Masada's Story Time Thread

[Seccom-Masada]

[I'm just gonna throw this up here and see how it fares. Mainly an attempt to develop a simple, fast artstyle while having a bit of fun.
If people like it, I'll try and update it more often. Basic Instructions: Control the protagonist by giving it suggestions, it will respond within reason.]

[Also open to suggestions on how to better format this.]

>It's taken you days to reach this place but here you are, just out of reach.
You stand outside an ancient Nadim temple to some even older human god whose name you don't care to remember.

>Your feet ache from hours of walking, you have no idea how to use the sword you've stolen, and you're very hungry. But you also have a personal vendetta. If what you were told is true, and if you've followed your map correctly, then this old place of worship may hold the key to its conclusion.

link

>Only problem is... you've been here for a while and can't seem to get the damn door open.

link

>You are currently annoyed at the turn of events.
>Please suggest an action.
>_

link

[Fi Skirata]

>Knock on the door

[Mr. Fountain]

First of all, let's do an inventory check.

>Lay all of our items out on the ground to double-check what we have.

[Nexeria]

>Who needs keys?! Barrel through the door full force!

[Seccom-Masada]

>Knock on the door
>You approach the door and knock as loudly as you can manage.
...but nobody came. What a surprise.

Link

>Who needs keys?! Barrel through the door full force!
>Now there's an idea you can get behind!
You get a running start and shoulder-charge at the stone door as hard as you can!

Link

>You hear a faint popping noise... and then you feel a sharp pain in your shoulder.
You realize this wasn't the best of ideas.
Though it seems that managed to break at least SOMETHING...

Link

>Lay all of our items out on the ground to double-check what we have.
>After flailing about pain, you feel the next logical course of action is to check your belongings.

Link

INVENTORY:
OLD SCIMITAR - Pilfered from a corpse you found who obviously no longer needed it. Sized for a human, and therefore a bit large and unwieldy for you. A bit rusty and covered with scratches. You know nothing of swordplay other than "stick'm with the pointy end".

WEATHERED CLOTHES - Your clothes. Mundane, yet comfortable.

DUST SHROUD - A type of garment common in the deserts and dust-bowls of Harik-Nadima. Designed to protect someone from the violent winds in dust and sandstorms.

OVERSIZED SCARF - Made for a human, and therefore too big for you. Given to you before you left on your trek up here.

[Fi Skirata]

>Look around for any switches or mechanisms, door's gotta open somehow, yeah?

[Nexeria]

>Drop to your knees and pray for it to open.

[Mr. Fountain]

>Look in the shrubs near the door

[Megantron]

>Go somewhere else

[Seccom-Masada]

>Drop to your knees and pray for it to open.
>You aren't a very religious person. You aren't even sure which god one should pray to for something like that...

>Look in the shrubs near the door
>Look around for any switches or mechanisms, door's gotta open somehow, yeah?
>Right, yeah, this thing. You've used it already. The first thing you did when you got here was fiddle with this obvious switch, only... it doesn't do anything!
You've flipped it several times, but nothing happens. It doesn't even make any mechanical noises you'd expect a switch to.

Link

You wonder if it's broken or if the designers of this place enjoy elaborate pranks.
Then the pain in your shoulder and the pointlessness of this switch causes your annoyance to advance into angry frustration!
You give the "switch" a good, enraged kick.

Link

...it easily busts to pieces. That was unexpec- *CLANG!*

Link

The door jerkily slides upward, making several strained, mechanical noises. If the gods exist, you wonder what sort of trick they are playing on you.

Link

>Go somewhere else
>After all the time it took to get here, you'd rather not leave empty-handed.
Plus you finally got the door open. Nothing beats proper application of rage!

[Mr. Fountain]

>Go into the door

[Thade]

>Call out into the darkness.

[Mr. Fountain]

>Call out into the darkness.

Spooky.

[Fi Skirata]

>Ready your sword as best you can and venture forward

[Seccom-Masada]

PROLOGUE BEGIN

>Go into the door
>you approach the door and look inside, only...

Link

It's dark, you can't see anything at all except a bit of tiled floor that the sunlight reveals.

>Call out into the darkness.
>You call into the pitch blackness.
"Hello? Anyone in here...?"

Link

Your voice echoes a little, but no one answers. It's eerily quiet in here.
Probably also a bad time to remind yourself that you are slightly afraid of the dark.

>Ready your sword as best you can and venture forward
>You pull the OLD SCIMITAR out from your sash. Yes, definitely not the right size for you. The blade is almost as long as you are tall and the handle is too short for your large hands. Still, it's better than nothing.

Link

You move forward a little to where the tiling begins, feeling along the wall.

Link

*CLICK!*
Something causes the torches on the wall to catch fire, lighting up the room. That's actually pretty nea-

Link

You hear something behind you slam down with a thundering crash, throwing dust everywhere.

Link

[Mr. Fountain]

>HOLYFUCKHOLYFUCKHOLYFUCK PRY IT BACK OPEN! WE CAN'T BE STUCK IN HERE! HOLYSHIT!

[Megantron]

>Run blindly forward with sword at the ready.

[Seccom-Masada]

>HOLYFUCKHOLYFUCKHOLYFUCK PRY IT BACK OPEN! WE CAN'T BE STUCK IN HERE! HOLYSHIT!
>you quickly scramble over to the now closed stone door. You try everything: banging on it, getting a handhold on the underside, trying to pry it up with your sword...
but nothing you try works. The door is sealed tight, and you're apparently trapped.

Link

>Run blindly forward with sword at the ready.
>The sudden claustrophobic atmosphere gets to you a little and you feel an urge to run down the nearest hall, madly swinging your sword around.
However, you manage to steel yourself. What if you triggered another pressure plate? You shudder to think what another one would even do.
Though you really do need to find a way out of here and, preferably, pick up what you came for.
At the very least, you stare down the hall and consider your options.

Link

There are three paths: a big and ornate stone door directly in front of you, a plain wooden door to your left, and a door that's not a door at all to your right. Other than doors, there are some statues that look like part of the far door, some sort of plaque on the wall, and a shiny thing in the floor.

[Thade]

>Read the plaque.

[Mr. Fountain]

>Pick up the shiny thing off the floor

[Fi Skirata]

>Identify the shiny thing as well.

[Nexeria]

>Examine the statues as well.

[Seccom-Masada]

>Read the plaque.
>You approach the plaque on the wall. Looks like there's runes etched in.

Link

...you have no idea what this says.

>Pick up the shiny thing off the floor
>Identify the shiny thing as well.
>You multitask.
Well, you know for sure it's made of metal. But you have no idea what it actually is.
It ...looks like a lockpick? But it's too thick and there's some sort of hole on the other end.
You pocket it just in-case.
ACQUIRED: METAL PIECE.

Link

>Examine the statues as well.
>You get a closer look at the statues. They both look nearly identical. You remember hearing about how the Nadim once worshipped two sister goddesses, one of life and one of death; these two statues seem to fit their descriptions. You cannot, however, remember their names.

Link

One of them is holding some sort of shiny, blue crystal ball. The other is holding nothing.

[Mr. Fountain]

>First, take a moment to appreciate how good we look

>Take the shiny ball

[Nexeria]

>Take the one of the torches. IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE!

>Now, venture into the spooky dark room on the right side of the corridor.

[Sponsored content]