After too long of an interim, we finally have a story post! Enjoy, even if only for a bit- this one's going to be pretty light text-wise, despite this being a climactic turn of the Act.
<STORY POST>
Persecles pushes himself up to a kneel, pushing away the trauma plague's spear left in him. Ninjatwist_ approaches him, sword in hand, however, he lowers the blade as he gets closer- the Major isn't a threat anymore. Persecles gives a blank, defeated stare, displaying in the battle's gashes like marks of shame.
NINJATWIST_: So, Major Persecles, what do you have to say? You've made a mess out of your army and ours.
PERSECLES: I’m afraid I’ve made a dreadful mistake.
PERSECLES: I’ve blundered and assumed wrongly to your purposes.
PERSECLES: I owe you my service, and that of my men. It wouldn’t be just otherwise.
NINJATWIST_: You're pretty repentant about what you did- I'll let you live. Might be stupid of me, though- how can I trust you?
PERSECLES: I swear on my life. I'm not in a position to try betraying you, player.
NINJATWIST_: Fair enough. How can you help us? We sure could use it.
PERSECLES: I would like to help you fight those who summoned the demons to our world- most likely the dark-robed player I glanced earlier before. His aura was... deeply sinister.
NINJATWIST_: I'm not sure about what demons you're talking about, since I didn't see anything looking like them, but the Acolyte's going to take some time and a lot more effort to defeat. He's got a pretty large army of expendable Mooks- they have a nasty tendency to pop up in large numbers and swamp us.
PERSECLES: I understand- I'll have more of my army mobilized immediately to deal with this Acolyte's legion of foot soldiers.
Persecles, still trying to overcome his wounds, shuffles over to his dejected troops and signals to one of his cavalrymen, still healthier than the other soldiers who were injured to varying degrees in the fighting.
PERSECLES: Saurid rider! Call for medical attention for me, and these poor soldiers. Quickly- And bring backup troops! We will need them.
The mounted soldier obeys dutifully, patting his animal on the side as it gallops into the surrounding sea.
Before you go with Ninjatwist_ following, Persecles utters some last remarks and notices.
PERSECLES: I must wait here, my injuries will make it nearly impossible for me to fight, and my soldiers will not last long at all. I will rejoin you swiftly as soon as medical care arrives for us.
PERSECLES: Good luck, players, and fight wisely!
With goodbyes said to the Major and his troops, you head further down the beach for the next encounter with the Acolyte.
As you walk away to the next scene, the Pro-Acolyte players appeal to the Anti-Acolytes. They were unified enough while fighting Persecles, and after seeing the Acolyte's contempt for his minions, they've decided to take a chance with their former enemies. It'll be a lot better than certainly getting backstabbed, is it not? Looking forward to new friendships and trusts, both factions shake hands and agree on their single goal.
The Pro-Acolyte faction has been player-locked! All presently Pro-Acolyte players have been transferred to the Anti-Acolyte side.
// Sorry, but this was crucial to keep the game flow healthy. I did warn you guys previously, right?
Unified, all of you present march forwards towards the Acolyte's next hiding spot.
</EPISODE 6>
<END OF ACT 1>
<BEGIN ACT 2 (title="Battle and Tension")>
<Ī̳͈̝̜̹̏̿̇̓N͓̣̣̗̲͗̂̍̍͐B̢̲͉̥̍͑̉͊͑͜O͚̼͔̹̬̓̈̓͠͝Û̞̺͉̠̫̓̀̂̕N̛̛͎͇͈̦̳̊̈͆D͙̦̬̭͕̎̐́̈͘ ̻̬̼̲͕̀̐̔̽̉Ǻ̫̹͕̩̭̏͗̚N͍͖̜̄́̓̀͑ͅͅÖ̧͓̙̬́̑͆͊̕ͅM̢̳̻͙̦̄̊̐͗͝A͈̘̯̮̰̒̓̈́̎͂L̡͎̳̹̰̏̎͛͘͝O̯͓̬̞̅̿͗̆̕ͅǗ̼̭̮̞̬̾̀̾̓Ş̨̻̩͍̈́̆̔̄͝ ̡̞̗̱̊̍͛͗̿͜I̮͙͈̭̩̔͂͆̎͋N̤̘̜̘̊̋͛̄͝ͅŢ̡͙̦̩̏͋̔̌͐Ȩ̜̬̟̙̔̄̍͗͊R̤̺̫̥̱̎̅̑̂͘F͚͈͓̱̗̆̍̆́͠Ę̭̳̥̼̈́͂͛͒͐R̫̯͍̖̩̉̀̄̈̓E̛̪̣̖̥͐̒̅̊ͅN͍͈̟̤̱͌͑̈́̆̂Ḉ̢͔͊͒̓̓͜͜Ȅ̠̱̙̤̒̅̇̉͜>
"Such an interesting situation."
"My vision is becoming clearer now... Your world is a brilliant experience, even despite how faintly I see its light."
"My senses are weak currently- but I await the days when I am truly aware and living, instead of confined behind these minute peepholes."
"I think you wonder behind this veil of cryptic speech, and I understand you completely. I know this doesn't help presently, but take comfort that you will- in time."
<INTERFERENCE BLOCKED>
<EPISODE 1>
<title="Union">
You make your way through the beach, following the Acolyte's trail. His figurative scent is getting thinner, yet you are still itching for a fight. If you don't find something related to the Acolyte soon, you might take your anger out on the nearby mobs. The Acolyte's trail leads through a savannah bordering the beach- hopefully some form of action will come in here. The slender blades of grass graze you gently as you pass them.
Wandering through the foliage, you notice some darkly-covered shapes crouching through the brush. Some kind of animal? Doubtful. A breed of modded-in monster? Possible, but not the case. However, the figures become obvious and distinct- slowly but surely, their forms take shape.
MOOK: Hey, it's those guys from the beach! Get your guns ready, everyone!
A set of Mooks rise from the grasses, readying their weapons and calling their friends. Thankfully, you're ready for this- with your doubled counts, you're well-prepared for anything that would challenge you- Acolyte's minions or not! You and your buddies pose intimidatingly, ready to fight off this attack as you have all others.
</STORY POST>
That's the story post! Thanks for sticking through this- I know it's been a while. I'll be getting the gameplay post out sometime this weekend, possibly Saturday if I'm lucky, although I have many more obligations to get through on that day. I'll point out the Spoil of War in the gameplay post, so don't panic!
Stay tuned!