TURN EIGHT: BEAST KINGS, CHILL LORDS, AND DRAMA QUEENSAecrocia is under siege by foreign invaders. The Atisi are undefended. The Magis are under siege by foreign invaders."My name is not Yuri. I have limited food supplies, am injured, and my cave is currently being blown up. I have no idea whether you are here to hide with me, or kill me so you do not have to have me as a dead-weight. Go find another cave."
Attempt to increase my food production by mining out a larger space for mushrooms, then try to increase the water flow, slightly.
RuneAfter replying to your uninvited guests, you get to work increasing the size of your farming space. You work deliberately, and with success, you dig out a sufficient space of about five meters squared for your farm. It is dry, however, so you will need to get the area moist before you start planting more fungi.
Outside, you think you hear a heavy sigh.
"Ah. Musta mistaken yeh for an ol' friend a mine. We seek nunnin' but shelter, but if it's thy will, we be leavin' now.Someone else hisses and kicks the door, on the edge, budging the door out of its position slightly and leaving it open just a crack. You hear the footsteps going away now.
You go back down to the temporary well that you have made, which has not produced much water at this point. You set about opening the spring some more, to great effect. It has gone from a small trickle to a steady flow, and it is slowly filling up the bottom of the well. While mining, you get some of the water in your mouth, and you notice it is very salty. You will need to find a way to desalinate it properly before you may drink it.
Outside, you hear more explosions, yelling, gunfire, and the clash of metal. It appears as if the Magis are next in the line to fall to the invaders.
Follow my kitteh!
Cromwell JacksonYou begin to follow your kitten, cautiously. You can't see the kitten, as he has gone too far into the deep forest. Worried about the dangers within, you hurry into the edge of the forest, where you freeze abruptly, not making a move.
In front of you is not a cute little kitten, but a large predatory feline. Its body is slim and long with black fur, and its paws step ever so quietly. Its yellow, deep eyes contemplate you while it circles around you. On its back is your kitten, mewing contently and licking his paws. The little voice, presumably the kitten's, comes back into your head.
Friend, he repeats.
Welcome, Guardian. Our messenger has found you.
The large feline (for reference, like an Earth black panther) nudges his head against the head of the kitten.
Thersmg sopdfjhs;as oashfplhksnfm.
The panther tries to speak in your mind again, but it comes out scrambled and not able to be interpreted. The panther bows his head low and lets a quiet rumble out.
Rrrrrr! QUIET, DARZENIS! Come quickly, Guardian. A friend calls for our help.
With an astonishing lack of exposition or explanation of what's going on, the panther urges you forward with its mind. Literally. You feel yourself move automatically against your will, your legs dragged in front of you without your conscious consent. It doesn't drag you far, but it still feels like you are urged to wherever the panther wishes you to go. Speaking of the panther, he is already dashing into the forest in front of you. Speaking of the forest, it appears to brighten somewhat, as if the forest itself is calling you also. Your legs are dragged even more, and it takes little energy to do so. The panther seems to rumble in your mind, still willing you forward, willing you to help whoever this is who needs help. A something named Darzenis, apparently.
Point at the people in uniforms, angrying at them.
Warren DrakeYou begin to point in the direction of the foreign people at the will of Darzenis, not expecting much out of it. What you get in reaction is far from nothingness; it rather disturbs you considering the circumstances. Starting in your feet and surging to the top of your head, you feel something like
green electricity coursing through you and leading itself through your arm. Your vision begins to turn even more of a green hue, and out of the corners of your eyes, you see... wait, what is
that?A pair of
Achillobator-like reptiles run out of the forest in the back of your vision and head straight for the invaders. Most of them are not focused on your reptilian friends, but a couple do spot them and appear very startled, to the point where they've dropped their guns and are scrambling to pick up their weapons. One of them is shaken around in the jaws of one of the
Achillobator, and the other is viciously decapitated and becomes a tasty treat for the
Achillobator. Both of the reptiles roar and the infantry notice, and begin firing, but the reptile pair are too fast and dodge most of the volley, going in for more kills. Most of the infantry is not prepared and begins to fall back, dropping some civilians on the way. You still feel a green-feeling energy coursing through your veins, and a voice comes from behind you. Darzenis.
"Yaaaaaaaay! I call frrriends!"
"Fine."
Advance into the forest, briskly, keep track of my possible paths of retreat and breakthrough routes forward at all times. watch for unusual motion or unnatural shapes or silhouettes. Keep track of the individual following me, and attempt to circle around behind him as we move through the woods if he continues to follow me.
LirianYou advance into the forest, following the advice of your ghost acquaintance. You can't do much more now, though, for you feel like you've just slowed down to a stop.
The breeze picks up to an alarming rate, but you do not move back from the force of the breeze at all. The darkness of the forest actually
moves, beginning to engulf you in its malevolent look. You cannot do anything about this, however, so you simply calm down and let it happen. The shadow moves around you and the breeze stops. Everything stops, actually. Nothing happens for a few moments, as you are in a complete separation from anything alive.
And then the shadow simply lets go. You feel the grasp of the shadow let go and move back, and as it does, you see a red glow below you. As the shadow fully retreats, you look down, and you find that you are in darkness, standing still at the edge of a volcano. The only thing you hear is the churning of the lava below. After observing the volcano below, you look forward, finding the one person you've conversed with all day, floating at the opposite end of the volcano and the dark expanse.
"Finally. Welcome to your new home, Ms. Paranoia."Welcome to the Medium."The girl (witch?), being full and real in this place, awaits your response.
Greet my bother
Diana CrownYou haven't seen your brother in a very long time. The last time you saw him was before his departure on a diplomatic mission to the Esteris region, trying to improve relationship with the Magis Kingdom and the outside world, about one and a half years ago, though you suspect that this was really to separate himself from your aunt the Queen.
"Diana, it's been so long," your brother says with a nervous chuckle. Even with his departure, your relationship has not been the best, though you do keep in touch.
"How has the Kingdom been holding up? And how is our aunt now?" he asks, with only half sympathy. He is not really invested with the health of the Queen, considering that he dislikes her for her leading of the Magis. In the background, gunfire and and explosions can be heard. Your brother looks up for a brief moment, brushes a part of his hair away, and starts moving backwards to the boat.
"Come. Let's go, before they take us too." It is hard to read his expression, but he does seem to care for getting you out of there. In your peripheral vision, you see the Aecrocian boy coming over to the boat, your brother waving to him before boarding the boat.
Move out of the basement carefully - stay away from strangers and danger in equal measure!
Eh AhPeeking out of the stairway, you do not see anyone moving. That is to say, you do see dead, Aecrocian bodies, but nothing moving that could threaten you. The main invasion force has moved into the city or other parts of the bay, securing the area for whoever leads this force. You move in a crouch position across the street, looking both ways before you cross!
You look to your left and you see a two squads moving tactically across the street, with very few bullets being shot. At the front, someone - maybe the same girl from before - is still giving orders. You think you almost see her, but you don't get a good enough view. You make it across the street without much incident, although you did kick up some debris by accident, which almost gave away your position. You enter a business office, abandoned and really messy. You duck behind a desk and catch your breath, reasonably safe, for now. You examine the room, and behind you there is a back door leading out to the secondary streets, as well as a stairway to a second floor.
Unknown gives the door one last kick before turning around and walking into the forest, wordlessly muttering to himself all the while.
UnknownYou kick the stone door one time before you start heading back to the forest, with the blacksmith trying to give a proper farewell before joining you. It seems the door wasn't totally jammed, however, as your kick has opened the door inward just a crack. You contemplate kicking it some more before beginning to head back to the forest. Inside of the cave, you hear more shuffling about and a pick striking the cave's wall before you leave. Guess the cave dweller really did not care for supporting more people.
You make it to the forest right as you hear explosions coming from the far side of the Magis Kingdom's wall, and gunshots being fired. The blacksmith shows a multitude of emotions, from worry, to irritation, to simplicity.
You wonder who these invaders actually are, and what they are so interested in on your island, before heading into the forest, making your way back to the Magis Kingdom. On the beach, three or four hundred meters away, you spot a boat being offloaded, possibly some noble's escape plan. You put little concern into this as you begin your walk in the forest. In the distance, you can see flames rising from the west wall of the Kingdom, which eerily calms you.
"Continue as you were, I believe I have something to attend to."
Leave the shelter after assigning a leader in my absence, whoever that may be. Try to remember if there are any procedures for government officials in the event of emergencies.
ArnequerThe community lodged inside of Summer Hall gets back to organizing themselves for a proper lockdown of the facility. You leave the facility and try to recall your emergency instructions for these kinds of situations, but you look to your right and immediately put your hands up. In front of you are two squads of foreign infantry, in the act of keeping the outside of Summer Hall secured for a siege. Some of the infantry notice you and level their guns you way, moving to arrest you. Someone in the back is called over, and due to your official uniform, they assume that you are of some importance in the structure of Aecrocia. A voice comes from your right, and not a voice that you would've expected. It is too high-pitched to be an adult, yet not high enough for a child. Just somewhere in the middle, and with a false sweet tone to it
"Why, hello there, Aecrocian. My I have the honor of knowing who you are?"To your right, you find a teenage girl in a black, short robe-like dress, which is more suited to movement than for aesthetics. It is accented with chartreuse coloring and has bands across it. Her face shows a curious expression, with her irises matching her chartreuse accents. She wears a small grin and has a thin structure overall. Her hair, matching her eyes and green accents, is tucked inside of a hood. Overall, she does not look much more than her age would suggest, but she almost emanates a sort-of evil from her being.
One of her guards announces her.
"Now presenting Empress Seira Theyin II!""Hi there." She grins even more and waits with her guard for your response.
Cecil sighs. His father never was really good at words.
He turns to the guard quickly.
"Can you tell my father, Mr. Palmer, if you see him, that his son loves him too?"
Cecil G. Palmer
Before waiting for a reply, cecil starts trotting over to the boat.
Go to boat.
The guard seems to almost stammer in his head before he bows slightly and leaves as you leave to the water craft also. You see the two siblings of the Magis Kingdom royal line conversing a little before entering the boat. You give a little wave to them and the boy waves back. You begin making your way over to the boat and admire the little thing. It's been created with long distance small-crew survival, so it has a retractable antenna for radio usage and is pretty much airtight. It also has an air filtration system, but that's all you can see for the moment.
You make it over to the boat and introduce yourself curtly to the Magis siblings.
Alex Raman (Yourmaster)You drift back into the land of the conscious, opening your eyes. You are either experience a serious symptom of fatigue, or you are being dragged across a floor right now. You can hear the voices of other Atisi around you, and the marching of boots in sand. The sound of the waves of water calms you and you nearly close your eyes again. That is, before you hear the gruesome sound of a head being ripped of its body and the scream of a foreign voice, several other voices reacting along with it. You aren't able to move very much, but you are awake and fully functioning.
END CHAPTER ONE... SOMEWHAT.Some dialogue needs to be resolved between some people, but otherwise this Chapter is pretty much over. I hope this update satisfies you guys and girls. Darkpaladin, your character will come in at the entrance of Chapter Two.
Thank you and have fun,
Artemis
Author
Topic: Roll To Medium: Awakening [Chapter VI] (Read 145714 times)