Hello! Im looking for a female (or someone playing one) to play as a dragon who gets saved by a dragon slayer who has had a change of heart. I want the rp to revolve around us building our relationship from distrust and fearing eachother to being so close wed be willing to die for eachother in a hostile world. Treating eachothers injuries and protecting eachother as best as we can. For those of you who’ve read Eragon or dragon riders of pern then thats something of the inspiration for this!
Heres the setup!
A dragon slayer has been hired to kill a dragon that has been stealing livestock in increasingly more destructive numbers. As he enters its lair he finds it in a rage. Defending itself from some sort of hostile invading its lair. The dragon, injured and on the verge of defeat, the slayer takes pitty and against all his training and oaths jumps in to help.
Feel free to suggest any changes, and specific details are always up for a change. Send me a message and lets play 🙂 i use reddit Dm’s, chat or discord if you prefer! 🙂
Also to be clear because sone seem to be assuming the opposite. I am NOT looking for a human that can change into a dragon or otherwise. I also like to keep magic to a fairly controlled state. Im not against Magic but i dislike when it turns into a deus ex machina of “oh now its fine cuz magic.” I also generally prefer the European style dragons and for those that haven’t read the books i mentioned, the dragon will be able to communicate via telepathy. They are fully intelligent, in many ways more so than other races, though they are often vain and cocky.
Must be able to write detailed replies. Minimum one paragraph per reply and not be afraid to guide the story along with me instead of just reacting. Also if you have to go please let me know. Real life first always 🙂

I am looking to run pathfinder games in a one-on-one style with a few applicants. I am going to be following some OSR D&D guides on world generation, dungeon design, and more. Hopefully this can create an interesting feel for a more realistic world.
I have always been obsessed with Dave the Commoner. The story of a man playing pathfinder as the weakest class in the game, commoner, and eventually rising to be such a great wizard he ran his own kingdom in a demi-plane of his creation. I found his journey to be very similar to the journey plotted in BECMI and would to replicate that with my favorite system. Pathfinder First Edition.
I have spent two weeks simply testing to see if this idea could hold up at early stages, it can, and I am very excited to try it with the specific OSR inspired character generation I came up with.
I am doing the classic 3d6 down the line for stats. One free reroll and one free swap. That can be explained better in Discord when we get ready to roll. All rolls including the character generation will be done over discord. Only Core Races are allowed. And you will start off as a Gestalt of any two NPC classes; Aristocrat, Adept, Commoner, Courtesan, Expert, Warrior. You do not stay as NPC classes forever, you level up as them, and can retrain into any other class provided you've tracked down a trainer and have the gold to pay for it.
I'm looking for the feeling of classic fantasies like Conan, Lord of the Rings, Willow, The Hobbit. Meeting newer dark fantasies like Game of Thrones and The Witcher.
My server will be a safe environment for all, my games will never feature NSFW material, and I do not tolerate bigotry in any form.
I live in PST. I work from 8 to 5 and sleep from 12 to 7. If our schedules don't match up then it might be really difficult to keep a game going.
If you are interested in a zero to hero campaign about exploration and achievement then message me on Discord. The Bard#5917

Hi I am very tired of hearing all the regurgitated statements about On-Hit Teemo and why it's not good.

• You need to auto so much to do dmg

WRONG, you need 3 to do significant damage just like PTA AP Teemo, you don't need a lot sicne the item changes.

• It's only good vs TANKS

WRONG, it's AMAZING vs tanks, but it's still fine vs non-tanks. Wit's End, Kraken Slayer, New Rageblade, and Titanic Hydra are all great vs non-tanks.

• It doesn't do as much DMG as AP Teemo

Yeah you're right, it has the upside of doing 2x as much damage in the same amount of time.
PLEASE stop following outdated advice and regurgitated statements of Teemo players who aren't even TRYING it with the new items, it makes no sense. Every core item of on-hit teemo has been changed and buffed. Rageblade, Kraken, Ruunan's, Nashor's have all been BUFFED since last on-hit teemo version while Botrk and Wit's End have remained the same (not nerfed).
I am 15-5 in my last 20 games playing ONLY on-hit Teemo in Master -> Challenger games, shown here: https://www.op.gg/summoners/na/manco
The best way of building him right now is:
Top Lane: Botrk or Wit's End (vs mr lane) -> T2 defensive boots -> Rageblade -> 1 tank item -> 1 dmg item -> 1 tank Item
Jungle: Kraken Slayer -> T2 defensive boots -> Rageblade -> 1 tank item -> 1 dmg item -> 1 tank item
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib3q-cR9zsM&t=546s is an in-depth guide & will have runes/builds and information on it, it's too much to type via text.
I am writing this because I am disapointed when no one is playing ON-HIT Teemo when it JUST got buffed 2 patches in a row. Please feel free to ask any questions and give your feedback, I just want to help more people understand Teemo.

We are Azure Infinitum
Visit us at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/)
You may have seen us in the Aether data center's party finder during our weekly events, or may have seen our recruitment shouts around the realm in-game in Midgardsormr, but there just isn't enough space in those places to really explain everything wonderful about what our Free Company and community is.
Azure Infinitum is an LGBTQ+ friendly community, and welcomes players of all experience level, play style, and availability. We're a warm home with a balance of online players, weekly optional activities, and flexible ranks from our membership, to our support & leadership categories. We have a 24/7 Support Team, a Councilship that governs each tier, seasonal events of our own, and many resources between the games we support and online services.
Who We Are
We are an established 9-year old community who's home is in Midgardsormr Server of Final Fantasy XIV. We are a structured, well-rounded, welcoming, friendly, and organized community that hosts daily events (check out our calendar: https://azureinfinitum.com/events/ ) that provide opportunity for members to excel. We work to provide an arena and opportunities to establish strong bonds and camaraderie between our members. As a community we are driven, we carry each other forward, and we are proud.
Our Name & Philosophy
Learn more about our global community here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/aboutus/)
Learn more about our FFXIV Free Company here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ourffxivfc/)
Azure Infinitum means "Azure/Blue Infinity or Infinite Blue/Azure" and there is some mythos behind the name that stems from our guild-wide philosophy of kindness, freedom, vigilance, diversity and activity. We promote positive fellowship among members in an organized guild, with our sights open to our unending endless skies, full of possibility and success together.
Our motto is "As Free As The Azure Sky!" which stuck well when our FC was restructured from an old guild in 2014 as Azure was founded, and it was first shouted as we looked out at a clear blue sky above. has continued to be our electric victory as we continue to snowball in success and activity, our members soaring high through the Azure Sky, flying together!
Ranks
Click here to learn more about our community ranks: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ranks/)
Our community has an organized ranking structure beginning with Members who comprise the majority of the roster. Scouts are our support team of Members who've stepped up to more officially support the FC, some work on obtaining a future leadership rank. Lieutenants and Officers comprise the proud Azure Council, a diverse group of players of different specialties and services to the FC, making up lower and higher tier leadership, seeing over the Scouts and the FC weekly events, aside from being admins. The FC Infinitum Master oversees all and leads the Azure Council and the company forward while always keeping the heart and vision of the community alive and in sight. Currently we are re-assessing ranks in the free company, giving more support permissions and duties to our Scouts, while the current council operates as a small team of Lieutenants lead by the FC Master.
Everyone Welcome and Who Fits Best
We have an open door policy. Whether you're casual, a returning player, a veteran, or a newbie, we have a vast array of players in our member roster. Our weekly schedule is organized and provides an array of activity for players of most levels, however we like to ask players who're pretty new or under the level cap, to be extra vocal about their needs while they're still unable to attend some daily events or higher level content that most of our weekly lineup focuses on. We want everyone to have as much fun as possible and have the most success. We find that most players enjoy Azure Infinitum, many have stated that they subscribed to FFXIV much longer than they ever would have imagined after they have been around in our community, as they've gotten involved and experienced all that we offer.
Our FC keeps a daily schedule (see here: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/events/) of events that are hosted by permitted Scouts and Council ranks, these range from 8-man and 24-man raids and map parties, to WT journal groups and trial clear parties or farms, and more- and attending anything isn't mandatory at all here. We're happy to have you, and its up to our members how much they'd like to get involved. Attendance is optional! There's never any stress to attend FC functions.
Savage Raiding Statement
We find that some hardcore raiders looking for free companies just to join their statics who don't already have one, might not fit well if savage raiding is their only or greatest focus, because traditionally Azure does not have a Savage Static, but focuses more on allowing members to organize their own groups and also provides resources to do so. Despite not supporting an official static for the FC, we hope that hardcore raiders enjoy the wealth of our community's wealth of harmony and overall fun, and that everyone may take initiative to seek out or build a raiding static within our community if they are interested, as opposed to missing out on experiencing Azure. Depending on the content season, we may have an Unofficial static lead by a leader, and routinely offer limited time Savage-learning events that may run for a number of months.
Rules and No Drama Policy
Please take a moment to look over our Rules Page at (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/), we find that rude individuals and people who create drama are the outsiders here that don't fit well. We know its a big page, so at least visit the General Rules section before joining.
Recruitment Care & Activity
People of Azure Infinitum are often if not always good natured players who found their way to our community looking for a place with structure, friendliness, organization, and great activity, or they've been scouted during recruitment drives and have been well screened. Its a place where one can be social and attend everything, or relax in the background and enjoy the services and facilities of being in an active, organized, and friendly FC. We actively recruit periodically to assist with upkeep of community activity levels, and to meet new comrades. A community that closes recruitment can be doomed to stagnation. Its normal for a community to have an inner core of die hards who log in daily regardless of content releases, and also have an outer core of individuals that range from those with less availability to those who check in during Patches. This is why we take extra care in keeping the fresh blood flowing into Azure, cautious recruitment, and support our active model by always staying welcoming and sometimes running recruitment campaigns and other services. Like this ad!
Handling Online Drama
Because we keep a no-drama policy and have a strong communication network, it is leadership's ultimate priority to handle any issues that may come up as soon as possible, and most people appreciate our problem solving which has inspired many other communities. Between our Support & Leadership ranks, we use a number of report and resource channels to handle situations, and perform problem solving protocols & tactics to fairly address issues as possible. Drama is inevitable at some point for any online community, so its important to have a large and strong list of moderators (currently around 60!) and a council of leaders (15+) to quickly handle any problems. Luckily, we don't have a lot of drama, but we're always very well equipped and very prepared. Our community has been commended by game staff in the past for our methods, and we have worked with the FFXIV Special Task Force to ensure as much safety to our community as achievable. It should be stressed that it is up to our membership to report to GM's in-game, and to Azure Leadership should any issues or concerns come up. Its also highly recommended that our members appropriately document evidence that can be used to help us assess situations and make proper decisions. Documenation such as screenshots of harassment is a great example! Our members online safety is greatly important to us and is a number one concern of our leadership team. Our Rules Page at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/) describes a bit more in Chapter 3, including other entries on avoiding/ignoring trolls, playing while intoxicated, depression, and more.
Our Philosophy
We believe in our community and its people, how far we can go, how much we can do for each other, being an experienced community who's core values are positive fellowship, formation of bonds, and indomitable unity.
Azure Infinitum tightly grasps success and masters a casual and lucrative weekly play schedule while inspiring motivation and providing avenues for further success, friendships, and camaraderie among all who freely fly together among our Azure skies.
Founding on the principles of intricately forging a generally drama-free experience with keen leadership and a zealous and mighty membership, Azure has striven to guide and support many hundreds of players through every era of Final Fantasy XIV.
With an illustrious history, company lore, impressive statistics, and a model that is adaptable and blessed with innovative ability, Azure Infinitum claims a dominant presence of excellence and player growth that is possible in our community and extended services.
Estate Organization
We have the entire set-up at our estate, from gardens for members and Krakka Root production (free for members' chocobos), to our stables, nicely uniform clean lawn with hangout spots that are popular, with crafting stations, all available NPCs for simple mats and repairs, cut-scene viewer, toybox, triple-triad board, a fully operational and geared fleet of airships and subs, and our Azure Infinitum Assembly Chamber on the top floor for our meetings where announcements are made at our Grand Assemblies. Check it out if you like at Mist Ward 7 Plot 1.
We also have an organized form of gathering for weekly events in the yard, places to relax, food that is always available on tables at our Cellar, and hold a lot of special events and social games at our Hall. We're also conveniently located next to a Market Board and a Retainer Bell outside of our estate.
Communication and Extended Azure Services
We have multiple services of which none are mandatory, but we provide being (azureinfinitum.com) where our Forums, Event Calendar, News, Company Meeting Summaries, Seasonal Merch Giveaways, Contests, Rules Page, and more take place and can be found. We also have a popular and active Discord Server.
We also have a Facebook Group, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Steam Group, (Look us up! Or visit: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/socialmedia/) and Linkshells like our Infinitum Alliance LS for contact and aid from our allies if needed, our Azure Hunters LS for Hunters, and our Azure Industry LS which connects our members to our inner crafting/gathering community for newbies to pros.
Also worthy of mention is our big Company Meetings in-game, known as Azure Infinitum Grand Assemblies. Even though we have several avenues that keep people connected, our live assemblies gather the FC in unity where announcements are made first, and all proposals, ideas, and more, can be decided together live with the Azure Council present.
This network ensures a lot of information and communication gets around and has been exceedingly useful to us.
More On Events
One part of our reputation that often precedes us is our event crafting and hosting.
First, let me make sure its clear that attendance is never mandatory, but those who can make use, when possible, of what we provide each day, benefit from our events each week.
Since our beginning, traditions like our Thursday Treasure Thursdays events have run each week. Our weekly line-up presently begins on Tuesdays post-weekly reset, and consists of Raid Tuesdays, Wondrous Wednesdays (WT Journal Parties, often doubles as Trial Clears and Pony Drops), Treasure Thursdays (Endwalker's timeworn maps with groups of 8 doing up to 3 rounds of maps allowing for up to 24 maps ran), 24-Man Tuesdays (full pre-formed Azure 24-member alliances are made and raids are cleared, will be returning upon the release of EW's 24-man), Super Azure Slayer Sunday (our weekly meetup to do all sorts of PVP content be it Rival Wings or Frontline), and Monstrous Mondays (helps clear the current and previous patch extreme trials).
Special, Seasonal, and Quarterly Events
More info here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/azureday/)See the latest event news & more at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/news/)
We also have what we call Special and Quarterly Events. These types of events are Weekend-Long-Events that usually consist of a theme or celebratory social events we craft. During these events we hold big Riddle Races, Costume/Glamour shows and contests, 3-Story Mansion Maze Races, Speedrun Dungeon Races, Hide and Seek games, Custom Quest Events, Discord events like Cards Against Humanity nights, Comedy events, PVP Tournament Circuits, and more.
Our Special and Quarterly events are Azure Day Weekend (Takes place 3 times a year across a weekend, celebrates the FC), Azure Summer Festival (3-days at the end of August in partnership with Child's Play, raises money for children in long-term care, anniversary of historic FC event called the Lunar Rebellion), Anniversary Azure Day (a big weekend event in November that celebrates our Founding), Azure Day Saint's Wake (celebrates Halloween/All Saint's Wake), Azure Starlight Day (celebrating Starlight Day/Christmas/December Holiday Season), Azure Grand Melee and Duel Tournaments (PVP Circuit series crowning our PVP Champions) and more.
Azure Day Weekends
If you've been around our server you may have heard of our Azure Day Weekends. Our Azure Days take place quarterly as mentioned just above, with four evolved editions called Azure Summer Festival, Azure Day Saint's Wake, Azure Starlight Day, and Anniversary Azure Day. With Azure Day Weekends and related events traditionally occuring quarterly our members are always excited to see the next big weekend of crazy and fun social games, and our showering of the free company in gil and prizes galore. We go all out when we celebrate the free company, and Azure Days are another way we find for leadership to give back to the community. 2023 and beyond is now host to additional seasonal Azure Day events!
We're always giving our members a chance to have fun, win big, and make some great memories in the in-game family we've become. Something fun is always on the horizon in Azure.
Community
I almost can't stress enough how friendly our community is. We have a vast variety of members from hardcore gatherers and crafters, social butterflies, chill veterans, experienced raiders, level grinders, support teams, PVP aficionados, mechanic specialists, and mentors. We're also very friendly to all casual players as well and we keep an open door so long as recruits are always aware that we have a no-drama tolerance here.
​Evolution into a Gaming Clan & Network
Plans are in the works and foundations are being laid that is slowly turning our community into a larger gaming network, with our first established Azure Wing with regular occurring activity being founded in Monster Hunter World, this has led to a successful Destiny 2 clan and more. Becoming a member of our Discord and/or Free Company now means access to things like our huge discord, Azure Wing membership in other games, and being able to join in on any of our other activities in the general community. Azure Network as its being called at the moment, is growing with an all-new website and community features for playing together across Final Fantasy XIV and to Azure Skies beyond!
Activity
We rank high as one of the top FC's in Worldwide Activity on lodestone, and have for a long time. Most of our players are divided between the US East and West Coasts, members in East and West Canada, and a few outside the US or in EU or Aus zones. Because we do have an activity policy (mentioned below) we keep a standard flow of people, and have crowds in the early morning, late morning, early afternoon, afternoon, evening, and late night crowds.
Elitism isn't our style. Our community boasts a broad range of characters, great personalities, the proud, and also some silly goofs. But elitism isn't welcome, no matter how successful we are or how large we grow. We're always welcoming towards fresh faces interested in joining our guild, and the in-game activity ranges between 30-60+ online at once during prime time hours, sometimes around 70+ on patch days, and usually always with half the roster logging in throughout a 24 hour period, and around 15-30+ during the night.
Activity Policy
We ask that our members do not go missing without logging in for more than 60 days straight. If we hear word from someone or have some kind of decent excuse, we place our members on our On Vacation rank, which lasts presently until 90 days have passed. Exceptions are made for military deployments, hospital stays, financial issues, disability/health related issues, moving, or other reasons that might fall on a case-by-case basis.
All members not heard from in 60 days (roughly 2 months) or currently 90 days (roughly 3 months) are discharged. We allow 3 joins to Azure Infinitum in total, but exceptions can be made due to reasons listed above. If removed for inactivity, or you've left our FC for another reason and haven't already joined 3 times, you're always welcome back, but please remember, we are not a revolving door.
Keeping our roster full of members who have been online and presently play the game actively ensures an active environment for our players who play often. It also keeps our credits and clerical processes balanced across our network, and allows space for new faces to join our big happy in-game family of comrades.
How to Join
Quick Instructions here for joinin us in FFXIV & more: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/howtojoinazure/)
If you are interested in joining our Azure Infinitum free company, please register an application at our site and/or FC in-game. You can also seek any of our Scouts, Lieutenants, Officers, or the Master of Azure Infinitum in-game and ask for an invite. You can find their names on the roster page at our website.
If you read everything on this page, you are awesome, and you should let anyone you talk to who recruits you know that you read everything on this page which will greatly expedite your invitation to join.
If you have any questions whatsoever feel free to send a /tell in-game to me or any of our Scouts or Lieutenants listed on our official roster here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/9232519973597911137/membe
You can also message us at our FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AzureInfinitum
Discord here: https://discord.gg/azureinfinitum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/azureinfinitum
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/azure_infinitum/
Main Site: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/

Rudolpho's 2023 OSRS 1 Defence/31 Prayer Pure Guide

I could not find a good guide/video on a 1 def/31 prayer pure that shows exactly which quests/way to go about the account without messing it up/getting to high of a combat level. After countless hours of doing research, I feel as I've came up with an updated 1 def, 31 prayer account ready for bounty hunter that's right around the corner! Here's an updated guide as of June 1, 2023, hope this helps anyone! Also feel free to add me on discord and help me if anything is missing as I am still fairly new to making pures, but this is what I feel like is the bets in my opinion after so much homework I did on it.
I have a pastbin, but cannot post here, anything I could do to bypass that? If not feel free to DM me for it!
Discord: rudolph#7892 RSN: baeby pure
Feel free to leave comments or if I should fix anything. Thank you guys so much! Love you guys <3
Thank you once again! <3 Hopefully it helps some people

I know this is an age-old discussion amongst OSRS players but I wanted to recommend that instead of being able to wear two combat rings, in fear of it being too OP, why not have one ring slot for combat, and another for utility such as the Explorer’s ring for its teleports and run restore, or a ring of wealth so that on Slayer tasks you don’t have to pick up coins and such.

I was looking at the evolution of Subudal/Non-Lethal attacks. I know its not OSR, but I went further into modern editions as well. I’m not really happy with any edition’s take on Subdual. Are there any alternatives? I was considering a homebrew alternative that I posted at the bottom.
Here is the evolution:
OD&D Subdual rules can be extrapolated from Monsters & Treasure page 12 concerning Subduing Dragons. When intent to subdue is announced, hits scored upon the dragon are counted as subduing rather than killing points. Each round of melee the number of points scored in hits is ratioed over the total number the dragon has (HP total), the hits obtained being stated as a percentile of the total possible. The percentile dice are then rolled to determine if the dragon has been subdued. A roll equal to or less than the percentage of hits already obtained means the dragon is subdued.
For example, a monster has 16 hp and was attacked for 6 subdual damage. 6/16 = 37.5% chance the monster will be subdued by the attack. Roll a d100 and attempt to get 37 or less.
Holmes: page 25; A dragon is subdued when it has taken subduing hit points equal to its total hit points.
1E: page 72 of Dungeon Master’s Guide under Pummel: 25% of damage sustained is actual, 75% is subdual and restored at 1HP/round. When opponent dropped to 0 HP, unconsciousness occurs, lasting for 1 round for every point of damage beyond 0 HP which has been sustained.
Moldvay: page B34 under Subduing Dragons; (no missile weapons or spells) Attacks and damage are determined normally, dragon will fight normally until reaching 0 HP or less at which time it will surrender.
2E: page 96 Attacking Without Killing; Normal attack against normal AC. If attack roll is successful consult Punching Table to find the result of the attack (1d20). Each attack has a %KO ranging from 1-25% (avg 7.6%, so fairly low percent chance). If this number or less is rolled on percentile dice, the victim is stunned for 1d10 rounds.
Mentzer: As Moldvay.
3E page 135 Player’s Handbook, Dealing Subdual Damage; accumulate subdual damage. When equals current HP, character is staggered. When it exceeds current HP, character is unconscious. Can use melee weapon to deal subdual damage at -4 penalty to attack roll. Heal subdual damage at the rate of 1 HP per hour per character level.
4E. page 295 Player’s Handbook, Knocking Creatures Unconscious; When you reduce a creature to 0 HP or fewer, you can choose to knock it unconscious rather than kill it. Until it regains HP, the creature is unconscious but not dying. Any healing makes the creature conscious. It is restored to 1 HP and becomes conscious after a short rest.
5E: page 198, Player’s Handbook, Knocking a Creature Out; When an attacker reduces a creature to 0 HP with a melee attack, the attacker can knock the creature out. The attacker can make this choice the instant the damage is dealt. The creature falls unconscious and is stable.
My own suggested alternative would be to remove the separation of subdual and actual damage. More in line with the percentile of OD&D and 1E, but with an alternate method. After successful normal attack. Either forcing a morale check or possibly an X-in-6 chance of subdual: 1-in-6 if full HP, 2-in-6 if monster has taken ¼ hp damage, 3-in-6 if monster has been reduced to under half hp, 4-in-6 chance if monster has been reduced to under ¾ HP, and 5-in-6 chance if creature has 5 HP or less.
Thoughts or opinions?

Windows

Game	Group	Store	Score (Reviews)
Etrian Odyssey HD	TENOKE	Steam	99% (78)
Etrian Odyssey III HD	TENOKE	Steam	94% (36)
Etrian Odyssey II HD	TENOKE	Steam	100% (9)
Poly Bridge 3	TENOKE	Steam	95% (121)
Just Skill Shooter	TENOKE	Steam	100% (5)
Land of Zombies	TENOKE	Steam	100% (1)
Drift Type C	TENOKE	Steam	0% (1)
Shards of Nogard	TENOKE	Steam	-
Farworld Pioneers	Razor1911	Steam	43% (211)
Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer	Razor1911	Steam	98% (40)
Killer Frequency	RUNE	Steam	100% (16)
Etrian Odyssey Origins HD Collection (MULTi9)	ElAmigos	Steam	-

 

Update	Group	Store	Score (Reviews)
World.War.Z.Update.v20230530	TENOKE	Steam	83% (13.9k)
Landlords.Super.Update.v1.0.03	TENOKE	Steam	89% (1.1k)
Atelier.Ryza.3.Alchemist.of.the.End.And.the.Secret.Key.Update.v1.4.0.0	TENOKE	Steam	93% (1k)
Humanity.Update.v1.04	TENOKE	Steam	94% (140)
Zoeti.Update.v1.0.28	TENOKE	Steam, GOG	94% (69)
Summer.Trip.Cruise.Update.v05.29.23.1	TENOKE	Steam	100% (59)

 

DLC	Group	Store	Score (Reviews)
Gunfire Reborn - Artisan and Magician	RUNE	Steam	89% (197)

 

<< May 31, 2023

Q&A

Q: When will [insert game name here] be cracked?
A: STOP! CrackWatch members are not psychic. Games get cracked by completely ANONYMOUS SCENE GROUPS who don't disclose their progress or plans to the general public so NO ONE knows WHEN and IF a certain game will be cracked.
 
Q: What are all these NFO thingies? Where do I download?
A: NFOs are text files included with game releases which contain information about the releases. CrackWatch only informs which games have been cracked. To download look for the releases on CS.RIN.RU's forum or torrent websites. Useful websites can be found in The Beginners Guide or PiratedGames's Mega Thread.
 
Q: WTF is Denuvo?
A: Denuvo is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology used to protect games from being cracked. Games that have Denuvo are harder to crack and usually take much longer. See Pinned Post for a list of Denuvo games.
 
Q: An update is out, but it includes the base game as well! Can I only download the update without redownloading the entire game?
A: Yes. CS.RIN.RU is your friend.

# Windows Game Group Store Score (Reviews) :-:-:-:- **[Etrian Odyssey HD](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859736/Etrian-Odyssey-HD-TENOKE.html)** **TENOKE** **[Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868180)** **99% (78)** **[Etrian Odyssey III HD](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859738/Etrian-Odyssey-III-HD-TENOKE.html)** **TENOKE** **[Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1810820)** **94% (36)** **[Etrian Odyssey II HD](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859737/Etrian-Odyssey-II-HD-TENOKE.html)** **TENOKE** **[Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868170)** **100% (9)** [Poly Bridge 3](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859559/Poly-Bridge-3-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1850160) 95% (121) [Just Skill Shooter](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859564/Just-Skill-Shooter-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2417160) 100% (5) [Land of Zombies](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859558/Land-of-Zombies-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2371260) 100% (1) [Drift Type C](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859563/Drift-Type-C-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1975860) 0% (1) [Shards of Nogard](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859562/Shards-of-Nogard-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2021040) - [Farworld Pioneers](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859739/Farworld-Pioneers-Razor1911.html) Razor1911 [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1363900) 43% (211) [Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859740/Slayers-X-Terminal-Aftermath-Vengance-of-the-Slayer-Razor1911.html) Razor1911 [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931020) 98% (40) [Killer Frequency](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859904/Killer-Frequency-RUNE.html) RUNE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1903620) 100% (16) [Etrian Odyssey Origins HD Collection (MULTi9)](https://www.xrel.to/p2p/302304-Etrian-Odyssey-Origins-HD-Collection-MULTi9-ElAmigos/nfo.html) ElAmigos [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/29538/Etrian_Odyssey_Origins_Collection/) -   Update Group Store Score (Reviews) :-:-:-:- [World.War.Z.Update.v20230530](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859557/World-War-Z-Update-v20230530-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/699130) 83% (13.9k) [Landlords.Super.Update.v1.0.03](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859560/Landlords-Super-Update-v1-0-03-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1127840) 89% (1.1k) [Atelier.Ryza.3.Alchemist.of.the.End.And.the.Secret.Key.Update.v1.4.0.0](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859565/Atelier-Ryza-3-Alchemist-of-the-End-And-the-Secret-Key-Update-v1-4-0-0-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1999770) 93% (1k) [Humanity.Update.v1.04](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859555/Humanity-Update-v1-04-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1581480) 94% (140) [Zoeti.Update.v1.0.28](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859556/Zoeti-Update-v1-0-28-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1434540), [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/zoeti) 94% (69) [Summer.Trip.Cruise.Update.v05.29.23.1](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859561/Summer-Trip-Cruise-Update-v05-29-23-1-TENOKE.html) TENOKE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2103480) 100% (59)   DLC Group Store Score (Reviews) :-:-:-:- [Gunfire Reborn \- Artisan and Magician](https://www.xrel.to/game-nfo/2859902/Gunfire-Reborn-Artisan-and-Magician-RUNE.html) RUNE [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2430400) 89% (197)   # [<< May 31, 2023](https://www.reddit.com/CrackWatch/comments/13x02bg/daily_releases_may_31_2023/) *** #Q&A **Q:** When will [insert game name here] be cracked? **A:** STOP! CrackWatch members are not psychic. Games get cracked by completely **[ANONYMOUS SCENE GROUPS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warez_scene_)** who don't disclose their progress or plans to the general public so **NO ONE** knows **WHEN** and **IF** a certain game will be cracked.   **Q:** What are all these NFO thingies? Where do I download? **A:** NFOs are text files included with game releases which contain information about the releases. CrackWatch only informs which games have been cracked. To download look for the releases on CS.RIN.RU's forum or torrent websites. Useful websites can be found in [The Beginners Guide](/CrackWatch/comments/v60rnq/) or [PiratedGames's Mega Thread](https://rentry.co/pgames-mega-thread).   **Q:** WTF is Denuvo? **A:** Denuvo is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology used to protect games from being cracked. Games that have Denuvo are harder to crack and usually take much longer. See [Pinned Post](/CrackWatch/comments/p9ak4n/) for a list of Denuvo games.   **Q:** An update is out, but it includes the base game as well! Can I only download the update without redownloading the entire game? **A:** Yes. CS.RIN.RU is your friend. 

Lobo #20 - John Constantine
<< l < l > l >>
Author: trumpetcrash
Book: Lobo
Arc: John Constantine [#1 of 1]
Set: 85
----------------------------------
PREVIOUSLY ON LOBO: After a galactic goose chase to find a man with a bounty on his head for his stolen time travel technology, Lobo discovered that the time travelling technology was a hoax and that he had no way to travel into the past and erase his despicable self. To make matters worse, Scapegoat – demon and his best friend – told him that he’d manipulated Lobo at birth to turn him into an unstoppable brutalization machine in order to help destroy the Divine – and Heaven – in the coming Revolution. Scapegoat, in an attempt to pry Lobo away from emotional and Earthly misgivings, instructs one of his demonic underlings to kill Lobo’s daughter, Crush. She’s bene on her homeworld of Earth for several weeks, scrounging around the streets of Gotham, but if she’s going to have a chance at surviving this demon attack, she’ll need some help…
Most people would expect a renowned demon-slayer’s breakfast to contain eyeballs or tentacles or something else that would make your average Earthling peel away in disgust, but these people overestimate the strength of John Constantine’s culinary palette; at the time that this tale took place, he started every day with a quarter of a box of Captain Crunch.
His demonic consort, Ellie, mentioned it every morning that she ate with him. “The mighty Constantine, eating cereal made for children.”
John, usually not completely dressed by breakfast-time (or lunchtime, for that matter), would shrug and flaccidly insult her own choice of calamari-kabobs.
One morning, though, there were no insults. John’s Captain Crunch went unsullied and Ellie just nibbled at her squid without committing to any particular bite. The air was heavy – not with sulfur as in Hell, but with the shadows of secrets – for several minutes.
Eventually, John spoke. “You haven’t been quite the same since I took ol’ Swampy and that alien to kill Negral,” he said. “Is his death still bothering you?”
Her red irises flashed up to John. “Of course not. I said I wanted to turn over a new leaf, and I meant it. I’m not sick of do-gooding yet, John. After all, variety is the spice of life.”
John nodded as if he hadn’t heard it a hundred times before. He returned his gaze to his breakfast bowl, but not before saying, “Anything interesting happening in the ol’ demon world today?”
“You’ve said “ol’” without the “d” twice now, Johnny boy. You feeling okay over there?”
“No misdirection, please. I just want to stay up to date in the demon world. That’s all. No fights.”
“You want to stay up to date, so you keep using the word ‘old’…”
John knew Ellie was hiding something but didn’t think he could get it out of there, so he just sighed and started to chew with his mouth open.
Smacking, his mother had called it.
It affected Ellie almost as much as it affected John’s mother. Her spine clenched, her eyes widened, and her nostrils flared.
“John–” she began. “You know I don’t like it when you chew with your mouth open.”
“I think I remember that.” John twisted his face in mock concentration while Ellie fumed. “But I also recall that I get pissy when people who I work with keep secrets from–”
“John, don’t be such a ba–”
She would’ve called him a “baby” and moved onto progressively worse insults if it wasn’t for the shriek of John’s cell phone. It wasn’t the phone in his pajama pants pocket that he would’ve happily ignored a call on, but the phone that was ceremoniously hung on the motel basement’s dingy wall with glorious Command Strip technology.
It was the emergency phone.
John left his Captain Crunch behind as he leapt out of his seat and towards the wall. He opened the phone, expecting it to be a costumed superhero or his friend Chas or maybe even his sister; instead, it was the voice of a burly alcoholic.
“Constantine.”
“Lobo,” John realized aloud. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“A demon named Scapegoat is orchestrating the final battle between Heaven and Hell,” he said simply. “And he wants to kill my daughter, who’s on Earth. You need to stop him.”
John cast a glance backwards at Ellie, who just smoldered.
“Where, Lobo?”
Gotham seemed more alien to Crush than outer space could ever hope to be.
Outer space was more colorful and more obnoxious than Gotham, but it didn’t seem as dangerous. Sure, there were entities of unbelievable power lurking on that forbidden moon or right behind that nebula, but they were too big to have the effect of a rusty shiv pecking at your ribcage. Space lacked the stench that Gotham entrepreneurs could bottle up and sell on the interstellar black market as a tool in any amateur torturer’s toolkit.
Despite it all, though, Crush couldn’t quite pull herself away.
She came to Gotham first to help fight the vampire hordes. She did her part and saved some people despite seeing terrible things. After getting her parents back to their land she should’ve gone back to L.E.G.I.O.N., back to her surrogate family, but she was too morbidly intrigued by Gotham to return. It felt like something that her father would’ve loved – the kind of thing that was in her blood. The kind of thing that was evil, demonic to the most extreme vector. The kind of thing she shouldn’t have gotten herself mixed up in.
She never did, really. She stayed out of the local vigilantes’ sights and did a little do-gooding work on the side. A few drug dealers had been locked up because of her. She tried to try booze – sure, she’d had a can of beer here and there back home, but she didn’t really want to even do that again now that she’d seen her father – and couldn’t bring herself to drink it.
That’s when she knew she was ready, when she was sitting at the bar and felt with absolute certainty that she’d never sit at one again off the clock. She stood up and turned away from her untouched drink, her chest slightly more swollen with self-confidence than before.
That’s also when she saw the demon.
At first, she thought that there was a tall, straight-backed man in a heavy black cloak coming to take her just-vacated seat. She shuffled slightly to the left to make way, but the man didn’t follow through the channel. That’s when she realized that his face wasn’t just dark-skinned, but fuzzy and humming too.
His face was moving, as if it was made of a hundred little–
Crush yelped a bit when the first centipede shot out of the cloak and onto her uncovered left bicep. The little thing squealed and tried to sink its pinchers into her muscle until her right arm came up to swat it. It burst with a small pop, but by the time it was dead there were three more skittering on her and more spraying everywhere else in the bar.
The crowd around her started to scream and rush for the exits. Crush heard one or two people holler, “It bit me!”, and saw at least three fall to the floor, but she couldn’t tell if it was because they were bit or because other people toppled them over and trampled over them in the rush to escape. Crush just knew she had to get the bugs on off her; she ran her hands over her arms and neck and she leapt into the air and landed behind the bar counter, momentarily out of sight of the centipede-man.
Crush had no idea what the centipedes’ bites would do to a Czarian, but she wasn’t hankering to find out.
The gap between the bar counter and the wall was lined with bottles of booze and sinks and drinkware and everything else that normal bar operations required. Crush was trying to figure out if she could use any of it when the shifting face appeared over her. A buzzing, claw-ended hand reached over the counter for her, coming for her face. It dropped insects that she hit away in mid-air with one hand as the other reached for her gun. Before she could grab it something else reached over the counter and yanked the demon away from her. She puzzled as she checked the cartridge in her gun and raised it.
Someone was dueling with the creature now, someone with oily gray skin and with the head of… a fish? This confused Crush more than anything else. Why was a walking fish trying to save her? She shook the questions from her head and shifted the gun to the right, aimed firmly at the bug man. Then something insidious flashed in her right ankle, and with a scream the gun fired and shot a blast of energy into her attacker. She couldn’t see the effect, though, since the sudden pain in her leg sent her rolling over the bar counter and onto the ground neck-first.
When she was next awake her vision of the bar, with the fish (no, shark) man bound to a bar-stool by a rope of skittering centipedes, was tinted red. Something in her leg was jerking back and forth, moving her flesh and muscle and bone and drinking her blood. It felt as if it had been happening for hours, but perhaps it was only seconds.
The man – no, the thing – in the cloak stood a few feet away, ominous and silent except for the chittering bugs that made up his form. She wanted to ask it why it had done this, why it was hurting her, who the shark-man was, but she was too busy screaming in pain.
The pain started to travel up her leg, and she thought that she might die.
Then there was a flash of light and there was a fourth person – being, at least – in the room. This one was a human man and a shaggy caramel-colored beard that matched the tousle of hair atop his head. He looked like a detective in the dingy trench coat he donned, and he held something in front of him that Crush couldn’t make out due to her pain-induced convulsions.
“Beelzey, Beelzey,” the man tittered. “Working with crawly critters now, are you?”
“My name is Beelzebub.” Its voice was like a hum that came from nowhere in particular. “Johnny.”
“John Constantine,” the man sighed. He raised what had been in his hand to his mouth, and Crush’s stomach sunk when she saw it was just a cigarette and not some weapon.
“Connie.”
“Whatever. I’m here to stop you from killing her –” he waved a finger towards Crush. “And… whatever the Hell that shark thing is.”
“I don’t have the charm to kill that thing,” hummed Beelzebub. “It was just a nuisance.”
“Who gave you the charm to kill the girl?”
Crush thought she might’ve seen a centipede curl into a smile on Beelzebub’s face, but a fork of shooting pain ripped her attention away from it.
“That is not of your concern, mortal.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m concerning myself with it.” Constantine pulled something else out of the pockets of the trench coat. “I think that you were given your charm by someone who shouldn’t’ve been giving it to you. I think that if I crush this rock–” he flashed a ruby pinched by his pointer finger and thumb – “that you and your buddies are screwed out of luck for the time being. Shall we try it?”
The buzzing got louder and something deep and evil started to howl in denial, but before the centipedes suddenly flying through the air could reach Constantine, he crushed the little gem between the folds of his palm. Suddenly the cloaked figure and all the centipedes – including the one in Crush’s leg – were gone.
After an indefinite period of time, Crush awoke with a little splash of water on her face. Constantine had laid her out on the pool table. Her mouth started to form into a question, but Constantine interrupted.
“Beelzebub tried leading a rebellion a couple millennia ago, and now he’s chained to the will of his hellish superiors. Apparently there’s a bit of a shakeup going on, though, since a low-ranking demon named Scapegoat was able to get him onto our plane of existence.”
“Scapegoat?” Her leg still burned.
“Apparently one of your dad’s old drinking buddies. Don’t give me that look, I’ll explain when we get back to the compound. You’ll be safe there, at least for a time.”
Crush was too weak to argue, so she just nodded and tilted her head to the other figure over the pool table. “Who’s that?”
The aquatic beast chuffed a few words.
“According to police databases, his name – designation, really – is King Shark. He’s a mutant that says a man who smells just like you broke him out of jail a few months ago. Says he’s in your debt.”
“That’s… that’s…”
“I know.” Constantine reached down and grabbed her shoulder. “Deep breath, now, okay? This’ll only take a minute.”
Crush found the motel – or whatever they called these things in Britain – unsanitary; she didn’t believe in staying overnight at a place where you have to check for cockroaches before you commit to each step.
The room they materialized in was sparsely decorated. There was a folding table, a few chairs to go with it, and some rudimentary appliances (coffee maker, microwave, etc) which sat atop a counter on one side of the room. Sitting at the table was a slender, evil-eyed woman with billowing red-and-black hair. When Constantine and his tagalongs first appeared, she looked pissed, but after seeing both Crush and King Shark, her expression turned to one of confusion.
“What have you gotten yourself into this time?” she tittered. “Is this the girl you’re supposed to return to her father?”
“Actually, Ellie, he wanted me to hold onto her and keep her safe until the war’s blown over.” John sauntered over to the table and took a seat, not bothering to guide Crush or her aquatic guardian. “So we’re gonna build a little compound right here.”
The woman – Ellie – rolled her eyes. “You think we can hide out from a cosmic war in the basement of this shitty place?”
“The battle will take place in some part of space far, far away, and you know how these battles go. No one will really win, nothing will really change. Let them measure their dicks for all I care. Besides, I used up quite a few favors getting the girl – Crush – out of a bind with Beelzebub. Best to lay low for a couple weeks.” He finally turned towards Crush and King Shark. “Help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. There’s a room for each of you over there.” He pointed towards a hallway that sprouted out of the eastern wall.
“Well… thank you.” Despite her timid timbre, Crush really meant it. King Shark echoed with his own thick and rubbery “Thank you.”
“Are either of you hungry? It’s still breakfast-time here in England, but Ellie makes a mean grilled cheese, and if you don’t like those we might be able to find–”
“No thank you.” Crush put her hand up. “I’m just going to go lay down for a few. Thank you, again.”
“Be sure to shake the bedsheets!” John called as she sulked down the hallway. King Shark followed, but had the good sense to enter a separate room from hers. “There might still be bugs in them!”
Crush sighed a heavy sigh, for she was starting to think that this place was going to make Gotham look luxurious.
That night, John ignored Ellie’s soft, nimble hands and her puckered lips.
“We have guests, Ellie,” he groaned softly into her ear, for they were still tangled up in each other under the bedsheets. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’ll have to wait.”
“When did you become so prudish?” She twisted herself out of their twist and sat up on her knees. “It’s just an overgrown fish and a moody alien.”
“That moody alien is a moody teenage girl, Ellie. I don’t give a damn about the shark, but I feel weird–”
“John, you have sex with a demon every night. I think you’ve passed weird.”
John took a big breath of a sigh and brought himself up to look Ellie in the eyes. “Ellie, you’ve treated me like an annoyance all day. Why should I go out of my way to please you right now?”
“Because I’ll make you feel good too.” The invisible tongue of her pleasure started upon John’s neck, but he mentally swatted it away.
“The truth, Ellie. Something’s been bothering you.”
Her arms folded across her chest (not just to display annoyance, but also to accentuate her bosom), and she huffed and puffed in a way that the average mortal would incorrectly assume was improper for a demon.
“Ellie…”
“Fine.” Her face twisted up into something… crooked. “The other night, I was visited by a demon. Don’t get that look, we didn’t do anything. He summoned me to take part in the Revolution; apparently that Scapegoat guy really is amassing an unholy army to defeat the growing Divine army. And they want me in it, John. The want me in it.”
John tried not to draw back, tried not to show her he was scared. “What did you say, Ellie?”
Her face pinched. “That I’d think about it.”
“So you haven’t been on the outs with me because you’ve been regretting sending me to kill Negral?”
Hesitation betrayed her. “John, I –”
“Ellie… you’ve been doing so good, you’ve been acting like a real –”
“A real what, John?” she snapped. “What is it that you want me to be?”
His hands found hers, brought them closer to his chest. “The best possible version of yourself, Ellie. And how can you be that if you participate in the battle that might end the universe?”
“I’m a demon, John. Maybe it’s about time you get that through your skull.” Her voice was hard; she took her hands away, rolled off the bed, stood up. “I’m not chained to your mortal universe like you are.”
John followed her off the bed. “Are you sure about that, Ellie? Can you really mean that, now?”
When Ellie finally did speak, it was accompanied by a single drop of brimstone rolling from her eye.
Crush had spent her first day in the motel basement falling in and out of sleep before allowing the tides of drowsiness to submerge her until the British sun rose the next morning. She readied herself in her room and sauntered into the storage-area-turned-living-quarters – she still had to ask John and Ellie why they were staying at the bottom of a motel – and found it deserted. No matter; she took out her phone (the Terran one she could only use on Earth) and caught up on all the trends that she’d missed while with L.E.G.I.O.N. or fighting crime in Gotham. She expected that social media would feed her relief, but really, it just made her feel useless.
She was ready to find a way out of the basement when a figure emerged from the east-bound hallway: John Constantine. He looked as shaggy as always, but there was something about him – maybe the gauntness of his face and twitch of his fingers – that made him seem even less put-together than usual. Crush attempted a smile at him, but his eyes passed over it vacantly.
“Where’s Ellie?” she found herself asking, thinking the name of his lover would brighten him up. “You said she makes a mean grilled cheese.”
John, who’d found the coffee pot, let his hands fall away from the machine and turned towards her, knife-marks in his eyes. “She’s not going to be here for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh.” Crush cursed herself for bringing her up and cursed herself doubly when she realized that her mouth was asking, without her permission, “Why?”
“She had… other matters to attend to. A war to wage that I cannot be a part of.”
“Okay.” Crush vaguely wondered if this had to do with Beelzebub and the fact that her father had pissed someone off enough to try and kill his daughter. The idea of her father getting wrapped up with religious factions should’ve been comical, but she just couldn’t bring herself to laugh. “When am I –”
“You’re not getting out,” John said shortly, throatily. “Not until the Revolution’s been fought.”
“The Revolution?”
John, who had turned his back towards Crush and his trunk towards the coffee pot, now whirled around and barred his teeth. “The cataclysmic battle between Heaven and Hell that your father’s old friend has been planning for longer than you can fathom, the battle that, if the demons win, could spell subjugation for everything born for the rest of eternity! So, yes, we are staying inside my bubble!”
Crush had not been prepared for such a brutish, outright, emotional assault. It was more of a shrapnel-stuffed grenade than a tactical missile, in all honesty, but it was still frightening. She had the fortitude not to twitch, but on the inside, she squirmed.
“Sounds like the type of thing that we fight, then. Save the universe and all.”
Crush saw fire in John’s eyes; the fact that fire, so symbolically red, turns blue when hot enough explained why Crush could not make out the sheen over his irises and coronas.
“I have the place locked down with magic,” John said tightly. “Here we stay.” He snatched the coffee machine, unplugged it from the wall, and tore off to his room amid his billowing trench coat. Crush looked after him, wistful for something unknown, and sighed.
Eventually King Shark came out, helped himself to some of the popsicles in the freezer, lamented the lack of fish in the fridge to the best of his limited vocabulary’s ability, and sat next to Crush. She was bored of social media and sought to teach King Shark cards instead. The cribbage board proved too complex, as did any form of trick-taking game or even solitaire, but he was able to learn Go Fish quite well – as soon as he realized that one wasn’t supposed to eat the cards, despite the game’s name.
John darted in and out of the general living quarters for several days. Crush could never establish a conversation with him. She looked for any sign of spiritual warfare, but besides the tame terrorism and do-gooding of everyday life, couldn’t find anything.
One time, when he was grabbing a beer, King Shark asked about Ellie too. John gave him the same scarred look he’d showed Crush – although not as cutting as that one – and said, “That’s up to her, now. We can simply wish her the best.”
It wasn’t until the fifth or sixth day – Crush was losing track of time with only Go Fish to mark its passage by – that Crush was able to start a real conversation with him.
“Can you let me use my interstellar phone?” she repeated several times when he was grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge. “I need to tell the team at L.E.G.I.O.N. that I’m okay.”
“You’ll tell them where you are, or that the Revolution is coming. That isn’t okay.”
Crush moved her hulking frame in between him and the hall to his room. “Why not? Don’t you want something to do something about it?”
John shrugged. “I’ve been doing things for a lotta years, sister.” He was mildly intoxicated. “Time to take myself out of the mix.”
“Ellie’s up there, isn’t she?” It was a bold assertion on Crush’s part. “And she’s on the other side. And you don’t want to fight her.” Nothing on his face, just alcohol-carved stone. “You don’t have to, Mr. Constantine, but you have to let me out.”
“And me,” grunted King Shark from somewhere behind them.
“And the King,” amended Crush.
For a moment she thought John would break, but then she found herself flying ass-over-teakettle and saw John stepping over her and into his room.
She and King Shark numbly discussed breakout plans, but she didn’t know the first thing about magical charms, and even if he did, he probably wouldn’t have been able to communicate it.
It was a surprise when, on the seventh morning, she woke up blinking the sun’s rays away.
“I didn’t think I had a window…” she grumbled sleepily before she pulled herself up and pulled herself into consciousness. “We’re outside!” She and King Shark really were deposited on the lawn of the motel.
John stood over them, neither smiling nor glowering. “I’m guessing you have a ship somewhere?” Crush nodded. “Safe travels. I won’t be able to transport you again. It’s a rather limited power, but it’s also a long story.”
Crush kept nodding as if she understood. “My ship seats three.”
“Then you two will have room to pick someone up along the way.” Now he smiled, but it was a sad one.
“Why are you doing this, John?” asked Crush, now standing and staring into his eyes. “Refusing the battle, I mean.”
“Because… I might love her, Crush,” he said. “And frankly, I don’t know how to deal with it. I’ve loved people before, but no one else is like her. I… it’s easier this way. I’m more of a screw-up than I let on, Crush, and you don’t want me screwing you and your father and whoever else you freaks accumulate up. No feelings.”
Once again, Crush nodded as if she meant it. “No hard feelings. Goodbye, John.”
“Bye, Crush. Tell your father I said hi.”
“I will.” Crush started walking then, not letting herself look back. King Shark followed obediently, although he did look back. He looked all over. Crush found his curiosity somewhat amusing, and idly wondered how he’d do in space, and how he’d do when fighting the hordes of demons that surely laid in their path…
NEXT TIME: The epic four-part “Lobo the Czarian” begins. We shift our perspective back to our favorite damned bounty hunter as he prepares himself for the battle of a lifetime and grapples with the realization that his lifelong friend and mentor Scapegoat had groomed him to be a tool of demonic destruction for his whole life. The next five months will be wild ride, folks, so buckle up! Thank you all for making it this far into not only this issue but this series, and if you only started reading Lobo midway through its run, I’d recommend going back through all of the earlier issues before reading “Lobo the Czarian” because it’s going to be a bit of a victory lap over all of this bounty hunter’s lore and what-have-you. See you all next month, and till then, stay safe and keep on readin’.

“I’m sorry; we’re going to astral travel to a flea market?” Charlotte asked incredulously as she watched Genevieve and I set up a meditation circle under the shade of a towering old willow tree in my cemetery. “What if we want to buy something? How will we bring it back?”
“We’re not going there to shop, Lottie. Samantha’s finally had a vision about Emrys,” Genevieve explained.
The Veil between the Physical and Astral Planes is exceptionally weak in my cemetery, especially at night and on hallowed days. When I sleep there, my subconscious mind is highly receptive to all manner of revelations from the Spirit World. When I saw a Blood Moon rise on the night of May fifth, the same night as a penumbral eclipse, I knew that my dreams would be prophetic.
“I had a dream about him last Friday,” I expounded. “He’s at some sort of otherworldly marketplace, one that’s not connected to the Crypto Chthonic Cuniculi, so it’s mostly inaccessible to the Ophion Occult Order. In my dream, Emrys invited us to come and speak with him while we were lucid. He drew a sigil for me, the same one I’ve drawn in the middle of the mediation circle. He said that all I’d have to do is toss an Undying Rose – the earthly effigy of the rose Persephone used to steal a drop of his blood – into the sigil and it will become an astral portal to where he is.”
I held up the deep purple rose that I had cut from its bush earlier that day. I don’t know for certain where the roses came from, but my best guess is that they were made by the same Occultist who hallowed my cemetery to Persephone; Artaxerxes Crow. They have some connection to Emrys as well, since the only other time I saw someone else use one was when his avatar was summoned into the Physical Plane on Halloween 2020.
Knowing that Emrys wouldn’t dare to set foot in a place that was sacred to the Goddess who was ultimately responsible for his cosmic defeat, I gently tossed the rose into the middle of the sigil.
“He invited all of us?” Charlotte asked with an incredulous raising of her eyebrow.
“He said me and my coven. If he had just meant me or me and Genevieve he would have said that,” I replied. “You and Elam are coming too. I want as many eyes on this place as possible so that we don’t miss anything. We may not get an opportunity like this again.”
“And this is safe? Visiting some random flea market between worlds?” Charlotte asked.
“Samantha and I have visited the Underworld and come back no problem,” Genevieve reminded her. “So long as we’re bound to our bodies and Elam is bound to Samantha, we can come back anytime. Don’t worry; this is going to be a blast! Adventures like these are the best part of being a Witch.”
“The only reason you were able to go to the Underworld is because Samantha’s cemetery came with an astral portal in the back,” Charlotte countered, gesticulating in the general direction of the archway that was still partially visible behind the light spring foliage. “Other than that, when have any of us ever done anything useful with our astral projection? This is still a physical place, right? We don’t have any of our physical senses available to us when we astral project, and I get extremely disoriented trying to navigate the mortal plane with clairvoyance alone.”
“It is a physical place, but one saturated with astral energy and full of occultists and occult artifacts. It will be extremely illuminated to our clairvoyance,” I assured her. “Elam will also be there to guide us. As a ghost, he’s much more practiced at traversing the mortal plane in an astral form.”
Charlotte folded her arms over her chest and turned to look at Elam, who was leaning up against the willow tree as he waited for us.
“I don’t suppose you could go and scout the place out for us ahead of time?” she asked.
“I can’t go too far from Samantha, and definitely not across planes,” he said with a shake of his head. “But Eve’s right. Your astral bodies will be in no danger, and you can return here in an instant whenever you want.”
“But what about Emrys? Didn’t that book Leon gave you say that he’s some sort of soul-flayer?” Charlotte asked me.
“It did,” I admitted. “Keep in mind though, that book was written by his enemies. I want to hear his side of things before this conflict of theirs spirals out of control.”
“Any update from Chamberlin about that?” Elam asked.
“Yeah, he said that after he failed to purify the Sigil Sand, Ivy’s onboard with negotiating some kind of truce with Emrys,” I replied. “The Grand Adderman’s still reticent, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s running out of options. I need to find out if Emrys will agree to peace talks.”
“Um, I get that, but I’m still kind of hung up on him potentially flaying our souls,” Charlotte reiterated.
“If Emrys and the Ophion Occult Order go to all-out war, there’ll be a lot of collateral damage and innocent souls caught in the crossfire,” Genevieve told her, gently grabbing hold of her and looking her straight in the eye. “Samantha, Elam, and I are doing this because if there’s any chance we can put an end to this before it starts, then it’s our responsibility to try. You don’t have to come with us, Lottie, but you’re still a member of our coven. Samantha and I would both feel a lot better with you there to help us.”
“Arghhh! All right, fine! I’ll come with you,” Charlotte gave in, plopping her butt down on the edge of the meditation circle. “If we’re holding hands, that will help keep our astral bodies together too, right?”
“I believe it should, yes,” I smiled at her, sitting down and reaching out for her hand.
Genevieve lit the incense and her bong filled with the entheogenic Delphi Dream, before sitting down to join us. She took a hit from the bong before passing it to me, and then to Charlotte before setting it aside out of the circle.
“Start with taking a deep breath, completely filling the lungs, and holding it for five heartbeats,” she guided us as she took hold of each of our hands. “Exhale completely, and wait five more heartbeats before breathing in again. Eyes closed, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Focus on the astral energies flowing through you with each breath, gently aligning each chakra until those energies are enough to lift you up and out of your body.”
In unison with one another, the three of us slowly breathed in and out, ignoring the material world around us and focusing upon the task at hand. Eve was first, as usual, and because we were all holding hands, Charlotte and I felt her eagerly tugging us up to speed us along.
I opened my eyes, and beheld the dull and muted Physical Plane through my clairvoyance, everything outshined by the radiant forms of my coven mates. I noted that Genevieve had eschewed her normal skyclad form when astral projecting and instead wore a cloak like Charlotte and I.
“Are you worried this place might have a no shirt, no shoes, no souls, no service policy?” I teased her.
“I just don’t want to risk a confrontation over it. I realize how important this is,” she answered. “Though I’m not actually wearing shoes, now that you mention it.”
“Christ, look at the sigil Samantha drew!” Charlotte said, pointing down at the meditation circle beneath us. The sigil wasn’t just glowing but flowing as well, churning the Aether around it in a misty, spectral vortex. “It’s an astral portal, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah. It’s not stable, though. Good for one trip only,” Genevieve said with a delighted smile. “And Lottie, since we’re Neopagan Witches, try not to swear by Christ, okay?”
“Jesus!” she swore, both in defiance and in genuine annoyance.
“Elam! Elam, come join the circle! I don’t want to take any chances of severing our bond,” I instructed, letting go of Charlotte’s hand and waving him in between us.
Faithful Familiar that he was, he obeyed without hesitation. Despite my concerns, I think that he probably could have stayed behind if he had wanted. The fact that he was willing to follow me to an unknown otherworld without complaint really made me appreciate how devoted he was to me.
“We step in together on the count of three, got it?” I instructed, each of them nodding clearly in response. “One. Two. Three!”
We all extended our right feet into the vortex together, and the instant we did we were swept away, falling out of our own world and tumbling between the cracks of countless others. They weren’t real, I don’t think. At least, not as real as our world. They were potential realities, or realities that could have been once but now can never be, or fantasies that are so persistent in the minds of real people that in some sense or another, they become real themselves. I only saw glimmers of them, glimmers in nebulas made of primeval chaos and uttermost void.
It was outside of time, that place we travelled through, or at least we had no sense of it there. Our souls were haphazardly spat out upon a surreal landscape of earth, sea, and fire. Hilly plains of volcanic ash, incandescent calderas of lava and bubbling hot springs all intermeshed in a chaotic mosaic that didn’t seem to abide by any laws of geology or geography that I was familiar with. A strong but slow wind pushed fractal formations of dark silver clouds through a pale silver sky, illuminated by a single white orb which could have been either a bright moon or a faint sun.
While our spectral feet left no trace upon the ash we now stood upon, our presence nonetheless elicited a response from some of the local fauna. We were just able to catch a glimpse of some kind of shimmering scarabs burrowing themselves into the ash to escape the four otherworldly ghosts that had invaded their territory.
“Holy shit,” Charlotte murmured as we all gazed out upon the strange world we had found ourselves on. “This really isn’t on the Astral Plane. This is a real planet. This a real, alien planet! This is unbelievable!”
Genevieve glided over to one of the bubbling pools and peered into it, looking for any more signs of life.
“There’s some kind of bluish-grey algae growing on the rocks down there, and I think I can make out some small arthropods too. This planet’s alive!” she announced with glee, smiling and looking up at the alien sky.
Conjuring an astral approximation of my staff, I plunged it into a small mound of ash beside me. I watched curiously as the scarabs shot out in all directions, moving too quickly for me to get a good look at them, before scurrying back into the surrounding ash.
“These bugs can sense our presence,” I remarked. “How and why would clairvoyance evolve in insects on this world, and why would their first instinct be to flee?”
“Samantha!” Elam called out. “I think I found the Flea Market.”
We all gathered around him and looked where he was pointing. On a distant dune, we beheld the moulted carapace of a colossal insect, gleaming a brilliant, lustrous gold in the broken white light.
“That’s impossible!” Charlotte claimed. “That thing must be hundreds of meters long! No insect, no animal period could ever get that big on the Physical Plane!”
“It could be the Incarnation of some kind of Titan,” Genevieve suggested. “But… it’s dead. I can tell that even from here. It’s dead. It’s the corpse of a dead god, and now it’s being used as a swap meet with a punny name. Either whatever killed it just abandoned it, or…”
“Or is running the place,” I finished for her. “Well, we should see if we can find Emrys.”
In an instant, the world moved around us until we were at the entrance to the Flea Market. The colossal carapace was hollow inside, of course, and had been filled with a bustling city that looked like it had been created in the most ad hoc manner possible. There wasn’t a single straight street to be seen, and they converged with one another at random intervals. Stalls and buildings varied wildly in both design and materials, all imported from a plethora of different cultures across the planes.
Enormous shards of luminous glass levitated above the throng like a thousand Swords of Damocles, any or all of them seeming capable of succumbing to gravity at any moment. In the very center of the moulted husk dangled a great spiralling chrysalis or hive woven of iridescent silk, its function not being immediately apparent to me.
There must have been thousands of people there, and hundreds of merchants hawking their wares. Most of those who looked human still seemed a little off, like they were members of ethnicities that didn’t exist in our world. Some of the beings were near-human in appearance, many seemingly some kind of Fey or Seelie folk. There was even a small handful of people that weren’t remotely human at all.
The only thing they all had in common was that none were native to this world.
“Most of these people are here in person, aren’t they?” Charlotte asked.
“It would’ve been quite a feat for them to have built all of this while astral projecting,” Genevieve agreed.
“But if this place isn’t connected to the Cuniculi, then how did they get here?” Charlotte asked. “We’re on another planet, maybe even in another dimension. If getting here is beyond the Ooo’s abilities, then what sort of ungodly reality benders decided to turn it into a Flea Market?”
“Ladies, gentlemen, and any beings either too ancient and alien or too modern and alienated to settle on one or the other, come bear witness to one of the most astounding and atrocious abominations on this or any other world!” a fast-paced male voice rang out over the din of the crowd.
We turned to see a short, skinny, old-timey sort of carnival barker standing on a literal soap box, placed next to a large object draped in a black tarp.
“For the paltry price of a single three-headed coin, you can peer beneath the veil and behold with your own unbelieving eyes the mangled and mutilated monstrosity that lurks beneath!” the carnival barker continued. “But I must warn you, it is not possible to truly understand what dwells underneath without seeing it first! I cannot guarantee that you will still retain your sanity or will to live after witnessing the proverbial Mountains of Madness, for this low creature is truly like no other and serves only as a grim testament to the cruel sadism of the Lord Above! Anyone plagued by even the faintest lingering doubt as to their spiritual fortitude should not dare to even contemplate what might lie before me! But, for those brave, noble few who are truly dauntless of heart and incorrigible of spirit, I am proud to share with you this rare, unfathomable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness sublime –”
The carnival barker was interrupted by a man yanking the sheet off the object beside him, revealing it to be a mirror.
“Whelp, that was a hell of an Im14andthisisdeep post, eh?” Charlotte mused.
Genevieve and I, however, were far too stunned to be amused; not by the mirror, but by the man who had unveiled it.
“It’s him, Lottie. That’s Emrys,” Genevieve whispered.
We had only seen him briefly once before, more than two-and-a-half years ago, but he was far from what anyone would call forgettable. He was tall and gaunt, with literal blue blood flowing beneath translucent skin. His long, receding hair and regal beard were pitch black, and dark miasma wafted from his eyes, nose, and mouth. He was dressed in dark sable robes with three overlapping Ouroboros’s tattooed on his forehead, with a pair of ophidian pupils lying in the spaces between them.
What stood out the most to us were the six silver Ouroboros chains bound around his wrists, ankles, waist, and neck. These were the chains the Ophion Occult Order had made to limit the power of his physical avatar, and it seemed he had not yet found a way to free himself from them.
“Are you still here?” Emrys asked in exasperation, tossing the veil back at the carnival barker in disdain.
“…Possibly,” the strange man replied evasively. “But not definitively, for purely legalistic reasons.”
“I believe Mathom-meister was quite clear when he said that your rather pitiful chicanery wasn’t welcomed here,” Emrys reminded him.
“And who is he to judge chicanery from cutthroat, capitalistic competition? Should not the Flea Market be a free market?” the charlatan demanded. “And while we’re on the topic of commerce, I don’t suppose you have enough three-headed coins to pay for all the poor souls you have so discourteously exposed to my exhibit against their will? I’d hate to have to start shaking people down to get my due.”
“Hard to believe your own circus threw you out,” Emrys said with a sardonic eye roll as he tossed him a small medallion. “You get one coin. Take it and get out of my sight.”
The charlatan flipped the coin in the air thrice, presumably to confirm it actually had three heads. Satisfied with its impossible dimensions, he shoved it into his pocket.
“It will cover the trolley ride home, at least,” he acquiesced, stepping off his soap box and turning to face his looking glass. “A shame though you can’t see the genius in my little avant-garde performance piece here, Emmy. Even I know that the monster in the mirror is often the hardest to recognize.”
As the man reached to pick up his mirror, his reflection’s arms shot through the glass and grabbed him by the wrists, pulling him in. Emrys immediately tried to chase after him, but bounced off the glass as if there was nothing supernatural about it at all.
“Bastard!” he cursed under his breath, before turning towards us and giving us a small apologetic smile. “I’m sorry you had to see that rather pathetic display. Unfortunately, the few meeting places I know of that are relatively safe from any Ophionic incursion also attract their fair share of other annoying miscreants.”
“If it didn’t attract a little bit of everything, it wouldn’t be a Flea Market, would it?” I asked rhetorically. “Thank you, Emrys, for inviting us. I’ve never been anywhere like this before.”
“And thank you for accepting. Samantha, Genevieve, it’s a pleasure to see you again, and a relief that you have not fallen under the auspices of the Ophion Occult Order,” he said with a gentle bow. “Elam, I remember you as well. Valiant but not reckless, you remained atop Pendragon Hill during my battle with the Darlings until your mistress was well out of harm’s way, and then you got the hell out of dodge yourself. Samantha couldn’t hope for a better Familiar. And Charlotte, any Witch that Samantha deemed worthy to induct into her coven is obviously someone whose acquaintance I am pleased to make. Welcome, all of you, to Mathom-meister’s Flea Market!”
“So this is where you’ve been hiding out the past two years?” Genevieve asked.
“Oh no. Far too Cosmopolitan for my tastes,” Emrys replied. “No, this is just a friendly place to meet those I consider friends – or potential friends, at least. I’d offer to show you around, but I know it’s difficult for you to astral travel for prolonged periods. Come with me to Mathom-meister’s house where we can talk freely, and we’ll discuss the situation with the Order.”
I gave him a small, single nod in response, and gestured with my staff that he should lead the way. He responded by pointing upwards, then vanished into his shadow form. When we looked up, we saw him waving at us from a balcony atop the great silken chrysalis.
We exchanged hesitant glances with one another, but ultimately followed him into the strange structure, moving from the ground to the balcony in an instant by will alone.
“How would an incarnate being get up here if they couldn’t fly or teleport?” Charlotte asked as she peered over the balcony’s teetering edge.
As though answering a summons, a humanoid creature apparated beside her in a flash of dark vapours. The hunched-back entity stood over six-and-a-half feet tall, and was clad in golden-brown erudite robes. Its squid-like skin was of a similar colour, and its entire face was a single gaping orifice that held a wispy, glowing orb in the center of its skull which I immediately recognized as its soul. A pair of long, fanged tentacles lined with pores and tendrils hung down from its head like a long, forked beard, and the seven digits shared by its two hands all bore wicked-looking talons, as did its two-toed, digitigrade feet.
“Not fly or teleport? What sort of pedestrian house guests do you think I entertain here?” the being asked wryly, its voice seeming to come from nowhere in particular.
Charlotte instinctively backed away from the creature and into the protective fold of our coven, but Emrys was quick to hold up his hand to plead for calm.
“Please, there’s no need for alarm. This is our host, Mathom-meister. He’s the only reason any of this is here in the first place,” Emrys informed us. “A year or two ago a companion of his unfortunately became one of the Darling Twin’s victims, and when he heard of my vendetta with them, he tracked me down; which is no small feat, I assure you.”
“It is for us. My people are a race of Planeswalkers. Traversing the many worlds of Creation is second nature to us,” Mathom-meister explained.
“I’ve… I’ve heard of your people, I think,” I said, softly and unsurely. “A friend of mine had an encounter with an artifact that gave her a vision of a race of strange and powerful sorcerers slaying their own god. I take it you’re the ones who slayed this Scarab Titan as well? That’s, that’s…”
“Horrifying, yes. That’s the idea,” he nodded. “You have nothing to worry about, young Witch. My people have no special interest in your world. This is purely personal. My friend is dead, and I want his murderers brought to justice; a goal which Emrys and I happen to have in common.”
“Feel free to share this information with the Ophion Occult Order, Samantha,” Emrys said. “I’d very much like for the Darling Twins to know what’s hunting them. Mathom-meister, please excuse me while I take my guests inside. We do have pressing business to discuss and their time is limited.”
The squid-cyclopes bowed gracefully, and my coven and I quickly scurried after Emrys as he led us inside through a towering hallway and into a large chamber that had been appointed as a living space.
I had thought that Emrys would want to speak with us alone, which was why I was surprised to see a young woman sitting cross-legged on a spongey yet chitinous object that I will for the sake of my sanity call a bean bag chair. Like Emrys, she was pale and blue-blooded, her choppy hair as black as coal. She wore a black robe and heavy black eyeliner, but these could not conceal the fact that she too had thin wisps of miasma emanating from her eyes.
“Is that your… daughter?” Charlotte asked, as baffled by her presence as any of us. The woman smiled warmly at the question.
“In a way. I was dead, and Emrys gave me new life. Now a part of the Outer Primordial Darkness he represents lives in me too,” she said serenely.
Hovering above her left palm were three small bluish-green orbs, lazily going around in a circle. They were translucent and held something inside them that I couldn’t make out, but the orbs themselves appeared to be melting and solidifying by the woman’s will.
“You’re Petra, aren’t you?” I asked as I cautiously approached her. “Chamberlin had mentioned that Emrys had taken an acolyte. I’m Samantha, and this is Genevieve, Elam, and Charlotte.”
“I know. The whole reason we’re here is to speak with you,” she nodded.
“The Ophion Occult Order calls me a soul-flayer, and I’m sure you were all wondering exactly what that meant before you came here,” Emrys said, standing proudly behind his acolyte. “Well, this is it. The Darkness Beyond is now a part of her, and a part of her now lives within the Darkness Beyond. She is not unchanged from what she was before, but neither has what she was been lost.”
“My interpretation of the term ‘soul-flaying’ was the complete removal of a person’s consciousness from their astral and physical bodies to be subsumed by your Darkness,” I countered. “They told me that what you’ve done with Petra here is just the limit of your power while you’re bound in their chains. Are you telling me that if your chains were broken, you wouldn’t be able to do any worse than this?”
“On my physical avatar? No. So long as my astral form remains chained and bound with the World Serpent, I cannot cleave a conscious mind from its astral substrate,” Emrys assured me.
“But that is your ultimate goal, isn’t it? Breaking the chains the Ophion Occult Order put on you is just a stepping stone to breaking the ones the gods bound you with?” Genevieve asked. “You’ve allied yourself with a literal god slayer. Do you expect us to believe that his people’s abilities aren’t something you intend to put to your own ends?”
“I don’t have an ultimate goal so much as I have a fundamental principle of opposing tyranny,” he claimed. “When I was a mere man, thousands of years ago, I was a tyrant. I believed that might made right so unquestionably that when my might began to fail me, the only thing I could think to do was to try everything in my power to restore it. This quest eventually led to me becoming one with the Darkness Beyond, which gave me not only the might I coveted but the wisdom I didn’t know I needed. It gave me perspective. It made me stronger than any human alive at that point but still let me realize how insignificant I was. It was humbling, and enlightening, and filled me both with remorse over my past actions and an impetus to use my newfound gifts to rectify them. I tried to overthrow the gods themselves which, in hindsight, was overly ambitious. I not only failed but had my soul devoured by the World Serpent, where it still resides to this day.
“I am not eager to bring the wrath of the gods down upon me once again. No, for now, I will be content to end the tyranny of the Ophion Occult Order. This is the message I’d like you to relay to them. If the Grand Adderman agrees to unbind my chains and step down from his post, I will spare his life. If he declines, I want the rest of the Order to know that I will show mercy to any who sides with me over him. I am willing to allow the Order to exist so long as it agrees to become more decentralized, democratic, and accountable. They will have to forfeit certain artifacts and individuals in their possession over to me, chief among them the Darling Twins, but I am willing to negotiate. If they aren’t, then I will overthrow the Grand Adderman by whatever means necessary and see the Order scattered to the four winds. It is entirely up to them whether or not the conflict between us escalates to full-on war. Have I made myself clear, Samantha?”
“I think so,” I said as I pensively considered everything he had said. “Why should they trust you to keep your word once your chains are broken? For that matter, why should we?”
He took a moment to consider his response, eyeing me over as though he was trying to divine something that would win over my trust.
“Samantha, you made a pact with Persephone to get your Spirit Familiar there; one where she swore by the River Styx. Is that correct?” he asked.
“It is,” I nodded.
“And in the years since, has Persephone ever broken that pact she swore to?” he asked.
“No, she hasn’t,” I replied.
“I may not be an Old God, but so long as my astral form remains bound by their chains, they have power over me,” he said. “Samantha Sumner, Hedge Witch of Harrowick Woods, I swear on the River Styx that I have spoken no lies to you today. I swear by the River Styx that I will abide by any Covenant that I and the Ophion Occult Order agree to in good faith and fair dealing that they do not break first. I swear by the River Styx that when my chains are broken, I will give you no cause to fear me or regret your trust in me.”
I gave a questioning glance to Genevieve, and then Elam, both of whom nodded in the affirmative.
“All right. An oath sworn on the River Styx is good enough for me. I’ll deliver your terms to Seneca Chamberlin,” I agreed. “I’m very grateful for the trust and respect you’ve shown for me and my coven, Emrys, though I can’t say I quite understand it. Out of all the guests that were there on the Hallow’s Eve you were summoned, why did Evie and I stand out to you?”
“The Ophion Occult Order deemed you worthy of inclusion in their cult, an offer you rejected on principle. You cheated Persephone, but you did it not to gain immortality for yourself but to save your friend from hell. You came here, thinking I could very well tear your souls asunder, but did so because you believed it was your duty to prevent needless suffering,” Emrys answered. “You are extraordinary in your craft, courage, and conscience, the latter of which especially stood out among the degenerates at that party. I do apologize if I frightened you at that event. I was a bit… irritable, given the circumstances. I’m glad we were able to meet again under more pleasant conditions.”
“So am I, Emrys,” I nodded. “I’m not sure exactly what this means or how relevant it is, but Seneca wanted me to tell you that he’s able to offer you the Dream Demon Red Ruck as a sacrifice.”
“Pffft. Tell him it’s hardly a sacrifice if I’m getting rid of a boogie man for him,” he scoffed. “In fact, now that you mention it, Ruck’s one egregore that might be of more use to me alive.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but we were suddenly interrupted by the rapid pounding of a gong somewhere down below. It seemed to be an alarm of some kind, as we could hear the panicked shouting and frantic racing of people either battening down or forsaking the Flea Market altogether.
Mathom-meister apparated into the middle of the room, his facial tentacles reflexively raised in a defensive position.
“Were you outside the market?” he demanded of us.
“The portal we came through deposited us a few miles outside of the market, yes,” I admitted.
“Damn,” Emrys cursed softly, though he sounded more frustrated than angry. “Meister, it’s not their fault. I knew they weren’t experienced Planeswalkers, I could have – ”
“It doesn’t matter!” Mathom-meister interjected. “They need to leave, now!”
“Why, what’s going on?” Genevieve demanded.
“The scarabs are swarming,” Petra explained. “Don’t feel bad; it happens often enough that they’re prepared for it.”
I wanted to press for more details, but I could hear the humming of a vast winged swarm steadily encroaching upon us.
“Don’t worry. Once you leave the swarm will disperse… eventually,” Emrys told us. “We’ve said all that need be said for now. Return home, and I’ll reach out to you again shortly, Samantha.”
Again, I wanted to object, but the swarm outside was growing louder and louder, and it occurred to me that we might not be completely safe from a biblical swarm of insects that could not only sense but evidently sought out souls.
This occurred to Charlotte as well, as she was the first of us to vanish and awaken back in her body. We could all feel the weight of her reembodied soul tugging on us to return with her. Genevieve immediately grabbed hold of my right hand and Elam my left, both of them refusing to leave before I did.
I spared one final glance at Emrys, lamenting that we couldn’t have had more time.
“I’ll relay everything you said to the Order. I’ll make sure they know you’re willing to negotiate a truce,” I vowed.
He gave me a gracious nod, and just as we heard the swarm start to pelt the exterior of the market, I forced my physical eyes open and was back in my body, still safely under a willow tree in my cemetery.
I immediately looked beside me to Genevieve, and saw that she was awake as well, and then around me for Elam, who seemed to be suffering a bit of spectral whiplash from being pulled back with me so suddenly, but was otherwise all right. Sighing with relief, I turned lastly to Charlotte, and saw that she was looking down at the mediation circle in dreaded horror.
Following her gaze, I saw that the Undying Rose was gone – spent, perhaps, in exchange for our passage – and in its place was the inert, and hopefully dead, body of one of the shimmering scarabs.

“I’m sorry; we’re going to astral travel to a flea market?” Charlotte asked incredulously as she watched Genevieve and I set up a meditation circle under the shade of a towering old willow tree in my cemetery. “What if we want to buy something? How will we bring it back?”
“We’re not going there to shop, Lottie. Samantha’s finally had a vision about Emrys,” Genevieve explained.
The Veil between the Physical and Astral Planes is exceptionally weak in my cemetery, especially at night and on hallowed days. When I sleep there, my subconscious mind is highly receptive to all manner of revelations from the Spirit World. When I saw a Blood Moon rise on the night of May fifth, the same night as a penumbral eclipse, I knew that my dreams would be prophetic.
“I had a dream about him last Friday,” I expounded. “He’s at some sort of otherworldly marketplace, one that’s not connected to the Crypto Chthonic Cuniculi, so it’s mostly inaccessible to the Ophion Occult Order. In my dream, Emrys invited us to come and speak with him while we were lucid. He drew a sigil for me, the same one I’ve drawn in the middle of the mediation circle. He said that all I’d have to do is toss an Undying Rose – the earthly effigy of the rose Persephone used to steal a drop of his blood – into the sigil and it will become an astral portal to where he is.”
I held up the deep purple rose that I had cut from its bush earlier that day. I don’t know for certain where the roses came from, but my best guess is that they were made by the same Occultist who hallowed my cemetery to Persephone; Artaxerxes Crow. They have some connection to Emrys as well, since the only other time I saw someone else use one was when his avatar was summoned into the Physical Plane on Halloween 2020.
Knowing that Emrys wouldn’t dare to set foot in a place that was sacred to the Goddess who was ultimately responsible for his cosmic defeat, I gently tossed the rose into the middle of the sigil.
“He invited all of us?” Charlotte asked with an incredulous raising of her eyebrow.
“He said me and my coven. If he had just meant me or me and Genevieve he would have said that,” I replied. “You and Elam are coming too. I want as many eyes on this place as possible so that we don’t miss anything. We may not get an opportunity like this again.”
“And this is safe? Visiting some random flea market between worlds?” Charlotte asked.
“Samantha and I have visited the Underworld and come back no problem,” Genevieve reminded her. “So long as we’re bound to our bodies and Elam is bound to Samantha, we can come back anytime. Don’t worry; this is going to be a blast! Adventures like these are the best part of being a Witch.”
“The only reason you were able to go to the Underworld is because Samantha’s cemetery came with an astral portal in the back,” Charlotte countered, gesticulating in the general direction of the archway that was still partially visible behind the light spring foliage. “Other than that, when have any of us ever done anything useful with our astral projection? This is still a physical place, right? We don’t have any of our physical senses available to us when we astral project, and I get extremely disoriented trying to navigate the mortal plane with clairvoyance alone.”
“It is a physical place, but one saturated with astral energy and full of occultists and occult artifacts. It will be extremely illuminated to our clairvoyance,” I assured her. “Elam will also be there to guide us. As a ghost, he’s much more practiced at traversing the mortal plane in an astral form.”
Charlotte folded her arms over her chest and turned to look at Elam, who was leaning up against the willow tree as he waited for us.
“I don’t suppose you could go and scout the place out for us ahead of time?” she asked.
“I can’t go too far from Samantha, and definitely not across planes,” he said with a shake of his head. “But Eve’s right. Your astral bodies will be in no danger, and you can return here in an instant whenever you want.”
“But what about Emrys? Didn’t that book Leon gave you say that he’s some sort of soul-flayer?” Charlotte asked me.
“It did,” I admitted. “Keep in mind though, that book was written by his enemies. I want to hear his side of things before this conflict of theirs spirals out of control.”
“Any update from Chamberlin about that?” Elam asked.
“Yeah, he said that after he failed to purify the Sigil Sand, Ivy’s onboard with negotiating some kind of truce with Emrys,” I replied. “The Grand Adderman’s still reticent, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s running out of options. I need to find out if Emrys will agree to peace talks.”
“Um, I get that, but I’m still kind of hung up on him potentially flaying our souls,” Charlotte reiterated.
“If Emrys and the Ophion Occult Order go to all-out war, there’ll be a lot of collateral damage and innocent souls caught in the crossfire,” Genevieve told her, gently grabbing hold of her and looking her straight in the eye. “Samantha, Elam, and I are doing this because if there’s any chance we can put an end to this before it starts, then it’s our responsibility to try. You don’t have to come with us, Lottie, but you’re still a member of our coven. Samantha and I would both feel a lot better with you there to help us.”
“Arghhh! All right, fine! I’ll come with you,” Charlotte gave in, plopping her butt down on the edge of the meditation circle. “If we’re holding hands, that will help keep our astral bodies together too, right?”
“I believe it should, yes,” I smiled at her, sitting down and reaching out for her hand.
Genevieve lit the incense and her bong filled with the entheogenic Delphi Dream, before sitting down to join us. She took a hit from the bong before passing it to me, and then to Charlotte before setting it aside out of the circle.
“Start with taking a deep breath, completely filling the lungs, and holding it for five heartbeats,” she guided us as she took hold of each of our hands. “Exhale completely, and wait five more heartbeats before breathing in again. Eyes closed, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Focus on the astral energies flowing through you with each breath, gently aligning each chakra until those energies are enough to lift you up and out of your body.”
In unison with one another, the three of us slowly breathed in and out, ignoring the material world around us and focusing upon the task at hand. Eve was first, as usual, and because we were all holding hands, Charlotte and I felt her eagerly tugging us up to speed us along.
I opened my eyes, and beheld the dull and muted Physical Plane through my clairvoyance, everything outshined by the radiant forms of my coven mates. I noted that Genevieve had eschewed her normal skyclad form when astral projecting and instead wore a cloak like Charlotte and I.
“Are you worried this place might have a no shirt, no shoes, no souls, no service policy?” I teased her.
“I just don’t want to risk a confrontation over it. I realize how important this is,” she answered. “Though I’m not actually wearing shoes, now that you mention it.”
“Christ, look at the sigil Samantha drew!” Charlotte said, pointing down at the meditation circle beneath us. The sigil wasn’t just glowing but flowing as well, churning the Aether around it in a misty, spectral vortex. “It’s an astral portal, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah. It’s not stable, though. Good for one trip only,” Genevieve said with a delighted smile. “And Lottie, since we’re Neopagan Witches, try not to swear by Christ, okay?”
“Jesus!” she swore, both in defiance and in genuine annoyance.
“Elam! Elam, come join the circle! I don’t want to take any chances of severing our bond,” I instructed, letting go of Charlotte’s hand and waving him in between us.
Faithful Familiar that he was, he obeyed without hesitation. Despite my concerns, I think that he probably could have stayed behind if he had wanted. The fact that he was willing to follow me to an unknown otherworld without complaint really made me appreciate how devoted he was to me.
“We step in together on the count of three, got it?” I instructed, each of them nodding clearly in response. “One. Two. Three!”
We all extended our right feet into the vortex together, and the instant we did we were swept away, falling out of our own world and tumbling between the cracks of countless others. They weren’t real, I don’t think. At least, not as real as our world. They were potential realities, or realities that could have been once but now can never be, or fantasies that are so persistent in the minds of real people that in some sense or another, they become real themselves. I only saw glimmers of them, glimmers in nebulas made of primeval chaos and uttermost void.
It was outside of time, that place we travelled through, or at least we had no sense of it there. Our souls were haphazardly spat out upon a surreal landscape of earth, sea, and fire. Hilly plains of volcanic ash, incandescent calderas of lava and bubbling hot springs all intermeshed in a chaotic mosaic that didn’t seem to abide by any laws of geology or geography that I was familiar with. A strong but slow wind pushed fractal formations of dark silver clouds through a pale silver sky, illuminated by a single white orb which could have been either a bright moon or a faint sun.
While our spectral feet left no trace upon the ash we now stood upon, our presence nonetheless elicited a response from some of the local fauna. We were just able to catch a glimpse of some kind of shimmering scarabs burrowing themselves into the ash to escape the four otherworldly ghosts that had invaded their territory.
“Holy shit,” Charlotte murmured as we all gazed out upon the strange world we had found ourselves on. “This really isn’t on the Astral Plane. This is a real planet. This a real, alien planet! This is unbelievable!”
Genevieve glided over to one of the bubbling pools and peered into it, looking for any more signs of life.
“There’s some kind of bluish-grey algae growing on the rocks down there, and I think I can make out some small arthropods too. This planet’s alive!” she announced with glee, smiling and looking up at the alien sky.
Conjuring an astral approximation of my staff, I plunged it into a small mound of ash beside me. I watched curiously as the scarabs shot out in all directions, moving too quickly for me to get a good look at them, before scurrying back into the surrounding ash.
“These bugs can sense our presence,” I remarked. “How and why would clairvoyance evolve in insects on this world, and why would their first instinct be to flee?”
“Samantha!” Elam called out. “I think I found the Flea Market.”
We all gathered around him and looked where he was pointing. On a distant dune, we beheld the moulted carapace of a colossal insect, gleaming a brilliant, lustrous gold in the broken white light.
“That’s impossible!” Charlotte claimed. “That thing must be hundreds of meters long! No insect, no animal period could ever get that big on the Physical Plane!”
“It could be the Incarnation of some kind of Titan,” Genevieve suggested. “But… it’s dead. I can tell that even from here. It’s dead. It’s the corpse of a dead god, and now it’s being used as a swap meet with a punny name. Either whatever killed it just abandoned it, or…”
“Or is running the place,” I finished for her. “Well, we should see if we can find Emrys.”
In an instant, the world moved around us until we were at the entrance to the Flea Market. The colossal carapace was hollow inside, of course, and had been filled with a bustling city that looked like it had been created in the most ad hoc manner possible. There wasn’t a single straight street to be seen, and they converged with one another at random intervals. Stalls and buildings varied wildly in both design and materials, all imported from a plethora of different cultures across the planes.
Enormous shards of luminous glass levitated above the throng like a thousand Swords of Damocles, any or all of them seeming capable of succumbing to gravity at any moment. In the very center of the moulted husk dangled a great spiralling chrysalis or hive woven of iridescent silk, its function not being immediately apparent to me.
There must have been thousands of people there, and hundreds of merchants hawking their wares. Most of those who looked human still seemed a little off, like they were members of ethnicities that didn’t exist in our world. Some of the beings were near-human in appearance, many seemingly some kind of Fey or Seelie folk. There was even a small handful of people that weren’t remotely human at all.
The only thing they all had in common was that none were native to this world.
“Most of these people are here in person, aren’t they?” Charlotte asked.
“It would’ve been quite a feat for them to have built all of this while astral projecting,” Genevieve agreed.
“But if this place isn’t connected to the Cuniculi, then how did they get here?” Charlotte asked. “We’re on another planet, maybe even in another dimension. If getting here is beyond the Ooo’s abilities, then what sort of ungodly reality benders decided to turn it into a Flea Market?”
“Ladies, gentlemen, and any beings either too ancient and alien or too modern and alienated to settle on one or the other, come bear witness to one of the most astounding and atrocious abominations on this or any other world!” a fast-paced male voice rang out over the din of the crowd.
We turned to see a short, skinny, old-timey sort of carnival barker standing on a literal soap box, placed next to a large object draped in a black tarp.
“For the paltry price of a single three-headed coin, you can peer beneath the veil and behold with your own unbelieving eyes the mangled and mutilated monstrosity that lurks beneath!” the carnival barker continued. “But I must warn you, it is not possible to truly understand what dwells underneath without seeing it first! I cannot guarantee that you will still retain your sanity or will to live after witnessing the proverbial Mountains of Madness, for this low creature is truly like no other and serves only as a grim testament to the cruel sadism of the Lord Above! Anyone plagued by even the faintest lingering doubt as to their spiritual fortitude should not dare to even contemplate what might lie before me! But, for those brave, noble few who are truly dauntless of heart and incorrigible of spirit, I am proud to share with you this rare, unfathomable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness sublime –”
The carnival barker was interrupted by a man yanking the sheet off the object beside him, revealing it to be a mirror.
“Whelp, that was a hell of an Im14andthisisdeep post, eh?” Charlotte mused.
Genevieve and I, however, were far too stunned to be amused; not by the mirror, but by the man who had unveiled it.
“It’s him, Lottie. That’s Emrys,” Genevieve whispered.
We had only seen him briefly once before, more than two-and-a-half years ago, but he was far from what anyone would call forgettable. He was tall and gaunt, with literal blue blood flowing beneath translucent skin. His long, receding hair and regal beard were pitch black, and dark miasma wafted from his eyes, nose, and mouth. He was dressed in dark sable robes with three overlapping Ouroboros’s tattooed on his forehead, with a pair of ophidian pupils lying in the spaces between them.
What stood out the most to us were the six silver Ouroboros chains bound around his wrists, ankles, waist, and neck. These were the chains the Ophion Occult Order had made to limit the power of his physical avatar, and it seemed he had not yet found a way to free himself from them.
“Are you still here?” Emrys asked in exasperation, tossing the veil back at the carnival barker in disdain.
“…Possibly,” the strange man replied evasively. “But not definitively, for purely legalistic reasons.”
“I believe Mathom-meister was quite clear when he said that your rather pitiful chicanery wasn’t welcomed here,” Emrys reminded him.
“And who is he to judge chicanery from cutthroat, capitalistic competition? Should not the Flea Market be a free market?” the charlatan demanded. “And while we’re on the topic of commerce, I don’t suppose you have enough three-headed coins to pay for all the poor souls you have so discourteously exposed to my exhibit against their will? I’d hate to have to start shaking people down to get my due.”
“Hard to believe your own circus threw you out,” Emrys said with a sardonic eye roll as he tossed him a small medallion. “You get one coin. Take it and get out of my sight.”
The charlatan flipped the coin in the air thrice, presumably to confirm it actually had three heads. Satisfied with its impossible dimensions, he shoved it into his pocket.
“It will cover the trolley ride home, at least,” he acquiesced, stepping off his soap box and turning to face his looking glass. “A shame though you can’t see the genius in my little avant-garde performance piece here, Emmy. Even I know that the monster in the mirror is often the hardest to recognize.”
As the man reached to pick up his mirror, his reflection’s arms shot through the glass and grabbed him by the wrists, pulling him in. Emrys immediately tried to chase after him, but bounced off the glass as if there was nothing supernatural about it at all.
“Bastard!” he cursed under his breath, before turning towards us and giving us a small apologetic smile. “I’m sorry you had to see that rather pathetic display. Unfortunately, the few meeting places I know of that are relatively safe from any Ophionic incursion also attract their fair share of other annoying miscreants.”
“If it didn’t attract a little bit of everything, it wouldn’t be a Flea Market, would it?” I asked rhetorically. “Thank you, Emrys, for inviting us. I’ve never been anywhere like this before.”
“And thank you for accepting. Samantha, Genevieve, it’s a pleasure to see you again, and a relief that you have not fallen under the auspices of the Ophion Occult Order,” he said with a gentle bow. “Elam, I remember you as well. Valiant but not reckless, you remained atop Pendragon Hill during my battle with the Darlings until your mistress was well out of harm’s way, and then you got the hell out of dodge yourself. Samantha couldn’t hope for a better Familiar. And Charlotte, any Witch that Samantha deemed worthy to induct into her coven is obviously someone whose acquaintance I am pleased to make. Welcome, all of you, to Mathom-meister’s Flea Market!”
“So this is where you’ve been hiding out the past two years?” Genevieve asked.
“Oh no. Far too Cosmopolitan for my tastes,” Emrys replied. “No, this is just a friendly place to meet those I consider friends – or potential friends, at least. I’d offer to show you around, but I know it’s difficult for you to astral travel for prolonged periods. Come with me to Mathom-meister’s house where we can talk freely, and we’ll discuss the situation with the Order.”
I gave him a small, single nod in response, and gestured with my staff that he should lead the way. He responded by pointing upwards, then vanished into his shadow form. When we looked up, we saw him waving at us from a balcony atop the great silken chrysalis.
We exchanged hesitant glances with one another, but ultimately followed him into the strange structure, moving from the ground to the balcony in an instant by will alone.
“How would an incarnate being get up here if they couldn’t fly or teleport?” Charlotte asked as she peered over the balcony’s teetering edge.
As though answering a summons, a humanoid creature apparated beside her in a flash of dark vapours. The hunched-back entity stood over six-and-a-half feet tall, and was clad in golden-brown erudite robes. Its squid-like skin was of a similar colour, and its entire face was a single gaping orifice that held a wispy, glowing orb in the center of its skull which I immediately recognized as its soul. A pair of long, fanged tentacles lined with pores and tendrils hung down from its head like a long, forked beard, and the seven digits shared by its two hands all bore wicked-looking talons, as did its two-toed, digitigrade feet.
“Not fly or teleport? What sort of pedestrian house guests do you think I entertain here?” the being asked wryly, its voice seeming to come from nowhere in particular.
Charlotte instinctively backed away from the creature and into the protective fold of our coven, but Emrys was quick to hold up his hand to plead for calm.
“Please, there’s no need for alarm. This is our host, Mathom-meister. He’s the only reason any of this is here in the first place,” Emrys informed us. “A year or two ago a companion of his unfortunately became one of the Darling Twin’s victims, and when he heard of my vendetta with them, he tracked me down; which is no small feat, I assure you.”
“It is for us. My people are a race of Planeswalkers. Traversing the many worlds of Creation is second nature to us,” Mathom-meister explained.
“I’ve… I’ve heard of your people, I think,” I said, softly and unsurely. “A friend of mine had an encounter with an artifact that gave her a vision of a race of strange and powerful sorcerers slaying their own god. I take it you’re the ones who slayed this Scarab Titan as well? That’s, that’s…”
“Horrifying, yes. That’s the idea,” he nodded. “You have nothing to worry about, young Witch. My people have no special interest in your world. This is purely personal. My friend is dead, and I want his murderers brought to justice; a goal which Emrys and I happen to have in common.”
“Feel free to share this information with the Ophion Occult Order, Samantha,” Emrys said. “I’d very much like for the Darling Twins to know what’s hunting them. Mathom-meister, please excuse me while I take my guests inside. We do have pressing business to discuss and their time is limited.”
The squid-cyclopes bowed gracefully, and my coven and I quickly scurried after Emrys as he led us inside through a towering hallway and into a large chamber that had been appointed as a living space.
I had thought that Emrys would want to speak with us alone, which was why I was surprised to see a young woman sitting cross-legged on a spongey yet chitinous object that I will for the sake of my sanity call a bean bag chair. Like Emrys, she was pale and blue-blooded, her choppy hair as black as coal. She wore a black robe and heavy black eyeliner, but these could not conceal the fact that she too had thin wisps of miasma emanating from her eyes.
“Is that your… daughter?” Charlotte asked, as baffled by her presence as any of us. The woman smiled warmly at the question.
“In a way. I was dead, and Emrys gave me new life. Now a part of the Outer Primordial Darkness he represents lives in me too,” she said serenely.
Hovering above her left palm were three small bluish-green orbs, lazily going around in a circle. They were translucent and held something inside them that I couldn’t make out, but the orbs themselves appeared to be melting and solidifying by the woman’s will.
“You’re Petra, aren’t you?” I asked as I cautiously approached her. “Chamberlin had mentioned that Emrys had taken an acolyte. I’m Samantha, and this is Genevieve, Elam, and Charlotte.”
“I know. The whole reason we’re here is to speak with you,” she nodded.
“The Ophion Occult Order calls me a soul-flayer, and I’m sure you were all wondering exactly what that meant before you came here,” Emrys said, standing proudly behind his acolyte. “Well, this is it. The Darkness Beyond is now a part of her, and a part of her now lives within the Darkness Beyond. She is not unchanged from what she was before, but neither has what she was been lost.”
“My interpretation of the term ‘soul-flaying’ was the complete removal of a person’s consciousness from their astral and physical bodies to be subsumed by your Darkness,” I countered. “They told me that what you’ve done with Petra here is just the limit of your power while you’re bound in their chains. Are you telling me that if your chains were broken, you wouldn’t be able to do any worse than this?”
“On my physical avatar? No. So long as my astral form remains chained and bound with the World Serpent, I cannot cleave a conscious mind from its astral substrate,” Emrys assured me.
“But that is your ultimate goal, isn’t it? Breaking the chains the Ophion Occult Order put on you is just a stepping stone to breaking the ones the gods bound you with?” Genevieve asked. “You’ve allied yourself with a literal god slayer. Do you expect us to believe that his people’s abilities aren’t something you intend to put to your own ends?”
“I don’t have an ultimate goal so much as I have a fundamental principle of opposing tyranny,” he claimed. “When I was a mere man, thousands of years ago, I was a tyrant. I believed that might made right so unquestionably that when my might began to fail me, the only thing I could think to do was to try everything in my power to restore it. This quest eventually led to me becoming one with the Darkness Beyond, which gave me not only the might I coveted but the wisdom I didn’t know I needed. It gave me perspective. It made me stronger than any human alive at that point but still let me realize how insignificant I was. It was humbling, and enlightening, and filled me both with remorse over my past actions and an impetus to use my newfound gifts to rectify them. I tried to overthrow the gods themselves which, in hindsight, was overly ambitious. I not only failed but had my soul devoured by the World Serpent, where it still resides to this day.
“I am not eager to bring the wrath of the gods down upon me once again. No, for now, I will be content to end the tyranny of the Ophion Occult Order. This is the message I’d like you to relay to them. If the Grand Adderman agrees to unbind my chains and step down from his post, I will spare his life. If he declines, I want the rest of the Order to know that I will show mercy to any who sides with me over him. I am willing to allow the Order to exist so long as it agrees to become more decentralized, democratic, and accountable. They will have to forfeit certain artifacts and individuals in their possession over to me, chief among them the Darling Twins, but I am willing to negotiate. If they aren’t, then I will overthrow the Grand Adderman by whatever means necessary and see the Order scattered to the four winds. It is entirely up to them whether or not the conflict between us escalates to full-on war. Have I made myself clear, Samantha?”
“I think so,” I said as I pensively considered everything he had said. “Why should they trust you to keep your word once your chains are broken? For that matter, why should we?”
He took a moment to consider his response, eyeing me over as though he was trying to divine something that would win over my trust.
“Samantha, you made a pact with Persephone to get your Spirit Familiar there; one where she swore by the River Styx. Is that correct?” he asked.
“It is,” I nodded.
“And in the years since, has Persephone ever broken that pact she swore to?” he asked.
“No, she hasn’t,” I replied.
“I may not be an Old God, but so long as my astral form remains bound by their chains, they have power over me,” he said. “Samantha Sumner, Hedge Witch of Harrowick Woods, I swear on the River Styx that I have spoken no lies to you today. I swear by the River Styx that I will abide by any Covenant that I and the Ophion Occult Order agree to in good faith and fair dealing that they do not break first. I swear by the River Styx that when my chains are broken, I will give you no cause to fear me or regret your trust in me.”
I gave a questioning glance to Genevieve, and then Elam, both of whom nodded in the affirmative.
“All right. An oath sworn on the River Styx is good enough for me. I’ll deliver your terms to Seneca Chamberlin,” I agreed. “I’m very grateful for the trust and respect you’ve shown for me and my coven, Emrys, though I can’t say I quite understand it. Out of all the guests that were there on the Hallow’s Eve you were summoned, why did Evie and I stand out to you?”
“The Ophion Occult Order deemed you worthy of inclusion in their cult, an offer you rejected on principle. You cheated Persephone, but you did it not to gain immortality for yourself but to save your friend from hell. You came here, thinking I could very well tear your souls asunder, but did so because you believed it was your duty to prevent needless suffering,” Emrys answered. “You are extraordinary in your craft, courage, and conscience, the latter of which especially stood out among the degenerates at that party. I do apologize if I frightened you at that event. I was a bit… irritable, given the circumstances. I’m glad we were able to meet again under more pleasant conditions.”
“So am I, Emrys,” I nodded. “I’m not sure exactly what this means or how relevant it is, but Seneca wanted me to tell you that he’s able to offer you the Dream Demon Red Ruck as a sacrifice.”
“Pffft. Tell him it’s hardly a sacrifice if I’m getting rid of a boogie man for him,” he scoffed. “In fact, now that you mention it, Ruck’s one egregore that might be of more use to me alive.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but we were suddenly interrupted by the rapid pounding of a gong somewhere down below. It seemed to be an alarm of some kind, as we could hear the panicked shouting and frantic racing of people either battening down or forsaking the Flea Market altogether.
Mathom-meister apparated into the middle of the room, his facial tentacles reflexively raised in a defensive position.
“Were you outside the market?” he demanded of us.
“The portal we came through deposited us a few miles outside of the market, yes,” I admitted.
“Damn,” Emrys cursed softly, though he sounded more frustrated than angry. “Meister, it’s not their fault. I knew they weren’t experienced Planeswalkers, I could have – ”
“It doesn’t matter!” Mathom-meister interjected. “They need to leave, now!”
“Why, what’s going on?” Genevieve demanded.
“The scarabs are swarming,” Petra explained. “Don’t feel bad; it happens often enough that they’re prepared for it.”
I wanted to press for more details, but I could hear the humming of a vast winged swarm steadily encroaching upon us.
“Don’t worry. Once you leave the swarm will disperse… eventually,” Emrys told us. “We’ve said all that need be said for now. Return home, and I’ll reach out to you again shortly, Samantha.”
Again, I wanted to object, but the swarm outside was growing louder and louder, and it occurred to me that we might not be completely safe from a biblical swarm of insects that could not only sense but evidently sought out souls.
This occurred to Charlotte as well, as she was the first of us to vanish and awaken back in her body. We could all feel the weight of her reembodied soul tugging on us to return with her. Genevieve immediately grabbed hold of my right hand and Elam my left, both of them refusing to leave before I did.
I spared one final glance at Emrys, lamenting that we couldn’t have had more time.
“I’ll relay everything you said to the Order. I’ll make sure they know you’re willing to negotiate a truce,” I vowed.
He gave me a gracious nod, and just as we heard the swarm start to pelt the exterior of the market, I forced my physical eyes open and was back in my body, still safely under a willow tree in my cemetery.
I immediately looked beside me to Genevieve, and saw that she was awake as well, and then around me for Elam, who seemed to be suffering a bit of spectral whiplash from being pulled back with me so suddenly, but was otherwise all right. Sighing with relief, I turned lastly to Charlotte, and saw that she was looking down at the mediation circle in dreaded horror.
Following her gaze, I saw that the Undying Rose was gone – spent, perhaps, in exchange for our passage – and in its place was the inert, and hopefully dead, body of one of the shimmering scarabs.

Hey all, been playing osrs again for the first time since I was a teen. I was always F2P and I've been doing the same since I started playing again. However, after I finish all the F2P quests, I'd like to get membership and see what the full game has to offer. What is the first thing you recommend new members do? Any particular skill or quest that should be top of my list? Also, are there any guides or resources you'd recommend for a new member? Thanks for any and all help ❤️

The quest survey please do it everyone, great questions on there.
Thanks for giving us the option to strongly disagree to the "chosen one" bs and the "gods visit runescape" plotlines.
The story is so much more compelling as an observer (A powerful one, but still just some guy who's done some neat stuff) and the gods not being directly involved. Killing off multiple gods literally just ripped off the "call in to kill robin" trope and left some major continuity errors in the world that are still lingering in rs3.
That said, I wish there was a comment space for some of the questions. I feel like the Troll questline is kindof in a good space and we really need some of these older quest lines wrapped up so we can explore some new things. we're sitting on like 6 cliffhangers and the potential for some new bosses or content from those is amazing. I also saw at one point I think (Mod Ash?) talking about bringing back Nomad and that's a HARD no for me. The two events I remember souring the game for me at least was EoC and the "Nomad wall." Some people got really good RNG or had amazing gear, but for the majority of my friends and I, bleeding millions of gold in potions and yak tabs was not fun content. It seemed almost designed just to be a brick wall for anyone with a quest cape and relied HEAVILY on RNG. Fuck Nomad. Let his bald ass sit in a dead minigame where he belongs.
I feel like the white knight's storyline could button up into some sort of repeatable content (A quest based slayer type activity from Sir Tiffy Cashien? Missions of some sort feels like a great conclusion.)
DS2 was actually pretty great and so was Secrets of the North. We're kindof in a Majharrat year but i'd love to see maybe Dwarf or Fairytale finish out in the next year.
Penguin questline seems almost too goofy for osrs. It's a good fit for RS3 because of how weird that game is now, but i'd love it if that's one of the questlines they take in a totally different direction. IDK I feel like OSRS has a more adult tone compared to RS3.
Rocking Out was a solid quest and it was one of the last quests I remember fondly before quitting RS2.
Quest I would love to see come to OSRS or ones that weren't mentioned: Buyers and Cellars, an expansion of the demon slayer questline, first resort (who else remembers bandos pool before gwd runs?!), love story, void knight.
I'd also love to fight Jormungand again for some cosmetics. Maybe some fresh new fremmenik armor looks? Small boost to those sets would be interesting!
I'm always excited about new quests it's my favorite part of the game.

I think it's time my fellow rs3 scapers. With the release of Necromancy, our character should now have the ability to use the necromancy themed Arceuus spells introduced in OSRS. Either as a direct addition to Necromancy or as a new Magic book.
For those that aren't sure what this is, here are what the "necromancy" themed spells do currently in OSRS, here is a breakdown;
All these spells from OSRS require a unique spellbook and magic weapon to cast. [In modern day, we would either use necromancer weapons or the standard staves] The spells that belong to this book are;

• Mark of Darkness / Arceuus Ward: Gives the player double chances of thier Arceuus Spells secondary effects activating/ Reduces the effectiveness of Arceuus spells cast on the player by half and protects complete from corruption. These are both single cast spells
  
  • LesseGreater Corruption: Cast on self ability that gives a chance for your attacks to apply an effect over time that drains opponents prayer by a set amount. Neat for pvp, also single cast.
  • Ghostly/Skeletal/Undead Grasp Spells: Deal damage like a normal spell and has a chance to bind target in place. The highest level (Undead) has a 50% chance to bind a target for 2.5 secs. Very useful in boss fights and pvp. Can be Autocasted.
  • Demonbane Spells: Can only be cast on Demons, can be considered a magic equivalent of silverlight/darklight. Attacks with this spell has a default accuracy boost by 20%. Combining with Mark of Darkness adds an additional 25% damage and 40% accuracy. Very useful for Slayer and Bossing. Can be Autocasted.
  • Dark Lure: A lesser addition, but basically a castable aggro potion for a single mob. For tank enthusiasts, this spell is definately your friend.
  • Death Charge: Restores 15% of special attack when killing an enemy. In Rs3, this could function as an a partial adrenaline refund for specials, thresholds, or ultimates
  • Offering Spells: Convert bones or ashes to prayer points. In a pinch? Use your enemies remains to fuel your protects.
  • Misc Shadow Veil, Degrime, Vile Vigour, Resurrect Crops: Qol of life for skilling
  • Various Resurrect spells: This is all alrYaya! covered already by current day Necromancy. Yay!
  • Various Re-animation spells: Another way to gain prayer and skill exp, but regular necromancy combat and rituals void the need for these.
  • Graveyard Teleports: Why not? Mobility is always great!

What do you guys think? Bare in mind all of the above is balanced for OSRS, so it would make sense for them to be properly balanced for Rs3 if they were added.
Looking forward to the comments!

Hi all, I have a bunch of games I'm looking to sell. Only accepting Paypal F&F at this time. Free shipping on orders of $50+, otherwise please add $5 for shipping costs. Photos available upon request!

System	Item	Condition	Price
32X	Primal Rage	Loose	$60.00
3DS	3DS XL NES Edition box	Box only	$80.00
3DS	Amazing Spiderman	Loose	$12.00
3DS	Amazing Spiderman 2	Loose	$12.00
3DS	Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer	Loose	$13.00
3DS	Bravely Default	CIB	$36.00
3DS	Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past	Loose	$60.00
3DS	Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth	Loose	$48.00
3DS	Final Fantasy Explorers	CIB	$30.00
3DS	Fossil Fighters: Frontier	Loose	$32.00
3DS	Kid Icarus: Uprising	CIB	$80.00
3DS	Kid Icarus: Uprising	Loose	$60.00
3DS	Kirby: Planet Robobot	Loose	$39.00
3DS	Madagascar 3	CIB	$9.00
3DS	Mario Golf: World Tour	Loose	$50.00
3DS	Nintendogs + Cats Golden Retriever and New Friends	Loose	$22.00
3DS	Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity	Loose	$26.00
3DS	Senran Kagura: Deep Crimson 2	Loose	$56.00
3DS	Sims 3 (Heavily damaged / punctured case)	Game + case	$14.00
amiibo	Ness amiibo	Loose	$25.00
amiibo	Splatoon amiibo 3-pack (crease along top of cardboard)	NIB	$50.00
Books	Horizon: Zero Dawn Collector's Edition guide	Loose	$120.00
Dreamcast	Dreamcast system (w/ cables, 1 controller, VMU	Complete	$110.00
Dreamcast	Maken X	CIB	$50.00
Dreamcast	Sonic Adventure	CIB	$50.00
DS	Bomberman	Loose	$13.00
DS	Elite Beat Agents	Loose	$15.00
DS	Final Fantasy IV	Loose	$18.00
DS	Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift	Loose	$33.00
DS	Fossil Fighters	Loose	$27.00
DS	Geometry Wars Galaxies	CIB	$9.00
DS	Legendary Starfy	Loose	$15.00
DS	Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga	CIB	$9.00
DS	My Hero Firefighter	CIB	$11.00
DS	Need for Speed: Pro Street	Loose	$9.00
DS	Pac-Man World 3	Loose	$11.00
DS	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	CIB	$7.00
DS	Plants vs Zombies	CIB	$13.00
DS	Plants vs Zombies	CIB	$15.00
DS	Plants vs Zombies	Loose	$11.00
DS	Pokemon Black	Loose	$70.00
DS	Pokemon Diamond case only	Case only	$20.00
DS	Pokemon White	CIB	$85.00
DS	Power Rangers Super Legends	CIB	$12.00
DS	Rhythm Heaven	Loose	$43.00
DS	Rockman ZX (JP)	Loose	$26.00
DS	Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis	CIB	$7.00
DS	Yoshi Touch & Go	Loose	$12.00
DS / 3DS	Lego bundle Battles, Indiana Jones, City Undercover, Friends	Loose	$12.00
GB	Pokemon Red (JP)	Loose	$15.00
GBA	Metroid Fusion (label fading, wear on box)	CIB	$100.00
GBA	Pokemon Ruby (heavy wear on box	CIB	$240.00
GBA	Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 box only	Box only	$35.00
GBA	Wolfenstein 3D	Loose	$25.00
GCN	Animal Crossing Memory Card (Some fading)	Loose	$18.00
GCN	Conflict: Desert Storm	Game + case	$11.00
GCN	Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix	Game + case	$23.00
GCN	Finding Nemo	Game + case	$5.00
GCN	Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (Blockbuster case)	Game + case	$9.00
GCN	Metroid Prime 2: Echoes case w/ Nintendo Power insert	Case only	$20.00
GCN	Nascar: Dirt to Daytona	CIB	$14.00
GCN	NCAA Football 2005	CIB	$14.00
GCN	Resident Evil 0	CIB	$17.00
GCN	Resident Evil 4	CIB	$30.00
GCN	Resident Evil Zero	CIB	$19.00
GCN	Resident Evil Zero	Game + manual	$14.00
GCN	Super Smash Bros Melee (cracked inner ring)	Loose	$45.00
Genesis	6-Pak (label wear)	Loose	$10.00
Genesis	Madden NFL 98	Loose	$9.00
Genesis	RBI Baseball 4 (Damaged art / case)	Game + case	$6.00
Genesis	Road Rash 3 (tear in label)	Loose
Genesis	Turrican (label tears)	Loose	$15.00
Genesis	World of Illusion	CIB	$35.00
Genesis	World Series Baseball	Game + case	$6.00
Genesis	WWF Raw	Game + case	$22.00
Genesis	X-Men (faded label)	Loose	$9.00
N64	Banjo Tooie (Not For Resale)	Loose	$150.00
N64	Donkey Kong 64 (JP)	Loose	$12.00
N64	ED64 Plus	NIB	$100.00
N64	Hey You, Pikachu! (JP)	Loose	$7.00
N64	Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask manual (N64)	Manual	$30.00
N64	Mario Kart 64 (Player's Choice)	CIB	$100.00
N64	Mario Party 2 (JP)	Loose	$8.00
N64	Mario Tennis (JP)	Loose	$9.00
NES	Gauntlet	Game + manual	$25.00
NES	T&C Surf Designs	Loose	$8.00
PS1	Bass Landing	CIB	$18.00
PS1	Brave Fencer Musashi	Loose	$55.00
PS1	Coolboarders 3	CIB	$6.00
PS1	Crash Bandicoot Warped	Loose	$6.00
PS1	Destruction Derby Raw	Loose	$11.00
PS1	Final Fantasy IX	Game + case	$16.00
PS1	Final Fantasy Tactics (Greatest Hits)	CIB	$50.00
PS1	Incredible Hulk (No cover art / manual)	Game + case	$11.00
PS1	Loaded	Loose	$10.00
PS1	Mega Man X6	Game + manual	$35.00
PS1	NHL Rock the Rink	CIB	$9.00
PS1	Parasite Eve (no demo disc)	CIB	$75.00
PS1	Resident Evil (longbox)(Cracked case and some art damage)	Game + case	$100.00
PS1	Revolution X (longbox)	CIB	$29.00
PS1	Rugrats: Search for Reptar	CIB	$18.00
PS1	Streak: Hoverboard Racing	CIB	$8.00
PS1	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	Game + manual	$10.00
PS1	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Game + case	$10.00
PS1	Urban Chaos	Loose	$8.00
PS1	WWE Smackdown 2 (No cover art / manual)	Game + case	$10.00
PS1	WWF Attitude	CIB	$10.00
PS1	WWF WrestleMania The Arcade Game	Loose	$13.00
PS2	Another Century's Episode (JP)	CIB	$12.00
PS2	Art of Fighting Anthology (Water damaged art)	CIB	$12.00
PS2	Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2	CIB	$7.00
PS2	Dragon Quest VIII	Game + case	$20.00
PS2	Fight Club	CIB	$10.00
PS2	Fight Night Round 2	CIB	$10.00
PS2	Fight Night Round 3	CIB	$9.00
PS2	Frogger: The Great Quest	CIB	$7.00
PS2	Guitar Hero III	CIB	$13.00
PS2	Guitar Hero: Aerosmith	CIB	$9.00
PS2	King Arthur	CIB	$10.00
PS2	King of Fighters: Maximum Impact	Loose	$10.00
PS2	Medal of Honor European Assault	CIB	$8.00
PS2	Midnight Club (Sharpie on disc)	Game + case	$6.00
PS2	Mortal Kombat: Deception Premium Pack	Game + case	$25.00
PS2	Namco Museum	CIB	$7.00
PS2	NFL Street 2	CIB	$20.00
PS2	Onimusha 3: Demon Siege	Loose	$10.00
PS2	Parappa the Rapper 2	Loose	$40.00
PS2	Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2	CIB	$11.00
PS2	Resident Evil 4	CIB	$15.00
PS2	Resident Evil Outbreak	Game + case	$18.00
PS2	Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2	Loose	$40.00
PS2	Sega Classics Collection	Game + case	$11.00
PS2	Silent Hill 2 (no music CD)	CIB	$120.00
PS2	Silent Hill 2 manual (Crease on top right corner)	Manual	$30.00
PS2	Silent Hill 3	CIB	$150.00
PS2	SSX	CIB	$8.00
PS2	Star Wars Racer: Revenge	CIB	$10.00
PS2	Tekken 4 GH	CIB	$11.00
PS2	Tekken Tag Tournament	Loose	$6.00
PS2	The Great Escape	CIB	$10.00
PS2	The Thing	Loose	$22.00
PS2	Thrillville	CIB	$6.00
PS2	Thrillville	CIB	$6.00
PS2	Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix	CIB	$6.00
PS2	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4	Game + case	$7.00
PS2	Tony Hawk's Underground 2	CIB	$17.00
PS2	WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006	CIB	$12.00
PS3	Amazing Spiderman 2	Loose	$18.00
PS3	Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel Overkill Edition	CIB	$11.00
PS3	Batman Arkham Origins	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Binary Domain	CIB	$20.00
PS3	Borderlands 2	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel	CIB	$6.00
PS3	Burnout Paradise	CIB	$8.00
PS3	Call of Duty Ghosts	CIB	$5.00
PS3	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	Game + case	$5.00
PS3	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	CIB	$7.00
PS3	Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood	CIB	$7.00
PS3	Dark Sector	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Darkness	CIB	$16.00
PS3	Dirt 3	CIB	$11.00
PS3	Disney Sing It Family Hits	CIB	$9.00
PS3	Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition	Game + case	$14.00
PS3	Earth Defense Force 2025	Loose	$14.00
PS3	Fallout 3 GOTY	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Final Fantasy X / X-2 Collector's Edition (coffee stains on book)	CIB	$20.00
PS3	Grand Slam Tennis 2	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Hitman Absolution	CIB	$6.00
PS3	Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Lair	CIB	$7.00
PS3	Madden NFL 17	CIB	$20.00
PS3	Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain Day One Edition	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes	CIB	$11.00
PS3	Minecraft	Game + case	$11.00
PS3	MLB 13: The Show	CIB	$5.00
PS3	Mortal Kombat	Game + case	$9.00
PS3	Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja: Storm 2	CIB	$7.00
PS3	NBA 2K16	CIB	$9.00
PS3	NCAA Football 12	CIB	$8.00
PS3	NCAA Football 12	CIB	$8.00
PS3	NCAA Football 13 (Water damaged art and manual)	CIB	$22.00
PS3	NCAA Football 14 (wavy art, minor disc art damage)	CIB	$125.00
PS3	Persona 4 Arena (Wavy cover art)	CIB	$16.00
PS3	Persona 5	Game + case	$14.00
PS3	PS Move navigation controller	NIB	$35.00
PS3	Remember Me	CIB	$12.00
PS3	Resident Evil 5	Game + case	$5.00
PS3	Rocksmith 2014	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Sega Rally Revo	CIB	$14.00
PS3	Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes	CIB	$20.00
PS3	Skate 2	CIB	$12.00
PS3	Skate 3	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Skyrim: Legendary Edition	CIB	$9.00
PS3	Soulcalibur IV	CIB	$10.00
PS3	Street Fighter IV (water damaged art)	CIB	$9.00
PS3	Tekken 6	CIB	$11.00
PS3	Tekken Hybrid	CIB	$32.00
PS3	Tekken Tag Tournament 2	CIB	$17.00
PS3	Top Spin 4	CIB	$14.00
PS3	Two Worlds II (Water damaged art)	CIB	$8.00
PS3	UFC 2009 Undisputed	Loose	$5.00
PS3	UFC 2010 Undisputed	CIB	$8.00
PS3	Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3	CIB	$19.00
PS3	Ultra Street Fighter IV	Game + case	$25.00
PS3	Ultra Street Fighter IV	CIB	$27.00
PS3	Uncharted 3	CIB	$6.00
PS3	Vampire Resurrection (JP)	CIB	$58.00
PS3	Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine	CIB	$19.00
PS3	Watchmen: The End is Night The Complete Experience	CIB	$36.00
PS3	Wolfenstein	Game + case	$12.00
PS3	WWE 2K16	CIB	$13.00
PS4	Abzu	Game + case	$13.00
PS4	Borderlands: The Handsome Collection	Game + case	$6.00
PS4	Dragon Ball Xenoverse	CIB	$10.00
PS4	God of War	CIB	$13.00
PS4	Horizon Forbidden West Launch Edition	CIB	$28.00
PS4	Lego Dimensions	CIB	$29.00
PS4	Minecraft	Game + case	$16.00
PS4	Paper Beast Collector's Edition	NIB	$62.00
PS4	Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville	CIB	$9.00
PS4	Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville	CIB	$9.00
PS4	Ratchet and Clank	Game + case	$9.00
PS4	Risk of Rain 2	CIB	$12.00
PS4	Rocket League: Collector's Edition	CIB	$13.00
PS4	West of Dead: Path of the Crow	NIB	$28.00
PS5	Life is Strange: True Colors	CIB	$15.00
PSP	ATV Offroad Fury Pro	CIB	$7.00
PSP	Bad Boys	Game + case	$8.00
PSP	Burnout Legends	Loose	$7.00
PSP	God of War: Ghost of Sparta	Loose	$41.00
PSP	Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition	Loose	$20.00
PSP	Midnight Club: LA Remix	Loose	$17.00
PSP	Need for Speed Rivals	Loose	$11.00
PSP	Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0 (clear piece set in slightly)	Loose	$12.00
PSP	Need for Speed: Pro Street (water damaged art)	Game + case	$8.00
PSP	Pimp My Ride	Loose	$8.00
PSP	Sonic Rivals	Loose	$12.00
PSP	Star Wars Battlefront II	Loose	$10.00
PSP	Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max (Clear shell)	Loose	$15.00
SNES	Brain Lord	Loose	$50.00
SNES	Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers	Loose	$14.00
SNES	Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers	Loose	$14.00
SNES	Robocop vs The Terminator	Loose	$23.00
SNES	TMNT IV: Turtles in Time	Loose	$45.00
SNES	Top Gear	Loose	$11.00
Switch	Fitness Boxing 2	NIB	$30.00
Switch	Pokemon Shining Pearl	CIB	$30.00
Switch	Super Mario 3D All-Stars	CIB	$80.00
Switch	Yo-Kai Watch 4++ (JP)	CIB	$50.00
Vita	Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified	Loose	$17.00
Vita	Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified	Loose	$17.00
Vita	Lego Batman 2	Loose	$9.00
Vita	Litte Big Planet	Loose	$20.00
Vita	Need for Speed Most Wanted	Loose	$16.00
Vita	Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale	Loose	$17.00
Vita	Soul Sacrifice	Loose	$15.00
Wii	007 Quantum of Solace	CIB	$5.00
Wii	Alice in Wonderland	CIB	$8.00
Wii	Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party	CIB	$8.00
Wii	Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure	CIB	$14.00
Wii	Disney Sing It Family Hits	CIB	$12.00
Wii	Dokapon Kingdom	Loose	$60.00
Wii	Family Game Night 4	CIB	$12.00
Wii	Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery	CIB	$11.00
Wii	Gold classic controller	Loose	$40.00
Wii	Guitar Hero 5	Game + case	$16.00
Wii	Guitar Hero Aerosmith	CIB	$9.00
Wii	Hot Wheels: Track Attack	CIB	$7.00
Wii	Just Dance Kids	CIB	$6.00
Wii	Just Dance Summer Party	CIB	$8.00
Wii	Karaoke Revolution	CIB	$8.00
Wii	My Ballet Studio	Game + case	$8.00
Wii	My Sims Racing	CIB	$8.00
Wii	Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution	CIB	$8.00
Wii	NBA Jam	CIB	$12.00
Wii	Nights Journey of Dreams (back art punctured)	Game + case	$8.00
Wii	No More Heroes 2	CIB	$23.00
Wii	Resident Evil : The Umbrella Chronicles	CIB	$14.00
Wii	Tony Hawk Ride	Game + case	$10.00
Wii	Tony Hawk: Shred	CIB	$8.00
Wii	Wii Play Motion	Game + case	$19.00
Wii	You Don't Know Jack	CIB	$9.00
Wii	Zelda Wii Remote (no battery cover)	Loose	$40.00
Wii U	Tekken Tag Tournament 2	Loose	$38.00
Xbox	Battlestar Galactica	CIB	$10.00
Xbox	Buffy The Vampire Slayer	Game + case	$17.00
Xbox	Burnout 2: Point of Impact	CIB	$11.00
Xbox	Crime Life	Game + case	$11.00
Xbox	Destroy All Humans!	CIB	$10.00
Xbox	Enclave	CIB	$9.00
Xbox	Gun	CIB	$8.00
Xbox	Half-Life 2	Game + case	$10.00
Xbox	House of the Dead III	Loose	$13.00
Xbox	Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb	CIB	$15.00
Xbox	Midway Arcade Treasures	CIB	$10.00
Xbox	Minority Report	CIB	$7.00
Xbox	Mortal Kombat: Deception Kollector's Edition: Baraka Version	CIB	$48.00
Xbox	Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks	CIB	$28.00
Xbox	Namco Museum	CIB	$7.00
Xbox	Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones	CIB	$6.00
Xbox	Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy	CIB	$11.00
Xbox	Spiderman	CIB	$10.00
Xbox	Spiderman 2	CIB	$12.00
Xbox	Star Trek: Shattered Universe	CIB	$9.00
Xbox	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith	CIB	$9.00
Xbox	Star Wars Jedi Starfighter	CIB	$10.00
Xbox	Star Wars Jedi Starfighter	CIB	$10.00
Xbox	Star Wars Starfighter Special Edition	CIB	$9.00
Xbox	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	CIB	$7.00
Xbox	Terminator 3: Redemption	CIB	$19.00
Xbox	Terminator: Dawn of Fate	CIB	$8.00
Xbox	Time Splitters 2	CIB	$15.00
Xbox	Time Splitters: Future Perfect	Loose	$20.00
Xbox	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x	Game + case	$10.00
Xbox	Tony Hawk's Project 8	CIB	$12.00
Xbox	Tron 2.0 Killer App	CIB	$13.00
Xbox	Turok Evolution	CIB	$9.00
Xbox	Ultimate Spiderman	CIB	$27.00
Xbox	Unreal Championship	Loose	$3.00
Xbox	Urbz: Sims in the City Special Edition	CIB	$9.00
Xbox	WWF Raw	Game + case	$8.00
Xbox	X-Men Legends	CIB	$8.00
Xbox 360	Alan Wake	CIB	$8.00
Xbox 360	Avatar: The Game	CIB	$42.00
Xbox 360	Batman: Arkham City GOTY	CIB	$8.00
Xbox 360	Blue Dragon	Loose	$13.00
Xbox 360	Borderlands 2 Add-On Content Pack	CIB	$8.00
Xbox 360	CSI: Hard Evidence	CIB	$9.00
Xbox 360	Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two	CIB	$7.00
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Hello friends! This is uncle Papi again!
Since I couldn't find a definite guide for the Maze of Tartarus anywhere, I'll try to share some tips on this hard challenge for all players that are having difficulty and want help to progress.
This post is by no means the optimal way to do. I'll just share here what worked for me on my journey from 1F to 30F. Hopefully some of the information will be helpful to someone.
Please be welcome to share your stories or contribute as well!
Some tips beforehand:

• There is a summary of each boss, listing its elemental chart (weaknesses/resistances) and ailment resists, as well as its type. You can take full advantage of elemental weaknesses and slayers, which you SHOULD (as much as you can).
• Pay attention to each scenario, as most of them are special floors and some arks have synergy or special effects on them.
• Do NOT be afraid of using units! You can always re-do early floors to free up units for later floors when you progress. Its no use having a very good unit sitting on the bench waiting for the "right floor". Use what you can to progress, that's all that matters!
• Crimson Ore equips are very useful because they free up gear for other characters.
• Do NOT underestimate your weaker characters! Many fights can be made much easier by having access to buffs/debuffs and they can be perfect for that role! Also, there's always Honey Elixir and WAP to make them useful.

1F: Skull Lord x3.
Team: SM Lilebette, Kyle, Eliza and Rei.
Strategy: I was very excited in my first fight! SM Lilebette was responsible to deal the damage, since monsters are weak to earth. Kyle, Rei and Eliza served as mana batteries, spamming Honey Elixir on SM Lilebette to keep the damage going.
2F: Elements x6 (one of each type).
Team: Shin, Gravein, AoG Baran and Gaoul.
Strategy: Since each spirit has different resist/weaknesses, I decided to approach with neutral damage. AoG baran has native SCT sustain and the other characters were there just to use buffs/debuffs.
3F: Medrone, Winged Menace x2.
Team: Vaughn, Carol Nº 4, Romel and Lily.
Strategy: The birds start flanking you (one on each side), so your primary goal should be bringing them to the same side to cleave them with skills, hitting both at the same time. They are weak to fire, so Vaughn had an easy time breaking them (I did give him Bird Slayer, since he doesn't have it by default).
Romel and Carol were mainly responsible for buffs/debuffs, while Vaughn had Honey Elixir to keep the damage going.
Lily was there casting and keeping the boss from casting their spells, debuffing them as well.
4F: Gold Dabourne (a lot of waves).
Team: Meredy, DXR-MK02.
Strategy: Very easy floor since the monsters are weak to instant death. I had Meredy and DXR-MK02 equipped with Death God skill.
Things were looking very good until I reached next floor.
5F: Saint Pokkle.
Team: Melza, Tinkili and Vergil
Strategy: This is where things start to get complicated, since you just arrived from a very easy floor.
The boss will likely 1-shot your unit if the unit is weak to light and the unit is not a plant. That being considered, I had to give everyone in the group Mimicry[Plant] (via skills or equips).
Melza was built full tank. As she has a very high light resist, she didn't take too much damage and she could do double duty as a healer. I kept in mind to equip all aggro skills/accessories I could to really make her shine.
Tinkili had buffs/debuffs and God Heal, spamming her special on CD.
Vergil came in with damage, using his special on CD to be immune to flinch. I stacked a lot of movement speed on him so he could close the gap faster. Also, his S1 teleports him straight behind the enemies, which made the job easier. I had to raise his light resistance so he wouldn't get one-shot.
Positioning here is very important, as Vergil needed to stay behind the boss to avoid being cleaved together with Melza.
Raising light resistance is also very important, so that Golem SSR ark is very good in this fight (+20 light/dark resist).
The boss will sometimes cast Star Verse, which will hit VERY hard, so Magic Barrier, Shadow Wall, Metis, Lostoma (on the boss) and Decoy can help you survive.
6F: Nocturne Tinkili and Fan Sahagin x3.
Team: Mia, Dabourne, Pokkle, Ghost.
Strategy: The fight is not hard. The enemies are easily grouped and are weak to thunder. The boss will likely 1-shot your unit if the unit is male.
That being considered, use monsters and/or female units to deal with the floor. The Sahagins, if left unchecked, can hit very hard, so be sure to nuke them down or use a female tank if you must (Maddine, Melza, etc.).
Mia went on rampage while the other monsters were on buff/debuff duties and using Honey Elixir when they could.
When the boss is low, she will use a Dark special which will hit hard, watch out for that.
7F: Lightning Myura (and his offsprings) x1.
Team: Gorm, Logia, Shida and Lilebette.
Strategy: The boss is weak to earth and casting magic is the way to go. I don't have many casters, so I decided to go for physical damage instead. The boss is resistant to shadow but you can always lower its resistance with Weak and Circles.
Also, bring resistance to stun, since the boss will hit like a truck if a unit is stunned. Also, avoid staying at the edges of the room, since the boss can pin you there and do a lot of damage (dont know if it was a bug or intencional).
The boss itself is vulnerable to ailments, so Logia + Annula Melth did the trick, while Gorm tanked and Shida did the damage.
Lilebette was responsible for healing and buffs/debuffs/revives as needed.
8F: Igneed x2.
Team: SLeona, Gobl, SMaddine and Zekus.
Strategy: There are actually 2 bosses here but they start on top of each other, making you think there's only one. Both bosses can be broken, so take advantage of that. Each time you break them, they become more and more resistant to break.
The main catch here is the fire attack that he launches when close to death but there are many ways to lower its damage (Walls, Buffs, Debuffs, etc.).
Gobl and SLeona were responsible for breaking the boss, while SMaddine and Zekus were responsible for buffs/debuffs, respectively. SLeona also did the damage.
9F: Ancient Ritual Remants x1.
Team: Ardine, Hobgobl, Sahagin, Barcello.
Strategy: I'm not going to lie, all characters here were just used as mana batteries for Ardine, which ripped through everything with his neutral damage.
Arks/skills that trigger effects on kill are very useful, since there are many waves of mobs that keep appearing during the fight.
10F: Gold Gaoul x1.
Team: Lanceveil, Davan, Duran and Beyland.
Strategy: The boss has a VERY high defense and you can't use any spells, so debuffs that are activated on "Battle Start" are very useful here.
Davan gives all enemies Blazer + Drain and Ghost Hime ark gives Spirit Riot. Very useful here.
Your DPS want skills that bypass defense, such as Piercing/Diabolos skills or the Terror of the Grana Seas ark + axe equipped.
11F: Lightning Pablaboria x1.
Team: Riesz, Leona, Leena and Dyne.
Strategy: That -500 thunder resist IS A TRAP!!! And I fell for it!
The boss ABSORBS thunder, so the goal is to deal earth damage instead. Being immune to flinch is nice, if you can afford to (via units or arks).
The boss will spawn 4 creatures that, if not killed, will turn into new Pablos. If you manage to kill all 4 of them, the boss will instantly break. This is when you should go all out on damage.
Leena took care of healing and buffing, while Riesz/Dyne acted as mana batteries for Leona.
12F: Soul Eater (a lot of waves).
Team: AoG Zouglas, OG Alice, Yashamaru and Princess Lilah.
Strategy: Death God works against the ghosts... IF you can manage to hit them.
Yashamaru did the work, while OG Alice acted as a mana battery for him and AoG Zouglas gathered the ghosts to make things easier.
Lilah was there for healing, since the ghosts can dish out some damage.
13F: Beast Abeliol x1.
Team: DB Rei, SLanceveil, Vazard and Theria.
Strategy: The boss has 2 "stances":

1. hunder Stance: Vulnerable to earth, uses thunder magic.
2. Ice Stance: Vulnerable to thunder, uses ice magic.

Depending on your team, you might have to wait until he goes into the "right" stance to do damage. Debuffs don't work well here because everytime he changes his stance, he removes all debuffs on him.
Buffs, however, are indispensable! Bring Walls accordingly.
Also, be careful on what kind of elemental you use on the boss. I didn't test everything but I found that if you hit him with light, he'll get empowered and wipe the floor with you.
You can do the fight without a healer but you'll have a hard time unless you can kill the boss very quickly. Also, I used a thunder team but you can also use an earth team or mix both to take advantage of both "stances".
14F: Divine Beast Rock Mekia.
Team: D'dii, Luke, 9S and AoG Lily.
Strategy: The boss starts the fight immune to magic damage but, at 50% hp, he'll switch over to being immune to physical damage, so you need a flex team who can deal both of types of damage.
DO NOT USE ANY ELEMENTALS OTHER THAN DARK OR LIGHT, as the boss will get buffed and wipe you out. This also includes auto-attacking with elemental weapons, so pay attention to your equipped weapons.
DO NOT USE SPECIALS EARLY ON, as the boss gets resistant to it when you use them. Save them for when the boss is close to dying, so you can finish it off.
It is a good idea to have your caster do the same type of damage as your dps (because of Circles and other synergies). Also, the boss is vulnerable to blind and other ailments.
D'dii took care of the healing and ailments, 9S handled buffs, revives and helped debuffing the boss, Luke dealt with the 1st phase and AoG Lily dealt with the 2nd phase.
15F: Godhunter Shin x1, Yashamaru x1.
Team: Roland, 2B, PT Robin and Luger.
Strategy: Ignore Shin at the start, just focus Yashamaru.
Be careful with his clones and try to find the real Yashamaru and nuke him down. Since he has SCT Theft, you need Honey Elixir to keep your skills going. PT Robin and Luger were there as batteries for 2B and Roland.
After Yashamaru dies, focus on Shin. When he's close do death he'll use his Special non-stop, so try to save your special/skill stocks to nuke him down when he gets to about 30%.
There are a lot of arks that gives benefits against humans, make use of them!
16F: Thunder BaBat (a lot of waves).
Team: AoG Degrogue, Dark Melza and Lukiel.
Strategy: The bats are vulnerable to instant death, so Death God can be used here. Dark Melza/Lukiel were just used as mana batteries for AoG Degrogue.
If you have enough thunder resistance on AoG Degrogue, you won't need a tank or healer. As in every stage with waves, having on-kill skills (pose of victory/glory/honor) is very useful.
Also, again, many arks give benefits that last for the entire wave whenever you kill an enemy. Those kinds of arks are good here (Death God SSR, for instance).
17F: PB-SWEEPER G x1 (and his robots).
Team: Eren, SZekus, Saint Lilebette and Warlock Leena.
Strategy: The boss flies, so you need ranged attackers or casters.
The boss will sometimes slams the ground below him, dealing huge amount of damage, so be careful about your positioning and don't let the boss hover above your characters.
Eren was useful to tank the ground robots, since he's very resistant and can do some damage. Since I was using 2 ice units and the boss is not weak to ice, I had to employ circles and weak.
When you kill the 2 flying bots, the boss will keep spamming robots to annoy you. Remember that SZekus can become near immortal if you give him Goddess Kiss and an ice weapon (DW if possible).
18F: Gold Grammos (a lot of waves).
Team: SEliza.
Strategy: As I was starting to come short on good units to use and wanted to save some for the later floors, I had to choose between efficiency and availability.
SEliza was perfectly capable to solo this floor, as she could take some hits. But be warned that the Gold Grammos hit very hard.
Movement speed is key here, along with Pose of Honor to regain MP.
19F: Grandworm x3.
Team: SMeredy, Robin, Blood Rose (don't laugh!) and Angela.
Strategy: This fight is VERY annoying if it doesnt start well. It took me a lot of tries to get it right.
Robin needs to be 5-star here, as he gets the very useful skill Stun Research. With his auto-attacks (16 hits), he can apply stun VERY easily. I also had the Cactus Hammer equiped on him, just in case. The SR Ark Eternal Clock De=Rowe is very useful on him because it increases the duration of his stuns by 30%.
Blood Rose was used as a healer and buffedebuffer, while SMeredy acted as a dps (using only her S2, which is ice-based).
Angela just sat back and rocked her ice magic.
20F: White Knight Melza x1, Gallant Flame Vaughn x1, Ice Emperor Seilios x1.
Team: SGoroth, SRoland, GA Lukiel and Zleorg.
Strategy: This fight can be hard because when Vaughn and Seilios are close to dying, they get a HUGE damage buff, so they need to die ASAP. Try to spread the damage but not too much to the point where they all get low at the same time.
Melza herself can be a pain because of her guard skill that activates a lot and she HEALS while guarding, so bring units/skills/arks that can pierce that guard (Shockwave skill, for example). Another useful tip is to lower her ailments resist and try to inflict illness on her, negating all her healing (it worked wonders).
GA Lukiel was crucial in the 1st part of the fight to nuke Vaughn and Seilios without risk of them getting uber buffed.
After Melza dies, she gets reborn as Dark Melza, dealing dark damage instead of light. Dark Melza is VERY easy to break, so SGoroth kept her permanently broken while SRoland destroyed her.
Zleorg was surprisingly useful in this fight because of his resistances and ability to target elemental weaknesses.
21F: Tetrodon x1 (and his companions).
Team: Goroth, Murren and Seilios.
Strategy: Yikes, the boss will inflict you with LOTS of ailments, so come prepared! Also, the stage's special effect lowers your max HP and the boss' special also lowers it even further.
I used my SC to get all status resistances that I could and used accessories to resist what I could as well.
Murren could probably have soloed it but it would take too long, since he needed to cast Honey Elixir and kept getting interrupted.
22F: Abaddon the All-consuming x1, Tentacle x3.
Team: Claire & Dalgion, Zaix, Yuri and Saintly Theria.
Strategy: More ailments and heavy shadow damage. The boss is VERY susceptible to breaking, so Zaix did the job with Claire's help, while Zaix and Yuri did the damage and Saintly Theria took care of keeping the team healthy.
23F: Star Jelly x1 (Thanks Tony for the advice on improving my time here!).
Team: Maddine, Doura.
Strategy: This fight looks very hard at first sight, until you notice the boss attack pattern. It COPIES your attacks! Taking advantage of that, if you use the spell Soul Spark (which is a suicidal spell), the boss will copy it and suicide.
Take notice, however, that it still deals a ton of damage, so bring some means to stay alive (Determination, Decoy, Shadow Wall, Magic Barrier, Metis, etc.).
24F: Yggdrasil x1, King Pokkle x1, Spirit x1, Pokkle x1, Death Plant x1 and Gaoul x1.
Team: SMelza, BB Shin and Dilmordo.
Strategy: The boss will start the fight immune and will stay so until you kill all the adds first. You should start by killing King Pokkle first, leaving the Spirit for last.
When all adds die, the boss breaks, so save all your skills for this moment! After the boss recovers, the adds appear again and you have to repeat the cycle.
Bring some means to recover SCT (Pose of Glory, Honey Elixir, etc.) and you're good to go!
25F: Cryofoul Medrone x1.
Team: Nero, Graphel, TB Sevia and V.
Strategy: Foul indeed, this fight was VERY hard for me. So many opportunities to win the fight were lost just when things were apparently going well!
The key here was to use V to keep the boss stunned and use Graphel to dish out damage. TB Sevia did the healing/reviving (she did work a lot in this fight) and Nero helped with the damage.
Bring resistance to Illness, as the boss can inflict it. And most importantly: don't lose heart and keep trying!
26F: Greaver, Abyssal Spirit x1.
Team: Alphonse, Stahn, Alice and Sera.
Strategy: The boss starts the fight summoning some skeleton adds. After you kill the adds, the boss will become immune to both physical and magical damage (specials still work).
How do you get around it? The answer is simple: BREAKING! Stahn is there for this reason and, once the boss is broken for the 1st time, it will take damage normally and will summon the skeleton adds again during the fight.
Be careful because the boss uses dark attacks and spells and they hurt. Sera is there to keep the team alive, while Alice can take care of the adds and Stahn can take care of the boss. Alphonse tried to gather the skeletons for Alice.
27F: Holy Gourmet Phagodelus x1.
Team: Vayne.
Strategy: I thought this was a good time to use my Trishula, so I gave it to Vayne and he soloed the stage. Just bring some health and earth resistance and you're good to go!
The boss saps MP, so things like Proud Force or Dusk are not very useful here. Again, some arks/skills that work with low mana, like Abandoned City of the Seas SSR, can be very useful here since your MP will drop very quickly.
28F: Burning Fortress Gabord x2.
Team: SBeyland, Sevia, Maja and SM Theria.
Strategy: Very hard fight for me. I had to start using the big guns or I wouldn't be able to progress. The boss does fire damage so bring resistance! There are a lot of items/equips that give resistance to fire, now is the perfect time to use them.
Sevia was very useful because her special HALVES ALL DAMAGE! And it fills very quickly, so you can easily maintain 100% uptime.
The boss alternates into being resistant to physical and magical damage, so you need to deliver both here. SBeyland and Maja did the job.
29F: Venom Dragon Babalaad x1.
Team: Skeleton, Adel, AoG Mayly and Phal.
Strategy: This boss can be deceptively strong because of its mechanic. By itself, it doesnt to a whole lot of damage. However, if one of your characters is poisoned, it deals HUGE damage to them! And to make things worse, the boss CAN LOWER YOUR AILMENTS RESISTANCE! So be above immune to poison to have an easy time here.
The boss itself can be made vulnerable to ailments, so Phal and Mayly kept it under control with Stun Research. Meanwhile Adel discharged all his fury onto the boss.
30F: None other than El'dravahna, the Imperator himself! x1.
Team: SGorm, Lelouche, Joker and Lougseus.
Strategy: Not too much to say, the boss hits very hard and has a lot of HP. It can be broken, altought I only had those 4 units left and not much room to wiggle.
SGorm was very useful because he used his buff on Joker to make him tougher. Lelouch is very tough himself and was the main MVP in this fight with Grand Aura/Brave Phaser and Goddess Kiss. Lougseus was my healedebuffer while Joker was my mana battery for Lelouch.
I saved my "Absolute Power of Obedience" when I had all stocks full and when the boss was close to dying, so he wouldn't pull any tricks on me.
-
And that's how my journey through Tartarus ended, at least for now. I really had fun suffering through all those floors, trying to figure out what to do in each one.
I have used ALL units I have on my account and almost all of my arks. Also, all units that I used were at least lvl 110 (5-enhance), with the exception of SRoland and Lelouche who are 6-enhance. All units are also at least 4-awaken (with many being 6-awaken and SRoland being 8-awaken).
The most fun part, in my opinion, was to make use of old units and equips. There are so many equips that I have that I thought were useless and, in the right situation, they were game changing! Same can be said about the units, I really had fun finding a use for Kyle or Barcello, or even the monsters that I raised with so much love and care!
Also, keep in mind, folks, that this is NOT an easy content. It's extremely hard and it can be frustrating at times but it feels really good when you manage to beat a floor!
If you're having a hard time, do not feel shy to take a break and build up more units (or try to acquire some). I made sure units have learned all ark skills that I have available, as it allowed me for diversity and to use the weaker units as mana batteries or as supports/tanks.

I just got to maps following this guide https://maxroll.gg/poe/build-guides/boneshatter-slayer-league-starter-guide but it doesn't have an atlas passive build and I'm really, really overwhelmed.
I read the basic atlas guide on maxroll, but I'm still not sure where I want my points on this build, and don't want to mess up. Could anyone help me?

Fairly new to the game, seems I missed the golden era of osrs. Anyone e got any stories about partner slayer they care to share?