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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxᴛʜᴇ sᴏғᴛ ᴇᴄʜᴏ
sᴛᴀʀᴛ ғɪɴɪsʜ
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ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ
✓ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴀʏ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛʀᴜᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴅᴇɪᴋᴀ.
Despite the close call a few minutes earlier, both you and Deika manage to pass through a few hallways without incident, before coming
to a wide, chapel-like hall with winged statues featured in it. There are iron bars on one side of the wall, and an open door at the front
of the chapel, with a staircase behind it, leading upwards.
There are a few braziers on the wall opposite the iron bars, though they seem to be fuelless -- powered by Elemental Magic, presumably.
The air is still damp and stale, though there's less water on the floor in these parts of the structure. You've probably ascended about
three floors since you woke up, and you can no longer hear the distant sound of a waterfall.
"Here!" Deika abruptly blurts, before realising his volume and going still to listen for any sign of one of the monsters. When no signs
come, he again seems relieved and moves across the room to the wall with iron bars across it.
"Here, the storeroom. Behind the bars", he directs.
As you come over to Deika's side, you can clearly see a rack of Weapons on the wall in the room surrounded with iron bars, and there's
another selection on a table beside the rack, but no obvious way into the room. There's a doorway of sorts on one side, but its caved in
and blocked with large chunks of stone, leaving no clear entrance.
"Swords, Spears, there's a fair amount there..." Deika catalogues the weapons and trails off into thought. You can see an
assortment of melee weapons of varying types, though they're all of simple construction. None of the weapons seem customised in any
way.
The question of how to reach the weapons comes to mind. The obstruction is a large amount of stone debris, and Deika has an affinity
for Geo Elemental Magic. The connection forms in your mind and you ask Deika if he thinks he can remove the rubble blocking the
doorway.
"I -" he pauses, not having considered using Elemental Magic up until now. "I'm really not sure," he answers, "the chunks are
huge, probably heavier than both of us combined, and I can't really..."
It obvious that there's a disparity in the amount of weight he can move using his Elemental Magic, and the weight of the stone blocking
the doorway. You quickly deduce that simply moving the rubble is an unlikely option.
You lean against the iron bars, a little defeated, trying to think of how else to get into the room. Just as you do though, there's a soft
creaking in the bars, and the one you're mainly leaning against quietly grinds and shifts slightly out of place.
Deika's expression lights up, immediately coming to the same conclusion as you, before then worrying about the same issue as you;
noise.
There must be a way to get into the room by removing the bars, but how would you go about doing it quietly?
"There may not be a way to get in there without making some noise," Deika finally speaks, answering the question on both of
your minds. "And its very unlikely we're getting out of here without having to fight at least once, so we need those
weapons..."
You and Deika look towards eachother, and your expressions say volumes. You're going to have to break into the room, grab some
weapons, and make your way out of here fast.
"Wait," Deika interrupts your thoughts with a recommendation, "choose a weapon before we break in. That way once we make
some noise, we know what to grab, and can get out of here right away."
Its a fair piece of advice.
Which weapon will you decide to take?
► ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ʟᴏɴɢsᴡᴏʀᴅ.
Longswords are one-handed, straight, double-edged, are of average weight, and are easy to defend with. One of the most versatile
weapons with fair reach, and the easiest weapons to parry with. Skilled longsword users can make the most of the weapon's reach
and unleash an array of swinging slashes, piercing thrusts, decisive cuts and near-pinpoint-perfect strikes on any poorly defended
or exposed part of a target's body -- and without spending much energy.
► ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴏғ ᴅᴀɢɢᴇʀs.
Daggers are each one-handed, straight, double-edged, and very light. Typically fast, and easy to hide on your person, but the
blades are short and hard to defend with; evading strikes altogether is preferred. With skill and precision, daggers can strike vital
points on an enemy and bring them down fast, without much expenditure of energy. Daggers can be thrown, but it can be difficult
to throw them properly.
► ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ sᴘᴇᴀʀ.
Spears are one-handed but can be wielded with two hands for increased precision, force, or to change hands. They are straight,
have a double-edged point, are of average weight and are easy to defend with. Skilled Spear users are very fast and use sudden
and unpredictable moves to quickly overcome adversaries. Spears are best used for precise, piercing forward strikes, but can also
be used as a staff-like weapon to parry or deflect attacks, or to bludgeon targets with the shaft, or blunt end, of the Spear. Spears
are the kings of reach, and can be thrown quite a distance.
► ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀɴ ᴀxᴇ.
Axes are one-handed but can be wielded with two hands to add force to a swing. They have a straight handle, a single, curved
edge, and are heavy. Due to their short, heavy structure (and extra thanks to gravity), they make for excellent downward strikes,
but can be slower than most other weapons. Defending with an axe can take some skill to get right, but few weapons will be able
to shift the heavy axe aside. Axes can be thrown, and are deadly when in motion.
► ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ʙᴏᴡ.
Bows require the use of two hands to function, and expend arrows as ammunition. They arguably have the greatest range of any
weapon and are silent, precise killers, but offer almost no defensive capabilities. They are lightweight, however, allowing the wielder
to move and maneuver as necessary to avoid attacks. Inexperienced users wield bows very slowly, and a wary target may have a
split second to dodge or block incoming arrows, but seasoned Snipers know to keep their targets unaware and guessing, and are
capable of firing arrows with quick-firing finesse.
