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Interlude: Forum - Holding out for a hero
🕑 Added 2020-06-10 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
Official Road to Purgatory-Beta Forum
- -Dargira, confirmed Beta-Account
I’ve heard the adage that you should never your heroes, it would only disappoint you. Luckily, there’s an exception to every rule. Enjoy.
holdingoutforahero.avi
A group of stocky people, everyone clad in metal armour and with weapons in hand move through a swamp, taking care where they step. Around them, the trees look withered and bent, the leaves crumbling and brittle. Looking further than a few steps is impossible, thick mist wafting through the air, making the surroundings seem to press down onto the dwarves. In the background, dim music is playing, adding to the spooky atmosphere.
Suddenly, one of the dwarves lets out a pained scream, the viewpoint spinning around, towards the source. The screaming dwarf is on the ground, his leg visibly bleeding, a skeletal hand sticking out from the soil, painted red with blood. Another dwarf screams in a similar manner and goes down as well, while two more manage to avoid the attack. But before anyone is able to restore order, a heavy, fleshy impact is heard from the front. Again, the viewpoint spins around and a nightmarish creature, roughly humanoid but with slender, far too long limbs, covered in mud and dripping brackish water is bending over a knocked-down dwarf, one arm reeling back to sink its claws into its victim.
With a loud, angry shout one of the other dwarves barrels into the creature, using her shield to bash it away from the downed dwarf, giving him a chance to get back up, shaken, muddy but still alive.
“Form ranks!” another dwarf shouts, bringing the dwarves into a semblance of order, even as more creatures, similar to the first one, appear from the surrounding mist and crawl of out the muddy soil. The music changes, away from the somber, brass sounds to a quick, electric organ, hurrying the dwarves to move. Beating back the crawlers, the dwarves manage to form into ranks, a wall of steel and muscles, slowly moving backwards, covering the wounded and those taking care of them.
It is slow going but luckily, the creatures don’t seem to be intelligent enough to go around the shieldwall, instead they simply try to go through it, only to be repelled again and again. As they move, the caw of a nearby raven cuts through the noise for a moment, only to be swallowed by the sounds of metal hitting flesh as the dwarves try to leave a lasting impression in their foes.
The dwarves manage to retreat out of the boggy swamp, onto solid terrain, but the crawlers seem to stick to them, pressing the attack. The music in the background now has lyrics, asking where the good men went, and where the gods are. Suddenly, from a nearby tree, a dark silhouette rises into the air, flying towards the crawlers. At first, it looks like a normal raven, only that its head is bone-white, instead of black, but the impression suddenly changes when the flying form glows in silver light and a massive torrent of power erupts from its beak, inundating the crawlers and freezing the surrounding area. For a moment, time seems to freeze as well, the dwarves staring at the devastation brought by the seemingly harmless bird.
“Press the attack!” the voice of their leader shouts, shaking them out of their stupor and they only now realise just what the bird has achieved. Their foes, earlier almost impervious to the dwarven attacks, thanks to their spongy, bloated flesh were frozen solid, allowing their warhammers to make short work of them, shattering them into small pieces with swift blows.
The bird was not the only surprising addition to the dwarven side, from behind their line, out of the forest, come three figures, a huge, broad-shouldered amazon of a fighter, a large, slightly strange, axe in hand, followed by a smaller form, albeit only small in comparison to her massive companion, wielding a long, white spear on one side, on the other is a wolfish humanoid, covered in darkness with two gleaming short-swords in hand. The three sweep into the remaining crawlers, taking the remaining pressure off the dwarves.
But more crawlers, come out of the swamp, maybe drawn by the smell of blood, maybe by the sounds of battle. Or maybe, they are directed by whatever dark force animated them, making them hunt the living.
The three fighters took off the pressure, but the new foes are fresh and re-apply it, even pushing back the three unexpected additions to the fight. Suddenly, a voice calls out from behind, “Back, everyone!”
The viewpoint turns again, and the raven that was seen earlier is sitting on top of a gleaming, crystal-staff, held by a figure clad in dark leather-clothes, a black cloak covering her back. She seems taller than her size would make you think, her size no different from the dwarves and her slim build should make her seem small but something prevents it. Maybe the glowing, silver eyes, mirroring the earlier devastation, or the runes floating in front of her, giving off the same light.
The dwarves obey, moving aside just in time for the runes to give of a resplendent glow, bathing the small clearing in silver light for a moment. When the light dies away, devastation remains, the swamp in front of the dwarven lines, the crawlers that were still trying to come out of it, the trees and the grass, everything is covered in ice.
But only for a moment. The petite figure slams the butt of her staff and the sound of shattering glass seems to echo through the forest for a second, the previously frozen landscape turned into a hell of shattered ice, with nothing remaining intact, not tree, not crawler, nothing. It looks like reality broke there, if only for a moment.
The scene shifts, to a close-up of the black-clad figure, her eyes still glowing, but her lips curled into a smile.
holdingoutforahero.avi end
It took me a few days to edit things as I wanted and add the music, I hope you enjoy. For me, I got to talk to Morgana a little later, it was interesting. No, I won’t share that, it was a private conversation and I’ll treat it as such. But she undoubtedly saved the dwarven patrol I was with and I’ve gotta say, her magic makes an impact.
Anyway, I wanted to share some awesomeness, hopefully you enjoy watching, just as I enjoyed making it. And living through it.
- Jeanyra, confirmed Beta-Account
Hooo, boy, where to start? I’m jealous? I mean, that’s some impressive aoe-magic, not sure what sort of level those zombie-things had but just the ability to freeze and destroy such a large area, that’s some crazy stuff. Makes me wonder just what spell-casters will be able to do at higher levels. Are we talking nuclear-bomb type devastation, for someone high enough? No offense to Morgana, but the beta has just not been out long enough to get into anything close to high-level and despite that, she can do shit like that.
Also, cool to see yet another side of our favourite, cuddly psychopath.
- Harms, confirmed Beta-Account
Yeah, not sure how the balance will work out. I mean, no matter what, some fighter/warrior type just won’t be able to do stuff like that, no way, no how. We’ll have to see, hopefully it won’t be some sort of spellcaster-master-class shite, that would be a massive disappointment in an otherwise awesome game.
- Shuigun, confirmed Beta-Account
Not sure, Harms. Do you see any other spellcaster whip out stuff like that? I mean, sure, there are a few that manage a small bang, maybe similar to the size of a grenade, if that. But if you look at who is making waves, other than Morgana, it’s not the casters. Tobiuno is some sort of fighter but makes waves cause he’s Lord of a Castle, Whisper makes waves as a rogue who knows secrets, a few more because they formed working parties.
We’ll have to see how things play out in the long run, whether there is a problem or not. For now, I don’t see one.
- Palda Hengar, confirmed Beta-Account
Can you sweep me off my feet? No need for superman or anything, just you?
- Goliry, confirmed Beta-Account
I think the glorious crusade better invest in some cold-weather gear.
Or maybe they should just Let it go...
- Morgana, confirmed Beta-Account
Fun video, even if I might be the furthest from a white knight on a fiery steed as you can get.
For Jeanyra, I feel obligated to refute that, by calling myself a high-functioning sociopath. With your number. Maybe.
And about the magic used, well, a girl gotta keep her secrets, right?
- Do’rodra, confirmed Beta-Account
Cool video, even if we ignore the Morgana-part. I’m more interested in the zombies as there seem to be few good spots to fight a lot of enemies. Any chance someone would expand on that?
- Tobiuno, confirmed Beta-Account
I might be speaking out of school here, but there are quite a few such spots, allowing you to fight a lot. I was allowed to use one, controlled by the Duke of Highever. Because it’s not just players, or Travellers, are interested in gaining levels, everyone is. Just that the swamp seems to be an uncontrolled area, making it curiously prime real estate, if one knew where it is.
