[澤]____S l a t e____A r c h w a y s____[澤] Crumbling_____Barrier
______________A r e a tab D e s c r i p t i o n || tabOnce an aqueduct that brought ships up from the ocean into the basin in which this area rests, the Slate Archways have seen little use in the last few centuries. The great chains and locks have fallen away, rusted with age enough that they now line the bottom of the spaces between each arch. Loose sand and grit, in some areas pounded down by the stride of different passings, lay between with vegetation and lichen growing on nearly every surface. Over two hundred feet tall and hollow at the top the archways can be seen from miles around, with the yellowed tops glistening like gold in the morning light. Made entirely of natural limestone, the years have etched much character into the stone archways themselves, giving them the impression of somehow “melting”. tab Down below them, and into the basin, lay a scattering of huts amongst the vegetation that has grown up in recent times. These plants look similar to seaweed trees, with sickly yellow nodules at the top nearly ten feet up. A foot thick in places, these vegetative guardians lay in clusters in seemingly haphazard fashion, creating miniature thickets thick enough to prevent light from gracing their insides. But the true concern is the empty village, abandoned not long ago if the state of repair were any indication. Bedding, clothing, and furniture lay as if untouched since someone one day stood up and left, leaving much behind, including drawings and writings of various types. Due to the moisture in the air, and the ever present light mist, paper has seen better days and mostly lie in tatters. tab Deeper within the ancient aqueducts tunnels pock the surface for as far as can be seen, ranging in size from pinpricks to tunnels wide enough for three abreast to march in with elbows wide. These may have once held homes, with remains of fires and other living quite common, though not much remains but ruin. Still, a few places bear markings of religious exploitation, such as statues and remnants of flags that indicated some holy icon emblazoned with the skull of death.
______________P o i n t s tab O f tab I n t e r e s t || tab • Temple of Noroxas → A frozen temple guarded by a powerful undead knight made of dry ice that regenerates again and again and again, it lies within a grand complex of caverns that bear many chambers where those who came to worship might do so in peace. Beddings remain, stone platforms that stick out of the walls as if grown but with a single, ratty and rotting blanket folded upon each in absolute perfection. The place is cold no matter time of year, remaining at a cool forty degrees [40] no matter the temperature outside. Within lies a single chest crafted into a pedestal, with a lock in the shape of a hand on either side that bears different sizes: one a child, and one an adult. Within can be found a suit of scale mail black and brown, rustless, and strangely scenting of salt. Those who wear it may move through water as one would air, and maneuver as if born to water. This does not impact the ability to breathe in water, but allows one to hear the thoughts of aquatics physically touched. C - ranked Defense, Scale 5. tab • Village of the Empty → During the night, as the quarter moon rises, the village comes alive with dark shapes in the vague design of avian creatures with strange mane around their heads. These figures weave about the village looking for something, checking in each and every home, only to leave with several more spawning in the darkness. They don’t seem to do much, and fade with the rising of the sun and returning for the next few days until the moon’s phase become something else entirely.
______________D e f e n s e s // D a n g e r s || tab • The Dead → Undead travel around quite often at night, their clothes and movements acting as one might would expect of someone moving through water. They are cold, and their movements echo, as if again they were drowned. Moving slow at first, the sight of the living drives them to hungry bursts of speed, allowing them to stutter across the earth in some sort of misshapen nightmare. These beings seem to wander mostly at night, but there are times they’ve been seen in the day, though these are arguably worse as their speed is reversed and they hover in the air. tab • Floods → When the rain falls noticeably worse than other times the aqueducts fill with water that floods up to the archways themselves. There they strike an invisible barrier and rise, the water siphoned off into the holes on either side.
______________R u l e s || tab • None
______________R e s o u r c e s || tab • Limestone → Durability :: 100 // 100 → Mining [5] Required tab • Blue Jellies → Durability :: 45 // 45 → Mining [5] // Foraging [10] Required tab • King Cobra → Durability :: 20 // 20 → Foraging [13] Required
______________C l a i m i n gtabR e q u i r e m e n t s || tab • Ghosts of the Past → Find what it is the shadows desire most and put their spirits at ease. → Causes the Mud Huts to become blessed with three custom buffs to those who sleep within them for eight hours. tab • A Touch of Vole → Something made those pockmarks within the aqueducts. Perhaps you can find them, and learn why they left? → Grants the location the ability to spawn Moleskin in the form of Moles, raising the Cobra Durability to 30 and replenishing it at a rate of 2 per Month.
Cracks of light become visible slowly before culminating together, the barrier that had kept Svanhild asleep for so long shattering in a cascade of crystal. When she was able to get her bearings again she would find herself on a small island near the slate archways, right next to a large marble pillar in the center. The weather was clouded and the air was cool as it seemed to threaten rain but not quite there yet.
Nearby on the edge of the island there was the remains of a mostly intact boat outside of a few missing planks on the bottom, the wood being salvageable.
As far as she would be able to see there was no one around....for the time being, only the steady stream of water and the ambiance of local wildlife such as birds would be her company.
The humidity of my walk through the swamp made me break a sweat, and as I sweated, I drank water from one of my waterskins until it was empty. I stop and rested occasionally as I moved, being in that crystal also had me out of shape; my legs grew sore after some fifteen to twenty minutes of walking. I made markings in the trees with my kunai, arrows pointing which direction I had gone to be able to find my way back to the sanctuary, to that spot where I meant Iron Oak, so I could set up camp there, where it was safe. With my rest and all, it took me about an hour and a half to leave the swamp. The evolution of everything around me was gradual and I would not be able to tell you just when the emerald pools of water and moss covered trees seemed give way to snaking rivers, open grass lands, or moss-lands to be more exact, and on the horizon, I could see what first appeared to be a flat topped mountain, but later, as I got close, seemed to be a green and light brown structure of some sort. I didn’t reach it for another twenty minutes. The air gave way from fresh to mossy and salty the closer I got. Once I got close enough to it, I decided to take a moment, pull out my sketch book and draw up a rudimentary map, which would need more work later, to detail how I got to this giant wall. At opposite edges of the page I drew two x’s. On the top right-hand corner of the page I drew a compass, but the sky was so overcast I could not tell where the sun was, and therefore could not tell which direction I had been walking. On the top left-hand corner, next to one of the x’s, I wrote “giant wall” with a question mark next to it, on the lower left-hand side, next to the other x I wrote “Pacification’s Swamp”. Between them I sketched out a rudimentary path I took, in pencil, which I would then remake once I was in the swamp once again, then, once the area of the swamp was over, I made a river running alongside the route I took to get here, which then deviated to the right. For now, I labeled the river “Pacification’s River” since it ran out of the swamp and into these flood plains.
While that wall had peaked my interest, I decided to go hunt first, that had been my primary objective. Exploring these ruins would have to wait. I moved to the right, what I judged to be eastward, following the sound of wildlife, birds for the most part, moving close to the edge of the river. I made without making a sound, positioning myself perpendicularly to the river but also examining it, the world wasn’t as safe here as it would be in the swamp, I didn’t know what kind of creatures prowled around these parts. That thought birthed a sense of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach, but now there was no turning back. There were about three of those birds, standing at almost four feet tall, black backs and wings with white stomachs and heads, though the top of one of their heads was red. All three of them were pecking at the ground and making loud squawking sounds. I laid down on the ground, using what I at first thought was grass but later realized was seagrass as cover. I crawled for about twenty feet until I did not dare get any closer for fear of being discovered. “Sakaar, guide my hand true.” I muttered as I reached over to both my left side and right side, pulling out my bola and my kunai. I figured that I would try to immobilize it first with the bola, and if that didn’t work, I would quickly fire a kunai aimed at a wing, to cripple it enough so it would not be able to take flight. Slowly, I moved the top half of my body up and threw the bola at the closest of the birds. As I sprung from the ground and threw my weapon, all three of them screeched, two of them took flight, but before the third could, my bolas wrapped around its body, preventing the wings from opening. The bird shook and struggled to open its wings to take flight. I heard a loud sound coming from the water, accompanied by the loud screeches of the two birds that got away, so I looked over to the side and saw a massive blue figure leaping out of the water, snapping its jaws closed, at least thirty feet in the air, with both of the cranes in its mouth. Then, its limp body fell right back into the water, making a huge splash that got both me and the bird wet. I could taste the water in lips, salt water. That river was salty, not fresh, which meant there was no way that it was born out of the swamp, at least as far as I knew. I turned my attention back to my prey, which was now charging at me, not on two legs, but four. What kinds of bird is this? I thought as I prepared my knife. The white crane jumped at me, claws first. Now that it was closer, it was more like two and a half feet tall, nowhere near four. I sidestepped the creature’s leap, but I was nowhere near fast enough as I had once been to avoid the full slash, the edge of one of its claws scrapped my left arm as I moved, but I stabbed it in the chest as it moved. It was dead once it hit the ground. I moved quickly toward it and looked around to ensure that there was nothing near me, then at the water for movement. There was nothing. I scanned the water some more, and I saw the same creature as before on the opposite side of the river, some two hundred feet away sunbathing after its kill. I grabbed my kill and moved away toward the relative safety of the wall. Now that I had this thing with me, things would get a lot more complicated. I had to defeather it, clean it, now that I had access to salt I could salt it to preserve it, and cook it, but the smell of blood might attract other predators. Killing this thing might prove to be more trouble than its worth, but the deed was done at this point. I slung the kill over my shoulder and moved closer toward the wall, and I saw some mud formations, likely caused by the coming and going of the tide, so I decided to set it on top of the hut for the time being while I collected some sticks, dried leaves and the like, and a dry rock to start the fire.
I brought my assortment of timber to the mud formation where I had placed my kill and it was thankfully still there. I made a circle of stone, then made a base of sticks to protect my fire from the damp ground. I followed that by making a small wood structure and filled it with dried leaves and more, smaller, sticks. From there, I grabbed the dried stone and one of the knives from my backpack and attempted to start a fire by striking the two of them until sparks flew and they caught on the grass and sticks, but it wasn’t fast enough for my liking. “Lets try this again…” I said with a sigh as I moved away from the pit. “Oh Sakaar, grant me the strength to call upon the clouds, the thunder and the lightning, and smite those that stand before me.” I called out at the top of my lung, as I finished speaking, I whipped my right arm forward with my index and middle finger extended. From the tip of my finger a single, thin, bolt of electricity struck the burning ember and grew the fire faster. With my fire now growing, I turned to my kill, moved it away from the mud hut and started by defeathering it; all the dry feathers I tossed into the fire, but I saved a couple of them, two reds, two whites and two blacks. Once it was defeathered, I opened it up, removed the heart and the liver, placed both organs on a long stick and set them to cook over the fire. I removed the head, the claws, and other unwanted parts of the meat and scattered them far away from the site of the fire. Once that was done, I placed the thigh and other edible parts near the fire, so any inquisitive creature could not get to them. The last thing I did was grab the creature’s stomach and head to the edge of the water. I would have to thoroughly clean it out and use it to store some of the meat as I moved. I moved to the edge of the river and saw that it had receded in the time that I had been cooking, forming smaller tide pools. I dumped the stomach into one of the small pools and made sure its contents were empty, then I moved to another and thoroughly cleaned it, spending about fifteen minutes doing that. Once that was done, I moved to another pool and filled my water skin with the salt water. From there, I moved back to my fire and set the empty stomach to dry on a stick, about six inches from the lick of the flames and did the same with my water skin, only that instead of a six inches, I placed it within three, my goal was to have the water evaporate and leave the salt behind so I could cure the meat and eat it later as well. Fifteen minutes later, I flipped the stomach inside out, so it would try and get firmer to prevent it from rotting quickly and smelling. After another fifteen minutes, I removed the stomach from the stick and felt it to ensure that it had the right texture and firmness, and it did. I placed all the meat I could fit inside of it and then let it rest inside of the pit but far from the flames. With the water evaporating, all I had to do was wait another thirty minutes or so, so I decided to take the heart and liver, both of which were cooked at this point, and explore this structure some more.
OOC: I quoted both of you to make sure that everything in my post checks out.
Survival Objectives Completed:
Title: Using a Skill - Cartography, +25 EXP Title: Gathering Supplies, + 10 EXP
Upon inspection of the building the lone wanderer would find something rather odd, though it might have been missed in initial passing. Visible cracks were scattered across the back part of a seemingly unimportant room, most of which were hidden behind scraps of broken furniture and cloth. Upon closer inspection if he were to attempt to push or prod at the cracks they'd give way to reveal a very dark and long corridor that lead into the earth.
Almost as though there was some other force in the tunnel it became alight with fire as torches roared to life in a dull blue flame, revealing just how long the tunnel was and the twist at the end that blocked his view of where it might end.
Would his curiosity get the better of him, or would he choose to stay safe in the outside world?
Before properly going into the hut to explore as the meat settled and was ready, I decided it was my duty to warn others that might come this way of the dangers. While Sakaar may be the god of death, he isn’t the god of just any death. He is the god of death in war and battle, death in hatred and passion, death in defense and offence, not the god of a death in necessity, a death in weakness or a death by chance. It was my responsibility to say the word of god wherever I go in order to expand his army, and sometimes the best way to do that was to avoid the death of even one person. It took me about thirty minutes to carve on the wall as largely as I could “Beware the Salamander Shark, the Qarshouuo”; Qarshouuo, a clever name for a strange beast, abridging the word shark in the language of my lord with the word salamander in the language of men. With that done, my knife completely dulled, and the heart and liver eaten, I decided to discard the dulled Kunai, pull another from my backpack, and explore the area around me. The first thing I did was move around these mud structures. I placed my hand on the side of one of these domes and the wall seemed to give way to what appeared to be a room. People lived here… I told myself as I scanned the area for any signs of life, but whatever had lived here was long gone, all that was left was muddy, matted furniture and cloth. I moved trying to find signs of anything of value, but it was mostly far gone. I was about to call it a day and leave this one to explore the others when I noticed cracks on the walls in select places, obscured by the littered furniture. It seemed the integrity of the structure might be at risk. I placed my hand on the wall without the cracks and it felt sturdy enough, unlike the thin wall of mud and dust that hid this place. I passed my hand around the wall, moving in a circle, dodging and weaving the dirty items until my hand passed through one of the cracks behind a sofa and I gave way to the urge to inspect the cracks. I applied a bit of pressure and the wall, just like the door before it, had given way, only this time, it did not lead to the outside world. The wall gave way to a tunnel.
It was not dark for long, thankfully. Torches littered the hallway and they quickly lit aflame, not orange, but dim blue. I decided to grab one of the lanterns just in case I reached a portion of this hall that was no longer lit, and without a second thought. I moved down with haste at first, lantern in my left hand and a kunai knife in my right, but quickly slowed as I approached the twist that might have revealed what lay on the other side. I noticed I was being as quiet as possible, and even held my breath as I approached it.
Chakra: 95 l 100 Stamina: 100 l 100 EXP: 60 l 500
Odoeb
Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:27 pm
Rexnov
"Whispers of Fate"___
As he descended deeper into the dimly lit tunnel Reza would notice the temperature begin to drop steadily, more so then one would expect even from a cave. By the time he reached the first opening it would feel as though he was outside on a winters day.
The opening was a wide open area that seemed to have some sort of natural lighting that leaked in through the ceiling of the cave, likely vents that lead outside, which leaked out thin beams of sunlight.
The opening was filled with what appeared to be some sort of temple like structure. Six pillars, three on either side, were on either side of what would be seen as a collection of pews with a table in the center at the end. There were some pots and other bits of furniture scattered around as well though what they may contain was yet to be seen. Once his eyes adjusted to the difference in light he may have been able to make out symbols and ruins that seemed to dictate this was some sort of clan shrine specifically to the land of water. All of this was covered in a thin lair of frost.
At the very back of the room behind the table and in front of the wall he would then see movement. Someone was there dressed in more typical ninja clothing, a solid white smooth mask covering their features. The mask had two thin slits for eye holes and 6 dots over the mouth area. Any skin that was showing was deathly pale.
The figure reached down and picked up a thin rough blade that almost looked ceremonial as it started slowly walking around the table, and towards Reza. The closer it got the more he could feel the temperature drop.
As I descended I could feel the temperature go down, so I moved the flame closer to my body keep myself warm. Once I made it to the bottom, I looked around, to the left, and to the right. All I saw there was a sort of dome of stone carved deep underground. Above me, far above me, was the top of the cave with openings that allowed light to trickle into the crevice. In front of me there was a temple-like structure with some symbols I did not recognize. I approached the structure and as I did my eyes adjusted to the light in the room and I could see vases and other items, all of which were covered in… ice?
I didn’t see the figure, but I heard it as it walked toward me, its feet hitting and kicking small rocks and crushing the frost. I turned around and saw it, still ways away, wearing a white mask. As it walked, I noticed there was some sort of ceremonial table and once it was past it, I saw it had a weapon in his hand. I held my breath for as long as I could and made no noise, and once I released my breath, I could see it due to the drop in temperature. I brought up my knife, holding it with the finger hole toward my body. “Listen…” I said as I shivered, I was never good in cold climates, living in the desert had that effect on people. “You’re the first human being I see, lets try to not make this be nasty…” I said, but I knew deep down that this would get nasty, fast. For the first time in Sakaar knows how long I would be in combat. I would have the opportunity to serve my lord as I do best.
Chakra: 100 l 100 Stamina: 100 l 100 EXP: 60 l 500
Odoeb
Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:32 pm
Rexnov
"Whispers of Fate"___
Though his words echoed across the cave walls they did not seem to reach the ears of the stranger as they hastened their pace and raised up their weapon to strike. Once he was within striking distance the stranger did a quick horizontal slash (e rank formless attack). At this range Reza would notice that the blade the stranger was using seemed to have a sort of fog floating off of it (think dry ice) and the air was definitely now a bit colder once it had been closer. Though the attack was sloppy it was fast and without hesitation to it. It was clear whoever this was only wanted to fight, for now as it might seem.
I heard my voice echo, but this person’s mind seemed to be as hollow as this cave. I saw the slash coming, my lips cracked into a smile and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my blood begin to boil; I felt myself come back alive for the first time since I came out of the crystal. “This is where the fun begins.” I said as I flipped my knife and slashed downward, meeting the ceremonial sword with my own blade, stopping its attack in its track. I kept my blade there, pushing against his. My left hand opened, dropping the torch to the ground, and my smirk grew wider. “Lets try this again, Lord Sakaar. Oh lord, grant me the strength to call upon the hammer of the gods. The thunder. The lightning. Smite those that stand before me!” As I spoke, chakra swelled in my left hand and released a bolt of electricity from each of my fingers and the palm of my hand. I could feel the force of my chakra oozing through my body. The sheer power and euphoria that it brought to me made me sigh in pleasure. “It’s good to be back.” I said, knowing full well that it would not be enough to vanquish him, but hopefully, it would be enough to weaken the man for me to deliver the final strike.
Techniques used:
E-Rank downward slash C-Rank Kaminari Soujuu [Lightning Manipulation] - Rank C: Medium amounts of electricity [a series of arcing bolts]. Can cause pain and numbness throughout the body. Effects last one [1] post.
Chakra: 80 l 100 Stamina: 95 l 100 EXP: 60 l 500
Odoeb
Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 10:41 am
Rexnov
"Whispers of Fate"___
The bolt struck the strangers chest and something strange occurred. Instead of singed flesh it sounded more like it struck against rock as a small part of clothing was scorched away and revealed the impact crater that looked like blue crystal.
Jumping back the strangers free hand went up into a sign and the room would become filled with mist, the source being from the stranger initially. Now coated in a white cold fog his sight would be stopped for the time being.
From behind the whistling noise of projectiles rang out as a set of throwing needles arced towards his back (D rank Projectile). However if he dodged out of the way that would be the trigger for the next attack which was a lunge out from the fog aimed at his side (E Rank Stab).
My smile quickly dissipated as the lack of blood became clear. Instead there was a blue glow. What is that? I wondered as my eyes trailed him. His left hand came up and flashed a seal, then mist came out of nowhere, covering the entire area. I closed my eyes and kept my ears peeled, hoping to hear the incoming attack, but I didn’t hear anything. At the last possible moment, I heard a whooshing sound coming from behind me, so I quickly turned and slashed upward with my knife, knocking away a couple of senbon, but my blocking motion came too quick and two of the needles struck my forearm. I grunted because of the pain. I heard movement coming from my left, my left hand shot to my backpack as fast as it could, and it produced a bola. I threw my projectile toward the direction I heard the sound coming from. Just as I released my projectile, I saw the blade emerge from the mist aimed at the center of my body because of my movement. My right arm shot upward gripping the knife tightly in my hand and knocked the blade up as strongly as I could. What resulted was in the blade avoiding my stomach and chest, but the tip grazing my shoulder. Hopefully though, my bola wrapped around this… thing’s legs, impairing its movements long enough for me to be able to shoot another bolt of lightning.
Techniques used:
E Rank Upward slash x2 E Rank Projectile
Chakra: 80 l 100 Stamina: 80 l 100 EXP: 60 l 500
Odoeb
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:29 pm
Rexnov
"Whispers of Fate"___
The bola struck true with enough force to cause the stranger to fall backwards. Almost immediately it went to cutting at the ropes as best it could to try and free itself, not paying attention to anything else for the time being.
I heard a loud thud come from in front of me and I knew that this was the moment to strike even if I could not see the enemy. I took in a deep breath and exclaimed: “Sakaar, my lord, guide my hand and strike my enemy true!” My words filled my free hand with chakra that show forward as a stream of sustained electricity. I could feel the power within me gushing forward, spilling from the palm of my hand into the world around me and hopefully into whatever that thing was, and I say thing because at this point I am not convinced it is a man, or a human, or anything of this world. “Power, my lord. Give me power!” I exclaimed as chakra filled my other hand. I dropped the knife on to the floor and extended my right hand forward and let the electricity stream out of it. I could feel the electricity begin to run out, so I opened my mouth one last time: “Unlimited power!” I said in a euphoric scream, pushing both of arms forward, sustaining the stream of lightning, but lowering the power and intensity significantly. If all went well, once the fog dissipated, this creature would remain on the ground.
Techniques used:
Lightning Manipulation C Rank x2 Lightning Manipulation D Rank
Chakra: 30 l 100 Stamina: 80 l 100 EXP: 60 l 500
Odoeb
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 6:37 pm
____________The Stranger Breathes || tab Electricity sparked within the air itself, the scent of ozone permeating every breath as a miasma bent on snuffing out life. It burned every breath, every scent, and its sparking filled the silence that chased the echoes of Reza's roars. Yet as the fog cleared it found the body a mess of blue crystal, shrouds of cloth and chunks of blue scattered as if nothing more than a destroyed statue. Yet as the echoes finished, as the lightning ceased the crackling across the air the rubble began to quiver and shake and shiver, the sound of rumbling increasing as the crystal pulled together, stacking upon one another as some enormous, man-shaped jigsaw puzzle. tab As this occurred mist began to fall from the ceiling, the stone roof spilling it much like a silent, deadly rain from above as the crystal continued to pull together, becoming liquid at the edges as they pressed together and hardening once together.
The mist descended, and I saw the fruits of my combat laid bare before me. It had come at a small price, a cut on my shoulder, nothing but a flesh wound, but without my fellow comrades I would have to keep in mind that getting injured was not a liberty I could take anymore. I took a step toward the jigsaw mess of rocks and crystals to take the sword this thing wielded. Taking bounties from my defeated opponents was something that I had gotten into the habit of doing. Regardless of the context of our combat, whether they were a hardened enemy or a child receiving the gift of mercy, they were all equal in the eyes of Sakaar and their recruitment into his army was something that ought to be remembered. Additionally, they were another human being who’s life I had taken and the weight of that was something I would not let myself forget. Even though this thing was not human I had still defeated it; as the feathers from the creature I killed above ground, I would have my reward. As I bent down to pick up the ceremonial sword, the crystals began to move, being put back together in a liquid form. It would seem that this fight was not over just yet. “Oh lord, end this creature’s misuse of magic.” I mumbled as chakra wound around my hands and shot out as electricity toward the still-liquid parts of the forming figure. My foot reached for the sword and kicked it to the side, anticipating my attack to fall short of what would be necessary to take this crystal creature down, and if it did, at least I would hold some type of advantage against it.
