girl crossed the road and I had to swerve to avoid her. My heart pounded so fast in my chest as I tried to control my beast of a truck. It was old and heavy; still road worthy, but difficult to control in emergencies. Still, I knew her, how to control her and make her do my bidding. I was able to swerve quickly enough to avoid the girl and my truck was not damaged either. Well, it had a few scratches on the side where it grazed a town sign but it wasn’t anything serious. More importantly, I wanted to know if the girl was fine. I was in a foggy, deserted highway with nothing but the rising moon and the twinkling stars as my witness, yet I was genuinely worried for the girl. If I did hit her, I knew not to run; I would have taken her to the hospital. I turned my truck’s engine off, pocketed the keys and hopped out of the driver’s seat. I closed the door behind me to make sure that no raccoons or foxes boarded while I was away. First, I looked beneath the truck, hoping and praying that I would not find a dead girl’s body there. I bent low and then I was down on my kness... I looked under my truck and- there was nothing. I saw a pair of legs though; by the looks of it, it was the girl whom I nearly h it with my big old truck. She ran away and so I stood up quickly to follow her, but strangely enough I did not see her emerge from the other side of my truck. Curious... who was that- suddenly, I heard a scream. I turned around and noticed a house by the side of the road; it was a stone’s throw away from where my truck ended up. The house was in flames. Being the person that I am, without a moment of hesitation, I ran towards the burning house. A dark-haired woman stood close to the door seemingly concerned. “ Is there anyone else in the house? “ I asked her but she pushed me and then she ran away. She might have been traumatized, I thought, and so I was ready to run after her to check if she was fine. However, the same scream which I heard earlier drew my attention back to the house. It was the voice of a girl and I knew that I could not abandon her. Perhaps the woman ran away to ask for help? I could only hope. But even so, I had to do something right then and right there. There was a town up ahead for sure since I saw the sign earlier; however, due to the thick fog and the darkness of the night, I could not gauge our distance from the town. I did not know if the firefighters would be able to arrive in time to save the girl, so I made a decision. I turned back to the door of the burning house and kicked it in. The air was hot and suffocating; I put my arm over my face to protect myself and I also tried to keep my breathing short and shallow. My lungs could be seared by excessive heat or suffocated by thick smoke; I would die before I even reach the girl unless I was careful. Around me, bookcases and chairs were ablaze. The wooden floor was in flames and so was the thin wall covered with wallpaper. In front of me, there was a staircase but that too was engulfed by the dancing red flames. To my horror, another scream rang through the house and it sounded as if it came from the second floor. Despite the blaze around me and the danger that I would surely go through, I knew that I had to find another way up there. I had to save that girl. Without a second thought, I ran up the burning staircase. The steps seemed weak for flames licked them thoroughly and I knew that it would soon fall apart. I ran up those weak steps and heard the crack and collapse of wood behind me but I did not look back. Only when I was on the solid flooring of the second storey did I look back- the stairs had been eaten completely by the blaze. I would have to find another way down, but first I had to find the girl. Another scream led me to her direction; to my right. I could only see bookcases and wooden cabinets in that direction so I ran around a bit. Eventually, I came across an area which had little furniture and... symbols on the floor? I thought nothing of it at that time. Just an odd design choice perhaps. I really did not have the luxury of mulling over my thoughts at that point. Amidst the blaze, the burning books, the charred chairs, the hot air and the thick smoke, there lay a girl who was burned beyond recognition. I wondered how that was possible for although the house was burning right then and there, the girl seemed to have been burned prior to that. But it was not my place to question. I simply scooped the girl up in my arms and put her face close to my chest. I whispered to her that she would be alright even though I was not sure due to her condition. Still, I’ll be damned if I did not try to save her. I scanned the entire second storey as far as my eyes could see. Unable to put my arms or hands up to cover my face, I had to be quick. My eyes checked every nook and cranny until eventually I found another staircase nearby. I ran quickly towards it. To my surprise, a symbol suddenly appeared in front of me and that made me stop on my tracks. The ceiling then crashed right on the spot where I would have been if that symbol had not appeared. I took that as a sign. I was supposed to save that girl, and it served to fuel my drive to get out of that burning house alive. I would save her not to be a hero but to be a person who could do what was good and what was right. The symbol stayed on the same spot which probably meant that the straight path was unsafe. Therefore I stepped to the right side of that symbol and continued my dash towards the stairs. No symbols appeared as I ran down the steps with the burned girl in my arms. I could still feel her deep gasps as she tried to hang onto her dear life. She was charred and unrecognizable; she did not even look human anymore, but I knew that she was. I knew in my heart, in my soul, my very being that I was saving a young human girl. I soon reached the bottom of the staircase which gave away when I stepped off of it. There were symbols strewn about on the first floor and they guided me away from dangerous areas. The bookcases were on fire and the flames licked the ceiling of the first storey. I stayed far away from them since such furniture could fall over and pin down both the girl and I. With the help of the symbols, I was able to reach the front door but a wall of fire blocked my way. To my shock, which was soon followed by relief, another symbol appeared and it cleared my path. I did not look back. I knew that the house could not be saved. With whatever strength was left in my body, I ran through the front door and into the safety of the yard. As soon as I stepped out of that house, I felt my strength leave me. I knelt onto the warm grass at the front yard and gently laid the girl down. She was still breathing; that was good. I then felt my chest tighten up. I coughed and choked on air since the temperature around me was much lower than what I breathed in when I was in the house. Maybe I inhaled too much smoke too. My head began to hurt and I had to move to my right side so that I would not fall on the girl whom I just saved. I lay on the yard coughing and gagging on air for a while until eventually, the fog crept in over us and I lost consciousness. The last things that I heard were eerie crackles and sputters, the sound of feet being dragged across the pavement, and the noise of blaring sirens in the distance. I woke up to another foggy day. To my relief, I found myself on a bench just outside a town; someone let me rest there instead of leaving me on the cold ground in front of a burned down house. Speaking of which, I jolted awake when I remembered the events which transpired during the previous evening. I wondered where the girl was and so I decided to explore that town. My truck was still probably in the same place anyway; the highway was all but deserted last time I checked and I had the keys to my truck. So I walked on farther into the town which was, for some reason, very quiet and foggy. Perhaps it was one of those places which rarely had visitors. Perhaps most of the residents already moved out to live in the larger cities. Whatever the reason was, the town was silent even under broad daylight. It unnerved me. I walked on until I noticed a town map by the side of the road. I looked around and did not see anyone who could need it, and so I removed that large piece of paper from its board, folded it and decided to keep it for my own. Was that vandalism? Who knows. And who cares anyway? I took a quick glance at the map, checked the street signs close to me and looked for my destination. A hospital was marked clearly on the map. I wanted to know if the girl survived so I noted that destination and turned around a corner to my left side. The sign read “Crichton Street”. I walked up that silent, wide path until I came to a corner at which I turned right. A few more steps and eventually I found myself in front of the hospital. She had to be there. It was the only place where that severely burned girl could have been taken. I walked in through the front door with hope in my heavy heart. I knew I did the right thing when I saved her from that burning house, but after that, her life was in someone else’s hands.

[Kumori]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 5MP every 5s	Kumori :: Level 77 :: Assassin Armor: Cuirass of Shadows with Cloak of Darkness Main Weapon: Night’s Kiss by 黒 with Nectar Scabbard and Alvan Blade by 黒 Quick Slot: Heaven's Wrath by 黒 Other: Something
WC: 597	Tags: ?	Skills: Skill name

He was walking cautiously and sighed heavily in his mind. He wanted to get out of here, but he knew he wouldn’t be calm until he found his wife and got out of the area together. Welp, that was the most ideal situation, but knowing his wife and her tendency to go towards scary things than to get away from it, he doubted they’d be leaving here soon. He wondered what would happen if there was a giant cockroach monster. Would she still willingly go towards the dark corners of the earth seeking to get a thrill? He wondered. That gave him an idea. He really should make some type of cockroach thing to scare Kyuu for making him come into this place. She so was going to get it sooner or later. He was going to make a cockroach plush and see how she liked it when he scared the bejeebes out of her!

Anyways, for now, he had to concentrate on staying alive. He watched as the straightjackets began moving in front of him. If this was a certain game, an exclamation mark would appear above his head, and an Alert or Caution timer would appear. He activated Silent Move which would allow him to mask his movement. He hoped that their senses only consisted of sound, because he sure as hell didn’t know if they would be attracted to his smell or if they can see in the dark. He moved towards the darker side of the area. If there was anything he learned about ninjas and assassins, it was to stay in the shadows and to use it to your advantage. He hoped his other senses would be able to alert him to the presence of other monsters. He walked towards the stage, trying to attract as little attention as possible. The good thing about his steps being silent was that they did not interfere with his own hearing. He would be able to hear anything ahead of him, but that was if there was no static from the radio. He wasn’t sure if it told the monsters where he was, but he hoped that it didn’t.

He moved as slowly and as cautiously as he could towards the stage and would attempt to open the curtains with the mechanical features, however, Ryuu was pretty sure that the task wouldn’t be easy. Like every other game there was, things were always too good to be true. He would have to double back and kill the Two-Back to get the keys to the door and then get the wench to turn the mechanical thing and then plug in some cables to move the curtains all so that he could see what was behind the curtain without instantly dying because some ridiculous monster was weakened by the light, so moving the curtains was necessary for his survival. The sad thing was, even if he knew the typical mechanics of scary games, it didn’t mean he enjoyed playing them or even thought they were easy to go through. He still crapped his pants when things popped out. You should’ve seen him play Half-Life 2 for the first time in the pitch black with head phones on. Yeah… that sucked. THOSE ZOMBIES MAN! They’re everywhere!

Ahem. So now that he was doing what he could to survive, he hoped that his smarts would get him through. He replied to Kyuu, finally, “I’m in the theater… any suggestions of how not to get myself killed?” For some reason, he doubted he’d get a straight answer out of that.

[Deleted]

1105 words HP 100%		Pet: Kumori MP 100%
The assassin Kumori replied to his wife Caerbannog just as she was reading the lengthy letter written much like a diary. She thought that the story seemed familiar what with the road accident and the burning house. So when Ryuu-nii told her that he was in the theatre, all the dots were suddenly connected. The small town seemed to be a re-imagination of the world of a certain game. The first thing that had popped into her mind when she read the words “Silent Hill” was the second game with the deranged man and his murdered wife. But it seemed that this place was not based on that; rather, it was based on the origins of the dark world of Silent Hill and the malevolent machinations of a certain “Order”. That Order was actually a cult that destroyed the childhood of an innocent girl. They burned her alive in a so-called baptism of fire which ushered forth the descent of the Order’s “God”. That girl became the vessel for their God, and in the process she gained frightful psychic powers. An unexpected effect of her trauma, an Otherworld materialized every now and then which contained the corrupted versions of the real world. “Corruption… is this connected to Miasma?” Caerbannog wondered and telepathically sent the message to the assassin. She looked the letter over once again. It seemed to truly have been handwritten, but with such neat writing, that person would have to be a scribe. If the writer actually existed in Elder Tale and was still alive, she could ask him about the place. A subclass as a clue was difficult to go by though, so for the mean time, Caerbannog thought about Kumori’s dilemma with the theatre. She had thought that the town would be a mere imitation of the real world Silent Hill, but it turned out that there really were some monsters in it. Since the assassin was in the theatre, eventually he would have to face the gigantic Caliban beast. The handless and footless remains of a gigantic man, it was forced to walk around on the stubs of his limbs. It would have been very painful for the beast, and one could only what it represented. Creatures in Silent Hill, after all, were representations of the dark thoughts and desires of the people within it. “Stay in the dark,” the samurai instructed her husband, “Use a radio to estimate the proximity of monster and stay as far away from them as you can. Going along walls usually works. Be careful of puppets…” At that point, Caer shuddered. She had a deep-seated fear of things that imitated life with extreme realism, and puppets were close enough to that. She had no problems with super-deformed versions of animals though, thus the girl liked plushies very much. But the issue now was her husband’s survivability so she continued her train of thought, no matter how unpleasant it was for her. She thought about the most important points of the theatre aside from the boss. Caerbannog, however, did not neglect her surroundings. She kept on walking despite not having a clear destination. Eventually, she thought, she would find the theatre. “…don’t shine light on puppets. And if they are on the ground, try to kill them by kicking them before they stand up,” the samurai pointed out, “Otherwise they will go after you… they can run very fast.” A chorus of growls and clicks drew the samurai’s attention. She heard some movement from her left side and so she stepped away from them. The fog was still as thick as before; only silhouettes could be made out. Shadows were difficult to see because there was little light in the area. It was not completely dark in Silent Hill because it was day time, but the thick fog made visibility very low. Caerbannog stopped speaking to her husband because she was preoccupied with getting away from the dangerous sounds, but a large group of Straightjackets almost ran her over. They seemed to have poured into the main road from up ahead and that, to the girl, would have meant one thing. They had chased someone else apart from her and eventually lost track of it. If that was her husband Kumori, then the theatre would be right ahead of her. “I’ll be right there,” the wolf-hair said to her husband via a telepathic call, “Try not to die.” Kumori, in the mean time, was all on his own. In the world of Elder Tale, there was always the risk of death. That risk was multiplied by a hundred times within the town of Silent Hill. The young man who was all but unarmed needed tools and weapons, but unfortunately there weren’t any lying around. Not near him at least. If he circled behind the stage, he could probably find some old warden equipment that he could wield despite having some accuracy penalty applied to it. But aside from firepower, he needed tools to repair the curtain mechanism on the stage. The most obvious weapon, unfortunately, was a wrench in the mouth of the Two-back. It seemed to have been a good implement with which to muffle the creature’s screams, and Kumori only had to pull it out of the Two-back’s mouth for him to acquire it. Somewhere between the empty seats, there were also some pharmacist-made medicinal pills and potions which might come in handy. “Raise the curtain, fight the Caliban,” was Caerbannog’s last instruction to her husband. The wolf-hair had just arrived in front of the theatre but she noticed the horde of Straightjackets around it. Not too bright, the creatures kept walking around instead of trying to bust the door down… though there was one creature that towered above them all. It had the body of a man but a head made of a metal enclosure. Caer had hoped to avoid this beast for it had a knack for… having his way with whatever was in his path: the Red Pyramid, also known as Pyramid Head, knocked on the theatre’s door. Hurriedly the samurai climbed up a tree that rose up a window on the building’s second floor. Straightjackets did not have any arms, so they would not be able to follow her up there. She made sure to sneak around as wordlessly as possible so that the Red Pyramid would not be alerted of her presence. It was a good thing that the samurai did not have a habit of speaking to herself or monologuing about her day. “Here goes…” the wolf-hair then leapt from the tree and crashed through the second floor window.

[Deleted]

1045 words HP 100%		Pet: none MP 100%
There are some things that seem all too real despite the obvious absurdity of it all. This thread is one of those things. As Caerbannog crashed through the window, she jolted upright and found herself in the middle of the road right outside a small riverside town called Silent Hill. When she looked around, there was no creepy fog and the people of the land seemed to be going about their business. Some merchants had just arrived from the direction of Londinium and their cart stopped beside the adventuring samurai. Caerbannog scratched her head, still slightly confused by what she had just seen in that town. Apparently, it was all a dream. Or maybe someone spiked her drink. IT WAS THE DWARF! "You okay, Miss?" one of the merchants asked as he hopped off their cart and walked over to the samurai. The wolf-hair merely glanced up at the lander and then she nodded at him. "Ah well, you might want to get out of the busy road," the man said and then he pointed towards the path to Windsor Greatwoods, "Some more carts will be coming along shortly. Wouldn't want you to get run over now." Caer nodded at the man as she slowly stood up. Soon, more merchant carts arrived at the road up to Silent Hill and fortunately, the samurai was almost back to her usual self. The wolf-hair walked over to the massive "Silent Hill" sign; maybe it was someone's idea of a bad joke, or maybe it was a homage to the real world game. Who knows? It could even be a town started up by some Japanese people from Shizuoka, and having found themselves in a foreign land, they used the common language to recreate their hometown in Elder Tale. As the merchant carts drove up the hill and into the quiet town, Caerbannog followed them closely. She looked over the buildings and the people around her. There was the local clinic which she had gone to in her dream, but the nurses and doctors were as regular as any other person of the land. They were not distorted monsters that wielded clubs or fire extinguishers; they were just people. Every now and then, patients walked in and out of the clinic. None of them seemed critical or dying; most of the patients were elderly or children which naturally were prone to illnesses. The samurai then walked farther up the road even as the townsfolk stared at her, an uncommon sight, an adventurer. Most of the people who were in her path stepped out of the way, no doubt intrigued or even afraid of this immortal being which came from a land other than what the common-folk knew. After a few minutes, the wolf-hair arrived at her destination: an old theater, aged by time or so it seemed. But the doors and windows were still in their proper places and curiously, there was a broken pane on the second floor. Caerbannog blinked at the sight of this but her thoughts of what happened earlier were strangely drifting away. None of the persons of the land seemed to mind her presence at the old theater, and so the samurai stepped onto the porch and pushed the double-doors open. The lobby was dimly-lit but it was not that difficult to see within it. Beside the door, there was a large map that could have been taken down at any time, but it was allowed to stay right there on the wall. There were markings on the map, reminiscent of something that she'd seen before, and yet Caerbannog could not exactly remember what it was that reminded her of that scene. "So strange..." she muttered, but her whisper drifted off into the empty theater. By and by, Caer noticed that the door to the stage area was open. Naturally, the samurai hopped to it and proceeded down to that area. An annoying static sound rang through her ears as she stepped through the door. Without a worry in the world, the wolf-hair followed the sound and soon noticed a radio in one of the theater seats. She picked it up and turned the knobs to check any working stations, but there was nothing aside from static. Curious. It all seemed so familiar. Aside from that sound of static which emanated from the radio, there came no other sound from her surroundings. Truly, she was alone in that dark place. "What am I doing here?" Kyuu muttered to herself; of course, she knew that no one could hear her. The samurai sat down on one of the theater seats. They were all empty anyway so she was sure that no one would mind. Up ahead, the curtain was drawn over the stage. The theater seemed to have been abandoned long ago, perhaps even before the people of the land settled around it. Still, it was in one piece and could probably be fixed right up by anyone who was interested. Caerbannog was not interested though. She only sat in one of the seats to collect her thoughts as she looked over the radio that was in her hands. Who brought such a thing into Silent Hill anyway? Elder Tale was a rather primitive land with no radio stations, so naturally a portable radio would have nothing but static. Caerbannog yawned, stretched her arms over her head and then she put them back down. The radio, which did not belong to her, was put down on the empty seat beside her. Once again, there came that static noise. Weird, she thought she turned the contraption off. It was none of her business though, so the samurai stood up from her seat and turned to leave. She took one last look over the stage, which she swore had some movement behind the curtain; perhaps it was her imagination. The wolf-hair walked all the way out through the door to the stage area, and then onto the porch past the double doors. The town was quiet but not foggy; calm but not eerie. The people went about their usual things as Caerbannog observed them from where she stood. After a few moments of consideration, the samurai used the skill Call of Home and returned to the Abbey of Londinium.