Stille Skakel
Silent Connection- Vol.1:Iss#005
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This week
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Story
The 67th floor of the FlintGarde Dungeon, out of a charted and known 72 floors, was shrouded in mystery. It was said that long before the Bolting, the ancient empire of Hovi had met a monstrous calamity. The lower levels of the dungeon were less like caverns and more like an underground city
As I fled from the Qatirah, its snarls echoing behind me, I raced through a large, dark hall with vaulted ceilings and ruined statues. The beauty of the place would have left me in awe if I weren't frantically racking my brain. The 67th floor! How had I ended up here? I hadn't been here when I died. As my Soul Infusion faded, pain seared through me, bringing me to my knees. I'd heard rumors about this place; floors 60 and below were considered raid territory, requiring at least 20 men to attempt. And here I was, on my first resurrection back, already dying.
I glanced at my Stamina bar and watched another stock tick away. Conserving my energy was crucial; pushing myself wouldn't help my wounds. surveyed the grand hall and noticed a flash of light in a far corner. Biting through the pain, I stood up and made my way quietly toward the light.
I mentally mapped my path, wondering why the Qatirah hadn't followed. There had been a body, and I'd absorbed its soul. Was the beast merely protecting its meal? No matter, I had escaped and survived. Now, I needed to master my abilities. I heard shuffling beyond the threshold where I'd seen the flash of light. Another blue flash made shadows dance across the floor. I pressed myself against a crumbling statue, studying my HUD and reviewing the tooltips of my abilities. It was better to get my bearings now rather than stumbling into another fight.
Soul Battery: The Tsafar Collector can store the souls they collect in a soul battery within themselves, allowing them to fuel their abilities without needing to constantly drain souls from enemies. However, if the soul battery is empty, the Tsafar Collector's stamina will rapidly decrease. 💠 💠 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
Soul log: *new*Flint Engineer
It made sense why my Stamina kept flashing. I needed another soul to sustain me and stop these wounds. Which would mean another fight... I kept reading. Soul log?
Soul log: The Tsafar Collector can view the memories and experiences of the last moments of the souls they have collected, giving unique insights into their lives and past actions. The log also keeps a record of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as any special abilities or knowledge they possessed.
This could come in handy I thought. . But would it incapacitate me? With the unknown beyond the archway, there was no telling how long it would take.But the name of the soul was intriguing. What was one of the FlintGarde doing down here alone? I shook my head, I decided to study my abilities first.
I'd already used three of my abilities on instinct. The Soul Plumbata, Tether and Infusion. It seemed the Plumbata was my main source of damage, it was best in mid ranges. And I would need to pick my targets more carefully.
The Infusion I'd used on instinct but knowing about the Log meant I could plan my strategy more thoroughly as I used my Infusions in future battles.
But the Tether seemed to be my equalizer, it reflected back any damage dealt, that's what took out the first one that got a hold of me. It didn't just reflect but amplified the attack which meant the strong the opponent the more useful the Tether became.
I grinned, realizing the potential of my abilities once I developed a game plan. I examined my last untried ability.
Life Tap: Tsafar Collectors touch Can drain the life force from enemies to heal themselves or their allies.
Unlike the tether which didn't require the enemy to be that close I would need to touch them to use the Life Tap. I heard more shifting and the sound of metal against stone coming from the archway. I had two options: go back and face the Qatirah or venture through the archway. I looked at my slowly draining Stamina. Whatever I faced, I needed to get close enough to strike with my Tether and improvise from there.
Taking a deep breath, I cautiously crept through the archway.
I stood there, rooted in place, as the creature from my visions in the Tsafar, the Hyrlin Yjo, appeared before me. My chest tightened, and my pulse raced. The room resembled a massive silo, a grotesque art gallery filled with sarcophagi at various stages of completion. Some floated lazily in the air as if on display and this creature was diligently at work on what seemed to be another.
It stopped as I entered the space and turned to look at me. The creature's sudden attention on me made my skin prickle. With one set of eyes eerily human and another set faceted like a fly's, it towered over me nearly four heads. Its robes concealed a powerful presence that sent shivers down my spine.
Before I could reach for my soul abilities, my mind was bombarded with images: my body handed over by the Reefkeepers, brought to this workshop, and prepared for the inevitable. The scent of incense and burial salts filled the air, accompanied by an unfamiliar hymn. The images nearly brought me to my knees. There was no malice, no threat. But why?.
“I don't understand.” I said out loud.
The creature approached, its long finger touching my forehead. A surge of energy and life coursed through me, healing my wounds and refilling my stamina. More images washed over me—countless others, strangers from the past, all under this creature's care.
“I'm not the first one to meet this fate then?” It nodded pointing at me and then to the Sarcophagus it was working on. I stepped closer and my own face stared back at me. I studied it for a long time.
“So each one is for a Farvorn then?” It nodded again. “You are what then a care giver, a guide?”Images of other Farvorns laid to rest filled my mind.
"I see," I murmured, gazing at the sarcophagi reaching high into the ceiling. So many souls trapped here.I could only imagine not every Farvorn went willing. "No cure for immortality, then? A countermeasure for my kind?"
It didn't nod this time no images were pushed into my mind it simply stared at me.
“Well how do I get out of here? You're supposed to be some kind of caretaker so take care.”
It bowed slightly and turned to walk back into the grand hall. I followed, my guard still up, a growing unease with the sheer number of sarcophagi gnawing at me. I etched the place into my memory, just in case.
The creature pointed back the way I had come.
“Are you insane I just came from there and nearly died!”
More images flooded my mind: another burial bed with a passage beneath it, countless Farvorns battling for the right to leave.
“If I can't leave this place then I don't deserve this life then?” I said with resignation
The creature turned back into the archway, resuming its work and leaving me in the hall, weighing my options.
Next week
I tackle the Qatirah once again. This time with a far better understanding of my own abilities. The Flint Engineer's Soul will also be something to look into more next time.
Bones and Mechanics
There were some pretty awesome moments this week. The chaos factor was bumped up to 8 after last session and I am going to bump it back down to 7 since we ended the session having to make a choice and not being thrust into anything right away.
Kes-qa has been healed and has a bit more information on her class but this the 67th floor which means there is more for us to explore. So the question is do we explore or head straight for the exit. Exploration could lead to some boons or other. Also we can note that Kes-qa will have a hard time getting lost due to her previous life. It would take us away from her main thread which is to find Ayetha. So, I think another poll is in order.
Fellowship
A new addition to the fellowship this week. Jesse Lee over at Epic Solo does a fantastic job of creating an immersive story with minis. He is currently in season two of his campaign and running OSE(old school essentials).
Huge congrats to DC once again over at GFA! for reaching 300 subs! Don't forget to check out his Frontier and Space Idiots Campaigns.
The Master Rogue Campaign Over at P&D-Peoplz & Dragonz has just gone Multiplayer! Make sure you get in on the action and watch the Director bring your character to life!
Royce makes DIY look so painfully easy and fun over at SFA-Science Fantasy Awesome! If you like weird, whimsical and wacky this is the place for you.
Noah over at TR-Table Ready is not only a fantastic storyteller but he is using ChatGPT in some pretty novel ways. Not only that he has tutorials on how you can do the same!
Thanks again for reading and don't forget to drop a comment or leave a note!