~Beyond the Border~ > Akyu's Arcade
[SSLP] Darkest Dungeon: An admission of defeat.
AzyWng:
First Forays Into The Ruins
This first journey within the Ruins was simple enough. The exact details of the smaller battles, once fresh in my mind, soon began to fade away once I had returned to the Hamlet. All the better, for I did not wish to inflate my recordings with useless recordings of exact positions or attacks.
The groups of undead - walking bones still holding the weapons they once used in life - were small at first. But then we began to see them accompanied by cultists of some kind, staff and claw in hand, and bigger, more hulking figures, keeping Reynauld?s sword arm from reaching the other enemies in the back. Here was where Reimu?s holy power and Eirin?s skill with bombs began to reveal themselves, the two smiting and blighting the foes that would otherwise attack the rest of the party.
We were able to find quite the number of old heirlooms which looked like they might be of some value. Perhaps they couldn?t be exchanged for a sharper sword or a stiff drink, but something about them reminded me that they could be traded in for something perhaps more valuable... More permanent. But I knew not what.
As the darkness drew closer, we began to unconsciously tightened our formation closer and closer together, that we would not drift off into a distant hallway and become lost. And yet, as we battled on and on, our rewards seemed to only increase beneath the fading light. As our collective supply of torches finally sputtered out, and Reimu and the others turned to me to provide more torches, I merely shrugged, not mentioning the pair I?d kept in reserve should we truly need the safety light promised. Even as we were able to map out almost all of the hallway I ordered the team to press on to the last room, and they obliged. It wasn?t until this last battle that any of us truly came under risk, and even then, it was merely from a single well-placed arrow.
Exposed to a killing blow!
Eirin staggered, clutching at the shaft embedded in her belly, about to ask for help from Reimu only for the vestal to summon a bolt of lighting with such power it carbonized the bone arbalist that had fired at Eirin.
?Begone, foul thing!? she crowed in triumph as its remains crumbled to ash. The lone bone defender that remained was quickly brought down by Dismas and Reynauld, its shield and bones clattering to the ground to rest alongside its comrades. And with that, the final battle had been completed.
Success so clearly in view. Or, is it merely a trick of the light?
Well, the answer to that was obvious now. Returning to the hamlet, we looked over within our provisions to examine our winnings. A little over four thousand in gold, in addition to the many heirlooms that we had recovered in our battles and the three thousand in gold promised for completing the quest. And yet, this was not the only thing we walked away with. Eirin may have recovered from the crossbow arrow, but she was still somewhat unsteady on her feet. The realities of adventuring - including the fact that she could easily lose her life within these halls - were beginning to fully dawn on her. Furthermore, something about the journey had... changed Reimu. Her movements were more methodical, and, while it seemed they would return to the normal fervor when the battle began proper, her attacks wouldn?t hit as hard as they did at the very beginning of a fight.
Something about this new discovery made my head hurt. Something about this wasn?t... wasn?t right. Why was I hearing the voice of my ancestor? How was it that he could watch over us even when we had been so long separated? The undead and bandits together could more than destroy a small town like this - and yet what the caretaker had said made me think there was far more to this than mere bones and brigands...
I was glad to finally accomplish what felt like some good... but I wondered how much evil was present in this place...
--
I know I've been a little slow and inconsistent on updates, but I have to ask all the same: is anyone still reading this? Anyone at all?
Golbez:
Yup.
Well it has over 600 views, dunno how this translate in number of people, but some at least i guess?
Anyway, its nicely written. So I'll keep watching this.
AzyWng:
Just thought up of a way to infodump without completely taking you out of the world. Here, I present...
--
A Deathblow Dodger?s Directory
Preface
As the old saying goes, help from a fool is twice the trouble. And who is to say that the turning of the wheel of fate will not transform me into a fool, providing a fool?s advice? I will not claim service to some greater cause - merely state that my intention is to earn enough to survive. While an arrow-shot knee is sufficient for menial tasks, adventuring is far beyond it, and if my knowledge is able to save your life after all, it will mean more can hear of this book, and I can more easily afford to eat on a daily basis.
I must warn you that while this book may save your life, it may not change it significantly. There is no advice I can provide regarding how to return to the ceaseless labor of peace after the ceaseless labor of adventuring. I cannot tell you exactly how to use the strange charm you acquired on your journey. And deciding which of two sides should receive aid was never the best among my skills. The advice this book contains should, at least, keep you from being eviscerated from a trap you failed to notice or a monster you failed to be wary of.
If you should read the rest of this book and find that it contains nothing more than inane, rambling scribblings that truly bear no value to you, at least consider that you have provided an old, tired creature the money to remain for a few more hours in this world. Additionally, the book itself should be thick and heavy enough to be a serviceable weapon or shield. It can also be used to weigh down things like pressure plates or annoying colleagues, and if hollowed out the book can be used to hide a small item like a stiletto or a vial of some kind. All those potential uses for the book should surely be worth the fifty coin you have paid for it (assuming some shrewd merchant has not seen fit to empty your purse further than that).
Good luck,
[There is a strange symbol located in place of the signature. Though it resembles a very, very messily written ?D?, all attempts to copy the symbol invariably fail.]
AzyWng:
I haven't posted here in a few months, as you may have noticed.
And, while I hate to bump a thread this old, I'm just here to tell you that no, I am not dead. I've been quite busy becoming accustomed to university life, doing university homework, and being distracted by non-university things (the most recent distractions being Let It Die and Dragalia Lost).
I promise that, by 12:01 AM on Monday, October 1st, I will publish my post of the second journey into the ruins.
Hopefully it won't suffer too much from me actually having to complete it and all...
AzyWng:
All the decadent horrors I have seen pale in comparison to that final, crowning thing. I could not look, nor could I look away.
It seems our exploits in the Ruins had not gone unnoticed - two of the hamlet?s buildings had been re-opened by the time we had returned. First was the church to the Light.
The cobwebs have been dusted, the pews set straight. The abbey calls to the faithful.
And what a pitiful state it was in. The boards had been removed, and lights within signaled the return of the staff, but the holes in the roof and tower remained, and even the door was falling apart. The priest - whose robes nearly overwhelmed his thin frame - walked up to us as we took a look around, apologizing for the mess while assuring us that the building?s holy status had not been sullied by the damage it had sustained. Sunday had not yet arrived, and thus these freshly-dusted pews sat empty. Reimu had followed me in, and merely offered a curt nod to the two of us before she set off towards the altar for a brief prayer, where two other crusaders were already kneeling.
The priest was clearly expecting me to either pray or leave entirely, and when I presented the plans for renovation, the hints of a smile crept onto his face for a few brief moments.
Then Reimu returned and, having finished her duties, returned to my side, waiting for me to decide where to go next.
The two knights followed, finished with their own prayers, and I wordlessly beckoned for them to follow me. As we went to the tavern next, I could feel a pair of eyes gazing upon me sadly, but I could not concern myself with them. There was much work to be done.
The tavern was in a similar state of disrepair, but it, too, was now a bustling hub of activity - much different activity, fueled by much different motivations. Although it had been completely abandoned in the passing days, once again, it had lit up to present itself as a place where desires could be not suppressed but sated.
I had only just left a place like this. I couldn?t go back. Calling forth the two knights - Bolvin and Bourdekin, I had Reimu, and Eirin take a second trip into the ruins.
Surprisingly, our quest went over rather well and uneventfully. The firewood we?d packed for the trip lasted well enough, and Bourdekin?s watchful gaze protected us through the night. In the morning, we cleared out the last of the undead in that region of the ruins, and returned to the hamlet.
Though we came and left in good condition, Bolvin and Reimu had been stressed out by what they had seen, and Reimu was once again marked by the strange happenings of the ruins - tiring out more easily as battles wore on.