---

The pale lizard tensed for a moment as the goblin raised her shield defensively, only to relax some when she realized he wasn't a threat. The goblin spoke and walked away, and Reoth crawled over to Ash as she spoke to him. "What? Did you think I just keeled over?" He couldn't help the chuckle, or closest a lizard could come to it, that escaped him. "I, embarrassingly enough, fell asleep while thinking."

He walked alongside Ash, clearly aware of the torch magically being held over her head, "So you can do that now, neat." He listened to her predicament and let out a sigh, though it was not a negative one, "You make it sound like you won't be able to do anything in a fight right now. So let's just hurry to get this done and get to safety."

He wasn't looking forward at the time it happened, but his gaze shot ahead when he heard trouble, and immediately spotted the trouble Orchid found herself in. Hastily following in Ash's steps, Reoth was running options through his head, until she shouted back at him to help the wisp... that was carrying an egg? "On it."

To keep from leaving the pair completely alone, Reoth carefully and quickly made his way to the top of a nearby large rock, steering clear of suspicious patches of ground. From there he was spot the wisp more clearly, "Over here, wisp! This way but be careful!" He called out to the floating glowball, directing it towards their group.

---

AREA MAPPED. COMPILING MANA...COMPILING...

ASSIMILATION RATE: 0.7%
ASSIMILATION RATE INCREASED
ASSIMILATION RATE: 1%

---

As Ardur returned home, his eight legged friend Steve almost seemed happy to see him, despite the inability of spiders to express any discernable emotion. Still, maybe the way it seemed to wiggle was indicative. When Ardur fed the spider it hurried forward to sup as if it were ravenous, but it seemed clear from the other carcasses wrapped up in the web that the creature hadn't been starving in Ardur's absence. Was there some reason for this increase in appetite?

Ardur reached out to use his Taming Skill, and as he touched Steve's back there was a mental "ping" in his mind.

You used Taming I!
Attempting to Tame: Non-Monster, Common Spider Species
You have named this creature Steve.
Taming...Taming...

It seemed if this process was successful, it wouldn't be immediate. So Ardur returned to his workouts until he had completely exhausted whatever energy he had left, after all that fighting and flying around for almost twenty four hours straight. But when he had finally exhausted himself, and he flopped back onto the floor covered in sweat...

You have used a Mana Crystal. Your MP is Almost Full.

That large crystal that had been growing in his cranny cave for some time suddenly began to disappear. He must have been close enough for it to activate! He felt his MP recover, though by now he had gained a little bit more of it through level ups, if the fact that it didn't top him up completely was any indicator. With this MP, he could cast his Heal spell on himself to recover from the muscular damage of his exercises--it wouldn't restore his stamina, but it might make the process of getting Stronger a little faster.

But before Ardur could sleep, there was another "ping." Except it didn't come from him. When he looked for the source, he would find a large, web-spun coccoon in the place of his friend Steve.

Taming Successful!
You have tamed Steve, a Non-Monster Common Spider Species!
...What's this?
A Creature you have Tamed is Transforming!

Transforming!? Was this the result of Ardur's care and semi-symbiotic relationship with Steve, not just from his attempt at Taming it but from the moment the pixie had been reborn in this world and begun trying to keep the spider as a pet? Was that also why it seemed like Steve's appetite had grown? But Steve was just a normal, non-Monster spider, right? Did non-magical or "normal" beings in this world grow and evolve too? Perhaps, in his former life, Ardur had heard or read of the supernatural beings in some Asian cultures--like spirit foxes--that gained power after living for a long time or being affected by other supernatural forces.

After several long minutes, the web-coccoon split open. And Steve emerged.

Tamed Creature Status:
Name: "Steve"
Gender: Female
Species: Oculus Spider - A low-ranking Arachnid-class Insect-type Monster. While it possesses venom, it is not that much more potent than a normal spider and thus is virtually harmless to humans save in very large doses or in the case of specific allergies. However, because it has adapted to Mana in its environment and thus become a Monster, it has gained a large eye that works differently than its normal eyes. It will swing from a web in a hypnotic manner to entice prey.
Appearance:
Abilities:

• Level 1
  
  
  • Web Spit - Spit a glob of sticky web at an opponent. Deals very little damage, but may Slow an enemy's movement.
  • Doze - For the Oculus Spider, this spell is cast using their eye as a catalyst. May inflict Sleep on a single target.

Transformations:
Common Spider Species > Oculus Spider

Inventory:
Stomach Sac - 0/3 Slots Filled. Small Items only.

Steve had grown quite considerably in size, being roughly the size of a spider from the real world called a Goliath Birdeater. Her hard exoskeleton appeared much tougher, however, and save for her furry backside she seemed to have few vulnerable areas. Now, however, a small glowing mark appeared on the section of exoskeleton between her head and the bottom of that large eye on her back. After a moment the light died down, but the mark, almost like a tattoo, remained to show that Ardur's Taming had been completed.

Steve immediately scuttled over towards the pixie and nudged his leg softly with one of her own. She looked up at him, and "waved" with several of her other legs.

---

While the others seemingly left them behind, Asteria and Digbie set out to dig their tunnel despite the earlier change it had caused in Jason. Mother Rat, having found a safe space near the back of Jason's garden chamber, curled up to sleep as she was clearly exhausted from all the battles and running around of the last day-night cycle. They might have seen Rain/Torrent emerge from her shell with an all new form.

But what none of them could see, at the moment, was a patch of dirt near a large, rocky outcrop somewhat between the pool area and the nesting area where many Dire Rats and Fanged Lizards had been seen. This patch began to shiver, until finally a hand burst through the earth and grasped the soil between its fingers. But this hand had no flesh.

Covered in bits of gristle and blood, with dangling bits of tendon that had not yet dried into jerky, and yellow crusts that had once been fat scattered over its form, the skeleton pulled itself from its shallow grave. Its skull was oversized for its proportions, and its spine was somewhat hunched now that no muscle could support the head's weight. It had large ridges where pointed ears and a somewhat bulbous nose had once been attached to it, and stood roughly three feet tall. In the depths of its eye sockets, green, sickly fire flickered alight.

With a slow, jerky, mechanical gait, the skeleton began to walk towards Jason's cavern. Every so often it turns its skull this way and that, looking at its surroundings. It moved into the shadows whenever it could, but it did not seem to be trying to hide its presence...it was more like it was avoiding something in its path, walking around an obstacle that only it could see.

Slowly, it came closer and closer to Jason's cave, as if it knew exactly where it was headed...

---

As Torrent struggled and fought her way back to her body, the air seemed as thick around her as gelatin. And while her physical form lay in the proximity of that odd crystal, it almost seemed like that red Dungeon Core was watching her, an inhuman eye simply floating and observing. But as her anger drove her on, she finally managed to touch a slightly transparent claw to the mass of swollen, dead skin that had become her body. With a sound like a sudden intake of breath, she was drawn back into the physical realm!

TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE!
Fanged Lizard > Lesserwurm
You have Transformed!
Your base Speed-stats have increased!
Your base Power-stats have slightly increased!
You have not reached your full Potential. The skill Minor Recovery's development is reduced. Current Skill progress is (0.5).
You have not reached your full Potential. The skill Poison Breath's development is reduced. Current Skill progress is (1.6).
You have lost a part of your body! Adjusting to this new form may take some time.

The first thing Torrent could feel upon awakening was how cramped her back was--and just how much back there was to cramp. Her abs hurt like she had been doing situps all day, but the pain went down much lower than just her stomach. And as the pain grew more intense, the only thing she could do was reflexively try to stretch and twist. With her claws she reached out, pushing at this shell around her--

The dead skin of a former Fanged Lizard split open, and with her scales bright and shining Torrent the Lesserwurm emerged into the world. She looked like a fantasy version of a skink lizard, her head being more bony with scaly outcrops along her snout and over the ridges on her eyes. Though she had no back legs, her front limbs had become somewhat longer and stronger. While she didn't have true thumbs, her claws had been reduced to three digits, two of which were longer and the third of which was shorter, thicker, and set at an angle to the others. It was a bit like a human's hand making a constant "Spock-hand" by holding the index-middle and pinky-ring fingers in pairs and curling the thumb. The joints of these "fingers" and the natural curl of her claws gave her a stronger grip that she could feel even as she began to pull herself along the ground--she would be able to pull, or to scoop and dig, quite fast if she felt so inclined. She was roughly twice as long as her previous form, though not so heavy-set throughout her body. As her tail instinctively lashed behind her, she would likely feel confident that she could easily contort herself in a variety of shapes.

But, now that she was awake...

---

SUB-BOSS POSITIONS UNAVAILABLE AT CURRENT DUNGEON LEVEL. INCREASE THE LEVEL OF "THE OTHERWORDLY CAVERN" TO INSTALL SUB-BOSS APPLICANTS.

It seemed Jason would not be able to force the Dungeon Core to recognize Asteria just yet. He would have to find some way to increase the Dungeon's level...whatever that meant. Increasing his own level was one thing, all he had to do was keep surviving and learning. But how did one "level up" a dungeon--essentially a location, not a living being in and of itself?

At the moment, however, he had other things to worry about. He raced off back towards Rattleskull's corpse for some reason...was it perhaps his connection to the dungeon telling him that something was happening? How else would he so conveniently know that he needed to head that way to get involved in a large-scale scuffle no doubt about to happen? But before doing this he grabbed 3 herbs from his garden, reducing the total count to 7 green herbs and 1 odd black one.

As Mourningstar prepared her Mana Blade, a Fireball sprung into existence between Crispy's palms and the goblins following him began to slowly spread out. Whether to get away from the ensuing explosion or to surround the Wisp wasn't clear just yet--but when Jason came rolling onto the scene, he immediately used his War Cry and caused all of them to turn towards him.

"Mourningstar! Stand down!"

"Mid-boss, dat slime just talked!"

"Would you shut the fuck up!?"

"I know he talked ya dum, dese Mobs is weird like dat!"

"Crispy! I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to make you an offer--"

"Oh shit, oh shit oh shit oh shit--!"

As Mourningstar's spell misfired, the goblins reflexively drew back until they realized the spell had hit someone else. Crispy narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on, but the others were confused and hesistant.

"Mid-boss, which one do we attack!?"

"He killed Rattleskull, not me!"

"FUCK. DIPLOMACY. YOU ALL--"

"Shaddup, all of yas get ready for dat Slime!"

"--DIE! ROCK SPIRE--EARTH'S WRATH!"

Between Jason's raging and the glow coming from those lights on the ground, Crispy saw the attack coming and leaped back out of the target area, hurling his Fireball as he did so. He had no way of knowing, however, that the upgraded Rock Spire spell produced three spikes instead of one. In a straight line between Jason and Crispy, starting from those rings of light, the earthen spires shot up one after another. The rocks and soil upheaved with them gave the impression that some kind of enormous mole was chasing Crispy from beneath the earth, and the last spike caught the goblin on the side of his leg just after he relased his own spell.

At the same time Crispy cried out, his blood spattering the ground, Jason got a faceful of fire. Earlier he had been hit with a torch and it hadn't hurt too badly--but this was real magic, and it was more powerful than Crispy's earlier fireballs the group had seen. Without any resistances to it, despite having high natural defenses Jason felt an incredible amount of pain as the flames surged over his membrane, leaving blackened spots on his "hat". The explosive impact knocked him over, interrupting his attempt to cast his Mind Wave spell.

It was at this point that the Shield Goblin charged forward, thrusting with his spear while he kept the defensive implement up in front of his body. Its stone tip pierced Jason's hide and then yanked back out in a swift motion before the goblin drew back--he had learned by this point that Slimes didn't take a lot of physical damage, but they could trap one's weapon inside their bodies. Still, every bit of damage helped. And as the Shield Goblin stepped back from his own attack, one of Crispy's minions--a female--came from Jason's other side with a scream, rapidly swinging her sharp stone knife...

But before the other two goblins could join in, they noticed something that stole their breath away. Their green skin practically turned white as they pointed and began to jabber in fear.

"M-m-m-m-mid-boss, IT'S DA B-B-BOSS!"

Rattleskull's body began to stand up. Without his head.

The huge, furry shoulders lifted one by one. The torso began to rise up until it was standing on its knees...

And out from underneath came something huge and blue that made a distinct, almost happy blurbling sound.

"AM BOO SHA!" rumbled Momma Slime as she tossed off her "camoflage", before using her huge psuedopod to "backhand" Crispy's other minion head over heels across the rocks, then falling with her entire mass onto the unfortunate torchbearer. The goblin managed a scream as his torch was knocked out of his grip.

You used Monster Analysis I!
---???---
This is a Fanged Lizard undergoing Transformation. 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. However, this one has either lived long enough or become strong enough to Transform into another type of creature. It's extremely vulnerable during this process. This one is unusual. You think her name was Rain. She is like you.
---Crispy---
You have analyzed this type of Monster before. Effectiveness boosted.
This is a Goblin. A semi-intelligent monster with the limb dexterity and mental capacity to use tools. By comparison, usually as large, strong, and intelligent as a human child, but far more vicious. This particular specimen is an adult male, and you have learned his name is Crispy. He possesses an unusual Variant that has given him a magical skill involving fire. He has a Torch and a well-made Stone Knife on his person to use as weaponry.
---Analysis Complete---

As Danny watched from afar, he saw Jason and Crispy's spell flinging duel and the other goblins rushing to assist. He also witnessed Momma Slime's ambush, and saw Asura come out of his temporary coma in an all new form. If he were to join the battle, his fellow reincarnators would equal the Goblins in number, but so far it seemed like none of the enemies had noticed him yet. Did he want to take that risk...?

---

"You are not the one either, yet you are also a human in the form of a monster..." The blue eyes didn't seem to have heard Oberon properly at first. They looked down at his body, being carried away by Mourningstar, and then over to the red slime that now seemed to be moving again.

"Spirit, if you remember anything...bring a Human to this place! Find a Hero!" The eyes seemed to be growing more distant now...but they made one final effort.

"I...am not the one that binds you here...This Place does not...know you. But outside, the World...knows you do not belong..." It seemed the eyes were going to say something else...but they drifted away before Oberon could learn anything else.

And then he felt something in the air snap.

A̝̭͖ͦ̿̍̈̀l̟̩̭͉͙̠̐̔̽̓ͥ̕r̛̞̼̫͕̙̩̤͂̓͆́ͭ̓í̓̆͂̋͒̀g͇̞͓͔͉̟̦ͮ̃ͪ̐h͔͓ͦ̄̑ͮ̾̋͢tͤ̓͋̉̎ͮ͒̀,҉̜͕̱̭̫̠ ̧ͮ̃I̦̥̣̪̓̐ ͈̮̠͘t̥̞͈͈̬̳̟ͥ̆͠h̤̗ͩͣ͒ȋ͎̫ͫn͋͒̆͊̏ͦ҉̭k̠̣̪̤ͪ͋̓̿͞ ̮̯̓̿̆ͨͣĪ͚̗̦͓̪̺͎̽̄͒́ ̀̓́g̢ͪ̉ͭͭ̽ö̘́ͣ̓̉t ͓̳̯̭͓͊͗i͉̇ͩ̒ͥ̀̏̌͘t̳͇͚͓͕̲̬͌̑̓ͬ͢.̣̭̪̣̝̻̄̍͂́ͅ ̲̭͍̗̯̜͜ͅT̻̓̅͂͐h̪͎͓̦̪̑̄̆̊ë̲̱͖͖̺́̒̓̓ͧ ̛̭̘͊͊̈́̾̔S͙͎ͮ̆̉̃ͪ̉ͭo͏͔̜̗͓̲͕͚u̖̖̭͐̅̍ͭ̅͆̋ͅl̯̥̤̓ͯ͑̏̌ͫw͙͔̻̤̎̈́͛͂̒͌͑̕ͅa̷̤̠̹̪̠͈ͯl͈͚̥̦̆̒͘l̩ͯ͌͒̍͗ ̘͊ͩ̏ͮ̇s̘̏ͫ̈ͥ̚h͙̝̰̮̃́̃̔̃͑o͒̄̉̑̍u͋̐̄̔̓ͮͧ͜l̼͖͕̱̜ͩͩ̃d̾͗̂̏ͦ͡ń̪'̫̲̖͖͎̘̳̓̂̈̿t̛̗̱̣̯̳͓̯̄̌̽͑͒̉ͥ ̱ͬͬ͗͜b̳̭̯̖̙̣o̝̥̻̺̺͐̈́t̼̙͍̩̺̼̿̔h̪ͩ̑ͧ̍͗̿e̱̝̺͓͎̰̗ͥṟ̥̬͖ͤ͟ ̞̻͚̟̏̂̊̑̈̔y͍̘͓̮̳ͮ̾ͣ̑͞o̓̒ͮ̓̈u̼ͭ͞ ͚̬͔̖̆͌̓̅ͣ̾̆ͅg̷̀̅̃͑ŭ̬̼͐̍ͣͅy̫̞͕ͣͧͮͯ̔̔s̮ͥͭͦ̀ͨͨ ͍̠͎͙̩̹̮͊̐ͭ͡ḁ̤͇̖̯n̡̺͔͈̻̯͊ͬ̍ͤ̚y̢͕͔̥ͭ̅̂m͇ͫö̧̗̪̤͍̳̜̾͋ͅr̢͈̻̮̪̟e̲̩͝ ͚̼͚̼̬w̟̞͔̺͉͋̆ͨͦ̅i̛̼̘̼̦̭͇͊t͡h̷͛ͧ́̉î̱͙͎͛ͭͬ̾͟ṇ͔̠ͮ͒͒̃̄̃ ̵͔̘̗̣̮̖ͭͦ̊̉͆̑th̦̹̫̩̘͖͌i̍ͧͮͥ̈́̂̃s̥͢ͅ ̬̊ͥ̅̓ͤD̤̲̮̣̣̜̾u͈ͥ̽ͤ̔ͥ̚n̯̞̻̈́g̜̳͈͉̋̐͒͂̀ë̴̤̘̲́͆̓ͩͥ̐o̳͍͖̞̼̪ͯ̍̎ͩ͢nͩ͏̫̺̼͎̥-̤̪-͕̮̼͓̳́i̫̻̲̼̓̿͆̂ͩͬ̾͘t̄̌ͩ̊̎'̞̤ͨ͒̌̄̈́͋͂͢s͉̣͌ͮ̍͋̓ͤ͑ ̊ͮ̚͏̖̗aͧ̂̀̇̉̚ ̳̬̫͑̾ͨ̚D͈͋e̜ͯ̆̓̎͑a̪̱ͫ̐ͯ̄̀t̰̦ͬ̀h̽͘ ͑̋͊̒͑ͤ̄ͅTy̖̟̭ͭ̽͊͂ͫ̅̂p͇̘̮̠̯̖̈́̽͛̆̔̊̑͠e͕̗̦̦͇͗̉̾̃̍̒̄ ̮̼̞͐̓ͣa̱̮̥͒͗̈́̊ͣ́n̝̮̳̣͚ͬ̾̎ͣyͭͨͥ̑w̼ͤͣa̦͎̺̫͍ͨ̂̽̌̍ͬ͘y̬ͪ̍̂ͯ͗,̲̭̺̯̙̍̃ ̘͕̥͓̘̊ͯ͒͢s̷̫ͮ̏o̤ͤ͌ ̲̗̤́̉̒̌̍̀ͨi͔̰̹̣͊͆͊ṫ̤́ ̗͙͉͈̭ͤͭͯ̋̄͝n̹ͪͮa̻̞͕̺̠̒̿ͯ͐̂̕ͅț͖͇͚͛͒̓û̹͓̠͓̆͋ͤ̂͒r̤͍͓͖͇̍̈́a͗͗̋ĺ̗̬̤̣̺̻l̞̹̈́̋́̔ͬ̈́̚̕y̓ͬ̉̌̉ ͙̜̠͙̫͛̍ͨ̈́͒̎h̩̒ͫ͆̓̅̚͝o̢̺͙͎̩͈̗̍ͨ̃̾̿l̤̠͇͎̹̖̽d͇̜͍͕̆̄͒ͧͣ͡s̋̅̀̄̔̉̄͡ ͕͈̱̦ͣ̑ͧ̃̎̅̽y͎̩̪̠̭̌ͪ̒̄̒ͮ̌̕o̻̊u̢̜̼̺͑̊ṛ͈̞͍̐ͫ̈͋ͫ͠ ̧͆̌̍̓ͩ͆̌s̲̖̰͗̅̒̇ͅȯ͐̃̃̈̅͌u̗̘̜͇ͫͭ͛̎̏ͧ͒ͅḻ̜̬̠̝͚̲͑̑s͋͡ ̻̺̘̥̖̲̆̔ͤi̺̯̫̹̠ͧͥ̈̽ͦͭ̑n̩͍͂̔͆̓̚ ̻̦̗̬̟̅ṗ̖ľ̡̲̹̏ͥ̑ͪͥ̚ͅa̹̤̥͕͓̲͍͞c̳̞ͪͣ́e͙͕͍̼̲ͪͪ͂̄.̪̺ͧ̏̓̓ ͆ͣ͗̎͌A͙͚̞̮̻͎̱̅͑̿͛̊̊̅s͚͓͆̕ ̨̳͚̯̼̖̳l̟͍̮̉̎̾́o̪̭̟̱͙ͫͤͦ͊͂n͆͋͏g̱͔̲̞͎̠͢ ͔̮̦̭̫̈́̋̋̆ͪ̿ͅa͙͖̤̖͍͙ͩ̉ͪ́ͮͅs͉̟͓͔̲̹͛̅̀͐̈́ͪ͘ ̩͜y̶̥̖̗̼̆̚o͉̹̻͙̮ͭͭͣ̆͒ͅu͍̜̻̫̜̙͠'͊ͧ̎́ͤͨ̋͟r͉̟̂́̒ͥ͢e͚̙̦ͫ̑ ͕̗͚ͦ́̍e̪̽̆̇̒̿͆̔v̸̳̣̙̟ͯͬͧͩͅő̲̻̩̬̻̭̐̒̀̍̏ͤ͠ͅl̶̝̙̖̝̥̥͇v̪̙̦͓̮̖̜í̳̒n͓̐͐̋ͭ̏ͯ̚g͓̼̦̗̦̠͐̆ͪ͞ ̣̩̎́̒͒ä̢̘͎̂ͣ̓ͩͯ͒ͅn̪̬̻̗̱̻ͬ͌̒ͣd̞̋̓̆̔ͅ ̞͕̰͉͈̮̬ͩ̇ͧͦ́n̑̓ͩ̾ͩ̅oͫ͐͏̫̻̬̦̞t͉͔̜̊ͮ͌̔ ̳̱̯̥̮̹̻͛̀̚̚a͇̥̒͊̊ͩ̃ͭć͈͕͎̻̪ͮ̈̀t̮̝̊u̮͖̽̍ͧͧ̉a̢͇̫͈͐̚ͅl̸͕̪̪̈ͬ̐̇̉̅͐l̈͆̄ͩ͐ͩ҉̜̣̝̙̟̖ͅy͉̰̠͖̟̾̂͜ ̢͕̙̯̙͑ͧ̽̉d͡y̜̩̩̘̦̓ͥ͒̋͛ͩ̒i͙̘͙̣̥̩͊̆ͫ͑ͦ͟ń̉͒̾̆͛͘g̙̉̈́͌̇,̮͓̘̫̂̓ ̥y̌ͥ́ͭ͏̟̤̲̝̠̬ö͒ͬͣu̜̗̘̱̝ ͕ͫ̐̅͐̋͐s̽̽ͨ̆͛ͪh͚̯̻̔̅͋ͬ͋́o̷͚̟̫̣͆͂̈́͛uͥ͑͋̈͆́l̛̟̭̥͕̱ͪd̓͊ͧ͜ ͇̮̪̉ͪ̇ͮj̶̼̱̺͚̜͛u̹͉ͮ͊̐͒͑̚s̶ͩ̅͛̒ͧt̅͑̀̓͛ ̢̟͓̱f͍̭̦̬̜l͕͝ṓ̩͉͕̣ͤ̍ͪ̋a̠̞̰̎͊t̸̠̱̬̳̝̃̌ͣ͗ͥͬ ̡̦͔̲̓ͭ̒͗͋͛ͅa͓̳͂ͣ̾ͫ͗ͦ́r̡ͯͤ̈́̚ó̦̩̥̟̭̟͊̉ͅụ͉̭͎n͖͔͙̼̒̓͆ḏ̵͊ ̛̻͉̥̌ͭ̈́̍̊ͨf̵͍̣̙̀͗̾̃͂o͙͖̝̦̰̎̈̌r̖̪͈ͨ͋ ̥̜͎̋̈́̾̌̿̑͘a̬͓͆ ̝̠̲͚ͧ̀ͩ̈́̂w̡̟̼̖͉̍̅̐͐h͆i͉̍́l̷̖͍͓̻̭͖̅̊̏ͬë̌ͩ҉͚̮.̶̞̙̫ͤ̐.̵̯̘͇͚̤͓̀.̇҉͙͇̝ͅ
̳̲̳̠̞ͧ
͊͐͛̑͛̕Ȗ̘̭͖̤͊͊ͩͫñ̫̲̫̞̯͛̏̃͢f̶̱̻̫͍̯̦ͥ̅ͫ̊o͎̣̟̪̖̤̙ͣͧ́ͪͦ͢r̷̟̪̘͕̝̼̻͛́̐̍͒̋ͦt͕͎̙͋ͯu̝͓̣̭̻ͤ̔͆̏͑ñ̀̃͆̔ͨ̀a̤͉̬̹̰̗ͮ̔̾͛̂tĕ̋̃͏̰̲̠̦̞͚͉l̢ͣͬ̀̃ͫ̽y̡̟͈͈̠,̧͎̰̙̔͊ͫ̇ͩ̒̈́ ̴̰̙̰̱̆́̂͑̂t̨̳̹̫̿h̳̤͑̏i͙̭͖̱̱̐͟s̠̣̳̺̼ͨ̾̆̆͢ ̴̫͖̦̼͑i͆ͩ̔͗s͓̑̑ͣ̃͑̐̓n͍̗̻̥͕̹̞ͭ͋͐̏̋'̦̜̭͚̣̞͑͋̍́t͒͒̾̚҉̝̩ ̩̜̖̺̙̗͐ͦͭs̷̫̜͍͉̼̻̓͌̾̇̓͗͂ọ̾ͤͨ̽͗̒ͪmͩ͌̈́͋̿̃ͥe̟͙̳̐̌̿̏̆w̥͔͈̱̙͍͞h̰̪̞ͬ͐ͪè̳̹͕͍͚ͬ̆̌͢ͅr̷̯̭̩͖̲͚͎͌̽̑̒e͎͓͓͗͛̂̉ͩ̽͂ ̯͖̫̰̦̤̭́y͈̰͕̝̻ͬͦ̒̈ͯ̔ͬ̀o̖̺̞͕̔͒ͩͫ̍u̘̯̪͂ͥ ̹͖͚̥̻w̤̥̅ḁ̣͈̞̗̲̺̿̍̂͢n͉̱̓ͯ̀ͨͣ̆ͭn̛̈ͦ̾ͯͤa̼͎͢ ͎͕͖̭̠͉̽̀̂s̴̒̈́͐ͩ͒t̟̙͇̮̫͗͒͗ã̞̥͍̮̭̪̫̓̾̂̑͗͛y̙̺̞͖̮͍͎̚.̣̟̻̤ͦ͛̆ͧ̀ ̗̤H̼͊̉o͓̦͠p̔̊̕e̷̫͙͚͓͋ͯ̃͂ͪ̇̇f̟͔͕̥̿͋ͤ͊ͦ͂̋ͅu̴͈̝̺̜͎͙l̙̝̹͚̰̫̱̍̈ͬ̚l̙̜̪͕̬͓ͧ̅̓͢y̠͔̽ͯ̃́̓̽̌ ͘m̴̥ò̦̩̾ͦ̃̍̚̕ŝ̖̱͙͙̱̏͆͛̔́̄ͅt̛̮̰̮̪̋͒ͫͬͫ̍ ̢͕̳̑̄̅̐̄o̭̻̣͌ͨ̔̀f͙̦̣̗̼̪ͧͪ̏̐͑͞ͅ ̲ͤͣͤy̰̟̭̠̮͓͂ͧ̇͝o̶̟̝̺̣̝̺̘̒̂ͥù̱̼̿͒̒ ̯͖̦̙̼͖̈̽̏̈̈́͑̚͡w̭̫ͯ̍̃i̩͋̽̎ͤ͐̋l̨̥͐ͮ̊ͧ̓l̀ ͤͨ͏͓̜͕̣̬̥m̖̳͓͓̬̳̈̇ͣaͤ̎ͦ͌k̕ê̢̐͊ͬͮͧ̚ ̾̍҉̼̗͕̲i̴͍̒̃ͯ̽t̶̩͎̟̪̂̾͋̉̆ ̺̭̾̿ͯ̓̏͛͑o̼̳͆ͧ͗̈́ͪͩ͜ư͙̤̘͆̐̍̌ͩ̇t̙̖͚ͯ̈́́ ̤̰̞͍͋̃̆̍o͈̹̣̻̬͊ͬ̽̃͋̋̑f̞̩̞͉̺͕̋͆̒́̀ ͤ̾̍̏͐ͭ͝h̝̺͎̯͕̻̚̚e̐̋ͧ̉͏̠r̶̲̠̉͐͋̅e̔͆̑̈́͛ ̝̖̱͋̑͗̎͋ͭ͡b͎̙̆͐͗̓̚e̺̬̗̓̇́ͯf͎͈̭͚͖͙̫͋ͩo̱͔͉̹͊́r̡̳̙ͅe̝̪̺̖͇̰̱ͥ͂-̦̦̞̠̟̱̪ͮ́̌ͣ̉͠-̺̰̅ͮͪ̓

Before he could finish reading whatever it was the Demon King had to say, Oberon found himself plummeting back towards his body...

TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE!
Pixie > (Immature) Sprite
Your Max MP has increased!
You have increased the Rank of your skill, Minor Heal!
Minor Heal I > Minor Heal II!
Your Minor Heal now recovers more HP for the same MP cost!
You have not reached your full Potential. The skill Minor Heal All is reduced to (0.5).
You have not reached your full Potential. The skill Light Affinity is reduced to (0.5). Increase it further by learning more about Light magic.

The bundle being carried by Mourningstar suddenly gave a kick like a baby in the womb. If her Lesser Force hadn't been ranked up recently, she probably would have lost her grip entirely. The wings that Oberon had wrapped around himself suddenly cracked, their translucent shimmer gone dull and dead and gray. But as they unfurled, falling away like shedding scales, long and thin spirals of bright color were left in their place. And these rolls unfurled like sails, blood pumping through them as they inflated to proper size, revealing Oberon's body.

He hadn't changed much in size, but his skin had become porcelain in color, as if he had been covered in geisha makeup from head to toe. His hair was the same color but had become far more vivid in shade and tone, standing out in stark contrast to the rest of him. It almost seemed like he shimmered, reflecting light from the Wisp's body and other sources. And his wings, once they were done stretching out, had become like those of a butterfly complete with a distinctive pattern.

But now that he was awake...

---

As Asura struggled and fought his way back to his body, the air seemed as thick around him as gelatin. When you were made of gelatin yourself, that made for a very difficult swim. Yet still he struggled, and when he was finally close enough to stretch a pseudopod towards his body, something gave way. With a distinctive, slimy slurp, his astral form was sucked back into the physical world!

TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE!
Slime > (Immature) Amorphous Slime
You have Transformed!
All base Speed-stats have increased!
You have not reached your full Potential. Your stat increase has been reduced.
All base non-defensive stats have slightly increased.
You have increased the Rank of your skill, Limited Shapeshift!
Limited Shapeshift II > Limited Shapeshift III!
You can now alter a single property of your body with the appropriate shape. For instance, a pseudopod with an edge could become Sharp, or the surface of your membrane could become Hard. However, only one property may be altered at a time, and these properties are not equivalent to higher ranking physical materials such as steel swords or stone clubs. Your maximum "reach" with stretched portions of your body remains the same. While maintaining your original mass your ability to alter fine details is increased. A "blade" made from your body could be shaped in various ways, for instance, but a pseudopod with a blade at its tip would not be so refined; this would apply to other features like imitated body parts or facial traits.

The red egg expanded as if it had transformed from a shell to a yolk. Indeed, as bits of him began to drip and flow, Asura found himself "growing" about a quarter again his original size. The difference was that, aside from a lumpy bit in the center that more or less resembled a half-sized version of his original body, all this extra mass seemed to be liquid rather than jello. There was a limit to how far he would expand, unlike a true fluid, and he could draw himself into a larger lump if he so wished, but this seemed to be the default form of an Amorphous Slime.

But, now that he was awake...

---

Though she stumbled and fell, Orchid managed to protect herself and didn't fall into any of the other traps. As she regained her footing she would notice that she was bleeding, but while it might need bandaging it didn't seem like it was a gusher or anything. She would then notice what had pricked her, now that her bright red blood made the Poisoned Bone Needles more visible. Whether because too much time had passed, or the small dosage used on the needles, the goblin had avoided a damaging infection for the moment...but how many more traps were around here? Had those other monsters set them?

Ash, staying alert, managed to catch the telltale signs of Asteria and Ed's digging and avoided the traps for herself. As she approached Orchid, the two of them saw Mourningstar heading towards them, and the Pygmy Drake requested that Reoth move to help them. From this distance they would soon witness Oberon's Transformation, a rather dazzling spectacle.

"Ow." Orchid stepped back from the spikes and examined her foot. It really wasn't that bad, but seeing the makeshift caltrops, Orchid was concerned if she was poisoned. Her leg wasn't numb and her wound was minor, but still she should be wary. "Dammit. I should have tried to make some shoes or something." Orchid wouldn't have much more time to do any examinations as new threats were coming. A ball of light carrying something. If Orchid had to guess, more of the other humans. However she was asking for help, being chased by "bad guys". Hard to say what a bad guy is in the midst of this chaos. But if Orchid had to guess, bad guys in the direction this wisp came from meant there was bad news happening that way. Orchid had no interest in dealing with that, so she would go the opposite way. Once she figures out how to get past these traps.

"I don't know who you are and frankly I don't give a damn. I'm getting out of this cave. Ashe, there are some traps up ahead so I'll have to move a bit more slowly, but otherwise... Watch out. Shits going real crazy now." Orchid didn't take her eyes off this newcomer or the weird pixie she brought, raising her shield defensively. Orchid would walk slowly and carefully now, shuffling her feet instead of taking steps so she could sweep aside any more spikes instead of stepping on them. "If you're one of the humans, just know that I blame you for everything going to shit so quickly. You couldn't just try to talk things out with the goblins first before you decide the best thing to do was kill their leader and destabilize their little clan. What next, try to plant a new leader to control them and then go right back to war when they end up going independent? You'd think you people would know more about the cold war if you at least took a history class or something!" Orchid sassed, partly to vent at them, mostly to distract them from her allies and focus on her as she slowly would make her way towards the cave exit.

Asura finally regained his body with this oddly satisfying feeling. He fought off whatever had been holding him stuck in the air. Or it had let him go, not willing to hold onto such a slippery target for too long. He "hatched" for lack of a better word. It was more like he melted and his body was more liquid than ever. Trial by fire since he had been watching the fighting going on around him.

"Good job, Momma." He called out when she performed a perfect ambush. Taking out one of the goblins right away. While he spoke his body had moved, whipping up he struck the back of the flailing female goblins skull. Meanwhile he eyed Crispy who was bleeding from the leg. "You're a smart kid, I'm a smart man. I honestly don't really wish to fight you. If you call back your people and return to your fire I can get the other slimes to back off." He said, his tone calm but it was clear if he was attacked he would return the favor.

---

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu@Duthguy@Searat

As a rather potent fireball knocked Jason to the ground, the red haze of his anger slowly began to disperse. Why the fuck did he attack Crispy? It was MOURNINGSTAR that had lashed out against him, was it perhaps panic? Survival instinct? Regardless, it was disheartening how easily he had given in to his emotions. As he was lost thought, one of the goblins stabbed him with a stone tipped spear..... Which.... didn't really hurt at all! In fact, the only thing to seemingly noticeable damage to Jason was Crispy's extra powerful fireball, and he wasn't even at low health! As if on queue, Momma Slime and Asura joined the fray! Even though killing Crispy would progress his quest, having the goblin's fire would be invaluable for cleansing undead from the cave. Hell, might as well give diplomacy one more shot right? From what it seemed, even Asura was even trying to talk the scorched goblin down. It was a longshot, but maybe [Charisma I] would prove it's worth in this moment.

One Mana Crystal used.
Five Mana Crystals in inventory.
One Healing Herb used.
One Healing Herb in inventory.

"If it's not too late Crispy, I'd like to apologize for my outburst. Getting betrayed the moment I tried to talk to you made me act irrationally... In fact, I was hoping we could work together to cleanse our home of an even greater threat: UNDEAD. Though their numbers may be small at the moment, they need to be destroyed before the cave is overrun! I can't destroy them all myself Crispy... Can I count on you and your fire to make this cave safe, not just for goblins, but for all it's living denizens?" he said calmly, easily ignoring the virtually negligible attacks of Crispy's grunts.

As Jason talked (of course he waited for Asura to finish his statement first), he stared at the fire-slinging goblin, using [Focus I] to prepare a [Mind Wave I], at the first sign of the goblin trying to hurl another fireball at him, or his companions, Jason would sent forth his psionic attack, even if [Focus I] wasn't yet fully charged. "MIND WAVE--PSYCHIC DESTRUCTION!!!"

"Wisp! Over here!" Oh thank god. Thank Demon Lord? Yeah, that would probably be more appropriate now. "Reoth help that wisp if you can!" Names assigned, cooperating monsters of different species, yup, they're humans all right. "Over here, wisp! This way but be careful!" Mourningstar slowed slightly as she looked around, letting out a small breath of relief. It looks like there are spike traps around, thankfully she could fly so that wasn't an issue.

However it would be an issue if she dropped the egg which suddenly tried to kick out of her grasp. "No no no no-" Mourningstar scrambled to keep her mental grasp on it, thankfully pouring all those points into Lesser Force really had helped. A crack echoed through the cave as the dull gray egg in her grasp began to splinter, for a brief moment she feared she had shaken the egg too much, but those fears were quickly alleviated.

Mourningstar gently set Oberon down as his wings unfurled, the light shining off of him stopping all thoughts she had had previously. He was absolutely beautiful, there was no other way to describe it. His skin was like pure china, every color on him was more vivid and detailed, it was like he was the star she sought to become. To ruin this moment would be a sin among sins, this perfect piece of time was worthy of a million painting. "Monster Analysis." Of course, the all consuming desire for knowledge never stopped, she needed to know just what Oberon had turned into after all. Perhaps he was getting closer to becoming like his namesake, the King of Fae and Consort to Titania.

"Good to have you back Oberon. Umm, the slime went mad with power and is trying to kill us now. So I ran away. Sorry about that." Heavily edited, mostly true but not entirely, but most importantly, quick. And quick was what they needed right now. "Anyhow, I found some more humans! And these ones probably aren't crazy! Now we just need to find Digbie and Rain, then get the hell out of this place with our new allies! Then we find the Demon King!" The perfect plan, absolutely nothing wrong here.

With that, Mourningstar approached Ash's group with... well, neutrality would be the best way to put it. She was still very panicked and in a rush, but she seemed excited at the same time. These guys seemed nice enough, they hadn't yelled any orders at her yet, so that's a plus.
"I don't know who you are and frankly I don't give a damn. I'm getting out of this cave. Ash, there are some traps up ahead so I'll have to move a bit more slowly, but otherwise... Watch out. Shits going real crazy now." The Goblin raised her shield cautiously, she couldn't entirely blame her either. New monsters are dangerous, she had just found that out first hand. It looked like this was the same Goblin Mourningstar had run into earlier yesterday actually, the human who was with Crispy's group. Interesting. "If you're one of the humans, just know that I blame you for everything going to shit so quickly. You couldn't just try to talk things out with the goblins first before you decide the best thing to do was kill their leader and destabilize their little clan. What next, try to plant a new leader to control them and then go right back to war when they end up going independent? You'd think you people would know more about the cold war if you at least took a history class or something!"

Mourningstar blinked twice, looked around to see if the Goblin was talking to someone else, then looked at Orchid with a very conflicted expression. On one hand, she was a little miffed that this Goblin would just assume that it was her fault for everything go so horribly wrong. On the other hand, she kinda wanted to run away before this obviously hostile Goblin tried to hurt her for messing things up, even if she hadn't done anything. "I didn't do anything though. I went to the bonfire to try and stop a fight. Then I got attacked and set on fire and a whole bunch of stuff happened. I didn't set out to kill anyone. The Slime with the weird hat did all of that stuff..." She trailed off as she looked behind her, towards Jason's direction.

"Speaking of. I think the Slime did something. After I got the notification about the dungeon forming, he ran off to his cave or something. When he came back he started yelling and trying to get the goblins to become his minions." There was a lot of information missing here, Mourningstar still wasn't sure what was going on with this dungeon, but she did know that Jason was probably at the center of it all. "Either way, I think we need to leave. I feel like... something bad is gonna happen if we stay." It was then that she noticed just how much she had backslid into her timid ways and she shook her head.

"Anyways! I'm Mourningstar, and this is my second in command Oberon! He's a really cool... well, he was a Pixie. Not sure what he is anymore now that he evolved. We had two more allies, a Goblin named Digbie and a Lizard named Rain, but they disappeared with the Slime when he ran off earlier. I don't know where they are now, I kinda want to find them- no, we have to find them before we leave!"

---

"Well," Ash mused. "We can see about getting you shoes once we're out of here..." Ash chuckled lightly, doing her best to potentially spot anything wrong with Orchid's small wounds. Didn't seem to be anything serious for now. Thankfully the Wisp seemed to be agreeable, and Reoth was doing his job. As the wisp approached, a small rock...egg? whatever it was she was carrying seemed to jump form her grasp before nearly falling to the ground and...hatching a pixie? It definitely looked like a pixie. He was certainly quite attractive, had Ash a moment to spare on the thought. For now though, as intriguing as it was she couldn't linger on the subject. Orchid began speaking in quite the...well, funny sassy manner. Orchid spoke up upon noticing the Wisp - and Ash couldn't say she disagreed with her ally right now either. It was highly probably this wisp certainly was involved with the other group that so brazenly attacked the goblins, making a mess of everything. The thought did make her more than a little irritable, but she wasn't one to act on such base impulses.

Even so, further behavior like this was not helpful to the current situation. Thankfully the Wisp didn't seem to take it too bad.

The wisp, apparently named Mourningstar went on to explain what happened. Some sort of slime had commanded all of this? Potentially the one Ash had met earlier? Maybe. Too little information to make an accurate guess on. No matter. Either way, she would be cautious of this slime from now on. The wisp went on to explain more about them having an ally or two that were seemingly left behind and seemed particularly insistent that they find them. Ash breathed in, then exhaled.

"We can figure out this mess later when we're safe. For now we need to watch each other." Ash spoke up loudly, hopefully her Charisma would keep everyone mostly calm. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Ash, Reoth, and Orchid. It seems we are mostly in agreement about needing to leave this cave." She spoke in a friendly, but hurried manner as she indicated to the three of them with her tail as she named themselves. "...I would...usually not mind helping you find your friends, but as it stands I'm exhausted and won't be much use. I haven't slept in over twenty four hours thanks to this mess." Ash shook her head, obviously exhausted. "And I have no intention of throwing myself in the middle of whatever is happening here. We're heading for the exit - and both of you are more than free to come with." Turning her head back to Orchid, Ash attempted to catch up with the goblin and position herself in the front, still walking, albeit a little wobbly.

"Let me lead." She said, keeping herself Alert. "I can see the pitfalls well enough and potentially anything else ambushing us." Turning her head back to the rest of the gathered people, Ash shouted back so they could hear her. "Reoth, you bring up the rear and keep your eyes and ears open. Orchid, stay near me please. Mourningstar, Oberon, if you're coming, if you could stay above and see if you can spot anything from the air! You might find your friends, too." That was the best Ash could do for now. She couldn't stay behind and help Mourningstar and Oberon help find their friends. Not in her current state.

Ed knew this was just one unfortunate event after another coalescing to this massive fuck up. Ed was upset, no he was livid, on how badly things were going. This was similar the time on his first day when Asteria's sister bit that wisp out of nowhere when she felt threatened by it, a simple yet catastrophic miscommunication that led to a massive mess he was unsure that could be fixed. Though, it mattered little now, the wisp and the cocoon it carried was gone and Jason was hell bent on slaughtering the goblins and from what he could infer at the time, the wisp.

He knew that the mage slime was fighting against the goblins when he had run off to demand answers and decided to head back to him. Ed take advantage of his camouflage combined with his [Muffle I] skill to keep his approach as quiet as possible. He could feel his body at the brink of collapse, bruises and scratches littered his body. The acid burn he sustained to his leg still sent dull throbs of pain. If they were still fighting, he couldn't afford any of his opponents to notice him before he could attack. Though what he saw shocked the young dire rat. There was no fight going on, but rather a sane and level minded Jason attempting to convince the scared goblin to his side. He was not alone, Asura and his mother were there dealing with the other goblins. Things were peaceful now, but for how long? Sneaking closer to the group, Ed stuck to the shadows and kept an eye on both the scared goblin with the wounded leg and the ones Asura and his mother were dealing with. Analyzing and observing their movements for any sign of aggression to any of his allies, ready to pounce out of the shadows and attack the scared goblin's vulnerable back.

Oberon awoke with a start, the sensation of plummeting towards his body ensuring that he got to enjoy his first few moments in this new form with a pounding heart and adrenaline coursing through his veins; it was not an experience he would recommend. He brought a hand to his face, vaguely noticing that it seemed a lot paler than it used to, covering his eyes and massaging his forehead to try and ease his not quite headache.

Everything between him selecting his evolution option and now was like a dream; hazy and half remembered, buried in fog yet tantalisingly within his reach. But while the memories themselves were mostly gone, the feelings they produced still remained; a sense of dread and the feeling that for some reason they really, really needed to leave this cave. Yet at the same time he knew that leaving would be dangerous as well.

”This Place does not...know you. But outside, the World...knows you do not belong”

”Unfortunately, this isn’t somewhere you want to stay. Hopefully most of you will make it out of here before…“

Something was happening in this cave, something big. Ever since they had killed Rattleskull and that message about this place becoming a dungeon had appeared. Now seemed like as good a time as any to think about leaving and with the Goblin’s missing a leader they could probably make it outside now.

He became aware of the presence of others when Mourningstar floated in front of his face, soon followed by the realisation that she was talking to him. She welcomed him back, said something about a slime trying to kill them and finding more humans, before saying that they needed to find Digbie and someone called Rain before leaving. Well, the last part of that he could definitely agree to and she was right that they couldn’t leave their Goblin friend behind; the rest they could sort out later.

Mourningstar approached a Goblin and Oberon followed, unsure what sort of developments had happened in the short time he was out and willing to just follow along for now. From the way the Goblin spoke it was clear she was human, not just from the uncharacteristic eloquence but also the reference to earthly events; he was a little unsure how Mourningstar would take being blamed for the events at the bonfire, but was glad to see her reaction was nothing too aggressive.

He stayed quiet for the time being, though he wasn’t too happy at being called her second in command, still trying to catch-up on recent events. How long had he been out for? Or had thinks changed so drastically so quickly because of whatever was happening to the cave? Soon they were joined by two… well, one Fanged Lizard and something else; both former humans as well by the sounds of it; he used Magic Analysis on whatever the other creature was as she spoke.

The trio left by themselves as soon as the Pygmy Drake had finished, the Goblin having already left and the others hurrying to catch up. Despite the offer, and Oberon’s instincts telling him to leave immediately, he knew he couldn’t leave without finding Digbie or trying to warn the others. He turned to Mourningstar, flying in front of her to get her attention.

“You should go with them, get out of the cave before whatever’s about to happen. I’ll go look for Digbie and bring him with me; Rain too, if you tell me what she looks like.”



@floodtalon

MANA COMPILED. SCANNING FOR ERRORS. SCANNING...SCANNING...
ASSIMILATION RATE: 1.4%

As Asura whipped Crispy's female minion across the back of her head, she recoiled from the blow and went past Jason without her stone knife making contact. The goblin that Momma Slime was sitting on scrambled desperately to get out from under her weight--she hadn't started crushing or digesting him yet, perhaps because she was wary of taking the time to envelop him while there were still enemies around. So it created the somewhat cartoonish scenario of the goblin, sticking out from the waist up, futilely trying to haul himself out from under the great blue bulk. The other minion was picking himself up off the ground, shaking his head to clear away a hallucination of pixies fluttering around his head. The shieldbearer stayed focused on Jason, though as he glanced towards Asura he was starting to break out in a sweat.

Crispy pulled his own stone knife from his belt, adjusting his grip on it as Asura spoke.

"You're a smart kid, I'm a smart man. I honestly don't really wish to fight you. If you call back your people and return to your fire I can get the other slimes to back off."

The scarred goblin licked his lips, glancing from one slime to the other. They were both so differnt from normal slimes, it was clear they had evolved.

"If it's not too late Crispy, I'd like to apologize for my outburst. Getting betrayed the moment I tried to talk to you made me act irrationally..."

Crispy slowly, without taking his eyes off Jason or Asura, reached down with his free hand to feel the blood running down his leg. He wasn't crippled, it would hurt but he could still run with no real problems. But could he afford to run here...?

"In fact, I was hoping we could work together to cleanse our home of an even greater threat: UNDEAD."

These slimes talked too much. But if they were talking, that gave Crispy time to think--even though he could feel himself getting more annoyed with every word the green pointy slime said, just like when that youngling would ramble on...

"Though their numbers may be small at the moment, they need to be destroyed before the cave is overrun! I can't destroy them all myself Crispy..."

"Un, un-d-d-d-dead!?" chattered the shieldbearer, interrupting the slime and drawing some of the attention off Crispy for the moment. "L-l-like guh-guh-ghosts?!"

Now, all present here no doubt knew by this point that Goblins were not the smartest of creatures. Their brains were like those of children, albeit extremely vicious children. They lacked foresight, they lacked many concepts of abstract thought, they lacked emotional maturity. Crispy both was and was not an exception to this. Crispy had simply survived the best way he knew how.

Rattleskull had been too strong. Crispy couldn't fight him for control of the tribe. But Rattleskull and Crispy had been brothers, and they had both seen and fought Humans before, and they both knew that having more Gobs was better than getting all the Gobs killed. So Rattleskull bossed the others around, and Crispy got what he would have wanted if HE had been the boss anyway--he got to boss around other gobs too, and he got at least one or two mates every season, and he and Rattleskull worked like they had seen the Humans work. Together. A big strong guy, and a guy who could do magic. Crispy was convinced that one day, his fire would be the strongest in the world, and maybe then he would get rid of Rattleskull--but he didn't have to. Sometimes you didn't HAVE to be the biggest and strongest to get what you wanted.

But these Slimes were not Gobs. And they were both changed like Rattleskull. Back when the tribe had been forced to flee that first time, when that youngling had tried to convince them to make friends with the other monsters, Crispy had already known they couldn't afford to wait. The longer you waited to take out an enemy, the more opportunities they had to grow stronger.

"Can I count on you and your fire to make this cave safe, not just for goblins, but for all it's living denizens?"

If Crispy let these Slimes boss him around, he wouldn't have to risk his neck in a fight. But the Slimes would grow stronger. And Crispy would lose face in front of all the other Gobs. But if he fought, he didn't think he could win. And more Gobs would die, and there were already so few of them. What about running away? He still might lose Gobs. He still might die. The Slimes would still grow stronger. And he would still lose face. And this made the short-sighted Goblin rage in Crispy begin to surge--if he didn't have any other option, then he might as well hurt them as badly as he could--!

But...these Slimes were the ones telling him to back down, asking for HIS help. He wasn't asking THEM to spare him. And this caused the opportunistic, cowardly, but still vicious Goblin brain in Crispy--the part of him that had kept him alive in the back row, throwing fireballs at anything that Rattleskull couldn't smash in one blow--to overcome the Goblin rage, just for a moment.

"...Youse says you dun wanna fight, and youse wants me to HELP yas...But I ain't doin' nuffin' for free!" Crispy said, a smile slowly quirking at one corner of his mouth. He acted as if he were relaxed, stepping over to help his female minion to her feet. "What you gots, what ya gonna give Crispy if he helps youse!?"

The torchbearer slapped the ground to get some attention.

"I helps, I helps! Just get dis ting offa me!" The other minion grabbed the goblin by his hands and began pulling as well, although Momma Slime made no move to get off and simply rumbled silently, her mass shifting somewhat between the goblins and Asura as if she were looking at them.

---

At last.

She was free.

At last.

With an experimental twist, she tested her new body. It was better. Stronger. She was more flexible and now she had proper claws. And she was a deep green tinged with blue.

She huffed, looking at the crystal with mild irritation. She could remember a sense of determination and a desire to.... Go down? It was hazy, but she could remember being watched and.... Blue? She shook her head, turning towards the digging goblin.

Casually she patted his shoulder with her tail, speaking as she did so. "I'm leaving now. Outside. This cave is not safe after everything. I don't like what I've seen. Come, or don't I guess." With that she began to burrow, her claws digging in. She turned herself towards the direction of the entrance and began to dig her through and back into the main portion of the cave.

She'd go a ways before surfacing, trying to get as close to the cave entrance as she could manage, and from there she'd just need to take her time and stealthily exit. Maybe she could find somewhere safe for a bit and then.... Something. Something. She could survive alone, but a group was better...

"We can figure out this mess later when we're safe. For now we need to watch each other." The lizard, now identifying herself as Ash, went on to introduce her own little ragtag group of humans made monster quickly, most likely trying to get through introductions fast so they could hurry on with their mission. "...I would...usually not mind helping you find your friends, but as it stands I'm exhausted and won't be much use. I haven't slept in over twenty four hours thanks to this mess." Mourningstar stood silent, well, floated silent, at this new revelation. Her features seemed conflicted still, this was a lot to think on. Too bad there wasn't enough time to do thinking. "And I have no intention of throwing myself in the middle of whatever is happening here. We're heading for the exit - and both of you are more than free to come with." Time's up.

Mourningstar had two choices as of now. Abandon the new group and rescue the old, or abandon the old group to join the new. Abandon the past to proceed with the future, or abandon your future to cling to the past. A possibly life changing choice, one that could result in death even. An impossible choice really. Thankfully, there is always a third option if you made the right choices prior.

“You should go with them, get out of the cave before whatever’s about to happen. I’ll go look for Digbie and bring him with me; Rain too, if you tell me what she looks like.” Mourningstar let out a small breath of relief as she turned to Oberon, her features settling into seriousness as she laid it all out.

"All right, Rain is the lizard we saved earlier at the Bonfire. She went with Digbie and the Slime to... somewhere. In that general direction." She used Mana Shape to make a blue arrow pointing in the general direction of Jason's cave, letting it hover for a moment before casting it away. "They're counting on you Oberon. I'm gonna try and get Ash to come back in once we've rested a bit, but I can't promise we'll be fast." With that being said, the fate of Digbie and Rain now lied on Oberon's tiny Pixie shoulders. Mourningstar rushed off to join Ash's group, but stopped a few feet away from Oberon. "Oh, one more thing! Don't die!" An obvious order, but one that needed to be said.

Mourningstar quickly joined Ash's group, Ash listing off some quick suggestions for how the group should be ordered. "Reoth, you bring up the rear and keep your eyes and ears open. Orchid, stay near me please. Mourningstar, Oberon, if you're coming, if you could stay above and see if you can spot anything from the air! You might find your friends, too." They almost felt like orders, but not hostile enough to be grating. "Of course, you can count on the Mourningstar to watch you from the sky!" Some of that confidence she had previously displayed was beginning to return to her voice. As she floated upwards, she did her best to try and dim her light so no monsters saw her from below. "So, assuming Oberon doesn't find Digbie and Rain for a while... Do you guys think we can come back into the cave after we've rested to find them? It might be a good opportunity for level grinding too, now that this place is becoming a Dungeon and all."

---

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu@Duthguy@Searat

Well no shit. That actually worked. However, Jason could tell that the goblin was on the verge of going berserk, and wasn't going to let down his guard just yet... "Of course Crispy! In exchange for working with us, I can supply you with Healing Herbs and Mana Crystals, the tips of the spikes I summon can be used in the creation of spears, and as time goes on, we will only have more to offer! Perhaps... Assisting our purge of the undead is all you need to transform... Together, our power could be unrivaled..." Jason said, before another idea came to mind, "Why, I'd imagine that if we were to work together, you could build an EVEN BIGGER bonfire, make better weapons, and goblins would prosper like never before.... Do we have a deal?"

As Jason maintained his focus on [Mind Wave I], carefully making sure not to build up so much energy that he could misfire. Deep down he hoped that [Charisma I] would be strong enough to keep Crispy's temper in check while he talked.

Turning to look in the direction that Mourningstar was pointing, Oberon couldn’t see much but trusted that she knew what she was talking about; he could hardly trust his own sense of direction to lead him somewhere he hadn’t been before after all. “Ok, I’ll find them. Go after the others before they get too far away. And play nice.”

The Sprite waited a few seconds to make sure the Wisp caught up with the rest of the group before turning to leave, taking off and flying in the direction Mourningstar has indicated. As he flew he cast Shield I on himself just as a precaution; he didn’t expect the now weak spell to do much but it was the only protective measure he had that didn’t have a timer and it was still effective against weak attacks.

Oberon flew low across the ground for the most part, occasionally flying straight up and stopping to survey the area; he strained his vision to try and see as far as he could, peering into the distance like he had earlier when looking for the approaching Goblin’s, but unless Digbie was also carrying a torch it was unlikely he would see much. After a few minutes of flying he saw something, not a Goblin or a Lizard unfortunately but still something noteworthy; it was a large lake, or at least large to his present form, inside the cave.

Was that where the others had gone, after the battle? A lake meant water and probably more vegetation, as well as being a notable landmark; it would make sense if everyone went there to recover after defeating Rattleskull. Deciding that it was better than nothing he changed directions and began flying towards the lake, no longer stopping to survey his surrounding and instead heading straight to the lakeside.

Once at the water’s edge he landed, taking a moment to take in his surroundings before turning his attention to the water itself. A body of water this size could have things living in it, creatures he hadn’t seen before that could be lurking just beneath the surface; it occurred to him that the only creatures that seemed to live in this cave were the same ones the Demon King had offered to him in Limbo, but that didn’t mean the water didn’t hold nasty surprises. Even so he reached down and began to drink, gathering water in his cupped hands and bringing it to his lips.

Digbie and the others weren’t at the lake itself, or at least if they were they weren’t visible from where he stood. Of course knowing Digbie he could have dug them a little cave to hide out in by now, so they could still be nearby even if he couldn’t see them. “Digbie! Rain! It’s me, Oberon!”

All things told, making this much noise and attracting this much attention to himself probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but then again he did seem to be glowing now so subtly was probably a non-starter at this point. Lifting off of the ground Oberon flew up to hover about halfway between the floor and the ceiling and called out again. “Can anyone hear me?!”

While Danny did wonder what the strange liquid looking Slime was he didn't get the opportunity to analyze it. As Rattleskull's undead body rising up caught his attention instead, luckily it turned out to be the work of some other Slime he had never seen before, but who seemed to be on the side of the former humans.

After revealing its trick the Slime attacked a Goblin holding a torch and Danny got ready to help while still trying to hide from the Goblins. Jason however had a different plan and started negotiating with Crispy, who seemed willing to listen but wanted something in return.

Remembering how the Goblins strip mined Mana Crystal he wondered if the meditation skill might be interesting to the Variant but revealing that Jason's groups had members hidden and watching might set the Goblins off or at the very least Crispy could take someone else making that offer as some kind of sign of weakness on the Slime's part so he stayed quiet.

Asura raised a gooey eyebrow when Crispy said he wasn't doing anything for free. He stayed quiet however and let Jason talk to the goblin. He shook his 'head' a smidge when the other slime started to try and cut a deal. "I was of the mindset that letting you and your other goblins live being your payment until you proved to be trustworthy." He stated as he slithered his way over to Mother Slime.

"As for giving, I have nothing to give. I'm able to train your goblins smartly but I'd rather keep my knowledge to myself until you and your minions prove useful and, again, trustworthy." He continued as he contacted Mother Slime. Coazing her to get off the goblin. She could start eating Rattleskulls body thought and he let her know that. I'll watch them just in case. I'm fully capable of taking out Crispy. He said to her through the strange slime telepathic link.

@Kazemitsu @Duthguy @Guy0fV4lor @Zeroth
The young dire rat observed the conversation between the slimes and the goblins. Ed was rather amazed by the fact that Jason had managed to salvage the situation, considering how bad things were going when he had left them. He was not too keen on the idea of helping the creatures that were actively trying to hunt and kill them a number of hours ago. But in this world, they needed as much help as they can to survive. Even from former enemies. Slowly, he approaches Jason and makes his appearance to the goblins present. Doing his best to keep alert keep weary of the goblins, but not display any signs of aggression that may affect the success of Jason's words to bring the goblins to their side.

Finally close enough to the mage slime, he whispers to him. "Jason, I hate them for their attempts to kill us. But if you think they could help deal with the problems we have, I am at least willing to cooperate with them." A sigh escapes the dire rat's mouth as he keeps his gaze upon the goblins and sneers. "I do hope this would not bite us on the ass when the time comes."

---

---

While lightly dozing, Asteria still heard Digbie doing his honest work – or perhaps she was already dreaming, the sound now even a part of her subconsciousness – but nonetheless, was still aware enough to recognize something wrong, something different. She wished to fall asleep, but instead opened her eyes and forced her body to uncurl and stretch once again, her eyes quickly flicking from tunnel point to tunnel point, assessing whether anything was wrong. She noticed a lizard-like worm hatch from an egg, and her assumption that it might be Rain was confirmed by the female’s voice as she announced she would be leaving. She analysed Rain with the proper skill, only because she wanted to know what manner of creature the lizard was now, after her ‘evolution’. “I don’t like this place either, Rain, but I cannot leave, not quite yet,” Asteria managed to explain to the lesserwurm before she suddenly burrowed under the ground and presumably headed towards the cave’s exit.

Still tired and yet agitated, Asteria dug out a small-sized rock, wrapped her tail firmly around it, and proceeded to do an exercise that could have kindly been called weight-lifting. While she did so, she relocated to the exit of Jason’s tunnel, and crouched low at it, gazing outside, focusing on her sight to try and discern whether there were any enemies outside or whether she had begun hallucinating. Lack of sleep for such a short period of time shouldn’t cause that, but if it did, would seeing something truly reflect reality? Ack, don’t mess your own mind up, girl! Asteria huffed and continued her tail-training until she heard what she thought was a shout, or perhaps it was a shuffling gait. “Digbie, I’m going to check the premises, I think something, or someone might be close to us…” That said, she dropped the rock from her tail, and walked slowly but steadily outside. Not only did she move quieter like this, she also had the opportunity to swing her head left and right, sweeping the surroundings thoroughly.

It was because of that caution that Asteria saw the zombie-skeleton as soon as she did. She inhaled sharply but didn’t dare shout for Digbie’s help – she did not know how well the stumbling creature’s senses worked. It certainly seemed to be looking at something, however Asteria had the feeling that what it saw was either something she did not or that it was looking for something irrelevant to her. Relatively confident that she could take the single enemy out or at the very least slow it down without being heavily injured herself, Asteria crouched, contracted all her muscles, then jumped into a running start, pushing into a quick acceleration, dashing madly at a diagonal towards the skeleton. When she was close enough, she turned her body slightly and used all her momentum in the swing of her tail as she used it to lash directly at the skeleton’s knees. She then quickly turned to face the skeleton directly, and used her tail, paws, and jaws opportunistically, aiming to knock down the skeleton onto the ground and smash its skull into pieces. She hoped that even though it had no flesh nor any brains, turning the skull to dust would still be enough to kill it, again.

---

The goblin was making pretty good progress on the digging, when his head turned to face Oberon's general direction. The sound waves coming from Oberon were loud enough to be picked up by Digbie's {Tremor Sense II} passively, but he also felt the incoming swarms of multiple... things. He couldn't decipher what they were exactly, he just knew there were things that were coming.

Yeah, if now was a good time to leave, it's convinced Digbie.

Rain (?) spoke to Digbie and Asteria first, saying she was leaving. Asteria said they couldn't leave yet, and told Digbie that they were going to check the surroundings for something that they felt (and he felt too). Digbie tilted his head at her in confusion at the leaving comment. Nevertheless, he grabbed his things and nodded at Rain. "I'm there with you. I'm feeling things with my Tremor Sense that I'm not liking, not at all." He lugged his things behind him as he went off toward's where he heard Oberon was. "I'm gonna go try to find Oberon or Mourningstar first, though."

As the goblin walked, he called out to the emptiness of the cave. "Hello?! Oberon? Mourningstar? Anyone?" He was heading for Oberon near the lake, but he didn't know where exactly he was going. He was following his understanding of the cave's structure to figure out where the exit was, and he knew it was past the lake... or it was, the last time he checked. Who knew if it was still the same at this point?

---

SCAN COMPLETE. MULTIPLE ERRORS FOUND. ENGAGING SECURITY MEASURES...
SECURITY MEASURES HAVE BEEN OVERRRIDDEN. PLEASE RE-ENGAGE SECURITY MEASURES.
ATTEMPTING TO RE-ENGAGE SECURITY MEASURES...PLEASE WAIT...

ASSIMILATION RATE: 1.9%
ASSIMILATION RATE HAS INCREASED.
ASSIMILATION RATE: 2%

Further south of Jason's Cave, near the dark, shadowy area where Asura had found Momma Slime, another skeleton rose from the ground. Its bones bore no trace of gristle, meat, or fat, but they were old and cracked in places. Some of its teeth were gone, and it walked with a hunch--obviously, this creature had lived much longer ago than the goblin tribe that had just recently been decimated. It had a much longer dig, but immediately after emerging it too turned towards the distant mouth of Jason's Cave. As if following an invisible trail, it headed towards the pool...

---

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain due to lack of sleep.

As Torrent dug down into the ground, she found that her more developed forelimbs and claws were a fair deal stronger than they had been as a lizard. Moving the earth was easy, even in places where it was hard-packed. Clay and loose rocks could be pried out with her sturdy claws, and her limbs moving through the soil felt like a farmer's sharp trowel or plow gliding through loam. Still, moving enough earth to get her entire body through tunnels wasn't an instant process. She burrowed along at about half the speed she could probably have moved up top...but if she went deeper, wouldn't that allow her to remain hidden even without activating her stealth skills? Then again, while she was down here she was practically blind at the moment--there was no light, only the feeling of the earth all around her, and all she had to rely on for her sense of direction was where she had set herself before entering the earth and her own mental imaging.

As she progressed, she had pointed her nose towards the cave's entrance. Every so often she could hear some sound up above her, but nothing as of yet that would be overly alarming. But as she kept digging, she soon felt the soil becoming more damp. Dark, cold, wet pressure surrounded her. No matter how useful this skill, it wouldn't do her any good if she developed claustrophobia.

Between Jason's Tunnels and the Entrance to the cave, however, there was another obstacle.

Torrent suddenly broke through the dirt, but she had not yet intended to return to the surface, had she? And the next instant she was forced backward by water that rapidly began to pour into her tunnel, the stream flowing fast thanks to built up pressure behind it. That flow began to eat away at the edges of the tunnel, causing more water to pour in, and the earth around her to turn into mud and slush that threatened to either drown her or suck her down like quicksand! Had she tunneled into the side of the pool?!

---

You used Magic Analysis III! This is a Monster. You've never seen this type of monster before. Effectiveness reduced to 30%.
This is a Pygmy Drake. They are more magically inclined than some other low ranking reptile species. This one has 1 activated Spell Skill and three magically related skills. Several other spell skills have not been fully developed yet. This one is unusual.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain from lack of sleep.
Your Stamina Drain has slowed, you are well-hydrated. Stamina Drain has not stopped completely.

As Oberon stopped to drink at the pool, he would notice something on the bank quite a distance away from him, but still within sight. It was a corpse--specifically a Dire Rat. The wounds on its body looked to have come from fangs rather than a weapon or magic, but they were quite vicious nonetheless. From the state of dessication, Oberon could make a reasonable guess that this rat likely had not been killed by any of the reincarnators. More than likely it was just a victim of the usual food-chain in this cave...but then why hadn't it been eaten completely or dragged off for later by whatever creature hunted it? Maybe something had interrupted that meal?

But part of the rat's corpse was in the water of the pool, and from the deeper water where it wasn't quite so easy to see, small fish (though they were still big enough to bite the fingers off someone Oberon's size) were darting out to nibble from it, then heading back to their hideaways. They seemed more energetic than usual, but then again maybe this was just a sign that using fresh bait could net the inhabitants of the cave another food resource.

As Oberon stood from his drink and called out to the others, he would likely notice that in the 24-plus hours everyone had been running about, fighting, etc, that the Healing Herbs growing around the Pool had greatly replenished themselves. With a full day of being relatively undisturbed--or at least not overharvested the way the reincarnators had on their first day--the green sprouts were starting to pop up all over the place, not fully grown but well on their way. Except for those that were an odd, oily black color.

But not too long after he called out, as he continued to search Oberon would see the entrance to Jason's Cave. And heading towards it, a walking, skeletal goblin!

You used Monster Analysis! Effectiveness at 100%, but this is a monster you've never seen before!
---Rain (?)---
Lesserwurm - Related to dragons, but still a cold-blooded reptile, this creature burrows through the earth and fills the enclosed spaces around its prey with poisonous fumes. Its lengthy body is quite fast and deceptively strong, and its ability to shed its skin somehow allows it to heal more quickly. You knew this creature as Rain, the Fanged Lizard. She is a fellow former human like you.
---Analysis Complete--

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.

You are experiencing a Fast rate of Skill Progression.

In the moments before Oberon saw the skeleton, and even further back before Torrent began digging her own tunnel, Asteria spent some time developing her skills. By the time Torrent was long gone and Oberon approached the cave, she left on a vague hunch that something was wrong, her Beast Senses sending slight shivers down the back of her neck--for someone who used to be human, having fur that would raise up or hackles that reacted with your mood might be an unusual sensation.

But as soon as she saw the skeleton, Asteria went on the attack! As Oberon watched from up above, she came charging out of the cave, her Faster skill turning her into a streak of fur and fang! The skeleton saw her as well, its empty sockets lighting up as it raised its claw-like hands, jaws clattering.

Asteria angled her way in, before whirling and using her thick muscled tail as a whipping club! The skeleton swiped and missed due to her speed, and her blow met its kneecap with a hearty crack. The creature went down on one leg, but though the bone had been fractured it was still intact. The skeleton held up its arms as Asteria aimed to assault its head, and though her claws and fangs left gouges in the ulna and radius of both limbs the undead managed to keep its brainpan safe. Then, suddenly, the skeleton lashed out--faster than something with no muscles should be able, even faster than a living goblin! Asteria was struck in one side, tossing her back...but as she landed, she would feel that the distance she had traveled seemed to be due to a combination of her own reflexes, jumping back from the hit, and being off balance while attacking the skeleton. The actual hit had done some damage, but not nearly as much.

The skeleton chattered angrily as it stood up, eyes still blazing with ghostly light. It seemed about as sturdy as one would expect of something made from bone--Asteria's experience with cracking the Lizard bones told her it probably had about that same level of durability--and it was faster than a goblin, but its offensive strength was weak! Still, could she afford to underestimate this opponent?

At this moment, Digbie walked outside, calling for the others. He would immediately see Asteria fighting the skeleton, and possibly the new and shiny Oberon hovering up above. And the skeleton also noticed him, turning its head immediately to glare at him with something that seemed like a very specific, very focused hatred.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain from lack of sleep.

---

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain due to lack of sleep.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain due to lack of sleep.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain due to lack of sleep.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain due to lack of sleep.

"Of course Crispy! In exchange for working with us, I can supply you with Healing Herbs and Mana Crystals, the tips of the spikes I summon can be used in the creation of spears, and as time goes on, we will only have more to offer!"

"Hold it, slime!" Crispy held up a hand, taking an authoritative tone despite his disadvantages. He didn't really know any other way to "negotiate," but at least it made the other goblins think he wasn't intimidated by these slimes. "I already gots my gobbos, we can gather stuff on our own! I wants sumfin else!"

"Perhaps... Assisting our purge of the undead is all you need to transform... Together, our power could be unrivaled..." Jason said, before another idea came to mind, "Why, I'd imagine that if we were to work together, you could build an EVEN BIGGER bonfire, make better weapons, and goblins would prosper like never before.... Do we have a deal?"

"You talks too much, too fast!" Crispy snapped.

Asura raised a gooey eyebrow when Crispy said he wasn't doing anything for free. He stayed quiet however and let Jason talk to the goblin. He shook his 'head' a smidge when the other slime started to try and cut a deal. "I was of the mindset that letting you and your other goblins live being your payment until you proved to be trustworthy." He stated as he slithered his way over to Mother Slime. At this, Crispy's eyes slowly moved towards Asura. The variant goblin licked his lips.

"Both 'a yas talks too much!" Crispy said, although his voice was slightly less loud this time. He cleared his throat. "I can change by myself too! And build fire and weapons! Ya gots to give me sumfin dats da same kinda shiny as I can give youse--makes it fair!"

Makes it fair? Was...Was Crispy actually trying to go by some kind of honor code? Did goblins have that? It seemed like Crispy didn't just want things that could be made or gathered, because he and his little tribe could still do that kind of thing for themselves. So was he asking for something specific that goblins had no capability to do by themselves?

"As for giving, I have nothing to give. I'm able to train your goblins smartly but I'd rather keep my knowledge to myself until you and your minions prove useful and, again, trustworthy." Asura continued as he contacted Mother Slime. As she removed her bulk from the torchbearer, both he and the other goblin quickly scurried back to Crispy's side. Because Crispy was already standing next to the shieldbearer, the goblins were now all together again--Crispy's voice recovered some of its volume.

"If I'm gonna help yas get rid of a bunch of zombos or whateva," Crispy started, banging one fist on his chest, "den dat means we're all gonna fight a lot! Lots of risks, need lots udda stuff! We gots ta be...uh...satirical! Makes plans!" He pointed dramatically at the motley group of monsters. "You goes back and thinks bout it! I'mma take my gobs back too! Let's meet tomorrow morning, at da old fire-place--just one of us!" He held up one single finger and looked around at Jason, Asura, Ed, Danny, and Momma Slime. "You picks one guy, and we picks one guy! Den we meets and makes da deal!"

Crispy grinned with a mouth full of yellow teeth, looking like a car salesman waiting for someone to take his offer.

---

You have not recovered enough Stamina. You are experiencing HP Drain.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain from lack of sleep.

You are beginning to experience Stamina Drain from lack of sleep.

As the Pygmy Drake, Goblin, Fanged Lizard, and Wisp made their way around the pool and towards the entrance of the cave, they soon could see the flickering light of a small campfire. The other two shieldbearers from Orchid's party and the female torchbearer were here, huddled close around the fire and peering out at the cave as if they were terrified. And more than likely this was exactly the case--Crispy had taken the majority of their forces to go check something out, Rattleskull hadn't come back, and they were all on their lonesome in a cave that even they could feel was rapidly changing. Without their tribe around, they were a poor and lonely party constantly on edge.

While one of the shieldbearers was trying to fix his wicker defenses where the Wispmother's attack had broken through it, the other kept watch with his stone spear at the ready. However, because the light of the fire was nearby, his eyes were adjusted to that and not the darkness of the cave.

To Orchid and Ash's small party, this trio would be visible from a further distance. Would they try to sneak around them and avoid conflict? Would they try to finish what the goblins started? Would they try to negotiate? The choice was for the making...but for how long?