Duty Session 77: Gnoll it All

"... and the Hunter's Guild has been complaining about it, so I took their commission. Time-limited encounters tend to have interesting things going on, so I figured we ought to party up and see what the problems are." Count V finishes explaining, at the edge of the woods.

He has a weary look to him today. The fight at the Tower was more than a little taxing and traumatic, for all that it was also invigorating. It wouldn't have been a terrible surprise if he'd chosen to rest on his laurels a little bit after that. As it is though, he put out an alert to the guild that there was Questin' To Be Done.

"If the Goblins are anything to go by, we can expect tricky traps on the ground, probably some obnoxious searching that I don't have any talent for, and maybe a sniper." He adds, swaying back and forth deliberately against his staff.

"Mmm...I actually remember Gnolls being less tricky than Goblins, and far more aggressive.  They're like stupid, but stronger Goblins if I'm not misremembering," U.L.P. says towards Count V.  "Though it's always best to be prepared, we never know what's actually in the Quest, even if it says 'Gnolls'."

U.L.P. seems as upbeat as ever today, bow and harp on his back and a spring in his step.  He's made sure to restring his harp this time before the adventure, lest he'd have another embarrassing incident with his instrument breaking mid-song.  Not only that, perhaps thinking about how to perhaps approach things.

If there were any way to approach the sticky topic.  This might be one to handle more in person, instead of on a quest.  

Proteus is, of course, here to support Count V in her own special way. This time, that special way seems to mostly consist of scowling at the situation and meandering towards the edge of the woods, peering into the rustling undergrowth. "Oh yeah, all in a day's work. Didn't you just finish barely surviving a raid boss?" She looks back over her shoulder, hooded head tilting in question at the mysterious Count V. "Are you sure you should be going off doing this so soon?" She shrugs. "I mean, I won't stop you if you feel confident enough to do it, of course, but..."

She nods to ULP. "That's a good point. Even if Gnolls are a problem, could be anything out there. The monster spawns are all changed since the Black Wave."

"If it's another field full of beartraps, I'm going to scream." Whis asides, pouring a vial of some oddly blue liquid into her eyes with a backtilt of her head, the odd eyedrops being blinked through with a pleased sigh.

"At least my eyes won't be itchy. Thanks for the party invite! Please take care of me." Whis reintroduces with her catchphrase, wiping a sleeve against the bridge of her nose.

"And gnolls are much better than goblins - you can expect a frontal attack, and that means our favorite spell works!"

Whis seems quite pleased at the prospect of, once more, Arson.

"Man, I don't want to talk about goblins at the moment. Or traps. Let's just get this crap over with."

Haseo, surprising absolutely no one, is not in a good mood. He's got a massive greatsword slung over his shoulder like some sort of murder hobo. Exactly like some sort of murder hobo. Haseo is just a murder hobo.

"I mean, maybe your favorite spells work, but my method works all the time." Haseo just kind of gives a shitty imp-like smirk as he rubs his nose. He's not even trying to come off as a try hard. He just kind of is.

"It /is/ dangerous to assume right now. But the danger band shouldn't be shifting around too much within these starter quests." Count V replies to U.L.P., shrugging faintly as he begins to walk into the wood.

To Proteus, he replies, "No, I'm not sure at all. But it's not as if I can entertain myself the way I used to, and getting things done is objectively helpful..."

"I'll be okay." He concludes, with a dim smile.

His expression falls sharply at mention of bear traps though. Count V shudders, but says nothing on that topic. He replies, "Always a pleasure, Whis."

Like always, he doesn't /exactly/ say, yes, I will take care of you. But he hasn't had a problem actually doing so in action previously.

"Glad to have you along, too, Haseo." Count V says, deliberately more cheery than he's actually feeling right now, but it is in fact absolutely impossible to tell for somebody who doesn't make a profession out of lying to people.

Distant flickering of lights peeking through brush provides evidence for an active camp farther into the woods. Were they farther out, it would be more evident through the smoke trailing up into the sky.

There's little enough evidence of Gnolls themselves at this point of the woods...

The first sign of trouble is just animals that don't quite match the environment. A trio of sniffing, drooling hyenas come from the direction of the distant fires, catching scent of the Adventurers and approaching threateningly. They weren't trained not to eat PLAYER RACES, picking up their pace in an obvious attack pattern.

Count V opens his mouth to cast a spell and then hauls off and beans a hyena in the head with his staff wordlessly. Then he continues to walk, assuming that the others will manage to take care of the rest-- assuming he even knocked that one out. More likely, just got its attention off of him.

U.L.P. looks towards the PKKer for a moment.  "So you're the kind of man to use one tool for any situation?  Interesting.." he says, not exactly in a Sakaki kind of way, but that sort of vague 'I'm going to be amused eventually' tone that kind of follows these sorts of men.  He does nod towards Count V, "Also fair.  There is such a thing about being too paranoid."

"Raid boss?  Oh right, the tower, I decided to not worry about that RIGHT away, but I have to ask V, was it worth the effort?  I'm more curious than anything," he asks, keeping the conversation going as the group walks.  Proteus gets a nod from the Bard, "My thoughts exactly.  I see we think on the same wavelengths."

Whis gets a smile from the man, "Always a pleasure Whis.  You haven't been getting any issues from Shin, have you?  He promised me he'd leave you alone." Well sort of, but U.L.P. was sure that Shin was at least a man of his word when it came to declaring things.

During this small talk, as the Hyena's come up, without a second through he pulls the bow from his back, and fires as many arrows as he can let loose at one of the Hyenas.  He can come back to skin them later.

There is a quiet moment as Count V mentions that he can no longer entertain himself, and Proteus bows her head. "... We'll find something else for you." She says, her fingers curling and uncurling. "... And don't push yourself too hard. I'm not going to see you die on something stupid like this." Count V might be convincing enough, but Proteus is... insistent for the moment, it seems.

The first problem: Hungry animals. "Why is there always a swarm of something starving in these things?" Proteus asks rhetorically... But this time, she produces some meat from her inventory, and with a flick of her hand, the raw chunks of flesh of indeterminate origin are scattered about, efficiently distracting a number of the hyena. "Let's move." She says, forming up with the nonchalant Count V and giving ULP a nod. "Right. Can't let our guards down even if we're starting to get the hang of this..."

Her expression becomes dour. "Again."

Hyenas! Wonderful, snarling, yipping hyenas that meanace the group. "I'm happy to be in a party with so many powerful people!" Whis asides to Haseo (and the group, broadly), as she waves at the 'dogs'.

She has the exact same reaction to random hyenas who are clearly in an attack posture as 'someone's random dog on the street'.

Crouching down, she throws a soft and tired smile towards U.L.P. "Shin hasn't bothered me. But it wasn't that big a deal. I understand people being emotional. Punks like him..." Whis gains a fondness to her tone, and an honest softness around her brow. "... They're endearingly direct."

Then, back to dogs. "Aren't you a cutie?"

The hyena slobbers. With almost too much grace, as a Hyena rushes her down she applies the 'catch the dog' and rolls around with it, scratching under the chin and behind the ears and somehow avoiding snapping jaws.

By the end, she's befriended WORST DOG, the hyena chewing on a piece of jerky and contentedly heeled at Whis' feet.

"Anyway, you were saying?"

Just as Haseo is going on about how great his method of dealing with things, three hyenas show up to help him prove how effective his methods are. Time to make the proverbial donuts.

Haseo slides on in to greet the pack of rabid animals, the grip on his massive sword tightening as he winds the weapon back. There's only one thing stupid animals understand, and that's strength. Thankfully he has that in spades.

There's no quippy one liners to fill the space, just Haseo swinging his sword at the pack with absolutely zero style or grace. It's more akin to some Yakuza brute swining a bat than a skill swordsman.

"Go on, GET!"

One of the Hyenas is turned into a pincushion of arrows by ULP, and subsequently sliced-and-diced by Haseo, bursting into fragments of light as its HP bar is reduced to zero.

The second is bonked with a staff and then lured away with nondescript meat, apparently far more content with an easy meal over one that fights back. This lures it out of range of Haseo's attack, which is the only reason it gets spared.

The third and rearmost of the hyenas is approached by Whiskey Sour, who uses her animal handling skills to good effect to transform the AGGRESSIVE HYENA into a WEIRD DOG. The WEIRD DOG is surrounded by hearts and begins to follow Whiskey Sour. In her UI, she might notice a 'You Made A Friend!' buff with a declining timer. It's not particularly long.

"Hmm. Was it /worth/ it? That depends upon what you consider worth it. I think it was a worthwhile experience. Were the rewards worth the effort? Proportionately, I'd say no. It depends on whether or not you consider the Tower to be key to escaping the game. But that isn't my priority, so..." Count V wobbles his free hand back and forth, "If you're asking me if I regret it, then no. If you're asking me if I will try to assist with each floor boss-- perhaps, depends on whether or not I perceive a better time elsewhere and at the time."

Regarding other hobbies for him to engage in, V chuckles and says, "There are /things/, but they aren't across the board. I like thinking about the situation. The Tower helps with that. So do random encounters. For instance-- could a Lander be instructed in how to make 'real' food, so that the NPC shops carry it?"

The path ahead seems somewhat beaten down, as if traveled but not deliberately cultivated as a road. The lights in the distance grow brighter, but a /closer/ set of lights burns in an empty clearing that looks like it's been scorched into nothingness. Ghostly flames hang in the air, blue-white, illuminating the surroundings with an unnecessary eerie ambience that doesn't really fit what's actually going on.

A Gnoll wearing a burlap sack is holding a spell book. Periodically it reads something from it, and produces a visibly effect in the surroundings. A lightning bolt here, a fireball there. Despite appearing to be put in the way, though, the Gnoll Amateur Mage isn't actually paying enough attention to act aggressively up front.

The group comes up against a gnoll using DARK magic. Which means it should be defeated by LIGHT. It's very basic math, or at least Haseo thinks so.

"Alright, I got this."

The imp just kind of barges in, completely ignoring any strategy as he attempts to deliver a light-infused slash. Contrary to what he said however, he in fact, does not have this, and is swatted aside with a stray bolt of lightning. So much for trying to exploit elemental weaknesses. The next time he tries this, he's going to just try to bash the stupid thing's head in.

"I understand completely," U.L.P. says as Whis comes back with a strange dog.  Weird, but hey potentially useful.  "So are you a big fan of animals outside of here?  Or is it just a bit of roleplay in the game itself?" U.L.P. asks, genuinely curious.  

To his question about the tower itself, he gives a thoughtful nod towards V after a moment.  "Think of it as the experience, instead of the reward itself?" He says with a hint of interest.  "Fair enough I suppose.  Maybe I will try the next one.  Can't hurt anything to peek my head in, I suppose."

This time, the challenge gets more of his attention.  He draws his harp instead of his bow this time, and he waits for the Gnoll to start casting.  After a moment, he strings the instrument and attempts to cause the magic in the spell the Gnoll was casting to backfire, blowing up himself instead of actually cast the magic.  

He strums the harp a few times, before passing on, perhaps thinking of something to inspire him.  This might accidentally catch Haseo in the blast.  Oops!

Count V recalls his experience with the Floor One boss. "He's flexing because he got exclusive world-first loot and commendations. I'm jealous too!" Whis asides. The light ribbing of surface familiarity - mixed with a bit of gamer culture - falls about her as well as an old coat (or, color clashing white levelling gear - be glad she's not in Subligar Tier).

U.L.P. asks Whis about her proclivity for attracting temporary animal companions. "I like animals - especially dogs. Cats are fine too, and lizards and snakes. In a game like this, I get to mess around a lot more. Isn't living out your daydreams the entire point of online games?"

She taps her nose while heaving up WEIRD DOG. "Plus, you get to do stuff like this. Go, Angelo!"

Apparently the WEIRD DOG is now called Angelo.

"Use Angelo Cannon!" She encourages, summoning her staff to tap the hyena with an enshrouding of vine armor and leaking sunlight.

Then HYENA just uses BODY SLAM juiced up on the druid's light-element buff.

The appearance of the Gnoll Apprentice Mage is something of an annoyance. They can't proceed while he's raining down attack spells randomly into the path. "Living out my daydreams... Heh." Proteus shakes her head as Whis explains something of what motivates her to acquire shady pets. "I suppose that's true, isn't it? In that case..."

Proteus raises a hand and gestures. ! * The magical counterforce bursts outwards, interdicting a salvo of blasts from the apprentice mage and helping to let ULP trounce the mage's spell and turn it into a hilerious backfire.

Then she simply watches the Hyena smash the hell out of the mage while smirking. "Well, that's one way to handle things." She comments, and then strolls on. "Let's go, it's not getting any earlier."

Count V slows down, allowing Haseo to skip on ahead and attack the Gnoll Apprentice Mage. He doesn't do so out of any kind of malice -- in fact, he applies a heal-over-time to Haseo more-or-less immediately to help enable his action. But once it's clear that it's not working out, he calls: "Disenchant!"

It's unclear what happens as a result of that, at first.

"Oh, it can hurt." He clarifies to ULP, "I took a risk I shouldn't have. If you ask me if I think it is or was responsible to do, I'd say 'no'. But I enjoyed myself well enough anyway."

To Whis, he says, "I'm not /nearly/ that insecure, you know. But to tell the truth, the idea of fleeing seconds before victory would be possible /was/ fairly aggravating to me at the time. We almost wiped."

The Gnoll Apprentice Mage has targets now, and it is enthusiastic about that-- it conjures up a sphere of dark flame in reaction to Haseo, sending it hurtling towards the PKK before he can be counterspelled. His second spell starts up and then blows up in his face, courtesy of ULP, taking out a chunk of his life bar.

A third, fourth, fifth, and sixth are conjured up and launched between this backfire and the next effect targeted at it.

Immediately afterwards the Gnoll's spellbook comes apart, and the three balls of fiery murder are intercepted by Proteus's defensive magic.

The Mage goes sprawling to the ground as ANGELO CANNON results in a rough tackle, its HP bar fully depleting as it scatters into shards of light.

Normally this would be the part where they get to press on to the Gnoll Camp, but instead of that there is a splashing noise coming from nearby. Soon after the noises begin, a colossal warg comes creeping out of the brush, an armored gnoll upon its back. It doesn't wait around, either.

With a dreadful bark from each of them, the Gnoll Warg Rider dashes in a great thunderous line across the forest, producing a line-based piercing hazard as it just barrels right on through anything in its way. Trees splinter and topple, providing falling hazards in addition to the hazards of 'just getting caught in the charge'.

The sudden appearance of the giant Warg Rider is something of a problem. The massive alerting blast of its horn causes Proteus to wince and grumble under her hood, and her cloak flares out behind her even as the line hazard manifests. "You think that's going to be enough to take me down?" She asks aloud, her other hand already moving in a reflexive gesture: > S

The Waterslide spell then activates, giving Proteus the flexibility she needs to simply slip past the attack unharmed as splinters and trees rain down around her, the Magus ramping off of one in order to sail over the Warg Rider and drop a counterstrike blast right in his face.

To live out your daydreams in this world?  Inwardly he guesses that was probably how it all started, but now?  Well, now he was just living his dream, and even with this set back of being stuck inside of the game, it was still not all bad.  "Mmm...I suppose you are not wrong.  I tend to like to make my dreams reality, then I get the best of both worlds!"

Of course, he does laugh at Whis' comment about V.  "No need to explain more, V.  I will experience it myself.  Hopefully, I can use my gift of gab to pull more people in line...hopefully it's not all herding cats."

Then the unexpected rider.  This causes a frown from the Bard, but he wasn't exactly pressed too hard by this.  Notching an arrow in the bow, he waits.  Once it starts charging the fires, as the arrow shatters into hundreds of ice shards.  The attempt is to try and buckshot the rider right off the mount.  The ice effect would be hopefully enough to freeze the warg and make it slower, and with that, he just side steps the creature.  

"Hmmm...though that does bring up a good point.  We should get some activities that aren't kill monsters day in and day out."

'''Angelo''', the WEIRD DOG, barrels into the Mage, using a SUPER EFFECTIVE Takedown attack and being spared the backfire damage thanks to fairy blessings. Really, it's a great day to be Weird Dog.

Unfortunately, Whis' friendship buff wears off, and once it is no longer Blue To PCs, it decides that discretion is the greater part of valor, and hecks off at top dog speed as the GREATER WATER DIRE WOLFOID springs from the lake.

"Eugh. If there's one thing that makes dog awful, it's wet. Wet dog! Wet dog go!" Whis calls, annoyedly, twirling her staff about to level it at the warg and rider. "Gushing, flowing, untamed river -- heed my course!"

As she gestures, a large pseudopod of water lifts from the river, holds in place for a moment, and then sweeps out to hose down the Warg and Rider in a crashing deluge.

Count V weaves and bobs through the oncoming onslaught of the Gnoll Warg Rider's charge, dodging from the direct path of the charge /into/ the path of a tree, and then from the path of the falling tree into the clear again. He turns with one hand raised, an indelible feeling that he /ought/ to have a hat for this attack for some reason, and calls, "Sinister Derringer!"

A lance of swirling blue-and-purple light slices through the trees into the side of the colossal Warg.

"Ah, and what /are/ your daydreams? I admit that owning a practically magical petshop have occurred in mine, but I'd hope that would be obvious." Count V interjects into Proteus and Whiskey's discussion, "On a more regular basis, I'd say... hmm. Getting to go 'round the world and not worry too much about money."

It's so generically universal it's hard to tell if he's serious or bullshitting on that one.

To Ulp, he says, "It was actually quite organized for a first-time raid. There's only so much you can do without seeing the content, right? I think we'd be able to handle that last mechanic better, now..."

After the embarrassment that was essentially a furry gremlin with a caster hat, Haseo is now confronted with a furry gremlin on a furry horse. He's already getting sick of gnolls now too. Perhaps he should hate every monster race in this game that starts with g preemptively.

Well, true to what he said at the very beginning, he uses the method he's been using the entire time, swinging a massive sword at the gnoll's steed to dismount them. But this time, instead of light, the attack is water flavored.

"Oh yeah?  Well, that's good to hear, gives me some hope for the other floors.  Even if it did almost go pear-shaped.  I suppose we could put that more on the level distance rather than the competency."

With the Gnoll rider dead, he considers the other part of what V said.  "Ha, a life of idle luxury?  A lot of people wish for that...I can't say that I'm one of them.  I'd get too bored.  Gotta have some challenge in your life.  Though I suppose I could turn it over into other pursuits instead of having to worry about a job."

Then Hogger shows up, undead and ready to eat the living.  With a blank expression, U.L.P. grabs a bottle of lamp oil, chucks it at the undead gnoll, and then fires a flame tipped arrow at the oil.  Aiming to coat the monster in flaming oil.  

/Fuck that thing/.

"My daydreams?" Whis wonders, on prompting. After a few seconds of noodling, she taps a finger to the centerline of her lips. "It's a secret." She demurs like a professional. "Being a magical druid is fun, though."

Her finger drops. "And it's basically every girl's dream to be a magical heroine, isn't it? At least, have magical heroine powers."

The undead gnoll with its cobweb-white eyes shambles into view, she twirls her staff rather animatedly. "For example: Sun Prism Power -- Fire!"

Sunlight gathers in her spinning staff-head, but all the extra motion - while cool and sparkly - make her beam shots swing wide.

With a dry wit, Whis adds: "But sometimes reality gets in the way."

"You know, you guys are weirdly chatty despite the fact we're in the middle of a quest." Haseo huffs. Clearly everyone should be taking this more seriously. There's even a walking rambling gnoll corpse, and they'd rather shoot a casual conversation during it.

He'll show them the power of actually taking your stuff seriously, Haseo's just gonna channel some light magic behind his next swing... And whiff. He was thinking way too hard about doing his job seriously that he wasn't paying attention to actually doing it. That's it. Maybe the game is cursed. Maybe it's punishing him for being an asshole. Given all the weird shit happening, it's not too far off.

Next problem they come across, he's gonna try being NICE. Just to test his theory.

"Travel is always nice." Proteus replies to Count V's interjection. "If that's what you enjoy, you should be able to do it, right?" She shrugs as they proceed past the defeated enemy. Thankfully, Plant Duck seems to be pretty on the ball tonight. But something Count V mentions causes Proteus to blink. "Wait, it's from a prior game?" She pauses. "Maybe... I wonder, with that level of data importation, if it could have..." She muses, suddenly distracted as they walk deeper into the dark woods of doom. And gnolls. Doom gnolls.

But not so distracted that she doesn't notice a zombie Gnoll shambling out to face them. "Seriously...?" Proteus grimaces, her teeth gleaming under her hood. "Someone needs to ban Gnolls from using magic. Ever." Again, Proteus simply flicks her fingers: + < A simple little spell...

And a classic one, as a Fireball erupts out and slams directly into the undead, looking to crisp it amidst the conflagatory convocation that is occurring here.

She has little else to say, except to Haseo, to whom she shrugs. "It's not like we have to type. Learn to talk and murder at the same time. Maybe if you grouped with us more you'd be used to this."

The final stretch begins immediately after the Gnoll Rot Walker is destroyed. The eyes that peered out of the trees during the journey so far begin to materialize into forms-- it's a gauntlet of enemies that assault the party all the way to the proper camp of the Gnolls. They only begin to taper off when the Adventurers enter the camp proper.

Crude 'tents' are made of so many sticks propping up sheets of hide. Leaves and assorted other 'soft things' are piled within the tents, offering the impression of a sort of basic bedroll. Roaring campfires with ambiguously-defined meat on wooden spits above them can be seen here and there.

But... the camp is mostly depopulated.

Haggar is enormous. The Gnoll would not fit within any of the tents here. A crude hut of fallen trees has been turned into his home, outside of which sits a colossal throne adorned with the bones of things and people Haggar has killed. A spiked collar rings his neck, and in one hand he grasps an executioner's axe caked in layers of dried blood.

The fight begins with the hurling of the axe in a boomerang-like fashion, which hooks along the treeline and brings trees crashing down into the camp in a simple but rapid-fire fashion. Haggar himself charges as this occurs, beelining towards Haseo -- apparently, prioritizing a melee threat -- with a mighty swing of a fist.

The colossal axe returns to his hand a moment later, and Haggar takes it into both hands, starting to spin rapidly and move around the makeshift arena at just a quick enough pace that you need to try to keep away from him.

A running battle isn't unfamiliar with Count V. He begins by casting a heal-over-time towards the others, light sparklies dancing in the air around their forms-- and then he begins to run.

"Don't slow down too much for them, or we'll get bogged down!" He calls, hastily applying a SHADOW EDGE damage buff to Haseo.

Once they have a handle on the situation, his demeanor changes. He regards Whiskey out of the corner of his eye, and wonders aloud, "Is it, now?" It's unclear what he actually means by this until he continues, "I think that all of us dream of /some/thing like this now and again, or the genre wouldn't be so popular all-around. Everyone plays make-believe as a child, after all. And after a fashion..."

His eyes flick to Proteus for a moment, "It is rather like uprooting and going to places you don't know and have never been. Which is to say that, in a way, this /is/ one of my dreams all around. It's just complicated on top of that. I miss my books and films, and a few other things everyone else does."

"But, I think a theatre could bridge some of that gap."

As they burst into the gnoll camp, he replies to Haseo, "Of course we're chatty. Communication! Is! Key! But there's nothing wrong with your play style, either, Haseo. It's just a lot more about personal concentration and perseverance. When you choose to play the /opposite/ way..."

A full-toothed smile follows, "You must network! For instance--"
@emit

A running battle isn't unfamiliar with Count V. He begins by casting a heal-over-time towards the others, light sparklies dancing in the air around their forms-- and then he begins to run.

"Don't slow down too much for them, or we'll get bogged down!" He calls, hastily applying a SHADOW EDGE damage buff to Haseo.

Once they have a handle on the situation, his demeanor changes. He regards Whiskey out of the corner of his eye, and wonders aloud, "Is it, now?" It's unclear what he actually means by this until he continues, "I think that all of us dream of /some/thing like this now and again, or the genre wouldn't be so popular all-around. Everyone plays make-believe as a child, after all. And after a fashion..."

His eyes flick to Proteus for a moment, "It is rather like uprooting and going to places you don't know and have never been. Which is to say that, in a way, this /is/ one of my dreams all around. It's just complicated on top of that. I miss my books and films, and a few other things everyone else does."

"But, I think a theatre could bridge some of that gap."

As they burst into the gnoll camp, he replies to Haseo, "Of course we're chatty. Communication! Is! Key! But there's nothing wrong with your play style, either, Haseo. It's just a lot more about personal concentration and perseverance. When you choose to play the /opposite/ way..."

A full-toothed smile follows, "You must network! For instance--"
%Count V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

"[ansi(xterm92,NIGHTMARE SPHERE)]!" Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

ount V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

"NIGHTMARE SPHERE!" Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

A running battle isn't unfamiliar with Count V. He begins by casting a heal-over-time towards the others, light sparklies dancing in the air around their forms-- and then he begins to run.

"Don't slow down too much for them, or we'll get bogged down!" He calls, hastily applying a SHADOW EDGE damage buff to Haseo.

Once they have a handle on the situation, his demeanor changes. He regards Whiskey out of the corner of his eye, and wonders aloud, "Is it, now?" It's unclear what he actually means by this until he continues, "I think that all of us dream of /some/thing like this now and again, or the genre wouldn't be so popular all-around. Everyone plays make-believe as a child, after all. And after a fashion..."

His eyes flick to Proteus for a moment, "It is rather like uprooting and going to places you don't know and have never been. Which is to say that, in a way, this /is/ one of my dreams all around. It's just complicated on top of that. I miss my books and films, and a few other things everyone else does."

"But, I think a theatre could bridge some of that gap."

As they burst into the gnoll camp, he replies to Haseo, "Of course we're chatty. Communication! Is! Key! But there's nothing wrong with your play style, either, Haseo. It's just a lot more about personal concentration and perseverance. When you choose to play the /opposite/ way..."

A full-toothed smile follows, "You must network! For instance--"
@emit

A running battle isn't unfamiliar with Count V. He begins by casting a heal-over-time towards the others, light sparklies dancing in the air around their forms-- and then he begins to run.

"Don't slow down too much for them, or we'll get bogged down!" He calls, hastily applying a SHADOW EDGE damage buff to Haseo.

Once they have a handle on the situation, his demeanor changes. He regards Whiskey out of the corner of his eye, and wonders aloud, "Is it, now?" It's unclear what he actually means by this until he continues, "I think that all of us dream of /some/thing like this now and again, or the genre wouldn't be so popular all-around. Everyone plays make-believe as a child, after all. And after a fashion..."

His eyes flick to Proteus for a moment, "It is rather like uprooting and going to places you don't know and have never been. Which is to say that, in a way, this /is/ one of my dreams all around. It's just complicated on top of that. I miss my books and films, and a few other things everyone else does."

"But, I think a theatre could bridge some of that gap."

As they burst into the gnoll camp, he replies to Haseo, "Of course we're chatty. Communication! Is! Key! But there's nothing wrong with your play style, either, Haseo. It's just a lot more about personal concentration and perseverance. When you choose to play the /opposite/ way..."

A full-toothed smile follows, "You must network! For instance--"
%Count V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

"[ansi(xterm92,NIGHTMARE SPHERE)]!" Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

ount V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

"NIGHTMARE SPHERE!" Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

A running battle isn't unfamiliar with Count V. He begins by casting a heal-over-time towards the others, light sparklies dancing in the air around their forms-- and then he begins to run.

"Don't slow down too much for them, or we'll get bogged down!" He calls, hastily applying a SHADOW EDGE damage buff to Haseo.

Once they have a handle on the situation, his demeanor changes. He regards Whiskey out of the corner of his eye, and wonders aloud, "Is it, now?" It's unclear what he actually means by this until he continues, "I think that all of us dream of /some/thing like this now and again, or the genre wouldn't be so popular all-around. Everyone plays make-believe as a child, after all. And after a fashion..."

His eyes flick to Proteus for a moment, "It is rather like uprooting and going to places you don't know and have never been. Which is to say that, in a way, this /is/ one of my dreams all around. It's just complicated on top of that. I miss my books and films, and a few other things everyone else does."

"But, I think a theatre could bridge some of that gap."

As they burst into the gnoll camp, he replies to Haseo, "Of course we're chatty. Communication! Is! Key! But there's nothing wrong with your play style, either, Haseo. It's just a lot more about personal concentration and perseverance. When you choose to play the /opposite/ way..."

A full-toothed smile follows, "You must network! For instance--"

@emit
%Count V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

" [ansi(xterm92,NIGHTMARE SPHERE)]!  " Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

ount V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

" NIGHTMARE SPHERE! " Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

A running battle isn't unfamiliar with Count V. He begins by casting a heal-over-time towards the others, light sparklies dancing in the air around their forms-- and then he begins to run.

"Don't slow down too much for them, or we'll get bogged down!" He calls, hastily applying a SHADOW EDGE damage buff to Haseo.

Once they have a handle on the situation, his demeanor changes. He regards Whiskey out of the corner of his eye, and wonders aloud, "Is it, now?" It's unclear what he actually means by this until he continues, "I think that all of us dream of /some/thing like this now and again, or the genre wouldn't be so popular all-around. Everyone plays make-believe as a child, after all. And after a fashion..."

His eyes flick to Proteus for a moment, "It is rather like uprooting and going to places you don't know and have never been. Which is to say that, in a way, this /is/ one of my dreams all around. It's just complicated on top of that. I miss my books and films, and a few other things everyone else does."

"But, I think a theatre could bridge some of that gap."

As they burst into the gnoll camp, he replies to Haseo, "Of course we're chatty. Communication! Is! Key! But there's nothing wrong with your play style, either, Haseo. It's just a lot more about personal concentration and perseverance. When you choose to play the /opposite/ way..."

A full-toothed smile follows, "You must network! For instance--"

Count V charges forward into the middle of the area, where the coverage of the trees aren't so intense. He gets whacked once -- for decent chunk of HP -- but immediately afterwards he comes up with a glowing staff.

" NIGHTMARE SPHERE! " Count V cries as Haggar begins to spin, a sphere of purple striking the area ahead of the colossal gnoll. It weighs him down, lowers his defenses, makes him overall more vulnerable in general. It is among the quintessential Teamwork spells, as far as V is concerned.

"Everything has to be so stupidly complicated..." Proteus again, agrees. However, there's the matter of the rest of the gnoll camp. "I'm going to deal with this quickly..." Proteus says, thrusting out a hand and beginning to gesture...

Only for a Gnoll to strike at her from the side, punching her in the gut. Her eyes go wide and she emits an unpleasant gurgling noise as she is launched across the battlefield, tumbling until she impacts a tree. "GGGH!" She emits, coming to a painful halt. A hand moves up, grabbing at her brow as she shakes her head, trying to clear it.

When is arson never the right answer?  The answer is /never/.  

With the undead gnoll on fire, they move on...and are immediately surrounded by more gnolls.  It seems they're being herded, but is it because they think the party is trapped by them, or the other way around?  With a smile on his face, he waits for his chance.  

"Oh, I agree.  Bringing some of what we lost here might stabilize things for people.  Getting them used to the new status quo might make this far less painful for everyone.  Anyway, let's discuss how we can start working on this in a moment.."

And then the loud roar from the massive gnoll.  Grabbing an arrow, and sealing a spell into it.  His eyes close for but a moment, and then levels the arrow right at the center of mass of the gnoll.  Once the arrow hits, the vines spread out, aiming to envelop the massive creature, as the vines dig into its skin and make it easier to hit.

"Hit the vines to make it easier to kill it!"

The whole time -- less the heartbeats spent full-out leaping out of the way of a waist-high axe template attack at the treeline -- that Haggar does his wind-up, Whis is... Laughing. She laughs and laughs, first a titter, then a giggle, then a deeper belly laugh, then a side-clenching set of raucous pealing laughter.

More and more unhinged, until she practically lays out on the ground, having completely deliriously lost it.

She gasps for air. "He thinks that's threatening! A spiked--!" She pounds the earth. "Spiked-- collar!"

"Oh it's so terrible. That's bad! That looks like some yankii's dog! Little motorcycle dog, bahahahaha!"

Managing to stifle her laughter - or control her shaking - enough to generally aim a spell, she drops a "Blood of the earth, come forth! Flame Wall!"

Right in the path of the spinning axe-whirlwind.

Haseo just kind of rolls his eyes at Count V. He is right though, different people play different ways. And if he doesn't want people giving him shit about the way he plays, it's only right he doesn't do the same to others. It's basically something you're taught at young age, but they apparently needed to be reminded.

Basic human decency aside, the time to test his theory is now. If he's nice and a team player, does the system reward him? A giant brute of a gnoll stands before them, and Haseo prepares himself by tightening the grip on his weapon.

U.L.P. binds the creature, and Haseo decides to take advantage, leaping into the air as he brings his sword over head, only bringing it down once he's in range and letting gravity do the rest as his blade hits multiple vines.

He's not done with just one attack though, and even though he's still recovering from the landing, he takes the time to deliver a horizontal swipe across the gnoll's stomach. Even with the lack of footing resulting in less leverage, damage is damage, and he's going to squeeze out as much as he can in a small time frame.

There is only one possible outcome of a group this coordinated with appropriate spells, equipment, and persistence fighting a Group (5-man) world boss:

It gets debuffed into the floor, has extra damage markers stacked onto it via an arrow-born Thorn Bind, and has to contend with Fire Wall while its entire style of attack involves a lot of rotation and moving about... in the fire. Even before Haseo intervenes, the boss is glowing red with damage markers across all of its body.

Haseo deals the final blow, sweeping a dreadful strike that turns center of Haggar -- top to bottom -- to a single white stripe, and then coming back around to turn it into a cross that runs along his belly. The giant gnoll staggers forward and falls, dispersing into particles that leave behind a treasure chest, as if Haggar had eaten it and it was simply waiting to be 'cut' from his belly.

Count V calls, "Fairy Healing!" and sends a shimmering wave of relief rolling across Proteus. He scratches at the back of his head with his staff's wings, and nudges lamely at the treasure chest.

He doesn't open it himself, though.

"Well done!" He declares, simply. After a moment, he taps at a cheek and adds, "Or perhaps 'commends all around' would make more sense...?"

A glance is cast towards Whiskey Sour.

Heaving a great sigh, he admits, "I don't know that I have the energy in me for something like 'discussing the practicalities of making people feel truly at home' here. Especially in Alne, it feels as if a disproportionate number of them are more interested in reaching for something that's far off instead of..."

    "You know."

        "Immediately impacting their quality-of-life."

"Maybe, it doesn't have to be now, or even right here.  However, right now people are grasping at strings to try and return something of a normal life.  Some lose hope, and that makes both try and push the tower.  Hope, suicidal?  Who can say what motivates each person, but..."

"Maybe something that can be a piece of home here might help.  Anyway, this isn't something that's going to be fixed tomorrow.  We can afford to take it slowly."

U.L.P. finishes with the gnoll he's skinning with a knife and turns to the next one.  Everyone gets a prize.

The Fairy Healing comes in and helps take the edge off the hit. Proteus gets up, shaking herself off. "Gggh. The quality of life I would be interested in right now would be a long hot soak in a bath." She says, slumping out of her normal posture to betray fatigue and pain at the end of the battle. "Let's collect our reward and get out of here." She doesn't seem to be in the mood to poke around for... some reason that might have involved being half-concussed.

"Working on that!" Whis agrees, when she finishes literally rolling on the floor laughing her behind off (or, in the alternative, having a psychotic break). "I just itch all over, and I'm certain it's because I've not had a hot soak in a month. My pores!" Complains the druid, who walks through sewers barefoot.

"Let's head back to base. You can help me with digging!"

Nobody wants to help Whis with digging, except Haseo. Haseo understands.

Things apparently work better when you WORK TOGETHER and not be a BUMP ON A LOG. But Haseo is gonna chalk the conclusion to this experiment as inconclusive, because thinking about it, it's actually common sense that things will always be easier when you work together. Especially when you lost the power to be a one man army and solo content.

"Yeah. This conversation is beyond me. You guys are free to talk, but I'm collecting my crap and heading back to help dig that hole or whatever it was we were doing in the basement again."

"Backbreaking labor!" Whis asides.

You know, what people do in their basement.

Count V flips the chest open with his staff, distributes the loot within with Air Magic, and nods in agreement with the consensus that they should head on back. He hums a tune to himself as they begin the trek back to Alne.

"I'll pass on the backbreaking labor for tonight, at least. I said I was fine, and I am, but this /is/ taxing to do day after day..." He adds, shouldering his staff and summoning a cool breeze with a rapid waving of his hand, "I need a gallon of water, maybe a bath, definitely a nap..."