The broken angles of the Spires draw the attention every which way. It's almost hard to focus; for a long moment it seems like finding anything whole, anything that makes sense in this chaos, would be a miracle.
And then something resolves out of the brokenness. A path... or the remains of one. Going down through the cracks in the earth is a slow, twisting corkscrew of floating islands, if they can even be called that. Ten feet wide at most, the fragmented platforms seem to follow the path of an ancient spiral stair, except the staircase itself is long gone. All that remains are these unlikely pieces suspended in air, but they go down and down until they are lost within eddies of fog.
The descent seems to be the last reminder of order, broken though it may be - a way out of the chaos of the Spires. But is what's beyond the fog better or worse than just staying put?
Only one way to find out...
OOC
You can gain an additional Side Blessing from participating in this location. You are free to participate in any Side Task, but can only participate in every of the side tasks once per 24 hours/ reset at 12 am pst!
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:04 pm
The Fragment Descent is a linear path - you must pass Stage One to get to Stage Two, and so on.
Stage One: Broken Faith The first few steps are stable - the platforms don't move at all when you put your weight on them, though some of them make vaguely alarming creaking sounds and a few of them lose bits off the edges. The bits that crack away fall like stones into the abyss. Not exactly reassuring...
As you continue, the fog becomes more prevalent, curling in eddies to wash across the path at random. You might avoid one - maybe even two. But eventually, you get caught in a swirl of fog and your mind falls, even as your body crumples into an unsteady heap on the platform. Your mind is filled with a powerful memory that blots out everything else...
Quote:
Roll 1d6. The number you get corresponds to what your character experiences. They feel exactly what is written, with no extra detail; your character does not know who 'they' is or anything about the memory they receive beyond what is stated in the description.
1 - The Traitor: They were coming. He knew that, in his heart, with a sort of sick joy - they were coming, and he was the cause of it. Those he had sworn oaths to would die. He had betrayed them, and yet he could not find it in him to be sorrowful. Guilt was gone. There was nothing but emptiness where remorse should be. All that remained was that terrible, trembling joy...
2 - The Coward: They blotted out the horizon. He shuddered, his weapon rattling in his grip - no, no, he could not face them! He did not want to die! All around him his fellows stood, staring straight ahead, still and stuff at attention as if they were already dead, dead and propped up to wait for final judgement. With a moan, he dropped his weapon and ran through the silent ranks, feeling sick and worthless-
3 - The Resolute: They filled the skies. She tightened her grip on her weapon and felt a great and terrible resolve rise in her soul. She would die here, she knew, and yet she felt no fear. She would die protecting her people. She would die, but she would take many of them with her into the abyss. She was steel, forged and pure.
4 - The Favored: She had never tasted battle before; now it came to her, an overabundance of riches. Pain seared her as a blade slashed across her side, but she deflected the blow with her own weapon and took the life of the one who'd touched her. Exhilaration filled her, sourceless and strong. The world had narrowed to the fight and the fight alone, the movement of her limbs, the weapon as an extension of her body. Fortune was with her-
5 - The Sorrowed: She cried out, the scream tearing her throat like a blade, but still she could not stop. Grief overwhelmed her like a wave, an avalanche, something so powerful that nothing could stand in its way and remain unscathed. Everything she loved was dead or dying, from people to her home to her very way of life. There was nothing left. She screamed and screamed and in that scream was a plea for death, that she not outlive the last vestiges of everything she was-
6 - The Cruel: He tore off his opponent's limb as easily as breathing - oh, she was dead now, or would be soon, but she could still feel pain and thus he was not yet done with her. Red mist filled his vision as he contemplated what he would inflict on every soldier that stood before him. Flaying, gutting, every kind of pain, so exquisite, so delightful. It made him shudder and ache with longing at the same time. He reached for her-
The memory leaves your character with a powerful emotional residue that affects their actions for the rest of their descent. Once you have rolled and written your response, you may continue to the next stage.
Stage Two: Echoes of Battle
As you stumble further down, your mind awash in emotions not your own, you realize that the fog has faces in it. Did it have faces before? Maybe you simply couldn't see them before being touched by the memories of the past. The faces are varied - some are frozen as if screaming, others glare at you in hatred, and still others are contorted as if in mid-battle. They shift and vanish and re-form constantly, and it seems like there are hundreds of them. Just faces, though.
So far.
There is a larger platform below, which looks like a good resting place - but as soon as your feet touch the cracked surface, red light blazes from grooves set into the suspiciously even floor. As if the light was a summon, figures swarm out of the fog. They swirl for a moment at the edge of the platform before one evidently makes up its mind and steps free, becoming not just a face but a full humanoid figure carrying a sword, its details indistinct other than its face, which bears the same emotion you are feeling right now. Could this be the one whose memory you felt so strongly?
Quote:
This stage is a battle. Remember, your emotions from the memory should still be affecting you as your roleplay! Each person fights their own personal boss; no sharing or tag-teaming allowed. The beings are only solid and able to be hit by their chosen opponent.
Boss HP: 20 3 auto-damage per turn. The figures do not speak, gesture, or do anything other than attack relentlessly. When they die, they vanish into wisps of fog. If you die, you find yourself at the top of the Descent, unharmed, and must choose whether to attempt again (starting from the beginning) or to leave.
Stage Three: Fractured Gauntlet
The instant your opponent vanishes, so too do the other gathered faces. You proceed onward and find the descent continues on the other side of the larger platform. The platforms below are quickly swallowed up by the fog. You blink - for an instant the fog looked like a roil of limbs. Just limbs, no faces - stretching fingers, protruding knees, pointy elbows. And then it's just fog again.
But you feel there has to be something down here. So you descend into the fog, and grey swallows up the world, everything other than the next step is gone. Until the hands start reaching for you...
Quote:
This stage is an obstacle course. Roll 1d100 and continue rolling until you roll a success.
1-20: A pair of hands curls out of the fog and grabs your ankles, pulling in different directions before letting go. Ouch! You feel dizzy and like you might fall off your tiny bit of secure footing. Roll again.
21-40: Something trips you, and you fall - thankfully, you fall down onto the platform you were standing on, rather than off the edge. All you can see below you is more fog. Some of the platform's edge crumbles and falls, and you watch it tumble into the abyss. Ugh... Roll again.
41-60: Suddenly, a hand covers your mouth, making it hard to breathe if you're the sort who breathes. If not, it's just kind of freaky. It takes a moment to tear free and it leaves you feeling paranoid and twitchy. Roll again.
61-80: You feel the distinct sense that someone is watching you. A lot. It gets more and more intense until you feel like screaming. Maybe you do scream... and the fog just eats the sound. Roll again. Or just collapse into a pile of sobbing. That'd work too. For the fog.
81-100: Something grabs you as you step from one platform to the next. You totter on the edge - and then the edge crumbles beneath you and you fall, too sharp and sudden for even wings to be of use. Who knows how far you'll go. Maybe forever? And yet... Pass!
When you pass, you reach... well, continue to the next post to see.
Sosiqui
Enduring Muse
Offline
Sosiqui
Enduring Muse
Offline
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:02 pm
THE END:
Just when you're sure you're never going to stop falling, your descent slows - as if the fog is thickening around you, catching you gradually. When you see the ground beneath you you're nearly floating down, not really falling any more... and your feet touch the checkerboard-tiled floor with a gentle thud.
If this is another island, you can't quite tell; the edges, if there are any, are utterly hidden in fog. And you've had enough of falling. Instead, your eyes are drawn to the shining orbs clustered in the center of the floor. Three of them, bright and warm like miniature suns...
Despite their dire names, they do carry power. You take one and in so doing are carried back to the surface above.
OOC: ACHIEVEMENT WIN!
If you have reached this last step, congratulations, you can choose any of the three achievements listed! You can only pick one per successful go! - If you were not successfully in this step, oh well! Try again tomorrow. You may attempt each zone side quest once per day. - Record your win in your heart log! Make sure to redeem your win in the FREE RAFFLE as well!
Syusaki rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-6)
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:19 pm
Even with her strengthened sight, Skaaal didn’t see it at first, but after coincidentally passing by the same place a few times she finally noticed. Someplace new, someplace different and interesting. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she passed by the floating island. The shadow wound her way deeper and deeper into the spiraling path, taking each step with caution for fear of falling. She tried not to wince during the first few steps when bits of rock chipped off. As long as that one bit didn’t have her on it she was fine. But the more she hopped from island to island, the thicker the fog became. It curled around her, as if it was going to choke her. She huffed, trying to swat away the mist.
But alas, she succumbed at last, knees softly dropping to the ground.
She couldn’t even bring herself to look up at the sky when she already knew what she would see. It filled her heart with dread, but at the same time she tightened her hold on her weapon. There was nothing else to do, but to stand her ground. She would remain here until her last breath, but the thought failed to instill a sense of fear inside her. After all, as long as she knew what she was protecting she would be able to perish in peace. No matter how badly they tore her apart, she would keep moving forward and fighting because she knew what lay at the very end. There was no turning back.
No turning back. The thought echoed inside her mind when she opened her eyes.
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 30 Current weapon equipped n/a
Having wandered around quite a bit, Klinail was sure none of the area gave off as much problems to their sight as now. They could only make out the horribly created path only because their feet can feel the crisp edges that shapes it. A shudder ran through their body as they realize the risk they had just tasked themselves with. Was coming here, and walking down this horribly unsafe path such a good idea?
They told themselves to shut up and charged.
The path seems to like being difficult, for the further they explore, the harder it was to see. The place also seems to not like them very much, for a wisp blows through them and Klinail drops.
Result
1 - The Traitor: They were coming. He knew that, in his heart, with a sort of sick joy - they were coming, and he was the cause of it. Those he had sworn oaths to would die. He had betrayed them, and yet he could not find it in him to be sorrowful. Guilt was gone. There was nothing but emptiness where remorse should be. All that remained was that terrible, trembling joy...
The memory left an odd jitter to the gray figure and their red core. They kept going.
She hadn’t noticed it at first, but when she took the time to examine the fog, Skaaal realized that she could pinpoint faces within the swirling mist. Had the white blanket always contained faces? She had never bothered to check until now, but perhaps it was better to have not noticed earlier. Fog with faces was just a bit too much to handle from the very beginning. They were disconcerting to stare at. Some were screaming in mid-terror and others filled with pain and toil. Others yet appeared to glare at her from behind the veil, but they would always disappear quickly, replaced by another grotesque face. Skaaal sighed, walked on.
As she stepped on a platform, she felt her muscles stiffen when cracks appeared. That was hardly a good omen. She squinted her eyes as from the light came figures. One of them emerged from the writhing mass and she sighed, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Boss: 20-4 = 16
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 27 Current weapon equipped n/a
Skaaal huffed, clearly displeased with this sudden turn of events, but reluctantly went along with this regardless.
Boss: 16-2=14
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 24 Current weapon equipped n/a
Unfortunately, she couldn’t hit the thing all of the time. She stepped across the platform carefully, trying to move slowly so she could focus more on the figure. But alas, as she lunged in for an attack it moved quicker. It dodged to the side and pushed her to the ground. Skaaal hissed, glaring.
Boss: 14-0=14
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 21 Current weapon equipped n/a
She dug her hands into the ground at first, quite miffed at the figure had managed to actually push her down all the way to the floor. As Skaaal slowly pushed herself back onto her feet, she wiped away bits of rock and dirt that clung to her body. The shadow clicked her tongue, annoyed. “You’re a pesky one, aren’t you?” she whispered before throwing a punch at it.
Boss: 14-2=12
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 18 Current weapon equipped n/a
Indeed, her new description for the creature fit it rather well. Skaaal wondered if it was grinning amusedly at her as it easily swerved to the side and landed a punch on her.
Boss: 12-0=12
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 15 Current weapon equipped n/a
She calmed herself by taking a deep breath. Slowly, she bent her knees and got herself into a ready position. Skaaal waited a beat before lunging forward and landing another punch on the figure.
Boss: 12-2=10
OOC
Character name: Skaaal Character appearance: A shadow, just like anyone else. She doesn’t possess any unique features, but stands slight above average in terms of height. Possesses a red core with bits of green oh gosh. Link to Heart Loglink Current HP 12 Current weapon equipped n/a
As they went, they could see the faces in the fog. And as creepy as these faces were, they didn't pull back in fear. Instead, a strange glee was with them as they continued their quest. When they finally got there to the platform, they tired, but also very excited.
Klinail didn't even bat a lash as they instantly dash at the figure to perform a kick at the sworded figure before them. It seems the memory also shove out the memory that they sucked at any physical attack but biting.
Quote:
Boss || 20 - 1 = 19
OOC
Character name: Klinail Character appearance: Existence in the shape of an unconfirmed shape, there doesn’t seem to be gender or features that could decipher the being from anyone else. However, they do look slightly shorter than everyone else. Their heart remains the same color as before the blessing - Red. Link to Heart Log: Link Current HP: 27/30 Current weapon equipped: n/a
Klinail made no notice as they were hit again by the opponent, yet at the same time they only took notice of being blocked. Ahh, if only it would hit. The fun part is the hitting and the bleeding.
Quote:
Boss || 19 - 0 = 19
OOC
Character name: Klinail Character appearance: Existence in the shape of an unconfirmed shape, there doesn’t seem to be gender or features that could decipher the being from anyone else. However, they do look slightly shorter than everyone else. Their heart remains the same color as before the blessing - Red. Link to Heart Log: Link Current HP: 24/30 Current weapon equipped: n/a
