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Carhop Cavalier rolled 1 100-sided dice:
96
Total: 96 (1-100)
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 Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:10 pm
It was in a frenzied panic that Lex threw open a steel door, rushing inside to try and escape the looping hallway of nightmares. He succeeded, landing himself in an armory of sorts - the walls lined with swords and battle axes, crossbows and recurves. Armor and mail lay on a few shelves to his left and right, a few pieces piled on to a mannequin.
And, smack dab in the middle of the room, there stood the two very swords Lex had been sent to find. Hrunting, an old and gnarled blade worn by time and battles a plenty, locked up in a case, snugly parallel to the water damaged and game and barnacle crusted hilt of a sword. Lex had to blink a few times just to make sure he was actually seeing them. They were real!
No, no they weren't. It was part of the illusion, it was just a trick. He'd grab them, and something awful would happen. More hallucinations? Suddenly dying? An immediate drop into the cold Swedish sea water? There had to be some way out of this that didn't involve touching the blades. Yet his hands still reached out, brushed the glass that kept them from the world. For so long he'd wanted to see them, to research them and possibly even wield them -
"Agatha krish na'sook."
The whisper in his ear started Lex, prompting a yelp and the summoning of his pistol, the man whipping around and finding exactly what he'd hoped to avoid.
The tower's master. Grendel. A hulking demon with violet skin and twisted horns like a Kudu, multiple eyes all glowing a toxic green, and teeth like razors in an uncannily human smile.
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 3 6-sided dice:
2, 2, 1
Total: 5 (3-18)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:02 am
The illusion crumpled when the Demon revealed itself, stalking around Lex with its uncanny smile and heaving breath, too much like a savage lion about to gorge itself on prey. There was only darkness, at first, and then the hallway of the barracks, with the hole in the ceiling and the whispering gusts. But it was dark now, a clouded and moonless night. The only light was that of the demon's eyes, and the torch sconces.
The demon spoke in its own tongue again, licking its lips. Lex merely stood stoic, lips quivering as he tried to keep a straight face, Regal gripped with white knuckles. It continued to stalk, a sharp finger grazing along Lex's clothes every now and again, gentle enough to not tear them. It was playing with Lex, toying with its prey.
"What are your regrets, Alexei?" It cooed in a guttural yet sharp voice, eight eyes boring down on the human in front of it. The game had gone on long enough - it knew how to tear this man down, how to drink his fear of inadequacy and irrelevance. But he wanted the Hunter to say it aloud, to hear his own fears, give them validation and potency. Like how the sailor had confessed the fear of loving the ocean more than his wife, or how that unfortunately curious little girl had told him everything about how she feared hurting her mother.
"Nothing." Lex whispered, looking at his grime stained boots, unnable to meet the toxic green eyes that trapped him on the spot. Come on, Lex. You know how to beat this - Ami should have imparted something about Demons' weaknesses after all that time with her in the labs and libraries, the cool nights when they both couldn't sleep, early in the morning over tea and croissants. Surely there was something he could remember now, when he needed it most. When he needed her most.
"That is a lie, Alexei Jamil. You have many regrets - your whole essence is pungent with them, like molded cheese. There is nothing you do not regret, Alexei Evan. Now, be a good boy and tell me; what are your regrets?" The demon smiled wider, the tip of its index claw raking underneath Lex's chin, drawing blood that he licked clean. Lex tried not to whimper, still stuck to the same spot, paralyzed in fear.
This would only continue if he didn't give a proper response. What would the demon cut next? His nose, his lips, maybe remove an eye? Lex didn't want ugly scarring on his face; it was the one good thing he had left. "I regret... I regret my choices." Lex croaked, eyes turning up to face the demon, shaky and on the verge of watering. "I regret joining Deus Ex in the first place. I regret trying to make myself a caricature of something greater than I could be." He swallowed a hiccup, warm blood trickling down his Adam's apple and mingling with days-old stubble. "I regret not putting effort into what mattered. I regret bringing others down through my own descent. I regret my half baked ideas and being lazy."
At that point he stopped and shuddered, the demon having tilted the Hunter's head up to wipe the blood from his neck with its massive fingers, licking its claws clean. It gave him a look that demanded he continue, however. Lex's only option was to oblige. "And I regret ruining Amalie Raine's life." Tears mixed with blood, and the demon licked yet again with such ferocity that Lex feared it might sink those razor teeth into his jugular, ending him then and there.
At least he wouldn't be a burden to anyone if he were dead.
"So tell me, Hunter. Why did you come to my tower?" The demon asked, near sultry as it looked the wound over, a small disgruntled noise rumbling from the back of its throat when it found the wound healing up already. "And do not bother with a trite answer such as you were sent here on a mission. I know this, already. Why did you accept it?"
Lex gulped, staring at the black sky through the hole in the hallway. If you squinted, the starlight was just starting to peek through some of the clouds. "Because I felt like working for once would help me move on. Give me purpose. I'd finally be contributing and doing something helpful, rather than ragging on other Hunters out of jealousy." There was no point in not being honest, now. The demon was going to harvest him, then probably eat him. Lex thanked Regal for healing the scratch as quickly as the Gryphon did.
The demon smiled, and released Lex's head from his grasp. "Mmm, good. FEAR tastes much worse when tainted by struggle." It licked its lips again, bisected tongue a deep purple and dripping green ooze. The claws glowed with purple energy, its smile growing wider. "You've been a pleasure, Alexei."
Three gash wounds to the chest, perfectly symmetrical.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:04 am
The cottage by the sea stands as it always has, quaint and undisturbed by they waves and brine around it, unaware (or perhaps uncaring) of the other houses around it. A small woman with her strawberry blonde hair done up in a braid with a pastel bow hums a tune as she pours two cups of tea, and settles into a seat at the table. Footsteps follow after, and there is Alexei, beaming at Ami. They whisper small affections, and Lex takes his tea and stirs in honey and cream. They chat about work, coworkers, their latest projects. His hand sneaks its way into hers, their two gold rings overlapping. Ami still has the picture of their wedding day sitting above the fridge.
Lex chokes, kneeling in front of the demon, hacking blood and mucus. No, goddamit, no. Don't show him this.
The same cottage, but perturbed. She's not there, her ring is on his neck. It was supposed to be a simple mission - it was just supposed to be another text. But there was always something, and it got her this time. Some sort of ancient guardian, it had- it had-
He hacked again, on the floor. "No, God no. Please, don't-"
Las Vegas. Lex is in the penthouse suite of The Excalibur, surrounded by friends from college. Tom, Mark, Neil, Quimby. They're all drinking and reminiscing about their twenties, the gray hairs decorating their sideburns telling the world they were middle aged men, but still hot and raring for action. None of them had settled down yet, never thought about it. Who needed to, when you could drink Jack and Coke all day and sleep with any floozie in a night club? There was a peal of roaring laughter, and a toast shortly after.
Lex was silent now, curled into the fetal position. How often had he thought of life without Deus? Happiness seemed to be back there, even with his bear of a mother and the directionless life he'd been leading. At least he was happy.
It's 3 AM and the police have the hotel surrounded, paramedics and fire trucks arriving shortly after. Quimby, drunk as a sailor, is standing on the railing of the balcony, tears streaming down his face. He's realized his life is meaningless and he'll never be a success. The other men are pleading with him to not jump, that life is worth it, that you can't drink Old Fashioneds and Vodka martinis when you're dead. Quimby shudders, the police are on the megaphone trying their best to tell him there are other ways. He can get help. He starts to back off, but his foot slips-
Lex sobs, clutching his sides. The demon sits to his side, inhaling deeply through its slit-nostrils. It looks satisfied, pleased with itself. It has found a very nice meal.
The pattering of small feet and four paws can be heard downstairs. Alexei is in his study, drinking black coffee, a cardigan draped around his shoulders. He hears giggling and happy barking, the tinkle of a woman's laughter that sparkles like champagne. Lex closes his eyes and smiles, folded hands resting over the cat curled up in his lap. They'd both been injured in ways that would prevent them from being of any use to Deus - Lex's knee had to be replaced after a venomous snake had bitten into him, and Amalie's entire upper body was in constant pain after a dragon's talon had narrowly missed a critical nerve in her spine. They would have been podded, had the Doctor not been feeling particularly gracious toward Amalie. He let them leave, sworn to secrecy, removed their bonds and made them, well, normal people.
Lex was silently bawling now, fists clenched so tight his own nails drew blood from his dirty palms. Only on the days he truly was happy did the Lifer ever dream to think of something like this.
An inferno blazed around their house, and there was nothing Lex could do. He'd been at his job when he received a call from the neighbors - it was so sudden. The girls were taking a nap when it happened, and the dog was the only one to make it out alive. He wept openly in the back of his pickup, the dog making a feeble attempt at licking the tears away.
He's in his lab at Deus, poring over some old tomes and jotting down runes he hasn't yet seen. Lex's coat signifies his status as a full Hunter, and he's smiling. He's smiling because the girl who looks too much like him in the frame on his desk, dressed in her pirate garb, no longer can.
Tears turned hot, overwhelming sadness turned to brittle and cold anger. Everything Lex had wanted, his best dreams and fantasies - made a mockery. He wouldn't be mocked. Lex had dealt with that enough on Deus, and he didn't need a goddamned demon making a fool of him as well. Dirty hands scraped along the tile, supplicating knees jerking upright. Lex was up, tears still streaking his dusty face.
"Let me go." He growled, pistol trained on the demon.
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
6, 8
Total: 14 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:06 am
"Oooh, a bit of fight left in you? How precious." The demon crooned, lashing out with swift claws. Lex retaliated with a burst of fire to its shoulder, an attempt to stop the attack. It only worked partially, but the demon still took a good chunk out of his shield. Lex snorted, backpedaling.
BOSS HP: 92
HP:45
DMG: 8
CHG: 1/3
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
3, 10
Total: 13 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:08 am
"Such petty insults - like your wants." Desire smirked, bearing down on Lex with a flurry of swipes and its ever-pleasant grin. Lex shot in the pauses he found, not making much headway in the defending himself department. "Shallow and empty."
BOSS HP: 85
HP:40
DMG: 7
CHG: 2/3
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
9, 2
Total: 11 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:09 am
It was true, when Lex thought about it. All he wanted were the things he'd never achieve. A happy, docile life with a woman he'd scorned and betrayed. A position he didn't work hard enough for, a life long gone and never would be seen. All squandered, all unfounded.
But he had to fight. Alexei had a life still, to find some kind of goal and achieve it. Reassessment, plotting the course, moving forward. All those required one thing; that he survive this.
BOSS HP: 80
HP:35
DMG: 5
CHG: 3/3
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 8 4-sided dice:
2, 1, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 1
Total: 21 (8-32)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:10 am
<< I am here, Lex. >>
Lex smiled briefly, befuddling the Desire demon in front of him. Why was his prey smiling, now? He had no chance of winning; Lex was a weak Hunter, a pitiful man full of regrets and sorrows at a young age. Surely this was supposed to be an easy feast.
Golden wings appeared above the Hunter's head, down cascading onto him and patching up any visible wounds, all bleeding ceased. He looked fresh, rejuvenated. Full of determination.
BOSS HP: 80
HP:50
DMG:
HEAL: 15
CHG: 0/3
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
10, 5
Total: 15 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:11 am
The assault began anew, Lex starting it off with a rapid round of energy fired into the demon's chest, smile faded to a staunch look of a scrappy underdog. The chance he had was small, but there was a glimmer - as long as Lex fought, there was hope.
The demon - Grendel, for all intents and purposes - was not a fan of hope. It shrieked and lashed out with fists at Lex, punches amplified by ambient FEAR around its digits.
BOSS HP: 71
HP:45
DMG: 9
CHG: 1/3 (1/2 FEARS used)
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
6, 6
Total: 12 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:12 am
Persisting, Lex carved forward with a spray of rounds, backing the demon toward a corner of the battlements. In desperation it tried to confuse the Hunter, switching the illusion to the other rooms. The portraits had done wonders on this feeble man, surely they would work. Perhaps the library? They kept rotating in quick succession, but to little avail. He seemed unfazed, set on his goal.
Lex knew it was just an illusion now. He knew that Grendel had designed the whole tower just to play on his desires, his fear of irrelevance, the insecurity that he was hated and unwanted.
BOSS HP: 65
HP:40
DMG: 6
CHG: 2/3 (1/2 FEARS used)
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
9, 8
Total: 17 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:13 am
Lex's fire had been found, it would seem, and it would not be put dampened so easily. There were still wet logs and green moss in the kindling, but smoke was giving way to sparks, which would lead to flame. The resulting heat would burn the wet wood, eventually, but now was the time for the wicked spitfires to kick up and sputter violently. Awake, vindictive, alive.
Lex was close enough to the demon now to bash it with the barrel of his pistol, snarling with his eyes and keeping deadly silent. This was his fight, now, and he would be victorious.
BOSS HP: 54
HP: 35
DMG: 11
CHG: 3/3 (1/2 FEARS used)
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 9 4-sided dice:
3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 3, 1
Total: 21 (9-36)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:14 am
The demon had managed to get Alexei away from itself with a brutal swipe to the man's face, blocked by the pesky wall of Fear surrounding him, but it was enough to get him to back off. "You...you and I are not unalike." The demon licked its lips, polite smile morphing to a more sadistic, shark-toothed grimace. "We are both Demons, no?"
Lex''s lips curved into a one-sided smirk, thumb cocking Regal's wings back with a mechanical clicking, golden Fear surrounding the gun. "No, Grendel, we are not unalike." He aimed the gun at the Demon's chest, raising an eyebrow. "But that is where our likeness ends; I may be a demon, but I'm also a winner."
A lion's roar, and eagle's cry, and the explosion of gunpowder rose to a cacophony, a clean hole put through the Demon's shield by a blast of energy.
BOSS HP: 36
HP: 30
DMG: 18
CHG: 0/3 (2/2 FEARS used)
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
2, 9
Total: 11 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:15 am
Grendel sputtered and backpedaled, launching ambient Fear at Alexei with fervor, desperate now. How could this human be putting up a fight now, after all the crushing defeats it'd fed the Hunter? How in Halloween had he found the strength to move on from the cruel realities he was faced with?
But Lex kept his ground, now, and continued his rain of fire of Grendel.
BOSS HP: 31
HP: 25
DMG: 5
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
9, 10
Total: 19 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:16 am
Backed into the corner yet again, Grendel swiped and clawed and bit at Lex, but the man retaliated with not just one, but two pistol whips. It was apparent the Hunter was having None of That s**t Today.
BOSS HP: 18
HP: 20
DMG: 13
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 2 10-sided dice:
9, 9
Total: 18 (2-20)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:17 am
Grendel swore up and down as its swipes seemed to faze Lex less and less, the man insisting on getting up close and personal with his gun, shoving it in Grendel's chest and pulling the trigger. It hurt, burned like white fire. Like the hands of the hero it was told to fear, as a scareling. It hurt like drowning, lungs aflame with screams and roars.
The fire in those gray eyes was not something Grendel would forget.
BOSS HP: 6
HP: 15
DMG: 12
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Carhop Cavalier rolled 1 10-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-10)
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:18 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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