Duty Session 196: For Whom the Bell Gnolls

It is a constant to nearly every MMO made that the more common mobs exist mainly to get beat up by the adventurers. But what happens when the typical monsters start acting atypically?

That part is actually someone else's problem to worry about. Vertina is here mainly for the beating up part, because these unruly gnolls are really making it hard on the locals. As is she's doing a few warm-up stretchs while waiting for people to gather at the edge of the forest. "This should make for a good workout at least."

Goldenblade is eying the area warily, the number of player gravestones is worrying. And even she can't miss the gnoll tracks, eventually. This had been a newbie area, but now, the newbies are having a hard time of it. Luckily, Goldenblade is here. Well, she's kind of a newbie, too, mentally. She hasn't quite got the hang of this gaming thing. But she's skilled enough to at least hang with the real gamers on missions. As long as she's not expected to know anything about the gaming side of things. She arrives, calling a greeting to Vertina. "Hey there!"

Nearby, Syx is punching a tree. Sure this isn't Minecraft, but it's a good way to keep his fists strong when he's not punching badguys, "So which one are we doing again?" He calls out to Vertina, before he swings around and slams the heel of one of his feet into the tree, knocking it over.

    All work and no play make Wake a dull Baroness. She's been looking for something fun to do that doesn't involve construction of roads, outpost walls, or quarries. Beating the everloving hell out of some gnolls is perhaps just the thing she needs!

    Today, the Right Clothes consist of a finely-tailored short sleeve shirt and a skirt slit high for ease of movement, both appearing to be made of black leather. It's not as modest as her normal, but it's functional.

    Regardless of her clothes, Wake's poise remains and her posture is impeccable. She slides into an elegant curtsey as she draws near, "Well met, my friends. Baroness Wake is here and ready to.." She eyes the gravestones askance at that point, "Address the irregularity in the local monster population."

    June approaches, the middle aged librarian looking woman, dressed in her finest 'Barbarian Princess' looking around. "Didn't this use to be a lowbie zone?" she asks quirking a brow. "I mean... that's a lot of graves for even folks stuck in Ezzo to manage to leave behind around here." she runs her fingers through the side of her hair and shrugs a bit. She changes languages (not that it helps anymore) and in an aside to herself says in one of the Tolkien elvish languages. "Not your fault a bunch of scrubs got themselves killed June, we just do clean up right? Not like you knew them probably."

    She smiles at the people gathering "Ooh hello again Goldenblade." she says brightly enough using Japanese again. "I'm June." she offers to Vertina and Syx and Estelle. "Junko... Arima Junko..." she switches to Elvish sound peeved "Stupid June you're still doing it... stop over sharing... they don't need a business card, they don't care what you did before... it's just a pick up group." She even 'punches' her temple, no force just a kind of 'get your head together' gesture.

"It's an ill omen, isn't it?" the vixen comments, stepping up beside Wake and looking to the graves herself. Her tails flick in short, violent little motions; clearly agitation. "Something has changed with them, of late. I guess we're here to help figure it out, and try to force it back into its proper shape." A flick of her hand has her holding her silver wand, and she turns her gaze up to the unfamiliar faces amongst the crowd - and there are plenty of them.

"Good evening. It looks like I'll be your Support for this evening; I am Estelle Mancer, Astrologian." She gives a flourishing bow, the starts in her hair shifting with the motion. "And I will be conveying the blessings of the stars upon our endeavors this evening. Such as to mend wounds, light our path, and bring their fury down."

Her gaze turns towards some of the obvious traps. "Though I'm not the best at what will likely be the first stage of things; following their path. Casting lots or consulting the heavens for such things is... imprecise."

Vertina points a clawed finger at the approaching Wake. "Exactly. Gnolls getting more active and unruly than normal," she answers both her and Syx. And that astrologer fox? Okay, there's someone that's probably here for actually investigating, great, means they can focus more on the beatings to get her there. Goldenblade, too. Likely a group that has dealt with 'normal' gnolls before.

And a new face. "Heya, Junko. Name's Vertina. Save some of those punches for the enemies ahead girl!" she tries to make a little light of the self-depreciating gesture the girl makes, before turning an scampering off to the woods.

And then immeadiately slows down again. "Uhmm.." The salamander pokes a branch, watching the greyed leaves crinkle off of it and into dust. "I ain't no arborist but I'm pretty sure this ain't normal. Better watch our step."

Which is hilarious coming from her. She's nimble, but not necessarily stealthy.

Goldenblade peers at June, smiles and offers, "Hello, again! And yes, it /was/ a new player area, but is not any longer. Not everyone, it seems, has gotten the memo." She shrugs to Estelle about omens. Well, omens -are- a thing here, even if they were just bunk in the real world. She can't scold someone for believing in something when it's actually real. It confuses Goldenblade so badly, though.

Entering the area, she fails to fall silent, and steps on some dried braken that crunches noisily, and a squirrel, who chitters and dashes away. "Yeah," she agrees. "Looks like bad news."

Syx follows the group into the woods, taking a look around, "Man I hate sneaking." He mutters, as he uses some of his inherant magical abilities to put up a cloak of shadows around the group. It should help conceal them from anything that might try to track them down in this part of the woods, "Maybe we'll get through this after all."

    Grins at Vertina "Yah yah, I know... beatup the badguys not yourself." she says and gives a little shrug. Her coping mechanisms have been broken since the black wave so it isn't the first time she's been called out on it. "Well... I'm not... what you'd call ... stealthy..." she might be a Shadow Fist but she's leaned into the Earth and Light aspects of her race/class combo. She makes a few hand signs and fades a bit with a little darkness wave.

    Then she's trying to sneak until a branch drops to tap her on the back. The short frumpy woman spins, and halfway around is suddenly an ironscaled mini minotaur, a rush of green fog rolling from her muzzle followed by the tree getting a pummeling... to a littany of mumbled curses in Dwarvish. It takes her a good ten seconds to notice, calm down and switch back to human looking sheepish. "Sorry." she says quietly, her cheeks just blazing with embarassment. She hasn't known these people an hour and they've seen her lose it already.

    "A pleasure to meet you, Junko," Wake says to June. The use of another language is unusual enough, but having seen her share of movies and read books, Wake suspects these languages are particularly unusual. She files this away for later. It's not every day one meets someone who speaks fantasy languages. "I wish we had more time for conversation, but it seems that work is calling."

    She has no issues sneaking about. Her movement is not only silent, but defies other senses as well, to the point where leaves aren't even disturbed by her passing. She rather doubts the rest of this work will be quite so easy.

The fox is, indeed, the investigative type, who considers problems and their implications. Not that she knows the thoughts of other on that front. She just considers the graves a moment longer, before turning back towards their path. And the tainted, poisoned ground it lies on. There's a low hiss through bared teeth, at the sight of the black-veined flowers and torn up trees, at the disintegrating piles of dried-up leaves.

"Quite. Keep alert; the Stars speak poorly of this all." Metaphorically speaking, as she looks up at the glinting points and their arrangements, then back towards the ground. There's a deep breath, and then she chants her Arte; "Oh quiet Chamaeleon fair, hide us from the enemy's stare. Shield us from their questing sight, that we may avoid a vicious fight." An old aggro-down buff, in this case wrapping around the group and stacking with everyone else's efforts - muting their presence, and making them translucent shadows of themselves.

Still, she does take a couple black-tainted samples in a little vial, as she moves past a bush. Something to check, later...

    This is not exactly a 'stealth' team but they seem to manage to a degree. No surprise the fox fixated on nocturnal arts can help shield their presence, giving Syx's shadowed movements and Wake moving like a shadow additional coverage. Vertina has to duck branches due to her height, but she manages to not trip over any stray roots this time! Goldenblade is a little less lucky, and June fortunately is only spooked by the environment and not an enemy ambush.

The farther into the woods they go, the more dispairing it appears. It's not quite as terrible as the corrupted forests left by the 3-4 Waves of Calamity over in Eastal, but something is definitely seeping a corruptive presence into the environment. But the eerie silence is finally broken!... Unfortunately, but the cackling of gnolls. It resounds oddly in the woods, making it difficult to hear what direction it is coming from.

Vertina stops, clenching a snarl between her teeth. "They're probably trying to surround us. Keep your guard up." She moves between the decrepit trees, looking for signs of where the potential attackers might come from...

Goldenblade realize she's making a racket only when it's drowned out by the distant laughter. "well, they're not going to hear anything, with that going on," she says sourly. "Dunno why we bothered sneaking in. Probably go by with trumpets and they won't hear us." She does not break out a trumpet, though. June draws a boggle; she knows June, but that was a surprise change. She smiles to Wake doing her thing, and to Estelle, who seems to understand better than she does what's going on. Syx gets a nod. She -can- sneak, but she's not great at it.

"Any ideas?" she asks Vertina quietly, as to the direction we should go. She looks around, shrugs, and will follow whoever looks like they know which way to go. Her steps, still not silent, cannot be heard by whoever's making that noise, at least. She nods about them trying to surround us, and eases her blades out, keeping them ready.

    June tips her head when she sees the blood. "Blood... that means it's quest related..." she taps her lips and goes into a thinking pose. Then the laughter starts. "Ahh, figure out the right direction to avoid the ambush, pretty normal so far, shouldn't be this high a level quest in a newbie zone though." she says and switches to Sindarin "Okay, so hunting skill... refreshed... target the blood." she nods "Then track the source..." she moves into a much stealthier motion than she used previously apparently her hunting and tracking skills are much better than her sneaking skills.

"There was something eying us, and it might not have been the gnolls." The vixen points out, voice soft, of their sneaking. "But we are past its gaze, now, and working through this forest of traps." She gives a rolling little flick of her wander, alongside a soft murmur of "Starlight, star bright." to call up a soft, red glow at wandtip; illuminating the ground for them to see without giving away their position. She swings it back and forth, considering, before shaking her head.

"... I have no skill in tracking. With all the blood and passage here, I can't tell anything. And there are no useful omens about to consult, either." She gives a sigh, and just brings her eyes up - the silver things glinting a little as she starts to watch for toruble, instead.

Syx is moving along, the shadow cloak vanishing after a bit. He pauses, however, and takes a knee, "This way." He makes a motion with his right hand in the direction they need to go, "There's been a hunting party through here recently, we need to avoid them when they return."

    Having found her way through the last challenge, the Baroness suspects that the winds are behind her back this time. She's had a long run of success lately, but all things, of course, must end. And so it is here. Her searching does little good at all. In fact, she is led into a small circle back to her original point.

    The Baroness sighs softly and rubs at the bridge of her nose. "I fear that I've become far too used to studying roads and walls as of late. I've clearly let my skills slip!" She shakes her head and smiles. "Regardless, we will go on and not give up!"

It seems the gnolls are doing a good job of hiding, escaping the watchful eyes of both the dark mistress and the stars above. Vertina pulls up some withered brush, but it only reveals hapless forest critters fleeing back into the deeper forest. "Drat... I don't really know, Golden, other than keeping our guard up." Syx and June have better luck at finding signs of recent passings suggesting a hunting party.

Which turns out to be more accurate than they probably realized.

The cackling starts to turn into chanting, but remains echoing amongst the trees. Instead the first thing to confront the Party is a pack of large hyenas, their maws dripping with telltale froth. The only hint they're not rabid ferals is the spiked collars fastened around their thick necks. Sure enough the hunter follows his hunting dogs(?), bow already in his hands and ready. Between the diseased beasts and their master trying to keep his distance to shoot whoever his minions corner, it's going to be a tricky matter to deal with.

Goldenblade follows the others around, looking pretty clueless, until the gnoll hunter appears behind us. She tumbles aside as his pets attack, and finds that striking them doesn't help the situation at all. She sheaths her blades and draws her shortbow, nocking an arrow, and after dodging a couple of the hyenas, she lets fly at the gnoll hunter. Her archery, alas, is not her main skill for a reason, and that reason is that she's not very good at it. Arrows whiz by the gnoll left and right, but none actually score. Dodging the hyenas is too great a distraction.

Star-dotted ears perk, at the sounds of cackling, and the red light on that wand goes out. This is because it's being whipped up, and then down - alongside a firm chant and a hail of frigid, roaring wind. No hesitance, no doubt, just sheer, confident power. "Corona Borealis, born by the Princess of the North, your glacial winds I call forth. Bring along a blizzard's ice, paying forth the tundra's price."

The wind blasts straight past the two collared hyenas, carrying with it sharp shards of ice that swirl and slash, cut and slice, leaving lines of angry red light in their wake.

"... It seems the hunting party has found us, yes." The vixen comments, even as she slips back behind the others, as a bit of a shield between them and her less durable, more squishy, self. "But the stars are with us; strike true, and lay these foes low."

Syx has had enough of this. Which it seems might not be a bad thing because they've been found out. Syx turns to face the incoming hyenas, and points a finger at them, "Hey!" He calls out, stamping a foot to emphisze his words, "You really wanna mess with me? Well come on then, because I will break you in half and feed you to the next boss we come across!"

    When the hunting party finds them before they find it June stares at the hyenas. "You.. don't belong, in this zone." she says in a quiet voice that seems to presage something terrible given her usual cheer ... and mood swings... the calm quiet seems ominous. Then the middled aged librarian looking woman tips her head to the side with a crack of vertibra. "But as they say in Vegas." she starts breathing harder. "Mess with the bull." she shifts, the iron scales growing over her form as the steel horns sprout from her head and the green fog starts to follow her breaths in and out of her muzzle building it's toxic color. She grinds one iron hoof into the soil and bellows. The sound of an enraged bovine, her red eyes flashing as she charges. Head down and arms spread wide. 5 feet of freight train could be as affective really.

    Dogs? Really? Well, something like dogs, anyway. Just uglier.

    Baroness Wake sizes up the animals and ops to try and 'handle' them. Her idea of training in this case is to act gentle and soothing while hiding a knife behind her back. It turns out the animals aren't quite stupid enough to ignore the fact that her backup plan is stabbing the heck out of them. Further, they don't like that backup plan at all. It's a lot of good luck that Wake isn't hurt more than she is. A glancing bite is all she gets as a reward for her utterly awful attempts at dealing with the animals.

    "This is why we never had pets," Wake notes wryly. Thank goodness that pain is reduced in the game!

Estelle taking the proactive oppritunity works a wonder in the Party's favor as her blast of cold winds briefly stall the beasts and beastmaster alike as it cuts through them. The hunter gnoll tries to shoot at her because he's a hunter and she's a fox, but Vertina quickly steps in to do that catch arrow trick martial artists love to protect her. Unfortunately trying to throw the arrow back at the hunter is less successful and he ducks out of the way. He decides Goldenblade would be an easier quarry, which also fails, though he hassles her away from his beasts. Wake gets snapped at for her troubles, but Syx manages to taunt the creatures away from her.

And then June happens. How else do you sum it up? Suddenly there's a huge metallic bovine stampede across the clearing. The hyenas, distracted by Syx, don't see her coming and are trampled handily. The hunter turns to fire a few quick shots, but the arrow just clinks off the metallic hide before June slams into him and he's sent flying back into the woods! A tree can be heard cracking in the distance from the impact, a few birds and stray death motes flicking up over the tree canopy.

There is little time for the Party to recoup though, as another gnoll is quick to advance on them. Though he looks a little surprised at the group not being as tore up as expected by the hunter, he quickly shrugs off the surprise, and starts pulling vials of various nasty things out of his armor and flinging them around the clearing in wild abandon!

Goldenblade grumbles at her sorry HP state and her poor performance in this duty, but keeps at it, giving her best effort, as poor as that may be. Maybe the number of projects she has going on has finally overwhelmed her?

This next fight is a bit confusing, though, the fighting is pretty straightforward, but she'd have choked on the gnoll's gas bombs. The air fanned by her strikes sweeps the fumes away from her even as she cuts and stabs this boss. The strikes cut dows the boss, slash by slash, as she continues to fan away the noxious fumes.

    Fight poison with poison... that's the saying right? The still somewhat unstable iron bull of a WereFang known as June just charges in, breathing gouts of her own toxic breath at the various concoctions she needs to cross to get to the alchemist. She goes for another trample and while it might not be as effective as last time, it certainly isn't something even a sub boss should ignore.

    At this rate, Wake is going to be lucky to get out of this duty alive. She's having an off time on this adventure, clearly. But she doesn't get down. Even when she fails to repulse the acid attacks and gets a burn (thankfully not on the face! she manages to laugh it off. After a sharp intake of breath or two.

    The Baroness puts some distance between her and the enemy, not trying to tank this thing. She's not up for that! Besides, she kinda told Tae she'd be taking it easy for a while and focus on more peaceful endeavors. At the end of this there will be a need for some healing, that's certain.

The fist fighter has no intentions of stopping, though it seems for the moment he's drawing attention to himself more than he is actually fighting!

He starts to blink around the little combat arena, his lightningstep keeping him one step ahead of the vials that are being thrown towards him, "Come on you stupid mutt, lets go!" He vanishes again, and then appears in front of the gnoll, sticking his tongue out, then vanishing again, appearing behind the gnoll and trying to throw his cloak over his head.

The vixen huffs, as the would-be 'hounds' and their master are driven off. There will be no fox-hunt tonight, thank you. "And thus they know the might of the Stars, in trying to lay low their voice." She sniffs, wand swishing to light up their path - bright and silver, this time, since any chance of sneaking by is lost now. Still, she does nod her head to Vertina for the save from the arrow, as they arrange themselves to press forward, through the cowardly masses.

... up until the Gnoll Alchemist steps up, anyway. She dodges out of the way of the potions, studying his belt, which ones cause what effects... her own knowledge plays into things, and a smirk appears on her lips. "Vulpecula, the playful fox, mischief in cute white socks. Here and now I beg your aid, a little joke to be ill-played."

Starlight shimmers around her fingers, and around some of the vials on the belt. Mixing them up a little, as the Misfortune buff takes its tole in this new environment - guided by a knowledgeable mind. "Trickster in ginger fur, let them feel misfortune's burr." A beat, two. "Everyone might want to cover their eyes and duck for cover." She puts action to words, herself, and ducks behind a tree.

"Some of the contents of those vials was never meant to mix, after all. It's quite the... stellar explosion."

Vertina eyes the potion tossing gnoll and snorts. "Show off." She grabs the jar from her own belt and takes a swig from it. "Hah! Mine gives me temporary immunity to poison. Whatcha gonna do about tha--" She doesn't get to finish, as the gnoll throws a glittering blue potion at her instead, which freezes the Salamander in place. "N-n-no fair!" It won't take Vertina long to thaw herself out with her Fire powers, but it's still enough to delay her from the fight.

Goldenblade using Air techniques and June using her breath to blow aside potions and their results prove to be more effective, even ping-ponging a few back at the gnoll grenadier. Wake tries to assist, but a shot of acid forces her to back off. Syx apparently is doing well with taunting tonight, divering the gnoll's attention and throwing a cloak over his head. He lets out a confused growl, fumbling in what now did not seem to be such a great choice in wardrobe. The confusion turns to panic, the sound of mischevious vial rattling following, and then an abrupt *BOOM* from within the cloak... and the cloak is the only thing to fall to the ground afterwards, the gnoll within no more.

There's now a visible path farther into the forest, and the cackling is dying down as the lesser gnolls decide now would be a good time to split!... Though if they're giving space to the Adventurers or what lies ahead is anyone's guess. Because what the group comes across is definitely NOT normal for these typically 'easy' area monsters.

In the central grove they find a summoning circle. More horrifying is they find a gnoll that has been dipping a little too much into the Dark Side, if his demonic qualities have anything to say as he emerges from the sigils and the heat in the area spikes. He roars in some unholy mix of gnoll speak and infernal tongues, then brandishes his claws to charge at the group!

Goldenblade blinks at Estelle's warning, coming as it does, just as things are getting really intense, but when advised to duck for cover, she is not one to reply, "Huh?" So it is that the explosion does not eviscerate her. When things have settled, though, she will look back and see if things need any more hitting. But it looks like not.

In the central grove, things are more worrysome, a giant demonic gnoll attacking, and Goldenblade instantly pulls out what's becoming her trademark move. Evasive action, and then some, she dodges aside from the charge, but leaves a curtain of flames in her place, the flaming footprints burning it as she sweeps around behind to strike it. Each time he charges her, she evades, and he winds up with flames all around him.

    The Baroness does her best to not show her injuries. It's unbecoming, honestly, and quite unprofessional. Perhaps she should really think about some manner of armor in the future. Something heavy, strong. Preferably acid- and fire-proof.

    For now, though, armor is not part of the plan. Instead, Wake does what she often does in combat. She vanishes into thin air, only to appear first to the right, then to the left, and finally behind the enemy. As she does appear at last, she is already mid kick, and after that attack strikes home, she follows it up immediately with a rapid successfion of punches, left-right-left-right, before she leaps back, waiting for the chance to press the assault.

    June looks at the demon appearing. "You are no Yeenoghu you foul Umaiar." the translator picks up that last Elvish word as 'Demon'. "But you face the light here." she says as she slowly starts 'pawing' at the ground with her hoof. "Gather here with me oh Light, and force back the darkness." a light begins growing between the Were Fang's horns, a nimbus not unlike a halo. Then it's back to the tactic that has worked so far tonight. Charge, the bull rush and trample... only this time she is far from the heavier of the two involved. Of course that radience drawn in by the holy side of her class has given her at least something to fight with, those horns of light might cause something of a dilema for the demon.

There's a satisfied nod, when Estelle leans around the tree to see only the falling cloak of the Gnome Alchemist. She steps out from behind it, tails giving a relaxed, confident, curl and flick behind her. "Exactly as predicted." She affirms, looking out upon the mass of gnolls in the trees with a baleful, silver glare. Even as she starts walking down the path they part from, leading them further into the forest and its dangers.

"... Ah. Infernal taint." is her soft murmur, when she sees the ritual ground and the being that awaits them there. Her gaze wanders along its mutated form - the scaled tail, the curling horns. "That is the worst omen I've seen, barring the Wave." Which gives her an idea for what to do...

"Hero of the Twelve Tasks, I call upon you as many masks. Imbue their bearers with your might - oh Hercules, help them burn bright." The buff sweeps out over the group, wrapping them in 'masks' of Starlight; larger echoes of their own forms, perfected, following their moves and enhancing them.

Then she settles back, wand vanished, as a bow of starlight forms in her hands. "Sagitta strike hard and true, as if by one of the mighty drew." whispers out, every time she draws the bow back - working on the Light damage as she picks off what shots she can during the drawn-out encounter, letting those more suited to it get in close, with the bulwark of starlight around them.

Finally a straight up fight. Syx cracks his knuckles and then his neck, "Alright big guy." He says, as he moves towards the demon, taking his vest off and tossing it away, so he's got just a bare chest. It's easier for him to fight without anything getting in the way.

Syx moves in a flash, rapidly crossing the battlefield and slamming his shoulder into the gnoll demon's side. He quickly ducks a strike that comes for him, and wheels around with one of those kicks that can chop a tree down, "Come on you big son of a bitch, hit me!"

As the others pelt strikes down onto the gnoll, Syx takes advantage and moves behind him. He doesn't care how big this demon is. He's going to haul him through the air, and slam him down into the ground with as much force as he can manage with a death valley driver.

Vertina is still shaking off some of the cold from that freeze potion, so the rising temperature is actually a welcome change. The source of it, less so. "I'd say that explains the corrupted woods!" She's quick to adapt a ready posture, just in time for the monster to charge. Meanwhile Estelle stays back, calling upon legendary figures now traced in the stars above to grant the party additional protection against such a fowl foe to face.

Those claw swipes are fast and frenzied, but the Salamander godhand is just as fast in avoid them, juking and weaving to lead him into the blazing trails left by Goldenblade's own evasive maneuvering. It snarls in annoyance, flames flicking up around its weird demonic yet doglike legs as he can't simply clobber either of the elusive foes. Though evading seems to be taking up most of their attention, trying to keep the monstrousity from turning on the others.

In the frustration it fails to notice Wake using her own affinity for darkness to sneak up on it and land several blows into the fiend's backside. Whirling around to strike at her, it instead gets blindsided by Syx slamming his shoulder into the thing, followed by a kick to send it reeling.

June brings up the other side, charging and gouging the monster with horns cloaked in divine light. THAT gets a shriek of actual pain out of the monstrousity, being confronted with one of the few forces infernal creatures do truly fear. It disrupts something in the demonic taint the gnoll possesses, causing it to become unstable as a huge portion of his corrupted health is tore away.

Then Syx follows up by heaving the fiend into the air, and then SLAMS it down again with one of his trademark moves. Dazed on the ground, he can do little to stop anyone else from taking additional potshots at him to wittle the last of his HP Away until it finally dissolves into nothing by motes.

Between the bull charge and the groundbreaking power several trees were also knocked over, revealing the chest that had been hidden behind them.

    The enemy done, Wake is satisfied. She finds herself leaning rather heavily against a nearby tree. She looks herself over and laughs out loud. "I don't suppose I could.. trouble someone for a bit of healing, could I? Normally my adventures are rather succesfull, but tonight I fear the hand of fate was more interested in sticking its thumb in my eye than graciously allowing me to shelter in its palm."

    She has accumulated a considerable amount of damage in the simple adventure. The days of being a legendary stealth fighter are clearly a thing of the past.

Goldenblade is, if anything, running a lower HP percentage than Wake. But she's maybe a bit less of a purposeful stealth build and is pretty robust. She is definitely sporting a shiny timepiece, having had her clock cleaned in the early encounters. She says to Wake, "I just sneak back to Crescent Burger and a good meal and hiding out in the Guildhouse til my health regenerates." Because she has zero healing, herself. But often finds herself on the rough side of duties. This is clearly not the first time this has happened.

"You taunted the fates with talk of all your blessings," the vixen teases as she heads over towards the Baroness, "and now Karma has come for you." The satisfied flick of her tails shows how much she's joking, though, even as she flicks her wand and starts up another chant - one that has a starlight gleaming around the woman's injuries, and smoothing away the angry red while topping up her healthbar. "Monoceros and your healing horn, defend us from the ills you scorn. Make hale and hearty of the ill, your healing light I now instill."

"... That should help, there." She murmurs, before stepping back - and looking to the others. "Would anyone else like a top-up, in case of any inauspicious encounters on your ways homeward?" Her gaze lingers on Goldenblade, there, especially since she's not sure where 'the Guildhouse' is set up.

Vertina walks over and kicks the chest to open it. Reachs inside... and makes a face as she holds of one of the horns at arms length between her fingers. "Ugh, that's nasty!" She drops it back inside, slaps the lid shut, and hoists the entire chest onto her shoulder. "Only reason to take this is to keep these freaks from using them. Let's get out of here, then worry about divvying them up." Pause. "Oh, yeah, letting the Hunter's Guild know this pack is dealt with, too. Though where the hell gnolls are getting infernal occultism is beyond me."

"Nah I'm good." Syx says, as he goes and finds his vest on the ground where he had discarded it at the start of the final fight, "What's the fun if you're not risking death?" He takes a second to pop his neck, and then gives the rest of the group a wave, "I'll catch you all on the flip side."