[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3]
[b]Level 5 Tora[/b] - (13/50) EXP and [b]Level 4 Poppi[/b] - (12/40) EXP 
[b]Location:[/b] Morgensloft Field, the Land of Adventure
[b]Word Count: 436[/b] 
[@DracoLunaris][@Stekkmen][/center]

Already winded from only a few moments' hard labor, Tora was glad for a distraction. He wiped his brow with a sigh, planted the butt of his scythe in the ground, and leaned on it as he replied. “Pyra is friend of Tora, and very beautypon, meh! Although, have eyes for only Rex-Rex, and actually almost never speak to me. One time, Tora tried to teach her how to be blushy-crushy, and didn't go so bad. Got shirt with her on it from somewhere, mehmeh, but don't remember where.” He leaned over slightly to whisper to Bowser, though it didn't come out very quiet. “Tora think Poppi hate it for some reason, meh!”

He didn't notice Poppi glaring at him until she spoke. “Tora awfully complimentary of Pyra all the time. Why never say such nice things about Poppi?”

The Nopon, avoiding her gaze, ran a contemplative wingfeather along his non-chin. “Er...Poppi very good at giving straightforward criticisms!”

Rolling her eyes, the artificial blade continued to harvest with her sickle. Her precise, mechanical motions were making short work of the labor, which suited Tora just fine. Tinkering over an exciting project for days on end didn't give him a second thought, but it appeared that even a short while of boring, manual labor left him fatigued. The pair, as well as Bowser and his son, continued working for a while until Tora -more interested in the scenery than the task at hand- spotted a figure entering the field. “Meh meh meh! Stranger alert!” When the newcomer grew closer, however, the Nopon recognized who it was despite a couple changes.

“Oh, it Centurion. Hello, friend,” he greeted. “Just in time to help wrap up wheat-gathering. With big arms, Tora sure friend could be super-helpypon!”

However, there came a rumble behind him. Poppi drew near, hauling a cart laden with wheat. It also held a number of other ingredients the group collected. She set it down and made a show of dusting her hands, saying, “Masterpon need not pass buck, job is pretty much done. Just one more from Bowser and we good to go.” She flexed her tired joints. “But maybe Bowser can pull cart. Once we finish dealing with village.”

Her words perked Tora up. “Meh? Poppi found village?”

She nodded. “On eastern side of field,” she explained, pointing. “There number of tall, thin houses. People too. Want to see?” The prospect piqued Tora's curiosity, but he felt tired enough already. The others could decide if they wanted to check this place out or take their haul home. He'd already forgotten about having to get meat.

[center][h3]Pelagic Lake[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] the Land of Adventure
[@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN][@Gentlemanvaultboy][@Stern Algorithm][@TruthHurts22][/center]

Not a moment could be wasted. Din went on the offensive, capitalizing on most of the pelagics still being in the water by calling upon her Spell of Winter to freeze part of the lake's surface. While the cold annoyed the savage fishpeople more than it really hurt them, it severely impeded their movement, buying the youths a few critical seconds while her teammates raced to lend a hand. First on the scene came Geralt, whose Quen sign lent him protection as he loosed a crossbow bolt to dissuade Phoenix's foremost attacker. Before he knew it, several pelagics closed on him, threatening to gut him like a fish. He met them in a brutal melee, dispatching one with strength and precision only to find two more in its place. After witnessing the speed with which the Witcher killed one of their own, the two arrivals rushed him one after another, their cutlasses held high. The third turned its attention from Phoenix to wind up and hurl its spear at Geralt's back, intent on reeling him back with the harpoon's attached line.

However, Linkle entered the fray just then, needling over a dozen pelagics at once with her neverending crossbow bolts. The wounded one and the spear-thrower took the worst of it, both skewered by her projectiles and slumping into the half-frozen water. Her feat earned her some respect from Euden and Gran, embattled as they were, but too many pelagics stood on the bridge between them and the shore, and surely even with her archery skills one girl couldn't rescue the lost lawyer alone. If not for Din's efforts, they might have all been overwhelmed already, and these pelagics were no small fry. Any second now, they could still be overrun.

Seeing this, Euden chose to play the hero. Ignoring Linkle's request for a team jump, he took a deep breath. His eyes turned red, and swirling wind surrounded him as he unleashed his power. Into the air burst a huge green [url=https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/dragalialost_gamepedia_en/thumb/3/38/210001_01_portrait.png/400px-210001_01_portrait.png?version=0ba5c1361d83f7e01734a8202f4b1016]dragon[/url], whose roar rang out across the lake. Once he had everyone's attention, he snarled, “HOLD TIGHT!” before beating his tremendous wings. Gran rushed to upend his sword and plunge it into the wooden walkway, and just in time. A wave of wind crashed over the bridge, knocking most of the pelagics back into the water. 

The victory, however, proved short-lived. Just a moment later the dragon began to dissolve into ether, and with a strangled cry Euden plummeted toward the water. On the other side of the bridge, a loud [i]CRACK[/i] resounded as a gnarled cestus broke the icy surface, and from the drink emerged a [url=https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/darkestdungeon_gamepedia/4/4c/Pelagic_Guardian.png]pelagic guardian[/url] onto the raft of the floating house.

[center][h3]Courier 6[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Coral Highlands, the Land of Adventure
[@ProPro][/center]

[hider=For Courier 6][center]You have Acquired:
[b]Pea Shooter[/b]
Baby's first gun. Sleek and dark green in design. Fires peas. Has 1000 of them.

and:
[b]Half Heart x4[/b]
A partial heart that looks an awful lot like a red bullet. If touched by someone with less than full vitality, it will be consumed to restore a little bit of it, but can otherwise be carried.

and:
[b]Shells[/b]
Glittery spent casings, primarily useful as currency for the rough-and-tumble. In this batch, there are 6 copper shells and 1 silver shell, which is worth 5. [/center][/hider]

With his companions at his side, the Courier could leave the remainder of the rocky foothills behind and enter the Coral Highlands. From moment one he could see that the whole place brimmed with life, and not just what non-radiated worlds would consider ordinary, either. [url=https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Monster-Hunter-World/FM.png]Jellyfish[/url] bobbed through the air like balloons, and strange [url=https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Monster-Hunter-World/grandfather-mantagrell.jpg]arthropods[/url] the size of crocodiles soared lazily through the sky. A great number of insects, amphibians, fanciful birds, and crabs inhabited the place as well. Though fascinating to watch, however, he did not find anything approximating the description he'd been given of a Wiggler.

That was, until he happened upon a lower area with some standing water. On the other side of the pool, a patch of sandy soil existed among the corals, and from this bank rose many long, noodle-shaped creatures with colorful eyes and flamboyant crests. Their appearance left no doubt that the Courier's Koopa ally had unwittingly deceived him; [url=https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Monster-Hunter-World/mhw-wigglers_render_001.png]these[/url] were the Wigglers he was meant to find. 

Aside from extending upward from their holes, they didn't do much until a noise from the coral underbrush grabbed their attention. A dark shape moved through the cover, advancing steadily until it emerged, and the afternoon sunlight shone off its gorgeous purple scales. While not too large, the [url=https://monsterhunterworld.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Monster-Hunter-World/mhw-tzitzi-ya-ku_render_001.png]monster[/url] was still heavy enough for its footfalls to shake the ground a touch. At its approach the Wigglers shrank down into their holes, fast as lightning. The Tzitzi-ya-ku, uninterested in the puny creatures, simply stalked by.

[center][h3]Nero[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Charnal Lane, Dead Zone[/center]

Dark Jak's onslaught against one Suffering plus Ratchet's bombs would have left Gene in the clear for when his God Hand wore off had one raging demon not remained, ready and willing to pound the martial artist into the dirt. Luckily, two guardian angels appeared just in the nick of time. A restored Blazermate swooped down from the perch where her Engineer assembled a sentry to pump her healing energy into Gene, while the not-so-familiar face of Kamek appeared from Blazermate's teleporter just in time to plant a hex on Gene that boosted him to Suffering size. 

Meanwhile, the bear and bird lent their efforts to the demon hunter's rescue. Their mad Talon Trot brought them near enough to the Suffering while it whaled on Gene for Kazooie to leap up, putting Banjo in a spot to ensnare the beast in chains before cruising onward to help out Nero.

For its part, the demon did not take this development likely. With a guttural growl it started swinging, hurtling four muscle-packed arms at the man before it in a savage flurry. A couple seconds later it came around in a terrifying lariat, its arms cleaving through the air to crush flesh and shatter bone. At the end of the move it wheeled back out of the fight, kicking off the ground to fly through the air and land atop the mausoleum in the graveyard's center. In doing so, it yanked up the van partways, though the chains came off of it in the same jolt.

Gassed, it grabbed at nearby tomestones to hurl at the heroes indiscriminately. It threw two headstones before seizing a stone statue, breaking it into halves that it chucked one after another. The Suffering would have no doubt seized its own undead minions had Mr. Bones and Blazermate's sentry not been keeping their numbers down. With their efforts plus Ratchet and the others, there were few enough zombies that only the remaining Suffering stood out as a threat. In a situation like this, it could not threaten Nero without risking its own hide.

Thanks to Banjo's efforts and Donnie's continued help, Nero bellowed out the last of his strength and managed a final, powerful heave to bring the van up from the brink. He collapsed, hyperventilating, and Nico knelt beside him. “Hey! Y'alright there, champ?”

Wholly unable to speak, the demon hunter waved her off. He could still see the others, however, despite seeing stars, and he saw that the heroes had turned the tide. Jak's sacrifice, putting himself out of commission, had paved the way for a reversal of fortune that put the heroes in the right place to win the day. Still, they couldn't be too careful. Any complacence could lead to a sudden replenishment of enemy forces, or worse yet, getting made into mulch by the Suffering's mighty fists.