Author's note: This story is based off of somewhat true events. The battle system, character system, and everything else are my own crazy ideas, and are not to be taken lightly. Any resemblance to a real person or persons is intentional and is used with or without permission, depending. Flames are not acceptable, and any and/or all people who send them are susceptible to painful demises.
So this is our story. It's not what you would call very amazing; hell, it's somewhat boring. That's what you get when you gather our Group together and put them onto an adventure. It's what we deserve.
We are resting in an inn, the kind that can restore your health with one night. We've been here for four days, just because Zan wants to fully rest up. Whatever. He, Cat and Julio are playing cards at a table, and Julio is slamming beers as fast as they're served. We'll need to sedate him again before dragging to bed. Cat seems to be winning again - Zan is a terrible card player, and Julio is too drunk to play right.
Zan is our Black Mage. He has the blue robes and the straw hat, the gloves, the short height, everything. His hat is hanging on his rod, which is leaning against his chair. His hair is tied in a ponytail, as always - he seems to think he could be Citan.
Julio is the Fighter. He's a little taller than Zan, and is much bulkier. He has a broadsword that deals extra damage to ogres - we seem to be encountering lots of them lately. Other than that, he's kinda nondescript, except he wears glasses. He also has a Desert Eagle stuck in the back of his belt, but he doesn't have any bullets - and probably never will.
Catriana, or Cat for short, is our Ninja. She's the shortest in the group, even more so than Zan. Her shoulder-length brown hair is in a ponytail, and her two ninja swords are next to her chair. She's really thin, and very flexible, and incessantly nice.
At a different table are Sifian and Ariadani. Sifian is a Monk - he has a fancier name for it, but I don't know it. His hair is longer than Zan's, and is kinda scraggly. He hasn't shaved in a while, either. Despite being a Monk, he uses a staff with attachable ends, from spears to naginata.
Ariadani, or just Ari, is sitting in his lap. She's a Gypsy - but she's really more like a thief, except she also steals children. But I know some thieves who would do so. Her abnormally long hair is tied back, and she has a bow, arrows, and a dagger.
Alexander, our White Mage, is clogging while playing the piccolo. He has red hair, and glasses as well. He's got the white robes, and a staff that increases his magic power. I don't know how he can clog and play the piccolo at the same time, but he does.
That leaves just me, Heath, as the only other person in the room. I'm the tallest person by far, at 6 foot 1. I have brown hair, and I'm in all black, as always. There's a wakazashi hidden in my trench coat, and a poisoned dagger with it. I have a ring of invisibility hanging on a chain around my neck, and an amulet of agility with it. We all have some strange magic items; Zan has a shoelace that increases his max MP. Problem is, his boots have no laces - so he just tied it to his boot and somehow it works. Sometimes you just don't ask with these kinds of adventures.
The timer at the bottom of the menu ticks by slowly. We are all waiting for Hagmore to come back, but he's taking his time. Finally Zan, apparently tired of losing, turns and asks, "Where is Hagmore? He left over an hour ago!"
Ari sat up in Sifian's lap. "Well, he did say he was going to but some things we needed..."
"Well, he's taking his time." Zan looked at his hand and threw it away. "I quit. This game sucks." Cat managed to look indignant, but no one's watching her, so she shuffles the cards while sulking. Julio starts snoring. I roll my eyes.
Just then Cardinal Hagmore XXIII the Paladin walks through the door. He's about the same height as the others, except he's in full plate armor, with a two-handed sword and a red mantle. He doesn't look like a warrior at all, with his long hair and glasses, but no one cares in this case. He reminds me of Garai, but without the dual swords. "Hagmore!" Zan exclaimed. "Where were you?"
"I happened to talk to the guy who continued the story, and I had to fill in for everyone's lines since you weren't there, and I couldn't just leave him." The Cardinal tossed a key on the table. "He said this would open the cave door."
"Well, Julio won't be happy about that." Julio had insisted that the door could be opened by force, but despite it was an incredibly shabby and rotted door, it wouldn't break. I don't understand how that works, but no one ever does.
"Well, we still have to wait one more day, since Julio's already drunk." For once, I got to say a line. And people actually listened to me. With a sigh, I got up and paid the innkeeper. As soon as everyone was in bed, which happened simultaneously, night came and we were asleep. I wish I knew how this world worked.
The next day, everyone was fully restored (again) and Julio's hangover was cured instantly. As soon as we did a quick equipment check, we set out for the cave again.
The cave wasn't far away, but we were attacked by three ogres on the way. Julio took care of one in two hits, doing nearly triple his normal damage, while Hagmore, Sifian and Cat hacked away on the second. Zan started casting Bolt 2 on the third, but I finished it off with a few hits from my wakazashi. We collected our spoils and entered the cave.
The first room was monster-free. Hagmore opened the door with the key while Julio grumbled. We walked through into a mine, only to be attack by a few disgruntled miners, who attacked with pickaxes and shovels. Real dangerous weapons. I stabbed one with my dagger, and he fell twitching as the poison killed him. Hagmore decapitated another while Julio stabbed a third. Zan blew most of them away with Fire 3, and Cat used a Flame tech to finish them off. One tried to run, but Ari shot him in the back.
For some reason, the mine was a complex maze with an even stranger assortment of monsters suddenly inhabiting it. Bats, which always took one hit to kill and didn't even have that high of agility, were accompanied by a spell-casting jester. Where those came from, is another mystery no one will ever solve. There are far too many to cover in an RPG.
There were also ogres from the world map, and we dealt with them as we always do. Sometimes we were attacked by a group of goblins, or a giant spider. The goblins were easy, but the spiders could sometimes poison you. There were also some large worms with big attack power and no defense.
We came to a puzzle room. In it were some switches and several blocked doors. There was a mine cart filled with explosives, and by flipping the switches, we could direct the cart to a different door. Only Hagmore or Sifian could push it, though - it was one of their non-battle 'skills'. Real skill. We flipped some switches and Hagmore pushed it to one of the doorways. The cart exploded, opening the way through.
The first door was empty, of course. It always is. The second had some new armor for Hagmore or Julio - it only increased Julio's defense, so he put it on. The third had a chest with some potions in it, not that we needed them.
In the fourth door was our way to continue. But there was a group of ugly monsters currently blocking our path. "What the hell?" Julio said. "Why are there a new type of monster already?"
"Maybe it's a mini-boss..." Zan suggested. Hagmore scratched his head and fingered his sword. Sifian and Ari were happily holding each other, and Alexander was chatting idly with Cat. I sat down and waited for them to attack.
Someone should have realized that we needed to approach them for them to attack us. As it was, we waited for almost an hour before Julio got impatient and started walking right towards them, intending to continue the 'quest'. This instantly started some dialogue. "Look!" he said, pointing. "These monsters are blocking the way!"
"How are we supposed to get through this?" Cat asked.
"Well, we could always fight them..." Sifian suggested.
"I like how you think, Sifian!" Hagmore said, finally drawing his sword. "Let's rumble!"
"Good God..." I muttered to myself while standing up. "Don't tell me the censers got us, too?"
I went first and stabbed two of them, one with the dagger, the other with the wakazashi. The first fell twitching, the second with it's throat cut. One attacked me, but I dodged it. Cat was attacked by one and was hit once, dealing average damage. She countered by cutting off one of its arms, then casting the Blitz tech. Ari stole from one of them and got a glove from somewhere. Sifian beat the same one into unconsciousness with his staff. Zan cast Ice 2 on it to finish it off. Julio was attacked by another, and was poisoned from the attack. It was a normal poison, not nearly as potent as that on my dagger, so no one was worried. He attacked and managed to weaken one with his sword, and Hagmore stepped in and killed it and another. He then used a sword skill to kill another on the other side of the battlefield. Alexander cast the Holy spell on the last and put it in the red, but it still lived. It could have attempted to attack one of us, but Cat stabbed it to death before it could even get its first turn.
We walked into the next room, which was enemy-free. Cat turned to Alexander and said, "Can I be healed now?"
Alexander looked at her amusedly. "Can't you just use a potion? Why waste my MP?" Cat began to tell him why he would cast a healing spell, shaking her finger at him and using obscene language. Hagmore and Zan sat back and laughed, and Julio would have as well, except he needed to be cured of his poison.
I looked around the room. There was a large statue in the center of the room of a woman holding a moon. A statue of Althena. I walked up to it a tapped it. "Fill me with your sweet lovin', small shrine," I murmured. I was instantly restored of all HP and MP. I looked at the others. "Guys, we can use this..." Of course, no one heard me. They often don't.
Bored by their squabbling, I opened the menu screen and started looking at everyone stats. You must be wondering why we can beat these enemies with so little difficulty. Well, we got stuck in a dungeon for a few hours, and ended up gaining about five extra levels before we got out. So here we are right now: Julio is level 48, Zan level 43, Cat the highest of us at level 49, the Cardinal is level 46, Alexander is level 45, and Ari and Sifian are level 44.
Julio is the all-around character. He and Hagmore kinda share the leadership, but I guess he's the closest to a main character as we get. All his stats are pretty good - 63 strength, 68 stamina, 44 magic power, and 43 agility. His special attack is Whoop-Ass. I'm not kidding. It's kind of like Blitz and Swordtech combined into one. He has fairly basic equipment: the chain mail he just picked up is resistant to fire, and he has a small shield that can block magic 20% of the time. He also has THE helmet. The Helmet is practically indestructible, and has every type of sensor in it, as well as a stereo. It also has an AI in it, and it goes by the name of Joe.
Zan is exactly like a stereotypical Black Mage. 78 magic power, and 2 stamina. His spells are the general favorites: Fire, Ice, Bolt, the rather fun Quake spell, and he's still learning the higher levels spells like Pearl and Flare. His staff increases magic power and is fire elemental. There's also a piranha living in his hat. Sometimes, you just don't ask.
Catriana has rather high agility and attack, physical and magical, but has the defense of a stick. I've been wondering where we could find a Merit Award so she could equip some real armor, but there's no chance of that. She can also throw weapons and such, and her Ninja magic works wonders in all situations. She has a ring that increases her magic power.
Cardinal Hagmore XXIII has the strength of the gods. His two-handed Holy Avenger sword adds to his strength and is enhanced by holy damage attributes, and it generally breaks bones if the enemy lives. His armor is magic plate, so it weighs next to nothing and it still incredibly resistant. His helmet adds even more to his already obscene protection, so he takes about four damage, max. His mantle also adds to his magic evade. His sword skills make him a force to be reckoned with, even if he isn't very fast.
Alexander is a lot like Zan. But where Zan has a bit more attack than defense, Alexander has a bit more defense than attack. Meaning he has 3 stamina instead of Zan's 2. He has almost all his spells, and is only missing some of the highest spells, like Life 3, and the few summoning spells he can learn.
Ari is kind of an archer-like character, with the steal ability. She's very proficient with her bow, and her steal abilities are enhanced by a ring she found somewhere. Her stats are well rounded, but lower than Julio's. She just sits back and lets us take the brunt of the damage while she safely shoots at them.
Sifian has some major strength and defense, but lacks big time in the magic department. He doesn't wear much armor, because he really doesn't have to. (On a side note, Hagmore doesn't need to either, but the armor makes him more imposing.) His assorted attachable polearm heads have a variety of different status effects, depending. He can also utilize his Monk abilities, which are kinda cool.
I am level 47. 44 strength, 77 stamina, 85 agility, and 65 magic power. My natural evade is a 67% chance, and 41% for magic evade. While my attack power may only be 147, I can get up to five attacks a turn if I use only the dagger, and three with just the wakazashi. Two with both. The wakazashi has a 65% chance of critical hit, and the dagger almost always causes Venom to them. My coat nullifies all elemental damage and absorbs black attacks, but does shit for my defense, while the ring increases the defense even more to absorb fire and wind. I have a wide-brimmed black hat that increases my speed and magic defense, but I can't equip shields. Problem is, I've been cursed by my arch-enemy, so now people only notice me less than half of the time. However, this can be an advantage.
The others have finished their argument when I close the menu, and Alexander lost, so he heals Cat and Julio. Around then Zan discovers the use of the Althena statue, and Alexander gets a little upset at that. We heal up and head out, after using the obvious save point in the room.
Through this door we exited the mine into a mountain path. "That was it?" Julio demanded, looking back into the mine. "We must have missed something! Let's go back!"
"There's no need..." Hagmore started as Julio ran back inside. "I was going to say I made a map, and we covered everything, but..." He shrugged and sighed. We patiently waited for Julio to come barging out. After a few minutes, Julio did not appear.
"Maybe something happened to him." Cat suggested.
"Nah, he's probably just building up so he can be the real main character." Zan said. Hagmore bristled at that.
"WHAT! Doesn't he know that the big warrior-type guy is always the main character?! I have to stop him!" Hagmore charged back inside, unsheathing his Holy Avenger. We all just stared after him.
"That's not exactly true..." I finally started. "Neither Zidane, Terra, or Serge were really fighters..." But it was a little too late to tell him that.
"Cards, anyone?" Cat asked, sitting down and pulling a deck out from somewhere. Zan took a step away from her, holding his hands in front of him.
"No way. Every time I play cards with you I always lose." It was true. Cat had the largest amount of gold out of everyone. She sniffed and took on a hurt look.
"B-b-but Zaaaan..." she said, doing her best puppy dog eyes, "you said you would play until you won, remember?" She looked so innocent you would almost believe she was. Zan sighed.
"Fine. Deal."
"Yay!" she exclaimed happily - as if Zan had a choice - and started dealing the cards. "Anyone else?"
"No thank you," Ari said, resting her head on Sifian's shoulder. They looked very content.
"Iie," I muttered. I sat down and pulled out a Rubik's Cube and started fiddling with it.
"Oh, what the hell," Alexander said and sat down with them. Cat happily dealt the cards and they started the game. Zan started losing before a minute was up. I toyed with the Cube for a while until I finished half of it. Then I glanced up. "Where are Julio and Hagmore?"
***
"Julio!"
Hagmore stumbled over the body of a dead ogre. He ran down the hall way, looking every which way, ready for anything. Julio would pay for this
insurrection. "Where are you, Julio?!" A spider appeared before him - he hacked it apart before the battle could even begin. Just then Julio appeared.
"Hey, thanks, Hagmore! I hate spiders," Julio said with a grin. Hagmore nearly erupted with rage.
"JULIO! YOU ARE SO DEAD!" he shouted, shaking his Holy Avenger at him. "You aren't getting away with this! I am the main character!" He was about ready to start smashing something.
"Uh...Hagmore? What are you talking about?" Julio said questioningly, scratching his head.
"You know what I mean! Trying to usurp my authority!"
"What?"
"I'll kill you for this, Julio! RAAAARGH!!"
"Oh, shit."
***
"I don't care...blue."
"Damn! Not again!" Zan threw his hands up in anguish. "Why do I keep losing?"
"Maybe you just suck." I murmured, carving a stick. "Plus, your favorite color is blue. Try picking something better."
"Oh, shut up." Zan started to curse at me in Japanese. After a while. I gave him the finger and started ignoring him. He pulled out his notepad and started drawing. Zan had lost all his money to Cat, and Alexander wasn't faring too well either. Cat was gleefully taking a large sum of money from the middle while Alexander stared in disbelief at her cards. Ari and Sifian hadn't moved. My Rubik's Cube was lying in the dirt next to me, finished. I spat again and glanced at the cave. "Why the hell are we still waiting out here? This scene is just screaming for a boss to come and kick our asses."
"I'm sure Hagmore is more than capable of getting Julio out of whatever trouble he's in." Cat said cheerfully as she raked in more money.
"Yeah, but Julio is better at getting himself out of his own problems. That man is the most accident-prone person I've ever met. I'd be more worried about Hagmore than Julio."
True to my words, Julio strolled out of the cave, carrying an unconscious Cardinal. He dumped him on the ground, dusted his hands, and looked around. "Zan, get me my shovel."
"What?" Zan said, looking up from his drawing, blinking. I sighed and laid back as Cat and Ari berated Julio for beating up on Hagmore. Julio just sat there, arms folded, not moving. Eventually they gave up and forced Alexander to heal him. Hagmore just laid there for a moment, blinking at the sun. After a few moments, he tried to look around, but really couldn't.
"Can someone help me up?" he pleaded, lifting his arms. "This armor is really heavy." Grumbling, I assisted Sifian and Julio in getting the Paladin up. He dusted himself off and pointed a finger at Julio. "I'll get you. Later."
With that over with, we set out again. I walked, deep in thought, not paying attention to much around me. I do this a lot. So far, we were thirty-three hours into the quest, and still not even a hint of who or what the final boos might be. And we weren't delaying. We've been pushing the story line as fast as we can go. There hasn't even been an evil minion yet. We did save some kids from a burning house, and managed to stop a regicide, but other than that, everything has just been a random thing to do.
A sudden crash brought me back to reality. I looked around and saw Zan diving to avoid being crushed by a giant foot. The foot was attached to a large storm giant, a huge grin on its face. "Ah, shit," I muttered. I reached for my blades, the quickly realized they would be ineffective. None of my magic would either, so I ran behind a tree.
I watched the carnage. The giant was attempting to either step on people or grab them. Julio was hacking away at its ankle, with Hagmore attempted his sword skills. Neither did much damage. Cat threw some ninja stars at it and cast Flame. Zan unloaded a Quake spell on it, dealing some decent damage. The giant moaned and grabbed the Black Mage. As Zan squealed, it reared back and punted him as hard as it could. I watched him sail through the air, his scream of anguish fading into nothingness. I vaguely wondered if we would survive this encounter. Just then, there was rumbling. I glanced out and stared. Between the giant's stomping and Zan's Quake, an avalanche had started. I started cursing as the boulders came swarming over us.
"Run for it!" Julio shouted, taking off down the path. The others weren't far behind him.
"Why do we always run away when there's no possible way to outrun an avalanche...?" I wondered aloud as I followed them on silent feet. A cut scene began.
We run down the mountain, dodging boulders as well as we could. I hurdle a broken log, narrowly avoiding being crushed. A flurry of smaller rocks begins to pelt us. A boulder nearly crushes Ari, but Sifian pulles her out of the way just in time. The boulders started becoming bigger.
Suddenly, a giant boulder comes crashing down on us. We cower, but suddenly something stops it. It was... (dramatic pause) Julio!
"Go!" he bellowed, and we quickly run. I take a glance back at him. (screen quickly pulls away from Julio)
"Hurry up, Julio!" Cat yells. Julio grunts in reply as rocks start to pelt him. Suddenly, he simply sinks into the ground as the rock crushes him. (close-up of surprised/anguished Cat) I grab her and dart off, not looking back.
We barely make it to the bottom alive. (scene of us gasping for breath) We stare at the rubble that is now Julio's grave. (camera pans on all of us, showing our reactions: Ari is crying, Sifian is comforting her, Hagmore is shaking his head and offering a small prayer for him, Alexander is bowing his head in respect, Cat is staring in astonishment, and I spit on the ground - with justice)
"Well, that was all nice, but why are we waiting?" I asked. No one responds. I ask again, and get a little reaction. "Can we leave?"
"How can you be so heartless?" Cat yelled at me. "Julio just died for us! Show some respect!"
"He ain't dead. Can we leave?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, let's see." I started ticking items off on my fingers. "There's no sad music playing, someone's crying, we haven't given him a burial since his body isn't here, (which it would be if he were dead), and he's standing right over there!"
"Hi, guys!"
"So let's go!" With that, I started walking away.
"But...he's going the other way..." Alexander started before I cut him off.
"So? We have to follow the sign!" I pointed to a sign that stood a few feet away from us. It simply read:
Plot this way --
"Does that answer your question?" I finished and waited. The others just stared at where Julio had been a few moments ago (offscreen, by the way). I guess my curse had taken into effect again. It would be a very long day.
To be continued...
So this is our story. It's not what you would call very amazing; hell, it's somewhat boring. That's what you get when you gather our Group together and put them onto an adventure. It's what we deserve.
We are resting in an inn, the kind that can restore your health with one night. We've been here for four days, just because Zan wants to fully rest up. Whatever. He, Cat and Julio are playing cards at a table, and Julio is slamming beers as fast as they're served. We'll need to sedate him again before dragging to bed. Cat seems to be winning again - Zan is a terrible card player, and Julio is too drunk to play right.
Zan is our Black Mage. He has the blue robes and the straw hat, the gloves, the short height, everything. His hat is hanging on his rod, which is leaning against his chair. His hair is tied in a ponytail, as always - he seems to think he could be Citan.
Julio is the Fighter. He's a little taller than Zan, and is much bulkier. He has a broadsword that deals extra damage to ogres - we seem to be encountering lots of them lately. Other than that, he's kinda nondescript, except he wears glasses. He also has a Desert Eagle stuck in the back of his belt, but he doesn't have any bullets - and probably never will.
Catriana, or Cat for short, is our Ninja. She's the shortest in the group, even more so than Zan. Her shoulder-length brown hair is in a ponytail, and her two ninja swords are next to her chair. She's really thin, and very flexible, and incessantly nice.
At a different table are Sifian and Ariadani. Sifian is a Monk - he has a fancier name for it, but I don't know it. His hair is longer than Zan's, and is kinda scraggly. He hasn't shaved in a while, either. Despite being a Monk, he uses a staff with attachable ends, from spears to naginata.
Ariadani, or just Ari, is sitting in his lap. She's a Gypsy - but she's really more like a thief, except she also steals children. But I know some thieves who would do so. Her abnormally long hair is tied back, and she has a bow, arrows, and a dagger.
Alexander, our White Mage, is clogging while playing the piccolo. He has red hair, and glasses as well. He's got the white robes, and a staff that increases his magic power. I don't know how he can clog and play the piccolo at the same time, but he does.
That leaves just me, Heath, as the only other person in the room. I'm the tallest person by far, at 6 foot 1. I have brown hair, and I'm in all black, as always. There's a wakazashi hidden in my trench coat, and a poisoned dagger with it. I have a ring of invisibility hanging on a chain around my neck, and an amulet of agility with it. We all have some strange magic items; Zan has a shoelace that increases his max MP. Problem is, his boots have no laces - so he just tied it to his boot and somehow it works. Sometimes you just don't ask with these kinds of adventures.
The timer at the bottom of the menu ticks by slowly. We are all waiting for Hagmore to come back, but he's taking his time. Finally Zan, apparently tired of losing, turns and asks, "Where is Hagmore? He left over an hour ago!"
Ari sat up in Sifian's lap. "Well, he did say he was going to but some things we needed..."
"Well, he's taking his time." Zan looked at his hand and threw it away. "I quit. This game sucks." Cat managed to look indignant, but no one's watching her, so she shuffles the cards while sulking. Julio starts snoring. I roll my eyes.
Just then Cardinal Hagmore XXIII the Paladin walks through the door. He's about the same height as the others, except he's in full plate armor, with a two-handed sword and a red mantle. He doesn't look like a warrior at all, with his long hair and glasses, but no one cares in this case. He reminds me of Garai, but without the dual swords. "Hagmore!" Zan exclaimed. "Where were you?"
"I happened to talk to the guy who continued the story, and I had to fill in for everyone's lines since you weren't there, and I couldn't just leave him." The Cardinal tossed a key on the table. "He said this would open the cave door."
"Well, Julio won't be happy about that." Julio had insisted that the door could be opened by force, but despite it was an incredibly shabby and rotted door, it wouldn't break. I don't understand how that works, but no one ever does.
"Well, we still have to wait one more day, since Julio's already drunk." For once, I got to say a line. And people actually listened to me. With a sigh, I got up and paid the innkeeper. As soon as everyone was in bed, which happened simultaneously, night came and we were asleep. I wish I knew how this world worked.
The next day, everyone was fully restored (again) and Julio's hangover was cured instantly. As soon as we did a quick equipment check, we set out for the cave again.
The cave wasn't far away, but we were attacked by three ogres on the way. Julio took care of one in two hits, doing nearly triple his normal damage, while Hagmore, Sifian and Cat hacked away on the second. Zan started casting Bolt 2 on the third, but I finished it off with a few hits from my wakazashi. We collected our spoils and entered the cave.
The first room was monster-free. Hagmore opened the door with the key while Julio grumbled. We walked through into a mine, only to be attack by a few disgruntled miners, who attacked with pickaxes and shovels. Real dangerous weapons. I stabbed one with my dagger, and he fell twitching as the poison killed him. Hagmore decapitated another while Julio stabbed a third. Zan blew most of them away with Fire 3, and Cat used a Flame tech to finish them off. One tried to run, but Ari shot him in the back.
For some reason, the mine was a complex maze with an even stranger assortment of monsters suddenly inhabiting it. Bats, which always took one hit to kill and didn't even have that high of agility, were accompanied by a spell-casting jester. Where those came from, is another mystery no one will ever solve. There are far too many to cover in an RPG.
There were also ogres from the world map, and we dealt with them as we always do. Sometimes we were attacked by a group of goblins, or a giant spider. The goblins were easy, but the spiders could sometimes poison you. There were also some large worms with big attack power and no defense.
We came to a puzzle room. In it were some switches and several blocked doors. There was a mine cart filled with explosives, and by flipping the switches, we could direct the cart to a different door. Only Hagmore or Sifian could push it, though - it was one of their non-battle 'skills'. Real skill. We flipped some switches and Hagmore pushed it to one of the doorways. The cart exploded, opening the way through.
The first door was empty, of course. It always is. The second had some new armor for Hagmore or Julio - it only increased Julio's defense, so he put it on. The third had a chest with some potions in it, not that we needed them.
In the fourth door was our way to continue. But there was a group of ugly monsters currently blocking our path. "What the hell?" Julio said. "Why are there a new type of monster already?"
"Maybe it's a mini-boss..." Zan suggested. Hagmore scratched his head and fingered his sword. Sifian and Ari were happily holding each other, and Alexander was chatting idly with Cat. I sat down and waited for them to attack.
Someone should have realized that we needed to approach them for them to attack us. As it was, we waited for almost an hour before Julio got impatient and started walking right towards them, intending to continue the 'quest'. This instantly started some dialogue. "Look!" he said, pointing. "These monsters are blocking the way!"
"How are we supposed to get through this?" Cat asked.
"Well, we could always fight them..." Sifian suggested.
"I like how you think, Sifian!" Hagmore said, finally drawing his sword. "Let's rumble!"
"Good God..." I muttered to myself while standing up. "Don't tell me the censers got us, too?"
I went first and stabbed two of them, one with the dagger, the other with the wakazashi. The first fell twitching, the second with it's throat cut. One attacked me, but I dodged it. Cat was attacked by one and was hit once, dealing average damage. She countered by cutting off one of its arms, then casting the Blitz tech. Ari stole from one of them and got a glove from somewhere. Sifian beat the same one into unconsciousness with his staff. Zan cast Ice 2 on it to finish it off. Julio was attacked by another, and was poisoned from the attack. It was a normal poison, not nearly as potent as that on my dagger, so no one was worried. He attacked and managed to weaken one with his sword, and Hagmore stepped in and killed it and another. He then used a sword skill to kill another on the other side of the battlefield. Alexander cast the Holy spell on the last and put it in the red, but it still lived. It could have attempted to attack one of us, but Cat stabbed it to death before it could even get its first turn.
We walked into the next room, which was enemy-free. Cat turned to Alexander and said, "Can I be healed now?"
Alexander looked at her amusedly. "Can't you just use a potion? Why waste my MP?" Cat began to tell him why he would cast a healing spell, shaking her finger at him and using obscene language. Hagmore and Zan sat back and laughed, and Julio would have as well, except he needed to be cured of his poison.
I looked around the room. There was a large statue in the center of the room of a woman holding a moon. A statue of Althena. I walked up to it a tapped it. "Fill me with your sweet lovin', small shrine," I murmured. I was instantly restored of all HP and MP. I looked at the others. "Guys, we can use this..." Of course, no one heard me. They often don't.
Bored by their squabbling, I opened the menu screen and started looking at everyone stats. You must be wondering why we can beat these enemies with so little difficulty. Well, we got stuck in a dungeon for a few hours, and ended up gaining about five extra levels before we got out. So here we are right now: Julio is level 48, Zan level 43, Cat the highest of us at level 49, the Cardinal is level 46, Alexander is level 45, and Ari and Sifian are level 44.
Julio is the all-around character. He and Hagmore kinda share the leadership, but I guess he's the closest to a main character as we get. All his stats are pretty good - 63 strength, 68 stamina, 44 magic power, and 43 agility. His special attack is Whoop-Ass. I'm not kidding. It's kind of like Blitz and Swordtech combined into one. He has fairly basic equipment: the chain mail he just picked up is resistant to fire, and he has a small shield that can block magic 20% of the time. He also has THE helmet. The Helmet is practically indestructible, and has every type of sensor in it, as well as a stereo. It also has an AI in it, and it goes by the name of Joe.
Zan is exactly like a stereotypical Black Mage. 78 magic power, and 2 stamina. His spells are the general favorites: Fire, Ice, Bolt, the rather fun Quake spell, and he's still learning the higher levels spells like Pearl and Flare. His staff increases magic power and is fire elemental. There's also a piranha living in his hat. Sometimes, you just don't ask.
Catriana has rather high agility and attack, physical and magical, but has the defense of a stick. I've been wondering where we could find a Merit Award so she could equip some real armor, but there's no chance of that. She can also throw weapons and such, and her Ninja magic works wonders in all situations. She has a ring that increases her magic power.
Cardinal Hagmore XXIII has the strength of the gods. His two-handed Holy Avenger sword adds to his strength and is enhanced by holy damage attributes, and it generally breaks bones if the enemy lives. His armor is magic plate, so it weighs next to nothing and it still incredibly resistant. His helmet adds even more to his already obscene protection, so he takes about four damage, max. His mantle also adds to his magic evade. His sword skills make him a force to be reckoned with, even if he isn't very fast.
Alexander is a lot like Zan. But where Zan has a bit more attack than defense, Alexander has a bit more defense than attack. Meaning he has 3 stamina instead of Zan's 2. He has almost all his spells, and is only missing some of the highest spells, like Life 3, and the few summoning spells he can learn.
Ari is kind of an archer-like character, with the steal ability. She's very proficient with her bow, and her steal abilities are enhanced by a ring she found somewhere. Her stats are well rounded, but lower than Julio's. She just sits back and lets us take the brunt of the damage while she safely shoots at them.
Sifian has some major strength and defense, but lacks big time in the magic department. He doesn't wear much armor, because he really doesn't have to. (On a side note, Hagmore doesn't need to either, but the armor makes him more imposing.) His assorted attachable polearm heads have a variety of different status effects, depending. He can also utilize his Monk abilities, which are kinda cool.
I am level 47. 44 strength, 77 stamina, 85 agility, and 65 magic power. My natural evade is a 67% chance, and 41% for magic evade. While my attack power may only be 147, I can get up to five attacks a turn if I use only the dagger, and three with just the wakazashi. Two with both. The wakazashi has a 65% chance of critical hit, and the dagger almost always causes Venom to them. My coat nullifies all elemental damage and absorbs black attacks, but does shit for my defense, while the ring increases the defense even more to absorb fire and wind. I have a wide-brimmed black hat that increases my speed and magic defense, but I can't equip shields. Problem is, I've been cursed by my arch-enemy, so now people only notice me less than half of the time. However, this can be an advantage.
The others have finished their argument when I close the menu, and Alexander lost, so he heals Cat and Julio. Around then Zan discovers the use of the Althena statue, and Alexander gets a little upset at that. We heal up and head out, after using the obvious save point in the room.
Through this door we exited the mine into a mountain path. "That was it?" Julio demanded, looking back into the mine. "We must have missed something! Let's go back!"
"There's no need..." Hagmore started as Julio ran back inside. "I was going to say I made a map, and we covered everything, but..." He shrugged and sighed. We patiently waited for Julio to come barging out. After a few minutes, Julio did not appear.
"Maybe something happened to him." Cat suggested.
"Nah, he's probably just building up so he can be the real main character." Zan said. Hagmore bristled at that.
"WHAT! Doesn't he know that the big warrior-type guy is always the main character?! I have to stop him!" Hagmore charged back inside, unsheathing his Holy Avenger. We all just stared after him.
"That's not exactly true..." I finally started. "Neither Zidane, Terra, or Serge were really fighters..." But it was a little too late to tell him that.
"Cards, anyone?" Cat asked, sitting down and pulling a deck out from somewhere. Zan took a step away from her, holding his hands in front of him.
"No way. Every time I play cards with you I always lose." It was true. Cat had the largest amount of gold out of everyone. She sniffed and took on a hurt look.
"B-b-but Zaaaan..." she said, doing her best puppy dog eyes, "you said you would play until you won, remember?" She looked so innocent you would almost believe she was. Zan sighed.
"Fine. Deal."
"Yay!" she exclaimed happily - as if Zan had a choice - and started dealing the cards. "Anyone else?"
"No thank you," Ari said, resting her head on Sifian's shoulder. They looked very content.
"Iie," I muttered. I sat down and pulled out a Rubik's Cube and started fiddling with it.
"Oh, what the hell," Alexander said and sat down with them. Cat happily dealt the cards and they started the game. Zan started losing before a minute was up. I toyed with the Cube for a while until I finished half of it. Then I glanced up. "Where are Julio and Hagmore?"
***
"Julio!"
Hagmore stumbled over the body of a dead ogre. He ran down the hall way, looking every which way, ready for anything. Julio would pay for this
insurrection. "Where are you, Julio?!" A spider appeared before him - he hacked it apart before the battle could even begin. Just then Julio appeared.
"Hey, thanks, Hagmore! I hate spiders," Julio said with a grin. Hagmore nearly erupted with rage.
"JULIO! YOU ARE SO DEAD!" he shouted, shaking his Holy Avenger at him. "You aren't getting away with this! I am the main character!" He was about ready to start smashing something.
"Uh...Hagmore? What are you talking about?" Julio said questioningly, scratching his head.
"You know what I mean! Trying to usurp my authority!"
"What?"
"I'll kill you for this, Julio! RAAAARGH!!"
"Oh, shit."
***
"I don't care...blue."
"Damn! Not again!" Zan threw his hands up in anguish. "Why do I keep losing?"
"Maybe you just suck." I murmured, carving a stick. "Plus, your favorite color is blue. Try picking something better."
"Oh, shut up." Zan started to curse at me in Japanese. After a while. I gave him the finger and started ignoring him. He pulled out his notepad and started drawing. Zan had lost all his money to Cat, and Alexander wasn't faring too well either. Cat was gleefully taking a large sum of money from the middle while Alexander stared in disbelief at her cards. Ari and Sifian hadn't moved. My Rubik's Cube was lying in the dirt next to me, finished. I spat again and glanced at the cave. "Why the hell are we still waiting out here? This scene is just screaming for a boss to come and kick our asses."
"I'm sure Hagmore is more than capable of getting Julio out of whatever trouble he's in." Cat said cheerfully as she raked in more money.
"Yeah, but Julio is better at getting himself out of his own problems. That man is the most accident-prone person I've ever met. I'd be more worried about Hagmore than Julio."
True to my words, Julio strolled out of the cave, carrying an unconscious Cardinal. He dumped him on the ground, dusted his hands, and looked around. "Zan, get me my shovel."
"What?" Zan said, looking up from his drawing, blinking. I sighed and laid back as Cat and Ari berated Julio for beating up on Hagmore. Julio just sat there, arms folded, not moving. Eventually they gave up and forced Alexander to heal him. Hagmore just laid there for a moment, blinking at the sun. After a few moments, he tried to look around, but really couldn't.
"Can someone help me up?" he pleaded, lifting his arms. "This armor is really heavy." Grumbling, I assisted Sifian and Julio in getting the Paladin up. He dusted himself off and pointed a finger at Julio. "I'll get you. Later."
With that over with, we set out again. I walked, deep in thought, not paying attention to much around me. I do this a lot. So far, we were thirty-three hours into the quest, and still not even a hint of who or what the final boos might be. And we weren't delaying. We've been pushing the story line as fast as we can go. There hasn't even been an evil minion yet. We did save some kids from a burning house, and managed to stop a regicide, but other than that, everything has just been a random thing to do.
A sudden crash brought me back to reality. I looked around and saw Zan diving to avoid being crushed by a giant foot. The foot was attached to a large storm giant, a huge grin on its face. "Ah, shit," I muttered. I reached for my blades, the quickly realized they would be ineffective. None of my magic would either, so I ran behind a tree.
I watched the carnage. The giant was attempting to either step on people or grab them. Julio was hacking away at its ankle, with Hagmore attempted his sword skills. Neither did much damage. Cat threw some ninja stars at it and cast Flame. Zan unloaded a Quake spell on it, dealing some decent damage. The giant moaned and grabbed the Black Mage. As Zan squealed, it reared back and punted him as hard as it could. I watched him sail through the air, his scream of anguish fading into nothingness. I vaguely wondered if we would survive this encounter. Just then, there was rumbling. I glanced out and stared. Between the giant's stomping and Zan's Quake, an avalanche had started. I started cursing as the boulders came swarming over us.
"Run for it!" Julio shouted, taking off down the path. The others weren't far behind him.
"Why do we always run away when there's no possible way to outrun an avalanche...?" I wondered aloud as I followed them on silent feet. A cut scene began.
We run down the mountain, dodging boulders as well as we could. I hurdle a broken log, narrowly avoiding being crushed. A flurry of smaller rocks begins to pelt us. A boulder nearly crushes Ari, but Sifian pulles her out of the way just in time. The boulders started becoming bigger.
Suddenly, a giant boulder comes crashing down on us. We cower, but suddenly something stops it. It was... (dramatic pause) Julio!
"Go!" he bellowed, and we quickly run. I take a glance back at him. (screen quickly pulls away from Julio)
"Hurry up, Julio!" Cat yells. Julio grunts in reply as rocks start to pelt him. Suddenly, he simply sinks into the ground as the rock crushes him. (close-up of surprised/anguished Cat) I grab her and dart off, not looking back.
We barely make it to the bottom alive. (scene of us gasping for breath) We stare at the rubble that is now Julio's grave. (camera pans on all of us, showing our reactions: Ari is crying, Sifian is comforting her, Hagmore is shaking his head and offering a small prayer for him, Alexander is bowing his head in respect, Cat is staring in astonishment, and I spit on the ground - with justice)
"Well, that was all nice, but why are we waiting?" I asked. No one responds. I ask again, and get a little reaction. "Can we leave?"
"How can you be so heartless?" Cat yelled at me. "Julio just died for us! Show some respect!"
"He ain't dead. Can we leave?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, let's see." I started ticking items off on my fingers. "There's no sad music playing, someone's crying, we haven't given him a burial since his body isn't here, (which it would be if he were dead), and he's standing right over there!"
"Hi, guys!"
"So let's go!" With that, I started walking away.
"But...he's going the other way..." Alexander started before I cut him off.
"So? We have to follow the sign!" I pointed to a sign that stood a few feet away from us. It simply read:
Plot this way --
"Does that answer your question?" I finished and waited. The others just stared at where Julio had been a few moments ago (offscreen, by the way). I guess my curse had taken into effect again. It would be a very long day.
To be continued...