A Unification Quest

[Spectral Waltz]

You stood in a place whose name you forgot, tall white walls, high and distant ceilings. Around you, ancient relics lay, weapons and armors, yet it was not an armory. A display place, a museum, the word comes to you all at once. You were in a museum, that sounded right, but then what happened next?

"What was that?" "An Earthquake?"

There was shaking, but not like the tremble of tectonic forces, too sudden, like a violent impact, but what sort of impact could create such reverberations so deep underground? Cracks spiderwebbed in the glass around you, tinkling as little shards broke free and rained upon the marble tiles underfoot. "Get out of the building!" "Get to cover!" People screamed, but…

There was a sword.

Your eyes couldn't stop looking at it, as the case protecting it broke.

All the cases broke, the glass shattering in chunks as the entire hall heaved, as though the earth itself had decided to rise up and dance.

It was old, tarnished, but better kept than many specimens in the gallery. The information placard beneath told you little, but the blue gem set in the crossguard was striking, a note of brilliant perfect lines and colour on that old and warped thing, once a weapon.

Maybe it was the inevitability of death that drew your eyes to it.

The way that it swung on its stand when the earth bucked, the way it suddenly came free, seeming to hang in space for a moment before you realized it was moving, that it had been thrown towards you, point-first.

Maybe you were seeing your life flash before your eyes, but you couldn't remember, all you could remember was tarnished steel and gleaming sapphire blue.

Rubble was crashing down, the whole hall was collapsing, someone pulled at your sleeve, someone was shouting in your ear. You turned your head to look at your little sister, but your heart ached, beating around the ancient blade that was piercing it. It felt like ice, yet searing with the heat of pain at the same moment.

You had… A Sister?

BLUE. BLUE. BLUE.

Breath enters your lungs, blood pumps in your veins, for a moment you are acutely aware of everything in your body, at once, aching and sore. A bad dream? The air tastes like dust, your chest feels heavy, and there's something in your eyes…

You open your mouth and let a groan emerge, it doesn't sound right. The lights are all out, the entire gallery is shrouded in darkness but for a flashlight next to you, pointed in your direction.

No, not a flashlight, some kind of lantern? It's a little ball, a few inches in diameter, glowing with a gently-pulsing brilliance that feels… Familiar? "What…" Your voice still feels wrong, and you cough a couple times. "What is this?" More unsettling still is what looms above it, next to the strange glowing orb, the sword, the blue gem seems to twinkle as though it is alive, and for all that it still seems aged and tarnished, you can't help but note that it is stuck firmly into the marble tile, transfixing n̸̨͕̻̣͂̿̚o̵̡̟̝̤͙̾̈́̑͑͜ͅ ̶̺̪͈͓̾͐͛̓͋͠ͅ ̴̱̮͚͛̐n̶̢͎͓̜̻̺̱̂o̷͔̱͍͐͑͛͛̀̕n̶̘͍̼͆͒̋ǒ̵̡̦̓̍̊͋̀͑ ̶̣̃̽̈̕͘̕͠ ̵͖͎̣̹̱̘̅̓̉̚ṉ̸̛͔̰̀̃͑̔̊̈́o̸͙̗̝̬̭̜̟̅̊̐̑̚ ̵̻͈͉̎̔̊̀̍͗̂ ̶͕̊̀̏́̅́͛Ī̴̟͍̰͚̣̖͙̀̄͝ ̶̳͈̭̜̄͌̽͝ ̸̨̡̰̠͖̑́̇͐̆̕ ̷̜̲̯̺̐̍͛̾̍̈́̚ͅc̶̩̩̲͚͇̣͛́̏̌̚a̵̢̨͖̱̗̤͉̓ ̷̮̻̪̬̓ͅn̷̢̺̝͎̰̊̈́͂̄̕'̵̭̠͙͈̜̓̉͋͗͌͊t̸͈̞̦̤̪̤̑̏ on the way down.

No one answers but for yourself, echoing back to you from the walls. "What happened?" The gallery looks destroyed, rubble looming from the blackness.

"Hello?!"

You call out, and only silence answers you, silence and the wrongness of your voice. You reach up and rub your face, but your… Hair?

It's then that you finally take proper notice of the swell of your breasts, breasts that certainly didn't have any hint of swell in your memories.

"What the FUCK!?"

This time, something does answer, a low growl from the darkness, like some massive cat is out there, and then you see slit-pupiled golden eyes catch the light…

[ ] Fight (Sword)
[ ] Item (Light)
[ ] Run (NOPE.)

 

[Spectral Waltz]

Spoiler: Status List

Healthy -> Scraped -> Battered -> Bruised -> Breaking -> Death's Door -> Fatality

Name: Alia
Mood: Why?
Status: Breaking

Weapons:

• The Blue Sword: A mysterious blade that you woke next to. You have a memory of being killed by it. (Bond 1/10) (1d4)
• Kaumodaki: An Indian club you found in the ruins of an old museum. A caring and big-sisterly type of personality. (Bond 2/10) (1d4)

Stances:

• Aggressive - Stance focused on attacking the enemy to bring them down quickly and firmly. (Skill 2/10) (1d4)
• Defensive - Stance focused on directly defending against enemy attack while countering against openings. (Skill 1/10) (1d4)
• Trickster - Stance focused on outmaneuvering the opponent using unorthodox tactics. (Skill 1/10) (1d4)

Spoiler: Abilities

Aggressive​

Hectic Assault: +1 to rolls when cornered or terrified. A series of barely-coordinated strikes that seek to overwhelm the foe with pure desperate ferocity.

Defensive​

Divine Understanding Motive: Perfectly counter failed rolls at the cost of -2 health for each round that this ability is active. An enlightened understanding of all things that permits a near-perfect defense. Unfortunately, a human mind is not meant for this sort of information load. Requires Kaumodaki to be equipped.

Trickster​

 

[Spectral Waltz]

Spoiler: Codex: How to Combat

Combat in this quest is a simple affair.

First: Select your weapon. Weapons grant you the first part of your rolls against the opponent. The more you use a weapon, the deeper your bond with it will grow, increasing your power and unlocking new techniques.

Second: Select your stance. Stances provide the second part of your rolls against the opponent. They also determine what abilities you can use, and speaking of abilities.

Third: Choose Abilities. Abilities are simply written into the vote under your choice of weapon. Choose wisely, as some have drawbacks. Certain abilities require that conditions be met to activate, and will simply not activate if used outside of those.

Finally, the fourth step is optional, and that is to create a plan. If you have some specific idea of how to take the fight to the enemy, write it in along with the abilities!

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[x] Item (Light)

Winding up, you kick the orb at the eyes, nearly stumbling with the effort of it, your balance all wrong somehow. It feels like kicking a christmas ornament, like the sphere is nothing more than hollow glass, and it flies in a nice arc, straight at that predatory gaze.

Skin flashes slimy grey, teeth flash brilliant white, that is not a cat. The creature recoils with a furious hissing sound but even as it retreats from the glow, Fear makes you take a step backwards, adrenaline spiking in an instant.. That was far too many teeth, and limbs, and g̸̮͉̰͚̘͕̓̚ͅo̶̢̡̢̻͙̘̺̞̠͆̀̕͝ͅ ̸̢̨̺͓͈̝̫̯̠͎̰͍̦̘͚̆d̴̙͖͍̥̞̞̻̙̗̃ ̶̛̙̮̮͉̌̊̀̂̄͂̄̋̊̽̐̈̔ṣ̵̡̧̤͖̥̺͎̟̹̫̲̭̺͋̾͗̀̒͊̓̀͛̉̍̔́͠͝ͅä̶̖͉̪̘͖͒̏̓͂͊̀̂͛͊͘͜͠͝v̷̢̨̻̙̰̪̦̺̺̳̣̪̰̰͇̽̊͐̀̌́̽̐̃͑̌́͝͝͝͝ͅͅḛ̷̡̡̯̤̱̫̼̏̌͌̆̍͋̃͘ ̸̢̹̻̫̬͐̋̊̎̆͘u̴̧̘̟̟̝͈̞̹̱͕̍ ̷̢̢͓͍̜͕̱̼̫̹̙̜̥͕̇̀̄̃̚͘͜͝ư̴̢̢͎̙̮̥͙̻̗̱̳̱̜͙͎̞̐́͗̄̓͛͂̆͝ṡ̵͉̟̻̘̟̘̰̳̜͔̞̩͎̹̯͍͆̌̂̓̆̊̑̈́̒̀̕͝ ̴̢̧̜̰̘̬̱͕̠̰͍̞͍̥͊̂͆͑̀̑͒̿̈́̍͑͆̋͘̕̚͝N̴̩̪͔̜̪̻̬͖̫̲̗͖̞̂̓̏̏̏̽̿̌̑̈̄͒̏͘͝ͅÓ̶̭͙̭͉̰̫̣̹͈̙͔̥͍̣̜̜̈̇̂̉͋͜!̵̹̫͙̙̬̿̒̈́̓̉̏͑̔̈́͂͂̕

Pain flashes through you as you turn, but whatever it is doesn't stop you, doesn't grab you. It moves behind, toying with you, the sound of its movements constantly at your heels amidst your own rapid steps and panicked breathing. You're wasting energy, slipping and stumbling, you don't dare look back, not with the pitch blackness pressing around you, making every obstacle little more than an indistinct and looming shape.

You run, you run as fast as you can, leaving the light behind, into the darkened halls. Slipping and stumbling, hearing things move in the dark behind you as you flee in blind and simple terror.

You don't want to die. The nightmare? Memory? Of the sword going through your chest presses down upon your senses and with every step, you wonder if you will feel teeth clamp down on you, limbs seize you, drag you into the dark to fade and wink out.

Ahead, a column of light, grey and watery, leaks down from distant hole high up in the ceiling, you could never hope to reach it, but like a portent from heaven above, it illuminates an old banner, decayed and washed out, but still displaying a symbol that tugs at memories even as you race towards it.

A name, an ancient nation, an exhibit.
[ ] The blue sword is in your hand, make your stand here, beneath this scrap of sunlight.
[ ] A silver crescent cloak pin, and a dragon-prow ship.
[ ] An intricate knot of overlapping lines in fourfold symmetry.
[ ] A chrysanthemum in red on white.
[ ] A golden eagle, wings spread above a standard.
[ ] A dragon in sea-green stone.
[ ] A many-armed figure, arrayed with many weapons.
[ ] A Regal lion, no, a griffin, gold on black.

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[x] A many-armed figure, arrayed with many weapons.
[X] The blue sword is in your hand, make your stand here, beneath this scrap of sunlight.

You skid to a halt under the light filtering down, and turn, the heavy thumping slows, the yellow eyes do not appear.

The sword is in your hand, when did it get there? It settles in your grasp.
What is happening? Why am I here?
The echoes of your footsteps fade away, the hushed whisper of something slithering, the settling sounds of something pacing slowly. There's a wall to your back, but so much open ground before you, and you can't tell where it is!

You raise the sword, your heart pounding.

*CRASH* Then sinuous limb whips towards you out of nowhere and you jump without even thinking of it, stumbling as you land. The sword twitches in your grip, unfamiliar muscle memories and unfamiliar balance conflicting with your senses as you steady yourself. Trying not to hyperventilate, you watch the darkness as it moves-!

*CRASH* *CRASH* *CRASH*

A series of strikes sends you scrambling, diving back into the light and then forcing you towards the dark again. Desperately, in the last blow you swing back, and before the limb can retract you cut deeply into it. A gout of black smoke bursts from the wound and you cough, blinded.

*SLAM*

Pain explodes through you, for a moment you sail through the air before you hit the banner and are dragged to the ground, rolling to a halt by the wall. You cringe, waiting for the end, but the light still seems to bother the creature, and it hesitates, a hollow growl resonating in the destroyed junction as it regards you, those yellow eyes watching as you lift yourself up, and slowly stand.

I don't even know where I am, or what I'm doing here, or why I'm a woman... There's that temptation there, to just give up and die, a powerful urge to surrender to this nightmare, and hope that maybe you'll manage to wake up afterwards. But you know you won't, you can't. The skinned knees and smell of dust in the air, the frantic run, the desperate stand.
This is real.
You raise the sword and bring it to the best approximation of a guard that you can manage. How you managed to not drop the thing you don't know.

"Alright..." You breathe, trying to take the shaking out of your voice. "I don't want to die, so..." You trail off.
So lame.
"So let's fucking go!" You shout. It roars and you scream, a desperate and terrified war cry that nonetheless pushes back against the encircling presence.

​

And for a moment, you can see it even through the darkness.

[X] Weapon: The Old Blue Sword
-[ ] Attack now before it can hide in the shadows again! Straight between those eyes! (Unlock 'Hectic Assault' Stance)
-[ ] Wait for it to strike and attack again, bleed it out one cut at a time. (Unlock 'Cautious Counter' Stance)
-[ ] Fight dirty, try to throw dust in those eyes somehow or something. (Unlock 'Pragmatic Desperation' Stance)

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[X] Weapon: The Old Blue Sword
-[X] Attack now before it can hide in the shadows again! Straight between those eyes! (Unlock 'Hectic Assault' Stance)

You don't give yourself time to think, you can't afford to give yourself time to think. You lunge at it, and the sword flashes in the light as you charge. "Raaaaahhh!" The scream tears itself from your throat, a sound that speaks to something primal, to the memory of the dumb monkey or caveman that found itself cornered by something bigger and meaner than itself and decided to go down swinging.

It brings a nameless satisfaction to you when you see those golden eyes widen for a split second as you raise that ancient and battered blade high.
You bring it down, cutting into the shadow, the blow jarring your arms as the edge impacts something harder than the creature's flesh. An ear-grating screech of metal on metal that makes you flinch and pull away, wrenching the weapon free. Shadows spew from the wound, and the world around you darkens further, you move.

*crash* sounding oddly muffled as a writhing limb spears through the place you were standing and you take the blade in both hands to bring it down in a furious strike. The beast howls, blowing the shadowy smoke back, but you raise your arms and hack again, feeling furious adrenaline course through you as you bring the sword down a second time, then a third.

Something tugs at your senses and you try to dodge a little too slowly, the strike catches your shoulder, spinning you around. Dizzy and dazed, you lunge for the light, stumbling to try and get away, to gain some breathing room. I hate this.

You never asked for much, you had a normal life, a family, a few friends.

Now I'm fighting to survive in a nightmare of a JRPG with a sword that makes no sense and a fucking shoggoth that makes no sense and-!

You catch yourself, bringing your gaze to level again and then lunge back in, directing the blade's point this time as you dash at the creature, lashing out with a vicious stab as you skid on the dusty floor. Another agonizing metal-on-metal screech assaults your ears, so you bring the blade back and stab again. How dare this thing try to end my life!
"How dare you do this to me!"
Sensing it on the back foot, you press closer, stabbing and stabbing until you find the eye, the sword sliding in much more easily as the golden gaze bursts, dimming as you ram the sword home. "Fucking… Die!" The remaining eye glares balefully at you, the glow intensifying for a moment before it fades, and… Falls.

--------
('Hectic Assault' unlocked.)
--------​

The black smoke oozes from the eye, roiling in the dark. It's unsettling, unnatural, the way it moves, like a creeping black fog leaking across the ground.

You want to kick something, so you swing your foot, parting the smoke and slamming your toes into the creature's jaw. The impact is meaty, the head rocks slightly, and your foot explodes in pain, but you still manage to pull a certain vindictive satisfaction from it.

The paths ahead of you are dark, the banner you saw earlier is torn in half and messy with dust, the decaying picture on it now utterly incomprehensible.

You hurt, you're hungry, you...
You should get up and move.
You should get up and move...

[ ] Go left into the gallery, you have a good feeling about that direction for some reason
[ ] Go right into the halls, surely you can find the way out eventually...
[ ] Turn back, maybe you missed something while you were fleeing in terror.

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[X] Turn back, maybe you missed something while you were fleeing in terror.

You look forwards, then back, all around you, the gloom seems less oppressive as the smoky 'blood' of the creature begins to fade but it still strains the eyes and preys on primal fears held deep in your psyche. You stand in the circle of light, within the place of safety. Out in the dark, there might be other dangers, more monsters... You finger the crossguard of the sword, and wonder. For a moment, when you charged and swung...
You felt another presence...
You shake your head, what happened to your normal life to end up this way? Who are you even? You palm your chest and frown, it's real, it's definitely real, but how-!?

No, you resolve, you can't deal with this right now.

Raising your sword, you force yourself to walk back into the dark, back the way you came.

Traversing the dusty rubble-strewn halls is slow going in the blackness. You can make out highlights and outlines, but for the most part you wander through swirling masses of shadow, hoping you're going the right way and doing your best not to be freaked out. You never were fond of the dark like this, especially when this place had proven to possess actual monsters in the shadows.

Glass crunches underfoot foot and you halt in confusion as you look down, just in time to hear it again, a chill sense of the hairs on the back of your neck pricking up, an awareness that you're being watched.

"Excuse me?"

"GAH!" You scream and jump forwards, stumbling on rubble before you manage to turn around to face the woman who's just snuck up on you. She's tall, taller than you are, though perhaps not taller than you were you think. She looks shocked too by your scream, but thenthat quickly becomes a broad smile before morphing into a look of confusion. "You can see me now?"

"O-of course I can see you!"

Another second passes, she blinks at you, eyes shining like brass in the dark. Then she sweeps towards you and pulls smothers you in a hug with a happy laugh. "Finally! Finally! It's been so long... You'll help me get out of this place right? I can't really fight on my own, and there's more of those things..."

You flinch, "m-more of them?"

"Don't worry, they shouldn't be too much for us together." Something about that strikes you as strange, actually several things in this whole conversation have struck you as strange but...

"Wait wait wait." Hands up in a 'T', "Time out. I... Didn't you just say you can't fight? Who are you anyways? Why should I trust you? Why can't we go out another way?" You won't deny wanting to leave, but who even is this woman? "Actually," You hold up a finger and her answers die on her lips. "Can we find some light first?"

"I didn't say I can't fight, I just can't fight on my own, I need to... Well..." she talks as she walks, pausing here for a moment with her face screwed up in concentration. "Let me start from the beginning." You find yourselves beneath the light again in the hall you woke up in, a skeleton lays there on the stones, startlingly intact despite the destruction all around. But your eyes are on her, pale brown skin that hasn't seen the sun in some time, watchful eyes, a single red dot in the middle of her forehead, and dark hair tied up to hang down her back. "My name is Kaumodaki, and I'm a... Well... Let's just say I'm not exactly human?" The sword twitches as your grasp tightens on the hilt and her eyes flick to its blade for a moment before she raises both hands. "I-I'm not evil, I promise! I just... I woke up in here and I've been stuck ever since! Almost no one makes it down here with the Shade Stalkers at the entrance, and even the ones that do usually don't seem to see me."

That name sounds like something you've heard or read before, but... You shake your head, this day just keeps getting stranger.

"Look... You don't want to stay down here any more than me right? You can try to get past the beasts but if you go it alone, you'll probably die."
"Like hell I would, how do you think I got down here?"
"Which brings us back to what you said, " you interject reasonably, "if you can't fight, how are you supposed to help?"

"I can fight, I just... I need a partner because..."

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and holds out a palm. "Take my hand, please?"

You hesitate, take a deep breath, and reach out.

*Flash* A weight settles in your right hand, a heavy club, smoothly polished by age, yet managing to be crude and elegant all at once in it's design. It is ornate, and well used, but in the end, it is a weapon of a very simple principle, weight and force, applied to bruise, batter, and break the foe. Kaumodaki, the name resonates in your mind, this is my true form, and why I cannot fight on my own. A weapon needs a wielder, and you are the only one I have seen, the only one I can hope for. Please... Your arm rises without thinking and you perform a test swing, feeling the heft, knowing that you shouldn't be able to lift this sort of weight, yet that for all that the weapon feels so light in your hand...

Another *Flash* as the weight leaves your grasp and she materializes again, fingertips lingering against your palm. "Please." She repeats "let me lend you my strength so that we can both get out of this place. You can even leave me behind afterwards if you really want, I'm sure I can find another wielder eventually..."

She trails off, looking forlorn, and you take a breath.

[ ] "...alright. I'll take you with me."
[ ] "I'll find my own way."
[ ] write in

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[X] "...alright. I'll take you with me."

"Thank you!"

The experience of being hugged so suddenly is... Um...

Kaumodaki notices the way you freeze up and relaxes her powerful grip, though the breath being crushed from your lungs had not been your primary concern at the moment. "Ah... Hello? Are you okay?"

"I..." You shake your head, "No. I mean Yes I'm okay!" You breathe, "I'm okay, just... It's been a long day and... This is insane isn't it?" She tilts her head at you, "I mean... You're a club, and I'm a woman, and now it's the post apocalypse and I fought a Shadow Shoggoth Thing and..." Your voice breaks, "and..."

Arms wrap around you, holding you more tenderly than before, not the bone-crushing hug but something warmer and more cautious. "Shh..." The soft hushing sound washes over you as her hands come to rest at the small of your back. There's a reflexive confusion again but now it's muffled, lessened. "I'm sorry I just-" "Shh," she cuts off the rising babble again and then lingers there, slowly stroking your hair as your panic slowly lessens.

It's not enough, but... It helps. "Say..." You tense a little as her voice sounds again, a gentle murmur. "I should have asked before, really, but... What's your name?

[ ] "Alex... My name is Alex." Your old name, even if it doesn't quite fit this new body...
[ ] "Ale-ah... Alia..." Changed body, changed world... Maybe it would be for the better if you changed your name too.

Whatever else she might think of the name, she smiles at you, "I'm glad I met you... I hope we can serve each other well as Weapon and Wielder."

Something occurs to your mind, "you said you saw uh... 'Me' earlier, right? But I couldn't see you?"

"You never looked right at me, but it seemed you couldn't hear me." She affirms, before her eyes narrow. "You remember now?"

"No, I..." You hesitate, and press forwards, "I think something happened to me deeper inside, I have..." You hesitate again, how can you explain this? That you're probably a completely different person than the one she saw before, that your memory of entering this place is from who knows how long ago, before whatever the fuck even happened.
Hate. You.
A hand settles over your own, bringing you out of your head again, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."

[ ] It is a strange can of worms to open, especially with your memories still so confused, but maybe sharing what you do remember will help?
[ ] You'd rather not, not right now. You need some time to yourself to figure out who you are now before you go trying to recapture who you were before this crazy dream.

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[X] "Ale-ah... Alia..." Changed body, changed world... Maybe it would be for the better if you changed your name too.
[X] You'd rather not, not right now. You need some time to yourself to figure out who you are now before you go trying to recapture who you were before this crazy dream.

"I don't want to." You affirm, flinching, expecting disappointment or recrimination. But instead she just keeps holding you.

"Will you tell me some day, Alia?" You twitch slightly at the name and you're sure she notices, but she says nothing, and when you look up, all you see is a kindly sisterly smile.

Sister...

"I'll tell you some day. Maybe not..." You take a breath, gathering yourself, forcing strength into your voice. "Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but... Someday I'll tell you everything I know." You exhale, let the tension out, and your voice softens once more. "I just... Don't really know that much yet."

"You lost your memories?"

"I... I think so. It's hard to tell really. There's a gap." Your face reddens, her brow furrows into a frown, but then she shakes her head.

"I'll not force you to lie about it. I promise you that much. But someday, okay?"

You sag and nod against her, your flush taking on an entirely different significance as you recall your position. "Someday."

=======

You're not sure how long you stay there, the hug is comforting, both familiar and unfamiliar, since if you're being honest, Kaumodaki is nothing like your little sister, even if she radiates the same sort of 'sibling energy'. She feels... What's the word?

Dependable. She feels dependable.

But something changes in the air, hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and the arms around you go rigid for a moment, tense.

"We're being-"

And then the world around you goes crazy.

*CRASH* A thunderous impact shakes you to the bone but everything is a blur, no pain, just a crazed kaleidoscope of gray black smears before "guh-!" You choke off a scream as your arm is suddenly wrenched and the blurs resolve into a shattered display case, the remaining glass inches from your nose. A massive shadowy limb is occupying the place you belatedly identify as the spot you were standing a second ago and oh fu-!

"Language!" Kaumodaki chides you and you realize you must have spoken aloud. Your arm is aching still, but you can move it fine, and you follow the club's gaze to meet the two pairs of yellow eyes staring balefully at you from the dark. "Not dislocated." She affirms, "Wielder!"

Something resonates in you when she says that.
What the fuck? Fuck off! No-
Your hearts are beating as one in the heat of the moment.

"We're getting out of here." She holds out her hand, and you take take it. No need to contemplate, no time to think, the shadows roil and shift.

But together, you are Strong.

The darkness blurs, and you swing your arm to meet it like a batter meeting a fastball dead-on, a satisfying weight in your grasp that Slams the massive limb to one side with a hollow CRASH like thunder going off right next to you. How did I-?! No time! The arm withdraws sluggishly and in the momentary light you can see its been cratered inwards by the force of the blow, one of the creatures gives an incoherent sound like a roar of pain distorted through something incomprehensible. The other one narrows its eyes and begins to circle.

You heft the club, the Gadah, and the words come to your lips, not quite your own, not quite hers, something between you both.

[ ] "Thunderclap Striking Advance"
[ ] "Divine Understanding Motive"

 

[Spectral Waltz]

[x] "Divine Understanding Motive"

You open your eyes, and see.

Shift of the shadows, there! The eyes point where the strikes are aimed, dodge! Theclapof thunder signifies the elevatedstate of thegadah. Movewithoutpatternand stop no myheadhurts-STOP!

*CRASH* The massive shadow-limb comes down next to you, your head aches, information flickering through your skull at lightning speed, clawing at your grey matter. You can see everything before your eyes, understand the shapes of the monsters from ripples in the shadows, the dimensions of this hall from the drift of dust, the way to the exit from the air currents around you.

It's too much, more information than your brain is meant to handle, you taste copper on your lip, but you move like water, bending aside to avoid blows that should pulverize you in an instant, retaliating with devastating smashes of the mace in your hands.

"Have to..." "...Control it..."

Your voices merge again, the torrent of information slackens, cutting you off to the point where you're left feeling blind in the darkness for a split second, stumbling mid-roll.
Open it back up again, letme see moreMORE-nonono! Dial it back!"

*SLAM* the tendril comes down, *BOOM* you lash out with a wide blow, the club arcing into the limb, striking another deafening clap of thunder.

Just enough to see the enemy.

It sears your eyes, information on these unnatural creatures, both immediate and encyclopedic, living shadows, lurking under the earth, light is anathema to them on a fundamental level. They live well enough in temporary illumination, but were they to stand in the sun, they would melt away to nothing.

Ability Unlocked! Divine Understanding Motive: Perfectly counter failed rolls at the cost of -2 health for each round that this ability is active. An enlightened understanding of all things that permits a near-perfect defense. Unfortunately it has deleterious effects on the user's brain as a human mind is not meant for this sort of information load.​

*CRACK* *WHAM*

The burden of worldly awareness is too much for you, I can barely control it. Your head throbs with the cadence of Kaumodaki's voice, You must finish this quickly!

*WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM*

Every strike breaks a limb, but you know you've already broken more limbs than the two beasts have between them, so how-?

The shadows.

They're regenerating each time they pull back, that's why they aren't trying two-pronged attacks to crush you, they need to keep the pressure up.

A stalemate for now, but attrition would wear you down. We need a new strategy! Ready Wielder!

[ ] Weapon
-[ ] Kaumodaki (Bond 1/10) (1d4)
-[ ] The Blue Sword (Bond 2/10) (1d4)
[ ] Stance
-[ ] Aggressive - Stance focused on attacking the enemy to bring them down quickly and firmly. (Skill 2/10) (1d4)
-[ ] Defensive - Stance focused on directly defending against enemy attack while countering against openings. (Skill 1/10) (1d4)
-[ ] Trickster - Stance focused on outmaneuvering the opponent using unorthodox tactics. (Skill 1/10) (1d4)

Spoiler: Abilities

Aggressive
Hectic Assault: +1 to rolls when cornered or terrified. A series of barely-coordinated strikes that seek to overwhelm the foe with pure desperate ferocity.

Defensive
Divine Understanding Motive: Perfectly counter failed rolls at the cost of -2 health for each round that this ability is active. An enlightened understanding of all things that permits a near-perfect defense. Unfortunately, a human mind is not meant for this sort of information load. Requires Kaumodaki to be equipped.

Trickster

Spoiler: Codex: How to Combat

Combat in this quest is a simple affair.

First: Select your weapon. Weapons grant you the first part of your rolls against the opponent. The more you use a weapon, the deeper your bond with it will grow, increasing your power and unlocking new techniques.

Second: Select your stance. Stances provide the second part of your rolls against the opponent. They also determine what abilities you can use, and speaking of abilities.

Third: Choose Abilities. Abilities are simply written into the vote under your choice of weapon. Choose wisely, as some have drawbacks. Certain abilities require that conditions be met to activate, and will simply not activate if used outside of those.

Finally, the fourth step is optional, and that is to create a plan. If you have some specific idea of how to take the fight to the enemy, write it in along with the abilities!