Nar whipped his head around, and found Kur staring down at them both.
“Kur! I… This…”
Kur gave him a half smile and patted his shoulder. “Relax. It’s fine. You’re doing something good.”
Nar nodded, his heart still beating furiously.
“I saw her getting up and lay down next to you. But it looks like that wasn’t enough. It seems she needs contact.”
Nar looked down at her arm over his leg.
“It looks like it.”
Kur nodded slowly. T...
2024-11-28 19:33:43 +0000 UTC View PostThe corridor they had walked in from, and which had initially served as their directional aid, was gone, lost even to his enhanced [Sight], when they woke up
Nar was sure it had been there when he’d gone to sleep, which meant that the way back had been shut. Even if they wanted to return, they couldn’t go back to it anymore.
While everyone’s aura bars were still practically full, Kur rushed them onwards, still driven by whatever it was that gave him that sense of urgency. He...
2024-11-28 19:31:49 +0000 UTC View PostTuk’s muffled laughter escaped through his fingers.
Rel, similarly, was having a hard time containing herself.
“My mom slapped me so hard, her hand was marked on my face for days!” she breathed, trying to keep her laughter from escaping. “A friend of mine couldn’t even sit properly for a week!”
Tuk howled in laughter and Jul hushed at him.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Tuk said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. “Crystal! How did you even think of that?”...
2024-11-27 06:57:41 +0000 UTC View Post“We’re going to walk straight forward from here,” Kur said.
He pointed at the final yellow arrow at their feet, and then raised his hand straight at the room ahead of them.
“Every time we stop, we’ll put down some clothes to mark the direction where we’re going. I know it’s not much of a plan, but it's the best I can come up with. Like I said, I’m still open to suggestions.”
“There’s none,” Gad said. “Let’s just go. We’re ready.”
N...
2024-11-27 06:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostNar watched Cen take Mul into the Pressure, and turned back to Jul.
The rogue stood before him. She stared nervously at the floor and she fidgeted with her hands.
He repressed a sigh. Part of him wanted to just gloss over it, and pretend that nothing had happened. But that didn’t feel quite right. Jul deserved better, even if he didn't share the full truth with her. Besides, knowing her, she probably already had an idea of what went on inside him anyways.
“Jul. Look, I...
2024-11-26 00:52:28 +0000 UTC View PostNar came to slowly. Peacefully even.
His mind had none of the heaviness and graininess of the last few days, and as he lifted his hand to his face, he rejoiced in the simple lightness of the movement.
Everything felt alright.
Whole, even.
He pulled up his status as he sat up.
Full HP. Full stamina. And my aura… 205/1000.
He paused at that.
205? Wasn’t it at 207 when I unlocked it? And last night I…
Bloody fists and scream...
2024-11-26 00:51:30 +0000 UTC View PostSomeone shook him.
He heard his name.
He heard crying.
But it was so quiet. So comfortable there…
He wanted to stay. He wanted to stay forever.
When was the last time he had felt such… He didn’t even know the right word for it.
It felt like he was back in his mother’s arms, before everything that had happened.
Come on. We cannot stay here.
And why not, he wondered. Why not stay here? There were no worries. No pain. No fear. No o...
2024-11-25 14:09:54 +0000 UTC View PostHe was awake and alone when he heard the footsteps approaching him.
Kur appeared above his face, and sat next to him.
Nar didn’t even need to look at his face to know what it looked like. Grim and conflicted. Guilty.
“I’ll do it,” Nar said.
Kur frowned. “Uh? How…”
“You’ve been trying to go inside and it hasn’t worked. You need me to go in again,” Nar said.
They had indeed been going at that Pressure relentlessly. But without success. 2024-11-25 14:05:37 +0000 UTC View Post
A conflict raged.
Bright and dark orange clashed.
They rose to heights of immensity and crashed onto each other with such force, that Nar’s very soul quaked and quivered from the reverberations.
The dark and the bright swirled and mixed, and made a thousand different shades and hues of orange in between them, but they never stayed joined for long. Always they separated, always they rose, ready to once again clash.
Everywhere he looked, he saw the orange at war.
Nar woke to chaos.
The metallic battle cries of guardians competed with the shouts and [Aura] explosions from the Climbers.
Nar sat up and blearily looked around him.
“You’re awake!” Rel said.
Nar turned towards the sound of her voice, noting the stiffness on his neck.
“What’s going on?” he muttered.
“We’re being attacked! Guardians!”
Nar came fully awake in one long gasp. His sword was beside him and he used it to prop himself up. 2024-11-24 10:48:10 +0000 UTC View Post
“I’m not setting myself on fire, Mul! Relax!” Cen yelled at her brother.
She tried to pry her hand from Mul’s, but the brawler held steadfast.
“I don’t want you to burn yourself!” he protested.
“I don’t want that either, but I need to feel it first!”
Nar watched the back and forth from a few steps away.
Cen and Mul stood right by the edge of the corridor. Around them, Tuk, Kur and Gad stood the closest to them. Viy was sitting, her expression ...
2024-11-24 10:47:55 +0000 UTC View PostKur nodded at Nar and Jul as they took a seat in the circle. The orange light tinted everything, and made the shadows in their faces appear deeper than they were. It gave them all a grim, grave look.
Nar noticed that Kur had chosen to sit with his back to the big open space behind them, rather than sit with his back to the wall or to the Pressure room.
He’s something else, isn’t he? Nar thought, hiding a smile. All of them are, aren’t they?
Kur r...
2024-11-23 09:42:12 +0000 UTC View PostNar was jolted awake by a pinging sound.
Four more pings followed after it, and Nar’s drowsy mind slowly put their meaning together.
Jul found something, and she wants us to go to her.
After the escape, Kur had immediately set about establishing a list of simple signals that they could all use to communicate. It was another of his bitter regrets, that he had delayed for so long, debating the pros and cons of the perfect system, that they had been caught without it...
2024-11-23 09:40:44 +0000 UTC View Post“You alright, man?” Tuk asked.
Nar lifted his eyes and saw Tuk approaching him. He held Cen in his arms, their caster still fast asleep.
A quick, and by now automatic and effortless glance at their party view, told him that the caster would stay under for about another nine minutes. Fortunately, those bolts’ poison was not as bad as the poisoners they had first encountered, back in the Mid Levels.
Tuk grimaced in regret and guilt as he stared at the blood oozing out of...
2024-11-22 10:15:08 +0000 UTC View PostPart 3 - The Upper Levels
“... and that was it. We thought the worst was behind us. We should’ve known better…” - Anonymous delver human DPS, ex-Climber, The Lusty Quam, S894SDAF72L71Y, popular establishment amongst ex-Climbers, known for its many services and offerings.
Excerpt from “Life in the Depths – A Study of the Life Conditions in the Between-Nexus”
Status: Unpublished. Censored by the authority of Truth Praetor Alastor Ghabn...
2024-11-22 10:13:03 +0000 UTC View PostTwo days later, rested and healed, Kur asked out loud, for the party to be let out of the safe room.
An exit revealed itself, and Gad stepped cautiously outside.
The yellow arrows awaited them, ready to continue to guide them on their way up.
And on their way they went.
The days and weeks that passed by afterwards were like a blur.
Kur made a comeback with a fierceness he didn't used to have. He led them well and truly. He was not afraid to share his doubts and t...
2024-11-21 15:07:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe day was spent in laughter and relaxation. In the small confines of the warm, softly lit room, everyone felt at ease. Safe.
The events of the past few days almost seemed far. In Nar’s memory, they had sort of taken a surreal, soft edge to them, as if he had truly just woken up from a nightmare.
However, if he concentrated, if he focused on any of those memories for more than a few seconds, the details began to sharpen. The sounds. The sights. The smells. He even remembered a ...
2024-11-21 15:05:34 +0000 UTC View PostNar sat down next to Jul, once things quieted down, and everyone had dispersed.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked her.
“I deserved that,” Jul said.
Nar chuckled. “Yeah, you did.”
Jul played with her hands and the silence stretched. Nar waited patiently. He wanted her to lead the conversation.
“Were you surprised?” she asked at last.
“Hmmm… Yes and No.”
“Oh?”
“No, because a non-fighting class never made sense to me,” he said...
2024-11-20 14:16:18 +0000 UTC View PostHalf an hour later, Nar stepped out of the blaster.
His whole body stung, and his skin protested against his new set of clothes. He had blasted himself until his skin had taken on an angry red, and it had been worth it.
He stepped out of that blaster feeling like he had been born anew.
“Hey, looking good, Nar! Glad to see you’re finally awake,” Tuk said.
“Yeah, me too,” Nar replied. He scanned the trugger up and down and smiled. “You look alright too.” 2024-11-20 14:14:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Nar came to in a dimly lit room.
He heard the others breathing, peacefully asleep around him.
A window popped up, and Nar read the message.
-[ You have entered a safe room.
You are safe!
Food will be provided. Eat and drink as much as you want.
Facilities will be provided.
New gear will be provided.
HP regen rate and stamina recovery rate are boosted by 500%.
Gains will b...
2024-11-19 12:09:10 +0000 UTC View PostNar carried Viy away from the frenzy of wet sounds. They walked past Rel and Cen, who looked pale at the scene unfolding behind them.
“Cen!” Nar called.
“I-On it!” she stammered, and started charging another projectile.
Breathing through his teeth and nose to endure the pain from his side, Nar continued further into the party. That spear to his ribs had taken almost all of the fighting he had left in him, but there was still something else that only he could do.
<... 2024-11-19 12:07:15 +0000 UTC View Post“Come to me, Viy!” Wik shouted. “I know you want it too!”
Viy yelled in reply.
The two spears twirled and spun in dizzyingly fast arcs and sweeps, meeting each other in the middle of the corridor.
The cannibals behind Wik muttered and pointed, bows half drawn, weapons out in restless hands. Behind Viy, Nar couldn’t get through either.
The two weapons whistled in a deadly display, and to simply jump into the middle of it was to ask to be sliced and stabbed to ...
2024-11-18 14:21:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe little flap shifted and Gad poked her head outside.
“We’re ready,” she said.
“And Viy?” Kur asked.
“She’ll be okay,” Gad said. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Guess that’s the best we can do. Rel, we're in your hands now. Don’t make me regret this.”
Rel nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. We’re going to walk. Don’t run. There are cannibals with high sense attributes here.”
“Got it!” Kur said.
“If anyone se...
2024-11-18 14:19:52 +0000 UTC View Post“What are you doing here?” Nar hissed. “I told you to run!”
“I’m not running!” she shot back at him.
“My Crystal! Is that Jul?” Tuk asked, sitting up.
“Everyone be quiet!” Kur snapped at them.
Jul stealthy approached Nar’s cage and he heard her messing with something above his head.
“You didn’t leave me behind, and I’m not going to leave you either!” she said, breathing hard.
Nar gripped the bars and pushed his head against t...
2024-11-17 09:50:34 +0000 UTC View Post“No…” Tuk said, in the silence that fell upon them. “No!”
“Yes… Yes! There. Is. No. Magic!” Wik roared. “There has never been! And there never will be! We didn’t start from the Lower Depths. We started exactly at the same level you guys did! We know what a pile is! We know what an operator is! Tas has shits for brains, but he’s the best damn liar I’ve ever seen!”
He spat at the floor, twisting his lips in disgust.
“But you know what I haven’t se...
2024-11-17 09:47:54 +0000 UTC View PostConversations.
Hunger.
Madness.
Screams.
The splitting pain in his head brought him in and out of it. From senseless to delirium, and into senselessness again.
At some point, there was bright purple. Purple everywhere. Blinding and painful, and he shut his eyes against it, to keep it out of his dreams.
And the screams! The screams…
It was too much!
Then he was somewhere darker. Quieter.
They threw him down and he gasped awake into the ni...
2024-11-17 09:46:10 +0000 UTC View PostSlowly, with his heart in his mouth, Nar guided Jul back towards the stairwell.
Damn. Why did we walk so far?
An injured, hurting Climber. The cannibals had tricked them good.
The seconds trickled by, and the stairs were still not in sight.
Jul pulled him back.
“They’re there! In front of us! Blocking the stairs!” she whispered.
Nar’s sword shook.
“How many?”
“Three! And more coming down!”
He forced his arm to stop...
2024-11-16 10:07:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe temperature slowly dropped as they left the strange, sweltering corridor behind. And in the tight corridor they now found themselves in, Nar thought that the warmth was almost pleasant.
If he reached out with both arms, he could almost touch the walls on either side of him. The ceiling however, very quickly turned into an empty, impenetrable void above their heads. The difference was jarring.
He would have preferred the claustrophobic feeling of having the ceiling touching his...
2024-11-16 10:06:02 +0000 UTC View PostIt was painful to watch Jul stumbling forward.
After three sleepless nights, and three days of barely sleeping while Nar carried her, the scout was unsteady on her feet, as she supported the full capabilities of her senses.
Not a single sound of discomfort, or a protest, came out of her though.
Kur watched her with fierceness. Every time she tripped and swayed, he was there to keep her steady. He didn’t fail once. Even Tuk, Cen and Mul had withdrawn closer to the center, t...
2024-11-15 11:39:35 +0000 UTC View PostHe swore he heard something. Something dragging across the floor. Or falling. Or a breath.
Was he imagining things?
“Nar,” Tas called. “Come on, don’t fall…”
“Shut up!”
The words sliced through the party as if he used his sword and not his mouth.
Tas frowned at him in surprise. “What?”
Kur inhaled sharply and puffed up his chest. “Nar, what are you…”
Nar turned his baleful gaze on the party leader. Though former party leader ...
2024-11-15 11:38:16 +0000 UTC View Post