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

dragonflies

[boobwindow]

[ What is continuity: an RP life.

Peej is also lost, but she's bullheaded enough to move forward and keep her spirits up in spite of the bruises and all around bad day she's been having. She keeps a vigilant eye out, gripping the end of her club with both hands as she treads down the labyrinth. As she turns a corner, Bradbury's form emerges from the dark and she almost swings at him. ]

Holy -- [ She pulls her arm back. ] That was close.

[waiting]

[ Bradbury's been on edge too, considering every turn he takes in the maze just seems to lead to more trouble, rather than any way out. At this point, he's also bruised and visibly bleeding -- he's also wondering if he's concussed, because he stares at Peej in pure perplexment, like the sight of a (pretty hot) woman in disheveled fancy dress wielding a club is the last thing he expects to see here. ]

Uh -- [ He shifts his grip on his axe, bringing it down slightly. It seems the polite thing to do ]

Thanks for not hitting me. [ He gives her a quick once-over, more to assess her condition than appreciate the aesthetics (though it's not like he's ignorant of them, they're just not important right now) and frowns. ]

You okay, lady?

[boobwindow]

No problem.

[ She lowers her weapon -- for now. Her shoulders still tense as she glances around their eerie surroundings, as if expecting something to come bounding out of the darkness at them, fangs and claw bared. ]

I'm fine.

[ Her free hand runs across a sweaty brow. He doesn't seem to recognize her, which is better for her. ]

Any idea where we are?

[waiting]

[ It's gonna take a few before it clicks, but that's mostly because Bradbury's got other things on his mind right now. Seeing her wipe at her face makes his own hand unconsciously rise, though it was a lost cause even before he stepped in here. ]

No clue. [ She's got to be an ImPort, he supposes; she responds in a way that's realer than any of the townspeople he's in. Her clothes remind him a little of what Mitch was wearing earlier, and the reminder of his boss makes his brow pinch. Forget beating this thing; he just wants to get out.

He opens his mouth to say something more, but he's interrupting by the buzzing sound of many wings beating in sync. He doesn't stop to wait and see what it is -- he's already stepping forward to grab her hand and tug her in his wake, not willing to see what might be coming after them now. ]

Run!

[boobwindow]

What -- hey!

[ She runs until she's about halfway down the hall (or maybe a quarter, it's difficult to be certain in this never ending labyrinth), but eventually she turns around to see what it is coming at them.

Her expressions falters. ]

That's just disgusting.

[waiting]

[ They're small, but they're quick -- the dragon flies (literally, and on a vague level Bradbury wants to choke whoever came up with this) don't take long to catch up with them, buzzing around their heads in an angry cloud. Bradbury can't even yell protest, since he's got a couple trying to crawl into his mouth, but before the instinct for self-preservation kicks in, he remembers he's not alone.

Eyes watering, he hurriedly unclasps the short cloak from his shoulders and drops it over her head. ]

Cover your face! [ A dragonfly promptly attempts to shoot into his mouth and he gags, spitting it out. What he'd give for a can of Raid right now. ]

[boobwindow]

Argh!

[ One of them buzzes too close into her ear and though it flies out, the sensation rattles her head and leaves her disoriented for a brief moment. ]

Where's the Raid when you need it?

[waiting]

[ Sadly, an axe is no use against fly-sized dragons, so Bradbury's left to swat at them with his hands instead. Even if every stinging bite leaves him bleeding, it leaves him feeling oddly energized instead of drained. His hands mill through the air around him, trying to catch as many of them as he can in his palms and blindly slamming them against the wall in an attempt to crush them flat.

Miniature dragons trying to crawl into his nose: not what he needed in his life. ]

[boobwindow]

[ She swings the club around the general vicinity of her face, keeping the swarm away, but the occasional one slips past and nearly zips up her nose. The other ones tear away at her clothes, tiny specks of blood appearing with each bite on her arms and thighs. The cloak that hung over her head slips off in the fray, which is both good and bad as it obscured her vision to a degree, but prevented the nibbling going any higher than her arms. ]

What are they?!

[waiting]

I don't-- [ Bradbury coughs as a dragon flies right into his mouth, spitting it out before wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand and looking around. There has to be something they can use around here that works better than they weapons they've got.

What works against insects? Fire, of course. But where are they going to get fire in -- while he's trying to shield his eyes from miniature teeth and claws, there's no shortage of torches lined on the walls, but she's closer to them than he is. ]

[boobwindow]

[ She hisses sharply through gritted teeth as they gnaw at her in various and now sensitive parts of her flesh. At this rate she's going to lose enough blood to find herself more dizzy. ]

Maybe -- damn it. [ She grabs the cloak and tries to shake it before her, batting away at their miniature assailants. ] Maybe we can find a torch?

[waiting]

Up there! [ He points, but the torches on the walls are set higher up than either of them can reach. Inspiration hits as Bradbury steps over to her, still swatting the damn things away before crouching down to offer her a brace with his hands. ]

Come on, I'll give you a boost. [ He hopes the dress doesn't get in the way too much. ]

[boobwindow]

[ She almost refuses, not wanting some stranger's head taking a gander up her dress, but with the swarm re-approaching fast she's quick to hop on and hoist herself up as far as she can. The fabric pulls and stretches as her arm extends, desperately clawing at the torch to bring it down. ]

If you peek, I warn you I almost have a torch.

[waiting]

[ Of course because she says that, Bradbury's head shoots up, incredulous. ]

Are you seriously-- [ He catches a flash of too many frills before he squeezes his eyes shut, but too late; it's seared into his mind forever. ] -- just get the torch!

[ He uses all his non-enhanced power to boost her up, stopping just short of flinging her upwards to get the torch within her reach. ]

[boobwindow]

I've almost --

[ She barks back and lets out a loud noise of surprise when the sudden boost pushes her close enough. She whisks it away from its hook on the wall with both hands. ]

Got it!

[waiting]

[ Once he's sure she's gotten a firm hold on the torch, Bradbury drops her -- but it's only so he can shift his grip from her foot to her waist instead, letting him set her down on her feet. ]

Oof! [ Dress aside, the woman's no lightweight (though it's not exactly because she's fat -- and wow, does his brain really need to be focusing on this right now, really?) so failing to actually drop her is almost a challenge. But it's just in time, too, because no sooner is she on the ground than the swarm is going for their faces again, and he drops his hands away to shield his face. ]

[boobwindow]

Hey!

[ Peej immediately takes offense to this act and attempts to pull away from him, but then she's free from his grip as those dragonflies dart toward them. She's bewildered and too sore to think, but only for a brief moment, before she swishes the torch back and forth. The fire continues to burn bright and its flame spreads as she swings it right and left.

Some of the swarm is caught in the searing heat and they burn to a crisp immediately, letting out quiet, but sharp sounds as they meet their demise. ]

[waiting]

[ Without a torch of his own, Bradbury's left to fend for himself, particularly as the dragonflies are smart enough to register which of them is the lesser threat and immediately dives towards him. Good thing he already has his eyes shut, but his hands fan around his head furiously, trying to bat the goddamn things away before one can shoot into his mouth again. Through gritted teeth: ]

Little help here--?!

[boobwindow]

Keep your head down!

[ She snaps with such a commanding force, it might actually be hard to assume she's just a mere civilian swept up in all this trouble.

Or she's as bullheaded as they come.

She swings lower this time, trying to catch as many of those dragonflies as possible. They quickly disperse, getting around her and taking bites out of the back of her neck and shoulders. She hisses loudly again. ]

[waiting]

[ There are some things you just don't forget, and the response to a tone like that is one of them. Automatically, Bradbury complies with the sharp command (she looks like a Duchess and talks like one) to let her wield the torch uninterrupted, holding as still as he can. When he stops hearing flies crackle and burn in the flames, he risks opening his eyes, grimacing when he sees her predicament.

His discarded cloak isn't far from reach, and once he catches sight of it, it only takes a few quick strides to get to it, sweeping it off the floor. ]

Gimme the torch!

[boobwindow]

[ As the torch is their only line of defense and offense, she eyes him the way one would if they had seen someone sprout an extra pair of eyes or arms. ]

What?

[waiting]

[ Bradbury flaps his cloak out, like a matador waving down a bull. His very ratty, very flammable cloak. ]

Trust me! [ A tall order for a woman he's only spoken to all of twice, not that he's connected her to the first time just yet. ]

[boobwindow]

[ It dawns on her immediately and soon she's passing the torch to Bradbury, throwing the other arm up to shield from the dragonflies making another attempt on her face. ]

[waiting]

[ He catches the torch, smoothly, and immediately turns it on the cloak, running it along the hempen fabric. It takes a few moments for it to catch from embers to a roaring flame, and the sudden heat as it lights up makes his face break out into a sweat. Dropping the torch to the ground, he advances with a yell. ]

Move! [ He throws the burning cloak over the remaining monsters, letting the cloth bear them to the ground as the fire roasts them to a crisp. Adrenalin leaves him sinking to his knees, panting, as he tries to recover.

After the last dragonfly lets out a shrill dying squeak and falls silent, a treasure chest materializes from thin and drops to the ground. Bradbury's too busy wheezing to pay it any attention, and he's still bleeding from the bites he'd sustained earlier. ]

[boobwindow]

Ah!

[ The sudden emergence of a treasure chest surprises her, but she's too exhausted to sidestep away, instead opting to stare at it from where she's slid against the wall. Every joint in her whines and with the dragonflies dead, she thinks it's a good time as any to take a quick breather. ]

What now?