Remove ads

Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Reader mode
[x] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
 
[X] Choke Point. Retreat only to the entrance tunnel, and hold your ground there. May result in the caverns contents being damaged, but offers greater defensibility in the coming conflict.
 
@yrsillar Do we have enough time to set up all our arts? Qi Ling is something like 3-4 times more formidable with all her arts set up.
 
[X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

The biggest threat here is the Greens, and we have no idea what they can do, while the choke point reduces the number of things FVM can kill at a time.

On the other hand, staying out in the open means we can prepare the ground very well, and the Horde means we can layer every technique we have without running out of Qi, allowing us to max out FVM, then throw on SEA, PLR, and TRF, potentially before the Greens even make it to us.

Then when the Greens show up we run circles around them with GCD.
 
[X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
 
yrsillar said:
"She should mix elements of traditional attractiveness into the work. The uncanniness of the contrast between the attractive and repulsive elements will enhance the image she's going for," Sixiang rattled off in an instant.

Ling Qi blinked slowly at the long winded response. "...Sixiang thinks you should use some conventionally beautiful elements in the mix. The contrast will improve the overall unsettling vibe."

Li Suyin frowned. "Um… I see. I will take that into account,"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I swear if this doesn't end with Zombie Idols...

yrsillar said:
Their flesh was glistening and pale like a maggots, and their movements betrayed a certain repellant softness at odds with their shape. They resemble humans, if humans had been forced to crawl on all fours like bugs until their limbs bent unnaturally out, lending them a skittering rodent like gait. Their heads were worse, eyeless and bald, pale, blue veined flesh stretched thin over empty eye sockets. Bristling whiskers protruded from their otherwise hairless skin just below their elongated nose and chattering teeth. Their visages were like some hideous combination of human and rat.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Ah, the elusive Maggot Skaven.

I am really wondering what the song Sixiang hinted at is gonna be like with all these ambushes.

As for choices, retreating is right out thank you, we have escape talismans if worst comes to worst. I'm kinda hoping Suyin finds an egg to bind for something down here tbh, and even if that's unlikely... I really want her to get maximum rewards.

Eh screw it, this is a pretty ideal fight for us, shame Zhengui isn't here though.

[x] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
 
yrsillar said:
Ling Qi focused, and behind her eyes, sixiang did the same. Her eyes rippled silver, both argent and lunar qi mingling to enhance her senses still further. She felt it then, no presences per se, but a disturbing sort of absence, like a shadow glimpsed in a dark forest. The sand boiled beneath their feet, and this time the creature that emerged was not alone. Ling Qi got a better look this time, though she wished she hadn't.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Huh, interesting. A hint at the abilities Sixiang will be unlocking this turn?

Looks like we're meeting the Gnawing Ones though.
 
[X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
 
[x] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

 
[X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
 
Mmm, I'm not sure how much of a benefit the choke-point brings?

I mean, if we're back there surely that means Suyin isn't getting loot. How is this expected to work @yrsillar? Are we expecting the horde to run out at some point? Or is this more a endless defense mission where we have to defend Suyin while she harvests stuff as long as possible before running?
 
[X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
 
[X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

Take a shot at the brass ring. Everybody prepped their escape talisman at the beginning of the dive.
 
Do we have any Qi restoring pills? This seems like one of the few times that summoning hoards of worms would be very helpful. We can keep buffing our defenses as long as we have time and Qi.
 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Twisted Caverns
  • Sidestory
    • The Twisted Caverns

    The light filtered in gently through the curtains and played across the silk hammocks. Small skeletal mice quickly darted here and there with ingredients and reagents to be used in the making of some cultivation pills. That was the last thing on Li Suyin's mind, however. Instead, it was a particularly troublesome problem with the formation work needed to produce better fine motor control for the metal filament project. It felt almost right, that a single change in the control structure would show drastic improvement overall. Finding that one formation though… that was proving much more troublesome. Hopefully the entire control system wouldn't need to be scrapped.

    With a small huff, Li Suyin stood up and stretched. This was going nowhere. Perhaps it was better to save it until she had finally breached into the Green realm. If only there was more time in the day to cultivate, but with all the other projects to work on, and job orders to fill out, there was precious little time left. Soon though, there would be even more work to be done. Just thinking about the potential held in that defiled chasm caused her imagination to sore! The things that could be done with better cores, better samples, and a better understanding of how that place came to be would allow innovations with far-reaching ramifications. Even still, months after her demonstration in the Outer Sect tournament, there was poorly concealed interest in the Argent Web Pills and the Impurity Devourer. But both of those were simply stepping stones for what advancements could come.

    Li Suyin stopped and shook her head. It was… much too early for such dreams and fantasies at the moment. There was more pressing work to be done. More immediate objectives to fulfill. Stepping by the furnace, Li Suyin quickly checked to see if the pills were properly forming. No defects so far, and so she moved on to the meditation chambers. It was dreadfully boring doing calisthenics with specific qi exercises to progress in her physical cultivation, but it was better than leaving the pills unattended.

    Time always seemed distorted when she cultivated her physical cultivation. Some days it went by quickly and painlessly. Other days it felt like time became molasses, stuck slowly moving in agonizing instances of pain and discomfort. Li Suyin felt that today was one of the bad days. For some reason, the proper focus for this type of cultivation was difficult and fleeting. There one moment and gone the next. And then it all snapped when she felt Zhenli's message. Some folded paper had floated into her home and had gotten stuck on some of the silk hammocks and was now simply resting there.

    Which was interesting, as there were no letters expected at the moment. With a couple final stretches, Li Suyin exited the chamber and quickly made her way over to the letter. Possibly an urgent request? Hopefully not, there was no spare time for other orders at the moment. Grabbing the sheaf of papers, Li Suyin noted that it was an official missive from the Argent Sect. Cracking the wax seal, she quickly read through the contents, and by the end of it, she was grinning. The paperwork was done, and the next time Li Suyin ventured into those twisted caverns, Ling Qi could be right beside her.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It had taken a few days to arrange a mutually acceptable time, but now the hour before departure was fast approaching. Li Suyin frantically worked her furnace to finalize some of the precautionary safety pills that would prevent the environment of the caverns from poisoning them. The sounds of scuttling mice resonated throughout her abode as Zhenli directed them to place pills and containers in proper locations. Her two skeletal guardians were already packed into the transportation pills, and a variety of other skeletal tools were packed inside her harness and pack. The bottles and vessels for delivering fresh air to poison the more dangerous creatures likely to be encountered were packed as well, safely secured and ready for a quick throw to deploy them.

    Not a moment too soon, the pills finished and were quickly packed by the scurrying mice. After taking a quick look around to make sure nothing was out of place, Li Suyin donned the harness and pack, letting Zhengli hop in for the ride. It was time. The furnace was turned off, the workbench empty of fragile time-sensitive formations. All of the mice were now completely silent, still, and organized in rows around the room awaiting the next order. Li Suyin now rapidly moved to the meeting location.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With a startled cry, Li Suyin felt herself suddenly pulled backward as the ground beneath her shattered and fell into the gaping maw of a dimly outlined beast. Landing on the shifting sands forming the sloping sides of the sudden sinkhole, she felt the beginnings of trepidation. The beast seemed to be in the third realm which was a problem, there shouldn't be any creature of its size or strength at this level of the caverns. The thing inhaled, and she had to brace to prevent herself from sliding downwards and being consumed like those fungal lizards. At least her skeletal guard didn't fall close enough to the thing to be consumed, that would have been disastrous.

    Then the beast shrieked, and a powerful weight pressed on her, trying to drag her into the center of the pit. Ling Qi darted in front of her for a moment and Li Suyin felt the surety and solidarity of a forest coat her and try to break the weight pressing down on her. It didn't work. As quick as a shadow, Ling Qi darted towards the beast, passing the skeletal guard and beginning to play. Heat spiraled towards Ling Qi only to disappear and even Li Suyin felt a sudden chill at the onslaught of the cold.

    There was nothing Li Suyin could do about the heavy qi pulling her inwards, but that didn't mean she was helpless. Directing her guards to begin the climb up towards her, she dug her heels into the sandy slope to slow her inexorable descent. Plucking one of the prepared fresh air canisters from its place in the harness, Li Suyin chucked it towards the center of the beast. The trick seemed to work, as the beast shrieked in pain as the fresh air began poisoning its flesh.

    Finally, the skeletal guard reached her, and she directed the Bear Guard to plant its shield in the slope and extend the shield, forming a sort of brace. Meanwhile, the Boar Guard had thrown its chained guando into the ceiling to create an anchor of sorts while fusing one of its arms to the Bear Guard's collar creating a protective cage which wasn't moving under the weight of the earth qi.

    And just in time too! The beast curled up and launched a plethora of needles. Most of them puttered around harmlessly around her impromptu cage, a few hit the Bear Guard's shield, but one flew straight into the cage and struck her with staggering force. The sheaf of veridian qi protecting absorbed the blow and shattered in the process. Which was bad, another hit like that would likely end the expedition.

    Li Suyin sent one of her skeletal crows which held a rusting agent out to die against the beast. There had seemed to be some metal winding around its exoskeleton, which should rust and crack when the agent came into contact with it. The creature really was a fascinating specimen, even it was trying to eat Ling Qi at the moment.

    Soon enough though, the beast succumbed to the poison winding in its system and Ling Qi's powerful blasts of winter's cold. Which was good, the longer the fight dragged on the more chance that the ceiling would have collapsed given the beasts use of earth qi to drag everything towards it. At least there were a sizeable amount of materials and a proper third realm core!

    A/N: Well here is an omake about what I think this adventure looks like from Li Suyin's perspective. Also, another omake for the omake throne @yrsillar. It's been a while since I finished an omake, so I'm glad that I got this one out. Wish I could have gotten it out before this update, but ah well. It is a pleasant surprise to get an official chapter so early after the vote.

    As always, feel free to critique and comment. I hope you all enjoy!
     
    Last edited:
  • Sidestory
    • [x] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

    There's no reason to panic, Ling Qi is made for these kinds of combat, and she and Suyin still have their escape amulets.

    Let the Cthulu-Skaven come.
     
    We have managed to hold off a dragon of higher cultivation then us until it was exhausted without striking back. Then we did not have any time to prepare or allies. This is a much better situation.
     
    [X] Choke Point. Retreat only to the entrance tunnel, and hold your ground there. May result in the caverns contents being damaged, but offers greater defensibility in the coming conflict.

    Because trying to go for the gold is foolish when we are going to be fighting multiple Greens in a bit, but if we can spool up, I am reasonably confident in our ability to handle ourselves.
     
    [X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

    we protec
     
    [X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

    Choke points only matter if the opponents can't circumvent them in a three dimensional environment. If the third realms are burrowing, then they can do so and use the environment against Ling Qi by dropping the ceiling down on her or otherwise reshaping things to box her and Li Suyin in. The Mist can't go through solid rock, so that gives the monsters a means by which to close the distance between FVM's maximum range and Ling Qi herself or Li Suyin.

    The Mist provides a superior cover and choke point in itself by means of its ability to layer death fields that the attackers have to circumnavigate. Same with FSS's own AoE techs. Plus, Ling Qi can detect their approach now, and is in possession of three-dimensional movement herself, so she can literally dodge around. The only real problem is Suyin, but with her constructs and their tank mode, Ling Qi can hide her in the mist and reduce the risk of her being found anyway. The hordes themselves are less relevant since FVM's own techs seem to be slaughtering them wholesale.
     
    Last edited:
    [x] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
     
    [X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

    There is no room to dodge in a choke point, since it chokes movement. Obvious isn't it?
     
    [X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.

    At last, a big army fight, also known as a fight Ling Qi's actually specced for, rather than all those duels.
     
    [X] Hold your ground. You are Zeqings student and nearly a master of the Forgotten Vale Melody. Let these creatures lose themselves in your song and despair. Hold the cavern against all intruders preserving whatever is within.
    On the one hand, this feels a bit arrogant. On the other Ling Qi does deserve some measure of pride, and punching down against swarms is kinda her thing.
    Erebeal said:
    Huh, interesting. A hint at the abilities Sixiang will be unlocking this turn?

    Looks like we're meeting the Gnawing Ones though.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Just checked the previous thread, and the other technique of Sixiang's beyond the dispel was a minor boost to persuade/socialise, so this definitely seems to be something new. Though it's up in the air whether it's specifically a perception boost or some sort of mutable bonus to a bunch of potential actions of ours. The latter would fit with the changing faces of the moon.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top