He knocked on the door, if it could be called that, of Dawson's room. Cell. Room. Dorm. Thing.
"Uhmmm," Ember called, "hi! It's me, from twitter. Ember!"
He fidgeted in place, fingers tugging over too-big black sleeves. Ember was ever stylish in his perpetual pilfered black and lime*, hair pulled back, make up done. (He'd raided Sephora good.)
So far as Ember could tell, Dawson was also from the South. The guy typed with a polite disposition, but he was sure he could pick out any like-minded soul from ten miles off. Ember's own accent was pretty mild, considering how long he'd been in North Texas, but his parents were born'n'bred out of East Texas and Louisiana, respectively, which meant he'd heard it all growing up.
Anyway. Dawson seemed like a good guy, Ember just hated...asking for things.
Why didn't the world just appeal to his every whim and demand?
medigel
*literally my avatar
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2015 8:52 pm
Don't drink before five ended up being a good bit of advice to himself. Beer was practically water to him, but it didn't make the thirst for it any less potent. So Dawson didn't have to worry this time about hiding his tear-stained face in his sweaty white tee from work, or about tripping over his coveted bottle of liquor because he'd forgotten to move it out of the way of his bean bag chairs the night before. Other than the overuse of deodorant, a scraggy beard finally coming in, and a few new lines in his face, Dawson was just peachy.
And so it was that what looked like a kind-faced hobo in a camouflage hat greeted Ember. What should have been the usual hi and hello instead became a very baffled, "Whoa, what the hell kinda Charmander is you now?"
Oh, but he was a cute precious little ol' hobo, wasn't he?
"I'm not a pokemon, silly! And besides, if I was, I would like, totally be a ditto." He winked playfully, peering up at Dawson. "Do you have time for runes and stuff and things? The dark is like, totally cool and thematic, but I would appreciate some light too, y'know?"
He beamed, fingering the upside down cross necklace at his neck, toying with it idly.
medigel
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:42 am
"You'd wanna be the breeding kind, huh?" That chuckle coming afterwards sounded a little lecherous. He probably should have kept that thought to himself...
Scratching his neck self-consciously, Dawson went on, "Yeah, sure, I got time! Whatcha wanna do, kid? I don' got any free stones on me, so we'd hafta either ask fer some from some Lifer or somethin', or we'd hafta go divin' fer our own."
Ember blinked several times in rapid succession-- well, he certainly hadn't been expecting that.
"I'm really not that young, you know," Ember correctly, gently, as if being nineteen made him worldly in any way whatsoever. But something flickered in his eyes, then, shifting in the green of his eyes. A little bit ditzy turned into sleek and feline, almost hungry. And it was nothing personal: Dawson was not particularly his type. But Ember knew what he liked and how to extract it, if only he was given the opportunity.
But now was not the time nor the place and Dawson was nice, nice enough to do him a favor. Best not to scare him off in this way. No need to lick the palm that feeds you.
"You can dive for them?" Ember clapped his hands, and the maturity faded back away, edging into giddiness. "You don't have to come with me, but I would surely appreciate an explanation, sir."
mxedigel
i'M SORRY DAWSON STARTED IT OH MY GOD I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS EMBER
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:46 am
"Yeah? You look like a high schooler t'me," Dawson observed with a small chuckle, oblivious to his toeing into other territories; he was just glad his blurting out didn't make him look like a creep. "Anyway, yeah, you gotta dive for the stones t'carve. Special stuff under the island all in caves, I dunno why. I wouldn' feel good makin' you go by yerself the first time, though, 'specially since you just got here."
He did mental gymnastics considering his schedule, considering how long this might take versus how much energy he'd have left over. After a moment, Dawson nodded. "Yeah, I'll take ya. I got some experience under my belt, n' I need more fer this project anyway. You got time now t'go swimmin', kid?"
"Just because I don't go 'round wearing trucker hats and the like, and don't sprouting a beard like some sort of ent doesn't make me that young," Ember replied with a sniff, waving a well manicured hand. "I'm like, a few years out of it, at any rate."
He listened with rapt attention at the idea; it all sounded very...ritualistic.
How incredibly appealing.
"And like... carving the runes gives them power? Truly?" he asked, almost shyly. There was a sort of shining joy in his eyes, the kind that kids got on christmas. Wrathia was kicking her hooves in his mind, hissing and spitting, but he ignored her. "I do! You said diving, though...Will a normal bathing suit be like...Enough and stuff?"
medigel
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:07 am
Was he really...? Jesus, he still looked prepubescent as far as Dawson was concerned.
Patting Ember's shoulder, he gestured the guy to follow after and began lighting the way down the hall with his cellphone. "We're gonna borrow the Sun Division's stuff," Dawson explained. "Really tough diving suits, 'cause down there's some nasty s**t. But, uh, yeah, carvin' n' meditatin' gives 'em power, n' we gotta use the runestones underwater 'cause it holds it better or somethin'."
Ember happily imitated him in using his phone for a light. "Oh! Neat. I've worn those before. Besides, like, that's my division and stuff. Do we have good stuff most of the time, or is this just a luck draw?"
He hummed a little at the reminder of sea monsters, grimacing not so delicately. "I've seen like. The weird things near the beach and stuff. How bad is it down there...? I'm not afraid of deep water or anything but, what exactly is gonna like. Show up?"
medigel
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:45 am
A Sun, not a high schooler, not a girl...The surprises were just rolling in one right after the other.
"Uh...I mean, erryone's got good stuff," Dawson said as they ascended. "Kinda depends on the sitch, y'know? S'fer what shows up, uh...Ahah."
He fixed his cap with a bracing smile.
"Let's avoid the tentacles n' cave wigglers. Oh, n' giant mouths that y'think are caves. N' mutant sea critters. Nothin' too bad if you got a good eye."
Unfortunately, sometimes not even being watchful made a difference, but best not to scare the newbie.
At least he was a familiar enough face at that particular part of the Sun building that he was barely opening his mouth before the wetsuits were produced. Once they were changed, he led Ember out to the beach, carrying his flippers so he didn't waddle.
"S'all about keepin' a cool head," Dawson told him. "Anythin' shoots out at ya, you still got your weapon, n' I'll be here."
Some of it sounded interesting, some of it sounded scary, and the rest of it sounded just-- weird. He still hadn't gotten used to the fact that all these things that he used to daydream about actually existed, and wanted to hurt him instead of be his friend.
(It kind of hurt his feelings, actually.)
Ember looked positively ridiculous in the wetsuit, and had somehow crammed all of his hair under a cap, safely locked away from the dangerous salty brine, well aware that it'd get rid of the color way faster than he wanted.
"Well," he said, staring at the water sadly, slowly wading in, clutching newly summoned katars in each hand. "Here we...go....."
medigel
medigel rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-6)
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:15 am
Quote:
4: you are safe.
[ adjusting to 4 ]
Once suited up, Dawson waded along in, arms out as if for balance. Between the waves and the surprises one could get ambushed with, it was probably for the best he didn't trip or get too weighed down by his shield just yet.
"Unda da seaaaa," he half-sang, half-spoke, chuckling to himself. "Unda da seaaaaaa~ Darlin', it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from meeeeeeee~ Got a clear spot over here!"
In the water surrounding the island there's numerous edlritch horrors of the deep waiting to attack your hunter.
Roll 1d6 1: a massive sea creature attacks you. Roll 1d20 to escape its gaping maw. If you roll 10+ you escape it, if you roll below you receive 10 damage and need to try again. 2: a bus-sized sea creature attack you. It has 30 HP and 5 auto damage. You can escape it by rolling 1d20 and getting 13+, failure results in auto damage. 3: a small-sized sea creature attack you. It has 15 HP and 3 auto damage. You can escape it by rolling 1d20 and getting 15+, failure results in auto damage. 4: you are safe. 5: you are safe. 6: you are safe.
Exploring the Caves
Some of the caves house many useful stones, other house things waiting to kill you. You can keep on collecting for as long as your willing to risk it (or until you die.)
Roll 1d8 1: A few stones! Roll 1d4 to see how many you find in this cave! 2: Sentient sea weed aggressively gropes you! Roll 1d4 to see how much damage it does! 3: A nice amount of stones! Roll 1d8 to see how many you find in this cave! 4: Tentacles! Roll 1d8 to see how much damage they do! 5: A bunch of stones! Roll 1d10 to see how many you find in this cave! 6: This area becomes permanently mob free and reveals a large cache of stones, roll 1d20 to see how many you find in this cave! 7: The mermaids guarded several large, dark caves that are now open to explore. Hundreds to thin, snake-like tendrils shoot out from the darkness. Roll 1d12 to see how much damage they do! 8: The mermaids guarded several large, dark caves that are now open to explore. What appears to be a cave full of inviting stones is actually a huge toothy maw, patiently waiting to devour you. Roll 1d20 to see how much damage it does!
Swimming Back
Roll 1d6 1: you are safe. 2: you are safe. 3: you are safe. 4: a massive sea creature attacks you. Roll 1d20 to escape its gaping maw. If you roll 10+ you escape it, if you roll below you receive 10 damage and need to try again. 5: a bus-sized sea creature attack you. It has 30 HP and 5 auto damage. You can escape it by rolling 1d20 and getting 13+, failure results in auto damage. 6: a small-sized sea creature attack you. It has 15 HP and 3 auto damage. You can escape it by rolling 1d20 and getting 15+, failure results in auto damage.
If your HP drops below 0, you lose half your stones as your body floats back to the surface.
Crafting Your Stones
Find a place where you can reach the most perfect calm and focus possible, and then begin carving Uruz into each of your stones. Think on the purpose of the stone, and meaning of Uruz as you do so. Focus as much of yourself and your actions on the rune and the act of carving. Some people choose to chant out loud or do visual exercises to more perfectly focus on the task, but different methods work best for different people. Once the rune begins to glow, you'll know it's finished. Because this process depends more on people than lab computers and code, it's less consistent and predictable in its results.
Roll 1d10 for each rune stone 1-4: failure! The runestone never glows and eventually breaks. 5-8: Regular Rune! The runestone can power small, battery-operated runic devices for up to a week. 9-10: Superior Rune! The runestone can charge your runic weapons. (In and out of battle. If in battle, it will take 5 turns for the weapon to properly charge.)
its me debz rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5Total: 5 (1-6)
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 7:00 pm
Ember rode the waves, letting it bob him up and down, unused to the new-found weight in each hand, the soft glow of Tassy's runes glittering against the water.
"My weapon," he said, the last thing before diving, "like, hates this. She's a nightmare."
And down he went, mouthpiece in, vanishing beneath the water, safe.
It had been a while since he took a dive, but at least these days he met it with less trepidation and more of an experienced touch. He still tugged his helmet down a little closer, however, as he floated down, in lieu of his beloved hat which currently sat back in the lockers.
"Testin', testin', one-two-three," he said. "Yeah, Syn's a fiery kitten, heh, she don' like goin' deep in the ocean."
