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oh-theatre · 4 years

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You Can't Force A Fairytale (Chapter 4)

Chapter title: Pain Cuts Deep

A/n: HI HELLO!! This sucks lol! no seriously im so sorry that this is so bad!! although some stuff was revealed!! also also..whats up with patton? and remus? And all of them! Aaa !! Anyway i hope you enjoy even though its trash and make sure to leave me comments!

Also yes Im keeping Dolion because then I can have... janus ;)

also if this is confusing i understand, so please tell me and ill try and clear it out!

words: 3516

summary: The group is scattered and needs to make a plan soon.

pairings: Eventual logicality, eventual prinxiety, eventual demus, eventual remile (These might change but for now im love them)

warnings: bow and arrow, violence, injuries, magic, swearing, bruises, scars, blood, fighting, stabbing, pain

Ao3 Link

“Are you alright Patton?” Logan whispers, guiding the horses into a hidden cove of the forest, followed by the rest of the group. The prince swallows, the images couldn't stop running through his mind, staining the memories permanently in his mind. He doesn't understand why it set a quick blaze and a blush to rise in his face. Logan takes his hand, stopping them, his glazed eyes stare curiously.

“Im alright” Patton promises, hopefully the shadows hide away his blush. Logan looks doubtful but nods anyways, the others in tow. Prince Roman helps an unsteady Virgil practically tumble off the horse, a quick shove to a giggling Roman. Prince Remus follows suit with Dolion, though he is much more graceful and regal stepping off the horse. “Follow Logan into the cove, through the hanging leaves.” Patton guides, they follow suit.

“Good luck” Logan gives Patton's hand a gentle squeeze. The prince nods, giving Nork a sweet pat before Logan leads them away. Once the clearing is empty, he takes to the amulet around his neck, his hand enveloping the magical touch.

“As we search for cover in this mossy forest cove, let no one uncover or discover what's hidden in the mangrove” He chants, a sweet spur of magic dances around him, green flecks as they follow his spell. They take a moment to give Patton an entrance, once hes safely inside the dank dwelling they shut the group away from the outside world, protected from magic and tyrants above. He whispers a quick spell watching his hands engulf in safe flames, the light allows him to regroup with the others.

“Is it done?” Logan cautions, Patton nods feeling exhaustion hit him.

The sight was something. The wet stone was not faint of aroma, the moss that encircled the area was refreshing. The horses seemed to enjoy the small yet spacious patches of grass that led out the other side into a hidden pool of water. Remus, regal as always, lied flat on his back snoring away already. The gray stone may present itself as hard yet the prince seemed so cozy. Patton almost wanted to join him.

Logan sat ever so sweet under a shaded area, in the intersection of the cove leading out into the pond. He read his book, a routine while he ran his hands through a sleepy Nork’s mane. The horse sat next to him, almost as if he had forgotten what animal he was and was content to act as a smaller one. Thank god the space let him.

Dolion and Virgil seemed inseparable, they both sat with their feet splashing away in the water, their muddy boots by their side. The pair spoke in hushed whispers, hesitation to trust the characters around them, finding solace in the similarity of their situations. Patton did find his heart tug at him as he watched however, their soft delight at each magical essence this strange world presented was something that never got old and something you just couldn't deny.

Finally Roman, Patton had to admit, the sight was hard to watch. The prince stood against the rock in the corner with a bland look to his face. He watched the prince skip stones across the pond, bored, his crown that typically rested perfectly upon his head now flopped a bit with no sight in mind to fix it. Romans steed, Dracaena, neighed in concern but had no qualms about returning to her important task of chomping away at the grass around her.

“I wonder if she would be more comfortable in her other form?” Patton inquires, catching Romans ear instantly.

“I think the same, I sense she's eager to be on alert in case of danger though” He expresses. Patton nods understanding, though he did miss the vicious, mischievous creature, he understands. “I don't believe we will be staying for long, correct?” Romans body shakes with impatience. His clear want to ride through the open fields with a hunger for victory was clear. Patton could feel the fiery passion that boiled his blood, not that he needed his powers for that. The amulet strung on Romans neck was alight with the amber blaze.

“I'm not sure Ro” He glanced towards the foreigners, their anxieties at bay for now. “There is alot to process and we mustn't put innocents in danger over our own goals” Patton explains, Roman knows he speaks only truths but still his anger was unkempt. “For now though, we are safe and this gives us ample time to come up with a plan...a much needed one” He reminds stringing his arm through Romans. This releases a chuckle from the prince. “Come, for it was not I who led the battle of Sarcane to victory, but you our brave warrior at the front line”

“Well I had assistance” He smiles at the newly appeared dragon that rested upon his shoulder, a quick breath of fire in excitement.

“But of course, much credit to Dracaena” Patton gives the creature a sweet pet, adoring the soft murmur of affection. “Now come before Logan and Remus tear eachother apart”

~~~

“My opinion?” Virgil gasps with a vile sarcasm. “I think you're all insane and i'd like to wake up from this nightmare!” He shouts, ending with a bite and smirk. Should Roman find that defense so pulsing for his heart?

“I do indeed second that” Dolion whispers with a yawn, the cross-legged boy sits sleepily next to Remus. He holds in another sign of his tiredness before settling very lightly onto the prince's shoulder. He hadnt meant to but he simply couldn't keep his focus much longer, and the prince was there. Remus froze of course, terrified to move, he didn't want to wake the boy. And he surely didn't want to call attention to his reddened face.

“Maybe it would be wise for us to rest for the evening,” Patton suggests. Logan huffs shutting his book, the maps and scribbles collected quickly by him. He shakes his head, muttering to himself walking to a secluded corner. “Lo” Patton sighs, he eyes the others asking them to set up the proper conventions for the night before following his quiet friend.

“We dont have time to rest!” He utters, throwing his items away from him, Patton quickly waves his fingers making sure they dont sink into the water. “Thank you” Logan stubbornly acknowledges, watching the prince delticaltyl stack his things next to him. “We must prepare Patton”

“Lo we dont even know what we’re up against” Patton sits beside him, the stars shine through the only opening, reflecting delicately upon the water. “Everything escalated much too quickly” He takes his friends hand, it always eased them both.

“You and I both know that he will be coming soon” Logan reminds, the image of the army marching towards them, led by the figure of whom Logan speaks flashes familiar in Patton's mind.

“Yes but we mustn't allow it to consume our minds as of now” Patton assures “You need rest as much as everyone else, for now we are safe” They hear wild giggles from behind them, turning to see the four enjoying their time. Remus dances kookily around the cover, Roman finishing his meal with delight as he watches Dolion and Virgil quite entertained. “Even in darkness, a light can shine through to guide you” Patton whispers, Logan nods from behind him, he takes the words to heart. “Ill take first night!” Patton announces, receiving no arguments from the group. He goes to stand but feels a tug at his hand.

“Promise me i'll see you in the morning” Logan begs, the soft features catching his eyes. “Come back to me?” He worries, the forest though magical and enchanted was not short of danger. A gentle Patton places his gloved hands on Logan's cheek.

“Always and forever” He swears, Logan nods, the exhaustion now dawning him. “Get some rest Logan, your mind has been at work for much too long”

“Agreed” He yawns, he rolls out his makeshift cloth, a comfy pillow and takes what little warmth he has. Quickly Patton watches him follow into his dreams. The shivering did hurt him just a tad, so when he knew no eyes were watching him, a quick spell he cast.

“On this cold and fateful night, give him warmth, give him light” Patton watches the amber flecks dance before shrouding Logan. He smiles to himself before taking his bow and horse and makes his way to the front.

~~~

“Patton!” He would be lying if he said he hadn't jumped, for the voice, though cheery came at the blackest of moments. Emile and his graciousness fluttered to where the Prince lay sleepily on his horse, trying his hardest to keep awake. Though what protection could he grant with his bow on the floor and his arrows scattered. He was delighted to see the godfather however.

“Emile, your sorcery” He greets, allowing the fairy to fix him up, feeling the boost of energy boil through him. “How did it go?” Patton questions, adjusting his position.

“I was able to clear my own name of crime and reinstate my position but the royal guard is on the hunt just as suspected” He explains. “They're sending out the cavalry”

“Goodness not Remy!” Patton whispers furiously. Emile nods solemnly. “The King is truly going all out...but why?” Patton wonders “What does he know about these foreigners that we mustn't, and what does my needing to get a suitor hold over the kingdom?” His thoughts pour out of him. Emile shrugs as he fiddles with the flowers around him, watching the echinopsis dance around him. He heals the ones that had not been tended with pleasure before summoning a treat for Nork. “We can't stay here then, when morning befalls us we must travel once more” He sighs

“I will do my best to keep you updated, I must go now my dear prince, but I shall visit soon again” Emile promises, an understanding nod from Patton and the godfather disappears in a dazzling shower of light.

Luckily the night went on without any incidents, Patton scoured the area, took Nork for a calming venture before returning to the hideout as the sun came to fruition. He remained outside, reading through one of his many books he had tucked away, Nork allowed him to sit easy while he grazed the small land.

“Good morning” He heard from behind him. Logan emerged from the dangling leaves, a yawn escaping him. “What, might I inquire, are you perusing?” Logan questions, Patton shows him the novel. “Ah very well, I do adore flowers”

“As do I” Patton agrees, he shuts the book marking his page, stuffing it carefully into his sack. Logan observes the area, his eyes admiring every small inkling and detail that surrounded him. Patton extends his hand, a sweet smile. “Care for a morning ride?” He asks, Logans excitement may have begun with his curiosity for the world but it only grew with Patton's proposal. He takes his hand as he had done many times before and allows Patton to hoist him behind him. The simple buzz Patton experiences as he felt Logans respectful hands wrap their way around his waist and his head rest easy on Patton was something he would simply never ever fail to love.

Scratch that… as Logan laughs timidly while they rush through the saplings of the forest, the love that filled his eyes and the mental notes he saw the prince take, the giggle that escaped as water splashed his face

That was something he would never fail to love

Logan..

Logan was something he would never fail to love

~~~

“I swear to god princey if you don't shut up i'm going to tape your mouth shut” Virgil moans, his head falling into his hands. Roman feels taken aback, the shock of such disrespect and yet the almost...excitement from the nickname was something else.

“For such disrespect the kingdom could have your tongue” He retorts, his face hot with anger but almost wanting to engage.

“And yet here you stand with your tongue” Virgil teases, he hears a faint smoky laugh from Dracaena, she slithers away from a silent Roman nestling into his lap. At first hes frightened, but the soft purring spreads a warmth over him. Roman...well despite feeling mocked...enjoyed the gentle view. He takes a place next to Virgil, watching the young teen flip curiously through some of Logan's journals while keeping a steady pet on the dragon.

“What do you think you're doing!” Speaking of the prince, Logan rushes into the room, fuming with shy anger. “Those are my journals! My property!” A scrambled Patton follows him, a look of anticipation for though rare, Logans outbursts were...unpleasant. He quickly snatches them away from Virgil, a glare towards the black haired boy. “Only I and a select few…” He glances towards Patton, did his defenses fall? “Have access! So stop touching others things!” He demands

“And so with Logans anger boiling, and Virgils own fury at storm the two are at odds, will they be able to ban together for a new threat approaching fast?” Remus spouts, Roman takes his side instantly knowing the pain that would come. “I hate it, I hate it” Remus sputters, the sweat fast approaching. Dolion, who while he enjoyed the princes antics found nothing charming as of yet, was intrigued by the sad honesty of the pain. “With that! The group should begin on their way” He barely manages, tears forming as Roman aides him.

“What does-” But Virgil is quickly cut off by the distant sounds of shouts, determination as each beautiful thing in the forest is stomped by power and raging fury. “Oh”

“Nork!” Patton calls, Logan stuffs his books away before allowing Patton to assist him on the horse. “Come now, we haven't much time” He signals to the others. Roman whispers a quick check to his brother, Remus nods. Though pained, he's ready to flee on his own steed. Unsure, Roman calls to Dracaena. She flies away from Virgil before a mist of shrouded light appears and a midnight horse takes her place.

“Coming?” Roman questions, extending his hand to Virgil. The teen rolls his eyes but joins the prince. “Hold on” He warns, and though his own blush denies him, Virgil grips tight to Roman. He watches as Dolion helps Remus to his own horse.

“Estrella” He whispers sweetly, the horse neighs with affection. This fragile moment tugged at Dolion, he missed his own home. New Orleans seemed like such a distant place, Luna, his cat could still be heard purring. “Up up and away” He jokes, Dolion takes the reins, thanking his mother for the horse riding lessons. He doesn't even mind when Remus collapses on his back, the warmth of the prince was...nice.

“On my signal” Patton heeds, and so one by one they gallop through the woods. The horses follow one another, protecting each other from danger and shielding themselves from the public eye. They reach an opening after what seemed like hours, the rope burning on Dolions hands was almost too much to bear. Remus had healed so they switch positions. It seems the sun was setting which set off a yawn in Virgil. He grew more comfortable on Roman, practically hugging him. Not that the prince minded, he enjoyed their journey. And his mind couldn't stop thinking about ...one particular-

“-Moment!” Virgil huffs “Just give me one moment” He slides off Dracaena, clutching his stomach. The group decides to take a rest near the waterfall, Logan leans against a tree and begins reading. Roman makes sure Dracaena is secured before following Virgil to where he sits by the lake.

“Are you alright?” He questions, sitting next to him.

“I feel...sick” He groans, Roman finds his little puffed features adorable. “It just keeps...making noise” He points to his stomach. Roman fiddles with the glass before pulling something from his satchel.

“You haven't eaten have you?” He shakes a small container holding delectable treats. Virgil scrunches his face in realization. “Here” he opens it, pulling out what seems to be a biscuit. Through his own habit he goes to feed Virgil. Virgil takes the first one, before both take a second to come to reality. “Apologies” He rubs the nape of his neck, Virgil laughs watching crumbs fly out. “Habit I guess”

“Fwo wat?” Virgil swallows his food, taking a handkerchief and wiping away the crumbs that had escaped

“Well when I had to meet suitors I had to charm them.” He explains, I suppose the mindless princesses my father found for me enjoyed being treated like a baby” Virgil snorts, Roman would love to hear that sound more. “ Oh but thats just a few of them! Ive met so many amazing ladies of royalty, each so smart and strong” he muses

“And yet here you are...alone” Virgil notes, he wasn't going to lie. Roman was the spitting image of every disney prince. He should have been scooped up by now.

“Heh...I suppose the shoe...just hasn't fit yet” He gulps, the truth of his uncertainty was something he had only ever confessed to Patton. He wasn't even sure! And yet even with his doubts...No Roman. Once all of this has calmed, you will return home, a perfect princess will be ready for you and you may rule.

Better that, than living the torute he watched his brother endure. He takes a peek back at Remus, he sits giggling away with Dolion, the look he gives the foreigner was one he had only seen once before. He did miss Janus, he was a wonderful fencing coach, and always challenged the twins. But no one missed him more than Remus.

Ugh! Roman enough! This is ridiculous. You're being ridiculous. You don't know anything, you've never tried anything.

Ok so maybe he didn't enjoy the entire scene, but...he takes a quick peek at the curious raven haired boy, he enjoyed Virgil.

No Roman...

For the crown

For the kingdom.

He looks to Patton. Follow his example, he tells himself. The prince didn't just have a kingdom on his shoulders, he had the entire land of which they rode across. He had endured more suffering than anyone.

But he laughed away the idea of a suitor, he walked away from it

Roman purses his lips...he did, didn't he?

So why can't you

~~~

“Are you alright?” Logan whispers from his position. Patton coughs coming back from whatever daydream he was engaged in. He tightens his hold on the reins, nodding away his suspicion.

“Yes of course, are you?” He wonders. Logan doubts his answer but shrugs it away.

“I am, I am more than ready to find a resting spot. I simply must show you these new spells, and oh the mus…” He rambles on, Patton listens, he does but suddenly the world goes silent. He looks to Nork but finds scared darkness. He panics trying to find anything familiar until he hears a voice...his own.

Hes watching himself, he watches the scene that had been haunting his mind for days unfold once more.

“No stop” He tries to call out, but the fearful hoarse cry was nothing. His eyes follow as Future Patton races through the castle, fighting his way. He knows what's coming, he doesn't want to see it. Not again, not anymore… “Stop!” he cries, nothing changes, his future self continues on his path. Tears swell in his eyes as he tries to avoid seeing the tender moment but he can't peel away. He gasps in pain relief, preparing to return to his body.

“What a sad sight” He peeks through his tightly closed eyes. What's this? He doesn't remember this. The King had not spoken before. But now he spoke and moved. “He was brave, tougher than I thought” The King expresses, Patton watches himself keep a protective hold on the frozen Logan. “But he just wasn't strong enough”

Logan's figure collapses, Patton wastes no time kneeling beside him. Patton watches himself and Logan share a hush conversation, but his eyes quickly glance towards the towering figure. The King moves silently as he takes his sword. Fear quickly engulfed Patton. The prince wanted to cry out, scream, do anything, but all he could do was watch.

And listen to the ear piercing scream as the sword slashed its way into Logan. It became too much, The Kings dastardly laugh, Pattons desperate sobs, and the fades of Logans demise. Too much ...too much. Patton clutched his head before the world went black and he felt himself hit a grassy meadow. His eyes fluttered only to catch Logan jump off of Nork and rush to his side. He heard mumblings and worries but soon he lost all senses and fell into a deep sleep.

But not a pleasant one.

Not with the images flashing their way through his head.

He had to change it, he had to.

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feywildatheart · 5 years

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Nenîth,

...sorry about the abruptness of my last letter. I'm sure it must have alarmed you, but, well. Things looked like they were going to be moving quickly, and I knew I couldn't potentially leave for another plane without even letting you know.

Of course, then it ended up not working and we didn't go anywhere at all, but -- well, you've seen both those letters, but you deserve a proper apology for it all the same.

We've been on Nellaser's Landing for about a week now. The first couple days I mostly spent working on my more difficult practice locks -- and I spent a few of them covered in glitter after failing to disarm their traps, which caused Cloudleaper no small amount of delight -- while Elyn ran around to the library and the university, doing her own research and meeting with people who might be able to help her in her search for more information about her family and their ship and her own history.

And then we met with Archmage Zebari, of all people, who Elyn's series of librarians and researchers led us to, and who seems eager to help, or at least fascinated by the mystery Elyn's presented them, and who's the reason for my last-minute scramble to send that letter, because they offered to cast a spell on Elyn's earring that would take us to the plane it originated from, and I think if we hadn't all asked in a half-panic if we could have a few hours to gather our things and send our letters, they might have just whisked us off to another plane right then and there.

So we packed, and wrote our letters, and returned, and then it turned out that I worried you for no reason at all, because it didn't work. I can't say I entirely understand the reason why, but it sounds like it's because it likely originated from something more like a pocket dimension, like the Twilight of Cinders, than in an entirely separate plane of existence. So they said they thought they could work out a new version of the spell that would work in the way we need it to, and asked us to give them some time to do so, and of course we agreed. And in the meantime, it had been suggested to us that we consider participating in the Commemoration of Grace, which we were told was a tournament of some renown and might prove a bit of an entertaining diversion while we waited. We were given the name of the tournament's organizer, a woman named Myali Mosha who has six enormous cats, each nearly as big as Squirt and very friendly. She explained the tournament to us in a bit more detail, and walked us through the process of signing up, since we'd decided we were interested in participating. It was five rounds, with half the field eliminated in each round, and a nice combination of tests of both skill and combat, all of which take place in microgravity.

For the first round, teams were paired up and pitted against one another. We fought a team of three named Victorious Red, and-- well. We were told it was a competition of some renown, and I assumed we would be facing teams stronger than us, or at least on par with us. But when the first round started, I found an obstacle to take cover behind, and shot an arrow at their archer, and it wasn't even that good a hit, but it still knocked him unconscious and sent him drifting, and I may have given a little yelp of shock to see it. I was more than a little horrified at myself, but there was nothing for it, and in the end we defeated them easily enough that I felt badly over it -- though Elyn was hurt more than any of the rest of us, and hurt badly enough that if she'd taken those same blows before she had her new amulet, I may well have had to tip a healing potion down her throat to get her back on her feet.

Cloudleaper was, I think, even more horrified than I was, and left the arena sobbing about how the other team were babies, which doesn't seem fair. I'm pretty sure elves think that anyone younger than them is a baby, and when one lives as long as elves do, that's pretty much everyone. I hissed at her that she was going to insult them if they heard her saying so, but managed to resist the urge to point out that if Cloudleaper thought the other teams were babies, then what must she think of me. Even Elyn, it turns out, who I've always thought of as close in age to me, is more like twice as old as I am. When she was asking one of the librarians about godsfalls the other day that the Wrath of Procyon might have come through before it crashed on Sestrilles, she asked specifically about ones that might have happened about fifty years ago, and it's a good thing I was standing a little behind her where she couldn't see me, because my jaw about hit the floor, and I didn't manage to pick it back up for a solid minute.

Our second challenge was the same day as the first, with a few hours between for us to all rest and catch our breath, and it was an obstacle course, with an added complication of a glowing sphere that each team was given, and could steal from one another, and any team that passed the finish line with two spheres was guaranteed a spot in the next round, or if several teams passed with one sphere each, then the fastest team would continue on.

The course was a challenge, filled with magical as well as mundane obstacles. We gave our sphere to Squirt, figuring that if someone got too near to stealing it from him, he could blink away and have a better chance of keeping it than any of the rest of us. And partway through the course I managed to hide from the team just behind us, and snatch their sphere away while they weren't paying attention, and then Elyn in her brilliance cast Greater Invisibility on me.

It was frustrating, a little, having to try to keep to the edges of the rooms we found ourselves in, instead of forging straight ahead like I'd normally want to do, so as to keep any of the other teams from running into me and realizing what we were doing. But it was certainly nothing like my horror from the task before, and it was a fun and challenging challenge, and somehow we managed to win it, though the other teams did give us a run for our money.

The second challenge marked the end of the first day, and so we all returned to our rooms or homes, and Elyn and I did what we could to reassure Cloudleaper, though she seemed to have enjoyed the obstacle course better than the fighting, at least. The next day brought with it the third challenge, another test of our skills instead of our fighting prowess, this time in the form of a maze that took excellent advantage of the microgravity environment. We had five minutes to find our way through it, and Elyn and Cloudleaper both deferred to me as far as navigating the maze went, which I was glad for. I focused on leading us through the maze before us, and let them deal with any of the other teams who might want to sabotage us, or any obstacles we might encounter in the maze (I'm told that there were a few, though I was so focused on finding our way that I took little notice of any of them), and I managed to get us through with nearly a minute left of the five allotted to us.

The exit was up a long overhead tunnel, and Elyn was sure that the walls were electrified, so she quickly grabbed one end of one of our ropes and instructed Cloudleaper to throw her up to it, which she did with quite a lot of glee. Squirt blinked up beside her, and Cloudleaper and I scrambled up the rope with relative ease, and made it out of the maze mere moments before the team behind us burst through.

The second round of the day, and second-to-last, was another fight, this time between the four teams remaining, with the final two progressing to the last round the following day. There was us, and a group of five named Thorn Lamp, who had two bards, a magic user of some sort we weren't sure of, and two warriors; a group of two named Mercurial Decay; and a group of four half-elves named Iron Fox Artifice.

We had a little longer to strategize before the round, though it still felt like half an instant. We decided to focus on Thorn Lamp first, being that they were the largest group, and likely the other teams would be an aid in helping to wear them down. Better, we figured, to find the three of us facing alone a group of two than a group of five.

It was maybe not the best plan, because wars of attrition against greater numbers, it turns out, take much longer than they would against smaller. It was a rogue fight, and honestly, I rather hated it, though not for the same reasons that I did our fight against Victorious Red. I started off by casting one of my newer spells, Conjure Barrage, while everyone was mostly clumped together and hadn't yet had the chance to scramble for the obstacles and barriers that would help to provide cover, but it did rather put a target on my back, which normally I'd be fine with -- better that people direct their attacks at me than at Elyn -- except that there was an illusionist on another team who cast some sort of magic on me, though I didn't know it in the moment. All I knew was that suddenly I looked up and the Queen of Air and Darkness was standing there in the middle of the combat field, staring at me and pointing at me, and Squirt was all the way on the other side of the room from me where I couldn't protect him and -- well, honestly, my first reaction was terror, and I scrambled over a barricade and ducked behind it, out of sight, and I'd have been quaking in my boots if I'd been standing on solid ground instead of floating in microgravity. But a moment later my thoughts turned to Squirt, and as terrified as I was, I came up over the barricade and shot at her, sent an arrow flying straight at the Queen of Air and Darkness, and I hit her, and... it seemed to do nothing. It didn't leave a mark, it wasn't lodged there where it had struck, it just vanished, and that was enough of a jolt to knock some of my wits back into me, and I realized that it must just be an illusion, it had to be, why would the Queen of Air and Darkness suddenly be here on Nellaser's Landing. And if she were, why would she come into the middle of a tournament to come after me, when she could just as easily wait until there were far fewer eyes upon us, and I didn't have my weapon in my hand and my friends at my back.

By the time I'd regained control of myself, there was hardly anyone I could even see out in front of me, everyone wisely taking cover out of direct line of sight. I pushed off of the wall I'd hidden behind to try to get to the other side of the room and see if I could find anyone, but I'd scarcely managed to do so when all of the sudden my vision went black and I couldn't see anything at all. Another spell from the illusionist, I learned later, and a highly effective one if their aim was stopping me. I heard the sound of Elyn casting Shatter and was just about to fire in the direction it had come from, in the hopes that I might get lucky and hit whoever she'd caught in her spell, but before I could loose the arrow someone was shouting their surrender, and it turned out one of the other teams had also been eliminated, and so the round was done, and I felt as though I had been mostly useless -- though my frustration was somewhat eased by one of the members of Thorn Lamp, who turned out to be a weretiger and who had been tangled up with Squirt for most of the fight, and who, as soon as he'd called out their surrender and the fighting was done, immediately starting lavishing Squirt with all sorts of effusive praise about what a good boy he was and what a good job he'd done, which obviously cheered me up and made me like him very much.

And so we had until the next morning to rest again before our final fight, this time between just us and Mercurial Decay, who had been the other team left standing. We went out for drinks with some of the others -- Elyn keeps promising them to everyone we fight, and she seemed confident in her ability to use Lesser Restoration to get rid of any hangovers we might be suffering in the morning.

For the last round, we had a whole minute to strategize, and then a few seconds in the arena to position ourselves before the fighting began. We decided that Cloudleaper and I would try to focus our attentions on the mage, while Elyn tried to keep the drow occupied with Irresistible Dance.

It wasn't anywhere near as frustrating a fight as the battle royale had been, though they certainly gave us a run for their money. The mage is a conjuration specialist, and used it to great effect, and between that and the ample hiding places that the arena itself provided, the hard part wasn't the fighting so much as it was getting and keeping them in our sights.

I should have strategized for that better, I suppose. It took me about half the fight to realize how the barriers of the arena were getting in our way. There's so much more to think about and keep track of in microgravity than there is ordinarily, not just the possibility of hiding behind things, but of hiding above or below them as well. But I caught on eventually, and figured that if Elyn and Squirt kept their focus on the middle of the arena, Cloudleaper and I could each take the low and high ground, and between all our vantages Mercurial Decay would have far fewer places where they could hide. I shouted as much to Cloudleaper -- in Sylvan, figuring it'd be the least likely of the languages we have in common for someone else to know, but it turns out Rihaila speaks Sylvan and so understood what we were intending immediately -- telling her to go low, and I'll go high, and I pushed myself off of the nearest barrier, up to the top of the arena, where I could look down and see over most of the places that they might have been hiding behind or on top of.

Cloudleaper must've either misunderstood my suggestion, or liked punching too much to give it up in favor of her bow, because instead of going down to the bottom of the arena, she only just looked underneath the Darkness-shrouded platform in the arena's middle that she'd been trying to find and fight one of the others on. It might have turned out better if she'd heeded, or understood, my suggestion, because she ended up punching Rihaila unconscious twice, and she sobbed through it the entire time and seemed incredibly distressed, even once I'd taken down the drow with my arrow and we'd officially won the Commemoration of Grace, and Elyn had cast Mass Cure Wounds to heal all of us, including Mercurial Decay. Rihaila mostly seemed bewildered and confused to wake up with Cloudleaper clutching her and sobbing about having signed a waiver, and the drow, Ekaitz, seemed like he'd had a grand time even if they'd lost, but there was really no consoling Cloudleaper or reassuring her, from us or them, that they had known what they were getting into when they'd decided to join in, and that they'd enjoyed themselves and were incredibly proud of themselves for having gotten as far as they did. Cloudleaper just kept calling herself a bully with one breath, and then wailing about the waivers with the next, and ultimately we sent her off with one of Miyali Mosha's cats to cuddle with, and Elyn and Squirt and I accepted our award without her. Which, I suppose, solves the problem of the risk of Cloudleaper potentially being recognized by someone, somewhere, but not in a way I think any of us liked.

I don't really understand Cloudleaper's distress, I guess. Elyn seems to have loved it from start to finish, and to be glad to have had the opportunity for the adrenaline rush of a fight without the fear of anyone dying, and I enjoyed it well enough, and would have even more so if that battle royale hadn't been so frustrating and made me feel so useless. But I get the sense that Cloudleaper would've rather been back fighting the balhannoth, and-- no, I don't understand that at all. I felt useless then, too, but I also thought I was going to watch my friends die in front of me, horribly, and then follow suit myself soon after. It was terrible. I'd as soon never have to experience that again in my life. The Commemoration of Grace was fun, even when I was frustrated by the illusionist, or stunned and taken aback by having knocked Victorious Red's archer out with a single arrow. It was a nice change of pace, knowing that the worst we faced if we failed was the disappointment of having been eliminated.

Not for Cloudleaper, I guess. The more I get to know her, the less I understand her. I just wish I knew what I could do to reassure or comfort her. We made plans to have brunch with Mercurial Decay tomorrow, and perhaps they'll be able to do a better job of it than Elyn and I have.

And beyond that... I suppose are plans are rather out of our hands. There are a couple astronomers, one at the library and one at the university, who were recommended to Elyn but who she hasn't had the opportunity to speak with yet, and I think she may intend to see if she can arrange meetings with one or both of them. But beyond that, we're only keeping ourselves occupied until we hear from Archmage Zebari again about their spell. If last time was any indication, though, I suspect that once we do, things might move pretty quickly.

I'll keep you updated as best I can.

All my love,

Maliah

#in character #in character: letters #episode 80

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cupcakecoterie · 5 years

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Cupcake Coterie vs Prices Paid

@true0neutral - Hazel, half-elf cleric

@fauxfire76 - Darvin, human bard

@hyperewok1 - Remi, human paladin

@sfwarlock - Nai, elven warlock

@miaaoi as Froseth, dragonborn monk

Marion - Ava, human ranger

When we left off, the Cupcake Coterie were still recovering from their encounter with the spine blights (or, as we call them, Cactuar from Hell) in preparation for continuing their trip to various spots around the northern part of Alama-Ver’s wasteland to get, among other things, nasty poison and chunks of gelatinous cube. They had to take a short rest because the pain they went through with the poison on the spine blights’ spines was brutal. Eventually, they went on their way.

Due to a series of incredibly bad Perception checks (distracted by Darvin having a four-hour attack of Bunny), things went ... interestingly as the day progressed. They had travelled all day and set up camp when Ava stated that she was concerned that they hadn’t encountered anything else that day, and Flitty went out scouting all invisibly while they prepared dinner and such for the night. Flitty came back and mentioned having seen shattered crates, but hadn’t got too close. He agreed to go check things out a little further, still under the cover of invisibility.

Darvin and Nai took first watch, and were visited by His Majesty, one of Nai’s patrons (the one he’s currently doing the mission for). He indicated that they were at the spot from which they needed to head west to fetch the dagger His Majesty wants. Darvin was ... excessively freaked out. He can hardly be blamed, when he is faced with a being of immense power who was apparently literally wearing the night as a cloak.

Then came Ava and Remi’s turn on watch. Remi, rather unfortunately, did very badly on a Wisdom saving throw and got hit with Suggestion - that she should go after Flitty. It honestly made sense, given that the smashed crates that looked like they’d possibly been thrown off an airship would have got Remi a bit agitated, given that Alisaie left by airship around the same time they did, but the fact that she wouldn’t wait for Ava to wake the others ... not so much. Either way, Ava did wake the others (with some difficulty in Darvin’s case; Froseth had to take ... steps) and they chased off after Remi.

Remi found herself alone, lost in the desert, haunted by the dying screams of her squad as the black tainting ooze claimed them. She at least managed to shake off the Suggestion at that point, but ... again, lost in the desert - right up until a returning Flitty found her. There was a language barrier issue, but Flitty managed to convince Remi not to go anywhere, left a Dancing Light to comfort her for at least as long as Flitty stayed in range, and managed to rendezvous with the others, who’d followed Remi’s tracks (which were oddly obscured and blurred, as if they were hours old instead of minutes). They eventually got back together, though Remi was decidedly the worse for wear given that the dying-and-worse screams of her squad were joined by similar screams from her parents, and from Alisaie. Unfortunately, at around that point, something else went after them, locking Remi and Ava in the depths of their own minds. They heard the rattling of chains and a horrible voice claiming “I WILL RISE” before they were deposited in nightmares of the death-and-worse of her squad in Remi’s case and the razing of her home and death of her family in Ava’s. Remi shook it off first, thanks to Hazel casting Protection from Evil, but Ava was caught in it far longer. Eventually, they figured out that there was some kind of leakage between the prime material plane and the plane upon which the gods remained separate from their creations, letting the influence of a god they only knew as The Chained Oblivion in. They attributed this, correctly, to the activation of the ritual circle in the old temple to Tiamat, because of course Tiamat wants off the plane in which she’s trapped as well (you know, as something other than Blondie von EvilBitch).

While waiting for Ava to come back to herself, though, Flitty told them that the crates were from a downed ‘lifeboat’ from an airship. That brought Remi and the others over in a hurry, and they found out that a red dragon of indeterminate age had attacked the airship. They also found out that the airship might well have got away, because ‘some crazy blonde with a giant axe sprouted wings, told them to run, and then launched herself at the dragon axe-first’. They reasoned, quite rightly, that Alisaie had taken steps to at least give the airship a chance to run. Remi asked a few questions and discovered that at the absolute worst, the airship would have gone down five miles north of their current position. They had to head in that direction for their main mission anyway, so they marked the spot from which they had to head west with a flag and went back to sleep as best they could, determined to carry on north in the morning just to see if the airship had gone down and if anyone had survived.

The first thing they found when they started north, after a couple of hours of walking, was a massive splash of blood that Ava identified as dragon blood. A ways further north, they found a large chunk of wing, which Darvin stashed in one of the Bags of Holding because “dragon bits are worth money, I dunno”. And in the distance, they saw a lump of red that Froseth was the first to identify as the unmoving body of a red dragon. When they got there, they saw that the dragon was dead, as much because of impact with the ground as the nasty axe wounds in its wings and body.

Unfortunately, so was Alisaie, still pinned to its front paw by the large dragon talon piercing her chest.

Hazel, she of the Never Say Die (literally, all things considered), cast Spare the Dying and Revivify. Yes, OOC she knew that these spells should not have worked because Alisaie had been dead for too long. However, she still had to try. And because I as DM hate saying ‘no’ to players, I made an executive decision. Instead of just the cost of the diamonds and a skill challenge, I had Pelor demand a sacrifice from three of them. To show them what sorts of things might be acceptable, Flitty sacrificed the abilities he gained when he aged enough to turn blue, so that’s an entire spell he can no longer cast.

Nai, upon stating that he wore his hair long on one side as a token of mastery and that he didn’t really deserve to anyway because she’d shown him what true mastery was, cut his hair off on the long side. It was a giving up of part of his culture as much as anything else, and will have repercussions further on down the line.

And Remi ... Remi took out the letter Alisaie wrote to her, held it over Alisaie’s heart, held her amulet of Tritherion in her other hand and said that she had given her life to Tritherion until her task - to sort out the black tainting ooze - was complete, but she would give whatever was beyond that oath to give Alisaie her life back, because Alisaie didn’t deserve this. Basically, she pulled a Vax.

And I rolled a natural 20 on whether it’d succeed. True Love’s Crit strikes again, perhaps. Either way, we ended it with a very confused Alisaie getting healed up by an exhausted Hazel, and getting her armour fixed with Darvin’s Mending, while waiting for the various stories of WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED. And Remi is wearing a brand of some kind over her heart, that no one else knows about yet.

#cupcake coterie #full session #Write-up #Alama-Ver Wastes

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guesso-blog1 · 6 years

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(hits the hc tennis ball back into your court) accumulation of witch ford thoughts,,,

[a submission sent to me forever ago by @inktheblot that I have been selfishly holding onto; sue me]

Magic had always been a part of Ford’s life in one way or another, and he’s been confident enough in interacting with it in the past. He’s carried spells and curses with him on multiple occasions, and melds talk of magic with talk of science so commonly that it seems he considers them two sides of the same coin. Now, after everything he and his loved ones have been through, he seeks ways to harness the mysterious forces that permeate through his hometown for good and practical reasons. To heal, to protect, and to find peace - no longer to confuse, harm, or destroy.

His new study in Fiddleford’s manor begins to fill with tomes on ancient witchcraft, with herbs, potions, and crystals, and with many more abandoned mugs of coffee. He finds himself quickly connected to magical energy and power. After spending an afternoon at the lake and finding the fortune-teller’s ring that he tossed away so long ago wash up beside him, the stone shining blue once again, he starts to find that even the sort of lore that he dismissed in the past has plenty of layers of truth to it. He reconnects himself with his family and the world around him as his passion for learning and discovery returns.

Something that wormed itself into my doodles a while back and i can’t get rid of the thought, now: he fashions an amulet of a gold pendant in the form of the Zodiac wheel, worn on a chain over his heart to keep the energy of the bonds of his loved ones with him always. The center of the circle is, rather than Bill’s image, an upside-down black triangle silhouette, to signify victory over their demons.

His magical energy manifests in a sparking golden glow around his hands.

He keeps a grimoire that is, inside and out, visually similar to his old journals: the cover a sort of iridescent black-and-gold, marked with his opposite handprint (to signify a new direction in his life!) and the infinity symbol.

As teenagers, Dipper and Mabel continue to go off exploring on their own and/or with their friends to potentially more dangerous areas. Ford stops them at the door before one particularly ambitious mission (back to CSO?), and refuses to let them go before he can cast a protection spell on them. He assures them that it’s not out of a doubt in their own abilities or a lack of trust, but the thought of them getting hurt with him having had the chance to prevent it wrecks him inside. So they let him do his thing if only for his own peace of mind. It ends up being a good investment, and the energy of their grunkle’s love and protection is warm and reassuring.

He can ramble on for ages about the magical properties of any and all herbs and crystals and whatnot in the Gravity Falls woods like the giant dork nerd he is. If you happen to be on a hike with him, and you see an interesting plant and ask, “what’s this?”, beware — once you get him started he won’t ever shut up.

He incorporates into his regular meditation routine mantras for protection and the blessing of his home and loved ones.

He’s got healing spells and teas for everything. Fever? Drink this and get some rest, you’ll be good as new once you wake. Nightmares? Keep this charm under your pillow, or even better, let me stay with you and lull you to sleep myself. Paper cut? Oh nonono don’t bother with a bandaid I have a spell for that too, just give me a moment to fetch the book—!

Tickle attacks from across the room just by wiggling his fingers!

The one supposedly-simple thing he cannot master for the life of him is levitation. The best he’s managed is wiggling around a pen or a die on the other side of his desk.

Some see magic and science as opposites that cannot coexist. Ford disagrees. he believes magic is a science - and an art, and a faith, all at once.

He’ll flip if you call him a wizard. Hell no!! Wizards are overpowered and bearded and even more annoying than unicorns!! He is a studied, practiced witch, thank you.

He probably gets the angry mob after him at some point because he has no filter and no shame and if a certain farmer guy happened to ask, “are you some kinda witch?” he’d answer “yes, indeed!” with pride…

Maybe he runs into the palm reader/hand witch again at some point and she just gives him the biggest “I told you so”. He sheepishly admits that after realizing how right she was, reevaluating his values, and looking back on his past discoveries, he has chosen to become a witch himself. She thinks this is hilarious.

He’s gentle and deliberate in general, and he wants to be seen as benevolent, but if anyone hurts his family he has no qualms against coming after them with fire in his eyes and curses in his hands and terrifying them to their core.

Basically his craft allows him to feel the excitement of learning and discovery again, with the added bonus of protecting his family and feeling unity and peace with the world that is his home once more. Regained trust and confidence in his surroundings and in himself.

Fiddleford is kinda unsettled and creeped out by all of this at first, but once he sees how Ford’s eyes light up when he masters a spell and how truly meaningful it all is for him, he starts to warm up to the idea. Ford magically aids him with his sleep and memory and health and so on, in the gentlest, most loving way he can.

Ford then revisits his mindscape inception incantation and reworks it to operate on some energy other than the power of Bill’s presence. Fiddleford’s mindscape, while significantly healed since the Blind Eye days, still appears tattered, disorganized…even downright shredded in some places. But Ford has some ideas. He jumps into recounting many a tale from their past, while summoning an astral needle and thread in his hand. F catches on, and together they remake the torn-up space in Fiddleford’s mind into a beautiful patchwork quilt of memories.

Mabel has a natural talent for witchy things as well and becomes interested in being Ford’s apprentice (oh the irony), but it’s more like they’re teaching each other. think enchanted sweaters, the color and symbol of each reflecting the charm it bears…also lots of dreamcatchers and shiny things. Mabel, too, has no qualms about boasting, “yeah, it’s magic, my grunkle’s a witch!”

Ford and Dipper, then, have many more interesting ghost hunts and seances.

Stan, of course, makes bad jokes always. They go to the lake and Ford trips into the dirt; as he shakes himself off he can hear a cackle behind him of “haha, sand-witch!“

#witchy pines au #hcs #some good stuff tbh #I still really love this #hhhh #submission

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perfect-corroscience · 5 years

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Chapter 34: The Light of Devotion

“The seeds of that fate were sown here.”

Previously, a rebellion occurred. It was swiftly handled, but was a pyrrhic victory: Proto was damaged, the Oxsecians found selection was bias in favor of the royal family, despite (in some cases) their genes saying otherwise, and finally Oxsecia imploded. It was not a good day for anyone, really.

34-1 It had to live solely for its objective – as Proto had.

Whereas chapter 33 had Electric enemies, this chapter will have Ice enemies for most of it. This is a bad team to bring, for reasons that will become fairly clear.

Side note: this was done during a half-stamina event. It was originally 24 stamina, then a later update reduced it to 20.

Though despairing, the Oxsecian king could not simply stand by while his people destroyed each other in a civil war.

Animata was responsible for all of it. This tragedy started with her.

It wasn’t the king alone. Rancor towards Animata was swelling among the people. The only way to cleanse it was to strike at the root.

Options were few. They no longer even had a place to call home. He needed to take up the banner and lead the fight against her.

The king’s hand rested on Proto’s remains.

They needed a symbol. An unstoppable weapon that sought only bloodshed and destruction. It had to live solely for its objective – as Proto had.

36AIS was sound asleep. Gazing at her peaceful face on a nearby monitor, the king declared his intentions aloud.

“…We shall dispose of the unfit.”

The hand gripping Proto’s remains trembled almost imperceptibly.

That resolution went into effect almost immediately.

Those branded unnecessary to the cause of the Oxsecian people frantically sought escape. Shunned and stigmatized by the public, they howled their resentment, raged, and desperately fought back.

Ironically, they proved unfit in this, too. The royal forces crushed their resistance as easily as ants.

The king saw their pain. But it only convinced him that these weak links were his people’s biggest obstacle to destroying Animata.

Emotion often clouds judgement and vision, leading us off course.

The Oxsecian ship, meanwhile, reached its destination. The unfit would be exiled here.

Welp.

Four battles, with ice enemies. Both are pretty annoying; the Ice Golem’s Blizzard attack hits everyone, and the Snow Spook’s Icy Counter hits fairly hard.

As shown.

The wiki claims the last battle has four of these guys at level 75, but my image order says they’re apparently level 78. I guess it’s not that big a difference either way.

Still, they can hurt, especially if you get multiple attacks hitting your team. I came into this last floor with everyone alive.

By the end, the team’s been halved. Amazora’s only alive because she has Anti-Ice Shield as a skill. Pretty sure this would’ve been a wipe if I didn’t have Gatz or Rikken on the team and instead went with frailer units.

34-2 You’ve been assigned to take them to the execution grounds.

Now this is a team that’s more suited for much of this chapter. It helped that I’d managed to yolo roll Koko and Lewto a while back. (This is not the first time I’ve gotten some useful units in this game from that…)

If I hadn’t rolled them, hard to say how I’d manage in all honesty. I never worked on getting Bahamut or his recode until chapter 40 because I just never had Piz’fer a lot of Ice units prepped and able to reliably clear Bahamut Ultra until recently, but he’s a fantastic free unit and really good for this chapter.

If I were diligent at the time in gathering the materials, I could have recoded Lewto and Koko, which would also make things easier. Still, even just having those two helped. Currently, you could probably field a team that’s either all-Fire or a mix of Fire and Solar units, something like Bahamut^/Lewto^/flex/flex/flex/flex, and coast through much of this chapter.

They have execution grounds on the old hunting place… So what, does this entail leaving them to fend off wild animals? A nice place to sit and freeze to death?

Icebind is fun and familiar to anyone who has Leviathan^. It freezes anyone caught in the radius, preventing them from moving/acting, and works a lot like petrification in many JRPGs in that if they’re attacked (pincered, in this case), they shatter and die even if they would’ve normally survived the pincer.

The other, similar looking enemy is a Mini Frostshroom, which just has Glacier, Area (1).

Icebind can be cured with Panacea or blocked with a Dragon’s Badge/Amulet (Icebind Guard) or Dragon’s Talisman/Buckler (Icebind Ward), but those are CoT/F otomos. Easiest thing to do is just avoid being in range and pincer the mushroom horizontally.

34-3 “He needs someone who understands him.”

Another new stage, another new enemy. Are those little beady eyes? How cute!

Things sometimes got dicey for the team, but Sorman and Rikken are there to keep everyone’s health topped off.

34-4 A heavy thud shakes the area.

You can tell I covered this a long time ago since there’s no Solar/Lunar signs, stamina cost was 24, and co-op mode is still present. Anyway, I show this because there was a fatal error – namely, having units with odd levels for reasons you’ll see shortly.

You’d think, but even in real life, this is so rarely the case…

The boss of 34-4 is Layla. She’s not very nice and opens by confusing anyone who isn’t evenly leveled or lacks Confusion Guard/Ward (whether by skill or otomo equip) for nine turns. You really don’t want anyone confused, especially when the stage is packed full of enemies like this one.

Confused units do not take part in pincers, so that’s fun. I guess if you have to bring someone odd-leveled (tired of level grinding?), you could bring along someone with Clarity (Kana, R’zonzand, Palpa) or otherwise able to cure status effects.

I didn’t, so it’s just a real bad time for everyone.

Let’s try that again with better levels. Incidentally, for this stage, it plays The Shattered Land instead of the regular boss music.

It’s a vast improvement; I can actually get in some pincers and clear out the Ice mooks. Anything that helps kill them is another thing keeping the team from being overwhelmed.

Everyone can even get to work chipping Layla’s health down. From what I’ve seen, she’ll use Blizzard once she starts getting low on HP.

3 turns in, there’ll be a message that says, “Poised to strike back…” and Layla will start glowing. Avoid pincering her during this time; she has a hidden skill called Icy Retribution where she counters pincers with 8x physical and ice damage counterattacks. As a reference, the strongest attacks have a 3.5x multiplier – getting hit by this is generally a total party kill.

The game cheekily describes the skill with “Let sleeping dragons lie.” She can be hurt indirectly though; even if she’s hit by AoE skills, Magic Bombs, your own units’ counterattacks from pincering the mooks or vice-versa, she won’t retaliate against those.

If you don’t pincer her, you’ll get the message “Counterattack disrupted” and she’ll use Icefall instead.

The Treants aren’t as threatening, but they can do a lot of damage if they group up and gang up on a few of your units or move in ways where you can’t really make a good pincer or heal someone about to die.

Once the mooks are gone, it’s just a matter of slowly chipping her down, ideally with vertical pincers instead of this.

34-5 All the years Proto spent with the king were wiped clean.

Amongst those memories is a father's strangled cry of anguish at having to abandon his daughter.

It's a recording of the king's voice. An auxiliary battery was evidently running after Proto's main power supply shut down.

A scientist hits the delete command with a practiced movement.

“...Error?”

The command is rejected. Resistance from Proto, perhaps?

“Bah. We have enough data already. Just format it.”

And with that, all the years Proto spent with the king are wiped clean.

Meanwhile, your party is still embroiled in battle with the alien beasts, never dreaming that such a thing is happening aboard the ship.

Godspeed, Proto.

Another new face. These guys cast a spell that curses anyone in range so they die in three turns. Notably, they can drop a Demon’s Tear otomo, but do people even use Demon’s Chronicles to farm SB still…?

When killed, they lift the curse, though.

Everything else is just standard fare, though.

34-6 That’s no reason to give up on the lives of the people right in front of you.

The crystals from Crystal Road/Roundelay show up to be a gimmick for three-fourths of this stage’s floors. They don’t behave any differently, so chains aren’t blocked.

Here’s Rossi’s Hex in action.

And here’s the team just laughing off a Blizzard.

34-7 Turning around, you and the exiles begin the long trek back.

Word suggested “a close up of a logo” for this image’s alt text. Great.

“The Oxsecian ship’s explosion triggered a curious phenomenon,” says another familiar voice.

It’s Peprope.

“The place you’re located in is someone’s memory.”

“Memory…? What are you saying?”

“The details can wait. But the gateway between there and here will undoubtedly open very soon.”

How can anyone possibly know this?

Many have reportedly come into contact with some sort of memory in similar fashion. Some have already awakened.

“Memory, eh…”

“Perfect. Let’s see the king’s fate through to the end.”

And so you resolve to take on the Oxsecian king. Turning around, you and the exiles begin the long trek back.

So we’re ensuring the timeline is stable. Nifty. Anyway, there’re five battles, all against the icy mooks seen before.

34-8 You’ve declared open rebellion against the king.

By then, we’ve reached civilization (of a sort), so I can swap the team around again.

Now we are the rebels.

Face-to-face with the Oxsecians again. I kind of wish there was something on the pre-battle screen that’d indicate if there was a non-elemental or weaponless enemy.

34-9 “Turned traitor, have you?”

Memorable, I suppose, but not memorable to get a unique sprite or be a boss himself.

Word alt text says, “this is an image containing text.”

gee thanks

I can only imagine how annoying this might be if there were just a bunch of those wild mooks out there to snow on everyone. It’d be rather reminiscent of everything that happened in the first few chapters after crashing on Planet Beastbait, though.

Also, that recruitment was actually just a drop for a Pig’s Amulet. Why not, I guess.

Some of the party cut things close.

34-10 Its name is Prototype Zero.

This is the team I’ll be using. You’ll notice that except for Rikken, everyone is B or A rank. 34-10 can be beaten with a team like this, helped when everyone is pretty much at level 90, equipped with some good otomos (Pahrl, for instance, has the otomo that gives her Terabow).

Of course there’s the fact that I’m bringing two-thirds of the Holy Trinity to this fight. Bahl and S’naip will be the main heavy hitters, and Rikken can dish out a good amount of damage too while acting as my mover.

Pahrl and Korin were brought to help bolster their respective weapon users’ stats, and their Defense +30% skills are one of the many things I used to make sure Bahl and S’naip survive enemy attacks. Sorman is there for healing (taken over Kuscah since he has slightly better defense), has a Regen Cane (A rank otomo, casts Mega Regen, chain) and Rikken has Heal, All to help a little.

34-10 is just a single battle, much like 30-10. It’s essentially the final boss of part 1.5; so let’s pull up the ol’ boss tunes, but the live version for a change.

Music: The World’s Awakening/Day of Reckoning (Live vers.)

Prototype Zero starts the fight with a huge lock-on; ideally you move everyone out the blast radius.

The turn after locking on, he’ll cast Ultima Assault, a non-elemental magical attack. Speaking of magic, he’s more resistant to it; not only is his magical defense stat higher, but he also has Magic Deflector (though I’ve never seen it be used). However, this isn’t a case where a team of mages or to a lesser extent non-crappy spellblades can’t win.

As you can see, I instead opted to do a triple pincer to damage Zero, but more importantly, clear out one of the Oxsecian machines and get some buffs up on the team. I would not recommend doing this normally – but hey, let’s see: how bad can Ultima Assault be?

Ow shit yeah that’s pretty bad

Prototype Zero will cycle through his skills (Breath Attack and Synergy Wave), while also summoning these mooks.

They will, on the turn they’re summoned, use their respective seal ability and severely neuter the physical attack stat of the corresponding weapon-users. It’s not a bad idea to bring a varied team for this reason, or, probably better, a strong mage. Just pincer with anyone who hasn’t been debuffed and work on clearing them out.

When Prototype Zero starts glowing, he’s rearing up to use System Repair. This is the chance to double pincer and get some damage in; hitting hard enough will disrupt him and prevent the healing.

Eventually, he cycles back to telegraphing Ultima Assault.

This was a good chance to kill him.

I missed getting a screencap of him fading away, so I went back and entered the stage again, killing Zero in around ~5 or so turns.

The nifty thing is that you’ll generally (re: 75% chance) get either a Mantle or Deepwater Helix and Metal Minion^ (guaranteed) for clearing this boss.

Also worth noting: 34-10 has a hard mode! To quote the Terra Battle wiki:

Start stage 34.10 during 00:00–00:59 or 12:00–12:59 UTC to access Hard Mode. Compared to the normal 34.10 stage, Hard Mode enemies have 50 more levels, 3 times the HP, and 1.2 times the ATK, DEF, MATK, MDEF. Hard Mode will also give x2 EXP and x4.5 coins. The boss Prototype Zero is guaranteed to drop the Avengers companion after being defeated in Hard Mode.

Avengers is an S class otomo that gives the unit Counterattack. Useful if you want to cover another skill phase to SBing...?

“The loathsome Animata is threatening not only the lives of our kin but the existence of our entire race. We must weather this storm together, for we have only ourselves to rely on.

“Look around you at the fellow countrymen who stand at your side. You are all comrades and equals, chosen to fulfill a common destiny. Social standing, origin, age are all irrelevant. We have all lost too much, and we must all fight to ensure those sacrifices were not suffered in vain.

“We are a chosen elite, supreme specimens of our race, and we are tasked with a common cause:

We must hunt Animata down and annihilate her. We shall have retribution.”

Thus began the long war against Animata. The seeds of that fate were sown here.

A dazzling light blooms in the heavens. Then it is gone, along with the Oxsecian ship.

All those who were locked in combat around the Life Breeder stand stunned and breathless. Humans, lizardfolk, beastfolk, stonefolk, the Oxsecian children with identical faces, even the wild alien creatures – all stand transfixed, gazing up at the empty sky.

“It’s… beautiful.”

As glowing debris from the Oxsecian ship disperses, a warm glimmer illuminates the heavens. It is as bright and unfaltering as the devotion born of a lifelong friendship.

Finally, it’s worth noting that upon clearing this chapter, 54B2 and 36AIS are added to the Pact of Truth/Fate. 54B2 is a Z class sword unit and 36AIS is a SS class healer.

36AIS is unfortunately not that great of a healer compared to the SS class Amis or even Sorman and Kuscah. I really wish she’d been like Amimari/Amina/A’misandra in terms of skills, or that she’d gotten a recode that brought her skills in line with Amina/A’misandra’s recodes, since otherwise all she has going for her is having Heal All and pretty art.

54B2 is a bit better, but by this point he’s not as useful as he might have been upon his release. Sure you could use him, and he’s not the worst unit to have, but why not just use Bahl^ and/or Suoh^? Some might consider him a troll rainbow pull, and considering the rarity of Z class units and how gacha games operate, that’s kind of a concerning thought.

Well... to not end an update being a Debbie Downer like in the past, I’ll conclude this by saying that this brings part 1.5 to a close! Chapter 35 will mark part 2 - and afterwards I’ll have for the most part caught up to where I was when I took a hiatus.

Fun fact: the word doc for this chapter is 73 pages and roughly 2600 words. That’s kind of a personal record, actually. I don’t think anything is going to be topping that besides a 7SU lp update or some of the shit I’ve got planned to play.

#casually terra battling

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dungeons-and-dwegons · 7 years

Text

Of Ripe & Ruin Part II (Til Death Do Us Part)

Session 12 Recap:

The party successfully defeated the Teddy Scares and the Scare Bear and now were able to share some sweet loot. Leonne got the Dimension Shackles, Lilith got the Hat of Disguise, Fein obtained the Lantern of Revealing, Natlia obtained the Pearl of Power, Nim received the Trident of Fish Command, and Hachi received the Crown of the Feline. Leaving Prett with the Robe of Useful items but not before taking tons of shit from it. (example: windows, doors, dogs, rowboats, gems, gold, etc) 15 year old Ulan did not take any magic item, because he already has Caliburn. They were also able to locate the scrolls. They rested and left the ruins and it was morning. Albie was still siting near the stairs. They located Prett’s tent and shared their discoveries. Leonne decided to test out the mystery spell and a 100 eggplants appeared. They discussed the strange plants. Leonne was then formally accepted into the Book Club and after some book switching he got the Book of Chance. After that they discussed with Prett their concerns with the funeral being a target of another attack.

Interested in finding out how Xanth was killed they went to investigate the body. Inside a tent there the wizard lay decapitated and looking as if he had aged hundreds of years. They asked Danric about Xanth’s death and who killed him, but being unable to communicate they could only ask Yes or No questions. They learned that Draco killed Xanth, she had an army, and after a long time they discovered that Xanth smashed Danric’s amulet to protect his soul from being taken. Tyrus was upset by this news. Next the party worked on the most elaborate plan they have ever worked on. What to do about the funeral. After much debate they decided it was best to hold the funeral as normal but with some precautions. The entire party would set themselves up in the crowd to keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals. They would also use the House of Xanth spell to fix up and reorganize the ruined tower to aid the next part of the plan. Billy Goat, Leonne, and Tyrus would cast Dispel Evil on the entrance of the castle to prevent any villainous beings from entering. Ulan and Fein guarded the door. Leonne was up in a balcony keeping an eye out and sending messages to the party. Hachi, Natlia, and Lilith would be in the crowd. Nim in the trees. Mettaton patrolling behind the castle. The plan was set and ready to go in motion.

Leonne went over to Tyrus and attempted to grill him for answers about Draco and his connection to her. He learned that Tyrus would do anything for the original party, he knew Draco personally, Leonne could be just as bad as Draco, but Tyrus was not entirely willing to share this information. He did not enjoy Leonne pestering him and asked him to leave. The conversation lasted a good amount of time and was very heated.

It was the funeral. A large crowd of Monsters and Humans were gathered waiting for Prett to give a speech. Leonne scoped out a Frog person and wanted someone to investigate. Hachi obliged. Hachi met the strange creature known as Croaker. The young frog being? knew Xanth and wanted to learn magic from him but was turned down for being too nefarious. Natlia also found the Great Magicin Destiny and was enamored. They shared pleasantries and Natlia bought a couple health potions. Hachi also popped up and wanted to talk with Destiny. The Dragonborn found the two of them interesting and offered to let them join her Girl Gang to which they declined. Natlia found Knil in the crowd and they talked for a moment. Knil was awfully surprised that Natlia was alive and still so young but happy nonetheless. Prett began his speech and everyone gave a good listen. It was heartfelt I think, and Prett was too choked up to finish it. Someone else took the stand after him. Soon the party noticed some Roaches like the ones from the fighting ring under El Dotadota. Mettaton discovered a crystal located near the base of the castle, but wasn’t sure what it was beyond ice magic. The party took action.

Natlia used her Prestidigitation to send a message to the crowd to enter inside the castle for refreshments. Everyone assumed battle positions and soon noticed the Roachbeetles staying behind and begin their attack, grabbing attendees of the party and killing them. (Battlers: Fein, Hachi, Lilith, Natlia, Nim, Leonne, Ulan, Simone, Bonka, Tyrus VS Roachbeetles and Draco Soldiers)

(I will be missing tons of details from the fight and will only do the highlights to keep this simple, but the battle was way longer/more complicated/badass)

Natlia, Hachi, Lilith, Simone and Bonka were the first to the field of battle. Roachbeetles began swarming and pairing up. The two sides exchanged some blows before Nim, Ulan and Fein were able to enter the field. Followed by Leonne and Tyrus. Battle was fairly even but the party seemed to be on the winning side. Less than half of the Roachbeetles were taken out and all of Draco’s misc soldiers as well. There were a couple of casualties from funeral goers along the way. Highlights: Hachi got super damaged by the Roachbeetles but was healed before running back into the battle. Ulan missed a bunch. Lilith created an area of smoke obscuring the battlefield in a dangerous spot. Nim ripped a Roach in half. Suddenly an explosion occurred and various locations around the area were assaulted by ice crystals, including the castle. A Dimension Door appeared, more Roachbeetles and a Wolf/Satyr? appeared with bloodlust alongside a haughty witch (Faeonetta). Faeonetta casted a Fireball spell and knocked out Leonne, Hachi, and Ulan but Fein was able to avoid most of the blast using his shield to help protect Ulan. The tide of battle had changed entirely.

Faeonetta laughed and offered the party a chance to surrender. If they surrendered there would be 19 survivors out of hundreds of funeral attendees. Natlia wanted to keep her friends safe and was willing to accept the offer. But it was revealed that they wouldn’t get to choose who would saved. It would be entirely random. The party knew that surrender wasn’t an option and continued to fight back. Leonne saved his skin by ordering his healing golem to pour the teleporting alcohol into his mouth, thus removing himself from combat and into the underwater prison, with the help from the Wish Fish he was saved and had to run back to the battlefield. Lilith (out of arrows) decided that it was time to do something crazy and grabbed out her chicken and did what Zin advised her not to do. Expose it to water. Then putting the chicken on a stick and firing it at Faeonetta using her Book of Dexterity to guide her shot and landed a blow on the witch, “Cluck you.” The chicken had given her chicken pox and Faeonetta fell down screaming in pain, incapable of fighting. The party continued to fight the remaining Roachbeetles and were soon confronted by the Wolf man.

Wolf man and Tyrus knew one another and shared some aggressive dialogue. Wolf man attacked the Tree man with Blight knocking Tyrus out (nearly killing him) As the party continued to fight back, Destiny, Arogos, and Mettaton appeared to offer their aid. Destiny gave potions of healing to various party members bringing essentially everyone to full health. Arogos landed a hit on Wolf man and Mettaton attacked the Wolf with Blight (for irony’s sake). Once Tyrus was up and ready to go he grabbed the beast and shot branches down his throat to finish him off, before killing him asking, “Do you surrender?” “Fuck no.” And Wolf man got super fucked. Nim and Lilith were still combating with some Roachbeetles on the side, Nim taking out as many as she could. But Lilith’s wolf became the Roaches next target and was killed in combat. Everyone concentrated their efforts keeping Faeonetta downed, Bonka made a castle of chocolate to hold her in. The party was nearly victorious but then another wave of soldiers came. Along with their leader, Draco.

Draco called out to the defenders of the castle, saying they were evil and human sympathizers, a truly disgusting display. And she was disappointed that her generals had failed her. Fein attempted to attack Draco, but was instantly knocked out by one of her spells. Fein revived himself with Second Wind and was knocked down again. But he came back up again with Demon’s Endurance (?) and his ruby heart broke. Other members of the party were also taken down in one hit who tried to talk back. Destiny having met Draco before was done with her and throw a potion that exploded, killing all of Draco’s soldiers and causing Draco to disappear. Combat was over, the battle was won. Leonne was back with the help of Fast Boy and the party fought over whether or not to kill Faeonetta. Natlia wanted to Shocking Grasp the witch to death, Leonne casted Crown of Madness of Natlia to get her away to keep Faeonetta to question her. Fein attempted to kill the witch himself, Hachi jumped in the way to stop him. Fein pushed her out of the way and killed her. Ulan knocked Leonne out with the butt of the sword. A whole argument ensued and things got crazy and wild. Ulan demanded Leonne give him the Book of Chance and he did. Leonne handcuffed himself to Faeonetta and left. Shit got super real.

#recap

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