The thwacking of tentacles made the world spin, the force of hit most definitely breaking something. And the hit of sickness afterwards kept it spinning. She fought back against the dizziness the best she could, trying to piece ricocheting thoughts back into the plan. Then a realization struck her.

None of her spells would work down here. They'd work up by the surface, or maybe closer to the sea floor- but in the middle of the water? None of them would be able to touch it.

And well, she couldn't just stand back and let it beat them all up.

So burying whatever better judgement she had under protective draconic fury and adrenaline, she swam right back towards the beast. Someone suggested going for the eyes or sores covering the kraken- Going for a sore seemed like a good way to just get even more sick, so she went for the second option- the eyes. Looking for a greenish glimmer in the darkened chaos, she'd aim to stab the thing with her horns- or if the opportunity arised, try to tear it out with her teeth.

BATTLE REPORT

80%

ATTEMPT: Take out an eyeball
DEFENSE: Does being incredibly shiny count?
INJURIES: Diseased, battered by the kraken

Whether it was speed, his relatively small size, or simple luck, he managed to dodge the wildly flailing, whipping tentacles as the gigantic squid careened past. Clouds of ink- or blood? hope it's not blood clouded the water, and the link was bursting with the thoughts of others. The loudest and most clear of which (at least for Brandle) was his Father's voice.

Dragon's response was met with no small amount of relief. The call to avoid the tentacles and teeth was met with a still very much panicked, I'm avoiding all of it! Sorry! Goodbye! Not to be snippity (Brandle didn't have a single snarky bone in him) but out of sheer desire not to fight.

He'd grip a corner of the bag of harmful potion balls, making sure the mouth of the bag was wide open before continuing to book it way out of harm's way. Hopefully his luck didn't run out. And hopefully the current didn't just immediately sweep the potion orbs away, leaving them useless. Hopefully.

BATTLE REPORT

100%

ATTEMPT: running away while leaving a trail of potion orbs (poisonous + hallucinogenic)
DEFENSE: Fast (hopefully)
INJURIES: Untouched (as he should be)

I'd of blown the scoundrel up
Watch his head and heart hiccup
Erupt in tinsel and blue cinders
turn August into winter

Teeth found their mark, but so did tentacles. While the labradorite tearing into the tentacle, wounding it hopefully beyond use, it was completely open for attack. The gigantic squid battered it, leaving painful bruises and likely fracturing something. Or maybe the sickening ache in it's gut was whatever plague the Kraken surely carried. The labradorite didn't have the time to fully evaluate it's physical state- As soon as the Kraken zoomed out of it's sight six glowing eyes went to work looking for it's return.

There it was.

Nearly all of it's focus was on it's opponent- It kept just enough attention to the others to keep from colliding to them as it charged right back towards the Kraken. Any advice said through the link was ignored entirely in favor of it's currently successful tactic. The closest tentacle to whip past it was it's chosen target- this it dug it's claws into, biting onto it for extra traction. If it managed to stay on- managed to not fall off as the Kraken fled back into the dark- then SURELY it'd be able to do extra damage.

This was definitely a smart idea that was definitely NOT reckless.

BATTLE REPORT

80%

ATTEMPT: Cling to the Kraken??
DEFENSE: Slime?? arm spikes ig?
INJURIES: Diseased, battered by the Kraken

Terror's previous evaluation—that it would feel the current of the beast coming and be able to move out of the way, was. Well. Partially correct.

It feels the current of the beast coming. A great bulkhead of water, pushing forward, fast as a white-water current—something as big as that great creature that emerges from the black impossible to miss, even without the shimmering lights of the war party scattered across the open chamber.

It does not get the chance to dodge out of the way. Focused on fighting, upon latching on and scoring a blow, except it does not get the chance to do that, either, before it is impacted by a thousand tons of pus-stained, slimy flesh.

For a brief moment, the world blinks out into nothing. Blackout.

When it comes to, its back is pressed against one of the obelisks, and there is blood dribbling out from between its teeth, and everything hurts, pain like fire burning through its muscles. Something hurts. Everything hurts. Something in the back of its throat tastes like bile.

And then there is clawing, flashing, the ripping of flesh as everyone attacks at once, and bloodlust overwhelms pain for the moment. Not enough to abate it, not enough to fix it, but enough for it to forget the pain.

There is venom still in its mouth. There is a Kraken in the chamber, information rippling through its head (go for the eyes, go for the boils), and—

—it bares teeth in a bloody grin.

It was never one to pass up a fight.

It throws itself into the fray with all the gleeful fury of a berserker, unthinking of the consequences, unthinking of the damage already inflicted on its body, the poison sickness working its way through its veins; only wanting one thing, and one thing alone.

Blood.

And it pushes forward and its claws come up and it is snapping, snarling, eyes locking onto anything, everything, any sense of movement from the great, pestilent beast, grabbing for tentacles, grabbing for eyes, anything that comes close enough to gouge and rip and tear to pieces.

BATTLE REPORT

60%

ATTEMPT: Attack Flurry on the eyes—or anything close to such. Empowered by paralytic Ephemevenom.
DEFENSE: N/A
INJURIES: Concussion, internal bleeding, poisoned.

Time seems to come so much slower, in a disaster. Everything happens at once, and yet, Astéri's mind picks out the details with a delicate eye, one by one by one.

His internal glow, revealing just the outline of some colossal shape, the glint of massive white teeth in the dark, a mauve skin peppered by festering boils. Attikias's hand, pushing into his chest fur, the glint of desperation in his eyes. A shove, water weighing down what would otherwise have been a solid throw—even in the midst of chaos, his head racing a thousand miles an hour, he feels the very beginning of the oncoming current and instinct takes over. Run. Flee, get out of the way.

He doesn't need to be told twice. He can feel the eddies of smaller currents slipping past his pads as he twists and pushes, pushes as hard as he can, swimming for the doors, swimming for safety, before the beast slams into him—!

Sound doesn't carry well, down here in the depths. There are no screams, no cries of pain, to alert him to what has happened. All he can feel is the rushing wave of water, so fast, too fast, coming closer, closer, closer—

—the weight of something big, huge, larger than anything Astéri has ever seen, slams into his back legs, throwing him bodily through the gap in the door. He cries out at the blooming of what will later be bruises beneath his fur, for a moment twisting and rolling in the depths, momentum uncontrolled. Thrashing at the water, it takes a moment more to come to a stop—another to right himself, and then, and then.

He thinks a swear word Dad doesn't like him using as he sees light flash through the gap in the doorway, eyes going wide.

He can't stay back here, outside the chamber, even though a part of him wants nothing more than to run, run! Even though there's another gembound, kinda snake-like if it wasn't for the arms and crocodilian head, bolting through the door himself. He could run, too. He could be like that. He—he doesn't want to be in there. He doesn't want his bones crushed and lungs popped by the coiling grasp of that creature who could break him in its tentacle in an instant, if it really wanted to. He doesn't—he doesn't want to end up like Elroy, like that chrysalis in front of the spire, like that fleshy, gooey puddle of something that was once a bird that haunts him in his nightmares. He doesn't want to end up worse. He doesn't want to die…

...he doesn't want his family to die. He doesn't want anyone else to die in there, either. Attikias and Carja and everyone else, all the other Gembound that came down here on this mission, came down here knowing that danger awaited, if not knowing what—he doesn't want them to get hurt all alone. Even if he ends up chrysalizing, even if he ends up worse...

...if he doesn't go back in there, he can't say he tried his best. He can't say he tried at all, because he wouldn't have.

If his magic and claws and fangs can save even one Gembound back there, if he can take the place of even just one Gembound, then it will have been worth whatever pain that comes afterwards.

For the Gembound fighting in there.

For the Elenyas.

For Elroy.

Resolve steels his movements, guides his magicka—as he pushes away his fear and begins to swim again, ignoring the ache of bruised back legs, fire flows outwards instead of inwards, pooling in his extremities, in his paws. Just like Attikias told him; light up his paws, and then he can burn away the monster that threatens all of their lives.

Or at least try his damn best to.

Astéri is entering the chamber.

BATTLE REPORT

90%

ATTEMPT: Smolder step on paws to empower next attack.
DEFENSE: N/A
INJURIES: Bruised back legs.

Joy and pride rioted in Hunter's heart as his spear struck true, the warrior showing a toothy grin as the rush of water sent him drifting away from the kraken once more. With a glance around, he could tell some of the others had been injured, but he was doing well. Really well!

His father's rallying words surged through him, and he tightened his grip on his spear. Kicking his feet hard behind him, he surged forward after the kraken, once more putting his all into driving his spear deep into the kraken's flesh.

They would win this fight! Though he was hardly capable of fighting underwater, his spirit shown through. At least he had a weapon ideal for fighting in the water-- a sharp, thrusting spear. Something like a sword would be laughable. No, his father had prepared him for this boss battle in the great deep, and if he had any fears, they were lost to adrenaline.

hunter is going in for another good stab!

BATTLE REPORT

100%

ATTEMPT: Spear attack!
DEFENSE: N/A
INJURIES: N/A

The Orarian was drifting back, aware of the massive kraken and uncertain-- this was the sea, a sickly, violent creature. While the oceans could clash, the stronger wave would consume, and... while it was not often that the Orarian was struck with terror, instead normally filled with curiosity and ferocity, the behemoth understood inheretely that this was not a fight it could win. It did not matter how many claws, teeth, spears you slashed into a tidal wave, it would still crash to shore.

So the Orarian was. It watched, lingering back, tendrils shuttering as the creatures of land fought foolishly against a sheer force of nature. The kracken did not acknowledge the lesser creatures, why would it? But it did push out an attack, a wave of sickly brine, and the mere force of its body battered many of their ranks. A tide that could not be stopped.

Among them, Whale had tried to take the worst of the blows for the others. Selfless and strange, confusing to the leviathan. Still, it could tell when she staggered in the water, her body damaged from being in the path of such a strong ripcord current.

The Orarian reached out with all that it could, giving what it could to aid its companion. The water bubbled faintly with the surge of healthy bacteria, sweeping forward to reach Whale quickly, and immediately began to fight the plague that affected her. However, the behemoth stayed behind, drifting quietly in the shadows of the deep, wary that the Kraken would find it a tasty snack.

the orarian is attempting to heal @Whale

BATTLE REPORT

100%

ATTEMPT: microcloud positive bacteria to help heal whale's disease
DEFENSE: staying FAR back, this squishy terror of the deep wants to keep its limbs
INJURIES: N/A

THE BLACK CITY

BOSS ENCOUNTER: THE KRAKEN

[THE INFESTED, USURPER OF THRONES]

213 / 500 HP    42.6%

▼ DISEASED ▼ POISONED




The darkness was Chaos.

The lash and gurgle of tentacle, barely visible in the flash and glimmer of this or that Baubled item in the pitch black. The glint of gleaming eyes, the pustulence of festering sores. The sickness that began to strike the Gembounds--to overwhelm them--the feverish dizziness that almost at once began to drive hallucinations through those infected.

The Kraken seemed to be everywhere--all around them, in the faces of their allies, in every shadow of the deep. The words whispered in their mind along the shared link turned to gibberish, a hoarse ranting that begged only for violence.

Yet they had struck, and struck hard: magic and claw, weapon and fang, driving for flesh and open wounds, for eyes and tentacles. Though Esther's magic would find no air down here, it did crush the Kraken close, causing damage of its own; the creature thrashed, and even its horrific screeching echoed through the muffled dark.

The wounds drove it mad. One tentacle trailed behind it, limp and paralyzed.

It flailed, lashing out--exploding into a burst of speed, rushing for the crowds of Gembounds on one side, then the other... And where it didn't crash into them, tentacles lashed wildly. Spike-tipped or crushing, lacerating or squeezing--it grabbed and hurt whatever it could, a beast cornered in its lair.

HAVEN ▼ DISEASED 12/20	KHAVUR ▼ DISEASED 12/20	KAIMANA ▼ DISEASED 12/20
MADHUKAR 20/20	ELECTRUM ▼ DISEASED ▼ PARALYZED 12/20	ESTHER ▼ DISEASED 12/20
CERILAINE ▼ DISEASED 12/20	BEDLAM ▼ DISEASED 12/20	HUNTER ▼ DISEASED 12/20
HESTIA ▼ DISEASED 13/20	GARNET-EPSILON ▼ DISEASED 12/20	TERROR ▼ DISEASED 12/20
DRAGON 20/20	DEEP DARK 20/20	CARJA ▼ BLEEDING ▼ DISEASED 14/20
FAHL ▼ DISEASED 16/20	ASCENT ▼ DISEASED 16/20	TELESTO ▼ DISEASED 16/20
ASTERI 19/20	ATTIKIAS ▼ DISEASED 14/20	WHALE 4/20
BRANDLE 20/20	V-LABRADORITE-ONE ▼ DISEASED 16/20	BLIGHT▼ DISEASED 15/20
THE ORARIAN▼ DISEASED 11/20

[ ACTION LOG ]

> THE KRAKEN is now BLINDLY LASHING with tentacles, teeth, and spikes. GEMBOUNDS MAY ROLL TO AVOID, or choose to roll to ATTACK instead, and be struck for 15 damage (crushing or slashing). ELECTRUM is paralyzed, and may use magic, but may not roll to dodge or physically attack.
> ALL DISEASE, POISONS, AND BLEEDS will also inflict ONE DAMAGE per round.
> All DISEASED Gembounds will now feel ILL and experience HALLUCINATIONS.
> ATTIKIAS has fortified all combatants for 1 HP using DIVIDED WE FALL. (Those who would have taken a point of disease damage will see it thereby negated.)


> BEDLAM takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> KHAVUR takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> HAVEN takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> CERILAINE takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> ESTHER takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> ELECTRUM takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA, and is now DISEASED, as well as PARALYZED for one round by his own critically-failed ELECTRO-BALL.
> HUNTER takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> ORARIAN takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> KAIMANA takes 9 DAMAGE from FESTERING MIASMA and is now DISEASED.
> ATTIKIAS restores 1 HP to all combatants with DIVIDED WE FALL.

> KHAVUR inflicts 11 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with PHYSICAL COMBAT on a WEAK POINT.
> HAVEN inflicts 13 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with PHYSICAL COMBAT.
> CARJA inflicts 12 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with GLACIATE.
> DEEP DARK inflicts 17 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with VOID CONDUIT.
> CERILAINE inflicts 10 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with GLACIATE.
> ESTHER inflicts 20 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with BLACK WINDS.
> WHALE inflicts 9 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with BODY SLAM.
> ASCENT inflicts 18 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with PHYSICAL COMBAT on a WEAK POINT.
> DRAGON misses an attack with PHYSICAL COMBAT.
> BLIGHT fails an attack with IMMUNOSUPPRESSION.
> HESTIA removes WHALE'S DISEASED state and restores 1 HP.
> FAHL inflicts 24 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with PHYSICAL COMBAT on a WEAK POINT.
> GARNET-EPSILON misses an unspecified attack.
> TELESTO inflicts 24 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with PHYSICAL COMBAT on a WEAK POINT.
> V-LABRADORITE-ONE misses an attack with BODY SLAM.
> TERROR inflicts 16 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with ATTACK FLURRY.
> HUNTER inflicts 8 DAMAGE to THE KRAKEN with PHYSICAL COMBAT.
> ORARIAN restores 1 HP to WHALE with MICRO CLOUD.

> THE KRAKEN begins BLINDLY LASHING in desperate fury.

This quest is closed to new entrants. As a reminder, characters will need a minimum of three posts in this thread to claim rewards.

Code:

<SPAN STYLE="text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px #ef78ff;color:#deb8ff;"><b>accidental thoughts font code</b></SPAN>

@Forgraves @Electrum (Garnet-Episilon) @Attikias (Cerilaine, Deep Dark) @Hunter (The Orarian) @Khavur (Madhukar, Kaimana) @Bedlam (Ascent, Pelt) @Haven (Carja) @Indigo @Hestia @Fahl @Whale @Galleon (Skein) @Beast (Friend) @Telesto (Brandle, V-Labradorite-One) @Esther @Dragon (Blight) @Terror (Astéri)

Ha! She took one of its tentacles out! That was fantastic news! That meant it was not immune to her magical bite. She'd have to save that thought for later once she was out of harm's way.

Haven dove down as quickly as possible, heading straight for one of the icicles.

’MOM!’

She froze, her blood turning to ice. She clicked desperately, trying to find her child in the mess of gembound, trying to see if the Kraken had grabbed them in the fray. She found thrashing tentacles but no sign of Telesto.

’HAVEN!’

Electrum-!

"TELESTO! ELECTRUM!", she yelled into the link, her very hearing betraying her in lieu of sight. She couldn't tell who was who anymore or if her family was okay.

’We should have stayed on that damn beach,’ she thought, thrashing as she tried and failed to locate her loved ones, to try and find them before it was too late.

But alas it would be too late. For her.

BATTLE REPORT

60%

ATTEMPT: Run away
DEFENSE: N/A
INJURIES: Diseased, delirious

Carja was bleeding, sick, and now she was delirious. Was there anymore this overgrown octopus could throw at her?

Desperately she tried to swim away, her tail beating the water as she tried to head for one of her own ice spikes to at least take cover behind. That damn Kraken was flailing like a toddler having a tantrum and having a dozen limbs covered in spikes and what have you made that very dangerous.

She tried to get away, tried to escape, but she wasn't fast enough and she couldn't fit through the spikes like she wanted to. She turned towards the Kraken like a deer in headlights, claws digging into the ice as the massive creature seemed to... smile. Her own hallucination but it didn't make her feel like her death was incoming anymore.

BATTLE REPORT

70%

ATTEMPT: Run away!
DEFENSE: Partial armor
INJURIES: Diseased, bleeding, delirious