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Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

...or in other words: post-whoring
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Dragon Fogel
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Re: Grand Battle - Round One: Cardboard City

Post by Dragon Fogel »

I've made my decision, and the elimination PM has been sent out.

I'll leave it up to the eliminated player to decide whether they inform other people or not before deathposting. If you have things you want to do before the round concludes, well, this is your last chance to do them.

Also, while it's obviously a bit late to express opinions on who should be eliminated, overall thoughts on people's writing are still welcome.

Still working on feedback for the remaining players, but expect that in a day or two.
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Grand Battle - Naizen's story, End.

Post by Sorel »

What... have I done...? Naizen was unconscious, still too exhausetd after this final attack. Is... this blood on my hands...?! Naizen was plagued with nightmares ever since the day he killed an innocent man. I couldn't control myself... I... acted in instinct. THe instinct of us killing machines. "Urg..." He regained his consciousness. "It happened again. I lost control over my senses..." Naizen was looking at the countless innocent Stickpeople he killed. "DAMMIT! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?!"

He began to run forward, haunted by all the countless killings he had commited. I'm such a monster...! What should I do...?! He stopped, took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but he let out a scream of agony, louder than the sirens of the ambulance cars.


"Mr Imada, are you alright?" That voice... it's Dot. "H-hello Dot... Y-yeah, I'm f-fine..." "Well, you certainly don't look good at all. Did you get ill?" "I... I... ack, I can't go on like this... I think I should explain my situation to you."

"So, whenever you sense a great presence through your sixth sense, you can't control your body?" "That is correct. We Sentients... or rather, G. R. E. Y. s were made to fight for the Absolute Order as killing machines that hunt down strong magicians. So whenever I sensed a presence that was similiar to that of a magician, my instincts, or rather programming would take over. That resulted in the death of at least thousand innocent people. And to make matters worse, I am the direct decendant of the 20th fragment of William Glikkorey, "The Consciousness"." "Wow... that sure sounds bad..." Dot wasn't sure what to say.

"Do you remember the package that we opened at that diner?"
"Sure, I mean, it is one of the only things that I had with me when I got transported here, together with you fellas." "Didn't the fact that there was no adress on the package bother you?" "Hm... not really..." "That is because I made a decoy package, filled with a few of my possessions. The element magics book fro beginners, the enchanted Samayan knife and the Key of Thiefs. Consider it a present from me, just for you." "You mean, that package is not the real one? When where is the other one-" "Here, I kept it to analyze it a bit more, but I came to no conclusions." He gave the original package back to Dot. "Now, I think we should go back to the othe-" Naizen began to cough up dark matter from his mouth. Damn, did I do a miscalculation?! I was sure that I could use that spell one more time, but seems like I had my last shot...

"Dot, do you remember the promise you gave me yesterday? That you would kill me if something bad would happen to me? I guess it's time to keep this promise." Dot was speechless.
"I... should do it... now...?" "Here, take this white rapier. It's name is Licht der Freiheit. ("Light of Freedom") It is able to kill demons... including me." "I'm sorry... I can't do this..." "Do it, now. Or do you want everyone in this city to end up dead, including you and the other fighters?" "Wait... what do you mean?" "There is no time explaning it! Do it now or you won't have a second chance!" "No, I ca-" "NOW!"

Dot thrusted forward with all of her strength, piercing Naizens chest. "Thank you... at last I found my salvation." He began to disintegrate. "Do not feel bad about my death. My purpose for life has been fulfilled and I can finally rest in peace. There is something that I wanted to do... before I will disappear... please, hold my hand..." The moment she touched Naizens hand, Dot felt something warm inside of her. She had tears in her eyes. "I will lend you the remaining magic power I got left... it should be enough to allow you to cast the basic spells from the book..."

"Thank you for everything, Dot..."

...


Ug... where... am I? Dot woke up from a sleep that seemed to last for ages. "Welcome to your inner world, Dot." It was a familiar voice. "N-Naizen?!" She opened her eyes. The "inner world" consisted of a grass field with a light blue sky and an brightly yellow sun. "I'm over here." Dot looked around, but there was no man with a black cape around. "How about you look down a bit?" There he was. But he looked like a sheep, wearing a fancy black fedora. "Well... you see... this is how I truly look like. Every Sentient born in my village has an insignia. My was "The Sheep"." Dot giggled. "Awww, you are sooo cute!" "Wait, what are you trying to do?! WAIT HOLD ON! AAAGHGH!" She cuddled him a bit too tight apparently.

"So, you probably wonder how you did end up here, right?"
"Uh-huh." "Well, to keep it simple, I brought you here. Every person has an inner world where they can communicate with spirits. In other words, if you want to ask me for advice or anything, just say this incantation before you go to sleep." He mumbled the words in Dots ear. "Got it." "I will stay here and watch your actions. I will give tips whenever you should be in a desperate situation. So, I suppose it's a farewell for now... if the others ask what happened to me, tell them I died happily.""Will do." "Now then, it's time to wake up." A bright flash appeared before Dots eyes and she fell unconscious again.

"Remember, I will always be there for you."

""Dot? Hey Dot wake up! DOT!!" "AAAHHH!- Hey don't scare me like that!!" "Look, Naizens rapier and a package were lying here but we don't know where he is! Do you know anything about this?"

"Yeah... he... he found his salvation. He died happily."
Soooo this is how it ends for me. Thanks to Fogel for hosting this thing, it sure was a great experience to me, writing my first fictional work! Thanks to everyone who participated/participates, without you this thing wouldn't happen right now. Especially pholtos, thanks for talking with me about some of these things.

Now then, I leave it to Elgadika whenever Dot will actually talk with Sheep naizen in her inner world again. I shall be lurking this thread from now on!
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Dragon Fogel
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

Methuselah was pleased.

For starters, there had been a good deal more bloodshed than she had expected. Granted, the perpetrator of most of it had died in the end, but what mattered was that it hadn't been boring.

Even better, she'd been challenged. The contestants had no idea just how much she had learned from their escape attempts. So much theory that reached beyond the knowledge of her own world.

If only Rusto knew that the moment before he left the Cardboard City, Methuselah had no idea how she would have tracked him down. That it was his own escape attempt that granted her the insight she needed to apply her power in new ways and return him to the battle.

But then, there was no reason for the contestants to suspect Methuselah had any limits in the first place.

She concentrated, and the seven surviving fighters appeared in her throne room again. But now, more practiced, she let them into her world standing up, though still immobilized.

"Naizen Imada is dead," she said, simply. "I would like to use this opportunity to make one point clear. I have been watching you all. I know that you have, for the most part, been resisting combat with each other, even seeking to escape or challenge me. And I want you to know that I will not allow this to continue without consequence."

Methuselah paused for a moment, and the combatants found themselves gathered in a dark cave. They heard odd squeaks and screeches, and could see glowing eyes in the shadows.

"Recall that I select the arenas. And there are far more dangerous places in existance than Cardboard City. This is one of them - the Cursed Labyrinth. A maze of dark passages, filled with deadly creatures. But it is not without its rewards."

Suddenly, a torch on a nearby wall ignited, lighting up a passageway. A golden sword lay on a pedestal.

"This cavern is filled with treasures. Weapons, armor, and countless other objects. All enchanted, and quite potent. If, that is, you are able to deal with their costs."

One of Methuselah's guards appeared by the sword. Obediently, he lifted it up, and found his entire arm turned to gold.

"For this is where the Labyrinth gets its reputation. Everything within its halls is cursed. What price are you all willing to pay for power, I wonder?"

Another pause, and then the surroundings shifted again, scattering the contestants through the maze.

"Now, go. Arm yourselves, and destroy each other. Anything you possess at this round's finale is yours to keep. And remember that if I am dissatisfied with how much fighting I see, the arenas will grow more and more dangerous."

Methuselah's voice faded, and her grip on the seven fighters was released. The battle had resumed, and the stakes had been made clear.

So this round is a bit gimmicky.

You're in a cavern of monsters and treasure. But all the treasure is cursed, with some kind of cost to using it. Although, if you want you can have the curses turn out to be useful in their own way...

And as Methuselah said, anything you find here can be brought along to future rounds. I encourage everyone to think ahead about what sort of cursed objects you might be able to play around with.

As before, everything else is up to you to determine. Why does this labyrinth exist? What's the nature of the monsters, and how did they end up in here? Is there anyone or anything in here besides you and the monsters? You're free to answer these and many other questions however you want.

I promised to send feedback along to the other players soon, I'll try to organize my thoughts and get that done today. Tomorrow at the latest.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by pholtos »

So much destruction had been caused... and for what? Some woman's sick amusement? I will never understand people such as her. Chibos gritted his teeth as he thought these thoughts.

The number of lives lost because of Mato's gods had been enormous, and Chibos found himself quite distraught at the thought of what had happened prior to their transport. The city, once proudly standing tall, was in ruins. Tears had been abundant in the walls of the city. Many had been charred by some unknown force, and Chibos feared the city would never return to it's former glory.

Unfortunately, Chibos had little time to ponder these thoughts, as a new world presented itself. What... is this going to be a constant til all but one of us has died? Is this truly necessary?
Staring around, Chibos had trouble adjusting to the extreme change in light. Unlike Cardboard City, this cavern had little in terms of light. The walls, upon closer inspection, looked to be of a Quartz-like make, jutting in and out with smooth edges and pointed ends, and were fairly effective at reflecting light.

After confirming he was truly alone, he went into a meditative state. That... last fight left me somewhat tired. Using a more advanced technique is fine and all but this body of mine can't do too many of them without becoming exhausted... time does take it's toll. Come to think of it, I haven't truly rested since the start of all this. No wonder I'm so tired. Now then... this place is apparently full of objects that have side effects, eh? I wonder if something in here could benefit my style, and at what cost? Who knows... perhaps I'll need to use them someday. I feel great sorrow in having to think this way... but there is one thing I can say for certain, I will not take a life. Not with my hands.

Oh man describing the setting! I'm starting off a bit like in the first round, I guess that's what my character does.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

*clink*

Tobasco rolled ever so slightly as it fell into the newest arena. It could tell it was alone. For now, at least.

Slowly, the bottle raised itself to view its new surroundings. A single, dim light emitted from a doorway on the other side of the room. Crystal and rock jutted from the walls haphazardly. Interestingly enough, it seemed Methuselah decided to drop Tobasco off right next to some of that cursed equipment she spoke of; a long spear, tipped in some sort of precious metal, shone in the center of the room. She must have loved the idea of putting one of the contestants least able to make use of such a boon in the spear's proximity. It was somewhat of a cruel joke.

At least for now, there was a definite target. One of them needed to die, and that person would be Mato if Tobasco had anything to say about it. Their actions in the Cardboard City were unforgivable.

The hot sauce made its way out of the room, and down the hallway. The first thing to do would be to find one of the others. This arena didn't bode so well for Tobasco.
I somehow doubt there's going to be much equipment Tobasco can use here. It's also a labyrinth, so it's probably not super-easy to maneuver, neutering one of Tobasco's strengths to an extent. This'll be rough.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

If you're thinking in terms of whether your character would be able to make use of the objects here, then I haven't made my intent for the round clear enough. So I'll do that now.

Anything can be cursed in here. And if you still find that too restrictive, I'm just going to note that I never said holding or wearing an item was the only way to trigger its curse; you could have things that curse whoever touches them, or that activate in more unusual ways.

The cursed objects are there for you to play around with. Please don't let any implied restrictions get in the way of that. If you don't want to mess with curses, that's fine, but I had no intention of denying anyone an opportunity to use them.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

I could certainly write something in that Tobasco could use/be affected by, but I'm okay with the arena giving more solid advantages to the other fighters. It'll just affect how I write Tobasco's parts, and it'll likely be a lot more cautious as a result. I have plans, at any rate.

Plus I kind of like how the different arenas favor different players. Obviously being in a populated city made Mato way more potentially powerful than the rest of the cast, and that kind of imbalance led to what I thought was a great climax for Round One. So when I say "it's gonna be rough," I don't mean for myself. I mean for Tobasco. =P
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

Fair enough, I just wanted to be clear.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Joseph Staleknight »

The minute that Methuselah sent everyone to their positions in the labyrinth, Twre could feel himself being lifted away from the gilding sword into a deeper section. He landed with a soft splash onto a shallow bed of water. Once he could move again, he cautiously got up, being careful not to poke himself on the various crystals that jutted out of the floor.

As he struggled to squeeze the water out of his clothes, he thought about Mato and the madness he wrought upon the city of cardboard. He...they not only managed to create a god out of whole cloth but also converted a huge swath of the populace to a fake religion that revolved around the deity. Such acts reminded Twre of all those cults he heard about from Namurian media: creepy, slack-jawed men in dirty robes and unkempt beards who worshiped entities of darkness and other unpleasantries only to spite all that is wonderful and benevolent. Only, somehow Mato was worse than those people because of their power. Now that Twre thought about it, he probably would have become one of the converts if he didn't already believe strongly in Hallysreis. After all, such a giant, monstrous deity was not worth trying to stop if Naizen's death was anything to go by. Still, after such an incident he really did not want to see them win Methuselah's game. The consequences would have been too much for his soul if the implications weren't already.

After he got his clothes to be comfortably dry, Twre decided to check his briefcase just to see if anything changed since last time. Spinning the dials to the familiar combination, he opened the briefcase to find the inside just as barren as it was back in the city. With a deep sigh, he closed the briefcase and took stock of his surroundings. Within the rocky walls, suspicious eyes leered out from the cracks, wondering who this intruder was and what he was doing in their home. What little light there was glinted off of the quartz crystals, giving them an odd purple glow. Looking at them with curiosity, Twre was reminded of the amethyst back from his world that generated a field of darkness when cut into certain shapes. He wondered if the crystals functioned the same way here. Curiosity got the better of him, and so he went towards one of the looser pieces that stuck out from the walls and broke it off with his hands. Pocketing the newly-made gem, he pondered what to do next.

Mato has managed to survive this ordeal, even though Rusto tried to throw a knife at them. This is no good; what if they find another source of people to convert to another fake religion? I need to find Rusto at all costs so that we can hatch a plan to take them out easily. Also, if I can find Dot around this place that would also be wonderful. I could always use strength in numbers. You know, it's funny. Even though Dot is from an entirely different race than mine, I somehow still feel connected to her. And it's not just because she's a courier, either. It's as if...

Twre immediately stopped, his own thoughts starting to creep him out. He immediately shoved his free hand onto his face. Dammit, Twre. You promised yourself not to think about that. Those thoughts only convince you to get drunk! He sighed and looked for the nearest pathway away from the cavern he started out in.

There just happened to be one right behind the shallow pool, flanked by what appeared to be strange glowing green markings. Initially he was hesitant about going through there; what if it took him somewhere strange and unfathomable? Yet, there didn't seem to be any other way out, despite what the rough shape of the cave would have suggested. The accusatory animalistic eyes on him didn't help matters. Deciding that taking any path was better than sitting around twiddling his thumbs, he reluctantly took up his belongings, checked his clothes one more time for any excess moisture, and then walked through the green-marked archway to see what surprises would lie waiting for him.

Interestingly, I originally planned for a part where Methuselah would have snuck something in Twre's briefcase to motivate him to fight for victory. However, in the end I felt that it would have sounded like she was playing favorites with certain contestants, so I dropped it.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

I might be a bit later with the feedback than I hoped; only have three out of seven written up right now, and I want to send them all at once.

I realize that some people might want to hear the feedback before they go posting this round, so I'll try to get that done quickly. I hope to get at least two more done tonight and two tomorrow, we'll see if I can manage that.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Mikkofier »

The knife was just about to reach its mark before Rusto was snatched back to Methuselah's throne room, making it the third time he had seen it. Three times is too many for this place, he thought before they were all thrown into their next arena...

Rusto found himself in a dark corridor in a dank cave. A light shone from an opening, not too far away. Not sensing anyone nearby, he approached the light. Naizen is dead... so, he failed to kill that mass-murdering monster, and paid for it with his life... How far did Mato manage to get from him before he finally perished? Thinking about how much his ally must have suffered made his hatred for Mato and Methuselah, the one ultimately responsible for every lost life in this sick game, grow even more.
Entering through the opening light was shining through, Rusto came to an open cavern, with what looked to be a field of glowing mushrooms down in the middle of it. Approaching the edge of the cliff overlooking the cavern, he saw creatures that looked like pale, hairless, eyeless rabbits hopping among the mushrooms.
Rusto was looking for a safe route down, when he absent-mindedly kicked a small rock down the cliff. The sound it made was enough to attract the attention of the rabbit-like creatures, who all turned their eyeless gaze his way. They opened their mouths and let out a noise, except Rusto didn't feel this noise in his ears, but in his head. He felt like his head was about to split in half from the inside, like the worst migraine in human memory. Rusto was so overwhelmed by the sudden pain in his head, that he lost his balance and tumbled down the cliff to the bottom of the cavern. On the way down, before losing consciousness he felt something stinging him...

Rusto regained consciousness moments later, a painful feeling all over his body. He opened his eyes and saw one of the creatures still milling around. Instinctively, Rusto took out a throwing knife from his sleeve and threw it, killing the creature immediately. It was only then he realized that the knife he had thrown was not the one he had thrown at Mato, but the one he had used to test the world shifting ritual. His other sleeve was empty. Must be Methuselah's way to taunt me... HIs thoughts were interrupted by the painful sensation growing worse. He looked at his arm and, to his horror, saw that his flesh looked like it was starting to rot.
He saw a passageway leading to a small chamber in the cavern wall and, panicking, took the corpse of the rabbit creature and ran inside.
Removing his gloves, Rusto used the blood of the creature to draw sigils for Purification and Health on the chamber walls. Just as he had finished, he felt a sting of pain in his left hand. Two of his fingers had fallen off! After hastily drawing a magic circle on the ground with more blood, he then concluded the ritual by emulating some of the pagan rituals he had read about and smeared his body with blood and screamed until he couldn't. The rending pain overwhelmed him and he, yet again, fell unconscious.

Loraihosh... Acanani... Li'itho...
Rusto woke up, noticing that the pain was gone, but upon looking at his hands, he saw that his skin was now white as chalk, on his left hand he had lost his little and ring fingers, and all the nails on his remaining fingers had fallen off. He felt for his face and couldn't feel his nose. He also noticed that all the hair in his body was gone. Cleaning the blood off his knife with his cape, he looked into his reflection on the blade. Where his nose had been was a hole and his eyes seemed to faintly glow red. She said this place was filled with cursed objects... What ever that stung me back there must have had a reaction with my magic...
Rusto put on his mask when he heard someone or something approaching. He took out his notebook and started drawing sigils for a fireball spell on an empty page. Whoever it is, they won't get me!, he thought, temporarily mad from all he had gone through so far...
Three mystical names courtesy of Seventh Sanctum - Lovecraftian Name Generator
EDIT: Retcon! Rusto didn't lose his ears (hard to wear a mask otherwise)
Last edited by Mikkofier 9 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Holy »

Fishy had been swimming toward a light in the distance for about an hour now. He gliding along the side of an underground lake. He had seen none of the other combatants. He was hungry. He was tired. His head was fuzzy and pounded like crazy.

He tried to remember why he was even excited to be in the Outside World at all. At least in the Shop-Mart I was safe, thought Fishy, I had food flakes to eat. I had good, clean water that didn't taste like dirt...

"Are you sure I can't eat you?" he blubbed to his companion.

"Of course not. I assure you I taste absolutely atrocious."
"You look tasty."
"I'm sure I look delicious to a fish like you. But I've already told you I'm composed entirely of extradimensional matter and I don't contain a single ounce of worm guts. Looks can be deceiving."

Fishy sighed. His companion had a habit of talking about things his tiny fish brain couldn't possibly comprehend.

"How'd you get to be so small, anyway?" blubbed Fishy, "You were so huge back in that Cardboard place. Now you look like one of those tiny earthworms we'd get fed on the weekends sometimes."

"Hrm," said his companion, "Belief, I suppose. When I was born, many believed in me. So I grew stronger. Now, you're the only one who does. Then, I was the Great Worm, the Stickpeople's salvation, the Great Saviour. Now, I'm just...the Worm, I guess."
"I'd rather eat you than believe in you."
"I'd rather you stop with such silly talk. I start to fade away when you have thoughts like that."
"That wouldn't be good, I guess," blubbed Fishy.
"I agree. As a believer, you should keep your faith as strong as possible or I will disappear."
"And if you disappear, I can't eat you."

The Worm sighed. He floated alongside Fishy as the goldfish swam. One moment, you're on top of the world, he thought to himself, you have countless followers, you have your very own evil hole in the ground...the next moment, you're slumming it with some fish in a cave...such is the life of a god...

They had reached the shore of the lake. Fishy peered above the water. The cavern extended off into the darkness beyond the shoreline.

Suddenly, Fishy heard something. A noise, echoing off the walls of the cave...footsteps! thought Fishy, Someone's coming!


"You're the only one who can see me," whispered the Worm, "But don't talk to me around the others. They won't believe in me, they'll want to dispose of me."

The footsteps drew closer...
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by pholtos »

Go ahead and take your time on the whatever it is you are writing for us, dragon.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

I prefer to be called Fogel. DF's fine as a nickname too.

Anyways, didn't get as much done as I hoped on the feedback, but I've made progress. I think I'll be rereading the battle tomorrow to help me finish it up.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

Sorry for the delays! I've just got one feedback PM left to write. I'm hoping to get that done tonight and send them all out.

I see the pace has slowed down a bit, but I was expecting that. Still, I'm looking forward to all of your posts when you can get them done.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

Yeah, I know I kind of needed a break for a bit. I hope to write something in the next few days though. I've been doing a lot of work all over the place (real life, A2XT Ep 2, etc.) I assume everyone else has been similarly busy or burnt out.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

Okay, finally got all that feedback done and sent out. If you'd like me to clear up anything I said, let me know.

A few writing tips I'd like everyone to think about, whether I mentioned them specifically in your feedback or not:
-What's your character's motivation? Not just in terms of the battle, but in general. Getting this across really makes your character feel real, and it's good for creating conflicts. If you want your character to fight at some point, their motivation is going to be essential in understanding why they do.
-Think in terms of actions and reactions. Some characters are more suited to making things happen, while others are more suited to reacting to events around them. However, ideally you want to have your character doing both things at various times. So if they have a preference for one, try to think about how you can get them doing the other.
-Take risks! I mean this both in the sense of "put your character in danger" and in the sense of "write about things you haven't written about before and aren't entirely comfortable with writing about". This makes the battle more interesting to read, and helps you to grow as a writer.
-Remember that there are other people in this game. Feel free to work with them to come up with new ideas and to get a sense of their character so you don't wind up stepping on their toes. And if you do feel like someone's stepping on your toes, either let them know about it or let me know about it so I can talk to them on your behalf. I want this to be fun for everyone, so if problems are arising, however minor you may think they are, feel free to speak up.

Overall, I'm enjoying the work you've all put in, and look forward to seeing more posts from everyone when you can find the time.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

Passing by a red symbol on the wall, Tobasco realized it had been this way before. The Labyrinth lived up to its name; passageways twisted and turned every which way. Though the bottle of sauce had been squirting the walls with the crimson liquid to mark where it had already traveled, it seemed to be of minimal help. How did going down a flight of stairs even lead back here? Tobasco was certain it never went back up.

In any case, there were still dozens upon dozens of pathways to explore. Maybe they wouldn’t all be non-Euclidean ordeals. Tobasco certainly didn’t feel that there were any better options available.

The entire situation was taking its toll on the bottle. It recalled its life as a loner, wandering the world outside of condiment society. Tobasco did exactly what it had wanted: nothing. It’s not like the condiment home world had a lot to do, but Tobasco never felt the need to find something else. Moving from place to place, lazily floating along rivers, being a bottle of hot sauce… Tobasco traveled without purpose or reason. That’s the way it lived. That’s what Tobasco wanted to do again.

Despite missing its carefree days, Tobasco also remembered how its time in the Cardboard City changed it. There was a clear motivation in play for the bottle. As horrible as Methuselah was, at least she gave Tobasco a goal.

Tobasco came to a halt. The ground in front of it rose to the ceiling, nearly crushing the bottle. Thankfully, reminiscence and introspection weren’t so distracting as to allow Tobasco to fall into such an amateurish trap. The stones along the floor were clearly differently cut, after all. Perhaps being so close to the floor made it easier to recognize the discrepancy, but that kind of detail wasn’t important to the red hot bottle. It thought about the horrible destruction Mato and the Worm brought upon Cardboard City. It was a miserable, painful memory, but a driving memory nonetheless. Thousands died. Naizen died. If Tobasco had its way, Mato would follow suit.

Soft footsteps were audible from a short distance away. Tobasco stood its ground, ready for a possible fight…

Twre rounded the corner and looked down to see Tobasco, who relaxed its stance, seeming to not regard the orc as a threat.

Wanted to put this up before I head to work. I don't think a fight is appropriate for this stage of the round, since we don't even have everybody doing something yet, but getting characters together to start some interactions would be nice. I do wholly intend to start a fight at some point, but not quite yet.

EDIT: I noticed that I used the word "ordeal," twice in succession. It was bothering me so I changed it to read better. That'll teach me to sleepily write stuff for this game. =P I hope it's okay that I made that slight edit. I can return it to normal if need be, but as far as I can tell the OP suggests it's fair game.
Last edited by sedron 9 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by pholtos »

Chibos was taken out of his deep meditative state in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily, his right hand on his face, he recalled what he had just seen.

A figure was in his arms, but... it couldn't have been his arms... they were the size of a normal human. The figure was a woman, dying. She smiled up at him, and spoke something he could not hear. The world around them was a blur, he could make out nothing else. Tears had welled up in his eyes, as he yelled to the sky above.

Chibos was perplexed. Why had such a thing come into his mind? What possible connection could it have with him? Was it a vision? Or was it something else...
He didn't really know where or when the dream had been, for beyond his time in the mountains, Chibos had no recollection of events prior. However, given how his body had reacted to what he had seen, it must have had something to do with him.

After calming himself down, Chibos looked around the room. He had no concept of time and as such was unsure how long he had been in that state, but he guessed it had been several hours. A small trickle of water he had not noticed was present falling across the wall. Chibos went over and washed his face, removing the sweat that had gathered. After drinking his fill the sound of foot on shifting rock caught his attention. He turned around in his boat to see a troop of baboons entering the room, eyeing his boat, all the while yelling something in their own unique tongue. Of all the things to show up, it had to be a species of monkey.

The baboons were about 3 feet tall a piece, with fur of a hard to distinguish dark color, given the low light levels. The heads of the baboons featured a lighter color of fur, and if it wasn't for the fact they all had their eyes looking towards him and his mode of transport, he would have considered them quite harmless.

Chibos was in no mood to stick around, given how dangerous the creatures were said to be in this place. Looking for an escape route, Chibos noticed all the exits had been blocked by at least one of the baboons. Eyeing his options, he decided to aim for the exit that was blocked by only one of the primates. Wielding his green marker, Chibos sped quickly towards the baboon before it could react, marking it quickly with an X. The baboon relaxed itself and did nothing further, however the remainder of the baboons yelled loudly at the sudden attack, and began to charge at Chibos, who sped off down the path he had created.

aaand I'll leave it at that, I don't want to write too much in one update. I do have plans to continue this at a later time though.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Joseph Staleknight »

Even with the utmost abuse of time magic to quicken his pace, Twre swore he had been walking for ages within the cavern. Somehow, it just didn't feel like hyperbole; all he had known for the past few hours or so was walking through a meandering and unpredictable pathway, dodging falling crystal stalactites and keeping himself from tripping into more puddles. He was certain he made more U-Turns on this journey than he would have bothered to count. And as the road stretched onwards, he thought longingly of his old city life, whether in Zurabán or the Cardboard City. There, he knew where everything was in relation to everything else. If he didn't, at least he could learn quickly enough to not stick out like a sore thumb. Furthermore, there were people to chat with and feel connected to, compared to the complete solitude of this menacing hall. As far as he knew, everything in the city felt more inviting and safe. At least, as safe as it could be without something like a devastating worm god to ruin things.

But now, as he walked further along the path, the stalactites and stalagmites gave way to flatter terrain. The rough surface he had grown accustomed to rely on to compensate for the darkness began to adopt a smoother, seemingly glossy feel as the ridges and bumps became more regular and less sharp. More importantly, he could see some faint light that didn't come from the crystals--a beckoning flame from a torch far in the distance. With hope in his eyes, Twre hurried to the new source of light. Once there, he stopped to catch his breath. Walking for so long even with time magic had tired him out, and what he needed at the moment was some time to recuperate from his exhaustion. Preferably away from the direct heat of the torch, now that he thought about it.

As he began to stretch his body to keep himself awake, he took stock of his surroundings. The flame's light showed a grid of kiln-fired tiles stretching across the walls and into a corner of the hallway. Looking closer, Twre could find that each tile had varying degrees of wear and tear. Some were still entirely intact, but most weren't so lucky, having suffered chips at best and complete destruction at worst. However, aside from the completely defaced ones, they all shared a common engraving upon their facades: a stern and disapproving face vaguely resembling a primate's. Perhaps this place was once a shrine for trolls? But he couldn't find any fangs on the tiles' faces. Strange. This certainly doesn't look like any troll I've seen before...

Suddenly, a loud and rocky crash boomed from right around the corner, catching Twre's attention. Deciding to see what happened, he gathered his belongings and hurried around the corner. There, right in front of him, was a pillar of angry simian faces, their glazed features leering at him as their collective mass continued to thump futilely at the ceiling, scraping against the floor with an audible groan. What the...Oh, that is just plain creepy. Were they trying to crush something...or someone? The thought only alienated him to the place. Some safe haven this was!

Then, he noticed a familiar bottle at his feet. "Oh, you! ...You're the sentient bottle of hot sauce, right?"


Tobasco shot out one spurt of its sauce, confirming the orc's guess.

"Okay, good. Listen,..." Twre crouched to his feet, placing his briefcase gingerly down on the floor. "I need to find Rusto and Dot. Have you seen them around here?"

Unfortunately, Tobasco could not recall any sign of the girl or the masked man in the twisted labyrinth. How could it when the place was frustratingly impractical to run through? It gave the orc two limp squirts in response.

"Oh..." Twre felt crushed by the answer. He had hoped they would have been nearby and ready to lend a hand. Instead, he reasoned, they too are stuck deep in the catacombs, struggling to find their way around. "Well, um, I don't suppose you know where we are either?"

Again, two squirts.

"Er, well then..." Twre sighed, grabbed his briefcase, and got back up. All he and Tobasco knew now was that the game had become an uphill struggle to figure out what to even do.

Chitter, chitter...

"Huh? What was that noise just now?"

Chitter chitter chitter chitter...

Twre looked nervously around for any sign of the voice's source, but could not find anything with a moving mouth. Surely he was hearing things...?

Chitterchitterchitterchitterchitterchitter!

"Uh, what the hell?" Twre's eyed darted everywhere, the quickening sound disorienting him. Was he hallucinating? Was there something terrible behind him? As if the crystal cavern wasn't foreboding with its sinister eyes everywhere.

Just then, he saw Tobasco quickly run toward the middle of the hall and aim itself at the ceiling. Wondering what had caused the bottle cause for alarm, he looked at where it was pointing.


Chichichichichichichichichichichichichichich--!

A crowd of glowing eyes gazed down from the ceiling with a hostile intent. They shifted here and there, cautiously sizing up the intruders. Twre was transfixed by the sheer number of beasts that must share such a large quanitity of eyes amongst themselves. Or was it one giant beast guarding the hall? He wasn't sure. Trying to act as domicile as possible, he raised his arms. "Um, okay, I don't know who or what you are, but..." He paused to look at Tobasco, who still aimed at the eyes. "...We are neither predator nor prey. Now, if you don't mind, we'll be leaving right--"

THUD.

The eyes popped wide. Twre twitched his head, realizing that he dropped his briefcase by accident. Then--


SCREEEE!

He spun back around to find a vicious baboon face screaming at him, its owner's paw ready to claw his face in. At least, it tried to before something came to jam itself into one of the monkey's eyes, followed by another to deck its head. As the beast fell to the floor, Twre blinked with confusion. It took him a moment to realize that Tobasco had swiftly maneuvered itself to Twre's defense, jamming itself and spraying its sauce into the baboon's eye. It took him another to find out he had subsequently chopped his right hand down onto the baboon, knocking him out cold.

As Tobasco dislodged itself from the unconscious simian, the other eyes began to glare at the two attackers, the glow becoming an even more unsettling shade of orange. And as Twre found, there was a conspicuous absence of two eyes right where the monkey had come from. Suddenly, the atmosphere became entirely unfriendly, a far cry from what it was before.

"Tobasco," Twre ventured, dread in his eyes, "those things are...going to kill us now, right?"


Tobasco did not respond. Given what had just transpired, the answer became too obvious. And sure enough,...

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

...the entire congregation of baboons came flying from the shadows for an onslaught.
Well, looks like our intrepid heroes are screwed. Time to get out of Dodge, don't you think?
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by july »

Dot landed with an unceremonious thump. Compared to her arrival in the Carboard City, her landing here was a lot rougher. The hard floor here didn't help. Dot wished Methuselah would be a little more careful with her teleportations. Not that she expected Methuselah to care too much.

After her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness of the labyrinth, Dot observed her new surroundings. She appeared to be in a small room, with one exit into a dark passageway. Here and there, some kind of crystal stuck out of the walls, ceiling, and floor. The sound of water dripping nearby mixed with a deep rumble from somewhere far away. Dot shivered. It was much colder here than in the Cardboard City.

Dot's focus shifted to the items around her. Somehow, she had acquired a lot of stuff. In addition to the handtome, the knife, and the key, she now had the original package back. She lifted the seat of her scooter (returned to her by the most recent teleportation) to reveal a small storage space, placed the package, the knife, and the book inside, and closed it. Looking around, she noticed that Naizen's rapier didn't seem to have followed her here.

With everything packed, Dot was about to start down the passageway, but stopped. What need did she have to leave the room she was in? If she left, who knows what dangers she could wander into? It was much safer to stay put. A distant screeeeeech seemed to agree.

On the other hand, how helpful could staying be? If she wanted to get out of this labyrinth, and this battle altogether, then finding the other combatants would be helpful. But what then? Methuselah had reiterated that they were there to fight each other, and as helpful and courteous as they had been to her so far, their attitudes might have changed. They wanted out of this battle too.

Dot considered each of the other combatants. The best case scenario would be to find Tobasco. The hot sauce bottle had been an ally so far, had done its best to return Dot's package to her after it had gone missing, and, especially for a sauce bottle, was good at fending off threats. Communicating was still a problem, mostly being limited to yes-no questions, but for the most part, Dot and Tobasco understood each other, and Dot trusted Tobasco the most out of the other remaining combatants.

The worst-case scenario would be to run into Mato. The labyrinth seemed unpopulated, at least regarding sentient life, so their god-making powers wouldn't be so effective here, but they were probably also competent at one-on-one combat. They were also the only combatant who had been openly hostile so far.

Then there was Fishy. Finding Fishy wouldn't really be a help or a hindrance, Dot thought, beyond possibly having another item to carry. He could at least provide someone to talk to, though Dot couldn't think of many conversation topics with a fish.

That left the other three: Chibos, Rusto, and Twre. All three had helped her while they were in the Cardboard City, but Dot wasn't so sure about them. There was still the matter of that body they had apparently "summoned". Chibos may have explained that to her, but she still doubted him somewhat. If she ran into them, she should maybe be on her guard.

Another distant screech shook Dot from her thoughts. Making up her mind, she turned her scooter on and headed for the passageway. The scooter's front light flicked on, providing a dim light. While the ground here was much too rough for her to ride her scooter, it could at least make it easer to see. Dot glanced at the fuel gauge. The gauge claimed that the scooter was out of fuel, but it had read that for a while now. It was apparently running without fuel. Or the gauge could be broken, of course. Carefully pushing the scooter around the larger crystals in the floor, Dot walked out of the room, and down the passageway.

Yay, I remembered to post something
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

SCREEEEEEEEEE!!!

The sauce bottle and the Veparese orc bolted down the hallway, with a horde of screaming baboons hot in pursuit. Despite his skills in time-based magic, Twre wasn't able to quite keep up with the speeding sauce; he seemed to be having trouble concentrating on his spells, on account of the ravenous killers mere meters behind him.

Tobasco hastily pivoted to shoot a stream of hot sauce at the oncoming monkeys, hoping to slow them down a bit. Several of the primates were blinded by the stinging liquid, but one rushed through the attack and smacked Tobasco right down the hallway. This would be a perfect time to express pain, if Tobasco were capable of such a feat.


SCREEEEEEEEEE!!!

Twre heard a second source of screeching, this time from another hallway entirely. "Oh Hallyreis, please don't let there be more of these wretched things..." As he ran, he picked up the bottle that was launched past him seconds earlier, and continued his escape.

The two combatants reached a larger, open room. Moonlight shone through tiny cracks in the domed ceiling high above them. In the center of the room, on an illuminated pedestal, laid a single, intricately carved band of titanium. There were four exits, one along each wall, including the one they'd came from, and rushing from the doorway opposite them was a familiar banana boat.


"Chibos!" Twre stopped at the pedestal, gasping for breath.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Before they could speak any further, the horde caught up and surrounded the three contestants from both sides. There was no escape.

Tobasco shook slightly in Twre's hand. It seemed weakened from the blow it sustained earlier, but somehow Twre could tell it wanted to fight the baboons. He glanced behind his self, noticing Chibos readying a marker. Things were about to get really ugly.

I couldn't think of a good way to continue this that didn't amount to "and then they ran away," so they all get to fight baboons now. Yay?

I have plans for the platinum titanium band in the center of the room, but they're fairly minor. Anyone can take it and assign powers to it as they like.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by pholtos »

Chibos sped along the passageway, the baboons following closely behind. Tsk. They seem to be slightly faster. At that moment a baboon swiped at Chibos from above, which cause the boat to rock slightly as he dodged downward to avoid the strike. The walls were a blur as the chase continued for what seemed like an eternity, Chibos having to dodge left and right, up and down to avoid getting knocked awry and being at the mercy of his pursuers, all the while marking a baboon as he could. Each time he managed to calm a baboon, the rest took offense.

SCREEEEEEEEEE!!!

Chibos grimaced. The sound was obnoxiously loud to Chibos' ears, whom unfortunately had heightened senses, to the point it was a double-edged sword. At last he saw light, and upon entering the room witnessed quite a site. Across the room, the orc Twre entered, with Tobasco clutched in his hand. "Chibos!"

The light dropping from the ceiling to the center of room cast everything else in shadow. At that point was an ornate pedestal, housing some sort of silver band. Meeting the two others in the center of the room by the pedestal, he stared in a bit of shock at just how in trouble the other two seemed to be in. The normally energetic bottle of hot sauce was simple shaking slightly, and Twre was gasping hard, sweat dropping quickly from his brow.

Readying a marker, Chibos stated "This doesn't look good. These beasts are quite fast and extremely dangerous... not to mention lou-"


SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

"d."

The baboons had them surrounded on all sides. By a rough count, Chibos wagered there were a good 30-40 of them. As much as I'd prefer to stick with it, I don't think my green marker will help me survive this. Putting it away, he considered his options. Red would be a terrible idea, it would just make things worse, orange could be an option but I'd rather not use it with the others here. I've already tried a pacifying approach but that seems to be having the opposite effect, so green is out of the option. That leaves my yellow, blue and purple markers.... and I'll only use that one as a last resort... blue it is.

Blue... the color of sorrow. It is similar to some of his markers in that simply seeing the color would cause any who see it to be effected by it. Considering the current situation, pacifying all of the baboons at once would work. Readying his marker, Chibos charged at the baboon in front of him.

Suddenly, Chibos was sent flying. As he had began moving towards the closest monkey, a hand had fully caught his boat. The resulting shock sent Chibos towards a wall at a fast rate.
"TWRE! USE IT!"
Chibos threw his marker as hard as he possibly could in his current situation at Twre in the center of the room, before slamming into a wall. His breathe leaving him from the sudden shock, his vision started to fade, and his mind went blank as he lost consciousness.

This worked out all right with what sedron put in the end, I guess this gives me an opportunity to put my plan on hold for the time being of a thing that'll happen sometime this round.

I wonder if it's ok to say that while Chibos outright isn't effected by his own markers, others who use them aren't affected as long as they are the one using the marker? I dunno trying to find a way to make this work for the current situation and potentially the future.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Joseph Staleknight »

"TWRE! USE IT!"

As Twre heard Chibos's desperate plea, he saw the marker sailing towards him. Thinking quickly, he shot his free hand forward and grabbed it. Not a moment too soon, either; the baboons were starting to close in on the three, vengeance in their eyes.

He then turned toward Tobasco, who occupied his other hand. "Tobasco, help me out here!" With that, the bottle of hot sauce jumped out of the hand. While it was still hurting from one of the monkey's attacks, it was no more scared of fighting off the beasts. Rather, it was miffed about being swiped at so easily despite being able to outpace them. Thus, the bottle began to weave its way through the crowd, trying to find an opening to pump its sauce onto their sorry faces.

Meanwhile, Twre struggled to uncap the marker with all his might. Somehow, despite belonging to a seemingly ordinary blue marker, the cap proved to be surprisingly tough. It was either that or the threat of monkeys overwhelming him that hindered his efforts. If only he could be stoic enough to stop time for a few seconds in this chaos! Yet eventually he managed to unseal the marker...just in time for a baboon to dive onto his face and send him tumbling to the floor.


SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

The monkey began screaming through its rotted teeth as it swiped its hands at Twre, atempting to avenge the fallen back at the hallway. As Twre's clothes started becoming dirty from the abuse, he tried his hardest to get an opening to slash the beast--not an easy task when the monkey weighed down on his chest like a car engine.

"Agh, stupid troll-beast-thing! Get off of me!" Twre tried to push the baboon off of him, but his efforts only made the beast much harder to control. He dodged his head away from the punches that aimed for his eyes, leaving his cheeks and sideburns to take the blows. Soon, the monkey became very frustrated and began to arc its hands back to deal a heavy, almost unavoidable attack on his head. That's when he saw his chance. His drawing hand still holding the marker through all the pain, he swiftly jammed its business end onto the beast's chest and drew a heavy line from one side to the other. The monkey immediately recoiled from the attack, and looked at its own body to see what pernicious act the attacker had managed this time.


SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! SCREEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeee... scree...

The baboon was suddenly overcome with feelings of melancholy. Tears welled up in its eyes as it struggled to reconcile those new emotions with its earlier desire to destroy the slayer of its kind. Suddenly, what it felt was a necessary act became something joyless, a futile act of rebellion against cruel bipedal animals that would relentlessly hunt them down for their own twisted ends. Sickness began to take hold deep within its throat as it realized that, even with its friends, there was no meaning in life to be gained from doing anything, not even getting revenge on the murderer. It was now a hollow baboon, a mere husk of its former self, drifting endlessly without purpose or reason and suffering all the way. All it could do now was cover its eyes in shame and weep...

With that, Twre finally managed to shove the now depressed baboon off his chest, leaving it in a comatose state as he quickly got up and assessed the situation. As he immediately found out, there were some other baboons nearby who had witnessed the act that had just transpired. Fear and rage in their eyes, they screamed at him and leapt forward in an attempt to kill him. Yet Twre did not intend to be shoved to the floor a second time. He rolled around their assault and caught them from behind. When they turned around in confusion, he immediately marked them with streaks of blue, making sure not to let his own guard down in the process. Sure enough, as the ink began to bleed onto their fur, those baboons also began to lose their morale.

As that was happening, Tobasco had not slacked in its own efforts. Dodging the monkeys' hands deftly to avoid a similar incident to what happened in the hallway, the bottle of sauce found openings in their attack patterns and began to spray its contents onto them, leaving them in searing pain. Even then, it wondered how long it had to keep up the fight. Despite having not too many members, the crowd had managed to overwhelmingly send both bottle and orc running back at the hallway. For that matter, the monkeys only grew more hostile as each one became incapacitated. With each passing second it was becoming more of a miracle that the baboons haven't found a way to smash the bottle against the floor.

Eventually, however, between Twre using Chibos's blue marker of sorrow copiously and Tobasco spraying them with the red sauce of extreme spiciness, the monkeys were eventually--if laboriously--subdued. There were many that were left reeling from the pain of the hot sauce, and about as many that were overcome with sorrow after having seen the blue marks that suddenly appeared on their skin. Some were even in both predicaments, having been assaulted by Tobasco before Twre came to finish them off. Wandering through the dormant crowd, Twre breathed a cautious sigh of relief. He had only been in as much peril back in Cardboard City, yet even then he could tell where the obvious danger zone was. Here? The danger was practically everywhere at once, and only through sheer luck did he survive so far. He found his way back to the pedestal at the center of the room and laid a weary hand upon its rim, trying his hardest not to faint from exhaustion.

It was then that Twre finally began to notice two things: the titanium band illuminated with an ethereal light upon the pedestal, and more distressingly Chibos's banana boat slupmed against a distant wall from his vantage point. "Crap," he panted. "Hey, Tobasco..."

The bottle of sauce perked up, having followed Twre after finishing up its assault on the baboons. Twre pointed a weary finger at the banana boat. "Can you check up on Chibos? ...I'd walk over there myself, but I'm...kind of worn out now."


Tobasco gave one understanding squirt, then ran across the room to aid the fallen chibi-giant.

Twre then turned his attention towards the titanium band. It looked large enough in both diameter and height to be worn snugly as a bracelet. Carved upon the exterior was a fanciful depiction of wind gusts with raindrops and various fruits tumbling through the air. Below the picture were words written in an intricate and hard-to-read script. The band itself glistened in the mysterious moonlight, enticing Twre with its elegance. Presumably, such a thing looked like a museum piece, something he'd find in an exhibit on the early Bitric empires rather than here in the center of a room only illuminated by moonlight and filled with sad and hurt monkeys.

Curiosity got the better of the orc, and so he delicately picked the band up to examine it further. The inside was rather bare, save for a thin strip of felt on each end of the band--presumably to make it more comfortable to wear. As he went back to the engraving on the outside, he realized that the band was probably forged to fit only orcs and orc-like people; Tobasco was too small (and fast) for it to fit reliably, and he couldn't imagine Chibos putting it on his boat without it looking strange. And so, he gingerly put it on his right arm and gently polished it with his other hand, making sure not to scratch it.

Suddenly, a burst of thick silver smoke and bright light flew out of the band, expanding to cover the immediate vicinity. As Twre coughed and tried not to choke on the wafts, he struggled to see in front of him. Eventually, the smoke let up enough for him to make out a strange figure swaying erratically from side to side and faintly hiccuping. The being had on a lavender robe which, for all its majesty and elegance, was stained with some liquid on the chest area. He also had a blue skin tone, yet unlike with Twre it was a more unnatural blue edging closer to cyan. Furthermore, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes seemed to be closed shut, not that it hampered his vision. As Twre observed the new entity before him, the latter glanced around the room and assessed the monkeys that surrounded the pedestal, stroking his ragged green beard.


"Hrmpfh, shome offerin' thish--hic!--is...," the being muttered to himself with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Ah well, better shan no--hic!--noshin', I shuppose..." He then noticed the confused summoner before him, a young man with a similar skin tone who wore his binding artifact on his right arm along with some simple yet roughened-up clothes. In an attempt to start off on the right foot with his new keeper, he smiled with his crooked yolk-colored teeth. "Sho...you shummoned?"
And I think I should stop now before I get carried away.

Anyway, I decided to set down how the weapon would work, though aside from there being a genie involved I haven't codified its exact powers or curse. Those are open for sedron and pholtos to interpret how they please, though I do plan on having Twre finally get drunk in the future, so there's that.
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Dragon Fogel
Master of Pointlessness
Posts: 1415
Joined: 10 years ago

Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

I've noticed things have been slowing down a bit. I understand that, it's something that happens. The fast pace in the first round had a lot to do with the fact that the game was a new thing and now that's worn off a bit.

Still, if people are having trouble thinking of things to do in this round, I'd like to know that. I can come up with a few general suggestions as a starting point if need be.

As a quick and very open-ended suggestion, try coming up with an explanation for why the labyrinth exists. You probably don't want to reveal the reason in-story right now, but it may give you an idea of something to work towards. I encourage players to work together on this, since it's something that could have a big influence on the round.
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