1d73fa No.487[View All]
As the door opens, you feel yourself falling--falling through an eternal blackness.
The landing is, thankfully, soft.
When you look out upon the landscape, and the towering castle ahead of you, you realize two things:
One, the hills themselves appear to be made of melded, twisted flesh.
And two, the castle itself is chained to the earth, collared and shackled.
"She must be in there. These places always focus on their victims--she'll be in the throne room, in all likelihood. I only hope she hasn't made the deal..."
So the question is...who are you, and what are you going to do?
>This place is accessed through a door near the Counter.
567a3c No.559
"Just use the flat, if you really need to."
He reaches back and shifts the bundle, attaching more silk, then leaps.
For a moment, all is calm. All has stopped. His 8 eyes see all. The fireballs will never touch him. The ground is waiting. He stops spinning at that perfect length, then drops down to the ground, severing the string, hitting hitting the ground and leaping.
The string falls to to straight position below the balcony.
1d73fa No.560
>>559
Percival wraps some silk around his hand, and hops over the railing.
Tighten his grip for a moment here, and he slows down just enough to let a fireball slip past him. Loosen his grip there, and he falls faster. A quick burst of magical lightning knocks another out of the sky.
About fifteen seconds after you hit the ground, he lets go of the string. A second later, his feet hit the ground, and he starts to catch up to you.
1d73fa No.562
As you approach the figure, the first thing you can make out is a series of cherry-red spears, glowing as if drawn straight from a forge.
As one is plucked from its holster and hurled at you, another comes screaming down from the heavens to replace it.
Once you get closer, it becomes clear that the spears are, specifically, harpoons; you can see the cruelly-barbed tip as the Fake Riley pulls them out.
It also becomes clear that they're being stored in Riley's back. Blood is bubbling and steaming out of the holes where each harpoon has pierced her, and while the harpoons drive her into the ground, a thick iron collar holds her head up, chained to a massive marble column.
The distance seems impossibly long.
"She's trying to push us away," Percy shouts. "Grab my hand!"
199403 No.563
Vasnesh leaps for you, limb splayed to catch yours. He's in no danger of being hit by the spears, but he knows he will need your help to reach her.
1d73fa No.564
>>563
As you grab his hand, his legs become a blur for a moment. Lightning crackles along his feet.
The rest of the world is the blur, now; he's the only thing that isn't moving at a million miles per hour. And ahead of you, at a rapidly-closing end of the tunnel of unbelievable speed, is Riley and her torturer.
From this distance, you can make out odd little blue dots scattered across her body, and the sweat dripping from her; the stench of boiling blood lingers here.
199403 No.565
>>564
"Dear Chewiceclax above and below."
He says it aloud as he's dragged along. "I will fucking tear this bitch in two. You save your sister. I've got a demon fucking batter to make."
1d73fa No.566
>>565
With one last stride, you land directly in front of Other Riley--who smirks, and holds one hand out to you.
You're familiar with illusion magic, and this definitely feels like someone's smacking you in the face with a boatload of illusory feelings.
>Roll 1d100 and call "Evens" or "Odds" for a saving throw. If you guess right, you've resisted the spell! If not, then you're outta luck.
1d73fa No.567
>>565
>>566
>Note: Rolls are in the "post options" area.
199403 No.568
 | Rolled 10 (1d100) |
>evens
1d73fa No.569
| Rolled 98 (1d100) |
>>568
>Rolling for Percival.
199403 No.570
| Rolled 37 (1d100) |
>>568
>YEAH SON
Vasnesh has the most shit eating grin one could imagine on the face of a spider, as he grabs her outsretched hand and carries that last bit of momentum into her face, riding her down like some kind of horrible alien reproduction mechanism. He takes the opportunity to bite on the way down. One bite is enough to cause total paralysis and either altered perceptions or loss of all memory in the last hour. He gave her seven.
1d73fa No.571
| Rolled 42 (1d100) |
>>569
>I'm a dumbass. Evens this time.
199403 No.572
>would help if I turned my post options off after as well
1d73fa No.573
>>570
>>571
As you tear into her, you hear her screeching, but only for a moment. The dizziness from the spell's futile attempts to cloud your mind fades quickly as the taste of demon blood draws in old memories.
Percival draws his blade, and in one smooth motion, slices the chain holding Riley in place. With the source of their magic no longer conscious, the flaming harpoons vanish.
"Riley. Speak."
199403 No.574
1d73fa No.575
>>574
>Annoyingly, his internet appears to have cut out.
>Right at the important part.
>I swear to god if this keeps happening I'm gonna go on a road trip just to slap some sense into him and get him to move away from his asshole parents.
199403 No.576
>lol. Agreed. Well no worries. I can wait. You have no worries on my end.
199403 No.577
| Rolled 47 (1d100) |
>>576
>That'll be the first in joke on this board. Anyone who just disappears from the internet at an important part has Riley's connection.
199403 No.578
881a88 No.583
1d73fa No.584
>>583
>He says he'll be on shortly. But shortly could be a half-hour.
000000 No.585
*Listen up u littel shets*
>>573
Riley, for a few horrifying moments, says nothing. Then, very slowly, she begins to stand, murmuring something almost indecipherable:
"imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsoryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry..."
You can both see that she's still in a great deal of pain. You can also see that the blue dots are slightly raised from her skin, and that they have a metallic gleam to them.
1d73fa No.586
>>585
"...what are those--never mind. We have to get you home."
He sweeps you off your feet.
"Vasnesh! You've got the fakes, correct? Nobody's ever tried to take one out of their little pocket world..."
000000 No.587
>>586
The instant you pick her up, Riley begins screaming and thrashing. Your hands, along with the rest of you, are quickly soaked in blood.
A single pin, about an inch long and covered in blood, falls to the floor, its blue head "ping"ing off the floor.
1d73fa No.588
>>587
"Jesus--"
He drops you--and with a crackle of magic across his fingers, he wraps you in a telekinetic field, saving you from the agony of the floor.
"...forget home. I'm fixing this now. Vasnesh, watch my back--it'll take a while to heal this."
199403 No.589
>sorry wasn't expecting
"AW holy silk. Fuck. Start Percy. You know I've got you."
He finishes the wrapping on the fake Riley and starts setting up a minor silk barrier around the two. It's fireproof and stronger than steel. They should be fine for a bit.
1d73fa No.590
>>589
"Right, then."
Power surges through Percival, and your webbing is illuminated with a bright yellow light.
He starts mumbling--like so many casters do.
"...and...on three..."
The pins scattered across Riley's body begin to vibrate.
"One...two...I'm sorry, Riley--THREE!"
Each and every pin flies out of Riley's body like a stone from a sling.
Immediately after, light begins pouring into her body--directed by Percival's hands.
"Stay awake," he mutters between chants.
You hear something like a rolling wave hitting the shore, off in the distance.
000000 No.591
>>590
As the pins exit, both of you are treated to a literal red mist. Percival now might notice that each pin has a fishook-like barb at its tip. Riley makes an unearthly noise, too high to be a scream, then goes limp. It seems she's reached her limit for pain today.
1d73fa No.592
>>591
"Dammit--"
More light surges into her, as the holes stitch themselves shut.
"...and replenish blood, while sealing off the holes in her lungs..."
For a moment, he looks like he's gonna be sick.
1d73fa No.593
>Gotta sleep now.
>Urgh. I was looking forward to this, dammit.
199403 No.594
>get some rest. I'll hit you guys up tomorrow.
There's some kind of sounds outside like the chattering of many skulls, and then there's the telltale sound of many skulls being bounced off of hard surfaces and broken.
"Take your time, Percy."
199403 No.595
| Rolled 41 (1d100) |
After a few moments. "Do you need silk? You can bind wounds with them! Because I'm beginning to feel like we need to moving."
199403 No.596
>Make me roll dice again, /donut/ I fucking swear.
1d73fa No.603
>>594
>>595
"I'm almost done--"
The sound of waves crashing upon the shore grows louder.
"Let the white light of healing descend upon thee," he chants.
The roaring sound is getting closer, and the ground's starting to shake.
"Let the white light of healing stop thy spilling blood..."
The skulls retreat; the rubble starts to shake.
"Let the white light of healing mend thy bones..."
Down one of the scattered halls of this place, you see a veritable wall of bodies round the corner.
They tumble and clamber over each other, like some kind of tsunami of bodies.
199403 No.604
"Aw, great."
Vasnesh begins tossing loops of silk around the enclosure, linking the tied up Doppelganger Riley to the silk. "Let's go. I hope you can heal in motion. Grab on."
He immediately begins pulling like some weird spider chariot, trying to make good speed despite the extreme weight.
1d73fa No.607
>>604
You hear Percy stumble for a moment. From the speed with which he resumes his chanting, he must have excellent balance.
The front gate is just a few dozen feet away, but it's starting to close...
199403 No.611
>>607
"Lay down and start casting from your back. Gate is closing!"
He begins pulling harder, trying to gallop at speed, instead of the basic spider run.
"Really! Let's go!"
199403 No.613
>sorry for slow. Family dinner and all that.
1d73fa No.615
>>611
"Damn it, Vasnesh--"
You hear them thump to the ground. Riley doesn't scream.
You're not sure if that's reassuring or terrifying.
Just as it seems like you won't make it--you squeeze through. Moments after Percy and Riley are through, the gate shuts, tearing the rear of your webbing-sled clean off. A mere tenth of a second after that, you hear the sound of bodies slamming against the door.
Looking back, you can see the gates creaking, the portcullis bending under the strain of the thing trying to break out.
The sled starts to catch up to you as you hit the slope.
199403 No.616
"Don't damn me, damn the dark ends of your sister's soul!"
He begins spinning more silk to add a little more mass to this weird sled contraption, slowing it down, but lessening the jolting they are receiving.
"Something I'm holding you personally responsible for curing."
He starts digging his limbs in deeper. "I need an update. We don't have much time. There's a real Grave Wave coming for us. How is she doing?"
1d73fa No.617
>>616
"She's unconscious, but mostly stable--"
Thump.
"Just gotta repair a bit of damage to the kidneys--"
Thump.
"And then she'll be right as rain--"
Thump.
There's bodies piling over each other high enough, now, that they're starting to fall out of the windows on the second floor of the castle.
"Those things--they're a Cerberus! A defense mechanism! They'll keep coming until we leave!"
199403 No.619
"Well then it's time to leave. Heal the rest of her at the Bar. I'm having a hard enough time carrying the four of you. Can you carry her?"
He begins dismantling their enclosure as soon as he reaches a relatively flat place. He's used a lot of webbing recently, and he needs to recycle as much as he can.
1d73fa No.620
>>619
"I've got her."
You see him cradling Riley in his arms.
"She's safe, for now. I can't tell if there's any adverse effects from her passing out until she wakes up."
199403 No.622
"Good."
He finishes eating the silk, scaring it down his mandibles.
"How do we get out of here, Percy. You are the wizard, and you got us here!"
1d73fa No.623
>>622
"Up ahead!"
He points toward the place where you entered this hell; a door sits there, opening into the Bar.
"Now that we've talked to the doppelgangers, that door is open--we can get through, we just have to do it before--"
You hear the sound of metal bending in ways it was never meant to.
"Oh no."
199403 No.624
Vasnesh spins on the spot, his 8 legs working in a strange unity of motion. He glances back at the horrifying sight that awaits him.
"Got any magic to make us fast? It's time to GO."
He reaches back, adjusts his loads, and begins running.
1d73fa No.625
>>624
"Hop on!"
He's standing perfectly still, holding one hand out to you.
199403 No.626
He leaps out, one limb falling into your hand and the rest wrapping around your midriff and upper legs.
1d73fa No.627
>>626
There's a sudden flash of green light, and when your eyes adjust, you're at the door.
Percy lunges, grabbing the handle and pulling the door shut behind him as you all tumble into the Bar.
>Time to return to the Counter thread.
199403 No.628