[h3]Bonfire Party[/h3] [quote=LOOT] 17 Mana Crystals remain. 2 Flame Touched Crystals remain. [/quote] With Asura's greater control over his shapeshifting, his odd little blobman form seemed to work fairly well. Actually controlling his newly formed limbs, however, was a little bit difficult--in effect, it took more effort and more conscious planning to move this way as opposed to the spherical shape he had become more used to. Somewhat like maintaining a proper martial arts stance with every movement, rather than simply acting naturally. So he was slower than usual and movement was more tiring. As Momma Slime watched, she rolled slightly from side to side. Without eyes in her "face" it was hard to tell exactly, but she seemed to be observing Asura closely, just as she had been when learning to speak and to roll like he did. Given her efforts to form language and mimic what others around her could say and do, it seemed like interacting with this group of unusual monsters was pushing the normal boundaries of a slime monster--In fact, after Asura had begun sharing his thoughts and more complex notions with her, Momma Slime had even started referring to herself as "I" and others as "You," whereas before there had simply been a primitive acknowledgement of her self and things that were not her self, whether they be walls or plants or other monsters. As Ed and Asteria tried their best to calm themselves and sharpen their senses, Mother Rat wriggled up between them and pressed her body flatter to the ground, leaving just the wet tip of her nose over the edge of the foxhole. Every so often her ears would twitch as well, but for the moment she had closed her eyes and seemed to be partially resting while remaining aware for the enemy. Wild animals had to live with the danger of constant predation and always be on the lookout for competition. A human in such a situation, surrounded by enemies in an unknown environment, probably couldn't take such pressures if they hadn't been trained for it by something like the military. Even then, this kind of stress made sleeping impossible, made eating a hurried and unenjoyable affair, and even made going to the bathroom alone a nerve wracking event. But Mother Rat, sitting next to Ed as Asteria began to experiment with her tail, demonstrated something these primitive creatures knew well. If Death was ever present around you, why worry about it? There was no safe place to find, no way to block out the rest of the dangerous and hair raising world, at least not for these creatures. Being on edge all the time was just going to tire you out faster. Oberon's shielding would no doubt be appreciated, though even with the mud caked over their bodies there was still just the slightest hint of a shimmer over the rats now. Being below the level of the ground still kept them hidden, so long as they didn't poke their heads up too high or too often. Asteria would find that she had about the same level of control over her tail that a person might have over their index finger, albeit with a far greater degree of flexibility and no hard knuckle joints. In effect it was a finger that could bend or rotate in all directions, though the most complex shape she could make with it was a single loop or an S curve. Not exactly prehensile. She couldn't so much hold the needles yet, but she could--perhaps due to her Dextrous skill?--wrap them up and drag them or slightly lift them for a short period of time. She found that she could deal the earth around her a pretty decent thump, however--and didn't really feel much pain from it. A whipping motion had more effect than a thrusting one, but the heavy tail seemed less sensitive than other parts of her body and it was a mass of fairly dense muscle. After shielding the rats and the unwilling Rain, Oberon's assistance to Digbie caused the goblin to receive another short System message--his migraine had subsided. These odd headaches sometimes induced among the reincarnators didn't seem like a true "status effect" in game terms--they didn't receive any messages about decreased HP or imposed limits on their abilities or anything like that--and yet Lesser Status Heal seemed to work on them. What exactly were these fits? Their causes seemed similar enough--trying to reach "knowledge beyond one's ken" often brought them on, but one would think if such things were detrimental in some way they would either have a more obviously painful effect, or that the System--whatever it was--wouldn't allow them at all. Why bring up the menus or character screens in the first place? But the time to answer these questions was most certainly not the present. The torchlight of the goblin raiders was getting closer every moment, and now just about the entire bonfire group could see the shadows of oncoming figures... Rain's displeasure with the Pixie that shielded her was an intense feeling--he had thrown a wrench into all of her plans! She depended on stealth as one of her primary weapons, and how was she supposed to do that with his stupid spell in the way? This bitterness welled in her almost like a sense of nausea--and then when she began to focus on breaking the shield, tossing rocks into the air and letting them come back down, the spell around her fizzled a little more with each impact. But Oberon's spell wasn't exactly weak. He had worked his way up to the third rank with it, after all, so these pebbles tossed with little in the way of accuracy or power wouldn't leave a dent. Yet it still crackled and then seemed to shatter into tiny sparkles, and Rain was once more free to move unseen in the shadows. Free once more to focus on her experiments, Rain put forth one more effort. Deeper breaths. Collect the venom beforehand. Allow the air and acid to mix. Movement of the head, forceful exhalation. Put more oomph into it, more power! [quote=System:Rain] Skill Gain: Poison Breath I Whether by magic or biology, produce fumes projected from the mouth. This skill deals very low acidic damage and has a lower chance to poison an enemy than most other poison-type skills due to its lower density, but is ranged and covers a small area of effect. The fumes have a small chance to linger in the effected area for a short time. [/quote] The cone of swirling purple fog seemed to go about as far as her usual Poison Spit, but upon leaving Rain's jaws it immedately began to spread out. At its widest point it covered about five feet from end to end, or roughly an area of two square feet. Meanwhile, Jason and Ardur did their best to take initiative against the oncoming goblins. Jason was expending quite a lot of his MP and he wasn't quite so close to the Loot pile as he had been, but with the spikes he was using as ammunition his spell might get just a little more bang for the buck. Ardur had only the one bomb, on the other hand, and so far he hadn't learned any other skills to attack with...he could, however, feel warmth gathering in his palm as he practiced the Fireball with Crispy's methods. But the pixie might soon find himself with a big, hairy problem... [hr] [h3]Mourningstar[/h3] [quote=System:Mourningstar] You used Monster Analysis II! This is a Monster, but it is Magical in nature. Your Magic Analysis III provides a boost to its effectiveness. You have Analyzed this type of Monster before, effectiveness boosted. ---Large Wisp--- This Wisp is larger than others of its kind, likely because it is older and stronger. More magical manifestation than biological creatures, Wisps nonetheless possess physical bodies. Their ability to cast spells from range makes them a foe that should not be underestimated by the novice. Wisps are magically oriented monsters, normally possessing two spells. This Wisp possesses the skills Mana Orb (Rank II), Lesser Force (Rank II), Levitation (No Rank), and Poison Resistance (Rank I). It is developing the skill Blunt Resistance (Rank I). This Wisp is a higher level than you are. Its HP and MP are higher than yours. Its Potential has increased after maturation. You used Magic Analysis III! This is a Monster, but it is Magical in nature. Your Monster Analysis II provides a boost to its effectiveness. You have analyzed this specific monster already, effectiveness boosted. You possess some of the same spells as this monster, effectiveness boosted. ---Large Wisp--- This Wisp possesses the spells Mana Orb (Rank II), Lesser Force (Rank II), and Levitation (No Rank). Mana Orb collects magical energy into a sphere and fires it with offensive force, creating a ranged attack of non-elemental magic. This spell is an Energy type. Lesser Force uses magical energy to physically interact with the world around the caster in a small radius. It is fairly weak. This spell can be used with either Energy type mana or Psionic type mana. Levitation uses magical energy in a manner similar to Lesser Force to propel the caster a short distance over the ground at a slow speed. Faster movements are possible but drain both Stamina and MP more quickly. This spell is constantly active so long as the user has MP and can't be ranked up under normal circumstances. This spell can be used with either Energy type mana or Psionic type mana. [/quote] With Mourningstar's indications, the Wispmother began to float along the ceiling towards the odd commotion going on down below. However, it seemed at this point the monster was content to simply observe without actually getting involved. How could Mourningstar get this creature to follow her, the same way that the mother slime and the mother rat had followed the others? The Wisps didn't seem to communicate through speech the way the slimes had their little telekinesis sharing, and it was unclear what kind of body language they used unlike the Rats... [hr] [h3]Orchid and Goblin Party[/h3] The young goblin carrying the torch flailed wildly as the Dire Rat attacked it. Before the spear wielding goblin Orchid sent to help it could get there, the rat had already viciously bitten and clawed one of the torchbearer's legs. Before it could fully bring down its prey, however, the shield minion speared it through the side. The torchbearer joined it, walloping it with the flaming brand, and soon the Dire Rat had paid for its transgressions. The torchbearer would survive, but unless they had some method of bandaging or healing the wound the young goblin was going to be extra vulnerable in the fights to come. As Orchid used her remaining minions to form a shield wall and advance, they would find that the current area had already been cleared by the Hammer team, leaving them free to move at a faster pace while their other two team mates caught up.((You can move 2 spaces next post, just remember the further you move the higher the chance of encounters if an area hasn't already been cleared. If an area HAS been cleared, however, it doesn't count as one of your two spaces and you can keep going. Your team is currently at D7. I'll take Orchid's smash into account for the "first monster" that shows up whether that be Jason or another encounter.)) With Orchid's team advancing behind them, the Hammer team pushed forward more quickly. They were heading straight toward Jason's position...but the ground between the two wasn't empty. Once more they stumbled onto a nest of creatures, this time two Fanged Lizards. The scuffle was brief, however--by this point the goblins were in full fledged genocide mode, launching into battle without even a second glance. Two calls of "SMASH!" a flying blob of poison, and two pained hisses later the fight was over and the Hammer Team kept going, Orchid's shieldwall hot at their heels. Not too far away another shrill, child-like scream rang out. Orchid had seen and heard enough at this point to recognize it as the death throes of a pixie, and it was coming from the direction of the Brawny team. The torches of Crispy's team moved further into the distance, towards the side of the cave Orchid had originally been ordered to explore. He must have decided that she wasn't going to follow through. Crispy, having more experience in fighting with a group, instead ordered his minions from the back while he stayed at a safer distance. They also split up, rather than staying clustered together, with the caster sticking with the less well-armed minion while the other braved the search alone. They quickly rejoined however, apparently getting lucky enough not to run into anything save a single Dire Rat that their sharp stone knives had made easy work of. In fact, they were pushing ahead even faster than Orchid's group. But despite their successes the goblins were not moving into the cave unopposed. Jason's next sniper shot hit the Hammer Team's leader slightly off center from his original target, to one side of the pectoral but between the chest and shoulder. The two inch spike punched deep even though the distance between them reduced the damage somewhat, and the goblin went down with a scream and a spurt of blood. He wasn't dead yet, but with this much damage he might as well have been, and he thrashed on the ground in agony. If no one could heal him or tend to his wound he would be easy pickings for something else--his minion began yelling for help from the other groups. Would any of them get there in time? And above these cries a new sound boomed out--literally. Somewhere behind the goblin lines an explosion shattered the darkness of the cave, a short-lived flame blossoming brightly with a sickening purple tinge to it. As the smoke cleared, Rattleskull's large form blundered out, coughing and sputtering. He had definitely been hit, his fur was singed in several places, but it didn't look like the poison had done much to him thanks to his resistance. But he hadn't been hurt badly enough to shake him--instead, he simply got angrier. With a roar that echoed over the stones he began charging through areas his goblins had already cleared, towards the direction he was almost certain that bomb had been tossed from. The first thing he saw was a small figure floating in the air. He leaped with a snarl, and his club flashed a bright, angry red--brighter than any of the other goblins' Smash skill--and plastered the poor unsuspecting Wisp all over the walls. Ardur had made it to safety at this point, but Rattleskull finally stopped his charge and began peering through the darkness, growling low in his throat... [hr] [hider=MAP] [img]https://i.imgur.com/0iAjFUK.jpg[/img] ORCHID'S TEAM - D7 (Advancing shieldwall) (SPACE FULL) HAMMER TEAM - F7 (Taking losses) (SPACE 1/2 FULL) BRAWNY TEAM - E8 (SPACE 3/4 FULL) CRISPY TEAM - E5 (SPACE 3/4 FULL) RATTLESKULL - E9 (Searching for Ardur) (SPACE 1/4 FULL) 15/16 GOBLIN FORCES REMAIN GOBLINS HAVE CAPTURED ENTRANCE AREA (With exception of E6) --- JASON AT H-7 ASH AT F-29 (SPACE-FULL) OBERON AT J-9 ASTERIA AT J-11 RAIN AT H-13 ARDUR AT E-11 ABOVE DANNY AT F-30 ASURA AT I-12 (?) MOMMA SLIME AT I-12(?) DIGBIE AT J-9 ORCHID AT C-7 (SPACE FULL) ED AT J-11 MOTHER RAT AT J-11 SCOTT AT F-29 (SPACE FULL) NAJI AT F-29 (SPACE FULL) COLCHAIN AT F-29 (SPACE FULL) REOTH AT F-29 (SPACE FULL) [/hider]