New Faces, Old Places [Party/Closed]

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Dorian had suggested that the room they had found might have been a broadcast or communication room, and Sayha agreed. “Yeah… but something is off about the room,” Sayha said, walking in more. After she was near the machines, she set the lantern down on the ground and began to examine the equipment. “This kind of mechanical tech has never been my thing, but I can tell if something is off,” Sayha said, as she attempted to open up some of the machines. Once she was able to pry off one of the panels, she set it down on the ground off to the side. She then picked up the lantern and looked inside the machine. What she found inside was nothing like how it should have been. She knew that because she had watched as her computer back home had been built from scratch. What was inside was… different.

There were wires, but they appeared to be made out of some sort of material that Sayha had never seen before… there were also pipes and other things that looked out of place. “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Sayha said stepping back to let Dorian examine it, “It definitely wasn’t from when we were around… and I thought that the technology here was limited. I suppose it could be some sort of magitech, but why would it be down in a place like this. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Sayha looked around more. The machines themselves did look old… but as Sayha decided to wipe off some of the dirt… it didn’t look as old as it should have. “This should be rusted…” Sayha said under her breath, “What’s going on here?”

Words: 284 | Total Words: 3444
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Coding by Sayha of LH

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Following the Assassin into the room, Dorian gave his own quick glance over the various different pieces of machinery, a strange sense of wrong permeating the air, as if this place was beginning to feel like it shouldn't be here. "I feel it too... Something about this one, it's very... unnatural." The both of them seemed to be having the same reaction to the room, which meant the Shaman wasn't having another weird spiritual mojo moment, but that still raised the question of what was going on in here. Dorian had worked a bit with magitech when he helped build the oven with Fletcher, but even without prior mechanical knowledge, the existence of these machines was eerily out of place. Sayha seemed to have gathered the same idea, as she moved down to attempt to open up the panels that accessed the internal parts of the technology; with a little luck, they might be able to ascertain something from the inner workings.

The Shaman stood to the side, letting Sayha have the first inspection; she was eager to figure out what was wrong, and Dorian wasn't about to get in her way. He listened intently to her explanation, nodding his head in agreement before lowering himself down in her place once she had stepped away. Crouching in to look inside the machine she had pried open, he could see the multitude of wires, made out of a foreign, indescribable material; running his digits over the electrical circuits, he could feel the strange, meticulous texture that greeted his senses. "It certainly seems to be magitech... It would answer the question of the thing we sensed when we entered the room, probably a mana leak somewhere; but from what I sensed, that mana must be very dark... As for it's link to the time frame of this world, my best guess would be ancient Alvs; they were the only one's capable of advanced technology like this." Dorian quickly removed himself from the machine, scanning over the metal as Sayha explained how odd it was that the machinery hadn't aged at all. "I'm not sure... Perhaps we'll find more answers in the other rooms?"

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Notes: N/A
Words: 361
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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“It wasn’t mana or anything like that that I was feeling,” Sayha said, responding to Dorian’s comment about some sort of dark mana leaking, “I’m an Assassin, not a mage, remember. And the ‘dark mana’ as you call it has a name. It’s called Miasma. And it’s not mana at all. If it’s anything compared to mana, it’s the opposite of both mana and anima. Anima being health, of course.”

“Alvs, hmm…” Sayha sighed, “It’s possible, but none of my research turned up anything on them… though they’re time was long lost… at least according to everything I’ve read and heard. But no, what’s bugging me is that these electronics should be rusted over. This place hasn’t been taken care of in years, but this stuff looks pristine… but you’re right, maybe we’ll find something further in other rooms.”

Sayha turned and headed out of the room, waiting for Dorian. Once he had begun to follow her, or at least when she assumed he was, she looked back and forth in the rooms, but there were no further clues. “Let’s head back to the main hallway,” Sayha decided, turning around. Once she reached the main hallway they had first been in, she turned left and went down the next hallway on the left. It was much darker than the other one… not that there was any natural light down there. It was like the light didn’t go as far as it had before, but Sayha thought it could be possible that it was just because they were deeper in.

As Sayha did look deeper in, in the hallway, and it wasn’t in nearly as good of a condition as the other two hallways… There was a ton of debris on the floor… but it wasn’t from the ceiling. “I think something’s out of place,” Sayha turned to Dorian, “Can you sense anything?”

Words: 312 | Total Words: 3756
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Coding by Sayha of LH

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Sayha was quick to correct him on his assumptions, the Shaman listening intently as always; he had to mentally smack himself - though he was close to doing so physically as well - when she mentioned her lack of practice with magic as an Assassin. "Of course... My apologies, I completely forgot. It can't be mana-related, otherwise I'd be the only one sensing it," he agreed, looking over the room as she explained Miasma and Anima. Dorian nodded, remembering the names from his past dealings with it; the name had slipped him this time, though, so he let her have the chance to correct him. But, she raised an interesting point... "You are right, though. All this should be rusted over, or at least showing signs of a lack of care; but it's as if someone is down here keeping them in good... or, dare I say it, perfect condition. That, or whatever built these things, made them to last." Neither thought was easy to think of; there had been no signs of life in their initial inspections of the bunker, but to think of something being indestructible to the passage of time...

Luckily, the Shaman didn't need to think on it too much; it was clear Sayha wanted to explore further, to find some proper answers to their questions, and Dorian was keen to oblige her. Following her out of the room, they continued to search the hallway they were in, but alas, turned up nothing but more dirt and grime. "All of this destruction, like a battle raged out here; and yet the machines are all intact, looking as if they had just been made. No scratches, no blemishes, nothing." This place was beginning to seem more troublesome than usual, but it was about to get even more perplexing. As they retreated back to the main hall, Sayha lifted her lantern towards the next hallway, but for some reason the light seemed to fade into darkness much closer in; almost as if the darkness was somehow thicker here... more dark. "Whatever has happened down here, it's not going to be pretty; all I'm picking up is more of that weird feeling from the other room, but... there may be Miasma at work here. What do you think?"

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Words: 377
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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“I was really hoping that you weren’t going to say that,” Sayha sighed, turning to Dorian, “My last encounter with Miasma wasn’t very pleasant… not that I think any encounter with it is… minus Heretics that actually know how to control themselves.” Sayha walked over to one of the piles of debris and tapped it with her foot.

“I suppose I should explain what happened last time,” Sayha said, thinking back, “Not too long ago, Hiro and I explored some tunnels in the southern area of Londinium. Putting it simply, we found some sort of Miasma Spring, and… well let’s just say some of Hiro’s and my not biggest fans of people were using the place to intentionally corrupt themselves. There’s a story behind how Hiro and I met the group, but now is not the place. We did collapse the tunnels when our exploration was done so that no one would be able to reach the miasma spring again. Though the most concerning part was that the miasma there was so strong that even Hiro and I could feel it as non-mage classes.”

Sayha briefly thought back to when she and Hiro had encountered the guard to the tunnels. It was an adventurer girl that went by Krul. She had been a Sorceress that had been given the task of protecting the tunnels. Things had not ended well for her…

“Let’s keep moving,” Sayha said after being silent. She walked forward, but this time she was much more cautious than she had been before. She still went from door to door, some of them she had to kick in, checking for any other signs. There wasn’t anything right away though Sayha noticed that the hallway ahead turned to the right instead of just ending. Sayha headed towards the bend, not quite sure what to expect.

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Coding by Sayha of LH

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Blinking slowly, Dorian turned to listen to Sayha as she explained her past with Miasma; apparently she wasn't at all fond of the stuff. "I see... Well, if I could tell you that no Miasma exists here, than I would, but... Unfortunately, the way this darkness is behaving, and the whole eerie feel to this place, Miasma has to be my first guess." In truth, he had little experience himself with Miasma, having only met with it on two occasions; the first had been a while back, during his earlier low level days, when he was investigating the disappearances and kidnappings at the Church. That place had been ripe with dark mana and other such energies, such that even a level one Shaman like himself could detect them. The second had been more recent, a venture into the Dimensional Theatre with a few of his guild to collect Black Essence for a quest they had agreed to. In both cases, however, he had sensed the evil that manifested within the very being of the Miasma; how Heretics managed to control and absorb such energy, he was scared to discover.

"If what you're saying is true, then that would explain how we're both picking something up here... Perhaps it is another case of incredibly strong amounts of Miasma, but I dread to think what reason it would be here, or who would put it here," the Shaman fretted, his eyes darting back and forth around them to try and pick up any sign of movement or anomaly within the rooms alongside them. With Sayha suggesting they keep moving, Dorian followed suite, still keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, or perhaps something that might sneak up on them from the shadows. Luckily, the lantern the Assassin had brought was bright enough to keep them both out of the darkness; the Shaman wasn't about to test what would happen if he stepped into the looming dark beyond. Eventually, the hallway itself came to a bend, turning off towards the right. "Odd; the last hallway just stopped here." Sayha's curiosity seemed to drive her onwards, and - reluctantly, I will add - Dorian followed her, eyes peeled.

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Words: 362
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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As Sayha turned the corner, she turned to see what would be considered an old-world super computer that was definitely out of commission as there were huge holes in the computer, and there were no screens. Above where the screens would have been was a huge hole. From what Sayha could tell there used to be a vent of some sort there.

“Well, this is certainly strange,” Sayha said, “Not just the computer and the vent but the location. Supercomputers pretty much need their own room and ventilation and such… which would explain the hole. Though these electronics look like how they should be…”

Sayha lifted her lantern higher so she could see into the hole. It was nothing but darkness. Sayha sighed and stepped back. Doesn’t look like anything is here either.

Sayha turned and was about to walk away when she heard something come out of the hole. She couldn’t tell what it was so she activated <Hearing Aptitude> to see if she could hear it better. There was some sort of talking, but it was so quiet not even <Hearing Aptitude> could pick it up.

“It sounds like someone else is here,” Sayha said, “but I can’t make out what they’re saying. It’s possible more than one someone is here.” Sayha opened her inventory and pulled out her scythe. Then, she hit the switch that turned the scythe into dual kama mode. Sayha only held one kama at the moment, but because of the chain she was able to swing it and catch the second kama in the same hand. She held out the lantern to Dorian for him to take, “You take the lantern, but stay towards the back. If we have to fight, I need to be in the front… and you do need to stay out of my way. The hallways here are narrow, and I don’t need you getting hurt.”

Words: 317 | Total Words: 4379
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Coding by Sayha of LH

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Rounding into the area about the corner, Dorian was greeted with the sight of a mangled up bulk of a machine, no doubt built into the image of some sort of super computer. Large gaping holes in the machine evidenced that it wasn't being protected as much as the last rooms selection, which could mean any of a number of things; it was too early to say what could be going on in this dreary underground sanctuary. "Hmm, this could be a set up... Meant to lead astray, but I doubt this place was built that intrinsically. You are right though, unlike the last machines, this one looks pretty normal." Lifting his eyes as Sayha directed the lantern, Dorian could see nothing but black in the large hole, perhaps the remnants of a ventilation system of some kind, which would make sense for this kind of machine; generally they produced a lot of heat, so the vent was probably there to siphon it into a separate room.

The two of them were just about to leave it be, when something akin to a sound was produced from the hole; Dorian couldn't pick out anything from it, but with the Assassin's Hearing Aptitude, she was able to discern voices, as she explained. "Scavengers perhaps? Other Adventurers who discovered this place before us? No... the entrance was sealed before we came here, so unless there is a second way in here..." An eerie thought, but the only logical one to garner from this situation; Dorian quickly took the lantern as the Assassin requested, holding it in his left hand so as to keep his other one free for grabbing his sword. After all, this may get hairy. "I'll keep you covered then, and I'll make sure nothing is following us." The Shaman nodded his head, holding the lantern out in his grip so that the way ahead of Sayha was illuminated decently. Keeping his concentration on the environment, he kept his mana at the ready, just in case a barrier was needed to keep Sayha from taking too much heat.

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Words: 348
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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“Lead us astray possible… or there have been some more recent renovations to this place,” Sayha suggested as Dorian took the lantern from her. She then shifted one kama into open hand, turning to head out of the tunnel with Dorian following her.

“I would have definitely noticed if someone else had pried open the way we came in,” Sayha responded to Dorian’s suggestion of scavengers, “If they are down here, there must be another entrance.”

Sayha had a general idea of where she had heard the voice so once she made it down to the main hallway, she turned to the left down the next hallway where she saw that there was another corridor. There were also rooms along that hallway as well, but she chose to bypass them for the time being. First thing she and Dorian needed to do was figure out who was down there and why.

Sayha was very cautious going into the next corridor. There were even more doors in this corridor… and something else at the very end that Sayha couldn’t make out. Opting to bypass the rooms again, she kept walking forward until she could see what was at the end of the hallway. It was the beginning of a staircase.

“So this place has at least two stories,” Sayha said, cautiously looking around, “I guess it’s time to head down.” Sayha went down the stairs one at a time, keeping her dual kamas at ready. Her problem though was the chain connecting the two kama. It was slightly noisier than she would have preferred, but she knew there was no way she would be able to wield the scythe form in the narrow hallways. She did have her two katanas, but they were much lower in level than she was so they weren’t as strong.

Nonetheless, Sayha cautiously looked around. The layout was much different than the first floor. From what Sayha could see there was a corridor going from the stairs all the way to the back. Then there were corridors going from left to right every few yards. If Sayha had to guess, she would have guessed they were set up in a grid pattern.

“Which way should we head?” Sayha turned to Dorian to see if he could feel the Miasma in any particular area.

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Coding by Sayha of LH

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"That seems the most likely," the Shaman replied to her comments on the purpose of the machine, but alas there was no time to dwell on it; with their tools at the ready, they both followed the path of the hallway back to the main corridor together, Dorian close behind Sayha with the lantern held high. "I thought as much." The Assassin would have picked up on any disturbances in the entrance when they first arrived, so that was definitely not the way these strangers came in... unless it was. "If they are scavengers, than a second entrance has to exist here... But, what if one doesn't? It may seem silly or far-fetched, but perhaps these are people who never actually left? Who knows what the possible amounts of Miasma is changing and affecting down here in the depths..." The Shaman shook his head, wishing not to think on the possibilities that they may have to face in the near future. It was enough to keep his mind busy with the lantern, sticking close to Sayha with the light held firmly above her head, so that she could see clearly where she went.

As they skirted themselves back to the first area they had come across once more, they turned to head down towards another side hallway, this one keeping a less foreboding darkness to it, but it was still dark all the same. Though there were a multitude of rooms that spanned either side of the hall, Sayha was adamant on moving past them; clearly she was now hell bent on finding these strangers, where ever they were lurking, and Dorian wasn't about to argue, quickly keeping up with her with his lantern held aloft. Eventually the two of them reached the end, where an ominous stairwell emerged from the dark, signalling the further descent into the abyss that was the bunker they had found themselves in. "Looks like it... This place must be sturdier than it looks if both levels of it have survived. But yes, time we move forward; or, well, downward, I suppose." Releasing a nervous chuckle, Dorian gave a nod of confidence, holding the lantern ready in his left hand as they began taking the steps down into the dark.

As better at stealth as Sayha was than him, the Shaman couldn't help but notice the light sound of metal clicking together every time she stepped, signalling the chain that held her two kamas together; but, Dorian opted to keep quiet. The Assassin knew what she was doing, and given the fact his only abilities in stealth came from his dancing - which kept him light on his feet - he was in no place to complain on someone whose very training focused on the art of not being heard or seen. When they finally reached the second floor, the Shaman scanned outwards, looking over the grid-like layout. Closing his eyes, he focused on the flow of magical energy, his head moving and turning to concentrate on a room towards the left. Opening his eyes, he gestured his lantern hand out towards the first western corridor. "Miasma is flowing rather well in that direction; coincidentally, in that direction, one of those rooms is probably the one underneath the hallway from earlier, where we heard those voices." That didn't bode well.

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Words: 553
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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Sayha thought about Dorian’s suggestion. If there was no second entrance that the people down there had always lived down there. The idea reminded her of a show she had briefly watched when she had been on the other side. “I don’t think that idea’s very probable,” Sayha had replied, “Though there’s always the possibility that they knew an easier way to get in without having to pry open the door.”

After they had reached the stairs, Sayha heard Dorian’s nervous chuckle as they stood atop the stairs. She wasn’t surprised at all; after all, it was the expected response. She didn’t’ scare easily so she wasn’t nervous at all.

Once the two of them were on the bottom of the stairs, Sayha waited for Dorian’s response. At first, he had closed his eyes which made Sayha guess that he was focusing on something. When he opened his eyes, he gestured towards the first left corridor, explaining that the miasma was flowing rather strongly in that direction. Sayha nodded, activating <Silent Move>. She began to slowly make her way towards the corridor, now completely silent despite the chains. Once they got to the corridor, Sayha peaked around the corner. Down the hallway a bit, a door was open and dim light was shining out of it.

“Dorian, you stay here for a moment,” Sayha whispered, turning to Dorian, “I’ll check it out first.” She then activated <Hiding Entry>, turning herself invisible. Once the skill was fully activated, she made her way down the corridor to the open door. She didn’t go in the room but peaked inside by standing next to the entrance. Inside was a figure… one that Sayha recognized. It was a level 50 druid adventurer named Morgana. She had met, if met was the correct word, Morgana when she and Hiro were exploring the tunnels. She had aligned herself with a Heretic named Hecate… and the Heretic was crazy putting it nicely. If she was down there, it was not good news.

The druid appeared to be fiddling with a machine in the room, but Sayha couldn’t tell exactly what she was doing. Instead of sticking around and finding out, Sayha crept back to where Dorian was. Once she was around the corner, she deactivated <Hiding Entry>.

“There’s a druid in one of the rooms,” Sayha whispered to Dorian, “I’ve met her before, and if she’s around it is not good news. We need to stop her, whatever she’s doing.”

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Coding by Sayha of LH

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Sayha seemed unconvinced on the idea of the strangers living down here; to be honest, it was a rather far-fetched light bulb, considering there had been no sign of supplies like food or water. One cannot live on machines alone. While the idea wasn't completely out of the question, the Assassin was right; any Adventurers or Landers down in the bunker would have either used a secondary entrance, or have a way of slipping inside without disturbing the trap door over the ladder. "Well, I suppose that's a comforting though... I think." There was no time to dwell on such matters, however, as once Dorian had parted with the information he had gleaned from the Miasma flow in the hallways, Sayha was off, her Silent Move skill easily keeping her to a soft quiet, the only noise coming from her person being the jangling chain between her weapons, but she managed to keep that from disturbing the silence. The Shaman was left to utilise his abilities as a Dancer, shifting along behind with his light feet, trying not to make too much sound and alert the presence they were steadily approaching, his lantern held slightly back so the light only reached a few feet ahead of them both.

Slowly but surely, they followed the path of the bunker's architecture, slipping into the left-most hallway and journeying along it's presented avenue. At least, they would have, had Sayha not halted their progress when peeking around the corner, beckoning Dorian to stop, to which he complied, shifting his movement to still with the stagnant and darkened air around him. "Very well, shout if anything goes wrong," he whispered in reply to her commands, nodding his head to emphasise his affirmation; hopefully nothing bad would come of her during her scouting mission, but at least the precaution was there. The Shaman waited patiently as Sayha disappeared into an invisible form, slipping into the shadows seamlessly and venturing around the corner; keeping his mind from wandering, he kept himself from acting surprised when the Assassin reappeared moments later. "A druid, you say?" From what she was saying, it seemed she had met the person before, and her voice stressed the urgency of the situation now that the woman was involved. Dorian had no idea who or what the elf was referring to, but he had come to trust her in their times spent together, especially when she had that serious look on her face; he remembered it well. "Best we get over there and stop her then... But, let's try not to do anything we might regret. Unless you think otherwise, we might be able to reason with her."

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Words: 445
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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Dorian listened to what Sayha had to say. After she was done, he agreed that they should stop her; however he said not to do anything that they might regret.

“Trust me,” Sayha whispered, “I have no qualms killing her if it comes to that. If you want no part in it, that’s fine. I’m going to go around to the other end of the hallway. You stand here and block her off for now.”

Sayha, still having <Silent Move> active, quickly made her way to the next hallway, carefully keeping an eye open for any other enemies. There weren’t any that she could hear or sense so Sayha focused on the current task at hand. She went along the corridor until there was an intersection in which she took a left. When she came to the second intersection, she turned left once more. The light was still shining out of the room Sayha had seen the druid in, but she could she shadows move in the light that reflected onto the floor into the corridor. The main problem for Sayha and Dorian was that could be a concern. They needed to draw her out in the open where the two of them could fight her. However, there was no way that was going to happen, and in the room, the Druid had an advantage. Though it wouldn’t take much to taunt the Druid.

“Well, fancy meeting you here, Morgana,” Sayha said, louder than she normally spoke to catch her attention, “I’m guessing being sent to the Cathedral the first time didn’t bring you to your senses?”

The shadow in the light suddenly grew larger, and the Druid walked out of the room. She looked down both sides of the hallway looking at Dorian then turning her attention to Sayha.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Morgana glared, “It’s the little assassin who destroyed the Living Nether. Tell me, where’s your Monk friend? He too busy to collapse this place too? Oh wait, you have a new friend though.” She turned slightly towards Dorian, “I didn’t know you have a harem. How many boys do you have that come at your beck and call?”

“None,” Sayha glared back, “If they wish to join me, they do so. If they don’t, then that’s fine as well. And that’s beside the point. What are you doing here.”

“That is none of your concern,” Morgana moved so that the spear that was strapped to her back was now in her hand, “And if you don’t get out of my way, you’ll regret that.”

“We’ll see about that,” Sayha activated <Death Stinger> on her blades, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Instead of going for Sayha though, she turned and began to dash towards Dorian.

Sayha dashed forward, “<Quick Draw>.” Sayha slashed at Morgana before she reached Dorian. Morgana turned to look at Sayha. Just as Sayha was about to attack, Morgana activated one of her abilities.

“<Glacial Freeze>,” Morgana called out, and the ground beneath them as well as parts of the walls began to be covered in ice. Sayha was not used to fighting on ice, but it didn’t’ seem the druid was either.

However, Sayha was able to carefully move backwards to the edge of the ice. Though she could feel her HP slowly begin to disappear.

Words: 558 | Total Words: 5737
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Coding by Sayha of LH

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"That's... okay, maybe you might be fine with killing her, but that doesn't mean..." Dorian attempted to talk the Assassin out of doing anything brash, but before he could say anything further, his voice trailed off as she disappeared back down the hallway, her Silent Move still actively reducing her sound production. Releasing a heavy sigh, the Shaman nodded slowly, moving into the space between the walls of the hallway to block off any escape; right now, his main goal was keeping Sayha alive, but some part of him still wanted to try and resolve matters here in a peaceful way. The way Sayha defined the person as a druid, she was probably an Adventurer, and that meant there were a few possible ways of talking to her and possibly getting her to listen. He had a few barriers he could test out that might hold her for a few precious seconds, perhaps enough time to get both parties to calm down, but without anything specifically designed to hinder movement, he was going to need to get creative.

Lifting his lantern up, he managed to finally spot Sayha again at the end of the hallway, no doubt creating a blockage on the other side to prevent whoever was in the room from escaping. Sayha, like himself, was a tactical mind worth having on any battlefield, and he had no doubt she was planning something, but unfortunately Dorian needed to remove the death of the Druid from her equations; as much as she might be okay with it, the Shaman was a peacemaker, and needed to do everything he could to try and bring this Druid out of the dark. Lowering down slightly, he delicately laid the lantern down on the floor, letting the light only envelop himself, his hands now free, and yet... he did not take the opportunity to equip himself. By then, the Assassin had called out rather loudly, grabbing the attention of whoever was inside. Before long, a figure slowly approached the door, evidenced by the change in the shadows, stepping out into the hallway to inspect the situation.

Morgana, as Sayha called her, was quite the character; a few bits of information came from her words, things that Dorian would need to discuss with the Assassin later, such as the Living Nether, or perhaps the 'harem' insinuation. But that wasn't important right now; the fierce look in Sayha's eyes as Morgana spoke told wonders of her motives here, and soon enough the battle was on, the Druid quickly brandishing her spear and rushing towards... him? Clenching his fists, the Shaman was about to prepare a counter barrier, when the Assassin took the lead, her abilities changing the Druid's attention towards her. With a sudden surge of magic, the walls and floor erupted in ice, various spikes protruding from occasional spots to create a rather hazardous and hard to fight on battleground; luckily, Sayha managed to move out of the way in time, but not without having her HP slowly drop from the effects of the ice.

"Morgana, is it?" Dorian finally spoke, stepping forward to just the edge of the ice field, keeping out of it's damaging aura as he sternly glared at the Druid, who was no doubt taking her time to gain a better footing on the sudden slippery ground. "If I have heard correctly, my friend here has already killed you once before; I think you'll agree that she intends to do so again." He looked over at Sayha, his eyes lowering slightly as if asking for her to give him a chance to try. With that, hoping the Assassin had given him the opportunity he needed, he suddenly raised his hand up towards the Druid. Activating Barrier Channel, he began surging the mana of his skill through the tunnelled effect, suddenly darting forward to position himself beside Morgana. "Shielding Explosion." His voice utterly calm and almost devoid of emotion, a sudden force erupted from his body, a barrier with the same radius as her own ice field blasting out and knocking the Druid with it, pinning her up against the wall of ice, no doubt a few jagged pieces sticking into her form. "Drop your weapon and let us talk like the civilised Adventurers that we are, or my friend sends you back to the Cathedral squealing."

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Words: 725
Tags: @shadowsaiph

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Just as the ice appeared from Morgana’s attack, Sayha took note that Dorian was not on the ice, which was good. The less damage he took the better. The druid was level 50 just as she had been when Sayha first met Morgana, only a few levels lower than Sayha was. The problem was that she was also higher than Dorian by about the same gap. It would be important for Sayha to keep her attention for as long as possible during the fight.

Sayha had expected Dorian to follow her suit, but no. Of course not. He wanted to talk it out. If Sayha had been standing next to him, she would have hit him. Hard. Sayha knew from past experience that there was no talking the deranged out of whatever they were doing. Sayha and Hiro had talking to the head of the conspiracy, Hecate, before, and that hadn’t turned out well. Sayha had killed both Hecate and the cleric that had been with her named Azreal. The first and last time Sayha had run into Morgana, she had been with Hecate. They had fought and they had died, as well as another sorceress named Krul that had worked with Hecate. There was no point in talking, and she gave Dorian a glare when he didn’t do anything. The only useful thing he did was freeze Morgana against one of the ice walls.

Sayha was about to speak, but the druid spoke first… or rather laughed, and rather maniacally. “You’re rather dumb compared to the first one,” she laughed, “at least the first one knew how to fight. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.” The ice had now begun to thaw, and Sayha looked at Dorian, a glare still on her face.

“Dorian,” Sayha said, very sternly, “If you’re not going to fight, stay out of the way.”

The ice on the ground was pretty much melted at that point, and Sayha dashed forward towards Morgana, “<Sword Rain Flurry>.” Sayha stabbed at Morgana through the ice, dealing a decent amount of damage while poisoning her at the same time.

Then, Morgana’s arm began to unfreeze, and she stabbed towards Sayha. Sayha jumped back, avoiding a direct hit to her body, but she wasn’t fast enough and the spear went into her arm. Sayha removed her arm from the spear quickly, moving out of Morgana’s reach.

“<Flameburst>,” Morgana hissed, pointing the spear tip towards Sayha. This time, though, Sayha was able to jump back out of the way and behind one of the walls at the intersection. She felt the heat in the air, but she herself didn’t get burned.

The pain in Sayha’s arm was still slightly throbbing, but she pushed it down. She needed to focus on fighting.

---

((Personal Note: AP to here Claimed))

Words: 464 | Total Words: 6176
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

Things got interesting quickly once the barrier that had emitted from his body pinned the Druid up against the wall, securing her in the ice; unfortunately, neither of the two others in the corridor seemed to like his attempts at a peaceful end to the conflict, especially not Sayha. With mocking words thrown at him from Morgana, he simply ignored, his face remaining calm despite his inner folly at being scowled at by his friend. Unfortunately, his barrier dissipated after a sizeable amount of damage shattered it, freeing the Druid as the ice melted away, leaving the corridor as it was when they entered, albeit cleaner. Dorian turned to watch the two women clash once again, clear evidence he hadn't gotten anywhere with his attempt at persuasion; perhaps sometimes he relied on it too much - after all, there were undoubtedly bad people in this new world, that much was certain, and not all bad people could be saved. He didn't regret trying however, he'd try again in a heartbeat; but not when it meant his friend would get injured, his face scrunching in from the gruesome sight of Morgana's spear impaling Sayha's arm.

I think talking might be off the table this time, big guy; Sayha is in a bit of danger here. Best to choose your battles carefully. Dorian didn't like hearing those words, but the Shikigami was right; in any other circumstance, the Shaman would have stopped at nothing to try and save this darkened Adventurer, but he came here to help a friend, and when someone tries to hurt his comrades... He will fight. As the flames from the Druid's Flameburst attack spilled from her spear, Dorian quickly assessed the situation, eyes squinting with trained focus as he picked out his battle. Lifting his eyes up to Sayha, he finally shook his head in reply to her earlier statement, signalling that he was ready to do his part. His hand reaching down, he felt the familiar grip of leather that rested at his hip, giving a tug to unsheathe his longsword, doing it in a fluid, light motion to keep Morgana from averting her attention to him. Hopefully if he surprised her, she'd be an easier target for Sayha. Quickly rushing in, the Shaman initiated one of his Dancer abilities, a flamboyant skill known as Sword Dance, lunging past and spinning through the air with his blade to land a flurry of slashes across the Druid's side; luckily, thanks to his ability, none of them were able to draw any aggro.

Sliding over the floor, he landed himself gracefully next to the Assassin, his hand immediately moving out to grab at her shoulder. Quickly concentrating, he focused his mana forward, surging it into Sayha's body as he utilised his Anima Gathering Talisman; due to the fact that her shoulder was covered, there was no visible change, but the branding on her skin quickly flowed healing energy through her body, recovering her from the wounds she had sustained so far. "I don't know what I'm in for with you, Morgana," he remarked, slurring his words as he said her name mockingly. He held his free hand out to his side, readying his longsword in his other hand as he steadied his stance. "But I gave you the chance to avoid learning just how much I know about fighting." Turning his attention to the Assassin beside him, Dorian gave her a reassuring smile, before waving his hand forward towards Morgana, activating Leaping Apricot Technique; his body shooting forward, he appeared behind the Druid, keeping her contained between himself and his friend. Thanks to his racial benefits as a Race of Ritual, his mana pool wasn't too dented, but from here on he'd need to keep a close eye on it, lest he fall to exhaustion.

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Notes: N/A
Words: 636
Tags: @shadowsaiph

[Deleted]

Once the fire from Morgana’s <Flameburst> attack died down, she looked around the corner. Morgana’s attention was completely on her, and she wasn’t even bothering to look at Dorian. Sayha looked at Dorian who finally seemed to understand what was going on. He nodded at her, now on the same page. He drew his longsword and quickly dashed at Morgana, slashing at her with what appeared to be basic attacks. Sayha used that opportunity to do a few attacks of her own, “<Quick Draw>. <Deadly Dance>.” Sayha first dashed forward, slashing at Morgana who was now open. Once the first slash landed, Sayha slashed both kamas upward in an x pattern. Once that attacks were done, Sayha jumped back, now next to Dorian. Her left arm was still in quite a bit of pain, but then Dorian put his hand on her shoulder. The pain slowly faded, and Sayha guessed he used one of his healing abilities. She briefly glanced at her own health and saw that it was slowly increasing. Then she glanced at Morgana’s HP. It was much lower than Sayha had thought it was. It was a bit under half, close to 35% if Sayha had to guess.

Dorian spoke back to Morgana, clearly showing that he was on Sayha’s side. Then he disappeared in a blink and appeared back on the other side of Morgana. Morgana was no happy, and she was looking back and forth between Sayha and Dorian. The grip on her spear tightened, and she scowled, “<Toxic Thorns>.”

Spikes appeared all over the ground, and Sayha knew that there was some poison on them. However thanks to her Pharmacist subclass, the poison wouldn’t last as long on her. However, it made fighting melee slightly more difficult. Thankfully though, Sayha did have one ranged attack for the time being.

With her right kama, Sayha slashed at the air, “<Splitting Fang>.” A white projectile flew through the air and hit Morgana head on. The projectile disappeared after it hit Morgana so it didn’t continue and hit Dorian which would have been bad. Sayha switched her kamas into scythe mode and held the scythe with her left hand. With her right hand, she made mana weapons appear and she threw them at Morgana, “<Void Shuriken>.”

Words: 379 | Total Words: 6525
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

No more words were shared between the three of them as they battled, Sayha not responding to his healing touch, nor Morgana retorting his aggressive words; alas, her reaction was more tactical. In the blink of an eye, an array of probably fifty or so spikes dotted the hallway around the Druid, no doubt laced with toxins, as per her exclamation of her spell. No doubt Sayha would be able to handle them, but unfortunately for Dorian, his Iron Stomach ability only worked for poisoned food items, not exterior envenomed objects. He'd need to be careful from here on, but thankfully Morgana wasn't looking too good; after a colossal ranged slash of her scythe, the Assassin had been able to bring her down to a small amount of health. It was time to finish this, before the Druid did any more damage. Flicking his wrist, he activated his Summon Shikigami ability, conjuring the familiar form of Skrowe above his head, an eager grin crossed over his face.

"Hold still..." His words a tender whisper on the air, he kept himself rooted on the spot, not making a move to step into the minefield of poison that surrounded Morgana; instead, the Shaman aimed his palm at Skrowe himself, conjuring his mana into a visible seal that glowed a bright blue upon the air between himself and the Shikigami. "Shikigami Astral Seal!" He exclaimed the spell out loud, as the seal itself enveloped Skrowe, fazing through him before dissipating into thin air. When the skill was complete, the chibi scarecrow took on a ghost-like, intangible form, shimmering with a translucent image of himself. Dorian, turning his arm across, aimed it at Morgana, and nodded slowly; with a flash of movement, Skrowe zipped over to Morgana, using his poltergeist abilities to entrap the Druid's arms above her head, holding her in place. It was not a strong hold, usually meant for lifting weapons up from the ground, but it would hold her long enough for what Dorian intended.

Keeping light on his feet, the Shaman flashed forward, brandishing the blade of his longsword in his right hand and stepping up behind Morgana. "May the cathedral have more mercy on you, than I could give you today." And with that, he brought his arm back, before lunging it forward, piercing it through the lower of the Druid's back, skewering it all the way through until it protruded from her front. Closing his eyes, he blocked out what no doubt would be a final scream of pain, before Morgana's body slowly dissolved into the trademark bubbles of data, her health finally reaching a lethal zero. As their adversary was no more, Dorian slowly sheathed his blade into it's scabbard, lifting his eyes finally to look into Sayha's own. Saying nothing, he waved his hand dismissively towards Skrowe, deactivating the summoning and returning the Shikigami back to his existence within the Shaman's mind. Remaining silent, he released a heavy sigh, simply waiting for Sayha's response.

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Notes: N/A
Words: 499
Tags: @shadowsaiph

[Deleted]

After Sayha’s ranged attacks, Morgana was about dead. Sayha was about to make her final move when she saw Dorian go into action. Instead of jumping in, Sayha stayed where she was and watched.

In his palm, Dorian summoned his shikigami which was a small scarecrow. Sayha recalled seeing the shikigami back when she had first met him in the train dungeon, but she didn’t recall seeing the summon any other time. Though what caught her attention was the seal that had appeared. Sayha guessed it was one of his abilities. She was correct when he called out the ability, <Shikigami Astral Seal>. Morgana’s arms were then bound above her head by the seal Sayha had seen in Dorian’s hand.

Once Morgana was bound, she started to force her way free of the seal, but it was too late. Dorian had flashed over to Morgana with his sword at the ready. He stabbed Morgana, and her health reached zero. Sayha could hear Dorian speak as Morgana exploded into bubbles. Once Morgana was gone, the spikes on the ground disappeared. Dorian sheathed his blade after dismissing his Shikigami. He sighed, and Sayha walked over to him.

“You did well,” she said, “One thing to remember is that sometimes our jobs are not glamorous. We do what needs to be done.” Sayha sighed, putting her scythe into her inventory and sat down with her back against one of the walls. “For the time being, let’s rest. Then we’ll check out the room the druid was in. We’re going to want to find that second entrance and seal it off… and we’ll need to seal off the entrance we came in as well.” Sayha paused before continuing, “So before I go explaining everything, why don’t you ask me what questions you have first. Then I’ll answer those first and fill in the gaps.”

Words: 310 | Total Words: 6835
@serenityspace
Coding by Sayha of LH

[Deleted]

With the last remnants of the Druid's existence fading away with her death, her body and mind no doubt slowly re-spawning in some Cathedral elsewhere, the battle eventually died to a silent thrum in the back of Dorian's mind. Sayha approached him, her words and voice melding into some sort of speech on the tragedy of what had befallen. The Shaman did not speak at first, merely listening; this had been the first time he had killed someone, an Adventurer, a human being. The day he took something like that lightly would be the day he left his humanity behind, and it scared him that Sayha was so calm about it. But perhaps he was just young... Too ignorant to understand the way of the world. The Assassin recommended resting, to which Dorian quickly followed through, stepping over to sit down with her against the wall. She offered to answer his questions, to which he lifted his head slightly, only to lower it back down, staring at his lap in a vain attempt to recollect his thoughts.

"What needs to be done..." He repeated her words from before, playing them over in his head. "It saddens me that this has become a job to you, Sayha," he finally began, lifting his head up and prepping his back flat against the wall for support as he recuperated his mana and health. "Morgana... that was her name? She wasn't just another monster to slay; this isn't a dungeon or a raid. She's a lost soul, a human being from our world, trapped here like us. So she might have fallen into dark, but who can blame her, the crazy world we're stuck in now? You and I may have accepted our place here, but there are still many who have not." He finally stood up from his seat, dusting himself off out of needless habit and turning to face down the length of the hallway, staring into the distance. "I killed a person, an actual human being... Sure, she'll revive, but I've gone through death, I know how painful it is."

He released another sigh, turning to look down at the Assassin still resting. "You were in danger, and she was a threat. I wasn't about to choose my friend over a Miasma-infected individual, but that doesn't mean I made a good choice." He clenched his fists, closing his eyes for a moment. "Sometimes, all we are left with is bad choices; and I was the fool to think that there was an lighter path to take here, but unfortunately, in these situations, we still have to choose." Shaking his head, he stepped forward, moving towards the door that Morgana had emerged from; he needed to put his mind towards something else, something that would distract him from what had just happened. "My questions aren't important right now," he muttered under his breath as he stopped within the door frame, just loud enough for Sayha to hear, before stepping inside and inspecting the place, his mind completely focused on what was inside, what Morgana was attempting down here. Even Skrowe had become lethally quiet within the confines of the Shaman's mind.

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Notes: N/A
Words: 529
Tags: @shadowsaiph