Quasi-Dimensional Shinanigans In The Backseat Of A Cart [NO]

[Shuwen]

Words: 389

Background music for your convenience

As they headed out of town, Alasdair introduced them to the person driving his cart. "This is Kalsoy." He said, waiving his hand in the general direction of the driver. "She's the person who usually gets me from town to town in one piece."

"Hi." Kalsoy greeted them. Shuwen took a moment to check her display information. She was a lander like Alasdiar, but unlike the storyteller, she appeared to be every inch a fighter, and an elegant one at that . Also like Alasdiar, she possessed three roleplay subclasses (Pathfinder, Animal Tamer, Bodyguard). Even more impressive, she had a normal main class (Samurai) and a crafting class (Woodcutter). That got a raised eyebrow from the Monk. Alasdair's possession of three subclasses could easily be balanced out by his lack of any other type of class, so it made sense, after a fashion. Kalsoy, on the other hand, had them on top of one of each of the others. From Shuwen's perspective, it was an occurrence on a whole different level. I wonder if this is specific to select NPCs, or if it's a trait anyone could acquire? It was certainly something to look into, and refreshed his enthusiasm in heading north.

Of course, the fact that they were doing so in the presence of what appeared to be a relatively attractive female had absolutely no bearing on his enthusiasm. None whatsoever.

"So why don't you tell us about yo-"

"Please don't bother me."

Critical hit!

"Err- okay." The monk did his level best not to sound depressed, but it was easy to tell from his body language he was deflating rapidly.

"Ah, she also keeps watch for monsters, on top of driving, so please don't bother her if it isn't important." Alasdair clarified.

"Ah, I gotcha." Shuwen perked up a little bit upon hearing that, but nowhere near the level of enthusiasm he had exhibited a moment ago "But if you already have a bodyguard, what do you need us for?"

"Ah, she's not really up to handling the trip north by herself. The areas around here are fine, but more then that would be a bit much. We had others with us on the way down too."

"That makes sense." Shuwen didn't have any more questions at that point, but perhaps Fallout or @eleri had something to say.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben settled himself into the driver's seat of the cart and got comfortable. He hadn't really controlled such a vehicle before but he was sure that he would be able to do so without too much trouble. He checked the brake mechanisms just to make sure they worked. A lever moved up or down by hand would stop the cart's axle from turning as a 'parking brake', while another pair of lever he could put his feet on would press against the two wheels for a 'speed brake' so to speak, something that would be especially useful when they were going downhill to keep their speed consistent.

With everything worked out the Sorcerer put them into motion, a flick of his wrists sending Hugin into motion alongside Alasdair's own carriage so that they could converse with the man and his newly introduced bodyguard, Kalsoy. Jacoben didn't have time to focus at first as he was trying to soothe his mount's ruffled feathers after the comments made about him by Shuwen, it was likely that the Monk was going to face the revenge of his Axebeak companion at some point during the trip.

As long as it didn't kill him he supposed...

"How safe are the roads northward?" Jacoben inquired once he had gotten the hang of controlling the cart, grateful for the padding and suspension of the vehicle that meant he wasn't going to end up with a bruised backside from the bumpy road they were already travelling.

"Roads are reasonably safe, at least for a while, but the further from the towns and cities the worse it is. And we'll have to travel through the territories of some rather strong monsters too," Alasdair replied cheerfully, seemingly unconcerned with the potential violence that would come with fighting those monsters. Still, Jacoben supposed that it would be harder to go north than from Londinium to say, Stratford. Unlike that journey, the roads north weren't patrolled regularly by Adventurers going between locations.

He supposed he'd just have to wait and see what happened.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 443 (341+102 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

The team were introduced to Alasdair personal bodyguard Kalsoy, an npc samurai who also had three subclasses. She was a animal trainer, pathfinder and bodyguard. He informed the group that she kept watch for enemies and drives the cart, she definitely wasnt a talker.

"Please don't bother me." ‘Enough said I guess, definetly not social’

‘So she also possesses a third subclass, interesting. So its not just him with a third subclass, this means the chance of learning a third subclass has increases. She doesnt seem like the talking type so there doesnt seem to much point in asking her, just gonna have to wait for him to open up’

Fallout was in the back of the cart when Jacoben pulled the cart next to Alasdair's cart, he was happy to see everything was ready and moving. The medicine man stated the further the group head from towns and the more dangerous it will get, but with higher risk normal comes higher reward.

“And of course the more dangerous an area is the better the rewards get, thats normally how it goes. I will go as far as you guys are willing, I still want to go as far as possible though. We have made all this preparation so we might as well put it to good use, get the best out of a journey” Fallout proposed.

Looking toward the sky Fall was glad to see clear skies and smooth breezes, he kicked back and laid across the back of the cart.

---

Words-327 (252 +75 [1.3 no bonus])
Tags- Shuwen @eleri

[Shuwen]

Words: 523

Even though Shuwen was more interested in conversing with the resident female then anything else, the other adventurers had other things on their minds. @eleri was focused mainly on making sure he could operate the cart properly, and asking about the road ahead. Fallout was thinking with his wallet, bringing up the fact that the potential rewards were probably greater when the monsters were stronger. Well, it was probably better then what Shuwen was thinking with.

It seemed like a good time to whittle away the hours with pleasant conversation, and to some extent, they were able to do that, but not for much longer.

"Monsters attacking." Kelsoy warned them, somehow managing to keep her voice deadpan. Setting the reins down, she stood up and drew the sword at her waist. Alasdair quickly nodded and scrambled back into the cart, where he wasn't as likely to be attacked.

Shuwen was a bit slower to react. Her tone hadn't changed in the least, so he was having trouble picking up on the situation's urgency. "Monsters? He asked, standing up and turning towards her. Are you su-" Suddenly, two arrows hit his midsection at more-or-less the same time, causing him to stumble backwards and fall off the cart.

"Gyah!" Despite the suddenness of the attack, the arrows didn't seem to do all that much damage. Were the attackers not all that strong? He grabbed his shield and was about to head back towards the front when he saw more enemies coming up from behind.

"Three Gnolls! Level 20-30 range, melee-types, coming up from behind!" He called out. At least two archer-types in front!" The archers would probably be more obvious to the others, as they'd probably seen him get hit, but with their vision restricted by the carts, they might not notice the ones coming up from behind. "I'll keep these guys busy!" Toggling the skill Iron Body He didn't wait for the monsters to close in, choosing instead to take the initiative himself. Jumping upwards, he came down with a kick towards the ground, utilizing Aura Kick As the gnolls tried tried to surround and hit him from three sides, he followed up with Tiger Echo Fist knocking them away a short distance.

As Shuwen warned the others of the enemy coming up from behind them, three more melee-type gnolls would come out from behind obstacles on the sides of the road up ahead, Shu didn't see them, but the others probably would. It seemed the gnolls planned to attack them from ahead and behind, while the archers were taking attacks of opportunity as they came up. With the other tank (Shuwen) occupied with the monsters coming up behind them, Kelsoy took the roll of intercepting the ones in front. Using the skill Samurai's Challenge to draw their attention.  "Come no closer."  She warned the monsters, brandishing her sword.  The archers' arrows struck her, but the damage slight enough that she could probably ignore it for now, and the attacks gave away the snipers' positions; they were crouched up on one of the tall rocks that the other gnolls had previously been hiding behind.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben had been acting both reluctant and aggravated throughout the course of this quest so far, but the moment that he heard Kelsoy warn them of monsters all of that seemed to melt away. Before Shuwen had begun standing up Jacoben was dropping the reins and getting to his feet, his four tails fanning out behind him where previously only one had been visible. A quick motion toggled his Hearing Aptitude skill to help him pinpoint and identify any problems that they might face in the near future, followed by a flowing movement of his arms which resulted in a bubble of blue energy enveloping the Sorcerer mere seconds before another volley of arrows impacted on its surface (Shuwen having been knocked off the cart with the first volley).

Barely blinking as the projectiles bounced off his Force Shield, Jacoben toggled his Robust Battery skill, feeling the extra power of the rune at his feet coursing through him. "Fallout, go to the rear and help Shuwen as best you can" he instructed with startling severity, no doubt shocking the Assassin with his change in personality. "I'll work with Kelsoy to defeat the others."

Even as he spoke bluish-purple lightning sparked around his hands which was soon sent hurtling towards the two Archer Gnolls, striking the nearest with Serpent Bolt, stunning them both as arcs of electricty sparked between them. That should hold those two long enough for him to deal with the new threat coming up from the front.

Another series of short gestures and the trio of Gnolls facing Kelsoy slammed together, seemingly sucked into a central point after an explosion did damage to the central attacker, the secondary implosion pulling them all together so he could use his next skill to hopefully finish them off. Caught in the implosion as they were the Gnolls could not escape as a magical circle appeared around them, dealing damage for every second they were within it as well as disabling any skills or toggle effects they had.

Spatial Confluence and Magical Disjunction were a powerful combo when used effectively, and with the effects of Robust Battery and his superior level to the monsters the three melee Gnolls coming from the North of their convoy were killed very quickly.

It had taken him less than 15 seconds from the moment he had begun casting.

That left the archers, the Gnolls at the rear were not really concerning to him, he knew the others could handle them.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 538 (414+124 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

Relaxing while cloud gazing Fallout began to planning for future events, well was planning for future events. “MONSTERS ATTACKING” Kelsoy screamed before the sound of carts stopping and a sword being drawn could be heard, jumping up to assess the situation the assassin was greeted to the site of a monk getting shot by arrows. He was knocked off the cart and onto the ground, Fall looked over to see he was barely damaged.

‘As expected from a tank’

Jacoben instructed Fallout to assist Shuwen with an assertive voice. “It's about time you showed some freaking emotion” The Assassin stated before running to back up his other comrades, Kelsoy seemed to be doing just fine while Shuwen was tanking. Watching the arrows hit the samurai Fallout realised the location of the archers, two hidden behind the large rocks further away.

“I will deal with the archers” He shouted to the others.

‘They are a little out my league, better play this one smart’

The archers were much above the assassins level, but if smart and tactical about this it was an achievable victory. All he had to do was get in close and keep moving, once in close their ranged attacks would be rendered useless. The archers were stunned by Jacobens spell so Fall took full advantage of the moment, “Hiding Entry” the light bent around the assassin rendering him invisible.

Sprinting up the hill to the Gnolls location Fall readied his dagger “Death Stinger”, death stinger was a skill which allowed poison that slowly chipped away at an enemies health over time. Footsteps like whispers they went unnoticed and he was now crouched behind the two ranged enemies, they had their arrows drawn and ready for another assault. Quickly slashing across the back of the knees they both fell to the ground, this however caused Fallout invisibility to end. Whilst the slash itself had only done about 5% health the poison was chipping away, getting away from the danger Fall ran and dived behind another rock and counted down the time it took the the poison to wear off.

‘28, 29 ,30’  He counted down the time the poison had left, peeking over the rock to check their health finding it had been only dropped to 85%. ‘Okaaaay, these guys are a little high leveled for me. But I gotta do what I gotta do, I hope someone can back me up’

“Hiding Entry” Fallout repeated the process, the gnolls were fixated on the rock he had been hiding behind. “Death Stinger” He readied his dagger and took aim towards the back of the necks, dealing slightly more damage than last time but still nowhere near enough. The invisibility spell was now broken and he took his retreat behind another large rock, but upon ducking an arrow struck his forearm dealing proportional damage.

“DAMMIT” The assassin shouted. “Eugh, its not so bad. At Least i've dealt more damage than taken” He proceeded to mumble.

‘23, 24, 25, 26…..’

---

Words- 650 (500 + 150 [1.3 No Bonus])
Tags- @eleri  Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 528

background music for your convenience

It seemed that @eleri was ready to bring down the wrath of magic upon them, while Fallout , despite the level difference, was ready to bravely disrupt the Archer's attacks. However, the enemy had some tricks of their own.

Kelsoy expected the gnolls in front to charge her. However, she did not expect the biggest one to do so with the Samurai skill Lightspeed, despite the fact it was armed with a two-handed sword. Nor did she expect it to quickly follow up with Whirlpool Spin. It wasn't damaging, but it would make things harder for both Jacobin and Fallout , particularly Jacobin, as he would probably be pulled off his magic circle and have his casting disrupted, while the latter would probably have significantly longer to reach the archers, though the noice of the wind moving around rapidly would make concealing his approach easier.

Frowning, endured attacks from the other two mobs, then used Flashwave to strike all three of the gnolls near her, disrupting the gnoll's skill.

Since Jacobin's Serpent Bolt had landed before the lead gnoll used Whirlpool Spin, they were briefly disrupted by the residue electricity, and had to stop attacking in order to move far enough apart as to not be damaged by it. This was an ideal distraction for Fallout to make his first attack, but it disrupted his plan to strike them both before they were aware of his presence, as they were now too far apart to do so effectively; if he struck one, the other would notice him before he could reach the second. If he tried to use Hiding Entry a second time, one of the gnolls would respond with Crash Shot, attacking over a relatively wide area in order to ensure at least a few of the resulting projectiles hit. Normally, an attack with such a large area of effect would be neigh-unavoidable, but the same reason, gnoll had to position it carefully in order to avoid hitting his ally, so it was less then ideally-placed to guarantee a hit. Because of that, Fallout could still avoid the worst of the attack with some quick thinking, though it might require giving up on the idea of attacking.

Shuwen, meanwhile, was having his own difficulties. None of the gnolls he was fighting seemed to possess any skills like the ones the others were dealing with, but they weren't stupid. Having already used his two main area of effect attacks, the gnolls had about ten seconds before he could knock them away with it again, and they used it well. Attacking him from multiple sides, going for his blind spots whenever they saw the opportunity to do so, they weren't making the fight easy for him. Sighing in relief with the skills' cooldowns ended, he raised his fist and began to bring it down in order to activate his Tiger Echo Fist. But one of the gnolls smashed his arm with it's club, disrupting the skill before he could finish the animation. Gyah! Tucking his arms in, the monk rolled away towards what he hoped was a more strategic position. Dangit, these guys are smarter then I gave them credit for.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 85% Fire 5% | Ice 10% | Light. 15%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben frowned slightly as he felt the pull of the Gnoll's attack, causing him to pause his casting in favour of preparing his response to the change in circumstances. Pulled as he was from his perch on the cart the Sorcerer suddenly disappeared before he could get within the Gnolls' striking range, appearing some distance away from them thanks to the ever useful Blink skill while gaining him the advantage of being able to see their enemies quite clearly too.

Jacoben toggled his Robust Battery once more and was about to return to casting the spells that he had planned to before being so rudely interrupted, however the sound of footsteps behind him had him spinning in place. It seemed that the Gnolls had not been alone. Standing before him was a huge Gnoll wielding twin axes and sitting at a rather intimidating level 40. It seemed that he would have to leave the other enemies to his party members for the time being, as there was no way he would be able to ignore the melee monster so close to him.

The Sorcerer gathered up his magical energy even as his crystal ball whipped out of its pouch to slam into the Gnoll Boss' face, the sudden attack weak but enough to disorient the creature. This allowed Jacoben to get off a Frost Spear and back away from his foe. Blink was on cooldown so he wasn't going to be able to get away as easily as before. It seemed however that his opponent was not going to allow him to get away that easily.

The gnoll charged at him, far faster than expected, and it took everything that Jacoben had to dodge the swipes of the axes as they lashed out at him. The small Sorcerer couldn't get a spell off while he was this busy, having to rely on his Crystal Ball to continue to bludgeon his enemy as he avoided attack after attack. It seemed as though the boss was driving him closer to the other Gnolls, a toothy grin spreading across its bestial face as the sorcerer ducked away from the axes and got closer and closer to where Shuwen was fighting the three Gnolls at the rear of the carts.

Eyes widening as the Boss monster's axes raised up in what could only be a skill, Jacoben's hands moved through the gestures required for Psychic Conductor, pulling one of the nearby Gnolls from its place and setting it in between himself and the higher levelled monster just in time to avoid getting hit by the Mirage Dealer skill, the lower levelled Gnoll dissolving as it was killed by its superior and the boss disappearing behind Jacoben as it prepared to attack the nonplussed Sorcerer from behind.

OOC NOTES:
Not sure I can do that with Psychic Conductor, but it seemed like a fun idea...

Word Count: 601 (462+139 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

Looking around the battlefield it was the clear the team was not in the greatest of places, Jacoben was fighting a dual wielding Gnoll whilst Shuwen seemed to be outnumbered. Fallout was already struggling with his own fight, two to one and out leveled. The odds of winning this fight were near to impossible, the only reason he was able to make it this far was because of his hit and run tactic.

Fallout was crouched behind a rock, arrows striking the ground around him. ‘28, 29, 30!’  Peeking over the rock a throwing needle was thrown towards the left Gnolls “Death Stinger”, striking its chest. ‘This is getting me nowhere, there has to be a better way to fight these guys’. The fight was far from over, even when the Gnolls were poisoned arrows still rained around the assassin.

‘28, 29, 30’  “Death Stinger” Once again from over the rock a needle was thrown towards the left archer, doing no direct damage but allowing the poison to slowly tick its health away. This process repeated, either throwing a needle or turning invisible and striking from behind.

‘23, 24, 25……’  The sound of footsteps stopped Fallout's thoughts ‘Dammit, they're rushing me’. “Hiding Entry” Fall ran from the rocks dodging the blind pot shots fired by the archers. As the enemies looked behind the rocks they realized no one was there, “Death Stinger” both archers were struck by needles. Fallout made a break for the trees.

Stood behind the treeline, he was pinned down. Approaching footsteps could be heard but he had a plan. 

‘Oh god, they're rushing again. I can loose them in the forest’  He whistled before running into the forest with enemies following pursuit, heading deep into the forest Fall ran leading them with him. Dodging arrows and diving behind trees they were far from the carts, now was the time to act. Picking a rock off the ground Fallout threw it into the distance before turning invisible "Hiding Entry", the Gnolls followed the sound. The assassin made his escape back to the carts, leaving the Gnolls to follow a dead cause.

---

Words-460 (354+106 [x1.3 bonus])

[Shuwen]

Words: 595

@eleri escaped the immediate combat zone in order to set up his next attack, only to come across the enemy's reinforcement, a ghoul more powerful then any of the ones they were already fighting. Fortunately, Shuwen was close enough to notice despite being fairly occupied himself. Even better, when an opportunity presented itself, the Sorcerer used a skill to promptly bludgeon one of the lesser gnolls keeping occupied to death, freeing him up a little bit. While he couldn't simply ignore the other two he was already busy with, he was able to take just enough time to lend the sorcerer a hand as long as he could keep ahead of them. And the Monk had a skill that was well suited for doing something light that.

"Lightning Straaaaaaight!" Shuwen shouted with a whoop. Dashing through the hole that had been previously occupied by the mob Jacoben had killed, his electrified fist smashed into the more powerful gnoll's chest, doing a decent amount of damage. As a result, the gnoll's target changed and it began to attack Shuwen with it's skill. He dodged the first attack easily enough; the X-shaped attack could be dodged simply by ducking down. In this case, Shuwen's short stature worked to his advantage; the difference in their sizes made dodging the attack without that much difficulty. However, he didn't expect the teleportation, and before he knew what was happening, the gnoll struck him from behind with it's axe. "Gyah!" Things weren't looking so good for him. The more powerful gnoll was going to be a pain in the butt by itself, but there was another issue. The other two gnolls had just about caught up, and as Jacoben had taken one of them out, they were focused on him now. Gotta do something about that. "Ooh-Rah!" Shuwen shouted, activating the skill Rafting Taunt. The largest gnoll, not wanting to stand around and simply let him carry out whatever he had planned, began to rotate rapidly, activating the skill Shuffle Windmill. Shuwen countered it with Wyvern Kick. Jumping to avoid the gnoll's spinning strikes, he came down with a kick towards it's head. Unfortunately, the move didn't last as long as Shuwen had predicted, and the gnoll managed to block the attack by crossing it's axes, leaving Shuwen in the awkward position of being in mid-air and momentum-less. Uh oh. He thought as the gnoll prepared to use another skill.

Meanwhile, Fallout managed to deal a small amount of damage then retreat towards the forest. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the archers didn't follow him very far, stopping as soon as they reached the edge of the wooded area. Considering that they were bowmen, they probably didn't want to enter an area filled with obstacles, and returned to the main battle, refocusing their attention back on Kelsoy.

As for Kelsoy, she was doing alright. Activating the Samurai skill Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain, causing the gnolls attacking her to sustain fire damage whenever they attacked her, and extra wind damage that was released from her sword whenever she attacked. Focusing on damaging a specific gnoll, it soon fell, and it would probably be just a matter of time before the others did as well. However, with the archers now attacking her, HP was beginning to become a problem. It was turning into a deadly race of who could deplete the other's HP first. She could have probably consumed a healing item, but the conditions she was under were too intense to allow her a long enough break in the fight to do so.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 75% Fire 15% | Ice 30% | Light. 35%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben knew he would have to trust Shuwen to take over with the larger gnoll for the time being, at least long enough for the Sorcerer to split his attention and help out the others. Turning away from the boss monster and two lesser gnolls the Foxtail's four tails fanned out around him as he carefully targeted the three melee gnolls attacking Kelsoy. Just as he chose a target it seemed that she had managed to fell one of the trio, forcing him to re-evaluate. With Kelsoy's buffs working to damage the melee attackers it would be better for him to focus his high damage output into something else.

Namely, the Archers.

He was just able to see them from his current position now that they had returned to attack Kelsoy, and with the line of sight and range of his spells he was perfectly capable of hitting the two longer ranged gnolls. With a series of gestures and a few half-muttered words Jacoben cast both Spatial Confluence and Magical Disjunction, pulling the two together with bone-crushing gravity while dark aligned magic tore through their bodies, causing both archers to disintegrate as monsters did in this world. With the level disparity, his class, and the boost of his Robust Battery meant it was practically a guaranteed kill, which would free some of the worry from Kelsoy.

With that done it was time to help Shuwen with the problem that was a little closer to home, he hoped that Fallout would be able to return to help Kelsoy out as best he could. That would make the situation less tenuous.

Jacoben gestured at the monk and Shuwen would find his weapons glowing white with sparks shooting off of them as he was buffed by the small Sorcerer's "Thunderbolt Crash. That should help his companion in the fight to come even as Jacoben considered his next options. Really, it depended on what the others decided to do, but he felt that the best course of action would be to take out the remaining smaller gnolls before dealing with the boss. After all, you usually took out the adds in these sorts of situations.

Another mystical gesture and suddenly the remaining two gnolls would find themselves in the center of their own personal blizzard, shards of ice whipping around them and causing damage, but also slowing the creatures down. If he could hold them there long enough they would eventually be stunned and an easy target for someone else to take out, but for now Jacoben had to hold the attack.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 556 (428+128 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

0Fallout sat on the woodland edge ‘Damn, they didn't follow me. Well, back to the drawing board.’ Observing the battlefield both his partners seemed to be in an okay position, Jacoben was battling two gnolls whilst Shuwen took on the big guy. Kelsoy did not appear to be in the best of places, her health over the course of this battle has been slowly ticked away. Fallout was curious to find out what happens if she was to die, was she a necessary character on this journey or a bonus.

‘Better go help her, least I can do is draw some attention away from her’

Running down the hill Fallout built up a high speed, running towards Kelsoy. Sprinting past Shuwen, ”Death Stinger” the assassin threw a throwing needle striking the dual wielding gnoll. The Gnoll turned his back on Shuwen drawing his attention towards Fall, giving the monk a moment to strike. Fall continued running however, leaving it to shuwen.

‘Not gonna be much help there, probably just get in the way’

He made his way to Kelsoy, attacking her enemies with needles. By attracting the attention of the enemies this gave her time to strike. Fallout continued to circle the fighting group for a while, drawing attention allowing her to strike. As one of the Gnolls was struck with a needle it turned to face the Assassin, watching the Samurai thrust her sword into the enemy's chest. Removing the blade the Gnoll dropped to the ground, two more remained.

‘One down, two to go’

Fallout continued to run circles around the enemy, making it difficult for them to focus on one enemies. The minute they looked away from the warrior she struck, becoming a deadly tactic.

---

Words- 373 (287 + 86 [x1.3 bonues])
Tags-@eleri Shuwen

[Shuwen]

Words: 465

@eleri 's attack was successful, dropping the archers like a ton of bricks. He also used an enchantment to power up Shuwen's weapons. The monk appreciated the gesture, but to be honest, it wasn't much use to him at the moment. The only weapon he had equipped were his throwing knives, which were of limited use at close range. His primary weapon under these circumstances were his fists, which weren't, technically speaking, a weapon, so enchanting them wasn't a viable option. I still might be able to make some use of them though. But in the meantime, he was still in the very awkward position his last attempt to attack had left him in. It left him open to the gnoll's next attack, Blind Bet, hitting him once with each axe. Aw maaan. A vision debuff? Upon being hit by the attack, Shuwen's sight became somewhat blurry. It wasn't crippling, but it would making using his temporarily enchanted projectiles difficult, not to mention it was pretty frustrating, especially for someone like him who relied on precise movements, and anticipating of his enemies attacks to evade. Blah, I'll just have to overpower him. Hardly an impossible feat, but inelegant and brutish in his opinion. It was the kind of tactic he'd expect from a hormone riddled teenager, and he liked to at least think he'd matured a bit since then.

Jumping away to avoid the gnoll's next attack, he bent on arm in a right hook, using Zoom Attack to hit the gnoll's side despite being out of it's attack range. When the gnoll surged forward to continue attacking him, the Monk responded with Bullet Punch. The attacks steadily chipped away at the gnoll's HP, but it would take a bit longer before it's vitality ran dry. That said, the gnoll wasn't going down without a fight. It managed to block two of the blows with it's axes, mitigating some of the damage, then counterattacked, dealing some damage itself.

Meanwhile, without the archers harrying her, Kelsoy's HP stopped dropping as quickly, turning the race of who could kill the other first in her favor. In addition, Fallout had returned to the battle, striking them from behind. One of the gnolls briefly turned and growled in his general direction, but otherwise didn't pursue or attack him. Perhaps Kelsoy had done her job as a tank a bit too well, because she had riveted their attention, and the relatively minor attacks of a lower-leveled adventurer like Fallout weren't enough to warrant their attention. On the bright side, that meant that Fallout could attack them with little fear of reprisal, something that he would probably quickly realize himself. Between the Sorcerer, the Samurai, and the Assassin, it was probably just a matter of time before the remaining two gnolls fell.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 63% Fire 20% | Ice 40% | Light. 45%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

With a flick of his wrists Jacoben fired off an Orb of Lava at the two lesser Gnolls which were still attacking Shuwen, the fiery ball slamming into the beasts with all the strength that he could throw into it. Combined with the damage Shuwen had dished out earlier the two beastmen were promptly destroyed, cutting down the number of attackers to three. The two lesser Gnolls that Kelsoy and Fallout were fighting and the larger boss monster that was left on his and Shuwen's side of the carts.

Things were starting to turn their way at last now that they had re-coordinated their attacks and could bring their superior power on the beastmen that had ambushed them. Keeping an eye on his cooldowns the sorcerer considered his options. He had a few spells left that he could use and hopefully have his other major attacks up and ready in time just in case.

Focusing on the remaining lesser Gnolls the Foxtail began to chant as ice began to form around them. Soon enough the duo would be caught in his Frigid Wind spell, doing ice damage and slowly freezing them into immobility. This would make it much easier for Kelsoy and Fallout to deal with them, while also allowing Jacoben to focus back on the more immediate problem in front of him.

Turning his attention to the largest Gnoll, Jacoben began to cast Lightning Chamber, his most damaging spell at this point. Soon enough the creature was being damaged by the continuous purple electricity that engulfed its body, its HP dropping rapidly even as Jacoben hefted his Grimoire up to join his Combat Crystal Ball in attacking the monster with basic attacks as he waited for his main spells to end their cooldown. Between himself and Shuwen he was confident that they could take out the stronger monster without too much difficulty.

Hopefully the group would deal with this problem soon enough, which would allow them to continue their journey into the northern reaches of the islands. Sure, it might have been a bit boring before without much to do but focus on the road, and maybe it was good to get some residual tension out of himself by fighting, but.... well, Jacoben would have still preferred a more peaceful trip. But perhaps it was for the best, to allow him to get out of his poor mood. Still, now wasn't the time to be getting so distracted, and he shook his head slightly to regain his focus.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 545 (419+126 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

‘And round and round and round I go.’

Fallout continued to run circles around the fighters, throwing needles into the enemies backs attracting their attention and giving Kelsoy as safe moment to strike. This process kept repeating, over and over. Throwing followed by slashing,over and over. One more body dropped to the ground, one more was needed.

‘One more, Kelsoy’s health seemed okay.’

“How you holding up Kelsoy?” Fallout asked whilst thowing a needle into the shoulder of the gnoll.

“Im good, just keep drawing its attention from me” Kelsoy shouted as blocked an oncoming attack.

“Understood” Fallout did as she said before dashing behind the Gnoll, throwing a needle into the back of the enemy's neck. But this time he didnt even notice, another arrow struck the back of its leg and nothing happened.

‘I guess he has learned that I am no threat to him, guess im gonna have to get a little closer’

The assassin pulled out his dagger and ran behind the gnoll, “Death Stinger” before slashing the back of its legs. It turned and attempt to stamp on Fall, but failed as Fallout slid to the right and retreat out of the action. The samurai took the opportunity by slicing her sword across her enemy’s back, it fell on all fours before she brought her sword down into its back. The battle was over, the two had come out victorios.

‘Glad thats over, better go check on the other two. Sure they are fine’

---

Words- 325 (250 + 75 [x 1.3 Bonus])
Tags- Shuwen @eleri

[Shuwen]

Words: 432

The lesser gnolls were focused on Shuwen, and were caught flat-footed by @eleri 's fire attack, and were able to do nothing but snarl as they were destroyed by it. The Sorcerer then followed up with an ice attack aimed at the two gnolls tying up the other two lower-leveled combatants that were presently engaging Fallout and Kelsoy. Despite Fallout's apparent lack of understanding of a tank's job, that part of the fight was already beginning to turn in the adventurers' favor, the Sorcerer's ice attack was merely the final nail in the coffin.

With all the lower leveled mobs taken out, only the one Shuwen was battling remained. As he was primarily playing the role of a tank, this wasn't particularly a surprise. Even so, Shuwen was still a bit embarrassed about taking so long to finish the mob he was fighting. This was greatly rectified by Jacoben hitting it with a lightning spell. The resulting shift in agro was significant; the monster turned away from the monk it has been fighting, and charged the Sorcerer.

Uh oh. Not wanting to put the Sorcerer in the line of fire, Shuwen began to activate the skill Rafting Taunt, which had a mercifully short cooldown, however, he realized in mid-cast that this was unnecessary. The boss gnoll had already taken a fair amount of damage, and the electric spell was more then enough to wipe out what was left. The result? The gnoll died and dissolved long before it got within attack range of the Sorcerer. I guess that's that. The monk thought as he caught his breath. The fight had been sudden, and though not the most difficult he had faced, intense. Now that the fight was over, his adrenaline dumped and he found himself panting heavily. However, there was still one more thing he needed to do.

Background music

"Is... everyone... okay? No... healing... needed... right?" Shuwen asked the party, gasping out each word in between breaths. As the resident chef, he was also the closest thing the party had to a healer, even though his ability to do so in the midst of combat was rather limited.

"I don't believe so." Kelsoy responded, taking a quick look at the other combatants in order to confirm her response.

"Well done all of you!" Alasdair congratulated them. "I'm glad Kelsoy didn't have to face all those monsters by herself. Things might have gotten rough if she had." The Samurai seemed a tad miffed at the storyteller's comment, but didn't respond to it. "We should keep going" was all she had to say on the matter.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 68% Fire 20% | Ice 40% | Light. 45%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben watched with calm detachment as the large Gnoll came running at him, his crystal ball and grimoire continuing to rain basic attacks down on the monster. He could tell he had nothing to worry about as it continued its charge, the beastman exploding into bubbles of magical energy as his spells brought its HP down to zero. The foxtail stared at its last position for a few long moments, his tails swaying slightly behind him before seeming to vanish, leaving a single silverly appendage curling at the tip as he let out an explosive breath.

Whatever confidence and decisiveness that had filled him during the fight seemed to drain out of him and he turned to head back to the cart with a subdued look on his face. As they began to talk amongst themselves Jacoben went to check on Hugin. The axebeak seemed to be quite calm despite the battle that had raged around him, which probably had something to do with two important facts. The first was that Jacoben had trained him extensively since first taming him, and the second was that the large bird's level far outstripped the majority of the Gnolls and he could have taken out at least a few of them on his own if let loose against them.

After he had made sure the bird's harness was in place Jacoben clambered back up into the cart and settled into the seat, taking up the reins and waiting for everyone to get ready to continue. "We should move relatively quickly I think, we don't want to deal with more enemies right now if we don't have to" he announced, just loud enough for everyone to hear. It seemed that the fight had pulled all the anger out of him and now he was just drained emotionally as well as physically.

"Right, we should try and cover as much distance as possible before sundown," Alasdair responded, the man too cheerful after being attacked. "We should be aiming for the Oasis in Sheffield Gorge by tomorrow evening, but unless we start moving now we'll never make it by then."

With that said and done they would begin to move off, Jacoben not getting pulled into any conversations that the others had as he got lost in his own thoughts and seemed only half aware of what was going on around them. Of course he was very careful of keeping his eyes on the road and making sure that nothing happened to the cart as they travelled, but otherwise his mind was elsewhere as he tried to work through whatever problems had been plaguing him since they had left Stratford. They travelled for several more hours without any interruption, the countryside seeming to blur in Jacoben's mind without really acknowledging it. In a car this would have made perfect sense, but in the much slower moving cart it was more a sign of his distracted thought processes.

As the sun began to set over the horizon Alasdair directed the group to a site off the road where they could set up camp for the night. As he had travelled this route many times before the man knew the best and safest places for them to rest, which made things much easier for the less experienced Adventurers who had never travelled so far north before.

"Well, we should get everything set up for the night. I will go and get wood for a fire. Kelsoy be a dear and set up our tents." Alasdair began, turning to Shuwen slightly with a mixture between puppy-dog eyes and a sly smirk, "I heard my friend that you were a skilled chef, so perhaps if you would be so kind as to prepare tonight's meal? I'll even volunteer up some of my own supplies for it." Kelsoy simply huffed at her employer's behaviour and got to work setting up both of their tents without another word, the Samurai clearly miffed at being treated like some sort of servant.

Jacoben motioned Fallout over to him as the Foxtail began removing the harness from Hugin to allow the Axebeak to be dismissed, it wouldn't do for the bird to be tired and grumpy with him after all. "Can you scout the area to see if there's anything of danger nearby? Alasdair might have been here before but things change. Don't go too far though, we don't want you getting into trouble. Also, can you find the nearest water supply? I think we should top up before we head into the desert." He hoped that the Assassin would agree to such a task, but if he didn't there wasn't much that Jacoben could do about it.

With that said he began to take out the tents for the three adventurers and start setting them up, knowing that the chances of his party members knowing what to do with them were slim at best. It would take him some time to get everything sorted, and it was likely that by the time the tents were set up Shuwen would have been well on his way to cooking them their dinner, but at least they would have a place to sleep for the night. And then tomorrow they would continue again, heading towards the desert region of Sheffield Gorge, what fun.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 1157 (890+267 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Fallout]

Fallout stood at the cart and watched as the others made their way back.

‘Glad thats over with, we can finaly get back on the road’

Shuwen began to ask the team if healing was required, looking at his own health he wasnt to low.

“Im a little low but its nothing that cant be sorted on the move, for now lets just get moving” He replied.

Alasdair had stated that he wanted to get as far as possible, as well as mentioning that he wanted to get to  Sheffield Gorge by tomorrow. Yet another location that Fallout was not familiar with, he wanted to learn about this location before approaching. 

"Who here has been to Sheffield Gorge?" Fallout asked the group.

Kelsoy began to set up camp, and from the looks of things Shuwen had been placed on cooking duty.

Jacoben had asked to Assassin to scout the area, which Fallout was glad about as he could finally be of good use.

“Im on it, if the Gnolls were hanging around here that means there should be a water supply relatively close.”

‘The best to look for water would be down hill, but I should look for danger first’

Fallout looked around for a high spot the scan the area, and eventually was set upon a tree that slightly peeked out above the others. Running towards the tree line he build up speed before using the branches as leverage to climb through the trees, after two minutes of acting like a monkey he had reached the top of the tallest tree. After 10 minutes of searching he left to tree to search blind spots, behind bushes and rock.

Opening the interface and opened teamspeak ‘No enemies to be seen within 300 meters of our location, a few boars but thats eat. So if we need extra food we can come back and grab them, as for water there is a small stream north east of the carts. Im gonna head back and get some containers, it wont take long for me to load up the carts.’

Fallout started to head back to the carts.

---

Words- 461 (355+ 106[x1.3 Bonus])
Tags- Shuwen  @eleri  

[Shuwen]

Words: 527

Judging from @eleri 's behavior, Shu wasn't the only person feeling it now that the fight was over. He slunk over to check on his animals silently, talking only to suggest they move on before any more monsters showed up. Alasdair, meanwhile began to talk more about their goals and destination. He was notably more enthusiastic then the rest of the party. Why shouldn't he be? After all, he's not the one who had to fight for his life a minute ago. The Monk thought sourly.

background music

And so they quickly set off. Unfortunately, the only person who was up for any sort of conversation was Alasdair. Jacoben and Kelsoy (the latter being his first choice) were busy watching the road, while Fallout seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Unfortunately, his only source of entertainment besides talking to the storyteller was to keep himself occupied, something he wasn't very good at doing without the proper items. Autism, even light autism, could be a real pain the keister at times like these. He ended up prodding the storyteller for more stories. Not terribly difficult, all things considered, and it seemed that he was willing to share a few details he didn't normally tell to the general public, including descriptions of lewder scenes. Alasdair made a point of not sparing certain details at several points, leaving Shu unsure whether he should be laughing or blushing. Oftentimes, he ended up doing both. The Monk didn't notice Kelsoy glowering at them every so often, but the need to keep her eyes on the road kept her from doing so too often, so perhaps that was natural.

Once they reached the campsite, Alasdair wasted no time dividing up the workload. "I g-guess?" Not that it was difficult to tell; the interface could have told him as much, and his level certainly indicated he had at least some degree of skill. Considering he would have simply been made to do something else otherwise, he quickly agreed to do the cooking. As Jacoben and Fallout divided up their own tasks, Shuwen began to unpack ingredients and cooking gear. Soooooo, what should I make tonight? For a moment, he worried that he was going to be paralyzed by indecision, when he found a packet of something he'd packed earlier. Hmmm... I can work with this.

Pulling out half an onion and several cloves of garlic, he quickly diced both, throwing them into a pot he'd set out, along with a several pounds of chicken meat. We can probably eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow or something. that should save me some effort. Adding cooking oil, he let that sit that for about five minutes. As it did, he pulled out several potatoes and chopped them into small blocky shapes. By that point the chicken was significantly browner. He then threw in the potatoes he'd just cut up, some salt, and the powder he'd pulled out earlier.

By this point, Fallout had returned with water, which he quickly appropriated, dumping a fair amount of it into the pot, until the ingredients he'd already thrown in were about half-submerged. And now comes the hard part. Waiting.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 68% Fire 20% | Ice 40% | Light. 45%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben finished setting up the tents and moving everyone's gear into them before he made sure to secure the carts and generally tidy things up for their departure in the morning. When everything was done to his satisfaction the Sorcerer looked around at what was going on and decided that everyone had everything else under control and he needn't get involved in anything else at this point in time.

"I'm going to go into my tent and make a call, and then I'm going to take a nap," he informed the others quietly, turning and ducking into the tent he had claimed for himself. He assumed that he would be woken once there was food ready, but even if he didn't he wouldn't mind that much, he wasn't feeling like eating at this point due to the stress of the day so far.

His conversation didn't go perhaps as well as he would have liked, however it seemed that it wouldn't take too look before he sorted out that particular issue. Still, he was exhausted both physically and mentally, so it didn't take too much to convince him that laying down under his blanket and taking a nap would be the best for him.

As the smell of the slowly cooking dinner wafter through the entrance of his tent Jacoben drifted into a light slumber.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 293 (225+68 [1.3 NO Bonus])
Tags: Shuwen Fallout

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.