Supermaxx

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: Laughing Worg Tavern -- City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

'Ah, Jesus, she's a wreck.'

Graves struggled to keep his composure in the face of Artemis's grief. This was about as far out of his comfort zone as he could get. He briefly glanced over his shoulder, wishing he could delegate this to anybody else, but it proved fruitless. Everyone else was locked in heated argument about their next move. It wasn't exactly a flattering first impression for Artemis, even if it was accurate. They fought often and loudly, over things big and small alike. It irritated him to say the least.

"Look, I'm..." He hesitated a moment before lifting a hand to the woman's shoulder, giving it an awkward pat and squeeze. Smooth, Graves. Real smooth.

He turned to face her, eyes searching hers for a reaction as he spoke: "I'm gonna honest. It ain't easy to lose people, 'specially right in front of you. I've been there." Memories passed in the back of his mind, heavy as fog from the sea. Pressing on past it, he nodded his head back to the table. Alex had since joined them and Alja had stormed off in a huff to the bar. Maybe that signaled a break in the 'discussion.' He hoped so, for their new guest's sake. "Most'a them have, too. Nobody'll judge you for hurtin', n' if they do I'll punch 'em in the mouth. You got my word."

"I'm not gonna make ya stay if ya don't want to. 'Ppreciate the thanks but it ain't necessary. It was, uh, the least we could do." That was the best he could manage. He let loose a breath he didn't know he was holding in, taking a step away from her to give her space to think. He hoped he hadn't been too blunt; conveying sympathy was harder than Seele made it look. Silence hung for the moment as Artemis considered her next move.

It looked like she'd made up her mind as she set her now empty drink down and turned to leave, but something caused her to falter. Another freeze, like earlier. Indecision? A final word? No, a hook. Artemis tentatively put forward the idea that she could help with the current predicament. So she did want to stay; she just didn't want to feel like she was in the way. He understood that. Charity annoyed him too. "Yeah, sure. Could be we just need a fresh set of eyes on this thing to figure it out." Graves motioned for her to follow him as he turned, striding back toward the group.

"This is the, uh, girl, I told you all about." He cleared his throat. "She's Artemis, and these are..." He started around the table. "Kazuki, Benkei, Alex, Seele. You already met Rael, Alja's the mammoth at the bar, n' I'm Graves. Oh, and those two are Sif and Siegfried- they're from a different guild, but they're cool. We were all knee-deep in a dungeon together when the world got fucked. Take whichever seat ya like."

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: Laughing Worg Tavern -- City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Graves passed Kazuki a fresh tankard of ale as he joined the table. The healer skipped any pleasantries and went straight to business, eager to emphasize just how dire their situation was. From the sound of things Kazuki thought things would only get worse- not just for their group, but all the players still stranded in Thorinn. Sif piped up for the first time in agreement. They didn't have the gear to adventure, and the market for professions was going to be wildly different now than how it was before the Glitch. To Graves, it sure looked like they were getting fucked from both ends.

"It ain't right," he snapped, banging his mug on the table. "How the hell can they expect us'ta keep throwing ourselves at these dungeons like nothin's changed? I'm not buryin' any of you just so we can afford Kazuki's shitty house- no offense." He gave an apologetic shrug of his shoulders. "Look, I'm sure we're not the only players who feel this way. Maybe we can reach out to the other guilds in town and have a sit down. Present a united front. Make it clear to the queen that If she wants the wayfarers to keep Thorinn safe then things've gotta change."

There were plenty of holes in that plan, but it was the best he had. The denizens needed to understand that this wasn't a game anymore. The wayfarers were frighteningly mortal: the graves he'd dug for Aaginim, Atlas and Enos were more than enough proof of that. If they were going to continue tackling dungeons then they'd need to get a hell of a lot more out of it. The denizens wouldn't have any choice but to listen- unless they were planning on taking up arms and fighting themselves for a change.

Before anyone could respond to Graves' rant, the sound of the tavern's doors swinging open drew his eyes. A hooded woman he didn't recognize was standing in the entrance, frozen in place with indecision. It wasn't until she flipped her hood down that recognition flashed in his mind. Artemis. That poor soul they'd dragged out of the tunnels. She'd been a husk of a person when they found her, soaked to the bone and broken. He couldn't blame her. He could only imagine what it'd be like to go through all she'd been through. Could he even keep going, like she had?

He quickly snatched back the tankard he'd slid Kazuki and stood from his seat to approach her. Graves moved slowly, trying to keep it casual; she might not recognize him without the layers of rat shit and armor, and he wasn't exactly built like a teddy bear.

"Shitty mornin', huh?" He offered her the drink and a small smile. "We get a lot of those around here. Glad you came. In my experience its best not to spend 'em alone."

Gamblers of Vox Fortuna

Extremely rad claw you got there

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Graves grunted, shifting his gaze away from Seele. It was obvious something was wrong with her, even if she didn't want to admit it. Fine by him. He wasn't about to press the issue in front of everyone, or maybe at all for that matter- who'd want to have that kind of conversation with him? Just the idea of it was embarrassing enough. Seele was alright. If something was truly wrong she'd tell them about it. She probably just slept poorly.

"Pretty sure I still got fur stuck in my throat," He grinned, looking from Alja to Rael. "Thems the lengths I gotta go to 'ta keep your scrawny ass alive. She's like a lemming, I swear to God. Y'turn around for one second and she's jumping off the nearest cliff."

He had to admit it was nice to have the gang back together without the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. That dungeon crawl would hopefully keep his hunger satisfied, at least for a time. Graves was looking forward to a week or two of sleeping in and day drinking without a care in the world.

Their fearless leader had other ideas. Benkei apparently hadn't wasted a moment's time while the rest of them were stuck underneath the city. He had a full spread of maps, ledgers and notices full of useless information in front of him that he was far too excited to talk about. It was all about Thorinn's leadership and how they were adapting to the Glitch. Seemed they weren't too happy about their once-immortal protectors deciding to hide within their walls. It made sense from Graves' perspective, obviously, but it was hard to put himself in the shoes of a bunch of NPCs. They seemed plenty smart, now, but did that mean they understood why the players were running scared? Could they even be made to understand?

Difficult questions Graves didn't much care to ponder. "I trust you, Benkei. You got a good head for stuff like this." He motioned to the stacks upon stacks of books. "I just hope somebody in that castle's willing to fork over some cash for all the shit we went through. Dunno how much longer I can stay in that shitty innhouse without losing my mind."

Gamblers of Vox Fortuna

<Snipped quote by Supermaxx>
Genius is never appreciated in its own time

@Lemons

this is why you're my #1 sidekick, lems

also how many in-progress sheets do we got sitting in the void? I know @TGM is almost done with hers and @Hero mentioned she was making one, but am I missing anyone?

Gamblers of Vox Fortuna

<Snipped quote by TGM>

@TGM

i am being attacked for presenting new ideas

Gamblers of Vox Fortuna

imagine using an ooc thread could never be me

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Location: ????

---

Graves' exhaustion didn't register until he opened the door to his room in the inn. All those hours of fighting to keep the group alive in the worst environment he could imagine hit at once. It battered him like a hurricane. His legs gave out before he could make it onto the bed. Best he could do was drag the blanket off the side and wrap it around his muck-slicked torso, his eyes fluttering shut despite his protests. Somehow, the dreams still found him here in the depths of unconsciousness.

He was standing in the middle of a warehouse packed with people spinning in time to the pounding music. Everything was slower than it should've been, like time was trapped in molasses. Andrew struggled forward. He pushed through the crowd of pressing bodies, desperation rising in his throat. Had to move. Had to hurry. He strained with every step, like he was trying to walk in waist-deep water. This wasn't the first time he'd been back here. Dread settled in his gut.

No matter how many times his mind brought him back to this moment the ending never changed. There was no changing the past. He kept marching onward irregardless.

'I'm coming, Will. Just hang in there a little longer.'

Something scurried between his legs. Andrew looked down, eyes going wide at the sight of furry bodies passing between over his feet. Hundreds of rats, fur stained with blood and sewage, were running in the same direction he was. Panic caused him to stumble. He reached out to catch himself, only to feel the crunch of tiny bones under his palm. Someone slammed their hip into his head and he went careening into the deluge of vermin. They raced over top of him, their tiny feet scratching at his skin, his face. Their chittering thundered in his ears. Opening his mouth to scream, he felt a discharge rise up and out of his throat.

Graves shot up from the floor, vomit and rat fur flying out of his mouth. He was sweating from every pore in his body. His hands were shaking. "What the hell?" His breathing was ragged as he dragged himself to his feet, still reeling from the nightmare.

He needed to wash off. Some hot water might do him some good. He took a steep toward the door and felt a sharp pain in his foot. Graves looked down. There was a needle embedded in his foot. Below that lay a syringe, discarded and dripping with a sickly orange fluid.

Location: The Innhouse -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

His eyes shot open for the second time. Every inch of his body ached. It screamed its protests at him for yesterday's excursion. Graves couldn't exactly blame it. Everything hurt, he smelled like shit, and his head was pounding. It was after he'd finally plied himself off the floorboards that he noticed the dried puke on his shirt. That part had happened, at least. He'd have to pay the innkeeper to grab him some new clothes while he went to wash up. As much as he'd like to wallow on the ground all morning, a hot bath sounded like heaven.

He let himself soak for a little over an hour. It was nice, and it gave him time to think.

For all the mistakes he'd made in his life, sticking with this pack of losers wasn't one of them. They weren't perfect- far from it. But they'd stuck by him through the worst couple weeks of his life; that had to count for something. It wasn't often Graves felt strongly about something one way or another, but...in that sewer, wading through the filth, he wanted all of them to get out of there alive. Wanted it more than anything he could imagine.

Nothing back in Westwood had stirred him like that. Not in years. All Graves had worried about since the Glitch was surviving to get back home. But as he sat, contemplating, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. There was nothing for him there. Not anymore. Andrew's life had ended long ago, even if his body hadn't realized it.

'I got a second chance,' he realized, staring up at the ceiling. 'Best not fuck it up.'

He dried off and dressed himself in the simple clothes of a denizen before heading off to the Laughing Worg. Convenience had made it their watering hole of choice. It was only a hop, skip and a jump from the innhouse, yet Graves was somehow the fourth to arrive.

"Morning, rat-fuckers." He waved as he approached, sliding into the seat beside Rael. "Ya'll look like how I feel." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Seele, curiosity and worry in his expression in equal measure.

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

Counteraction rising
Yeah, we are ready for the punch line
There's no use with all your gimmicks
So check this out!
Login you damned one's
Crush the wont you compromise
The noise comes we are ready to bow
What about the antidote for the jammed and hypnotized
Rend the lie that covers
Who's the real sucker now
咲き乱れた花のように 鮮やかな痛み抱き
佇む街を抜けて 迷いのセリフは捨て
還らない声よ響け
We say wow wow wow wow
Database, database
Just living in the database, wow wow
The wall of pure fiction's cracking in my head
And the addiction of my world still spreads
In the database, database
I'm struggling in the database, wow wow
It doesn't even matter if there is no hope
As the madness of the system grows
Crack in the key for the real clue
Mass redemption reigning on
But we know we've been longing for this
Cut it out the plot that deceived you
Drop the rebel sound shut the system down
Reveal the never found now
引き裂かれたとしても 虚構とも現実とも
見えるガレキの中で 戦い続けるだけ
Get damn all from big airheads
Yeah, you get damn all from big airheads
重なる世界でたぎる心に灯をともして
Database, database
Just living in the database, wow wow
The wall of pure fiction's cracking in my head
And the addiction of my world still spreads
In the database, database
I'm struggling in the database, wow wow
It doesn't even matter if there is no hope
Just say wow wow wow wow
Hey, wait a minute
What happened
The data is wrong
時に計算高さは蛇足 da calculator
統計にゆさぶられたまま消えていった (hey)
そうなりたくなきゃ database
だけに頼らず磨け自分のペース
Get damn all from big airheads
Yeah, you get damn all from big airheads
Get damn all from big airheads
Yeah, you get damn all from big airheads
Database, database
Just living in the database, wow wow
The wall of pure fiction's cracking in my head
And the addiction of my world still spreads
In the database, database
I'm struggling in the database, wow wow
It doesn't even matter if there is no hope
As the madness of the system grows
Database, database
Just living in the database
Database, database
Just say wow wow wow wow

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

lemin in a database