[h3]Ash’s Party[/h3] [quote=System:Danny] Skill Rank Up: Mana Orb I > Mana Orb II Magic damage increased. MP Cost increased. As an Active Spell Skill, this skill may be used at any Rank of power you possess. From Full MP, you have enough to cast Rank I (2) times, and Rank II (1) time with leftover MP. You currently do not have Full MP. [/quote] As Ash and her party made her way through the rocky outcrops and around the stony walls of the cave's edge, they soon returned to the makeshift camp she and Orchid had created. The fire here had long burned down, and now only cold ashes without even a smoldering ember remained. However, the smoky smell lingered somewhat. Maybe that explained why they hadn't seen many other creatures on their way here. The camp seemed relatively safe, then, and perhaps the group could rest here for the night...Provided whatever happened in the rest of the cave didn't spread this far... As Ash used the Healing Stone, the light and the symbols Scott had placed upon it glowed brightly for just a moment, then faded into Ash's injury. The stone itself became lifeless and dull colored once more, but a system message informed her that her HP was back to full. She didn't get any mention of a new skill, but she could tell by feeling it out that she had a better sense for just what that energy was now...Maybe repeating this process, or getting the Pixies to show her more, would help... [hr] [h3]Bonfire Party[/h3] [quote=LOOT] 25 Mana Crystals remain. 2 Flame Touched Crystals remain. [/quote] Momma Slime quickly snatched up the Dire Rat corpse that Asura threw her way, and unfortunately what happened to that corpse was not only indescribable, but also completely visible through her gelatinous body. At least the cloudy blood floating inside her soon hid it from direct view. As Ardur made his preparations, he still neither felt nor saw any result from his prayers. And yet, had he ever really "seen" the effect of prayer? No one ever seemed to suddenly see the clouds open up and pour radiant light down on them in his past life, had they? Then again, maybe it was just because he had prayed to a sun god...just after the sun itself had gone down. The cave was beginning to grow darker as time went on now...except for some flickering lights that might have been mistaken for wisps near the cave's entrance, until you saw the smoke... ((No problem, I'll try not to do anything out of character but I'll make sure he keeps in the loop. Thanks for making preparations and letting us know ahead of time!)) As Rain experimented, she found that by essentially blowing a raspberry after filling her mouth with poison she could get a kind of spray-mist, but it was a quick spurt akin to a squeeze of a Fabreeze bottle. The drops of venom did, however, noticeably dissipate more quickly in the air, leaving behind a faint purple haze. Still, it didn't seem to have enough force behind it, and the amount of actual poison was too low. It probably wasn't any good for battle. Another test fire in which she simply pooled poison in her jaws and then tried to blow outwards--almost like wafting a belch, if she had ever participated in such vulgar behavior--caused purple fumes, but these too didn't have enough oomph behind them and she couldn't hold the poison in her mouth as long as she would like without swallowing it--much like the difficulty of gargling for too long. At least she was immune to her own venom. What other methods could she perhaps try...? As Asteria rested, Mother Rat finally returned from...wherever she had been. From the blood and gristle around her snout, it seemed like she had been eating some of the Fanged Lizards that had attacked them. And now she circled Asteria and Ed, whuffing them with her nose until satisfied, then laying down. She stayed closer to Ed, somewhat protectively, her larger body shielding his own. She could probably sense that he was more vulnerable than her own offspring, but it [i]was[/i] a little bit odd how she behaved towards a non-pack mate. Then again, maybe she had started to see this entire group as her pack? That big blue slime had started to act differently as well, after all, making unusual sounds as if it were trying to speak. When Jason attempted to access the Source Crystal, he found that nothing happened. It seemed that only things he could look at fully through the crystal as a lens would be analyzed. Maybe if he used a pool or something else that could reflect his image. His Magic Analysis on his own Telepathy Skill, however, didn't tell him anything new--it only directly stated what he had already learned from the System about the first and second ranks of the skill, and then a few other things that he had figured out for himself about its qualities. Still, the sensation of using the two skills was somewhat a new experience--after all, Telepathy was not something he could [i]see[/i] like a glowing orb or a ball of fire. Using his Soil Manipulation, he created a divot in the ground. After a messy bit of work, he managed to empty two Poison Sacs. However, the amount of poison remaining in these sacs was much more than the single dose a Lizard would use to spit or bite, and Jason had poured it all in at once! The acid sizzled like boiling water, releasing a noxious purple fume, and Jason began his experiments like some sort of mad scientist... [quote=System:Jason] You used Material Analysis! Lethal Fanged Lizard Venom Properties: Liquid. Exothermic. Lethally Poisonous. Extremely Acidic. Vaporous. Volatile. A compound of the neurotoxin produced in the Fanged Lizard’s internal sacs and elements of the atmosphere. Highly caustic. Larger quantities of venom have made it much more effective. This particular batch of venom has progressed in concentration from Potent > Toxic > Baneful > and is now Lethal. A target infected with this poison will need high levels of Poison Resistance, and if the resistance fails this Poison will not wear off without using a more advanced level of antidote or curing magic. You created an Item! Mana Crystal + Lethal Fanged Lizard Venom You don't have the Alchemy Skill. This mixture may be dangerous... You don't have the Crafting Skill. The quality of your item has degraded. You created: Potent Tainted Mana Crystal! This Mana Crystal has been tainted with a potent poisonous substance. If it is ground into powder, broken, or otherwise forcibly used on another creature, the tainted energies will deplete their mana rather than restoring it. This crystal is also potent--it may cause Poison damage. This crystal is Highly Unstable, it may release poisonous fumes or break easily if tampered with... You created an Item! Flame-Touched Crystal + Potent Tainted Mana Crystal + Fanged Lizard Lung Sac You don't have the Alchemy Skill. These volatile materials may be quite dangerous... You don't have the Crafting Skill. The quality of your item has degraded. You created: Gristly Tainted Bomb What a disgusting item, made from flesh and magic turned perverse! This Bomb contains an explosive and a source of poison. On detonation it will produce a blast comparable to low rank Fire spells and a cloud of poison gas comparable to low rank Poison skills. It has a small Area of Effect. WARNING: THIS ITEM IS VOLATILE. [/quote] Afterwards as the newborn slime mage experimented with his magic, he could feel the various different energies changing through his manipulation. Earth, Psychic, something that didn't seem to have any specific quality he could point out--just a plain sort of Energy--and then...At one point, when he tried to use Tremor Sense alongside his Telepathy, his first attempt felt...Odd. It seemed almost the opposite of the Earth energies, in fact, much like holding something warm in one hand and something cold in the other. It felt light, almost...airy? Breezy? Further attempts, however, eventually seemed to match the feeling he was going for, aligning with the same sort of energy fluctuations that he felt from Telepathy. Ultimately, however, he didn't get the skill he was aiming for. Not yet anyway. [quote=System:Jason] Skill Gain: Focus I By spending at least 30 seconds focusing before using an offensive Skill or Spell, you can increase its damage. At this rank it is comparable to increasing the power by one rank (eg Mana Orb I to Mana Orb II) while also increasing the MP cost by half again (spend 1.5x Mana Orb I's cost). [/quote] [hr] [h3]Orchid and Goblin Party[/h3] ((Orchid is wearing her Raw Dire Rat Hide, her Loincloth, her Wicker Shield, and her Trench Club. Her bag's 12 slots are taken up by 2 Hard Stones, 3 Herbs, 1 Fern, 1 sling pouch, 1 sling, 1 garrote, and the handful of sling stones (5), so she has 2 slots left. 10/12)) Orchid's three minions, in the time she had been gone, had been busy. The first one who had obeyed her the easiest still had the Good Wicker Shield, but the second one who had been more suspicious and curious about her had held on to the Excellent Stone Spear. They had made two more Wicker Shields that barely looked like they were holding together, and two more Stone Spears in similar condition--they had obviously paid attention to Orchid's lessons, but simply didn't have the skill to fully imitate her. Still, they were better off than a large number of the other goblins. With this pack at her back as she approached Rattleskull, the Boss gave her an appraising look with one furry hand scratching at his chin. "Dun get cocky, youngling!" he growled, before gesturing to the cave entrance. "But awright, you goes on ahead. But listen good!" He pointed at her with his Stone Celt. "Make sure ta check EVERYTHING all 'rounds ya before movin' on, bit by bit! Look in da cracks, in da tunnels, up on da ceilin', everywhere! Kill EVERY mob ya see so long as it ain't a gob!" He now jabbed a thumb at all the other goblins gathered behind him. "If it ain't safe enough for dem to sleep there, you stay til it is! We ain't gonna fight twice for any terry-stories!" The Boss moved up to the archway, gazing inside for several moments, then called over two of the smaller looking Goblins. One was a female and one a male, but both of them were practically trembling--they were probably from the same generation as Orchid but hadn't had nearly her experiences. They were holding Torches in one hand and Sharp Stones in the other--they hadn't been given the more effective equipment that Rattleskull and Crispy had worked on, whether because there wasn't enough to go around or because they couldn't keep it. "You goes wif dat one and her bunch! Stay behin' der shields and hold yer torches high so's dey can see!" That gave Orchid's team a membership of 6, including herself. Rattleskull pointed into the cave. "Heads for that area there first! ((A-6 on Cave Map)) Push forward when it's clear!" Then he gestured to the other goblins as Orchid began to get her group moving. A group of three goblins, two holding Wooden Clubs (the bats Rattleskull had made earlier) and torches and the third holding the Stone Hammer the Boss had given him, would go in after Orchid's group, on her left flank. The next group had the broad-shouldered Goblin with the well made Wooden Spear, along with the female that had given Orchid so much trouble--who now had a hastily made Stone Spear of her own along with a torch, and a third goblin who only had the Club and torch. These two went in further to the left, and now the goblins had established a line all the way across the entranceway. Behind them, getting ready to go in, Crispy assembled his own party. The variant goblin held a torch in one hand and his well made Stone Knife in the other. Two other goblins, one holding both a Stone Knife and a Wooden Club and the other holding a Club and a torch, were going to accompany him. They stood in an inverted V, the two in front and Crispy at the back no doubt so that he could cast his magic without interruption. The last one to go in, would be Rattleskull himself...but it didn't seem like he was hiding behind his troops out of cowardice. The Boss seemed to be closing his eyes and taking deep breaths...he flexed his powerful arms back and forth, gripping the haft of his weapon tightly... [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyiyM7J2-jQ]It was time for battle.[/url] As Orchid's group made their way in, they soon saw a place where the ground had been disturbed and something had made a rather bloody mess, as if something's throat had been cut and they had bled out. "Dis is where them two earlier died!" said one of Orchid's followers. "Somethin' got 'em, but they never found out what!" Apparently confident that whatever had gotten those other goblins was no longer around, the first minion strode forward--only to have the blood on the ground seemingly surge up under his feet! It was a red-colored slime, which had apparently been feeding on the blood left here! With a gurgle, it slammed its weight into the minion--but he blocked it on his shield! The blow still knocked him off balance, but the other two minions ran up and thrust at it with their spears. The slime squealed as both weapons pierced it, their hafts crossing on the inside of its body in an X. It wasn't dead, but it seemed like it had taken more damage than usual--probably owing to the quality of these better weapons. "Mini-boss! Smash it!" yelled one of the minions at Orchid while the two struggled to hold the wounded Slime in place. There were the sounds of battle off to their left as well, accompanied by a shrill, child-like scream...was that one of the goblins, or a monster they had found and slain? Either way, the scream was cut off rather quickly... Even further away, there was a battle cry that might have been that brawny male goblin, and the torches there were waving back and forth violently for a few moments. Then that battle too, seemed to calm. Were the goblins off to a good start? [hider=MAP] [img]https://i.imgur.com/0iAjFUK.jpg[/img] ORCHID'S TEAM - A6 HAMMER TEAM - A7 BRAWNY TEAM - A8 CRISPY TEAM - NOT ON MAP RATTLESKULL - NOT ON MAP 16/16 GOBLIN FORCES REMAIN --- JASON AT I-11 ASH AT F-29 OBERON AT K-11(?) MOURNINGSTAR AT ??? ASTERIA AT I-11 RAIN AT H-13 ARDUR AT I-11 (ceiling) DANNY AT F-30 ASURA AT ??? DIGBIE AT ??? ED AT ??? SCOTT AT ??? NAJI AT ??? REOTH AT ??? OROCHI AT ??? [/hider]