[h3][b]The Pool[/b][/h3] [hr] [@Guy0fV4lor][@ReusableSword][@Kazemitsu][@Knox] [quote=System:Jason] You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression. [/quote] As [u][b]Eric[/b][/u] parlayed with the [u][b]red slime[/b][/u], a [u][b]green slime[/b][/u] appeared to join the conversation. If anyone noticed that pixie floating around, they might wonder what its part was in this little gathering. But now, two more goblins appeared in the distance, heading their way. They seemed more focused on Eric, giving the slimes a curious look but leaving them alone--though they still stayed wary. After all, life in this cave was always kill or be killed. “Oi, yous!” One of them pointed at Eric. “Crispy wants all the younglings to come! Boss is comin’ back soon!” “...What you doin’ anyway?” asked the other, scratching his head. “Why these slimes not fightin’ or runnin’?” [hr] [h3][b]The Bonfire[/b][/h3] [hr] [@Renny][@Lucius Cypher] [quote=System: Yoda] 1 Hard Rock added to Inventory. Equipped Hard Rock. [/quote] “Aha, there’s one!” As [u][b]Yoda[/b][/u] made a big show of smashing something on the ground, [u][b]Crispy[/b][/u] approached him with a smirk. “What you smashin’, a bug? Ya don’t gotta eat grubs no mores!” He motioned for the younger goblin to get up. “Boss is gonna take yous and the other younglings huntin’ today! Time for ya to start workin’!” Just then, [u][b]Orchid[/b][/u] approached, and timidly called out. [quote=System:Orchid] 1 Sharp Stick added to Inventory. Equipped Sharp Stick. [/quote] “Huh?” Crispy, and presumably Yoda, turned and approached the female goblin. Crispy looked over her appraisingly--the glare from the scarred, milky white eye seeming much more intense than his normal one. If she hadn’t already been naked the way he was looking at her might have certainly made her feel so. “Was you one of the Boss’s kids?” Crispy asked her. “And how long ago was you born, now?” [hr] [h3][b]The Lizard Tribunal[/b][/h3] [hr] [@Tatsu][@Old Amsterdam][@Rune_Alchemist][@CriticalHit] [u][b]Ash[/b][/u] would find that her own poison did seem to be eating away at the stone, but very slowly. And over time, the hissing and bubbling of the caustic liquid grew quieter and less frequent--so apparently, a lizards’ venom did not stay poisonous forever after it left their bodies. But as she waited, soon other lizards began to appear--and surprisingly they could all talk. All four of them. Did it ever occur to any of these reptiles that maybe [i]only[/i] the four of them could talk? Why hadn’t any other lizards they had encountered so far--like the one that had attacked Nathaniel up on his perch--tried to speak to them? An agreement was struck, for them to help each other out. [u][b]Rain[/b][/u] was the first to add her own venom to the puddle, and a slight wisp of steam began to rise from the poisonous solution as the stony bowl began to expand. What was more, as Ash watched the poison, something new happened. [quote=System:Ash] Used Skill: Alchemy I ---Fanged Lizard Venom-- [i]Properties: Liquid. Exothermic. Poisonous. Acidic. A compound of the neurotoxin produced in the Fanged Lizard’s internal sacs and elements of the atmosphere. Highly caustic.[/i] ---Fanged Lizard Venom + Fanged Lizard Venom--- [i]Compatibility 100% Reaction: Potent Fanged Lizard Venom Properties: Liquid. Exothermic. Poisonous. Acidic. A larger quantity of Fanged Lizard Venom, making it much more effective.[/i] ---Alchemy Complete--- [/quote] [hr] [h3][b]The Exit[/b][/h3] [hr] [@Gobby][@Duoya] As [u][b]Marc[/b][/u] darted towards the cave’s exit, he might very well have made it past the two goblin guards. For one thing they were still on the lookout for that pixie, as they were hungry after a long day of gathering firewood with the Boss’s party. But then, said pixie up on the ledge over the archway began to cause some trouble of his own. As he threw each rock at the cracked stalactite section, the rocks themselves would of course fall down. One hefty specimen landed right in front of Marc’s nose, nearly on top of him, and the sound drew the attention of one of the guards. “Oi! That rat looks pretty tas--” The next rock landed on this goblin’s head. “Yeargh! Who threw that!?” A third rock landed between Marc and the goblins, who now brandished their sharpened sticks and took up positions in front of the archway. One kept his eyes on the Dire Rat and the other looked up--just as one of the smaller rocks pelted him on the forehead. “It’s that pixie up there! He’s throwin’ rocks at us!” The guard pointed--just as [u][b]Puck[/b][/u] let fly with one more. CRACK! A large stalactite, disturbed by the repeated impacts even though they were small, began to shift. And its weight caused several of its neighbors to shift as well. CRACK! A few of the smaller stalactites, and the one larger one, all fell at once, dragging down chunks of earth and rock with them. The two goblins screamed just before the dust clouds and sounds of raining rocks hid them--and the archway--from view. Marc, too, would find himself in danger of death from above. And without realizing it, Puck may have completely defeated his purpose--what if all this caused the exit to be sealed up!? But before he could finish that line of thought, something else shifted. CRACK! With a big chunk missing out of the ceiling, the rest of the stone around it was settling into place. Thus, the ledge upon which Puck hid himself also shifted, and when it did so several loose stones came tumbling out of the crevices behind the pixie, headed right for him--! [hr] [h3][b]Elsewhere[/b][/h3] [hr] [@King Cosmos][@Gardevoiran][@Legion02][@UltraCraftGames] [quote=System:Digbie] 1 Curved Rock added to Inventory Equipped Curved Rock. [/quote] As [u][b]Digbie[/b][/u] threw his only tool, his only weapon--his only friend--at the Slime, the purple ball of goo let out a surprised blurble. The stone struck it--then bounced off, spinning somewhere through the air nearby. The Slime had a spot of darker purple on its body now, but it didn’t seem particularly dissuaded--after all, it was the most resistant type of monster to physical damage in the cave. With a gurgle, the slime balled up one pseudopod and lashed out at Digbie! But just before it struck him, a glowing aura enveloped his body, thanks to his newfound [u][b]pixie friend[/b][/u]. The slime’s attack pushed the goblin away, but ultimately he was really none the worse for wear. Just disarmed. Now it was their turn again...would they Run, Fight, Use an Item, or Defend!? *** While [u][b]Peter[/b][/u] trained he learned a few things. The Mana Crystals refilled his MP, but just because a Wisp was a magically charged creature it did not mean that they would heal him. Only the Healing Herbs could do that, but like the crystals it just took one of them to fully recover his HP. But every time he tried to hold a crystal, or carve a hole in one and sit inside it, or anything else of that nature, the crystal seemed to automatically be absorbed by his body as soon as his MP got low. Then it would be refilled, and he’d have to find a new crystal. At least it seemed like all his practicing with his various spells was working out. [quote=System:Peter] You are experiencing a fast rate of Skill Progression [/quote] But, while he was so busy focusing on what he was doing, something else creeped among the crystals. Just as he finished refilling his MP for the umpteenth time, a black shadow behind him leaped up! The Dire Rat’s fangs flashed in the glow of the crystals, a disgusting yellow set of sharp incisors--! *** As [u][b]Israi[/b][/u] hunted in some secluded area of the cave, he finally found his gossamer-winged mark. As he charged forward, his Lesser Force came down like a hand on top of the pixie. It didn’t hurt the creature, but it did achieve the Wisp’s primary purpose of holding it down just for a bit--he had caught it from a good angle, it couldn’t get its hands under itself to push back against the wall and its wings couldn’t flap to generate any lift. His Mana Orb hit it point blank, and the pixie gave a pitiful scream. [quote=System:Israi] You have no MP remaining [/quote] But now that he had used up his own magic, he couldn’t hold the pixie down anymore. As it escaped it fluttered angrily, casting its Minor Heal spell on itself before diving down at Israi with a small foot readied for a kick--!