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[Karkov]

   The small company of humans made good progress over the next week, they made most of their progress by night while it was cooler.  The other humans had a rough start at first, they were pretty skeptical about heading back towards Rikuroa.  During the day most of the humans slept, with the exception of the two new Champions.  By day Ustris and Kleine would spar, their bodies seemingly finding energy from nothing.  They used their weapons sparingly during the sparring sessions, the crossbow was innately deadly and the force Ustris could put behind his staff could crack boulders.  Most of their sparring was hand to hand to test the limits of their powers. 

   They noticed quickly that the heat of the day no longer debilitated them, it was as if their bodies no longer felt the extreme heat.  Jeeves was also corect in his estimate, neither of them felt the need to eat or drink more than once a day, and only a small amount each time.  They felt completely comfortable within the desert, but they knew the other humans were suffering.  Kleine kept pressing them daily, trying desperately to get them somewhere where their lives wouldn't be in danger.

   After a week, Jeeves reported to them that their mana circuits had expanded enough for both of them to use weak magic.  They'd have to learn how to manipulate the circuits and expel mana though, and even with training that took more time still.  He estimated that he could possibly do it within another week if they focused completely on the task.

   On the eighth day, Ustris was approached by one of the members of the group.  "Uh... E-excuse me, Ustris... I was wonder- well a couple of us were wondering, uh... Would you train us?"

   "I'm sorry?"  Kleine looked over, surprised.  None of the group had talked to Ustris since they had become Champions, let alone asked him for anything.

   "Well...  A couple of us have watched you and the miss," his head nodded towards Kleine, "and we'd like to be able to help if it comes down to it."

   Ustris looked at Kleine, shrugged, "It would be fine with me, we still need to travel at night, we might need to get more water if you decide to do this."

   "We're pretty determined sir, some of the boys have already started, but we're more used to shovels and pickaxes.  These swords feel strange to us."

   "If I may interject sire, I have experience in the art of swordfighting.  Of course, it was my previous host who used it, I will have to convert the knowledge to your own physiology.  You should be able to proceed, if you wish so, by tomorrow at the latest."


   Ustris rubbed his chin, if he didn't have to guard these humans  at all times it would leave him free to do as he pleased, also if he decided to start an army this would be a great start.  "Fine, we'll begin training you.  You'll follow our rules, and you'll need to find more water along the way."

   "Yes sir!  Thank you so much!"  With that, the human ran back towards a group of humans that had been hanging back, a couple of hushed whispers and short cheers later, they were stepping with a quicker pace than usual.

   Ustris shook his head, small gestures such as this made them so happy.  Humans really were in a tight spot, weren't they?

   The second week went slightly slower than the first, after the group woke up, those who wished to learn were taught how to use their weapons.  They had absolutely no experience with weapons, as slaves they had never been allowed to touch anything longer than a belt knife, but they were quick learners.  Within the next week they had learned enough to be able to defend themselves from the smaller predators of the wastes, they weren't soldiers yet, but they could defend themselves if need be.

   At the end of the second week, Kleine saw something odd to the west during their daily sparring session.  It appeared to be a small village, but no movement or smoke was seen coming from that direction at all.  There also had been no lights from that direction the night before.  "Ustris, what do you make of that?"

   "I have no idea... Do you want to take a look around?"


OOC:  Gonna be posting the stat sheet on the next update, I think I finally got it to the point where I'm happy about it.  Traveling is much harder to write than action, have to admit.

[The Froggy Ninja]

((How far along are we in our magics?))

[Lyeos]

Indeed! But, be cautious, as nobody wants a Shadar Logoth.

[Karkov]

Indeed! But, be cautious, as nobody wants a Shadar Logoth.

((oh god i wasn't even thinking about that but now I have to do it you've doomed us all you fool

... Heheh, nah.  Still, haven't ripped off WoT yet, I think I might do that next. ))

((How far along are we in our magics?))

((We'd need to spend an entire week of travel dedicated to straight magic development instead of sparring and we'd be able to start casting magic.  The mana circuits have been developed enough for us to use them, but we have practically no idea on how to cast magic.  It's sort of like riding a bike, once you learn how to do it it's easy, but it takes a while to learn how to do it in the first place. 

Casting magic itself is like doing tricks on the bike, but we have a really good teacher.  After we gain control of our mana circuits it'll probably be a day or two of study to cast magic (the spells you have learned at the time anyway.  After a while you can experiment with magic and learn your own spells but you'll have to have a good foundation to do that).  Rough estimate, if we do magic training instead of sparring the rest of the way towards Rikuroa we'd have a small arsenal at our disposal.  No matter what you choose though, the group of humans along with you are getting trained.))

[The Froggy Ninja]

Indeed! But, be cautious, as nobody wants a Shadar Logoth.

I don't know what that is.
LEARN ALL THE MAYICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Karkov]

   Kleine began heading towards the village, crossbow at the ready.  Curiosity drove her forward, why would anyone build a village out here?  Wouldn't the sand cover everything, what foundation was there to build on?  Ustris was just as curious himself, there would have been no way for a village to sustain itself out here.  Even golem-like races such as the Skrellits had to have some sort of sustenance occasionally.  Even this architecture was different than what he had seen from the Skrellits before.

   Entering the village reaffirmed their earlier assumptions, the entire village had been deserted for some number of years.  The walls of the buildings had been made of some sort of stone, not the usual adobe used by the Skrellits.  Everywhere they looked was steeped in sand, no footprints were visible but their own.  Most of the buildings were completely bare, furniture had been removed long ago, only small metal trinkets littered the floor in some buildings.  Most of the structures were only family homes, nothing of any real interest in them.  After a small search however they found a small building with what appeared to be the ruins of a smithy.  The forge outside had been worn down by time and the elements, but the inside had been protected in the same strange fashion that the rest of the village had been.  Ustris poked his head in, having to do a double-take at what he found.

   Inside was a room completely full of metal objects made by the smith, still in pristine condition.  There were a small number of swords resting in a stone pot to one side of the shop, along with a small number of spears somehow still resting against a wall.

   "Why didn't any of this rust... or even show some slight amount of decay over the years?"

   "Ustris, what if the same preservation techniques that had been used on the books back in the mountain had been used on these?"

   "That's possible, magic seems to have much more variety than we thought it to have."

   "Hm... Wait, what's in the back room over there?"  Kleine poked her head through the door.  "Ustris... You might be interested in this."

   Ustris walked over to get a look himself, his eyes brightening as he entered the room.  Inside the room were two wooden mannequins, one of them wearing a bright, ornate chestpiece.  It seemed to be made of steel, but he wasn't quite sure.  The other was a fine leather tunic, elegant but hardened to a point where it could turn a knife from a street thug.

   "Ustris... I think these were made for us..."

   "How would that even be possible?  And even if it were possible, doesn't this seem a little too convenient?"

   "Whatever, I'm taking that tunic.  You can have that gaudy piece of metal."  Kleine had moved towards the mannequins while she was talking and had been removing the chestpiece from it's stand.  When she was done she threw it at Ustris.  "Now shoo, I need to change."

   "Fine, fine.  I like this thing too much to argue with you anyway.  And it is not gaudy."  Ustris stepped out of the room, undoing the straps on the back of the chestpiece as he went.  After some finagling he had it strapped to himself, it being somehow a perfect fit.  "This makes no sense, there's no way this was chance."

   "Whatever it is, I'm glad I finally got a change of clothes."  Kleine emerged from the back room, the tunic fit her just as perfectly as his chestpiece had.  "I have to admit, this is extremely comfortable."

   "It doesn't look half-bad either."

   "... Was that a compliment?  You need to work on your flattering skills."

   "I'll keep that in mind.  Seeing how this used to be a village, there has to be a source of water around here.  Let's see if there's a well ne-"  A snarling figure interrupted him, tackling him to the ground.  Before he could shift himself to grab it, it went limp.  He shoved the furry thing off of him and got a better look.  A desert wolf, larger than any he had seen before.  A bolt was protruding from it's head.

   "You can thank me later, there's more."  Kleine pulled back the draw string and fitted another bolt into the crossbow.  Ustris pulled himself back up and grabbed his staff from where it had fallen, readying himself for the next charge.

   Kleine loosed her next bolt as another wolf had appeared down an alleyway.  The bolt pierced its neck, scaring it off to where it limped away to bleed to death.  Two more wolves charged Ustris, he cracked one's skull with his staff the instant it was near enough.  The second lunged at his throat but he was able to get his arm up in time.  The wolf bit down hard on his arm, though its' jaws were nothing compared to Kleine's fists when they were sparring.  He brought his knee up into the torso of the wolf, where he could hear multiple cracks.  The wolf immediately let go of its hold and staggered away, slumping down behind a building a couple of meters away.

   Nothing else was moving, and the sound of sand being disturbed receded, the other wolves were fleeing with most of their pack dead to their would-be prey.

Spoiler: Stat Sheet (click to show/hide)

Kleine

STR:   3 / ??
AGI:   9 / ??
CON:   4 / ??
WIS:   4 / ??
INT:   8 / ??
CHA:   8 / ??

Ustris

STR:   9 / ??
AGI:   4 / ??
CON:   8 / ??
WIS:   7 / ??
INT:   5 / ??
CHA:   3 / ??

Crossbow

SPD:   1
POW:   1
PRC:   1

Effects:
None

Crystal Staff

SPD:   1
POW:   1
PRC:   1

Effects:
None

OOC:  Woo, armor!  Armor also has a mechanic like the weapons, however you'll have to get Shards for that to work.  Speaking of which, both you and the weapons have leveled up.

For the weapons you will need to specify if you want them to pack a larger punch (POW), be able to be swung faster (SPD), or pierce armor easier (PRC, it's something that you'll have to worry about later).  You may also designate a special effect on them (such as Kleine's crossbow generating its' own bolts).  For the characters, you can either put three points into their stats or add a special effect (which can be mutations such as wings if you really want it to be, although major mutations (such as wings) will only be available after Jeeves has completely acclimated to your biology.  Major mutations also make it harder to earn the loyalty and trust of humans, which will possibly be a factor later, dependent upon you guys).

Also, do I have a general consensus to start magic training?  I know at least 50% of you are interested in it.

EDIT:  Dammit, I forgot to put skills in on the stat sheet, that'll happen later then.

[Lyeos]

Add that bolt thing that was mentioned!
Make the staff better at penetrating armor, as odd as that sounds!

Hmm... I dunno about the stats.
For magic... Hmm..

For Kleine:
2 Wisdom, 1 Constitution

For Ustris:
1 Charisma, 1 Strength, and 1 Agility.

Yes to magic training!

I'm surprised more people aren't participating. And disturbed. It's quite good.

Oh, as there are weapons there, take them to the group. Backups are good, and if more people are armed, it could be useful.

[Karkov]

-snip-

((The stats are subject to change, any levelups done will retroactively change if I do decide to change it.  Right now it's mainly a reflection of the attributes they've shown throughout the story insofar.  Magic will be based off of INT, WIS, and CON (as odd as that sounds, though it should sort of make sense to you WoT fans). 

As to the whole people playing part, it's fine.  I don't know how well I'd be able to write this with tons of people playing.   More manageable this way.))

[The Froggy Ninja]

Crossbow:Bolt generation
Staff: The ability to write runes (without a surface if necessary)
Ustris: Advanced Eyesight (low light vision, expanded spectrum basically mantis shrimp eyes but human looking)
Kleine: +3 AGI

[Karkov]

((So the bolt generation is in, that was decided rather easily.  As a sort of explanation to the armor piercing on the staff, it'll add the points to the end of the staff, and increase the area of impact without changing the aesthetics of the staff itself (the points will come in, width of the staff won't change).  Basically the difference of being hit with a small house hammer and a sledgehammer.  It'll do more internal damage and people encased in armor get rung like a bell.

I like the staff writing runes thing, but I'll do a coin-toss unless you two decide it out yourselves (or a third party steps in).

I think I'm going to hold off on the eye mutations, we don't necessarily need it right now.  Hasn't been a lot of low light. 

With Kleine... I sort of like Lyeos' more, since it buffs some of her weaker stats.  I'll probably coin-toss it too.))

EDIT:  I might add three more stats to their base just because.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that Ustris has been pretty charismatic, mainly just cynical and moody.  Kleine's slightly stronger than her stats put her at too...  Hrm...

[The Froggy Ninja]

((So the bolt generation is in, that was decided rather easily.  As a sort of explanation to the armor piercing on the staff, it'll add the points to the end of the staff, and increase the area of impact without changing the aesthetics of the staff itself (the points will come in, width of the staff won't change).  Basically the difference of being hit with a small house hammer and a sledgehammer.  It'll do more internal damage and people encased in armor get rung like a bell.

I like the staff writing runes thing, but I'll do a coin-toss unless you two decide it out yourselves (or a third party steps in).

I think I'm going to hold off on the eye mutations, we don't necessarily need it right now.  Hasn't been a lot of low light. 

With Kleine... I sort of like Lyeos' more, since it buffs some of her weaker stats.  I'll probably coin-toss it too.))

EDIT:  I might add three more stats to their base just because.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that Ustris has been pretty charismatic, mainly just cynical and moody.  Kleine's slightly stronger than her stats put her at too...  Hrm...

So what? Just because the hasn't been low light doesn't mean there won't be. Plus there is no time when infrared vision isn't useful. Also as for the coin flip in the case of ties the GM usually makes the call with the choice xe likes.

[Karkov]

   Ustris looked at the teeth marks left on his arm, blood trickled from the wound.  "Hm... I wonder if it will get infected."

   "No sire, I've already flushed your system of any toxins and strengthened your immune system to deal with simple diseases.  Poisons would be a different matter if injected or ingested.  I feel as though I must bring it to your attentions that I am confident enough to begin changing your bodies and facilitating your growths."

   "Change our bodies?  As in change around what's currently there, or improve?"


   "Both,  actually.  I can enhance your current physical and mental attributes, or I can change a pre-existing body part into an enhanced form.  I can also make additions to your body if you so choose.  I have to leave a warning about additions however, adding anything to your body will take an extreme amount of energy, it will also make you unique from other humans.  I'm can't be certain of the reactions other humans would have if, say for instance, your legs suddenly became that of a centaur's.  It would be shocking for them at minimum."

   "What if we wanted to simply enhance what is already there?"  Kleine had begun gathering the spears that were leaning against the wall of the smithy, tearing off a piece of fabric from her discarded clothing and bound them all together.

   "Child's play Madame, though I can only alter so much at one time, I will have to reacclimate myself to your enhanced bodies attributes, as you will yourselves."

   "So you could make me agile like Kleine, or make Kleine as strong as me."  Ustris had grabbed the barrel of swords.  He hefted it with one arm and was ready to leave at a moment's notice.

   "Possibly I could make you exceed each other in those respects.  I could also make Kleine even more agile than she is now, or I could eventually make you strong enough to lift the entirety of the smithy that you currently stand in.  I can also improve your mental attributes as I've said before."

   "Mental attributes?"

   "As Ustris is older than you, he is able to see things faster that would take you longer.  Your brain is more accepting than Ustris' however, you remember information as though it were etched upon your very brain.  I can simulate the wisdom that age brings inside your minds, you will be able to see the end result of something much quicker.  The same with your recall of knowledge.  It would also be possible for me to alter your natural magnitude to those whom you interact with, allowing you to be generally more charismatic."

   Ustris pondered this, he hadn't considered the implications of having his mental faculties enhanced, or having a major physical change.  No wonder Gilgamesh had said they could kill one of the Gods, these Shards were incredible!  "Can you make more than one change at once?"

   "To your pre-existing attributes, yes.  I can change three things minimally at once, or two with one attribute being dominant, or one attribute largely."

   "Go ahead and enhance my speed, my power, and my charisma."

   "Understood, sire."

   "I'd like for you to make me faster."  Ustris looked a Kleine, surprised at her choice.  He was certain she was going to make herself more wise, she had great recall but didn't follow through the thought all the way to the end.  What was she doing?

   "Understood, madame.  Is there anything else you wish of me before I make these changes?"

   "No, but be ready to teach us magic when you're through.  I'm eager to see what all we can do."

   "Very well.  I will be done with the changes in your attributes by tomorrow morning, It will take roughly a week for me to teach you to effectively exude mana from your circuits.  For most cases, this takes roughly two months, possibly longer.  You will find that I am an excellent instructor however.  Oh, yes, I- very well I wi- yes, yes I understand.  Now woul- SHUT UP!!"

   Ustris and Kleine looked at each other, had Jeeves gone mad?  "Uh, Jeeves, are you alright?"

   "Yes, quite, excuse the outburst.  The Shards in your weapons would like to tell you that they are also ready to upgrade.  The noisy blighters wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise.  Dreadfully sorry."

   "Oh?  What all can they do?"

   "Your staff is convinced he can make himself more... 'Massfull,' increasing the weight behind your swings while remaining the same weight to you.  He also assures me that he can make himself lighter to you, allowing you to swing faster.  There's something else that he's blithering on about, apparently allowing you to hit a larger surface without him changing size, possibly gaining pointed ends for, I quote, 'stabbing those tin cans where it hurts.'  He also says that if you wish it, he will try to acquiesce to your wishes."

   "What about my crossbow?"

   "She says that she can shoot quarrels with a larger punch, if you wish.  Also that she can alter the speed at which the bolts fire from the crossbow, or even the sharpness and ability to pierce through armor.  She also says that she will try to acquiesce to anything you ask of her."

   "Can she make quarrels automatically?  I seem to be running out rather quickly."  Kleine grabbed a pouch hanging from her waist, it had five bolts left in it.  It was the third and last bag she had looted from the Champion who had the crossbow before her.

   A moment of silence passed, "Yes, she says that she can indeed do that.  If you have the drawstring pulled back she will automatically materialize a bolt for you to fire.  Handy, that."

   "Instruct my staff to increase it's surface area, along with the pointed ends.  I have a feeling we'll need it sometime in the future."

   "Very well, sire.  If you have no further need of me, I will begin making the changes to your bodies."

   "Of course.  Tomorrow we will begin our magic training."

   With that, Ustris and Kleine hefted their bundles and began heading back to the dune where the humans had been sleeping.  A couple of extra weapons would boost morale for certain.  Tonight they'd continue on their journey.


OOC:  Yeah, did the coin tosses.  Speed on Kleine and armor piercing for the Staff.  I explained my reasoning behind the stat allocations as well.  A lot of it in the middle is pretty garbled as well, the more I think about it.  Anyway, if you start a major mutation it will take more than one level up (probably a rule of 3) for you to use them effectively. 

Having giant wings sprout from your back suddenly would not only be shocking, but you would have no experience as to how to use them.  As such, it's probably going to be a 3 part for it to grow to full size, and level 2 (of the mutation) will probably allow you to use them with limits, so that you can train the skill necessary for it.

Other than that, weapons are pretty straight forward.  Armor will be the same when it comes to it.

Next up will be the continuation of the journey and learning magic.  Speaking of magic, is there any kind that you guys specifically want to learn first of all?  Note that the element you chose when creating the characters will be easier for them to cast.  Having Kleine cast water spells, or Ustris cast air spells, would present them with some difficulty.  It's possible for them to do so, but more difficult for them.

EDIT: AAAAAH I FORGOT COLORS AAAAAAA DOING THAT NOW

DOUBLEEDIT:  Alright, colors added.  Crisis averted.

[Lyeos]

Kleine should learn fire, yes, fire. Defensive fire spells.

I dunno about Ustris, that's Froggy's domain.

[The Froggy Ninja]

I would say being able to set traps if he had time to set up the runes (Which would be faster if our staff could do it magically!)

[Karkov]

((Coin tosses are awful like that.    Any other ideas?  Offensive, defensive, utilitarian?

Or we could still do trap spells.))