Endgame

If that restriction cannot by any means by dodged, perhaps have your hero fall comatose? (In regards to how Daxus was so brutally killed though, I don't think any amount of magic can keep someone alive when they've been impaled through the stomach, kidney, liver, heart, lungs, jugular, and ribcage.)

"Excuse me for a moment, Boomingham." I go over to Karie and the rather spiteful Monk. "Monk, I must ask you this with the sincerest of curiosity: Who was it that taught you the ways of your religion? I see you are an effective preacher, judging by my granddaughter's interest, but I must admit you are the first man to follow Theleg Oco that I have ever seen in my 400 or so years. Who did you learn from?"

"My name would be Pius, but I'm sure my siblings would simply respond to you by the color of our hides. Except the yellow, wheezy fellow - he's our elder by a few weeks, actually. His name is Punii." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Are you okay, Karie? You looked like you saw something icky on the quest board. Did one of these inky demons or something get ink on it? Or is it something else?" ---------------------------------------------------- "War isn't *wheeze* the right word... I think we're infiltrating his base, really, not warring it out on *cough* some snowy battlefield. I heard that *wheeze* thousands of people all over Olegaia are sailing to his base, though, to claim some treasure in his base. No such thing exists, though..." ------------------------------------ "I've done some horrible, horrible things, but I knew they were wrong, Boomingham. Sometimes, greed, vengeance, vanity... They can take precedent over your moral, sometime. Morality isn't absolute, but it isn't as loose as you think."

"I know, Em, and thank you very much for trying. *wheeze* I've fought him before, you know. Even when losing was his end goal, he was nearly impossible to beat. He tore his body in half, and some horrible, *cough* horrible monster slithered out of it... He said it was his "true form" or *wheeze* something, and he called it "Perfect Regret..."" Solon and Fydelle? They've been *wheeze* super busy, and super productive too. We almost had to restart from square one, but we're getting there." --------------------------------------- "He's gonna try... There's a quest listing on that questboard thingy, The Regret himself set it up. I wonder why? Do you think Heroica will let him win, Karie?" -------------------------------------------- The purple larva turns to address Alexander. "Greetings and salutations, Hunter! I presume that you are a member of Heroica?" ------------------------------------------------- "Nerwen was right. But they shouldn't have to be good when you need them to be good - they should be good whenever good is needed. Morality and right and wrong revolve around none of us, Boomingham. None of us are truly righteous, and almost nobody is entirely evil. I would always try forgiving, no matter the situation, and resort to other methods if need be. Besides... if they were being evil, Heroica hall would've caught wind of it - it would've been plastered all over the quest board by now." I chuckle.

I'm running out of botched Sand Queen names.

"Punii got a request from one of your leaders!" "Yeah, the Dust Duchess or whatever her name was wanted Punii to help beat up bad guys." "And we wanted fresh air!" "Therefore, with Fydelle and Solon's permission, we followed Punii up." "Yeah, I got a *wheeze* letter from the Sand Queen. Em, I... I think she fears The Regret." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The yellow one watching over us is a friend, but yup, the rest of us are all brothers... I, uh, never mentioned this before, but we're kinda sorta the sons of the leader of all the Proggs... And stuff. So, yeah, me and my brothers have kinda just been exploring the colony while daddy picks up the pieces and whatever. The yellow progg there, Punii, has been hired by one of your Veterans - the Sediment Sovereign, I think her name was? - to fight a big bad demon guy named The Regret." The proggling looks down in sadness. "The same bad guy who tore our home apart... He's a very very very bad guy, my daddy says. He says he "likes to think he's a God", whatever that means... And he leads these horrible demon things too. They're floaty inky squid thingies with one eye..." ----------------------------------------------- "Point taken, Boomingham - I didn't think of it that way. But the others - you think they're beyond redemption?"

"Betrayal. But that was one of nine. The way you explained it, it sounded like an even split in the party... If you think about it that way, Boomingham, they probably see you as a traitor too. I'm not pointing fingers, friend - I wasn't there, and besides, I have no right to judge. I'd have to know what happened before I could really say anything else."

Perhaps: Caught Off Guard: This enemy didn't expect such a speedy assault from the heroes. All attacks from the front row pierce this enemy's SP.

Just need the Toxikita sets to complete the theme, huzzah!

"...Define betrayal. I don't know the situation nor the man. It sounds like there wasn't a betrayal, but rather, a schism, if that makes any sense - the party's ideologies split."

"More than a lot, Boomingham, but you're quite right. Way i see it, the first two options - forgetting, letting it smolder - are both run. Memories can be like a road, catching up to you. You can stand still and let them overtake you. You can run, but eventually you'll stumble, and you'll get you even then. I spent four centuries, running endlessly, remaking my lifestyle over and over to get away from bad memories, and I think I was a worse man because of it. My advice? face it head on. memories are fickle things, Boomingham. They can devour you, they can be your salvation... Sometimes both. But above all else, they're usually false. i've had bad memories turn out to be good, and even the best of my memories turn out to be rancid after all. Now, is there anything bothering you, Boomingham, or are you just... pondering?" -------------------------------------------------- Em is flanked by a horde of happy Progg children. "Hi, Em!" "Hello!" "Great to see you!" "Most joyous salutations to you!" "The colony has been rebuidling! Lots of construction. Plus, there's a "baby boom", whatever that is... But we're doing well." "Didn't expect to *wheeze* run into you, Em... Although it IS Heroica *cough* Hall, I guess. Good to see you!" Punii's enthusiasm fizzles for a bit, his tone becoming somber a she glances at the questboard. "...So, you're signed up for *cough, wheeze* The Regret's "quest", aren't you? I saw your name..." --------------------------------------------- The orange Progg larva goes up to Karie, slinking away from his siblings and Punii for a bit. Karie recalls the little Progg as the one who told her he believed she was a good hero. He happily chirps: "Hello, Miss Karie! How are you?"

And here's the next slew of NPCs - some old favorites!

As a new influx of heroes enters Heroica Hall, six creatures wriggle into the building, the smallest keeping the largest in line. "Largest" was something of a misnomer, though, as none of the creatures were any larger than a standard dog. However, their spiny tails were quite large, guiding their slithery movement. The yellow one approaches the questboard, and signs it. The tiny Proggs scatter the hall, skittering around in the hall. "Ooh! Heroica hall!" "There's heroes!" "Well, duh, of course there is..." "What lovely architecture..." "And stuff!" The runtish one practically collapses, gasping for breath. "Oogh, not sure what was *wheeze* tougher... Getting here, dragging that stool to the *cough* questboard, or watching them... But, wow, Heroica hall! I forgot just how *wheeze* big this place was...!" All would be up for a chat if approached, by the looks of it. ------------------------------------------------------ I laugh as well. "I'm sure we all can, but it's good to be back... By Helvetia, felt like i talked to you three months ago, Boomingham, but it must've been almost a year at this point... Time flies, and in more ways than one. Pull up a seat, and we can attempt catching up." I grimace at the various worms skittering along the hall. "Well, aren't those little critters... unique, shall we say..."

I'm on mobile so I'll try to keep this brief, but you're right, Zepher. My reasoning was that it kept me at least partially invested in the action. Sorrow really would've devolved into one line responses if I didn't artificially invest myself. I HATE being an inactive questee, but what I did was too much. Reason doesn't equal justified, though, as this has shown.

"Tired, but still alive, Boomingham. How have you fared?

"That she is. I suspect she's getting married to the Syndicate boss pretty soon - weird twist of fate if I've ever saw one."

"Sounds nasty - we encountered something similar, a sun demon who had a penchant for exploding. We had shades, too. Duplicates of ourselves, even, brought to life by an archdemon. With my prognosis, yes, bonding is important. I don't suppose you've met my granddaughter - Karie Alderflask?"

"I don't really... Need monetary rewards, at this point. But yes, it was a pretty good chunk of change. And at least I saved some lives, and did some family bonding between the perilous battles." I sigh and take a sip of water. "You do anything interesting?"

"Unbelievably. Seventy three suicidal students to save and thirteen or so different demons to take down... It was taxing, especially due to other... factors. Here's one: The quest took place in the void. It felt like we spent maybe 36 hours in there... But we walk out, and it turns out it's been six months. Six whole months, just gone... Could be worse, eh? Could almost always be worse, really."

"How goes the battle, Em?"

I trudge into the hall, eyes glazed over from the exhausting quest. My cape dragging against the ground, I unceremoniously plop into the first stool I can find.

Don't worry - when I first joined, I thought a good quest idea was "Chaos god opens space portals to drop chaos nukes!" Trust me, you're doing ten times as well as I did when I first got into the game.

Advanced classes may not be suggested, but Expert Classes can.

I see you took me up on my warning about not reading mine, then.