Discontinued Vintergard Escape from Vintergard

[Ash Vargold]

Tha-thump. Tha-thump.

It's been years since Ash has been in the game. Since "he" had walked in this body, dealt with its quirks and intricacies, or felt that discordant thrum in his chest that had followed him since that final strike against Titanius. He doesn't remember what he'd been doing the day the doors to Terrasphere unceremoniously slammed shut, or if it was even particularly notable.

But whatever he'd been doing, he was pretty damn sure that he hadn't logged out in this shattered, machine-infested ruin that might have been a city once.

There's been no time for Ash to adjust to his too-long limbs or altered senses or the unpleasant sense of something squirming under his shirt. From the moment he logged in it's been a mad scramble from shelter to shelter, avoiding the crosshairs of patrolling machines (robots, there definitely hadn't been robots before), and looking for a sign of life, a main road, anything that could at least give him a hint of a way out of... wherever the hell here is.

Tha-thump. Tha-thump.

 

[Bradwynne]

The first thing that every person should do in the midst of a conflict is to know the enemy.

These words were deeply ingrained into Bradwynne's mind as he then set off with his trusty ootachi and the newly-tailored outfit that he had made which would resemble something that people in the real world would wear. Of course the supposed headphones were not operating, but in a world without technology, it should be expected. But maybe not for long, as more information started to trickle to him than he never thought possible.

He had already knew that some kind of ship crashed towards Vintergard, but before everything he thought that its inhabitants just kept to themselves. But now the rumors that he had heard told him that the inhabitants started flooding out of the ship and started making patrols within Vintergard, and the city's population were being killed off and the remainder fled to other villages and cities. The number of casualties horrified Bradwynne, but he then thought that this would not be solved by his sheer anger alone, as he knew what sort of inhabitants were in that ship. Suffice to say, it was technology that even the real world would have trouble fighting against if it ever landed there. For one, those were metal automata that were patrolling Vintergard right then. But these were powered with alien technology, much so that the term "robot" should fit them nicely. If he should somehow took a hold of one, and it was studied by researchers of repute, then it should give them an insight on what they were facing. Also it might also enable him to make this fake headphone work as if it was a real thing, but that would be just a side effect. He would definitely hope that one of researchers was an audiophile as well so that he could get decent headphones.

But of course he had to make it out here alive amidst the glowing eyes of the numerous robots that were patrolling every nook and cranny to assure that no intruder would make its way to the ship. He had already seen what he should see, and any other possible sites would have gotten him incinerated if not riddled with bullets, and so he had to move away from Vintergard as fast as possible. He avoided main roads, but he navigated quite close to them so that he knew where he was at that moment, preferring crossing through alleyways as fast as possible and moving through houses and shops so as to avoid discovery. As much as he wanted to claim a robot scalp, it should be near impossible at the moment since the robots might have a system to detect the positions of every other of their kind.

It was at the foray into a home which should be really close to his earlier point of entrance that he had noticed another person desperately hiding from those same robots. He then examined the person closely, and it seemed to be another adventurer who wanted to know the truth behind Vintergard like him. And so he then moved stealthily towards the person, made sure that there were no robots around the place, and then whispered.

"Are you still searching for something here?"

 

[Ilya]

The world materialized around her, the familiar sensation of diving into Terrasphere, oh boy I missed this.. It's been a long four years. Her delight in her return was short-lived as she took in her surroundings. What the f- WHERE AM I?! Ilya did not recognize where she was, surely it was somewhere she had visited before the game had been locked, right? Ilya quickly looked around, her caution quickly bubbling up inside of her. She scanned her surroundings, taking it all in. What do I do...? The surreal feeling of being back into a VR game had made her forget that she could do something in situations like this. She quickly looked to her fist, closing it and opening it to reveal her palm menu.

Flicking through it her eyes were first drawn to the 'mastery' and 'skills' category. It didn't take an idiot to realize that she had spawned into this world in the most basic starter clothing. She had no weapons, no food, no water, nothing to use in her defense. Not that she needed it, as she was a master at using martial arts. She tapped on the mastery interface, and felt her eyes widen as she realized all of her skills and masteries were.... just gone? Instead she had a number of mastery points she could invest, most likely it was carried over from her account from before the game had become locked.

Not knowing her situation, or how life or death it might get, she quickly began spending her points to unlock her skills again, upgrading the ones she felt were the most necessary until she was satisfied. Still feeling unprotected, Ilya made quick work of her starting tunic. She ripped two somewhat-straight lines of fabric and began to wrap them around her hands to create make-shift hand wraps. There, that's better...

Ilya then decided it was time to figure out where she was. Glancing around she began to search for anything that might make it known to her. As time passed by, she still couldn't figure it out. Trying to find out where she was and dodging the weird... robots? Wait that didn't exist four years ago?! It was mentally straining work, she constantly felt the threat growing. Dodging the patrolling bots, she decided that now was as good of a time as any to activate investigation mode. Once again, Ilya closed her fist and opened it, revealing the familiar UI menu. Gracefully tapping investigation mode, she began to look around, her already bright icy eyes glowing even more.

Magitech...? So that's what enemy i'm facing here. Ilya still had no clue as to where she was, and she was beginning to lose all hope.... That was until her investigation mode once again picked up on something, the nametag of a player? She focused in, deactivating investigation mode as she watched the event unfold. A golden-haired man had stealthily moved towards another figure who was quite obviously hiding from the magitech soldiers that patrolled the streets made of rubble. Ilya also made her way over, just in time to overhear the end of the blonde kid's question. Ilya made a small noise to alert the two of her presence before letting a breath of air escape through her slightly parted lips. She had no idea whether the two of these people were friendly or not, but they were her best chance at figuring out what the hell was going on. Not even waiting for the man that the blondie had approached to answer the question that was laid out towards him, Ilya butted in. "Where the hell am I."

 

[Ilusa Nakhalee]

There was a giddiness in her as the familiar, missed, sensation of logging into Terrasphere spread through her.

It's not that there was no hesitation, no worry, no suspicion.

The person behind Ilusa had not forgotten how some Players were locked from logging out, how people went missing, how a very dear person was locked from leaving the game and unable to use the UI. The player was aware of the fact that what she was doing was illegal and dangerous, how her life was in jeopardy. And yet, she chose to log in fully knowing the dangers. Because it was only there that she could find any mention of him. Because life after Terrasphere became dull, because the aches of her body and age were slowing her down. Because even if she disappeared, there was will and her son would manage. But that was only the worst-case scenario that she would do her best to avoid.

The moment the log-in finished, Ilusa's expression shuttered from the excitement to disbelief and grief. She was faced not with the familiar, similar sight of the great palace (familiar because she had saved screenshots and videos and had been looking through them as the game installed), but with rubble.

"Oh no." The whisper left her lips at the sight of the devastation. Of course she suspected that time in the 'game' also flowed, that it did not stop once she learned that that forced log out was because of VRSA. But suspecting and seeing the proof was different. Her eyes teared up, seeing the ruins of the once glorious palace, but she quickly shook it away, quite literally as she focused on the UI and her situation.

Ilusa's body was of the same type and height as her real-life one so aside the lack of aches and having tail and different ears there was no disconnection, no 'lag'. Her outfit.. Hadn't changed. Her weapon.. Was the same,. Four years passed and yet, it felt like no time at all. She checked the spells and there – there she did find a difference. Which was rather unfortunate as she never liked the automatic help from the system – which was why she had turned off the assist and pain limiter and was not planning on turning it back on, because there was certain lag and tightness and unease when the system guided her body.
Still, for now she walked, lightly, slowly towards a less out-in the open space because who knew if there were hostiles. Ilusa squeezed herself through a narrow space and then turned more attention to her palm-up menu checking more the skills, her needs meter, her mastery, and most importantly, tried to send a message to Astor.

…More than one message. That she sent from time to time.

It was after three hours of familiarising herself with the skillsets, learning incantations, getting used to her tail and the slight shift in balance, taking stock of the situation that she felt sufficiently prepared to leave the cramped space of rubble and some weird technology thing (it made her think of huge Sc-fi ship, which did not seem to fit with the theme of the 'game').

And leave she did.

She might not have stealth as an in-game skill, but the wonder of no autoassist was the fact that you could use real-life skills to a certain degree and even above it. Ilusa moved carefully, slowly, hiding when she heard unusual metallic sounds… But that made her slow.

And there was still no one alive. She catalogued the decaying bodies and knew that whatever happened, it was not something new.

Investigation mode on, she continued forward, but the Palace was not small and with it got.. Rearranged, it was taking much more time to leave it.

And once outside… The question was where to go next.

 

[Ash Vargold]

For all of his focus on avoiding danger, Ash seems remarkably unaware of the approaching people. Perhaps it's because he's listening for something more mechanical - more likely, it's just the fact he's been playing for less than an hour and hasn't gotten used to everything yet.

So when one person's unexpected whisper is quickly followed by a louder demand he has to suppress a yelp, fur bristling as he turns to face the source. There's a moment where he processes first here are people and they're not attacking me, and then...

"The only thing I'm searching for is a way out of here," he says, ears pinned back as he looks between them. One decently geared and looking about as incongruous as the robots, the other plainly dressed. "Did you both just log in, too? I know Terrasphere isn't known for pulling punches, but fucking with your save point is just rude..."

 

[Bradwynne]

It was only for a short time that Bradwynne uttered the question when another person butted in with a call to attention to her presence, and not before he had even received the answer to his question, the woman asked yet another question, asking where he was currently. And then the man that he was speaking to more or less harbor the same train of thoughts as the woman: that somehow they had spawned here in Vintergard, without knowing that Vintergard had fallen to aliens from another continent, from another world even. Bradwynne could only sigh and lament about the misfortune of these two, let alone other people who chose Vintergard as their respawn point. Just how many returning players had been in this kind of rut?

But first of all, this is still hostile territory, so they do not have time to chat in here. They should consider talking when they should be out of here, and quick.

"TL;DR: This is Vintergard after Skynet," Bradwynne whispered to the two. "We should get out of here before the Terminators notice us. More deets later." He then motioned to the cupboard near the door that was opened by him before he had noticed the man. It led to a small secluded alleyway, which should end to another entrance, which should be of a building closest to one of the walls of Vintergard.

 

[Ilya]

140 / 140

Ilya's eyes widened as she looked around in disbelief, "This is Vintergard?!" She felt the hair on her neck creep upwards as she got a quick chill run down her spine. "I just logged in, though I did spend a bit of time to reinvest in my masteries. I didn't want to be completely defenseless in a terrain that seems foreign to me with these death bots patrolling every corner." As if to emphasize, a roaming bot came into vision out of the crumbled wall. Though she could barely see it, the threat was still there.

Bradwynne didn't have to point out the cupboard twice, Ilya was the first to move and move she did. She crawled through the cupboard and into the small and secluded alleyway. Without looking back, she trusted that the company of her party was following in pursuit. She carefully moved, not knowing what would be at the end.

The alleyway wasn't very long, because Ilya reached the end rather quickly. Here there was a door that was barely hanging, half of it was off of it's hinges. Ilya tried to peer through, and after confirming that she couldn't see any of the patrolling mechanical soldiers she moved inside.

It was then that she stumbled, and not over a scrap of metal or rubble. Ilya had tripped over a spoon. She reached out to try and catch her balance and rather than catching her balance she began to stumble even more. With her balance off she was swaying everywhere, until she began to fall to the side. Her body crashing into some type of metal... Ilya pushed herself to a standing position but froze in place as the scrap of metal moved. Shit....

She jumped backwards, and discovered that to her horror she had crashed into one of the magitech that the entire party had been trying their best to stay away from.

party encounters 1 Magitech

Spoiler

TerraSphere Build Editor

terrarp.com

 

[Ilusa Nakhalee]

Suffice to say, Ilusa did not feel confident enough to keep eye on the chat. She ignored the messages, she had to when there were enemies nearby and no safe spot anymore. For a moment she kicked herself mentally for not checking it first while she was still in the safe place. But only for moment, because then she pushed it away, focusing instead on the reality (however virtual it was) instead.

The reality of destroyed Vintergard, of a sci-fi element in the game where there was none of it before. It was a little jarring, how the sci-fi element clashed with what was left of the Palace and once she left the palace.. Of what was left of the town. It had been a grand town where she put in her money to get land and title; now it was all in ruins. The person behind Ilusa had seen ruins of towns caused by fighting and yet it hit differently here than it did in reality.

It displeased her, it made her grip the road tighter and feel the energy of the magic running through her body, keeping her senses sharp. There was really no good direction to go, so she simply walked forward, to where she thought she remembered there being a gate towards the rich farmlands. She kept to the shadows, staying away from the sounds that were metallic… In the end, she managed to reach the walls (and she tried to ignore the towering wreckage that cast shadows).

She heard another metallic sound and she would have left – turned around and left, were it not for the simple fact that she also spotted players. As her investigation mode was on. Or well, she assumed they were players.

And either way, there was this hulking metallic thing about to attack someone. She could not leave that alone. But neither could she shout – because that might get the attention of more than one person. So all she could do was, basically, run towards.

 

[Ash Vargold]

140 / 140

"What?" Ash stares as the explanation sinks in. At least he knows now that he didn't log out in some dangerous place, but... "They sure changed up the genre during the downtime, huh? I'll look forward to that explanation.

Now that he's around others he can feel the erratic stutter of his heartrate settle back into rhythm. It gives him space to think and remember things like, oh, how to open up the menu. He makes the motion and pours over the interface - unlike Ilya, it seems like he kept all his gear and masteries. He equips the sword (a normal longsword) and the focus (a floating runestone engraved with eyes and emitting an all too familiar sea-salt odor). He also checks his options - apparently he'd turned off the HUD? What ha he been thinking...?

"Okay, ready." Ilya is already moving - Ash follows behind, ears perked for any unusual sound. It seems like she's got a handle on things... at least, before she stumbles and falls into one of the magitek drones they've explicitly been trying to avoid. He watches it twist its optics towards them, and hears the telltale whine of it charging a weapon...

"Shit." Ash doesn't remember any spells, and he doubts his sword will do much against metal. Instead he grabs Ilya from behind, trying to yank her out of the way before the machine opens fire on her.

Rolls

Save
1d100 (93) + 10 = 103
Reflex | Ash Vargold | 191c1 | Pulling Ilya out of the way of the Magitek

Play Sheet

@Bradwynne

 

[Bradwynne]

150 / 180

As Bradwynne then oversaw the two other people going through the door, he then looked at his surroundings to make sure that he was not being trailed by the robots, and then moved himself out when the chance came out. He then checked if there was any robot around the alleyway, and when there was none, he then continued on to the final leg of their escape. At the end of the path within the building that he was going to, there was a secret passage which would lead outside of Vintergard. Once they had traversed that, they should be out of those robots' reach.

As he reached the building though, he then heard pieces of metal screeching from the inside. Fearing the worst, he then moved inside, and found the man trying to drag the woman to safety, as the robot then fired a salvo of bullets towards them as they moved. Fortunately though, both of them were unhurt, but they were still being chased down by the robot. Knowing that he could not use his ootachi in this kind of a cramped space, he then decided to gather some divine energy onto his right hand, and then rushed towards the robot and then, with a protracted exhalation as he dug his boots to the ground with a stance, he then delivered the divine energy as a palm attack on the robot. The attack seemed to had jostled the insides of the robot, but it turned towards him and then fired a series of bullets at him. Bradwynne tried to dodge, but the bullets were too quick and soon peppered his body. Fortunately the vest and sweater that he was wearing added some protection, but he still felt the impact of the bullets as he then coughed out some blood.

It should be hard, but they needed to dispatch this robot as soon as possible before it could call on more of its companions.

"Are you all right?" Bradwynne managed to call out to the two amidst the pain.

Rolls

Normal Attack
1d100 (59) + 25 + 15 = 99
99 damage
Divine Magic | Bradwynne | 191C1

3 / 4

Sentry LP

Play Sheet Link

 

[Ilya]

110 / 140

Ilya was in a small state of panic, the flashing eyes of the death bot baring down on her until a warmth surrounded her body. Her brain put two and two together, hands had reached for Ilya, grabbing hold of her and yanking her back, just in time to escape from the monster. Ilya was out of breath, "T-thank you..." she huffed out. Watching as Bradwynne made his attack, using magic very similar to the magic that Ilya had... Divine magic. Ilya took a second to gather herself, taking his attack as a moment to catch her breath.

Ilya then decided that she had spent enough time catching her breath and lunged towards the mechanical monster. Ilya drew back her fists, ready to plunder the gears out of this guy. Her fist making contact with it's head? It was a robot, maybe it's head was on it's butt for all she knew. The beast of gears made it's retaliation on her before she had time to launch herself backwards out of range. Since she was close, instead of shooting her down it swung at her. The metal slapping hard against her body, sending her flying backwards. Her back hit against the stone wall, Ilya coughing and struggling to breathe as the wind was knocked out of her. Blood coughing up, escaping through her mouth. "Kill it. I swear to god."

Her vision was slightly blurry and she had to take a few moments to regain herself, unable to move. A small figure seemed to join their battle. White hair, red eyes... (@Ilusa Nakhalee) It was a Beastfolk, and she seemed capable enough to help the group out with the bot. Ilya could only sit there and watch as the scene unfolded, still regaining her composure and wheezing with each breath she took.

Rolls

Roll Result
Normal Attack
1d100 (34) + 25 + 15 = 74 [Success]
Martial Arts | Ilya | 191C1

Sentry

2 / 4

LP: 4 | DC: 50 | ATK: 30

 

[Ilusa Nakhalee]

130 / 160

As she got closer, the mechanical 'enemy' Ilusa could now see was different from the two other types she saw and avoided before. It was smaller, more compact, and with more visible wirings. It seemed slower than the tripod, but as aggressive if the way it whirred and its 'eyes focused on the other party.

It seemed the group had, more or less a handle on it. Their health bar was not full but it was not yellow or red. As such, the priority should be the enemy. Plus she did see that two out of three used the same magic that she had; if worst came to be, they could manage to keep one another alive. A group of healers might take longer to take a monster down, but their survivability was much higher.

Mentally, Ilusa went through the spells she refreshed not so long ago, looking for one that is more on the subtle side. This was not easy with magic associated so heavily with light. But it was doable.

Gripping her wand, the pale-gold coloured light started to gather on it. Quickly, she checked the positioning of the enemy and the allies, the mental map trajectory was created.

Quiet words of power were almost whispered. It felt familiar. Yet nostalgic, the words poured smoothly, almost melodic and feeling special.

The energy responded, gathering around her and creating a small halo, for a moment making her seem ethereal. Such was the wonder of Divine Magic.

Ilusa aimed and thrust her wand forward, with the last sound of the spell.

A streak of pale-gold coloured light shot off, moving nimbly and hitting the floating machine – though the machine had moved a little so it was not the perfect hit it could have been. Still, the magic created a small hissing sound as it damaged the armour and some important inner parts. Because the machine wobbled, let out a sound and whirled to face her, as if assigning her priority.

And shot hail of bullet at her.

Ilusa wordlessly grunted at the impact, at the sharp pain. It felt real-yet it was not at the same time. Because if the few bullets that hit her here hit her as they did in reality, she would have a much bigger problem than slight pain and a dip in the Health-points.

It was a pity that it did not fully down it, but as group, they should manage to finish it off quickly.

Rolls

Normal Attack
1d100 (24) + 25 + 15 = 64
64 damage
Divine Magic | Ilusa Nakhalee | Sentry attack

Sentry

1 / 4

LP: 4 | DC: 50 | ATK: 30

Player Character Sheet

 

[Ash Vargold]

110 / 140

Logically, Ash knew he should be panicking. Three people, all seemingly of greater strength than him, and yet the monster hadn't fallen. Yet here, standing with others, heart beating in time as they fought, just like then, just like then...

As he charged, the sentry turned his way. Bullets sprayed past and through him, and while the pain was dulled by his settings (thank god he'd left pain reduction on) he couldn't stop the flinch that slowed his movements. Still, he fought past it, raised his blade, a memory bringing the chant to his lips. "Oh spirits, guide my blade-"

What answered was not the murmuration he remembered from the last time he played. What answered was a cacophony of wailing and a half-burned shape at the edge of his vision, not so much guiding his blade but dragging it, carrying him clumsily towards a gap in the sentry's metal armor.

His blade struck true, sparks flying as he cut some vital connection within the machine. It sputtered for a moment, struggling to stay airborne, and then collapsed to the ground.

The wailing faded. Ash looked down at the machine, panting. "...looks like we're safe-"

And then the machine let out a stuttering screech. Ash staggered backwards, covering the location where ears would be if he weren't caenis and failing to blot out the sound. It cut out quickly, but somewhere in the distance came a responding cry.

"-but not much longer. Time to run?"

Rolls

Steady Attack
6d20 exploding (17 + 9 + 14 + 3 + 3 + 1) + 10 + 10 = 67
67 damage

Guard Arts | Ash Vargold | 191c1

Sentry

0 / 4

DEAD

LP: 4 | DC: 50 | ATK: 30

Sentries alerted! Backup inbound...

Play Sheet

 

[Bradwynne]

As the robot was then dealt a fatal blow which shattered a lot of its internals, it delivered an ear-splitting shriek. To Bradwynne, this was a bad sign: this meant that any robot within the vicinity that heard the shriek will converge to this place. The robots themselves were of minor issue, but their sheer numbers would be their outdoing as a hail of bullets could easily kill everyone within range. And it seemed like they were coming immediately, the sound of metal was heard from another section of the building.

"Yes, let's go out here as fast as we can. Fortunately, this building seemed to be formerly used by a group of bandits, since one of its exits would lead to a place outside the walls of Vintergard. Let us go there, now." He then quickly moved towards another room quite far from where the sounds of metal were originating that were getting closer and closer, which then led to a hallway.

"All right, this should be it. Once we go through here, it will just be a straight path travel to the outside. I dare think that this will be the last time we can use this tunnel, for after this it might become guarded by those robots."

 

[Ilya]

*It won't be as nice as my first reply before maintenance because I have to retype it *

Ilya nodded, wheezing as she kept trying to suck more air into her lunges. Pushing her body upwards, I really wish I had my pain reduction turned on... She had made the mistake of forgetting to take a look before she had set out from the safety of the place she had first logged into.

"We gotta keep moving..." Holding onto her side as she coughed, flicking her tail at Bradwynne signaling him to take the lead. She didn't trust herself after last time. Grabbing at the wall this time her face and eyes flashing to meet Ash's, "Hey, if it isn't too much to ask. Can you help me walk? I was dumb and forgot last time I played with pain reduction off." Ilya frowned, "I wouldn't ask normally," Her ears pinning down to her head as this was a massive strike to her pride, "I just think if I don't have assistance we won't move quick enough. I'll slow us down..." Ilya trailed off, still trying to get a good breath.

 

[Ilusa Nakhalee]

With everyone's efforts, they defeated the machine rather smoothly. Its death came in the form of a sword from the male beastfolk. It fell with a screech that made her flinch at the sound, her ears flattening and her tail standing up with bristled fur. She even let out a small, very offended hiss as she glared at the piece of scrap metal. Because this was a horrible sound that was in fact, painful even though it did not hurt her HP.

She glanced at the group, listening to the one who killed the monster and then the human. Of course everyone had small scratches, but if that screech was so loud surely other machines could become alerted and check the commotion out so it was better to move first and heal while moving.

"Yes, let's go." She agreed immediately, checking out the spell for an AoE Heal, trying to check if she remembered the correct wording. It seemed that the only human in their midst knew the way out of the trap that the glorious city turned into.

…Of course her thoughts changed when one of the players was slowed down by the pain. Ilusa stepped in. The blonde human was busy leading them after all. A quick glance at the healthbar had Ilusa grip her weapon tighter and quickly, chanted the short incantation for single heal of low energy cost.

Her magic was high enough that it immediately healed @Ilya .

"Now let's go." Because with the wound healed, the pain would be gone. "We must hurry." Ilusa then ran after the player that showed them the way, hearing odd sounds coming from behind them.

"Just what happened here…" She murmured to herself, casting another glance over the once beautiful city they restored.

 

[Ash Vargold]

Ash nods in response to @Ilya's question, but the white-haired woman (@Ilusa Nakhalee) is there first - bringing up healing magic that puts his own to shame. He's more impressed than jealous of that.

"No pain reduction? I know it's better for control, but... damn." He offers an arm anyway, in case she still needs the help, his attention only half on the group. Anyone paying attention might see the way his eyes dart and ears twist, tracking a sound only he can hear. The city is lousy with spirits, and now that he's revealed himself as someone who can hear them, they're all too eager to make themselves heard.

"The blond guy seems to know," Ash says, gesturing towards @Bradwynne. "I guess we'll have story time when we're out of here."

Runrunrun, hisses a voice in his ear. The spirit that helped him before continues to cling to him, little more than fear and fury. Fastandfarbeyondthewalls-

Ash shakes his head, breath misting in unexpected cold. "...and I, for one, am really looking forward to hearing said story. Let's stay alive long enough to hear it, yeah?"

 

[Bradwynne]

As he had already directed the three into the exit, Bradwynne then led the way, quickly moving within the seemingly labyrinthine path, although it was actually one path. He always looked behind him, making sure that the others would follow. The air in the pathway became really musty as they continued traversing the path, but as they would draw nearer to the exit, the musty smell became thinner and thinner, until they arrived near the end of the tunnel, an amount of sunlight streaming from the cracks of the wooden door just nearby. A shallow climb later, they would then arrive at the door, which Bradwynne then opened, and the great amount of sunlight would pour into the relatively dark path as Bradwynne then went out through it.

If the other three would go out into the area in which Bradwynne then stood, they would come into a full view of Vintergard from an elevated place: a mere shadow of what it was before, with the airship crashing into it also viewable, or at least its top part. If one would look close enough, there were robots manning and patrolling atop the walls, and a small number of them just outside the walls.

"This is what Vintergard had become while you were gone," Bradwynne, who was looking at the city, would say when the three had finally crawled out of the path.

 

[Ilya]

Feelings of relief entered Ilya's small body, her pain dissipating in an instant. She flashed Ilusa a look as if to say 'thank you' a million times over. With energy returning to her body, she felt light again. As if she could take on the world. Nodding at the group, and thanking Ash for still being willing to help her she was ready to move forwards. Despite feeling completely rejuvenated, Ilya still took up Ash's offer, locking her arm with his. She was a klutz after all. Who knew when she might fall flat on her face.

Noticing his reaction, Ilya assumed he could hear something that only he could hear. She nudged him and whispered in a hushed tone so that only he could hear, "Are you okay?" Then she gave his arm a little squeeze of reassurance to hopefully help keep him focused on the task at hand, along with letting him know that she was there.

The path which had first been rather wide seemed to become more and more narrow. Ilya, wanting to reach the end as soon as possible to get out of this nightmare. Her footing slipped, the only thing keeping her upright was the fact that she had been latched onto Ash. "M-my bad. I'm out of it, t-this situation is just very stressful." Ilya cursed at herself, irritated that she was frightened enough to be tripping over her words.

The hairs on her neck, upright as chills were constantly being sent down her spine. Her feet had continued on, going one in front of the other to carry her onwards. That was until the tunnel they were in had gotten incredibly strong to the point that it was awkward to keep clinging onto Ash like she had been. Her tail shot straight into the air, her ears flattening against her head. It was too narrow, and Ilya was frightened. Her body stopped quickly, thankfully being at the end of the group, no one would run into her.

Being scared was something new to Ilya, thus far she wasn't used to the sensation, fear prickling every single ounce of her skin and soul. Taking a deep breath, she had to move on. Taking another second, Ilya gulped and slowly began to move forward. Her fast pace had deteriorated, she was so close to the exit, but still so far. It was a nightmare, Ilya was living in a nightmare. She wanted nothing more than to sink to the floor and curl into a ball, or even log out. But if she did that now, no one would be there when she returned. She had to focus and drive onwards while she still had people surrounding her.

---

Exiting the cave, Ilya let out a breath of fresh air. Finally, she was out of that hell of a closed space. Looking out, her eyes widened at the sight she saw. "How the hell did this happen?"

 

[Ilusa Nakhalee]

“...Yes. Yes, let’s.. Once we are safe, yes, then we can learn.” Ilusa inclined her head towards the male beastfolk and then indeed followed after the very tall human. Her body was tense, prepared, ready. There was certain nervousness, like one of the past, coiling inside her. It helped her ignore the pain and ignore its impossibility. With no one else impaired by the not full HP, Ilusa did not cast another one. Because Energy as always was a limited, precious resource. It was a thing that did not change since the last time she was in the game.

She felt bit amused as the other woman leaned on the green-haired male. Not that she showed it, no, she had a slight, worried expression. And she even was slightly worried; it seemed like she was currently the weakest link. Ilusa followed right after the only human, but she still could hear and glances to back showed her how the other felis was reacting.

The walk was not pleasant. They tried to be fast, but also quiet. But the light was low and the air was heavy and musty - it felt uncomfortable against her ears; which caused her to twitch them often… And her tail sway in mild irritation.

…The other felis was a wreck. Ilusa did not know a spell that could help – or rather, she did not know the words well. Those spells were not deemed important as she did a quick review. So she could not help in any meaningful way (it was something she would absolutely rectify the moment she could, copy the words and even mork on them when not logged in).

Aside sending a reassuring look and few words.

“It’s going to be alright.” She said flashing another smile in the direction of the other felis. It was probably something mental; a trauma or Death Affliction. So Ilusa politely did not say anything disparaging. After all, she had her own set of trauma. And it was not like they were currently in the battle.

The air started to be more pleasant and then after a short climb they were out and Ilusa could take a real look at the scale of the disaster.

“Ffff-hhh!” A mixture of hiss and inhale, followed by wordless exhale was her reaction. Her eyes misted over; because this was a true disaster. A giant, sci-fi ship that crashed into the great city. Humongous ship, above anything in real life.

Her shoulders shook and her hands gripped onto the wand, tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Her face was like carved from stone, but there were emotions swimming in her eyes. It was clear that she was affected by the destruction.. Especially now, that she and they were out of the danger. Her tail lashed out from left to right, clearly showing agitation, anger. The fur stood up and her ears lay down, flat, almost blending into her hair that was the same colour as the fur.

“T-that’s-!” It was ground out, almost hissed out, her eyes narrowing, before she whirled onto the blonde man, her eyes focused on him.

“….W-when did it happen? What of the Astor? The King?” The one good thing about Astor being a king right now, was the fact that he was someone important and not just one of the many players. It hopefully would make finding him easier. “..What is known of this disaster?”