[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/gRmKFQV.gif[/img] [color=ed1c24]Level 8 - EXP 39/80[/color] The Midnight Walk - Remote Outpost [b]Word Count:[/b]2213 +4 EXP [/center] [hr] [hr] Capturing the creatures was the easy part, but heeding Ramattra and Heismay’s warnings about the large Bunnymen and their smaller likenesses might be difficult for Tenna and his two henchmen. While the creatures weren’t the brightest, they more than made up with the number of eyes peering out of the abandoned village, and the CRT’s stealth capabilities were not to be desired. His best bet was some sort of distraction, and with two complacent bodies at his disposal, it wouldn’t be impossible to sneak away with the rabbits in tow. One of his minions would have to volunteer; however, since this wasn’t a formal dismissal, there was no guarantee of the Shadow Guy's return. “Make a ruckus! Whatever you need to do so that we can make off with these little guys.” Truthfully, Tenna felt bad about killing rabbits, but that was the circle of life. The braver of the two summons chipped in with a saxophone noise, announcing that he would take the task as he picked up a long stick and walked away. It wasn’t very long before the Shadow Guy’s plan had come to fruition, a Bunnyman with a notable welt now roaring angrily as it rallied nearby bodies to chase after the minion wildly. Luckily, the shadow guy was just small and fast enough to outpace them, but with a Stagecoach now rapidly making its way down an ice track, and time being ever-so precious, there was no way to retrieve his employee. A large tear rolled down Tenna’s face dramatically. “I’m gonna miss that guy.” Without another moment of waiting, the TV Host and his remaining minion fled with the four - still alive - rabbits in his clutch. It wasn’t difficult for Tenna to cross the icy racetrack that took the rest of the Seekers across on his own, fashioning himself a makeshift sled out of a large burned plank. The ride was mostly automatic, the propelling tracks speeding the TV Host and minion through difficult jumps and turns. Tenna, of course, put his hands in the air, enjoying the air time he managed to make, encouraging his company to do the same. “Wheeeee!~” [hr] With his safe return to the Stagecoach and four live rabbits to prep and serve, Tenna had his work cut out for him. Since nobody in the crew was a seasoned chef, Tenna was the closest they had to prepare the stew for the remainder of their travels, since he had hosted an array of cooking shows in his Dark World. With the abandoned campgrounds making for an excellent stopping point towards their destination, the CRT was certain he had more than enough time to set up food for the other Seekers while deciding what to do among the abandoned mine. Excitedly, Tenna recalled an important item from his pocket, reaching deeply inside it as if it had no end. Finally, after a couple of seconds, the TV Host found the item he was looking for: a simple and white chef’s hat. Any spectator at first glance would assume it was a plain, simple hat; however, Tenna truly believed that the hat was essential to preparing the meal for the other Seekers. He placed the hat neatly atop his head in a dramatic fashion, feeling invigorated and ready to cook! Now came the hardest part. The rabbits were very much still alive, though they now seemed exhausted from struggling for so long during Tenna’s return. It should just be a simple matter to crush the small creature’s neck, but some part of the CRT’s consciousness wouldn’t let him. He was able to fight alongside the Seekers against horrific crimes against nature, but couldn’t muster the courage to hurt an innocent creature. The longer he dragged his feet on the topic, the less time he could have later to explore this creepy place. Delegating the task of slaying the small animals to his minion, Tenna turned toward the stewpot, the crew’s only proper tool for cooking, unsure if they even had condiments or spices to work with. While the stew before had shown the ability to produce something mediocre tasting at the very least, with few ingredients, though it seems the pot had been in the Seeker’s possession for quite a bit now. Making the “infinity stew” as it was described in passing to Tenna shouldn’t prove difficult, simply a matter of preparing the food and cooking it amongst its now empty contents. The TV Host also took notice of Edward’s haul of bovine meat and planned to prepare it as well. Just as he was preparing to toss the cuts of meat into the cauldron, a chirpy saxophone chimed in, announcing that the Shadow Guy had done the messy work of skinning, gutting, and deboning the rabbits, and now was left with four headless, fresh meat to work with. While he wasn’t about to prepare ALL of their available food, there were only so many shanks of food to work with, and they would require time to cook in the pot. There were seven mouths to feed in total, excluding the non-organic members of the group, and eight pieces of meat to work with, along with the wild berries gathered by Ramattra. There was no easy way to plan this; while no members would necessarily go hungry, they would have to be content with half-portions of meat and berries to ration the food out the easiest, and put the rest away in the stew to cook for later. Tenna nodded. A plan was indeed a fine start, and now that he knew where to allocate food, he dropped two slabs of mutton and two skinned rabbits into the bare pot, hoping that the stew’s “immortality” was not a fluke he misunderstood. Tenna also made use of Edward’s armory, tossing in four of the boiled prawns for extra substance. By the end of the day, the group will be treated to the contents, hopefully more flavorful than before, with the combination of higher-quality meats and Tenna’s chef hat. He finalized his “recipe” with a big stir from his cartoonishly sized spoon. “Bon Appétit!” Cooking the rest of the meat for immediate consumption wouldn’t be a difficult endeavor, so long as he had access to fire. Luckily, the campsite they rested at was occupied by a coat-clad monster, who huddled around a dimly lit campfire and appeared friendly enough to loan the flame. “Excuse me, but might I cook some of these, friendly fella?” The host held up eight small skewers made up of the four remaining pieces of food. The creature didn’t respond, at least not vocally. Only smirking as it hurled a glass of hot cocoa at Tenna, the CRT was unable to sidestep the item as it crashed and stained his red tailcoat. “Oh.” Tenna moped slightly; however, it did not seem the gleaming entity meant any significant harm, as the hot-cocoa attack ceased after the initial cup. Tenna tried his hardest, whilst being extra dramatic about it, to strain whatever of the liquid from his coat. “Well. If you don’t mind, I’ll uh… do that quickly.” Tenna straightened his hat as he crouched down next to the fire and began slowly turning the meaty skewers over the flames, cooking them as evenly as possible. It didn’t take long for the meat to go from raw to medium rare, with a nice woody singe on each piece of meat; some extra smokiness was also guaranteed. Tenna wasn’t sure if the group had any actual plates, but he offered each organic Seeker a skewer and a large handful of berries, which were surprisingly well-cooked, which was unexpected from the CRT. [hr] Once news of Edward’s strike team failure reached the rest of White Team, Tenna delegated himself to play collector for the treasures mentioned being in the belly of the mining facility. No one else was brave- or stupid- enough to go on their own, and bringing a clutch of treasure back to the Stagecoach might give Tenna some much-needed attention from the other Seekers. However, Tenna couldn’t help but shake that he was grossly underprepared to fight the large monstrosity that supposedly lurked in the contents of the largest room. Realistically, he knew there was no possibility of him and two minions defeating the threat. This would need to be a run-and-gun into the facility to grab whatever valuables he could get his hands on. Once again, making use of Edward’s armory, Tenna equipped himself with the [url=https://i.imgur.com/vD30xXI.png]Dragon's Fury[/url] flamethrower, smacking a long-gun magazine into the stock. His precision with it was certainly questionable, but without any other flame-producing weaponry at Tenna’s disposal, this was his best option for dealing with the Frostbitten that Edward missed. As prepared as he could be, Tenna finally took the plunge into the mouth of the mine, accompanied by two newly created Shadowguys. Immediately, Tenna took note of the valuable metals lining the walls down into the belly of the facility, and commanded his two Shadow guys to begin excavating it with nearby rusty pickaxes as he collected pieces of scrap metal off rusted shelves and minecarts. But that couldn’t be all that Edward left, could it? Tenna squinted down multiple utility halls and barracks nearby, and some notable equipment that resided on abandoned equipment hooks nearby would include a [url=https://imgur.com/a/80PCnEt] simple gas mask[/url]. Other than that, it was just picks, shovels, hammers, and mining helmets. Once the Shadow Guys finished harvesting the metals, clay, and coal from the walls of the cave, they set deeper into the mines, where the threatening PomPom now rested among piles of ash. Tenna knew that the second he entered the room, the monstrosity would be alerted to their presence and begin attacking, so he needed to think this through. The CRT wasn’t much of a strategist, but even he knew now was the time for all the gears to be firing at max output. Scouting out the room revealed that the Frostbitten had not entirely faded to ash, but rather left behind articles of their clothing, almost like they had lost their form and collapsed. Without much hesitation, Tenna dashed in with his cronies. “Go for the warm gear! It’s about to get CHHHHILLLY!” Hearing the voices and footsteps of the trio, PomPom uncurled out of itself, returning to its centipede-like shape of gloves and coats. It began skittering towards the TV Host after recognizing Tenna as the largest target among the three. Unfortunately for the large creature, Tenna clutched his Dragon’s Breath and began lobbing large fireballs one after another at the largest part of its body, expending a fourth of its flames. The monster was gearing up to swing its tail end at Tenna just before he fired a last, lucky shot that staggered the beast for a moment, giving the CRT a chance to dash away and collect pieces of gear to stay warm. By now, the Shadowguys managed to equip two and three pieces each, respectively, as Tenna made way toward a larger pile of clothes. With one of the tattered balclavas in his hand, he stretched the fabric over his face, where his nose erected a lump in the mask and his face off center. Other than that, he chose to wear a thick coat, earmuffs, and a pair of gloves. He couldn’t necessarily feel the difference, but with Edward’s intel, he knew the large threat was able to freeze over a massive area of effect. The CRT hoped that he and his entourage, wearing thicker clothes, would help to weaken the frosty attacks. After returning its attention to the escaped TV and his henchmen, Tenna commanded his Shadow Guys to rush around PomPom and grab whatever valuable gear they could from PomPom’s protection. “GoGoGo! There’s much to loot here!” Unfortunately, Tenna’s plan didn’t work out perfectly, as PomPom, upon realizing the three were beginning to scatter around, began freezing a large area of effect, frost slowly crusting at the feet of the Shadow Guys, faster so on the one that was equipped with less snow gear. Tenna, however, remained immune to the frost, being the most bundled of the group, and with how much downtime the attack created as it blasted his minions with frost, now was the best time to grab whatever he could and leave. With the flamethrower mounted on his back and his two henchmen now suspended in ice, he could afford to grab two larger pieces of equipment and retreat. Now he had to outrun PomPom, who had finished its attack and now made chase to Tenna, who without much consideration, grabbed a [url=https://imgur.com/61uSkUP] odd-looking greatsword [/url] and a [url=https://imgur.com/v8fg90W]large scythe-like weapon[/url] that appeared to be multi-purpose. Luckily, the large creature was stupidly clumsy, slinking along walls and running into sharp corners as Tenna turned them, unable to slow down its momentum in time. Before the beast could have even followed Tenna further, it lost him down a stray corridor in the mines, where Tenna safely waited for the creature to pass, and hoped its gleaming nature would not curse the rest of the Seekers later. [hider=For Tenna] [url=https://imgur.com/a/80PCnEt]Gas Mask[/url] [url=https://imgur.com/61uSkUP] Puppet of the Future's Welder[/url] - A two-piece greatsword that can be dismantled at the handle to combine with weapons of similar construction. The large blade of the sword is capable of conducting high heat, while the handle produces said heat. The sword consists of two parts when dismantled: blade and handle. [url=https://imgur.com/v8fg90W]Church Pick[/url] A sword capable of transforming into a war pick. When the sword is in its base form, it deals low damage, but has a devastating stagger attack upon landing strikes in rapid succession. When transformed, the weapon deals thrust damage, which provides the weapon with a 20% damage increase.[/hider]