Crow

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"Crow", real name unknown, was the preferred name of a minor character in Ascent: Trials of Vore. He was a human musketeer prior to his arrival in the Tower.

His first and only appearance was in Floor 3 - Greed and Glory - befriending Ashley Gray and Nuon, among others. Ultimately, however, he fell to the unexpected arrival of the "Chocolate Girl" during the final round of the floor's trial, being eaten and turned into a chocolate statue.

Appearance
At the time of his arrival on the 3rd Floor of the Tower, Crow was dressed - as was fitting - in the garbs of a medieval age musketeer, namely a white outfit featuring a coat as part of its ensemble. This coat would hide a dagger that never left Crow's person, while he would also carry a musket somewhere on his person.

Following his arrival on the 3rd Floor, Crow would have a hole blasted in the front of his outift following a fight with a "shadow man" in the floor's lobby, the material being soaked red despite the wound being quickly healed. Further on in the floor's trial, he would purchase and don a special pair of gloves intended to allow the handling of super-heated bullets.

Personality
Crow generally viewed himself as one who brought death to those who deserved it, and showed that side of himself in his stated determination to not allow those 'marked for death' to escape his sight, to the point that he named himself accordingly. As a musketeer, he had little or no patience when it came to bandits and thieves, and almost came to blows with that sort on at least one occasion.

Beside this, however, Crow was nothing short of respectful polite and friendly to his allies. A level-headed and somewhat compassionate individual, he would happily provide support - both emotional and otherwise - to his fellows. As a thoughtful person, he preferred to go into situations well prepared - especially when it came to the weapons he carried - in order to reduce the chances of someone getting the drop on him.

Background
Prior to coming to the Tower, the individual who would prefer to be known as Crow served as a musketeer, taking his chosen name due to seeing himself as a bringer of death to those who deserved it.

At some point, Crow would find himself in the Tower, subsequently making it as far as the 3rd Floor. (Floor 3 - Greed and Glory)

3rd Floor
Crow would already be present upon Ashley Gray and Syl's arrival in the 3rd Floor's entryway exiting the elevator, involved in the fight there but by that point lying face down on the ground. A bloodthirsty, shadowy man had been facing off against a green, gem-wearing woman with mismatched proportions - whom Crow would later know as Peridot - who would defend a witch - Nuon - while she was attempting to heal him following the shadow figure seriously wounding him in the chest for "more EXP", damaging his outfit. The shadow would be quickly dispatched by the arriving Overseer of the floor - Mordium - bringing the fight to a swift conclusion and allowing Nuon to save Crow's life.

The cloaked Mordium would greet the group, congratulating those who had made it so far and - once Nuon had confirmed Crow was mostly healed and, with Peridot's help, carried him through - ushering them into the next room - a shop of some kind, the items it sold locked in indestructible cases. There, Crow would meet several other climbers, including Growa - a busty pirate - and her crew, as well as Ashley and Syl, an olog troll named Ogborth, and a frog-woman by the name of Ferra. Once all were present and introduced - Crow showing thanks to Nuon for healing him despite her chiding him that she wasn't done yet, but confusion at Mordium knowing his preferred name - Mordium would explain the rules and nature of the floor’s challenge.

The group were to fight in an arena adjacent to the shop, for which they would have to work together, rather than against each other, to combat waves of opponents - some of whom were hungry predators trained to fight climbers. Each of the five rounds would consist of three waves and a boss, and there would be a final boss at the conclusion. Those left – or even alive, at that time would win access to the 4th Floor without complaint of their number, due to a deal Mordium claimed to have made with the next overseer up.

The climbers would also be told that they were not allowed to eat defeated opponents, though to Crow's benefit, ammunation restocks would be provided if he ran out. Floor unique coins earned in the arena could also be used between rounds to buy equipment and upgrades from the shop.

Before battling begins the group would also be introduced to ”Double G”, the shop’s biker jacket clad keeper, as well as the Morcels, a race of small black balls serving as part of the infrastructure of the floor, and that would be acting as both aides and opponents who would attempt to drag climbers out of both the arena and contention, and whom Crow would compare to the musket balls he used as ammunition. The group would also be given the opportunity to give up their climb, Mordium offering the genuine chance to live peacefully on the 3rd Floor, an offer that would remain open for the duration of the challenge. Crow would, however, be among those who wouldn't consider the offer for even a moment.

With that out of the way - and a shout of good luck from Double G - the group would be ushered into the arena. For the first round, the arena would appear as a medieval fighting pit that appeared to be being livestreamed for the overseers of higher floors to watch via a camera hidden behind the stands. Mordium would greet the viewers, taking the moment to subtly remind the group of his offer, before introducing each group member in turn as the Morcels helped the group in last minute preparations, providing pouches of resources to various climbers. In Crow's case, this supply would consist of rounds for his weaponry, as well as gunpowder and a bottle of red liquid, the latter taken with reluctance on his part.

As the battle began, enemies would flood into the arena from various gates. The first round would be all Morcels, and all heavily armed with helmets and guns to robots of all types. The round would fly by, many climbers - Crow included with his weaponry - having combat experience enough to easily handle the opposition. The bosses of the round, a trio of hopping, dome-shaped attack vehicles taller than all save for Ogborth, dubbed the Monstanks, would prove to be the first real challenge the climbers would face on the floor. Through persistent damage, however, the group would defeat all three vehicles - Crow aiding with copious rounds fired - bringing the round to a close and reaping a coin reward that the pirates would greedily take a large share of.

In the breather period, Crow would presumably witness the pirates try and fail to steal a cannon well above their price range, Double G firing a warning shot at them, though his exact actions in this time are unknown.

For the second round, the arena would change to be made of sandstone. The battle would see the defenders pitted against an army of nude giantesses with extreme curves. A difficult fight would ensue. The round would be capped off by a boss fight with two mega giantesses: Lokee - a tall woman with a comedically insane hourglass figure - and Little Hon, who was taller than Lokee - albeit with a lesser figure - and was able to manipulate black hole-like portals and spit grey balls of paralyzing mist to catch prey. While Ogborth would go toe to toe with Lokee, Little Hon would go after the rest of the group - though Crow would split off to attempt to aid Ogborth - several of the pirates falling to her and her teammate, the group being stunned by Peridot using a flashbang before extreme force - and excessive anger - took the duo down.

In the next breather, Double G would offer his condolences to the pirates, their group again taking the bulk of the coins for upgrades and attempting again to steal the cannon, though Crow would watch as Double G again shut them down with a final warning. The rest of the party - Crow included - despite pooling their coins, had little to work with, but would settle on pain absorber gauntlets for Ferra’s fragile hands. One of the pirates would make an aggressive attempt to shake down the group for coins for the cannon - almost coming to blows with Crow in particular - but Ogborth would counter them, showing his good side to Crow and the others. Amidst a conversation in which Double G would explain the shop's greed mechanic - which preyed on those who greedy hearts to keep things interesting - Crow would question whether the store itself was cursed, Double G having to assure him it wasn't that severe. Despite that, Crow would cite to the others his preference to come into any situation prepared, displaying the dagger hidden inside his coat.

In the third round, the arena would change again, the ground being smooth stone and the walls collapsed rock, covered by dim, possibly underground light. The opposing side would again be an army of Morcels in robotic vehicles, against which the pirates, Ogborth and Ferra would take the front line, Crow and the rest playing defense. They would make quick work of the waves of enemies, but with Growa - to everyone's annoyance at her and her companions' idiocy - forcing Mordium to skip explanations, the two bosses would be faced without introduction. One - a Morcel-scale steam train with carriage-mounted guns - was known as the Lorry Mk1.5, while the other - a giant “worm” tank made of cylinders and able to burrow with its drill - was called the Driller Mk1. As the fight got heated and Ferra was shoved off by the Lorry - Mordium assuring the group that she would be fine as long as she held on - Crow would be present to witness Ogborth using the money-stealing pirate as a projectile, knocking the Driller into the Lorry and causing a pile up that would total the latter.

Before this, however, Crow would see Ashley be struck by a stone chunk from the Driller’s digging, breaking her back and causing her to black out in pain even as Nuon used her healing magic to stabilize her. The Driller would attempt to remove Ashley from the arena, but Ferra would arrive to repel it before it reached her.

Crow would be present - along with the rest of the group - when Ashley returned to the arena for the fourth round, having purchased super-heated bullets for his musket and safety gloves to go with them from the shop in the interim. The arena now sported smooth stone walls, blue skull pillars, and a waterlogged stone floor. The group would be met with another wave of curvy giantesses, some very muscular or even near immobile, Mordium declaring it a ‘mini-boss rush’. With Ashley taking out a large chunk of the opposition, the round’s true boss would come on quickly, turning out to be Big Hon - Little Hon’s older and larger sister, big enough that her head alone could barely fit inside the arena - who was pissed at the defeat of her sibling.

The pirates would suddenly be paralyzed by a curse Double G had put on their cannon as payback for their theft attempts, leaving them open to Big Hon. Many of the pirates would fall through Big Hon’s holes and into her gut in the chaos, the rest of the group scrambling - with mixed success - to rescue anyone they could and keep them out of harm’s way, Crow initially managing but ultimately failing to recover one of Growa's crewmates, their form ripped away from him and leaving only a ripped up tatter of yellow clothing in his hand. Gradually, the group - Crow included - would wear Big Hon down, hitting her hands as they emerged from her holes, reflecting mist balls into her mouth, making her burp and swallow an approaching bomb. This would choke her for long enough for Ogborth to half-blind her with a cannonball to the eye. Under this pressure, Hon would relent and withdraw from battle.

Freed, Growa would be surprised at Crow and the rest of group having protected her and her crew, despite Ashley's affirmations of their being a team. She would curse herself for the trouble she and her crew had caused the group, lamenting having given into her greed despite believing she was above it. Despite Ashley trying to dissuade her, she would take Mordium’s offer. The other remaining pirates would give up too out of loyalty. With their decision made, Mordium would lead them out of the arena, Growa wishing Crow and the others luck.

Back in the shop, though all present would try to comfort her, Ashley would blame herself for Growa quitting, despite the pirate being alive because of her. Double G would grab her by the shoulders and get through to her convincing her it was Growa’s choice to leave. Double G would take the moment point out that few overseers were likely to give the same offer of safe harbour, Crow and the others being told to cherish the time of relative calm, Double G not minding if they took out pent up frustration provided they didn’t break anything.

The group would return to the still stony - but now darker - arena for the final round. They would be faced with a last onslaught of Morcels - nothing held back - piloting a variety of machines, including a smaller Lorry, and a surprise Monstank. Though the group would carve a path through the enemy forces, they would be tired by the end, when the last round bosses - a set of four individually unique attack helicopters dubbed the Four Horsemen for their names and abilities, and the Apache Primes overall.

The attack would quickly begin, the group diving for cover among the round’s wreckage, Crow initially finding refuge alongside Ashley and Peridot in the burnt out husk of a Monstank before an attack of "bugs" from one of the Primes would freak the group out and force them into the open. Crow in particular would attempt to swat at them with his dagger. At the same time, Syl - with Ferra’s help as bait - would manage to bring down the War Rager - another Apache Prime. Though crashed, the Rager would survive, transforming into a tank tracked dune buggy, to Crow's alarm. As it charged, the group would manage to dodge, save for an exhausted Ferra, who Crow would witness be run over by the Rager. He would assume the worst, until Ferra burst from the water in fury at being run over, tearing the vehicle’s engine out in anger.

This would leave only the the final Apache Prime: the Death Harbinger, which had cornered Peridot. It would become irrelevant, however, as Peridot - despite being mute - would be seen by Crow to disarm herself, conveying the desire to give up. Ogborth would attempt to intervene, however, trying to down the Harbinger with a cannon shot to spare Peridot having to concede. The attack would go wide, though, tearing the back fin off the vehicle and sending it flying into the wall, right where Peridot would be standing. Nothing would seem to be left, and Ogborth would drop the cannon, fall to his knees and scream in guilt over what he had done, Crow moving to comfort him.

The group - Crow included - would take a reprieve, spending more than two hours in the shop before anyone would feel comfortable going back to the arena for the finale, during which time Crow would purchase an upgrade of unknown type for his musket. Returning to the arena one final time, it would now be a winter wonderland of ice, snow and trees. For that finale, the group would face Snowcone, a giant, robotic snowman, big enough that Crow - among others - would back away in fear from.

The clash would be interrupted, however, as, from a blue-orange portal forming in the arena, a strange, slimy chocolate ‘woman’ - complete with absurd curves - would emerge, smiling darkly. The intruder would punch away Snowcone, even Mordium being unprepared for the arrival. Crow would be less fortunate than all others present, being grabbed despite an initial dodge - after fumbling his rifle and shooting the being in the eye - and swallowed by the interloper before anyone could intervene, despite Syl attempting to save him.

Though the group would collectively survive the encounter and pass the 3rd Floor's trials, this would mark Crow's fall. Though his body was recovered - his pose showing his having fought to the very end - he had been transformed into a chocolate statue, Nuon - among others - mourning his passing. (Floor 3 - Greed and Glory)

Abilities

 * Skilled Gunman: Crow, to a certain extent, showed strong proficiency with the musket he carried with him, to the point of bearing the title of musketeer. In combat, he proved this proficiency. He was not infallible, however, and his at one point fumbling a shot ultimately led to his demise at the hands of a chocolate entiy during the final round of the 3rd Floor trial.

Equipment

 * Musket: A musket that appeared to never leave Crow's side. It fires musket balls with the aid of gunpowder, though Crow would purchase musket-compatible super-heated bullets from the 3rd Floor shop prior to the 4th round of the related trial. He would also acquire a direct upgrade for the musket prior to the final round of the trial, though what it was is unknown.
 * Dagger: A dagger of some description. Crow kept this weapon hidden within his coat, as to be well prepared in case of a sudden attack.
 * Bottle of Red Liquid: A mysterious bottle of red liquid provided to Crow by the Morcels at start of the 3rd Floor's trial. Its purpose is unknown, though Crow seemed reluctant to take it.
 * Heat-Resistant Gloves: A special pair of gloves intended to allow Crow to handle super-heated musket bullets. Crow purchased these gloves from the 3rd Floor shop alongside the bullets prior to the 4th round of the related trial.

Prey Tracker
Total Prey: Unknown

Friends

 * Ashley Gray, Syl and Ferra: Crow seemed to get on relatively well with Ashley, Syl and Ferra, despite their very limited interactions. They fought side by side in the 3rd Floor arena, though none of these three were ultimately able to save him from being consumed and converted by the chocolate woman.
 * Peridot: Despite limited chances for interaction, Crow and Peridot seemed to get along well enough, Peridot seeming mildly surprised by his level of respect for her going as far as to address her as 'madam', while Crow saw a kindred spirit in Peridot's going into situations well prepared. Like the others, Crow mourned Peridot's supposed death, though it is not known if Peridot would in turn learn of his own later, much more real demise.
 * Nuon: Despite not having known each other long, Crow and Nuon were relatively close, most notably because Nuon used her healing magic to save Crow from injury amdist the fight he got caught up in at the opening of the 3rd Floor, continuing to be intent on healing him fully after he was able to stand. For this, Crow considered Nuon a "fine lady". Nuon, meanwhile, would remain emotionally invested in his survival after healing him, and would have a small breakdown of mourning after it was revealed he had been offed by the "Chocolate Girl".
 * Ogborth: Aside from their cooperating in combat in the arena, little is known of Crow and Ogborth's direct interactions. Despite this, though, Ogborth was greatly mournful of Crow's chocolate-induced demise, alongside the rest of his group.

Others

 * Mordium: Crow and Mordium had few direct interactions with each other. Crow never really paid any thought to Mordium's offer to remain on the 3rd Floor, and seemed surprised that Mordium was aware of his preferred name. Mordium's opinion of Crow in turn is unclear.
 * "Double G": Crow and "Double G" had few direct interactions with each other, their person-to-person interactions mostly limited to Double G attempting to assure Crow - on his questioning - that the 3rd Floor shop's greed curse was limited in its severity.
 * Growa: Crow and Growa had few direct interactions, Crow having more direct interactions with her crew - whom he collectively seemed to view as bandits and thieves - one of whom he would almost come to blows with over an attempt to take the entire group's coins. Despite the irritation Growa's crew had caused him, however, Crow seemed entirely willing to fight for payback on her behalf, attempting - albeit with limited success - to rescue them from Big Hon. In turn, however, Growa's personal opinion of Crow is unknown.
 * The Morcels: Crow had very few direct interactions with the Morcels outside of the arena, where his being in combat with them left little room to form any opinion of them other than that of enemies. He was of the opinion that they resembled his musket balls, however. It is unknown, in turn, if the Morcels held any collective opinion of Crow.
 * Snowcone: Crow and Snowcone had essentially no interactions with each other beyond Snowcone's introduction, as the "Chocolate Girl" would interrupt the encounter almost immediately, Crow meeting his end not long after. Thus both Crow's opinion of Snowcone - and vice versa - is unclear.
 * "Chocolate Girl": Crow was alarmed and possibly even terrified by the chocolate woman that interrupted the 3rd Floor trial, fumbling an attempt to attack that did nothing and ultimately meeting his end at its tongue, being converted into a chocolate statue within its bowels. The chocolate entity in turn seemed utterly pissed at him for attacking it. Beyond this, it is unlikely that either had the time nor reason to develop any sort of nuanced opinion about the other.