A Fishy NPC [OPEN]

[Conand]

I sometimes get bored with my writing.

819

we must be K I L L E R S

CHILDREN OF THE WILD ONES 

"SOD IT. SOD IT. SOD IT!"

The sound of an angry Scotsman could be heard throughout the Isle of Grain. Now in most situations this wasn't too out there but believe it or not, this wasn't some poor adventurer who wandered into some sort of trap, but a Person of the Land who managed to walk himself into the middle of a Sahuagin village. How he managed that is a mystery known only to himself and he absolutely refused to divulge it. It would likely be a secret he took with him to the grave. "WHY DO BLOODY ADVENTURERS PUT UP WITH THIS!?" The lander shouted, dodging a primitive looking trident flying by his head. It was as if the lord himself was looking down on the Lander and laughing. Divine punishment for Heresy perhaps? It wasn't by his choice!

They were on a beach, a long stretch of grainy sand that enveloped the entire island. An entire party of the Sahuagin chased behind the Lander in a way not too far off from a Salem mob chasing a witch. The Lander by the name of Conand was hoping id he could make it safely to Grain Village, the "safe zone" or whatever Adventurer's called it, would enact and ward off the beasts. He could only hope. Otherwise the fish would eat well tonight on his bones. Dammit, he should have stuck to the forests. Boar is much easier to catch than bloody fish. If only he had his guns... bah! No time to worry about that! Run or die you fool!

Keep going. Keep going! Breathe! BREATHE! Good god man, have you lungs!? Conand's brain drilled him to keep running no matter what strain it put on his body. Any stamina he had was being put into distancing himself from the angry fish-men that found him a tasty morsel. "I hate fish. I hate fish. Gods I hate fish." He spoke in a breathless tone. Someone, anyone, save this poor man from evil and deliver him to sanctuary!

The sea was rocking back and forth harshly today. A storm was off on the horizon. In hindsight, it was probably a terrible day to go fishing, but by the gods did Conand hunger. It was either camp out in the rain with an empty stomach or with a full one. He chose the latter. Still, the moving tides could be useful. He just needed to find a riptide. Good luck with that one boyo. Oh wait, we are in a fictional setting. It's only natural that the main character of this story experience some fortunate deus ex machina. "C'mon, c'moooon." Bingo! Sharp eyes can catch anything, and being the pathfinder that he was, catching what looked like the formation of such a tide was simple enough. 

Now just keep running Conand, eventually you'll be safe. Oh and watch out for that spear. Said the narrator as said spear nearly planted in the poor Lander's heel. Close one. The heretic kept running, this time towards the riptide mentioned earlier. It wasn't far, but the distance seemed like miles with death at your heel. Conand could only curse his fortune further, but there was no time for that. JUMP! So Conand jumped. He flew over the riptide, using all the build up momentum to clear the gap. Now to pray the Sahuagin were as stupid as they looked. Yup. One of the beasts kept running in only to be caught in the ebb jet as it stepped into the tide. The unfortunate creature was ripped from the rest of the group and thrown into the ocean. It'd be fine. Certainly not killed by it's own element, but it bought him some distance. A rescuer would be appreciated any time now.

Most unfortunate for Conand, there wasn't. Yet. Why would there be when this is so much more entertaining? Keep running Conand. Maybe you'll get far enough to catch your breath? Oho ho. No. Your suffering prolongs as long as this writer is in charge. With one Sahuagin down though, how many remain to chase? The Avon militant looked back to check, only to snap his head back forward. Eight of the beats, all angry and looking to eat. Ah, this is the life, isn't it Conand? Adventure! Excitement abound, I almost can't wait. Relax I don't want your life, I'm willing to wait. Sorry, sometimes the writer breaks out into song. but ah, back to Conand.

"Is there nobody but I on the beach today!?" The man exclaimed, exasperated by the sheer lunacy of this all. He was going to die a silly death on a silly beach without even knowing what on earth had brought him on this silly journey! Gods, cut the man a break! Or don't. What do I care? I love it when characters squirm. Maybe someone should come in and save him from my sadistic writings.

WHERE WE GOT LEFT TO  R U N ?

❖ NOX ❖

[Caradoc]

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like you always say,
"safe travels, don't die."
Why had he taken such a quest again? At level one, Caradoc wasn't keen on leaving the safety of Londinium without anyone to accompany him, especially since he was but a mere support class who couldn't deal too much damage on his own. But what else could he have done? Leave the poor woman alone with her woes? NPC or not, the Person of the Land had acted too real, and her pleas to deliver a message to see if her merchant husband had arrived home at the mouth of the river Thames had driven a stake into the teen's heart. Putting himself in the woman's shoes, he could imagine the desperation and sorrow with clarity, since his own situation wasn't much different. But unlike the Lander, Caradoc knew there was nothing he could do to get a message back home, and unable to deny the poor house wife of such a simple wish, he'd been quick to accept the quest. So now he was heading towards the Isle of Grain, carefully watching the map in the corner of his screen while he alternated between walking and jogging. Going by the name, he almost expected the land to become filled with grain crops and the like, but that probably wasn't why the isle had been given the name it had. Turning his [Checkpoint] skill on the redhead paused to search for the beam of light that was supposed to appear once the skill was toggled. Where was it...? Perhaps he was still too far off. Checking the map in the corner of his vision again, Caradoc sighed and continued walking, only stopping now and then to rest and talk to the people returning from the isle. Thankfully, he hadn't run into many monsters, and when he did, he'd mostly run away, casting a barrier to slow them down as he ran away. Though it might cause quite a bit of inconvenience for any travelers behind him, at least it was keeping him from harm. Judging from the words of the other travelers, today wasn't the best day to be out and about along the coast. A storm was coming in, a bad one at that, and the area was bound to be filled with harsh winds and rains. Taking the letter out of his inventory again, Caradoc frowned worriedly at the envelope. It was probably a given that the Lander woman's husband wasn't going to be back today, unless he was already safe in port. If that was the case... No, he couldn't back down now. He was already nearing the isle, and the village couldn't be that far away. Stowing the letter away again, to keep it safe from the weather, the half-alv trudged on, determined to complete the quest. Finally entering the estuary, there were two things that came to the teen's attention. One was the pillar of light that had emerged in the horizon, a sign post that pointed to where he needed to go next. The other was the fact that his ears had been immediately assaulted by the screamed curses of... well, whoever it was that was letting out such a horrendous sound. Alarmed but wary, Caradoc turned his gaze from the pillar back to the source of the sound and then back again, weighing his options. He could ignore the screams completely and head directly towards his destination, or he could stop and see what the ruckus was all about, and perhaps rid the poor man—it was definitely a man's voice—of whatever it was that was ailing him. ...Urk. There was no way his conscience was going to just let him get away with leaving the distressed man alone. Might as well see what was the matter. Equipping his bow and arrows just to be safe, the boy ran towards the sound, hoping he wasn't too late. It took him a bit though, since he had to keep stopping to battle the creepy fish monsters that had filled the area. Battling, again, mainly consisted of running, stopping to cast an [Art of a Heavy Laden Blow], and running some more. It was... difficult work. But at last, he had found the source of the sound, a tall, blue-haired man who was currently trapped by the Sahuagin. It was... a heretic. A heretic by the name of Conand. At this, Caradoc bit his lip, and slowed his approach. A heretic... could deal substantial damage, couldn't it? To be honest, the shaman didn't know much about the other class. But surely, a heretic could deal more damage than a shaman could. Glancing behind him to make sure the other monsters behind him were far enough away and sufficiently slowed, the shaman stared at his MP gauge and sighed, hoping it would last. First thing's first; he should probably keep the heretic from gaining damage from at least one side... "Erm... D-damage interception..." Even with the stutter, the skill began casting in front of the blue-haired half-alv. Caradoc was counting on the natural barrier behind the other man to keep anymore monsters from approaching on that side, which left the monsters between him and Conand. With that taken care of, the shaman turned his attention towards the man. "Are y-you okay...? Um... This d-doesn't look good, s-sorry I can't be much of assistance..." Which was assuming that the man wanted help at all, but considering the screams he'd heard earlier... Yep, probably in need of assistance. Too bad Conand's savior was Caradoc, a weak support class player... WORDS: 922 NOTES: Erm... I tried. Nice post though, t'was a good read. TAGGED: Conand HP: 100% ; MP: 30% SKILLS ACTIVE: Damage Interception

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[Conand]

Health %80

794

we must be K I L L E R S

CHILDREN OF THE WILD ONES 

Ding ding ding! We have a new challenger folks! The shamanistic cavalry rides in on unsure legs to save the distressed fool in the blue corner! What an arrangement of fate! The gods, and by gods I mean writers, deign to show mercy to this foolish heretic that thinks himself a protagonist! The truth is he's more of an unwilling antagonist, but we will address that at a later date. For the time being, we must salvage his foolish person from the depths of fishy peril! It's honestly not that hard, they're only level five. Hell, he could probably take them if they weren't in such high numbers. Well, maybe mister Shaman here can even the odds a bit. Superior tactics and all that. If they can't outsmart these fish brains then they probably deserve the death awaiting them.

Conand had to skid to a stop as he nearly overshot his trusty steed-- I mean support! He wasn't sure what had just happened, only that an Adventurer skill had been cast on him. Was this some sort of divine comedy then? Saved by Adventurer's like the casual NPC he was. It would bring a more prideful man to tears. Conand though, what did he care? The man was helping him not die, that was enough for him. "You." The bluenette spoke, pointing to Caradoc with a wild expression on his face. "You're perfect. Stay behind me and keep doing that." He barked his orders like a true military man. How did that work out for you last time Conand? Your entire unit wiped out, and you tainted by a malevolent force of unknown origin. What did poor Caradoc do to you to be put in such a situation? Not that it mattered. If he died he could just resurrect at the last Cathedral he visited. As for Conand... well, it was like playing classic Legend of Zelda. One life. Beat Ganon, Conand. Make that your goal in life, and you'll do fine.

The spear wielding heretic turned to his opponents, wild fish people gnashing there shark-like teeth and brandishing webbed claws. What a site! a fine stand-off on some random beach. If only there was some dramatic sunset in the background. Nope, just storm and rain. Any fishermen out there would probably not be having a very good time. Poor bastards. That was the last thing on Conand's mind though. Indeed, his focus was directed on the feral fish men before him. This wouldn't be easy, but with the help of his trusty new shaman friend and Conand's own combat experience, they could make it through this. "Or you could use me..." Conand groaned. The sick feeling in his stomach inflamed like a pinched nerve. Did he just hear someone speak? No it was just them and the Sahuagin. Hateful creatures.

"Give me cover fire with your bow and keep your barrier up as much as possible, got that?" Conand didn't wait for an answer. He charged forward, kicking off the ground with great force and catching the simple minded fish folk off guard. Was this Half Alv mad to charge at them after all this running? Probably. The machinations of the smooth-skins were beyond the ken of the noble Sahuagin. That's probably what they were thinking. Stupid Sahuagin. The simple wood and iron spear aimed true, skewering one of the beasts in a fundamental stroke. Hooray for accuracy! Too bad it wasn't a fatal blow. Too bad there were still many more of the dumb creatures now around him. Retract the spear and prepare for some agonizing punishment, Conand my boy. The fish began to jab and bite at him. He smacked a few of them away, parrying their claws, but he was going to take some bites. One managed to sink it's teeth into his upper arm. Ouch. A hail of arrows would probably help him feel better.

"A foolish move, supplicant." Oh hush, ominous purple voice. You'll get to be important later. "Use the Adventurer as a shield for your escape... Oh well that's just straight up cruel. Conand would never do such a thing to his new found friend. He's too busy fighting for his own survival to consider betrayal. The soldier stabbed again at the wounded Sahuagin, putting it into critical and bracing for further punishment. He could only attack once, but he was able to ward off their attacks for the time being. He wasn't exactly meant to be a tank, but his deviation from the typical Heretic skill-set allowed him to take a certain amount of damage and not have to worry. At least he was drawing agro away from the archer for him to do some damage as well. Kiting was the answer to everyone's problems.

WHERE WE GOT LEFT TO  R U N ?

❖ NOX ❖

[Caradoc]

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like you always say,
"safe travels, don't die."
...Yeah, it was probably best that Conand hadn't answered his question; they didn't have the luxury to stop and chat when there were terrible fish monsters trying to claim their lives. Still, Caradoc couldn't help but feel bewildered as the blue-haired man took charge, barking out orders like he belonged on the battlefield. Everything was happening too quickly, too quickly for him to try to make sense of things. Do what? Put up more damage absorbing barriers? But that skill was on cool down, and it wasn't like he could control when the barriers would shatter at the grimy tridents of the Sahuagin. Speaking of which... As the other man gave the order to open fire at the disgusting creatures, the sound of cracking glass could be heard. Caradoc winced at that, but did as he was told. That barrier was going to come down sooner or later. Right, but for now, he needed to contribute in damage dealing. Sliding an arrow from his quiver, the teen clumsily slid the shaft of the arrow onto the arrow rest, fingers fumbling with how unfamiliar he was with it. Then he drew it and shot at the nearest hostile creature, barely pausing to aim in his panic. Thankfully, it still hit, and he was rewarded with a screech of pain. ...And a yelp from the bowman himself. With only starter gear equipped, there was nothing to protect the boy from getting hurt from his bowstring. Nothing serious, really, but his forearm and fingers still stung. At least it hadn't affected his health. Biting his lip, the shaman repeated his actions, and though his movements were slow and clumsy at first, with time, his actions grew smoother and he wasted less time nocking his arrows and shooting them. In his haste to help rid the foul creatures, the half-alv failed to notice that his fellow heretic hadn't been using any skills at all. He paused only to throw up another barrier near Conand when he could, and to try to dodge a few stray claw swipes that came in his direction. It was only after an arrow whizzed uncomfortably close to his companion that Caradoc realized he could be shooting at his own partner, and that made him more uneasy with the situation. It didn't help that one of his barriers chose to shatter at that moment as well, the sound of crashing glass joining the cacophony of fish snarls and the sound of waves on the shore. "Ur-Urk..." Not able to put about another one yet, Caradoc could only continue to shoot arrows and hope for the best. He took more time to aim now, trying hard not to hit his friend in the fray. Every time he missed a fish though, he winced and tried not to think about any collateral damage he might have caused the other male. By some blessing, none of his arrows had hit Conand, but the fish had certainly gotten to him. Didn't he have a skill to heal...? Pausing in his shooting, the boy scrolled through his interface in search of such a skill. It didn't take him too long, since there were only so many shamanistic skills that he was in possession of. Selecting Conand and tapping the skill he wanted, the boy watched as his body moved into a sort of praying stance. Hands clasped together neatly in front of him, he watched as bright blue magatama jewels the color of Conand's hair surrounded said man, and this time, it was the soft sound of bells that filled the air. Such a pretty noise was definitely out of place, but it made Caradoc feel a little better as he picked up his arrow shooting again. WORDS: 620 NOTES: Not sure how exactly it is that cool downs work here, since so much happens in a single post and it can't possibly be in the span of only one second. TAGGED: Conand HP: 98% ; MP: 20% SKILLS ACTIVE: Damage Interception, Prayer of Recovery

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[Conand]

Health %35
Sorry for the wait!

547

we must be K I L L E R S

CHILDREN OF THE WILD ONES 

My my, the holiday week sure is busy. Christmas is over and the writer still hasn't had time to pay attention to poor Conand's predicament. That must be what it's like when a player goes afk from a game and forgets to pause. The player just sits there and it's assumed the enemy mobs eat him alive with no resistance on his part. Well, that's not exactly it, seeing as this medium allows liquid time. However, this thread is not about the posting habits of its participants. No, this is about good old fashioned fish murder. The kind you can't get anywhere else. Why? Because if you don't kill them, they may certainly kill you. Sahuagin folks! Chicken of the sea but with pointy sticks.

Conand's palm connected with the underside of a Sahuagin's jaw as it charged forward. The beast staggered back, leaving enough room for Conand to distance himself and subsequently thrust his spear into the soft spot of its neck, a critical hit by any standard. The punishments were becoming lesser as their number decreased as well. The arrows from his Shaman friend had lowered the enemy enough that he could land killing blows safely and lessen the amount of damage he received from the enemy counter attack. Conand winced as one of the fish tribe sunk their teeth into his calf muscle. He retaliated with a swift blow to it's eye with the butt of his spear. The creature's all stepped back, becoming wary of the lander but still looking to kill. Were it not for the support of the Shaman, he'd be surely dead by now. The damage interception and healing were enough to keep him moderately alive though. He'd have to make it up to the lad after this, somehow.

The brief respite ended with the raptor howl of the frenzied fish figures as they charged yet again towards Conand. His eyes grew cold as the battle progressed from a fight for survival to a slaughter. They were demoralized, unsure of themselves after the sudden loss of four, no five of their fellows. The heretic used that uncertainty to his advantage. There were four of the beasts left and each one was slightly wounded by the cover fire of Caradoc's arrows. He had the advantage of range as well. The tip of Conand's spear made a flashing arc as he swung it horizontally, slashing at their stomachs from maximum range. He adjusted his weight and followed up on the attack with a thrust that found itself piercing the eye of the front-most Sahuagin. Three more.

The beasts collaborated to bring Conand down, fearful of his stick which proved to be pointer than theirs. One dived to the ground, biting at the lander's legs and sinking it's teeth into his ankle. The heretic contained his pained groan and punished the beast with a finishing blow to the head. In return he was jabbed at by the remaining two monsters, knocking him off balance and pushing him to the edge of the sea. The expression on his face made it clear that he couldn't go on much longer. His health was low and the fatigue was starting to set in. They had to finish this quickly or it would be game over man. 

WHERE WE GOT LEFT TO  R U N ?

❖ NOX ❖

[Caradoc]

◤	◥
like you always say,
"safe travels, don't die."
Things were going really really badly, so badly that even a novice like Caradoc knew he would have to do something drastic if the two of them wanted even a snowball's chance in hell at surviving this encounter. Even though the redhead was more than aware they'd probably just resurrect in Westminister Abbey once they fell, the feeling didn't sit right with him. He didn't want to experience death, especially not in a game that was now his life, and hopefully, neither did Conand. That didn't change the situation though. The shaman was still firing off arrows as fast as he could without hitting the other man, but even that was slowing as he started to get tired. The teen didn't need to be an expert to see that his healing skill hadn't done much of anything to help either. Not only that, but he couldn't afford to waste anymore mana as well, since he was already running low and his skills needed to be reserved for things like... healing keeping them alive and stuff. The shaman didn't truly realize just how bad things were until he caught a glimpse of his companion's pain-filled face, however. Caradoc didn't need to see the meager 35% that was left of the blue-haired man's health for him to feel a horrible sinking feeling as his heart dropped into his stomach. Conand simply wouldn't last if they kept going at the rate they were, and if Conand went down, Caradoc was knew if that happened, he had nothing left to do but run and hope he wasn't caught by the ones still left. But he couldn't withhold his mana just to save himself; that was just plain wrong. And somehow, during the few moments the shaman had lost himself to his thoughts, his companion had managed to get himself almost pushed into the neeping sea. That was probably the last thing the teen comprehended before he had snapped and thrown up a damage intercepting barrier around the injured man, pushing the fish who were still at him out of the glass-like sphere. There were only two of them left. Two. That barrier was going to damn well hold, because if it didn't against two level five fish bastards, then there was something seriously wrong with the game, and the teen was going to see if he could switch classes at the first chance he got. Without even thinking, the boy dropped his bow. He did what any other impulsively reckless teenager would do—he got in the way. Flinging himself at Conand with an almost furious burst of energy that would put even the beasts they were fighting off to shame, the teen wedged his small body between the heretic's protective bubble and the onslaught of attacks aimed at it, an hand reaching out to try and grab the taller man by the arm in an effort to drag him out of and away from the water's edge. The other hand jabbed an arrow into one of the stupid fish's face. Predictably, it snapped in two, but by this time, Caradoc hoped to be pulling his companion and said man's damned barrier away from the storming fish. He was jabbed and bit at of course, but what he got couldn't compare to what Conand had been going through with the near dozen sea creatures that had been present before. Caradoc wouldn't even allow himself a wince. "Are we going to run?" he snapped a little impatiently, any hint of meekness gone as he forgot himself and the restraints his mentality usually put on him and tried to focus on survival. He didn't know why they hadn't tried this sooner; communication between the support and damage dealers had to mean something, right? They had basically been fighting on their own, just with each other, neither really knowing what to expect from each other. Conand might want to finish the battle quicker, but Caradoc had other plans. "If we are, then run. If we aren't..." At the moment, Caradoc simply didn't care that he was talking to an elder so rudely. Or that he was breaking from the orders he'd been given upon entering the situation. He just really didn't want either him or his companion to die, and they were probably going to die if they kept this up, even with only two of the things left. What sort of shaman couldn't even keep themselves or at least even their comrades alive? The shameful sort, that was what. The worst thing was, the redhead hadn't any idea what he was doing. He was an inexperienced teenager from Kyoto, a kid who should really be in school thinking about exams and clubs and friends. Conand probably at least had some idea of what he was trying to do, even if he was clearly dying for it. "I'm going to try and play pincushion for a while. And try to get your health back up," the shaman announced at last, before he hissed when one of the fish tried to take a chunk out of his leg. Still, he kept himself between the barrier Conand was in and the fish who were trying in vain to get to the blue-haired. He couldn't let the barrier go down, no matter what. Sure, it'd run out of energy sooner or later, but that didn't mean he'd let any damage get on it to make it disappear faster. As of now, it was the only thing truly preventing the two's only damage dealer from getting any more injured. After kicking at one of the fish tribe that was trying to get past him, the shaman set to work, fingers tapping the air where his interface was, selecting his only healing skill and using it on Conand again. Thankfully, [Prayer of Recovery] had a short cast time and cooldown, so the teen alternated between using the skill and trying to kick the fish creatures away, all the while fighting down his doubts about whether this was the right thing to do to work the situation. He just... didn't know how much longer his mana could hold up, even if the healing didn't take up as much mana as the barrier skill did. WORDS: 1041 NOTES: No worries, my post is pretty late as well. Dx TAGGED: Conand HP: 79% ; MP: 12% SKILLS ACTIVE: Damage Interception, Prayer of Recovery

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