Duty Session 134: Gnoll it All

A powerful Gnoll has been reported as creating havoc within one one of the low-level Forest zones. The Berserker and his allies have been making things difficult for both Adventurers and Landers. This encounter seems to only appear at night. The Hunter?s Guild has posted an Obsidian-level Bounty for any brave Adventurers who can defeat Haggar the Gnoll Barbarian.

Difficulty:    Moderate
Rec. Party:    3+
Rewards:       1
World Rewards: None

Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

This particular mission has been up since some of the earliest days post-apocalypse, but every night, the quest seems to repeat itself. Gnolls take over one of the nearby forests, making it difficult for lower level players to get any questing done. The howls and yips of Gnolls and their kin sound from within the woods, a full moon high in the sky.

Rylen seems well at home, even if he hasn't done this particular quest as of yet. The Beastmaster stands beneath a lamp along the road leading out from Dun Loireag. He'd put out a call for those who might be interested in running this particular quest.

"Come one, come all! The finest flea-bitten mongrels, ripe for the pummeling." He calls into the night, in his usual showman's manner. "Come for the fame and glory. Stay for fun of bashing Gnolls in the face."

It does sound appealing...
Goldenblade
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade will join Rylen. She was here looping lowbie quests because she has a need to keep busy, even if she doesn't get anything out of it. Busy is the important part. You don't sit still. That's for old folks, and since she doesn't feel 75, that's not her. She nods to Rylen, and says, "I'm in. What's a gnoll, anyhow? Like a cross between a gnome and a troll?" She looks puzzled. How do they come up with these names, anyhow?

Joining up, she gives her gear a once-over, and declares, "I'm pretty much set. Hopefully I've gained enough levels these past few weeks I won't look like too much of an idiot."
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

"You had me at bashing gnolls in the face," Vertina retorts with a snicker as she wanders up. A fight is a fight as far as the Martial Artist is concerned, and if it helps the people that have been lagging behind in leveling get a bit more experience done, all the better. "More like a cross between a hyena and a goblin, if I remember correctly, Goldie."
Prophylaxis
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Prophylaxis has been busy doing... Something. Something that he has had very little cause to tell anyone else about, which has occupied his time between investigating certain potion price hikes, administering Tolbana's reconstruction and managing his clinic. He doesn't really have much personal time to spare, as it turns out! And yet, he has been dedicating what little of it he does have to...

...

Something...

But now, he's taking a break! "Gnolls are like angry dog-people, and not the good kind," Prophylaxis says from around a thermos-like decanter full of piping hot tea. Caffiene is now, as it has ever been, a vital fuel that keep his mind and body running and alert. "Like, scraggly, mangy, awful things with rabies and coarse fur that isn't at all fun to pet."

"In other words, they are things to be exterminated," he says, ominously. "With great prejudice."
Syx
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

"You'd think with how long this one has been up, they'd be all taken care of already."

Syx had been doing his whole 'wandering fighting guy' thing, which has led to him getting a call from Vertina to come on down and help beat up some gnolls, "So this one's not like that BS convoy escort, right? We just go in and beat them down? I like simple stuff like that."
Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

"Ahh, have you not encountered the infamous Gnoll, my dear Goldenblade?" Rylen asks, his boyish smile spreading into a grin. He opens his mouth as if to explain, but Vertina does it for him. "Ahh, the lady Salamander is both powerful and wise. She's has the right of it. They're hyena-men of a sort. Nasty buggers, but usually fairly low level mobs."

Prophylaxis' arrival is met with a chuckle as Rylen acknowledges his appraisal of the creatures. "Too correct, my good doctor. It's good to see you again." He gives the man one of his characteristic showman's bows. As he stands up fully again, the Pooka smirks at Syx's commentary. "It seems the leader has a tendency to respawn over again, especially in newbie areas. But yes, to my understanding this is a more combat heavy quest."

Then, looking into the forest, he motions them forward, "It seems like we have everyone gathered. Let's go see if we can root root them out before they cause too much more trouble."

As they head into the woods, there is a strange sound unlike what most would have heard. It is a clicking, scratching sound, like bones being rubbed together. Then, from within the trees, a group of skeletal dogs makes their appearance. They seem to be on patrol, perhaps trained by the Gnolls for protection.

At first, they don't seem to spot the Adventurers, so they have the option of trying to sneak by, though there is always the more direct approach...
Goldenblade
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade huhs to Rylen, and says, "I didn't know any were famous. We were never introduced, no." She shrugs weakly. "Hyena-men? Who thinks this stuff up? Do they get a budget for mushrooms and a dope allowance?" But she will head out with the group into the woods, she's at least not afraid of a fight.

She peers into the gnoll camp as we approach, and ducks into cover, approaching from stealth. She will start sneaking by some skeletal dogs when the other party members engage them, and she sighs, changing tactics to slash with both swords, striking from surprise. Melee DPS is not hugely effective on them, but she's at least making an effort, right? She spins and twirls like a ballerina, though in a slightly macabre dance that involves slashing monsters with swords a lot.
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

You expect something other than the direct approach? Shame on you. Though at least Vertina doesn't go charging towards the bone dogs recklessly. Or at all.

Instead she stops, drawing on some of her ki and forming it into a ball of magical energy between her hands. "But just because they're probably noob levels doesn't mean we should go light on them." She drops the energy sphere, bopping it on her knee, then off her head. As it comes back down is when she snaps up her right leg and ""KI STRIKER!" whips it into the ki ball, the kick sending it hurtling at the boney beasts!
Prophylaxis
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

"I look forward to purging this scourge from the face of the world in your company, Rylen! It's a nice change from the spider caverns, I must say." Though it's probably even more dangerous? Spiders might have venom, but you can make an antidote for that from their fangs. Gnolls... Gnolls have *filthy awful mouths* and you never know what they might be carrying.

Also they have zombie dogs? Is that what they are? That's awful. This is awful. Prophylaxis thinks this is awful, and that a meager contribution of a couple of magic missiles is probably sufficient in this particular situation.

Not that sneaking by was ever really an option for him. He's /already/ got a certain orange-red glow building up between his palms, you see.
Syx
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

"Gnolls have been an enemy type for like, decades." Syx says to Goldenblade, somewhat surprised that someone has never heard of gnolls.

While physical attacks probably won't do much in the way of damage, when he engulfs his fists in flames and drives at the beasts, striking out with full power behind each strike.
Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

It seems that Goldenblade is starting to develop some skill for sneaking around. She manages to get behind one of the dogs, neatly dispatching them with her blades, causing the bones to clatter to the ground. Vertina's ball of energy goes sailing towards another, who seems to think it is some sort of game. It opens it's mouth to try to catch it, only to be bowled over, breaking into pieces.

The magic missile from Propylaxis manages to fall at the feet of one of the dogs, who just turns and growls at him. Luckily, Syx is able to come in with flaming fists and smash the undead animal.

Rylen, reaching down to pick up one of the bones, waggles it in the air. "Here fido. Look what I got for you." He whistles, drawing one of the dog's attention, then chucks the bone off into the forest, the undead canine zooming off after it as if this were just the very best game.

Leaving the dogs behind, the group travels further into the forest, stumbling eventually on a very irregular looking Gnoll. It appears that it might have taken a spell book off of a young Adventurer, because it is laughing maniacally while tossing spells left and right.

"Hehehe." BOOM. "HEHEHEHEHE." BOOM.

Then, spotting the Adventurers, the Gnoll looks to the book, to them, then grins toothily. "Boom!" And begins to throw magical spells at them.
Prophylaxis
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Hm, maybe he should try to actually pay attention to the things he's aiming at when he's casting? Nah, that's what having tanks is for. "Thanks for the assist," the good doctor calls toward Syx. "Stay on your toes now though; you never know what might be waiting in the wings--"

A (small(pitiful(disgracefully dim))) fireball bursts on the ground in front of him. The Doctor gives that strange gnoll the most withering of all glares-- the kind you might expect a teacher to give to a snoozing student whose forehead just crashed into the desk. "Nope," Prophylaxis is having none of that reckless spell-flinging nonsense. The gnoll's magical spells... are abruptly being drawn into the still-growing fireball clutched between the magus' palms!? "Bad dog. You put that book down before you slobber all over the pages!"
Goldenblade
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade has never heard of gnolls because this is literally her first game ever. "In my day, fantasy adventure was cowboys and indians. We didn't have these made-up things." Wildly non-PC native Americans, which were about as fictional as the gnolls, actually. And you played it in real life by running around, pointing with your finger, and shouting "Bang". She finishes helping the others put down the guard dogs, and will proceed onward, coming to the area cleared by dark magic.

She leaps into the fray, hacking at the enchanter, and takes a fireball to the face for her trouble, knocking her back, and dropping her HP. She huffs and tries again, but again, before she can close, another fireball, right in the face. "Gah," she grumbles, and this time she watches him carefully, waits for him to finish casting, and rushes in as he begins casting again. But she hasn't worked out his casting cycle yet, because the next time, BAM in the face with a fireball. "This is starting to hurt," she complains.
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

When it's all said and done Vertina laces her fingers together then rotates her hands outwards as she stretchs her arms in front of herself. "That was fine for a warm-up, but hopefully we'll get something a little more challenging farther alo--ack!"

She snaps to the side abruptly, just barely in time to avoid one of the spheres of dark embers zinging past. She is quick to recover though, fang-like teeth showing through a grin. "Like that! Hey jerk, over here! Try and hit me!" she taunts. Which really should be all it takes to get another of those conveniently ball shaped spells slung after her.

Vertina charges her hands with light ki, which starts to sizzle and crackle against the opposing magic as she catchs one of the spell projectiles, heels planted to keep herself standing? "Thanks, I know just what to do with this."

She palms the magic projectile in one light-cloaked hand as she twirls around, and heaves her arm to fling it right back at the gnoll that cast it. "Ska-doosh!"
Syx
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Not one to not continue to use his skills to beat the ever living crap out of anything that gets in his way. So he runs through the devestation towards the book wielding gnoll.

This time instead of lighting his fists on fire, he shifts his weight as he gets close to the gnoll. Flames wreath around his foot as he launches into a superkick, arcing his leg upwards to kick at the underside of the gnoll's muzzle with his flaming foot.
Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade is unfortunate enough to take one of the bursts of magic to the face, but while it does reduce her health, it doesn't seem all that powerful. This Gnoll is clearly not very skilled in magic. Rylen faces a similar problem, trying to avoid the magic being thrown his way. Just as he is about to dodge a ball of magic, the skeletal dog returns, carrying the bone, causing the Pooka to trip over it and fall flat on his face.

"Ow... Yes. You're a good boy." He groans, pucking up the bone and giving it another toss back into the forest. "Go get it." Rylen rolls over, getting to his feet, shaking his head in amusement.

At Vertina's challenge, the Gnoll tries over and over again to hit her, laughing it up the whole time as a long string of drool starts to drip down from his muzzle. When she manages to catch one, though, he blinks, slurping that drool back up and standing there looking dumb. That is, until she blasts it right back at him, leaving him looking singed around the edges.

The Gnoll ends up just staring at Prophylaxis, looking confused as the remainder of its spells seem to get absorbed into the growing magic within his palm. "He...hehe... huh?" That is the moment when Syx's foot collides with the Gnoll's face, sending the creature down into a spray of colored pixels.

The sound of fighting seems to have drawn something else from the forest, though. A massive creature that resembles a demonic wolf prowls forward, followed by a gnarled, older looking Gnoll. This one is clearly more experienced. With a snarling sound, he drops the chain holding the wolf, then points at the Adventurers, giving some sort of command to attack.
Goldenblade
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade breathes a sigh of relief as the crazed wizard is stopped from fireballing her in the face. "That was difficult," she observes. She gets no more out before the warg and tamer appear, and the fight begins again. This one's different, though, and her swords blaze with fire as she strikes at the warg, dealing heavy blows, though she eventually realizes that it's not the swords doing damage, but the aura of flame wreathing them. Still, it's all the schtick she has, and she plays it out, striking with flaming blades as the beast's HP bar slowly drops.
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Vertina gives Goldenblade a pat on the shoulder. "I think we need to get you a shield so you can stop blocking magic with your face," she teases. She doesn't even know if the human warrior can use shields.

That's as far as the conversation gets, because a more experienced gnoll has come to check on (or mock) the now dead wannabe mage, and he's brought a pet along. "Someone deal with the mutt" she shouts, before darting into the fight alongside Goldenblade. But while the warrior goes swinging at the worg, she zigs and zags past them, when brings her charging towards the handler instead. At the same time she grabs some vials off her belt, one in each hand, and crushes them with the grabs of her fists as they ignite.

The result is fire that not only burns hot, but as she starts laying flaming punches into the handler gnoll the alchemical mix splatters on him, causing his fur and skin to catch on fire more easily and burn in a acrid mix of fire and venom.
Syx
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

More gnolls means even more fire from the flaming pro wrestler Triple Syx. After superkicking the gnoll mage's head off, when the group made their way into the next battle, they came across the warg. That is a big ass wolf.

Well one big ass wolf is going to need to get one big ass move from Syx. The fighter runs, sliding under the warg, and then runs up the side of one of the trees. He has to get some height in order to do this.

He backflips off the tree after getting several steps up the trunk, and then shifts in midair, flames wreathing his arm as he aims to drop an elbow right into the back of the warg's neck. Maybe he'll decapitate it or something.
Prophylaxis
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

"You know, I wonder how NPC-y these guys actually are sometimes. Like, you guys don't suppose that last gnoll had specifically picked that spellbook off a fallen Lander adventurer or something, do you? I know that Landers who appear in these things do go on with their every day lives once they get back to town so..." Prophylaxis shrugs! His fireball, now bloated and fat on consumed magic, sparks and flickers ominously between his fingers. He doesn't seem to notice-- or if he does, is not particularly concerned.

There will be call to use it before it explodes, he's certain.

...

As it turns out, he doesn't need to wait long! An enormous wolf appears out of the fog, dripping with fel energies and leashed to the gnarled claw of an ancient, aged gnoll.

The monster charges. Prophylaxis looks it in the eye. It opens its mouth to chomp him...

...And he ducks forward to shove his fireball right into its jaws, before rolling cleanly out of the way before the thing goes *kablooie*
Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Luckily, if there is one thing that Gnolls seem to dislike, it is fire.

Goldenblade stabs at the Warg with her flaming weapons, followed by the powerful elbow of Syx landing hard on the creature, causing it to nearly stuble. It turns, trying to growl at him. This is followed up by a fireball being all but shoved down the Warg's throat. It explodes, causing the warg to burp smoke and wobble on his feet.

Rylen, however, does not use fire. Oh, he has the capability to, but these others are far more proficient at it. Instead, he gives another of those whistles, drawing the attention of the warg. "Come here, boy. Look, a tasty Adventurer treat." The Beastmaster keeps taking slow steps backwards, leading the warg, until it gets tired of waiting and pounces in his direction. Then... it falls right into a trap that must have been laid by one of the other Gnolls. Paws scramble on the way down, trapped neatly in the pit.

This leaves Vertina to attack the one controlling the beast, easily pummeling him into submission. It appears that the beast was the more difficult target than the master.

As the group presses onward, the Gnolls only seem to grow more powerful. A strong smell seems to catch keen noses, one of death. A strange creature that looks like an undead Gnoll, complete with flesh hanging off of bones and a strange green color appears. It has empty, white eyes and sunken features. When it opens its mouth, there is no laughter, only a cry like something dying from the inside out.

It turns towards them, shuffling forward, clawed hands outstretched.
Goldenblade
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade smirks at Vertina's advice. It's true, she's down hit points, but she's tough and determined, and after the mutt is reduced to pixels, she will head through the trees with the others until they encounter this gnoll zombie. "Man, you skipped the Right Guard today, didn't you?" she mutters, and then it's time for another round of Kill It With Fire. She's good at that game, her blades ablaze, flames licking up and down the length as she thrusts and stabs, twirling, each rotation scoring two cuts that bleed the monster's HP a hit at a time.

Swords trailing flames as if they were made of gasoline, she pounds them into this undead gnoll, working on one bar of health at a time while avoiding his thankfully slow counter strikes. She stabs it with a flurry of fast thrusts, then spins around to backhand it, the blows landing heavily, though as before, only the fire seems to be doing damage, and her blades contribute little.
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

First skeleton dogs, now a zombie gnoll shambler? That's just all sorts of nasty. "And I thought the guy before looked aweful." Still got to get those action quips in though.

Interestingly enough Vertina doesn't go charging directly into the fight this time. Instead she closes her eyes and puts her palms together in an almost metitative pose, murmuring a vage chant under her breath that doesn't really have any distinguishible words yet seems to carry some manner of heavy meaning to it.

Then she finally moves, bolting towards the zombie gnoll and making a few short and quick swipes with the claws of her arm weapons.

The salamander monk skids to a stop a few feet after, her eyes actually still closed as she strikes another stance....

And then the banishing kanji she carved into the zombie's putrid hide erupt with positive spiritual energy, helping to neutralize whatever foul magics are animating the rotten form.
Prophylaxis
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

And there's more! More to set on fire! More to turn into so much ash on the wind! Prophylaxis's nose rankles at the putrid, sickly-sweet scent of rotting flesh and decaying filth long before the undead gnoll makes itself known. "Well," he grunts out, fighting back the urge to retch with a lifetime of exposure to the reek of formaldehyde, acetone and ammonia. "That's about as disgusting a thing I've seen all day. Still, it's good practice."

Good practice for what?

Simple!

"If these creatures think that an uncharged fireball is any less dangerous than a properly charged one--" Prophylaxis hucks one such uncharged fireball right into the ghoulish gnoll's maw, just as it finishes its scream. "--Then they've got much to learn! Fire always beats zombies! If you don't win with fire, then you aren't using enough fire!"
Syx
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

You can never have enough fire, at least as far as Syx is concerned!

This time he doesn't outright attack the gnoll, however. No, he has something much fancier in mind this time. He forms several small balls of flames in his hands, and then uses his speed to run towards the gnoll, planting the balls of flames down around the gnoll, dodging around to evade the attacks.

Once he has the gnoll totally surrounded by the small balls of flames, he turns around, and looks to the rest of the group, before he flexes his bare arms, and all the fireballs go off at once, shooting up like fireworks, to engulf the gnoll and look like ring entrance pyro at the exact same time.
Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

It seems that, once again, the party finds that fire is their ally in these dark forests. The zombie seems to be that much more vulnerable than the previous creature. Flaming attacks from Goldenblade cause it to cry out, flailing wildly. It never actually gets reasonably close to any of them with those fiendish claws.

Prophylaxis gets another perfect shot, right down the gaping maw of the zombie, causing it to seem to erupt from the inside out, spewing fetid flesh like vomit. This time, Rylen joins in the fray. Though Earth tends to be his element, he does manage to channel a small ball of flame between his fingers, making a strong punch that sends it flying into the gut of the Rot-Walker, and through it, leaving a hole to the other side.

Syx lights the creature up like a roman candle, which is a pretty spectacular sight to behold, but it is Vertina's magically enchanted strikes, that finally seem to eliminate whatever foul magics had allowed the creature to exist in the first place, causing it to fall into a pile of bones and tattered fabric.

That, however, is when they stumble upon the leader of the Gnolls. The creature is huge, with a curved spine and a massive jaw. It has layers of armor made of hides and a fabric that might be human skin. In one hand, a massive axe drags along the ground. A spiked collar sits on his neck as he stomps forward, swinging the axe from side to side.

They have found the lair of Haggar the Gnoll Barbarian...
Goldenblade
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Goldenblade moves along through the passages, feeling prett good about this now with two pretty easy fights behind her when they get to the end of the line. The giant gnoll barbarian with a huge axe draws a whistle of appreciation. "He's been eating his Wheaties," she quips. Kids still eat breakfast cereal and hope to get big, right? She's a bit out of touch, the grandkids gave her puzzled looks when she said stuff like that.

Time to pull out all the stops, or, rather, the long-cooldown attacks, and she leads in with hammerblows as her twin blades hit like thunderbolts, slamming into the giant gnoll as she twirls around, bringing one after the other at the gnoll, then starting again the next time she comes around. The hit points drain away as she does it, dodging and skipping the counterattacks as they come her way.
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

".. Weaponizing entrance pyrotechnics." Vertina clicks her tongue against her fangs and points at Syx. "Nice."

Unfortunately for the pro any farther potential for fangushing gets interrupted by the gnoll the quest was named for finally coming to face the Adventurers that have been tormenting his latest pack of minions. That's big, and mean, and did I mention big? Big and swol enough that even the six foot kung-fu lizard-woman has to lean back a little and tilt her head to look up. "That is one BIG gnoll."

Well she has no idea what Rylen and the Doc are going to do, but she sees Golden once more going for the frontal approach and that's fine with her. Vertina takes a moment to concentrate, and make a few rapid mystical gestures with her hands.... And then erupts into motion with speed that could rival blue hedgehogs and rainbow pegasi.

Haggar is huge, and strong, and tough. But she's also banking on him being cumbersome with heavy but slow swings with that axe. The blurr that is Vertina dashes in to punch him in the side, then bolt away as he tries to swing his weapon at her. Only for her to come back and hit him from the opposite direction. Then move again to dodge the axe, and unleash a flurry of fast kicks while she's still got the boost of speed.
Prophylaxis
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Prophylaxis is getting pretty good at that whole 'force-feeding fire' schtick, actually! Like that one time that he did it to a worm. And that other time he did it WHEN A GIANT FISH ATE HIS ARM. And just now! Twice, in fact. He's feeling pretty proud of himself overall, honestly. But when Hogger, beast of a gnoll that he is, presents himself, is the doctor still going to try to go for a hat trick...?

Nah. He's not getting anywhere near that thing if he can help it. Not when he has so many helpful melee-types hanging around, and certainly not when the thing at the other end of all his meat shields has biceps the size of cantelopes and thighs as thick as tree trunks. No thank you.

"Here," the doctor says instead, snapping his fingers at the gnoll. Out of the swirling darkness and up from the moist earth, lashes of spectral vines race up and bind around Hogger's limbs and choke around his throat. The tendrils strain for a moment before their smooth surface bursts into a deadly rat's nest of two-inch-long brambles. "Go nuts, everyone. Thorn bind hostage is online!"
Rylen
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

After all the lead-up, Haggar appears to be truly a fearsome opponent. Attacks seem to only knock small amounts off of his healthbar. There is no way that newbies who stumble upon him would be able to do anything at all against such a foe. Luckily, the party is not made up of newbies. No, they are each capable Adventurers in their own right.

Goldenblade's twin weapons strike home time and again, each cut decreasing the monster's hit points little by little. Vertina also chooses melee, making it harder for Haggar to split his attacks between them. The axe swings back and forth, though they are largely able to avoid all but a sweeping circle attack which strikes everyone in melee range.

Propylaxis manages to get a hold of the monster's feet, binding him from being able to move and avoid their attacks, while Rylen moves to aid in that manner, crouching to touch his hand to the ground and channel more earth magic to reinforce the vines.

Eventually, all the attacks are enough. Haggar's health drops into red, then to zero. The monster roars as it bursts into colorful pixels, leaving behind a few monster pelts for the Adventurers. The gloom seems to lift over the forest... but there is a feeling as if this were only a temporary reprieve. Is this really the last they will see of Haggar the Horrible?
Vertina
Dun Loireag - The Highland City

Let's give Haggar credit. Or credit to whoever programmed him, to at least know to counter fast moving melee attackers with a move that doesn't give them safe space to move in. That axe swing was a brutal thing, knocking Vertina on her tail for a few moments, and probably would of obliterated someone of lower level that had taken damage already.

But she's back on her feet afterwards, jumping back into the fray to finish the fight! Not the toughest monster she's fought at this point, but still enough to be a challenge.

All for the reward of... fur. "Uh." Vertina holds one of the pelts up. "I really hope this came off some animal and not one of his minions being punished..." But she shrugs and deposits it in her inventory anyways. "Nice brawling with you guys again."