Board 8 > The Notes of Cain [CYOA/Forum Game]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yikes...
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6 d
7 b
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Im inclined to go with that as well but the first option is tough
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6 d
7 b
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D.
A.

Well I lasted longer than expected. I wonder if extra antennae would've saved me.
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D.
A.

Dun really *want* the card, but if no one else does, I'll use it.
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B
B
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C
B
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Man, we are just outclassed here. Well, when your backs are to the wall, you must turn and fight and all that.

D
B

D because we are not going to win a defensive battle. Punch tried that and immediately lost his comrade, and armor is useless. People focusing on their nearby allies is good and all, but we're just going to be picked off a bit at a time. Aiming to save the captured allies is suicide when we're surrounded by enemies that can kill us so quickly and from any angle, so an all out offensive is really the only plan with any chance of success IMO.

And save the potion, we can't risk using it and not getting someone who can help in return.
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IhatethisCPU posted...

Dun really *want* the card, but if no one else does, I'll use it.

with this, Goetic's fate has been sealed

Goetic will activate the card
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D
B
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6. Survival Plan
A. Protect Allies
(1) B. Defensive formation at wagon
(1) C. Try to save the ones who have been grabbed
(111111) D. Send attackers to kill bees quickly

7. Potion..
(11) A. Heal Jen
(111111) B. Save it

GOETIC HAS ACTIVATED THE OUTER SIDE CONTRACT
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There is no way we're wining a defensive battle, I agree. Those bees already have better defense than we do, an exoskeleton harder than Aaron's armor. Saving the ones that have been grabbed would just spread us out and get majority of us killed (which will probably happen anyways.) Going full offensive is really the best option here, they can already kill us pretty quickly so why not fight back with just as much ferocity. We might be able to to drive them back.

Also, saving the potion for this fight for whoever might need it is ideal, and could turn the tide in our favor. It's not even a guarantee Jen would survive.

D
B
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6. c
7. a
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In character...

6a
7a
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MariaTaylor posted...

also fair warning, more people are going to die here no matter what you choose.

feel free to be selfish and pick an option that you think will keep yourself alive, if that's how you wish to vote.

I kind of figured. In previous games Id become frustrated, wondering if we could do things better. I realize now youre gong for the same vibe those Walking Dead Telltale games did. Theres no one right answer and sometimes its just about choosing who lives and who dies, not about saving anyone.
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If we want to send people to fight thats fine. Its better to present a united front in voting imo. For 6.D.

However, for the potion Ill choose A however. I feel like its my fault that Kidd chose to protect Jamison and I instead of Jen. Shes more capable than most of us here anyway and I doubt the bees will race survivors. If the potion doesnt offer some kind of immediate healing half dead people wont be useful fast enough anyway and if it does we need her instincts.

Meanwhile if people really are going out perhaps I could fly and backtrack to where these bees are coming from and burn it out. Or at least distract them.
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TBH I think that whoever Kidd didn't protect was going to be in the state that Jen is in, if not worse.

Anyway,

6. D (Assuming Matsuda isn't one of the "strongest fighters"!)
7. B
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yeah Jen might be in bad shape but imagine what Jamison and/or Fah might look like if they didn't have Kidd to help them stall until Aaron got there
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6 D
7 A

Based on arguments presented.

Well, hoping Punch gives Owen those moth powers cause he's gonna die real quick. Of course, no guarantee that moth powers will even help against bees so we both might be dead anyway!
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D
B
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A
B

Frankly, I feel like Abom and Cata and I can probably survive best just looking after each other.
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C
B
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It seems the general approach has been more or less decided but may as well throw in my argument for em anyway

D
B

For approach it just seems going full out attack on these abominations is the best way to go

A- Group is too splintered and nobody is particularly generating aggro at large. Its basically small groups of unknown builds going up against at least one of these things at a time and hoping for the best

B- Primary thing I can see of this is everyone trying to move to one location but these things are really fast and this formation will probably play to them

C- Seems like its mostly going to deal with itself at this point (for better or worse) with Goetic using the card

D- With this the strongest guys go out and generate aggro on the bees. While smashing em up / tanking on their own this allows others to get more attacks of opportunity on em to help out since the bees will probably be more attracted to the strong guys going full battle mode on em and become preoccupied.

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As for potion, my view (well view for Jen possibly making it through that since B seems a lock at this point) is that her not getting the potion may actually be more beneficial to keeping her aggro low. As far as I can tell these things are more attracted to active people doing stuff or at least on their feet.

Jen is comatose and is probably not a high priority to them at this point so ironically her best bet may actually be to "play dead" (as close as you can get given her current situation) as it were.

Also since it seems D is going to be the approach this synergizes with that as well. Potion can be used on one of the big damage / tank boys to keep them strong and shouty so they can continue to smash those things up and cause more of a ruckus which (hopefully) in turn guides these things away from Sleeping Beauty
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Here is how the groups were split up, based upon the choices given. Attackers were decided based on their Kill Count and specific factors. Goetic is captured so he cannot be an attacker, Jen is unconscious, etc. Zephyr had a large number of Assists but it was already decided that he knew his weapon wouldn't work on these, and I'd say the same is probably true of Kidd as well.

Both the Near Wagon and Away Wagon groups are left with few strong fighters, and relatively exposed in this state. It's just a matter of hoping the bees choose not to go after them.

Attackers
Lancer Aaron (3 Kills) - FB
Captain Punch (4 Kills) - xey
Ignael Gades (2 Kills, 1 Disarm) - jeffraze
Dismas the Guilty (2 Kills) - eddv
Chained Prisoner (1 Kill, 1 Assist) - decider

Captured
Goetic (1 Kill) - lefty
Maria Taylor - nfun
Seth, Golden Agent (1 Kill, 1 Assist) - reg

Near Wagon
Torin Gemmason - Mana
Cata Spade (1 Assist) - cata
Matsuda, Gambler (1 Assist) - trdl
Beastkin Zephyr (2 Assists) - ermine

Away Wagon
Leone the Cat (1 Assist) - cpu
Jen Lowell (1 Kill, 1 Assist) - pk2k <badly injured>
Owen the Coward- stan
Gunslinger Kidd (2 Assists, 1 Disarm) - drak
Jamison, Investigator (1 Assist) - maniac
Fakeru, Lucky Girl - fake

Graveyard
Tristan - Punch couldn't save him.
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Eddv posted...

A
B

Frankly, I feel like Abom and Cata and I can probably survive best just looking after each other.

In the short term you may be right, but if youre the only survivors or something its gong to be hard to finish this adventure.

Also as odd as it sounds for a guy with a nickname based off abomination who was also a prisoner, he doesnt seem like the kind of guy who could stand by while others die. Having one of your allies fight distracted is almost worse than not having them fight.
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if I update tonight, it's probably gonna be in the middle of the night. just so you guys know!
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In general, I think that we would have been better off sticking with established groups that had chemistry together.

But this might work....unless it doesn't.

Away wagon looks pretty vulnerable.
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I did actually get up in the middle of the night and had trouble sleeping, but in this case I just ended up playing etrian odyssey 5 all night anyways. expect an update at the normal-ish time of "later today"!
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Entry 7: A Calm Storm

Shrieking sounds shuddered from each direction in unison as the attacking creatures all began to push their wing speed to the maximum. That high-pitched flittering sound resonated from above each of the isolated groups who had come back to the wagon to meet. Several of the bees had been killed already, but this did not deter the remaining ones. It only seemed to enrage them.

Maria, watching from above, in the clutches of one of those monsters, recalled something she had learned at Raniel Academy... it was about the nature of animals, of insects, and specifically about bees and similar types. They released some kind of chemical upon death which could be detected by other members of their species, and that signal told them where to attack.

Ignael, who was just about to faint, stumbled backward. He caught himself on his back foot but he could barely stand. And who the hell was going to defend him in this state? Torin was terrified and slowly backing into the wagon as one of the bees was crawling across the inside of the roof toward him. Everyone else had already been split up.

And Igni... he was drenched in those pheromones from the two he had just burned up. It had taken a second to affect him, because the fire had swallowed up the first wave of that damning scent, but soon the clouds of particles began to condense in the air all around him. Not visible to the human eye, and yet a death sentence all the same.

The insect inside of the wagon turned away from Torin. It was drawn in that direction. So much that it was willing to leave Torin there and go toward the scent trail of the one who had killed its allies. Its friends. Its brothers. They had been born and raised in the same brood together, and it felt a completely natural urge to avenge those two deaths.

As one of the insects bounced across the ground and came skittering at him in a fury, Ignael knew that he was in serious danger. It would put even more strain on his body but he'd be forced to use the Eternal Torch or he was going to die here. Hell, he'd probably die anyway. At that time he was thinking he should do as much as possible. Though, in the end, he couldn't really say for sure why he had done that.

The world around him was raging like the fierce winds on the western coast, a place far from here, where he'd been born and abandoned just as quickly. That strange sense of familiarity brought him peace in those moments. Was he the type of person that would seriously give up his life for people like these, the ones around him now, who he secretly despised? No... that wasn't it, but...

As the monster came charging at him, and he heard another buzzing side from his right, he knew he was going to die anyway.

Ignael held the torch in front of him and shot a wave of flame at the insect that was flying straight into him. He had no time to check and make sure it had been burned up completely. The flame felt weaker before, but all he could do was press his attack and try to guard his other flank. He swept the Eternal Torch to his right side, creating a cone of fire that covered his front and his side as the enemies rushed him from both angles.

A burning blackened corpse hit the ground near his feet, legs twitching, struggling with its last breaths of life. The other spiraled through the air over him. Its wing was on fire and it had taken severe damage to its face but seemed to mostly still be alive... even as it haphazardly flew into the side of the wagon with a CRACK and bounced away into the air.

Then, in that moment of triumph, a stinger shot through his body from behind.

The one that had been going after Torin, back behind him on the wagon, had turned its attention his way as well. Ignael was completely skewered from the back. The enemy tried to rip its sharp barb free but the item was stuck inside of him.
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He was still alive. He felt the pain of the blade trying to be wriggled free as it scraped against the inside of his chest cavity and made a mess of his organs. Ignael's body was roughly shoved face first into the ground and he went into shock with his eyes still open. He wasn't feeling pain anymore, at least, or anything else, as his face was repeatedly slammed into the street.

Finally the enemy managed to wring its stinger free, ripping out its own guts in the process. It crawled a few feet away from his corpse and then died. Whether he wanted to or not, whether that was his intention, Ignael had definitely sacrificed himself to deal a huge blow to the enemy; having taken down four of the creatures already and wounded one other.

With the one that the Abomination had killed, that meant there were five dead and six more still alive. Some of those were being drawn toward Abom and Dismas at that time, but that didn't seem to deter them at all.

"Check the wagon, make sure that bossy idiot is safe," Dismas said to Cata. Then he ran off leading Abom forward. If he was forced to do it then he was going to do it with all of his might. The heavy crossbow was in his hands already. With companions like this, who couldn't simply wait in the shadows, Dismas was forced to join them on the front lines.

Cata Spade, at that moment, was honestly terrified for his life. The sickening power of those insect creatures was enough to even shake him to his core and almost paralyze him with fear. The truth is that, in that moment, he felt like his normal self would have said something like "I'm coming with you, Dis. I need to watch your back." But, that was impossible for him to do. He was too afraid to run out there and attack the enemy head on.

Earlier, however, they had already gotten into one fight about him needing to follow orders despite his noble birth. And, using that as an excuse, he was able to perform the mental gymnastics needed to reconcile with his behavior. It was easy to look at it from that perspective and simply follow Dismas' commands, as they were given, and return to the wagon.

When he got there, he grabbed Torin by the arm and dragged him forward.

"It's turning into a hellscape out there," Cata said. "You can't let them go alone." He pointed his blade at the backs of Dismas and Abom. Because of the pheromone effect, the huge chained man was already drawing the attention of several of the creatures.

Torin, who had just watched Ignael get skewered in front of him, and the gory scene that followed, felt quite demoralized. However, at the same time, he knew that he needed to be a leader here. He grabbed the top of the wagon and used that to steady himself. Then, standing up on the back of it, he made his call; "If you can fight then I need you to charge!" Torin shouted out to those gathered around him. "They're swarming on the big guy, so let's drive these things off!"

However, aside from Ignael, who was dead, and the two who had already gone forward, there were few who felt qualified to answer this call. It meant the sparingly protected groups were going to be abandoned by the only ones capable of protecting them. Still, for Aaron, all he could do was answer the call he had been given.

He was thinking, in that moment, if he could draw the attention of the enemy to himself then he could help keep the others safe in that way. It was the same way he had always fought.

Aaron charged forward with his lance raised, knowing it'd be hard for him to strike the enemy at all, and went off in a burst of power and speed in the direction of the clinking chains. That sound would be his guiding standard for this battle.
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Even as Aaron departed, Leone arrived at the same scene. The cat-hooded thief collapsed at the side of Jen and grabbed her hand. "Where did that-.... Little Shit?!" Leone looked left and right quickly, trying to spot Dismas. Even the words made no sense. It was impossible to form a coherent sentence in this emotional state. However, since Dismas had rushed off into battle, he had a convenient excuse not to be around at that moment. "He escaped with that potion!"

Jen's eyes flittered slightly. Someone was holding her hand now. And it felt warm.

As they opened, ever so briefly, she expected to see Leone over her. Then she saw the cold carapace of an insect which had stuck its face right in her face. Its mouth was CLACKing excitedly as it wrapped its arms around her body. Sensing that the wounded prey would be an easy catch, the monster had snatched her quickly while dispatching the one kneeling over her.

Leone was curled up on the ground near by, flailing, with a missing hand, and screaming in pain. The creature had come down and ripped the hand off with one shot, and knocked the guardian away. Then it had grabbed Jen and began to run in that instant.

The only thing that stopped it from escaping immediately was... actually... it was Fakeru. Her shoes lit up with a strange glow as she leaped into the air. With that kind of jumping height she was able to clear the bee, even as it was flying above Jen, and land on its back. Not quite the same as being grabbed, she was weighing it down while pinning it from above. And, not having a weapon, she had no choice but to clench her hands together and hammer it from above with blows. "Hah! Hah! Take this! Let her... go!" Fah shouted in a strange sort of battle chant.

"Get down from-" Jamison stopped himself from expressing his concern and instead grabbed a weapon from nearby. It was too late. Fah was already up there. It would be more safe if she simply made use of that position to attack. It was a one handed club meant to bash opponents. Although it had been chosen sheerly out of luck, due to being the nearest item available, Jamison thought it would probably help against a heavily armored insect. "Here, take this!"

He tried to toss the item to Fakeru, but... as she turned and tried to catch it, she failed that pretty hard. The item bounced out of her hands. Then she shifted her weight, trying to stop it from escaping her grasp. The creature bucked at the same time.

Fah and the weapon both went sprawling onto the ground nearby.

This distraction had bought Kidd enough time to get into position and charge the enemy. He had been thinking this before, but seeing even someone like Fah able to fight it confirmed his suspicion. These enemies might be fast. That was definitely true. It didn't meant anything, though, if you could grab them and stop them from flying around.

So, even as Fah fell away, Kidd came out of the blind spot of the enemy and grabbed at it with both of his hands. His injured fingers were curled back in pain and they couldn't contribute to his grip strength. Instead, with that arm, his best strategy was to simply bend his arm in the direction of the enemy and use his elbow as a pressure point. At the same time his good arm and good hand were used to get a solid grip on the bee and hold onto it.

It turned its body in the air, freeing its legs, dropping Jen to the ground roughly. It was grabbing back at Kidd. Since the gunslinger, and noted brawler, was not on top of him, the bug had an easier time fighting back. The two of them stumbled a few yards across the street and then Kidd eventually reached his goal. Forcing the enemy back through the air was a bit awkward but he managed to knock its back against the wagon.
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Then using his own exhaustion as a catalyst, and gravity as an aide, he slid down to his knees. At the same time he brought the enemy down with him and pinned it beneath the bottom of the wagon and the ground. The enemy spun, slashing at his torso with its stinger, and ripping a deep scar into his chest. Kidd was forced back and was doing everything he could to hold on even as the enemy scratched at him with its brittle legs and its wings rapidly smacked at his face and shoulders.

He ended up in an awkward position, holding his upper body away from the enemy to avoid getting skewered, with one boot pressed against the insect and holding it down with his good arm... all the while it was slashing at his exposed arm and leg. "I ... can't-...." Kidd was feeling his grip begin to loosen. And he knew as soon as he let it go, that bug was going to cut him in half.

"Hold it still!" Owen the Coward shouted, arriving on the scene from somewhere behind.

Kidd looked that way and saw the blood-soaked Captain Punch charging at him. Owen the Coward was at his side, brandishing the axe he had been given.

Punch had gone into a berserk rage after Tristan died, and brought down the insect that killed the kid with surprising ease. But, considering the type of battle they were fighting, it actually made perfect sense. Just as the insects were tracking the pheromones of their downed companions, Punch had begun to do the same.

As soon as that first bug had killed Tristan, it had marked itself as a target. Punch might have been too slow to fight it normally but he was able to track its scent with his moth-like abilities and this allowed him to capture it on the second pass and then bludgeon it to death. This is why he was covered in blood now.

But it was also why a scent trail had led the next attacker directly to him.

The bee slammed into Punch from the side, breaking his arm and two of his ribs, and then pushed him through the side of the wagon. Since this happened near the back, and Kidd was closer to the front, it meant that Punch wasn't able to reach Kidd in time to help. However, at the same time, that bee which had originally been trying to help the ally trapped by Kidd, was instead drawn to Punch due to the pheromones.

Intentionally or not, Punch had actually drawn the aggravation of the enemy and redirected its attack away from Gunslinger Kidd.

Punch scrambled on the inside of the wagon, slinging fierce blows back at the enemy with his good arm even as it used its insect-like strength and speed to batter him across the inside of the vehicle. It seemed unlucky that its stinger had gotten caught in his leg, but at the same time that was actually quite useful. It meant the enemy couldn't use that stinger to impale his heart, lungs, or brain to kill him instantly.

Owen was wordlessly given a command of keep charging and leave Punch behind, and so he did as he told. He felt something inside of his own head twitching and leading him forward. And normally he'd be terrified to act in a situation like this, but... at the same time, he was actually feeling like a strange sort of courage had been granted to him.

Even as Kidd was struggling to hold his composure, Owen appeared at his side and swung the axe down. One hit was enough to bludgeon the face of the enemy, cracking its shell and revealing some of the pulp beneath.

"Again!" Kidd shouted, just for good measure. He turned his face away from the second wave of gore that exploded as Owen swung the weapon down and smashed the head of the enemy completely. The two of them moved into position to try and pull the remaining enemy off of Punch and rescue the Captain.
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On the other side of the wagon, Matsuda and Zephyr had begun to move toward the front. They were thinking about that call to attack, and if there was a way that they could try and save Seth or at least aide in the fight. However, they were stopped as Zeph's senses were tingling.

"Something is coming," the ermine warned his companion. He sprung upward, bouncing off the side of the wagon. He heard it vibrating on the inside as Punch was slammed into the wagon as that exact moment, but he didn't hesitate as he sprung into the air and grabbed the top of the wagon.

Then, flipping onto it, he directed his senses above and to the area around them. Matsuda had grown silent, put his back to the wagon, and raised the shotgun. He was waiting for Zephyr. If he hesitated, if he was too slow again, it would be him that got dragged away this time instead of Seth.

A part of him felt awful that his own failure to act had caused Seth to get grabbed. And now, if he was able to do it to save his own life, that would just show how much of a failure that first loss had been. At the same time he certainly wasn't about to intentionally die just to feel better about Seth getting grabbed. Matsuda definitely didn't have that kind of outlook on life.

"I can't... too many scents...!" Zephyr cried out. "Here it comes!"

Zephyr felt like, in that moment, he had failed Matsuda as well. On the chaos of the battlefield it was difficult to track a single fast moving opponent and know exactly where it was coming from, especially fast enough to relay that information to the one holding the only weapon that could damage it.

However, for Matsuda, this was fine. His back was to the wagon, that meant that way was safe. With three possible routes of approach, based on the coverage of the shotgun's firing radius, that meant he had about a 33% chance of guessing correctly.

Back in Hendrake he had been a noted attendant of some of the Thieves Guild gambling parlors. Though he had never fallen in fully with that crowd he was at least well liked enough that he was pretty sure they weren't actively cheating him, and he was good enough at playing the odds that he usually walked away ahead. Maybe he'd lose one day, but by the end of the week he'd have a net positive winrate.

That was the combination of skill and chance. It was all Matsuda could rely on right now.

He knew that he had the correct tool for the job, he knew that he wouldn't hesitate to fire this time. All he could do now was play to his outs and hope that luck favored him. As the whizzing sound of the bee closing in on him reached his ears he knew it would be too slow to rely on his eyes to react. By the time he saw it appear in his view it would already be skewering him.

He ripped the trigger while aiming the gun in the direction that he felt was correct, having already pointed the weapon that way. And as warm blood splattered all over his body, Matsuda collapsed... filled with relief that it wasn't his own blood. His legs were shaking and he couldn't stand anymore.

Participating in the fight was going to be impossible in this state. And yet, though he had never been fully sentimental, he was almost weeping over the fact that he was still alive. The broken bits of the enemy corpse, which had been rocked to pieces by the shotgun blast, was scattered all around him. That kind of gambling high, with his life on the line, was nothing like the same as winning over something as petty as money. He raised his hand in front of his face, unable to make it grow still.

"I seriously could have died there..." Matsuda said, looking at his shaking hand.

At this stage in the fight Ignael had killed four insects, Owen had killed one, Punch had killed two, Abom had killed one, and Matsuda had killed one. The only two remaining were the ones that had grabbed Maria and the one that had grabbed Seth.
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Although it had seemed like Dismas and the chained man and Aaron hadn't done much, the truth was that they had beaten back those insects while they weren't fighting the other groups, and forced them to attack in waves instead of swarming the other party members all at once while they were left unprotected.

The fact that Aaron's armor had been ripped apart in several places and his own blood was running down his body, and his lance had been snapped in half, was a testament to that. Regardless of what Dismas had wanted, those three definitely hadn't been hiding. It just happened that when they chased the insects off, those same bees rounded back and attacked the other groups one at a time.

As for the two remaining, one of them smashed Seth into the corner of a rooftop and splattered his brains into pieces. Dismas watched on with a stoic expression, not sure what to feel. He couldn't say he had particularly liked the guy. Yet, at the same time, he probably hadn't wanted him to die. But not one person had gone out of their way to save Seth. He had fought the best that he could... but... prying himself free of the clutches of that monster was impossible.

After dropping Seth's corpse it sped off after the other monster which was wrestling with Maria and Goetic in the air.

Goetic was doing everything that he could to maintain his hold on Maria. Not just for her sake, but for his own now as well. In this position if he let go he'd fall to the ground and likely die or be seriously injured. With his rifle slung over his back he was going to have a hard time fighting. Then, with the insect rubbings it back leg across his face, trying to push him down, an idea came to his mind.

"The book," Goetic said to her. He knew that Maria was still calm, and that she was listening in this situation. She might have been coming up with her own plan in that moment. "Grab the book from my satchel. I'll use the card!"

Maria moved as much as she could, turning her body and reaching down as far as her arm would allow in this position. It hurt to strain herself while also being carried through the air by a monster that was trying to crush her, but she managed to get her hand into the satchel and rip the book free.

With her other hand occupied, stopping the leg of the insect from tearing into her side, she elbowed the enemy roughly. All she could do was hold the book in the direction of Goetic and hope he could pull the card out for himself. "Here," she replied.

Goetic knew he'd only have one chance to do this. He could see the card, which had been used as a bookmark, sliding out of the top end of the book which was facing him. The writing wasn't something he could read but he had been told it was some kind of contract. And based on what they had learned about Avel de Contelard and his mania, Goetic had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

But in a situation like this it was his only hope.

"I can't sign it," Goetic said to the card, or whatever Devil was listening, "and I have no ink." He placed his hand on his cheek, which had been sliced open by the back leg of the bee. "I hope my fingerprint will suffice."

Even as he had moved his hand, his grip loosened enough that he already started to come free. His blood-covered hand shot forward and grabbed the bottom of the book, pulling the card free. And his fingerprint was slammed into the empty space on the contract; making his imprint in blood in that moment.

Goetic wasn't exactly sure what he thought would happen.

One moment he was looking down at the ground, feeling like he was about to fall, and the next moment he seemed to be looking up at the stars. Somehow night had fallen in that instant and the stars had risen all around him. Then, as he flew toward them, he felt himself about to vomit.
---

His center of mass seemed to distort and he found himself plunging back toward the ground again. No... the ocean? Or something else. The water was black and endless. And he splashed into it face first.

Maria could only watch in awe as some kind of vortex of darkness and light swirled together, swallowing up the enemy which had grabbed them both. Then, in that instant, she realized she was falling. That gravity well was sucking up the remaining enemy, and grinding the last bee to dust as it tried to fly and snatch her out of the air.

But... Maria almost wished she -HAD- been grabbed.

Instead she hit her head against the rooftop before sliding down the side of it. Probably better than a free fall all the way to the ground, but not much better. Unable to steady her weight she rolled off the side of the roof and went tumbling to the ground below.

This was the kind of dramatic moment where someone would be waiting to catch-

CRUNCH

Maria's arm and leg both sprained, possibly broke as she hit the stone ground below.

She lay there on the back with stars in her eyes... literally... As blood continued to seep out through her nose. She could barely keep her right eye open as it stung fiercely from the impact against the roof. Concussion? Was she imagining things? Or was that swirling miasma of blackness actually real?

All Maria could do was wonder where it had taken Goetic.

Meanwhile, Goetic himself had been pulled through the portal. Along with the insects. He couldn't see anything but he could hear them buzzing in the darkness. He felt the wetness of his blood on his own fingers, and the pain from the scar on his cheek. So he knew he was probably still alive.

Then he 'felt' something large stirring ahead of him.

With an almost casual motion, two giant weights came down from above and smashed the bugs on either side of him. They were obliterated like, well, like the bugs that they were. They stopped twitching. Goetic stared ahead at the darkness, trying to make sense of it... trying to understand the shape of what was in front of him.

But maybe it was impossible to understand.

It was entirely possibly that darkness in front of him was exactly the entire picture. Something was there, but it was all around him. The 'place' where he had been brought was actually the 'thing' that he sensed. He was inside of it. As much as his curiosity burned, Goetic started to feel there was so much more going on here than he could ever understand. It almost felt overwhelming. Even for him.

"Yes. Your blood will do nicely," the voice responded.

Goetic's Contract had been accepted.

[End.]

Going to set up placement for the new groups rather than having a choice for this chapter. I'll make a full status update and everything as well. Dismas is also going to have the choice of giving the elixir to Jen, Punch, or Maria now. All three of them come with their own benefits. Rather than an official choice this will be up to ed's discretion, but you guys can obviously try to give him some ideas of what he should do.

Anyway... placement instructions will be coming up later tonight. Don't be afraid to post some remarks on the chapter and the story before then!
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Hmm will Dismas choose to Save Jen despite past choices making it clear he dont gaf about her?

Or Maria? Despite his dislike of leader figures, she wasnt TECHNICALLY a leader.

Or Punch. Punch is a good Puncher.

Much to consider.
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rip MVP Ignael
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Well now I'm wondering how deep the connection between Punch and Owen is and what would happen if Punch dies. Moth powers are plus too. Hmm.

Not giving the potion to Jen would probably make Leone even more pissed off and who knows how that'll end up going.

And Maria was able to remain quite calm during that whole sequence so giving her the potion wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Don't necessarily think there's a wrong choice here. I don't think anyone's life is really in danger from their injuries but it'll just be about how effective they'll be able to be in the future.

Also Owen has a kill. This is a great day for Cowards.

Ignael died, but I still think this was the best choice by a fairly wide margin. That actually went astonishingly well.

In the end, Ignael was much more of a team player than expected, if inadvertently. May his soul find the flames it seeks.
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MysteriousStan posted...

Well now I'm wondering how deep the connection between Punch and Owen is and what would happen if Punch dies. Moth powers are plus too.

heh yeah I hinted at this in the last chapter (with all three of them weirdly looking in the same direction as Punch sensed something), but I basically soft confirmed it in this one; Punch definitely shared his parasite with the others. this is how I reconciled the tie.

he "didn't" give the power to them from the perspective of the other characters, because right now it's a secret

but he "did" actually give it to them in reality, so it basically covers both the share and don't share options as one.

anyway the point now is that Owen is weaker than Punch, but if Punch dies the party -does- have a backup Psychic which is probably a good thing.
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Dang... RIP Ignael

I wish I could be more useful! Guess this really isnt my fight D:
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Still more useful than I am, to be fair. ^_^
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This will be the last time I list kill counts. Before, I was only doing it in preparation for this chapter since it could potentially influence which teams would be formed. Now it would just be wasted text and clutter that is somewhat interesting but probably not needed.

Healthy
Dismas the Guilty (2 Kills) - eddv
Chained Prisoner (1 Kill, 1 Assist) - decider
Owen the Coward (1 Kill) - stan
Beastkin Zephyr (3 Assists) - ermine
Fakeru, Lucky Girl (1 Assist) - fake
Torin Gemmason - Mana

Lightly Injured
Lancer Aaron (3 Kills) - FB [Mitigated injuries from armor damage]
Matsuda, Gambler (1 Kill, 1 Assist) - trdl [Back lacerations which have been treated]
Jamison, Investigator (2 Assists) - maniac [Face injury]
Cata Spade (1 Assist) - cata [Arm injury]

Injured
Captain Punch (6 Kills) - xey [Injured leg, broken arm, additional cuts]
Jen Lowell (1 Kill, 1 Assist) - pk2k [Injured shoulders, head, and torso]
Gunslinger Kidd (3 Assists, 1 Disarm) - drak [Injured hand, torso]
Leone the Cat (1 Assist) - cpu [Missing hand]
Maria Taylor - nfun [Injured arm and leg. Head injury. Bloody nose.]

????
Goetic (1 Kill) - lefty

Graveyard
Tristan - Punch couldn't save him.
Ignael Gades - He didn't sacrifice himself for the rest of the team because he liked them, you b-baka!
Seth, Golden Agent - Was actually pretty interesting, so I'm sorta bummed I had to kill him off. Oh well.

Based on the above notes Punch is an absolute beast who has continued to rack up kills even while getting battered. Aaron is also somewhat of a monster, able to secure several key monster kills while mitigating most of the incoming damage due to his armor. Not quite as deadly as Punch, but more durable. And while Dismas has only nabbed a few kills he makes the MVP of the other category as the guy who has managed to stay completely out of harm's way while landing several important kill shots, usually saving someone in the process.
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Zigzagoon posted...

I wish I could be more useful! Guess this really isnt my fight D:

I'd put Zephyr and Kidd on the same tier, honestly, which is basically Tier 2. Any time they are around they will actively contribute. They might not be getting direct kills but they have gotten tons of assists already and it's always better to have them around than not having them.

IhatethisCPU posted...

Still more useful than I am, to be fair. ^_^

Leone's time to shine will come... eventually. I actually have a Leone POV chapter planned so there was no chance of Leone dying here. The only chance which affected Leone is that if Leone and Aaron stuck together, Aaron would have fought better due to having someone who could help him out with pointing out enemy weakpoints and possibly going for flanking attacks (thief training ftw)
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Hey, Matsuda did something!

I hope this doesnt jinx anything, but are we going to see him use his magic?
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With that in mind I've gone ahead and formed the core of the three parties that will advance into the dungeon from here. A few specific characters have been placed in each group, and those players will unfortunately not be able to choose their roles, but they may attempt to convince other specific players to join them if they want to have a certain ally on their team.

The Ditch Party
Dismas the Guilty - eddv

The Shell Party
Torin Gemmason - Mana
Lancer Aaron - FB

The Moth Party
Captain Punch - xey
Owen the Coward - stan

For everyone else just let me know if you want to join the Ditch Party, Shell Party, or Moth Party. The names have some level of foreshadowing to their meaning beyond just describing aspects of the characters, so take that into consideration when deciding your role.

trdl23 posted...

I hope this doesnt jinx anything, but are we going to see him use his magic?

I've taken note of it but I haven't yet decided how literal I want that to be. Magic is in a weird place right now where it is somewhat rare but also not super rare, so the idea of a random guy having low level magic might be feasible but it also might be a case where I decide to flavor it as more sleight of hand type magic.

Basically with the lightsaber -> holy blade example I gave early on in the sign up topic, if I find that him having magic doesn't really fit well with the setting, I might change this aspect of his character slightly. But yeah I do keep note of everything relevant to the characters and I try to work those aspects into them as time passes. It's just a matter of having a lot of characters, a limited number of words, and needing to try and jam as much characterization in as possible while still advancing the plot and resolving the action!
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if @crazygamer999 is still following the topic and still wants to play, you can also pick one of these parties for Enoch to join. I'll have him show up in the chapter after next. probably at the start of the next topic as phase 2 begins.
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Well can I create a new character?
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OracleGunner posted...

Well can I create a new character?

Normally I would allow a few new sign ups at the start of phase 2, but in this story very few characters died in phase 1 and I plan on wrapping up the story more quickly than normal. With that in mind I really don't want to have to introduce a bunch of new characters right at the end of the story because that will take up valuable time which I will need to give the plot a satisfying resolution in a small number of chapters.
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