“Compulsory Quest: Escape the Wild Hunt
Difficulty: Hard-ish
Reward: Your lives and maybe more?”
Edited by Diabeto, 01 September 2016 - 07:01 PM.
“Compulsory Quest: Escape the Wild Hunt
Difficulty: Hard-ish
Reward: Your lives and maybe more?”
Edited by Diabeto, 01 September 2016 - 07:01 PM.
Xar
Delphi woke with a start, oh she was no longer Delphi. She was Xar, she had a filled a form too. Well trivial matters aside, it was the reverberating drums that broke her slumber. She found herself in a room filled with...other people it seemed, maybe they were players like her or whatever they were according to the weird forms and messages that had spurned once she had passed on from her earlier life. Not waiting for the others to make a move she quickly moved outside.
Her whole body was stiff, it was safe to say that she was moving more by instinct for she knew that she consciously didn't know how to walk. Her awkward gait and jerky actions would surely made her the laughing stock of the room but strangely because of the music it could be slightly taken as her way of dancing, well who was she kidding? She looked like a fool and she wanted to get rid of this embarrassment as soon as possible.
There was a loud crowd outside, with a lot of people wildly swaying to the strange music that was rather permeating despite the fact that she actively didn't want any part of it. A fact soon confirmed by the honeyed voice of a woman, filled with malevolence even though it talked of merriment and then it started, the riot. As the crowd soon turned to screams of terror and pain, the hold of music was broken over body has survival instincts took over.
Whatever, that was causing this scene, Xar didn't want any part of it. She wasn't afraid like the others, her movements held a certain calm even though everyone around her was losing theirs as she searched for a side alley along the long road. Once she found one that suited her liking, she was rather quick in making herself scarce from the scene of bloodshed. She found a stack of trash and other unwanted debris and hid in the makeshift cover, searching all the while for something that she could use in melee to maybe struggle a while longer in her new life.
What was strange about this all was the fact that she was certain that she saw a prompt to let her choose her actions. This was certainly becoming more & more like a game and deep down she seemed to enjoy the thrill it brought. She didn't want it to end just yet.
If you have the time:
Seif
The awakening was a strange one. Seif opened his eyes to find himself on a futon, rather than on his kitchen floor. The taste of fruit seemed to linger in his mind. Like a delicious nightmare. How he got here he had no idea. He'd assumed that by 'creating' a new life for himself he would probably start as a baby and live a new life through to completion. It appeared he was wrong about that. He moved his hands across his body, trying to get a feel for his new form. Most everything was pretty familiar, aside from his ears. His ears were big and soft and not all that human-like. They were more like a cat's ears. Had he chosen to have cat ears? He couldn't remember now. The whole 'character creation' thing he'd gone through was pretty much a blur at this point. Besides, he didn't hate the ears. He kind of liked them. And it's not like he could do much about it if he'd hated them. It was done. You just gotta move on. He hopped up onto his feet, quite excited to see what this new world had to offer.
There were other people in the room. He didn't recognize any of them. He decided to ignore this fact and focus on the awesome music that was playing. It was like a theme song, playing at the start of his new life as if he were the main character in a TV show. It was exciting, rhythmic and... almost hypnotic. The flow of the drums! The cheers! The people! Seif wasn't sure exactly when he went outside. But he soon found himself amid the crowd. Shouting, dancing, cheering! He didn't know what was happening or why, but the energy alone was intoxicating. Something great must be happening somewhere. And then the beautiful voice came. It echoed through his mind like a song unto itself. “Dance, dance everybody!" Said the voice. And dance he did. He danced harder, better, faster and stronger. Because if he danced well enough, passionately enough, perhaps the lady would hear his soul crying out to her. "Offer your fleeting existences to the Son of Heaven, the night of the Hunt is upon us!” And there it was. The Night of the Hunt! That was what was happening. That was why there was a party the likes of which Seif had only seen in movies. He roared his approval, danced his joy! Tonight would be a night to remember! That it would. A glorious night. The night of the hunt! He'd have to ask someone what it meant. But that could wait. The sound of the drums was getting louder. That must mean the woman was getting closer. If he could see here then he just knew he cou-
Screams began to pierce the night penetrating even the violent noise of the drums. It brought him back to his senses as well as a sharp slap to the face followed by a bucket of ice water might. The music was still getting louder. But he no longer wanted to meet whatever the hell it was that was coming closer with it. He needed to leave. Or hide. He was panicking. Shooting glances at everyone and everything. The blur of colour and noise and fear was almost overwhelming. What should he do? Where could he go? Suddenly a strange thing popped up in front of him.
“Compulsory Quest: Escape the Wild Hunt
Difficulty: Hard-ish
Reward: Your lives and maybe more?”
Seif had no idea what the weird thingy was. But he wasn't against the quest it seemed to be offering. Escaping this Wild Hunt was the only thing he wanted to do right now. He'd be doing it even if the weird message thing had told him the quest was merely 'Optional,' never mind 'Compulsory.' It was time to get the hell out of this place. He briefly considered going back to the room he'd woken up in. But if this Wild Hunt went in there he'd be found. The place had been sparse on the furniture. He'd never be able to hide in there. So he did the next best thing he could think of. He scurried up a nearby wall. From there he walked as carefully and quickly as he could over the the side of a building, and pulled himself up onto the roof. Luckily his new body wasn't too big or heavy or there might have been some serious issues going on. But once he got up there he lay as low as he could and peeked as sneakily as he dared over the end of the roof to try and see what was happening.
Isolde
Waking up to a quite loud noise, Isolde found herself inside a futon and in a place she doesn't recognize with people she doesn't know. The last thing she's able to recall was that strange dream....no.....that clearly wasn't a dream. Isolde made sure of that as she began inspecting her body, only to find out that her body was unfamiliar. It wasn't just that all of her injuries were healed, body unfrozen and free of pain but it was completely different. A new body that was bigger and stronger then it should've been, it was as if she was now some kind of gladiator or something.
When you hear 're-incarnation', normally one might think starting over again but this seems more attuned to all those fantasy manga/stories she used to always read. Not that she had a problem with it, at least now she now knows that re-incarnation message was legit. It even looks like the same thing happened to other people as well. But despite it all, all her mind came back to was a single thought. But why a futon exactly? It just seemed completely out of place here. Well, she didn't have much time to dwell on it because that loud noise from before got even louder.
It wasn't just loud but she felt her mind going blank and her body moving on it's own. True, her body did feel sluggish when waking up, only natural considering it's a totally new body and, well, she did die recently after all. But this time is totally different, she literally had no control over her actions like some puppet. Isolde found herself leaving the room with a few others and joined in on the celebration. Just when you think it couldn't get any louder, it did as her ears felt like they were splitting with the sounds of the drums and cheering of the crowd. Soon her mind gave way and she found herself joining in on the dancing, jumping and cheering.
It wasn't until she heard those screams until she realized what the hell just happened. That music, there's something with that music. But it didn't matter now, she got her mind back but more importantly, what were those screams? Looking around, she found something strange coming from the back of the procession but couldn't make out what it was exactly. All she knew was that the more it rushed, the more it got closer, the louder the music and scream got. Was she going to die the moment she was re-born? Not a chance. She needed to get the hell out of there.
Just as she was about to start running, a message popped up, like before but the content was different.
“Compulsory Quest: Escape the Wild Hunt
Difficulty: Hard-ish
Reward: Your lives and maybe more?”
Was this some kind of joke? It was as if she was sucked into an RPG game. But she couldn't be thinking about that, she needed to get out of there. With the amount of people that were filling the streets and all the madness that was going on, Isolde couldn't see a thing. If she wanted to even begin to look for a way out, she's going to need to get a better look of her surroundings and try to find a way out and to do that, she'll need to gain some altitude. It would definitely be better than wandering around blind and nothing's more dangerous than being caught in a crowd thats in a panic. Well, aside from that thing that was rushing through the crowd anyways.
Slinking away, she made it towards the side of a building and began climbing. Isolde had to say it was quite nice being able to reach in high places along with being able to climb up a wall, considering she wasn't that tall or strong in her previous life. Having successfully made it to the roof, she poked her head up to try to find a way out and maybe some kind of transport, be it a bike, car, bus....now that she thinks about it, with the whole re-incarnation thing and the RPG like pop-ups, she probably wouldn't be able to find such things here. She'll more than likely be able to find a horse and/or wagon or something. Well, she'll take what she can get.
However, as she began her search, she spotted a figure doing the same in the next building over. The moment she saw him, her body went into alert mode before calming down, figuring an enemy probably wouldn't sneaking along the rooftop like their life depended on it. Not that she had the right to say anything about it, considering her situation.
The Epic Of X:
Edited by Kida Nedakh, 08 September 2016 - 04:23 PM.
Me, according to a Hero:
D.A.H.
Dan woke up with his head in a haze, but his body quite comfortable. The sound of drums, dancing, and cheering drove the haze away quickly, however, and he was able to take stock. He was in a room along with several others, and sleeping on a mat on the ground with a heavy blanket, one of those beds that were usually found in traditional-style Japanese resorts or houses. He shot up with a start as his memories started to flood in. He'd been in a crash, and based on that message he could only vaguely recall... it had been fatal to him. But here he was, given a fresh start... and a body changed. He was just as tall as he'd always been, but his muscles were more filled in, his beanpole physique having become that of a fit, toned young man.
Before he could finish examining his form though, the music crept its way in and he found himself almost uncontrollably dancing into the streets. All his cares melted away in the euphoria, and nothing else seemed important or relevant. Not even the distant screaming and demands to offer up his newly regained life in the Great Hunt. Wait, what?
His mind snapped back into clarity with a start and a "Quest Accepted!" sound. The crowd was now in a panic, people scrambling around and atop one another to get away from the massacre at the advancing end of the procession. For a moment, Dan was about to do the same. But then his mind wrested control from his base instincts, and even as he moved away its gears spun to speed as he figured his way through the scenario. This was a hunt, there was no question. To that end, the hunted- them- had all been lured into a large grouping in one place before any blood was spilled. The obvious start to the frenzy signaled that this was no silent hunt either, which meant it was one of two other possibilities. The first was that this was a hunt for sport; gather the foxes, then let them loose into the forest and give chase on horses that could obviously run the fox down. But that seemed incorrect; part of the sport in such a hunt was giving the fox a head start, a handicap, and no such thing had been provided to them. That left the second possibility, the other hunting he knew of that employed such tactics; the Lioness's Hunt. Gather the prey, then send a group of lionesses to bare their fangs and terrify the herd into fleeing for their lives. That group then pursued, cutting off escapes and side routes to keep the herd on a particular course- one that led directly into the jaws of the more potent huntresses who lay in wait just ahead to make the bulk of the kills.
In a flash Dan changed his course. Rather than fleeing down the street with the others, he darted sideways into a side alley between two houses. There, he pressed himself into the corner formed by the house's brick chimney, hiding him from the view of the street. The lionesses at the flanks, he reminded himself, would be watching for runners. They would not be looking for prey who had suppressed their panic and hid. It was likely they didn't expect anybody to be able to. So he made his profile as small as he could and slowly forced his breathing to slow.
Across the street, he noticed that someone else had had a similar plan. A blonde woman, one he recalled seeing in the same room as him, had slipped into another alley and had climbed to the upper roofs. She seemed to be moving toward the huntresses, or rather in the opposite direction as them. Crazy as it seemed, she may have had the right idea. Thinking he'd be better grounded, he moved toward the opposite alley mouth, and after making sure the coast was clear he slipped away toward the next piece of cover he saw in the same direction as the woman had gone. He'd been a Stagehand in life, and he'd often needed to move stealthily across a stage so as to not attract the audience's attention, an impressive feat considering his height; he only hoped the skills he'd grown for such a purpose wouldn't fail him in this new body...
Myself, as told by a Hawk;
Yume
"Hack!", was the first noise I made upon my awakening. The sound one would relate to somebody choking on his own saliva. Or in my case, the supposed blood that's clogging my windpipe, but nobody knows that. Nor was there really any blood, now that I realize it. Not the most grand voice, I must say.
In any case, now that I'm awake, I decided to take a sweet time making heads and tails on what had just happened. Looking around, all I can see are unfamiliar ceilings, on an unfamiliar room, filled with a bunch of unfamiliar people. Oh, and an unfamiliar, yet uplifting tone playing in the background. "What the hell is this place?" I though to myself for like, five seconds, before I decided that it was a silly question, and decided to forget it all together.
I tried to get up, but then I noticed something.
"... Did I get shorter? And what are these bulges on my chest?"
C'mon man! This is no joke. I was not exactly the most masculine man before, but this? I might as well be a woman!
...
Oh..
---
In any case, everything felt fine, and I stopped caring about the trivial things. The song.. It's urging me to get up, and go outside. To be merry. To dance. To join the festival of the hunt. To offer my fleeting existence to the.. Wait, what was that last thing it told me to do again? Good heavens these things are confusing as hell. Am I in purgatory after all? Because none of this made any sense whatsoever, I tell you. Oh and the faint screaming I heard in the background. It fits the image of hell in the bibles, no?
And then as if to answer me, a popup window appeared above my head.
“Compulsory Quest: Escape the Wild Hunt
Difficulty: Hard-ish
Reward: Your lives and maybe more?”
What? What is this, some kind of a sick joke? What is even going on? You know what? Screw it. If I can't make any sense out of it, might as well follow my instinct and wing it from there. And right now, my instinct tells me to find out who - or what - is hunting us down. And with that said and done, I climbed the nearest building, just enough to let me see past the tides of helpless men running for their lives. If what I see is unpleasant, I'd hope there's still enough time to jump back down and run along with the crowds.
But I've got to say, this new body is pretty nimble, despite it's seemingly un-aerodynamic and un-balanced curvatures. Truly a baffling world, this afterlife thing.