Queen of Shadows

[old man moomba he/him]

"Now wait." Dapper said, incredulous, a bit of his worldbuildy side slipping in "I want to know what an Orgin is!" 

With that he fired a blast of golden energy at a hairy thing with man legs.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Dr. Dapper

[Lunamor she/her]

It was a trolloc.

I couldn’t help myself.

[RoadWalker he/him]

"THAT!!!!!" Road shouted, shoving Dapper aside and hurling his daggers forward. There, flying directly towards them, swooped a half crow half scorpion. The creature had two beaks in the shape of pincers, with two sets of long scaled wings and a feathered tail trailing a massive stinger.

The trolloc was mounted on top

Edited March 23, 2019 by RoadWorkAhead

[old man moomba he/him]

Several more hairy things with various man-appendages charged at Dapper and were prompty garotted by a squadron of misty assassins wearing scarves.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Dr. Dapper

[RoadWalker he/him]

Road's knives glanced off the Orgin's scales, which only slightly annoyed the winged demon. Road summoned his blades back and called for aid.

Edited March 23, 2019 by RoadWorkAhead

[old man moomba he/him]

A line of misty soldiers charged at the Orgin, stabbing it with spears and swords, hacking at it with axes and machetes, and spraying purple bullets at it.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Dr. Dapper

[xinoehp512 he/him]

 

Xino charged the creature, firing blasts from his sword. The spider hissed as the fire landed, spitting up more silk to bandage the burns. As he watched, the silk soaked into the wound, replacing the burnt skin. Interesting.

Well, there was no time to be worrying about that right now. The spider had gone back to hurling threads at him, much faster than before. They stuck to the ground around his stone feet, threatening to trip him up again.

He slashed through them all, burning them with red fire. This spider backed up again, hissing, but it wasn’t fast enough. He hurled himself across the final quarter mile or so and landed on its back, his sword flashing a deep fiery red.

The spider bucked back and forth, trying to shake off its unwanted rider. But he held on, cutting and slashing at its toughened skin.

With one final stroke, he impaled it. It jerked a few more times, then fell still.

[RoadWalker he/him]

Road twirled his daggers and dismissed them, then summoned his World's Best Narrator mug and took a sip of tea.

"WHOA...Where'd you get a weapon like that?" he asked Xino.

Then he remembered anyone could have any weapon they chose. He willed himself a new weapon of his own, not that his daggers weren't absolutely awesome, but he needed something stronger. For a moment he cleared his mind, then summoned a katana made of pure unbreakable diamond.

Road admired his new sword, slashing the air in front him. The sword responded with a series of high-pitched sounds as the wind met its edge. Delighted, Road held it close and whispered, "I'll call you Whistle Blade."

Suddenly a group of monsters ran at Road from the mist, snarling and biting. Road spun and leaped in the air, landing on a large rock nearby. He brought Whistle Blade down on it, slicing it in two. As he did so, a deafening ringing sound wave hit the monsters head on, throwing them backward. They landed with a heavy thud, they're ears bleeding heavily.

With satisfaction, Road dismissed his diamond sword.

He chuckled. "Nice. Hey Xino, what do you think? We can be fire and 'ice'," he joked.

Edited March 23, 2019 by RoadWorkAhead

[xinoehp512 he/him]

 

Xino climbed off wearyingly, eyeing the giant scorpion thing. Of course they would add monsters while he was sleeping. Time zones were horrible things.

Oh well. Another challenge was always good. 

He waved at Roadwalker. That was a cool sword, even if diamond wasn't exactly the strongest material for building weapons.

Then he turned and charged the Origin, sword flashing as he shot blast after blast at it.

[RoadWalker he/him]

Road suddenly heard a terrible screech. He turned around to find himself face to face with a giant centipede-snake, crawling and slithering towards him with incredible speed. Razor sharp spikes ran from the top of its back to the tip of its tail, and deadly venom dripped from it's pincers.

Why'd it have to be me? he cried inside. He summoned Whistle Blade and charged the foul beast.

It stopped and lifted itself off the ground, poising to strike. It hissed and snapped its mandibles open and shut, then launched itself at Road.

He jumped clear of the pincers and rolled to the side, taking a swipe at the massive head. He managed to slice off an antennae, causing the Sentipede to reel in horror and pain. It shrieked and retreated for a moment. The monster then began  to slowly slither around Road, making almost a full circle before attacking again. Road ducked as it wriggled over his head, the giant body landing on his leg and crushing it. Hundreds of little legs like large needles stabbed it as the beast ran across.

Road gasped in pain, dropping Whistle Blade and letting it dissipate. He desperately tried to pull himself free from the weight, but the Sentipede's legs stuck and would not let go. They hooked in his flesh and strained against his efforts. Road summoned his stone daggers and quickly sliced at its underbelly. The monster screamed in pain and tried to escape, but its needles held fast in Road's leg. It began slithering along the ground, dragging Road with it.

He screamed in pain, trying to free himself. He ferociously slashed at it, cutting off the unwanted attachments in his leg. He freed himself and rolled to safety, the Sentipede's legs still embedded in his skin. He managed to right himself and stand up just as the Sentipede attacked once more. He dismissed his knives and summoned Whistle Blade. The Sentipede was almost upon him now, its mouth open wide with a taste for more blood. It screeched and flew at him, just as his blade formed. The poisonous mouth enveloped the sword, impaling it's head on the blade. The whistle of Road's blade combined with the terrible screech of the Sentipede created a sound-force so strong it knocked back several other monsters nearby, killing them instantly.

As the dying monster breathed its last terrible breath, one of its large pincers scratched Road's arm as it collapsed, the venom quickly traveling across Road's body. He began to shake uncontrollably, falling in unconsciousness. The venom reached his chest, meeting the silvery scar. It screamed in shock as the scar repelled its poison, forcing it to retreat and leave Road's body. Road coughed the deadly liquid up, breathing hard.

Well...that was fun.

Edited March 24, 2019 by RoadWorkAhead

[Ghanderflaffle she/her]

Ghanderflaffle noticed that Road was down and rode over to him, the ghanderflaffles helping to cut a path. She pulled him onto the ghandercorn to keep him from getting swarmed by monsters.

"Are you alright?"

[Lunamor she/her]

Lunamor rode into the fray, his ghandercorn, Sun, stabbing the shadows and monsters with his horn. 

Edited March 23, 2019 by Lunamor

[Ghanderflaffle she/her]

Ghanderflaffle struck out at any monster that got past the ring of fighting ghanderflaffles with her urumi.

Quote

An urumi is a whiplike sword. I just thought it looked neat.

 

[Lunamor she/her]

Lunamor was slowly surrounded by monsters. Sun could only destroy so many. He took out his bow, nervously eying the nearest ones. A particularly dangerous looking one with several rows of teeth ran at him, snarling. He shot it in the head, but that only slowed it down a little bit. He had to shoot it in various places around five times before it finally went down. “Anyone know how to kill these things? Or where the heck they came from?!”

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"The shadow Realm," Astral explained, chopping at the legs of a spider. "And I don't think it matters how you kill them, just that you do."

[Lunamor she/her]

“Alright,” Lunamor said, which was quickly followed by an “Argh!” as a monster with several heads tackled him off Sun and onto the ground. Sun, being a recently tamed ghandercorn, bolted off as soon as the monster started screeching. Lunamor struggled to keep its claws away from himself. He tried punching it, but it felt like trying to punch Shardplate. Something crunched in his hand. The creature was covered in dark, metallic scales everywhere except for a small patch on its stomach, likely from where Sun had tried to stab it earlier. Spotting an arrow lying on the ground nearby, he managed to push it off himself long enough for him to snatch it. It was the only weapon he could use in such close proximity. This is a terrible idea, but I have no other choice at the moment... he thought. He strengthened his grip on the arrow, then plunged it as hard and as deep as he could into the monster’s soft spot. Dark purple blood spurted everywhere, and he shoved the creature off himself. He covered his ears as the monster’s heads all screamed in pain. The screams seemed to oddly harmonize, in a beautiful, ear bleeding way. The triple scream suddenly cut off, and it shuddered a final time. The entire thing withered away into dust. I can’t believe that worked... Lunamor thought in disbelief as he stumbled backwards, nursing his wounded hand. Something had definitely broken. He couldn’t move several fingers. He had also likely cracked a few ribs.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Lunamor

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Normally, Astral did not like getting her hands dirty, but there was something about destroying these creatures that awakened something inside of her. Something that made her feel alive. Each kill, each drop of these creatures' blood that sprayed upon her cheek felt like retribution. Not for her - her heart had been crushed beyond repair and was as black as ash - but for everyone she had failed. It was so nice to feel something.

She rolled as one of the monsters bit at her, then melted. Literally melted into a puddle of her own sticky black essence underneath the thing's underbelly. She re-formed and stabbed at it. It cried out in surprise and she melted again to get out of the way as it fell with a crash. Standing, she plucked off one of the monster's large scales. It was heavy and rather large. She hefted it. It could serve as a fine shield. Let's test that, shall we? She called her silver blade to her hand and ran toward a large rat with red eyes. It might be tricky to-

Something swooped over her head and Astral felt it as a large bat clawed at her chest. She fell to the floor, grunting as the gargantuan thing settled on the ground beside her, extending its great wings and screeching in triumph. "You want me?" she yelled at the bat. "Well come and get me!" Pulling herself to her feet and brandishing her sword, she charged the thing. She knew to get at those wings. If it couldn't fly, it would be easy to destroy. Unfortunately, the bat knew this as well and lifted itself off the ground, the wind created by the flapping of its wings took making Astral's hair flow behind her. It came for her, swiping with its lower claws. The shield would be her greatest ally here. These monsters were made of tough stuff. She took a swing at the bat's claws, but it smacked the sword out of her hands. The weapon landed with a clank against the marble floor, sliding away from her. 

No, she thought. 

The bat seemed to sense her fear. It swooped in close, grabbing her leg and carrying her away. All of a sudden she was off the ground, upside down. It was a dizzying flight and being dropped on her head once they reached the second level didn't help her queasiness. Once she found her senses again, she crawled backward, looking into the bat's hungry eyes. It would claw her apart. Revel in her death and leave whatever remained of her body to rot here. She glared. And melted.

Becoming a puddle was one thing. Moving as one was another. It required concentration as one couldn't exactly see in this state. She slithered forward, grabbing onto the confused bat's claw and moving up, over its belly and... Onto its back. She re-formed, gripping the thing's neck. It resisted, but she put her hand on its head, entering its mind and asserting her dominance. She laughed, willing the creature to hop off the balcony and fly. She smiled and dove straight toward the rat she had been intending to fight earlier. 

[Lunamor she/her]

Lunamor jumped. Had that lady just... melted? How?! He tried to run away from the horde of monsters surrounding him. He would be useless in a fight with his broken hand- he needed both to use his bow. A smaller creature with blade tipped arms sticking out of its oddly shaped shell in random places tried to block his path. Using some of the last of his strength, he lept over it. It tried to slash upwards at him, but he made it past and hit the ground rolling. It didn’t give chase, as it would never be able to scuttle fast enough to catch up with its short legs. He lept back upwards, his side stinging, and kept barreling forwards. He was making good progress, but then slowly stumbled to a halt. He collapsed to his knees. Blood was pooling on the ground. Was that his? For the first time he noticed a giant gash on his side. When had that happened? Was it from the shell thing? The adrenaline had kept him from noticing that it had managed to cut him deeply. He had mistaken the wound for one of his broken ribs. Things began to grow dark. He struggled to stand. He knew that if he fainted there, the monsters would quickly devour him. But he was unable to stay conscious. He had lost too much blood. He finally collapsed onto the ground, the blackness overtaking him.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Lunamor

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Astral pulled her bat to a halt as she saw Luna drop. He had been kind to her in the past. Helped her in her darkest moments. She urged the bat toward him, forcing it to land. Stay, she impressed upon it. She scooped Luna into her arms and in a flash, they were on the second floor. Astral racked her brains. She wasn't a healer. Didn't know all that much about medicine. She snapped her fingers, summoning a basket of white cloth strips. Apply pressure? she thought to herself. Well, better than nothing.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

 

Xino slowed as he approached the strange beast. The blasts from his sword were leaving marks on this thing’s armored skin, but it didn’t seem to be too bothered by them. Even the burns he had landed on one of the wings had given it no more than brief pause. This creature would have to be defeated by more than just fire.

Unfortunately, the creature sensed his approach. It took to the air, rapidly soaring up to beyond the reach of his sword. He came to a stop, eyeing it carefully as it circled above him. He shot a few more blasts at it, for good measure, but they were no more effective than the previous ones had been.

Time for a different approach. He crouched down, getting a good position on the hilly ground, then jumped.

He shot upwards like an arrow, sword held straight out in front of him. He reached the beast easily, his sword passing straight through one of his wings and provoking a hiss from one of the monster’s hideous mouths.

Good, he thought. He grabbed the injured wing and pulled, hauling himself up onto the Origin’s back. The creature struggled against him, whipping the tail around and trying to shake him off. He swung his sword in retaliation, cutting off the tail in one stroke.

The beast let out a horrible scream. It beat its wings, but without the stability of the tail could not keep airborne. It veered off to one side, plummeting towards the ground.

Xino jumped off the beast as it fell. He landed with two feet, shaking the earth and sending cracks running through the hard stone ground. He stood up from his crouch, sword held ready to face the fallen creature.

[RoadWalker he/him]

5 hours ago, Ghanderflaffle said:

Ghanderflaffle noticed that Road was down and rode over to him, the ghanderflaffles helping to cut a path. She pulled him onto the ghandercorn to keep him from getting swarmed by monsters.

"Are you alright?"

"Never better!" Road replied cheerfully. He took a gander at the ghandercorn. What a magnificent beast, he smiled to himself.

[Lunamor she/her]

The ghandercorn tossed its head, happy for the compliment.

Quote

Ghandercorns can read minds now.

 

[Ghanderflaffle she/her]

Quote

The ghandercorn evolves.

 

12 hours ago, RoadWorkAhead said:

"Never better!" Road replied cheerfully. He took a gander at the ghandercorn. What a magnificent beast, he smiled to himself.

"Great, back to fighting then?" Ghanderflaffle was excited to get back in the fray now that she had her urumi out.

[RoadWalker he/him]

4 hours ago, Ghanderflaffle said:

 

"Great, back to fighting then?" Ghanderflaffle was excited to get back in the fray now that she had her urumi out.

"Back to fighting," sighed Road, Whistle forming in his hands. They rode ahead towards a particularly nasty group of monsters.

Edited March 24, 2019 by RoadWorkAhead

[Ghanderflaffle she/her]

3 hours ago, RoadWorkAhead said:

"Back to fighting," sighed Road, Whistle forming in his hands. They rode ahead towards a particularly nasty group of monsters.

"Fun!" Ghanderflaffle jumped off Jaci, the ghandercorn, and took up a spot in the circle of fighting ghanderflaffles.