BrokenPromise

Re: Zero: The High Council

The Docks

Mistress Vertti sighed and averted her eyes. "I had an idea you wouldn't let that go, given the circumstances." she looked back at Grisaia. "I wanted to put this off until we were done fishing, but I suppose it can't be helped. I'll tell you everything." She folded her hands in her lap. "As you know, tensions between the races are high. There are few people from either side that really want to open up a dialog. The war ended, but people's feelings haven't changed. The demi-human bandits are proof of that." She reclined until one of her elbows were resting on the hull. "I learned a few months back that Belrigger was an ally to the bandits." Mistress Vertti blushed. Her eyes drifted to the open sea. "I disguised myself as an aristocrat to get closer to him. If I could understand why they were so accepting of him, maybe I could get a better idea of how to unite everyone." She looked back to Grisaia "He was a dangerous man, but I had the situation under control." She closed her eyes. "And of course people are trying to hurt me. I'm the last human in possession of a royal seal, and I'm sure to win the upcoming election if it isn't wrestled from my hands. You must be extra cautious of demi-humans, that includes Mie." She groaned before opening her eyes again. "But you have no reason to worry. I've hired Aer, and since given you a device to keep track of my location. That should be enough to ensure my safety and your comfort. But I refuse to stop living. If I can't leave my home now, I won't be able to serve my term after the election. Hate will have already won." She picked up a fishing line and looked out at the water. Mistress Vertti's lower lip was quivering. "Let's catch some fish. If we can catch enough early we can also see the magic show. It's happening right at the docks." She forced a smile.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The tone of the meeting had changed as soon as Faith made her appearance, and tensions seemed to lower. That was until Cindy said she would accept Faith as a tribute. Faith let out a small chirp, and Lotus's eyes became cross again.

Beatrice was quick to regain her composure. "Heh, I wouldn't mind stealing another one of those~"

Lotus looked at the dragon girl for only a moment before gazing back at Cindy. ”Hmmm, you would like that wouldn't you? Faith is a forest goddess who rules most of the surrounding territories. To even pretend that you are wo-”

Faith plopped what was left of her banana in Lotus's mouth. ”Finish that for me please.” She grinned before running a hand through her hair. ”What Lotus was trying to say using dramatic licensing is that I'm not what's being offered as a tribute.” She turned to Beatrice. ”I'm not that easy, unless you happen to be a banana!~” Faith spun around and leaned into the chest. Her ankles and knees were locked, and she only bent at the hips. The transparent frills on her skirt didn't do anything to hide her hot pants, which were ill suited to covering the form they rested on. Lotus made sure to position herself between Beatrice and Faith for the duration of her search. ”I know it's here. We threw this thing together in five minutes, but I know I wouldn't have forgotten-” She stood up. ”Ah hah!” Faith spun around. ”Here it is!” She shook out a few red coins into her hand and presented them to Cindy. Then with a raise of her brow, she pivoted and handed the coins to Beatrice, who was more than happy to reach around Lotus to take the coins. ”These are red coins. Curious little devices. I don't fully understand how they work, but they change you in some interesting ways. Look at this.” She pulled a ribbon of sheet music out from behind her head. But upon closer inspection, it was actually a band aid. Faith reached for the broken lock in front of the chest and placed the band aid on the lock and smoothed it out with her fingers. In just a few seconds, the band aid faded away along with the crack. The lock was in perfect condition, minus the accumulated rust. ”I wasn't able to do that before. But take caution if you're going to use one. We were told they were experimental.” Faith paused for a moment before her finger shot up in the air. ”Oh! You also need this!” She reached into the bag again and pulled out a rusty key, which she also placed in Beatrice's hand. ”The key to the alliance!”~

Lotus looked at the key. ”You had the key to the chest, with you, inside the chest!?”

”The key to the alliance!~” Faith waved her hands for dramatic effect.

---

@FamishedPants@Vocab

Shona had already began climbing up the moment she attacked, having expected Katelyn to rise up. She trusted the arrogance that flying monsters had, thinking they were beyond her righteous sword. However, despite the astounding reach of her whirlwind slash, the dynamic dragon girl managed to dodge the worst of it, only managing to cut the tip of her tail off with her final leap. Unfortunately, this resulted in a position where she couldn't create a barrier fast enough to jump out of the railgun's way, and braced for impact with her glowing shield; she directed all of her barriers to her front, causing the shield to grow, sparkling like many stars. As the raialgun shot hit her, the shield broke, scattering into star-like sprinkles, and Shona screamed in fury, preparing another slash that would surely slay Katelyn.
"YAAAAAAAAA-"

The very next moment, Shona's eyes widened, having realized something strange; she saw that the world was spinning, round and round, dark skies and grey dirt passing each other in rapid revolutions.. Yet, she felt light...Lighter than she had ever felt before. Had she learned to fly? She wondered. Her second feeling revealed the truth; a great heat washed around her neck, followed by her helmet clanging against the ground, like the bell of Penrose's cathedral.

She had been beheaded.

"...C-Curse you...backst-tabber..." She groaned with her last breath as life swiftly left her, her body having hit the ground a second later in an even louder crash, creating a small crater. Her disembodied head was laying to the side, and there she saw what happened to Katelyn; she had fallen down face first, a pool of blood slowly spreading from her. She gathered that the dragon girl had suffered the same fate as she had, cheated on with a dishonorable, treacherous tactic. She could not let things end this way; even if she was her enemy, she wanted to uphold honor and chivalry, no matter the cost. With a last twitch, like a dullahan searching for what it has lost, the headless suit of armor slowly reached over to touch the body next to it, a slight glow emanating from her fingertips for a brief moment before it too became still, like the countless underneath them.

Silhouette's attack had slain both of her opponents. But it had taken its toll on her as well. She was completely out of mana, and felt physically strained as well. That wasn't even including the wound she inflicted on herself to trigger the spell. Normally her regeneration would stop the bleeding and start mending the wound, but without any mana, she didn't have any way to heal herself via magic. She was going to need help.

Silhouette could hear Veronica's laughter. It wasn't cold or evil, but a genuinely happy laugh. “Sam, that was extremely reckless.” Veronica sighed, but the joy was evident in her voice. “We might have to spar once you get back. Just make sure Mika is kept alive.”

Using the combination of wings and feet, Lupa and Mika easily reached the roof of the mausoleum, managing to avoid the worst of the whipping tendrils; a couple of them did hit Mika as they rose upwards, leaving nasty, stinging wounds on her. Sil's shadow was left to endure the wrath of the horrorling's its black shape indistiguishable from the frenzied little blobs that swarmed over it, rending it to pieces. However, its sacrifice allowed Lupa to generate clones around the two in a circle, ensuring their next action would succeed as the clones fought off the climbing, endless wave of abominations in a brave last stand.

“You alright Mika?”

Mika's brow twitched "I'm fine." She wore a brave smile. "Alright, looks like everything's in order." Mika stretched her legs before crouching into a sprinting position. "Are you ready?"

“On the count of ten!”

"One, two, ten!" All of the clones simultaneously jumped into the air as Mika and Lupa bolted forward. They were ready to tackle any of the minions in their way. In fact, having a minion or two present would be something to tackle and help cushion the fall as they flew off the edge of the building. The clones would not be joining them. Once they had flown to the maximum altitude, they picked up their legs and plummeted to earth shell first. With any luck, this would cause the roof of the mausoleum to cave in, covering wherever the horrorlings were coming from. When they landed, Lupa stood up and looked towards the mausoleum to see if their plan worked. Mika however took notice of Sam's weak form. While Mika had never seen Samantha's magical form, she had seen Sam during the meeting with Veronica and Eliza a few weeks ago. Mika's ears twitched."You're hurt!" She galloped over to Sam's side and activated her healing artifact. As soon as she touched Sam, she started to feel her wound close up. It would take some time for the hole in her chest to completely heal, but at the very least Samantha's condition wasn't getting any worse. "You got a little banged up." She giggled. "What happened to the knight you were fighting? I remember her from a story I read in the news. I think she was brainwashed. You didn't hurt her too bad, did you?" Perhaps it was the gravestones, Mika's innocence, or a trick of the light, but she didn't seem to notice the bodies of Sil's victims.

Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03

STR: 10 | AGI: 08 | VIT: 11 | MAG: 17 | LCK: 05

Earnings this post: Zilch

Total: 3 Gold, 100 Silver, 99 Bronze

Mac hadn't needed to help Silhouette, but Lupa benifited from some extra lift provided by her gravity magic, and then again when they attempted to cave in the roof. But now wasn't the time to celebrate.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Ariamis

Chloe could see it. The image of Penny having her arms ripped out by some monster boy. "If someone's going to take Penny to bed, it's certainly won't be you." This turn of events annoyed Chloe. Her orb glowed once again, but this time she was doing more than just summoning the spirits of dead pets. Some of them were defending her, but the rest were congregating. They leaped on top of each other, building up to something.

Helga was becoming more reckless with her attacks, but her fury was making her stronger. Divina looked quite surprised when Helga managed to put a sizable dent in her white monolith, but it still held up. It opened its eye and looked down at Helga.

”And this is why beacon hunts monsters, because none of you are like Elroy!”

None of Divina's feathers were able to pin down Helga, and her vibroslash was strong enough to scatter her projectiles to the four winds. But the monolith was ready with a projectile of its own. It launched a pillar of light straight for Helga, just as the vibroslash was about to make contact with its eye. It struck the eye, throwing a cloud of smoke up in front of Divina. The beam missed Helga, but the attack caused the ground to explode, filling the air with debris. Helga was thrown by the attack, but was able to get her feet under her before she landed on the ground. If she had enough wherewithal to notice, the ground was getting further and further away from her.

Su remained what she considered a safe distance behind Helga, keeping them both afloat with her wind magic. The monoliths had all but ignored Chloe in an attempt to protect Divina from Helga's attacks. They spread their wings and gazed up at the two with their single eyes. Fortunately they relied on their wings to fly through the air, so all Su had to do to keep the lasers off of her allies was blow gusts of wind over their wings. It wasn't ever going to destroy them, but it was all Su could do if she wanted to keep Helga and herself in the air. Because Helga had wings, she was in complete control of where she could move. The only thing Su could really change was her altitude.

”Helga!” Su was able to see the extensive damage Helga was powering through. She had hoped to confront Helga once the battle was over, but she wasn't sure if Helga would last through the battle like this. With the monoliths gathering below them, and Divina momentarily unable to attack, Su had a chance to act. She kept Helga far above her opponents and attempted to fly in front of Helga. ”Look at me!” She hurled another gust of wind at a monolith. ”I'm here!You're not alone anymore.”

”Are you in love too?” Divina spread her wings. ”Let us all test our love together!” This time, Divina was prepared to fire her feathers and monolith at the same time.

”Damn!” Su ended her own flying spell and cast a wind barrier on Helga to divert any incoming projectiles. It wouldn't offer her much protection from that beam attack though.

---

@FamishedPants@Card Captor@PlatinumSkink

It was an exhausting experience, but Alexander managed to free himself from the blob. While he stood there panting, the tentacles on the outside prepared to coil around him. But both Mayra and Emily's fireballs denied the slime creature its victim. It jiggled and hissed while continuing to to expand. The hole Alexander had leaped out of was considerably bigger now.

While Alexander was safe, the same could not be said for Emily. She didn't have much time to react to Mayra's surprise kick, and could only bring her gauntlets up to brace for the blow. It was still strong enough to throw her towards Alexander. Fortunately he was looking in their direction when all of this happened, and would have a brief moment to react.

Tonya was now standing up inside the slime, which was behaving more like a large barrier that surrounded her. The slime was getting bigger and bigger, as the void inside of it slowly grew. Much like a glass blower might shape a vase, Tonya was using her wind magic to shape the slime. It rolled forward so that the hole was facing the ground. That caused the slime to be propelled into the air. It soared several stories into the sky, hovering over everyone. Meanwhile, Tonya looked like she was undergoing a transformation. Bark was starting to cover her skin.

Tonya opened up her hammerspace again, and it practically rained spider covered apples. Not only that but dry leaves, twigs, and stones as well. All covered in spiders. The different shape and weight of the objects caused them to behave differently as they were fired out of the bottom of the slime. The leaves almost immediately fluttered off to the side while the less aerodynamic objects were blasted towards the earth. The “balloon monster” strafed side to side in an attempt to hit as many people as possible.

---

[@t2wave]@Vocab

Shifting the fight into the over city had an immediate effect on the monsters. They seemed to be moving slower, especially the giant that held Rebecca in its jaws. The life-sapping curse was having an effect, but it didn't weaken its grip enough for her to escape.

Shannon was able to lock the dirt around the tar baby in place, and make a “rock lasso” to pull Rebecca out of it. But the imposing monster wasn't going to just let go of her. It fought against her magic and tried to keep its mouth closed. Rebecca was in excruciating pain, as her stone cocoon was being pressed against her by the beasts mighty jaws. She could feel the stone barrier collapse around her chest as jagged stones were driven into her. But eventually her curse won out, and the creature was too weak to wrestle against Shannon's magic. Rebecca had been freed from the Tar Baby, who simply collapsed out of exhaustion. It would not remain this way for long. Shannon knew that fighting the tar baby was a waste of time when there were more pressing concerns to deal with. She was successful in wrapping up the Tar Baby, several of the invisible lizards, and throwing them far, far away from herself.

Shannon then prepared to enter the crypt by way of over city shift. This was more difficult than one might imagine, as moving the correct distance the crypt was in the mortal world didn't translate to the overcity in a way that made sense. Moving to where the crypt should be could cause Shannon to end up anywhere. She could end up several feet past the graveyard, or even further away from the crypt from where she entered. But it was a risk she was willing to take.

A risk she would have liked to have took.

Rebecca and Shannon could hear the sounds of snapping before they were both pulled into the air. Behind the ball of dirt were several dusty invisible lizzards, all with their mouths open. The two magical girls could feel something stuck to their back. It did not take them long to figure out what had happened. The invisible lizards had long sticky tongues, and the ones in the ball stuck to the ones still around Shannon and Rebecca. This created a chain of lizards that was able to take the two magical girls along for the ride. At the speed they were moving at, it was impossible for them to draw in their prey and devour them. Before they could free themselves, they noticed the ball of dirt was headed towards a strange sight...

---

@Shifter_Master@Ariamis[@t2wave]

Lily had managed to spare a few of Aurelio's clones from certain annihilation, and was doing on heck of a job keeping the emerging cultists at bay. Few of them were able to get up a shield before they were mowed down by arrow fire. But there was little she could do to free her friends from Abigail's clutches.

Fortunately the four were able to have a quick pow-wow and talk strategy thanks to the twins psychic magic, and had a much better idea of what to do. Good thing talking is a free action

Jenna surged forth under the spell Lily had placed on her. Between Jenna's newly acquired speed, and Aurellio's distraction via clones, there was little the warlock could do to impede her. He was dispatching the clones one at a time, but it seemed he was going to be tied up with them for a while. He had impressive strength, but lacked the speed the clones had. Five clones left, now four.

The nebulous energy from the large monster powdered Aurellio's solo clone, and it could feel magic building in side of itself. One could only imagine the mana coming from a focused beam of this stuff. No wonder Abigail wasn't running out of mana. It could use this energy to cast its own spells, or hand it off to one of the other magical girls.

The remaining cultists surrounding Abigail and her mana beast were few in number, and Jenna could easily walk past them. She was able to get ahead of the spark and really examine Abigail's mind this time. It seemed that whoever warped Abigail's mind had rewired all of her emotional responses. Abigail was very much herself, but her brain had been tampered with to make sure that she couldn't go against the Bates wishes. Regina had placed herself so high in Abigail's mind that she would turn on her friends, family, and even risk her safety if the Bates willed it. It was possible that Abigail was aware of all this, and was trapped in her own mind, unable to act on her own intentions. Armed with this knowledge, she could now heal Abigail, and possibly the other Beacon buddies.

But they vanished. Abigail, the mana beast, and Jenna. They seemed to just pop out of existence. Janet's spell didn't reach her, but she was able to sooth her other companions with her magic. Without Abigail's spell holding everyone in place, they were free to make their move.

Meanwhile, Jenna and Abigail would find themselves in the over city. But this space wasn't empty. There were all sorts of items from a melting glacier, a road roller, and a statue of a manatee, and other large objects scattered about the checkered landscape. Such objects must have been moved here recently for some reason. They all looked relatively heavy and had to way at least a ton each.

Abigail immediately flew away from Jenna, who was considerably slower now that Lily wasn't able to channel electricity into her heart. The beacon buddy didn't look too pleased, and her mana beast was still firing its laser at her.

”Not gunna stop, huh?” She pointed at Jenna. ”That's fine, if you won't stay out of my head, I'll crush yours!” Jenna might have been able to reinforce her defenses, but without anyone else present to disrupt Abigail's spell, she was only delaying the inevitable. An unfortunate circumstance to be sure. ”Gheaaaaahhahahahahahahaha!” She taunted as Jenna squirmed. But then she looked off to the side and her eyes expanded. ”What the h-”

@Vocab

The ball of dirt, tar, minions and monster girls narrowly missed Abigail and Jenna. When the ball landed, it broke apart as Rebecca, Shannon, and the tar baby rolled through the rock's remains. They were dazed, but otherwise fine after the landing. The same couldn't be said for the lizard minions that were vaporized on impact.

”W-whatever! I'll just use my greatest spell!” All of the nearby objects started to float in the air. The mana beast, the odds and ends, but not the magical girls or the tar baby. Once Abigail and all of the objects were far above everyone's heads, she screamed the name of her greatest attack. ”TSunder-Fury!” Everything and everyone was warped back into the battlefield. Aurelio was hiding in the garb of a cultist, Janet was healing everyone, and Lily was still shooting fools. Abigail was surrounding herself with a repulsion field. It wasn't too strong at ground level, but that likely wouldn't be the case as they got closer to Abigail. Meanwhile, the excruciatingly heavy objects were being thrown towards the earth like the fist of an angry god. A statue of a mermaid hit the ground and exploded into stone shrapnel. Everyone could feel the ground shake with every shot. The rate of fire was slow, but Abigail was clearly aiming to kill, and she didn't care how many of her allies she wiped out in the process. Abigail didn't seem to be prioritizing any of Aurellio's clones however. Not with a direct hit at least. Abigail appeared to be more interested in flattening out the other magical girls present.

The tar baby looked like it had enough of all the fighting, and was actively trying to run out of the battle before it was caught inside one of Abigail's craters.

---

@Flamelord@DarkwolfX37@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@ERode

Regina was in a tight spot. The train's light would certainly make it hard to shadow step out of the way. Fortunately the light wouldn't ever reach her. The dome of darkness Regina had cast on the mouth of the archway might have been a cloud of shadow to most girls, but not her. Darkness specialized girls could see in the dark no problem, and that included her dome. She was able to see the train moments before it emerged from the dark dome, and was able to shadow step out of the way. The train was a blur it was moving so fast. It sped off the tracks and collapsed in a heap in the distance.

"That was close!" Regina was panting.

Rina was able to keep ahead of the giant dragon head that was chasing her. It wasn't too hard for her stay ahead of it so long as she focused solely on avoiding its attacks. She wasn't able to hear Amaryllis's call for aid due to the deafness curse Regina had placed on her. But that was starting to wear off, along with the strength-sapping curse.

Elroy missed his target, but not because of any lack of trying. Alicia and Summer were whisked to safety on the seraphs wings, and Alicia's glowing sword prevented Elroy from pursuing. "I thought we were having fun!" Penny's rocket arm stopped Elroy from pursuing further, and he turned to face Penny moments before they collided. She managed to cut into Elroy's top most arms, but before she could cut all the way through, her chainsaw caught a hold of Elroy's cape and dragged it into the saw. One of the reasons professional lumberjacks wear Kevlar leg guards was because the Kevlar can easily bind up a chainsaw before it cuts through their legs. While Penny's chainsaw was far stronger than anything a lumberjack could hope to access, Elroy's cape was also considerably stronger then Kevlar. It blinded up the saw long enough for Elroy to place his foot on Penny's chest and kick her away. "Hey! You spent a lot of time on these!"

That was when Annabelle's call managed to reach everyone in the graveyard, including the intended recipient.

"Annabelle?!" Regina's voice was trembling. "Elroy! Annabelle's in trouble! We need to stop this now!"

Elroy, the boy who always smiles, through pain, through hardship, things sinister and sweet. He turned to face his sister.

And he scowled.

Elroy's Grave

"Are you seriously springing this shit on me now?"

"The entire reason why we're doing this is to free Annabelle!"

"Hmmmm, no." He chuckled, but his anger was still apparent. "No no no no Regina. We're doing this because you wanted to do it. That's the only reason why we do anything. Fight at the hospital? Your idea to help out those ass holes. Fight at the garage? Because you put fake memories in my head to incite my wrath. Guess part of you needed to be reminded how much I used to care about you. Establishing a team of Beacon girls because of some petty grudge you have against Beacon? Definitely not my idea. I also get nothing out of the relationship you and Annabelle share. But I can see how someone as fuckin' needy as yourself can easily forget about the needs of your only true friend." Elroy was growing in size, He was easily taller than the crypt at this point.

"E-elroy, How could you-"

"I'm tired of your games, I'm going to live for myself moving forward." In a puff of black smoke, Elroy transformed into a true monster king. He was easily the largest thing in the graveyard, standing taller than even most full sized monsters. He looked like a black centaur with a few extra arms, made out of obsidian and aegis. "Soth can have this world, there isn't a single thing in it I want!" Elroy charged towards Penny, ready to deliver a beat down. After his transformation, Penny's rocket hand was no longer able to contain him and simply fell off.

But Penny had also undergone something of a transformation. The cartoon train was not made out of traditional metal, but the engine of destruction could hear it call out to her. The parts of the train flew towards her and built Penny up to be something equivalent in size to Elroy.

”Well this is turning into a nightmare, but that was to be expected.” Amaryllis was able to enter the barrier, but by the time Alicia, Summer, and Sammy got there, it was sealed up again. ”Oh... you lot again.” Sammy adjusted her cap. ”I knew you were behind this somehow. Don't think you can stop me from opening this barrier. Big Tony is stronger than he looks. If you so much as think of laying a finger on me he'll ravage you like a fat man would his cake.” She remained on a gravestone just outside of the crypt. ”Now, so long as you don't interrupt me, I should be able to get past this barrier you've put over the place.”

Meanwhile, swarms of imps with tridents stormed into the area from all sides. These were not Soth's minions, but lesser monsters that decided to show up along with the arrival of their king. They were charging down all lanes of the cemetery but seemed to be ignoring anyone standing on top of a gravestone, and stayed clear of Elroy and Penny for the moment. Anyone still on the ground had some fighting ahead of them.

Amaryllis was inside the crypt, and it was just a long chamber between her and Annabelle. A few cultists had come out of the main room to slow the rose knight down.

Character contest #3: Grove

@Calle there is no right or wrong way to fill out the character sheet, It is simply an example of what is expected, so don't worry if it isn't filled out right.

Something I tried in an RP (and really liked) was to have a one or two sentence description of the character. So some example descriptions would be like:

"An orphaned son looking for answers."

"A tired chieftain who's sick of the young folk."

"A snake man who just wants to sleep under a tree."

"A prodigy of fire who's determined not to follow in his father's footsteps."

And appearance is exactly what it says it is. But again, there's no wrong way to fill out the character sheets. For the purpose of the contest, I'd gladly accept something that had a separate section to talk about a character's race and such,

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Magical fights everywhere.

Character Contest #1: Voting

Kept ya waitin' huh?

@Briza

Samuel J. Foster

Let's start by talking about your formatting. It looks a lot better than what you were presented with, and is both easy to read and aesthetically pleasing. If I had any corrections to suggest, I'd just move the bullet information at the bottom of the CS to somewhere just below his name or his quote. This way I don't have to scroll to the bottom of the sheet to get all of the quick information.

I did like how you managed to spread personality and life to every corner of the CS. Written appearances are something I dread doing, and typically try to get them over with as soon as possible so that I can get to the interesting bits. The personality you used to write everything with is part of that I feel. This style of writing possibly caused you to blend a few of the sections together though, with the apperance and personality sections being the biggest culprits. I liked that you were able to tell us a lot about Sam while also leaving enough open to create mysteries and hooks for the GM to use.

@Calle

William McDougal

There's certainly nothing wrong with a straight forward character. Sometimes the best way to stand out is to not be extraordinary at anything. I also really like how William is ingrained in Ashfork. He's not just the saloon owner, he has connections running all over the place. There's certainly nothing wrong with a short, coincise sheet, but I feel that there were some areas that could have been fleshed out more to make them more interesting. His sister Mary seemed to be an important person in his childhood, but his bio doesn't really explain what became of her when he grew up. You mention that Lilly-ann and Robert know how to use weapons, but not why. Expanding on these hanging details can make a good CS become a great CS. As an example, you could add “William McDougal had seen enough bar brawls to know danger was everywhere, so he taught his children how to handle a six-shooter and a knife.” It doesn't have to be any longer than that, but it builds on William's character and reaffirms how his family and money are his most prized possessions. Because there's actually a lot to this character that simply isn't being said. But that's also why I really like him. He has a ton of character hooks. Character hooks are something any good GM will look for, and William has them in spades. It would be fun to have him in an RP just because he'd be into everything via all the gossip he likely hears. And what he doesn't hear from customers, he hears from the rest of his family.

@Gwynbleidd

Kathryn E. Gamble

A short, concise character sheet that gets the job done. The writing is pleasant to read, almost no fluff, and anything I really need to know about the character is there for me to read. Everything from her backstory to her personality was well crafted and about as detailed as it needed to be. It could be expanded on further though. Being that Ashfork is such a unique location and central to the story, I would have liked to have known if there was anything unique that brought her to that location. There isn't a whole lot in Kathryn's backstory that grounds her to this RP specifically.

@ayzrules

Theodora Shockley

I mean you came in right at the wire. A few minutes later and whew.

I'll talk about the formatting first. I do like that you changed the color, as I feel maroon better suits your character than the bright orange I had gone with. You made a few other stylistic changes, but it's largely the same character sheet.

The character is interesting. Every section of the CS drip with personality, and Theodora comes across as a character that could offer a lot of interesting interactions between her vocal nature and hate for Americans. I do feel that it probably could have been proofread one more time just to clean up the sections a bit. There are some spots in the personality section that just feel like a repeat of what's already been stated in paragraphs prior, and the appearance section also seems to have been bled into by the personality section. But perhaps that is the cost of having an appearance section that isn't as dry as a bone to read. Her biography came across as very believable, which is a rarity among roleplayers.

My vote

If I were voting, I would give it to Briza.

I liked all the characters, but I felt that Theodora and Kathryn could show up in any western RP. William and Samuel felt like they had a much higher stake in what was going on in the story. I did like William's involvement with almost every facet of Ashfork, but Samuel's sheet edged out and included the racial tensions that made up a pillar of the RP.

Thanks again for participating! And remember to support your local contest section.

Re: Zero: The High Council

Hideout (Suttling Basin, old mill)

Fritzi brushed a hand through her hair before placing her hands together. ”Actually, I think they would only blow your cover.” her grin widened. ”Chiyo serves a demi-human noble, and Quill is a demi-human street performer. I think they are both liabilities. If you want to go at it alone, you could get much further than either of them without raising suspicions.” Fritzi placed her hands on her hips and deepened her voice. ”Chieko can't go at it alone! Let me look after her at least.” She chuckled at her poor quill impersonation. ”All I ask is that you get back here before noon. No excuses, no prolonged romp with your friends, no taking a bit longer to get extra information. And watch out for Vertti's butler. He's just...” Fritzi lifted her hand up and started fanning herself.

---

The Docks

Grisaia and Mistress Vertti headed to the docks in earnest. There wasn't much talking on the way there, largely because there were a lot of people moving about at this hour. Merchants trying to draw in customers, land dragons making daily commutes, there was a lot going on. Mistress Vertti thought it might be a good idea to try fishing, so she had Grisaia purchase some supplies before they got to the docks. This would be her first time trying this, so she didn't have any of the basic supplies. They got fishing lines, buckets to hold bait, baskets to hold fish, bait, and a few lunches in the event that they didn't catch anything.

Once they arrived at the docks, it only took the dock crew a moment to take Vertti's boat out of storage. The dock crew had done a great job of maintaining it. The boat was finely crafted without the sort of frills one might expect an aristocrat to have. Vertti's home was one thing, but she had always been very practical when it came to her tools. That, and Vertti didn't always wish to stand out because of her status in society. She was fine being just like everyone else in situations like this. It only took a moment to load everything into the boat.

"We'll have to go out a ways if we want to catch any fish." Mistress Vertti left paddling the boat out in Grisaia's hands. "We haven't had much of a chance to talk since I came back. I apologize for that." She took a deep breath. "What sort of adventures did you go on while I was away?"

---

Outside gate 1

The army had stopped far behind the tree line and was setting up its siege engines. Most of the army was spreading around to other parts of the massive forest. ”The water city is surrounded by a giant moat, and some of the strongest walls I've ever seen. That makes their position very well fortified.” His grin crep up behind his ears. ”It also means they have limited ways to escape.” He turned to Aerith. ”Typically there would be guards patrolling this far out, but the demi-human bandits outside the walls have put an end to that. They're all held up in the city, like rats clinging to high ground during a flood.” He rubbed his hands together. ”I could start the siege right now. There wouldn't be anything left of this city in ten minutes.” Without warning, he started to scream at Aerith. ”No you imbecile! I can not start the siege until I've confirmed the witch's prison.” He placed a hand over his face. ”They don't care about her inner beauty at all. That radiance that comes out of her, her intoxicating aroma that so many dare call rancid.” He was talking through his teeth. ”They don't care about her inner beauty at all. That radiance that comes out of her, her intoxicating aroma that so many dare call rancid.” His voice was cracking, and his eyes were wet. ”All they care about is her body. So long as it is locked away and no one can ever truly be with her.” His lower lip quivered. ”Hold me lust.” He was quick to bury his face in Aerith's bosom and sob his emotions away. The other cultists staring on with stone faces only served to make the situation more awkward. ”Ah, I see your true power now.” Vaux stood up, and there were two wet spots on Aerith's chest. But he was smiling again. ”You are an expert at debasing yourself. It's not just that you can lower yourself until you're covered in mud, but covering yourself in mud comforts those around you. That is your power.” He eyed her breasts. ”Such. Awesome. Power.” The cultists looked at one another, but said nothing. ”I know how I can use you now.” Vaux continued to address Aerith's chest, even going as far as pointing at her breasts. ”I need you to find the witch of envy. You could get just about anywhere with a little bit of help.” Vaux snapped his fingers, and a land dragon pulling a cart filled with various crates walked up beside him. ”You will enter the water city posing as a travailing merchant.” He took a scroll and tucked it between Aerith's breasts. ”You will enter the water city posing as a merchant. Act a little shy, let them inspect your cart. Just remember that you're a travailing merchant selling clothes. I was going to go in myself, but now that you're here, you get to go.” Her gripped Aerith's rib cage tightly. ”And if you manage to screw this up, I'll rip you off of that useless woman who's carting you around and find another use for you!” After giving her a shove, Vaux took a deep breath. ”Do return as soon as you can. I'd prefer to start the siege with the witch's whereabouts known to me. And with you at my side.” He looked up at Aerith. ”Both of you.” He nodded with a sniff. ”I'm feeling a little emotional right now. Come back safe.” Vaux wiped his eyes before turning around to leave.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Lotus only raised her eyebrow at Cindy's refusal to open the chest herself. ”Hmmmm, I did expect you to open it. At the very least, I didn't expect you to dispatch someone else to open it for you.” Her brow lowered. ”Are your subjects not under your protection?”

When Beatrice cracked open the lid, the first thing she was greeted by was the smell of bananas. Once the chest was open, someone in the chest stood up. It took Beatrice a moment for the fairy girl to register. Her outfit was adorned with jewelry, and she was using a small harp to prop herself up. But the air of majesty she had was clearly her defining feature. The curves of her body and accents of her uniform could only be described as fey. There was something about her smile that drew you in. Even though she had a banana peel hanging off the side of her head, she had a glamour few could match.

Maybe it was too much to take in at once, but Beatrice was unable to move as the fairy girl reached for her. She cupped her hands around Beatrice's cheeks and brought their faces closer. There was plenty of time to pull away, to object, but Beatrice wasn't sure if she wanted to pass this up. Any thoughts about what she was suppose to be doing got further away from her the longer she looked into the fairy woman's eyes. And then their lips touched. Beatrice was surprised, but her mind was in a state of total euphoria. Nothing but the gentle sensation of the fairy woman's lips pushing against hers was important. Her eyes fluttered closed, perhaps to savor as much of this moment as possible. But the kiss only lasted about half a second. The world returned to Beatrice as soon as the fairy girl pulled away. It took her a moment to gain her bearings and remember what was going on.

”You're not a bad kisser. That one's definitely going in my top twenty, but I can't say where~” The fairy was holding a half eaten banana. There were quite a few bananas and peels in the chest she was still standing in. ”But getting back to it...” She placed her hand on her chest. ”I'm Faith: Daughter of Gaia. And you are Cindy ford!”

With a growl, Lotus reached up and pushed on Faith's cheek until she was looking at the real Cindy ford. ”That's the queen, apparently.”

”Oh, now that looks like a thunderbird's champion.” She eyed Cindy up and down.

”Hrm.” Lotus folded her arms. ”Were you really planning on kissing her?”

”I was. But now that I've seen her, that might be a little too shocking for everyone watching~”

”Hrrrrrm.” Lotus dragged her hand over her face.

---

@FamishedPants@Vocab

Shona continued her relentless assault, every swing and thrust performed with perfect poise, her posture unbreaking despite Sil's superior agility. On the other hand, Sil was also able to stand on her own, using her flexible body to full advantage to weave and dodge out of thrusts that could have pierced a lesser woman's heart a dozen times.
"You keep droning on about darkness, knave. The Beacon's light will consume you yet!" Sparks flew off Sil's arm as as the two locked blades, and she pushed against Shona's glowing sword, the knight's concealed gaze inches from hers.
"No blade has ever crossed with me and stood triumphant," she spoke lowly amidst pained breaths, slowly pushing her back.
"I won't let such hatred hurt innocent lives. I will vanquish your evil!"
Suddenly, her blade was swept aside by Sil's dextrous maneuver, and Sil drove her dagger to the unprotected neck between her armor plates, shattering her empowered barriers with swift stabs.

However, as she was about to pierce the final barrier and deliver a deathblow unto Shona, the two recognized the attack coming their way, and simultaneously kicked off of each other, gaining distance from each other just in time to avoid the lightning spear. "You..." Shona spoke with venomed words as Katelyn approached, and swept her shield arm aside as she cast new barriers around herself.
"You have dishonored us with your intrusion, fiend!" She turned to glance at Silhouette.
"It pains me, but we must put our duel on hold until this reprobate is slain." And with that, Shona gathered up her magic, and jumped high into the air, creating platforms shaped like shields under her feet as she raced towards Katelyn.
"Die, monster!" She launched off a shield hovering sideways, then spun fast in the air, performing a whirlwind slash at her, extending the Reinforced blade to cover a wide radius in her range.

That was when the Bate's aura washed over Shona, further fortifying Shona's power. Wherever she went,a trail of golden light followed.

“What?” Silhouette could hear Veronica's commands again. “So that thing is what attacked Eliza.” She was half speaking in a growl. “The V.I.P. must be kept alive, but that dragon girl takes your priority as a target.”

Mika and Lupa seemed to be in dire straits, having become separated from each other, until Mika bravely trampled her way through the swarm of black blobs, scattering them aside and squishing them like balloons full of ink. Lupa also succeeded in throwing off the tentacles lodged into her thanks to transforming her body into an armored beetle and performing a scissor kick on the Horrorlings on her, sending them back into the mausoleum.

On their own, they did not manage to proceed towards the Mausoleum, until Sil sent her shadow to aid them; stabbing the horde in the back before she was noticed, she cut through them like butter, splitting them in half with every slice. The Horrorlings were quick to adapt to the flanking attack, but were hit at a line so thin that the two Beast girls managed to break through the line, now fighting next to the mausoleum doors. In response, the Horrorlings began piling up; forming columns of themselves, the Horrorlings used their mass to block the doors, while sending out flailing tentacles in a frenzy before them, forming a vicious wall of lashing to block them off, while also sending new lines of troops to flank them again. The aura that set over the place only meant that they would have an even harder time with the minions.

"Oh wow." Mika giggled nervously. "Got any ideas Lupa? My tentacles aren't nearly that big."

“As a party animal, I always say if you can't close the doors...” She pounded one bear claw into the other. “Ya gotta bring down the roof!”

"Sounds good! Let's get up there!" she folded her arms. "I just wish we could do this without ruining that little cottage. Looks kinda cute."

Lupa gave Mika a bear hug and took to the air. Typically a rhino beetle's flight is only good for hovering short distances. But a kangaroo can jump as high as six feet straight up in the air. Lupa and Mika combined weighed a lot more than your typical Australian marsupial, but a typical kangaroo wasn't magical. What Lupa was doing could hardly be considered flight. Her beetle wings made her really light at best, which made her attempt at flight more like a high jump. But it ensured that Both Mika and Lupa could land safely on the rooftop.

“Now what?” Lupa released Mika.

She looked over the rooftop. "Ummm..." Her eyes darted all over the roof. "We need to do this in a way that neither of us falls in." She got into a fighting stance. "Start duplicating, I'm sure they'll be up any minute."

Lupa did as Mika commanded, and started creating clones of herself. It likely wouldn't be long before the horrorlings found a way to come after them. But if Lupa could create enough duplicates, that might not be a problem.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Ariamis

Helga's rebel yell was enough to disrupt Su's concentration and knock her out of the air. Fortunately she was high enough that she could regain control and stick a rough landing. To stop her head from throbbing, she focused her magic over her ears and created two vacuums to block out any sound. This would prevent such an attack from catching her off guard again.

She wasn't mad at Helga. She was pretty upset when she realized what had happened to Amber. Su was lucky that she in a place where she could safely pull herself together. Helga on the other hand was just hearing about this now, in the middle of a fight that demanded all of her attention. Su would have liked to have calmly explained what had happened to Helga, but there was no time. She certainly didn't trust Boteg to relay anything to her friend. None of that mattered now. Helga was going to get herself hurt if she didn't calm down soon. Last time she got this mad, she almost attacked a friend. That was when Amber managed to put herself between Helga and the other girl and talk Helga down. Was that something Su was capable of doing?

She had to try.

”Helga!” First the other threats had to be dealt with. She walked towards Helga while throwing bolts of air at the monoliths she walked past. Her concentrated magic was more than enough to blow apart the weakened pillars.

Chloe was also able to bring down the weakened monoliths with her laser. There were a lot of them, but the dark magical girl was able to dodge them with ease. One of her lazers cut through a swath of them with a single spell.

Divina had somehow reappeared when Helga screamed. She looked like she was about to eat one of Helga's claw sandwiches when the Bate's aura permeated the arena.

A monolith erupted out of the ground directly below Divina, lifting her out of the way. The dog spirits wimpered when they saw the pure white monolith Divina was standing on. The beacon girl spawned four more wings on her back for a total of six. ”Show me the depth of your love, monster!” Divina spread her wings and fired off her feathers one at a time. The rate of fire gradually went up until she was firing them in a constant stream. They flew through the air like daggers, and were all aimed at Helga.

The monoliths were now even stronger than before. They had all grown wings and floated off the ground, freely moving like sentient beings. In addition to their laser eyes, they attempted to chase down and flatten the magical girls and spirits in their wake.

”Settle down!” Su's basic spells were no longer enough to break apart the monoliths in a single strike, and were instead only enough to shove them away. The monolith's were robust enough that slamming into each other just caused them to bounce apart, albeit cracking a bit.

---

@FamishedPants@Card Captor@PlatinumSkink

”Well I'll try really hard not to- AHHHHHHHH!”

Tonya pointed her umbrella at Alexander, which acted as a shield against his mighty swing. The blow still managed to push the beacon girl entirely inside the slime monster. The top of the umbrella floated on the surface of the creature, which acted as a platform for Alexander when he landed.

Emily was able to cook the apples out of existence, and most of the monsters along with them. The ones further to the back had the chance to jump off of their rides before they were consumed by Emily's mighty flames. But between the flames, and Mayra's sudden appearance, it was hard to tell if she got them all.

By this point, the Bate's aura could be heard in the area. The blob that Alexander was standing on started to expand. It stretched out its tentacles and tied them in a knot some distance over Alexanders head. More and more came up until Alexander was trapped inside a small room. The walls, ceiling, and floor around Alexander started to spawn their own tentacles. One wrapped around his ankle, another around his opposing arm, and more still were coming in from all angles. And that wasn't even the end of Alexander's problems. The umbrella that was separating himself from the giant ooze was channeling the power of Tonya's hammer space, and could soon bombard him with minion infested apples.

---

@Shifter_Master@Ariamis[@t2wave]

Jenna would be the first person to look at the mind of a beacon buddy. Oddly, there was no traces of magic on Abigail's mind. No sort of barrier or interference from other entities. The spark appeared to be doing its job too. But a further look would reveal something most insidious. Abigail's mind looked fine from a magical standpoint, but her brain had been reworked. It wasn't a matter of simply cutting off mind controll. Abigail had been programmed to exibit certain behaviors, and a thorough examination would be needed to correct everything. With a bit of time, Jenna could perhaps use reinforcement magic to heal her defiled brain. But first she needed to figure out-

”Get outa my head!”

Before she could fully examine Abigail's mind, her spark forced Jenna out. The very same spark that prevented beacon girls from being corrupted was now combating any attempt to help Abigail.

Janet's shield would provide Lily with some protection, but the incoming debris were only getting bigger as time went on. It wouldn't be long before such simple forms of protection simply weren't enough. Aurellio didn't have much Joy to spare, but used what was left on Lily. Unfortunately, it wasn't ever going to make Lily fly. This spell was being channeled on Lily, and any attempt to alter it was soon corrected by the stream of Abigail's magic. He was at least able to make Lily comfortable and prevent her from blacking out. But she wouldn't last if something wasn't done.

Fortunately, Janet was able to successfully dispatch a few cultists harassing Aurellio. Their black bodies exploded, leaving only their fluttering cloaks. Lily's spell had done a lot to throw off the cultists, as well as protect Aurelio's clones. An assault that should have wiped Aurellio out of the fight had been turned into an opportunity in mere seconds. Their front line had broken, and were vulnerable to counterattack.

Time for some tricks.

Aurellio's clones were quick to take back lost ground. The cultists continued to create barriers and scatter flames, but it wasn't enough. They were being outnumbered by Aurellio's growing army.

Rage wasn't entirely unimpeded. The last remaining cultists had a barrier up in front of Abigail and the large beast. But the shield was cracking. In fact, a lucky hit slipped through one of the cracks and nailed the beast. It punched a small hole in the bubble on it's back, and was now spraying some of that strange powder over the shields to an area not too far away from Lily.

Aurellio was starting to feel the toll of summoning a small army. Aside from Abigail, his opponents had no emotions. That, and keeping so many clones topped up with spells was hard work. It was fortunate that Abigail only had a handful of cultists left, but he would definitely have to watch his mana and emotion expenditure for any potential future battles. For the moment there was just Abigail's anger, Lily's anguish, and Jenna and Janet's determination to feed off of.

Then the Bates aura washed over everyone.

”Aurellio?” Abigail's anger subsided in an instant. ”Are you trying to get closer to me?” She extended her arms towards the boy. ”Come give li'l sis a hug!” She folded both of her arms over her chest, and Aurellio, his clone, and Janet were mashed together. It was almost as if a pair of giant arms had taken them in and wouldn't let them go. Abigail was giggling like a child on Christmas. She swung her torso side to side while hopping up and down, and the victims of her hug were forced to do the same. Only the childish actions on Abigail's end cause them to fly into the air, slam into the ground, and roll into a gravestone or three. She didn't show any signs of letting up either, as she seemed extremely reluctant to let go of her 'bro.' The amount of mana Abigail was expending was insane, yet she didn't show any sign of tiring.

The aura also caused something in the casket to awaken. The lid was thrown off and a giant shape stood up. It looked similar to a cultist, but it was clear this one was far stronger. It stood taller, and its cloak was covered in moving eyes. This had to be a warlock. It extended its left hand and sucked in the raging Aurellio clone. They seemed to shrink into nothing before vanishing inside the warlock's palm. It then opened its right hand and fired bolt of chain lightning, wiping out all but five of Aurellio's clones with a single spell. It took slow, methodical steps out of the casket towards Jenna. A long, slender blade slid out of its right hand sleeve as it started to sprint towards her.

Abigail was no longer focusing on Lily, and the spell on her ended immediately. Between the barrier and Aurellio's joy magic, Lily didn't sustain any critical injuries. More cultists were coming out of the smoke wall from all sides of the battlefield. The ones on Lily's side of the area lifted their hands and fired bolts of flame at her immediately.

Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03

STR: 10 | AGI: 08 | VIT: 11 | MAG: 17 | LCK: 05

Earnings this post: Zilch

Total: 3 Gold, 100 Silver, 99 Bronze

Mac did her best to ease the impact of Abigail's attacks, but in the end, Abigail was just outright stronger than her. That mana beast was giving her a sizable advantage. But Mac knew it would all work out for them later. Probably. But Lily had avoided getting crushed, which would have to be enough for now as Mac ran off to help the others. Her special sight let her look through the darkness without much issue.

---

[@t2wave]@Vocab

It was not alone in this space with Shannon. Rebecca had decided to swing a cursed sword at it. The curse did seem to work, but the creature's tar-like body stopped the blade from cutting all the way through. Worse yet, it splashed all the way up her blade over her hands. She yanked as hard as she could, but lacked the strength to pull her blade free. But things really got bad for Rebecca when Shannon pulled all three of them underground, churning everyone together.

Shannon's spell did manage to strip away some of the tar, but this creature wasn't truly one with the void yet. Ripping away the tar expose clusters of bones and tusks that made up the creature's many mouths. However, churning the earth like this did open the creature's mouth enough for Shannon to escape.

Then the Bate's aura took effect.

It let out a beastly howl before it lunged upward, carrying Rebecca and a fair bit of dirt with it. This was not the prey it started with, but it would devour it no less. With time it would devour everything.Tar and dirt from the creature's body started to creep over Rebecca's face and legs. She could feel its teeth pressing against her ribs like rows of cleavers, but it would take some time before it was able to crush her torso. Much like Shannon, Rebecca was not an easy magical girl to tear apart. But the pressure was there, and it was building.

Shannon could feel the presence of other creatures in the area. This thing had reinforcements, but she could only pick it up with her ability to detect vibrations. Her eyes weren't able to see anything.

---

@Flamelord@DarkwolfX37@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@ERode

Elroy was moving pretty fast when Alicia decided to create her sword. The bright light momentarily blinded Elroy, which let her stab at his arm. This caused his chains to loosen up and let Alicia follow up with the rest of her 2-hit combo attack and swing at Elroy's leg. Elroy had managed to get some of his chains between Alicia and her sword by this point, but she was fast enough that the attack managed to trip Elroy up. "My sock slipped off!" He said before falling onto a knee. Alicia's arrow had no difficulty finding it's mark, and freed Summer from the dragon's mighty grip.

Rina was able to fire her bow, but Regina's erratic shadow stepping would ensure that the arrow never hit her. So long as no one made an attempt to shut down her ability to shadow step, she would be a very hard target to hit. However, Rina was able to avoid getting hit by her attacks further by ducking below the gravestones. This kept her left and right flanks secure, and limited Regina's safe places to attack from to being directly behind, in front, and above herself. This seemed to be enough to momentarily deter Regina from making further attacks.

"So this one doesn't have a spark? Interesting."

Regina was able to pick up on the strange readings her newest weapon was giving off. She simply stepped to the side as Summer's bat flew past her. The rouge dragon head had it's maw wide open, and its tongue was flapping in the wind. Regina raised an eyebrow at this strange sight, but remained diligent. With a simple thought, the dragon came back under her direct control. Further attempts to alter her dragon's mind wouldn't work again. Change of plans, they would be switching targets. The dragon head floated after Rina while Regina shadow stepped away.

Summer's magic wasn't strong enough to combat the curses festering inside of her. Fortunately, she had the spark, so she just needed to will them away with a thought. She could feel her body's durability return, and the crippling pain left her as well. The mana expended from the mana burn curse would not be returning. Not that Summer had lost a lot of mana, but it was something she'd have to watch out for. On the upside, she sort of got to reenact a scene from “Princess Mononoke.”

Regina had appeared about thirty feet away from Summer, who ran into a painting she had made. Regina might have raised her eyebrow at this, but perhaps at this point she realized that she would be doing that a lot if this kept up. She changed her sniper rifle into a staff and threw an orb of dark energy at the tarp. When it hit the tarp, it would expand into a massive dark dome that sapped the mana out of anything that strayed too close. "Let's see how you deal with that." While Regina waited to see what would happen, she unleashed her aura. That would empower Elroy, the beacon buddies, and all of the horrorlings in the graveyard.

Penny fired at Elroy, and managed to blow his shieldright out of his hand. "My shield slipped off too!" Elroy turned to look at Penny, who was hovering his way at full speed. "Slow down tincan, don't run down an ally!" Penny remained undeterred by Elroy's comments and continued to power forward. Elroy didn't have a lot of options at his disposal. He was down on one knee, his shield had been blasted out of his hand, and the light being thrown off of Alicia's radiant sword didn't give him many places to shadow step to. It looked like Penny was going to score a pretty good hit on Elroy. But then her arms started to twitch, the ones she had made for herself. Her upper most arms took hold of her real arms and gripped them tightly around the wrists, and her lower arms balled into fists and drove themselves into the back of her thighs. This forced her legs up, which cause her to jet straight into the air before falling on her back. Her lower arms stretched across her legs, folding her knees into her chest before coiling their fingers around their arms. Penny was being restrained by the strongest pair of arms she had ever felt: her own. Elroy casually stood up and extended his arm. With a snap, his shield returned to his hand. "Has it started to click yet, tin can?" He chuckled while walking closer to Penny. Elroy wasn't stupid. He kept his shield up in Alicia's direction. "I guess you know who enchanted your steel now huh?" He snorted. "I did it all for this! The look on your face right now made it worth it!" He laughed like a demon. That was when it clicked for Penny. Elroy and Regina had to be working for the mint. Veronica must have been looking for a magical girl or boy to enchant some steel for Penny's request a month or so ago, and Elroy agreed to it. "By the way, have you ever played Asura's Wrath? Plot twist!" Penny's body floated into the air, and then all four of her extra arms tore themselves free from her back. They flew through the air and refitted themselves on Elroy's body. The color of the steel changed from Penny's dark blue to the gold tint of aegis, matching all of Elroy's enchanted weaponry. "Now let's have some fun!" Elroy unleashed his own Aura, empowering Regina, and further strengthening the buddies and the horrors in the graveyard. Once Regina's aura had reached him, all six of Elroy's hands were engulfed in black flames. He pounced towards Alicia, but would freely punch anything and anyone that got in his way.

That was when the detective and rose knight arrived on the scene, riding on top of her majestic tiger.

”They appear to be in a bit of a pickle.” Sammy looked over her shoulder at the rose knight. ”And I've also deduced that the horror here will be getting more reinforcements shortly. Whatever you choose to do ma'am, make it count! But be wary of the ground...” she pointed down. ”Try to balance yourself on the tombstones, like this!” She hopped off tony and landed on top of a tombstone. She nearly lost her footing, but managed to prevent herself from falling off. ”Piece of Quiche! Just don't invoke the ire of anyone and we'll be fine.” Big tony was able to cross from tombstone to tombstone, but his massive body meant that each foot needed to be on a seperate tombstone, and even Sammy seemed to be faster than the pace it was currently moving at.

Character contest #3: Grove

@Calle yes, your character has to be a humanoid. Was simply clarifying that fantastical creatures exist inside the grove.

Character contest #3: Grove

@Calle Centaur and Lamia were mentioned, so yes, creatures representing fusions with animals are certainly allowed. If you mean pure fantasy animals like unicorns and Pegasus, they probably exist somewhere here too.

You could make up your own type of tribesman if you wanted. All I ask is that they must coexists with nature. If it feels more foreign, like an extraterrestrial, you'll be asked to modify it. This guy wouldn't make the cut:

Character contest #3: Grove

@Briza@Ruby@Odin@Spambot@Calle

Just dropping some mentions for some people who were interested in the last one.