A Twisted Figure Stands In The Moonlight [OPEN]

[Noctis Corvo]

The night was beautiful out in Sarum. The moon and stars were out in their full splendor upon the fields, lighting the shadows in a beautiful celestial glow. It was the strange form of the man, up upon the hillside that broke the natural splendor of the night. His twisted form reached long and lanky, his stance seeming to hold at almost insane angles with an almost unnatural grace upon it. His once beautiful pinstripe suit, warped by the very corruption that sat within and about his thin, patchwork frame. A smile sat upon his lips, stretching wider than what should have been possible, almost ear to ear, his teeth seeming to come to strange sharp points. The miasma flowed behind his eyes, the whites replaced with an abysmal black, the irises a pulsating purple energy. A small violet flame burned around his rightmost eye as the excess darkness leaked out. He stood, overlooking the magnificent plain, spinning his hat in his hand, an unknown tune upon his mind. 

Any with access to the interface would realize who he was as they triggered his profile, his stats showing up upon the moonlight. They would read:
Noctis Corvo, Heretic. Corruption level: Stage Five, Two Hundred Points.

Status effects:
Gluttonous Haze
Miasma Appendage

Morphogenesis Traits:
Regenerator
Cursed Palm
Dark Conquest
Vampire Form
Darkness Eternal

He stood overlooking the landscape, the town off in the distance, not a single monster for miles after his little hunt on the plains, the taint of miasma would still be lingering among the area. 

Notes: Open to all, feel free to jump in

[Shuwen]

Words: 458

Shuwen was feeling more then a little out of his element. After being away from people for so long, finding himself in the middle of a tavern, where people drank and gossiped freely felt more then a little awkward. Instead of trying to partake in the conversation, he simply nursed his watered down beer, trying not to look like a deer trapped in headlights. Dang it, I'd hoped spending all that time alone would make me more interested in talking to people. I guess not.

Eventually, he decided he'd had enough of trying to get used to groups of people, and took his last drink to-go in a disposable cup. Maybe instead of making me act stupider, it will make it easier to sleep or something? he'd heard that how people changed when they were drunk could vary from person to person. While there were a number of common side effects, like poor judgement, the way it made someone act could vary widely. Some people got violent. Some people got emotional. Some people simply fell asleep. Or something. He didn't know enough about drinking to be sure of this, and he could certainly be wrong. Perhaps I'm the sleepy type. It's certainly late. The monk yawned. As his route brought him towards the village outskirts, he began to feel an all-to-oppressive feeling that was, for some reason, vaguely familiar. Don't tell me I'm type to get depressed when I'm drunk. He complained silently. However, a moment later, he realized that it may have been more then the alcohol. Some time ago, he'd participated in a largely failed expedition that had attempted to colonize a piece of the miasma realm. Corruption had been everywhere, making his subclass of priest more then a little useful. For some reason, the dull oppressive feeling he was getting now reminded him of it just a bit too much. Well that can't be good. Is there a dark-type monster in the area?

He toggled on the Hearing Proficiency skill to check if there was anything sneaking up on him, but it didn't seem like it. He didn't hear anything right off the bat, but that didn't mean he wasn't wrong. Setting down his cup of watered down beer, he reequipped his weapons and armor, and pulled a potion of Nighteye out of his inventory, though he didn't drink it yet. Retrieving his cup, he began to move in a wider arc around the village. He wasn't sure if it was the best idea, considering he wasn't exactly in prime condition (or perhaps he was? He hadn't drunk enough to know anything about his habits while he did so), it probably wouldn't be a good idea to let a monster roam so close to town.

[Kaizoku]

New to the strange landscape that the new world had to offer him, Kai had begun scanning the bar. Being the brewmaster that he was, he had begun serving beer and other alcoholic beverages early in the evening- his skill not exactly up to snuff as he had just joined the world around them, making most of his normally artisan crafted beverages in the real world look and taste more watered down.

A sigh would escape from his lips as he'd make each drink. "Surely my skills will match mine in reality EVENTUALLY." he thought to himself. After pouring the drinks he looked at the owner of the tavern and jokingly teased him by punching his shoulder before saying "Yo chief, I'm heading out. I need to catch a smoke and clean some of this foam off my shirt from these drunks. Don't get too busy without me!" he said with a laugh. He had walked outside and lit his cig with his basic fire magic- using it for his carefree purposes as he did when he was too lazy to get his lighter out or if he couldn't find it. As he lit his cig and took a deep inward drag of it his eyes had caught something moving and he instinctively gripped his rapier and looked around.

"Who the f**k am I kidding? I'm not even leveled enough to take on a d*mn goblin probably." he thought before sighing harder and taking a deeper inhale and exhaling the smoke and saying "One of these days, these seas will reflect a stronger me. I promise that. When I'm done gathering the gold for a ship of my own, I'll be ready."

As he looked around he had seen a monk he had given a few beers to and wondered what he was up to, noticing he had his Potion of Nighteye in his clutches. "Is something up?!" he thought, watching as the monk had set the beer he had served him on the ground and gave him the instinct to grip both blades from over his shoulder- not sure what could lie ahead, but was never the type to just stand idly by and watch things happen without him trying to stop it. He knew he was an inferior level and laughed before saying "Though I may die, how do I expect to get better without some risk eh?"



Words: 400.

[Lamenta]

Lamenta was called by one of Ena's colleague to perform at his bar. Ena suggest him when the owner ask wether she know a musician around or not, that's good he guess for having a friend who were the top of social circles. Its a win-win solution for him, she could help a friend and he could spread his name as The Pied Pier of Londonium, and also he has a lot of free time to accept that offer,

He walk straight on a one way street, the surrounding light is a bit of dim which make Lamenta hard to see, he need to squint his eyes hard enough and focus at one point to see something clearly. He twist around his Dzi flute thinking what should he play to entertai the guess, perhaps an upbeat and happy song will do the trick. He just hope that the place has an open space for dancing or jump around. He want to do a bunny hop dance when he play the music, gosh it looks fun just by imagining.

Suddenly, not so far from the bar, he felt something off with the atmosphere around him. The air feels heavier and something creeping slowly from the darkness making his body hair dance around wildly. The bard swiftly change his equipment from Dizi Flute to basic Katana, one thing for sure, he don't want to meet anything out there defenseless Due to his quick swap skill, it only took around one second to change his weapon.

He scan his surrounding, he notice two other figures, a monk and a swashbuckler. Which make him sigh in relived, from the sensation he get, it is something that he wouldn't manage to face it alone. He positioned himself as a support, getting ready with his buff abilities.

'So..do any of you know what is happening?'
Lamenta tried to ease the tension, but no luck.. The air make the mood heavier. No one answer Lamenta's question which he assume that no one know exactly what is happening right now.

So, the waiting game is begin.

word:349

[Noctis Corvo]

The figure stood, basking in the glow of the moonlight of the night and enjoying the cool air waft across his face. A small slime took notice and began approaching him curiously from behind, the massive source of magic drawing it near. Without a moments hesitation, a black formless mass shot out of the man's cloak and pierced the slime, obliterating it quickly into the bubbles that signified its death. The mass retreated quickly back within the confines of the cloak and he took a long draw of the cool night air. It was then that he noticed the figures approaching from the town. He supposed he had been making quite a fuss out here, hunting down monsters and testing the limits of his new powers, and it seemed only logical that the neighbors would have called in a noise complaint on him to spoil his little party. Upon closer inspection however, the group seemed to have just been coming from a party themselves, the smell of ash and liquor riding the delicate breeze up to even his own position. The few hadn't noticed him yet though, not in a normal sense. He could definitely tell they sensed the lingering corruption however, as many of them seemed to be readying their weapons as though he were some sort of lesser mob. How utterly foul of them, to greet a guest of his magnitude with arms and foul intent. He after all had no such manners as to attack people of the land, much less Adventurers, his own kind. Then again, he was in an experimenting mood, and a rather jovial one at that, so he figured he might as well go and greet his guests. His figure glided down the hills and rocks, almost silently and without any perceived effort on his own part, his body moving with an almost unnatural grace. He approached the three, emerging from the dark, a massive grin upon his face, his form distorted by his corruption.

"And to what pleasure do I owe the company, gentlemen? Surely you haven't come to tell little old me to quiet down?" His movements were almost as if he were floating as he drifted about the small party. He dove between the party members, acting out and over the top with each of his statements. He grasped at the monk's coat, falling into his arms and a look of sadness upon his face as the miasma melded about him to form the shape of vague old west clothes, a badly over exaggerated southern accent issuing from his lips. "Don' tell me Ol' Yeller's dead Pa! I won't be able ta take it!" Twirling from the monk he fell into the arms of the swashbuckler, the miasma changing around him to form a sort of fake feather boa as he exclaimed in a rather feminine accent, "Hold me Leo!" Again, leaving the arms of the swashbuckler to lean against the bard, the miasma forming the shape of a cigar in his mouth, his pinstripe suit once again adorning his frame, and a ghostly looking tommy gun in one hand, a bad 80's gangster accent issuing forth this time. "Whatrya doin' im my neck of the woods here, see? You come to take my money? my Drugs? My girl? My horse? my SPIDERS?" 

The shapes created by the miasma once again fluttered out of existence as he waved his hands, once again returning to just him in his suit, the massive grin upon his face.

Tags: Shuwen Kaizoku Lamenta

Toggles: Dark Conquest: [OFF]

Corruption Levels:
Noctis: 200 points - Stage 5
Shuwen: 1 point - Stage 0
Kaizoku: 1 point - Stage 0
Lamenta: 1 point - Stage 0

Words: [585]

Notes: 1st cycle past. You get a corruption point, you get a corruption point, everyone gets a corruption point!
(also officially welcome to the corrupted noc thread AKA my char essentially becomes the closest thing to the mask i can make him)

[Shuwen]

Words: 453

After activating the hearling proficiency skill, Shu quickly realized he wasn't alone. The first person he noticed was Kaizoku , the red-haired Swashbuckler who'd been serving drinks at the bar earlier. The other was a bard named Lamenta , who was wearing a weird rabbit hat thing. Must be the latest fad or something. He assumed, perhaps a little too quickly. More importantly, they were on edge. Despite the late hour, their bodies were tense and they looked ready to fight. Probably for the same reason that he was. His suspicions were confirmed when the Bard asked what was happening. Shuwen made a sour face.

Okay, that's a bit much, neh? The monk thought irritably. One possibly paranoid person getting the willies was one thing, but three? To be honest, it made him feel a bit silly. Granted, he wasn't as tense as the two of them looked, but only because he'd been drinking. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad.

However, the question was answered for him before long, as a dark figure came into view. Shuwen was having trouble getting a good look at the being, who blended into the darkness annoyingly well, his status bar was visible, even in the darkness. According to it, it was an adventurer named Noctis Corvo , a Heretic, and if his appearance, or lack thereof, was any indication, a heavily corrupted one. He began to speak, surprisingly lucid, given his level of corruption.

"Not... specifically?" Shuwen replied with a shrug. "That said, you might not want to get any closer to town. I doubt the landers would appreciate someone spilling Corruption everywhere, yeah?" Shuwen made a sour face in the general direction of his status bar. It wasn't enough to be visible, but if the heretic's close proximity was any indication, his own corruption level was probably rising just by being near him. He resisted the urge to use a Priest skill on himself.

However, the heretic seemed to ignore him as grabbed Shuwen's gi. Shuwen was about to use a self-defense move he knew to get the guy off of him, but he let go just as quickly. As he acted out, the Noctis refrenced at least one old movie that Shuwen could recognize, and probably a few he couldn't. The tommy gun in particular, made him panic for a moment, until he realized it was probably just an illusion.

"You can keep your spiders, I don't like how they taste." He replied to the heretic's ranting, hastily suppressing the memory of one of his ill fated cooking experiments. It was neigh-impossible for him to keep up with Noctis' ranting, but, he could at least respond to bits and pieces of it.

[Kaizoku]

He chuckled at the movie references before blowing some more smoke from his cig before flicking the butt of it away and landing it into his own glass, putting it out instantly before saying: "Do I *expletive*-ing look like DiCaprio to you, Heretic? I'd hope for any of our sake that I don't- no one needs to be hanging to life on a floating door any time soon."[/b] He then intensified the fire that he used to light his cig to brighten the area around them, knowing that there is nothing worse than having to fight something you can't see, aside from something you can't see nor hear as well. His tensed curiosity now turning into annoyance real quick, he knew that he probably needed something to calm him down. Maybe he had drank too much with some of the lovely ladies he had been serving at the bar earlier? Whatever the case, he grabbed his cigar he had gotten from "Chief" earlier, sliced the back of it swiftly with his rapier and used the intense fire to light it and puffed it from the corner of his mouth. MUCH better. Between puffs he said to Lamenta who had asked what was happening "Yo, music man, no need to be scared. This guy probably isn't foolish enough to try and mess with the town while three people immediately noticed him, let alone if the city were to wake up to a commotion. We can either keep calm and solve this, or get this plaguespreader out of town the hard way."

Internal: "What the hell? Why am I speaking so aggressively? I'm not even mad, nor do I know of this joker's intentions. Most heretics he's heard about just like causing shenanigans, but he hasn't seen one go out of their way to harm inside a town. Judging by the Gi, he knew Shuwen was a monk, so he really didn't worry about the corruption too much getting to him, but maybe the aggressiveness he showed was part of it. Regardless, it isn't too bad right now- hopefully it doesn't progress further."

Words: 355

[Lamenta]

Music man!?
Seriously, Music man!?? Lamenta had known for several nickname from Weirdo to Bunny weaboo, but never 'music man'. Yet, an unknown feeling building up inside him, if he wasn't mistaken this is called 'Irritation', it is rare for Lamenta , a very laid back person, to get irritated. So currently he feel alienated with his heart.

He tried to figure out on the reason why he feel strongly oppose to the idea of 'Music man' he has a goal to become a traveler musician and promote himself as the Pied Piper of Londonium, so Music man may be not really off stretch from his goal.

So, what is the reason of this irritation. Suddenly he notice a heretic like he wasn't aware of that before, speaking of that he saw his get up after that man, he was an adorned barbie doll... Okay it is more to your old 80s gangster movie instead barbie. Well at least he hold a look like the gun which 80s mafia usually use. An eccentric Heretic, he didn't oppose to that idea. Himself was a bit of eccentric, in fact he love how he act around this mismatch group.

He kinda expected that he might feel hurt for being treated as a monster when he arrive (sword pointing him and such), but he just move swiftly and transform everyone form.

His irritation got overlapped with curiosity and giddily. After the irritation gone, he notice something; The swashbuckler sounds like he got agitated but the monk wasn't.

Hypotesis time! The young bard has read some lore about monk around the world, they dealt with some kind of impurities, fighting off the worldly desire and achieving a sort of heavenly desire. If this Monk class on elder tale share the same idea with the actual lore, he may have immunities with the miasma which the heretics produce. He wanted to know about this more.

He put down the gun and follow the heretics accent as best as he could
'Hey bub! You have the ability to transform anyones appearance. Least thing you can do to me, is to change me to a battle bunny looking form'
Okay he admit that the accent is really bad, like a REAL bad. He almost sounds like he tried to choke himself while talking.

He drop off his accent and talk like a normal person do (boo normal is boring)
'The name is Lamenta, The Pied Piper of Londonium, not a music man i assure you, and i don't know who is the person next to me. However, i am sure they will introduce themselves. And oh yeah i won't rob your money Heretics. Unless you ask for it' He grin while unequip his sword

Word: 457
Tag: Kaizoku  Shuwen Noctis Corvo

---

[Noctis Corvo]

The man smiled at the group, the miasma leaking further from him. Whether it was malicious or just simply a fact of his form was known only to him. They didn't seem like they were all too prepared to be out here quite honestly, many seeming rather nervous or unsure. The man simply smiled wider at this thought. The first one, the monk, seemed to be turning down the offer of spiders, but at the mention of the word the heretic merely interrupted him, conjuring up an illusory cup and kettle before spouting out "Spiders it is then!" and began pouring him a brimming full glass of spiders that began to overflow with the creepy crawlies. The swashbuckler definitely had a sense of humor though, acknowledging the heretic's reference and that made him grin wider. with a flick of his wrist the spiders all disappeared back into a cloud of mist as he swirled through the black cloud over to the man. With a cheeky grin on his face he addressed the swashyswashy. "Or maybe you are and we're all in a dream? did you check the top?"

The bard's question on the other hand caught him off guard. A Battle Bunny? What kind of black magic was he speaking of? "Even my powers don't extend that far. Or maybe they do? It's so hard to find willing test subjects nowadays, Music Man!" He swirled about the group, drunk on his own dark powers. It was then that a lonley level one slime creeped its way up into the party, drawn by the heretic's blatant and unrestrained use of magic. coming close, it seemed only curious as to the nature of the dark mass, wobbling around inquisitively before, with a lightning quick streak, a sudden black mass seemed to instantly strike out from within the confines of the heretic's cloak. As the slime burst into its corresponding bubbles, a long, jagged appendage glowing a dark crimson as it began to turn back to its darker color scheme traced its way languidly back into the heretic's cloak. A look of sick disdain sat upon his face as he stared in the direction of where the slime once stood, his corruption taking a bit of a boost.

"I do so hate worthless scum."

Tags:
Lamenta Kaizoku Shuwen

Corruption: everyone mark your sheets up by one point

Note: wanted to get something posted, ill flesh this out a bit more tomorrow when i have the time

[Shuwen]

Words: 510

Kaizoku didn't seem to be happy with something Noctis Corvo said, something about an actor? Regardless, he didn't appear to have calmed down, if anything, the Heratic's words seemed to have the opposite effect. This is going to be a pain, isn't it? Shuwen thought with a sigh. The Swashbuckler then turned and made what sounded like an attempt to calm Lamenta down, though it sounded like he was passive-aggresively threatening the Heratic. Dude. The guy's not in his right mind at the moment, if you're gonna say something to him, at least be more direct about it.

As for Lamenta, while he didn't appear relived by Kaizoku's attempt at reassurance (Shuwen didn't blame him) something about the Heretic seemed to intrigue him. His next question indicated he was curious about his ability to transform. That did irritate the Monk a bit; didn't he have more important things to worry about? And while lowering his weapons was probably a good idea; Shuwen hadn't even bothered to raise his yet, the Monk felt that straight-up unequipping them was premature. Though introducing himelf was probably a better idea. If nothing else, it might help defuse all the tension.

As for Noctis himself? He seemed to have interpreted Shuwen's refusal as an acceptance. Twitch twitch. The monk's eyebrow started to twitch, just a little bit. Despite what he'd thought was level headedness, he was beginning to feel that of the three sane adventurers present, he may be the one least suited for dealing with a crazy Heratic. Fortunately, the teacup and it's contents appeared to just be an illusion, just like everything else the Heretic had produced. Maybe if I ignore it, he'll just forget about it. Illusionary or otherwise, he wasn't interested in drinking something made from Corruption. Fortunately, he seemed to forget about it in the wake of the Bard's question, which he quickly fixated on. Of course, that was in turn interrupted by the arrival of a lowly slime. Judging from it's low level, it wasn't really worth fighting in his opinion, but it as long as it kept getting closer, it would be a nuisance. I guess I'll let the lower-leveled guys fight it? Kaizoku in particular looked like he could stand to level up a bit. However, Noctis struck it with a Heretic skill, one that formed an appendage of sorts, and killed it in one blow. He even followed up with a cartoonish one-liner. Um, good to know he can do that, I guess? Shuwen thought, feeling unsure about how to react to that. He wasn't really comfortable with the fact that the Heratic was slipping into Saturday morning villain territory, but wasn't sure how to defuse the situation. Maybe if he cracked a joke? Mocked him for it? That seemed like his best bet at the moment. If nothing else, it would hopefully steer him away from cliche villain territory. "In that case, how do you feel about profitable scum? Regular scum? Worthless not-scum? Though I'm not sure what the last one is, ignore that one."

[Lamenta]

No use.. The bard is trying to relieve the tension around him yet, the result is zero.
He shrug with himself, well no use for him to trouble himself with other feeling, at least he already tried.

His curiosity still point forward to Noctis, he seems keeping up a new curiosity flag. He never knows his limit on the transformation. If he were him, he probably has tried it on different subject, wether the illusion could change their subject completely like disguising a human race to a wolf hair race or the transformation could affect a non living thing such as rock. That power has a lot of potential to be unveiled. Lamenta grin on the idea to the point where he ignore the 'music man' which Noctis still call him with.

He let his elbow rest on Noctis' shoulder.
'So... this is kinda weird question. But, is there any particular goal you tried to achieve here? You look like having fun here, buddy.'

It indeed looks like he was having fun. He spouting several nonsense line here and there, doing anything he seems fun. Is there any goal for him by doing all of this? or it just purely out of boredom , just an act to pass out his free time.

The night is still early, but he guess that going for a hunt at night wouldn't be wise. He heard that monster get more agitated at night, which he still never had a chance to confirm it nor he wanted to prove it by himself only. So, would it safe to think the idea of him trying to find partner to go for a hunt cast aside? The bard shook his head, no this guy is too unpredictable. All common sense might bound off from him like a used rug.

He sighed tiredly, Lamenta got tired when he tried to figuring out what the man in front of him really are. An enigmatic creature who piqued Lamenta's interest.

'If you are up to something fun. Count me in'
At this point, he decide to play along with him for quite while to figuring out what kind of guy he is.

Word:363
Tag: Noctis Corvo Shuwen Kaizoku

[Kaizoku]

The swashbuckler had finished his cig and felts more at ease, though his curiosity was raised by the Music Man's proposal of "Something fun".
He watched as Lamenta had rested his elbow on the Heretic's shoulder and wondered if that was necessarily a good idea, but he shrugged then proceeded to sheathe his blades with a sigh. It''s honestly not like he himself could honestly hope to fight anything, given he had just been sent to this world along with the 30,000 others and was new to the game in its entirety. He probably would struggle against a boar in the middle of the day, let alone someone corrupting them in the middle of the night. If it came to it, he could try, but he realizes that he'd probably just hinder his two other "companions" for lack of a better word in this case. He could play cool all he wanted, but the reality is that he's just a drunken scrub whom has been drinking since he got to this world, for lack of something to do? Or for lack of confidence of progressing maybe.

He walked to the Heretic and raised an eyebrow and said "Hey Heretic, you can make illusions right? Think you could make something with this?" before he extended his hand with the fire he used to light his cig formed in the center and smiled. Personally, he just wanted some entertainment, and as screwed up as it was, having someone psychotic, or at least spastic, coming in the middle of the night was the most entertainment he had since coming here. It sure beat the hell out of drinking the night away at least after all.

Plus, he had absolute faith in these two people he never met until now. Surely, if something were to go wrong, he would be sparred at least a little bit. In any case, if this was the end for him, it wouldn't phase him. He's by far the weakest amongst the group currently present and at least it would be something better than "He drank himself into poisoning" as he was sure his alcoholic tendencies would take him, though hes been getting better at making brew of his own to kill some time compared to when he first got to this place.

Word Count: 388
Tags: Shuwen Lamenta Noctis Corvo

[Noctis Corvo]

The heretic found this group rather enjoyable. Or maybe they were the ones finding him enjoyable. He honestly could no longer tell through the thick haze that surrounded his mind, but whatever it was, he found the joke rather funny. A continuous, low, gutteral chuckle began to come from deep within him as the group began asking him questions. The slime had only seemed to increase their intrigue at the strange man, his form quickly changing back to its rather dance-like slithering as his long limbs flailed gracefully yet drunkenly about his frame. He first addressed the one's question about scum. "What difference does it make really?" he crooned. "What is scum anyhow? What are we to define scum? Are we not scum in the eyes of a larger tyrant? In the eyes of the grand entropy? Some would say that I am scum for my blatant use of such sweet nectar such as the miasma for power. And yet, here I stand in all my scummy glory!" A thick laugh echoed from his lips, booming out through the trees, waking the black birds from their rest in their nests to send them flying off in search of quieter roosts. 
Next the music man came up to him, resting an arm on his shoulder asking about if he had any fun planned. Noctis suddenly stood as straight as a board, disregarding any further questions by the others, as though some strange trigger word that he had been waiting for had finally been said. His head slowly turned to face the music man dead-on eyes locking with eyes, the bones creaking as he did. A massive grin sat upon his face stretching ear to ear with his sharp pointed teeth. His eyes almost seemed to glow. The voice that came out came out clearly and without the normal garrishness he had been flaunting before, but held a rather serious quality and creepy airiness to his tone. 

"Oh, I have lots of fun planed, friend," he purred.

"How open would you be to some....

Experimentation?"

Words: 343

Toggles: Dark Conquest: [OFF]



Corruption Levels:

Noctis: 200 points - Stage 5

Shuwen: 2 point - Stage 0

Kaizoku: 2 point - Stage 0

Lamenta: 2 point - Stage 0


Notes: a little music to read by: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-BvOuE7wfw

[Shuwen]

Words: 368

Lamenta seemed to no longer be weary of the Heretic, and commented that he was up for "something fun." Count me out. Shu thought, feeling annoyed with the direction the conversation was taking. At least he had the sense to question Noctis Corvo 's intentions.

Kaizoku , meanwhile, seemed to be trying a bit of one-upsmanship, perhaps in hopes it would make the heretic fear him a bit? The swashbuckler asked if Corvo's powers could imitate his own, summoning a ball of fire he'd apparently used to light his cigarette. Shuwen was... less then impressed Another Swashbuckler trying to be a spellsword? Well, he'll learn eventually that this isn't that kind of MMO. He'd probably learn sooner or later that old-style MMOs like Elder Tale weren't flexible enough to make that kind of build very practical, due to their rigid class system and emphasis on areas of expertise. For the most part, trying to excel in areas your class wasn't intended to excel in was a bad idea. More often then not, it would just lead to your character's build stinking all-around. Well, the lower levels are usually more forgiving I guess.

On the bright side, Corvo was slipping away from cartoonish villain territory again, seeming to revel in the attention he was getting. Instead of acting all threatening, he began to wax philosophical about the definition of "scum." While that kind of attitude generally annoyed the monk, it was probably better then him acting homicidal. Less messy, if nothing else. Even so, he ended up tuning out most of what Corvo had to say on the matter; he wasn't really interested, it was just something to keep the heretic mentally occupied for a moment.

However, right as Shuwen began to relax a bit, Corvo once again went off in a creepier direction. Apparently excited and emboldened by the prospect of "something fun," he asked the other adventurers present if they were open to some "experimentation." Nope nope nope nope nope. "Count me out." He said aloud, shaking his head vigorously. He took two steps backwards, not taking his eyes off the heretic. Clearly, he didn't trust the guy at all. The question was, did Corvo realize that? Probably not.

[Kaizoku]

Shuwen had been taken aback, and rightly so as the idea of the serious yet ominous tone that had befell upon the party had been felt through the words alone. Kai could clearly see that Shuwen didn't trust the heretic, and he couldn't blame him. Given the opportunity of being the more seasoned and battle-seasoned of the trio of them, he'd probably not like this situation or odds either and would hope the younger and less experienced members of the party would take note of my actions in these situations. However, given that even Kai could tell mentally that Shuwen didn't trust this heretic or was skeptical of said "Experimentation" was reason enough for Kai to be ready to bolt as well, but that also meant that if even he could read that deeply into the situation, surely the heretic would be able to pick up on it as well.

Meanwhile, his other train of though was wondering how Lamenta would react to the situation and if he would be able to read into Shuwen 's reaction, and his own by proxy, and decide to leave as well. The idea of all three leaving would probably either upset the heretic and commence another chain of events all together, or the three would have to face it together. Regardless, some type of unity needs to be established. If they stay, the corruption might get to all of them and that would just end up causing another sequence of events altogether. Either way, Kai knew it was probably a bad idea for both him and Lamenta to be close to this guy, especially after the mentioning of some type of experimentation. That never bode well, especially for a rigged together party of strangers whom only had met in the last few minutes that had elapsed. He hoped the battle bunny music man would retract his statement of "fun time" with the heretic and take note of what he was about to do.

After accessing the situation, Kai had taken enough paces back to be side by side with the monk. Kai wasn't ready to fight anything just yet, and while he had fire to light the way around him, he only had learned the skill for its outside practicality rather than its combat abilities. Fire is basic to survival, and can be used in practically any non-raining environment. He had gotten it in hopes of long adventures and being able to provide some use to the party outside of combat. Plus, if trained enough, it could be used to caramelize malts, which he was going to use for his brewing skills which he also thought would be nice to have outside of combat. While good with a blade, he preferred to be balanced as far as most MMORPGs were concerned, with one money making skill that he could just have fun with and let it slowly build up, one social skill to which he could be convincing and trigger additional quests or obtain more companions, and focus the rest into his combat build which would be the use of his two rapiers. Dual wielding was something he had enjoyed in other combat based games as it increases the DPS and there was always a skill later on which would let you obtain a multiplier to your evasion and parries. His current beginners build would allow his fire to do damage and all, but it wasn't his purpose- it was essentially a lighter for his cigs for the meantime, and a fire starter if he ever wanted to help a party out or illuminate the dark path ahead. Having his low skills, he stood beside Shuwen who was the strongest of the bunch as means of some type of unity and extra security before saying to Noctis Corvo :

"Yeah, I'm with the Guru here in taking a pass from those experiments. I thought I'd be done with those since High School and I really don't feel like getting dissected today....or any time soon."

He tried to laugh it off, like he did in any serious situation, but just his tone was enough to let Noctis Corvo know that this Swash wasn't interested in being some type of science lesson. He observed and noted his surroundings to make sure no one was around that could potentially be an experiment if they left, and saw no one was around, before finally putting out the flame from his palm and taking a deep breath to regain some clarity.

Tags: Lamenta Shuwen Noctis Corvo

Words: 750

[Lamenta]

Hmm..did he just said an experiment? Did he have his own idea for the experiment or he was asking any idea for the experiment? He shook his head, dismissing the latter idea. From the way he ask wether they wanted to be his guinea pig.

Okay this is the tricky part. He is up with the idea of unfolding the various of idea that he can use on his power, but he don't want to be the guinea as the manner of speaking. He need a scapegoat. He sit down on the ground with the leg crossed, didn't pay any mind on his pants would be sullied by the dirt. He take out his and play a short soft and relaxing tune out from his flute, by doing so, he could feel a bit calmer than before.

'What kind of experiment you are thinking of?'
His idea might be not involving a living being to be conduct. However, if it involved living being, he thinks he could redirect it to the monster out there. Well sorry monster, be our guinea pig.

He glance over to Kaizoku and Shuwen, they share different expression. While Shuwen shows a displeased expression, Kaizoku look somewhat,err... high spirited? Well whatever his expression means, he is all in with the fun stuff.

He look over to Shuwen and smiled
'Shuwen right? a chef and swashbuckler? Have you ever experimenting with your food?' Lamenta decided to bombard him a question, hoping he would stick with the group for a little longer. The man kinda look stiff and skeptical, the bard won't be surprised if he decided to tell that he didn't trust Nocto yet. Neither did he, however he believes 'keep your enemies closer' is the right thing to do right now. Although he still not sure wether Noctis is an enemy or not

He let out a yawn, and play a music waiting for the explanation

Word count: 320
Tag: Noctis Corvo Kaizoku Shuwen

[Noctis Corvo]

The twisted figure of the heretic let out what could only be described as a laugh. A laugh after all would be the best way to describe the maddening pleasure shriek and chuckles that followed that would have left lesser men frozen in terror. His eyes seemed to lock with each of the others. "Disection? No, while that does sound interesting in its own right, I have little desire to see you spread apart all open on the ground. No, what I have planned will be much more interesting, as well as enlightening for all parties involved."

His head popped quickly to the monk, a large toothy smile spreading a sickeningly wide angle from ear to ear, the miasma beginning to coalesce around him, whisps that could be mistaken for eldritch forms and tiny whisping appendages seemed to snatch at the air from within, peering and poking out from under his stitching. With a twitch of his righs arm, dark abomnible shackles shot from the earth ensnaring the monk, while the other hand snapped its long fingers. A dark sigil appeared at the feet of the ensnared monkshining a dark aura upon him, merging the ambient miasma further into his skin at a rather large rate.

"It is one thing for someone like me, who is constantly exposed to the miasma to see its effects, but another entirely for another not used to its beautiful whispers." As the circle faded away so too did the chains break, and a slight giggle spread leaked out from the massive sharptoothed grin of the heretic.

"So who wants to go next?"


Notes:
Skills cast:
Shackles of the Sentenced
Lying Darkness

Corruption levels:

Shuwen: 15 points - stage 1 (+1 from round (+1 from shackles) +10 from lying darkness (+1 from shackles)) for reference on what it does, heretic page has more detail, summary is you now have a migrane. Cheers.
Kaizoku: 3 points - stage 0
Lamenta: 3 points - stage 0

[Shuwen]

Words: 460

Kaizoku seemed to share Shuwen's opinions on experimentation, more specifically, dissection. I don't think that's what he has in mind dude. He wasn't sure dissection was even possible unless it was harvesting items from a mob's corpse. Besides, the worst of the effects of corruption were more mental then physical. Also, guru? Kaizuku's body language indicated he was talking about Shuwen, but the nickname hit him out of left field. How did he come up with that one?

Lamenta , however, seemed to have other ideas, attempting to ask the monk what he seemed to think would be a pointed question. "I'm not food, thank you very much." Shuwen said, his voice growing several degrees colder. Seriously, why are you supporting this lunatic? Are you as crazy as he is?

Despite his confusion at Lamenta's response, it was Noctis Corvo 's response that finally snapped the frayed string Shuwen's nerves had been hanging by. After some rather villainous dialogue, he began casting a skill. Shuwen didn't recognize the name of the skill that appeared on Corvo's status bar, but that wasn't really a surprise. Heretic was a new class, and he hadn't encountered many individuals who'd taken it. All sorts of possibilities flashed through his mind. However, at the same time, it simplified the situation enormously. Up until that point, the situation had been highly anomalous; one he wasn't sure of how to react to. He'd been relying on words to try and talk himself out of the situation, but now that the first metaphorical punch was being thrown, things were moving back into what could be considered his area of expertise; beating the crap out of the problem.

Shuwen's response was largely reflexive; he didn't have much time to think about how to counterattack an unknown skill the enemy had already begun to cast, but he didn't need to in order to know what was probably the best skill he could use under these circumstances. Lightning Straight was probably the fastest skill in his arsenal, and not to mention damaging. There wasn't a whole lot of distance between the two of them, so he was able to complete the attack's preparation in roughly half the time it took Corvo to finish casting his spell.

Dashing forward with somewhat ridiculous speed, he backhanded the Heratic with a lightning-infused fist. It was possible that Corvo would complete the root spell before Shuwen rudely interrupted him. If that was the case, then the bindings would catch him regardless, as the spell seemed to have been designed to land automatically, but it almost certainly wasn't going to happen before Shuwen got into punching range, so the monk's counterattack would almost certainly land regardless.

"Sorry about that punk.  I let my fist do the talking."

[Noctis Corvo]

The one thing that the monk didnt count on however, was the simplest trick the heretic had in his book: he began to take a few steps back. True, the speed of the monk was greater with his flying punch, but a little distance was all the heretic needed. As he began to walk back, still channeling the skill, he could see a bit of suprise creep across the monk's face. The punch connected at just the last second, spinning the heretic around as he flowed with the punch. As he fell back the chains flew up from the ground, latching around the monk and rooting him in place. The heretic's smile grew wider as he threw up the sigil beneath the immobilized monk to bind some ambient miasma to him, all while walking further away thanks to his Spellwalking ability. "I think ill be fine without it thanks."

Noctis Corvo:
Health: 91%
Mana: 98%

[Shuwen]

Words: 493

Shuwen managed to land the hit, but Noctis Corvo 's time wasn't wasted. He was still able to finish his root spell, which would inevitably keep him chained in place. That might be a problem, but... Generally, root spells such as this didn't last for a terribly long time, and while the monk class did specialize in hand-to-hand combat, it wasn't like he was out of options just because he couldn't get into melee range. As long as I can use the time I'm chained effectively, it shouldn't be a big deal. No doubt Corvo would attempt to make use of the time his root spell gave him to hit him as hard as he could, but Shu had other plans. Corvo had spun around a bit when he'd been hit. Now that I think about it, it probably would have been better for him to just take the punch and let it send him flying. Though it would have given him a bit less time to attack, he would have gotten much further away. I guess the pros and cons are debatable though As it was, he was still within range to get hit by one of his short-range attacks. Though he was making use of spellwalk to increase the distance between them even in the midst of casting a skill, he wasn't anywhere near fast enough to get out of range in time. Extending his forward hand in a jab-like motion, he activated the skill Zoom Attack, lashing out with said hand.

He made a grab at the Heretic's throat.  Even if the Heretic managed to narrowly evade the initial grab, Shuwen was prepared to swing back and make a second attempt as the skill came to an end While it was possible for the heretic to dodge the second attempt, it was unlikely he could do so without breaking his concentration to focus on evading. If it was successful, Shuwen would let the skill end and his arm would retract to it's normal length, carrying the Heretic's body back with him. Raising his arm, he'd hold the Heretic a few inches off the ground, clamping down tight on the Heretic's throat. While the damage wasn't particularly great by monk standards, it was unlikely the heretic could focus enough to cast any spells while being strangled, while receiving relatively constant damage at a rate comparable to the effect of drowning. However, for some reason Shu looked irritated by something. You know what? This would be a lot easier if I was taller. Grrrrrr.

If Corvo somehow managed to dodge the grab, and began casting another skill, Shuwen would then bring his other fist down to the ground, activating the skill Tiger Echo Fist. As it was an aoe attack, his chances of dodging it were pretty much nil. And even though it's knockback effect would probably allow Corvo to gain some distance, it would delay him further, buying Shuwen more time.