From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Nate can’t help but agree with Isla, a low whistle leaving him in a knee jerk attempt to take care of the problem, his obsidian arrow sent hurtling towards the speaking squirrel. If he hits it, the doctor will pause just long enough to grab the glittering blue eye, calling his arrow back either way.
How could he not hear the echo, the out of time footfalls. ”Anything behind us Kiada?” His voice is just loud enough to filter back through their line up, Nate not looking away from what’s before them. ”I don’t think we should stop. It gives everything else a better chance to find us.” So they keep going, Nate’s footfalls quicker now, trying to reach the centre before their pursuers reached them.
Nate tries to take out the speaking squirrel with his everywhere arrow. He also asks Kiada if she sees anything behind them, and starts moving quicker
Type: Dark
Everywhere Arrow | A sleek, obsidian arrow. Controlled by whistling, the arrow is moved and directed via a mental link with the user. Range of 15ft, works with Ascended only.
All Edwyn can hear is the rush of fluid as it moves through his system. He hears their footfalls easily enough, but he's far too distracted by everything else to notice. "What if...if we can keep moving but grab a branch from the maze, we could drop it behind us and see if it gets stepped on? Or.." The writer frowns realizing how easy it would be for something to simply step over a branch.
"We could hide behind the next corner perhaps? Ambush it before it ambushes us? If you only hear one extra set of footsteps, surely the five of us could stand against one monster?" Or at least, Kiada and Nate looked like the types that could. He wasn't so sure about Adam or the pretty medic, and he certainly knew he couldn't hold his own in a fight.
Edwyn suggests they hide around the next corner to ambush the creature, if there's only 1.
So they continued into the Labyrinth. Goddamn creepy place, especially as the walls seemed to close around them, the entrance becoming a distant memory. Adam's head whipped about left and right as he tried to keep track of where they were, but it was already becoming difficult. The addition of possible footsteps behind them really was just the icing on the cake; he listened to everyone discuss it, but they all seemed to be being cautious.
He'd always had a bit more of a direct approach.
"Let's just turn around and tell the asshole to show itself." He said, stopping. "Not like it's not going to eventually, right? Might as well get fuckin' on with it." Looking back, Adam flicked his dagger up in his hand. "Hey, dicknugget! Whoever's back there, c'mon. We can hear your creepy footsteps."
--
Adam stops, turns and yells to whatever is behind them to come out.
So collect your courage and collect your horse
And pray you never feel this same kind of remorse
black hearts, the wicked never rest. i curse the day i let you in
so tell me dear,
“It almost sounds like it’s beside us.” Kiada says, unable to pinpoint where it is. She visibly tenses at Adam’s shout, a grimace crossing her face as she peers over Edwyn to Adam. “Adam, shut the hell up.” She hisses, turning so her back is to Edwin to peer down behind them, readying the throwing knife in her hand.
She keeps her armor in place, just in case something lashes out at them, hoping that it doesn’t but given Adam’s charming announcement, she can only assume that they’ll lash out against it. She tries to clear her head from the panic that wishes to settle in, thankful for not needing to breathe if only to keep her steady.
Kiada readies her throwing knife and turns so her back is to Edwyn, checking behind them for any movement and chastises Adam LOL
She keeps her armor upgrade in place!
Type: Grey
Bionic Armor Upgrade | Lightweight but hard armour extends from her spine, wrapping around her upper body in a defensive sheet of armour.
can your heart still break?
if it's already stopped beating?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
Nate 's arrow whistles through the frigid air, piercing the squirrel in the chest. It rattles a dying squeak, returning skewered on the end of the ascended's arrow as the magical dart is called home. How lucky for you—a two for one! An eye and a dead rodent.
Don't stop is one suggestion. Hide and ambush is another. Shout loudly is not so much a suggestion as it is what Adam does, which sort of nullifies anything else. There is a warm rumble of laughter from behind the group as the creature finally catches up to them.
Though..it probably isn't what they expected. Or who.
'The monsters came to Torchline this year...I'm not sure how, but..' Sunjata's stare turns to Nate as his broad shoulders shrug in a manner both self-deprecating and amused. "Hulle het my gekry, skatjie..." The Flood says, his smile crooked and sad.
Your randomly chosen initiative order is: Isla, Nate, Edwyn, Adam, Kiada You have 24 hours to respond, based on when the person before you posted.
Please keep your posts as concise and clear as possible. Remember, this is a KQ. You can spend words on introspection later. Keep things action-based, and refer to the KQ guide in the guidebook for information about our expectations.
If I don't specifically say how your character has evaded an attack, or where the damage is, feel free to add this flavour in yourself!
"Impressive," Isla notes to Nate, which is about all she has time to do before their plans to stay subtle and hurry forward are completely ruined by Adam. Isla's fingers are the things that contain blades, but there's daggers in her stare too as she glances back at him.
Before them, Sunjata looks as real as when she'd met him in Torchline. It is luck and luck alone that puts Nate at the back of the group relative to the Flood, and Isla's mind is quick to jump to action. She recalls the Loreseekers Guild, moments in the library, poring over books...
"It's either a Longnight monster or a... a boggart, I think," she says. "We ought not to engage. Perhaps we could use our upgrade from the Voice, make a run for it while we are unseen?"
As she speaks, Isla is starting to walk backwards, reaching out with her free hand to try and catch hold of Nate, guiding him away as well.
Isla informs the group that it might be either a Longnight monster or a boggart. She suggests they use their invisibility upgrade from the Voice to make a run for it, all the while trying to usher Nate back further away from "Sunjata".
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
Nate manages a quirk of his lips, a gesture on its way to being a grin when Adam shouts behind them, and he whirls, something stern dying on his tongue.
He might be at the back, but there is nothing stopping him (apart from Adam’s stupidly tall self) from locking eyes on the unmistakable shape of his sunshine. Without realizing it, Nate steps back towards Sunjata, his teeth bared in a shaky snarl, his chest heaving with breath he doesn’t need. Automatically, he reaches out through their bond, trying to feel for something that would prove this wasn’t the attuned. ”We ought to fucking kill it.” The words ring hollow, strained in his own ears, a far cry from the vicious growl he wants.
”Get his fucking face off!” This is a shout, a war cry, the prelude to a charge that is stopped only by Isla’s hand. By the reminder of the upgrade the Voice had granted them. In one jerky motion, Nate rips himself free of the gauze chain, trying to pull everyone closer. ”We’ll run for it.” Despite the words, Nate still draws one of his borrowed daggers, not fully convinced fleeing is the best option.
Nate wants to fight so badly, but agrees that they should try and run using the Voice’s upgrade. He breaks free from the gauze chain and draws one of the trident daggers (the fiery one)
Type: Dark
Trident Daggers (Upgraded) | Two daggers perfectly weighted and sculpted for Sunjata. One can shoot fire in a 5ft arc and the other electricity.
'If it's a boggart...the upgrades won't do anything against it." Edwyn points out as levelly as he can. Even so, his heart has metaphorically leaped into the back of his throat. In reality, it's pulsing at a steady rate right where it's supposed to be. 'Boggarts aren't that hard to kill...but it might draw attention..' This isn't helpful at all, Edwyn not knowing if the best thing was to stay or leave at this point.
Then again if they were wrong about it being a boggart, walking away from it might be the last thing they ever do.
"Nate, don't—" Reaching out a hand for the doctor, the ascended strides forward, dagger drawn. "Either way, monster or boggart, it isn't real." He tries to coax.
His shout did exactly what he wanted, though he wasn't sure what was so fucking funny about it. As for Isla's objection, he just shrugged. "Did you want to give it a chance to sneak up on us first?" As far as Adam was concerned, it was better to get things out in the open and done with as soon as possible.
Seeing Sunjata was a surprise, but he instantly assumed it to be fake and thought Nate would too; hearing the shout from behind him was a shock and Adam reached out an arm to hold the larger man back. "Calm down, it's not him. What does it fucking matter if it looks like him? You know it isn't." Not that he'd have an easy time of it if the monster had chosen to appear as Pet, but at the moment he could afford to be a (sort of) voice of reason.
Running away seemed to totally beget the point of calling the thing out in the first place. Standing by Edwyn, Adam drew out his second dagger so both hands were armed. "There's five of us and one of it, guys. C'mon. We're here to fight, aren't we?"
--
Adam stands by Edwyn and draws his second dagger, ready to fight.
So collect your courage and collect your horse
And pray you never feel this same kind of remorse
black hearts, the wicked never rest. i curse the day i let you in
so tell me dear,
At least it draws it out, him out, she supposes. She doesn’t trust it, regardless of how much it looks like Sunjata, how much she wouldn’t mind ignoring him completely, imagining the likely hood of him making it out to meet them when they’d teleported here far too unlikely without getting devoured by the monsters.
And even if he was? Well, she supposes it sucks for Nate, but she’s been here before. “The monsters hold the body of my ex like a puppet— killing it brought out the bigger one.” She informs them all, harboring no reluctance at harming Sunjata (not that she cared about the towering brute much in the first place). She levels her throwing knife, and throws it at Sunjata with hopefully some precision. “Distract it and run, or fight.” She squares her shoulders, imagining a fight is about to break out.
Kia gives a little information regarding her run in with Ru’in, then throws her throwing knife at Sunjata. Her upgrade is still active:
Type: Grey
Bionic Armor Upgrade | Lightweight but hard armour extends from her spine, wrapping around her upper body in a defensive sheet of armour.
can your heart still break?
if it's already stopped beating?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
02-18-2021, 04:12 PM (This post was last modified: 02-18-2021, 04:13 PM by Court Official.)
key quest
"You won't be able to feel me that way my skatjie. There's...I suppose you stop being an attuned, when you die." Sunjata shrugs his shoulders in a gesture both boyish and apologetic as if his death and presence here is something he should feel guilty for. As if Nate's lack of trust in who he is, is Sunjata's fault.
"I'm not here to hurt you. Any of you—" Sunjata's steely gaze surveys the group, offering them a sad smile before returning to Nate. "—Safrin let me come to say goodbye. I don't know how, but.." Glancing down at the dagger in Nate's hand, his dagger, the Flood bites the inside of his cheek as he considers. "Ek het nie veel tyd nie ... maar ek kon nie weggaan sonder om totsiens te sê nie..." He extends a hand, his knuckles scared and his wedding band glinting faintly in the moonlight.
It might have worked too. Would Nate really have risked this being real and not saying a final goodbye? Luckily Kiada breaks the illusions with the throw of her dagger. It strikes 'Sunjata' squarely in the chest. Had he been dead as he'd said, it likely would have done nothing. But if he were a boggart, as Isla suggested? Well, he might just react quite poorly.
Which in fact he does.
The Flood's eyes turn black and his skin begins to sluff off in dry sheets as the boggart loses grip on the form it had taken. With a roar it runs toward Kiada, long fingers reaching out for her throat. She's able to evade it, leaving the creature vulnerable and in close proximity to the group.
Your randomly chosen initiative order is: Isla, Nate, Edwyn, Adam, Kiada You have 24 hours to respond, based on when the person before you posted.
Please keep your posts as concise and clear as possible. Remember, this is a KQ. You can spend words on introspection later. Keep things action-based, and refer to the KQ guide in the guidebook for information about our expectations.
If I don't specifically say how your character has evaded an attack, or where the damage is, feel free to add this flavour in yourself!
Once again it appears the decision is made for them - running appears like the smart thing to do, though of course there is the issue that if this is a boggart and not a Longnight monster, the invisibility would be for naught.
Which... apparently it is. If you ask Isla, boggarts and Longnight monsters share a lot in common, but it's already flailing at them and she at least has the good sense to step back. "I will keep watch for anything coming the other direction. And if anyone is hurt, I will take care of it afterwards."
Just in case there is trouble in her direction, though, Isla allows the blades in her fingertips to slip out. Ready, waiting and ever so sharp.
Isla isn't a fighter, so she keeps watch for anything coming down the other end of the labyrinth while the rest of the group presumably ruin the boggart's day. She also preps her claws, just in case.
Type: Grey
Prosthetic Scalpel Blades | Three sharpened scalpel blades made of an unknown lightweight metal have been embedded in the pads of Isla's fingers. By flexing certain muscles in her arms and hands, the blades can extend and retract.
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
”Sonskyn, I...” He comes so close to believing it. So close to tearing himself out of the collective hands on him and embracing this thing that speaks and gestures and looks like his husband. It isn’t even the knife that Kiada throws that shatters the illusion, but the mention of Safrin. Nate has no doubts that the herald would sooner erase his memory completely than allow any mercy.
Nate doesn’t need permission to move, though some part of him is grateful Isla seems to come to the same decision he does. With a piercing whistle, Nate charges, tri tipped blade held aloft while his black arrow streaks ahead of him. He means to tackle the boggart, slashing at it as they both go tumbling down.
Nate sends his everywhere arrow at the biggest and charges it, trying to knock it down while stabbing it if he can
Type: Dark
Everywhere Arrow | A sleek, obsidian arrow. Controlled by whistling, the arrow is moved and directed via a mental link with the user. Range of 15ft, works with Ascended only.
Type: Dark
Trident Daggers (Upgraded) | Two daggers perfectly weighted and sculpted for Sunjata. One can shoot fire in a 5ft arc and the other electricity.
The writer watches all of this unfold with eyes that grow larger and larger, and a mouth that continues to drop open. It was ludicrous how it was all playing out, and yet it was so captivating to watch just the same.
"Should.." Kiada throws a knife. Isla moves. Nate charges. The writer swallows, shakily holding up the sword he was given. "..help him? Or..?" Because the monster wore Nate's husband's features, did that mean he was entitled to kill it alone? Was this..respectful? that they were leaving him to it? Cathartic?
"Sorry, this just doesn't seem like the time for ... this sort of thing." This..hate killing. Mercy murdering. Whatever it was. They were trapped in a labyrinth with monsters closing in, and they were going to let Nate just have a moment with this thing?
Edwyn questions whether this is a good plan, and raises his sword.
