Nar whipped his head around, and found Kur staring down at them both.
“Kur! I… This…”
Kur gave him a half smile and patted his shoulder. “Relax. It’s fine. You’re doing something good.”
Nar nodded, his heart still beating furiously.
“I saw her getting up ...
2024-11-28 19:33:43 +0000 UTC View PostThe corridor they had walked in from, and which had initially served as their directional aid, was gone, lost even to his enhanced [Sight], when they woke up
Nar was sure it had been there when he’d gone to sleep, which meant that the way back had been shut. Even if they wanted to return,...
2024-11-28 19:31:49 +0000 UTC View PostTuk’s muffled laughter escaped through his fingers.
Rel, similarly, was having a hard time containing herself.
“My mom slapped me so hard, her hand was marked on my face for days!” she breathed, trying to keep her laughter from escaping. “A friend of mine couldn’t even sit p...
2024-11-27 06:57:41 +0000 UTC View Post“We’re going to walk straight forward from here,” Kur said.
He pointed at the final yellow arrow at their feet, and then raised his hand straight at the room ahead of them.
“Every time we stop, we’ll put down some clothes to mark the direction where we’re going. I kn...
2024-11-27 06:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostNar watched Cen take Mul into the Pressure, and turned back to Jul.
The rogue stood before him. She stared nervously at the floor and she fidgeted with her hands.
He repressed a sigh. Part of him wanted to just gloss over it, and pretend that nothing had happened. But that didn’t fe...
2024-11-26 00:52:28 +0000 UTC View PostNar came to slowly. Peacefully even.
His mind had none of the heaviness and graininess of the last few days, and as he lifted his hand to his face, he rejoiced in the simple lightness of the movement.
Everything felt alright.
Whole, even.
He pulled up his status as he sat ...
2024-11-26 00:51:30 +0000 UTC View PostSomeone shook him.
He heard his name.
He heard crying.
But it was so quiet. So comfortable there…
He wanted to stay. He wanted to stay forever.
When was the last time he had felt such… He didn’t even know the right word for it.
It felt like he was back in...
2024-11-25 14:09:54 +0000 UTC View PostHe was awake and alone when he heard the footsteps approaching him.
Kur appeared above his face, and sat next to him.
Nar didn’t even need to look at his face to know what it looked like. Grim and conflicted. Guilty.
“I’ll do it,” Nar said.
Kur frowned. “Uh? How...
2024-11-25 14:05:37 +0000 UTC View PostA conflict raged.
Bright and dark orange clashed.
They rose to heights of immensity and crashed onto each other with such force, that Nar’s very soul quaked and quivered from the reverberations.
The dark and the bright swirled and mixed, and made a thousand different shades an...
2024-11-24 10:48:31 +0000 UTC View PostNar woke to chaos.
The metallic battle cries of guardians competed with the shouts and [Aura] explosions from the Climbers.
Nar sat up and blearily looked around him.
“You’re awake!” Rel said.
Nar turned towards the sound of her voice, noting the stiffness on his nec...
2024-11-24 10:48:10 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m not setting myself on fire, Mul! Relax!” Cen yelled at her brother.
She tried to pry her hand from Mul’s, but the brawler held steadfast.
“I don’t want you to burn yourself!” he protested.
“I don’t want that either, but I need to feel it first!”
Na...
2024-11-24 10:47:55 +0000 UTC View PostKur nodded at Nar and Jul as they took a seat in the circle. The orange light tinted everything, and made the shadows in their faces appear deeper than they were. It gave them all a grim, grave look.
Nar noticed that Kur had chosen to sit with his back to the big open space behind them, rat...
2024-11-23 09:42:12 +0000 UTC View PostNar was jolted awake by a pinging sound.
Four more pings followed after it, and Nar’s drowsy mind slowly put their meaning together.
Jul found something, and she wants us to go to her.
After the escape, Kur had immediately set about establishing a list of simple signa...
2024-11-23 09:40:44 +0000 UTC View Post“You alright, man?” Tuk asked.
Nar lifted his eyes and saw Tuk approaching him. He held Cen in his arms, their caster still fast asleep.
A quick, and by now automatic and effortless glance at their party view, told him that the caster would stay under for about another nine minute...
2024-11-22 10:15:08 +0000 UTC View PostPart 3 - The Upper Levels
“... and that was it. We thought the worst was behind us. We should’ve known better…” - Anonymous delver human DPS, ex-Climber, The Lusty Quam, S894SDAF72L71Y, popular establishment amongst ex-Climbers, known for its many services and offerings. 2024-11-22 10:13:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Two days later, rested and healed, Kur asked out loud, for the party to be let out of the safe room.
An exit revealed itself, and Gad stepped cautiously outside.
The yellow arrows awaited them, ready to continue to guide them on their way up.
And on their way they went.
Th...
2024-11-21 15:07:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe day was spent in laughter and relaxation. In the small confines of the warm, softly lit room, everyone felt at ease. Safe.
The events of the past few days almost seemed far. In Nar’s memory, they had sort of taken a surreal, soft edge to them, as if he had truly just woken up from a n...
2024-11-21 15:05:34 +0000 UTC View PostNar sat down next to Jul, once things quieted down, and everyone had dispersed.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked her.
“I deserved that,” Jul said.
Nar chuckled. “Yeah, you did.”
Jul played with her hands and the silence stretched. Nar waited patiently. He wanted her t...
2024-11-20 14:16:18 +0000 UTC View PostHalf an hour later, Nar stepped out of the blaster.
His whole body stung, and his skin protested against his new set of clothes. He had blasted himself until his skin had taken on an angry red, and it had been worth it.
He stepped out of that blaster feeling like he had been born anew...
2024-11-20 14:14:55 +0000 UTC View PostNar came to in a dimly lit room.
He heard the others breathing, peacefully asleep around him.
A window popped up, and Nar read the message.
-[ You have entered a safe room.
You are safe!
Food will be provided. Ea...
2024-11-19 12:09:10 +0000 UTC View PostNar carried Viy away from the frenzy of wet sounds. They walked past Rel and Cen, who looked pale at the scene unfolding behind them.
“Cen!” Nar called.
“I-On it!” she stammered, and started charging another projectile.
Breathing through his teeth and nose to endure the ...
2024-11-19 12:07:15 +0000 UTC View Post“Come to me, Viy!” Wik shouted. “I know you want it too!”
Viy yelled in reply.
The two spears twirled and spun in dizzyingly fast arcs and sweeps, meeting each other in the middle of the corridor.
The cannibals behind Wik muttered and pointed, bows half drawn, weapons ou...
2024-11-18 14:21:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe little flap shifted and Gad poked her head outside.
“We’re ready,” she said.
“And Viy?” Kur asked.
“She’ll be okay,” Gad said. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Guess that’s the best we can do. Rel, we're in your hands now. Don’t make me regret th...
2024-11-18 14:19:52 +0000 UTC View Post“What are you doing here?” Nar hissed. “I told you to run!”
“I’m not running!” she shot back at him.
“My Crystal! Is that Jul?” Tuk asked, sitting up.
“Everyone be quiet!” Kur snapped at them.
Jul stealthy approached Nar’s cage and he heard her mess...
2024-11-17 09:50:34 +0000 UTC View Post“No…” Tuk said, in the silence that fell upon them. “No!”
“Yes… Yes! There. Is. No. Magic!” Wik roared. “There has never been! And there never will be! We didn’t start from the Lower Depths. We started exactly at the same level you guys did! We know what a pile is! We kn...
2024-11-17 09:47:54 +0000 UTC View PostConversations.
Hunger.
Madness.
Screams.
The splitting pain in his head brought him in and out of it. From senseless to delirium, and into senselessness again.
At some point, there was bright purple. Purple everywhere. Blinding and painful, and he shut his eyes again...
2024-11-17 09:46:10 +0000 UTC View PostSlowly, with his heart in his mouth, Nar guided Jul back towards the stairwell.
Damn. Why did we walk so far?
An injured, hurting Climber. The cannibals had tricked them good.
The seconds trickled by, and the stairs were still not in sight.
Jul pulled him back. 2024-11-16 10:07:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The temperature slowly dropped as they left the strange, sweltering corridor behind. And in the tight corridor they now found themselves in, Nar thought that the warmth was almost pleasant.
If he reached out with both arms, he could almost touch the walls on either side of him. The ceiling ...
2024-11-16 10:06:02 +0000 UTC View PostIt was painful to watch Jul stumbling forward.
After three sleepless nights, and three days of barely sleeping while Nar carried her, the scout was unsteady on her feet, as she supported the full capabilities of her senses.
Not a single sound of discomfort, or a protest, came out of h...
2024-11-15 11:39:35 +0000 UTC View PostHe swore he heard something. Something dragging across the floor. Or falling. Or a breath.
Was he imagining things?
“Nar,” Tas called. “Come on, don’t fall…”
“Shut up!”
The words sliced through the party as if he used his sword and not his mouth.
Tas ...
2024-11-15 11:38:16 +0000 UTC View Post