Goodbye LJ...
Feb. 20th, 2006 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterThis is just to make it official for those who don't know, but I'm leaving LJ completely. For the rest of this week at least. Tomorrow is the Bar Exam and it runs for three days, so don't expect to see me about at all until Thursday night. Or even until the weekend since I plan on spending Thursday after the Bar drunk and crying. No online time for me at all. *whines* It will be hard, but I know I can do it.
So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;
Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!
♥
So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;
Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!
♥
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 08:18 am (UTC)Finally he reached her; she still contained some parody of the grace she'd possessed as a Sister, handling her bow with vicious accuracy. Well, that wouldn't do much against him at this close range -- although the lightning might -- Heero purposefully stopped thinking, and concentrated on killing the monster.
White lightning boiled out from her every time a blow landed, but he ignored it, stopping his eyes and his ears and just letting his body take over. It dragged on and on, and Heero felt himself reaching towards his limit. He was rapidly running out of strength, and dammit, the demoness didn't even seem slowed --
A furious screech and bolt of lighting shot from her that Heero had not caused; blinking his eyes clear, he saw that Wufei had fought clear of the mob and was on the other side from him, his long claw-like blades opening gashes in the monster's back. Hope returned to Heero at the sight, and he caught his breath and resumed swinging.
It didn't take much longer, after that. Heero had beaten her down further than he'd thought, for less than a minute later a horrific shriek burst from the demoness and her body convulsed, seeming to split open as she fell to the ground.
White light burst from the spot where she had fallen, like the lightning that had been so dangerous before -- only this lightning passed right through the fighters, feeling like a breeze. The light was too bright, and the five were forced to shut or cover their eyes lest they be blinded. Dread consumed them; Blood Raven might be taken care of, but there were still her undead hordes to deal with...
When the white light settled down, and the fighters opened their eyes again, blinking, there were no zombies still standing. The only skeletons left were clustering familiarly around Duo, who gawked openly at the suddenly emptied battlefield.
"Well... that was convenient," Quatre exclaimed after a minute.
Heero stood impassively gazing down at the tortured remains of the demoness. "Rest in peace, Blood Raven," he murmured.
"Good riddance to her, I say," Duo responded as he staggered forward. "Well... now what?"
"We go back to the encampment," Trowa suggested, glancing up from his study of the crumbled zombies, "and see what 'reward' Kashya had in mind."
"Don't you want to explore first?" Quatre said, his brow wrinkling in puzzlement.
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 08:18 am (UTC)"Explore?" Wufei snorted in derision. "What for? Her monsters died when she did."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Duo said, shocked. "There might be loot! LOOT!"
With this new battle cry, he scrambled off across the caved-in graves. The other four, with varying degrees of exasperation, followed.
Not all of Blood Raven's monsters, it turned out, died when she did. They found a stone mausoleum that led to an underground crypt teeming with more of the zombies and monsters that they had fought above. Without the support of the demoness Blood Raven, they were little challenge for the five warriors, and there was, as promised, a great deal of wealth to be gained. Quatre was at first appalled by the unconcerned way Duo looted the money out of even previously undefiled graves -- but, as Duo pointed out, they didn't need it anymore. Saving the world, he said cheerfully, was hard to do under a tight budget. This comment actually seemed to amuse Trowa, and Quatre had to admit it made sense -- but it hardly endeared him to Heero, who treated the necromancer even more coldly hostile than before all the way back to town.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I can hardly believe you've defeated Blood Raven!" Kashya exclaimed. "Though she was once a good friend of mine, I am glad her tortured spirit can be laid to rest at last. You've earned the trust of the Rogues, strangers... and my thanks," she added more quietly.
"It was the least we could do," Trowa said quietly. "There is no way for us to bring back friends that you've lost --"
Behind him, Duo stirred and opened his mouth, but Heero glared at him angrily and set his hand pointedly on the handle of his scepter, and Duo subsided.
" -- but perhaps we can find some way to avenge the spirits of the dead and bring them peace," Trowa finished.
Kashya took a deep breath, and the warriors pretended not to notice the way her eyes clouded, but she kept her voice level and firm. "I've placed some of my best archers at your disposal," she told them, and gestured to one of the Rogues, who came up beside her. "Relena here will travel with you and fight by your side. In addition, you may eat at our fire and sleep under our tents, if you so desire. Relena will show you where."
"You don't know how grateful we are for that," Duo told her, and his voice was deeply sincere. Little wonder; it had started to rain again, and night was falling.
Kashya nodded. "Then I will leave you to rest, warriors. -- Oh, I almost forgot -- Akara wishes to speak with you. I advise you to go see her tomorrow morning, before you do anything else."
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 08:18 am (UTC)"Explore?" Wufei snorted in derision. "What for? Her monsters died when she did."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Duo said, shocked. "There might be loot! LOOT!"
With this new battle cry, he scrambled off across the caved-in graves. The other four, with varying degrees of exasperation, followed.
Not all of Blood Raven's monsters, it turned out, died when she did. They found a stone mausoleum that led to an underground crypt teeming with more of the zombies and monsters that they had fought above. Without the support of the demoness Blood Raven, they were little challenge for the five warriors, and there was, as promised, a great deal of wealth to be gained. Quatre was at first appalled by the unconcerned way Duo looted the money out of even previously undefiled graves -- but, as Duo pointed out, they didn't need it anymore. Saving the world, he said cheerfully, was hard to do under a tight budget. This comment actually seemed to amuse Trowa, and Quatre had to admit it made sense -- but it hardly endeared him to Heero, who treated the necromancer even more coldly hostile than before all the way back to town.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I can hardly believe you've defeated Blood Raven!" Kashya exclaimed. "Though she was once a good friend of mine, I am glad her tortured spirit can be laid to rest at last. You've earned the trust of the Rogues, strangers... and my thanks," she added more quietly.
"It was the least we could do," Trowa said quietly. "There is no way for us to bring back friends that you've lost --"
Behind him, Duo stirred and opened his mouth, but Heero glared at him angrily and set his hand pointedly on the handle of his scepter, and Duo subsided.
" -- but perhaps we can find some way to avenge the spirits of the dead and bring them peace," Trowa finished.
Kashya took a deep breath, and the warriors pretended not to notice the way her eyes clouded, but she kept her voice level and firm. "I've placed some of my best archers at your disposal," she told them, and gestured to one of the Rogues, who came up beside her. "Relena here will travel with you and fight by your side. In addition, you may eat at our fire and sleep under our tents, if you so desire. Relena will show you where."
"You don't know how grateful we are for that," Duo told her, and his voice was deeply sincere. Little wonder; it had started to rain again, and night was falling.
Kashya nodded. "Then I will leave you to rest, warriors. -- Oh, I almost forgot -- Akara wishes to speak with you. I advise you to go see her tomorrow morning, before you do anything else."
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 08:19 am (UTC)"Do we have to?" Duo whined, looking rather miserable. The last of his magically formed "bone" armor was dissolving in patches, and the rain plastered his bangs to his face, giving him a wretched look. "Haven't we cleansed enough evil today?"
Heero glanced at him, and his lips curled into a sneer. "It was negligence and laziness like yours that allowed the Evil back into this land," he snapped. "I cannot rest until I have driven back the darkness -- even yours, if I must."
Duo turned on him, an angry light in his eyes. "I have a great idea, Your Holiness," he said sarcastically. "*You* go fight demons in the dark. Then, when you get yourself killed, we can get on with business without having to deal with the stick up your butt!"
"It is unwise to divide our forces," Wufei said, cutting across the beginning of Heero's blistering reply. "If we do not all go, then we should all stay."
Heero looked unconvinced. Quatre said nothing, but shivered miserably in the growing downpour. Trowa noticed this, and took a step almost protectively closer. "Tomorrow," he said firmly.
Accommodations consisted of little more than a blanket rolled under an open-sided tent. Most of the other Rogues slept here; only a few, such as Akara and Charsi, had their own places to sleep. Under the flickering light of a lantern, Heero knelt for a few moments and closed his eyes, softly chanting his prayers and devotions. It seemed that there was a faint light radiating off of him as he did so. Duo watched him out of the corner of his eye, his expression for once dark and unreadable.
The warriors settled themselves in a row at one of the corners, with rain dripping down bare inches from Quatre in his place at the end of the row. As the night came on, and the rain fell heavier, the sounds and lights of people moving about the encampment grew less. Trowa stayed awake for a time, listening to the sound of the rainfall. He wondered if this rain would wash away the blood they had spilled today.
A faint sound from behind him brought him from his half-dozing state to full alertness. He sat up straight, careful to make no noise, trying to identify what had disturbed him. The sound repeated itself, and Trowa realized that Quatre had been the cause of it. "No..." the sorcerer whispered sluggishly, shifting in his sleep. "No... father..."
Quatre was still asleep. Trowa lay back down, turned on his side to watch the sorcerer. Concern stirred his heart, but the demons that haunted Quatre's dreams
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 08:41 am (UTC)***
"So let me get this straight," Duo said for the fifth time. "We go *past* the Stony Field, *through* the Underground Passage, *through* the Dark Wood to find this Tree of Infucius, then *back* through the Underground Passage to the Stony Field again. And then we have to touch the stones in a certain order, go through a portal to this city that's crawling with demons, fight our way through them to find a man who may or may not still be alive after several months, and then pray like crazy that the portal stays open long enough for us to get home through it?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry but that's the stupidest..."
"Not quite, Duo," Quatre chimed in.
"Oh. Good."
"None of us here can read the runes of the scroll. After we get the scroll from the Tree of Inifuss, we have to go back to the encampment and hope that Akara can read them."
"Oh." Duo groaned. "Right, I forgot."
"Akara is very wise," Wufei intoned. "I do not doubt that she will know the language of the runes."
"Just one thing that's bothering me," Trowa frowned, joining in the discussion for the first time. "Isn't Akara blind? How can she read, much less translate, *anything?*"
Duo groaned again, and dropped his head on his hands. "I don't believe this," he moaned.
Accompanied by three skeletons, two ravens, a wolf, a poison creeper, and Relena, the five warriors were soon trekking again through the wilderness. They passed through the Blood Moor and the Cold Plains without many problems; they had killed most of the inhabiting monsters in the area already. That changed once they reached the Stony Field, a wide expanse of rocky wasteland. They found the Cairn Stones of which Akara had spoken without too much trouble, as they jutted tall above anything else in the field.
Reaching the Stones was more trouble, however, as the area was crawling with demons. Blue ones intermingled with the red ones they had already met, but despite the color difference they were just as annoying. There were fireball-slinging shamans everywhere, and there was an extremely frustrating period where no matter how many of the demons they killed, there was always at least one shaman they missed who would start raising the buggers again. Wufei discovered one of the small demons who was a slightly different color from the others, and soon discovered it by far to be the nastiest of the lot. But once it was
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:00 am (UTC)While Duo's skeletons (and, not to be outdone, Heero) were chasing down the last of the monsters, the others turned their attention to the circle of standing stones.
"There are stones like these in my homeland," Trowa said softly, reaching up to touch one. Quatre shot him a quick, wide-eyed glance at his wistful tone.
"These must be the stones of which Akara spoke," Wufei said decisively. "There can be no others that match this description."
They studied the tall slabs, each one decorated with a rune. "We can open the portal by touching these in a certain order..." Trowa spoke up. Duo sighed.
"Yeah, but we don't know what order. We have to find the Scroll of Infocus."
"Inifuss," Quatre corrected him wearily.
"Whatever..."
"Warriors!" They looked up at the female voice calling them, and saw Relena gesturing to them from a short way away, standing on top of a stone outcrop. "Over here!"
Though Relena was not as powerful or as deadly as the warriors of the party, she was a good shot with a bow and had kept up with them without comment, despite Wufei's somewhat cold disdain for female warriors. "What is it?" Quatre wondered, already heading towards her.
The outcrop of stone turned out to be part of a crumbling stone wall; two of them remained to form the corner of a decayed tower. Nestled in the corner was an elegant pedestal on which rested a large tome, moldy and worn away by exposure. Duo stepped up to it, and leafed gingerly through the pages, turning them almost reverently. He stopped when he came to a readable section.
"...And so it came to pass that the Countess, who once bathed in the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins, was buried alive... And her castle in which so many cruel deeds were done fell rapidly into ruin. Rising over the buried dungeons in the Godforsaken Black Marsh, a solitary tower, like some grant monument to evil, remains."
Quatre had gone an interesting shade of green at the 'rejuvenating blood of virgins' part, and even Trowa looked disturbed. He paused, leafing through the book, and came to another legible passage. "The Countess' fortune was believed to be divided among the clergy, although some say uncounted wealth still remains unfound, buries among the mute skulls that bear witness to the inhumanity of the human creature..." He trailed off there. "That's all that's readable," he said apologetically, glancing up.
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:00 am (UTC)"The important question is, is she still there?" Wufei questioned.
Trowa nodded. "Her powers would have grown, not diminished, with the Darkness spreading over the land. No doubt she is still there."
"Then we must find her and kill her." Heero's cold voice came from directly behind Duo; he jumped, and clutched the book to his chest, where it dissolved into powder.
"Are you sure?" Quatre said dubiously. "It's rather out of our way..."
Heero stared pointedly at Duo as he said, "It is my duty to eliminate all practitioners of the Dark Arts."
Duo stiffened, then brightened up and responded in a chirpy tone. "That's a great idea, Heero!"
Heero blinked, looking unsettled. "Oh...?" he asked neutrally.
"Yeah!" Duo flung the powdery remains of the tome at Heero's feet. "Sooner or later, one of those practitioners of the Dark Arts is gonna eliminate *you!*"
The implied threat hung in the air for a long moment, until Quatre broke the silence. "If we're not going to face the Countess --" he began, confused.
Duo turned to him, a dangerous glitter in his eyes. "Oh, we'll face her all right," he replied. "After all, didn't you hear what the book said? *Uncounted wealth!*"
Even Relena perked up visibly at that reminder.
***
They hiked on through the Stony Field, battling against a variety of monsters with a depressingly single-minded purpose: Eat Adventurers. Eventually the level ground gave way to a steep wall of stone. There was no way past it, so the warriors turned and traveled along the foot of the rock wall, until they came to a hole that dropped away into the darkness.
"This must be the Underground Passage," Wufei observed, and Quatre shivered.
"More caves?" he muttered. "I *hate* caves."
"It'll be fine," Trowa said matter-of-factly. "These rock hills look stable. There's no danger of it collapsing, and we have plenty of light..."
"It's not that," Quatre whispered, wrapping his arms across his chest. "I just hate the feeling of being underground. It brings back... old memories..."
"This is the only way to the Dark Wood," Heero said in a tone that brooked no
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:00 am (UTC)There were more monster lurking in the caves, but they were of little threat to the party. Still, the labyrinthian passage seemed to stretch on and on endlessly, and before they reached the other side, the party was forced to call a halt and rest. Wufei looked like he could have continued, and Heero looked like he still might, but the other three and Relena were all out of breath.
Duo looked around speculatively. "This reminds me of the place I studied," he spoke up suddenly. "Almost the entire school was underground, because the books were old and fragile. They couldn't be exposed to sunlight, or water, or great heat. So all the libraries were underground. They were nice."
"It's one thing to shelter books from the elements," Trowa said as he got his wind back. "But human beings need a touch of sunlight, a taste of air and wind."
"There wasn't always time," Duo said more quietly. "Some of the students tried to get out a little every day. I did. But the more advanced students, and the masters... they were so deeply involved in their studies, and their experiments, and after long enough some of them *couldn't* go out in the sunlight."
He heard a low growl from Heero's direction, and withdrew suddenly into himself. "Nobody's asking you to go visit them, Yuy," he said, annoyed.
"As soon as this threat is taken care of," Heero growled, "I might visit this school anyway. You speak of are foul, unnatural knowledge, and it can only come to evil."
Duo shivered theatrically. "If you tried anything so stupid as actually attacking one of the old masters, I shudder to think of where your body parts would end up," he prophesied.
A stony silence fell, and Quatre stood, sighing. "Let's go," he commanded, then said under his breath "...before they start arguing *again*..."
Nobody spoke for the rest of the underground journey, all of them impatient to reach the surface again. Finally they burst out above ground, into trees so thick that you could hardly see more than a few feet in any direction.
Bowstrings twanged, and arrows suddenly knifed out of the trees to strafe the warriors. They cried out, more in surprise than from any real injury, but couldn't see their attackers to retaliate. Relena started firing back immediately, but there was no indication that she was hitting anything. Much to Duo's consternation, his undead minions scattered and began disappearing into the trees in all directions, each one apparently heading for a different target. Before anyone could stop him, he ran into the trees in pursuit, and Trowa was already starting off after one of his ravens. For a moment, they all hovered in confusion, and then an enormous shambling brute broke into them from the side, and they scattered in all directions. It didn't
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:00 am (UTC)There were more monster lurking in the caves, but they were of little threat to the party. Still, the labyrinthian passage seemed to stretch on and on endlessly, and before they reached the other side, the party was forced to call a halt and rest. Wufei looked like he could have continued, and Heero looked like he still might, but the other three and Relena were all out of breath.
Duo looked around speculatively. "This reminds me of the place I studied," he spoke up suddenly. "Almost the entire school was underground, because the books were old and fragile. They couldn't be exposed to sunlight, or water, or great heat. So all the libraries were underground. They were nice."
"It's one thing to shelter books from the elements," Trowa said as he got his wind back. "But human beings need a touch of sunlight, a taste of air and wind."
"There wasn't always time," Duo said more quietly. "Some of the students tried to get out a little every day. I did. But the more advanced students, and the masters... they were so deeply involved in their studies, and their experiments, and after long enough some of them *couldn't* go out in the sunlight."
He heard a low growl from Heero's direction, and withdrew suddenly into himself. "Nobody's asking you to go visit them, Yuy," he said, annoyed.
"As soon as this threat is taken care of," Heero growled, "I might visit this school anyway. You speak of are foul, unnatural knowledge, and it can only come to evil."
Duo shivered theatrically. "If you tried anything so stupid as actually attacking one of the old masters, I shudder to think of where your body parts would end up," he prophesied.
A stony silence fell, and Quatre stood, sighing. "Let's go," he commanded, then said under his breath "...before they start arguing *again*..."
Nobody spoke for the rest of the underground journey, all of them impatient to reach the surface again. Finally they burst out above ground, into trees so thick that you could hardly see more than a few feet in any direction.
Bowstrings twanged, and arrows suddenly knifed out of the trees to strafe the warriors. They cried out, more in surprise than from any real injury, but couldn't see their attackers to retaliate. Relena started firing back immediately, but there was no indication that she was hitting anything. Much to Duo's consternation, his undead minions scattered and began disappearing into the trees in all directions, each one apparently heading for a different target. Before anyone could stop him, he ran into the trees in pursuit, and Trowa was already starting off after one of his ravens. For a moment, they all hovered in confusion, and then an enormous shambling brute broke into them from the side, and they scattered in all directions. It didn't
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:01 am (UTC)Duo slowed to a stop, glancing nervously around. He could here the shouts and sounds of a battle, from not far away, the clang of steel and the explosion of magic, but he couldn't see a damn thing. None of his summoned creatures were anywhere to be found, either, and for the first time in a while Duo found himself totally alone. "Uh... guys?" he called out, hoping for a response. "Quatre? Trowa? Uh... Relena?"
There was nothing, and, beginning to panic, he began calling the words of the ancient tongue that *should* have summoned all his monsters to his side. There was a rustling sound in the bush, and Duo started forward.
He nearly ran smack into a demoness, who seemed for a moment as surprised to see him as vice-verse -- but only for a moment, and then she attacked with murderous fury. Another one appeared out of nowhere, and another, and Duo found himself being backed up steadily against a tree as half a dozen came at him at once. Overwhelmed, he beat steadily against one of them until it died, and then, panicked, he cast the most dangerous spell in his repertoire.
The corpse of the fallen demoness exploded violently, sending a spray of gore and bone slivers everywhere. The other monsters were mowed down flat by it, but the force of the explosion dazed Duo, too. He stumbled backwards until he hit a tree, and then leaned against it, looking around for more enemies.
Something dark moved at the corner of his vision, and he whirled, prepared to send a spear of bone through it, only to stumble back as Wufei separated from the shadows.
"Wufei!" he squeaked, never happier to see the man. "Uh... hi!"
"You've gotten yourself lost, I see," the assassin remarked dryly. Duo flushed, and Wufei smirked. "No matter. The trees thin out a little further on. I expect the others will head that way, as anyone with sense would."
"I was heading that way!" Duo protested. "...until I got attacked." He and Wufei threaded through the trees without further incident, and, as promised, the vegetation did clear up soon enough. A few minutes of searching and calling located Trowa, who was more used to woods and hadn't lost his way at all, Quatre and Relena, and finally Heero.
"Look..." Quatre said softly, pointing. Centering the clearing was an enormous, ancient tree, bare of leaves but quivering with some internal energy. "That *has* to be the Tree of Inifuss."
"Great!" Duo enthused. "We found the Tree... now where's the scroll?"
A long, frozen pause revealed that nobody knew. Duo sweatdropped. "Uhh... Akara did tell us, right?"
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:01 am (UTC)"She said to go to the Tree and retrieve the scroll," Wufei supplied. "...She didn't specify how."
Duo walked up to the tree and titled his head back, squinting up into the branches. "Soo... do scrolls grow on trees?" he said inanely.
"As a matter of fact, they do," said Trowa. Stepping forward, he took hold of what appeared to be a shred of bark and peeled a large piece of the bark from the Tree. It flopped to the ground and curled up. Trowa retrieved the scroll, and unrolled it to reveal the runes that covered it as everybody crowded around.
"How did you know, Trowa?" Duo asked, amazed.
Trowa regarded him with his one visible eye. "The trees talk to me," he said in a toneless voice.
"Oh, okay." Duo nodded, then did a double take. "Wait a minute. Really?"
Although they had the Scroll, none of the party members were particularly eager to go back through the Underground Passage -- at least, not right away. They fought their way onwards, through the monsters under the trees, until they reached the Black Marsh. Before long they saw the crumbling, forgotten remains of some great edifice of stone looming over the dark water. Quatre whispered, "Is that...?"
Trowa nodded. "The Forgotten Tower. Where the Countess was buried alive."
"Well, time's wasting! Let's go!" Duo forged ahead of the others, his newly resummoned undead creatures following in his wake. In addition to the axe-wielding skeletons they were familiar with, he seemed to have picked up the skeleton of some kind of magic-user, with orange light that dripped from its bony hands. The golem lumbered along behind, its earthen face seeming to exhibit some kind of patience for its exuberant master.
More cautiously, the others entered the crumbling stone structure; it was a small, bare room with no features except for a ladder leading downwards. They descended, only to find another, identical room beneath it, and still no sign of Duo. Quatre swallowed hard as they continued down the ladder, realizing how uncomfortably far below ground they were going. He felt something warm nudge against his hand, and looked down to see Trowa's summoned wolf staying close by his side. Somehow, its presence comforted him, and he squared his shoulders and stepped onto the ladder.
They caught up with Duo on the level beneath, moving cautiously through the so-far empty hallways. There could be no question about presence, though; torches burned unnaturally, without any sign of having been lit or ever going out. But despite a thorough exploration of the floor, they encountered no monsters at all.
"I thought we were promised uncounted wealth?" Duo complained.
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:01 am (UTC)"There are more levels, Duo," Trowa pointed out. They found another staircase leading down yet further into the ruins beneath the Tower.
On the second level, they began encountering monsters; mostly skeletons and other zombies drifting the hallways, although they did root out a few nests of the omnipresent little demons -- light brown, this time. Their numbers began increasing as they went down to the third level, and on the fourth they began seeing strange shimmery-like creatures that seemed to wrap around a human and drain out that person's energy. Wufei's claws slashed through them without effect, as did Heero's scepter, but fortunately they seemed to be vulnerable to fire, and Quatre and Trowa made short work of them.
"How many levels are there in this place?" Quatre wondered as they found yet another staircase. As soon as they descended into the fifth level, though, they noticed the change. Unlike the previous four floors, which had all been identical in layout, this one was different. Sharp corners hid the rest of the level from immediate view, and the narrow passages quickly gave way to a large, open hallway lined with torches. It was empty, but at the end of the hallway was a long-legged basin filled with what appeared to be blood.
Quatre, remembering the line about "the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins," gagged and turned away, and Heero looked grim. Duo, though, leaned over the basin with an expression of interest. "Amazing," he murmured. "There are no living people around for miles. How does she keep it fresh? Getting hold of fresh blood for spells is almost impossible in the academy..."
Trowa saw Heero's face darken with rage, and quickly grabbed hold of Duo's braid, dragging him back from the grisly container. "Ow, hey!" Duo yelped, hands flying up to his abused scalp. "I was just looking! Geez, if the Countess kept her life force stored in that stuff or something, then we could get rid of her right now without having to fight her!"
"Too late," Quatre called nervously. There was movement in the shadows, and then the party found themselves rushed by dozens of monsters. They were zombie-like, but had none of a zombie's sluggishness in their movements; they were deadly fast and agile. Behind them, a woman with skin the color of a drowned corpse stood over an intricately gilded chest, with a viciously spiked club in her hand. "Here for plunder?" she smirked, and her voice grated on everyone's ears. "My halls are lined with bones of treasure-finders!"
"We're not here for treasure, demoness!" Heero shouted back. "We're here to put a stop to your evil!"
The countess said nothing else as she waded into the fray. The warriors fought fiercely, Wufei and Heero with their weapons, Quatre with his magic, and Duo and Trowa using some of each. One of the Dark Lancers went after Relena, who kept trying to retreat far enough to use her bow, so the two of them ended up chasing each other around the hallway.
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:01 am (UTC)Heero broke through the monsters and went to confront the Countess. Unexpectedly, Duo appeared behind her and attacked with his magic, forcing splinters and shards of bone from the fallen to fly into the Countess's back with great force. Then Heero began battering at her, and soon enough Wufei broke away from his foes to attack her, and fireballs slammed into her from Quatre's direction as the ravens scratched at her face. Beset from all sides, she staggered, and gave a hideous shriek as she seemed to dissolve into a blood-red cloud of energy. The seething cloud rose to the ceiling for a moment, then scattered throughout the room, and as it did so the lock on the chest burst open and gold poured out in a seemingly endless fountain.
"Wow." Quatre's eyes got very big as the glittering mess spilled over the floor. "Uncounted wealth was right." Sorcery must have been involved; there was definitely more than could have fit into that one small chest.
Duo made a motion over the Countess's body, and it burst into fragments which quickly dissolved. "Now there's no way she can come back from the dead again," he said with some satisfaction. "I only wish there were some way we could undo the terrible deeds she did in her life."
Heero, breathing heavily, narrowed his eyes to glare at the Necromancer. "I'd think that someone like you would *approve* of what she did in her life," he said bitingly.
That was the last straw. Duo's eyes flashed with rage, and before Heero could react Duo grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "Let's get one thing straight RIGHT NOW," he snarled. "I am NOT evil. I am ON YOUR SIDE. Just because I can raise the dead does not mean I am in league with Diablo! Did your precious mentor teach you *anything* in the years you spent in study?"
"My mentor was killed by mages like you!" Heero roared, shoving Duo away from him. "He died fighting off a horde of returned undead -- Necromancer's handiwork!"
Duo ground his teeth in fury. "Necromancers aren't stupid enough to -- look, Blood Raven raised the dead! Those demon shamans raise the dead all the time! It could have been *anyone!*" he shouted. "I'm fighting to help the people who are being hurt by Diablo. I'm sorry for your loss, but I can't let your grudges get in the way of that. If we don't work together to fight the Lords of Darkness, then more innocent people are going to die!"
Still seething, he stepped back out of Heero's space, then whirled and stalked away, ignoring the hushed voices of the others behind his back.
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:01 am (UTC)Heero broke through the monsters and went to confront the Countess. Unexpectedly, Duo appeared behind her and attacked with his magic, forcing splinters and shards of bone from the fallen to fly into the Countess's back with great force. Then Heero began battering at her, and soon enough Wufei broke away from his foes to attack her, and fireballs slammed into her from Quatre's direction as the ravens scratched at her face. Beset from all sides, she staggered, and gave a hideous shriek as she seemed to dissolve into a blood-red cloud of energy. The seething cloud rose to the ceiling for a moment, then scattered throughout the room, and as it did so the lock on the chest burst open and gold poured out in a seemingly endless fountain.
"Wow." Quatre's eyes got very big as the glittering mess spilled over the floor. "Uncounted wealth was right." Sorcery must have been involved; there was definitely more than could have fit into that one small chest.
Duo made a motion over the Countess's body, and it burst into fragments which quickly dissolved. "Now there's no way she can come back from the dead again," he said with some satisfaction. "I only wish there were some way we could undo the terrible deeds she did in her life."
Heero, breathing heavily, narrowed his eyes to glare at the Necromancer. "I'd think that someone like you would *approve* of what she did in her life," he said bitingly.
That was the last straw. Duo's eyes flashed with rage, and before Heero could react Duo grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "Let's get one thing straight RIGHT NOW," he snarled. "I am NOT evil. I am ON YOUR SIDE. Just because I can raise the dead does not mean I am in league with Diablo! Did your precious mentor teach you *anything* in the years you spent in study?"
"My mentor was killed by mages like you!" Heero roared, shoving Duo away from him. "He died fighting off a horde of returned undead -- Necromancer's handiwork!"
Duo ground his teeth in fury. "Necromancers aren't stupid enough to -- look, Blood Raven raised the dead! Those demon shamans raise the dead all the time! It could have been *anyone!*" he shouted. "I'm fighting to help the people who are being hurt by Diablo. I'm sorry for your loss, but I can't let your grudges get in the way of that. If we don't work together to fight the Lords of Darkness, then more innocent people are going to die!"
Still seething, he stepped back out of Heero's space, then whirled and stalked away, ignoring the hushed voices of the others behind his back.
Re: World of Darkness (GW/D2)
Date: 2006-02-21 10:01 am (UTC)"There are more levels, Duo," Trowa pointed out. They found another staircase leading down yet further into the ruins beneath the Tower.
On the second level, they began encountering monsters; mostly skeletons and other zombies drifting the hallways, although they did root out a few nests of the omnipresent little demons -- light brown, this time. Their numbers began increasing as they went down to the third level, and on the fourth they began seeing strange shimmery-like creatures that seemed to wrap around a human and drain out that person's energy. Wufei's claws slashed through them without effect, as did Heero's scepter, but fortunately they seemed to be vulnerable to fire, and Quatre and Trowa made short work of them.
"How many levels are there in this place?" Quatre wondered as they found yet another staircase. As soon as they descended into the fifth level, though, they noticed the change. Unlike the previous four floors, which had all been identical in layout, this one was different. Sharp corners hid the rest of the level from immediate view, and the narrow passages quickly gave way to a large, open hallway lined with torches. It was empty, but at the end of the hallway was a long-legged basin filled with what appeared to be blood.
Quatre, remembering the line about "the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins," gagged and turned away, and Heero looked grim. Duo, though, leaned over the basin with an expression of interest. "Amazing," he murmured. "There are no living people around for miles. How does she keep it fresh? Getting hold of fresh blood for spells is almost impossible in the academy..."
Trowa saw Heero's face darken with rage, and quickly grabbed hold of Duo's braid, dragging him back from the grisly container. "Ow, hey!" Duo yelped, hands flying up to his abused scalp. "I was just looking! Geez, if the Countess kept her life force stored in that stuff or something, then we could get rid of her right now without having to fight her!"
"Too late," Quatre called nervously. There was movement in the shadows, and then the party found themselves rushed by dozens of monsters. They were zombie-like, but had none of a zombie's sluggishness in their movements; they were deadly fast and agile. Behind them, a woman with skin the color of a drowned corpse stood over an intricately gilded chest, with a viciously spiked club in her hand. "Here for plunder?" she smirked, and her voice grated on everyone's ears. "My halls are lined with bones of treasure-finders!"
"We're not here for treasure, demoness!" Heero shouted back. "We're here to put a stop to your evil!"
The countess said nothing else as she waded into the fray. The warriors fought fiercely, Wufei and Heero with their weapons, Quatre with his magic, and Duo and Trowa using some of each. One of the Dark Lancers went after Relena, who kept trying to retreat far enough to use her bow, so the two of them ended up chasing each other around the hallway.