[Celestial Arms Quest 2-5] The Hanging Tree

[Capsule]

[attr="class","solcap"]

Her vision was clouded over with that of a wealthy city, situated in front of a water fountain. It looked vaguely familiar… People, resembling a bunch of wealthy snobs, were walking to and fro. Capsule seemed to be among them somehow. It was like she was walking down the same street at the same time. Was this the memory of one Lander in particular? The Lander she was inhabiting took a moment to gaze down at their feet, and Capsule was relieved to see that they were not male. That, and they appeared to be wearing a dress. Unless this was the body of a transvestite, she should be fine. Her physical body was being held down by ghosts and ratmen, yet here she was, fretting over the possibility of being in a male form. Before she could spy a reflective surface to gaze at herself, a cacophony of screams sounded several feet away.

Capsule immediately turned towards the sound, half expecting to see one of the Landers being mugged. What she saw gave her pause, and forgetting that this was a vision, she tried to reach for a weapon that was not there. More importantly, it did not seem that she was in control of the body. The legs of the Lander she was currently residing in refused to move as the dark portal widened, now large enough to accommodate a monstrous swarm of bees. No please, anything but the bees!

The screaming grew louder as the swarm swooped down upon the masses, devouring any that were unfortunate enough to have gotten caught out. Finally, her Lander avatar decided to move, but it made little difference. The bees were already spread out; there was no way that they could win. Or so Capsule thought. To her surprise, her Lander avatar performed a move very similar to the Assassin skill, Deadly Dance. So they could fight! Maybe there would be hope after all.

Yeah, right. There were far too many of the bees. If you cut one down, many more took its place. It was a hopeless battle. The mental screams of Capsule mingled with that of the frustrated Lander, as they were swallowed up by the swarm.

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 368
♫: The Hanging Tree
✏: ---
@: Capsule

[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar]height:5px;width:10px;background-color:#2c2c2c;[/newclass]
[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background-color:#211f20;border-left:1px solid #211f20;border-top:1px solid #211f20;border-bottom:1px solid #211f20;[/newclass]

[Capsule]

[attr="class","solcap"]

As sight was restored, the being known as Capsule was taking a backseat to the Lander, Guinevere. Capsule was nestled in the back of the other woman's conscious, only vaguely aware of what was going on. Guinevere seized a portion of her dress, and ripped a good chunk of the excess material off. "I was going to wear this to my sister's wedding, but now I may never be able to…" Letting the fabric fall to the ground, Guin reached for the row of throwing daggers strapped to her thigh. Her father always told his daughters to never go out unarmed, advice she was thankful to have taken to heart.

The monster, Praesepe Sentinels it was named, buzzed menacingly before her. She was all alone. Everyone else had either been killed, or managed to get out somehow. The damn thing far surpassed her in levels, but she had to do something! So of course she activated Hazecloud Vault, cloaking her figure and potentially lowering the accuracy of the monster, should it try to attack her. It was as good a time as any to use Congregating Arc. A plethora of knives formed from one lone dagger, and all fell upon the swarm of hornets.

Her jaw clenched in irritation as the monster quickly took flight, in an attempt to evade the daggers. Some missed, but the others did not. She tossed a Void Shuriken after the swarm. It did decent damage to the monster, but nothing sustainable. "Ah!" With the force of a meteor, the swarm came barreling down towards her, ignoring the Hazecloud. Guinevere was knocked flat onto her back, and left gasping for air as a the hornets bore down on her.

Many had clung to her face, and some were even in her mouth. Her vision clouded over as pain threatened to overtake her. They were stinging, and not just in her mouth or on her face, but all over her body. Her bare legs made for an excellent target. Guin lied twitching helplessly on the ground for the next few seconds. Then, as quickly as they came, the hornets were gone again. While the woman suffered the effects of poisoning and tried to recover, Capsule had the displeasure of gaining a boost in clarity. 'No…' There was no way in hell the Assassin could stand against such a monster -- no one could! And that was for the sheer fact of its passive; History Written by the Victors. Capsule could see this clear as day with Evaluate, but the other woman could not.

This was not a battle. It was a slaughter.

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 436
♫: A Promise
✏: ---
@: Capsule

[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar]height:5px;width:10px;background-color:#2c2c2c;[/newclass]
[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background-color:#211f20;border-left:1px solid #211f20;border-top:1px solid #211f20;border-bottom:1px solid #211f20;[/newclass]

[Capsule]

[attr="class","solcap"]

Guinevere rolled over onto her hands and knees, coughing her throat raw. Clearly she had to keep her distance from the swarm. Melee was risky, especially without a tank or healer to aid her. Trying to buy herself some time now, she used Shadow Bind on the monster. Shadowy and nearly invisible tendrils rose up to attach themselves to the swarm, binding it in place for the next few seconds. Guin took out one of her throwing daggers, and charged it with magical energy. When she sent it flying, lightning danced upon the blade. That spark grew bigger in size when it struck the swarm, inflicting not only magical damage, but physical, as well.

Another Congregating Arc was fired, more as a distraction than an actual attack. While the swam busied itself with freedom and evasion, Guin was placing a rune on one of her daggers. Explosive Sigil would cause the weapon to set anything that touched it ablaze. Or she could just activate it with a snap of her fingers. She braced herself for impact as the swarm turned its sights to her once more, and with one deft throw, sent the dagger soaring into the thick of the Sentinel.

The ensuing chorus of high pitched screams brought a grin to her battered and bruised face. "That will teach you to--" The screaming grew in intensity, causing her eardrums to vibrate. That little stunt only seemed to piss the swarm off more. They were taking flight once more, and would be upon her if she did not get away. And so Guin tried to run to place distance between her and the hornets, only to run into an invisible barrier. "Wait!" She threw her hands up over her head, a pitiful attempt at protecting herself.

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 296
♫: A Promise
✏: ---
@: Capsule

[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar]height:5px;width:10px;background-color:#2c2c2c;[/newclass]
[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background-color:#211f20;border-left:1px solid #211f20;border-top:1px solid #211f20;border-bottom:1px solid #211f20;[/newclass]

[Capsule]

[attr="class","solcap"]

When the Praesepe Sentinels descended upon her this time, they showed no signs of letting up. Guinevere, not so ready to curl up into a ball and die, gave them tit for tat. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve, like Accel Dance and Shadow Wires. Her movement speed increased, thanks to the former skill; the latter, her shadow wove wires laced with the dark element and rigged to bind around her and the swarm. It was a valiant effort, Capsule would give her that. But it was also useless. So f**king useless.

The poison and the stings were getting the better of the Assassin, rapidly wearing her out and depleting her health more and more. The woman staggered under the weight of the assault, sagging dangerously close to the ground. Behind her green eyes, bright with fear, Capsule screamed. She screamed and screamed for the Lander to get away from the swarm. She screamed, even though her words would not reach Guin's ears. Screamed until it felt like her head would split open.

Guinevere's eyes rolled up into her head as the swarm forced her mouth open. In a steady stream, the Sentinels invaded her body, the rest spiraling around to tighten around her like rope. Trapped within the woman's memory, Capsule thrashed about as the hornets wove themselves around her, and dove in deeper. They bypassed her tongue to coat her throat, cutting off her airway in the process. Sting after poisonous sting assailed her vulnerable orifice, to the point where she could taste and feel the vile venom trickling down her tongue to pool around her teeth and lips.

Saliva dripped freely from the woman's mouth. Her body had long gone limp, though her hands and feet continued to flutter as she succumbed to death throes. The Sentinels had her living corpse dangling a few feet above ground, but soon dropped her as the anima fled to find another host. The whites of Guinevere's eyes stared vacantly as the buzzing swarm flew off in triumph.

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

[newclass=.babar]background-color:#050505; border: 2px solid #050505; border-radius: 5px; overflow: hidden; width: 175px; height:6px;[/newclass]

[attr="class","babar"]

∝: 340
♫: The Hanging Tree (Instru)
✏: ---
@: Capsule

[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar]height:5px;width:10px;background-color:#2c2c2c;[/newclass]
[newclass=.solcap ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]background-color:#211f20;border-left:1px solid #211f20;border-top:1px solid #211f20;border-bottom:1px solid #211f20;[/newclass]