Digbie
"The Earth has been my closest ally since I started my life in this world. I wish to unravel the secrets of its utility so I may become more aligned with it and become stronger with it's alliance and fortitude."
Digbie sat, still and calm. His breathing deepened, his muscles relaxed, the rise and fall of his chest...slowed. Here in the darkness, sight and sound and smell and sense began to fade, and as he felt his connection through the Earth Vein soon it seemed as if he were sinking deeper and deeper into the stone itself…
Skill Rank Up: Earth Vein I > Earth Vein II (1.95 > 2.1)!
This Skill can now be maintained with only one point of contact with the bare earth. The speed of MP recovery is the same as Rank I. This Skill still cannot be used in conjunction with any other active skills.
And the voice resonated through his very bones…
“Ally? The Earth is no Being’s ally, nor its enemy. Secrets? The Earth’s secrets are not hidden, merely there to be found. The Earth simply Was and Is, and one day Will Not Be.”In the darkness, Digbie began to perceive...something. Was it coming from the earth mana he was absorbing, filling his body to the brim? Was it a hallucination brought on by too much time in the dark, a trick of his eye on a willing body that wanted to believe?
The darkness lifted, as a hole opened up. A hand, lifting a stone from the earth. Primitives crowded around as the hands reached back into the hole, digging and churning the dirt with sticks and simple stones not at all unlike the one Digbie had been clinging to all this time. As the earth was stirred, seeds were placed in the holes. As their roots reached through the earth and found nourishment, they opened up their buds and put forth fruit. As long as the earth was there, the plants would grow. As long as the humans had stone, they could build tools and shelter. From grass to animal to predators, through life and death, all came from the earth and all returned to it.
The moon rose. The night fell. The darkness, the ocean, the sun, the wind, the mountains...they were constant, always there. The stars might fade, but they would always return--and the Earth would always be waiting for them. All of these things and many more existed long before the primitive came out of its cave. What were they? What dangers did they bring? What wonders?
“Beings have given the Earth many names and many meanings. For many Beings, understanding agency, creating reason, forever seeking, and always asking were the methods of their survival. Did the Wind rustle the brush, or the Lion? The Being who assumed Wind did not always survive. If No Man threw the stone, did the Unseen Unknown Being cause the stone to fall? Why is it Unseen and Unknown? The Man who did not seek to understand did not always survive.”Digbie saw the primitives through the hole in the earth again, now wearing clothes made from plants and sitting around a fire. They cooked a slain beast, and carved its flesh with knives made from stone they had taken from the Earth and shaped for that purpose. Their children sat around them as the elders told them what they needed for survival--the tales of sun, and moon, and night, and ocean, and Earth. How they were dangerous and wonderful. How to understand them. But the children did not understand. How could Earth give them food? Why was the Cave safer than the open plain? So the elders changed the tales, made Them “like” other things that the children understood--fathers, mothers, warriors, healers, chieftains. And Earth and Sun and all the Others were not praised--they Were. They always Were. And they were needed to survive. It was necessary that the children understand them.
As Digbie watched, the children of the children’s children appeared. They were many and they were different. Some of these children were now Men, and their cities and walls were built of great stones. Their dead were taken to great tombs dug into the Earth, and were sealed up in it with prayers and dances and dedications. They gave thanks to the Earth, for its protection and preservation. They tilled the earth and planted seeds, and buried their refuse. The Earth was “like” a reliable friend, and friends were always there for you no matter what. In return you also had to be a friend to them. But they understood that the Earth gave materials, and food, and rich jewels, and history, so they had to give other things to show their gratitude to the Earth. The others, like Moon and Sun and Wind and Ocean, gave other things, and Men gave them different things in return.
As Digbie watched the stone towers rose higher, and he saw that some of these children were Not Men. One of them, their great king, made fire and water appear from his hands and moved earth with his words. They wanted him to shape the earth at their will, to raise their crops and build their homes, but knowing the limits of his power he instead told them he grant them each the strength of the earth. He taught them to make bricks from mud, to make their own stone from loose soil and shape it in the way that they pleased, and to turn it into pots and bowls. Not Men and Men alike began to think and do and be different than they were before as the world turned. The Earth and the Sun and Others stayed as they Always Were.
“Digbie. You wish for allies, for those that will care about you despite your flaws and will not push you away. You yearn for knowledge, for purpose, to understand this new life you have been given. And strength, to survive in this new world. The Earth Is and Has Been only soil, and sand, and stone. The Earth is only a receiver of That which has spent its power, and become inert. The Earth has Potential, but is not Activated. The Earth cannot give you friendship, knowledge, purpose, or strength. But Beings have imposed their Wills upon the Earth for these and many others. What was given to the Earth, the Earth has held in concentration, until gathered Power took on Will. To give and receive Power from another Will--is that your Will, Digbie?”The images around Digbie began to crumble like sand. The hole in the earth began to fill, as if he were being buried alive. He was left once more in darkness...but as unseen things moved around him, he felt more than heard the whispers of many voices, echoing through the depths of the caves…
“The earth brings forth fruit and vegetables, trees and grass…” “The earth gives and gives but is never used up...its generosity is like that of a man who works tirelessly…” “The earth is firm and hard, but sometimes also soft…” “If the earth brings forth these plants, and generously gives its strength yet never exhausts itself, and is firm and rough but also reliable...the Earth must be a Father!”
Digbie saw the voices overlapping, each vibration and tremor taking on a new shape like a three dimensional representation of radar waves. The sound took on form, and he saw a strong, rugged man holding a mattock in one hand and a bundle of grain under an arm.
“The earth sometimes shakes and destroys everything, but is usually so calm…” “No one can destroy the earth, with its great stones we can build invincible walls…” “It is soothing to sit among the mountains or upon the grass, and think deep thoughts…” “If the earth can destroy but remains calm, and is invincible, but soothes the mind in meditation...the Earth must be a Wise Monk!”
This time the voices took the shape of a broad shouldered figure, sitting cross-legged with clasped fingers--exactly the way Digbie was doing now. A strange ringing sound, like a stroke upon a tuning fork, emanated from an iron bell around the figure’s neck, and the clay beads looped around his arms rattled.
“The earth is slow to move, but always steady…” “The earth hides great riches in its depths, and goes down and down…” “Sometimes, great rifts open up in the earth like a mouth that devours everything around it…” “If the earth is great and cumbersome, but has treasures hidden away like an animal that steals things, and can devour everything else...the Earth must be a Great Beast!”
This form towered over Digbie, an enormous...Elephant? Tortoise? Its claws were like ploughs and its hide encrusted with gemstones. Its great head came down over him, and cold air like the draft of a cave blew against him from its nostrils.
There were many other voices, and other Figures, but Digbie felt as if he were suffocating or being crushed. Just like a drowning man gasps for air when he breaks the surface of the water, Digbie pulled back from the depths of the Earth. The figures watched him surge upwards through the stone, patiently waiting...or perhaps listening? Waiting for him to call out…
Digbie’s eyes snapped open, though there wasn’t any light to see by...and yet. Yet, he somehow “felt” his surroundings. Perhaps this was a passive effect of Tremor Sense at its upgraded rank? He felt almost as if his eyes had adjusted to this darkness--the path behind him was clear, he would not get lost if he headed back out. But as Digbie stood up from his meditative pose, his foot lightly brushed some pebbles on the ground. They rattled and rolled like beads down the slope, further into the darkness...
Torrent
After creating three puddles near the Blood Snare Plant, Torrent took her time and thought carefully about her next move. Once she had decided what she would do, she said a small prayer--or was it a chant?--in the back of her mind.
She felt the magic surging just like before in the cave. And, using her mouth to guide the flame, she released it in a narrow stream to ignite the venom puddles…
Was it just her, or had the fire become a darker tinge around its edges? Was that from the poison, or her concentration of the flames?
The thinner, controlled stream arced perfectly to strike the puddles. But though the flames spread across the surface of the liquid, it only lasted for a few moments. The fumes rising up from her poison, however, ignited with a sharp hiss. Unlike something like gasoline or gunpowder, however, this effect didn’t create a powerful explosion--the poison, or some layer of it, just seemed to burn, and the overall liquid of the puddles didn’t catch fire at all. Nonetheless, three separate clouds of flame blossomed around the Blood Snare, plus the condensed stream of fire Torrent spread in an arc as she moved her head.
The plant’s reaction was immediate. Its fleshy petals drew close, drawing up into a tight bud, and with whiplike snaps and cracks its vines jerked free of the earth and began lashing out wildly! If Torrent couldn’t evade or defend, these flailing appendages would deal a hefty blow--but they were coming from so many angles!
Despite this, several of the vines and other parts of the odd plant were singed and burned, and some embers still clung to life. As the flames caught up, the smell of burning flesh and cooking meat began to waft in the air, but the plant writhed even more with an eerie lack of screams yet no less agony...
Ardur, Asura, Momma Slime, Steve
ERROR. You have not yet met the conditions to develop the skill Better.
Skill Gain: Monster Analysis I!
Gain basic biological information about a monster by observing it carefully.
As the Hipixie, Amorphous Slime, Oculus Spider, and Momma Slime stepped over the threshold of the cave, into the open sunlight, they would soon see Danny disappear into the woods. And moments later, noises were heard and all the Goblins turned their attention to that. The group could use this opportunity to easily get away from the goblins...but where would they go?
And though, at the moment, the edge of the hill hid them from view...they soon heard something shifting and rustling nearby. Was that...the sound of rustling clothes of some kind? Was that...a footstep? And was that...the sound of metal sliding across leather?
Momma Slime suddenly bristled as Asura withdrew his pseudopod, like a spooked horse. She blurbled in a low voice and began edging towards the west, away from both the goblins and the noises.
"Ahsoowah, bad feelz!"
And then, from the south, billowing clouds of smoke could be seen rising into the air as the treeline rustled again...
[[See Danny and Orchid's sections]]
Asteria, Ed, Mother Rat
As Asteria's tail latched onto the giant ant's neck, its body twisted to try and get an angle where it could use its stinger on her. Before it had the chance Ed crashed into it like a freight train, ripping and tearing with his powerful claws while roaring in fury.
In the old world, many humans were injured at zoos or other animal sanctuaries for underestimating the power of primates like chimpanzees. Though they were much smaller than an average man, only the size of a child, they had almost three times the strength of adults. Why? The two primary reasons were that their muscles were made of denser tissues, and the fibers of these muscles were elongated in their structures, especially where they latched to the bone. Like a longer lever on a fulcrum, this allowed them to produce far more power when contracting.
As a Rat Man, Ed's body was much like that of a chimpanzee. Yet in addition to that strength, he had a beast's claws and fangs.
The edges of the ant's broken chitin were grabbed and torn with a meaty crack, peeling away from its exposed and bleeding flesh. The creature let loose a high pitched creen just as Ed plunged his snout into the wound. The ant rolled and twisted, trying to get its stinger or its mandibles at the creature on its back, and screeched again as Ed's jaws came out of its side with a mouthful of the soft flesh beneath.
If Ed were aware enough to think about it, he would notice the meat tasted oddly citrus-y. Like shrimp marinated in very strong pineapple or lemon juices.
The ant thrashed for a few moments more, spilling green blood and blue colored innards on the ground--then finally went still, save for its twitching legs and antennae.
Mother Rat seemed fine, simply dazed for a moment by the sudden surprise attack. After brushing off her fur and sniffing herself and Asteria for injuries, she huffed and turned back towards the Ant that Ed was still brutalizing. Approaching it slowly with hackles raised, she sniffed until the air until she realized the creature was dead.
Then, she suddenly glanced back at the hole the Ant had come from. As the creature's last creen died away, she glanced back at it. When its antennae twitched, she turned back to the tunnel. Then she looked below her own feet, and lay flat on her belly on the ground. She was still for a moment...then jumped up and began to squeak at her packmates.
While this was happening, Asteria had gathered up one of each distinct plant they had noticed thus far, but her Mana Sense was quite vague and she hadn't yet developed a Plant Analysis skill...
You used Mana Sense!
---??? Flower---
You sense a natural Mana in small amounts. It feels soothing, yet also somehow unpleasant. It is as if it is incomplete.
---??? Plant---
You sense almost no mana here, or perhaps it is simply indistinguishable from the environment. The grass and the soil share this ambient, stable sensation of Mana.
---??? Blossom---
You sense a natural Mana in small amounts. It is slightly prickling to the senses, but also contains a form of warmth. It is as if it is incomplete.
---??? Cone---
You sense a burning mana within this plant. It is slightly prickling to the senses, but somewhat soothing as well. It is as if it is incomplete.
---??? Thorn---
You sense little mana in this plant, but it is of a stiff, sharp nature. It feels potentially harmful, but not volatile.
You are experiencing a Fast Rate of Skill Progression.
Danny
Obtained Item: Green Argep x4
Skill Gain: Plant Analysis I!
Gain basic information about the properties of a plant by carefully observing it.
As Danny sneaked about, first securing some food (though the berries weren't quite ripe and would likely be a crunchy and not-so-sweet meal) then moving away from the direction all the goblins faced, he could more clearly see back towards the cave's entrance--and the hillside up above it. He could see Asura, Momma Slime, Ardur, and Steve emerging. And up on the hill, he could see a large, familiar looking rock...a rock big enough for someone to hide behind...
When he began to break sticks with his Lesser Force, making as much intentional noise as possible, several of the Goblins looked his way.
"Oi! Is dat da human!?" Wej pointed, voice wobbling with panic. At this shout they all turned towards Danny, and even though the Poltergeist was among the thick brush of the forest it didn't take them long to start picking up odd signs.
"I tink I sees somethin' glowin'! It might be a major!" Yoona said, pulling out his knife and crouching low to the ground.
"Wut's a major?" Clod whispered to the female as he picked up a shield in much better condition than Wej's. He shifted his stone sword to his other hand, but it was hard to hold a weapon made out of actual rock with only one grip.
"Humies dat gots jerbs where they do magics, like Crispy's fire." Tiddies replied, holding her own knife in a tight grip as she fanned out to one side. "But majors is squishy, not like warr'yers...and I tink he's by hisself after all..."
"Errybody spread out!" Clod shouted, waving his shield hand. The goblins began to make a loose semi-circle, watching the bushes where Danny continued to make noise.
And while having the goblins slowly close in on him might make Danny very nervous, it also gave him a more unobstructed view of the hillside.
Where a small human soon creeped out from behind the rock.
The boy was too tall for a child, but too scrawny to be an adult. He lacked facial hair, but had a subtle athleticism and maturity in his features. Most would probably place him somewhere between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. He wore a thick, long sleeved garment that didn't look exactly like wool or cotton, but wasn't made of leather either. It was a dark, earthy brown color, while his trousers were a lighter shade. His gloves and boots were matched, leather laced with rawhide, buckled with metal, and dyed solid black. Over all this he wore a thick cloak colored a rough forest green, patched here and there with bits of brown or other shades of green. It might have been a bad attempt at blending in, but seemed more likely due to the age of the garment.
Slowly, carefully, he moved in a low crouch down the hillside. He kept looking at the Goblins, but seemed more focused on the cave's open mouth. He held his shield, a smaller round piece of wood covered with leather, in front of him. It wasn't small enough to be a buckler, nor large enough to be considered a proper round shield, and was strapped to his forearm in such a way as to leave his hand free. His other hand hovered near his hip, prepared to draw the sword holstered there. Its blade wasn't apparent yet, but from the length and small, rounded shape of the handguard it must have been something meant for use in a single hand, not the great longsword of a knight or some great battlefield weapon.
Again the boy glanced towards the goblins, and adjusted himself as he moved towards the base of the hill. He was sneaking at an angle, so that he could watch the green skins while getting closer to the cave's entrance...
But now, all the goblins and the human glanced towards the south as a cloud of thick, black smoke became visible over the tree tops. And from that direction came more rustling...
"Boss, is dat you!?" yelled Clod. His voice cracked somewhat.
Jason
As Jason lunged and grabbed the goblin ghost by the throat, her misty mass spread out around him like dropping a pinch of sugar into water. He felt sudden, ice cold pain surge through his body where she clawed out a chunk of his ribs and one arm--but there was no blood nor torn flesh, just fog that became more incoherent between the two of them. Not really knowing what he was doing, just mustering his will and focusing his intent, Jason struggled with the goblin. Their forms whirled together in a storm--
He hated himself, he cheated, how could that slime--no that was him--how could that slime cast magic like that? She hurt so bad, she couldn't breathe, the sharpy rock was going all the way through. No that wasn't her, she's too young, he was already dead by the time she was even born, Crispy wasn't her boss he was Jason's son--no, that wasn't right either--this was a youngling, she remembered those other younglings, especially that dumb one that kissed her, wait whaddya mean girls can kiss girls? Younglings dese days, dat ain't how it was back in our day, back when he was alive he didn't worry about that because he had wars to fight. Yeah, she was a warr'yer, had her own stone spear and everything, until he--until you--until I--cast Rock Spire and killed her.
"You killeds me! Hates! Hates! HATES!""Ja-Soon Mag, if yous can't do dis much, yas ain't gonna last much longer!"Ja-Soon Mag, he--
I--became a Slime Mage, and cast Rock Spire and killed the bitchy goblin--
"Teef! My name was Teef!"--
And his name was Jason.
Jason "woke up" to the world once more, no longer trapped in the monochrome void. He could feel his MP, and the warning from the System was gone--if he had to guess, he might be about half-full. But there wasn't any notice about his conditions going away either, that damned Mana Disorder was really throwing a wrench into things...
But right now, it seemed like everything was peaceful around him. There were the sounds of something that might be a fight in the distance, towards the pool, but right now there were no enemies to bother him and no immediate threats--
No, scratch that. The Dire Rat was still here!
...But it didn't seem to pay Jason any attention at all. The purple glow was gone from its eyes. And the purple light he had seen within its body was now replaced by a gray one. It was smaller than the purple glow had been, but it was larger than the ones Jason had seen in the Fanged Lizard eggs. The Rat shook itself, as if coming out of a daze, and scratched itself with one hind leg absently...
"Still needs to eat, Ja-Soon!""Kills it! Kills it!"
Orchid's Tribe
When Orchid grabbed Jezee, the younger female simply gawked at her leader with wide, scared eyes, hyperventilating through her open mouth. Numbly she followed as Orchid went to the others, who were just about trapped in a ring of flame thanks to Crispy. The fire resistant goblin, however, had no problems stomping his way through without a care for the others behind him. He still clutched his injured arm close, but his crooked smile was back now that he had gotten to show his dominance over some other creature.
"Hahahaha! Burns, fire burn! We's should start cuttin' grass for fires too, not just wood! Burns good!"
Bigs beat at himself with his hands as he hurried out of the flames, hooping and hollering. Despite Crispy making a small path, it still wasn't enough for him to get by without being singed. Still, ultimately he wasn't much the worse for wear. Sqwal hurried through after him, and the two larger males had made enough room for the run to get by without harm. Still, all three of them coughed in the smoke as Orchid and Jezee rejoined them.
"Jezee! Wut happun to yas?!" Sqwal barked as Orchid said something about sending a warning to the rats. Crispy looked towards her with that curious look he sometimes gave her as she began to move and chant.
"Da rats caught me, made me go wifs dem! They was sayin'...Well, I dun really get it. But dey just lemme go after a whiles!" She scowled as she rubbed at her legs. "But dat big one dat couldn't talk kept bitin' me..."
"Rats? Talkin' rats?" Bigs questioned as he checked his Wicker Shield. It was cracked, but not broken like Wej's or Orchid's had been.
"Ya! Musta been some o' dem da Boss met in da cave...but one was diff'ernt!" Jezee held her hands up to approximate the height of the creature. "Walked on two feets, like a Gob! And had a big stick!"
"Dat's called a Rat Man." Crispy said in a lower voice than usual. The others looked to see him watching as Orchid completed her spell. They all oohed and ahhed appropriately as the flames arced from Orchid's fist, causing her sign of the Hellish Fiend to glow like a fresh brand. Soon flames were spreading wildly, both up ahead of them and to one side. The updrafts from both fires caused a swirling draft that ruffled what little hair and clothing the goblins had.
As Orchid handed Sqwal and Jezee their rations, the little group headed back towards the camp. Bigs spoke up next.
"Wat's a Rat Man, Crispy? An' how you knows bout 'em?"
"A Rat Man's a rat man, ya dum." The former Mid-Boss snapped back. "Sumtimes Dire Rats turns into 'em if dey gets strong enough. Used to see 'em every so often back when me and Rattleskull was li'l. Da old Gobs killed a bunch of da rats in da cave one time so dat there wouldn't be as many of 'em. Rat Men almost as smart as Gobs and makes clubs and stuff almost as good too."
"Why all da Mobs in da cave startin' to change like Rattleskull did?" Sqwal piped up. "An' why dey all talkin' now?"
"Why ya askin' me, ya dum?!" Crispy made a half-hearted swipe at the youngling. He seemed like he was deep in thought about something. "Figger it out fer yaself!" He then turned to Orchid.
"Oi, Boss, ya think dis has to do wif yer dreams?"
The smoke was rising behind them as they trudged their way back through the treeline between the plains and the cave. As the bushes parted around them, however, they would emerge to an unusual sight...
[[See Danny, Ardur, Asura group postings]]
