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  1. [12/21/2017 1:24:42 PM] Tempest:
  2.  
  3. ===
  4.  
  5. This is not a story about rebelling against tyranny, or retaking our homeland.
  6.  
  7. There were sacrifices made by people on both sides: the Resistance, and the Guard. To trivialize those people and the bonds they had in this war as mere soldiers in an armed conflict disrespects them.
  8.  
  9. This is not a story about good versus evil, or right versus wrong.
  10. Both sides had their morals and principles, and followed them to the end. To mark one side at the inferior one shows a failure in understanding the motives of these people, who loved their homeland so much.
  11.  
  12. This is not a story of the virtues of willpower or persistence.
  13.  
  14. Although the heart and soul of many were poured into this conflict, the war was not entirely the result of the disagreements between people. This is a battle between concepts that stretch far beyond the wiles and wills of the present-day population.
  15.  
  16. This is, instead, a story about finding the truth.
  17.  
  18. Of discovering history and heritage, and cherishing the things we hold true to our hearts.
  19.  
  20. And so, the swords must be raised, to cut away at what has been forgotten and fabricated.
  21.  
  22. ---
  23.  
  24. The Castle's walls, mammoth slabs of marble and concrete, loomed ahead; a nigh-impossible barrier to scale. A singular gate, barred by equally massive doors of raw oak, its surface splintered from decades of wear and tear. The ground seemed almost unnervingly clean, nothing but grass and brush for as far as eye could see.
  25.  
  26. In front of those doors stood a lone man in a cream-colored coat, a navy blue bandanna tied around his neck. He held a finely honed spear, its tip shining with the etchings carved into it; a slight movement made it look as if there were multiple spearheads rather than just one. On his shoulder perched a peregrine falcon, wearing a similar bandanna.
  27.  
  28. Wary Sentinel, Waterson
  29. Keen Falcon, Swift
  30.  
  31. "So, this is what she was talking about, huh?" Waterson spun his spear around a few times idly, as if he was honestly expecting more. "Looks like the folks down at the plaza took care of most of them. I ain't complaining, though. The less work I gotta do, the better."
  32.  
  33. He snapped his fingers, and an ensemble of four guards jumped down from the wall, each dressed in identical, vermilion-colored officer's uniform. But they clearly showed hesitation facing the rebellious mob here, shifting uncomfortably in their boots. Waterson shrugged his shoulder as Swift took off into the air, and shifted himself into a ready position.
  34.  
  35. "I'll let you greenhorns get some experience first," he started. "They shouldn't be too much a problem to clear out, anyway. If you folks do start having trouble, I'll bail you out."
  36.  
  37. ===
  38.  
  39. Welcome to Aether Curtain! Please view the website for Aether Curtain at https://project-siege.weebly.com/aether-curtain.html to review the rules of the game, and to look up information.
  40.  
  41. You each start as a Level 1 fighter, with 1200 HP, a Rusty Sword and a Healing Salve. Those new to the series will also be holding a Linked Fragment. Don't let this constrain you entirely, though; get creative, and look for better opportunities!
  42.  
  43. To play, all you have to do is start posting below. Be sure to mark your action for this turn clearly (using bold text by enclosing your action in asterisks is a good way to do this). And remember, you only get one.
  44.  
  45. Please feel welcome to experiment and interact with fellow players and opponents; the story doesn't exist without your support, after all. And again, welcome to Aether Curtain!
  46.  
  47. ENEMIES
  48.  
  49. Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 1200 / 1200
  50. He's standing back next to the gate, behind everyone else.
  51. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  52.  
  53. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 400 / 400
  54. He's flying high above everyone else: you can't reach him with your Rusty Swords!
  55. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  56.  
  57. Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 600 / 600
  58. He seems apprehensive.
  59. Weapon: Sword & Shield
  60.  
  61. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 600 / 600
  62. She seems apprehensive.
  63. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  64.  
  65. Gate Guard C - Lv. 1 - HP 600 / 600
  66. He seems apprehensive.
  67. Weapon: Cedar Bow
  68.  
  69. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 600 / 600
  70. She seems apprehensive.
  71. Weapon: Chestnut Rifle
  72.  
  73. STAGE 1 - TURN 1
  74. ACTION!
  75.  
  76. [12/21/2017 2:17:16 PM | Edited 2:18:54 PM] GM: ...So many sacrifices had been made, in just these past few moments. GM... didn't really know what to think. He had just been swept up into this, not quite understanding what was going on, and didn't quite approve of what he was doing... but it was too late to go back now. Sadly, he would have to fight. But he wasn't really sure anyone wanted to…
  77.  
  78. Thinking, thinking, and thinking some more. What could he do? What was everyone here fighting for?
  79.  
  80. ...They were just following orders.
  81.  
  82. ...The leader and his pet falcon clearly had the resolve to fight, but not his legion of guards. Maybe he could get them to back off, run away and prevent as many casualties as he could…
  83.  
  84. ...Of course, he’s not one for words. But maybe...
  85.  
  86. “...I’d suggest you all back off. Sure, many of us died, but the remainder is a bit stronger than the rest of them.” GM began to threaten the guards, hoping to end this without a fight. If not...
  87.  
  88. “...I am GM. Look me in the eyes.” He paused. Onlookers would immediately notice his golden eyes. “These eyes are not natural in any way. And what is not natural… is usually very powerful.”
  89.  
  90. GM began to cast a spell, a fire spell which would hurt the foes that he was now fighting. Onlookers would immediately notice that he was beginning to conjure flames. This was intentional. GM aimed to scare off as many of the Gate Guards as he could, leaving Waterson and Swift alone as their opponent. Regardless, by the end of the enemy’s turn, the fire would be unleashed, and if GM was successful, enemies would be burned… GM trying his best to not kill those who were hit
  91.  
  92. [12/21/2017 2:46:26 PM | Edited 2:50:35 PM] [VIOLET]: "Ohhhh..." A young snow-haired woman standing near the group's center held the rusted sword in her hand close, where the pommel left flecks of dark dust on her mint-colored apron. She felt a little embarrassed, running out here in her innkeeper's uniform, but she didn't have a minute to hesitate-- and, didn't really have any better clothes, period.
  93.  
  94. Her father had enchanted them for her to make it last. It still looked just like new, after two years...
  95.  
  96. She... the breath in her chest shook, suddenly cold, and she had to will her fingertips to remain steady on the handle of her blade. What would she give, to run back to her parents now and continue providing her support to everyone from afar... you know: prayers, clothes, bread. But her papa and father had vanished, and her dad had just been arrested. There was nothing to run back to, now.
  97.  
  98.  
  99. ...goodness gracious. What a day. What a day... Her hands were shaking.
  100.  
  101. "...no matter what..." the innkeeper closed her eyes, her voice low, and soft. "...you have to use the power of your life to help... The power of your life that will become your magic..."
  102.  
  103. A deep breath.
  104.  
  105. Campanula Lunam straightened her back, held her chin high, and directed her gaze down the green. Many figures had joined the crowd, today- a great many who were more imposing, stronger looking... But more importantly, she was the daughter of three proud men whose combined spirit glowed within her even now.
  106.  
  107. She wasn't a fighter. One look at her, in her white dress and neat braided bun, would tell anyone that... But she... she would will herself on. Whatever else she could do-- sewing, maybe a little bit of tinkering, or healing... They needed her here. She could psych herself into believing that, given enough time: her parents always told her she was hard-headed, in that way.
  108.  
  109. "My name is Campanula Lunam... please, call me Campi! If you need anything, I will do everything I can to help. Hold strong, everybody!"
  110.  
  111. The young innkeeper's face glowed with a warm smile, and slowly, she spread out both hands, dressed in white gloves...
  112.  
  113.  
  114. She tried to feel it: threads of light twisted around her fingers, ready to poke through into the fabric of the world... A sturdy, even double stitch, again and again... Focus, Campi!
  115.  
  116.  
  117. "Papa, let me remember the faceted light of our radiant ancestry..."
  118.  
  119. >Campanula: Try a basic Barrier spell on yourself!
  120.  
  121. [12/21/2017 3:37:55 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): "This is going to be terrible for business, isn't it?"
  122.  
  123. Thomas was really bummed about this whole situation. Life as a traveling food cart vendor was hard enough without social unrest to worry about. He wasn't exactly happy about the amount he had to pay for rent, sure, but this whole "seize the means of production" thing felt like a bridge too far.
  124.  
  125. He had only gotten mixed up in this mob in the first place because he smelled an opportunity to unload some hot dogs - revolutionaries gotta eat, you know? - but then a cute girl had asked if he was a part of the resistance and... yep, totally, resisting? My favorite pastime, I'll do that shit all day.
  126.  
  127. Before he knew it he had been given a sword and a salve of some suspicious liquid and neither the cute girl nor his hot dog trolley were anywhere to be seen. At this point it would be awkward not to keep going.
  128.  
  129. Sighing, he started scrounging around for a bow of some kind. Or a gun, if that was possible to find lying around. He was hedging his bets.
  130.  
  131. [12/21/2017 3:59:16 PM | Edited 3:59:49 PM] Aeront: A younger looking boy, perhaps 15 or so, edged his way toward the front of the group, hands confidently upon his hips.
  132.  
  133. He had a purple coat tied around his waist, his black skin standing out against the grey t-shirt he was wearing... and his name, written in large, red lettering across his chest. 'Cherri.'
  134.  
  135. Despite his diminuitive size, the youth hopped onto a box toward the group's center and began to speak, trying his best to boost the group's spirits and Morale... assuming, they could understand him.
  136.  
  137. "Alright, perandahs! Those guards think they're so sprundy? With their sword swingers, bow bringers, rifle stingers!? Pah! We got crazy magics and powers like they wouldn't believe! Even if thinking you we don't, I bet we sure do! Yeah yeah! C'mon! My name's right here on me shirt, Cherri, and I says we're'in the bestiest bunch of berandos these fickle dingers have ever laid eyes at!" He was really very into what he was saying, whatever he was saying. "Everyone together! Stick to sides like butter and we'll send 'um all packing!!"
  138.  
  139. [12/21/2017 4:11:20 PM] Jan: An energetic yell erupted from the very back of the group, the short figure ran around, screaming the entire way. It was a mixture of a tarzan type call, in addition to pain felt far beyond her 22 years. There was a gleam in her eye as she took a lunge toward Gate Guard A, aiming for a basic slash across the chest. Afterward she back pedaled away from the guards.
  140.  
  141. "If there's one thing I've learned... It's attack while you have the chance, lest you find yourself dead."
  142.  
  143. [12/21/2017 4:11:41 PM | Edited 4:12:01 PM] [VIOLET]: "YEAAAAH!"
  144.  
  145. -Campi held a hand over her mouth-- come on, be decent. This is a serious fight.
  146.  
  147. [12/21/2017 4:12:42 PM | Edited 4:12:50 PM] Aeront: "Give it to 'um good!! Send 'um spinnin'!!" Cherri cheered.
  148.  
  149. [12/21/2017 4:15:20 PM] Samuel Kim#7885 on Discord.: Well. This isn't how I wanted to spend my day, but here I am.
  150.  
  151. The young man steps onto the battlefield in little more than fancy noble's cloth and a rusty sword thrust into his hands. He grips it uncertainly before looking around at the ragtag group...what were they doing? Trying to intimidate those in power...?
  152.  
  153. He lets out a deep sigh; for a man of only average stature, the air around him was tense as he took a step forward. planting the rusty blade into the ground.
  154.  
  155. "It doesn't have to end like this. Give up now."
  156.  
  157. SBSam attempts to manifest an Aura of Intimidation around himself.
  158.  
  159. [12/21/2017 7:16:29 PM | Edited 7:17:09 PM] Animorpherv1: From out of the crowd a large creature appeared, wearing a brown leather jacket with metal embellishments on the shoulders. But this was not the most unnatural thing about him.
  160.  
  161. Wolf-like in appearance with blazingly blue eyes and parts of what would otherwise be his mane made into braids that went down the front of his jacket. A large muzzle with fangs protruding from both sides. He begun to think to himself.
  162.  
  163. "So this is the journey I have been called for. If this is my calling then I will do my best, and we shall succeed." he nodded and looked around, to see that the battle had already begun. Several were trying intimidation tactics, yet others were casting magic and yet more still were channelling from within themselves. He saw kids and adults alike. People of all kinds were fighting.
  164.  
  165. "My name is Thanos Silverclaw. And those who stand in my way will swiftly wish that they did not."
  166.  
  167. He then reached for his blade, and made an attempt to swing at Guard C, only to turn his blade to the blunt side at the last minute in an attempt to keep him out of the combat for a little while.
  168.  
  169. "It's not a shield, but this will have to do."
  170.  
  171. [12/21/2017 9:02:04 PM] Sharks: Off to the side a little ways someone stood, in their early twenties or late teens, maybe, head a mop of sandy beach-blonde hair, eyes dark like mouseholes, maybe, or else balistrarias. Her skin was darker than her hair, like the very soil of the earth, dotted with a hundred hundred potato-eye freckles. Her build was strong, and her face was mountainlike in its devotion, in its rough and stoneset lines.
  172.  
  173. Her name was Yam; and there she stood, in unassuming dust-gray robes, work boots, a satchel, a sheath, a sword nearly rusted through. Her hands, heavily calloused, gripped at the handle with confidence. She had never used a blade like this for anything but fending off wild animals; but something in the howling wind told her that change was coming today.
  174.  
  175. "To the ground which we stand on, I offer my gratitude... I give thanks for the crops and the beasts which your soil gives shelter to... I pray that you drink no blood today, that you are not stained red... but, if you must drink blood, then I pray that it is the blood of the wicked; the ones who would subjugate you and imprison you under walls and castles of stone. Amen," she said, pressing her fingers to her lips and then against the earth. It was a traditional blessing performed by the crop-witches who had raised her, with a few amendments. Yam was not trained in farm-witchery; her eyes had not graced the yellow-touched pages of the Almanac. No, she was too young. But enough years as a farmhand had taught her, at least, the basics. She hoped the Earth would listen.
  176.  
  177. [12/21/2017 9:03:32 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): Yep. Thomas was really out of his depth.
  178.  
  179. [12/21/2017 9:13:28 PM] Aeront: "Yeeees, more sparkle flingers!!" Cherri called, pumping his sword in the air at the new addition.
  180.  
  181. [12/22/2017 7:46:19 AM | Edited 7:46:57 AM] Dayna Plehn: Although she lingered near the back of the crowd, Etain's mane of golden hair towered a head over most of the others around her, and she got a good view of what was going on up front. She watched as a few of the better-spoken among the riot's number tried to negotiate with the few guards up front-- while a few others took swings at them. Well, this could devolve quickly. Even so, Etain wasn't going to start pronouncing judgment, but she got the feeling that negotiating hadn't been much of an option at this point anyway.
  182.  
  183. She noticed one fellow was looking around for something -- a better weapon, maybe? Etain turned her green eyes to the old sword in her hands, and quirked the corner of her mouth. The thing was technically an heirloom, but her family hadn't taken very good care of it over the years, especially since it was yet another reminder of a family fallen from wealth. At this point she wasn't sure if it could even cut butter. Maybe there would be something better lying around.
  184.  
  185. She joined Thomas in looking for a better weapon.
  186.  
  187. [12/22/2017 8:22:23 AM] GM: ...Of course the current circumstances worried GM as well. If the others tried their best to be intimidating, then maybe it would be fine, but… there was Cherri. And their party also consisted of an innkeeper and hot dog salesman.
  188.  
  189. “...Remember that I’m about to burn you all to a crisp, and beastmen are about to maul you.” He said dryly. “Several of us are casting spells, and most of you have not much more experience in combat then we do. I wouldn’t get cocky.”
  190.  
  191. [12/22/2017 8:58:11 AM] Mirk: Another figure bounced forth from the group, this one a short and slightly scrawny teenaged girl with wavy black hair tied into a messy ponytail. She wore a tattered and faded green cloth like a cape, even though it looked like it was probably an old window drape of some sort. As for actual clothes, she was wearing a bright pink shirt with a generic cartoon unicorn on it, and on her legs were a pair of baggy beige cargo pants that covered the tops of her nearly new looking hiking boots. The girl raised her rusty weapon and waved it in the direction of some of the inexperienced guards. "Yeah, you heard the fire guy! We have you outnumbered and outclassed. So surrender now, and we will spare you. It is a forgivable offense, opposing us, as you are just doing your job, but we will not be able to hold back if you continue to stand in our way. As the forces of Justice, we will be victorious. So stand down!"
  192. The girl, Eliora, was hopeful that her speech would raise morale for her team, and maybe push the enemy towards surrender. Her allies were indeed outnumbering the foe, but outclassing was probably less consistent, considering that some were like Cherri, who although he was pretty funny and his sheer energy was infectious, maybe wouldn't be good at fighting. Plus she thought she had seen a guy she recognized as a hot dog vender, from when her family had the money to spend on convenient yet overpriced hot dogs. And one person was the innkeeper from in town. But maybe she was underestimating them. Maybe they were secretly highly trained fighters in an emergency! Or like secret ninja agents! That would be cool. Yeah, those silly guards were definitely outclassed. Her hazel eyes shone with confidence as she stared down the guard members.
  193.  
  194. [12/22/2017 9:00:51 AM | Edited 9:01:12 AM] Animorpherv1: Between the clatter of swords and the enthusiastic shouting of a small child of which he only partially understood, Thanos heard a person in the back going on about beastmen and mauling his enemies. Technically he hadn't even layed a finger on them yet.
  195.  
  196. "I'm not exactly one to maul people, you see. It's... uncivilized."
  197.  
  198. [12/22/2017 9:01:26 AM] GM: "I was exaggerating." GM coughed.
  199.  
  200. [12/22/2017 9:03:00 AM] Animorpherv1: "I understand, it's easier to get this out of the way earlier."
  201.  
  202. [12/22/2017 9:03:16 AM | Edited 9:03:22 AM] GM: Everyone is trying their best...
  203.  
  204. [12/22/2017 10:36:58 AM | Edited 10:37:28 AM] Aeront: "Mmmm, more whisper bringers, sword swingers, trinket seekers," Cherri noted, nodding. "I gibbled you all down, here in my Cherri Brain, yessir! We've really got the stuffs going now!"
  205.  
  206. [12/22/2017 10:40:10 AM | Edited 10:40:19 AM] [VIOLET]: Campi couldn't help but slowly and subtly turn her head towards the bright voice that had been happening in the farthest edges of her concentration-- a... holy shit, a kid! And, she could have sworn...
  207.  
  208. "As the forces of Justice, we will be victorious. So stand down!"
  209.  
  210. ...oh no, there were two kids. Who let them come here?! She kept her grip on her spell, but... oh, sweet Goddess, protect these souls...
  211.  
  212. "Honey, be careful..."
  213.  
  214. [12/22/2017 10:50:43 AM] Aeront: "Hm?" Cherri said, turning to the innkeeper. "Oh don'tin you be worryin' pretty lady Campi! Cherri here's the--" The rusty sword in his hand slipped, clattering to the ground. The boy hopped off his box and reclaimed it, stepping back up. "--Cherri here's the bestiest bernado this side 'a Sunday! Ain't a thing to be 'fraiding for, especially with all these cool cadiddles! That's a friend fact!"
  215.  
  216. [12/22/2017 11:14:39 AM] Mirk: Eliora shifted her body and turned her head so she could see the figure calling out to her while still keeping the guards in her peripheral vision. "Yeah, Miss Innkeeper Campi, we have nothing to fear if we work together and watch each other's backs!" She smiled before turning back towards the opposing group.
  217.  
  218. [12/23/2017 1:50:43 PM] Star: Inky was good at a great many things, and one of those was finding stories (not that she's the type to brag, she would never).
  219. Storming a castle makes an awfully good story, she knew. Practically a legend. (Being part of a legend was also an excellent excuse to get out of this store with a shopkeeper who was a little too keen eyed.) (Not that she was stealing from him, no, she would never. Honestly, just because she had horns and greyish skin didn't mean she was a vandal or thief.)
  220. She slipped into the middle of the party, this incredible party that would become legends.... But.... who was this kid and what was he yelling? Was that a wolf?
  221. The cloaked rogue sighed. They were going to need better than these wooden swords if they wanted to be legends.
  222. Inky joined the search for better weapons.
  223.  
  224. [12/23/2017 10:24:17 PM | Edited 10:24:36 PM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa ran. She ran on a tide of emotion, fear and rage and will and grief swirling together, creating an explosive mixture that propelled her forwards. She ran, for to slow down was to think, to think was to doubt, and to doubt was to die.
  225.  
  226. But as she continued running, closing in on one of the guards, it hit her that fighting here meant she would have to kill. To choose to end a life, to stab another human and watch as the life left their eyes and their body slumped to the ground. To watch as a living, breathing person became a corpse by her hand. She'd seen that happen just earlier tonight, rioters cut down by the guard before even reaching the castle, the would-be leader murdered just for having the wrong thoughts.
  227.  
  228. That was the difference, she told herself, it was justice. Not just self-defense, but justice. The ones defending Castle Low were the villains here! They were the ones killing innocents, and they were only getting what they deserved! It didn't matter if the guards were hesitating, or only following orders, they were wrong!
  229.  
  230. Alyssa closed the last of the distance to the guard with the rifle, raising her sword to bring it down on the woman's head. That's when she saw the uncertainty on the woman's face, the hesitation in pulling the rifle's trigger, and her nerve broke. She pulled back halfway through the slash, sending the sword twisting through the air at the rifle instead of the person holding it.
  231.  
  232. Alyssa attempts to disarm Guard D. If successful, make a grab for the rifle.
  233.  
  234. [12/23/2017 11:35:57 PM] Hobbes (Duncan): Fran stood near the back of the group, watching, a bit distant. A guard's mace had shattered her cane during the initial riot, and so she leaned on her sword instead, the blade-- covered in old rust and fresh blood-- planted firmly into the ground.
  235.  
  236. She was not going to rush into this. She wasn't a young woman anymore, and as much as she wanted to charge forward, to scream in defiance and attack, distract herself with battle and bloodshed, she was not going to rush into this. She would be careful. She would not throw herself away.
  237.  
  238. There were people at the front, cheering the group on. Young people. So young--
  239.  
  240. The thought was painful, and she flinched involuntarily, then shuddered, pulling her pale blue shawl a little tighter around her shoulders.
  241.  
  242. She wasn't an imposing figure, she knew that. Short and round, and getting shorter as she started to hunch with age. Her brown skin was getting more wrinkled each day, and her hair, gone grey years ago, now had streaks of white in it. Her one eye, once a sharp, steely grey, was now starting to go cloudy, film over. Who knew how long it'd be before she lost that one, too?
  243.  
  244. The other eye was long gone, of course. In its place there was only smooth skin where the socket should've been-- the product of her grandson's limited healing skills-- and an eye-shaped tattoo, iridescent and multi-colored. Never quite the same color twice, either. That had been done with the help of an old friend, and it at least served its purposes.
  245.  
  246. Still. In spite of the questionable functionality of her eyes, Fran was watching. Watching the enemy. She was good at watching. Years of living, (and a few natural gifts in that area) had made her quite skilled at understanding people at a glance, predicting what they might do. She could put that to use here. She would.
  247.  
  248. Fran observes the enemies, to get a sense of how they fight and how they act, and improve her ability to attack and defend against them in the future. Specific focus on the ones with the bow and the rifle.
  249.  
  250. [10:06:14 AM | Edited 10:33:13 AM] Meta: Hanging near the back of the crowd, a man in black surveyed the scene.
  251.  
  252. Judging from his appearance alone, he had seen better days. The dark coat he wore was tattered, its seams beginning to fray. Dark circles stood out around dead-fish eyes. His hair, as black as his attire, was wild and unkempt. His right hand clenched tightly around a length of scrap metal that perhaps had once been a sword.
  253.  
  254. But still, he observed - and as he saw the Resistance rushing forward, something behind those dead eyes lit up with cold resolve.
  255.  
  256. However small, it was a chance. He'd lost many things in the past year - no, he had lost almost everything. This Resistance was almost certainly doomed to failure, just like all of his attempts and plans in the past month. But still, they'd already made it further than he ever had.
  257.  
  258. The last real friend he'd had, the last person he'd lost - he would bring him back. He'd open this dead end with his own two hands.
  259.  
  260. "Alyssa...?"
  261.  
  262. He recognized that face. That girl - his only ally for the past month - had found the same lead he had, and was plunging headlong into danger without a moment's thought. He grit his teeth.
  263.  
  264. "I promised I'd keep her safe if anything ever happened."
  265.  
  266. He gripped the battered, twisted length of metal at his side. He wasn't afraid - he didn't have much to lose that he hadn't already. But the sight of that girl running so easily into what could be her death -
  267.  
  268. He kicked the ground. The body he'd been training since he was a child launched itself forward in a dead sprint, ramshackle weapon held before him. He'd lost sight of his dream, and he couldn't see the light of hope anymore. But still - he had an oath to keep.
  269.  
  270. Charging at Guard D, the man stepped in next to Alyssa and swung his sword, aiming to batter the guard with the blade's flat to disorient them.
  271.  
  272. [12/24/2017 4:51:13 PM] Sock King: A tall, darkly-tanned man stood near the center of the crowd. The wind tossed his brown mullet around, making him shiver and zip up his black leather jacket.
  273.  
  274. He wasn't from around these parts, didn't recognize any faces. But he'd heard of the history here, and maybe he could put that to use? He smiled. After all, this revolution business might be profitable.
  275.  
  276. He reached into a pocket of his khaki pants and pulled out a pair of gloves. Black leather, matched the jacket, and he thought it looked pretty good. Hands protected, he reached down and picked a rusty sword up off the ground. The weight of it felt strange, but it was the only thing there.
  277.  
  278. Shuffling in his boots trying to find a comfortable footing, he raised the blade into the air and shouted.
  279.  
  280. "Hey! Guardsmen! You may not know me, but my name is Sock, and I'm a veteran hero of the Third War. Now I'm giving you all a choice; either lay down your arms or lay down your lives!"
  281.  
  282. Sock makes an intimidating speech to lower the enemy's morale
  283.  
  284. [12/25/2017 10:28:37 PM] Tempest:
  285.  
  286. ===
  287.  
  288. GM focused and attempted to conjure magical flame; while no flames gather, there is a significant rise in temperature near his hand. The Gate Guards get a little anxious about what to expect, with Gate Guards A and B slowly backing away.
  289. GM's planning to unleash this power at the end of his turn...!
  290.  
  291. Campanula gathered energy, focusing on pulling it into a force field around her. The mana formed into a lattice in front of her, protecting her from the next 200 points of damage directed at her for the rest of turn!
  292.  
  293. Thomas searches the grounds around the walls and manages to procure a Simple Bow, not quite like the Cedar Bow the guards are using, but still workable. There was also a quiver filled with a lot of arrows nearby, so he won't have to worry about ammunition, either.
  294. Thomas: Procurement +10 XP, +1% Morale
  295.  
  296. Cherri stood in front of the others with a call to arms, raising their spirits!
  297. Cherri: Rally +10 XP, +4% Morale
  298.  
  299. (Jan) charged at Gate Guard A screaming, running past him with her Rusty Sword and slashing him across the chest for 126 damage! Gate Guard A stumbled back with a dumbfounded look on his face, not even bothering to raise his shield in reflex. "AGH! How did--!?"
  300. (Jan): Attack +10 XP, +1% Morale
  301.  
  302. SBSam focused his will to develop an aura of intimidation around himself. He couldn't develop a full-blown aura, but his presence did begin to spark fear in the Gate Guards.
  303. While most of them were mostly unnerved by this, Gate Guard A was especially affected; he fell onto one knee in fear and had to pick himself back up! "W-Wait, don't hurt me!" He's terrified and can't engage the Resistance!
  304. Swift also noted this and changed his flight pattern to stay a little further away from SBSam.
  305. Waterson didn't seem impressed, though. "What, he's just one guy. Shouldn't be too hard, right? You've run this drill in training before."
  306. SBSam: Disrupt +10 XP, +1% Morale
  307.  
  308. Thanos lashed out with the flat of his Rusty Sword, hitting Gate Guard C for a reduced 68 damage. He seemed taken back by this less-than-lethal attack on him, stumbling backward.
  309. Thanos: Attack +10 XP, +1% Morale
  310.  
  311. Yam spoke a blessing to the earth, kissing her finger before pressing the soil. But if this did anything, the earth did not respond to it.
  312.  
  313. Étaín looked over the grounds before coming across a Simple Dagger. If this blade was sunk into a vulnerable part with a lucky attack, it could do some very high damage.
  314. Étaín: Procurement +10 XP, +1% Morale
  315.  
  316. Eliora gave a speech proclaiming the Resistance as stronger than the guards. Upon hearing this, Gate Guard A only breaks down further in his fear, and this has the remaining Gate Guards even further unnerved. They've begun slowly backing away up against the gate's door.
  317. Waterson saw that the guards weren't going to be standing much longer at this rate. "Gotta do this myself, huh? I better be getting a raise." He walked up to the front of the group and held out his spear, its tip quivering with light. "Watch and learn, kids."
  318. Nonetheless, the Resistance is happy that they have the momentum here!
  319. Eliora: Rally +10 XP, +3% Morale
  320.  
  321. Inky searched for a weapon and came across a Flintlock Pistol. Although it's outdated, it's still a firearm that can deal a lot of damage reliably, although reloading it after every shot will be a pain. Luckily, the gun came with a sizable amount of gunpowder and ammunition.
  322. Inky: Procurement +10 XP, +1% Morale
  323.  
  324. Alyssa rushed Gate Guard D and knocked her Chestnut Rifle to the ground, disarming her! "W-wait, no! I didn't even get to fire!" She can't use the rifle until she takes an action picking it back it up; now's your chance to take it from her!
  325. Alyssa: Disrupt +10 XP, +1% Morale
  326.  
  327. Fran sat back at studied her opponents. But if there were any nuances to their fighting styles to be picked up by these latest exchanges, they were clearly masked by how green these guards were. It almost seems insulting to have this inexperienced bunch act as the Resistance's first roadblock...
  328.  
  329. (Meta) swung at Gate Guard D with the flat of his blade, connecting for a reduced 97 damage. "They're really fast--!"
  330. (Meta): Attack +10 XP, +1% Morale
  331.  
  332. Sock talked the guards into standing down. Gate Guard A is barely able to take it any further, but the other guards still seem to be pretty numbed by the previous intimidation attempts. Maybe focusing on one person is more effective...?
  333.  
  334. Gate Guard A hid behind his Sword & Shield, yelling "J-Just don't hurt me anymore!"
  335.  
  336. Gate Guard B took a deep breath before charging at (Meta)! "Stay away from her, you idiot!" she yelled, swinging head-on with the Weighted Blade and connecting for 206 damage!
  337. Damage: -1% Morale
  338.  
  339. Gate Guard C drew his Cedar Bow and fired an arrow at (Jan), but his shaky aim cause the arrow to miss, just passing through her hair.
  340.  
  341. Gate Guard D couldn't think straight and opted to throw a punch at Alyssa, hitting her in the nose for 63 damage! "Get away from me!"
  342. Damage: -1% Morale
  343.  
  344. Swift saw GM gathering mana and divebombed him, using his talons to rake his eyes and deal 132 damage! GM is also blinded, and can't see for a short while!
  345. Damage: -1% Morale
  346.  
  347. Waterson swung his spear around, claiming, "I'll clear you out quickly," and dashing at Alyssa with Double Strike, somehow attacking twice with a single lunge of his Quiver Spear! The combined attacks dealt a 436 damage to her, but the exertion left Waterson tired, lowering his performance. "Ha, got to remember my body's not as young as it used to be..."
  348. Damage: -1% Morale
  349.  
  350. GM worked through his blindness and unleashed the magic he was building! But as he didn't have the power to conjure actual flames, all he was able to manage was a heat wave that dealt a measly 10 damage to each enemy.
  351. GM: Attack +10 XP, +1% Morale
  352.  
  353. ===
  354.  
  355. MORALE: 112%
  356.  
  357. PLAYERS
  358.  
  359. Alyssa - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 701 / 1200
  360. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  361. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  362.  
  363. Campanula - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  364. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  365. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  366.  
  367. Cherri - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  368. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  369. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  370.  
  371. Eliora - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  372. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  373. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  374.  
  375. Étaín - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  376. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  377. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Simple Dagger
  378.  
  379. Fran - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  380. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  381. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  382.  
  383. GM - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1068 / 1200
  384. Blinded! Can't see for 1 turn!
  385. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  386. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  387.  
  388. Inky - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  389. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  390. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  391.  
  392. (Jan) - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  393. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  394. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  395.  
  396. (Meta) - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 994 / 1200
  397. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  398. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  399.  
  400. SBSam - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  401. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  402. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  403.  
  404. Sock - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  405. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  406. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  407.  
  408. Thanos - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  409. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  410. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  411.  
  412. Thomas - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  413. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  414. Items: Healing Salve, Simple Bow, -
  415.  
  416. Yam - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  417. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  418. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  419.  
  420. ENEMIES
  421.  
  422. Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 1190 / 1200
  423. Tired! Chance to fail any actions due to fatigue!
  424. Skills: Double Strike
  425. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  426.  
  427. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 390 / 400
  428. He's flying high above everyone else: you can't reach him with your Rusty Swords!
  429. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  430.  
  431. Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 464 / 600
  432. Terrified! Can't engage the enemy!
  433. Weapon: Sword & Shield
  434.  
  435. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 590 / 600
  436. She's clearly shaken. Her back's against the gate's doors.
  437. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  438.  
  439. Gate Guard C - Lv. 1 - HP 522 / 600
  440. He's clearly shaken. His back's against the gate's doors.
  441. Weapon: Cedar Bow
  442.  
  443. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 493 / 600
  444. Disarmed! Can't use her weapon until she picks it back up - steal it now!
  445. Weapon: Chestnut Rifle
  446.  
  447. STAGE 1 - TURN 2
  448. ACTION!
  449.  
  450. [12/26/2017 9:23:18 AM | Edited 9:23:48 AM] Animorpherv1: Thanos looked around at the battlefield after the state of events. One of the guards had basically given up, and was cowering in a corner. There was no point in dealing with him. He'd get to that guard later, if there was time.
  451.  
  452. Then he saw it. Waterson, the one that looked to be the biggest threat, had just put himself in a vulnerable position and made himself tired. Proper tactics indicate that normally you finish off the person you've already started, but some opportunities were just too good to pass up.
  453.  
  454. With that, Thanos took off running at full speed towards Waterson, using proper technique to tackle him onto the ground
  455.  
  456. "Now! While he's incapacitated!" Thanos yelled back at the group. In the hectic chaos of battle, leaving as little to chance as possible is how this ragtag group of rebels would find victory together.
  457.  
  458. [12/26/2017 10:54:04 AM | Edited 10:55:12 AM] Aeront: Aha, an opportunity! Cherri hopped down from his box and raced forward, either oblivious to the clash of weapons and steel all around him, or just not caring. In fact, he unequipped his own Rusty Sword, no weapon in sight as he headed for the enemy frontline.
  459.  
  460. He walked toward Gate Guard A, putting up his small hands to show he had no weapon, and slowly, calmly, with a smile as wide as a canyon, approached.
  461.  
  462. "Hiya hey, sha sha, it'll be ok, it'll be fine! My name's Cherri, hi hello, nice to meet you, andin' I've been thinxing, you're in needing of some loves!"
  463.  
  464. The young boy would then attempt to hug Gate Guard A around the waist, before talking in his enthusiastic dialect.
  465.  
  466. "Listen here to some Cherri wisdom, here c'mon listen: thisin' be like a biiiig pallowup, yeah? But hey, don't worry! You're great, wonderful, wow!" He released the fellow, still smiling happily, as if nothing dangerous whatsoever was afoot. "You could be our very own shield stickler! Don'tin' 'ya care about all the peoples? Why you picked up your stick, right right? Wellin' then hey, we're a bunch of peoples! And I be thinking you've got the chocoka to be a real wing dinger! So c'mon!"
  467.  
  468. Not actually waiting for a response, Cherri would pull on Gate Guard A, holding their hand tight as he lead them toward the Resistance, still hollering encouragement and support.
  469.  
  470. [12/26/2017 12:20:04 PM] [VIOLET]: The innkeeper winced as she saw a spirited figure charging down the battlefield take a heavy hit from that guard's spear... No time to lose, then! She was glad to see that at least her Barrier spell worked... Now, to push her luck a little...
  471.  
  472. She focused. Her mind found its center in the recollection of a gentle feeling: her father, gently closing his hands around hers to nurture warmth within... Fan the glowing ember into a spark, into a flame, into a star that illuminates the battlefield... Breathe. Breathe.
  473.  
  474. "Fan the flames that light the hearth of your gentle legacy! Healing Hands!"
  475.  
  476. >Campanula: Cast a healing spell on Alyssa.
  477.  
  478. She couldn't play babysitter... but she sensed a gentle air about a few of those gathered, here... they would help protect the kids-- and she would build her own abilities to be there when it really counted.
  479.  
  480. [12/26/2017 12:32:57 PM] GM: GM cried in pain after Swift raked his eyes. He began rubbing them only to discover that he only seemed to make things worse. He desperately wanted some eye drops, but… there weren’t any, were there?
  481.  
  482. Shit. That stupid fucking bird. I suppose I was about as violent, though. I should probably take the time to rest...
  483.  
  484. Of course, GM still had no real idea where to rest. He could just… stand there? But then he would still be right in the action…
  485.  
  486. He could hear sounds of battle… That may be enough.
  487.  
  488. GM: While waiting for your blindness to heal, walk away from the action (using your sense of hearing as a guide), rest for the turn, and recuperate.
  489.  
  490. [12/26/2017 2:55:11 PM] Sharks: Yam sighed. She wasn't really expecting any particular response, she guessed... still, though. Oh, maybe she should have found a proper farming tool to channel it through? Now that she thought about it, her moms were always holding one whenever they would do this... well, seeing as there was an uprising going on, some people probably brought a few as weapons. Pitchforks in the like, It would have to do.
  491.  
  492. Yam: Search for some sort of farming implement that could also be used as a weapon; preferably a hoe, sickle, or pitchfork.
  493.  
  494. [12/26/2017 7:18:36 PM] Star: "Aha!" Inky picks up the pistol, delighted, despite the fact that its been a while since she used one of these. (The last time had been on a bet.) (She had lost, but she picked the winner's pockets while he was drunk on success.)
  495. With a flourish of her cloak, Inky aims up to the bird. While she appreciates that the bird appeared to be wearing a bandana (What a marvelous little accessory for a bird), that bird seemed dangerously out of reach of these swords.
  496. She shoots the pistol at Swift. There is a wonderfully dramatic bang and a puff of smoke. The small cloud drifts away to reveal Inky standing, posed, looking legendary- hair moving gently, horns shining, cloak billowing, face turned to the sky to follow the results of her shot.
  497. (Obviously, she was going to do this with style. This ragtag group certainly needed some of that.)
  498.  
  499. [12/27/2017 6:34:18 AM] Dayna Plehn: A dagger? Well, that was better than nothing.
  500. Étaín equipped it in her off hand. She’d done sword-and-dagger before, though she was happier if she had a hunk of wood or metal to hide behind. Still, two stabby things was better than one stabby thing.
  501.  
  502. With her view over the heads of most of the crowd, she stood up just in time to see that nasty bird deliver an equally nasty blow to one of her number. Oh, gods, that isn’t good. Judging by the way GM floundered around, now he couldn’t see. Great.
  503.  
  504. Étaín shouldered through the crowd toward GM, keeping an eye on the bird in the sky. “Ay, you, I’ve got your back!” She would defend him if anyone took a swing at him while he couldn’t see — particularly that bird, whose feathers she very much wanted to clip.
  505.  
  506. [12/27/2017 10:36:49 AM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): Thomas examined his new weapon with satisfaction. Honestly, he just wanted an excuse to stay as far away as possible from danger, so a ranged weapon would help with that.
  507.  
  508. Looking around him, he was worried that he wasn't blending in very well. These anarchist types, there was no telling what they would do if they found out that he wasn't exactly committed to the cause. Clearing his throat, he prepared to make a good impression.
  509.  
  510. "You there! Mr... Bird!" He cried into the air, gesticulating theatrically. "Your oppression over the people of this land has come to an end. You are... you are just so mean, and... man, I am sick of it, by God!"
  511.  
  512. Thomas took aim with his bow and tried to shoot Swift, aiming to injure him without killing. After all, he's just an innocent animal.
  513.  
  514. "You can take our freedom, but you can never take our arrows! Not all of them, probably! And even if you did, we would just make more! Because arrows are easy to make!!
  515.  
  516. [12/27/2017 10:41:12 AM] Nicholas1024: The stroke connected solidly, knocking the rifle cleanly out of the guard's hands. Alyssa watched as the weapon skidded to a stop, the fear and uncertainty in her expression resolving into relief. Her opponent was disarmed, was no longer a threat, there wasn't any actual need for bloodshed here...
  517.  
  518. The lapse of concentration cost her. First the disarmed guard punched her in the face, sending her reeling back, almost in a daze. Then Waterson came out of nowhere, plunging his spear into her side.
  519.  
  520. Thought gave way to pain and instinct as she screamed, diving aside as the second stab nicked her leg. She landed heavily next to the rifle, clutching her side as the blood seeped through her shirt. Waterson simply looked down at her coldly, the spear's bloody tip advancing while Alyssa scrambled for the gun.
  521.  
  522. Neither one saw Thanos coming.
  523.  
  524. "Now! While he's incapacitated!"
  525.  
  526. The distraction gave Alyssa a chance to actually grab the gun. She struggled back to her feet, using the rifle as a crutch, and grimaced as she sighted the weapon at Waterson. After a moment's pause, she adjusted her aim up to his head and fired.
  527.  
  528. Alyssa grabs the cedar rifle and fires at Waterson.
  529.  
  530. [12/27/2017 11:04:24 AM] Jan: Hah! This was just as fun as she'd imagined, not unlike all those games she'd played before. Jan looked to the side in time to see Alyssa get stabbed and her face fell. That wasn't fun at all. "Woah! Hey!" She turned away from the guard she was facing to turn her attention to Waterson, already moving for him as the man hit the ground and the shot went off. She drove the sword into his stomach following the tackle and gunshot. Should the bird come close, Jan would try to stab it.
  531.  
  532. She took a deep breath and looked at Alyssa. "Hey, do take care... I've got your back." Jan grinned before guarding Alyssa.
  533.  
  534. [12/27/2017 9:29:41 PM] Mirk: Eliora counted herself lucky to not be among the injured, though of course, she asserted, she would totally dodge or deflect an attack if one bad targeted her. Now, the others were attacking the main bandana guy, and they were sorta really ganging up on him. It wasn't very sporting, but he had teamed up with the guard against that one girl who rushed in. Plus he was the leader guy, and he was probably better than any one of them in a one on one fight. And if you beat the leader, sometimes the rest of the bad guys will give up! Usually that was if you beat a really important one, like the emperor, or the general. But the idea was similar. With this being a reasoned exception to good fighting sportsmanship, Eliora runs up to Waterson and strikes with her blade at his shoulder, hoping to limit his fighting ability.
  535.  
  536. [12/27/2017 9:53:49 PM] Hobbes (Duncan): Fran grimaced, studying the fight. All she'd really learned was that most of the opponents were too new to actually learn anything from. Too young. Untested. What were they doing here? Why were they-
  537. She cut herself off. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let it matter. They could run, or they could die.
  538. The leader, though... he seemed like more of a threat. She watched as she attacked the girl- and as so many others attacked him in kind. With him, at least, she could focus. He was battle-hardened. Violent. No fear in his expression. No nagging feelings of familiarity.
  539. Here, at least, was a worthy target for her anger.
  540. The tattoo on her face began to shimmer, the colors shifting as she focused. Studying him, seeing how he fought when attacked, would be a good start, but she wanted more than that. Needed more than that. This was her gift, and she would put it to proper use.
  541.  
  542. Study Waterson, to learn his abilities, and become more skilled in fighting him, specifically. Start calling on divination magic to help this, if possible.
  543.  
  544. [12/27/2017 10:41:16 PM] Meta: "Stay away from her, you idiot -!"
  545. The young man heard a shout, then the blade of a sword cut into his side. The impromptu battle-cry gave him just enough time to react, and turn what might have been an otherwise dangerous attack into something that "only" cut open his side beneath his ribs.
  546. He spared a glance at Alyssa. In the process of removing herself from danger. Good.
  547. Maybe it was the sharp pain that lanced through the lower half of his body. Maybe it was the fact that, for the first time since "that guy" disappeared, he was able to make even this much progress towards breaching the great castle. Maybe it was just the fact that he had promised to protect that girl, and as a result, committed himself to real physical combat for the first time in a long time.
  548. But he was calm, and in that moment of calmness, he understood.
  549. Even he, inexperienced as he was, could see that the guards had neither the equipment, training, nor - for the most part - inclination to be a threat to this many people. In his moment of heightened clarity, he took in their techniques, examined their movements, and read nothing but fear and confusion.
  550. He frowned. He had already decided he was willing to kill to accomplish his goal. But... "that guy" would have wanted to find another way.
  551. So when he spun and stepped forward to engage the castle guard who'd lunged at him, he swung his own weapon across into that of the guard, locking the blades together before any follow-up strikes could be launched.
  552. "You're outnumbered. Lay down your weapon, and you and your friends don't need to die."
  553.  
  554. [12/28/2017 12:07:18 AM] Sock King: Heh. That didn't go too bad. Gotta get something better than this trash sword though...
  555.  
  556. Sock marched up to the guard with the Weighted Sword.
  557.  
  558. "Kiddo, I'd listen to Mr. Bright Sunshine here. Just put down the pointy stick, and you walk away, instead'a getting dragged."
  559.  
  560. Intimidate Guard B into giving up her weapon and going home
  561.  
  562. [12/28/2017 10:41:33 AM] Samuel Kim#7885 on Discord.: That's a start.
  563.  
  564. The stranger stares at the first guard, thoroughly intimidated. No blood was shed, not yet, not anything significant...and then something bizarre happened.
  565.  
  566. One of their own walked up to the guard, and tried to hug their adversary.
  567.  
  568. ...Moving rather quickly, aren't you?
  569.  
  570. His eyes dart about the battlefield. Five threats left. Four humans and a falcon.
  571.  
  572. That falcon will be troublesome.
  573.  
  574. His gaze intensifies...
  575.  
  576. Attempt to Intimidate Swift. Staring intensifies.
  577.  
  578. [12/29/2017 6:21:36 PM] Tempest:
  579.  
  580. ===
  581.  
  582. Thanos broke into a sprint and tackled Waterson, dealing 34 damage and shoving the spearman to the ground! Waterson could only react with a "What in the--" before being interrupted by the dirt hitting his face! He's toppled and won't be able to move well until he gets back up!
  583. Thanos: Opportunistic Attack +22 XP, +1% Morale
  584.  
  585. Cherri stowed his Rusty Sword away, unarming himself, before walking up to Gate Guard A and trying to console him, convincing him to join the Resistance. But the first thing that comes to the guard's mind is that this child is dragging him closer to SBSam, causing him to freak out and immediately pull himself away instead! "N-no! Anything but that!"
  586.  
  587. Campanula gathered mana and cast it into healing magic, using it to heal Alyssa. Alyssa's wounds were slightly healed as she recovered 82 HP. It's a weak effect since Campanula isn't skilled in healing magic yet, but it should at least keep Alyssa running a little longer.
  588. Campanula: Support +11 XP, +1% Morale
  589.  
  590. GM pulled back, distancing himself from the enemy and tried to rest, recovering 96 HP. His blindness was cured.
  591.  
  592. Yam searched for a farming implement to use as a weapon, but couldn't find anything to suit her fancy. Multiple failures in a row are weighing on her...
  593. Yam: Don't Give Up! +5 XP
  594.  
  595. Inky swapped to her Flintlock Pistol and shot it at Swift, but her shot went wide and missed the falcon. That was the only bullet in the gun; Inky is out of ammo and needs to spend an action reloading the gun or using a different weapon for a turn. Thankfully, she has plenty of spare ammo, but it'll still take time to reload...
  596.  
  597. Étaín moved her Simple Dagger into her off-hand, dual-wielding her Rusty Sword and her Simple Dagger as the Sword & Dagger. She kept a close eye on GM, preparing to automatically retaliate against the next person to attack him.
  598.  
  599. Thomas drew back the Simple Bow and fired at Swift without killing intent, and much to the surprise of the bird, the arrow struck for a reduced 64 damage. Swift squawked as he was forced to make an emergency landing, landing near Gate Guard C, who seemed like the most composed at the moment. No offense meant to Waterson, of course, but his caretaker had his hands full at the moment.
  600. Thomas: Attack +11 XP, +1% Morale
  601.  
  602. Alyssa grabbed the Chestnut Rifle and switched it out with her Rusty Sword, backing away to shoot at Waterson. The shot landed in his side, inflicting 312 damage! It looks like the rifle only holds one shot at a time; Alyssa is out of ammo and needs to reload the gun! The guard previously holding the rifle seemed to have also dropped her bag of ammunition as well, but Alyssa still need time to reload, or she can switch to a different weapon for a turn.
  603. Alyssa: Opportunistic Attack +22 XP, +1% Morale
  604.  
  605. Jan rushed at Waterson and plunged her sword into his gut, dealing 159 damage! But that was all she could do in one action; she didn't have to time to guard Alyssa or prepare to counter any attacks from Swift afterward.
  606. Jan: Opportunistic Attack +22 XP, +1% Morale
  607.  
  608. Eliora swung her Rusty Sword at Waterson, hitting him in the shoulder for 139 damage! Waterson is significantly injured! "Tch! I really underestimated these people..."
  609. Eliora: Opportunistic Attack +22 XP, +1% Morale
  610.  
  611. Waterson put two fingers to his mouth and whistled, alerting Swift. They seem to be in agreement about something...
  612.  
  613. Fran began to call upon divination magic, using it to study Waterson. Occultic power accumulated before revealing the names of Waterson's three Skills to Fran: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, and Watcher's Eye.
  614. Fran: Recon +11 XP, +1% Morale
  615.  
  616. (Meta) attempted to lock blades with Gate Guard B, but her heavier Weighted Blade was easily able to push away (Meta)'s Rusty Sword! "Not a chance, creep! You walk away first!"
  617.  
  618. Sock tried to talk Gate Guard B into surrendering. She only seems angrier about this, yelling, "A-and abandon the others? N-no way in hell am I doing that!" But there's clearly an amount of fear in her eyes now and a tremble in her legs as she realized the situation she's in now. She's terrified and can't engage the Resistance!
  619. Sock: Disrupt +11 XP, +1% Morale
  620.  
  621. SBSam glared at Swift in an attempt at intimidating the bird. Swift is unnerved by this, but quickly shook his head and glared back. He clearly has had enough of SBSam by now!
  622. SBSam: Disrupt +11 XP, +1% Morale
  623.  
  624. Gate Guard C saw that he wasn't going to be much use in a fight at this point, but he's not out of it yet! He helped Waterson back up to his feet; Waterson is no longer toppled. "Thanks, kid," the spearman said. "I gotta start paying more attention to that wolf guy."
  625.  
  626. Swift took off into the air with a shrill cry before diving at SBSam with a Snatching Dive, battering SBSam with a beat of his wings for 64 damage and stealing the Rusty Sword out of his hands! He wasn't able to take off into the skies with the sword, but he did quickly fly back to the enemy side afterward.
  627. Damage: -1% Morale
  628.  
  629. Waterson raised his spear in the air. "Take a good look, kids. They might look and sound tough, and they might scare the pants off you. But even a bird can disarm him; they're all bark and no bite!" This snapped the Gate Guards out of their fear-induced stupor; in particular, Gate Guards A and B are no longer terrified!
  630.  
  631. Gate Guard A nodded and separated his Sword & Shield into separate Steel Sword and Wooden Shield, tossing the shield to Gate Guard D. "Here, cover yourself!" he called before charging at Jan and slashing, inflicting 224 damage to her!
  632. Damage: -1% Morale
  633.  
  634. Gate Guard B swung her Weighted Blade into (Meta), smashing the blade into his gut for 233 damage and toppling him! (Meta)'s mobility is reduced!
  635. Damage: -1% Morale
  636.  
  637. Gate Guard D equipped the Wooden Shield that Gate Guard A tossed to her and searched the area before recovering a Flintlock Pistol. She held the shield in one hand and the pistol in the other, forming the Shield & Pistol. "Thanks for all the backup, everyone, I'm ready to go now!"
  638.  
  639. ===
  640.  
  641. MORALE: 118%
  642.  
  643. PLAYERS
  644.  
  645. Alyssa - Lv. 1 (XP 32 / 100) - HP 783 / 1200
  646. Out of ammo! Need to reload or switch weapons!
  647. Weapon: Chestnut Rifle (ammo 0/1)
  648. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  649.  
  650. Campanula - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  651. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  652. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  653.  
  654. Cherri - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  655. Weapon: -
  656. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  657.  
  658. Eliora - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  659. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  660. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  661.  
  662. Étaín - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  663. Weapon: Sword & Dagger
  664. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  665.  
  666. Fran - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  667. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  668. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  669.  
  670. GM - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1164 / 1200
  671. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  672. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  673.  
  674. Inky - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  675. Out of ammo! Need to reload or switch weapons!
  676. Weapon: Flintlock Pistol (ammo: 0/1)
  677. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Rusty Sword
  678.  
  679. Jan - Lv. 1 (XP 32 / 100) - HP 976 / 1200
  680. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  681. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  682.  
  683. (Meta) - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 761 / 1200
  684. Toppled! Mobility is restricted!
  685. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  686. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  687.  
  688. SBSam - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  689. Weapon: -
  690. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  691.  
  692. Sock - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  693. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  694. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  695.  
  696. Thanos - Lv. 1 (XP 32 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  697. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  698. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  699.  
  700. Thomas - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  701. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  702. Items: Healing Salve, Simple Bow, -
  703.  
  704. Yam - Lv. 1 (XP 5 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  705. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  706. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  707.  
  708. ENEMIES
  709.  
  710. Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 580 / 1200
  711. Tired! Chance to fail any actions due to fatigue!
  712. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  713. Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye
  714.  
  715. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 326 / 400
  716. He really doesn't like SBSam.
  717. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  718. Skills: Snatching Dive
  719. Items: Rusty Sword
  720.  
  721. Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 464 / 600
  722. He's feeling a bit more confident now...!
  723. Weapon: Steel Sword
  724.  
  725. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 590 / 600
  726. She's feeling a bit more confident now...!
  727. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  728.  
  729. Gate Guard C - Lv. 1 - HP 522 / 600
  730. He's feeling a bit more confident now...!
  731. Weapon: Cedar Bow
  732.  
  733. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 493 / 600
  734. She's feeling a bit more confident now...!
  735. Weapon: Shield & Pistol
  736.  
  737. STAGE 1 - TURN 3
  738. ACTION!
  739.  
  740. [12/29/2017 9:19:21 PM | Edited 12/30/2017 3:57:21 PM] Animorpherv1: sniff.
  741.  
  742. Blood in the air, of course. It always goes like this. It always ends up like this. Those in power refuse to hear those below when it means anything. He'd known this for a long time, of course...
  743.  
  744. It was late at night many years ago, and training had just finished for the year. With any luck, given how it was going, his training would be finished shortly and he'd be free to start fulfilling what was supposed to be his duty. The large brute of a wolf-man looked around, walking rather slowly for a creature of his size and started to get lost in his own thoughts until he heard a familiar sound. The screaming of his father, as if something had just gone oh-so-terribly wrong. He rushed through the brambles, attempting to get home as fast as possible.
  745.  
  746. But it was too late. By the time he was home, both parents were beyond saving and had already been dead for several minutes. He scowled. His family was always a believer in fair and equal rights for all, and here they were. Dead.
  747.  
  748. Knowing this place wasn't safe anymore, he took the bodies, what little else he could carry, and left into the forest and buried his family like his father had buried his kin beforehand. But he'd have to keep going to not meet the same fate. He'd run through the forest and to the one place he knew he could find safety.
  749.  
  750. Thanos then snapped back into reality. He had plowed through the man with the spear, Waterson, and he looked to be rather hurt. But several of his own had taken a fair portion of damage, too. And he wouldn't let them go the same way. He walked into the middle of the guards and started yelling loud enough so all can hear, attempting to draw aggro
  751.  
  752. "I AM THANOS SILVERCLAW, LAST OF MY KIND. I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO HURT THESE INNOCENT SOULS. I AM THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE WORRIED OF."
  753.  
  754. Finally, Thanos closed his eyes and prepared his sword, readying himself to attempt to block any attacks that came his way. Most of those who were here didn't have a taste for conflict or knew what it really meant. He would teach by example.
  755.  
  756. [12/30/2017 1:22:50 PM | Edited 1:27:22 PM] [VIOLET]: Campi had pushed her energy as far as she thought she could, but found herself disappointed in how ineffective it was... Nothing like the blossoming magic of her parents, who she'd watched so often caring for people they found out on the streets. Her dad gained a reputation for it among their neighbors after her papa and father disappeared: a kind healer who'd provide care and shelter for those who had nowhere to go.
  757.  
  758. ...The innkeeper narrowed her eyes, focusing farther down the battlefield as she heard Thanos call out to the guards.
  759.  
  760. "Silverclaw?"
  761.  
  762. She recalled a busy night at the inn: briefly peeking through the door of her dad's office while he talked man-to-man with an injured wolf that'd walked up to their front doors earlier that evening... That was the first time he'd ever asked her for help in patching someone up, though said help mostly consisted of keeping his supplies steady- energy, bowls of healing material, first aid equipment, the like.
  763.  
  764. While her end of the job sent her running around for a good half hour, she had caught enough of his story to understand the important parts: the gruff figure's name was Thanos Silverclaw, and he'd gone through a lot that night. Her dad met those feelings with a sturdy patience and understanding she truly aspired to match herself, one day... That's what she admitted to him later on, after they finished all the rounds together; she remembered him patting her firmly on the back, grinning proudly. "You already do, bellflower."
  765.  
  766.  
  767. It looked to her like Thanos was trying to call attention to himself: she knew him to be a kind soul, on observation- but hearing him like this... gave her chills, honestly. No doubt, some harm would come his way, unless the guards lost their nerve again. That dark-clothed man and the lady she'd tried healing didn't look... too bad, quite yet... and an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure, in her eyes. If Thanos stayed safe, the other two would be able to fall back where she could take care of them.
  768.  
  769. "O faceted reflection of our shield-bearing legacy: Barrier!"
  770.  
  771. >Campanula: Cast a Barrier on Thanos as soon as he prepares his stance.
  772.  
  773. [12/30/2017 7:40:54 PM] Aeront: "Aaargh, you fickle dinger!" Cherri called to the fleeing Guard A, who then quickly regained their nerve.
  774.  
  775. "Hmph, a big pallowup indeedlely," the boy said, looking around. "I specks its gotta be time to help people stay positive! Yeahyeah, I'll try and cheer like mommy used to! Be a regular ol' pretty singer!"
  776.  
  777. >Cherri: Search for a musical instrument, which could hopefully aid in rallying morale.
  778.  
  779. [12/30/2017 8:50:58 PM] Nicholas1024: [Skipping roleplay for now, hopefully I'll be able to add it tomorrow.]
  780.  
  781. Switch weapons to Rusty Sword, help Meta out of topple. If possible, attack Waterson afterwards.
  782.  
  783. [12/30/2017 9:06:09 PM] Samuel Kim#7885 on Discord.: ...Well. That didn't quite work. No matter.
  784.  
  785. His gaze goes from the Falcon to the guards; a little more fight in them now, hm? Slowly, he takes a few steps forward, gaze sliding over to the leader of the bunch: the bandana wearing commander that ordered the Falcon about.
  786.  
  787. "...All bark and no bite...?"
  788.  
  789. He pulls a white gloved hand out of his pocket, pointing an outstretched finger over to Waterson, eyes narrowed.
  790.  
  791. "You'll find that my bark is my bite."
  792.  
  793. Attempt to move closer to and Intimidate Waterson, ready to guard attacks.
  794.  
  795. [12/30/2017 9:23:32 PM] Sharks: God damn. Not even a pitchfork? Those were supposed to be like, everywhere during one of these "angry mob" type things. Yam sighed.
  796.  
  797. And she stared long and hard at the fight going on, and the ground beneath her feet.
  798.  
  799. "I warned you you'd be drinkin' blood if'n you didn't help," she muttered sadly. Her comrades in arms seemed to be taking a lashing, but they still had time and opportunity to recover. She knew she should probably rush into the fray and help, but...
  800.  
  801. She kicked the ground dejectedly. "Dumb fool. Land fertilized wit' corpses is cursed, ain'chu know that? Guess maybe y'already are. Couldn't surprise me too much. But we both know they's good in you. You've kept my mams fed, anna buncha other folk, too. Maybe that good part's jus' too weak. Maybe you're somethin' like me, dumb and useless, never learned your letters. Mebbe you don' even know what'm sayin' to ya."
  802.  
  803. She knealt down and stroked the dirt with her fingers, soft and strong. "Maybe you're too chicken'a fight. Maybe I am too. Maybe that's why I'm talkin'a dirt 'stead'a fightin'. I don' like blood much more'n you do, I reckon. Can' even stand'ta see them meats butcheries, much less this hollerin' vi-o-lence. But it don't seem to me that this whole 'pressive machine gon' end any other way, an' I figgir I'd best try to help it go 'long all smooth-like. Make sure'n all tha' there some commin' sense in all this rambuckle-horseknuckle war-partee bu-si-ness."
  804.  
  805. "Least I can do is make sure none'a those city-slickin' types try anythin' funny, I guess. Y'know, I was honestly hopin', after I got'chu to listen to me, and we won this whole fight business, we could just turn this whole bones'astone castle dirt-'n-dustways. Whole cassle don't seem to bring anythin' much but trouble, and 'sides, world can always use more farmland."
  806.  
  807. She stood up and looked at her calloused palms, testing them against her rusty sword's handle. Could she really swing this at another living, breathing person? "I know y'r gentle, and y'r kind. An' I'm sorry fer comparin' you a' me earlier-like. You ain't dumb, my mams've whispered 'nough fancy words in you that I know that much. I'm just tryin'a play fur sympathy, I guess. But that prob'ly don't work once you admit it," she admitted. She silently wondered if admitting that you admitted it worked like one of those fancytalk double-negative whatsits she'd heard about.
  808.  
  809. She was surprised to notice a few tears drop from her face into the dark, dark soil. "Sorry'n'all 'bout that. You prolly don't like salt water. I know you don't like this fightin' none, and I can't blame you fer not wantin'a par-tic-i-pate. But they's people out there, fightin' right now, who need'ja. Bleedin', bruisin'. You don't gotta hurt nobody if'n you don't want to. Just... slow'm down a bit, yeah? Keep 'em from hurtin' my revolu'tionny friends. I dunno."
  810.  
  811. She sighed again, and threw her dust-gray cloak to the wind; underneath it she wore leather pants, a button-up shirt colored and thick like sailcloth, a leather vest, and a red bandanna around her neck; true-blue farmhand duds. "Jus'... I knw you'v never lissin'd'a me before, on account of I'm stupit an' useless, but if'n you c'd finnit in'r heart'a change'r mind 'bout me, I'd 'preciate it." She tried to smile.
  812.  
  813. "'Sides, once those shaky-knee'd sprouts catch wind the ground 'neath their feet is after'um, I'm sure'nough you'll catch'erself some'a that prime-time fertilizer," Yam said, choking out a goofy laugh.
  814.  
  815. And, unconvinced that she'd been talking to anyone but herself, she gulped down her fears and walked into the fray, tongue dry and sword heavy with gravity.
  816.  
  817. >Yam: Try to give the surrounding earth one more good pep talk into helping your team out, specifically by slowing down the enemy. Hope it works. Cry a bit. And then walk into the fray.
  818.  
  819. [12/31/2017 6:51:56 AM] GM: GM sighed. So much was going on at once. What was he supposed to do?
  820.  
  821. Cursing to himself, he noted that they didn’t seem to have many options left. At this point, it really seemed like it was kill or be killed… although GM would prefer to knock out foes nonlethally if at possible.
  822.  
  823. Maybe putting down whoever was leading these soldiers would convince them to run away, but that was his only option at this point. The bird, meanwhile, was pissing him off, but he wasn’t sure that should necessarily be the one he targets.
  824.  
  825. ...Waterson, Swift, I don’t like you. GM thought.
  826.  
  827. He knew that he was just doing his job… but he didn’t have to be so brutal about it.
  828.  
  829. GM: Begin casting a fire spell, aiming it at Waterson. Try not to kill if at all possible.
  830.  
  831. [12/31/2017 7:50:27 AM] Jan: "Why is he running at me? Wait what does Temp mean I don't get a chance to block?! Oh boy..."
  832.  
  833. All Jan could do was grit her teeth and take the hit. A pained cry she didn't expect escaping her lips. She didn't want to look down at the cut, ignoring it. She gave a sharp inhale of breath, glaring at the man who hit her, something in her eyes shifting to those of a cold and calculating murderer. "Is that all you've got?! That was nothing compared to what I've been through! There's a nickname for me back where I'm from! At the times when I needed to step up and be ready, I did. I am the Jangernaut!" She took one step forward looking to attack Guard A, but then turned and aimed the attack at Waterson.
  834.  
  835. Become the Jangernaut. Fake like attacking Guard A but really aim for Waterson.
  836.  
  837. [12/31/2017 9:09:49 AM] Dayna Plehn: Seeing GM had recovered from his blindness, Étaín turned and strode away. Time to do some actual damage.
  838. Ouch. That looks like it hurt. Her eye twitched a little as Guard A gave Jan a piece of his mind (and his metal). Some part of her felt a little guilty that the others were taking a bit of a beating while she'd hung back. But hey, she had a dagger now. Totally worth it, right?
  839. Then again... she turned her eyes toward the wolf-man as his deep basso rolled across the clearing. She knew what he was trying to do -- draw the aggression toward himself. Well, he certainly looked like he could handle it better than a lot of the others around.
  840. Étaín paused, her pride wrestling with her better judgment. She wanted to stab something.
  841. Then she noticed the little witch -- at least, she thought that's what the girl was -- walk past her toward the conbat, tears streaming down her cheeks.
  842. ... Aw. Well, if the wolf-man wanted to draw the enemy's attention, Étaín could let him. There was no shame in defending others, after all...
  843. Étaín followed Yam, readying an action to defend her.
  844.  
  845. [12/31/2017 1:08:15 PM | Edited 1:08:50 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): Thomas couldn't hide a flush of satisfaction as he managed to connect with his bow. Holy cow, I can actually use this thing. Emboldened, he grabbed an arrow and fitted it to his bow again, noticing that everyone seemed to be focusing their efforts on Waterson. His eyes narrowed. The dude seems way better at this than us. Maybe...
  846.  
  847. Thomas kept his bow and arrow poised, waiting for an opportunity. He kept his sights on Waterson, ready to fire an arrow into his dominant arm as soon as he moved to attack.
  848.  
  849. "RED! The blood of angry men! BLUE! The, wait"
  850.  
  851. [12/31/2017 1:46:24 PM] Star: Whoops. Inky realizes that maybe she needs a bit more practice with pistols.
  852.  
  853. Well, no sense wasting this excellent framing and smoke and noise. (Because wow, settings like this rarely happen)
  854.  
  855. "Come on everyone! Maybe things didn't work out but we are unpredicatable!! That's the worst kind of enemy to fight!"
  856.  
  857. >Inky makes an inspiring speech, hoping to raise morale.
  858.  
  859. [12/31/2017 7:44:50 PM] Mirk: Eliora was nearby that shouty girl when she did her... Shouting. What did she mean, "Where I'm from"? Why would she be here if she wasn't from around here? Well, moving in to here might be a possibility, but why would anyone want to be in a place with such a terrible tax rate? She certainly didn't look old enough to have been here for that long before things were pretty bad. Also "Jangernaut"? That's a sorta silly name. Was her name like Janice or something? And she was like a juggernaut? That's probably it. She did seem pretty tough, though, certainly. Perhaps she could use a hand.
  860. Eliora strikes at Guard A as he's presumably expecting Jan to attack him, hopefully taking him off guard.
  861.  
  862. [1/3/2018 6:40:11 PM] Tempest:
  863.  
  864. ===
  865.  
  866. Thanos shouted his name to the enemy, declaring himself the real threat to them. This got the attention of all the Gate Guards and Waterson, though Swift seems less than intrigued at the moment. "Alright, wolfman," the spearman said, "Don't hold anything against me, then." They're focused on Thanos and will try to target him first!
  867. Unfortunately, Thanos didn't have time for the second action of raising his Rusty Sword in self-defense.
  868. Thanos: Disrupt +11 XP, +1% Morale
  869.  
  870. Campanula cast a magical barrier around Thanos, protecting him from the next 200 points of damage!
  871.  
  872. Cherri searched for a musical instrument and came across a Signaling Horn. It's almost too simple for an instrument, only capable of a single note, but it is pretty loud.
  873. Cherri: Procurement +11 XP, +1% Morale
  874.  
  875. Alyssa swapped her weapon to the Rusty Sword before helping (Meta) onto his feet, removing his toppled status. But she didn't have time for the second action of attacking Waterson.
  876. Alyssa: Support +11 XP, +1% Morale
  877.  
  878. SBSam intimidated Waterson by approaching with his sword at the ready. However, Waterson didn't seem to be even amused. "Hey, a little tip for you. That kind of thing only works once."
  879.  
  880. Yam asked the earth to slow her opponents, tears running down her face. The ground suddenly shifted, and a line of mud bubbled from underneath the feet of Waterson! He's ensnared by the shifting mud and can't move his feet!
  881. Yam: Disrupt +11 XP, +1% Morale
  882.  
  883. GM gathered mana into the form of a small fireball before flinging it at Waterson. But Waterson's Reflex Deflect let him deflect the fireball with his Quiver Spear just in time, sending it back at GM and hitting him for 57 damage and Burning him! The fire on his body will deal damage to him over time if it's not put out right away!
  884. Damage -1% Morale
  885.  
  886. Jan feinted an attack on Gate Guard A before suddenly turning around to strike her true target of Waterson, but Waterson wasn't fooled and shifted his body just out of the way as Jan's attack missed.
  887.  
  888. Étaín stuck with Yam and prepared to intercept incoming attacks for her.
  889.  
  890. Thomas drew his Simple Bow, preparing to shoot an arrow at Waterson the instant he made his move...
  891.  
  892. Inky inspired the Resistance to move forward, promoting their ability to be chaotic in the face of the enemy. The words strike a chord, and the Resistance feels more compelled to push forward!
  893. Inky: Rally +11 XP, +5% Morale
  894.  
  895. Eliora took her chance to attack Gate Guard A, slashing with her Rusty Sword and dealing 121 damage!
  896. Eliora: Attack +11 XP, +1% Morale
  897.  
  898. (Meta) prepared to defend against whatever Gate Guard B would do next...
  899.  
  900. Waterson is too tired to act!
  901.  
  902. Thomas didn't fire his arrow due to Waterson not attacking.
  903.  
  904. Swift flapped his wings and took off into the skies once more. You'll need a ranged attack to take him down again!
  905.  
  906. Gate Guard A swung his Steel Sword at Thanos, breaking the barrier that Campanula had set up around him and dealing 14 damage! "I won't let you make me back down any longer!"
  907. Damage -1% Morale
  908. Campanula: Defense +11 XP, +1% Morale
  909.  
  910. Gate Guard B swung her Weighted Blade at Thanos, dealing 173 damage! "This is taking way too long! Where's backup when we need it!?"
  911. Damage -1% Morale
  912.  
  913. Gate Guard C fired his Cedar Bow at Thanos, but the shot went wide and missed! "Why can't I hit anything today!?"
  914.  
  915. Gate Guard D fired her pistol at Thanos, but the shot missed! "Backup should be on the way soon-- just give me more time and I can land a shot!"
  916.  
  917. ===
  918.  
  919. MORALE: 126%
  920.  
  921. PLAYERS
  922.  
  923. Alyssa - Lv. 1 (XP 43 / 100) - HP 783 / 1200
  924. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  925. Items: Healing Salve, Chestnut Rifle, -
  926.  
  927. Campanula - Lv. 1 (XP 22 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  928. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  929. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  930.  
  931. Cherri - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  932. Weapon: -
  933. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, Signaling Horn
  934.  
  935. Eliora - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  936. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  937. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  938.  
  939. Étaín - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  940. Weapon: Sword & Dagger
  941. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  942.  
  943. Fran - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  944. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  945. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  946.  
  947. GM - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 1107 / 1200
  948. Burning! Set aflame and taking damage over time!
  949. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  950. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  951.  
  952. Inky - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  953. Out of ammo! Need to reload or switch weapons!
  954. Weapon: Flintlock Pistol (ammo: 0/1)
  955. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Rusty Sword
  956.  
  957. Jan - Lv. 1 (XP 32 / 100) - HP 976 / 1200
  958. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  959. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  960.  
  961. (Meta) - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 761 / 1200
  962. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  963. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  964.  
  965. SBSam - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  966. Weapon: -
  967. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  968.  
  969. Sock - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  970. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  971. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  972.  
  973. Thanos - Lv. 1 (XP 43 / 100) - HP 1013 / 1200
  974. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  975. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  976.  
  977. Thomas - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  978. Weapon: Simple Bow
  979. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  980.  
  981. Yam - Lv. 1 (XP 16 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  982. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  983. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  984.  
  985. ENEMIES
  986.  
  987. Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 580 / 1200
  988. Tired! Chance to fail any actions due to fatigue!
  989. Ensnared! Can't move his feet due to mud!
  990. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  991. Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye
  992.  
  993. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 326 / 400
  994. He's back in the skies again; take him down with a ranged attack!
  995. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  996. Skills: Snatching Dive
  997. Items: Rusty Sword
  998.  
  999. Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 343 / 600
  1000. He has determination in his eye!
  1001. Weapon: Steel Sword
  1002.  
  1003. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 590 / 600
  1004. She's getting impatient and hoping backup comes soon.
  1005. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  1006.  
  1007. Gate Guard C - Lv. 1 - HP 522 / 600
  1008. He was feeling more confident, but his low accuracy is bothering him.
  1009. Weapon: Cedar Bow
  1010.  
  1011. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 493 / 600
  1012. She seems to be waiting for backup.
  1013. Weapon: Shield & Pistol
  1014.  
  1015. STAGE 1 - TURN 4
  1016. ACTION!
  1017.  
  1018. [1/3/2018 7:04:39 PM | Edited 7:31:53 PM] Dayna Plehn: Étaín watched, eyes wide, as the little witch's seemingly feeble action caused a ripple in the dirt, and the ground reached up to grab the captain of the guard. This... was not a kind of magic she was familiar with. Even so, witnessing the surge in the earth briefly stirred some regret in her.
  1019. Never had she been able to cast -- and, in her family? That was just embarrassing. No one in her bloodline needed to use weapons; that was why the old heirloom in her hands hadn't been properly cared for. But Étaín was the first of her family in a long, long time to lack even a drop of the arcane in her. She, the firstborn, was no better than a common barbarian.
  1020. And, well, she managed. Warriors had their place in the world, too. Still, every so often, seeing the beauty of the fearsome arcane arts gave her a pang. It was something she would never know.
  1021. But this grubby little earth witch did. And, well, if Étaín couldn't create magic herself, the next best thing she could do was defend it.
  1022. "You got him!" She grinned down at the witch. "Nice shot! Now let's go get him."
  1023. It seemed the wolfman had successfully attracted the attention of most everyone on the other side, so while they were distracted, Étaín made a dash for Waterson, bringing her sword in for a powerful two-handed attack.
  1024.  
  1025. [1/3/2018 10:44:00 PM] Animorpherv1: After he got the attention of the guards, the wolfman's thoughts wandered again. The trip through the woods was long, arduous, tiring, and ended up with more than a little bit of bloodshed. But he made it to the inn of a local healer who would provide care and shelter for the needy. He just hoped they were still awake.
  1026.  
  1027. In the middle of the night, clutching at a bleeding gash on his leg that had been attempting to hamper him for well over the course of an hour, he stumbled into the inn and yelled as loud as he could.
  1028.  
  1029. "HELLO? IS ANYONE HERE?" A man older than Thanos dressed almost entirely in bed robes answered the call and ushered the bleeding wolfman into a side room when a young child peered through the doorway, asking to help. The adult sighed and told the girl to help him fetch his supplies, and she would continue to go back and forth from the room to various supply closets for the rest of the night.
  1030.  
  1031. The man was taller than Thanos and more intimidating as well, but he got to work very quickly, attempting to close wounds all over Thanos' body. As he worked, he asked questions.
  1032.  
  1033. "So, what's your name? Cant say I've seen your like around these parts."
  1034.  
  1035. "My name is Thanos Silverclaw. I wish to know your name as well."
  1036.  
  1037. "Lys Lunam." Lys worked fast, having already changed from bed robes to something more appropriate for the job at hand which had his massive arms showing. "Now, how did this happen?"
  1038.  
  1039. "I wish I could tell you the entire story. I heard the screaming of my parents while I was on my way home, and it sounded bad. My father, Sotiris, is a well respected martial artist, but not even that was enough to deal with whatever caused the death of him and my mother. I took them both, wrote several notes for my siblings, buried them respectfully, and ran here." Thanos occasionally paused and winced as Lys was doing his work.
  1040.  
  1041. "So there's more of you then." Lys was doing his best to keep the conversation afloat while keeping his efforts on dressing wounds.
  1042.  
  1043. "I have three siblings. Gregor, Nitsa, and Leon. Both Gregor and Leon can handle themselves in the wilderness, but Nitsa may not be able to." Thanos trailed off. In part because it was hard to concentrate when you've got someone peering at your wounds attempting to fix them, and in part because he didn't want to think about it. Nitsa and Thanos were very close, as they took up similar paths in life, but Thanos had always had a special gift that Nitsa didn't.
  1044.  
  1045. Lys eventually picked back up. "You're free to stay. And if your kin show too, they've got rooms with their names on them."
  1046.  
  1047. The wolfman placed his hand on Lys' back, who was still dressing the leg wound. "You really are as nice as people say. I owe you one."
  1048.  
  1049. "Just be ready to answer questions." The muscled man said, paused for a while, and continued. "Do you know why?"
  1050.  
  1051. "No, I don't. I didn't want to stay and risk their return. I left before I had a chance to look much."
  1052.  
  1053. "Once this wound heals, we'll both go out their together and take a look around."
  1054.  
  1055. "You don't need to do this."
  1056.  
  1057. "Better than watching you get beaten up again."
  1058.  
  1059. flash
  1060.  
  1061. Waterson was staring at Thanos and expecting something from him. That was a mistake, as Thanos attacked Waterson in a nimble format so that other guards would have to risk hitting Waterson in order to get to Thanos.
  1062.  
  1063. "There is nothing you can do to stop us. Not even your own allies can save you."
  1064.  
  1065. [1/4/2018 9:22:22 AM] GM: ...Processes such as fire and electricity can serve as a source of magical energy.
  1066.  
  1067. Of course, this isn’t exactly what GM is THINKING right now, given that he’s currently burning to death, but after years of magical misfires as a result of using magic he’s more than aware of this. Often absorbing the fire was his only escape.
  1068.  
  1069. So, instinctively, he begins to absorb the fire that’s currently burning him.
  1070.  
  1071. GM: Absorb the fire that is currently burning you subconsciously, converting it into a source of mana.
  1072.  
  1073. [1/4/2018 12:32:16 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): "Hey guys, I'm gonna shoot the bird again!"
  1074.  
  1075. Thomas shoots the bird again.
  1076.  
  1077. [1/4/2018 1:02:20 PM | Edited 1:04:18 PM] Aeront: Cherri perks up. "Wassat? They've gotter backup? Oh! I can give 'um the ol' zibble zin!"
  1078.  
  1079. And without even a moment's hesitation, Cherri charges off away from the battlefield, equipping the Signaling Horn and blaring it as he yells taunts to draw away the enemy's backup.
  1080.  
  1081. "Hey hey hey, all you perandahs!" DOOT DOOT DOOT! "Your big stick fort is laaaaaaammmeeeee!!" DOOT DOOT DOOT! "Down with the fickle dingers!" DOOT DOOT DOOT!
  1082.  
  1083. [1/4/2018 2:01:01 PM] Star: Inky taps her fingers against her leg nervously. Were they winning? Usually she could clearly tell. She hadn’t been lying when she said this group of people were unpredictable. And unpredictable is definitely the worst kind of enemy to fight.
  1084. But also, maybe, unpredictable wasn’t the best kind of people to be on a team with.
  1085. (Or maybe being on a team was the problem here.) (Teams had their uses, but this team seemed to be made up of positively explosive personalities.)
  1086. “Legends.” she mutters to herself as she holds her sword up. “We’re all going to be legends.”
  1087. Inky moves to jab at Waterson with her sword. (Daggers were better, obviously, but this was still pointy.)
  1088. [1/5/2018 12:35:01 PM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa looked back across the battlefield, her stolen rifle now reloaded. Waterson had taken or dodged the worst of the resistance's wrath, and was still fighting. The guard looked visibly tired, which was understandable, since combat is really tiring. Also, the various bullet and sword wounds he'd taken couldn't be helping.
  1089.  
  1090. Problem was, the guard captain was still standing, and there was a wolf-man-thingy in the way, and even if her aim was good, Waterson might deflect her shot the way he did that fireball earlier. She considered trying to hit the hawk, but her aim wasn't that good, and this was no time to waste time. She smirked a little at the unintentional pun.
  1091.  
  1092. The thought struck Alyssa that she was a little detached from the situation right now, her previous anger having bled away as the fight went on. Or maybe that was the blood loss. No, the wound had closed up a little, between her shirt sticking to the wound and the healing spell cast by some ally or other. No, it's just the whole thing didn't seem real. The yelling, the swords and bows and guns being waved around, shots fired and shots missed, the stench of blood in the air... it seemed almost dreamlike. Or perhaps a play, where the "dead" are merely keeping the sword pinned between arm and body. Was it just the adrenaline rush? Damnation, her side hurt.
  1093.  
  1094. It didn't matter, really. She could still fight, and more to the point, even if she couldn't hit Waterson or the bird, there were still other guards here. Just as vicious, just as guilty.
  1095.  
  1096. Alyssa took aim at Gate Guard A and fired.
  1097. [1/5/2018 1:53:48 PM] Mirk: Eliora realized entirely too late that Janice's attack was actually aimed at Waterson, and the other guard was merely feinted at. A clever ruse indeed. In any case, though, the guard was weakened, and it looked like others were targeting them. So, it looked like it would be best to attack Waterson again. Focus on the leader.
  1098. Eliora attempts to feint an attack at Waterson's head, while actually aiming for Waterson's leg.
  1099.  
  1100. [2/4/2018 8:02:20 PM] Tempest:
  1101.  
  1102. ===
  1103.  
  1104. Étaín swung the sword part of her Sword & Dagger at Waterson with all her might, inflicting 129 damage to him!
  1105. Étaín: Attack +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1106.  
  1107. Thanos lunged forward in an attempt to use Waterson as a personal meat-shield, but Waterson was able to bat Thanos away with his spear before he could get close.
  1108.  
  1109. GM attempted to absorb the flames around him, but the fire doesn't respond; it's burning out of control! The flames deal 65 damage to GM!
  1110. GM: Don't Give Up! +6 XP
  1111. Damage -1% Morale
  1112.  
  1113. Thomas fired another arrow at Swift and landed a direct hit, dealing 144 damage and sending Swift tumbling back to the ground! Swift is pretty badly hurt now, but he remains defiant!
  1114. Thomas: Attack +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1115.  
  1116. Cherri equipped his Signaling Horn and blew into it as hard as he could, sending a rumbling roar to the side...!
  1117.  
  1118. ===
  1119.  
  1120. A sudden buzzing erupted from the ground in response to Cherri's call, following by a shaking underneath... and suddenly, from below Cherri's feet, a cloud of hornets, stinging with unmatched ire!
  1121.  
  1122. ===
  1123.  
  1124. Cherri was attacked by the hornets and took 162 damage! The stings also poisoned Cherri, lowering his performance and causing him to suffer damage over time!
  1125. Damage: -1% Morale
  1126.  
  1127. ===
  1128.  
  1129. A disgruntled shout from the side. "And just what makes you think you're allowed to be that loud near the Castle!?"
  1130.  
  1131. The commotion of the battle paused to see an out-of-place scientist stroll onto the field. A serious-looking researcher whose eyes indicated a lack of regard for the motley Resistance in front of her, but whose two-sizes-too-big lab coat ultimately took away from her serious image. She had a pink-colored highlight of hair twirled around a fingertip; her lips curled in a impatient sneer.
  1132.  
  1133. The 13th Leader of the Castle Low Guard
  1134. Lead Entomologist, Kristina
  1135.  
  1136. "I thought I'd be able to have a quiet stroll to myself, but here I am, staring at a flock of headless chickens who don't know when they're not wanted." Her glare moved to the guards, now significantly worse for the wear. "And I thought I ordered you not to get injured, Waterson!"
  1137.  
  1138. "You'll have to forgive me," the spearman remarked, still trying to pull his feet out of the mud. "They're a bit feisty, which I'm sure you've noticed if you've been watching from afar all this time. You are head of research, after all."
  1139.  
  1140. The backhanded remark didn't go unnoticed. "For once, I try to show concern, and this is how I'm treated... All of you, retreat now. I'll handle these pests myself."
  1141.  
  1142. The spearman had to laugh a little. "No can do, I'm a bit stuck at the moment. You'll have to protect me instead."
  1143.  
  1144. That realization had the researcher's face flush a slight pink for a moment, especially noticeable with her pale skin. She quickly turned away from Waterson, facing the Resistance, instead. "Sheesh... why am I the one putting up with you? Alright, fine. But you'll regret those words later."
  1145.  
  1146. "With that said..." She pulled a vial from one of her many pockets, swirling the glistening solution inside it. "These insects in front of me have been too loud. And I happen to know how to take care of insects very, very well. Each and every last one of you is going to stand still so I can capture all of you. And if you resist, well..."
  1147.  
  1148. Her eyes filled with a fiery hate. "If you won't bend, I'll be sure that you break instead."
  1149.  
  1150. ===
  1151.  
  1152. Kristina has unexpectdly appeared to stop the Resistance as a leader of the Castle Low Guard! Defeat her to advance!
  1153. Cherri: Secret Discovery +126 XP
  1154.  
  1155. Cherri LEVELED UP to Lv. 2! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP! This SP can be spent to learn a new Skill.
  1156.  
  1157. Inky swapped to her Rusty Sword and lunged at Waterson, stabbing him for 109 damage!
  1158. Inky: Attack +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1159.  
  1160. Alyssa swapped to her Chestnut Rifle before taking a well-aimed shot at Gate Guard A, only for the Guard to roll out of the way just in time! Alyssa is out of ammo again and needs to either take an action to reload or switch to a different weapon for a turn!
  1161.  
  1162. Eliora swung her blade at Waterson's leg after faking a strike at his head, fooling Waterson and preventing him from deflecting the attack! Unable to move his feet, he couldn't evade and took 193 damage!
  1163. Eliora: Attack +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1164.  
  1165. Waterson lashed out with Double Strike against Thanos, lunging once with his Quiver Spear to deal 164 damage, but Waterson found himself too tired to continue with the second portion of the attack!
  1166. Damage: -1% Morale
  1167.  
  1168. Swift used his Scrappy Bird Skill, flapping about and kicking up the dirt with a shrill combination of cries and squawks despite his injuries. It's making it harder to hit him!
  1169.  
  1170. Gate Guard A charged at Eliora, swinging his Steel Sword and slashing her for 240 damage! "I'm not leaving my commander behind! Everyone, let's back him up!"
  1171. Damage: -1% Morale
  1172.  
  1173. Gate Guard D nodded her head and slid her Flintlock Pistol back into her pocket, now only holding the Wooden Shield. She then jumped in front of Waterson, ready to take attacks for him. "Sorry for taking so long to get our act together. We won't let you down now!"
  1174.  
  1175. Gate Guard B charged forward with a yell, swinging her Weighted Blade at Alyssa and dealing 162 damage! "If you two are sticking around, I'm sticking around! Let's beat these nutjobs!"
  1176. Damage: -1% Morale
  1177.  
  1178. Gate Guard C isn't as convinced. "Yeah, I'm not gonna be able to help out here anymore. Better to leave it to the scientist lady." Gate Guard C withdrew from the fight for now!
  1179.  
  1180. ===
  1181.  
  1182. MORALE: 125%
  1183.  
  1184. PLAYERS
  1185.  
  1186. Alyssa - Lv. 1 (XP 43 / 100) - HP 621 / 1200
  1187. Out of ammo! Need to reload or switch weapons!
  1188. Weapon: Chestnut Rifle (ammo: 0/1)
  1189. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  1190.  
  1191. Campanula - Lv. 1 (XP 22 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1192. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1193. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1194.  
  1195. Cherri - Lv. 2 (XP 47 / 200) - HP 1238 / 1400
  1196. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1197. Weapon: Signaling Horn
  1198. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1199. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  1200.  
  1201. Eliora - Lv. 1 (XP 33 / 100) - HP 960 / 1200
  1202. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1203. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1204.  
  1205. Étaín - Lv. 1 (XP 22 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1206. Weapon: Sword & Dagger
  1207. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  1208.  
  1209. Fran - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1210. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1211. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1212.  
  1213. GM - Lv. 1 (XP 16 / 100) - HP 1107 / 1200
  1214. Burning! Set aflame and taking damage over time!
  1215. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1216. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1217.  
  1218. Inky - Lv. 1 (XP 33 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1219. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1220. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  1221.  
  1222. Jan - Lv. 1 (XP 32 / 100) - HP 976 / 1200
  1223. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1224. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1225.  
  1226. (Meta) - Lv. 1 (XP 10 / 100) - HP 761 / 1200
  1227. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1228. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1229.  
  1230. SBSam - Lv. 1 (XP 21 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1231. Weapon: -
  1232. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1233.  
  1234. Sock - Lv. 1 (XP 11 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1235. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1236. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  1237.  
  1238. Thanos - Lv. 1 (XP 43 / 100) - HP 849 / 1200
  1239. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1240. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  1241.  
  1242. Thomas - Lv. 1 (XP 33 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1243. Weapon: Simple Bow
  1244. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  1245.  
  1246. Yam - Lv. 1 (XP 16 / 100) - HP 1200 / 1200
  1247. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1248. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1249.  
  1250. ENEMIES
  1251.  
  1252. Kristina - Lv. 8 - HP 950 / 950
  1253. Weapon: Swarm Pheromone
  1254.  
  1255. Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 149 / 1200
  1256. Tired! Chance to fail any actions due to fatigue!
  1257. Ensnared! Can't move his feet due to mud!
  1258. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  1259. Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye
  1260.  
  1261. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 182 / 400
  1262. Flapping about and kicking up dirt, making himself harder to hit!
  1263. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  1264. Skills: Snatching Dive, Scrappy Bird
  1265. Items: Rusty Sword
  1266.  
  1267. Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 343 / 600
  1268. He has determination in his eye!
  1269. Weapon: Steel Sword
  1270.  
  1271. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 590 / 600
  1272. Not willing to leave her teammates behind!
  1273. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  1274.  
  1275. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 493 / 600
  1276. She's preparing to block attacks for Waterson!
  1277. Weapon: Wooden Shield
  1278. Items: Flintlock Pistol
  1279.  
  1280. STAGE 1 - TURN 5
  1281. ACTION!
  1282.  
  1283. [2/5/2018 5:23:44 PM] Animorpherv1: "I'm surprise he still has this much fight in him." Thanos thought to himself. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight. But... that one guard is going to be a problem for all of us. There's only one thing to do here."
  1284.  
  1285. With that, Thanos lunged at Guard D, shoving him out of the way so everyone else could attack priority targets
  1286.  
  1287. [2/5/2018 5:53:47 PM] Star: Inky was pretty sure that lady was about to control those bugs. And as much as she hated giving points to the enemies, she was impressed. That would definitely be something nifty to have. All sorts of applications. (So many in fact, she was coming up with some actually legal and beneficial ones.) But she would continue that train of thought later. (And maybe figure out a way to get some of those.)
  1288. She focuses back on the fight with Waterson…except now there was a person in the way. They’re holding a shield that looks nice enough to steal, so this sword probably isn’t going to do much-
  1289. She was still considering her plan when the furry man came charging in. Inky blinks in surprise but reacts with Thanos, helping move the guard out of the way, and using it as an opportunity to snatch the guard’s shield.
  1290.  
  1291. [2/5/2018 6:07:48 PM | Edited 6:08:11 PM] [VIOLET]: Campanula couldn't believe it- another one. This one... she couldn't help but feel some heat rising through her, fists tightening around the handle of her useless weapon... Proud folk stood all around her, and she wouldn't stand to let them be called 'nutjobs' and 'insects'. No, no, no. Absolutely not.
  1292.  
  1293. "Miss, please, fall behind me!" The innkeeper called out to Alyssa, still furiously rushing the front line. "We can't forge on for long by throwing ourselves blindly into danger... let me help you!"
  1294.  
  1295. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... Ren! Barrier!"
  1296.  
  1297. Campanula casts Barrier on Alyssa, and with a resolute nod, prepares to defend her with the Rusty Sword.
  1298.  
  1299. [2/5/2018 6:15:09 PM | Edited 6:18:12 PM] Aeront: "Oho, so you be the badooga dogger 'round here!" Cherri yelled amid the buzz of the insects that had stung him. Although the dozens of stings certainly looked painful, and he was certainly moving differently, the child hadn't even flinched, just as plucky and moxie-filled as previously, if not somehow more so.
  1300.  
  1301. He fired off a few more notes on his horn, "Your buzzle-zuzzers don't scare me, not an even one! 'Cause'in we be the bestiest berandos to ever shake a sizzle flicker, so your goots is butts! Yup yup sorry!"
  1302.  
  1303. With that, Cherri simply walked in Kristina's direction and wailed into his horn, between mischevious giggles.
  1304.  
  1305. Also let's spend our 1 SP for a skill!
  1306.  
  1307. [2/5/2018 7:06:53 PM] Sharks: It... worked?
  1308.  
  1309. It worked.
  1310.  
  1311. She had spoken to the earth, and it responded...
  1312.  
  1313. Yam stood there a few moments, confounded by her newfound competency. She missed some stuff, stuck in her stupor as she was, but -
  1314.  
  1315. DOOT
  1316.  
  1317. She snapped out of it. Some science-y lady was making some kinda dramatic speech. Awful threatening. Yam didn't like it much. "Uh, um... please don't hurt anyone, ma'am. No, I mean.."
  1318.  
  1319. "Y'all seem pretty dog-sharn sure've yerselves, fer a bunch've tyrant-folks. Bendin' breakin' people don't do that much. What people do's shed. Shed tears, shed sweat, shed blood. What'ch're askin' us-folks to be doin' here is shed our convictions. 'S a long word, but I learn'd it 'cause it's 'portant. People ain't here to die under the heel'a some power-drunk redcoat who ain't ever s'much's seen us. Looked at'chus, in all're dirty, sweatstained, stinkin' glory. Certainly don't thank us much. We're here t' live good life, 'n it seems t'much've's, you folks're doin' a real good job've makin' sure that don't happ'n."
  1320.  
  1321. "Wull... frankly, ma'am, my mums are all down with some pre'y bad sickness. An' y'all's takin' up most've our crop. We ain't got much t' eat, an' less ta' pay any doctors with. But ch'y'all's got doctors for days up in that there castle, I know. Why, you're obviously some science-type 'cherself. Don't seem much fair, to me. Don't seem fair 'tall. So, uhm... I guess, t'be bluntways, we're here t'shed our chains. Shackles. Uhm... you. This castle. An' I don' think y'all can stop us. Sorry."
  1322.  
  1323. >Yam: Say a prayer, drag your sword across the ground, attempt to throw a cloud of dust in Kristina's face.
  1324.  
  1325. [2/5/2018 7:10:43 PM] Jan: Jan stood there for much too long before snapping back into focus.
  1326.  
  1327. She attempted to use the opening of tackling the guard to attack Waterson again.
  1328. [2/5/2018 9:45:36 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): Thomas aimed his bow at the bird again. It was wounded and weak, and likely wouldn't take many more hits. He could probably finish him off now.
  1329.  
  1330. But suddenly, Thomas hesitated. He lowered his bow. He was hit with a pang of something terrifying, something that didn't seem to square with his characterization thus far.
  1331.  
  1332. He was feeling Genuine Emotion.
  1333.  
  1334. Maybe he respected the little bird for hanging on through multiple arrow wounds. Maybe he remembered some childhood memory. Maybe some shadowy higher power guiding his actions was getting attached based on memories of a game he played where we recruited the bird's equivalent.
  1335.  
  1336. Point is, he didn't want to shoot the bird again.
  1337.  
  1338. Instead, he rummaged - scavenged, one might say - through his pockets. He was hoping he still had a hot dog bun on him.
  1339.  
  1340. "Hey, uh, bird! Look man, I don't really want to kill you. You're a bird, I have a bow, this feels kind of unfair. I don't really know if you can understand English?" He paused. "Lowian? What am I speaking right now?"
  1341.  
  1342. He waved that existential crisis aside and proffered what was hopefully a hot dog bun he had scavenged to the bird, placing it down a few feet from him.
  1343.  
  1344. "Can we call a truce? I'm sorry about shooting you. That wasn't cool. Maybe we can start over?"
  1345.  
  1346. [2/5/2018 10:31:45 PM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa didn't remember much of her first battle, afterwards. Bits and pieces, of pain and rage, of swords and blood and gunshots... but only as scattered moments, a chaos that lasted until it was suddenly over. She was glad for that small mercy, later. Some memories are best left alone.
  1347.  
  1348. Alyssa switches to the rusty sword and attacks Waterson.
  1349.  
  1350. [2/6/2018 6:44:19 AM] GM: GM does not think, for he is STILL ON FIRE. >GM: Foolishly continue trying to absorb the fire.
  1351.  
  1352. [2/6/2018 8:48:53 AM] Mirk: EW! Hornets! Hornets are terrible! That poor Cherri kid, that must feel terrible! And now there was a new boss scientist lady, hmm. She didn't look super scary, except maybe for her expression, despite all those threats. Now where to strike next- and then it happened. Eliora was slashed across the side with a sword. "AAGH!" It hurt, a lot. More than all the scrapes and cuts she had had before. The only thing that came close was when she had broken her leg jumping out of a tree. Those were better times. Eliora was tearing up from the pain. But no, she couldn't let this get her down! Michelle Jury wouldn't have let something small as a single sword wound stop her! Eliora grit her teeth and quickly wiped the tears from her face. The others were trying to take down that shield soldier girl, who was defending Waterson. This could be her chance to be a hero, vanquishing this leader of these villains! It might not be as effective in getting the guards to surrender if that scientist was going to take charge, but it was still a good heroic feat to start with. 'Eliora the Brave, despite her injury, with the help of other famous revolutionaries, took down the head of the gate guard, Waterson the Oppressive Spearman.' Yes, that would be good. See, it wasn't that bad, her injury didn't seem to hurt as much now.
  1353. Eliora stepped forward to strike at Waterson's head, similar to last time, but this time following through with the strike.
  1354.  
  1355. [2/6/2018 9:27:52 AM | Edited 2:53:11 PM] Dayna Plehn: Étaín listened to the entomologist's speech and scowled. Arrogant bitch. Étaín loathed people like her -- sitting back in their cushy little safe spaces, letting others do the work for them until they decided they were needed. The only reason for a leader to hang back was if it was crucial she kept on living, for political purposes -- and clearly that was not the case here, since Kristina had just strolled onto the field.
  1356. Étaín was nettled on principle, of course, but something else bothered her more: "Flock of headless chickens who don't know when they aren't wanted," eh? As if Étaín and the rest of the motley crew didn't know exactly what was what. This was a resistance, not a protest.
  1357. In other words, Kristina was not taking them seriously.
  1358. Étaín resolved to fix that.
  1359. She also got the sneaking sense, however, that it was crucial that that vial didn't release its contents. Hoping that Yam's dust cloud would give her an opening, Étaín sheathed her dagger and dashed toward the entomologist. She made a grab for the vial with her open hand, maybe jabbing at Kristina carelessly with her sword in the meantime.
  1360.  
  1361. [2/6/2018 3:46:08 PM] Meta: The young man frowned, shaking his head to banish his lingering dizziness. Had he hit his head when he fell? Either way, it didn't matter; he should be fine, now.
  1362.  
  1363. That girl - Alyssa - was running forward. He'd promised to keep an eye on her, once. He ought to make good on that promise.
  1364.  
  1365. Stepping forward, the man slipped in next to Alyssa, flanking Waterson. Attacking the guard with a quick combination of attacks from the rusted sword in his hand, he pushed forward rather than backing off, aiming to drag the guard's attention onto him and away from the others. If he could just deflect one attack from that spear, and step in closer...
  1366.  
  1367. [2/12/2018 1:11:26 AM] Tempest:
  1368.  
  1369. ===
  1370.  
  1371. Thanos lunged at Gate Guard D and knocked her aside with a shove, dealing 42 damage! "Wait, no!" she cried, but it was too late, and her shield hit the ground as she fell over! Gate Guard D was toppled over and can't keep blocking for Waterson!
  1372. Thanos: Attack +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1373.  
  1374. Inky followed up and stole the Wooden Shield from Gate Guard D, much to the guard's dismay! Inky's inventory is too full to hold the shield, but she's able to combine her Rusty Sword and the Wooden Shield to form a Sword & Shield combination as her weapon!
  1375. Inky: Disrupt +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1376.  
  1377. Campanula cast a barrier spell over Alyssa, forming a force field of mana around her that will protect Alyssa from the next 200 damage she takes! But Campanula doesn't have the time to take the extra action of protecting herself with her Rusty Sword.
  1378.  
  1379. Cherri blew into his Signaling Horn, slowly approaching Kristina! This only angers the entomologist even more, who yelled at the boy, "What part of 'loud' does a brat like you not understand!?" She's become enraged at Cherri and can't direct her attention anywhere else! The poison coursing through Cherri's veins deals 191 damage to him, however.
  1380. Cherri: Disrupt +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1381. Damage: -1% Morale
  1382.  
  1383. Cherri spent 1 SP and learned Rally Fanfare! This Skill can be used to encourage another player or ally; if their next actions succeeds, their performance will increase temporarily, and the Resistance will receive a bonus to Morale!
  1384.  
  1385. Yam tossed dirt into the face Kristina, but she held up a sleeve of her Oversized Lab Coat, easily warding the dust from her eyes.
  1386.  
  1387. Jan rushed Waterson again, but Waterson was able to block her sword strike with his spear and redirected it so it missed him entirely.
  1388. Jan: Don't Give Up! +6 XP
  1389.  
  1390. Thomas searched his pockets and came up a with barely-edible hot dog bun half. He offered it to Swift, but the bird had developed more than a mistrust of the archer and instead tried to scratch Thomas, knocking the bread away as it scattered into crumbs.
  1391.  
  1392. Alyssa swapped to her Rusty Sword and swiped at Waterson, but Waterson leaned to the side just enough for the attack to miss.
  1393. Alyssa: Don't Give Up! +6 XP
  1394.  
  1395. GM tried to absorb the fire again, this time somehow managing to convert the fire around him into mana! He pulled it into himself, feeling the surge of power circulate through him... he is no longer Burning, and his next fire-based magic spell is boosted!
  1396. GM: Support +12 XP, +1% Morale
  1397.  
  1398. Eliora swung her Rusty Sword at Waterson and dealt 164 damage with a sharp blow to the head!
  1399.  
  1400. ===
  1401.  
  1402. Waterson suddenly jerked as Eliora's sword struck the side of his head, suddenly lowering his spear. The mud underneath him finally lost its grip, and he fell over.
  1403.  
  1404. "Heh, there goes my job security..." he mumbled, letting the spear roll out of his grasp. "Just... make sure Swift and that scientist don't cause any more trouble, alright?"
  1405.  
  1406. Kristina watched as the spearman fell unconscious at the ground before turning to the rest of the Resistance. "Tch, served him right for staying put..." she tried to say coldly, only for the slight waver in her voice to give a different meaning to those words. She then turned towards the Resistance, a dangerous fury gracing her face. "You're going to pay. Each and every last one of you, until you're nothing."
  1407.  
  1408. ===
  1409.  
  1410. Waterson was knocked out! The Resistance felt a surge of confidence for defeating him, with each person gaining 156 XP!
  1411. Eliora: Final Blow +25 XP, +5% Morale
  1412.  
  1413. Cherri LEVELED UP to Lv. 3! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP!
  1414.  
  1415. Alyssa, Campanula, Eliora, Étaín, Fran, GM, Inky, Jan, (Meta), SBSam, Sock, Thanos, Thomas and Yam LEVELED UP to Lv. 2! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP!
  1416.  
  1417. Étaín sheathed the Simple Dagger part of her Sword & Dagger, separating the pair and leaving her with just a Rusty Sword in hand. She then dashed at Kristina and tried to take her vial of Swarm Pheromone, but Kristina pulled her arm out of the way just in time. She didn't have the time to take the section action of striking with her sword afterward.
  1418.  
  1419. (Meta) chose not to act on account of his original target, Waterson, being downed.
  1420.  
  1421. Kristina swirled the vial in her hand, mumbling ominously, "I'll let them turn you into fertilizer, like you deserve," before splashing its contents onto Cherri! A massive horde of beetles erupted from below, surrounding Cherri and dealing 380 damage with pinching and biting! The beetles then scattered into a blanket that covers the entire field; ground movement is universally slowed, and everyone except Kristina will take continuous damage from the beetles over time!
  1422. Damage: -1% Morale
  1423.  
  1424. Swift perched on top of Waterson's body, completely still. It seems as if Swift's spirit has been crushed... The beetles pinch him, dealing 66 damage!
  1425.  
  1426. Gate Guard A is furious now! "I'm not going to let you get away with that! No more running, not from me!" He marched at Eliora and attempted to grab her, but Eliora had plenty of time to get out of the way due to the beetles getting in Gate Guard A's way! The beetles pinch Gate Guard A, dealing 170 damage and putting him at critical condition - but he seems oblivious to it!
  1427.  
  1428. Gate Guard B helped Gate Guard D back up to her feet. "Sheesh... I didn't think the scientist lady would pull us into this mess. Come on, we gotta figure out how to get these beetles away from us; that's the only way we can get out of here!" The beetles attack Gate Guard B, dealing 227 damage to her!
  1429.  
  1430. Gate Guard D nodded in response to Gate Guard B. "I have an idea, but this might not work..." She searched near her feet before coming across a piece of Scrap Wood. "If I can use gunpowder to light it..." As she's planning, the beetles swarm her, dealing 144 damage!
  1431.  
  1432. ===
  1433.  
  1434. MORALE: 133%
  1435.  
  1436. PLAYERS
  1437.  
  1438. Alyssa - Lv. 2 (XP 105 / 200) - HP 821 / 1400
  1439. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1440. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1441. Items: Healing Salve, Chestnut Rifle, -
  1442.  
  1443. Campanula - Lv. 2 (XP 78 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1444. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1445. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1446. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1447.  
  1448. Cherri - Lv. 3 (XP 15 / 300) - HP 867 / 1600
  1449. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1450. Weapon: Signaling Horn
  1451. Skills (1 SP): Rally Fanfare, -, -
  1452. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  1453.  
  1454. Eliora - Lv. 2 (XP 114 / 200) - HP 1160 / 1400
  1455. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1456. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1457. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1458.  
  1459. Étaín - Lv. 2 (XP 78 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1460. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1461. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1462. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Simple Dagger
  1463.  
  1464. Fran - Lv. 2 (XP 67 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1465. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1466. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1467. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1468.  
  1469. GM - Lv. 2 (XP 84 / 200) - HP 1307 / 1400
  1470. Fiery mana courses through you! Next fire-based spell is boosted!
  1471. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1472. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1473. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1474.  
  1475. Inky - Lv. 2 (XP 101 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1476. Weapon: Sword & Shield
  1477. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1478. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  1479.  
  1480. Jan - Lv. 2 (XP 94 / 200) - HP 1176 / 1400
  1481. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1482. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1483. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1484.  
  1485. (Meta) - Lv. 2 (XP 66 / 200) - HP 961 / 1400
  1486. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1487. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1488. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1489.  
  1490. SBSam - Lv. 2 (XP 77 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1491. Weapon: -
  1492. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1493. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1494.  
  1495. Sock - Lv. 2 (XP 67 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1496. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1497. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1498. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  1499.  
  1500. Thanos - Lv. 2 (XP 11 / 200) - HP 1049 / 1400
  1501. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1502. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1503. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  1504.  
  1505. Thomas - Lv. 2 (XP 89 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1506. Weapon: Simple Bow
  1507. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1508. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  1509.  
  1510. Yam - Lv. 2 (XP 72 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1511. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1512. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1513. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1514.  
  1515. ENEMIES
  1516.  
  1517. Kristina - Lv. 8 - HP 950 / 950
  1518. Enraged at Cherri! Can't target anyone except him!
  1519. Beetles are suffocating movement and dealing damage to others over time!
  1520. Weapon: -
  1521. Items: Oversized Lab Coat
  1522.  
  1523. ~Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 0 / 1200~
  1524. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  1525. ~Weapon: Quiver Spear~
  1526. ~Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye~
  1527.  
  1528. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 116 / 400
  1529. Disheartened from Waterson's defeat...
  1530. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  1531. Skills: Snatching Dive, Scrappy Bird
  1532. Items: Rusty Sword
  1533.  
  1534. Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 173 / 600
  1535. He's angrier than ever! Willing to fight to his last breath!
  1536. Weapon: Steel Sword
  1537.  
  1538. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 363 / 600
  1539. She's hoping for a way to get the Gate Guards away from the beetles.
  1540. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  1541.  
  1542. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 307 / 600
  1543. She's figuring out a way to get rid of the beetles.
  1544. Weapon: -
  1545. Items: Flintlock Pistol, Scrap Wood
  1546.  
  1547. STAGE 1 - TURN 6
  1548. ACTION!
  1549.  
  1550. [2/12/2018 1:34:29 AM | Edited 1:35:59 AM] Animorpherv1: Spend 1SP on a skill
  1551.  
  1552. Thanos stood up, having done his duty, letting everyone else attack Waterson and finish him off. One less threat to deal with, but one more deadly one not too far off. The wolfman thought to himself.
  1553.  
  1554. Noticing that Waterson still had his spear, he picked up the unused weapon and started attacking Gate Guard A with it using all of his might, intending to down the only Guard still intent on fighting.
  1555.  
  1556. With him done, maybe everyone else will have a good way to deal with the only remaining threat.
  1557. [2/12/2018 6:19:29 AM] GM: Breathe.
  1558.  
  1559. GM took a moment to calm down. Fire wasn’t exactly good for the body, but it was even worse for the mind. He knew he got a taste of his own medicine, but he still didn’t like fire. No one did.
  1560.  
  1561. Then… beetles began attacking everyone.
  1562.  
  1563. GM quickly began freaking out again. He hated bugs.
  1564.  
  1565. Instinctively, he lashed out using his magic.
  1566.  
  1567. GM: Cast a fire spell, burning to death as many of the beetles as you can.
  1568.  
  1569. [2/12/2018 9:30:10 PM] [VIOLET]: "Ugh! Unbelievable... I'm tired of this!"
  1570.  
  1571. Campanula had to admit- the surge of enraged calm coursing through her at the moment was something she felt often... it was her 'daddy's not home and there's a cockroach on the ceiling' face, of course, bravery in the face of an unpleasant swarm...
  1572.  
  1573. Euuughghghghh. Ew, ew, ew...
  1574.  
  1575. Still, maybe she could still change her angle on this... Maybe. Plenty of strength in her to try something a little risky to end this with some level of peace...
  1576.  
  1577. "Hey-- watch out! And stand close to each other to stay safe... I'll give you this: Ren, Barrier!"
  1578.  
  1579. Campanula casts a Barrier spell on Gate Guard D.
  1580.  
  1581. "At this rate, that lady is putting everyone on that side in imminent danger... if we want to help, help them now! We're here to open the door, not to watch people who don't want to fight anymore get hurt!"
  1582.  
  1583. "Cherri, sweetie, stay behind me in a moment- okay? I'll see what I can do for you..."
  1584.  
  1585. [2/13/2018 6:06:17 AM] Star: Spend 1 SP on a skill.
  1586. Inky was immensely pleased with her addition of a shield. She gave a nod to the wolf guy (Teamwork!)… oh wait okay maybe not he was already attacking again.
  1587. Noticing that Kristina was focused others, Inky sneaks up on Kristina and knocks her over using her shield.
  1588. “Hey, sorry to ruin your show, because really, I’m a little impressed, but you’re hurting your own people too with these bugs!”
  1589.  
  1590. [2/13/2018 1:29:16 PM] Jan: Agh... bugs everywhere. Biting people, making small patches of blood... Jan looked up. That was it. She closed her eyes, drawing on the power of what she could remember. Cuts all over and fire all around, a flying leap to the place that would be her grave... The leap... The acrobatics. Focus. Get to the target. Spend 1SP on a skill. Use the power of the Acrobat to make the leap over the beetles to get to Kristina, attempting to knock her vial away.
  1591.  
  1592. [2/13/2018 6:56:16 PM] Sharks: Spend 1 SP to obtain a skill.
  1593.  
  1594. "What'n ternat'n?" Yam half-guffawed, half growled, in reaction to the sudden presence of thousands of horrible beetles. Well, really, the beetles were probably fine individually, but... in a swarm like this, the bugs were quickly overstaying their welcome. "Ya daft, science-monger? Y'r puttin' the hurt on your own folks!" she shouted, as angry as she was confused. "Y'think yer stabby pal would want that?!"
  1595.  
  1596. >Yam: These beetles are pests. You've been taught a little bit about pests... analyze them, and see if this type of beetle is something you've learned about, or maybe some kind of mutant version. In any case, look for some sort of weakness and stay put.
  1597.  
  1598. [2/13/2018 8:12:01 PM] Nicholas1024: (No time to write anything up, I'm afraid.)
  1599.  
  1600. Spend 1 SP to obtain a skill.
  1601.  
  1602. Alyssa: Take the unconscious Waterson hostage, threaten him to make Kristina back off. Do not actually hurt Waterson, even if the scientist keeps attacking.
  1603.  
  1604. [2/13/2018 8:14:46 PM | Edited 8:15:19 PM] Aeront: Despite the poison coursing through him and the large multitude of bug bites covering his skin, Cherri looked perfectly happy to keep charging at Kristina. However, when Campanula told him to stay back, he gave a nod.
  1605. "Mm, okay'in yeah. I can't feel my diddles, haha! Maybe good to take a sit-down. Oo, I'll give this squishy-slush a sush, yeah!"
  1606.  
  1607. Cherri: apply Healing Salve to self.
  1608.  
  1609. Also, spend another SP!
  1610.  
  1611. [2/13/2018 9:39:49 PM | Edited 9:39:57 PM] Mirk: When she managed to hit Waterson on the head, he slumped down. She did it. She had really done it! Eliora's eyes widened when she realized it. It had really happened, she defeated the gate guard leader! At this rate, she'd be a legendary hero in no time! But first, there were more enemies to vanquish. And...bugs? What was with these bugs?? First the hornets, now these beetle things, it was all entirely too many creepy crawly things.
  1612.  
  1613. Eliora stomps on the beetles and stabs her sword into the ground at the bugs to get rid of some and attempt to get them to leave her alone.
  1614.  
  1615. Also spend a SP to get a skill.
  1616.  
  1617. [2/13/2018 9:59:21 PM] Meta: idk cant effortpost its too late and I dont have motivation
  1618.  
  1619. I'll spend SP to acquire skill, then question the doctor's motive for releasing bugs that will probably eat her own allies alive
  1620.  
  1621. [2/13/2018 10:12:03 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): "Spend SP to acquire a skill!" screamed Thomas at the sky. That done, he addressed Swift again.
  1622.  
  1623. "Okay, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't fair." Thomas wipes the crumbs off his shirt. "I shouldn't have shot at you, that was... awful of me." He scratched his head. "I don't really know how to convince you we're in the right here, because A, I'm not sure what we're doing here still, and B, I don't know whether you can understand me." He was befuddled.
  1624.  
  1625. Idea. Risky, but an idea nonetheless.
  1626.  
  1627. "Someone shoved this in my hands earlier. I don't really need it right now, unless it fixes migraines I guess. Here, patch yourself up."
  1628.  
  1629. Thomas used his Healing Salve on Swift.
  1630.  
  1631. [2/13/2018 10:23:56 PM] Dayna Plehn: Etain: Spend 1 SP on skill. Stab Kristina with sword.
  1632.  
  1633. [2/19/2018 10:16:25 PM] Tempest:
  1634.  
  1635. ===
  1636.  
  1637. Thanos spent 1 SP and learned the Strain Hold skill, a close-range grappling technique that immobilizes both the user and target and forces the target's attention to the user only and inflicts continual damage while the hold is held!
  1638.  
  1639. Thanos picked up the Quiver Spear and sheathed his Rusty Sword. He then lunged as best as he could at Gate Guard A and stabbing his gut for 188 damage!
  1640.  
  1641. Gate Guard A was knocked out! Each member of the Resistance gained 33 XP! The beetles around Thanos bite him, dealing 166 damage to him!
  1642. Thanos: Final Blow +26 XP, +1% Morale
  1643. Damage: -1% Morale
  1644.  
  1645. GM unleashed his mana into a large wave of flame that swept across the field and burned all of the beetles away! The spell cost him all of the fiery mana he had saved. Kristina evidently is very unpleased by this. "A failed experiment... you're going to be pay for that loss."
  1646. GM: Support +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1647.  
  1648. Campanula formed a magical barrier around Gate Guard D, protecting her from the next 200 points of damage! She seemed awfully confused by the sudden surge of mana surrdoung her, but then realized and gave Campanula a thankful glance.
  1649. Campanula: Friendship +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1650.  
  1651. Inky spent 1 SP and learned the Great Declaration skill! She can spend an action to declare what she's going to do on the next turn; if she follows up with that declaration properly, she'll receive a Morale and performance bonus! Failing to follow up on it will give a Morale and performance penalty, though.
  1652.  
  1653. Inky tried to sneak up on Kristina from behind in an attempt to knock her over using her shield, but Kristina's Visualization skill allowed her to immediately notice that Inky had gone missing, allowing her to spot Inky and dodge the attack. "Thinking you could slip by me... you have some nerve."
  1654.  
  1655. Jan spent 1 SP and learned the Splitting Riser skill, a unique attacking skill for use with bladed weapons that pounces at the opponent, granting higher damage and accuracy and negating evasion bonuses from aerial movement or flight! It requires too much energy to use on consecutive actions, however.
  1656.  
  1657. Jan leaped at Kristina attempting to knock her whatever vials she might have away, but she came up short and landed just out of the reach of the entomologist. Kristina was able to dodge the attempt.
  1658.  
  1659. Yam spent 1 SP and learned Prayer for Roots! This is a delayed spell that calls upon the Earth to ensnare a grounded target for a turn, rooting them in place.
  1660.  
  1661. Yam examined the charred corpse of one of the beetles. It's hard to tell due to the scorch marks, but there's a vivid orange fluid oozing from a small compartment near the beetle's head. But strangely enough, it seems to more resemble a natural growth in the beetle than chemical or genetic modification...
  1662. Yam: Recon +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1663.  
  1664. Alyssa spent 1 SP and learned Survival Grit! When activated, this gives her temporary damage resistance, and it boosts her next attack by the amount of damage taken then! But it can only be used once a stage, so it has to be used wisely...
  1665.  
  1666. Alyssa attempted to take Waterson hostage, grabbing his body and holding her Rusty Sword to his throat. This immediately attracted the attention of Kristina, who suddenly had a nasty snarl on her face! "I've had it with you and your kind! Drop him this instant!" She stopped being enraged at Cherri and became enraged at Alyssa instead! Strangely enough though, this crazy action doesn't seem to draw the wrath of any other enemies...
  1667. Alyssa: Disrupt +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1668.  
  1669. Cherri used his Healing Salve. The medicine did its work and miraculously healed Cherri to full HP! Cherri's poisoning was cured!
  1670. Cherri: Support +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1671.  
  1672. Cherri spent 1 SP and learned Youthful Energy! This is a passive ability that very slightly heals Cherri at the end of each turn for each point of Morale gained!
  1673.  
  1674. Eliora tried stepping on the beetle corpses. They crunch under her feet, but that seems likely because they were charred by GM's flames.
  1675.  
  1676. Eliora spent 1 SP and learned Weaving Blade! This skill allows Eliora to make her blade attacks significantly harder to defend against, at the cost of damage.
  1677.  
  1678. (Meta) spent 1 SP and learned Force Defense! This skill allows him to enter a special counter stance that negates close range weaponized attacks and topple assailants over, but it leaves him more vulnerable to non-close range attacks.
  1679.  
  1680. (Meta) questioned Kristina as to why she'd be willing to release insects that would attack. "It's their problem for not retreating when I told them to," she replied dismissively. "I swear, nobody's able to do anything you tell them to here... People like you, especially."
  1681.  
  1682. Thomas spent 1 SP and learned Steady Arrow, an archery technique that guarantees a shot that won't miss, at the expense of some damage!
  1683.  
  1684. Thomas gave his Healing Salve to Swift. The bird eyed it suspiciously for a moment... before finally relenting and using the salve, healing him to full HP. He looked directly at Thomas but then quickly turned away, as if reluctantly admitting that he needed the help, but at the same time not actually forgiving and thanking the hot-dog salesman for it. Either way, he seems willing to call a truce for now.
  1685. Thomas: Friendship +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1686.  
  1687. Étaín spent 1 SP and learned Takedown Edge! With this, she can dash at an opponent with blinding speed when attacking with a bladed weapon to disorient them, with increased damage and a slight chance to inflict a number of status effects such as Disarmed, Toppled, Maimed and Bleeding! But she can't use this ability on consecutive actions.
  1688.  
  1689. Étaín rushed at Kristina and stabbed her with the Rusty Sword, inflicting 105 damage! "You...! Do you have any idea how hard it is to wash bloodstains off of this coat!?"
  1690. Étaín: Attack +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1691.  
  1692. Kristina withdrew a test tube from her coat pockets containing Hive Pheromone! "If the beetles weren't enough, then I'll have to use this!" She splashed the contents on Alyssa, prompting a cloud of hornets to descend on her! They stung her over and over, dealing 436 damage to her and poisoning her! Her performance and HP will suffer over time unless treated! Alyssa is poor shape right now... The hornets then surrounded Kristina in a sphere, covering her like a protective barrier! Getting close might prove troublesome...
  1693. Critical Damage: -2% Morale
  1694.  
  1695. Gate Guard D used sparked from the mechanism of her Flintlock Pistol to ignite her Scrap Wood, creating Burning Timber! It essentially works as a makeshift torch. She then offered it to Gate Guard B. "We can use this to keep the insects away!"
  1696.  
  1697. Gate Guard B nodded and armed herself with the Burning Timber. "I'll gonna make sure that scientist creep stops this crap." She rushed at Kristina, but specifically attacked the hornets surrounding her, burning some of them away and weakening them! Kristina is taking this change of events very poorly: "Y-you--! This is treason, do you hear me!?" The hornets retaliated and dealt 159 damage to Gate Guard B, leaving her poisoned and in bad shape! The poison then inflicts an additional 45 damage to her! "Agh... I think I'm starting to regret this...!"
  1698.  
  1699. ===
  1700.  
  1701. MORALE: 138%
  1702.  
  1703. PLAYERS
  1704.  
  1705. Alyssa - Lv. 2 (XP 151 / 200) - HP 385 / 1400
  1706. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1707. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1708. Skills: Survival Grit, -, -
  1709. Items: Healing Salve, Chestnut Rifle, -
  1710.  
  1711. Campanula - Lv. 2 (XP 124 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1712. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1713. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1714. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1715.  
  1716. Cherri - Lv. 3 (XP 61 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  1717. Weapon: Signaling Horn
  1718. Skills: Rally Fanfare, Youthful Energy, -
  1719. Items: Rusty Sword, -, -
  1720.  
  1721. Eliora - Lv. 2 (XP 147 / 200) - HP 1160 / 1400
  1722. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1723. Skills: Weaving Blade, -, -
  1724. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1725.  
  1726. Étaín - Lv. 2 (XP 124 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1727. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1728. Skills: Takedown Edge, -, -
  1729. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Simple Dagger
  1730.  
  1731. Fran - Lv. 2 (XP 100 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1732. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1733. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1734. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1735.  
  1736. GM - Lv. 2 (XP 130 / 200) - HP 1307 / 1400
  1737. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1738. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1739. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1740.  
  1741. Inky - Lv. 2 (XP 134 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1742. Weapon: Sword & Shield
  1743. Skills: Great Declaration, -, -
  1744. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  1745.  
  1746. Jan - Lv. 2 (XP 127 / 200) - HP 1176 / 1400
  1747. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1748. Skills: Splitting Riser, -, -
  1749. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1750.  
  1751. (Meta) - Lv. 2 (XP 99 / 200) - HP 961 / 1400
  1752. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1753. Skills: Force Defense, -, -
  1754. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1755.  
  1756. SBSam - Lv. 2 (XP 110 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1757. Weapon: -
  1758. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1759. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1760.  
  1761. Sock - Lv. 2 (XP 100 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1762. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1763. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1764. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  1765.  
  1766. Thanos - Lv. 2 (XP 83 / 200) - HP 883 / 1400
  1767. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  1768. Skills: Strain Hold, -, -
  1769. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Rusty Sword
  1770.  
  1771. Thomas - Lv. 2 (XP 122 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1772. Weapon: Simple Bow
  1773. Skills: Steady Arrow, -, -
  1774. Items: Rusty Sword, -, -
  1775.  
  1776. Yam - Lv. 2 (XP 118 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1777. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1778. Skills: Prayer for Roots, -, -
  1779. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1780.  
  1781. ENEMIES
  1782.  
  1783. Kristina - Lv. 8 - HP 845 / 950
  1784. Enraged at Alyssa! Can't target anyone except her!
  1785. A cloud of hornets is surrounding Kristina and will counterattack for her!
  1786. But these hornets are being weakened by Gate Guard B's attacks!
  1787. Weapon: -
  1788. Skills: Visualization
  1789. Items: Oversized Lab Coat
  1790.  
  1791. ~Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 0 / 1200~
  1792. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  1793. ~Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye~
  1794.  
  1795. Swift - Lv. 3 - HP 400 / 400
  1796. Not exactly the forgiving type, but willing to forget this fight ever happened.
  1797. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  1798. Skills: Snatching Dive, Scrappy Bird
  1799. Items: Rusty Sword
  1800.  
  1801. ~Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 0 / 600~
  1802. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  1803. ~Weapon: Steel Sword~
  1804.  
  1805. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 159 / 600
  1806. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1807. She's attacking the hornets surrounding Kristina!
  1808. Weapon: Burning Timber
  1809. Items: Weighted Blade
  1810.  
  1811. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 307 / 600
  1812. It looks like she and Gate Guard B have decided to do their own thing.
  1813. Weapon: Flintlock Pistol
  1814.  
  1815. STAGE 1 - TURN 7
  1816. ACTION!
  1817.  
  1818. [2/20/2018 7:30:38 AM] GM: GM: Spend 1 SP to learn a Skill
  1819.  
  1820. [2/22/2018 8:52:12 PM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa: Activate Survival Grit
  1821.  
  1822. [2/22/2018 9:26:20 PM] Meta: bah can't post properlu but I'll use the skill I acquired to protect alyssa
  1823.  
  1824. [2/22/2018 9:35:27 PM] Sharks: "Aw, goddamn. Why've'yr gott'sa do th's k'nda thing?" Yam shook her head, trying to figure out what to do. Those beetles were pretty weird, honestly... what on earth was that orange goop? But... well, maybe she could do something, anyway. Did all of that lady's bugs have that kinda thing...?
  1825.  
  1826. >Yam: Take some of that orange beetle-brain-goop stuff; use it to cast a warding spell against creatures which contain it, attempting to target the swarm around Kristina.
  1827.  
  1828. [6:36:22 AM] GM: There are still more beetles…
  1829.  
  1830. GM took a moment to analyze his surroundings. The scientist lady’s other minions had currently turned against her. Good, GM thought.
  1831.  
  1832. That left just the scientist lady to attack… Of course, it could be dangerous, but… GM could just continue targeting the beetles instead of her.
  1833.  
  1834. GM: Attempt to burn away the beetles that are currently protecting Kristina. (Remember that I am still burning 1 SP to learn a Skill!)
  1835.  
  1836. [8:36:27 AM] Aeront: "Woo woo woo! Go go go!" Cherri cheered, somehow even perkier than he was previously.
  1837.  
  1838. He ran directly to the front line, next to Gate Guard B. "Hey hey c'mon, stay in it! You're gonna beat 'um back and you're gonna win!! That's a Cherri fact! Now hear listen to me doots!"
  1839.  
  1840. The child began to blow upon their single-note horn once again, but in some invisible maner, what had once been a minor annoyance now carried an impact to it, an energy reflected by its player. Cherri spun around Guard B, uncaring of the hornets as he played her a Rally Fanfare.
  1841.  
  1842. [8:39:43 AM | Edited 10:52:50 AM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): "Good to see you're feeling better! Hope this makes us square!" Thomas considered shooting the bees, but realized that was kind of stupid, because they're bees. So instead, he rummaged around again, trying to maybe find a hot dog on his person. Or perhaps remember how to make them. In either event, his goal was to procure a hot dog.
  1843.  
  1844. [9:22:05 AM] [VIOLET]: "Rrrrr... You're unbelievable!" Campi had to frown- there was that girl still at the front, looking worse and worse every minute, and with that man next to her trying to keep her safe, too... What, was this going to be normal for the path ahead? She let out a quiet grunt: at least that girl was, you know, doing something to move them forward. Looking at her white-gloved hand, only a few flecks of rust dirtying the palm, she frowned. "Unlike me."
  1845.  
  1846. "All you'se... warrior types around here," she mumbled. "I'll do 'tha best I can. But my best in't much... O faceted light..."
  1847.  
  1848. >Campanula puts all her energy into a Barrier for Alyssa.
  1849.  
  1850. [10:05:52 AM | Edited 1:11:10 PM] Dayna Plehn: "Ugh." Étaín made a face. "MORE bugs."
  1851. Well.... It was obvious the hornets would go after anything that touched them, and she really didn't want to be on the receiving end of their ire. But.... everyone else was starting to look a little ragged, and it looked like the entomologist was the last one on the opposing side that was putting up a fight.
  1852. So.... Étaín swung her sword at the hornets around Kristina, bracing herself for the imminent retaliation.
  1853.  
  1854. [10:44:34 AM | Edited 4:15:37 PM] Mirk: Now that the beetles were very dead, Eliora's mood was much improved. There were now some evil bees hanging around that scientist lady now... And those guard people were trying to get rid of them! Hey, that means that they were working together now! But the girl with that torch wasn't looking so good, especially after those bees got to her... Maybe if she helped her out, those guards would join their team! That happened to heroes sometimes, convincing some of the bad guys to stop being bad.
  1855. "Hey, guard lady with the torch! You should use this healing potion thing, since you aren't looking so good!"
  1856. Eliora runs up to Gate Guard B and offers her her Healing Salve.
  1857.  
  1858. [1:01:45 PM | Edited 1:02:10 PM] Star: Even though her sneaky move had been noticed, Inky continues to go after Kristina, stabbing the scientist with her sword. (Because after glancing around, apparently this crazy bug lady seemed to be the only one still determined to fight them.)
  1859.  
  1860. [3:23:51 PM | Edited 4:25:13 PM] Animorpherv1: With the guard out of the way, the only foe left was the scientist - but those wasps would certainly make dealing with her an issue. Maybe it was time to let everyone else shine.
  1861.  
  1862. And that's when he turned around and noticed Thomas talking to Swift, trying to ease it of its pain. It surely seemed to look better, but a quick look would tell you of the anguish it still had in it's heart.
  1863.  
  1864. Maybe the bird can forgive. It's certainly worth a try, at least. Thanos thought to himself. He began to walk over to Swift, extended his arm for the bird to rest on, and tried to comort it. Maybe they could work together.
  1865.  
  1866. "I think everyone here has felt a similar pain to what you feel now." The wolfman started to speak in a soft tone, reminiscing of his past. "And although mere moments ago we were enemies, I know your pain. I too have lost people close to me. No one will hold it against you if your decision is to leave, but together we are more than if we are alone. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. And after all of this is over, the two of us can start again elsewhere. Behind all of this.
  1867.  
  1868. What do you think?"
  1869.  
  1870. [3/1/2018 2:23:18 AM] Tempest:
  1871.  
  1872. ===
  1873.  
  1874. GM spent 1 SP and learned Heat Eruption, a powerful spell of fire that attacks all enemies and deals more damage the longer he goes without using it!
  1875.  
  1876. Alyssa activated her Survival Grit, feeling strength from the desire to survive surge through her! She'll take significantly less damage this turn! The poison does its work on her, dealing 55 damage.
  1877. Critical Damage: -2% Morale
  1878.  
  1879. (Meta) moved in front of Alyssa and prepared to take attacks for her, entering his Force Defense stance. He's preparing to counter incoming melee attacks...!
  1880.  
  1881. Yam harvested the strange orange ooze out of a beetle carcass and tried using it for a warding spell. But her concentration from attempting a relatively complex spell faltered, and the spell fizzled and failed before she could fully cast it.
  1882.  
  1883. GM used flame magic to try and scorch whatever beetles were left, not realizing that he already fried them all. But his mana suddenly gave way mid-spell and his magic failed, preventing him from even burning the carcasses further.
  1884.  
  1885. Cherri used Rally Fanfare, blaring a tune that seemed to inspire Gate Guard B! "Hey, this isn't actually so bad..." Gate Guard B is encouraged!
  1886.  
  1887. Thomas attempted to procure a hot dog, but the best he could come up with was a Stale Ration he found sitting in Gate Guard A's pockets. The ration contains a slightly staled dinner roll and canned meat; it looks like the guard already ate whatever was supposed to come with those two items.
  1888. Thomas: Procurement +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1889.  
  1890. Campanula attempted to summon a magical barrier around Alyssa, but as she forced her power, a wave of a fatigue suddenly rose within her, and the barrier faded as quickly as it was erected.
  1891.  
  1892. Étaín tried to attack the hornets surrounding Kristina with her Rusty Sword, but to no avail! The hornets easily move away from the blade, then attack Étaín for 86 damage and poisoning her! The poison then did an additional 64 damage!
  1893. Damage: -1% Morale
  1894.  
  1895. Eliora offered Gate Guard B her Healing Salve. The guard was hesitant at first, but eventually accepted the aid. "Looks like I owe you one. Thanks, kid!" She took the Healing Salve from Eliora with a smile.
  1896. Eliora: Friendship +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1897.  
  1898. Inky dashed at Kristina and stabbed her with her Rusty Sword, dealing 119 damage! The hornets retaliate, stinging Inky for 73 damage and poisoning her! The poison then inflicted an additional 68 damage!
  1899. Inky: Attack +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1900. Damage: -1% Morale
  1901.  
  1902. Thanos offered Swift an arm to perch upon, hoping that the Resistance and the falcon could work out their differences.
  1903.  
  1904. ===
  1905.  
  1906. Something began to rise to the surface of Swift's mind. Where, in its life of soaring the sky, had he seen something like this before...
  1907.  
  1908. A brief memory, of Swift lying on the ground, pain shooting up his wing. He was looking upward, at the tree responsible; he could see the futile claw marks on it. This was what happened when he got too cocky...
  1909.  
  1910. Then, a human hand. This was normally the signal that he was way too close - but where was he supposed to go with the pain in his wing. He remained on the ground, only breathing heavily, waiting for something unspeakable.
  1911.  
  1912. A voice, softened but firm. "Looks like you took a bad fall, buddy," said the voice. "Think you can do me a favor and hold still so I can treat it?"
  1913.  
  1914. Swift remembered turning his head and seeing the blue cloth wrapped around that man's head. "Hey, don't know if someone like you can understand, but... you look like the lone wolf type. I'm gonna be that kind of person in a few weeks, too. They're gonna have me sit in front of the ol' castle." He shrugged. "It's good pay, but gonna be a little lonely out there. I figure us lone wolves, we ought to stick together, right?"
  1915.  
  1916. Swift turned to see the cloth bindings now covering his broken wing, and then back to the man. He had his arm extended for the falcon to perch. "So, what do you say? We'll tend to each other where we can."
  1917.  
  1918. Swift blinked, and suddenly, the forest, the bandages, and the man in the memory disappeared. Thanos stood in his place, arm held out. Ah, so this was nostalgia...
  1919.  
  1920. With a chirp, he made his mind, hopping onto Thanos's arm.
  1921.  
  1922. ===
  1923.  
  1924. Swift has defected from the Castle Low Guard and joined the Resistance!
  1925. Thanos: Recruitment +103 XP, +3% Morale
  1926.  
  1927. Swift gave SBSam his Rusty Sword back before flying into the air, preparing to divebomb when there's an opening in Kristina's defenses!
  1928.  
  1929. Kristina activated her Plague Director skill, casting a small magic spell that resonated with the hornets around her! They quiver before gathering into a single cluster and somehow firing a large blob of their venom at Alyssa! But (Meta) got in the way just in time, intercepting the projectile! However, this isn't an attack Force Defense is meant for, causing (Meta) to take an increased 700 damage and become poisoned! (Meta) finds himself swaying as the poison seeps into his body...
  1930. (Meta): Defense +13 XP, +1% Morale
  1931. Misprediction: -1% Morale
  1932. Critical Damage: -2% Morale
  1933.  
  1934. Gate Guard D ran to Gate Guard B and took her Healing Salve, using it on Gate Guard B's injuries. "Don't get too reckless, OK?" Gate Guard B recovered to full HP and cured her poison.
  1935.  
  1936. Gate Guard B jumped back and tossed her Burning Timber at Kristina, aiming specifically for the hornets! The flame does its work, and the hornets scatter into the wind to avoid the flame! Kristina's defenses are exposed! "You're not so tough without all your bugs now, are you?" Thanks to being encouraged, her next action will receive a big bonus!
  1937. Cherri: Rally +13 XP, +3% Morale
  1938.  
  1939. Swift saw his chance and dived at Kristina, raking at her face with his talons! But Kristina held up her arms in defense and got away with just small tears in her lab coat. "Blasted bird--!"
  1940.  
  1941. Alyssa felt the adrenaline rush from her Survival Grit wear off and become replaced with a hardy feeling. Her next attack deals increased damage!
  1942.  
  1943. ===
  1944.  
  1945. MORALE: 142%
  1946.  
  1947. PLAYERS
  1948.  
  1949. Alyssa - Lv. 2 (XP 151 / 200) - HP 330 / 1400
  1950. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1951. Next attack deals an additional 55 damage!
  1952. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1953. Skills: Survival Grit, -, -
  1954. Items: Healing Salve, Chestnut Rifle, -
  1955.  
  1956. Campanula - Lv. 2 (XP 124 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1957. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1958. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1959. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1960.  
  1961. Cherri - Lv. 3 (XP 74 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  1962. Weapon: Signaling Horn
  1963. Skills: Rally Fanfare, Youthful Energy, -
  1964. Items: Rusty Sword, -, -
  1965.  
  1966. Eliora - Lv. 2 (XP 160 / 200) - HP 1160 / 1400
  1967. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1968. Skills: Weaving Blade, -, -
  1969. Items: -, -, -
  1970.  
  1971. Étaín - Lv. 2 (XP 124 / 200) - HP 1218 / 1400
  1972. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1973. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1974. Skills: Takedown Edge, -, -
  1975. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Simple Dagger
  1976.  
  1977. Fran - Lv. 2 (XP 100 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  1978. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1979. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  1980. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1981.  
  1982. GM - Lv. 2 (XP 130 / 200) - HP 1307 / 1400
  1983. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1984. Skills: Heat Eruption, -, -
  1985. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1986.  
  1987. Inky - Lv. 2 (XP 147 / 200) - HP 1259 / 1400
  1988. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  1989. Weapon: Sword & Shield
  1990. Skills: Great Declaration, -, -
  1991. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  1992.  
  1993. Jan - Lv. 2 (XP 127 / 200) - HP 1176 / 1400
  1994. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  1995. Skills: Splitting Riser, -, -
  1996. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  1997.  
  1998. (Meta) - Lv. 2 (XP 112 / 200) - HP 261 / 1400
  1999. Poisoned! Performance down, taking damage per turn!
  2000. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2001. Skills: Force Defense, -, -
  2002. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2003.  
  2004. SBSam - Lv. 2 (XP 110 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  2005. Weapon: -
  2006. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  2007. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  2008.  
  2009. Sock - Lv. 2 (XP 100 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  2010. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2011. Skills (1 SP): -, -, -
  2012. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  2013.  
  2014. Thanos - Lv. 2 (XP 199 / 200) - HP 883 / 1400
  2015. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  2016. Skills: Strain Hold, -, -
  2017. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Rusty Sword
  2018.  
  2019. Thomas - Lv. 2 (XP 122 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  2020. Weapon: Simple Bow
  2021. Skills: Steady Arrow, -, -
  2022. Items: Rusty Sword, Stale Ration, -
  2023.  
  2024. Yam - Lv. 2 (XP 118 / 200) - HP 1400 / 1400
  2025. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2026. Skills: Prayer for Roots, -, -
  2027. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2028.  
  2029. ALLIES
  2030.  
  2031. Swift - Lv. 3 (XP 0 / 300) - HP 400 / 400
  2032. Flying in the air, ready to harass Kristina!
  2033. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  2034. Skills: Snatching Dive, Scrappy Bird
  2035. Items: Mini Bandanna
  2036.  
  2037. ENEMIES
  2038.  
  2039. Kristina - Lv. 8 - HP 726 / 950
  2040. Enraged at Alyssa! Can't target anyone except her!
  2041. Weapon: -
  2042. Skills: Visualization, Plague Director
  2043. Items: Oversized Lab Coat
  2044.  
  2045. ~Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 0 / 1200~
  2046. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  2047. ~Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye~
  2048.  
  2049. ~Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 0 / 600~
  2050. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  2051. ~Weapon: Steel Sword~
  2052.  
  2053. Gate Guard B - Lv. 1 - HP 600 / 600
  2054. Next action receives a big performance bonus!
  2055. Weapon: -
  2056. Items: Weighted Blade
  2057.  
  2058. Gate Guard D - Lv. 1 - HP 307 / 600
  2059. It looks like she and Gate Guard B have decided to do their own thing.
  2060. Weapon: Flintlock Pistol
  2061.  
  2062. STAGE 1 - TURN 8
  2063. ACTION!
  2064.  
  2065. [3/1/2018 2:34:23 AM] Swift: "Kriiiiii, kriii"
  2066. (Just give me the word)
  2067.  
  2068. [3/1/2018 7:19:12 AM] GM: ...Stupid magic... GM failed to cast the spell he was trying to (which was “burn the hornets that were protecting Kristina”, not “burn the carcasses he had already fried”), but…
  2069.  
  2070. He might as well try to cast a spell again, now that Kristina was vulnerable.
  2071.  
  2072. GM: Fire a fireball at Kristina.
  2073.  
  2074. [3/1/2018 9:01:10 AM] Dayna Plehn: Étaín tanked the hornet's strings, as she'd expected. Ouch, this was gonna leave a mark. On the other hand, though, it pissed her off, and seeing that the hornets were suddenly scattered by one of the gate guards' well-aimed ember, Étaín took another angry stab at Kristina.
  2075.  
  2076. [3/1/2018 2:35:58 PM] Jan: Come on, you were one of the only newbies to actually post in the old game and now you're forgetting? So lame, Jan.
  2077.  
  2078. She sighed and shook her head to clear it, time to channel that aspect of herself anyway. What would Rainbow do, maybe apart from trying to recruit the hornets too... hmmmmm. She took some steps back to look around. Upon spotting Campanula she headed over. "Hey! Hey, uh... There was this thing I... read about once, where two people shared energy to allow one to cast a better spell. Do you want to try it?"
  2079.  
  2080. [3/2/2018 12:23:31 PM | Edited 3/3/2018 1:39:09 PM] Animorpherv1: As the battle raged on, the girl that Thanos only knew vaguely as Alyssa kept getting worn down. It didn't look like she would last much longer.He looked up.
  2081.  
  2082. "No one need yet sacrifice themselves for this cause." Thanos said out loud, then sheathed his weapon (and dropped the Rusty sword if necessary) and took aim at Kristina, attempting to Strain Hold her.
  2083.  
  2084. This was a calculated move, of course. Kristina's full attention was on Alyssa. There was a chance that maybe, if this was done right, Kristina would try to attack Alyssa again. With this special grapple, that would fail.
  2085.  
  2086. He was secretly hoping this was the case, and she wouldn't turn on him.
  2087.  
  2088.  
  2089. [3/2/2018 1:22:40 PM | Edited 1:23:31 PM] [VIOLET]: "H-huh?" Campi turned towards the oddly familiar face- really, she couldn't quite figure out what it was about her- a hand pressed to her heart. "Ah... Yeah! A mana transfer... I used it to help my daddy with his healing all 'tha time. But, I'm feeling a little lightheaded right now... I might not have much 't give, miss. Just a second, maybe-- aah, I'm sorry."
  2090.  
  2091. [3/2/2018 2:02:20 PM] Jan: Jan grinned. "My name is Jan. And I'll be the one giving you my energy. Now I don't want to alarm you, but this might be my first time doing this in actual practice, so I apologize in advance if anything goes terribly wrong. It's about 1 to 4 in favor of going wrong... b-but those are just random numbers and have nothing to do with this so it'll all be fine!" Her cat ears twitched slightly as she tried to refocus. "Okay... lets see..."
  2092.  
  2093. Jan attempts to transfer her mana to Campanula so that she can fully cast a spell.
  2094.  
  2095. [3/2/2018 3:36:52 PM] Star: Inky winces from the bees, but goes for another slash at Kristina. Maybe with the wolf dude holding her, she would get a good hit in.
  2096.  
  2097. [3/2/2018 6:48:07 PM | Edited 6:50:40 PM] Aeront: "Woohoo! Ye-haa!" Cherri hooted and hollered, parading around Gate Guard B whilst trumpeting her victory.
  2098.  
  2099. "Hewy man, you'vin' really gots the chocoka, miss!" the young boy grinned, a strikingly innocent smile. "'special when you flew that pchoo-chaka-pow! A real flame flinger!!"
  2100.  
  2101. "Heyum, miss, I wassin' wonderin': why're you zobbin' for those castle fickle dingers? You gotsta say, theyin' be not the nicest to 'yas! You be deservin' better! Like Cherri! Hesin' the bestest yup yup! And hey we bein' your neighbors and all! We just be wantsing best for all our lovalas! Cherri thinks you'din be a great new friend! That's a Cherri fact!"
  2102.  
  2103. "...Oh oh! What's be your say-song? Like Cherri, that's me say-song! So whatin' yours pretty lady?"
  2104.  
  2105. Cherri: Attempt to convince Gate Guard B to join our side. Also ask her name.
  2106.  
  2107. [3/2/2018 8:53:05 PM] Mirk: Aww yeah, the guard lady accepted the healing salve! And she seemed friendlyish! Maybe they could talk after the bug lady went away or was defeated. Now, since her hornets were all scared away, this would be a perfect time to attack. But... That Alyssa girl, and that other guy that was with her, they both looked to be in bad shape. And that guy had taken that last hit from those hornets for Alyssa. Hmm, the guy seemed to have been helping Alyssa the whole time since the battle started. They probably were friends before. Ooh, maybe they're lovers! Eliora had read about a bunch of those before. The two would do anything for each other, just like that guy getting hit by the poison even though he could barely stay on his feet afterward. The only problem with that sort of thing was that a lot of the time, something tragic happens, like one of them gets killed in battle, or thrown into prison, or gets really sick just as the other goes on an adventure or out to war. Sometimes even, they both die. That was super sad, when it happened. Eliora remembered last time she had read a story about that, with the death of Yomiel just as he and Lilian were about to be married, and then she almost jumped off of the castle parapet, Eliora had cried for like, an hour. And she was crying inside for like the entire day. It was super duper sad!
  2108. But anyway, those two lovebirds had to be kept safe! They couldn't be taking any more attacks from giant bugs or anything.
  2109.  
  2110. Eliora steps between Kristina and Alyssa and Meta, aiming to get in the way of any attacks aimed at the two allies.
  2111.  
  2112. [3/2/2018 9:41:15 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): "Friendship!" Thomas stood for a moment with both arms fist-pumping the air. Somewhere in the distance, the faint sound of a party blower drifted over the hills.
  2113.  
  2114. Thomas dusted himself off and looked at the Ration in his hands. "Gross." He then tried to improve it with ketchup, specifically ketchup with medicinal properties, in case you thought the hot dog salesman thing was for flavor. I guess to clarify further, he's trying to improve this item. Through ketchup.
  2115.  
  2116. [3/3/2018 4:26:48 AM] [VIOLET]: "Heh heh! Aw, one'nin foua' ain't so bad, girl! What'ta we here for, anyway?"
  2117.  
  2118. A sly grin that just almost didn't seem to suit her graceful demeanor crossed the innkeeper's face: but the shift that followed it seemed to put all the right pieces together. Daring, even a little asymmetrical- she began nurturing the smallest seed of a spell again.
  2119.  
  2120. "OK, Jan! Let's try some'tin new."
  2121.  
  2122. After Jan tries to transfer charge, regardless of success, Campanula casts a healing spell on Meta.
  2123.  
  2124. "Veni, stellae autem lumen... The song my papa sang for me. Fan the flames that light the gentle hearth of your legacy..."
  2125.  
  2126. [3/3/2018 2:57:07 PM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa switches to the Chestnut Rifle and shoots at Kristina.
  2127.  
  2128. [3/3/2018 9:14:34 PM] Sharks: Hmm. That didn't quite work. Well, at all, really... she needed to understand this stuff better. These beetles were weird, and Yam was sure that the hornets must be, too... but she could only rely on her memory so much; she'd never been a great studier, and there was a good chance these bugs wouldn't show up in any textbooks anyway, if science-lady had, uh, invented them, or something.
  2129.  
  2130. So she'd need to take a different approach. She put her hands on the ground and made some strange, silent prayer; an attempt to call the Earth's memory to her own mind. These creatures hadn't been summoned from portals, but from the ground. These bugs must have been alive for at least a while before this battle; they had histories, each of them. And bugs did not survive unless they ate, and what they ate were things which had lived off of the earth, whether things that gnawed on plants or plants themselves. Furtherbore, they had a history with the earth in that they had been buried inside of it; maybe they had hives, down there. There was only one way to find out.
  2131.  
  2132. "O, steadfast, mighty Earth; provider of all things, silent observer of all truths; who are these creatures which you host, and who have been unnaturally driven to fury against my comrades? How can I quell their anger, pacify the violence which consumes them, that they need not die so wastefully?"
  2133.  
  2134. >Yam: Ask the Earth for advice and knowledge on Kristina's hornets and, if possible, the rest of her bugs - specifically related to pacifying them, preferably.
  2135.  
  2136. [3/5/2018 2:05:33 AM] Tempest:
  2137.  
  2138. ===
  2139.  
  2140. GM summoned his magic and shot a fireball at Kristina, but scientist rolled out of the way just in time.
  2141. GM: Don't Give Up! +7 XP
  2142.  
  2143. Étaín lashed out at Kristina again, but Kristina was able to jump to the side to evade the attack. Étaín took 32 damage from her poisoning.
  2144. Étaín: Don't Give Up! +7 XP
  2145. Damage: -1% Morale
  2146.  
  2147. Thanos dropped his Rusty Sword and sheathed his Quiver Spear before diving at Kristina with a Strain Hold! He managed to grab Kristina's arms and twist them uncomfortably before forcing her to a prone position, locking her in place!
  2148. Thanos: Disrupt +14 XP, +1% Morale
  2149.  
  2150. Thanos LEVELED UP to Lv. 3! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP!
  2151.  
  2152. Jan transferred some of her mana to Campanula. Campanula felt the surge of mana sweep through her body and felt empowered! Her next spell receives a performance increase!
  2153. Jan: Support +14 XP, +1% Morale
  2154.  
  2155. Inky took her chance and struck Kristina with her sword, dealing 104 damage! The poison did its work and inflicted 126 damage to Inky.
  2156. Inky: Opportunistic Attack +28 XP, +1% Morale
  2157. Damage: -1% Morale
  2158.  
  2159. Cherri asked for Gate Guard B's name, as well as for her to join the Resistance. She took a long look at the kid before chuckling a little. "Hey, how about you people help Dianna and I get out of this mess and I'll think about it, alright?" She nodded towards the other Gate Guard. "My name's Brooklynn, by the way."
  2160. Cherri: Friendship +14 XP, +1% Morale
  2161.  
  2162. Eliora prepared to intercept any attack coming for Alyssa or (Meta)!
  2163.  
  2164. Thomas attempted to enhance his Stale Ration by applying ketchup, trying to pull the tomato-based condiment out of seemingly thin air... only for not a single bit of the red concoction to appear.
  2165.  
  2166. Campanula used the mana she received from Jan to cast a healing spell over (Meta), healing him for 166 HP and curing his poisoning! She is no longer empowered.
  2167. Campanula: Crucial Support +28 XP, +1% Morale
  2168.  
  2169. Alyssa swapped to her Chestnut Rifle and fired at Kristina, landing a head-on shot for 250 damage and putting her at critical condition! "Y-you! You're going to pay for what you're doing!" This leaves Alyssa out of ammo; she'll need to either reload or use a different weapon for a turn. The poison dealt another 139 damage to Alyssa; if she doesn't have it treated, she could collapse at any moment!
  2170. Alyssa: Opportunistic Attack +28 XP, +1% Morale
  2171. Damage: -1% Morale
  2172.  
  2173. Yam tried to ask the spirits of the Earth about the hornets and the beetles that have been plaguing them, specifically how to stop their attacks. She suddenly feels an impulse from an errant spirit of nature: a reflection of the insect's feelings, that they acted solely on their own free will. Strange...
  2174. Yam: Recon +14 XP, +1% Morale
  2175.  
  2176. Swift divebombed Kristina again, and with the scientist unable to dodge or block, she took 89 damage from getting her face scratched!
  2177. Swift: Opportunistic Attack +28 XP, +1% Morale
  2178.  
  2179. Kristina struggled to escape the Strain Hold, unable to target anyone due to her rage! "Unhand me, you thickheaded cretin!" She took 49 damage from the hold!
  2180.  
  2181. Brooklynn unsheathed her Weighted Blade and swung it down on Kristina! "This is what I think about you and your bugs!" The blade landed right into Kristina's side, dealing 243 damage!
  2182.  
  2183. ===
  2184.  
  2185. The entomologist tried to gasp for breath, trying to claw at the blade in her side despite her arms being bound behind her back by Thanos. "Y-you traitor--!" she managed, before coughing up a fit.
  2186.  
  2187. Brooklynn kept her sword lodged in there for a while before finally pulling it out. "I didn't mind working a guard for the Castle," she spoke coldly. "But if you're going to hurt me and my friend for it, you're going to pay."
  2188.  
  2189. Kristina finally broke free of the grasp and reached for the treasonous swordswoman. "Treason... they will... come for you," she could gasp, before finally passing out. Brooklynn didn't have anything else to say, choosing to just sit down and wipe her blade with a cloth.
  2190.  
  2191. ===
  2192.  
  2193. Kristina was knocked out! The Resistance cheers at the defeat of one of Castle Low's leaders, with each person gaining 284 XP!
  2194. Morale +8%
  2195.  
  2196. Cherri LEVELED UP to Lv. 4! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP!
  2197.  
  2198. Alyssa, Campanula, Eliora, Étaín, Fran, GM, Inky, Jan, (Meta), SBSam, Sock, Thomas, and Yam LEVELED UP to Lv. 3! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP!
  2199.  
  2200. Swift LEVELED UP to Lv. 4! Gained 1 SP and 50 maximum HP!
  2201.  
  2202. ===
  2203.  
  2204. "Brook, are you alright?" Dianna came rushing to the swordswoman's aid, looking her over - though, thanks to the Healing Salve from earlier, Brooklynn was free of injuries.
  2205.  
  2206. "Yeah, I'm doing fine," Brooklynn responded, looking over Dianna's own wounds. "We better get you patched up later... But I'm gonna be honest, we better hit the road, now. I think I just killed one of the Guard's leaders, and there's no way they're gonna let us get away with that--"
  2207.  
  2208. "Wait, hold on, Brook!" Dianna interrupted. "If we do that, we'll just be fugitives for the rest of our lives... what if we joined this Resistance? They'll be able to protect us, and besides, some of them were willing to help us out when all those insects attacked."
  2209.  
  2210. The swordswoman shook her head. "I don't trust those people one bit. Those same people were swinging swords at you, remember? And they took out the others like it was nothing."
  2211.  
  2212. "I can't think of any better options, Brook. Even if there's people who were attacking us just minutes ago, there were more people who helped us out. And besides, if we join them, they won't have any reason to attack us any longer!" Dianna found herself getting a little emotional. "You don't always have to protect me all the time, Brook! It doesn't always have to be you!"
  2213.  
  2214. Brooklynn took a long look at the gunslinger before sighing and shaking her head. "Maybe learn how to fight people off without a gun sometime and I'll think about it..." She suddenly gave a big, almost cheeky smile. "But if you really wanna join them, I'm joining with you." She turned to Cherri, calling, "Well, looks like you're getting your wish, kid. Just keep those creeps from the start of this whole fight away from us."
  2215.  
  2216. ===
  2217.  
  2218. Brooklynn and Dianna defected and joined the Resistance! The Resistance is always happy to receive some additional backup.
  2219. Cherri: Recruitment +71 XP, +2% Morale
  2220.  
  2221. All enemies defeated! STAGE 1 CLEARED!
  2222. The Resistance was fully healed, and all status effects were cleared.
  2223. Morale stabilized at 100%.
  2224.  
  2225. The Resistance looted the area and found the following items:
  2226. Polished Sword
  2227. Simple Spear
  2228. Simple Bow
  2229. Flintlock Pistol
  2230. Wooden Shield
  2231. Coat of Guards (x2)
  2232. Banner of Resistance
  2233. Binoculars
  2234. Stale Ration (x3)
  2235. Bandage Roll (x3)
  2236. Rookie's Insignia
  2237. These items are located in the Reserve Inventory.
  2238.  
  2239. ===
  2240.  
  2241. MORALE: 100%
  2242.  
  2243. PLAYERS
  2244.  
  2245. Alyssa - Lv. 3 (XP 263 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2246. Weapon: Chestnut Rifle (ammo: 1/1)
  2247. Skills (1 SP): Survival Grit, -, -
  2248. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  2249.  
  2250. Campanula - Lv. 3 (XP 236 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2251. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2252. Skills (2 SP): -, -, -
  2253. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2254.  
  2255. Cherri - Lv. 4 (XP 143 / 400) - HP 1800 / 1800
  2256. Weapon: Signaling Horn
  2257. Skills (1 SP): Rally Fanfare, Youthful Energy, -
  2258. Items: Rusty Sword, -, -
  2259.  
  2260. Eliora - Lv. 3 (XP 244 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2261. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2262. Skills (1 SP): Weaving Blade, -, -
  2263. Items: -, -, -
  2264.  
  2265. Étaín - Lv. 3 (XP 215 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2266. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2267. Skills (1 SP): Takedown Edge, -, -
  2268. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Simple Dagger
  2269.  
  2270. Fran - Lv. 3 (XP 184 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2271. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2272. Skills (2 SP): -, -, -
  2273. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2274.  
  2275. GM - Lv. 3 (XP 221 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2276. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2277. Skills (1 SP): Heat Eruption, -, -
  2278. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2279.  
  2280. Inky - Lv. 3 (XP 259 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2281. Weapon: Sword & Shield
  2282. Skills (1 SP): Great Declaration, -, -
  2283. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  2284.  
  2285. Jan - Lv. 3 (XP 225 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2286. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2287. Skills (1 SP): Splitting Riser, -, -
  2288. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2289.  
  2290. (Meta) - Lv. 3 (XP 196 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2291. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2292. Skills (1 SP): Force Defense, -, -
  2293. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2294.  
  2295. SBSam - Lv. 3 (XP 194 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2296. Weapon: -
  2297. Skills (2 SP): -, -, -
  2298. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  2299.  
  2300. Sock - Lv. 3 (XP 184 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2301. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2302. Skills (2 SP): -, -, -
  2303. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  2304.  
  2305. Thanos - Lv. 3 (XP 297 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2306. Weapon: -
  2307. Skills (1 SP): Strain Hold, -, -
  2308. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Quiver Spear
  2309.  
  2310. Thomas - Lv. 3 (XP 206 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2311. Weapon: Simple Bow
  2312. Skills (1 SP): Steady Arrow, -, -
  2313. Items: Rusty Sword, Stale Ration, -
  2314.  
  2315. Yam - Lv. 3 (XP 216 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2316. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2317. Skills (1 SP): Prayer for Roots, -, -
  2318. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2319.  
  2320. ALLIES
  2321.  
  2322. Swift - Lv. 4 (XP 12 / 400) - HP 450 / 450
  2323. He's jumping about idly.
  2324. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  2325. Skills (1 SP): Snatching Dive, Scrappy Bird
  2326. Items: Mini Bandanna
  2327.  
  2328. Brooklynn - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 600 / 600
  2329. She's keeping watch and making sure nobody pulls a fast one on her or Dianna.
  2330. Weapon: Weighted Blade
  2331. Items: Coat of Guards
  2332.  
  2333. Dianna - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 600 / 600
  2334. She's a little bit nervous.
  2335. Weapon: Flintlock Pistol
  2336. Items: Coat of Guards
  2337.  
  2338. ENEMIES
  2339.  
  2340. ~Kristina - Lv. 8 - HP 0 / 950~
  2341. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  2342. ~Weapon: -~
  2343. ~Skills: Visualization, Plague Director~
  2344. ~Items: Oversized Lab Coat~
  2345.  
  2346. ~Waterson - Lv. 5 - HP 0 / 1200~
  2347. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  2348. ~Skills: Double Strike, Reflex Deflect, Watcher's Eye~
  2349.  
  2350. ~Gate Guard A - Lv. 1 - HP 0 / 600~
  2351. ~KNOCKED OUT!~
  2352. ~Weapon: Steel Sword~
  2353.  
  2354. ===
  2355.  
  2356. Congrats on clearing Stage 1! You'll now have a rest turn to prepare for the next Stage. You'll still be limited in the number of actions you can do, but for this turn, you'll have guaranteed success rates and switch what skills are in your skill slots freely. You might also want to take this time to interact with others and try things you normally wouldn't have the opportunity to try in combat.
  2357.  
  2358. You'll also have full, unrestricted access to the Reserve Inventory during this time, something that you won't get normally, so make use of it!
  2359.  
  2360. As a reminder, most information can be found on Aether Curtain's official web page. Check it out, it's recently gotten an all-new player status page!
  2361.  
  2362. ===
  2363.  
  2364. PREPARE FOR STAGE 2
  2365. ACTION!
  2366.  
  2367. [3/5/2018 2:15:47 AM] Dianna: "Eheheh... hey, everyone... I hope you don't mind if we join you?"
  2368.  
  2369. [3/5/2018 2:16:27 AM] Brooklynn: "Don't get any fancy ideas, people. I'm just here to keep Dianna safe."
  2370.  
  2371. [3/5/2018 2:17:07 AM] Swift: "Kriiii-kr-kr-kr"
  2372. (I'm hungry)
  2373.  
  2374. [3/5/2018 7:18:46 AM] GM: Well, the fighting’s over for now, but… it will start again soon…
  2375.  
  2376. ...I don’t know what I expected, really.
  2377.  
  2378. GM sighed.
  2379.  
  2380. ...I just..., can’t quite grasp the situation… Same as usual, really… but…
  2381.  
  2382. The silliness of our party members… kind of makes things harder...
  2383.  
  2384. I suppose I owe that kid an apology, anyway… Even though I never said anything to him...
  2385.  
  2386. Walking over to Cherri, GM patted his shoulder.
  2387.  
  2388. “Hey… I’m sorry I doubted you. You’re… a bit goofy… but you did good out there.”
  2389.  
  2390. GM: Spend 1 SP in order to learn a new skill.
  2391.  
  2392. [3/5/2018 9:41:31 AM] Mirk: Eliora cheered as the science lady was finally defeated. And it was the guard lady she had helped that had done it! And now they were gonna team up from now on! Eliora decided that she should go talk to them.
  2393. "Hello! I'm Eliora, the one who gave you that healing stuff earlier. And I'd like to welcome you to our team! Not that I'm actually in charge of anything. But I'm glad you decided to help us out on our quest for justice!" Eliora struck a heroic pose here, sword pointed skyward. "We really couldn't have stopped the bug lady as easily without you two. It was so cool when you, Brooklyn were like 'I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends,'" Eliora made a slashing motion with her sword. "And she was all like 'Ahhgh treason ahhhhh,'" Eliora dropped to her knees and fell over before getting back up. "Also, you, Dianna, when you lit that torch on fire, that was a really great idea that helped out a lot! Also, that's a cool name, Dianna. I think I read a book about a heroine named Diana before. She had this cool wind-y sword or something that she used to vanquish evil. Ooh, do you two like reading? Or do you have anything else you like to do in your free time?" Eliora smiled, waiting eagerly for their responses.
  2394.  
  2395. [3/5/2018 10:39:13 AM] Dayna Plehn: Something about Kristina’s last words to the dissenting guards.... it had rattled Étaín a bit. Though technically all of the resistance were “traitors” to the governing force, that new, unpleasant label hit a deeper vein for Étaín than it might have for someone with looser ties to authority.
  2396. Étaín, of noble heritage herself - and the eldest of her generation - was a traitor.
  2397. That... was going to look bad on her resume, to put it lightly.
  2398. Well... No going back now. If losing whatever titles she had before was what it took... that was okay. Étaín turned her green eyes back to her comrades and regarded them silently. She was no better than these people. Her heritage hadn’t counted for anything before, and it certainly didn’t now. She looked down at her old heirloom sword, as rusted and worn-out as her other claims to authority.
  2399.  
  2400. She cast it aside.
  2401.  
  2402. Étaín replaces her rusty sword with the polished one. Spend 1SP on a skill.
  2403.  
  2404. [3/5/2018 1:24:45 PM | Edited 1:25:04 PM] Animorpherv1: Traitor.
  2405.  
  2406. "Technically, I've been a traitor for years". Thanos spoke calmly, and then laughed heartily. "Cretin, asshole, the likes. Heard them all before.". He looked down, to find Swift pecking at his shoes.
  2407.  
  2408. "You did well. Thank you for joining us, but let's get you something to eat." He immediately began to search for food for Swift to eat, and picked up the Wooden Shield & Guard A's Steel Sword, putting the spear back into Reserve.
  2409.  
  2410. Thanos immediately kneeled down, so he'd be closer to the height of the bird. "Better? Let's get you introduced to someone. I'd like to know them better myself." He took off with Swift, looking for someone who was willing to interact with the two.
  2411.  
  2412. [3/5/2018 1:28:56 PM] Aeront: "Oh well thanks a bittle bundle!" Cherri responded to GM, hands on his hips. "No feathers for the weather, sparkle flinger! Cherri knows in his ba-dump-ba-dump he can look a bit wompo, but he doesn't lets it stop him, nope not a one!"
  2413.  
  2414. "...Oh oh! I actually wanted to ask you something Gimmer!" The boy pointed at some of the embers still burning nearby. "How'nd you do that!? Make heart sparks like that!? You looked just like my lovala when you were flooming those!! That's who I'm needing!!"
  2415.  
  2416. [3/5/2018 1:32:00 PM] GM: “OH! Uh, that’s magic. I was… born with it.” GM says, choosing not to elaborate much further. “I… Actually? I didn’t really know how to use it until just now. Fire doesn’t really have many uses in everyday life. I mean, I could use it to cook…”
  2417.  
  2418. [3/5/2018 1:38:17 PM] Aeront: The boy shook his head fervently, "No no, heart sparks are more than that! They're your asola reaching out, transferring mooter into meeter, cer valooing serfala bosavo--"
  2419.  
  2420. He stopped, apparently realizing he had become impossible to understand. He shook his head and restarted, "Be good to your asola, and your heart sparks will become great cinder winders! Just like my lovala yup!"
  2421.  
  2422. He pointed at the mighty castle on the other side of the gate, looming and massive. "They're in there, I knows it! That's why I'm here y'know, my Cherri quest! They're a heart sparkler just likes you! Maybe they can tells you how to sparkle real good!"
  2423.  
  2424. [3/5/2018 1:39:46 PM] GM: GM smiles. He had no idea what they were saying, but it was nice to see them try and encourage him regardless. "Alright, alright. I see your point."
  2425.  
  2426. [3/5/2018 1:40:59 PM | Edited 1:41:12 PM] Aeront: "Aha! Yes of course you does! That's 'cause Cherri's the bistest bestest ayup!"
  2427.  
  2428. He raised an open palm, "High fly!"
  2429. [3/5/2018 1:41:18 PM] GM: GM does indeed high five Cherri.
  2430.  
  2431. [3/5/2018 1:45:49 PM | Edited 1:49:48 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): {Thomas decided that now that there were bodies on the ground this was a good time to find out what the hell was going on.
  2432.  
  2433. "So obviously I'm aware of the circumstances surrounding our... mission," he said, approaching the chatting group. "But uh, in the interest of drafting, y'know, a mission statement as it were, something to put up on the website, or maybe a nice banner, a big silken deal, slightly tattered and held by a proud apple-cheeked child with a bandaged head..." Thomas was losing the thread. Oh right. "So anyhow, maybe someone would like to really spell out, for the uninitiated, exactly why we're promoting social upheaval through violent means? Which is a great thing, yeah, no arguments, but uh, just maybe lay out an argument."}
  2434.  
  2435. [3/5/2018 1:46:22 PM] Jan: The super awesome looking wolf guy had picked up the bird. Hmmmm...
  2436.  
  2437. Jan started over to Thanos. "Hey, you did a really great job back there..." She came to a stop, watching Swift. "I know this might sound strange but you remind me of this guy I worked with once, great guy... Got crushed by a museum in some freak accident... Some crazy people set off a bomb in there." She shook her head. "Anyway, you were great and innovative in handing the scientist. I was a little worried to get close."
  2438.  
  2439. [3/5/2018 1:57:57 PM] Star: { Inky had to blink a few times to reorient herself when she realized the battle ended. (Huh, she hasn't been that focused in a fight in a while, normally she avoids direct combat. Too risky.)
  2440. She overheard Thomas and moved over to insert herself in that conversation. "Yea, totally agree with this dude, definitely a good show and I'm all for continuing... but I also think some, ah, focus, might be good. Though," she stops and points at Thomas. "That banner idea? Gets all the style points, sounds excellent." }
  2441.  
  2442. [3/5/2018 1:58:41 PM | Edited 1:58:59 PM] Animorpherv1: & Thanos nodded
  2443.  
  2444. "Thank you. I've had plenty of both time to practice and put that practice into action. You did great yourself. The ability to share one's life force with another isn't something many people know of - or can use successfully. " Thanos stopped for a second, realizing what he had just heard.
  2445.  
  2446. "I've not had many people tell me they remind me of others often, but if that's the way you see it, I'll gladly take it. Do you know what happened there? I hadn't heard of a museum collapse in the area."&
  2447.  
  2448. [3/5/2018 2:03:54 PM] GM: ...For now… There are probably some preparations to be made. I don’t really know what preparations to make, though… I never learned about military magic...
  2449.  
  2450. Hmm... GM thought about it. I could take the time to do a ritual of some sort. Rituals aren’t really something you can do in the middle of combat, but they can be done outside of it...
  2451.  
  2452. ...Maybe I could do a summoning ritual of some sort… I have some understanding of how summoning magic works… And rituals are something I know a bit about...
  2453.  
  2454. ...Well, time to get to work.
  2455.  
  2456. GM: By performing a ritual, attempt to summon a basic familiar.
  2457.  
  2458. [3/5/2018 2:45:28 PM | Edited 3:01:48 PM] Jan: & Jan leaned over and took the quiver spear out of the inventory and put her rusty sword in.
  2459.  
  2460. "Oh, uh, yeah. It didn't happen around here. I'm from fairly far away. But I'm not outside the bounds of the game like this friend I have. I'm just me, really. Trying to make this work well like everyone else here." She grinned. "That was the first time I was able to share mana with anyone. It was a good feeling! The feeling of being useful is something I strive for." &
  2461.  
  2462. [3/5/2018 3:00:59 PM | Edited 3:01:23 PM] [VIOLET]: "Ohhhh... this is just too much for the start of the day." Campi took a squat, one hand rubbing her temple... Just this morning, she was taking the pumpkin bread out of the oven and racing her dad around the inn replacing linens, and now-- she heard that hot dog guy somewhere in the far reaches of her attention-- yes, she was patching up rebels on a quest for social upheaval. It was like the start of a movie...
  2463.  
  2464. ...Well. Just like a long workday on the holidays, she just had to buckle up, keep her back straight, and roll with the punches. Smiling softly, she imagined her dad squatting next to her like they did at the steps to the back door on a lunch break, helping her practice quick spells. 'Like 'dat, Campi, yeah. Don't focus so much on 'da weaving as much as you do what it means 'tyou. Got it?'
  2465.  
  2466. ...Man. She'd never been alone like this before.
  2467.  
  2468. >Campanula spends 1 SP on a new skill.
  2469.  
  2470. [3/5/2018 4:05:02 PM | Edited 4:05:09 PM] Animorpherv1: & Game? This was no game. Nonetheless, through his experience with Lys and Campi, Thanos had come to realize that it's best to let people like Jan believe what they wish. It wasn't going to harm anyone, after all.
  2471.  
  2472. "Either way, you're proficient at what you do and have some other useful skills. I'm sure you'll find a place to be, no matter where you go or what you choose to do. That's a blessing that not many others are allowed to have by itself." &
  2473.  
  2474. [3/5/2018 4:09:21 PM] Dianna: “Reading? I do try to read, but it’s hard to not be caught reading during a shift. Not that that matters any more, I guess... Um, do you know the title of this book? I’d like to read that later, if I get the chance.”
  2475.  
  2476. [3/5/2018 4:11:40 PM] Brooklynn: “You’re still trying to read during shifts? Come on Dianna, I thought you’d know better that that after you were disciplined again a week ago.”
  2477.  
  2478. [3/5/2018 4:12:53 PM] Dianna: “Weren’t you the one who got bored and started sneaking out those romance novels in the first place?”
  2479.  
  2480. [3/5/2018 4:13:55 PM] Aeront: "OoooooooOOOOOooooo!" Cherri gasped, moving his eyes between the two guards, an 'oh-no-she-didn't' look of enjoyment.
  2481.  
  2482. [3/5/2018 4:14:17 PM] Brooklynn: “...uh, kid? What was your name, Eliora? Do me a favor and pretend you didn’t hear that.”
  2483.  
  2484. [3/5/2018 4:16:15 PM] Swift: & “Krkrkrkr”
  2485. (Thanks for getting me food)
  2486. “Kririen kriiiiie”
  2487. (I wouldn’t know what a “museum” is so whatever) &
  2488.  
  2489. [3/5/2018 4:17:40 PM] Mirk: Eliora laughed a little and smiled. "Come on, it's okay, romance stories are fine, if you like them. But if you insist, I guess I'll try to forget it." Eliora winked and laughed. "Oh, and Dianna, the book was called Key to the Earth, I think. It's cool that you both like reading, though!"
  2490.  
  2491. [3/5/2018 4:19:20 PM] Aeront: "Reading sounds berangle!" the boy agreed. "It'd be great if Cherri knew how, but whoops whaaps, oh well! Romance though is aaaaaalways smiles!" He gave two big thumbs-up.
  2492.  
  2493. [3/5/2018 4:20:15 PM] Mirk: "Huh? You don't know how to read?" Eliora looked confused. "Didn't you ever have school?"
  2494.  
  2495. [3/5/2018 4:20:53 PM | Edited 4:22:29 PM] Jan: & Jan continued to look at Swift. "My Aunt had a bird that mimicked speech one time. But I think this one is waaaay more useful for combat. Glad to have you aboard! And don't worry about it, museums aren't really super relevant here anyway." &
  2496.  
  2497. [3/5/2018 4:23:11 PM] Aeront: "Pfff, patooie no!" he said with a shake of his head and a laugh. "Cherri probably too bit-byte for schaaling anyway, hehehe. Sounds fun though!"
  2498.  
  2499. [3/5/2018 4:23:53 PM] Mirk: "Hmm- Do you want to learn? I could try teaching you, maybe."
  2500.  
  2501. [3/5/2018 4:26:31 PM] Aeront: The boy's bright eyes widened. "Woahs, really!? Wowie wow pretty lady, that'd--"
  2502.  
  2503. He stopped, shaking his head a bit. "No no wait, can'ts be doing that! I've got me Cherri quest, yup yup! I have to find my lovala, that's why I'm Cherri yeah! I can't spend winks word-birding until I've found them!"
  2504.  
  2505. [3/5/2018 4:26:47 PM | Edited 4:26:52 PM] Animorpherv1: & Thanos turns his head for a second and realizes that Campi had been fighting with them this entire time. He had guessed in the back of his mind with the quotes from the back, but the fact that she was here put a smile to his face. But where was Lys?
  2506.  
  2507. "Jan, would you like to come with me? It turns out a friend of mine is here, and I'd like to greet her." &
  2508.  
  2509. [3/5/2018 4:27:12 PM] Aeront: ...He hesitated.
  2510.  
  2511. "But... maybe a Romeo-ants story or two, real quick-quack?"
  2512.  
  2513. [3/5/2018 4:28:01 PM] Jan: & She nodded. "Oh yeah, sure thing!" &
  2514.  
  2515. [3/5/2018 4:29:44 PM] Mirk: "Hmm- I don't know, I could read you some stories sometime, if I had a book, but learning to read is usually harder. But we can try! I just don't have any books with me." Eliora looked to Brooklyn and Dianna. "Do they have a library in the castle?"
  2516.  
  2517. [3/5/2018 4:30:27 PM] Animorpherv1: & "Follow me." Thanos spoke, and moved off with Swift towards Campi, and began to speak.
  2518.  
  2519. "Lys would be proud, Campi. You did well." Thanos spoke in a more relaxed fashion than he had been previously. "Speaking of which, where's Lys? Strange to see you here, but not him." &
  2520.  
  2521. [3/5/2018 4:34:23 PM] Dianna: “There is one, but the closest thing to anything enjoyable to read are the books about the Guard’s military history. The rest is mostly dry, technical books.”
  2522.  
  2523. [3/5/2018 4:35:54 PM] Brooklynn: “We got our definitely non-romance books from outside the Castle.”
  2524.  
  2525. [3/5/2018 4:36:39 PM] Aeront: "Booo, history bibstory, good stories are heart stories!"
  2526.  
  2527. [3/5/2018 4:45:01 PM] Mirk: "Hmm. Well I don't think I could go home and get any books before anything happened here... Sorry, Cherri. Maybe we'll be able to find something to read somewhere in the castle. And you said military history books? I've heard some stories about legendary heroes from long ago that were part of the Guard. Does it have anything about people like that?"
  2528.  
  2529. [3/5/2018 4:49:36 PM] Aeront: "Aaaah that's okie dokie, books aren't very excooting anyway!"
  2530.  
  2531. [3/5/2018 4:55:10 PM] [VIOLET]: & "Oh, Thanos- and Jan! Hello-" Campi quickly stood back up, shaking sand from her dress. "You think? I was shaking almost 'tha whole time, honest... That won't do at all. And... ah..."
  2532.  
  2533. Her eyes shifted to the side, narrowing as a shadow of worry passed over her features. "I... don't know. He went inta' 'tha crowd when things started heating up- one of his friends got hurt- and 'tha last thing I saw was he got dragged off... Yellin' at me t'not follow him."
  2534.  
  2535. "I wasn't about to just sit idle and man the inn, though-" She pulled the sides of her apron up, returning her gaze to the two with a determined look. "-even if my daddy had stayed inside, he still woulda gone this way to help. So I'm filling in for 'tha both of us!" &
  2536.  
  2537. [3/5/2018 4:58:59 PM] Star: Inky looked over from her place in the group at the mention of books. "A library? Even history books have some good stories in them."
  2538.  
  2539. [3/5/2018 5:02:46 PM] Aeront: "Oh?" Cherri said, attention peaked again. "Good read-writes, even in the dusty durren? Bah, but everyone in before-times is cafooey! Can't be that good, they're not even here anymores, nope!"
  2540.  
  2541. [3/5/2018 5:04:35 PM] Star: She looked at him for a long moment. "Uh... um... yea that's true I guess, but that doesn't mean they didn't live some good stories."
  2542. Inky shrugged. "Also, most history books aren't that accurate anyways, so the boring parts get lost in the legends."
  2543.  
  2544. [3/5/2018 5:05:27 PM] Aeront: "Ooooo, legends! Those sound bara-para! Hearts and swords and feelings!"
  2545.  
  2546. [3/5/2018 5:06:14 PM] Star: "Yes! I think all those words you said are positive! So yes!"
  2547.  
  2548. [3/5/2018 5:09:22 PM | Edited 5:10:01 PM] Animorpherv1: & "There's no doubt in my mind. Lys is a strong man, surely, but also a gentle soul and enjoyed watching your growth into the person you are today."
  2549.  
  2550. Hearing that Lys had been taken away was a shock to Thanos. His ever-stoic face darkened for a second.
  2551. "He did? That surprises even me. Consider me by your side at all times. If you need me, call for me and I'll be there. The both of you have done so much for me that this is the least I could do for you."
  2552.  
  2553. Thanos paused for a second before continuing
  2554. "And the fact that you're fighting for two people makes your work even more impressive. Don't doubt yourself." &
  2555.  
  2556. [3/5/2018 5:19:12 PM] [VIOLET]: & "Thank you, sir. It means a lot... This is all so scary, running straight for the Castle like this... but I'll do my best! I'll be keeping a good eye on everyone. It's a little hard, but it's not so bad with friends, I think."
  2557.  
  2558. She gave the two in front of her a bright smile- then, searching for something to change the subject, her attention found Thomas again.
  2559.  
  2560. "So who's that guy? He looks, uh, lost." &
  2561.  
  2562. [3/5/2018 5:24:25 PM | Edited 5:24:33 PM] Animorpherv1: & Thanos nodded and smiled back. It's moments like this that made everything else worth it.
  2563.  
  2564. "I... don't know. Although I believe he lost the memo on why we're here. Maybe we should clue him in." &
  2565.  
  2566. [3/5/2018 6:05:42 PM | Edited 6:05:56 PM] Aeront: [ "Psst, Ms. Camponi!" Cherri 'whispered' to Campi (a stage whisper more like) from directly behind her. "Ms. Camponi!! I have something a biiiigbo to fiddle-wind you!" ]
  2567.  
  2568. [3/5/2018 6:52:03 PM] [VIOLET]: [ "-hm?" The innkeeper looked around, then turned-- it took her a half second to finally look down, too used to Thanos' height to level her head right away. "Oh, Cherri! Yes, what's up?" ]
  2569.  
  2570. [3/5/2018 6:53:04 PM | Edited 6:54:26 PM] Aeront: [ "No no, it's a husher! Come down here, come down!" he said in his loud whisper, looking around as if trying to make sure they're not overheard. ]
  2571.  
  2572. [3/5/2018 6:55:11 PM | Edited 6:56:14 PM] Animorpherv1: [ Thanos blinked a couple of times. He was never good with kids, and being around them was always flustering
  2573.  
  2574. "I.. uh.. if I need to go..."]
  2575.  
  2576. [3/5/2018 6:59:51 PM] [VIOLET]: [ "Ohh, it's fine." Campi tilted her head at Thanos, then dropped gently to a half-squat, setting both hands on her knees. She whispered back: "Okay, okay. How about now?" ]
  2577.  
  2578. [3/5/2018 7:00:37 PM] Aeront: [ The boy looked both ways one more time, took a deep breath... ]
  2579.  
  2580. [3/5/2018 7:01:06 PM] Aeront: [ And gave Campi a peck on the cheek. ]
  2581.  
  2582. [3/5/2018 7:01:42 PM | Edited 7:01:56 PM] Aeront: [ "Thank you for watch-worrying me! It's boba to be loved!" He smiled happily, giving her the biggest hug his small arms could muster. ]
  2583.  
  2584. [3/5/2018 7:03:04 PM] Aeront: [ With his task completed, Cherri released the innkeeper, a happy giggle as he took a step back. "I was just fauxin' 'bout the secrey-beeky stuff by the by, hahaha, Cherri has no secrets, not a one nope!" ]
  2585.  
  2586. [3/5/2018 7:07:35 PM] Swift: [ “iiiii, kriiie”
  2587. (What’s with this kid) ]
  2588.  
  2589. [3/5/2018 7:09:11 PM] Aeront: [ He turned to the bird, not missing a beat,
  2590. "skraaaa karooo!"
  2591. (There's noata 'with' me, zobaba!) ]
  2592.  
  2593. [3/5/2018 7:10:34 PM] [VIOLET]: [ "Oh!" Campi flushed a bit, surprised, then let out a light laugh- "Aw, you're welcome! It's important for everyone to watch over each other in dangerous times- my daddy taught me that. Really, be careful out there though, okay? Nothing good will come out of being too reckless." ]
  2594.  
  2595. [3/5/2018 7:11:39 PM] Aeront: [ "Oh piddle puddle!" Cherri scoffed, "Long as I can still wiggle, I'm all baroop!" ]
  2596.  
  2597. [3/5/2018 7:11:59 PM] Animorpherv1: [ Thanos smiles
  2598.  
  2599. "What did I say, Campi. People appreciate your work."]
  2600.  
  2601. [3/5/2018 7:12:09 PM] Swift: [ “RRRRRR”
  2602. (WHAT THE) ]
  2603.  
  2604. [3/5/2018 8:08:14 PM] Dianna: "There's actually not a lot of names given in those history books. It's more of a summary of major military conflicts the Guard has been in the last few decades. There was one name that appeared a lot, though..."
  2605.  
  2606. [3/5/2018 8:08:15 PM] Brooklynn: "Commander Teal, right? A lot of people were talking about her when we were going through initial training, I remember that much. She's some sort of legendary fighter, fought off a whole navy by herself or something..."
  2607.  
  2608. [3/5/2018 8:09:57 PM] Dianna: "She was defending a Guard encampment on a peninsula about five years ago from a navy force about a thousand strong. Even though her forces were outnumbered four to one, she was still able to defeat them."
  2609.  
  2610. [3/5/2018 8:10:38 PM] Brooklynn: "...I really hope we don't end up fighting her."
  2611.  
  2612. [3/5/2018 8:14:16 PM] Mirk: "Yeah... Four to one? A thousand enemies?? That's amazing! And she's here? That's pretty scary to think about. Maybe we could try and convince her to join us? But it sounds like she's been with the Guard a long time... But maybe that means she knows that the Guard has gotten worse over the years. Well, I suppose it's not worth worrying about until we know if we have to face her."
  2613.  
  2614. [3/5/2018 10:05:42 PM | Edited 10:05:58 PM] Animorpherv1: % Thanos walked away from the group without more than a silent nod, and made his way over to Thomas. The poor guy had been waiting for a legitimate response for some time.
  2615.  
  2616. "If you're looking for a real response, I can give you one. But I'm warning you now, it won't be pretty."%
  2617.  
  2618. [3/5/2018 10:06:43 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): %"Well that's, uh, ominous. But uh, lay it on me, I can take it."%
  2619.  
  2620. [3/5/2018 10:16:01 PM | Edited 11:02:00 PM] Animorpherv1: % Thanos sighed and thought for a while, the losses he had incurred up to this point bubbling to the forefront of his mind like a pot of water that had reached boiling point.
  2621.  
  2622. "I'm here because I've been given no other choice. I can't run any longer. My father and mother... gone. My sister... missing. My brothers have long since fled. I'll spare you the details, it's several years worth. They've long since claimed best interests but have been nothing but a ploy. I intend to put an end to this. Whatever it takes." %
  2623.  
  2624. [3/5/2018 10:44:37 PM] Samuel Kim#7885 on Discord.: One moment, the traveling musician was fighting, almost leading a revolution!
  2625.  
  2626. ...The next he was not.
  2627.  
  2628. The heat of battle, the rush of combat...it was new, it was different, it was blindingly fast. So many foes to slay, so many allies to get to know...
  2629.  
  2630. There was only so much time. So much time to reflect...
  2631.  
  2632. The man sits down on the dirt, shuts his eyes, and focuses.
  2633.  
  2634. 1 SP, learn a skill.
  2635.  
  2636. [3/5/2018 10:56:55 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): %"...Huh." Thomas was not good at dealing with genuine emotional backstory. He wasn't entirely sure this satisfied his question, without the salient details he didn't know exactly how to shake a fist at, but the wolfman didn't seem to want to elaborate. He opted for a hopefully comforting shoulder-pat and the words "That's pretty rough, sorry to hear that man."
  2637.  
  2638. Should he give a thumbs up? No, that would be stupid.
  2639.  
  2640. He offered the wolfman a thumbs up. It was stupid.%
  2641. [3/5/2018 11:04:05 PM | Edited 11:10:17 PM] Nick Moore (Eliot Fairbanks): Thomas elected to return his attention to his craft. He remembered the last thing his father had told him before leaving for work on the day he died-
  2642.  
  2643. "The dog peed the rug, Thomas, get in here and clean it up."
  2644.  
  2645. He remembered the second-to-last thing his father had told him before leaving for work on the day he died-
  2646.  
  2647. "I sure hope I don't get crushed by a falling tree."
  2648.  
  2649. Thomas reflected on his father's uncanny ability to tempt fate as he focused on his stale ration. His aim was to tap into the magical heritage that ran through his veins as the descendant of the greatest hot-dog-themed mages in the county. He focused on turning this stale ration into an honest-to-Tempest hot dog. Through MAGIC.
  2650.  
  2651. He also spent 1 SP for a new Skill and grabbed the three Stale Rations from the Reserve Inventory.
  2652.  
  2653. [3/5/2018 11:34:58 PM | Edited 11:35:09 PM] Animorpherv1: % "I appreciate your support. It's nice to hear."
  2654.  
  2655. Thanos then smiled at Thomas' gesture. The man may be somewhat misguided, being here for seemingly no reason at all, but he had a good heart. That was all that mattered.
  2656.  
  2657. "If you want me, I'll be around." He said, then went off to focus on the task at hand.%
  2658.  
  2659. [3/10/2018 9:13:57 AM | Edited 9:14:15 AM] Nicholas1024:
  2660. Alyssa picked a corner and sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees as she rocked back and forth. Blood had soaked through her clothes, and while most of it was hers, it was the part that wasn't that was bothering her. She looked across at the rest of the group. Happy, smiling, joking, as if today was the same as yesterday, as if nobody had died.
  2661.  
  2662. She dropped her rusty sword, eyes dully watching as it clattered to the ground, dried blood mixing in with the dirt. She'd killed. Or if she hadn't, it wasn't for lack of trying. She tried to tell herself that she was only defending herself, that surely the Castle Low captain and mad scientist deserved it, but somehow it just didn't quite matter. They were human, they were friends, they were quite possibly in love, just doing their jobs, and now they were dead.
  2663.  
  2664. Maybe this is just what war really is.
  2665.  
  2666. Spend 1 SP on a skill
  2667.  
  2668. [3/10/2018 10:17:42 AM] Mirk: "Well, it was nice talking to you, and I'm looking forward to working with you!" With that, Eliora thought about all that stuff they had gathered. The better sword and the shield and stuff had been taken. There were some binoculars, and a banner, and a spear... Huh, banners sometimes were on spears. Like a standard bearer thing. Ooh, what if she made one of those and used it? It would be a pretty heroic looking thing, the banner of the resistance against the guard, held aloft at the head of the charge... Of course! Eliora got started on her little project.
  2669. Eliora retrieves from the Reserve and attaches the Banner of the Resistance to the Simple Spear, using a Bandage roll for tying them together if necessary.
  2670.  
  2671. [3/10/2018 10:25:43 AM] Aeront: Cherri: Search for a lucky charm or trinket, something to bring good luck.
  2672.  
  2673. [3/10/2018 10:34:12 AM] Star: Inky: search for some knives, put sword and shield in group storage if she finds anything
  2674.  
  2675. [3/10/2018 10:43:37 AM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa: Swap out rusty sword in inventory for flintlock pistol in reserve inventory.
  2676.  
  2677. [3/10/2018 11:20:33 AM] Jan: Jan: Attempt to charge mana again in an attempt to get better at it. Channel it into the spear if possible.
  2678.  
  2679. [3/10/2018 12:02:53 PM] Nicholas1024: Alyssa: Tinker with the Cedar Rifle to try to improve it.
  2680.  
  2681. [3/10/2018 12:34:01 PM] Meta: spend sp to acquire skill lol
  2682.  
  2683. [3/10/2018 2:44:02 PM] Sharks: >Yam: Spend 1 SP to acquire a skill and attempt to magically grow some fruit.
  2684.  
  2685. [3:43:14 PM] Tempest:
  2686.  
  2687. ===
  2688.  
  2689. GM spent 1 SP and learned Blazestarter! Not only can this skill take the form of a simple fiery magic spell, burning whatever it touches, but it also increases the lingering damage that GM's burns do over time.
  2690.  
  2691. Étaín deposited her Rusty Sword into the Reserve Inventory and replaced it with the Polished Sword. The fine shine almost seems reassuring, as if she had a truly dependable weapon in her hands now - even if just for a while. She then spend 1 SP and learned the Rush Fury skill, which passively grants an accuracy bonus to melee-range attacks when she is at critical health!
  2692.  
  2693. Thanos looked for food for Swift and came across another Stale Ration. Seems like the options for meals outside these walls are fairly limited... He immediately gave it to Swift, much to the bird's thankfulness. He then placed the Quiver Spear into the Reserve Inventory before picking up the Wooden Shield and taking what used to be the Steel Sword of Gate Guard A, equipping both as his weapons.
  2694. Thanos: Procurement +10 XP
  2695.  
  2696. Thanos LEVELED UP to Lv. 4! Gained 1 SP and 200 maximum HP!
  2697.  
  2698. GM tapped into his mana and attempted to summon a familiar. A circle of magic suddenly appeared in his palm, as a sprout of flame burst to life in it. It seemed to have a pair of button-sized, white-hot eyes that turned and blinked for a few seconds... but upon seeing there was nothing for it to do here, it closed them, and the living ember blinked out of existence. GM might be onto something, though...
  2699.  
  2700. Jan swapped her Rusty Sword for the Quiver Spear in the Reserve Inventory.
  2701.  
  2702. Campanula spent 1 SP and learned Proactive Barrier, allowing her to cast barriers of mana around others with ease! Although they can only block so much damage for just one turn, she will always successfully cast this until her mental condition wears out.
  2703.  
  2704. SBSam spent 1 SP and learned Cruel Glare, allowing him a chance to intimidate enemies just by glaring at them! Doing so will intimidate them and change their behavior, and against weaker opponents, it may even terrify them into being unable to engage at all! But once it's intimidated somebody once, it can't intimidate them again.
  2705.  
  2706. Thomas drew upon magic to morph the composition of his Stale Ration, somehow forming the proteins and carbohydrates into a magically created Hot Dog! It looks tasty, but now that Thomas thinks about it, he's not entirely sure what actually inside that sausage casing...
  2707. Thomas: Craft +10 XP
  2708.  
  2709. Thomas spent 1 SP and learned Frankfurter Craft! This is a unique magical craft that requires at least one carbohydrate-rich ingredient and at least one protein-rich ingredient to generate a Hot Dog. The carb-rich and the protein-rich ingredient are allowed to be the same item.
  2710.  
  2711. Thomas reached for the Stale Rations in the Reserve Inventory, but finds he only has the spare item slots take just one out instead.
  2712.  
  2713. Alyssa spent 1 SP and learned Sniper's Focus! This allows her to assume a shooting stance, giving her an accuracy bonus and resistance against negative status effects until she attacks, loses her grip on her weapon or can't maintain her focus. However, adopting the stance slows her movement and makes it easier for enemies to strike her.
  2714.  
  2715. Eliora took the Simple Spear, Banner of Resistance, and a Bandage Roll from the Reserve Inventory before tying the banner to the spear with the bandages to craft a Speared Rebellion! The added weight of this weaponized flag means the spear needs two hands to wield, but each successful attacks grants a big bonus to Morale - not to mention, simply carrying is still enough to inspire others, just like a normal banner would.
  2716. Eliora: Craft +10 XP
  2717.  
  2718. Cherri searched the area for some sort of good luck charm, but the best he could come up with was a Golden Coin. It's good money, sure, but what on earth would you have to spend it on out here?
  2719. Cherri: Procurement +10 XP
  2720.  
  2721. Inky searched and found a Simple Dagger. Happy with her find, she deposited her Rusty Sword and Wooden Shield into the Reserve Inventory, choosing the wield the dagger instead.
  2722. Inky: Procurement +10 XP
  2723.  
  2724. Alyssa exchanged her Rusty Sword for the Flintlock Pistol in the Reserve Inventory.
  2725.  
  2726. Jan gathered her mana, feeling power swell inside of her before channeling it into her Quiver Spear. The spear began to spark with mana, the crystalline tip glow brightly. Her next attack with the spear will be enhanced with magical damage, but perhaps there's something beyond that...?
  2727.  
  2728. Alyssa tinkered with the parts of her Chestnut Rifle, and after a bit of fidgeting with the parts, she was able to adjusts the gun's sights to better represent the bullet's trajectory, giving her the Honed Chestnut Rifle! This rifle does slightly higher minimum damage, thanks to the more precise aim the improved sights provide.
  2729. Alyssa: Craft +10 XP
  2730.  
  2731. (Meta) spent 1 SP and learned Toxin Resistance, a passive skill that gives him a potent ability to resist both the infliction and damage of poison!
  2732.  
  2733. Yam spent 1 SP and learned Insect Dialogue, allowing her to flawlessk communicate with insects, arachnids and similar creatures! Although the communicaiton may be limited by the creature's intelligence, memory and awareness, it can still be possible to negotiate and persuade smarter bugs.
  2734.  
  2735. Yam tapped into her magic and placed a seed of mana into the earth. The earth accepted the power, and where the seed was planted, a small Crabapple plant sprouted. Yam immediately harvested the plant's singular fruit.
  2736. Yam: Craft +10 XP
  2737.  
  2738. Swift contently ate the Stale Ration that Thanos gave him earlier. It's really nothing appetizing, but it does have meat in the can, and Swift's learned to take protein where he can get it. His maximum HP rose temporarily!
  2739. Swift: Support +10 XP
  2740.  
  2741. Brooklynn took the Wooden Shield from the Reserve Inventory and equipped it alongside her Weighted Blade, forming a blade & shield combination. "We're not charging in there without protection. Or, well, you people can," she remarked, referring to the rest of the Resistance. "I'm sure not going to."
  2742.  
  2743. Dianna withdrew the Binoculars and a Bandage Roll from the Reserve Inventory. "It'll be a good idea to carry these around... who knows what we'll be walking into?"
  2744.  
  2745. ===
  2746.  
  2747. MORALE: 100%
  2748.  
  2749. PLAYERS
  2750.  
  2751. Alyssa - Lv. 3 (XP 273 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2752. Weapon: Honed Chestnut Rifle (ammo: 1/1)
  2753. Skills: Survival Grit, Sniper's Focus, -
  2754. Items: Healing Salve, Flintlock Pistol, -
  2755.  
  2756. Campanula - Lv. 3 (XP 236 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2757. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2758. Skills (1 SP): Proactive Barrier, -, -
  2759. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2760.  
  2761. Cherri - Lv. 4 (XP 153 / 400) - HP 1800 / 1800
  2762. Weapon: Signaling Horn
  2763. Skills (1 SP): Rally Fanfare, Youthful Energy, -
  2764. Items: Rusty Sword, Golden Coin, -
  2765.  
  2766. Eliora - Lv. 3 (XP 254 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2767. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2768. Skills (1 SP): Weaving Blade, -, -
  2769. Items: Speared Rebellion, -, -
  2770.  
  2771. Étaín - Lv. 3 (XP 215 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2772. Weapon: Polished Sword
  2773. Skills: Takedown Edge, Rush Fury, -
  2774. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Simple Dagger
  2775.  
  2776. Fran - Lv. 3 (XP 184 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2777. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2778. Skills (2 SP): -, -, -
  2779. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2780.  
  2781. GM - Lv. 3 (XP 221 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2782. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2783. Skills: Heat Eruption, Blazestarter, -
  2784. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2785.  
  2786. Inky - Lv. 3 (XP 269 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2787. Weapon: Simple Dagger
  2788. Skills (1 SP): Great Declaration, -, -
  2789. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, Flintlock Pistol
  2790.  
  2791. Jan - Lv. 3 (XP 225 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2792. Weapon is flowing with mana, powered up!
  2793. Weapon: Quiver Spear
  2794. Skills (1 SP): Splitting Riser, -, -
  2795. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2796.  
  2797. (Meta) - Lv. 3 (XP 196 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2798. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2799. Skills: Force Defense, Toxin Resistance, -
  2800. Items: Healing Salve, -, -
  2801.  
  2802. SBSam - Lv. 3 (XP 194 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2803. Weapon: -
  2804. Skills (1 SP): Cruel Glare, -, -
  2805. Items: Healing Salve, Rusty Sword, -
  2806.  
  2807. Sock - Lv. 3 (XP 184 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2808. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2809. Skills (2 SP): -, -, -
  2810. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  2811.  
  2812. Thanos - Lv. 4 (XP 7 / 400) - HP 1800 / 1800
  2813. Weapon: Steel Sword & Wooden Shield
  2814. Skills (2 SP): Strain Hold, -, -
  2815. Items: Healing Salve, Linked Fragment, -
  2816.  
  2817. Thomas - Lv. 3 (XP 216 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2818. Weapon: Simple Bow
  2819. Skills: Steady Arrow, Frankfurter Craft, -
  2820. Items: Rusty Sword, Hot Dog, Stale Ration
  2821.  
  2822. Yam - Lv. 3 (XP 226 / 300) - HP 1600 / 1600
  2823. Weapon: Rusty Sword
  2824. Skills: Prayer for Roots, Insect Dialogue, -
  2825. Items: Healing Salve, Crabapple, -
  2826.  
  2827. ALLIES
  2828.  
  2829. Swift - Lv. 4 (XP 22 / 400) - HP 550 / 550
  2830. Stale Ration is boosting Swift's maximum HP!
  2831. He's happy about having just a meal.
  2832. Weapon: Beak and Talon
  2833. Skills (1 SP): Snatching Dive, Scrappy Bird
  2834. Items: Mini Bandanna, -, -
  2835.  
  2836. Brooklynn - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 600 / 600
  2837. She's keeping watch and making sure nobody pulls a fast one on her or Dianna.
  2838. Weapon: Weighted Blade & Wooden Shield
  2839. Items: Coat of Guards, -, -
  2840.  
  2841. Dianna - Lv. 1 (XP 0 / 100) - HP 600 / 600
  2842. Now that she's geared up, she's a little less nervous now.
  2843. Weapon: Flintlock Pistol
  2844. Items: Coat of Guards, Binoculars, Bandage Roll
  2845.  
  2846. ===
  2847.  
  2848. After a bit of grunting and shoving, the Resistance finally pulled open the stone doors to the castle just enough to squeeze through. They stood there for a moment, looking upward to the top of the wall they had just conquered.
  2849.  
  2850. It had just dawned on a number of them that this was a one-way door. Once they pushed themselves through and declared themselves a Resistance against the Castle Low, the door would close. And the jaws of the beast would not be pried open from the inside.
  2851.  
  2852. As Swift chose to simply fly over the wall, Brooklynn sighed. "This was not how I expected to spend today," she mumbled, before finally stepping through the gate. Dianna had to take deep breath to stay confident before walking in as well.
  2853.  
  2854. The rest of the Resistance followed suit. As so began the true assault on the Castle Low, in pursuit of what they held dear to their hearts.
  2855.  
  2856. ---
  2857.  
  2858. Cruz took a snapshot of the carnage in front of them. Hundreds of burnt beetle carcasses, strewn bloodstains on the grass, and three casualties from the Castle Low Guard... but every last member of the Resistance had somehow pushed through.
  2859.  
  2860. "Looks like they even convinced some of the guards to join them instead," Rey mentioned, examining a slash in the dirt from an errant sword strike. "They're doing a far better job than I expected them to."
  2861.  
  2862. "Tell me about it," Cruz mumbled. It had only been about five minutes since the commotion at the Castle's gates has calmed down, and yet this much damage already? Not that she was complaining but...
  2863.  
  2864. The sudden barking of a dog broke Cruz out of her thoughts. "Oh, looks like Charlie found a secret way in!"
  2865.  
  2866. "We'll take our chance to infiltrate now, then," Rey declared. "Tasogare should be able to find her own way in thanks to her skills. Let's take out the Guard's general while they devote all their resources to stopping the Resistance."
  2867.  
  2868. And so, the two mercenaries continued, hidden in the shadows of the Resistance.
  2869.  
  2870. ===
  2871.  
  2872. STAGE 1 COMPLETE
  2873. STANDBY FOR STAGE 2
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