Adventures of Naletia: The Second Dragon War

Silvia's Training

Master Skill:
-Dragonstrike - Can also Burn the target after mastering. EN cost increased to 12.

Mastering the skill forces a Party Level Up and grants 2 Stat Points to be allocated in one or both of the offensive stats.

New Skill Available:
-Flame Burst - Using fire from the pit of Silvia's stomach, she fires a burst of flame from her mouth towards a target enemy, burning the target. 120% Int DMG. Chance of Burn. 3 cell range. 6 EN.

Learning the new skill forces a Character Level Up and consumes the Skill Point.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) (x) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) (S) ( ) ( ) F
-1---2---3---4---5

Spoiler:

Silvia was surprised at how quickly Archer moved. He was on the dummy before she even realized he had moved. So here, speed was the most important. Power was not the emphasis in closing distances. She listened to Archer's words of wisdom with clear interest. She soaked the information up like a sponge soaked up water. Years of only knowing farming made her mind that much more flexible. Silvia readied herself, prepared to jump at the training dummy, just as Archer had done.

As she was getting ready for her jump, a dark red aura began to appear around her, forming like a flame, only it was not a flame. The aura glowed around Silvia, but she didn't seem to notice it. When she was ready to jump, the aura jumped with her, forming around the blade of her wooden sword. With surprising speed, though not as quickly as Archer had been, she delivered a heavy blow to the training dummy, the aura surrounding her blade expanding outward and singing the cloth on the dummy, turning it slightly black.

"Oh," Silvia said suddenly, as she noticed that she had somehow managed to burn the dummy with her attack. "Oops. Did I do that?"

Silvia uses Trigger Command: Dragonstrike!

The girl was strangely polite; not what Aurelia had expected considering her odd clothing. They were far too revealing for a young lady but Aurelia knew better to speak of it. Most people didn't like it when she and the the other acolytes criticized young women for their dress, and Aurelia had learned to hold her tongue to not incite any feeling of displeasure or in rarer cases, aggression. And that headpiece above her head, they resembled the horns depicted on the heads of pictures of demons and devils that she had seen before. They were certainly not real but the fact that she wore them on her head still worried the cleric though she tried not to show her concern. Instead she kept a smile on her face and nodded her head in response to the woman introducing herself. "Why it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Felicia." the cleric spoke in a very soft and demure tone of voice, "Please go right ahead. I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability."

Felicia nodded to the priestess as she was acknowledged. The small, faint smile on her face never left, for she feared that if she let it go, it would never be able to come back. She listened as the priestess spoke her brief words. She motioned for Felicia to go on with her question. She knew that she would rather not, even though she really wanted to, because she knew that she wasn’t really ready to make any sort of true acknowledgement, of true acceptance of the devastation that occurred here. That, however, didn’t matter. She knew that with all of her heart, her home was destroyed. She still did not know whether or not her mother was still alive, but that was a matter for another time.

With a deep breath, she decided to frame her question. “What exactly caused this destruction? I had been told that there was a great dragon’s fire that burned this village to the ground, but that does not explain my presence here. That does not explain how I survived. Were there further causes, or was there a sense of foul play? I could not have just been spared for just any reason. I suspect a higher power at work here.” She looked down to the ground. "Or perhaps not a higher power, but a third party at least..." She certainly could not be just the only survivor here. If that was the case, this destruction was really aimed at her. She was afraid that if she was the true target of this slaughter, if she would go anywhere, there would certainly be tragedy to occur, and so she must stay constantly vigilant.

But before she could make any decisions, she had to hear their verdict first. She looked towards Aurelia with expectant eyes, hanging on with all her might in the very pregnant pause.

Aurelia kept a smile on her face as she listened to Felicia's question. And only after she had finished did the cleric's expression change slightly. She placed a hand below her chin and thought for a moment. Indeed, why was she spared from the destruction of the village? It made sense that Silvia had survived, for she was half-dragon and was sent out by her father just as the attack occurred. But this girl had somehow survived as well. Was it pure chance that the flames of the dragon did not manage to reach her or was there truly a reason behind her safety? The cleric couldn't say for sure about whether or not there was some sort of third-party intervention involved in keeping this girl alive but she was fairly certain the dragon's attack itself had nothing to do with her. "It's difficult to say whether or not someone intentionally allowed you to live through the attack. As far as my knowledge goes we are fairly sure the dragon's attack was directed more toward Silvia and that blade she holds." Aurelia stated, placing a hand on Felicia's shoulder, "I'm sorry I can't give you an exact answer Felicia. However you should still be thankful that you've survived, regardless of the reason. Try not to dwell on it too much."

Silvia's Training

Master Skill:
-Dragonstrike - Can also Burn the target after mastering. EN cost increased to 12.

Mastering the skill forces a Party Level Up and grants 2 Stat Points to be allocated in one or both of the offensive stats.

>Update: Dragonstrike Mastered!

New Skill Available:
-Flame Burst - Using fire from the pit of Silvia's stomach, she fires a burst of flame from her mouth towards a target enemy, burning the target. 120% Int DMG. Chance of Burn. 3 cell range. 6 EN.

Learning the new skill forces a Character Level Up and consumes the Skill Point.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) (x) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) (S) ( ) ( ) F
-1---2---3---4---5

Spoiler:

Silvia made an awkward smile when she heard Archer compliment her. It wasn't really a compliment, but he did seem very proud and his eyes...they were about as filled with fire as she felt. She made it a point to listen to everything that Archer said. How she was always in danger of getting stabbed, that part she didn't quite like, but it made sense to her. In order to avoid being stabbed from behind, she had to remain aware that there might be an enemy behind her. Right, everything makes sense in that regard.

When Silvia closed her eyes at Archer's request and focused on her other senses, she found that it was surprisingly easy to sense exactly where Archer was. Just by sniffing the air she could make out Archer's form. How close or far he was, the scent of his breath and his body, how excited or nervous he was, with just her nose, Silvia could sense all of this. As for hearing, the smallest rustle in the grass did not slip by. Field mice, most likely. But then there was the crackling of the fire off in the distance. Silvia could hear that clear as day. It reminded her of her own blood, which seemed to crackle and burn at every hour of the day.

When Silvia opened her eyes again, she saw that Archer was staring at her with a wonder in his eyes that Silvia had never seen before. Only then did it cross her mind about where he was looking, and Silvia brought her hands over her chest with a furrowed brow and a frown.  She was about to call him out on him staring at her breasts if not for what he said next. The fire...he could see it? Silvia lowered her hands a little bit, covering her stomach now, where the fire was forming. If Archer could see the fire with his own eyes, then maybe this feeling Silvia was having wasn't just anxiety or her blood. Maybe it was fire inside her. Real fire.

Silvia took a deep breath, focusing in on her inner fire hard, trying to tap into that fire and reveal it. The results of that attempt were quite shocking to Silvia. The fire, upon contact with her mind, seemed to leap with joy. A new tube that had formed some time ago in her body allowed the fire to rise up through her chest and her throat to her mouth, where it started dancing around her tongue. A bit of the fire escaped from her mouth and Silvia fumbled a little bit with her hands trying to keep back the flames. But she didn't seem to be in any danger of running out of fire, it was replacing whatever she was losing the instant the fire moved. Which means as soon as she called it, there would be no swallowing it.

Silvia paused. Since there was fire already in her mouth, she may as well use it. She took a breath through her sharp nose and let it all out through her mouth, the fire within being stoked by her breath and shooting out in a somewhat straight line. The fire hit the dummy and split away from it. When Silvia finally stopped breathing fire after realizing that doing this didn't stop the flow of the fire from her stomach, the dummy was reduced to ash, much like the town had been.

"Um," Silvia spoke after awhile, nearly jumping when a lick of flames escaped from her mouth again, "I think that might be useful later."

Silvia uses Trigger Command: Flame Burst!

Felicia listened to the priestess as she answered the question she posed. She was not entirely sure of why she was here, but she knew that she was. Was there a purpose to the avoidance of her death? Why had she been kept alive? There must be an ulterior motive to this, she could not have just been left alive at a mere whim. Something much larger was at hand. There seemed to be something just out of her control, and she needed to accept that... Even if she would never see anyone she had ever loved again. Silvia was someone familiar, yes, but she just would not replace the void that was now growing in her heart.

"It is not that I am not grateful, Sister, for my life... It is just... odd, that I would be a survivor of this terrible tragedy. I could have just as easily been extinguished, as fragile as I am, yet here I still am. I think that there is a higher force at work here, and from what I understand, Silvia seems to be the main source of the aggravation. I do not know why I am here, but I would like to be able to keep at least one shred of my homeland alive. Even if I do not really know her that well, even if she is almost a stranger to me, we share a common bond: that of our homeland. We are both tied to this place, and now neither of us really have anything left here to love or to cling to. I want to make sure that she does not have to suffer anymore than she already has."

Felicia looked over as Silvia was practicing with Archer. She watched as there was discourse between them, though she could not hear the exchange. There seemed to be a bond between the two, as if he were out to protect her. Felicia knew that Silvia was younger than her, but she also had to keep in mind that being someone like her was bound to me something that gave one wisdom beyond their age. She needed to make sure that this prodigal woman was kept safe, and the only way to do that was to play to her own strenghs. She had a connection to the natural world beneath her. She loved the plants, she loved the trees and grass as they flowed in the soft wind... She loved the smell of the acrid smoke, even if it was so sorrowful for her, because she knew that with the destruction that this fire brought, there would be life anew. There would be something else to come home to, perhaps not now, but sooner rather than later, she would be able to see something that was rather precious to her once again rather than something of great pain.

But before she could reminisce with the tears that spilled from both her eyes and her heart, she needed to make sure that she would be of some use to the Guard, and to Silvia, as she had saved her life. She would forever be indebted to her, and she needed to make sure that she would not just be dead weight. If she would really be a part of this Guard, she needed to learn how to protect those she trusted, and this all started with learning how to hone her healing energies more effectively than she currently could.

"Sister, there is one more thing I ask of you." Felicia turned her head up to gaze directly into the blue eyes of the priestess. "I want to learn how to be a boon to my allies, so that I may keep Silvia, the one who brought me back to life, alive and well. Please, if you would, teach me how to keep life flowing strong."

Aurelia's lips curled up into a slight smile as the girl spoke of her wish to protect Silvia, the only other survivor of her village, solely on the basis of their shared home. However her smile was not quite as natural as it usually was as there hid a slight hint of sadness, remorse, and perhaps even resentment. It was kind of this girl to practically dedicate her life simply to help Silvia, someone she barely knew. The cleric herself was different in that regard. However she quickly pushed the thought out of her head and her smile became more natural. She couldn't be thinking back to her home after so many years. It's been far too long for her to be reminiscent about the past.

"I see." Aurelia replied quietly once Felicia had finished speaking, asking the cleric to teach her magic, healing magic in fact. Though Aurelia was most likely the most skilled of the group in this regard she was still worried. The form of magic, the way it's channeled and harnessed, its nature, and all other aspects of magic varied from person to person. Sometimes the difference was massive and sometimes it would only be a slight variation. "Very well, I can teach you what I know of my own magic." Aurelia started, "But your magic is likely far different from mine, so how you utilize that knowledge would be up to you."

Felicia listened to the priestess answer her question. She knew that this woman would hold her fate in her hands, so she needed to make certain that she placed every ounce of trust she had within her methods of teaching. She looked towards her eyes, sitting down, cross-legged near the fire. She needed to hang on to every word that the woman spoke so as to not lose anything. Felicia had a habit of forgetting things, however none of them were such as nontrivial as this matter was. She needed to make sure that she retained all of what she was about to learn so as to maximize her worth to the entire guard. She knew a bit of healing herself, but perhaps she could hone that skill further and bring her effectiveness to new heights.

"I do really appreciate this, Sister. I need the extra practice so as to increase my worth to Silvia, which seems to be practically nonexistent at this point in time. I don't want to be a sack of dead weight, but someone who will be there for the entire team in their hours of need. Thank you very much, Sister."

Archer's powerful eyes seemed to water and gleam in absolute delight as he watched the fire that Silvia projected scorch the dummy beyond further usage. There was no doubt that this training session was over, but it had yielded a great many results. If Silvia possessed this much untapped potential, then the Guard really did not only have a valuable asset on their team, but a trustworthy ally and friend. She was definitely going to be one that Archer could trust watching his back in the fray. He took a few wobbly steps towards the dummy, scrutinizing it intensely. More steps forward. Kneeling down, he touched the singed remains. They were still extremely hot but the heat seemed to swerve around his skin, floating over it. He could only feel a gentle warmth whereas he should have felt a heat the likes of which can only be known in Hell. Clenching his hand into a fist, he rose and gazed proudly at Silvia.

"I think it's safe to say that you've learned quite a bit tonight. Things will only get better for you if you continue to practice, however. You cannot become an expert of the sword overnight, nor can you harness full control of your powers in a day," Archer instructed with a warm smile. "The battles you face along the way should serve as sufficient. I believe you're more than capable of holding your own." Even with the past battles they faced, she seemed to possess a slight knowing, and also possessed a quick mind, picking up tips from observations. It reminded him of several legendary warriors he'd read about in books that focused mainly on observing enemies and using their own skills against them. There was no doubt that she would learn quickly the ways of battle, but he didn't want her to get ahead of herself. Pride was a number one killer on the battlefield. A huge ego in the heat of battle is pretty much an open invitation for the enemy to end you.

Archer gazed into her eyes knowing full and well that she could see how proud he was of her which was odd. He never really considered being a teacher. Never before had he been put in the situation. Perhaps it wasn't only pride in her that he felt, but pride in himself. He definitely hoped that he would be able to mold Silvia into one of the fiercest fighters the kingdom had ever seen. And then together, they would decimate the foes of the kingdom side by side. He felt an odd warmth crawl onto his cheeks at the thought and aimed to gain control of himself.

"For now, perhaps you should get some rest. You've done well today, Silvia. You certainly deserve it."

Flame Burst learned!

Silvia beamed at Archer, glad that he was so approving and proud of her progress. She herself had not expected to make this much progress in one night, but with the way her blood was boiling, she could tell that the majority of the work was due to her dragon blood being so active. Something was stirring up inside of her, and she managed to take advantage of it during practice. If she could apply this during a real battle, who could guess the amount of power she would have? The ability to kill dragons was in her blood, she just needed to get it.

"Thank you, Archer, for everything," Silvia said kindly, still beaming at Archer. She looked down at the unusable dummy. It was a shame it got destroyed, but there wasn't any helping that. She probably should have thought a bit before aiming her breath, but Silvia didn't expect to be able to breathe fire! She was surprised enough that even her aura was burning things!

Silvia took Archer's advice and headed back to the camp, where Gaiden and the others were waiting by. She looked around a bit before waling closer to where Gaiden was. Gaiden eyes her without a word, he was just waiting for her to speak up first, it seemed. "That training was tiring," Silvia mentioned, "I'm gonna head in, if you don't need me for anything."

"Go ahead and sleep deeply tonight, Silvia. You need it. Don't worry about keeping watch tonight, I can handle that," Gaiden responded, placing a hand on top of her head in a gesture of comfort. Silvia gave a slight smile and headed towards the tent set up for the girls. Before she could even set foot in the tent, she noticed that her aura was beginning to erode way at the fabric on the tent. Silvia took a few steps back. "On second thought, maybe I should just sleep outside." Gaiden didn't seem to argue with that, so Silvia withdrew a bedroll from the inside of the tent as quickly as she could and rolled it out on the charred ground so she could lay on it.

Looking up at the dark sky, Silvia could see the stars hanging above her head. Some great constellations were out, but none that Silvia knew of. She put a note in her mind to ask someone later which ones they were. But like this, sleeping out in the open, made Silvia feel at ease. Even her boiling blood began to simmer down to a mild, more comfortable temperature.

The Camp


( ) (t) ( ) (T) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (U)
( ) ( ) (S) ( ) ( )
( ) (G) (x) (A) ( )
( ) ( ) (L) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Spoiler:

Affinity Gains:
Gaiden - Leilah: 4
Gaiden - Archer: 2
Silvia - Archer: 6
Silvia - Gaiden: 2

~The Twentieth-First Day of Mae~

Gaiden and the others were already taking down the camp when Silvia awoke from her night-long sleep. Despite having to sleep outside, Silvia felt more rested now than she had in the past few days. It took her a moment to realize what was happening around her at first, but she soon perked up and packed away her bedroll. She was hardly a morning person, but her blood took no time in warming her up enough to wake her fully and completely.

After the camp was packed and the Guard was ready to depart, Silvia handed over the map she had found to Gaiden. She pointed out the two locations marked on the map and Gaiden retrieved a map of his own, which was far more up-to-date than what Silvia had. It appeared as though the two marked areas now had cities on top of them. There was a city in the forest to the northeast of Iona, that was the closest location.

"It's actually close to another, small village in the forest," Gaiden mentioned, poking the spot on the map with a spare finger. "We can stop there if we are in need of any supplies or a rest. It shouldn't take too long to get from here to the village, I suspect a little over half a day, at the very least."

"Maybe they have someone who knows more about the Dragonslayer legend," Silvia suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "I think it'll be worth the stop if we can find something like that."

"Then our destination is set, Let's get moving, men."

~Into the Light Forest~

There is a bit of a story involved with the Light Forest. The legend says that when the Darkness Realm was split away from the real world, or the Realm of Light, Ermith itself became split. Everything that was good in Light became bad in Dark, and everything that was bad in Light became good in Dark. It was a strange situation, but essentially the whole of the Realm of Darkness was covered in a veil of misfortune and strife. The Temples of Light and Dark represented that distinguishing factor. The Temple of Light stretched towards the heavens, while the Temple of Darkness sunk into the earth. When the Sage of Light merged the two realms back together, that rift between the two worlds suddenly collapsed in on the Sage, the power of the dimensional tear focused on her body. She died, but the result of her actions was a stable world that would never again discriminate between the elements of Light and Dark.

The Guard entered the forest with this legend in their minds, knowing that the forest should be respected for it's ancient history. The magic in the forest was evident, even for those who could not see it. Eventually, the result of this magic came in the form of beasts. Some shied away from the group, but not all of them. Trolls were, by far, the most aggressive and stupid beast to lurk in the shadows of this forest.

Entering the forest was the easy part. When the great, old trees loomed over the Guard, they knew they were at the right forest. The forest was thick, but there was a small path, a clearing, that lead deeper into the forest. Just before the edge of the forest was the Long River, which stretched from the very top of the continent where the forest started and reached all the way down to the Forgotten Lake, near Jesu City, otherwise known as the City of Flowing Water. Here, the Guard replenished their water supplies. The trip up until this point had been mostly uninhibited. Beasts were not yet ready to return to the roads, and there was the ever looming threat of a dragon swooping down upon them. But no such disaster happened, which allowed the Guard to enter the forest with relative safety.

The Guard had to stay in a tight group in order to travel through the forest, only two could stand side-by-side in this dense brush. It was hard to believe that merchants could fit their carts through the forest. When Silvia asked about merchants, Gaiden gave a low sigh. "Merchants usually don't come through the forest. It is much too dark, even during the day, and the closed quarters make them an easy target for bandits. If they want to trade with the other half of the continent, they need to travel along the river until the forest ends." Silvia nodded in her understanding and spoke no more of the topic.

It wasn't too long before something else came up. Unlike before with the raptors, however, the monster that appeared before the Guard was huge. And ugly. It had a flat head and a crumpled face, which, if the thing were human, it would probably have died from having a crushed skull. However, most travelers know that the race of trolls didn't die from simply having their skulls crushed. It had a yellowish-green skin tone and its body was covered in slimy, black hair. The difference between a Mountain Troll and a Forest Troll was their hair. Mountain Trolls didn't have any, which made their reproductive organs visible to all who beheld the ugly beasts.

"That is disgusting," Silvia murmured, her own face scrunching up in her disgust. There was a foul smell in the air, most likely due to the troll. "Hey wait, what's that?" Silvia suddenly sniffed the air and peered through the darkness of the forest. She smelled something other than the troll, which had it's back turned to the Guard. In front of the troll, the Guard could catch a glimpse of some kind of fabric, a coat. There was another person in the forest with them.

New Objective!
-Take out the enemies
-Keep ? from dying to the Troll

Area: Light Forest - Western Edge
Atmosphere: Thick Forest (These logs are sooooo thick, hue hue hue)
Soundtrack: The Lost Forest

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (4) ( ) ( ) A
( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) B
( ) ( ) (2) (t) (?) ( ) ( ) (3) ( ) C
( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) D
( ) (t) (t) (t) (1) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) E
(t) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) ( ) ( ) F
(t) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) G
(~) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (C) H
(~) (t) (t) (S) ( ) (G) (t) (t) (t) I
(~) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) (t) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

Silvia (Dragonblood) *DRAGONSKIN*
HP: 43/43
EN: 50/50
Rage: 0/20
Atk: 6
Def: 5
Int: 5
Spr: 4
Move: 3
Crit: 5%
Evade: 4%
Morale: (//////////)

Gaiden (Captain of the Guard)
HP: 51/51
EN: 50/50
Atk: 5
Def: 6
Int: 1
Spr: 5
Move: 3
Crit: 3%
Evade: 5%
Morale: (//////////)

? (Cleric)
Trigger Command: Talk
HP: ??/??
EN: ??/??
Atk: ?
Def: ?
Int: ?
Spr: ?
Move: ?
Crit: ?
Evade: ?
Morale: (?)

1 (Forest Troll) *BERSERK*
HP: 86/86
EN: 75/75
Atk: 16
Def: 0
Int: 0
Spr: 0
Move: 3
Crit: 2%
Evade: 1%
Morale: (//////////)

2 (Forest Pixie)
HP: 30/30
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 1
Int: 8
Spr: 10
Move: 2
Crit: 18%
Evade: 0%
Morale: (//////////)

3 (Forest Pixie)
HP: 30/30
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 1
Int: 8
Spr: 10
Move: 2
Crit: 18%
Evade: 0%
Morale: (//////////)

4 (Forest Crystal)
HP: 15/15
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 7
Int: 6
Spr: 7
Move: 0
Crit: 0%
Evade: 10%
Morale: (//////////)

(t) - Tree

(~) - Water source

(C) - Chest (Locked)

Player Characters may start in rows I-J

Leilah starts at I5!

Whereas her allies––no, friends––had drifted off into their tents and, from there, into sleep's embrace, Leilah remained in front of the lingering blaze. The rest of the guard, despite being ignorant as to how, knew quite well that the Nightblade never slept. She avoided putting herself in such a vulnerable position; sleep, she believed, offered any assailant easy access. Resting proved unnecessary anyway. It had been many years since she, truthfully, last had the opportunity, and to attempt it now would be foolish. Leilah was everything but foolish.

Time passed. The flames died in the night, allowing the Guard's silent shadow to blend into the night around her. A smile graced her masked face. Although the hours of darkness left were short, she could relish in the fact that she had this time. The solitary moments when her friends no longer required her immediate physical presence allowed her time to relax. Not as refreshing as the sleep she remembered by any means, but something she cherished dearly. And tonight, the world seemed to appreciate her intimacy with the night, for no creature dared approach the campsite. For the first time outside of the castle walls, she could enjoy herself.

The morning, however, came much sooner than she would have expected. The sun began to rise into the sky no sooner than she had settled herself on the ground in a sitting position with her knees crossed. Silvia awoke shortly afterward, and the rest of the group followed suit. The camp packed up, destination set, and the day still ahead of them, the Guard continued onward on their current quest. The road seemed void of annoyances until they reached the forest. "Trolls," Leilah stated, a hint of irritation tearing the natural silkiness of her voice. "Such foul creatures," she continued, drawing her dagger quickly.

She slept soundly that night, an odd fact considering the events that had occurred these past two days were far more stressful for her than what she had grown used to in her daily life as a member of the royal guard. Everything up until now had been so simple and monotonous, usually only patrolling the streets and maintaining peace. Even when there were criminals about they usually only turned out to be petty cockroaches who simply stood no chance against Archer and Leilah. But the priestess awoke in the morning feeling far better than the previous few days. Perhaps she had grown tired of the monotony of her life, though her duty, and only that sense of duty, to the guard would prevent her from ever speaking or acting upon it.

As the group traveled through the forest a feeling of dread slowly came upon the priestess. At first it was practically negligible but as the group continued deeper into the forest the feeling became heavier. By the time they had came upon the massive beast, the troll, Aurelia felt as if she was suffocating from an invisible force pressing upon her body from all sides. She could no longer feel a connection with the ley lines and in fact sensed none of its energy beneath her. Something was cutting them off before they reached her. "...it seems I am unable to draw upon my magic..." Aurelia announced, each word was weighed down by the oppressive force.

Aurelia starts at cell J-5

New Objective!
-Take out the enemies
-Keep ? from dying to the Troll

Area: Light Forest - Western Edge
Atmosphere: Thick Forest (These logs are sooooo thick, hue hue hue)
Soundtrack: The Lost Forest

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (4) ( ) ( ) A
( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) B
( ) ( ) (2) (t) (?) ( ) ( ) (3) ( ) C
( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) D
( ) (t) (t) (t) (1) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) E
(t) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) ( ) ( ) F
(t) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) G
(~) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (C) H
(~) (t) (t) (S) (L) (G) (t) (t) (t) I
(~) (t) (t) (A) (U) ( ) (t) (t) (t) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

Silvia (Dragonblood) *DRAGONSKIN*
HP: 43/43
EN: 50/50
Rage: 0/20
Atk: 6
Def: 5
Int: 5
Spr: 4
Move: 3
Crit: 5%
Evade: 4%
Morale: (//////////)

Gaiden (Captain of the Guard)
HP: 51/51
EN: 50/50
Atk: 5
Def: 6
Int: 1
Spr: 5
Move: 3
Crit: 3%
Evade: 5%
Morale: (//////////)

Archer (Cadet)
HP: 42/42
EN: 50/50
Atk: 9
Def: 4
Int: 1
Spr: 5
Movement: 4
Critical: 3%
Evasion: 6%
Morale: (//////////)

Aurelia (Shadow Priest)
HP: 36/36
EN: 60/60
ATK: 1
DEF:  4
INT:  10
SPR:  5
Movement: 2 (+0 from Shadow Priest Profession)
Crit: 5%
Evade: 3%
Morale: (//////////)

Leilah (Nightblade)
HP: 46/46
EN: 50/50
Atk: 11
Def: 5
Int: 1
Spr: 4
Critical: 6%
Evade: 5%
Move: 4
Morale: (//////////)

? (Cleric)
Trigger Command: Talk
HP: ??/??
EN: ??/??
Atk: ?
Def: ?
Int: ?
Spr: ?
Move: ?
Crit: ?
Evade: ?
Morale: (?)

1 (Forest Troll) *BERSERK*
HP: 86/86
EN: 75/75
Atk: 16
Def: 0
Int: 0
Spr: 0
Move: 3
Crit: 2%
Evade: 1%
Morale: (//////////)

2 (Forest Pixie)
HP: 30/30
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 1
Int: 8
Spr: 10
Move: 2
Crit: 18%
Evade: 0%
Morale: (//////////)

3 (Forest Pixie)
HP: 30/30
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 1
Int: 8
Spr: 10
Move: 2
Crit: 18%
Evade: 0%
Morale: (//////////)

4 (Forest Crystal)
HP: 15/15
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 7
Int: 6
Spr: 7
Move: 0
Crit: 0%
Evade: 10%
Morale: (//////////)

(t) - Tree

(~) - Water source

(C) - Chest (Locked)

Player Phase

At Archer's words, Silvia looked over to Gaiden. She had a determined look in her eye, and whatever Gaiden was going to decide, Silvia had already made up her mind. "We have to help him, of course!" Silvia insisted before Gaiden could even reply. She gripped Dragonslayer tightly in her hands and ran forward, stopping just before the troll and she called out to the stranger, who appeared to be in a bit of a bind. "Hey! Get behind me, we'll protect you!" Just as Silvia was speaking, though, the Troll let out a great grunt, shaking the forest and drowning her words.

Silvia moves to G-5

A vein visibly popped on Silvia's forehead as she glared up at the giant troll. She could feel her blood beginning to boil again when the thing interrupted her. "Hey, lardo! Yeah you, I'm talking to you!" Silvia shouted, pointing up at the troll which was about twenty times her weight. The troll seemed to notice her and turned his head around first before turning his big, ugly body around with him. "You think you can just interrupt me when I'm talking! I'm not having that. Fight me you big lug!" Silvia bared her teeth, showing fangs that were sharper than a normal humans as she put away her sword and gestured to the troll, as if wanting to throw down in a fist fight. "I'll knock that potato of a head off your greasy shoulders!"

Trigger Command: Wrestling Match is now available for Silvia and the Troll! (Wish her luck)

Gaiden couldn't help but smile as the energetic girl ran off with the intent to go an save the man. His smile quickly faded when he realized what she was doing and saying to the troll. He gave a look over to Archer, "You heard the girl. Men, let's protect the stranger from the troll." His order, though not necessary, simply made their objective clear. They would protect this strange man and hopefully not lose Silvia in the process. In order to achieve this, however, it would be smart if Silvia actually had some back-up. Gaiden took up that role, readying his sword and placing himself directly behind Silvia, ready to catch her should she go flying.

Gaiden moves to H-5

Aurelia waits

She felt almost nothing from the source where she drew her energy, only slight tugs and pulls every once in a while. Once again she attempted to draw even the slightest bit of magical energy, holding her hand out in front of her. To her surprise a small, brightly colored orb started to form at the palm of her hand. It wasn't enough for her to use for her spells, however, and when she tried to draw out more energy the orb dissipated.

Watching the others go about with their tasks Aurelia remained still. With her unable to draw upon the ley lines to utilize her magic she would be of no use to the guard which could lead to trouble as Silvia approached the monstrous creature in front of them to shout and taunt it. She couldn't tell whether or not it could actually understand the girl. Frankly the troll appeared to Aurelia as barely smart enough to remember to breathe. "Be careful," Aurelia warned. Even though Silvia was part dragon and much stronger than she appeared on the surface she was still a young girl and Aurelia couldn't help but worry for her.

Leilah moves to F6!

The Nightblade stood eying the foul creature she had been so keen on defeating quickly. Despite the fact that, as she and the Guard knew, trolls often had terrible defenses, she knew that the thing had to pack a punch. The Guard's shadow was quick, sure, but certainly not strong enough to endure such powerful attacks should her speed not be enough. Throw in the facts that, not only was her invisibility spell seemingly blocked, but that Silvia had already engaged the beast, and to try and fight the damned thing appeared pointless. Instead, Leilah's masked gaze fell on the man who had retreated in order to avoid their main opposition; he would be her target, for she would go to his aid.

New Objective!
-Take out the enemies
-Keep ? from dying to the Troll

Area: Light Forest - Western Edge
Atmosphere: Thick Forest (These logs are sooooo thick, hue hue hue)
Soundtrack: The Lost Forest

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (?) (t) (4) ( ) ( ) A
( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) B
( ) ( ) (2) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (3) ( ) C
( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) D
( ) (t) (t) (t) (1) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) E
(t) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (L) (t) ( ) ( ) F
(t) (t) (t) ( ) (S) (t) (t) (t) ( ) G
(~) (t) (t) (A) (G) ( ) ( ) (t) (C) H
(~) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) (t) I
(~) (t) (t) ( ) (U) ( ) (t) (t) (t) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

~

Archer analyses his surroundings, becoming one with nature.

~

Enemy Phase

The troll, which had turned around once Silvia began speaking to it, did not understand a single word that she said. This was clear by the smashed expression and the low grunts that occasionally came from the giant beast. But if it understood one thing, it was that the tiny little girl was a threat. Even with a tiny brain, the troll's instincts could tell that this girl was no ordinary human. And much tastier-looking than the other puny human it was chasing before.

The troll drooped down and held out it's giant, three-fingered hands. It took in a huge breath before unleashing it in a tremendous roar. A tactic to startle enemies, no doubt, something that was surprising to see from something so stupid. It rushed forward and threw down both of its enormous fists on Silvia's head, aiming to crush her body completely. However, its fists were stopped, unable to crush the girl.

Silvia was holding back the enormous troll's crushing blow with just her own brute strength. She had called upon the dragon's blood within her to improve her physical capabilities, and that proved to be enough to hold back the giant troll.

1 moves to F-5

(1) activates Trigger Command: Wrestling Match with Silvia!

Silvia's Rage grows exponentially!!

Leilah is in range for a Backstab!

(2) casts Smite on ?! Reduces Spr by 30%!

One of the forest pixies could see through a dense collection of trees and saw the strange man and his cane-like weapon. The troll was chasing the man, and the pixie was feeling rather flirty, so it decided to play along and help the troll a little. The moment things got sketchy, however, that would be it. The pixie called for the forest magics and a green dart shot out from a tree to strike the man.

(3) casts Smite on Leilah! Reduces Spr by 30%!

(4) casts Slow on ?! ?'s movement is reduced by 2 cells!

A bright light shone from within the forest depths and surrounded the nearest human to the light. The light was blinding at first, but even after the light ended, there remained a feeling of lethargy, and the man's movements were sluggish. He was unable to move at all, actually, leaving him as a sitting duck. A moment later, there was another flash of light.

(4) teleports to B-9

~

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (?) (t) (4) ( ) ( ) A
( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) B
( ) ( ) (2) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (3) ( ) C
( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) D
( ) (t) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) ( ) E
(t) (t) (t) ( ) (1) (L) (t) ( ) ( ) F
(t) (t) (t) ( ) (S) (t) (t) (t) ( ) G
(~) (t) (t) (A) (G) ( ) ( ) (t) (C) H
(~) (t) (t) ( ) ( ) ( ) (t) (t) (t) I
(~) (t) (t) ( ) (U) ( ) (t) (t) (t) J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9)

Silvia (Dragonblood) *DRAGONSKIN*
HP: 43/43
EN: 50/50
Rage: 5/20
Atk: 7
Def: 5
Int: 6
Spr: 4
Move: 3
Crit: 5%
Evade: 4%
Morale: (//////////)
Trigger Command: Wrestling Match

Gaiden (Captain of the Guard)
HP: 51/51
EN: 50/50
Atk: 5
Def: 6
Int: 1
Spr: 5
Move: 3
Crit: 3%
Evade: 5%
Morale: (//////////)

Archer (Cadet) *[1] Analysis -3- (5)*
HP: 42/42
EN: 44/50
Atk: 9
Def: 4
Int: 1
Spr: 5
Movement: 4
Critical: 3%
Evasion: 6%
Morale: (//////////)

Aurelia (Shadow Priest)
HP: 36/36
EN: 60/60
ATK: 1
DEF:  4
INT:  10
SPR:  5
Movement: 2 (+0 from Shadow Priest Profession)
Crit: 5%
Evade: 3%
Morale: (//////////)

Leilah (Nightblade) *Smite -3-*
HP: 46/46
EN: 50/50
Atk: 11
Def: 5
Int: 1
Spr: 4----3
Critical: 6%
Evade: 5%
Move: 4
Morale: (//////////)

? (Cleric) *Smite -3-**Slow -3-*
Trigger Command: Talk
HP: ??/??
EN: ??/??
Atk: ?
Def: ?
Int: ?
Spr: ?
Move: 2----0
Crit: ?
Evade: ?
Morale: (?)

1 (Forest Troll) *BERSERK*
HP: 86/86
EN: 75/75
Atk: 16
Def: 0
Int: 0
Spr: 0
Move: 3
Crit: 2%
Evade: 1%
Morale: (//////////)
Trigger Command: Wrestling Match
Trigger Command: Backstab (Leilah)

2 (Forest Pixie)
HP: 30/30
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 1
Int: 8
Spr: 10
Move: 2
Crit: 18%
Evade: 0%
Morale: (//////////)

3 (Forest Pixie)
HP: 30/30
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 1
Int: 8
Spr: 10
Move: 2
Crit: 18%
Evade: 0%
Morale: (//////////)

4 (Forest Crystal)
HP: 15/15
EN: 50/50
Atk: 0
Def: 7
Int: 6
Spr: 7
Move: 0
Crit: 0%
Evade: 10%
Morale: (//////////)

(t) - Tree

(~) - Water source

(C) - Chest (Locked)

Player Phase

Silvia activates Trigger Command: Wrestling Match!

Silvia could feel it. Her blood was really starting to boil now that she willingly called for it to rise. Within her, she could feel the fire from her belly rise to her mouth, and could no longer stop the flames from licking the air anytime she opened her mouth. Silvia grinned, she was holding back the giant troll's heavy attack with relative ease. Who knew she carried this much physical power? Who could have guessed that, even only as a half dragon, her power could be so strong? Silvia was glad, otherwise she might have been crushed by the troll. But she was also frightened. Frightened by her own power. If she went out of control again, there was no telling what might happen.

Silvia began to push back, feeling the flames continue to lick away in her mouth and at the air around her. She was doing an excellent job of keeping the troll from crushing her. But Silvia had more designs than just holding hands. When the moment was right, and Silvia could sense a disturbance in the troll's balance, she grabbed hold of the giant humanoid creature and literally sent it flying backwards.

Silvia throws (1) to G-6!

Tree (G-6) is destroyed!

Silvia's Rage grows exponentially!

Rage: 10/20
Atk: 8
Int: 7

Trigger Command: Dragontongue Flames is available for Silvia!
Dragontongue Flames - Coats Silvia's blade in the fire from her belly and deals a three-hit combo to a vulnerable target for Fire damage on each hit with a chance of Burn.

"I don't think Silvia is going to need my help too much, but I will regardless make sure she and Aurelia here stay safe," Gaiden told Archer after witnessing the little farmer girl throw a beast about twenty times her own weight. He was impressed, but also worried. Not for the case if Silvia lost control, but worried that she might end up overestimating her powers. Arrogance is the seed of defeat, or so many generals before him have proven. Gaiden himself has taken it upon himself to abandon all notions of self-praise and pride in return for undying loyalty and humility. Many people have asked him how he has stood strong for so long. It wasn't because he was an insurmountable wall of strength, but his mental flexibility that kept him sharp.

Now that Silvia was really starting to assume the powers of a dragon, she would have to be more careful than ever before. Else she risks losing her life in a rather silly way. Still, Gaiden was impressed. Trolls weren't known for being smart, but they had incredible physical strength. Even Gaiden couldn't do what Silvia just did to that troll.

Gaiden waits.

Leilah uses Trigger Command: Backstab on (1)! 22 Atk Damage! CRITICAL!!

In the shortest of moments, Leilah found herself having slipped entirely under the gargantuan beast's radar. True, she had labeled the fragile-looking man her target and some weird lightshow was going on that she should have focused on, but such an opportunity could not go to waste. Dagger in hand, she launched herself at the foul creature the second it landed behind her, sinking her dagger into its fur-covered shoulder. And then, without the slightest hesitation, she was off again.

Leilah moves to C5!

The Nightblade had almost reached the man when a fluttery movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Cautiously turning her masked gaze toward the tricky little fey who, logically, had to to be the source of the light from earlier, Leilah's whole body tensed up. The fey were, after all, related to them; though she could not feel ice in her veins quite yet, she held no doubt that she might at any moment. For the first time, Archer would be able to notice the slightest of quiver in Leilah's shoulders.

For the first time he would see her fear.