Private Dunnstads Shadowed Guide

[Caelia Etterni]

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This was farther than she'd really ever come on her own.

Caelia Etterni stood looking up at a massive wall, leaning her weight on one foot while she had a hand propped on the other hip. Her long white hair blew slightly in a gentle breeze from the distant ocean, carrying with it the crisp, clear scent of the wilderness that made up Falderen. She'd been doing some research on this world, what she could find of lore on it anyways. A book had mentioned the Wall of Humanity, and so she'd decided to go and see it. Occasionally, Travelers would come through one of the seven gates that led to other parts of the world, but for the most part Caelia was ignoring them.

The stories claimed the wall was a blessing from a god... She was curious about the deities of this world, and wondered if perhaps by visiting the wall she could uncover more of its mysteries. She took a few steps foward...

..and bumped right into someone that hadn't been there a moment before. Caelia reeled backwards, stumbling just a bit but remaining on her feet as she backed away from the dark, shadowy spot she'd just stepped into. She blinked curiously at the woman who emerged from the shadow, head tilted slightly to one side.

I'm sorry, I didn't see you... Did you just come from that shadow? Oh, do you use shadow magic? I'm learning how to use that!

She smiled warmly at the woman, offering out a hand to shake.

I'm Caelia, Caelia Etterni. What's your name?

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Sometimes, going through the seven gates of the Wall of Humanity was just a pain in the ass. Even when you have the time to do so! But--let's be honest here--who wants to deal with the guards? Or bump shoulders with the other travelers and merchant caravans going in and out of Dunnstads? Screw that. She's not staining her shirt brushing arms against greasy, smelly landers and their complete lack of sensible hygiene habits. Especially when they spend days hoofing it down the roads.

(Four years gone from this stupid world, and nobody's figured out mass transit? There are mechs and guns and even a couple airships she's heard about; but no arcana-powered locomotives zooming down the tracks?)

Madison was on her way back up Kingsroad to the tippy-top of the region: Witch's Rest. The piecemeal stories of Ilmea she'd picked up since returning to the game piqued her interest--a tragic tale of a powerful witch, spurned by the hero of men for someone that was probably all beauty and no brains? Threw herself into the sea in her anguish and cursed the sailors who dared brave the winds and waves?

Oh, my heart fuckin' bleeds.

If anything, it was more of a scholarly interest. Just gathering the bits and bobs to paint a better picture on a neat bit of history. Peeling back the layers, though? It was an excellent opportunity for her to perfect her very particular school of necromancy. Not the Raising An Army Of Dead To Conquer Your Enemies And Enslave Their Remains(TM); but more like Ouija board shit. Summoning the spirits of those who passed and inviting them over for tea and storytime.

But for now--gotta' deal with the Wall.

Madison emerged from a pool of shadows where she thought was a spot where nobody would be looking. The benefits of short-range pseudo-teleportation! But rather than stroll out of the abyss with a whistle on her lips, she slammed into a tourist.

"Shit--my bad--" A far cry from the "Watch where you're going!" that she would've spat if she were in an actual rush. But the white-haired faerin that she almost toppled? At least she apologized first.

The question of her shadow magic came up. "Yeah, I've practiced for a while." A lie. She dumped a bunch of points from her veteran respec in to Shadow Arts and has been winging it ever since. "Madison Freebird." Her gaze lingered on Caelia's hand for a moment before she shook it. "Pleasure."

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia smiled brightly at Madison as she introduced herself and shook her hand. She looked over the other woman curiously, taking note of the weapons she could see on her. Unlike if she'd been in the real world, Caelia didn't feel too worried. Hell, everyone was armed in this game, you had to be! It was normal to see someone carrying weapons. In fact, it was probably less normal to see her without obvious weapons on her person, save the dagger that hid partially under her coattails.

Were you coming from the other side of the wall? I haven't been out that way before, what's it like? (pauses, awkward laugh) I guess you were probably trying to go somewhere. Do you want to walk and talk? Company never hurts!

If this had been the real world, again, she wouldn't have dreamed of inviting herself along wherever it was Madison was going. But here, well, she was curious, and she wanted to be friendly with people to make more friends.

She wanted to ask Madison more about shadow magic, but she waited for now, hoping the other woman would at least accept her offer to walk and talk together.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"I was, yes." Madison adjusted the cuffs of her sleeves. Being pulled through the shadows always ruffled her clothes. "I just... popped through because didn't want to deal with the security." Not that she had anything to hide, of course. All she had on her were some provisions and her guns; and among the many and varied ways of dealing death she's seen in Terrasphere? A couple of revolvers and a repeater rifle were relatively tame!

Company never hurts, indeed. The raven motioned for Caelia to follow her as she meandered east. "I'm headed back up the cape towards Witch's Rest. You've never been through this part of Dunnstads?" She arched an eyebrow. "I know it's not as dangerous or glamorous as places out west, but... There are still a lot of neat places to explore. A lot of cute little fishing villages, a few merchant port towns, lots of beautiful shoreline... And, perhaps most importantly, it's not so fucking huge that it takes days on end to get from one place to the next."

A pause. "What brings you out this way, anyway?"

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia trotted alongside Madison as the tow headed back eastward. She seemed intrigued by what the other woman had to say, looking up at her with kindly blue eyes and a gentle smile. She waved a hand slightly when she was asked what she was doing out here, shrugging.

I was listening to a Lander talk about the Wall. He said the Wall was a blessing from a god, so I... (shrug) I dunno, really. I guess I just wanted to see what this thing looked like. He mentioned there's secrets underneath and inside of it, so maybe sometime I'll get some friends together and go exploring in there to see what I can find.

She looked ahead to make sure she wasn't going to run into another person before back up at Madison.

Why are you going to Witch's Rest? Isn't that place haunted? At least, that's what I heard... I don't know if you can tell, I've been listening to a lot of Lander stories... (awkward laugh) There's so little written down anywhere! I have to go to the taverns and get someone really talking to learn about this place.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

(Sorry about the delay!)

The gunslinger glanced over her shoulder, lingering on the massive stone gates that loomed over her even at this distance. "I've heard about the tunnels underneath the gates. Haven't heard much, though; other than they can be extremely dangerous. Ruin diving isn't exactly my thing; I like my secrets served up in perfectly safe books inside tidy little libraries."

So sayeth the gal who dragged a couple friends to their doom because she thought a little job posting would be a great team-building exercise.

"It is haunted," she said, casual as you like, while twisting off the top of her canteen. "Well, cursed is the word I hear thrown around more. The entire bay, really. Lots of sudden storms, lots of shipwrecks. But it's been so long; I'm curious as to how such a thing's been so powerful all these years without losing any of its strength."

Madison took a long pull from her canteen. "So you said you practice shadow arts too, huh?"

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia figured that ruin diving probably wasn't really her thing, either... She couldn't see herself going into dark, spooky places with or without company. As Madison put it, she certainly preferred her secrets served up in books, too. She listened curiously as the other woman talked about Witch's Rest, confirming that it was haunted, or, well, cursed as she put it.

Huh, that's interesting. Maybe it's just a part of the game, and doesn't ever deplete any energy or anything? I don't know, so much of this game feels more organic than that, so it's probably not just simple coding, huh?

She looked up as Madison went on speaking, smiling a little bit at the other woman.

Oh, well, practice is a good word for it, yes. I'm still learning the basics. Trying to figure out if it's really something I want to keep or if I'm going to trade it for something else, haha. It seemed fitting for what I have, though, so... I'm giving it a try!

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Madison acknowledged the astute observation from someone who appeared to be a relatively recent log-in. "Could be. I'm not entirely sure how things work sometimes. Hell--I'm not even sure the game itself knows its own rules, either. I've seen players and landers treat their energy bars as nothing more than mere suggestions before doing crazy shit. But I've also seen monsters collapse from exhaustion after doing one simple little thrust of a spear, soooo..."

It's as if the world itself took a look at the rules and decided that, most of the time, the rule of cool was the only one that needed following. And a witch cursing an entire bay for being scorned by her lover? Definitely cool.

"They changed a lot of the things people could do after the game came back." For example: The big irons on her hips. "I picked it up because it looked cool. Turns out, being able to mess around with darkness is a lot more useful than just trying to play like you're Naruto or something. It's extremely versatile! What have you been doing with it? Care to show me?"

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia looked ahead again, clasping her hands behind her back as they walked along together. Picking things up because it looked cool sounded about right to her; after all, it was what she'd done too. She shrugged a bit as Madison asked what she could do with it, giving her a sheepish look.

It's kind of new to me, so I'm still working on it. (chuckle) I've figured out how to do the shadow jumping, though. I talked to someone who got me thinking about how to combine my masteries too, so I'm trying to do that! It's a little difficult, since there's nothing written down necessarily about how to combine things usefully, but I'm learning slowly.

She considered for a moment when Madison asked her to demonstrate as well, but ultimately shook her head slightly with another sheepish look.

There's not much I can do that is really showy yet... I don't use weapons like swords and things, I just have the dagger for...things. I'm trying to learn how to use shadow arts to hide, um, hexes and curses, though.

She admitted the last bit with some hesitation, glancing up at Madison to see how she reacted to the suggestion that Caelia was dealing in taboo magic.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"Well, everyone's gotta' start somewhere."

Madison remembered her first weeks she spent fumbling around. Trudging through beginner caves in Eastern Brisshal, trying to get her stupid tarot cards to work properly to fire off something stronger than a wet fart of pure dark magic--not even the rot spells that she eventually became quite accomplished with; but just pure, unfiltered fistfuls of malice that did nothing but mildly irritate the flesh of goblins and wolves.

And with the talk of hexes and curses? "Just as long as you're not practicing those on friendlies." It was less a warning or a threat than a piece of advice, of course; another little lesson from Lucia--the common sense law of don't be a dick applied in-game as well. Pay it forward with another new player.

"Combining your masteries will be incredibly important to your development. Like right now--I've picked hyper sense, shadow magic, and spirit magic, right? They allow me to see things in low light, or see the ghosts of landers and travelers that have died in places. Or with time magic, I can slow shit down for just a second or two--gives me time to react and readjust to what's going on around me. That way I can--"

With a flourish, Madison drew one of her pistols, the heavy iron revolver twirling on her fingers until she snatched the grip and held the barrel pointing towards the sky.

"--do whatever needs to be done," she finished.

Madison quickly holstered the gun and continued walking alongside the young gal. "What other magics have you been practicing? Maybe I can give some pointers."

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia shook her head emphatically when Madison mentioned not to be practicing on the friendlies, as she put it.

Oh, goodness no. I just practice on my own, usually. I get animals caught in them sometimes if I wait long enough in the woods... Hard to tell how effective they are against creatures that won't give you feedback, though, hah.

She looked up at the other as she continued speaking, interested in hearing how her masteries combined to help her push forward in the game. She jumped a little as Madison suddenly drew one of the pistols, not because she was afraid of it but just startled by the sudden movement. She smiled a little bit then, nodding her head in agreement.

Whatever needed to be done... She figured she could do that, too. Then again, "whatever needed to be done" could entail a lot of things.

Oh, um, well... There's the dark magic, and, uhm, hemomancy. Oh, and I picked up something called Evoke recently, too. I'm still working on that one, it's newest. Kind of just focusing on the ones I started with first, though. I've been trying to see if I can use dark magic and hemomancy to put, well...blood curses on enemies. (nervous chuckle) I haven't had much practice with that yet, though.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Dark magic and bloodomancy? "Huh. You're going in hard on the taboo stuff, aren't ya." Not a joke; but not a judgment, either. Just a casual observation from someone who's been around the block a few times with magic that's frowned upon and poo-poo'd in polite society.

"Can't say I'm terribly familiar with Evoke, though." Madison scratched her chin. She really didn't recall seeing it on the mastery screen in her UI--after she dumped Summoning, the only other one that caught her eye was Hyper Sense. Everything outside that became an absolute blur.

And now, it was her turn to extol the the virtues of being able to see shit just a little bit better than others. "Maybe with Hyper Sense, you'd be able to see the effects of your curses taking place? I know it allows me to see all sorts of weird shit I shouldn't otherwise--things hiding in the darkness, weak points in armor or scale, the ghosts of the dead; stuff like that."

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia looked away a little as Madison pointed out she was "going in hard on the taboo stuff," as they put it. She didn't feel like she was being judged - the tone wasn't right for that to be the case - but it was still odd to hear it said like that.

Well, they seemed cool, and what's the point of having an option for magic if you can't use it?

She spoke quietly, a little uncertainly, but not aggressively. Just trying to defend herself a little bit against any possible misconceptions.

I hadn't thought of Hyper Sense... That's a good idea. Maybe it would help me to see those little intricacies in my enemies, or ghosts, that would be cool. (small pause) Maybe it would let me see my friend...

She paused, looking off into the distance with just a curious look on her face.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"No, I understand that." The gunslinger took a quick pull from her canteen. "Years ago, I was a swamp witch. When the game opened back up, all my points got refunded and I threw them into a necromancer build. There's something about being able to do what you can't in the real world that's so exhilarating, so freeing. You have to try it. You have to get creative. You have to discover the bounds of what you're allowed to do. And that's okay!"

Even if some of our natural inclinations lean towards darker desires or creative needs.

But then again, Madison saw a lot of people who were more than content to just light their sword on fire and swing it really fast, or just focus on the four main elements. And that's okay too! Someone's gotta' fill those niches.

"What's this about your friend?" Such a thing to be thrown out so casually, it confused Madison. A thread hanging loose from a sweater demanded to be pulled, and so she did.

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia looked back at Madison when she spoke again, a blush coming to her face. She hadn't intended for the other to hear that, but then again, they were walking side by side. She made a mental note to be better about keeping things to herself if she didn't want others to hear.

Well... You'll probably think I'm crazy. (small laugh) I've just been...hearing this voice occasionally. It doesn't seem malevolent, in fact it's been helping me here and there. It's not always there, so I don't know if whoever it belongs to is coming and going, but... Yeah. Friend is a good word for them, so that's how I've been thinking of them.

She glanced up at Madison then, as if trying to read the other's expression with that information now given.

I assume it's just some kind of spirit programmed into the game. (shrug) I figure anyone with Hyper Sense can probably see them, I just can't. Yet.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Madison kept her eyes on the road ahead, and licked her teeth in thought. "Nah, you're not crazy. If I can be perfectly honest with you? It's probably par for the course. Among us Travelers, anyway. People like us--there's always something funky going on. You've got a voice in your head. I'm haunted by a few ghosts that love to come out and help when I'm desperate. This guy over here probably can split himself into four different, fully independent copies with some Alter-powered illusion magic on bowling night. That woman over there looks like she has deep heart-to-heart conversations with that massive fucking sword strapped to her back."

Of course; that was just the Travelers. Landers, on the other hand? Plain as unbuttered white bread, or the most powerful shit you've ever seen.

"Don't take that as me trying to downplay what you have going on; I'm not saying you're not special or cursed or whatever." The gunslinger spared Caelia a look. "I'm more saying that Weird Shit is kind of the nature of the game, and it's okay to be more comfortable with it. Don't, like, go blab about it to everyone; that won't help you. But it's good to be forthcoming and honest with others when Weird Shit starts happening."

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Honestly, it was kind of nice to hear Madison say that there was nothing that special about her hearing a voice in her head. Caelia nodded a bit, chuckling softly as the other went on to mention some examples offhandedly.

Nah, I don't take it that way at all. If anything, it's good to hear that it's not something to be too...worried about, I guess? If it were just happening to me, I'd be a lot more concerned. I'm not planning to tell everyone I meet that oh, hey, I have a voice that talks to me sometimes at random... But yeah, it's nice to know it's not too crazy of a thing to be happening.

Maybe she'd have to sit down and really try to connect with whatever it was, get to know how to use it better.

I just wish there was a better way to learn about all this weird shit without having to ask Landers or go dungeon delving. What happened to all the damn books in this world? (soft laugh) Would it be so hard to make a library?

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Honestly? It was a relief to hear Caelia say that she didn't take offense to what Madison said. Maddy met enough deluded players in her time that were trying so very, very hard to be Sephiroth that they didn't see the fifty other gravel-voiced, vain, megalomaniacal edgelords with various "unique" takes on Japanese swords standing beside them.

This is a weird world where everyone's acting out their power fantasies. Weird shit happens all the time to everyone. It was one of her first lessons upon arriving four years ago.

"You're not kidding." Madison rolled her eyes. "That was one of the most disappointing things I discovered when I first played. Where are the fucking books?! Actually--there's a lot of things that you would think this world would have but just.... Doesn't, for some stupid reason. Like fast means of mass transit, for starters. We've got rocket powered hammers, man-sized automatons, that airship that crashed into the old Astorean capital and all the weird shit still buzzing around that. Where's my goddamn Amtrak, huh? Why do I have to hoof it up and down the cape instead of catching the 11:27 to Stokbon?"

Unless the game already had the means, but it was just waiting for the players to do the work. Like everything else in this world, it seemed.

"If you wanted to learn more about the world, though... Have you tried checking out the MIT? I know they're mainly a research institute, but surely they have other things that might be more in line with what you're looking for?"

@Caelia Etterni

 

[Caelia Etterni]

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Caelia laughed lightly when Madison joked about catching the 11:27 to get to where she needed to go. It was strange that the game seemed to have technology in other sorts, but not transportation. She'd not really looked into it, though. Maybe she would... Not that engineering was her thing all of a sudden, but it could be interesting. Magic hadn't really been her thing either until starting to play the game, after all.

I haven't looked into them too much. Don't you have to join to get access to some of their stuff? I don't.... (pause, shrug) I don't really want to be beholden to one group over the others necessarily. I want to be able to do my own thing, without someone saying 'Hey, we need you for this specific thing that all MIT members have to do now,' y'know?

It felt strange, the idea of tying herself to one faction over others. She didn't know what it was that bothered her about the idea, it just...did.

Maybe I"ll try sniffing around, though. Who knows, maybe someone already part of their faction will just take pity on me and let me use their library card or whatever it is they have. (laugh) It probably won't be that easy, but a girl can dream, right?

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"No, that's understandable." Madison herself wasn't terribly keen on being a drone, a meat shield, an underling without a nametag for the Lion Arms. "Each guild runs a little differently. Expect different things from their members. I think all guild-related activities for each of them are on a volunteer-only basis, though? Like, I don't think they're going to force you to do anything you don't want. A lot of landers love to beg for our help, but they know that we can't always say yes."

It would literally be impossible to wrangle all of the players into a single location and point at a problem and say, "Solve, please." Not even the Titanius battle saw every name in zone chat pop in to score a quick hit and get their share of experience points from it.

"I'm sure, one way or another, you'll be able to find what you're looking for. But don't discount joining up with the MIT. In this world, it's good to have friends."

@Caelia Etterni