All right, in the interest of fairness Grimmjow6th is entering now. I'll send him a PM in a moment and let him know.
AT THE MERCHANTClaire and Pierre wander up to see what's for sale. Meanwhile, Friar Greenmoore immediately hands the two bags of gold back in exchange for food and a shield. (Friar Greenmoore gets: 3 Rations! Rations heal 1d6 HP when consumed. Friar Greenmoore gets: Buckler! The buckler adds +1 to defense.) He also attempts to bless his mace (3) but narrowly avoids cursing it instead. o.O Everyone else browses the merchant's wares as well.
WARES
Slightly advanced weapons of Blunt, Slash, or Pierce type (+1 to Hit or +1 to Damage Rolls, or you can get a new one or upgrade a weapon you already have)
Light Shields (+1 to defense)
Heavy Shields (+2 to defense, -1 to movement)
Slightly advanced armors (Light armor that is -1 to defense, +2 to movement, medium armor that is either +1 to defense or movement with no penalties, and heavy armor that is +2 to defense, -1 to movement)
Listed Subweapons
MALAKAI RITTFrowning at Claire and Pierre as they sashay off to the merchant, you grumble about 'screamers' and continue studying. (
Now that all the distractions are out of the way, you are able to focus your mind once more! Fully in your element, ideas flow from your pen, each building upon the last until finally you rip a page from the back of the journal and inscribe many arcane runes upon it. For the final touch, you bite your hand, dip your quill in the blood, and write the final run and your name with it.
You have now bound a (odd ice, even shadow) Ice Demon to your services. (Malakai gets: Ice Contract! Summoning an Ice Demon consumes 5 MP. She remains for five rounds, deals standard blunt/ice damage, and has a 25% chance of freezing an enemy every successful attack.)
NAZARANazara heads to the abandoned guardhouse and fortifies it against all entry. Thus secured, she takes out the glyphs and the Berkeley family journals and begins to study them intently... (Nazara is 'retired')
FRENZ GRENDEFinally, after a long journey through which you managed to accumulate many kills, you arrive in the peasant / ghost town of Birchside. The monsters you hunted became stronger and stronger the closer you came to the town; you have a feeling that if you continue to go this way you may eventually come across a demon worth your time.