[IC] Agartha: The Untold Tales (An RPG)

[Champion]

1 Week Earlier

It was another prosperous day in the Kingdom of Meteora. In Meteora City, the fishermen were sailing in out of the port like usual, the merchants business was thriving with customers from all over the kingdom. Apostle Knights did their rounds throughout the city district making sure crime was cut to a minimum. The birds chirped and the people moved about like any other day. But this was no normal day. Outside, on the city limits, a dark cloud appeared. Huge gusts of wind and loud shouts of thunder hit Meteora City like a typhoon. This even gathered the attention of all the townsfolk including King Aldvin himself. Looking out from the terrace of a castle tower, he could see one single bolt of lightning stretching down from the cloud. The lighting itself was a twisted black color. Instead of exploding on contact or incinerating the area in flame, the dark bolt began to change the area around it from what the king could see. And just as suddenly as it appeared, the cloud dissipated leaving nothing behind but shock from the citizens below. Immediately the horn sounded, which declared a state of emergency for the city. Instead of going into a panic, the city people begin to orderly shut down shop and return home.

At the Castle, the King gathered his Champion and his generals. King Aldvin: "Settle down everyone. I don't think this was an attack or some sort of spell to spy on us. This was nothing more than Worlds Magic. ". Immediately the generals began bickering amongst themselves. Not many have heard of Worlds Magic let alone seen it first hand. King Aldvin:
Calm yourselves. For those that don't know, worlds magic is magic used by the planet Agartha itself. It can recreate the environment and change the geographical structure of an entire plain." The Kings' voice was serious and harsh. The generals looked in Awe. "Over the years the Mages from the WAA have tried to understand and list the spells as best as they could." The king pulled out a book from his pocket. It was a small handbook with a leather case, inside the words were written with red ink. "This was my Fathers WAA handbook. He was around for a great many things. Captain Sampson: "My King, what spell do you think this world has cast?" King Aldvin "Ahh, good question.
I researched a bit before I summoned you all here. I believe it was the infamous spell that has been seen in nearly 40 years, Dungeon Sprawl." Everyone in the room let out gasps and began bickering once again amongst themselves. Some were frightened, some were excited. The king waved his hand issuing them all to go silent. "I will be sending in my Champion and a platoon of 15 Apostle Knights. Go find out what has happened and report back."

2 Days Ago

The city has gone back to normal. The events of a few days ago now a distant memory. There was still, however, unrest in the castle. The King has not heard a word from his champion. He walks through the halls of his castle until finally reaching his head steward. King Aldvin: Have you checked on those items for me? Gunthrum: "Yes my King. The treasury itself has around 20000 gold it can lend out at this moment. The Tower has dispatched an emissary yesterday sir, due to arrive tomorrow. The Supreme Commander of WAA also answered your call. What should I tell him?" This news was good for the king.
King Aldvin: Tell them this;"Dearest Adventurer if you seek power and gold then come to the Meteora kingdom. Your destiny awaits your there alongside your wildest fantasy."

Today

The King waited in a small room inside the castle. A table placed perfectly in the center of the table with roughly 10 chairs around the table. The walls were decorated with paintings and murals from across the kingdom.
In the background, a man played the violin elegantly making the mood of the room tranquil and at ease. The King himself sat at what would be the head of the table. One by one as his honored guests arrived they would be greeted by the steward Gunthrum, an elderly man though tall and well built, gray hairs surround his head and face. They would then be escorted to the room with the King. 2 Guests had already arrived. A knight clad in armor with a blue scarf around his neck. Anyone who had visited the city occasionally would know this man to be none other than Sampson Ubecha. The other, a small boy with white hair and glasses. His obvious look you could tell he wasn't from here or anywhere nearby. The small group waited for the rest to arrive as servants brought out food and snacks to pass the time.

[Genni]

As she set foot inside the city Arwyn couldn't believe what she saw around her. It was even worse than she'd feared. As far as she could see there was nothing but rough stone and butchered wood, and between the haphazardly built structures more humans than she'd seen in her life, all in one place at the same time. Already she noted the eyes turning in her direction, and knew that she must've been an unusual sight for these barbarous savages.

Her tall, slender frame with the exquisitely tailored armour hugging her athletic form perfectly would obviously upset the uncultured louts, whose own bodies seemed like short, pudgy sacks to her elven eyes. Taking a moment to centre herself, the Shadowbow summoned her cloak around her, letting the air solidify into a thick black shadow which hung down from her shoulders and flowed up over her head into the shape of a hood. The disguise was clumsy by her standards, but as she made her way down the street Arwyn was satisfied to see the humans turning back to their rustic tasks.

Pulling the parchment she'd received from her pouch, Arwyn quickly scanned over the instructions before glancing around her to get her bearings. From what she'd been told her destination should be the large stone structure in the centre of the city, but although she could see the building from when she was, the low buildings between her and it seemed to be blocking her path most inconveniently. With a troubled sigh the elf quickened her pace and quickly scrambled up the wall before flipping onto the rooftop with one fluidly motion. The path was a lot clearer now, with the tiles and thatches stretching ahead leading a stright path to her destination.

Only a few minutes later Arwyn dropped down into the courtyard of the castle, spooking several horses tied up nearby, as well as the soldiers guarding the main entrance. "I'm here as commanded," the elf said in sombre tones, holding the parchment before her for inspection.

Gathering his wits one of the guards qucikly read the notice before nodding his head with a disheartened smile. "Very good, Ma'am. If you'd please follow my associate he'll take you to the main hall." With a wave of his hand the armoured human clumsily gestured to another of his kind, who saluted messily before turning away and moving though the archway into the building. Taking this as an indication to follow Arwyn made her way through the hallways and passages before finally arriving at the meeting room.

Nodding her gratitude to the guard, the elf pushed the door open and found herself face to face with yet another human. There were so many of them it was surprising they managed to find any space to themselves. This new human seemed to be expecting something, so Arwyn handed over the parchemnt with an unintentded flourish. "Arwyn Dúlóth Gurthchwest Thúlnún of Glad-o Dú. I come in search of my destiny."

Gunthrum eyed the document suspiciously before gesturing over to the waiting seats. "Very good, mi'lady. If you would ake a seat we shall soon be beginning."

Making her way over to the nearest waiting chair Arwyn lowered herself down onto the uncomfortable seat, her eyes darting cautiously over the other humans in the room. They all seemed skilled to the limited degree any human could, although Arwyn was a little uncertain of the short one. Was he a dwarf, or was he really as young as he seemed?

[Jerkchicken]

A couple of days ago Rio was lounging lazily amidst the outdoor patio of the WAA building. He sat on a thick bough as he munched away on a ripe pear, whose flesh was so succulent that juice dripped to the ground with each bite. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw some greater amount of moment and voices from inside. Eventually the commotion got big enough that his curiosity was piqued and he just had to see what was going on. Approaching one of the attendant he asked, "Hey Neal, what's going on? "

"The King of Meteora has sent a dispatch to all WAA branches asking for adventurers to come see him to investigate a dungeon that mysteriously appeared." replied Neal.

"Huh, anything else?" Rio said.

"Well if you want to get there first you should sign up as everyone else is going to sign up and rush to the call since there's the potential of a fat payout provided success."

"Then sign me up! I'll be rushing to the next airship to Meteora then." Rio said cheerfully. While the potential rewards was great, his instinct told him that it was going to be a lot of work to go through. Still, it would be something to do that would hopefully let him gain rank and that license, perhaps he could find something that would help him learn further about his gauntlet as well.

The flight over to Meteora was pretty uneventful and gave Rio plenty of time to rest up for the journey. A gentle breeze under the warmth of the noonday sun accompanied him as he made way to the castle. Already there was quite a bit other odd looking people, no doubt adventurers, who were moving around town. This city looked nice but he'd hopefully have time later to acquainted with Meteora once this meeting was over and perhaps during down time of exploring this dungeon.

Upon entering the room he quickly scanned the room. He was surprised at the man who looked about the same age as him sitting in front of everyone. After being being escorted to a seat he thanked the old man and took a seat. It felt more like a formal dinner party with the music playing in the background. He didn't care for it but it wasn't a deal breaker either. He scanned the room around and saw some knight, a kid, and some flavor of elf. He closed his eyes for a moment only to be alerted by some worker offering a snack and refreshments. Seemed like it was a dinner party after all. A lazy "nah" floated out from his mouth as he closed his eyes again.

[Ithradine]

𝓐𝓻𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮
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In the couple of months after leaving his homeland and joining up with the WAA, Arton found himself in constant demand among the other other adventurers of his rank. It turned out that Arton was good, really good as hold down the front-line and defending others from getting overwhelmed. While others may turned away from such a task by its inherent danger, Arton found himself filling the role of a tank happily. However, he was feeling his growth halting where he was currently working out of. That was why when the call to travel to Meteora to assist its King came, he was all too eager to sign up.

The countless looks from people as he passed through the street was something he had gotten used to already. It was not their fault he appeared so different from what they were used to, Draeni hardly settled outside of Roughann. What he sincerely missed was the communal spires of his home, these human kingdoms were so inefficient and difficult to navigate compared to Roughann's cities. Nonetheless, the city possessed its own unique charm.

He managed to find his way to the front gate of the castle, where he was approached by the guard "Halt." He spoke firmly, Arton stood several inches over the armed soldier "Are you one of the adventurers here by our King's request?" He asked astutely, looking at the Draeni up and down. Arton nodded with a faint smile "That's right. Here..I got the papers right here." He had them in his hand already, expecting this to happen. The guard nodded with a solemn, unchanging expression "Mhm, Allen here will guide you to the room where the rest are." He pointed to a younger looking guard who gave a light salute at being mentioned.

The interior of the Castle completely astounded him. His family was never wealthy so the ornate paintings and statues that decorated the halls were something new to him. It all was so different than what he was used too, therefore it was interesting to him. Allen led him to the room without saying a word, Arton was too busy gazing at all the sights anyway "Here you are, sir." He said plainly, though Arton could the nervousness expressed in his face "Thank you Allen, I probably would have gotten lost without you!" He laughed lightly, seeming to get the anxious guard to chuckle just a little "Yeah, well good luck." Allen replied a bit more friendly this time around, departing down the corridor.

At last he had arrived, he could hear the dulled sound of a violin through the door. His hand opened the door and it grew much louder as he saw the others who had gathered here already. Slowly he made his way further inside, his expression appearing cold though this was merely because he slipped back into old habits. His dark eyes glanced between the characters in the room, one immediately striking him out as the king. The other four he had no idea who they were, but he hoped he would find out. However, one individual drew his interest over all the others. He wasn't even sure what she was, but her appearance and clothing were just so foreign to him that his curiosity couldn't resist.

He walked over to the nearest chair to her and asked "Mind if I take this seat?" He asked rather politely, his expression solid and unchanging as he waited for her permission. Once had, he sat down after setting his bag behind him "My name is Arton Yule, an adventurer with the WAA. What's yours?" He asked directly, friendly in his tone. His people didn't waste time with asking pointless questions. Unknowingly, the person who he was talking to was a Dark Elf who held disdain for the culture of other kingdoms.

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

_{Interacting with:@Genni}

[Pseudo Stygian]

"Are you wizard?" asked the little urchin boy. He was fast, even for an urchin. He was always one step ahead of Nanda as she slipped through Meteora's many alleyways. "Is that how you do that trick with the coins, earlier?"

Nanda grinned. That trick earlier was nothing; something to impress people on the streets, and distract them from the urchins scurrying away with their purse. Perhaps not the best thing to do in a new city, especially since she was hired by the literal King of the place, but she couldn't pass the opportunity up. The kids were practically worshipping her now.

"What do you think?" she said. She flicked her fingers and her cloak burst into flames... or at least that was what it looked like. In a split-second the flames seemed to be absorbed into her cloak, turning the drab black cloth into a burning red. A velvety, expensive-looking burning red.

The boy stopped in his tracks and stared wide-eyed.

"Sure, I'm a wizard." She laughed. "So you said you know where the castle is?"

The boy grinned.

---

"Ananda, princess of Zamrud," she announced herself to the elderly steward. She was no proper princess, of course, but she made sure to look the part, mostly through her cloak. It was a piece of wonder, fine red velvet decked around the edges with what appeared to be gems.

Gunthrum said nothing as he read the official WAA parchment she had given him. Finally, he gave it back to her. "I though Zamrud doesn't have any royalty."

"It doesn't," Nanda chuckled. "There's no royalty so anybody can be prince and princess."

He sighed, apparently not seeing the humour in it. "Please, have a seat."

Nanda bowed with a flair, then turned her attention to the room. There were a couple of people already, some she thought she recognized from the WAA. And there's the king! At the head of the table, of course.

"It is an honour to meet you, your majesty," she said with a curtsey. This king in particular wasn't very much interested in court manners, she heard, but it seemed a waste not to pull it off. She then took a seat somewhere in the middle of the table, a good place to observe all the others, or to be seen herself.

[Champion]

The king patiently waited for the arrival of the rest of his guests. One by one they were each escorted to the meeting room. The last to enter, a young girl claiming herself to be a princess. The King waited 15 minutes after her entrance to begin his meeting. With a simple wave of his hand, the attendants, servers, and violinists all left the room. Gunthrum was the only one to remain, standing silently on the Kings left side waiting for an order. The mood of the room suddenly changed to a more deathly-serious tone. The King showed a welcoming smile before he began to speak. "Oi oi. Seems like this is everyone. Well, thank you all for joining us here in the castle. For those I haven't met yet, I am the King of Meteora Kingdom, L'eonard Aldvin. I assume that all of you have chosen to come here for whatever reasons, the goal will be the same." The King snapped his fingers never taking his eyes off his guests. Gunthrum placed a mat on the table. The map had been altered by some form of magic and thusly a more detailed map projected from the paper into the air itself. "This is a map of the area outside the city. About a week ago, a dark cloud appeared here shooting a bolt into the ground." The king pointed to the map and it instantly was marked with an X. "I figured that it must have been some sort of dungeon. So I sent my Champion to investigate."

Up until now the Kings voice was happy and cheerful. Now it began to change into a more worrisome tone. "He has yet to return. I fear that something has happened inside the dungeon. Even worse, Meteora's enemies linger on the border. If they were to find out about the Champions absence they will surely attack the capital." The King stood walking over to a bag in the corner. This was the first time the King looked away from his guests. He returned, dropping the bag on the table. The sound of thousands of coins smacking together could be heard. I have 20,000 gold here for anyone that returns alive with my champion.
The treasure you find inside is yours to keep. The knight Sampson began to speak. "My King, why have you summoned me here? Their adventures look skilled enough to take on this mission." True, however, I have a different mission for you and Jack. Jack is from the college of knowledge and will be a great help while moving through the dungeon. However hes just a boy. You will protect him Sampson.
If you happen to reach the end and extract the artifact, there will be a bonus for bringing it back."

The King moved to the door opening it up. Now if there are any questions please follow me and id be happy to answer them on the way out. Im afraid time is of the essence." The King exited the room first, followed by Gunthrum, Jack and lastly Sampson. The King was heading towards the Castle entrance where another platoon of Apostle Knights waited to escort the group across the plain and to the dungeon itself.

[Genni]

"Mind if I take this seat? My name is Arton Yule, an adventurer with the WAA. What's yours?"

Arwyn's first reaction as the human lunged towards her was to reach for her blade, but when she heard his name, in the strange gutteral tongue the foreignerrs used, her hand paused mid-gesture.

"Yule?" She asked curiously, "Are you also of the wood?" As she spoke the elf glanced down at the man's attire. It didn't seem appropriate for the woodlands, but then again they were not currently in the woodlands and it was entirely possible he had chosen to change into clothing more suitable for the human nest. "I am named Arwyn Dúlóth Gurthchwest Thúlnún of Glad-o Dú. I come in search of my destiny."

Before their conversation could continue the meeting seemed to come to order, with one of the other humans addressing the crowd in front of him as though he were the assigned leader for this endeavour. As the 'King' spoke Arwyn studied him carefully. Nothing about his demeanour sewemed to indicate he was a great man in any way, everything from his posture to the turn of phrase he chose spoke of mediocrity, but for some reason the others in the room paid heed to him, and so Arwyn followed their lead. This was a strange place for her after all, and a person's true depths were rarely uncovered at first glance.

As the King finished his presentation, turning to discuss another mater with the armoured individual seated across the roomn Arwyn found herself puzzled by the turn of events. "You said this 'Champion' of yours was sent on the quest, but now you gather us to go after him?" She asked, raising to her feet, the shadows of her cloak dissipating around her as she moved, Arwyn followed the King towards the doorway. "If you had need of our services, why was time wasted with someone not skilled in the task?"

[Ithradine]

𝓐𝓻𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

The question briefly perplex him, not sure what it was supposed to mean. Ebonglen did have a large forest nearby he supposed and he did explore it often. Pitch-black eyes blinked in slight amazement at her long and elegant sounding name, even the tone of voice she used brought a certain majesty to it. And she spoke of finding her 'destiny'? He was sure what that was but it sounded very important.

His attention turned to commotion around him as people left the room, leaving only a select few behind. The individual he idenified as the King began to speak, grabbing her all of their attention as a impressive map was laid down on the table. Magic wasn't his strong suit but it interested him nonetheless, as the minor amazement in his eyes could show. He immediately thought, If their champion was sent, then why call for us?. His question would quickly be answered, along with a troubling explanation.

A dungeon was a notably infamous place in the WAA, full of untold dangers and traps. It did not matter to Arton, though he was attracted to this quest for the experience and gold...there was now the entire safety of a kingdom and its people at stake. That was enough motivation to spur him past any hesitance he might have. He got up from his seat and followed the king and other member of the adventuring group. Arwyn's question seemed perfectly fine to Arton, not really understanding the way it might come off.

"Did the champion go with any others?" He decided to ask after Arwyn. If there were more people to look for, it was vital to know. No one was getting left behind if Arton could help it. Everything was kicking off rather suddenly, but he was prepared as he ever could be. Soon they would all be fighting together against heaven-knows-what in the dungeon.

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

[Champion]

As the King exited the building he was first approached by the Night Elf of the group. L'eonard had heard of the Night Elf people but he had never seen one before in person. A look of fascination crept across the king's face. He couldn't help but ponder her up and down, taking extreme note of her clothing. He couldn't help himself but intrude into her personal space and lightly flick her armor. He was quickly interrupted by Gunthrum clearing his throat very loud and abrupt. Taking a mental note of everything he just learned the look vanished from his face. He briefly cleared his throat. "Apologies.....Arwyn? To answer your question. Chett and I have conquered 2 dungeons in our time of knowing each other. He is very strong and knowledgeable. But even then it only took us 5 days max. I do agree with you though, that time has been wasted. The King came to a complete stop as the Draeni, Arton, asked his question. I mean this group looks really strong. How many dungeons have you conquered? I should have called the WAA in the first place." The group now stood in front of the front doors to the castle leading out into the courtyard. Before the King could answer the question for himself, Sampson spoke."15 Knights hand-picked from my own elite squad by me. They're ready to die to complete their mission!"


After speaking, Sampson hawks a loogy on the floor. Gunthrum immediately begins cleaning it with a rag. The King glares at Sampson, letting out a slight killing intent. He points his finger at Sampson. "Bad Dog!" A small stream of water hits Sampson in the face through the opening in his helmet. Afterward, he releases the pressure and turns towards the door pushing them open.
"What he says is true. 15 men. Try to find them but don't strain yourselves. Dungeons are perilous and sometimes infinite with millions of pathways. I recommend you lot stay together. The King began laughing loud and obnoxious like. "What am I saying?! Your all dungeon crawling badasses!" On the other side of the door were 2 knights. Sampson led the group out, while Gunthram and L'eonard stayed inside the castle. "These 2 knights will escort you to the dungeon. It is up to you to complete your task." The 2 knights stood on top of what seemed to be a carpet. Once everyone was standing on it, the 2 knights began to conjure magic spells that made the carpet float and then take off high into the sky. From that high up, the group could see the view of the entire city as well as ships sailing in from miles away. On the outer edge of the city was a formation of earth that looked like it obviously didn't belong there. The magic carpet was flying the group directly towards it. It was then that the usually silent boy began to speak. "Hey!! Look at that. It's the entrance...oooooooh. This looks interesting." Jack began spazzing out into his book. Upon getting closer the group could see the dungeon clear as day.

Dungeon

The area around the entrance was scorched black, however, ash covered the majority of the area. The entrance itself resembled a giant head with the mouth serving as a gateway beckoning the heroes to go deeper. The eyes glowed red and emitted a smoke cloud that rained ash into the area. The place reeked of death and despair. Jack was the first off the carpet before it could even land. He was cycling through his book taking note of everything around him. From the way, the dungeon looked, to the ash clouds above that only lingered around the head of the dungeon. Anyone with magic affinity could feel darkness emitting from the cloud. Sampson quickly hoped off to catch up with the boy."Loooooook at that cloud. It's so beautiful." The boy seemed hypnotized by the very essence of the dungeon. "Stay close kid you don't know what may come out of that pl-" Before Sampson could finish his speech a lone knight began walking out of the dungeon. Exhaustion could be heard from each step he took. One after another until he was finally visible to the entrance. He made brief eye contact with the group before collapsing. "Cap..tain?" His armor looked bloody and beaten. The soldier himself was missing an arm and his helmet. Sampson quickly rushed to his aid.

[Jerkchicken]

Rio kept quiet and let the scene play out between the elf woman and the king. He was somewhat amused at the insolence at display. The king’s reaction was surprising as he was expecting a bit more annoyance than curiosity. But he was more focused on a far more important thing that was, that this champion of his would be lost despite his rather impressive credentials are dungeon running. It was shaping up to be a potential suicide mission, which didn’t quite sit well with him. But then again, he knew the potential risks to be had by signing up for this mission. As he stepped onto the carpet he readied his weapon and waited. He had to admit this method of traveling was a bit unusual but at least it was pretty fast. He looked at the entrance the moment the boy spotted it. Its foreboding nature was quite obvious what with the face and ominous eerie smoke being belched out.

His walking pace shifted to a sprint when the group spotted a soldier coming out that entrance. Rio followed suit after Sampson and the other soldiers that made way to their fallen comrade. He thought back to Sampson’s line about the knights but with the number down by one. The possibility of a dead man greeting them at their arrival wasn’t a great thing to start off with. Rio stood close but to the side of Sampson and his men as they attended this soldier. As he stood by for further instruction he cast his gaze upon the entrance. His ability was active as now would be a good time to make sure something doesn’t pop out of that entrance. "Tell me if you need me to do something." was all he said among this commotion.

[Genni]

As the human poked her Arwyn's arm began to reach up to snap his finger, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed that even her small gesture of defiance had several of the nearby guard tensing up, their own hands moving towards their weapons or raising bows subtly towards her direction. After a moment's consideration she relaxed herself once more. After all she was here in search of her destiony and killing all of the guards would waste far too much of her valuable time.

At least the little man had answered her question, although his response raised several more. Her own people would never contemplate sending an unworthy representative on a quest without them having passed the ritual testing to prove they were the best suited for the task. Even now the humans seemed to be simply choosing randomly from whomever gathered and throwing all of them at the problem, rather than having each compete for the right to complete the task alone, saving the others for tasks which would best suit their abilities for the greater good.

They were soon introduced to even more candidates for the task at hand and Arwyn had to almost physically prevent herself from throwing her arms up in despair at the sheer wastefulness of the whole endeavour. The humans almost seemed to be trying to outdo themselves with unskilled combatants who would most likely not even last the first day in the dungeon which had been described to them. Especially not if their greatest warrior, who must assuredly have outclassed all of the knights presented before them, had already failed in the task.

One of the armoured figures towards the rear of the group seemed particularly unsuited to the role, the bright red tunic he wore over his armour almost crying out to be shot at. If gambling had been something her people had experience with Arwyn would certainly have placed a large wager on that individual being one of the first to fall.

Leading the group onto a waiting rimpa lán the knights began to chant what seemed a bastardised cantrip based on elven magics which had long been superceded by more enlightened enchantments among her people, but as the carpet rose swiftly into the air Arwyn had toi admit that even though outdated and obsolete the old spells still had some value to them. Before long the party were settling back down to the ground not far from a gaudily carved entranceway which seemed far more elaborate than the setting entirely required. Shaking her head Arwyn joined the several of the others as they made their way closer.

When a figure began to emerge from the cave the shadowbow was immediately on guard, her bow in her hands before any of the human could react and the string pulled back as she began to channel her energies into the weapon. Her cloak immediately closed in around her, generating a mist which obscured her position until she began to relax, recognising the similar style of crudely crafted armour the other humans were wearing on the approaching stranger.

Relaxing her posture, Arwyn let the magic seep from her bow, reabsorbing it into herself as the arrow vanished back into mothingness once more. Examining the newcomer from a distance she noticed he seemed to be missing some parts to his armour compared to the other humans, and while the removal of his helmet was understandable, as the rough piece of metalwork would do nothing but impair the wearer's senses and awareness of their surroundings, the missing gauntlet, vambrace and couter seemed a strange choice, especially considering his arm also appeared to have been left behind along with the armour pieces.

Leaving the humans to deal with the presumably injured man, Arwyn quickly moved over towards the cave entrance, seting herself up in a position within its shade that gave her a clear view down into the ominous opening. With her bow held at the ready, prepared to summon and loose an arrow at a moment's notice, the elf settled in to guard the way ahead while the humans discussed matters amongst themselves.

[Ithradine]

𝓐𝓻𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

It always astounded him how easily read the emotions of other races were, especially humans. A two-second glance was all it normally took him to figure out what they were feeling. The changes in posture and facial expressions were enough to dis-certain this. His first impression of Arywn was that she was rather unimpressed with everything around her. Hardly anything seemed be worth her time. When she asked him if he was of the woods, He couldn't help but think that the change in her expression came from the hope of some kind of familiarity.

The more he learned of the Champion, the more he began to believe that this would hardly be like anything he's been through before. Arton had been through two dungeons along with a party of other adventurers, always able to rely on his solid defense to protect him and his teammates. Now he was now sure if that would be enough in this situation. The knight named Sampson replied to his question instead of the king, and he didn't like the use of die in his speech. The spit shot onto the floor was more confusing, Arton not understanding what that was supposed to mean.

Arton didn't like the fact the King was so willing to let 15 of his supposedly elite guard just to die "There shall be no man left behind if I can help it, your majesty." He responded strongly. His advice was not all that helpful, they were taught that at the WAA rather early in their admission. Arton found the King...rather hard to read, he felt he was hiding something under his strong expressions.

He simply admired the view of the city as they left it, turning his attention forward as they approached the dungeon. While menacing, it was normal of dungeons to have a sort of foreboding entrance. At the very least, its presence was enough to deter some ambitious treasure seekers who'd otherwise get trapped or killed. Their landing was rather quiet, the accompanying knights faces obscured by their helmets.

Arton's body tensed as he spotted the figure, his right hand hovering over the hilt of his sword in its scabbard. It was only when the man spoke did he drop his guard some. He could see fear in the man's tired eyes, his body moved barely able to carry his own weight let alone the armor on him. A somber look befell the Draeni, the state of the knight did not bode well for the others. That did not mean he would relent in his personal mission to make sure as many came back alive as possible. Since he didn't know healing magic or medicine, he rushed forward drawing his sword and shield to guard at the mouth of the dungeon. His sword and shield greatly outclassed the appearance of his armor in both construction and design.

His blackened eyes noticed that Arywn had decided to watch the entrance as well, giving him a bit more comfort knowing she was watching his back. From her earlier reaction, He had figured she was a rather sharp shot with that bow. As much as he wished to help the wounded solider, he was better suited where he was now. "I'm afraid I'm not of the wood.." He suddenly spoke out "At least, not in the way I suspect you mean it." Arton was not able to answer her earlier "So much for an elite knight though." It might have sounded harsh, but he spoke this with sadness. If they were truly elite, then whatever was in this dungeon could not be allowed to live.

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

_{Interacting with:@Genni}

[Pseudo Stygian]

"I mean this group is really strong," said the king. "I should have called the WAA in the first place."

Nice sarcasm, your majesty, Nanda wanted to say, but she only smiled. She couldn't tell whether to take the king seriously. He seemed like someone who is unironically fun at parties, and that already earned a point of respect from her. Another point came when he revealed that the escort method is an honest-to-goodness flying carpet. Nanda shook her head in amazement.

"Boy, people would kill to get sights like this."

The view was certainly remarkable, and Nanda made it a point to memorise the layout of the city while they were far above. It was a very short trip unfortunately, and soon the dungeon was in sight.

It was a grim-looking place, and she could feel nothing but bad vibes coming from either the dark clouds or its dark cavern. "Loooooook at that cloud. It's so beautiful," the boy said, which surprised her. It took her a while to realise that, yes, well, there was something of a beauty to it? A beauty that was cut short by the emergence of the bloody soldier.

Nanda rushed to the injured man along with Sampson. "You're going to be okay," she said, firmly. "What happened in there?"

One of her hands went to the dagger in his belt. The red colour melted from his cloak, turning it the colour of the ground. She glanced at the dungeon's entrance. 15 elite knights, gone. Hmm, she might have to take this more seriously than the king was making it out to be.

[Champion]

The soldier seemed to be unresponsive to those that were trying to help him. Sampson conjured up a fireball and shove it into the soldiers still bleeding arm. The Knight seemed to not feel the pain as his wound was burned shut. "Open your eyes Jackson! Stay with me!" With a heavy-handed smack, the young boy Jack, slapped the Knight in the face. Jack no! You disrespectful little-" Just then the Soldier came back to reality. "Cap-Captain...is it....really you?" The dying knight said almost to his last breath. "Rest now. We'll get you back to the city." The Captain motioned for the soldiers that accompanied them there to take the wounded back to the city where he could get some much-needed healing. As the 2 knights are dragging their comrade back to the carpet the injured soldier suddenly screams out. "Watch out....they're coming...." This caught Sampson off guard as he was primarily focused with tending to the injured.

The group split, a few went to assist the injured man while the others acted as a shield for what was to come out of the entrance. Good thinking on their part as a few moments pass, a pair slow clumsy footsteps could be heard approaching. Heavy armor clinking about as the footsteps begin to approach closer and closer. A figure could be seen in the distance. A slightly taller person with bigger and bulkier armor then the soldier that had previously exited. Sampson turned towards the entrance seeing as much as he could into the darkness. "Brother?" Anyone whose eyes could adjust to the dark could see the figure plain as day. It was a Skeletal Monster,
wearing dark retro-style armor and carrying a large axe. Upon further examination, one could see he wasn't alone either. He had at least 2 behind him. As the Wraith approached closer, it let out a large screech before charging the line towards Arwyn and Arton.

Undead Soldier

Name: Undead Soldier
Species: Low level undead
Class: Knight
Appearance


Stats

HP 100
MP 0

Vitality: 4
Speed: 1
Strength: 5
Endurance: 3
Mana: 0

[Genni]

HP 75 MP 50 Sta Full

The shadowbow’s keen eyes (Keen Eye ability, Darkvision racial trait) picked out the details of the creatures moments before they began to screech, and in those seconds Arwen quickly assessed them based off what she could see. Their ancient pitted armour showed signs of battle both old and recent, and their rotting flesh seemed resilient to standard damage.

Unsure if a straight headshot would even stop the creatures Arwen instead lowered her aim for their legs, firing off several arrows as the monstrosities began to charge forwards. Hopefully her attacks would at least slow their advance, if not immobilise them completely. (Three Standard Arcane Arrows STR 3 Attacks, targeting the creatures' legs)

[Ithradine]

𝓐𝓻𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

Stats

Newbie
Level 1
HP 125
MP 25

Vitality: 5
Speed: 3
Strength: 7
Endurance: 7
Mana: 3

Arton held his shield firmly in front of his chest, covering his vitals, as the soldier screamed. The wounded man wasn't just stumbling out of the dungeon, he was fleeing from enemies. He readied himself for combat as he was reinforced by the other members of their party, but he took the center. Soon enough, three figures emerged from the mouth of the dungeon...decayed and decrepit. They would not pass, not while he stood.

He lifted his shield to block the wraith's attack, and to keep him away, then followed up with a powered strike(Hyper Slash) across the attacker's torso. Piercing attacks hardly did good against these kind of creatures. They were terrible abominations, evil monsters that must be destroyed. That much was certain "Send them back to their graves!" He chanted, a look of disdain on his face at the creatures.

[Jerkchicken]

"Watch out....they're coming...."

This was the magic sentence that made Rio turn his attention to the entrance which was currently being guarded by the elf and that guy. From the dimness was a metallic clinking sound with a herky-jerky rhythm. The source of this noise would soon reveal itself in the form of a shuffling undead soldier. He saw it lurch over and start charging at the two as it screeched, with two other ones like itself in tow.

As he watched the battle unfold he flexed his clawed hand in anticipation. He looked at their armor and figured what needed to be done to help out. Waiting for the two in front of him to finish their attacks, he then ran off to the side in indirect manner not wanting to draw the enemies' attention, and then ran at them them from the side to flank them and deliver an empowered slash at all three of them with his claw (rend). His goal was less to hurt them and more to specifically destroy that armor that get in the way of delivering blows to them. After delivering the blow he continued to run and then loop around back to the group.

[Champion]

Character Status

Arwyn Arton Rio Nanda
HP: 75 HP: 125 HP: 125 HP: 100
MP: 50 MP: 25 MP: 25 MP: 50
Status: Clear Status: CLear Status: Clear Status: Clear
Stamina: Full Stamina: Full Stamina: Full Stamina: Full
EXP to LVL: 60------------------------------------------------------

The undead charged forward towards the entrance of the dungeon. They were first met by arrows that seemed to disintegrate into nothing upon making contact with the monsters. While Sampson accompanied the soldiers back to the carpet, Jack seemed to move in closer towards the entrance unsuspected. He pulled out a book that began to shine and make his eyes shine. "I just need to get a closer look..." The boy whispered creeping up behind Arton just as the monsters made contact with his shield. Artons defense was built to withstand even such a charge from the first undead as he holds his ground not budging an inch. As the second one impacts, the force increases. By the third one, Arton could be seen slightly getting pushed back. As Arton attacked back at the wraiths, the first would raise its arm to guard. However, this was a hopeless attempt as its arm was completely destroyed. From the side of the monsters, Rio charged in landing a critical blow on all of them. The wraith in the front taking majority of the damage. The first wraith was reduced to nothing but ashes as the other 2 scatter. One to the Left and one to the right. Just then Jack spoke, now appearing at Sampson's side. "These are Undead soldiers. They have magic resistance. USE FIRE!!! The boys' voice appeared to be strong and omnipotent, a complete change from the child that once spoke.

Battle Calculations
{Arwyns attack has no effect}
{Arton Deals 25 Damage to Undead 1}
{Rio Deals 80 Damage to Undead 1, 40 Damage to Wraith 2 & 3}
{Undead 1 Destroyed}
{Rio Looses Quarter Stamina}

Undead 2: The monster slides to the right after suffering some damage from Rio's attack. After a unified screech with the other undead, it turns its sights to Arton. This soldier was carrying a large ax, however, any former skills the person possessed with the weapon was now gone. Its stance was sloppy and its movements were more than slow, its will remained unchanged. It charged once more towards Arton, this time lifting its ax and dropping it down with all its undead might.
HP: 60

Undead 3: The undead rolls off to the right, in the same direction as Rio. This one seems to be holding a grudge from the attack earlier. This monster carried no weapon and yet it still charged reeling forward towards Rio. It releases a barrage of slow and sluggish punches towards him.
HP: 60

[Genni]

HP 75 MP 50 Sta Full

Growling angrily as her arrows melted away when they made contact with the enemy Arwyn began to back away from the monsters, trying to decide whether to hit them with a more powerful attack or switch to her magoli. Just then she heard the young boy's voice calling out, and with a smile she knew what to do.

Calling the power of the wind to her she launched herself high into the air (Light Step ability), giving herself a clear line of fire to the undead soldier armed with the axe. Channelling her energy into her bow she launched a fiery arrow directly at the beast's head (Elemental (Fire) Arcane Arrows STR 10 Attack, targeting Undead 2's head) using the force of the release to flip herself backwards before landing gracefully on the ground several feet further from the monstrosities than where she'd started.

[Pseudo Stygian]

Ananda
HP 100 MP 24/50

The injured soldier's scream set Nanda on edge. Almost by instinct, she casted Fleeting Steps on herself, then soundlessly made her way around the group, taking a good measure of the dungeon's entrance. When the undead appeared, she was somewhat closer to the entrance than anyone ought to be. Fortunately the monsters more concerned with with attacking the nearest bulky adventurer than a particularly sneaky rogue.

Nanda considered a sneak attack, but as the undead crashed and pushed back the bulky adventurer, she discarded it as a bad idea. Instead she focused on the adventurer, Arton. His muscles should be able to hold on harder than that, could they? Wordlessly, Nanda spoke to his Strength, convincing them that they're stronger than they seemed (Fool Sense +2).

"These are Undead soldiers. They have magic resistance. USE FIRE!!!" said the boy all of a sudden.

"Kid, you're not making sense," Nanda muttered. "They have magic resistance so we ought to use magic?"