Asura blinked when M.S. pulled away after a few seconds. He kept forgetting her mind wasn't as advanced as his and she couldn't handle so much information so quickly. Still there was some progress on her next attempts to speak since it wasn't just verbal farts. His parents must have felt like this when he had first tried making any sound other than a wail. Relief, pride, and some excitement. While she continued to learn/play and the others played with Jason's new telepathy he started to think of what he wanted to try.

He already had respectable defenses, he had a power attack, he could change his look a little better, and he could go longer than other people. With his shapeshifting came numerous possibilities of dodging and escaping. So maybe he should think of a better escape or possibly ambush? He was a slime...so he should be able to find 'handholds' no other species could find. So with that he started to try and climb up the cliff he had dropped down from. He was doing his best to adhere to the outcropping with his body but who knew if it would work.

Of course while he was ding this Jason decided everyone was supposed to follow him. A minor annoyance considering he and M.S. had been doing fine on their own, they all didn't need to be butt buddies. Grumbling to himself he followed along, but made sure not to roll along like he normally did. No point facechecking the bonfire. Dead goblins, bonfire out, huge stash of mana crystals of...varieties? Interesting but still useless to the magicless slime.

Jason set about giving orders. While he spoke Asura was right back at trying to climb walls until his own name was spoken. Who uses the word aggregate? He thought, just call it dirt or gravel or whatever is actually dug up. Shaking his head he relayed the message to M.S. She'd do a better job considering she was so much larger than him. But he could do it in a smart way. Either way he didn't have anything to do until they actually started to dig. He wouldn't have the time to learn how to wall cling....but maybe he could do something else?

Gathering up loose gravel inside of himself he went over to a roundish rock a little smaller than himself. Spreading himself over it he started grinding the smaller rocks against it. Numerous rough rocks were rubbing, tapping, and spiraling against the larger rounded stone. He was trying to mimic how an industrial tunneling machine worked to hollow out the stone.

Ardur The Pixie

A New Friend? >>>> No Pain, No Gain. /// day 8 // Afternoon

58 Mana Crystals Discovered.
7 Flame-Touched Mana Crystals Discovered.
1 Source Crystal Discovered.

Ardur was quite surprised when they discovered what was hidden under the bed of coals. Mana crystals, lots and lots of mana crystals. Crispy certainly was busy. Some of them were even elemental infused and then there was a source crystal. There must be an even larger crystal or crystal vein under the cave floor somewhere.

The pixie watched as a friendly goblin came and took the source crystal. He wasn’t entirely sure how the goblin that the wisp called Digbie could use such a crystal, but he did agree that they should study it a bit more. While the wisp and the goblin argued, Ardur set to pilling all the warm embers a little way away from the pile of crystals and used his wings to keep the coals a bright orange color. Moving a few sticks and other charred pieces of wood onto the small pile of coals, Ardur worked to get the fire up and going again.

As the small fire crackled and burned Ardur walked to a nearby dead goblin and tore some of its flesh from an open wound. Bringing it back to the small fire and letting some of it burn and cook while he gathered three mana crystals. The pixie did watch as a green slime with a few other followers made their way to the side of the bonfire then toward the pile of crystals. The slime did look like one of the others from the day before but this time looked a little different, but he didn’t quite know how.

3 Mana Crystals added to inventory.

Ardur watched the slime take a few crystals and head off again barking orders as he did. The pixie was quite happy to simply ignore the power struggle to go on between the wisp and the slime. Instead, Ardur gathered the remaining burnable wood and piled it on the small fire. The burning goblin flesh smelled horrible and as he ate it tasted horrible too, but it was nice to finally eat something cooked. That and he needed something to get his mind off of what he was going to do next.

The small fire was beginning to die down a little, with what was left of what he could find for wood. His mind was going over what he had learned so far when it came to gaining skills. Something must always be sacrificed, time, mana, health, flesh, pain, maybe even materials. This was the order of this world, it was primal, no pain no gain. So what of the things that ruled this world? Where there gods? Is there only one or many? So many questions with only one quick way to find out, through pain and sacrifice.

Staring at the three mana crystals next to him, the pale white pixie was almost in his own little world. Picking up one crystal and using it to refill his mana he looked about as he began to take fast deep breaths. He began to get antsy as he looked to the other pixie, for some reason this one looked smaller than him but no matter his gaze swiftly shifted from him to the lizard. This one he also recognized from the day before at the meeting.

1 Mana crystal used.
Mana fully restored.
2 Mana Crystals remaining.

Ardur began to hop slightly and stretch out his muscles. He knew that the others might think he was insane for this, but he had to know. He had to know just how much he could take, how far he could go, and how much mana this would consume. With one more deep breath the small pixie picked up the other two crystals and stepped into the fire.

Hot. Almost too hot, the pain and agony. He could feel his flesh burning, the smell alone almost made him vomit. Yet he stayed in the flames his eyes locked in a permanent glare towards the entrance. The ever active Lesser Healing II was just barely able to keep him from sustaining permanent damage but was draining his mana quickly. It started as a whisper at first that nearly became a yell from pain turned to anger, from anger to rage.

Warning: Health Low.
Health Restored.

“My name is Ardur, I willingly sacrifice my flesh, blood, health, and mana to call out to whomever may be listening.” One of the crystals he was holding shattered and was absorbed. The fire was quickly draining his mana at a rate he did not expect, or perhaps it was something else through his rage he was not sure. “All I ask for is a name and the knowledge of how to worship you. Grant me this and I promise I will not disappoint you. I may be small and rather insignificant but I will be mighty” The flames and the pain were beginning to become too much for him.

Warning: Health Low.
Warning: Mana Low.
Health Restored to full.
Used one Mana Crystal.
Mana Restored to full.
1 Mana crystal remaining.

Feeling his legs and muscles begin to give out. Ardur left the burning embers and collapsed on the stone floor. Rapidly losing consciousness from pain. The pixie used the last mana crystal he had to cast Lesser Healing III on himself before everything went black and at long last he felt cold again.

Warning: Health Low.
Warning: Mana Low.
Health Restored.
Used 1 Mana Crystal.
Mana Restored.
0 Mana Crystals Remaining.

@floodtalon
@Zeroth
@Gardevoiran
@King Cosmos
@Old Amsterdam
@CriticalHit

---

Rain glanced around warily as more monsters appea-

"Oh, hey Jason," she called over as everyone started doing their own thing.

So much for leaving.

She didn't want a part of this argument that was heating up, however, so she turned towards where the prey had escaped.

"Scouting is a good idea.... Stay. I will return with Intel." Her words were firm, and loud enough for the nearby Members to hear.

On her way out, however, she paused at a little Pixie chanting in the fire.

Trying to be like Crispy, perhaps? She couldn't fault him that, she herself was thinking of ways to progress to fire herself without more skill points.

She slipped away, letting herself become a shadow.

It took time to get near to the opening to the cave, she had to be careful to not be seen. She could see a small fire, perhaps, by the smoke that floated in the air.

She activated Muffle II and moved to try and get a stealthed view for a count and see what she could learn...

---

"H-hey!" Digbie yelped as he saw the Source Gem leave his grasp and fly towards Mourningstar. The exchange caused Digbie to huff in dissatisfaction. "You could've asked, y'know..." The greenskin sulked for a moment before he was suddenly surprised to see the appearance of a new caricature around here, a slime this time. The slime came in yelling, causing Digbie to cover his ears and listen through a barrier. It was up until he heard the slime call for a goblin that he didn't listen much.

"Goblin, you're with me! We're going to be digging up to create a palasade up above the entrance of the cave so we can drop rocks on their staging area, and hopefully thin their numbers!"

Digging, you say? Why, that's too good of an opportunity to pass up! After he was done talking, Rain said something about the slime's name being Jason, so that's what Digbie went with as he spoke up. "The name's Digbie, and you've got my assistance, Jason!" The goblin eagerly followed Jason after grabbing 3 Mana Crystals from the pile. He needed those in case he ran out of MP for his arsenal, even if it was meager.

Once he was with the slime and they were in position, he began to help dig. He was following Jason's lead for digging, and his pickaxe definitely helped make quicker work of the rocks and rubble in the path. If it helped raise his stats as well as help push for victory, he was willing to do it.

A thought passed through Digbie's mind while he and Jason worked. "Jason? There's one goblin that's different, a girl one I think. I think she may be like us. If we see her, can we try and get her in our group?"

---

---

Reoth had nearly flinched when Colchain hissed in alarm at him, but managed to keep calm and go through with snapping the hide collar around its neck. Once it had fallen to the floor he and the other lizard stared at each other for a few moments, then Colchain did an odd gesture in that it did a sort of pushup, presumably in thanks for the act of removing the collar. Reoth was a little unsure of how to respond, but decided that the same could be done in return, so he himself did the same pushup gesture before turning to the other lizard.

"Well, yes. I didn't think there were any others like me. A... Reincarnate." It was then that the floating light bulb spoke up and introduced itself, or rather himself. Reoth followed the lizard back to the corpses, learning the name of the not currently blood covered pixie. Deciding it best to give his name as well he spoke up, "You can call me...," Wait, should he use his name from before? Perhaps it would make sense for him to choose a new name for this new life... "Reothadh, or Reoth for short."

The green and purple lizard climbed atop the corpses, speaking to the others as she went. Then she tore a few chunks of meat from one corpse and ate them, which reminded Reoth of his hunger. "Is it alright if I eat some? Also... Can I join up with you? At least for a little while." It'd be better for him at least to be part of a group for now. And who knows, he might find some trustworthy friends in this group.

---

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu@floodtalon@Gardevoiran
As the wisp known as 'Mourningstar' berated Jason for his hurried antics, the slime let out a heavy sigh. As she held the orange crystal before him, acting as if it's explosive nature was a well-known fact, Jason reached out a pseudopod, plucking the crystal out of the air, carefully turning it over and examining it closely, even running [Tremor Sense I] through it for a few moments as she spoke before sucking it into his body.

1 Flame-Touched Mana Crystal added to inventory.

By the time Mourningstar had finished her tirade, Jason's patience had reached it's limit. A small, singular pseudopod shot forward, pressing itself into what Jason assumed to be the wisp's forehead as he activated [Telepathy I]. 'Look Mourningstar, I'm Jason, none of us have time to argue over this shit, so yes, we will be able to talk after all of us survive this. So, if you'll excuse me....' he stated through his mind before retracting his psuedopod, and going onward with his plan to create the Palisade with Digbie.

@Zeroth@SilverPaw@Guy0fV4lor@Kazemitsu @King Cosmos@CriticalHit@Old Amsterdam@ReusableSword@floodtalon@Gardevoiran

Ed stopped focusing but could still feel the exhaustion from what he had done. He didn't feel the same exhaustion he experienced the day before when he had fought in that bloody battle royale. It was an exhaustion from within, like spending numerous hours on end writing for a term paper. Ed wondered what it meant other than he was tired of focusing. A sudden message pops into his head to alert him of something.

Warning: Mana Low

The message reassures the young dire rat that he was making progress and maybe taking his initial steps towards his skill using mana and magic in this world. It was then Jason had alerted to the group to follow him and there was little to no time to explain his sudden outburst. He followed the slime without question and was met with another sizable group with an even more sizable number of mana crystals He was still recovering from the sight when Jason started barking out directives, apparently they were expecting something and it was bound to be a big one if they needed to prepare as much as Jason had described. It was a matter of survival and Ed was the farthest thing from willing to die.

He had scampered up closer to the defensive line and decided that the new cache for the mana crystals should be far away from its original position but not too far away. He had hoped that the new cache being ten feet away from the original be sufficient enough distance. The digging had been easy enough at the beginning, but as time past, became a more and more difficult task to do. His body ached and he wished to stop, but he couldn't. The defenses need to be made and if he had slacked off, it might cost the other's lives or even his. So even if his body wanted to -no- begged him to stop, he was determined to finish the hole for the cache. With or without the help from the others.

Naji stared blankly as Scott began to have a small break down before chuckling. ”Dont worry! I’m fine man, all this blood is the goblins. Sides..” He says, trailling off to take a small nibble of optic nerve. ”We’re all dead already. Or...dying probably. So it not like if I did it would matter at all right?” He asks with an...uncomfortably chipper tone. For all the starvation and exhaustion, Naji was still betting his bottom dollar that the whole world would melt away soon. As pre-brain death hallucinations are want to do, if TV had any truth in it anyway.

The amusement in his posture did not vanish as Ash turned her attention to him. He was about to introduce Danny when the wisp decided to do so himself, trying to calm the distressed Scott. ”...to be honest thought he was one of yours boss. So I just let him eat. Plus, kind of didn’t pose a threat to me getting my share while you were lizard taming sooo.....” He explains, allowing the rather plain logic to hang while he nibbled more optic nerve. Damn this stuff is actually half decent once you get used to it.

It was by this point he noticed the newest lizard (well, second newest), as had Ash, who whipped about to make sure her new pet was behaving itself before addressing the albino. ”....OH!” Naji says, popping up a little. ”Is this like, the ‘you all meet in the tavern’ situation?” He asks as the Lizard asks to join, begging for a little food as almost an after thought. There is a brief lull, the group either ignoring his outburst or not fully understanding it meaning. ”Ya know...the narrative contrivance that brings the players together for their first mission in a game?...Cause if so, Im cool with them joining and us heading back to camp. Unless your secretly a bad guy miss white lizard?” He asks, gore splattered form leaning out from behind Ash quietly and staring holes into the albino reptile. And incorrectly determining their sex, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.

”How do I insight check? You’ve got to tell me if your a bad guy if I insight you right?” He says, trying to read the newest persons body language for signs of obvious evil. Years of video game RPGs, and this is the spectacular display of genre savviness Naji could take pride in.

---

---

Their telepathy experiment seemed to have failed, but at the very least Asteria discovered that there was indeed some sort of energy within her that could be only magic. For the next few moments, she kept her focus on it, getting a feel for it, calling it to her, keeping it building, then slowly letting it dissipate, and repeated the procedure a couple of times. She may have managed to attempt more if Jason hadn’t interrupted her, suddenly making off towards the dying light of the bonfire Mother Rat had alerted them to. Asteria frowned at it. She remembered it burning more brightly and wondered what happened. And she was technically part of Jason’s group now, so she followed, having to intentionally keep her running pace slower so she was able to go alongside the group. Now that she had to pay attention not to outrun the rest of them, she was much more aware of how her body worked to run. She focused on the flexing of her muscles, the way her fore- and back limbs moved in concert, the manner in which her tail stabilized the rest of her. Her head was slightly hunched between her shoulders, kept close to the ground, so she could easily sniff out a scent to follow if needed. She felt the wind resistance in her whiskers, ears and along her fur, the wind ruffling it lightly. Her front and back digits dug into the earth somewhat, providing the grip while her palms and feet worked to push her forward and helped her land each step gracefully.

In no time at all, they reached the bonfire, the sudden stop startling Asteria into a light stumble. And…there were a lot of monsters. Or rather, what turned to be former humans in the guise of monsters. Jason wasted no time barking orders at them all, mentioning an individual named Crispy and a horde of goblins outside that wanted to kill them all. Fucking great. Asteria glanced at the crystal cache, a quick count revealing them to number somewhere between fifty and sixty pieces, though about a dozen was grabbed up right away by some of the former-humans. Asteria glared at the mana crystals. Not that it was the mana resource’s fault that they had an imminent battle to look forward to but that was certainly part of the cause in her mind. She was downright appalled at how terribly organized they were and could only pray their enemy didn’t have a half-competent commander. Because even if Jason proved his worth with some quick tactical thinking, not everyone at all was inclined to follow his order. One Wisp even challenged him directly, and Asteria might have been amused and inclined to agree with the floating ball if she hadn’t proven to be even pushier and more high-handed than Jason was – quite the feat to be truthful.

Asteria almost groaned out loud when she heard Jason assigned her to digging out a hole for the freaking crystals. Weren’t there any better and more important things to do? Maybe looking around the cave to see if there were any other people and potential allies around? Or worrying about the fact that they had no way to escape once the enemy decided to attack them? Not that she had the time to suggest any such thing, because Jason wobbled his slimy self away together with a goblin for some kind of digging elsewhere, and Edward had already moved backwards and was diligently digging into the yielding soil. With a sigh, Asteria followed, nudging Mother Rat to go along and help them in their task.

“Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” she suggested, shoving her paws into the earth in determination, scooping out as much as she could as fast as she could. “Then we can try finding or digging out an escape route. Because I don’t know about you, Edward, but I really loathe the idea of being trapped in what could be our graveyard, with the only current potential exit leading directly to a horde of monsters just waiting, or worse, preparing to slaughter us all.”

@Searat @Zeroth

---

Scott blinked as Naji and Ash told him to pay no mind to his inaction. "I... that's not the point. Something could have happened! Something-!" He cut himself off, grimacing as Naji gnawed on... whatever that was. His voice preceding his mind, the words slipped out, snapping at the other Pixie. "That's kind of gross, you know that?"

He swiftly realised what he'd said, flushed a deep crimson, and fell back behind Colchain.

When Naji posed that they were all dying anyway, Scott was... dubious. He looked down at his hands. Well. Not quite his hands. Or something. They weren't quite the hands he had before, at least. He looked at the scales that covered Ash and Colchain, the light of Danny, and he could feel the gossamer wings folded against his back. He might possess a powerful imagination, but no amount of his own dreams could result in something like this. He had felt hunger and pain, thirst and fear... no, this wasn't something from his dying moments.

A scene flashed before his eyes as he recalled that he wouldn't really be capable of dying moments anyway. The familiar sting of tears were in his eyes, but he blinked them away before anyone could see. What would even happen if he was sent back home? Would he just... cease to exist? Would fate conspire to see that he would die again? He was trembling slightly. But then he took a deep breath and moved on from that. Not now. Put it aside for later. He slowly laid a light hand on the nearest object - Colchain - to steady himself. He could do this. Just keep going.

His attention returning to the others, he heard Naji talking about tavern meet-up cliches and making an insight check.

"Naji..." he said with more caution than before. "...You do know that this doesn't work like that, right?"

Orchid's eyes widen when the goblins seemed to refute her ideas in favor of the basic and likely suicidal "kill everyone" plan. She wanted to speak out. She wanted to try and convince them to fight smarter to save their lives. But she held her tongue, as she remembered, now that her fear was death was subsiding, what she was suppose to do. "Why am I trying to save these fools? If they want to die so badly, then I'll let them." Orchid simply got to work. She had a sizable amount of cordage to use, so she could craft some decent weapons with it. She thought about making her sword again; plenty of stone around, solid wood too, and with this cord she could make it stronger than before. But... No. If she did than Rattleskull would likely take it. It would be in his character to take from his lessers.

If anything Orchid needed to focus on how to kill Rattleskull, rather than the other monsters. Chances are they, just like the pixie, were former humans. And for starters, instead of a weapon, she'll need armor. She just had some dead skinned rat for clothing right now, and no matter how good her weapon, it won't matter if she gets killed by a stray rock. So Orchid got to work on something to protect her. She didn't trust wood to be enough for armor; she didn't really know how to craft armor out of wood anyways. But she did know how to weave a basket. It was just a small hobby her mother taught her to entertain her, a skill that Orchid never really used except whenever her mother asked. But it was still a memory that Orchid knew, and now it may just save her life.

A lot of the wood here was hardwood, but some of the goblins brought thin, flexible sticks or branches that would be too light to be used as clubs or spears. But they could be used as a base for a shield. Orchid worked quickly, mechanically, and a little bit away from the others. While she wasn't hiding it was pretty obvious she intended to work alone. Using a bit of the fiber cordage, she would be able to secure the base of her shield until it was nice and solid. Stiff enough that it could take a blow, but flexible enough that it should be relatively easy for Orchid to repair when it gets damaged. The next part was long and tedious; weaving the wood through the rungs. She gathered all the small, flexible sticks she could get and would start weaving them through, her fingers moving quick and her eyes focused on making sure the shield had no holes. When she'd run out of wood, she'd look for thicker branches and start shaving some wood from those as well.

And then Orchid's shield would be done. She would use a single rather stiff piece of wood as a handle, and it lacked an arm strap. There were still a few extra bit of wood sticking out but Orchid only sharpened those; she could stab someone with them. Orchid would make a fairly large shield (Relative to a goblin of course) made of tightly wound up wood. She put the handle a little bit off center so she could possibly brace her arm against it if she needed to, but this way she could easily hold and toss away the shield if she had to. Now she just needed a weapon. She looked to the other goblins and could see they were going to make wooden spears. Rattleskull was making what Orchid guess was a baseball bat. She thought about making something similar herself; while a spear would have some reach, she needed something that would work with her smash skill. Like a hammer. But she also wanted to make sure she could attack from behind her shield, like with a spear. "Hmm.... Why not... Both?"

Orchid vaguely remembered seeing a weapon like this when her grandfather showed her pictures of his time from world war one. Trench clubs. Fighting and weapons weren't really things that interested Orchid, but she remembered her grandfather's own personal club. He called it his "Knobby", which Orchid only learned was a sexual metaphor long after her grandfather passed away. It was mostly a wooden club with a knife built upwards at the business end, so that he could stab people from a distance, or club them if they were too close. Orchid would make a similar weapon using a thick stick and a sharp stone. Unlike Rattleskull Orchid didn't bother to shave off the extra wood, only doing enough to remove the bark before she started to cut an incision into the center of the thicker end. She kept cutting until the notch was about an inch thick and three inches deep. This would be where Orchid would insert a sharp stone.

The current sharp stone she had was too big though. Plus, the tip was getting dull from repeated use. Fortunately she had two hard stones to use. She remembered how her father would sharpen knives or axe heads before he would go cut wood or butcher chickens. He would use a whetstone and wet his knife. Unfortunately, Orchid had no water nearby. She'd just have to make due with a stone. So she'd take her sharp stone and rubbed it against her hard stones, carefully but smoothly. She had to be quick but knew that if she rushed it she might end up breaking her only sharp stone, so she was careful too. She only needed to shave off enough so it would fit snugly into the wood anyways.

As she was working on her staff she looked around and noticed how sticky her club was. This must have been a fresh piece of wood as the sap was starting to leak out of it. This gave Orchid an idea to rub the resin on the inside of her club so it would help hold her stone in place like glue. It also made her wonder if this would make her stick more flammable. That could be a good or a bad thing; obviously if she got hit by a fireball that wouldn't be good no matter if she had wooden weapons or not. On the other hand... If she could turn her spiked club into a torch, that surely would make it more effective, wouldn't it? Orchid shook the thought off. She'll have time to experiment later. For now she needed to finish up this weapon.

Ardur The Pixie

No Pain, No Gain. >>>> Off to find a Wizard Lizard /// day 8 // Afternoon

He woke to the light sound of rain. Instantly recognizing the red lights of an ambulance as they flickered and flashed illuminating the dark street. There was a women sitting in front of him. She had long black hair and a tan complexion. The young lady was bruised, beaten, and battered but was smiling. He even got her to laugh a little before he heard the thunder. Strange there wasn’t any lightning. Then all he felt was cold.

Ardur woke from his dream with a start, his head felt like it nearly split in two and his legs still hurt. He could feel that feeling again, the emptiness in the pit of his stomach like having low blood sugar just without the shakes. His mana was low. He didn’t feel like he got anything out of that. “Perhaps the sacrifice wasn’t big enough? Or maybe I’m not doing it right and the whole sacrifice something for another thing was wrong in this instance? Perhaps it was a moral thing, something that needed action maybe.”

He was momentarily lost in his thoughts but eventually came out of it. Looking around at a few of the others getting things situated and working on other things. Ardur was seemingly left to his own devices, the goblins could attack at any moment but perhaps they were gearing up for the attack? Questions that can be answered with time. But for now he figured the best thing to do is make the most of what time they had. Standing up and looking around Ardur noticed that he hadn’t seen Ash in a little while.

The pixie did recognize his steed as one of the smarter if not the smartest reborn around here. He personally didn’t care if she fought back but thought she might appreciate knowing the situation. Walking back to the pile of mana crystals Ardur once again used one to refill his mana. Taking another glance around at what was happening he noticed a few dire rats around with one big one as well as a large slime as well. “Had that new group made friends with the other creatures here?” how strange.

1 Mana crystal used.
Mana fully restored.

Fluttering his wings, the pixie began to take off up high at first before fixing his wings and gliding. Ardur wasn’t going very fast this time, instead he took his time scanning the environment below him. He was trying to find his friend after all. The smart lizard could very well be anywhere and might just be a bit difficult to see. But after some searching he finally found a strange gathering of monsters. It would seem that a small gathering of pixies, lizards, and a wisp had grouped up next to a couple dead goblins.

The pale pixie circled once, then twice as he inspected the ones on the ground before finding a suitable landing spot. Setting down on top of a small rock but still above them. The pixie looked them over for a moment then back to ash. Somehow he looked slightly bigger than the other pixies but not by much. “Ahh I was wondering where my mighty steed had wandered off too” he said with a smile. He was pretty sure that annoyed her, but he didn’t care.

“Looks like you have been busy.” Gesturing to the others. “So I thought I might come find you and give you a heads up for what’s coming, so this is your situation report before I go off again.” He paused again and sighed, “A few moments ago there was a skirmish at the bonfire between Crispy and four goblins versus 2 groups of reborn including myself. After the ensuing battle all but two goblins were killed, Crispy got away with another reborn goblin.” He paused again to breathe and let the others soak up the information.

“Now the rest of us are preparing for a fight up near the bonfire so if you’re in we could use the help otherwise you should hide. I do believe that these goblins are going to go for a scorched earth approach and completely wipe out everything in the cave. O and we found a large stash of mana crystals under the bonfire including several fire imbued crystals and a green source crystal.” Pausing again for a moment to make sure he covered everything before returning his gaze to her and smiling.

@Zeroth
@Rune_Alchemist

@SilverPaw@Zeroth

Ed had already had moved away a significant amount of dirt when Asteria and the mother rat had come to help him dig the new cache. She had then suggested that they get the task over with. He offered her an affirming nod before going back to digging. Though, after short while of working, Asteria expressed her opinion of the situation. She had wanted to locate or even dig an escape route as she didn't want this little plot of land to be her final resting place. Ed didn't want to die too but he also couldn't abandon these 'people' who needed any able minded and bodied individual to stop the goblins from slaughtering every non-goblin in this cave. "I understand your feelings, Asteria." Ed replies briefly as he moves away more dirt and a couple or so loose fitting rocks. His front paws were rather getting cut up and bruised from his hasty pace and power he puts into each successive scoop. "I'd be willing to help you find or even make a way out." He pulls out more rocks than soil, earning him another few sets of scratches and sores. "...but I can't leave them to fight on their own knowing that I could have done something." A particularly large rock gives him a difficult time pulling out of the ground.

Warning: Stamina Low

'Oh Jeez...Not now.' Ed thought as the system message popped into his head. He knew that he was using a lot of energy at this pace of digging and scooping out dirt and stones, but he didn't think that his stamina would run out so quickly and so soon. It didn't matter to Ed though, he needed to finish this as soon as possible. He can rest and complain after.

---

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Danny, Reoth." Ash replied to the wisps introduction, after swallowing down some more goblin. "While I thank you for the offer, I don't think we need more Mana crystals right at the moment." She turned back to the other lizard, thinking for a few moments. They were getting to be a rather large party, weren't they? Two pixies, a wisp, three lizards...hmm, at least they seemed more manageable than the previous little group she had formed. Well, it couldn't hurt to have more hands and all to help...and more people around to work so she didn't have too. "Feel free, I can't eat these two by myself." Ash finally responded in a practical sounding manner after a few seconds. "Always good to have a few more hands around to help."

Turning her attention back to Naji...well quite honestly, Ash had no idea what he was going on about. Tavern? Narrative contrivance? Insight check? None of that made any sense at all to her. The lizard would have frowned, had her mouth been capable of making such an expression. Instead she settled for tilting her head and giving Naji an odd look. Scott seemed to have some idea what he was going on about, but she hadn't a clue.

"I...don't know exactly what you're talking about Naji." He seemed fine though, so she wouldn't press the issue. Scott seemed a little better after they reassured him nothing was wrong, though he still seemed cautious and a little upset. "But Scott...just make sure to try and do better next time? That's all any of us can do in such a scenario." Not that she was used to having to really try. When it came to her academic subjects she never had a tough time of it. "But anyways, we should get moving. I don't like being out in the open like - Ardur?"

Before she could finish that sentence, a familiar voice made itself known.

"I told you before, I am not your steed, pixie." She irritably replied, but otherwise kept quiet as the other pixie spoke. Skirmish? Bonfire? Oh good lord no! No no no! That put a major halt on her own plans! Why for all things logical and sane would they attack the goblins!? Two group of reborn people, too? Were all of them just brain dead and pathetic wastes of air? As Ardur kept speaking, Ash's own mood continued to sour. What of the goblin she had befriended? It was a high chance she was the same as them, given the circumstances. She hoped that goblin was all right, at least.

She held a claw over her nose. Ah, why did she reincarnate? The sweet release of death would be better than putting up with this.

"...and this is why I hate humans." Ash replied in a cold grumble to Ardur. "Wasteful, selfish, and pathetic. Out of all the routes you could have approached the goblins, why choose violence!? Oh don't get me wrong I'm prepared to fight for my life and freedom. I will never let anyone other than myself dictate my life ever again, but this is just absolutely pathetic." She hissed again. "I even befriended one of them! I could have convinced them we could work together, even if for a little while. Share resources! Learn magic from that Crispy! But no, no, you short-sighted fools chose slaughter over potential co-operation! Violence should be a last resort, not the first!"

Panting lightly, Ash realized she was suddenly quite tired and that her little rant was being wasted in the pixie. From having to take these two goblins down, using the overwork skill and this bit of bad news...bah, she was tired. She wanted to quite honestly, blast Ardur in the face with a ball of venom.

"...I'm wasting my breath, like always aren't I? What a disappointment." She grumbled, calming herself and turning away from Ardur. "I don't know why I was expecting anything different from people. Go help your allies, then, Ardur. I could care less what happens. I'll live regardless. I don't plan to die a pathetic death in this life." She cast a glance at the others gathered to see their reactions before turning her head back down the path to her little camp. It didn't matter, in the end, did it? "My camp isn't far from here, for those interested. Out of sight of the goblins so we should be safe there, at least until those fools finish their fighting." She began walking and would return regardless of what anyone else did, though she made sure to hiss loudly at Colchain and give him a threatening 'follow' order'

You used Monster Analysis I! Effectiveness at 100%.
---Ash---
Fanged Lizards are a reptilian monster with potent venom. When injected via a bite, it acts as a neurotoxin to paralyze the prey. When exposed to the air, it becomes a highly acidic liquid. The lizard can spit at a distance. This one told you her name is Ash. She is unusual, she is like you.

---Reoth---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
Fanged Lizards are a reptilian monster with potent venom. When injected via a bite, it acts as a neurotoxin to paralyze the prey. When exposed to the air, it becomes a highly acidic liquid. The lizard can spit at a distance. Lizards will sometimes roam in packs of family units, but only until the young can hunt on their own, compared to Dire Rats often found in the same ecosystem. This one told you his name is Reoth. He is unusual, he is like you.

---Colchain---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
Fanged Lizards are a reptilian monster with potent venom. When injected via a bite, it acts as a neurotoxin to paralyze the prey. When exposed to the air, it becomes a highly acidic liquid. The lizard can spit at a distance. Lizards will sometimes roam in packs of family units, but only until the young can hunt on their own, compared to Dire Rats often found in the same ecosystem. They are normally various shades of gray, blue, and purple, darkening towards black with the lighter colors being speckled across their backs. You have heard this one called Colchain.

---Scott---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
A tiny humanoid Fey-type Monster. While somewhat intelligent, they lack empathy towards one another even compared to beasts like Goblins. Capable of flight and healing magic, but not physically strong or skilled enough to fight or use weapons well. They tend to live fast paced, hedonistic lifestyles doing whatever they please. This one told you his name is Scott. He is unusual, he is like you.
---Analysis Complete---

You have recovered from serious injuries, and your body has adapted!
Skill Gain: Fire Resistance I!
This damage resistance skill applies to both magical and natural flames, as well as higher temperatures in general. If other elemental resistances are gained, skill synergy may occur. Having this skill may make using certain types of fire magic or other fire oriented skills easier.

As the group conversed among themselves, lizards and pixies and one wisp, the two dead goblins remained dead. And dead things, in a cavern like this where resources were in short supply and every day was a struggle for survival, would attract scavengers.

While Ash talked to the two new members of her little party, and Ardur made his re-appearance, Colchain moved away from Scott with a quiet, wary hiss. After observing for a few more moments, the lizard made his way over to the other goblin that Naji hadn’t savaged yet, and began tearing off a few strips of green hide for himself--only to suddenly draw back with a loud hiss, his tail thrashing as three Dire Rats appeared! They had sniffed out the group from afar, and while they were intimidated by its size, none of them had been paying attention to the other goblin body. And the rats, being more numerous and aggressive, didn’t feel quite so threatened by Colchain on his own.

Just as Ash turned back to order her new “follower” to come with her, she would see one of the rats dart forward and snap at Colchain, who shuffled backwards to avoid it and spat a ball of poison at a second rat. This rat moved away, unable to attack but unharmed, and the third jumped onto Colchain’s back. It didn’t seem like it was able to get a good grip or do any real damage yet, but as the lizard thrashed from side to side and snapped his jaws it didn’t seem like he could dislodge the opponent…

Meanwhile, back the way Ardur had come all the way across the cave, something had taken notice of the lone pixie. That lone pixie was no longer alone, but the something didn’t really care about that--after all, this something was big, and felt it had little to fear. With three different colors swirling in a rotund, gelatinous body, a huge slime rumbled across the ground as it rolled towards the group from some distance away…

---

42 Mana Crystals remain.
5 Flame Touched Mana Crystals remain.

Skill Gain: Soil Manipulation I
An Earth Elemental Magic Spell. At this Rank, you may move up to 5 pounds of loose soil (sand, dirt, and powdered minerals, but not gravel, pebbles, or anything made of larger fragments) freely within a 10 foot radius around your body. Using this soil to create a shape or exert a larger amount of force consumes more MP, and takes 30 seconds at minimum. At this rank, created shapes cannot consist of more than one part, or be more complex than quadrilateral structures. At this rank, created shapes cannot change the quality of the soil (sharper, harder, etc) nor its color or texture.

Skill Rank Up! Tremor Sense I > Tremor Sense II!
Range increased. Projection increased--now instead of passively sensing incoming vibrations, you can more strongly emit your own. This skill is weaker when passive, but when actively used you can perform a more detailed type of echolocation through solid, earthy materials.

Skill Gain: Mana Shape I!
You can shape your raw Mana into the appearance of something. At this rank, your Mana does not have weight, force, or other physical qualities. Your Mana cannot produce sounds. Your Mana cannot move freely. Your mana can have its color changed. Your shapes must be relatively simple with no moving parts. The shape cannot be held for long without more MP.

Skill Rank Up: Magic Analysis II > Magic Analysis III!
Gain more detail about observed magic skills, objects, etc. Lose less effectiveness when using this skill on other things, even if they aren’t magically inclined. When analyzing a spell you have seen at least one time before, you may learn information such as its element or function depending on various factors.

You used Monster Analysis I! Effectiveness at 100%
---Green Slime--
Slimes are amorphous creatures more similar to undeveloped egg yolks, yet they are able to move on their own and digest prey. Their bodies are highly resistant to physical damage and malleable. This one is unusual.

---Red Slime---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
Slimes are amorphous creatures more similar to undeveloped egg yolks, yet they are able to move on their own and digest prey. Their bodies are highly resistant to physical damage and malleable. Slimes can sometimes store objects inside themselves or change the shapes of their bodies.This one is unusual.

---Large Blue Slime---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
Slimes are amorphous creatures more similar to undeveloped egg yolks, yet they are able to move on their own and digest prey. Their bodies are highly resistant to physical damage and malleable. Slimes can sometimes store objects inside themselves or change the shapes of their bodies. When they become too large, they reproduce by division.

---Dire Rat---
Dire Rats are quite large and strong for rodents, with sharp senses. They are predator scavengers, and because their teeth constantly grow they forage and gnaw constantly. This one is unusual.

---Dire Rat---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
Dire Rats are quite large and strong for rodents, with sharp senses. They are predator scavengers, and because their teeth constantly grow they forage and gnaw constantly. Their forepaws are somewhat capable of gripping and manipulating, but they aren’t very skilled.This one is unusual.

---Large Dire Rat---
You have analyzed this type of monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
Dire Rats are quite large and strong for rodents, with sharp senses. They are predator scavengers, and because their teeth constantly grow they forage and gnaw constantly. Their forepaws are somewhat capable of gripping and manipulating, but they aren’t very skilled. Rats often hunt in packs, composed of family units, but the mothers will often drive off the fathers as they will behave aggressively towards the young.
---Analysis Complete---

Skill Rank Up: Lesser Force I > Lesser Force II!
MP Consumption decreased. Range slightly increased. Force strength slightly increased. Rather than more powerful, it would be more accurate to say this skill is now more efficient.

Skill Rank Up: Monster Analysis I > Monster Analysis II!
Gain more information about Monsters. Other analysis skills will further boost the information this skill provides, such as a creature’s capability with magic or its equipment.

Your Stamina is Low. Without food, water, and rest, you may experience HP Drain if stamina continues to decrease.

Skill Gain: Dextrous I!
Your practice with fine manipulation and using your forepaws, as well as the natural physical strength of a Dire Rat, has earned an unusual skill for your species! Your paws can now be used to manipulate small objects and tools, though you still aren’t strong enough yet to “wield” weapons or pick up very large things.

Making this group get along was almost as chaotic as the battle with Crispy had been. But ultimately it seemed like Jason’s group took over most of the actual preparation. With Jason himself, Asura, and Digbie working on digging a tunnel, the work went surprisingly fast. However, the fact of the matter was that the ceiling was a good ways above them, and most of these walls were solid stone, since they were load bearing and likely had been here since the first formation of the cave. Tunneling nearly vertically through these was a task indeed. And thanks to all the different methods they were employing, they were making quite a lot of noise and disturbing the area around them.

At some point, Jason took a break to argue some more with Mourningstar. And while doing so, he grabbed one of the volatile Flame touched crystals, and sent a Tremor Sense through it. When he did so, he got a notification saying that skill had upgraded, just as he slurped up the crystal into his inventory.

However, in the time it took a Slime to usually wrap up a foreign object they did not want to digest in an interior membrane, that item would still be temporarily exposed to their digestive juices. This would not have been a problem...had that Flametouched crystal not already been “shaken up” by Jason’s tremors. Like applying a spark to a primed fuse.

'Look Mourningstar, I'm Jason, none of us have time to argue over this shit, so yes, we will be able to talk after all of us survive this. So, if you'll excuse me....' he stated through his mind before retracting his pseudopod, and going onward with his plan to create the Palisade with Digbie…

BOOM

Jason’s green body suddenly turned orange as a hole in his side literally erupted, acting like a propulsive jet that slammed him against the wall. The slime felt a pain more intense than anything he had experienced thus far in his new life--though that particular experience seemed to be becoming more common, considering the different fights he’d gotten into lately. The explosion had only lasted a moment, but it left a smoky smell in the air and the sound had nearly deafened some of the others nearby. Jason’s whole world was a shrill, ringing, spinning blur.

WARNING! Your HP is Low!

But this was not the only misfortune to befall this unusually large party.

As Digbie and Asura continued to dig in their tunnel, though they were perhaps distracted by Jason’s explosive argument, they hit a loose pocket of soil. They seemed to have hit a much smaller tunnel dug by something else--and exactly what that was became clear as soon as two Dire Rats emerged, hissing and snarling with fangs and claws bared!

Momma Slime was too big to get into the tunnel from before, and Jason’s explosion had startled her into shifting somewhat further away from the group. But once she heard the noises coming from where Asura was, she seemed to take on a darker color and burbled loudly as she rolled over towards them. However, this had the unfortunate effect of blocking off the tunnel with her bulk, leaving Asura and Digbie trapped between a squishy blue wall and a pair of very angry rodents!

Ed, Asteria, and Mother Rat had been working steadily on their own, and swift progress was made on the earthen trench as well but at the cost of most of Ed’s stamina. And Asteria would soon hear her own stomach and Mother Rat’s grumbling if they continued at this pace--but more than that, the three rats had separated themselves from the group. One of them was tired. One of them was a young female, and the other, while stronger, was also older. They made tempting targets, putting themselves out in the open amongst all this commotion. Just as it seemed they might pause to take a break, suddenly three scaly heads poked over the edge of the trench! A pack of Fanged Lizards lobbed three spheres of sizzling poison at the rats!

---

You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.
You made an item!
Fiber Cord (Good) + Cane Wood (Low Quality) + Small Stick (Low Quality)(Multiple) + Stiff Stick (Low Quality)
Your Crafting III skill increases the quality of your item. Average > Good.
Your method of crafting is more effective compared to your raw materials. The quality of your item is increased. Good > Well-Made.
You created: Wicker Shield (Well-Made)! You feel sturdier when equipping this piece of equipment! This shield is more effective against Blunt damage than Slashing or Piercing. It is very vulnerable to Fire.

You made an item!
Gnarled Stick (Low Quality) + Sharp Stone (Average Quality) + Tree Sap (Average Quality)
Your Crafting III skill increases the quality of your item. Low Quality > Average.
Your method of crafting is more effective compared to your raw materials. The quality of your item is increased. Average > Good.
You created: Stone Spike Club! You feel stronger when equipping this piece of equipment! This weapon can deal Blunt or Piercing damage. It is slightly vulnerable to Fire.

As Orchid worked, the three goblins that had listened to her earlier now returned from the edge of the forest. Two of them had picked up what looked to be about three items each, but the other only had what looked like a simple stick clutched in one hand, though it was a creamy white color compared to the other pieces of normal wood the goblins had gathered.

“I got dese!” said the first goblin, shoving his way to the front of the pack. He presented Orchid with a Curved Stick, though it was dried out and cracked, along with three Sharp Stones. Unlike the stick, however, these were clearly of much higher quality. One of them looked almost as fresh and sharp as the one she had just ground down to use in her trench club...and the other two both looked even sharper than that!

“Dis stuff betta!” insisted the second as he hip bumped the first out of the way. He had his items bundled in a leaf. It was a bright green, fresh, thick leaf with a sturdy stem, and it was so big Orchid might have been able to use it as a chest wrap if she had still needed one. The second goblin’s second material was another leaf--but this one was a fern of some sort, still large but not quite the right shape or style to be used as clothing. And with its rich purple color, it didn’t seem to be a normal leaf...in some ways it reminded Orchid of the Healing Herbs present in the cave. The second goblin’s last item was a length of vine, colored blood red with black spots on it.

“Careful with dis one!” said the second goblin as he pointed at the vine. “It’s Bloody Snare! Since it’s not attached to da root no mores it can’t move on its own, but if ya get blood on it it tightens up!” He pantomimed being choked. “Like dat!”

The last goblin timidly approached, holding his gift out to Orchid.

“Dis was all I could find...but it’s good! Found it near some Venture tracks!” As he handed Orchid the odd white stick, she realized it wasn’t quite a stick at all--or rather, it was, but at the same time wasn’t. It was definitely made of wood. She could tell by feeling it, and by its texture. It felt like a sturdy hardwood, much better than anything in the other pile. And yet it retained a level of flexibility and smoothness, almost to the point of seeming elastic. But it tapered at one end, and had what seemed to be dried blood vessels near the other--just like a deer’s antlers.

The other female goblin, the one who had protested as Orchid shouted before and who had just finished fire hardening a short spear for herself, made an angry grunt as she watched the three fawning over Orchid. She approached with stomping feet, shoving the first goblin out of the way.

“Gimme some o’ dat! We all needs good weapons!” she said, reaching for one of the high quality Sharp Stones…

Meanwhile, Crispy had made a small but robust campfire, and now sat with a couple of sticks. He was stripping the bark off a nearby tree with his fingers, and rubbing the sticks in the sap. Then he would wrap vines around the end, and coat them in another layer of resin. When he had them bundled up to the point that they looked like large matches, he began laying them aside near the fire.

Rattleskull, on the other hand, had bored a small hole all the way through his bat. He now took a Hard Rock just big enough to fit snugly through this hole, and pounded it on another piece of wood until it was firmly lodged through the center. He braced this with a single piece of thin vine wrapped a few times in an X shape. This short, crude Stone Hammer didn’t seem quite so well made as Orchid’s trench club, but it would certainly inflict some pain in any goblin’s hands. He laid it to one side, then looked for another piece of the nearest material. Said object turned out to be a thinner, but longer and straighter piece of branch. Rattleskull used the sharp edge of his axe again and began to whittle one end of the staff into a point, much sharper than what the other goblins could get by grinding their fire hardened sticks against stones...

---

As Rain made her way closer to the entrance while using her Muffle skill, she soon became able to see their new, impromptu campsite. She could observe the Goblins as they gathered resources, crafted weapons, and seemed overall to be preparing themselves for battle. ((See My/Orchid's posts starting from after your own last post.))

However, though Muffle seemed to make her movements near silent, it didn't do anything to hide her bright blue body. As she moved stealthily she was able to avoid detection by most, but one particular goblin who happened to be standing near the entrance must have noticed something off out of the corner of his vision. Or maybe he had "sensed" her the way some prey animals begin to sense the predator lurking in the bushes. Whatever the reason, he turned, not quite entirely sure, and scratched his head for several long moments...just before he picked out the blue tip of a tail going under a rock. But he, being a dumb goblin, wasn't quite sure what that was. A grub worm? A bug? It was an unusual color...

Brimming with curiosity, but also remembering that the cave was currently quite dangerous for his tribe, the goblin armed himself with a Gnarled Stick and wandered over towards where he had seen the blue thingie...

The slime identified as Jason shot a pseudopod of himself out towards her, Mourningstar was almost inclined to believe it was an attack until he heard his voice inside her mind. His sentence was short and sweet, which didn't give her a lot of time to use Magic Analysis II on the skill before he finished. The usage of Telepathy along with his gross slimy touch had shocked her for a moment, but unfortunately a moment was all that was needed for the events that transpired soon after. "Wait don't just eat that-" She began in a panicked tone before she was abruptly cut off by Jason exploding. He flew into the side of the wall, slumping down as Mourningstar stared at his corpse in shock. No wait no, not his corpse, he was still alive. He was still alive! Throwing her last two points into Focus, she buckled down and analyzed what the hell was going on. Jason was on the floor in dire straits, the big slime was aggravated, blocking off the path to Digbie and the other digging slime, hopefully they could handle the rats themselves, and finally there was a pack of rats being assaulted by a pack of lizards.

With threats analyzed and options decided, Mourningstar shifted into crisis mode. "Oberon, I need you to fix up the slime next to me immediately! Jason, calm down your big slime ASAP and get her to back off of Digbie and the red slime! They need space to retreat and shift the battlefield into their favor! Ardur, we need to go support the rats! Anyone else available, huddle up and protect the crystals! Now would be the perfect time for an opportunistic pixie to start snatching treasure, I've dealt with it in the past and I'm not dealing with it today!" With orders shouted and hopefully followed, she rushed over to the rats, tossing the source crystal onto the pile on her way, charging up a Mana Blade to fire at the lizards as soon as she arrived. At worst it would scatter them, at best it might chop off a limb or cut their heads off like she slit the throat of that one goblin.

As Orchid was putting the finishing touches to her spiked club more goblins arrived who seemed to have did as she ordered. Good. If they survive the battle their obedience would be rewarded. She watched and listened to their loot report. The first brought back a curved stick, not much to be impressed with there, but the stones looked extra sharp. They would make very good spear heads. The second goblin brought leaves and a vine. Orchid almost felt sorry for him since they weren’t going to go with the smoke out plan anymore, but perhaps they could make use of this stuff. The leaves seem safe to handle but just in case, Orchid used material analysis on the leaves, the fern, and the vine.

Speaking of the vine, the blood snare, Orchid had ideas for this one. If what the goblin said is true than this snare could be useful in many different ways. One of the obvious ones was using it to bind her craft together and than get some blood on it to make a sturdier, tighter knot. A second idea was a garrote. She remembered seeing one in an old video game some boys at school were playing. Rope around the neck, tighten, and kill. She specifically remembers seeing how the assassin used it on a big brute of a man, but because of how small and tight the garrote was, he couldn’t pull the garrote loose. This would be useful.

The last goblin brought a strange white stick to her. Something about it seemed odd. Definitely made of wood but it looked manmade. Perhaps it was a wand? She also used material analysis on this item to see what properties it had. Orchid looked at the items before her and thought about what she could do with them. One curved stick, three good sharp stones, a big leaf, a fern, a length of blood vine, and a mysterious white stick. Honestly it wasn’t much. But with a few sturdy branches and her fiber cordage, which she still had quite a bit of, she could make at least three stone tipped spear. The blood vine she’d convert into a garrote like in that video game, and the leaves… She wasn’t sure about the leaves but she’ll think of something.

But before she could start working hat female goblin from before came back. She seemed angry at Orchid and she could understand the hostility. Orchid was bossing people around and of course this girl felt threatened by the presence of another female goblin. Orchid had no time to play miss popular and try to get all the goblins to support Orchid over her. No, she was going to go straight to the source. So as the goblin girl reached for the sharp sticks, Orchid stood up and grabbed her by her exposed neck, making it so she and the girl goblin were eye to eye.

Then as a power move, she leaned in real close to the girl, and kissed her. But it wasn’t a soft and passionate kiss, but a strong, almost violent one. More like Orchid was biting her mouth instead of kissing her. She even pulled on the girl’s tongue with her sharp teeth, as if wordlessly and physically telling the girl to hold her tongue. It was short but vicious as Orchid moved her mouth away and glared into the she-goblin’s eyes.

”I’m going to make this real simple for you. You can stay here, learn how to make weapons from me, and we can all be stronger and better for it. Or I’ll kill you, eat you, turn your bones into a sword, your guts into rope, and I’ll wear your face as my loincloth so you can KISS. MY. ASS.”

The entire time, Orchid’s voice never rose above a whisper. Unlike Rattleskull, Orchid didn’t intend to shout, but to use her words carefully like a butcher’s cleaver: sharp and to the point, not like a blunt instrument to beat you over the head with. And to emphasis that this was no threat but a decision, while Orchid had one hand holding the girl’s throat up so she’s looking at Orchid, her other hand at the spike club, poking at the goblin’s collar bone. Though Orchid was holding the club near the top, she could easily use it like a dagger and plunge it into the other goblin if she showed even an inch of resistance. And just to ensure further dominance, Orchid started to slowly drag the tip of her stone blade down the goblin’s chest, between her breast, taking it in and out of the belly button, and lastly stopping right over the bladder.

”You know when a goblin or animal died, it pisses itself? I wonder if it’s true. Maybe I’ll use you to find out.”

Your Stamina is Low. Without food, water, and rest, you may experience HP Drain if stamina continues to decrease.

Ed winced at the thought. He didn't need the 'System' to let him know that he was tired and thirsty from the work he had done. Though it was not all for naught, the new cache was going well and would probably soon be completed with the help of Aesteria and her mother. A sudden explosion. The sound in itself shocked him. Ed didn't know that they had any materials and chemicals to create explosives, let alone have them on hand. "The living hell was that..." Ed muttered to himself as he stood on his hind legs to see that Jason had been the one to be the recipient of the explosion. He couldn't even get to create a thought as his beast senses acted up. His sharpened hearing picked up the sounds of movement near the trench, causing him to look at the source of the sounds. Suddenly three scaly faces popped into the open and launched a volley of nasty looking spheres of poison at him and the rest of the Dire Rats present.

Ed dodged to the side but was tired as is and just had barely any time to react to the attack. The sphere of acid meant for him lands only a couple of inches away from his body. Though the majority of the poison did not hit him directly, the splash caused by it impacting the ground send globs and droplets of acid onto his body. Ed had never felt this kind of pain before, forcing him to let out a cry of unfiltered agony as both fur and bits flesh was burned off by the acid. Ed then felt the familiar feeling of anger inside of him pooling up as he aimed his hateful gaze upon their would be attackers. The animalistic instinct had now outright demanded that he go berserk. Ed was tempted to do so, but refused with all his being. He had little control during his outbursts and Ed was not willing to risk the safety of the others. He just hoped he had the resolve to keep the urge in control...or at least have the resolve to wrestle back control if he goes berserk.

---

Oh today just keeps getting better and better.

Before she had a chance to even start walking, it seemed a Dire Rat had decided to attack Colchain. Bah, they had lingered too long and the bodies had attracted other scavengers. She'd have lobbed a ball of venom at the rat, but she wasn't confident that with all his thrashing, she wouldn't hit Colchain instead.

Hissing loudly, she bolted towards the Rat, jumping and sinking her own fangs into its neck and forcefully dragging it off Colchain so he could move. She'd release the rat before moving swiftly backwards. Tch, just their luck. Chances were Ardur attracted some attention as well, and she didn't particularly feel like putting up with any more fighting. She had better things to do than just kill everything that came at her.

"Dire Rats!" She shouted, to alert the others. "Three of them! Scott, you want to help, now's the time!"

Filling her gullet with venom, she launched a few balls of venom at the three rats that had gathered, hopefully poisoning them. She hadn't seen the rolling slime ball yet - she was focused on making sure her new pack member didn't decide to suddenly run off among the chaos, or otherwise get injured.

---

---

Asteria steadily dug alongside Ed, only speaking after his reply to her proposition of finding or making another exit. “Oh, I didn’t mean so I could flee and leave the other people to the goblins. I simply thought having an extra exit only we, the humans that is, know about could prove to be helpful. Though making one would be quite the task and I don’t know if we’d manage to conceal it sufficiently…” she trailed off, considering the idea some more, continuing to shovel the earth and rocks from their position, making a hole for the mana crystals and eventually widening and deepening it into a trench.

Sometime during her work, Asteria suddenly received a system notification about gaining a new skill and she would have happily celebrated if she weren’t also getting tired. Gaining dexterity in her paws was quite the advancement, but at the first level, the skill wasn’t yet quite capable of everything she’d like to do. But it did open new possibilities, most importantly the ability to manipulate small tools. Asteria believed she might be able to make a more competent attempt at crafting a bone tool now. What was more, this skill helped in her current task; any small stones she came upon were now much easier to dislodge, pick up, and remove for her.

As she continued working, she realized she was becoming hungrier. First it was a vague feeling of wanting to eat but it soon became a painful clenching of her stomach, a loud grumbling from both herself and Mother making itself known. She was just considering suggesting a break, when three incoming poison spheres entered her line of sight. Asteria dashed to the side and outside the trench, landing to one side of the group, now flanking it. Although her dodge was fast, she had not noticed the lizards before she did their attack and so one of the poison globs caught the last third of her tail, harming it.

Before attacking the lizards, she hissed at them furiously, swinging her tail through the earth from one side to the other to wipe off the poison. Then she simply charged at the nearest lizard, being close enough that she worried about its teeth more than about its ranged attack. She used her speed advantage to quickly close the small distance between them, lifted herself very briefly on her hind-limbs then slammed down into the lizard, her left fore-paw landing on the top of its head and her right on its back. Asteria put all of her weight into the tentative hold, gripping tightly with her paws, then proceeded to try and bite several chunks out of the struggling mass beneath her. If all went well, she would quickly dispatch the first lizard and move onto the next. There was, of course, the danger of being attacked by another lizard right now, but she could only depend on her allies to distract the other two.