---

@Rune_Alchemist

---

Like a blast from one of those heathen foreign cartoons, Svarok’s Holy Bolt took the goblin between the shoulder blades. The creature cried out breathlessly as it was knocked end over end through the brush, coming to rest with a crash against a tree trunk. As the Orc Runt caught up with the so-called spy, the smaller greenskin rolled over onto its belly with a groan. As it got onto all fours, rubbing its head, it looked up to see the stern face of Svarok.

“Eeeeek!” The goblin bowed down, putting its forehead to the ground as it blubbered.

“I sorriez, Mighty Orcling! Please, please forgives!” sobbed the creature. “Please don’t kills me! I’s only a widdle gobby! I’s just a silly little guy! Pwee-heeeeze, has murh-hurr-cies!”

Whether or not Svarok had mercy to spare, however, another rustling just out of her periphery on the right side reached her ears. Less than a half-second after that sound, a second goblin sprang out of the brush! This one had a long stick tipped with a sharp piece of black-tipped rock, which it thrust squarely at Svarok’s midsection with a phlegmy roar!

---

@Timemaster

---

[[Since Steel Legion has gone dormant, feel free to either attack the monsters you’ve encountered or to try and join up with another player instead. We can assume that Legion’s character either stays behind or chooses to retreat for now, etc]]

As Carmina watched the Jackalope and the Slime before her, there was a bright burst of light not too far away, followed by a lot of what sounded like…crying? It didn’t seem like an Orc’s voice, being higher pitched in nature and kind of wheedling or nasal.

The two monsters facing off with each other reacted as well, both looking in the same direction. If Carmina wanted a distraction, now would be the perfect moment to strike one of them…but, whoever that was that had caused the flash of light, from the sounds of it they were either in, or causing, a great amount of distress. That voice sounded desparate…

---

@ReusableSword

---

The Tatzelwurm and the Harpy faced each other, both wounded. One bleeding, one seemingly poisoned. Both injured. The snake-cat coiled its body for what appeared to be a straight forward spring…the movement was telegraphed, but maybe it was relying on its seeming advantage in speed? The harpy, meanwhile, folded its wings and crouched low on those five-taloned, disturbingly hand-like feet…

Another red crackle of energy covered the Harpy’s talons. The tatzelwurm’s tail unleashed its muscular force like an activated spring. Its claws were held ready to intercept the Slash it thought was coming—it would use its fangs to deal the final blow instead!

But the harpy didn’t take a swing at it. Instead, that energy on its legs seemed to be channeled into a sudden forward lunge that matched, maybe even exceeded, the Tatzelwurm’s speed! With an angled step the Harpy dashed past the tatzelwurm, and while the creature was still in the air after missing its own lunge, the bird-like monster bit down on the back of its neck!

The cat-snake struggled and thrashed, but the harpy shook it back and forth like a dog, biting down harder all the while. Within seconds, the tatzelwurm ceased to move. The harpy dropped it, stepping on it with one talon as if to make sure it was actually dead…

The bruise on its shoulder grew larger, dark veins running up its neck. The creature let out a pained yowl, and seemed to be out of breath…

Agar’s target had seemingly been decided for him…

---

---

---

As Lazash and Vola explored deeper into the cavern, they were quick to notice the purple fungus and the large beetle. But now that they were inside and could look down the passageway, once their eyes adjusted they had a closer view of other things inside the cave as well.

A part of the cave wall looked dark and smooth and slightly wet, yet within it were faint sprinkles of lighter material, like individual grains of sand. It was clearly a different kind of stone from the rest of the material around it…

And deeper into the cleft in the rock, the narrow passage, along the right-hand side of the wall there was another difference in the stony layers. Standing out from the crags around it was a jagged part of the wall with a yellowish color and a metallic luster. It bore what looked to be scratch marks in several places. A distinctive black streak with green flecks crossed the uneven surface, as if drawn there with paint.

But these materials were probably at the back of the Orc Runts’ minds, because two more immediate concerns were now within arm’s reach. Both of them decided to examine, and take a few samples, from the clusters of mushrooms under where the beetle clung to the upper wall.

Lazash acquired 2 Pimplestools!
Vola acquired 4 Pimplestools!

Lazash was careful to watch the insectoid monster as well as she bent down, and activated her [Creature Analysis].

Analyzing Creatures...
Flak Beetle - An aggressive insectoid known for the glowing sac hidden under its shell. The shell hides a gland in the bug's thorax that, similar to a firefly, contains a substance that produces light. It also has strong jaws.

Skill Progress: Creature Analysis - Rank I > Rank II!
Gain more information when analyzing a creature, including a general assessment of the threat it poses. Warning: Assessment’s accuracy is based on known factors and does not account for individual differences within specimens.

But as they pulled the purple mushrooms from their stalks, the white pustules on each cap began to swell up! With a sound like a fart, they burst and spewed clouds of tiny lavender spores into the air! The girls found that the dust settled on them without immediate harm, aside from perhaps causing some sneezing and coughing. Some of the spores also landed on the rocks around them.

Then, the mushrooms that were still in the ground suddenly began to swell too—except instead of the white pustules, it was the purple caps that began to inflate, and only one out of every four mushrooms seemed to be doing it. Then, rather than explode, the caps simply split open.

Followed by tongue like, barbed tendrils that lashed out with frightening speed towards Lazash and Vola, as well as what seemed to be random spots on the ground and walls…

Meanwhile, outside the cavern, it seemed like the three Runts waiting for something to bumble their way so they could unga-bunga it to death would have a rather boring time of it. However, if they were to pay close attention to their surroundings, especially on the rocky ledge above the entrance to the cave, they might note that there were indeed other life forms in this valley…some that were quite different from what they’d encountered in the forest…

A dire rat, with the same kind of urgency that a squirrel has when leaping between trees over passing humans on the trail, jumped off one pile of rocks and scurried across the ledge towards another. In the process, however, it stepped on one rock that actually jumped upward. From beneath the stone came a pair of chitinous pincers that snapped and snatched at the rodent, who responded by biting back viciously and letting out an enraged squeak.



And behind the three waiting orc runts, from further up the slope of the valley, another creature came rolling downhill. It wasn’t exactly coming right for them…but it didn’t look like it had any intention of avoiding them either…nor of slowing down…



If they chose to engage these monsters, however, they might be risking not being in position when it came time to do their thing…however, Lazash and Vola hadn’t made much noise so far, so who knew how long it’d be until they found something…?

Grunthor acquired Spiked Club from Gren's inventory.
Vola acquired Spear Thrower and Short Spears from Gren's inventory.

Carmina gathered everything she could and considered eating some of them to use her ingestion skill but decided against it as two animals appeared. They seemed to be locked into their hunter-hunted roles.

As she was just about to make move, a very loud scream could be heard. For a moment, Carmina was split. Self-preservation told her to attack the monsters or run but her heart told her she had to save whoever screamed like that.

Thinking for a few seconds, Carmina took a deep breath and used her Sing skill to encourage both or at least the one that looked more dangerous to follow her.

Monstrous friend, come follow my lead,
Together we'll explore this land.
No need for fear, just trust in me,
In unity, we're wild and free.

Hoping the song worked, Carmina ran towards the place where she saw the flash of light and the loud screaming.

---

---

Grunthor, having picked up the club of spikiness, hefted it. Testing its balance point and giving it some test swings, first with both hands like a baseball bat, then with a singular arm. At his current strength a two handed swing would do better in his mind. Sure it wasn't heavy but it was weighty and the upper portion had a bit more weight than a typical club because of the spikes.

While he tested the spiked club he was looking around. The scrabbling of claws on stone drew his attention to the new creature. A giant rat with huge fuck off teeth. It was moving pretty quick until a rock grew pincers like a crab and they began to fight. "Don't join that fight...we don't have anything that can break stone." He stated while he watched the mite and the rat fight.

A liquid rustling from the tree line dragged his attention away from the scuffle up top to the single rolling rock goo creature. Why were things seemingly stone based? It was too close to be comfortable for him, and who knew if or when it'd get aggressive. So preemptive strike it is! Striding over he let the club go low, he turned a little sideways as if he were a mobile golf player, before drawing the club back and slamming it into the rolling jelly.

He tried to aim it at a tree to bounce it off, but aside from miniature golf he had never played. If he managed such a feat a second swing, as if going for a home run, would come sailing for the rock slime. This was not going to be a good day for the jelly ball.

@Unkown58@Lucius Cypher@King Cosmos@Zeroth@Crusader Lord

Sarvok

---

A miracle? Some sort of magic? She knew this was an odd situation she was in, but here she was actively doing something suspiciously similar to witchcraft or similar to figures in other more heretical religious stories from around the rest of the world.

As the ball of light struck the goblin square between the shoulders, Svarok slowed her pace, wanting to truly talk with this little 'goblin'. She had no intention of harming anyone-

Her head snapped towards the coarse roar from the goblin now charging at her with a crude spear.

She considered herself a pacificst. In her previous life she did truly believe humans should never physically harm another. Yet, as the flames licked her body and she fell victim to the flames of purgatory she could only consider one thought.

The same thought that was now running through her mind.

God forgives all.

Lord, Grant me strength!

She was no fighter, but she was confident that her faith would protect her. Svarok made a movement, attempting to sidestep the spear. In the same movement regardless of whether or not she'd succeed, she hefted the branch in her arms and smashed it over the head of this goblin as hard as she could with as much religious fervor as she could muster.

---

Lazash acquired 2 Pimplestools!

Analyzing Creatures...
Flak Beetle - An aggressive insectoid known for the glowing sac hidden under its shell. The shell hides a gland in the bug's thorax that, similar to a firefly, contains a substance that produces light. It also has strong jaws.

Skill Progress: Creature Analysis - Rank I > Rank II!
Gain more information when analyzing a creature, including a general assessment of the threat it poses. Warning: Assessment’s accuracy is based on known factors and does not account for individual differences within specimens.

A growth in her unique skill already? Certainly somewhat of a surprise development to occur so soon, and yet at the same time something she was grateful for and wasn't totally surprised by at the same time. It confirmed her theory that, at least with this particular sort of skill, use of it was akin to a muscle perhaps. Use it, train it, and it would grow and develop along with her. At the same time, whether it consumed that 'MP' value was also a concern to her that yet seemed unanwered as of yet. She'd certianly have to make use of her new spell alongside this skill to see how things went, and if this mysterious 'SYSTEM' would give alerts for such things or if she needed to somehow figure it out all by herself.

Regardless of all of this, hitting something called a 'Flint Beetle' with fire seemed like a less-than-adviseable choice that was going to bite her back horribly perhaps. At least if the name was any sort of indication. It was also aggressive, so there was concern that it might react the same way if attacked right now. Maybe. Or perhaps it was looking them down as food? Either way she'd remain cautious of the thing. Plus she'd have to look more into this later, maybe use her analysis skill on it again to try to gain further information about the species if possible.

But as they pulled the purple mushrooms from their stalks, the white pustules on each cap began to swell up! With a sound like a fart, they burst and spewed clouds of tiny lavender spores into the air! The girls found that the dust settled on them without immediate harm, aside from perhaps causing some sneezing and coughing. Some of the spores also landed on the rocks around them.

*cough*, *cough*"

Hurridely pulling up and using an arm to try to cover her mouth, Lazash tossed the picked mushrooms into her things as she took a few steps back from where the mushrooms had tossed out their spores into the air. Despite moving away quickly from the sudden cloud, however, it was definitely still enough to make her cough and take her attention off of the Flint Beetle. Indeed, her attention would be brought squarely down to the mushrooms once more.

Perhaps the sudden movements would make the insect flee, if it was behaving anything like an Earth insect right now at least, but that was just a mild hope that she wasn't entirely going to bank on either. If it attacked that'd be even worse Even so, the very hand she'd aimed up at the Flint Beetle came down and pointed back at the mushrooms as she quickly tried to speak again.

"Be car-"

Then, the mushrooms that were still in the ground suddenly began to swell too—except instead of the white pustules, it was the purple caps that began to inflate, and only one out of every four mushrooms seemed to be doing it. Then, rather than explode, the caps simply split open.

Followed by tongue like, barbed tendrils that lashed out with frightening speed towards Lazash and Vola, as well as what seemed to be random spots on the ground and walls…

She wasn't able to finish talking, cut off as the sudden 'pop' of other caps on the ground and emergence of barbed attacking tendrils shooting out toward them stopped the female runt's talking in its tracks. Why this was the case she had no idea. How this could happen was nothing to think about right now. Comparisons to other Earth-based life was certinaly another topic altogether. Instead, Lazash would reflexively try to do the thing she'd tried to prepare to do to the Flint Beetle before she'd identified it.

Fire Bolt. Fire Bolt the nearest tendril-shooting mushroom cluster, which was in particular being the one she was still pointing at and the same cluster of mushroooms she and Vola had ultimately picked some from.

Would it work and help them any? Would it backfire and the mushrooms were flammable? Would the Flint Beetle step in front of the attack and blow up them and the whole cave with it like a bomb? She had no idea, but Lazash was acting on survival instinct right now as her right arm tried to bring up her pointy wooden stick (already held in it just in case) blindly to try to see if it blocked anything in the process. However, most of her focus for sure was the reaction of trying to Fire Bolt her current target right now.

If things worked out well enough after the next few moments were said and done, and they didn't all blow up or get into a position where this next action on her part couldn't be reasonably done, she'd even try to use her Creature Analysis skill on the mushrooms themselves in turn.

@Zeroth@Unkown58

Akeno

By the time Akeno had finished her stretches something was happening but not, as it happened, the thing she was expecting. The two Orcs who had gone inside the cave still hadn’t returned and instead, their ambush was interrupted by a couple of things occurring one after another.

On the ledges above them an abnormally large rat made its way across the rocks. Or at least is was until one of those rocks suddenly began to move, lunging at the passing rodent and snapping at it with pincers and revealing itself to be some kind of insect in disguise. It didn’t look like either creature was particularly interested in them, but there was a chance their fight would bring them in their direction so it was a good idea to keep an eye on them, even if they weren’t planning on getting involved. The Orc with the club was probably right that they couldn’t do anything to the rock-thing, assuming its shell was real stone, but they could maybe try to flip it over or something to disable it.

Before Akeno could ponder that much further however something else appeared, and this time it seemed very interested in them. A ball of slime with glowing eyes and rock-like protrusions was rolling down the hill towards them and, either intentionally or accidentally, was on a collision course with their group. The club-wielding Orc stepped forward and took a big swing at the thing, sending it back the way it came but apparently not killing it or scaring it off. The slime slithered towards them with an angry expression and, after absorbing a few small stones into its body, fired one at the Orc who had hit it.

Akeno left Grunthor to deal with that himself, instead choosing to use its inattentiveness of her to dash around to the side and draw closer to it while it was occupied. The stone within its body had begun to glow before it was fired, which Akeno took to mean it had used some kind of skill rather than just spitting the rock out; hopefully that meant it couldn’t do that forever, or not that quickly. If nothing else, the glow might give her some warning of an incoming attack.

Running until she was maybe ten feet to the slime’s left, Akeno came to a stop and drew her arm back. Given how it had bounced back from being hit by a club like that, she assumed it wouldn’t be too affected by her punches and kicks. Instead, Akeno decided to try out her new skill, conjuring a ball of fire in the palm of her hand and throwing it overarm at the slime’s side.

@Zeroth@Kazemitsu@Lucius Cypher

Sarvok

---

How uncouth.

Here she was, letting this other goblin off easily and now it decided to be brave?

Tsk tsk.

The goblin she had attacked had been smacked over the head hard enough to almost break the stick she had. If only she had something better like a knife or some heavy club! Now she was being attacked from two sides! This was quickly turning into a bad situation. Perhaps, someone else might be demotivated but for Svarok, this was nothing more than a trifling challenge God had given her that she needed to overcome.

The orcling moved backwards, attempting to jump backwards over the hatchet as it swung at her and away from the spear wielding runt. As she'd do so, she'd make another attempt at a Holy Bolt, gathering as much of the magical energy in her hand that she could to lob it at the spear wielding goblin again. She said nothing to Carmina for the moment - the goblins were focused on her and there was no need to alert them to the presence of Carmina since she seemed to have already noticed them.

Agar

// Cage Match >> A New Challenger //

Agar continued to watch closely as the two fought, the snake cat thing obviously relying on stealth, surprise, and what looked to be poison. Yet it seemed to have little staying power in a prolonged fight, by what he could see was that it was tiering quickly. Perhaps it could only work in short bursts of speed more akin to a cold-blooded snake then an active feline hunter.

The other was clearly some type of scavenger yet had the strong ability to defend itself. Perhaps more of an opportunity hunter would be more precise, he did not know how well it could fly but he figured it was rather well if the beast had little to no front legs. The fact that it could easily use that red strike a few times before faltering itself meant that it was strong. Still they both seemed to be having trouble with prolonged fights.

With the next attack his assumptions were proven correct as the wurm made a mistake that led the harpy to speed past it with a glow of that red light again. Obviously, this harpy had a nasty bite and was able to do quite a bit of damage with its legs too. That explosive power likely helped the thing fly or at least take off. Both of which he didn’t seem like was going to happen with that shoulder wound.

Agar knew his time had come to strike. Letting the harpy rest was a poor choice, he wanted no needed to kill the harpy, check the dead thing for any good meat, then take the both of them back to the camp. This was the opportunity he was looking for.

With quiet steps slow and methodical he readied the hard stick he was given with both hands. His knife was clutched between his teeth incase he needed it quickly. Once the path was clear, being mindful not to have his stick get caught on the near by branches, he lunged at the harpy. Both of his hands clutched the stick as he brought it down over his head and down towards the weird bird just like someone would swing an axe when cutting wood right toward the discoloration in its shoulder. He wasn’t sure how the thing would react but expected it to try and use those legs that it has to dodge out of the way, if he connected he hoped this would be enough to cripple the beast but doubted it would kill it.

---

@Zeroth

<< Current Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole.
Hunt Selected: Random
Inventory: loincloth, stick, sharp rock
Skills: Ingestion, Field Scan I, Blunt Resistance I
Location: Into the forest <<

@Rune_Alchemist

Carmina ran as fast as she could towards whatever screamed for help and as she ran, she glanced behind to see if her new skill worked…it didn't. She muttered some obscenities but continued forward. If it didn't work once, maybe the second time or the third time.

Reaching another clearing, she noticed another orc newbie and two goblins fighting. She circled around them until she was right behind them and started singing, using her skill again to calm down the goblins and hopefully the other orc. If anything she heard in the other world about goblins was true, they'd be useful later on.

"Orcs and goblins, kin and kin,
Lay down arms, let harmony begin.
In music's embrace, let fear dissolve,
And strife be replaced with problems to solve."

---

Current Location: North Caves
Current Activity: Trying not to get eaten by mushrooms or squished like bugs by a bug with Lazash @Crusader Lord while exploring the caves and acting as bait for Akeno @King Cosmos, Gren @Lucius Cypher and Grunthor @Kazemitsu.

---

Vola wasn’t sure why she was surprised. This is another world filled with fantastical creatures and monsters and magic! Everything is so much different than her original world, including the plants. Hell, the Tungem tree was proof enough of the differences in flora already! Maybe it’s because they had the good luck to only encounter non-violent, docile plants so far that she didn’t have her guard up? Maybe she was just being stupid, especially when you consider the inherent danger even normal mushrooms possess with their potential poisonous nature? Whatever the case, she was caught completely off guard when the tine purple fungi launched their attack.

Coughing slightly, she immediately brought one of her arms up to cover her mouth and tried to limit her breathing after using it to store the offenders. There’s no telling what long-term effects the spores may inflict, but hopefully this may mitigate the damage some? Unfortunately, her efforts immediately went to waste as the mushrooms’ unplucked compatriots tried to avenge their buddies, as barbed, tongue like tendrils shot out towards them, completely cutting off Lazash’s attempted warning.

It was all Vola could do to dodge out of the way of the tendrils a hissed “Shit!” escaping her at a particularly close call. Immediately, her mind went into overdrive as she tried to analyse everything about the situation, looking for any weak spots or patterns in the attacks of the mushrooms. She could try to stab the shrooms with the spears, but getting close would be a problem and the tendrils aren’t really giving her a clear shot, so as to not waste any ammo, she’s putting that down as plan B, simply focussing on whacking away the tendrils that come to close with her loaded spear-thrower. As for pattern of attack…not all of the tendrils seem to be targeting them, some seem to be going for random rocks. Why though? The attacks are to precise to be random? Maybe…those rocks are close to where the spores exploded, could that be acting as some sort of homing beacon?

Before Vola could find a way to test her hypothesis or find a way to put it to good use, Lazash made a counterstrike in the form of Fire Bolt. As the flames hit the fungus the whole area exploded in a flash of light as wave of heat washed over her body, reducing their fungal attackers to black shrivelled husks. Blinking her eyes quickly, to try to readjust to the darkness of the cave once more. Breathing out a sigh, Vola gave Lazash a smile and said quietly “Nice shot.”

Unfortunately, any relief that she felt at the disposal of the fungal menaces was short lived as the overgrown cockroach decided it wanted to play as well. Having learned from the exploding mushrooms at least, the second that Vola saw the bug’s thorax start to expand, she whispered a hurried “Find cover!” to Lazash before raising her still-loaded spear-thrower and launched the spear as hard as she could towards the beetle, just as it shot a second bolt of light towards them. Sparing a split second glance to see if Lazash got to safety, Vola would then dive for cover as well. Hopefully she at least drew the attention to herself by throwing the spear so that the other girl would be less of a target...

---

Grunthor watched the stone slime sail off into the bushes, narrowly missing a tree. He stayed back, waiting to see what would happen, would it flee from getting clobbered like that or would it stupidly rush back in to get another thumping? His answer came pretty swiftly with the slime scooting out of the bushes. With comical furrowed brows that dictated anger on an otherwise expressionless surface.

It stopped roughly thirty feet away and gathered up some stones from beneath it. Was it going to chuck them? Could...could it throw them without limbs? How did that work? Another answer came as a glowing yellow stone shot out. With a surprised yelp the young orc leaned out of the way, but the stone still clipped his arm. From the side Akeno, who had sprinted around, was throwing a firebolt at the stone slime.

Regaining his balance he dashed in, trying to time it so the flames would hit the slime first to make it reel from surprise pain before a two handed swing downwards would plow into it from the top via his spiked club. He doubted this would kill it, but maybe get it stunned long enough to get another good thwack or two in.

@Zeroth@King Cosmos@Lucius Cypher

Meanwhile, inside the cave, the Flak Beetle hadn't yet reacted to the mushrooms beneath it suddenly shooting their spores all over the place. When Lazash unleashed her Fire Bolt, however, it scuttled backwards further along the ceiling, into the narrow tunnel. It rustled the shell plates over its wings aggressively---but still, it did not attack yet.

Lazash would take a stroke from the lashing tendrils over her shoulder, drawing blood and leaving a stinging welt. Two other tendrils struck the spots where the spores had coated the stones, and immediately withdrew back into the mushrooms that had spawned them.

The Fire Bolt hit the mushrooms---and a leftover cloud of spores. In a phenomenon known as a "dust explosion," the fine-grains of fungal matter went up in a great "whoosh," though thankfully it wasn't exactly a "bomb." Nonetheless, Lazash and Vola were nearly blinded by the instant flash and felt their bodies come close to singing as the heat washed over them. The mushrooms, on the other hand, actually shrieked as they burned---not because they had vocal chords, but because of some property of air escaping their formerly swollen spore pods and tendril "mouths" as the flames consumed them.

Within seconds only blacked, shriveled husks were left.

Lazash's arms came up to protect her face and eyes from the explosion as the palpable wave of nigh-singing heat wash past her as the hot air sought to escape. A dust explosion, here?! The only saving grace was that it was such a small-scale one, given the ones she'd seen in the course of her education about architecture and design. Yet even if the mushrooms weren't nessecarily screaming, the sound being akin to that was certainly something to hear as well as the pustule-like swollen caps burnt suddenly from her Fire Bolt. It was akin to letting air out of a whoopie cushion somewhat to her mind, though the screaming-like quality certainly made it seem more menacing than she felt it was. Still, the female orc runt would lower her arms after the blast had finished.

“Nice shot.”

For a moment she was almost relieved, giving a momentary nod to the other orc runt with her, though another immediately hit her mind as she held her now-hot pointy stick and kept her eyes up on the narrow passage. Because while the mushrooms had been dealt with, certainly, there was still something else in this cave that had been near and it had the monkier of being a "Flak Beetle". Did that mean it-

The Flak Beetle, having withdrawn even further from the flames, chose this moment to expand its wings and point its mandibles at the two Runts with a hiss.

They saw its glowing thorax expand as the light within it intensified. And then as the beetle released that pressure through its mouth, a second bolt of flame lit up the cave, racing towards them!

"SHI-"

It was perhaps the most expressive Lazash had allowed herself to sound, but mostly the half-shouted curse word only came out as the female Orc Runt dove hard to her left to try to put some distance between her and the Flak Beetle without a second thought. She did not even so much as hear Vola's warning for the most part, survival instincts kicking in as pure adrenaline kicked in. Lazash would try to hit the ground with a roll so she could iun theory get back up on her feet more quickly using the momentum, thus hopefully allowing her better ascertain the situation and again hold up her free hand pointed toward where the Flak Beetle was. The idea was to at leaast be prepared to use a second Fire Bolt, if nothing else, not that it'd probably be the best idea if this thing was ALSO firing off fire bolts.

If she got to this intended point with her actions, if she saw the Flak Beetle try to shoot a bolt at her again she'd fire one right back! Worst case they had to run for the exit, perhaps, if it started a cave-in. Right? Maybe. Was all she had effective against the stupid thing right noow anyway, and it was a rather imperfect situation overall to be most frank to boot.

...But the old addage perhaps rung true here: "Fight fire with fire." Especially since none of them had any water spells or such helpful tools to use right now anyway. She'd rather be alive and grab something on the way back to the camp or another cave entrance than die here at least. Likely her compatriot would want to stay alive, she figured, as well....hopefully.

@Unkown58@Zeroth

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Timemaster

---

Svarok managed to nimbly evade the low strike from the hatchet-wielding goblin, and launched another Holy Bolt at the spear-gob. The glowing sphere struck it like a fastball to the face, smashing into its cheek and seeming to “spin” in place for a moment as its jaw was slightly distended. The creature went down spluttering through bloodied lips—it wasn’t dead, but dazed as if by a heavy punch to just the right spot on the chin. In the process it clumsily dropped its weapon!

The hatchet goblin looked much more nervous now, but still flourished its crude instrument. Then Carmina’s voice rang out, and the creature yelped as it turned to look at her. But as the notes of her song rolled over the three creatures, both goblins suddenly seemed to wobble slightly on their feet. Svarok, too, felt an oddly calming sensation spill over her, like a warm hand rubbing her shoulder.

Warning: Your MP is Low.

You have been Soothed. You are already non-hostile to the caster; no negative Mental Status Effects to disperse.

The goblins’ movements slowed, and while the one Svarok had hit twice now slowly began to gather itself up off the ground, the one with the hatchet looked between Carmina and Svarok as if it saw them with new eyes. That anger it had before wasn’t gone, but it almost seemed like it had taken ten breaths to calm down in a split second.

“Ah, um—haha! Hee hee, silly orclings, you fall for classic goblin joke!” It gave them a lopsided smile and put its hatchet behind its back. “We’s only pretends! Not really gonna kill yas or, um, eat yas!” Its eyes darted back and forth, towards the goblin still picking itself up and then towards the bushes that goblin had come from. Then back to the runts. Then back to those bushes. “Uh, um…so…how’s uh, how is orclingses’ day going?”

In a moment, that other goblin would have its wits back enough to grab its spear. Moving to take the spear themselves would put an Orc Runt at the mercy of the hatchet wielding goblin…but maybe they were fast enough to avoid him if they knew a surprise attack was coming? Maybe he really didn’t intend to attack again, now that it was a more even fight? Or maybe they’d just get him out of the way first…

---

@ReusableSword

---

From the bushes, where he’d watched all this time with the patience of a true hunter, Agar lunged! Both arms, scrawny as they might be, held his stick firmly and brought it down on the Harpy full-force! The creature was none the wiser until the last instant, and with a meaty crunch the piece of wood slammed down on its already injured shoulder! The stick let out a loud crack as it splintered—but so did the bone under the bird-like monster’s mottled gray skin. It screeched and tried to leap away. Its wing, however, sagged in the joint socket, and it stumbled and fell before it could attempt to fly. The fall only aggravated its injury, prompting another screech of agony as it thrashed and flopped on the ground—

Perhaps this sudden pain and panic sped up the flow of poison through its veins. The purple bruise, under the Tatzelwurm’s teeth marks, grew darker. The creeping, ivy-like color reached the monster’s throat and upper chest. It suddenly spasmed, spat up thickened, dark blood…

And then it died.

Victory! Loot Obtained:
Mangled Tainted Harpy x1
Eviscerated Tatzelwurm x1

Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole

• Kill a Creature

Ingested New Creature: Slime
Learned Skill: Blunt Damage Resistance
Explored Areas: Orc Camp, Forest
New Creatures Observed: Tatzelwurm, Harpy
New Creature Killed: Harpy

LEVEL UP!
Choose ONE:

• Increase HP (Health)
• Increase MP (Magic)
• Increase SP (Stamina)
• Gain 1 Skill Rank Point

With everything besides Agar in the small clearing now dead, and that one life sign he’d seen with Field Scan long gone, the sudden silence of the forest was almost eerie. No birds chirped and no bushes rustled…

If he strained his ears he might hear something that sounded like singing—or screaming—coming from somewhere fairly far away, but probably still within the forest. Or, he might hear something like…a firework, going off in the distance up to the north, back towards the mountains.

Now he had to decide what to do with the two corpses in front of him, and whether he would continue hunting, investigate some other point of interest in the area, or simply return to the camp with his spoils. He’d been pretty lucky so far…would he continue to push it?

---

---

@Unkown58@Lucius Cypher@King Cosmos@Kazemitsu@Crusader Lord

---

When Vola saw the Flak Beetle shoot another flaming projectile, her first instinct was to throw something back—namely, a Short Wooden Spear—using her makeshift launcher. Lazash, on the other hand, immediately dove for cover even as her companion shouted the same. The beetle’s blast struck the ground between them, and released an explosion that would throw Vola off her feet and catch the edges of her ragged clothing with smoldering sparks. She scrambled for cover herself, but if she didn’t do something quick her former swaddling rags would soon ignite and take the rest of her with them!

But as luck would have it, her spear actually hit the beast! The Flak Beetle let out a shrill screech as the hard carapace over one of its wings cracked open under the wooden javelin. Normally, such a weapon wouldn’t have a hard enough tip or enough force behind it (not from an Orc Runt, anyway) to penetrate the chitinous layers—but Gren’s clever spear launcher multiplied Vola’s strength more than twice, and the weapon struck true! It drove right through the shell and into a crag between the rocky wall, pinning the beetle in place!

Its mandibles clacked angrily, and its thorax swelled as that glow intensified again! But Lazash had prepared to throw another Fire Bolt if she saw it attack again, and this definitely seemed like it planned on further hostilities! So she let fly!

Warning: Your MP is low.

The Flak Beetle inhaled, and its mouth parts began to glow. Lazash’s Fire Bolt flew through the air. Vola’s spear continued to hold between the stones.

The Runts had both taken cover, previously. Thus, between them was open space. The Flak Beetle had also backed up earlier. Thus, the “path of least resistance” was contained by the narrow opening in the back of the cave, directing it forward in a less widespread path.

This was all very good. Because when Lazash’s Fire Bolt hit it in the face and the flames went in, instead of out, the Flak Beetle exploded.

Both Vola and Lazash, from their cover across from each other, watched a shockwave of flame, dust, and rock powerful enough to indirectly rattle their bones thunder past them in an instant. The heat felt like opening an out-of-control oven and nearly losing their eyebrows. Their vision was seared white for a few painful seconds as the flames passed. Their ears rang painfully and then all sounds seemed as if they came from underwater.

Up ahead, Gren happened to be lucky that he was standing to one side of the cave’s entrance. Most of the flames had died down, but a powerful, roaring aftershock of dust, debris, and heat spewed into the open air. Grunthor and Akeno had moved away to deal with the slime as well, otherwise at least one of them would’ve definitely been caught in it. Nonetheless, the blast certainly caught their attention—as well as sending most other critters in the local area running for cover, including the rock-crab and the dire rat up above. They almost fell off their ledge, before scrambling back up and skedaddling in opposite directions.

The explosion lasted a mere fraction of a second, and in its wake as their hearing slowly recovered, Lazash and Vola would notice the sound of rocks crumbling and crashing to the ground…but it wasn’t a cave in. At least, not the kind you saw in the movies that threatened to kill everyone and seal off the whole tunnel. Only the most fragile bits of rock had shattered or fallen down. It made a bit of a mess and spilled slippery gravel and sharp shards all over the ground, but if anything it had actually widened out the narrow tunnel a bit…Because a big chunk of that shiny, green-streaked substance in the side of one wall had been blasted into much smaller fragments that clackity-clacked all over the cave floor…



And then, of course, there were a few…bits and pieces…of the Flak Beetle left. The rest of the shriveled, burnt mushrooms had been apparently vaporized.

Victory! Loot Obtained:
Flak Beetle Chunks x4 - Harvest Potential reduced by 70%

---

Meanwhile, Akeno’s Fire Bolt hit the earthen slime at an angle, blasting the little monster a few feet across the ground! It let out a gurgling yelp as it tumbled, and its rubbery membrane smoked from the impact. As it shook its head—or rather, its whole body—and blinked its eyespots, it screeched again as Grunthor had already stormed up to it! With both hands the male Runt brought his Spiked Club down right on top of the slime’s own spiky, stony carapace. Both one of the bone spikes, and one of the stones, chipped as the impact wobbled the slime’s whole form. It rolled backwards, and shook itself yet again.

But before Akeno or Grunthor could follow up, a sudden BOOM behind them would shock both of them. Even the slime was lifted off the ground by the sudden explosion. Considering that it was outnumbered, taking considerable damage, and now the earth itself seemed to be making too much noise, the stony jelloball decided now was the time to get the hell out of Dodge. With a squeak, it turned away from the two orclings and began rolling towards the nearby shallow stream, bouncing along the way as if it were getting ready to try and jump the waters.

Would the two runts pursue their quarry, or run back to make sure their friends hadn’t just been splattered all over the rocks?

Both Vola and Lazash, from their cover across from each other, watched a shockwave of flame, dust, and rock powerful enough to indirectly rattle their bones thunder past them in an instant. The heat felt like opening an out-of-control oven and nearly losing their eyebrows. Their vision was seared white for a few painful seconds as the flames passed. Their ears rang painfully and then all sounds seemed as if they came from underwater.

The explosion lasted a mere fraction of a second, and in its wake as their hearing slowly recovered, Lazash and Vola would notice the sound of rocks crumbling and crashing to the ground...but it wasn’t a cave in. At least, not the kind you saw in the movies that threatened to kill everyone and seal off the whole tunnel. Only the most fragile bits of rock had shattered or fallen down. It made a bit of a mess and spilled slippery gravel and sharp shards all over the ground, but if anything it had actually widened out the narrow tunnel a bit…Because a big chunk of that shiny, green-streaked substance in the side of one wall had been blasted into much smaller fragments that clackity-clacked all over the cave floor...

She had expected the potential for something like this, but the reality of it was certainly something else entirely. Certainly wasn't an 'intact' kill though, and they needed something to bring back intact enough to fulfill the quest. At the same time, they were alive and the 'narrow passage' was now larger than before at the same time. They had avoided a cave-in, somehow, and yet between the scorching heat from the prior Fire Bolt she'd used before and the Flak Beetle exploding like it was going out of style she felt the strain of it all on her body. Certianly surviving a tunnel explosion was no small thing, and at the same time she would notice the strange subtance that had been blown loose from the wall.

And then, of course, there were a few…bits and pieces…of the Flak Beetle left. The rest of the shriveled, burnt mushrooms had been apparently vaporized.

...Not to forget about the bits of Flak Beetle that were actually left though.

After getting back to her senses once more, ascertaining that Vola was ok by looking over at where the other female runt was, and noting the gravel of slippery and sharp sorts on the ground, Lazash would get back to work without another work. She would use her feet to push the light-enough debris to the sides as she went along, as well as being careful where she stepped, but first thing was first and she would start going about to pick up the chunks of the Flak Beetle first to put in her pack of things. If she got the chance afterward, she'd go to pick up as many of the fragments of the shiny, green-streaked substance that were now all over the floor as she could get.

After whatever she could do in these respects, she'd try to clear a path on the floor to the narrow passage itself to sit down next to it for a moment on any non-sharp rock she could find. Well, try to sit there at least for a moment to take a breather. A moment to rest after an explosion and heat blast combination was certainly something to take a short rest from, if anything, in her mind.

Warning: Your MP is low.

Ah. Likewise, at least this "SYSTEM" seemed to give her a proper indicator warning of having low MP as well. She did not want to push her luck in that respect either though. Losing all of her MP was not, as it seemingly would have mental effects based on prior SYSTEM notifications, a good idea in the end. Only getting two Fire Bolts before she ran low though? It was a low count, sure, but it certainly wasn't useless either after seeing what those things could do. She was, after all, just an Orc Runt at the start of her new life here. She just had to raise her MP more and train and such, etc, before she could really do more with casting spells. That, as it were, was a goal to look forward to to boot.

"My MP is low, so there'll be no more Fire Bolts moving forward on my end."

She would comment aloud to Vola by this point as she sat down next to the widened entrance into the narrow passage.

"And we still lack a sufficiently 'intact' kill to bring back to the camp to fulfil the quest, though I'd wager that blast was audible even on the outside as well.

Still, given the potential for us to have died here from that explosion it seems we have some amount of fortune on our side thus far. Hmm?"

Fortune? Luck? It was probability at least, and they happened to not get hit with shrapnel or killed by a blast wave. Etc. A little miracle of sorts at the tail end of a bad decision that hadn't worked out as badly as she'd thought it would at least. What else was she to do though? They had no other way to retaliate against the Flak Beetle meaningfully, and might've been forced to run out to escape had it pursued them further. What would a pointy stick and sharp stone do against it, irritate the thing before it blew them up with its own 'fire bolt' as it were?

This at least meant they had a chance to go deeper and see what else lied down here, maybe getting a kill of some kind before it got too late in the day.

@Unkown58@Zeroth

Agar

// A New Challenger >> Success! //

The strike and the kill went off without much issue, Agar could still feel how weak he was compared to what he used to be. However, the animals here still acted similar which gave him the edge he was looking for. It also meant that hunting, while still being dangerous, would be a bit more familiar. The taint as the system put it would likely be trouble but maybe he will get something interesting from it. He knew he could do a few things to help make it more palatable if he could find some charcoal back at camp to absorb some of the venom from the strange cat.

Making sure that the necks of both kills were definitely snapped to make sure nothing came back to life or was just faking. The runt proceeded to think about his options for a moment before stating with some confidence. “System Agar chooses Increase Stamina.” This he hoped would give him a better edge being able to keep going and grow stronger.

He did check the other dead thing but other than a few bones he wasn’t likely to get anything off the creature for now. Tomorrow he may try to find this place again, if not to find cleaner bones then perhaps something else that may be eating the dead flesh. Turning back to his kills, he took the sharp rock he still carried and cut the Tatzelwurm’s neck then cutting a gash across the Harpy’s shoulder where it got bit. He did this hoping that the blood and venom from the harpy would drain as he carried his kills.

A far-off explosion made him freeze in his tracks. It seemed to have come from the direction the other runts walked off in, perhaps they found some interesting creatures of their own. Another scream? Came from further along the valley. He would say it was a battle cry but sounded like it held its own rhythm. Such a strange place.

With that settled Agar hefted the harpy over his shoulder by its feet and wrapped the wurm over his neck and shoulder. He could feel the warm blood from both his kills trickle down his skin as he walked back towards the orc camp. He was still being cautious but wanted to get back quickly to finish his quest, eat, find a new stick or some other weapon, and hunt again.

---

@Zeroth

<< Current Quest: Find Something to Eat and Bring it Back Whole.
Hunt Selected: Random
Inventory: loincloth, sharp rock, mangled Tatzelwurm, tainted harpy
Skills: Ingestion, Field Scan I, Blunt Resistance I
Location: Into the forest <<>> Heading back to camp

Sarvok

---

MP? MP was low? What did that mean? Some...special resource? She vaguely recalled there being something like 'MP' in video games...but she had never really been into such things. Curious. She would only frown at the next bit of information though. Soothed? Carminas singing was...'soothing' her. It at least made the goblins non-hostile at least.

"Hm." Svarok took stock of the situation. She was grateful for the lull in battle, and that the goblins were finally starting to listen to words rather than violence. Still, she considered herself a teacher, someone who guides others...and such violence needed to be taught a lesson. She glanced to Carmina, the only other unknown here. "A joke, involving leading one on a wild chase through the forest when I merely wished to speak, only to ambush me?"

Svarok then proceeded to laugh.

"That is a funny joke, hilarious one might say!" Svarok made a move to grab the goblins spear. She doubted she had enough time to do it in the same motion, but her plan was quite simple. She was going to put the goblin that ambushed them into the ground.

---

She had lost herself for a moment there.

In memories that she had not thought she could have been lost in. She had no memories of such vast greenery; the Soviet Union was of tundra and ice, short brush over barren land. And she had been in this forest her entire 'orc' life as well. But what change it made, to get just a little bit of elevation! How vast the verdancy, when seen from above! It reminded her of childhood fantasies, of the grace of birds, of climbing up the steps of the chapel's tower. The claim of becoming the rear guard was just a claim.

Esfir didn't know that she needed a moment, not until now. But the explosion that burst out from the open cave broke that moment. She looked at that opening. Stared at it. It rang in her ears, even when she was so far away. Echoing away.

Always so far away, but she still felt it in her stomach.

...

"That wasn't a scream."

The scorch marks were evident, but neither Vola nor Lazash looked like their insides had liquidfied, and their limbs were certainly in place, so the explosion must have been more a firework than a proper bomb. Esfir hid what flicker of relief she felt though, and instead focused on the presence.

"Explain what happened. Was that your magic, or a creature?"

And if it was a creature, could that be used?

@Unkown58@Crusader Lord

@Rune_Alchemist@Zeroth

Carmina approached the goblin with the spear from the back, realizing that her plan to calm everyone didn't exactly work as intended or better said, only worked partially. She made a stop sign towards Sarvok and started talking fast, hoping to catch the spear-goblin's attention.

"There, there. Calm down. It's all good. I'm sure my friend here just misunderstood your joke, you...beautiful goblin. Look at those muscles and your skin. Why, I think you're probably the strongest goblin in your tribe! A chieftain for sure. Hells, maybe even the Goblin King himself stands before us. While your friend looks like they're the fastest goblin in the whole of creation! You can probably run around the whole forest in under two minutes, don't you? I'm honored, no. More than honored. Humbled! Humbled! Humbled I said! Humbled to have met you. " said Carmina, her voice suave trying to get butter up the goblins.

Even if it wouldn't work, it would at least distract or confuse them until Sarvok had a chance to strike. Carmina moved her body low and raised her hands up in the air as she shouted humbled but always kept the goblins's feet at eye level; if they'd decide to attack, she'd at least see their feet and give her a chance to dodge or attack herself.

Lifting her head up a bit but still not looking the goblins in the eye, she continued her passionate speech.

"Now, please, tell us. Tell us what great business you have in this area? What task of probably utmost importance for all goblinkind, that you like, of course, brings you here?"

---

Current Location: North Caves
Current Activity: Gathering green-streaked chunks in cave and talking with Lazash @Crusader Lord and Esfir @ERode while exploring the caves and acting as bait for Akeno @King Cosmos, Gren @Lucius Cypher and Grunthor @Kazemitsu.

---

Almost as soon as the spear was launched the beetle’s attack hit the ground, it’s force knocking Vola off of her feet, the smoulders landing on the edges of her clothes, threatening to light the garments on fire. A slew of mental curses and screams ran through her mind as she quickly crawled towards the nearest cover herself, before frantically starting to pat at the embers, going so far as to use her spit to try and put them out. She’s seen pictures burn injuries before and she does not want to risk going through that, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the quality of healthcare in this world.

Once the threat of a fire has been successfully eliminated, Vola would risk a peak out from her cover. A relieved sigh escaping her when she saw that Lazash was unharmed during the blast, which quickly transformed into a victorious smile when she saw the beetle shish-cabob against the wall. Sure, the thing was still alive and kicking – it might have some relation to cockroaches…those nasty buggers are annoyingly resistant to death as well – but it’s movement was restricted now, which’ll work in their favour to try and take it down. She’ll definitely have to thank Gren again later, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to pull off a hit like that with just her little stick. Unfortunately, that smile was swiftly wiped off of her face when the beetle started glowing once again for a counter strike, clearly it wasn’t as happy with their small victory as she was.

Reaching for the spear-launcher and another spear to reload it, she glanced over to the other girl to see if they could try and figure out some kind of strategy. From the look in her eye though, it seemed as if Lazash already had something in mind and Vola would soon find out what. With zero hesitation, before the beetle had a chance to release the fire that was building, the other girl hit it with a Fire Ball. What ensued was both the single most terrifying moment of her life as well as the most exhilarating as the world erupted into flames around her. The heat of the explosion was unlike anything she ever felt before, and the sound of it passing between them was like thunder in her eardrums.

After what felt simultaneously like both an eternity and barely a few moments at all, the explosion ended, leaving just the two girls in the returned darkness of the cave along with some rubble that was knocked loose. A flash of worry passed through Vola for the others outside, hopefully the flames didn’t manage to reach them outside. Glancing around to view the damages, Vola was happy to notice that the beetle was definitely dead and gone at this point, unfortunately as she approached where it was standing and looked around, she saw that it appeared as if the spiteful bug took her spear along with it.

It was at this point, after she had verified that there was no more danger, that the reality of the situation fully hit her, her shoulders starting to shake with repressed laughter. Biting her tongue to keep the giggles in check only seemed to be semi effective, the occasional laugh slipping out. They almost died. They almost died in a fiery inferno trying to kill an overgrown cockroach, and it was amazing! Now don’t get Vola wrong, it was traumatizing and terrifying, but it was also exhilarating…is it wrong that she almost want’s to do it again? Yeah…probably…she’ll examine that particular thought tonight when she has some privacy for a proper hysterical freak-out.

In the meantime, she had to stay present and in the moment and focus on her surroundings. The beetle had been well and thoroughly blown to kingdom-come, so it was doubtful that they’d be able to salvage too much, so she turned her attention instead to the debris, maybe there would be a particularly sharp rock that can be used as a weapon or a tool? It was then that she saw the strange green-streaked rocks. Could these be some of the ore that she and Gren heard about? Guess that beetle was worth more than just an adrenaline rush after all. Getting down to it, Vola started the process of sifting through the debris and gathering as many of the chunks as she could carry, noting that Lazash was doing the same after the other girl finished gathering the sad remains of the cockroach.

After they were done, Vola helped Lazash clear a small opening, and plopped herself down across from the other girl. They both could use a breather after that. The lack of future Fire Bolts wasn’t all that surprising news, they were still Runts, this was their first hunting trip, unlimited Fire Bolts is an unreasonable expectation. However they would need to be more careful from now on if they were to proceed forward. It goes to reason that the creatures would only get more dangerous the deeper in they go. ”That’s fair, you already did a lot with them, those mushrooms and the bug would have been a lot harder to deal with otherwise, so just rest up for a little bit. We’ll just be more careful for now.”

The lack of an intact kill was a little disheartening, but there was still a good amount of daylight left, and considering that they just escaped death by the skin of their teeth…Vola’s spirit remained reasonably high. ”There’s still some time to find something, besides, at least we’re still alive and in possession of all of our limbs.” Damn, the urge to laugh was back again…

Biting down on her tongue hard, she distracted herself by taking inventory of the items in her possession, pausing at the remaining Tungem leaves, grabbing them and offering them to the other girl with a smile. ”One of the mushrooms got you earlier, right? Is it still bothering you? I have some leaves, they make good bandages in a pinch.”

It was at that point that Esfir reappeared, entering the cave and addressing Vola and Lazash. Vola doesn’t know why, but she felt a little like she did whenever she’d get caught in the act by one of her parents. That feeling was quick to pass though, as the other runt asked about what happened here and whether it was their magic or a creature. Glancing between Lazash and the bug’s final resting place, Vola responded, a very small laugh escaping with the words before she could stop it and she quickly tried to put a serious expression on her face. She really hopes that she’ll outgrow the stress-laughing at some point, the last thing she wants is to look like she doesn’t take things seriously because of it… ”I guess you could say that it was a bit of both?”

---

Akeno

Her fireball struck true, but how much of an effect it really had on the little ball of slime it was hard to tell. The thing didn’t exactly resemble any creature Akeno had ever seen in real life and though in theory any living thing should be perturbed from being set on fire and having its body start to smoke, she didn’t know if it was the case here.

Was it fire proof? Did this thing even feel pain?

Were the bits of rock that just snapped off of its head as Grunthor smashed it over the… everything with a club, actually parts of its body, or actual rocks that it had covered itself with as a form of artificial shell?

Whatever the case, Akeno was pretty sure they were winning the fight against the slime before the cave behind them exploded and rendered the whole issue moot. The slime startled at the noise and began to roll away, but Akeno hardly paid it any attention as she instead turned and ran towards the mouth of the cave.

Up ahead she saw Esfir running towards the cave at well, reappearing from wherever she had disappeared to and reaching the entrance before she did and plunging into the darkness. Akeno decided not to follow, instead stopping at the mouth and stopping to listen for any noises. She didn’t know what had caused the explosion, whether or not the two inside at the time were still alive, if a cave-in had or was about to happen, or if the explosion had woken up whatever was inside that was supposedly so dangerous.

A lot of unknowns basically, and she wasn’t heroic enough to rush in to that even if the other Orcs were hurt.

As she listened, though, she began to hear voices. Or a voice at least, which meant someone other than Esfir was alive in there; which was a relief. Either way, their plan to lure whatever was living inside the cave outside and ambush in the open was probably shot to hell, since the explosion had probably scared anything with half a brain into going the opposite direction.

Which implied neither she nor Esfir had half a brain…

Well, this was a pretty dumb idea.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Akeno called out into the cave and tried to project her voice inside without having to go any further than she already had. “You should get out. Anything inside already knows you’re there now; it’s too dangerous.”

@Unkown58@Lucius Cypher@ERode@Kazemitsu@Crusader Lord