Spinecracking...
Spinecracking...
282 quotes (282 spoken, 0 mentions)
“You’ll get roasted. No way.”
“Beriad my ass.”
“Who is that?”
“She’s doing it.”
“Dead gods!”
“That was the most amazing sight I’ve ever—you just ran right past that Lich! Are you insane? Or crazy?”
“Seal? Oh, of course!”
“Wait—are you going?”
“You can’t! I mean, that’s even crazier!”
“At least let us reassemble and give you a diversion. Once we get these potions to all our members, we can finally bring this guy down.”
“He’ll blast you the instant you leave cover!”
“We’re not doing a suicide charge. Just give Ceria a chance. If she can damage it, we’ll fall back and try to escape. The horses are—”
“Thank the Five Families.”
“I think Terr got hit by a [Fireball]. Coblat and Grimsore dragged him away, but he’s down for the count as well.”
“I think Terr got rid of the last of them, but we still can't get close. It's too flaming quick.”
“Coming from our bug-eating, tree-kissing half-Elf? It must be bad.”
“She’s foreign. Chandrarian? Balerosian?”
“Drathian? What’s one of them doing across the world?”
“They’re trying, but whenever they fire at that monster, it just raises a shield. It’s got more mana than all of our casters combined. We need to get in close if we want a chance.”
“We can ask later. She looks different. Drathian, you said? She’s definitely new; no one around here has the guts to do an Emergency Run like that.”
“She did it. She actually did it.”
“I insist. Please, let me—”
“Your job? No other Runner would have pulled off a feat like that. You saved our lives. I thought we were responsible for you getting hurt at first—but it took us a while to track you down.”
“Ryoka Griffin? We’re part of the adventuring party the Horns of Hammerad. You bailed us out of a tough situation last week. Do you mind if we sit?”
“You don’t understand, uh, Miss Garia was it? I’m sure you City Runners do a good job for civilians. But adventurers? Most Runners don’t do deliveries to battlefields, and some of the ones that do only deliver after the battle ends. We could be in serious trouble, but your people won’t approach until all the monsters are gone. And even then, we have to pay triple—sometimes five times as much just for deliveries to areas we’ve already cleared.”
“Are you serious?”
“In that case, allow me to help you up the stairs.”
“Without the potions, the best we could have hoped for would be a retreat where we didn’t lose too many of our party. In the worst-case scenario, we’d have lost over half of our group, and that’s if the Lich didn’t follow us.”
“But—”
“Too bad.”
“And in a lot of pain. It’s already forgiven.”
“This is unacceptable. I’m going up there.”
“You’re letting him go? Are you mad?”
“We owe you a debt of gratitude for that delivery you did for us a week ago. Without it, we’d all have been killed by that damned Lich. Thanks to you, though, we managed to kill it and recover a lot of magical artifacts. Ceria’s got a new set of mage robes she owes all to you.”
“—And they decided to run her over with a cart?”
“Everything’s better in your home. Go swim to the House of Minos and bring one back, Calruz.”
“The Adventurer’s Guild has bad ones too, like former [Bandits]. Hunt, stop spitting on the floor. This Runner’s Guild must be riddled with bad Runners, though. We’ll remember that if we need help.”
“That’s a scurrilous accusation, Ceria. Don’t go throwing that around.”
“He’s still the same level as most of our group. That’s not bad. But why did you say he was hiding out, Ceria?”
“What did he do?”
“Tired?”
“Hm. Looks like one of those Goblins has some experience fighting. See—they’re using formations and fighting together.”
“You can’t have finished so quickly! You must be lying!”
“Yeah, shut up, with respect, Captain.”
“You hear about the Healer of Tenbault, and Named-ranks have the highest-grade potions in the world. But…no. I know a lot of Silver and Bronze-ranks who take a bad break and it never heals.”
“In the past, they never found his body and he’d pop up. But the Tidebreaker, Zel Shivertail, beheaded him and they burned him. Still, some people remember him, and everyone hates [Necromancers]. They’re not outlawed everywhere—but close enough.”
“Calruz—”
“We’ve travelled over a hundred miles to get here, mage. You’re supposed to be a [Necromancer] able to help us, but I haven’t heard how you’d be able to mend bone. [Necromancers] deal with the dead, so what makes you special? No [Healer] from Wales to Celum could help Ryoka!”
“This isn’t our area, and besides, it’s a tiny tribe. Let the local adventurers deal with it if it becomes an issue. Let’s go find that [Necromancer].”
“If it was that simple, why couldn’t you have done that? The entire spell barely took seconds!”
“Is she okay?”
“We’re happy to repay our debts, Ryoka. And it hasn’t been that much of a chore so far.”
“It’s not the Necromancer we’re going to meet. Just an ordinary [Necromancer], so don’t worry. Az’kerash is dead. Everyone knows that.”
“You told him what you want him to do?”
“We’ll give the horses a stamina potion, don’t worry.”
“I’m glad. Well, uh, what should we do now? It’s been a long trip, and there’s the inn or Liscor…Ryoka, did you want to, uh, do anything?”
“That would not be…a good outcome.”
“Sure?”
“How’s it feel—”
“How did—I’ve never seen anyone do that.”
“No problem.”
“We understand. I’ve broken bones before, too.”
“…Does anyone smell smoke?”
“What?”
“Marital what?”
“We have cooking supplies. Calruz has them in his bag of holding.”
“Don’t burn her leg off. Just get that slime—grab my arm, Ryoka.”
“The flesh—”
““Why would they do that?””
““Let me get this straight. You’re going on a dangerous delivery, and you need our help. And…you want us to take your belongings?””
““We could lend you—””
““Then what about magic?””
““What? What is it?””
““But—””
““I never knew the Runner’s Guild was like that.””
““Will it—will it do anything?””
““If it’s broken, can’t you repair it?””
““I’m still not sure I agree with this. Are you sure you have to do this? If the Runner’s Guild is giving you so much trouble, why not seek work elsewhere?””
“He shoved me off. He and Ryoka were just talking punches and kicks. He’s good at it, you know.”
“Ryoka. This isn’t a good idea.”
“Calm down, Calruz! Hold still, dead gods damn it!”
“What? They were getting into it.”
“Wait a second, Cervial, if you’re going to recruit Ryoka, the Horns of Hammerad have the right to make the first offer.”
“Well, we’re here a bit sooner than I thought, but shall we begin planning?”
“You’re most kind. And this looks delicious.”
“Good thing you caught me. I’d forgotten—”
“Not too far. It was barely an hour’s walk even with us getting lost.”
“Maybe that’s all the protection she could afford.”
“Exactly. And it’s not that heavy.”
“Thank you for the meal, ah, Miss…”
“Good service, food, and we’re not getting dirty looks every two seconds. We struck it lucky coming here.”
“What an odd innkeeper.”
“Probably. Calruz and the others will meet to discuss tonight, but we’ll need to interview other adventurers and see what’s been found. You’ve got at least four days by my count.”
“Talk with the innkeeper, but we’ve occupied most of the second floor.”
“Good thing we didn’t get into it with those Goblins.”
“But the bugs—”
“It’s sweet!”
“Got it. I’ll tell the others when I see them. You still working on the spell…?”
“In what way exactly?”
“Good food.”
“Did you see what one of them was armed with? A…a jar of something?”
“If I went out there, I don’t think I could stop myself.”
“The other two might be able to stop him. If they get to the innkeeper in time.”
“What?”
“No. Calruz won’t listen to me anymore than you. And if he does pick a fight, better it’s only him. Besides—”
“No.”
“We’re going into the city. I think Calruz is already gone, but the others are still asleep. Don’t worry about feeding us—they can always go into the city.”
“Oh.”
“Odd?”
“Not even in my dreams.”
“I see.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“That can happen? I thought—well, it’s just being sick, isn’t it?”
“No helping it, I suppose.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Pass.”
“A very big difference, thank you.”
“Is that sugar?”
“So. Last night.”
“Something? It was—”
“What was that? Was it a spell?”
“I think I’d prefer normal food, thanks. Where’s the innkeeper?”
“But that wasn’t it either. Those songs—”
“I don’t think he slept. He went after the bug—ah, I mean, the one called Pawn.”
“Good morning, Miss Erin.”
“What Yvlon said the other day. You’re sure she has no levels?”
“We were under a spell?”
“But she was only looking at us.”
“Damnation!”
“Every bit counts. If I had good armor, I could worry about other expenses. But that’s the first step.”
“Armor. And a good sword. Or maybe just a magic ring.”
“A few months?”
“But if you leveled up your, um, [Mage] class, you’d learn those anyways, right?”
“Say we do get gold and gems rather than a magical item. We have the largest shares after the Captains. What would you buy?”
“Yes, yes. And supplies are underway. It’s just—”
“Once should be enough. Just so we have an area permanently lit to fall back to.”
“Someone has to worry. As far as our leader is concerned, this is going to be a simple extermination request, nothing more.”
“The, ah, local reception isn’t helping either.”
“Have you seen Calruz?”
“He left the inn, and he hasn’t slept since last night, I think. You know what he’s like when he’s irritable.”
“Sostrom!”
“But what’s his level? A mage living alone like he is has to have some skills. And a [Necromancer] would be perfect if there’s a large amount of undead in the ruins. Come on, Ceria, at least tell us his classes.”
“Soon.”
“Tell us now. If she’s after us—”
“A good thing I was never born with a talent for magic. I don’t have your patience—or your time.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The [Illumination] spell. How’s it going?”
“No one who’s gone down too far past the stairs has ever come back.”
“We still don’t know what’s down there. Cervial found someone who was willing to explore and map out the first level, but no one is willing to go any further.”
“Just that? If the reward is all Calruz thinks it could be, you’d have a lot more money than that.”
“A good set of magic armor? I’d be able to fight without worrying about some monster clubbing my helmet in every five seconds.”
“If he gets arrested before we enter the Ruins—”
“So. A strange [Innkeeper] we’ve met. I’ve never met stranger, have you?”
“Ryoka.”
“We do—we do know that girl! We were in her company only two days ago.”
“Perhaps, but Yvlon needn’t have challenged her. That wasn’t a fair fight no matter how you look at it.”
“Well, since we’re on the topic of secrets…what’s the story behind you and this Pisces character? I thought I saw him last night, but you two hardly shared a word.”
“Um, how can we help you Miss, ah—Adventurer Pathseeker?”
“She was in Esthelm just two days ago!”
“What kind of magical artifact was that? Sostrom, I’m pinned. Can you—?”
“A half-Gazer? Is that what she was?”
“I only know the basics. She’s a Named-rank. And she served the King of Destruction. What more do you need from me?”
“If I had that, I could polish my sword skills. Rank up. Start earning a Gold-rank adventurer’s pay…”
“The entire incident was unfortunate.”
“I hope she doesn’t do anything rash.”
“You know what I mean.”
“A good sword.”
“It could be a while if these ruins are as deep as they seem.”
“Wait. You said—”
“And he was expelled for his experiments. Yes, I recall. But does he have any combat aptitude? We could hire him for the expedition.”
“Aren’t you being a little too harsh?”
“Um, pardon me. But you wouldn’t happen to be…?”
“Um yes, I mean, that’s correct. We are. All of us.”
“With us? You know our names?”
“Anything.”
“It was, ah, just a thought. We could use all the help we can get.”
“May I buy one?”
“One is fine. It may be quite useful, but I’ll trust to my usual preparations rather than rely on it.”
“The Reinharts, Veltras, Terland, Wellfar, and El families were the first Humans to ever settle on this continent. They were aristocracy—related to kings from the continent Terandria. They’re still very rich and influential today.”
“Beautiful. Crossbow Stan’s got the best ones I’ve seen, and he’ll go green with jealousy when he sees yours. What’s the range compared to a bow…? We should have you and Marian compete for range and accuracy and power.”
“Well, we’re all set here. We’ve got a battle plan worked out, and my team and The Horns of Hammerad are set. Menes says his folks have enough mana potions. The only group not accounted for is Gregor’s. Where is he?”
“Still. Do you think he’s going to teach her how to use a weapon? In a day?”
“I hope he goes easy on her. I’d hate for him to hurt her accidentally.”
“Um. We don’t need any seals? Any letters or proof we can enter?”
“How did you do that?”
“No, ah, it’s not that, Miss.”
“We do?”
“I believe you, but my [Dangersense] hasn’t gone off.”
“That explains why the crab ran off. But why is it afraid of a tiny bit of poison? It’s a lot bigger than we are.”
“We’re part of the Horns of Hammerad. We—and four other teams—put in a request a few days ago to enter the ruins as part of an expedition. We were wondering if we had permission—”
“Are you sure?”
“Did we find anyone useful?”
“Oh it’s just—”
“The longest battle we’ve had was against an undead Lich a while back. We ran out of potions, and half of our group could barely move from healing up. We can’t rely on magic for everything.”
“It may come in useful, Ceria. Besides, it shouldn’t break if I put it in my pack.”
“Fair point. Well, how do you want to tackle it? Freezing spells and then we charge in?”
“I mean, why does she need training? You saw how she handled that crab thing.”
“Oh?”
“A skeleton…cooking?”
“Take a good look at this.”
“Hit the rock?”
“That’s odd. Was that large rock there yesterday?”
“Well then, that makes things simpler. At least for now.”
“And this is your trump card for the expedition?”
“No worries. I’ve got that securely put away.”
“I’d like to go into the city and collect our share of the supplies. We also need to visit the Adventurer’s Guild to make sure we’re still cleared to enter the ruins. But, ah, we can’t go if that adventurer is still around.”
“Well, you saved our hides from a nasty encounter. That thing was big, and I don’t relish wasting any more healing potions before we go into the ruins.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, if we’re going in, we might as well go all in.”
“We’ve got an hour yet. Plenty of time. Let’s not rush things.”
“Dead gods, I saw it from far away, but up close, this is something else entirely.”
“Indeed we are. We and four other adventuring teams are going in.”
“…Not so much a feature as a code. We don’t break our promises. We don’t retreat, and if we have to abandon a job, we repay all we took in advance.”
“‘Death before dishonor.’”
“True.”
“I suppose we should be going. The meeting is about an hour’s time away, and we don’t want to be late. Is everyone finished?”
“We have enough supplies for at least four days. I doubt we’ll be down there that long unless we need to do excavation, though.”
“We’re not sure. I wouldn’t count on our return, but it could happen.”
“Ceria is just teasing you Mister, ah, Olesm. We are quite well known locally. It’s just that we’re hardly the only Silver-rank teams in the north. And if you count the coastal cities—well, there are a number of Gold-rank teams and adventurers up there, and we can hardly compare.”
“We specialize in monster slaying. If a troublesome group of monsters is infesting a region, we’re usually one of the first groups who answer the call. The Horns of Hammerad are a close-combat group. We close in and smash the enemy while our mages provide backup. Gregor’s Pride is the same.”
“Good at defense, coordination, strategy; a solid team. The Flawless Flights on the other hand do a lot of scouting work and hunting troublesome monsters that hide.”
“But they do have their own style. They prioritize all contracts with anything magic related. It’s their specialty, just like how Cervial has a lot of archers in his group and Yvlon’s team wears silver armor.”
“A crypt or a tomb is good because there’s probably treasure buried with the dead. But it usually means traps, ancient curses and hexes on the lids of tombs, and so on. Not to mention the undead.”
“The last adventuring Captain, ah, pulled out at the last moment.”
“Ah. Miss Erin. I hope you are recovering from your cold? We were intending to leave payment and go without bothering you, but you were up before we were.”
“Do it.”
“Any idea on how?”
“They’ve already hidden themselves again. If we keep going, we’ll just run into another ambush. Granted, we know it’s coming, but I’d rather not do that again.”
“How’d you know that would work?”
“Strike me blind, Calruz!”
“Sostrom!”
“Form on me! Horns of Hammerad, to me!”
“Of course!”
“Dead gods, this is a mess. Where are the others?”
“You know he’s never done this before. And he helped us get through that fight a lot more easily than we would have otherwise. Just don’t snap at him.”
“Any word on the other team’s progress?”
“Yeah.”
“Screaming.”
“Coffins.”
“Uneventful. We killed a few zombies, but they’re mostly cleared out here as well. Has Yvlon seen anything?”
“A warning? Who writes their warnings so—so cryptically?”
“This is where a Runner would have come in handy.”
“I know how you’re feeling. But he’s trying to be helpful.”
“That was disturbing, to say the least. But what does that mean?”
“Run!”
“Go. Run.”
“Run. I’ll—I’ll buy you some time.”
“Death before dishonor.”
“Run, damn you!”
“If—”
“He’s no idiot. But Yvlon has the right idea. Regardless of what’s in there, we can turn the passageway into a killing field. Even ten Crypt Lords wouldn’t survive a fully spelled passage if we combine resources.”
“We don’t know. But odds are that is what’s hiding behind that door Gregor and the others found. We should go back and let them know we’re in for a fight.”
“We’ve still got a ways to go. There’s plenty of chances the vault is just ahead.”
“Most likely. We just haven’t found it yet, and we’re all tired. Why don’t you go with Sostrom and check those rooms out?”
“Ceria!”
“Hey, what’s happening? Where are Gregor and—”
“Oh…Flowers of Izril. Five Families preserve us.”