Chapter 4x: Into Darkness
You need to get in there, and you need to get in there now. "Alyssa, the gate!"
"R-Right!" You blink and she suddenly has some strange-looking tools in her hands; she wastes no time introducing them to the gate's lock.
Rain hesitates. "We... don't have time to gather the others..."
You think for a moment. "No, not really, but I doubt we can ride in there. If we send our mounts back without us, the others are sure to come investigate eventually."
Rain smiles as she dismounts. "Clever."
"Got it!" Alyssa calls. You rush over, Rain right behind, as she swings open the gates. You peer in, and for a moment see nothing. Your eyes gradually adjust to the darkness, and you begin to make out at least a dozen figures sprawled on the ground just inside the entrance. Alyssa takes a step back. "My gods... What... What happened to them?" A pair of glowing red eyes flash in the darkness, then disappear around a corner.
The mine branches into several tunnels. Alyssa seems to be having the least trouble seeing in the darkness, and she's familiar with the mine. "If we take the left path, we'll come up on a storeroom, I think there are some torches and maybe some concoctions in there... Straight ahead is the main mine chamber. Over to the right... It's a dead end, but I think I hear someone running that way." A flicker of light briefly illuminates the right tunnel, followed by a screech of pain. You realize this was the tunnel the Risen you saw went down.
(A) Left
(B) Straight
(C) Right
"If the Risen are heading this way, then that's probably where we should go..." you say, advancing into the right tunnel. You move slowly, half-expecting a Risen to leap from around every corner. Alyssa walks close behind you, her sword at the ready. Rain brings up the rear, one hand on her sword, the other on her staff. You move slowly at first, but quicken your pace as your eyes adjust to the darkness.
The walls occasionally light up, as if someone is quickly lighting and extinguishing fires far at the end of the tunnel; you realize most of these flares are accompanied by a screech of pain. You quicken your pace.
You come around a corner, the sounds of combat now obvious, to see a quartet of villagers fighting a virtual wave of Risen, at least 2 dozen. They take advantage of the narrow tunnel, funneling the Risen. Two villagers fend off the Risen with short spears. Another stands with her back to the wall, firing arrows. The fourth seems to be standing there doing nothing, until a glyph appears in front of him and a fireball hurtles into a Risen.
Before you can act, a Risen fighter hurls a throwing axe at one of the spear-wielding villagers, catching him in the throat. He falls to the ground, gurgling as blood spews from his neck. The second spear wielder panics, and a revenant grabs him, dragging him back into the crowd of Risen. His screams echo throughout the cavern. The mage curses aloud, and the archer lets out a soft whimper.
(A) Force your way through the Risen as quickly as possible
(B) Attack the Risen's rear, having Rain support with her physic staff
(C) RUN AWAY!
You decide to play it safe, and start hacking away at the rearmost Risen before they even realize you're there. By the time you've killed three, the Risen seem to realize they're surrounded, and half the group turn to attack you; the other half presses the two surviving villagers, and you can see them slowly retreating towards the dead end, continuing to attack with arrow and fireball.
For every Risen you kill, another one takes its place. You know they are not endless, you can see them all very clearly with every fireball the mage throws. Still, you can only cut through them one at a time, and Alyssa struggles to match your pace. She nimbly dodges backwards every time a blow comes her way, the Risen finding nothing but air, but her slashes and parries seem to be having little effect. By the time you've killed five Risen, she's just finishing her second. On the other end of the horde, you can see the mage and archer have finally reached the end of the tunnel, and have nowhere left to retreat; spurred on by the promise of reinforcements, they keep fighting, and for a moment it seems they may drive the wave of Risen back.
As you dislodge your axe from a fallen mercenary's skull, you see a fighter swing at the mage. He tries to leap backwards, only to slam into the wall. The axe cuts into his shoulder. Rain raises her staff, and the wound begins stitching itself shut, but the Risen continues its assault before he can recover. The archer throws her bow at the fighter, then pulls a knife from her belt and lunges at him, plunging it deep into his chest. The Risen stumbles back and begins to dissolve, but two more take its place. The archer stands before the mage, knife in hand. As a mercenary steps forward, she catches his swing on the knife, barely seeming to hold him back. The revenant steps forward, slashes at her with his claws.
The mage, one arm still dangling loosely at his side, screams. "Cursed beast!" he shouts as he hurls a particularly large fireball at it. The creature dissolves instantly.
The archer slips to the side, the mercenary's blade striking the ground. "I'll kill you, you dastard!" she shouts, as she slashes him repeatedly with her knife.
You realize you've been staring at the pair just in time to avoid a claw swung at your face. You counterattack, easily dispatching the entombed. You realize you need to help the pair quickly, and switch to hand axes. "Rain!" you call, and she takes your place, holding the Risen back with Alyssa while you plant axes into the backs of any Risen foolish enough to approach the villagers. With the archer protecting his front, the mage seems to double his pace, his fireballs mowing down any Risen you miss. Finally, one Risen remains. It looks to you, then back to the villagers, as if deciding which group to attack. Finally, it lunges at the villagers, only to find the archer has retrieved her bow. She plants an arrow into its skull, and the mage ignites the shaft. The Risen howls in pain as it bursts into a cloud of darkness.
Your group stands, weapons still at the ready, carefully looking for any signs of movement in the gloom. The mage conjures a small ball of flame in his hands, illuminating the area. All the Risen are dead. You look the two villagers up and down. The mage is dressed in a short red smock with a flowing cape, with fiery red hair, and tanned skin. The archer is pale with auburn hair, dressed in a simple dark green outfit. Alyssa has a small scratch, and waves off Rain when she tries to heal it. The mage's shoulder is healed, a scar now visible under the remnants of his sleeve. The archer has a few cuts and bruises, but Rain takes care of her. "...Thanks..." she mutters.
"What happened here?" you ask.
"Now is not the time for idle chatter. We must be escaping from this place as quickly as is possible," the mage says.
"What about the other villagers?" Rain asks.
The pair is silent for a second. "We're all that's left..." the archer says quietly. "I'm Syrene, by the way..."
"...All right, our only goal is to escape. Would you mind lighting the way..." you pause.
"Agni is my name. I am willing to be leading the way." He conjures a small ball of light, and begins cautiously walking toward the entrance. You walk alongside him, axe at the ready. As you reach the fork in the cave, you turn towards the entrance, but a noise makes you stop. The sound of a thud in the distance?
"Did you hear that?" you ask quietly. Alyssa nods, and the others pause, listening intently. A familiar cry of rage pierces the darkness. "Lane...?"
"It came from the main chamber..." Syrene says.
(A) Head for the main chamber
(B) Check out that storeroom
(C) Back to the entrance
(D) Uh... go back to that dead end?
You step into the path toward without hesitating. The others follow your lead. As you come into the main chamber, you stop. Jessup stands by the entrance, holding a torch, illuminating the room.
There are three colossal Risen. The look similar to normal revenants, but easily ten feet tall. They have several patches of armor, with various amounts of damage. Arrows and burn marks cover their skin, but they fight on as if they aren't hurt in the least.
Lane faces off with one Risen, catching its slash with her sword. The Risen raises its other arm, bringing it down to smash her. She raises her sword over her head, bracing it with both hands. She falls to one knee, barely managing to hold her blade against the blow. Rowan lunges forward, stabbing the Risen in the stomach. The Risen releases his blow, swinging at Rowan as Lane regains her feet. He dodges the blow as Lane backs into a defensive stance.
In the center, Bud is barraging one of the beasts with arrows. It moves at him as if annoyed, but Wendy intercepts it, her slashes biting into its flesh. It growls and swings at her. She easily dodges the first blow, but doesn't notice it follow up with its other arm. The blow hits her and she bounces along the floor, skidding to a halt beside Bud.
Haley and Ferris are fighting the last Risen, circling around it to keep it between them. Every time it lunges at one of them, the other tears into its back. When the Risen makes a low scooping swing at Haley, grazing her armor, Ferris leaps onto its back, stabbing his killing edge into its back and hoisting himself onto its shoulders. He takes out his slim sword and wraps it around the Risen's neck. The Risen begins flailing, thrashing at its back, but unable to reach him.
Who do you help first?
(A) Rowan/Lane
(B) Bud/Wendy
(C) Haley/Ferris
(D) Split up (Choose who goes where)
You decide Bud and Wendy need the most help, and you think massing your forces to focus each Risen one at a time is the best option. You position yourself between Bud and the Risen. Bud leaps in surprise when you appear, loosing an arrow that nearly hits you, but instead buries itself in the Risen. "J-June! Perfect timing." You turn and flash him a smile, before facing the Risen. A faint aura appears around Wendy, and she slowly struggles to her feet as you rush at the beast.
Bud and Syrene fire a constant stream of arrows, while Agni hurls fireball after fireball. You throw a hand axe before charging with your steel axe, hacking at its leg. Alyssa runs partway up the beast's other leg before kicking off with a slash across its chest. Rain is using her physic staff to heal Lane, and is too busy to help. Wendy shakes her head, before running at the Risen with her sword. "June!" she yells, and you crouch down. She jumps off your back, springboarding towards the Risen's head. "You're wasting my time!" she shouts, impaling the Risen's skull with her sword. The Risen falls backward, dissolving underneath her, and she gracefully rolls to her feet.
You look to the other groups. Rowan and Lane seem to be holding theirs in check. The Risen still flails hopelessly at Ferris, who is now holding onto the Risen with one arm while frantically stabbing with his sword. As he stabs the sword into the beast's neck, it suddenly leaps backward, slamming into a wall. You gasp, and the creature steps forward. You can see Ferris slowly sliding down the wall. Jessup quickly runs over, along with the rest of your team, but the creature leaps at Haley with surprising dexterity. Instead of leaping back, she charges forward, slipping between its legs.
Jessup begins healing Ferris, and you are thankful to hear him release a weak groan. Rain continues to heal Lane and Rowan's injuries with her physic staff while the rest of you begin swarming at the Risen. Agni calls out to you, and you're surprised to see your steel axe burning red-hot. With a smile and a shout, you cleave through the creature's thigh. It roars in pain, and falls to the ground. Alyssa deftly sidesteps as it falls, holding her blade right in the path of the creature's neck. The momentum of its fall severs its head easily. You realize your axe has been horribly deformed by the maneuver, and you discard it.
A steel axe broke!
As you turn to face the final Risen, your stomach sinks. Lane is down to one knee, trying to rise using her sword. The Risen has latched onto Rowan, who struggles futilely to stab it with his spear. The creature lifts him by the neck, and he drops his spear, instead grabbing the creature's giant hand, attempting to pry it off. "Pa!" you yell, sprinting to join the fight.
"Rowan!" you hear Bud yell. Rain echoes him, throwing her staff to the side and drawing her sword. Everyone is running towards the abomination, but the three of you are far ahead. With a roar, the creature stabs its free hand into Rowan's stomach. He retracts his hand, then slings him around and hurls him at you. He falls short, skidding along the ground. He comes to rest in front of you, and you drop to your knees at his side.
"J-Junebug? Is that... you?"
You can feel tears in your eyes. "Hang on, Pa, just hang on..."
"It's too late, Junebug... I'm off to see yer mother... You be a good girl, alright?" Rain and Bud stare in horror; he turns to them. "You two... take care of her for me..." With that, he closes his eyes.
What happens next is a blur. Everything seems to run together until you reach the cave exit, the bright light rousing you from your daze. As the last of your party exits, Syrene slams the gate closed. She stands there a moment, her back to you, before rejoining your party.
"What happened here?" Rain asks.
Alyssa starts. "A few days ago, those bandits grabbed my little brother while he was gather wood in the forest... I was so worried about Jessup... They told me that if I didn't help them attack the village and open the mine for them, they'd kill him." Guilt flashes in her eyes as she looks down at the ground.
Syrene pauses for a moment, trying to compose herself. "The bandits attacked... yesterday afternoon, it must have been. A few of us made a break for the mine, thinking we could hide, but..."
Agni interjects. "They made anyone they found in the village thrown into the mine. I had the misfortune of being a traveler through this town at the bad time."
Syrene hesitates, then continues. "They threw in a few of the dead villagers, as well... At first, we dug some weapons out of the storeroom, planning to fight back. We were going to attack at night, when the dastards would be off-guard, but... The dead villagers..." You realize she is shaking with anger.
Agni pats her on the back. "You have seen what they became. We fought as many of them as we possible, but their numbers were too much greater than our own. So many have been made to die in that accursed mine..."
Syrene looks Rain in the eye. "You fight them, don't you? Those... things, and bandits. Let me join you. I want revenge."
Agni steps forward. "I would like to be coming as well. I am having to travel to many foreign lands for my training, and I would be feeling much safer in a group, even if I am having to fight."
Alyssa joins in. "If they're going, so am I. I owe you one for saving Jessup... Plus, I feel like I need to... I don't know... redeem myself? Just don't expect me to work for free."
Rain nods. "Very well. We need all the help we can get, especially now that Rowan's..." She looks away.
A panicked expression washes over Jessup. "W-wait! I-if my sister's going, then so am I!"
"Jessup, no. It's going to be dangerous!"
"I... I won't let you fight alone, I don't want you to be... Besides, I'll just stay behind everyone and heal them. It'll make it easier for you to keep an eye on me, won't it!?" Alyssa sighs and nods, and Rain gives Jessup a weak smile.
With that, you begin the long, quiet march back to Trine.
End of chapter 4
New character!
Jessup
Class: Priest
Weapons: Staff
Skills: Miracle
HP: **
Str: *
Mag:***
Skill: *
Speed: ***
Def: *
Res: ***
Luck: **
Items: Mend staff, torch
New character!
Alyssa
Class:
Weapons:
Skills: Darksight (elminates penalty for fighting in dim lighting), vengeance
HP: **
Str: **
Mag: *
Skill: ***
Speed: ****
Def: **
Res: *
Luck: **
Items: Steel sword, concoction
New character!
Syrene
Class: Archer
Weapons: Bow, knife
Skills: +Knife (allows use of knives), patience
HP: **
Str: ***
Mag: *
Skill: ***
Speed: ***
Def: **
Res: *
Luck: ****
Items: Steel bow, iron knife, vulnerary
New character!
Agni
Class: Fire Mage
Weapons: Fire tome
Skills: Sol
HP: **
Str: *
Mag: ****
Skill: **
Speed: **
Def: **
Res: ***
Luck: **
Items: Fire tome, elfire tome
Rowan was killed...
Might as well pick our supports and whatnot for the next plot post. Here's what's available.
(A) June/Rain B
(B) June/Ferris C
(C) June/Alyssa C
(D) June/Syrene C
(E) June/Agni C
(F) Rain/Wendy C
(G) Bud/Wendy C
(H) Bud/Syrene C
(I) Haley/Ferris C
(J) Wendy/Agni C
(K) Lane/Ferris C
(L) Alyssa/Jessup C
(M) Alyssa/Syrene C
(N) Jessup/Agni C
(O) Syrene/Agni C
(P) Research Risen