ASTHENOA

[capemods]

WHO: The imPorts trapped in a video game.
WHERE: The virtual world of Asthenoa.
WHEN: 10AM August 26th to 11PM August 31st.
WARNINGS: Violence and fighting. Alert me of anything else for updates.
SUMMARY: A comedy of errors: imPorts are trapped in a Vulcanus-made video game.
FORMAT: As you like it.



Asthenoa is a land set on lush rolling hills under a bright blue sky eternally streaked with clouds. The only celestial variance comes during the nightly setting, where an eternally yellow full moon partially hides behind those clouds. The people of Asthenoa may be human, or elven, or dwarven, or they may have animalistic features, but none of that is of great social concern. Asthenoa has always been this way. The heart of the land is a medieval town set upon one of the highest hills, and the middle of that town sits a majestic stone castle. The busiest part of the town is the center, which hosts the marketplace. There you can buy necessities, or meet the blacksmith and other artisans at their working studios. Beyond the artisanal studios are the taverns and the inns.

Beyond the cheerier inns is a place called The Shriveled Shrike. If you head to the second floor and knock on the third room door thrice and rub your knee against the handle once, it will magically open and expose to you a staircase. People of the Rogue class know this inherently.

The staircase is five flights long. It leads to a black market in a mile long, mile wide underground bunker, where gambling and other darker magicks are indulged. You might meet a necromancer or three. You might run into trouble.

If you were to step out beyond the town, you would have to cross a moat via the drawbridge. It’s always closed up at nighttime, you can only pass during the day.

Beyond the moat (where serpents might swim) is a hilly pasture. Beyond the pasture is an enchanted forest. Strange things happen in these gnarled woods – this is where mystical creatures lurk. Acres of dark wood house sparkling lights and floating orbs and very unusual flora. The fauna includes many mythical beings, including centaurs and fairies and griffins. There could be even more hidden within secret caves or pools of darkening water.

You feel the need to venture past this alluring wood. You feel it deeply.

Comments

everybody walk the dinosaur

[fronttowardenemy]

[ And behold, Bradbury does find something: the next corner he rounds reveals a very sour Paladin knight -- or at least a man who has the appearances of one. His cloak has gotten rather bloody though, and at the sound of Bradbury's approach, his sword is drawn.

Frank pauses, his good eye squinting, and he lowers his blade slightly as he tries to place the man before him. ]

...We met?

[ But his question is cut short by the sound of movement ahead -- and... cawing? ]

[waiting]

[ ... you. Bradbury remembers you, creepy stalker guy. He starts, face reddening when he recognizes who exactly is facing him, about to say something sharp -- Oh, so you can talk, maybe, or What, you don't remember breaking into Gracie Mansion?.

But just like Frank, any tirade he might have gone on is interrupted by the scuffle up ahead. It's instinct more than conscious though that leaves his hand tightening around the axe haft, ready to swing, which turns out to be a good thing as a pack of feathery dinosaurs comes racing around the corner, necks arched and teeth bared. All right, so maybe pack is an exaggeration for a group of three, but Bradbury's seen Jurassic Park, he knows how this goes. ]

Shit! [ He drops into a battle-ready stance before he can think about it, axe swinging out to decapitate the first feathery menace with a meaty thunk. ]

[fronttowardenemy]

[ Unfortunately, given that he was mostly clouded by Madness through that whole encounter, the details are pretty fuzzy. He could recognize the Mayor himself, obviously, but his bodyguard doesn't immediately stand out to him given the hazy recollections on top of his new Asthenoa-style state of dress.

Frank isn't granted time to further examine that familiarity. There is suddenly a flurry of movement and -- really?

If only Frank could say that this is the first time he has seen a dinosaur.

He gives his sword a heavy swing, and he cuts down one of the creatures as it leaps for him. He isn't quite fast enough to stop a set of claws from ripping into his arm, but the blow is mostly superficial -- unlike the one he inflicts. The monster makes a hideous sound, more birdlike than reptilian, and Frank shoves it back. ]

[waiting]

[ For all their size and speed, the menace the creatures holds is more in their bark than their bite -- although they are sporting some pretty wicked teeth. Bradbury hasn't entirely gotten the hang of his weapon, so the momentum of his strike leaves his axe thudding into the ground, where it takes a bit of effort to extricate.

In the meantime, the remaining raptor isn't dissuaded by the fate of its companions, since it's launching itself at Bradbury while he struggles with his axe, teeth and claws bared and ready to rip and tear into flesh. ]

[fronttowardenemy]

[ With that monster felled, he immediately turns to the last one remaining -- and considering Bradbury's predicament, it's a good thing that he does.

The creature is already lunging for Bradbury, but despite all the heavy armor and the size of his sword, Frank is faster than he seems. He stabs the creature mid-leap, and it makes a shrill, shrieking sound of pain, writhing stubbornly before it finally admits defeat. Frank yanks his sword back, and the monster falls limply to the Labyrinth floor.

Frank peers at his injuries with a wince, and he continues the previous conversation as if there had been no interruption. ]

Still don't recognize you.

[waiting]

[ Bradbury stares at the man in patent disbelief. Maybe it's the smell of blood in the air, or the fact that he just chopped off a dinosaur's head, but his voice is strangled when he replies. ]

Are you fucking kidding me? You broke through a window to get into Gracie Mansion! And then you practically started sniffing my boss's butt!

[ His voice echoes off the walls. Rick Bradbury has been known to react poorly to anything involving Mitchell Hundred. ]

[fronttowardenemy]

[ Oh. That was it.

He remembers vaguely, but he does know that the accusation isn't out of place. He had tried to get at the Mayor because... why? He'd simply felt compelled; it's hard for him to piece back the foggy memories. ]

Blame the Porter. [ That's all he's going to say about that. ] Couldn't tell it was you with the get-up you have on.

[ like he's one to talk ]

[waiting]

[ Bradbury sputters, like he'd like to go off on Frank again, but it seems to occur to him at some point how futile an exercise that is, and he visibly deflates, scrubbing a hand at his temple. ]

You know what, I'm not even gonna -- whatever. Thanks, I guess. [ Never a more grudging thank you has there been in all the history of this earth. Stubbornly, he lifts his chin. ]

So you got a name, or what?

[fronttowardenemy]

[ As Bradbury fumes, Frank remains impassive. He wipes his blade clean and sheathes it, giving the man a lingering look. Frank can recognize his type, vaguely -- and there's some military in his stance. That he can respect, but this is hardly the time. ]

I do. [ But he doesn't offer it, simply continuing down the Labyrinth. ]

... do we want to roll another fight, or leave it at this :|a

[waiting]

[ Naturally, being summarily ignored provokes Bradbury's irritation, and he steps into Frank's path as best as he's able. He's broad and bulky, if not exactly in the same way Frank is (too many hotdogs, no doubt) so he has his doubts about who'd end up on top if it came to blows -- but just the same, he errs on the side of caution and doesn't reach out to grab him. ]

Hey! You always walk off when people are talking to you?

probably not i have so many backtags for this and i stink at action weeps

[fronttowardenemy]

Do you want to stick around and wait for more monsters to show?

[ Frank stares at him, utterly unimpressed. With that attitude, military is unmistakable at this point. Which Frank can respect, but he has priorities. ] Walk and talk.

sobs it's okay I suck too

[waiting]

What makes you think walking won't make us run into more?

[ Despite the sharp retort, Bradbury drops into step beside Frank, attention focusing on their immediate surroundings -- that doesn't mean he's forgotten about his initial question. Stubbornly: ]

Rick Bradbury. Head of security at City Hall. Who are you?

[fronttowardenemy]

So you'd rather just stand around and do nothing?

[ Frank gives him a skeptical look, but he doesn't object to the man falling in line with him.

He's already realized not every person here recognizes his name, like people from the New York he knew would, so he offers it easily. ] Frank Castle.

I have been literally waiting all thread for a chance to use this line.

[waiting]

I'd rather--

[ There's a pause, then a flicker of recognition and perplexment overriding all else. ]

Wait, like Lil's Frank?

[ Fortunately for Frank, the Punisher movie didn't come out until 2004. Unfortunately for him, that's the only association Bradbury has. ]

[fronttowardenemy]

[ What about Dolph Lundgren's Punisher, Bradbury? It's okay, no one remembers it exists.

When Bradbury speaks, Frank pauses and lifts his head, narrowing his good eye at him.

He could not have heard that right. ]

...come again?

[waiting]

[ Apparently Google forgot that existed too.

Anyway, have Bradbury looking appropriately mollified that he finally got his attention, even if the look isn't particularly friendly. ]

Lil Crawley. You know her? [ He's not going to wait for confirmation before he blunders on. ]

Said you saved her life.

[fronttowardenemy]

Yeah, I know her. [ But he had no idea it was enough to be addressed like her possession. ]

Wrong place at the wrong time; that's all. Nothing else to it.

[ Though he's been paying for it ever since. ]

[waiting]

[ All Bradbury knows about Lil and Frank's relationship is that it was apparently enough to merit Lil enlisting Frank in a hunt for Nelly's room mate.

Though come to think of it... He squints. Frank seems more Lil's type than Nelly was. ... And he's cutting that train of thought off right there, because that's dangerous territory. ]

Well, she doesn't like talking about it anyway.

[fronttowardenemy]

Most wouldn't. [ But she has been talking enough, apparently. How many others knew? ]

Why did she tell you? [ They worked for the same sort of people, but that's a vague affiliation at best. Admitting that much weakness took trust. ]

[waiting]

[ Bradbury's nose wrinkles. ]

Who knows why Lil does anything? [ Rhetorical question. ] I'm her boss. And her friend, or close enough.

[ Even he's not sure that's the right word to use, exactly, wondering if it presumes too much. And he'll always think of her as Madison's wife, though even that association's beginning to fade. At any rate, he shrugs. ]

[fronttowardenemy]

Hm. [ That's the only thing he gives for a moment, before he speaks again. ] She say anything else?

[ Because he ought to know if she's spreading things that she shouldn't be. ]

[waiting]

What, you worried about her revealing your secret identity?

[ It's a joke -- but Lil had technically done just that. "The Punisher" ... even if Bradbury had a mental image to go with the name (he didn't) it was hard to connect that with the guy in spangly armor in front of him.

Despite everything, though, Bradbury wasn't a complete idiot. Best not let the guy with a pointy sword know exactly how far Lil's indiscretion ran. ]

Nah. She didn't say anything else. Kinda had other things on her mind.

[fronttowardenemy]

Not exactly.

[ But he doesn't elaborate past that. He doesn't feel 'worry' exactly, but it's caution. He's been down this road before, and it usually ends the same way.

He doubts he can do anything to stop it now. ]

Figures. [ He lets it be, glancing at Bradbury. ] You're her boss; does she listen to you?

[waiting]

[ Bradbury can't help snorting at that, wincing as his neck audibly pops when he tries to work the strain out of it. Seems there are limits to how long he can stand to carry around an oversized axe all day, even if being in a fantasy world has temporarily lightened that particular burden. ]

Does she listen to anyone?

[fronttowardenemy]

I wouldn't know.

[ But that answer doesn't surprise him. Her personality doesn't suit obedience in any form. It's better that Bradbury responds this way, to be honest; asking him a favor would have been too complicated.

So, he makes another observation instead: ]

Odd taste in employees.