Sub-Turn 67.03:
Gray the Metalslinger and Glint the True Arcanivore"OK, let's out of here. Much as I'd love to explode again, the Radasars are coming back, and I'm not exactly at my best right now."
Grab everyone, go elsewhere. We can come back later if we need elemental power, but it isn't exactly in our best interest to stay right now.
Have the me in the hole hide, maybe by eating my way around the vein and down under it. The second me should go with Glint.
You all leave this place, not wanting to confront the Radasars. Though you already fought one, you don't know much about the species characteristics. There may be very dangerous individuals in their ranks.
[3] You head further into the Scar with everyone. Except for one half of Gray, which he left behind. The trails left by your group are clearly visible to the trained eye.
Watch out for the half, if Gray's half stays too long or/and too far from the main consciousness, unexpected results may occur, including de-animation of the half to individualism.
Vagush pauses and asks :
"I am surprised Radasars would go so far into human lands. Even we actually, why are we heading there ? Do you have a particular goal Glint ?"
This question makes Brown curious too.
"Right Gray, what is next now ? I'm curious over your goal, especially since your body took an humanoid shape."
Gray Half : [5]
The vein created a crude tunnel with the explosion. Gray's half can move around freely, mainly thanks to its flexible body. The half notices what is shining. Elemental crystals of high purity. It makes the half wonder why it didn't detonate.
If you were a Crystallo-elementalist, you would have heard of a phenomenon called "Crystallization". Under certain conditions implying pressure and elemental energy concentration, elemental energy will transition to a solid state. These conditions are often met when high powered elemental explosions occur, as a zone will get temporarily highly concentrated with energy, while under very high pressure because of the blast.
So after the explosion, elemental crystals were left. They were not of an uniform color, each of them were combining more than four colors.
As for the Radasars, they are not visible anymore, for now.
Glint :
HP: 15/21
MP: 13/25
Status: Wounded
Companions:
-Vagush
-Tirim
Gray :
HP: 8/20 - 8/8
MP: 14/14
Status: Split in Two.
Companion:
-Brown
Durst the Rock Seer"...
I mostly just wandered around Coridem, or slept. These days, life is a lot more exciting.
Shall I recount my entire journey?"
Awareness Roll :
Gardo: [1]
Hertomal: [2]
Adventurers: [2]
Durst: [4]
((Haha. Everyone is sleeping.))
Gardo and the adventurers are sleeping while Vanessa is keeping watch. Gardo is so tired he is actually snoring loudly.
Hertomal is still bombarding you with questions, curious to discover everything there is to know about you and Coridem.
"Wandered and slept ? I see, as expected of a mineral monster, your natural life cycle is extremely slow. Mineral creatures are extreeeemely interesting when studying their metabolism : you see during hibernation cycles, they feed on AND accumulate mana and earth elemental energy. Eventually they wake up, filled with energy and enter their active cycles. And when that inner energy is exhausted, they return to the earth to sleep, repeating the cycle.
Fascinating isn't it ?
Oh, and did you know that monstrology classes Mineral-type monsters into subcategories depending on their cycles ? For example Mineral monsters living close to active volcanic zones have very short sleep cycles, as the magma feeds them with a lot of energy. Your species would be classified as a Long-Cycle Mineral-type."
"What did you say about a journey ? Ah right, I remember. Yes yes, I would be very interested in your story. Will you enlighten me, and tell me more about this Coridem place ?"
You feel a perturbation in the surrounding mana. You notice Vanessa isn't there anymore, and you feel monsters mana not too far underground. Judging from the excited state of the mana, they must be fighting.
Allies:
-Dr Hertomal
Neutral:
-Gardo
-Vanessa: Status Unknown
-3 as of yet unnamed adventurers
HP: 15/15
MP: 12/12
Status : Mostly Okay. Memory Loss ?
ZoomochScoomtarto the Four-Eyed BeholderI try to dis-tentacle the thing it with my dis-integrate beam.
[1] You fire your beam at the blue being without a single warning to capitalize on your sneak attack.
You lose 5MP
The beam is literally deflected and absorbed by the blue flesh of the creature. It must have a special resistance to energy and/or mana based attacks.
And to make matter worse, the deflected beam sizzles a portion of rock from the ceiling, making it falls on you !
[1] You didn't expect this at all, and this is with great surprise that you take the ceiling on the head. The immense weight of the rocks crush your internal organs. You end up trapped under a pile of rocks !
You lose 5HP
You suffer from some Internal Injuries
Unknown Blue Creature : [1]
Quest Target : [6]
"No offense, but I need your essence." says the Unknown Creature.
It joins its many tentacles together at the tip. Blue arcs of mana crackles between the tips as the Unknown prepares to unleash a devastating mana bolt on the Blue Algae creature. Before the attack can be completed, four extremely long and wide algae stretches toward the Unknown, and sever four tentacles.
The untimely pain and unbalance causes the unknown to lose control of the energized mana, which explodes violently as a result.
Both the Blue and the Unknown are directly hurt by the powerful explosion. The detonation echoes throughout the whole cave network.
When the blue dust settles, the Unknown body is badly damaged, a part having been torn away. The Blue is lying on the ground not too far from the Unknown, with far fewer algae mass than before. A pale blue skin can nearly be seen under the algae.
By the way, the Unknown Creature is a Tentalant Magalime. The Quest Target is a Blue Algyniad.
Enemies:
-Tentalant Magalime: Badly Wounded/Part Torn Away
Neutral:
-Blue Algyniad: Badly Wounded/Algae Mass Greatly Reduced
HP: 9/17
MP: 3/17
Status:
-Internal Injuries
-Trapped under heavy rocks
Ulkas the Sorcerous Osyluth of Lies"Ah, great that you woke up, Astrosa. I was chatting with one of the locals about the layout of the land and consequences of Fenia's death for the spirits of this place..."
Ulkas grinned and finally made introductions:
"Astrosa, this is Balask, one of the spirits of these hills. Balask, this is Astrosa, my companion and the probable killer of Fenia."
Inquire if Balask has anything else to say and bid farewell if everything goes well. Continuation in PM (for better narrative).
"...I see... There is nothing else I need to know then. Farewell."
Before Astrosa can get a proper look of who you were talking with, Balask is gone. In a corner of your mind, you feel that Balask fellow was hiding a lot more than it was showing. Did it leave because it knew Astrosa had the Eyes of the Mighty ?...
"He is already gone. Mmh. I hope it wasn't anything threatening. What happened Ulkas ?"
She is still stretching, but is now standing up. Her Gown of the Brisaranes is forming light clothes covering her whole body.
You explain what you learnt about Fenia from the one named Balask, a spiritual being.
"First things first. Red priestess was a phoenix, and could have evaded death this time around... Or not. I'm not exactly proficient at essence-rebirth correlations. Still, this ordeal weakened her for sure."
You concentrate a bit before continuing:
"You know, after the scene at the Temple, with you slowly burning in magical flames, I realized what an idiot I have been. All this time, I had an enchanted bracelet from a king's treasury that protects its wielder both from curses and enemy spells... And yet I forgot about it completely. So, Astrosa, would you accept this gift as apologize and forgive my carelessness?"
...
She listened to all that you said with a passive but attentive ear. Suddenly she stops stretching, looking at you directly.
"Go on."
Her voice is calm and doesn't betray any emotion. Still holding at the electrum bracelet, you continue on, revealing what you have on your heart. Your honest worries about her.
"Also... You don't need to put a strong front to me, really. I know that you're very strong - both in body and mind. Just be yourself and I'll understand. Now, with this said, do you mind if I ask you some personal questions?"
"...Yes ?"
She gives you her authorization, but with an increasingly confused look. Apart from her slightly apparent puzzling, her face is still unmoving. Knowing her tendency to react strongly when speaking of strength of spirit and all, this is much more puzzling than your hypothetic questions.
"Your essence consumption seems...well...extremely pleasant. Is it your natural condition or did it change along with an essence healing?"
...There is an awkward silence for a moment. She raises an eyebrow.
"That's...all ? You were just curious about this ?"
She answers summarily :
"A bit of both. I think my desire for strength combined with my essence healing trait resulted in this little side-effect."
You don't know what to say. You are still awkwardly holding at the bracelet, in a gifting motion.
As soon as you begin to lower your arm a little, Astrosa steps forward and take the piece of jewelry out of your hand in a swift movement.
"I accept your apologies, you are now forgiven." she says with a cold tone.
And then..
She makes a simple gentle smile.
"I will keep what you said about "putting a front" in mind. Thanks~"
She puts the bracelet on her left arm, it fits perfectly on her slender forearm. She takes a closer look at it, raising it toward the moon.
"I will take good care of it~"
You break the atmosphere with a hint of seriousness :
"Ahem. Now, onto serious things. I'm halfway to my next transformation, so as you, I presume. Maybe, it's finally time for us to plan how best to exact revenge upon your enemies? I need to know more, as we'd want to tune our transformations accordingly..."
"Revenge... I still think it is too soon. But it doesn't prevent me from telling you more about the demons I am fleeing from. As you know, I am being pursued by the goons of Malderuine the Second. First, what do you know about the emerging demonic society ?"
[GM: This is the occasion to create yourself a backstory if you want. Here is what you essentially need to know :]
[-If you lived as a "backwater" demon, you know nothing as you just wandered and tried your best to survive]
[-If you lived under some tribe, you know a bit more. In which case I will tell you what you know]
HP: 19/22
MP: 36/36
Status : Okay.
Companion :
-Astrosa: Half-Asleep
Roeway the Hell WolfPanic FLEE Panic FLEE
[6] Filled with the power of despair upon an imminent death, you manage to get out of the pit.
You manage to summon all your strength, sprinting faster than you have ever been. From behind the two hoverers are still firing some bolts, but they miss their mark as you sprint too fast.
After much running, you realize you went very far. The adrenaline wears off, and your legs suddenly give up and you collapse on the ground, heavy and exhausted.
You didn't realize your leg was broken, and you are thoroughly exhausted because of the sprint.
You analyze the surroundings. You are still in the Underground Plains, and a bit closer to the surface path. There isn't much to say about the landscape.
HP: 7/10
MP: 10/10
Status:
-Leg Wounded
-Exhausted
Snehk the UnseenIf they're hostile, create an illusion of enormous army coming to help us, if not just move on.
Battle immediately begins as the figures attack the human soldiers. There is screaming of battle coming from outside and terror from the carts and wagons. What is being said outside and inside is incomprehensible.
[1] You cast an optical illusion spell to make it appear that reinforcements are coming. [GM: I don't judge you have enough Power and Illusion Magic Level to create mass illusion affecting more than a hundred of people. So I went with the optical illusion.]
You lose 5MP
From afar it seems that a rather large group of soldiers are coming for help. Civilians and soldiers alike who see the illusion can't see well because of the darkness, and instead believe those are enemy reinforcements.
Furthermore when you casted the spell, your appearance began to shift strangely. A glow could be seen in your eyes, and your neighbors are very suspicious of you because of the circumstances. They increase the distance between them and you, and begin muttering.
"Is he a sorcerer ?" "He gives off an unnatural and scary aura..."
As for the enemies, they are totally unaffected by the illusion. They don't care at all. You still can't seem to see who are your opponents...
Human Soldiers Roll : Front:[1] Left:[2] Right:[4] Back:[1]
Unknown Figures Roll : Front:[5] Left:[3] Right:[2] Back:[1]
F: More figures emerge from the front, overwhelming the soldiers.
Loss H-1d6 U-None:[6] All the human soldiers at the front are killed or incapacitated, including the officer who was at the front.
L: The battle at the left side is evenly matched, with a slight advantage for the unknown aggressor.
Loss H-1d4 U-1d4: [3] [2] Three human soldiers are killed and two figures are eliminated.
R: The humans have the advantage at the right.
Loss H-1d6/2 U-1d6: [3]/2 [3] One human soldier is killed while another is wounded badly. Three figures are eliminated.
B: Some strange panic on the human side ensues because of the illusion. The figures aren't affected. Yet both sides clash and suffer extremely heavy losses, more for the humans.
Loss H-1d6+1 U-1d6: [1]+1 [6] Two humans soldiers fall. Six figures are eliminated.
Allies:
10 Human Soldiers (0, 2, 4, 3)
Losses: 11
Enemies:
? humanoid figures (?, ?, ?, ?)
? undefinable figures (?, ?, ?, ?)
Losses: 11
HP: 20/20
MP: 9/14
Status: Suspected by humans
Caedan the Bloody ImpalerDammit, why do you have to ask me annoying things when I'm nearly out of here?
"I am indeed a magic user. Although I do not remember where I learned it."
Answer and get out if he doesn't have anything else to say. If he thinks that Ramas is also a magician, tell him that I saw some potential in him and decided to teach him, so that he can prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.
[5] "Oh I see, thanks for your answer. I was surprised, your magical aura and your companion's are unusual. You must belong to some exotic magic school from abroad right ?"
You answer positively, and he lets you go without problem.
Hark brings you back to the clinic. Firande seems to have woken up in the meantime, but she is still very weak.
You wonder what you can do now. You are in a human town, and what ?
You did have this goal of heading toward the place seen in your memories. You could wander around the city if you were interested in human customs, be it adventurers, magic, or anything else.
But at the same time, you know that if someone where to discover your identity... It wouldn't end well at all.
HP: 21/21
MP: 25/25
Status: Okay
Companion:
-Ramas: Okay
Dahak the Fear LordDahak is glad he doesn't have a throat anymore, or he'd be gagging on bone splinters and maybe a few teeth now.
BRLABRGL
Things are starting to get scary. Delinde seems to be done for this fight, and Nihil is... Well, being Nihil. Dahak himself is significantly damaged, while the corruptor is still going, though it seems about to break, in more ways then one.
Dahak then remembers that corruptors always seem to have a core of some sort. Now that the corruptor form is turning into some sort of geriatric jelly, detecting and striking at the core should be easier.
Dahak wraps his hand on his wraith cloth, he's determined to end this.
Then a weird thought invades his mind as he's charging.
THESE ARE THE TALES OF THE SKELETON WARRIORS
Make the corruptor FEEL THE FEAR for the last time, then charge at it and try to rip its core from inside of it. Sing SKELETON WARRIORS during the whole thing.
[4] You unleash -Feel the Fear- one more time, at the same time charging toward the Corruptor.
You lose 5MP
The effect is once again immediate, and it seems like the black mass is becoming thinner. You get a glimpse of the Core, and punch your way through the black goo.
[4] You grab at the Core firmly, ripping it out like a fruit at the rhythm of Skeleton Warriors. Then you raise the Core toward the sky, triumphant, and still singing loudly, you crush it in an epic manner.
Instantly, the Corruptor lets out an otherworldly scream, and dissolves into black dust. The Essence that allowed it to maintain itself in the world with impunity is released, and promptly absorbed by you.
You gained 6 Essences
Enemy Status
Corruptor
-Defeated-
HP: 12/21
MP: 12/25
Corruptor Core Expansion : 60%
Status: Wounded and Skull Crackled
Companions:
-Delinde: L.Arm Impaired/WoundedMana Exhausted
-Nihil: Useless. Drained. Wounded.
T946 the Security BotHello?
Attempt to talk to the magical construct and taser it if it is hostile
[1] You attempt to talk to the construct, who just slowly advances toward you. It is some sort of tall armored golem, with a large upper body and heavy legs.
Then with surprising speed, it slams its heavy arm on your position.
[3] You barely dodge the attack, and your [2] Left Arm [Taser and Energy Pistol] is crushed by the blow. It is completely unusable and unresponsive.
You lose 3HP
Without your taser, you can't fire at it !
HP: 12/15
MP: 12/12
Status: Left Arm [Taser and E. Pistol] Disabled