[Graduation Dungeon] Riley (Fin)

[Nio Love]

Any attempt to kidnap Riley in her sleep was partially futile. She did not sleep most nights, and when she did, she was never alone. It was a night when she had chosen to meditate in her room, that the gnomes came. She was awake, when they came; and they were prepared. Something in the air disabled her. She screamed into their minds, even as her limp body slid into its bag and was carried off. With each passing moment, she knew less and less of them were staying to drag her - and when they finally dropped her at the floor of the dungeon, there was just one slow, huffing gnome left. She made a grab for him, tentacles and all, but all she touched was empty air.

Oh, how she loathed the gnomes and their slippery magics.

Sitting up to see where she'd been taken, her eyes rose immediately to the banner; a silent explanation for the actions the gnomes had taken in the night.

But of course, this is a school affair. She grumbled to herself, as she stood up to head in. At first, she'd assumed it was a trick. But this excuse afforded her the luxury of not needing to extract homicidal revenge on any gnome she saw from this day forth.

Perhaps just a kick or two.  

[Nio Love]

So, graduation came in the form of a dungeon. This seemed both acceptable and typical for the system of education she'd taken part in for the last few years. In fact, as she stepped into the room and it warped under her feet, she steeled herself for the inevitable. But no amount of steeling could prepare her for what was to come.

There was no giant monster.

No Hunter waiting to tear her core out.

No Malodore, dead at her feet.

Just one, single Illithid, stepping out of the mist. One lone warrior, dressed in full battle regalia, with his shoulder ripped and bloody. One very pleased looking man, standing like a mirror image in front of her.

I've missed that face.

Riley took a step back, and immediately regretted it. It exposed her, and she felt him shift, as their positions flipped. He took dominance, without moving a muscle. And she lost it.

She felt a burning sensation, across her shoulder. When she looked, a symbol was blazing red on her skin, branding into her. She covered it with her hand as it scorched her, sending pain rippling through her body. She knew he was coming closer; she could smell him, through the fog of burning flesh. His hand rested on her shoulder, and slowly pushed her down to her knees. Eventually, he followed.

Long, clawed fingers wrapped around her chin. He pulled her face towards him, while his other hand pushed hers away from her shoulder. She could see his eyes flickering to the mark, now etched black and permanent on her skin.

A slow and satisfied sigh escaped Andeon through his tentacles.

Mine, now.

The words triggered a flood, as he pried open her mind and forced her to re-connect with the hivemind. They dove into her memories, stealing every last remnant of the life that she could remember. Then, they opened that loose, rattling door, and stole the memories that she could not remember. They worked to strip her of everything that made her who she was, leaving Malodore for last.

But it, too, was taken.

When Riley was left with nothing but a shell of who she'd become, Andeon picked her up, and carried her in his arms. As he walked, he felt the limp release of her muscles relaxing against him, and chuckled incredulously.

Who are you? He asked, as he carried her away.

Her head rested on his torn, bloody shoulder.

I don't know, anymore.  

[Nio Love]

She was laid on the floor of the next room, abandoned. When the world returned to normal, she realized she had all of her memories intact. Her hand immediately rose to touch her shoulder, feeling the smooth, unmarred skin there. One moment of weakness had her head turning to look at the door behind her, just as it locked.

She stood, and touched it. Was he beyond that door? Or was he truly dead?

The dungeon was playing tricks on her, she resolved. As most challenges do.

She moved swiftly to the middle of the room she was in, and once more the world changed. At least this time there was more to look at than one person. Much more - the room warped into an entire city, at her feet. A human city.

What a delightful turn of events.

Riley walked the streets, unhindered by the rules that normally applied to her kind. She heard the screams of those who saw her - a dark, ominous shadow creeping up on them. A giggle escaped her, and she stifled it in embarrassment. As fun as it was, she wanted a more specific target. She wanted to feel the Fear of a fully horrified human coursing through her. She wanted to feed.

A tall, professional looking building loomed ahead of her. She walked in without a single human noticing - everyone seemed too busy, or lost in their own thoughts. Surely something important occurred here.

Her heeled clacked against the floor of a quiet hallway filled with doors. She looked through them, one by one, until she found what she was looking for.

The room had a monitor beeping rhythmically. Machines were hooked up to the young man laying in the bed, his eyes closed as medicine and time worked to restore his injured body. And he was handsome. Sickeningly handsome.

But his face was marred by three beautiful, deep scars. An animal attack, perhaps. Or something much closer to home.

She closed in on him, and laid her hands on his face. Her sharp claws fit perfectly into the three grooves that sliced across his eye. His good eye opened when she touched him, and the monitor began to beep at an escalated rate. His body rolled off wave, after wave of Fear, and she breathed in deep as it filled her.

Mmmmm. She moaned, letting it all soak in. I could get used to this.  

[Nio Love]

reroll  

[Nio Love]

"And we're back. Today's guest is an award winning novelist, writer of the best seller and number one book on GrueReads list for three months running, Ms. Riley! It's a real pleasure to have you on our humble radio show Ms. Riley."

....

"Great! So let's get right to it. The biggest question on all of our minds concerning your book, The Secrets in the Silence, fantastic book by the way, couldn't put it down - so the burning question everyone's asking is - is this book based on real life incidents, or is it purely fiction?"

....

"Really! I never would have guessed that. I mean, I had my theories, but - well, now we all know! You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen, straight from the author's mouth - so to speak - herself. Just. Just amazing. So tell me, where do you get your inspiration from, other than the obvious?"

....

"Oh my. Can we even say that on the air? Bobby, can we say that on the air or are we-"

The whining sound of a feed cutting in filled the air as someone from the booth turned their mic on. "Tabatha, we haven't heard a single word she's said."

The radio host turned slowly to look at the Illithid sitting quietly in front of a mic, that was pointed at her face, picking up absolutely nothing. "Ah, we seem to be having some technical difficulties, ladies and gentlemen, please stand by- I am so sorry, Ms. Riley, it turns out people can't actually hear you!"

Riley's face lifted in lieu of a smile. I know.  

[Nio Love]

It wasn't exactly clear when things had changed. The only things that were clear, were in front of her. She stood on a balcony, with both of her hands gripping the edge tightly. Every bone in her body sang with pleasure, because she could feel the vibrations of millions of people below her, cheering and screaming with delight. The masses had swelled to disproportionate levels, all craning for just a look at their new mayor.

No. Mayor was such an outdated term. She'd gone so far beyond the rank, taken so much more power than Arel could have ever yielded. She took, and took, until there was nothing left of Halloweentown that did not bow down to her. And they did it willingly - they sank to their knees and begged for nothing but her rule.

They were desperate.

She took advantage of that.

Her hand rose up to wave, and the volume of sound shook the very foundations of the building she stood on. As she looked at every single face, lifted in adoration, she realized this was everything she'd ever wanted.

She turned, her expression lifting in fondness as her eyes rested on one very familiar sight.

Eris.

Kill them all.

When she turned to walk back inside from the balcony, she heard the screams of adoration turn to screams of horror, and her expression lit up in delight.

They were all she'd ever wanted. But now she knew better.  

[Nio Love]

Check.

He looked at the move that his weapon had just instructed him to take against him. The chessboard was set up for two, but he was the only one sitting there. Still, she told him where to move the black pieces when it was her turn, and he moved the white. They'd played four games now, and she'd won every single one.

"It kind of feels like cheating, playing against someone who is in your head."

I could say the same to you. I have nothing to hide from you, mia cara.

He chuckled at the lie, and reset the board.

A siren filled the air, and he was on his feet in minutes, shrugging his hunter coat on. The portal to the Haunted House had been breached, and monsters were dropping out of it in waves. Every Hunter was called in to fight, including him.

Orders were shouted. He followed them; he was just a trainee, expendable at best, but he was determined to do his best. His fingers brushed the silver bracelet around his wrist, and it glowed, warping until it grew into a long, thick, twisted whip. The whip wrapped lovingly around his arm, and extended past a set of claws that now covered his hand. They reached out, longing for a fight.

She begged him for a taste. He obliged, lashing out at the first monster he could find. She left them with a vicious scar across the face, the whip vines snapping violently against them. His first victim fell before he could even get a charge.

But he picked another.

She knew there was something wrong, the moment the whip touched the hard shell of the mask it was wearing. She did no damage, and the monster wasn't even fighting back. It was - it was healing others. Their attack had not even phased it.

Something about that infuriated her, and he felt it deep in his own psyche. It enraged him, as well.

"Let's bring it down, mia cara."

The monster's healing stopped, and it turned those lensed eyes up towards the Hunter who spoke. He could see something in them flicker, from his face, to the purple whip around his arm. There, it froze, and did not move, even as she came for it again and again. Her whips were tearing it up, leaving it lying on the floor sorely damaged. The hunter rose up to stand above the creepy looking monster, victorious as he prepared to unleash his Fear.

All the monster could see was the dark silhouette of the man above it, when a burst of tiny specks of light flared out behind him. Tiny little purple crystals, rotating in the air, vibrating with energy, and forming a loose winged shape. She felt the moment coming, like a tidal wave.

It reached up when it saw them, and whispered something that almost made her fail. But her hunter was there for her, expending the Fear attack where she could not. The tiny crystals came crashing down on the monster at his feet, vivisecting it into thousands of pieces as they filled it's body.

And for it's last moments, Riley and Malodore were together once more.  

[Nio Love]

Once the scene ended, and she saw a doorway, she ran to the next room full speed ahead. Of all of the sights, she realized that one had disturbed her the most. Perhaps it was the faculty's attempt to assure that students graduated with a healthy Fear of Hunters. Fear, or hate. Either would save them.

They needn't bother, with her. She had just enough of both to last a lifetime.

Entering the final room was a relief. In fact, when the mist coalesced into a knight, she breathed a thankful sigh. This was more their speed. Giant misty monsters that refused to let you pass. That was more like it. Combat, with her actual hands, and actual tentacles, was going to feel so good after that last vision. Even the feel of being attacked was welcome.

Quote:

You enter a circular room. A fine, clean mist covers the ground. The clatter of steel and iron can be heard as a large figure emerges from the mist. Some may be jolted with recognition. Others may marvel at how large and foreboding the figure is.

The large, Green Knight plants itself in your way. Beyond it you can see something glimmering, something you want really badly: your diploma.

A large, shadowy javelin suddenly appears between your feet as you try to step forward.

"HALT. YOU SHALL NOT PASS."

Of course it was going to end with a fight. You ready yourself and prepare for combat!

THE GUARDIAN HP ???/???
gaia_crown For every hit: take -5 HP auto damage.
gaia_crown For every miss: take -10 HP auto damage.
gaia_crown If you die: you respawn at full HP. Keep on truckin!
gaia_crown To defeat: successfully hit the boss three times and roll 1d10 for a finisher. You don't need to hit it three times in a row; just three times total!

HP: 40
Hits: -/3  

[Nio Love]

The misty monster reached out to attack, and Riley felt the sharp snap of it's weapons cold touch against her, but she snapped back with her own tentacles. Everywhere she hit, the mist dissipated, and reformed after she was gone. It seemed impenetrable.

HP: 35
Hits: 1/3  

[Nio Love]

The only chance she had was to try and find a weak spot. Her tentacles snapped in methodical movements, trying to hit each point of the body and try to find a c***k in its metaphorical - and literal - armor.

So far, all she received for her efforts was another blunt attack back.

HP: 30
Hits: 2/3  

[Nio Love]

Perhaps the answer was simply time. Did she simply need to wear it out? Or prove her prowess? She could certainly do that - and with a powerful thrust, all of her tentacles came forward, stabbing the misty knight with every pointed tip. She felt no resistance when she entered it, but she felt the wind knocked out of her when she was pushed away.

HP: 25
Hits: 3/3  

[Nio Love]

A strange moment fell upon her and her opponent. She realized that her last hit, despite its counter-attack, left the knight immobile. No, he was not immobile - the mist surrounding it still swirled, and she could see it bobbing just slightly, as if it could somehow breathe. But it wasn't attacking, and it wasn't moving to defend itself. It was waiting.

For what?

Riley took her time deciding. It could all be a trick, after all. She inched closer, her claws bent and ready to grab onto anything that came at her, but nothing did. Soon enough, she was close enough to touch the knight, and she stared up at its giant, imposing presence.

Still, it waited.

She reached out and touched it. What was once mist, now hardened, and her claws sank into something solid, but giving. She took another grasp, and another, until she realized it was solid enough to actually hurt.

So she hurt it.

At first, it was simply climbing. Her tentacles dug into the knight, diving deep into its body and pulling her up. She clawed and kicked, climbing the giant until she reached its head, and touched the misty helmet that refused to budge. It made no move to stop her. It made no move at all.

Twenty two hard tipped tentacles sunk into the knights neck, over and over, puncturing it until there was hardly anything to keep it there. She leaned back, and kicked the back of his head, until it rolled off of its misty body with a sickening squelch. The moment it was beheaded, the rest of the body returned to mist, and she fell instantly to the ground. It was a hard fall, that left her spine singing with pain, and she laid there immobile for quite some time to recover from it.

But even as she laid there, a little piece of paper fluttered, rolled up and tied, down onto her. It fell right through the hole in her body, and waited there for her to be able to pick it up and read it.

It was her diploma.  

[Nio Love]

AMITYVILLE ACADEMY

To all whom these presents shall have come: Greetings unto you.

Be it known that we, the Headmistress and Faculty of the Academy under authority of Fear and the Laws of Halloween, have admitted

Aen'ryliis the Steadfast

the Rights, Privileges, and Dignities to which a Persons of Halloween with Amityville Experience may Expect.