[center][color=306EFF][h1]Vola[/h1][/color][/center] [hr] [b]Current Location[/b]: North Caves [b]Current Activity[/b]: Gathering green-streaked chunks in cave and talking with Lazash [@Crusader Lord] and Esfir [@ERode] while exploring the caves and acting as bait for Akeno [@King Cosmos], Gren [@Lucius Cypher] and Grunthor [@Kazemitsu]. [hr] Almost as soon as the spear was launched the beetle’s attack hit the ground, it’s force knocking Vola off of her feet, the smoulders landing on the edges of her clothes, threatening to light the garments on fire. A slew of mental curses and screams ran through her mind as she quickly crawled towards the nearest cover herself, before frantically starting to pat at the embers, going so far as to use her spit to try and put them out. She’s seen pictures burn injuries before and she does not want to risk going through that, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the quality of healthcare in this world. Once the threat of a fire has been successfully eliminated, Vola would risk a peak out from her cover. A relieved sigh escaping her when she saw that Lazash was unharmed during the blast, which quickly transformed into a victorious smile when she saw the beetle shish-cabob against the wall. Sure, the thing was still alive and kicking – it might have some relation to cockroaches…those nasty buggers are annoyingly resistant to death as well – but it’s movement was restricted now, which’ll work in their favour to try and take it down. She’ll definitely have to thank Gren again later, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to pull off a hit like that with just her little stick. Unfortunately, that smile was swiftly wiped off of her face when the beetle started glowing once again for a counter strike, clearly it wasn’t as happy with their small victory as she was. Reaching for the spear-launcher and another spear to reload it, she glanced over to the other girl to see if they could try and figure out some kind of strategy. From the look in her eye though, it seemed as if Lazash already had something in mind and Vola would soon find out what. With zero hesitation, before the beetle had a chance to release the fire that was building, the other girl hit it with a Fire Ball. What ensued was both the single most terrifying moment of her life as well as the most exhilarating as the world erupted into flames around her. The heat of the explosion was unlike anything she ever felt before, and the sound of it passing between them was like thunder in her eardrums. After what felt simultaneously like both an eternity and barely a few moments at all, the explosion ended, leaving just the two girls in the returned darkness of the cave along with some rubble that was knocked loose. A flash of worry passed through Vola for the others outside, hopefully the flames didn’t manage to reach them outside. Glancing around to view the damages, Vola was happy to notice that the beetle was definitely dead and gone at this point, unfortunately as she approached where it was standing and looked around, she saw that it appeared as if the spiteful bug took her spear along with it. It was at this point, after she had verified that there was no more danger, that the reality of the situation fully hit her, her shoulders starting to shake with repressed laughter. Biting her tongue to keep the giggles in check only seemed to be semi effective, the occasional laugh slipping out. They almost died. They almost died in a fiery inferno trying to kill an overgrown cockroach, and it was amazing! Now don’t get Vola wrong, it was traumatizing and terrifying, but it was also exhilarating…is it wrong that she almost want’s to do it again? Yeah…probably…she’ll examine that particular thought tonight when she has some privacy for a proper hysterical freak-out. In the meantime, she had to stay present and in the moment and focus on her surroundings. The beetle had been well and thoroughly blown to kingdom-come, so it was doubtful that they’d be able to salvage too much, so she turned her attention instead to the debris, maybe there would be a particularly sharp rock that can be used as a weapon or a tool? It was then that she saw the strange green-streaked rocks. Could these be some of the ore that she and Gren heard about? Guess that beetle was worth more than just an adrenaline rush after all. Getting down to it, Vola started the process of sifting through the debris and gathering as many of the chunks as she could carry, noting that Lazash was doing the same after the other girl finished gathering the sad remains of the cockroach. After they were done, Vola helped Lazash clear a small opening, and plopped herself down across from the other girl. They both could use a breather after that. The lack of future Fire Bolts wasn’t all that surprising news, they were still Runts, this was their first hunting trip, unlimited Fire Bolts is an unreasonable expectation. However they would need to be more careful from now on if they were to proceed forward. It goes to reason that the creatures would only get more dangerous the deeper in they go. [color=306EFF]”That’s fair, you already did a lot with them, those mushrooms and the bug would have been a lot harder to deal with otherwise, so just rest up for a little bit. We’ll just be more careful for now.”[/color] The lack of an intact kill was a little disheartening, but there was still a good amount of daylight left, and considering that they just escaped death by the skin of their teeth…Vola’s spirit remained reasonably high. [color=306EFF]”There’s still some time to find something, besides, at least we’re still alive and in possession of all of our limbs.”[/color] Damn, the urge to laugh was back again… Biting down on her tongue hard, she distracted herself by taking inventory of the items in her possession, pausing at the remaining Tungem leaves, grabbing them and offering them to the other girl with a smile. [color=306EFF]”One of the mushrooms got you earlier, right? Is it still bothering you? I have some leaves, they make good bandages in a pinch.”[/color] It was at that point that Esfir reappeared, entering the cave and addressing Vola and Lazash. Vola doesn’t know why, but she felt a little like she did whenever she’d get caught in the act by one of her parents. That feeling was quick to pass though, as the other runt asked about what happened here and whether it was their magic or a creature. Glancing between Lazash and the bug’s final resting place, Vola responded, a very small laugh escaping with the words before she could stop it and she quickly tried to put a serious expression on her face. She really hopes that she’ll outgrow the stress-laughing at some point, the last thing she wants is to look like she doesn’t take things seriously because of it… [color=306EFF]”I guess you could say that it was a bit of both?”[/color] [hr] [hider=Skills and Equipment] [u][b]Current Skills:[/b][/u][list] [*][b]Ingestion[/b] - [i]After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.[/i] [*][b]Rune Scribe[/b] - Rank I - [i]Isekai Skill. Normally, this Skill requires the User to be capable of at least one other Magic Skill. Use a personal writing system to imbue magical effects. At Rank I, the scribed Rune has only half the effectiveness of the original Spell and fades after 1 day. (For example, one could use this with a piece of parchment to produce a consumable Scroll of Fire Bolt--or place the Rune somewhere in the environment with certain spells to create a sort of booby-trap.)[/i] [*]Empty Skill Slot [*]Empty Skill Slot[/list] [u][b]Equipment and Inventory:[/b][/u][list] [*][b]Swaddling Pelts[/b] - Equip, Clothes - [i]Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.[/i] [*][b]Wooden Stick[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - [i]A wooden stick. From a tree. That's...that's all there is to it. Can be thrown.[/i] [*][b]Sharp Rock[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - [i]A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.[/i] [*][b]Stone Hatchet[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool - [i]Gren has it.[/i] [*][b]Tungem Leaf x4[/b] – Material – [i]Can be used to make a Leaf Compress[/i] [*][b]Bone Shards x3[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool – [i]Small bones splintered into sharp pieces. Though there’s no hole for a needle or threat, they could be used for sewing. They could also serve as a fragile arrowhead or fishhook, or be thrown like small darts.[/i] [*][b]Rotleaves x3[/b] [*][b]Rotleaf Seedpods[/b] [*][b]Petrified Fragment[/b] [*][b]Gren’s Spear Thrower[/b] - Equip, Weapon [Fire Hardened, Tungem Wood] - [i]A stick with a carved notch and handle. By placing a spear in the notch, it can be used as a lever to multiply the power of a throw. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, it may be as much as three times the force.[/i] [*][b]Fire Harden Short Spear[/b] x2 - Equip, Weapon [Fire Hardened, Tungem Wood] - [i] A haft roughly three to four feet long topped by a sharp point. Though lacking the range advantage inherent to most spears, it's easier to use in one hand and light enough to throw.[/i] [*][b]Pimplestools[/b] x4 – [i] Doesn’t appreciate being picked.[/i] [/list] [/hider] [hider=Current Quest] [b] Quest[/b]: Hunt for Food! [b]Optional Quests Available[/b]:[list][*]Gather wood for Bowbh’s forges. [*]Gather ore for Bowbh’s forges.[list] [*]Optional: Gather Bog Ore [*]Optional: Gather Cave Ore [*]Optional: Bring Bowbh high quality ore.[/list] [*][s]Discover the North Cave[/s][/list] [b]Target[/b]: Random [/hider] [hider=Levels] [u][b]1st Level up:[/b][/u][list] [*][b]Increase MP[/b] [/list] [/hider]