Dragon's Nest

Conditions: On the run [+1 Movement; -10% DEF/SPR]

Wei takes 14 damage (Mangix; Weakness)
HP: 0/25

Wei Perfect Kill

Wei drops a Snakebite

Shang takes 7 damage (Mangix)
HP: 11/25

Shang evades Burn

Nan takes 4 damage (Heather)
HP: 21/25

Lao takes 5 damage (Orin)
HP: -5/25

Lao K.O.

Shang Instant Kill

Nan takes 7 damage (Ariel)
HP: 14/25

Nan is Immobilized

Gladdos cannot reach cell E-3; Gladdos can only move to I-3

Gladdos is healed for 8 HP (Gladdos)

Gladdos is cured of Poison (Gladdos)

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (N) ( ) F
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (S) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) G
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (M) ( ) (H) ( ) ( ) H
( ) ( ) (G) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) I
( ) ( ) (O) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) J
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) K
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) L
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) M
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

Enemy Phase

Nan waits

Nan is Immobilized for 2 more turns

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( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (N) ( ) F
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) G
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (M) ( ) (H) ( ) ( ) H
( ) ( ) (G) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) I
( ) ( ) (O) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) J
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) K
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) L
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) M
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

Spoiler:

Player Phase

Mangix moves to cell F-6

The group was doing fairly well, taking out three of the four escaping bandits. And the one that managed to avoid the group's attention at the beginning was now kneeling on the ground from the immense pain of having a dozen arrows dug into his legs. As far as he was concerned, the stolen goods might as well be back in the merchants' hands already. He still went after the bandit, even though he was sure to die from the two females already attacking him, it doesn't hurt to help secure the kill.

Mangix attacks Nan. 8 ATK Dmg

Heather
Hp: 20/20
Mp: 25/25
Atk: 7
Def: 4 --> 3
Int: 1
Spr: 5 --> 4
Crit: 6%
Evade: 3%
Move: 3 Cells --> 4 Cells

Heather moves to F7!

"Well, well, well..." Heather purred as she made her way over to the immobilized bandit. There was no where for him to run now; no place for him to hide. He was at her mercy now. Pulling a needle from his body, she delicately wafted the scent of his blood towards herself before dragging it across her tongue. "Mmm..." she moaned softly, a malicious grin spreading on her face once more.

"I want more." She whispered, eyes sharpening on his as she removed the needle from her mouth. With a swift motion, she shoved the needle into his neck forcefully, chuckling as blood began to spill and air caught in his throat. "Gasp, it makes this all the sweeter!" she snickered, twisting the needle around before ripping it out of his body.

Heather attacks Nan! 7 Atk Damage!

Heather
Hp: 20/20
Mp: 25/25
Atk: 7
Def: 4 --> 3
Int: 1
Spr: 5 --> 4
Crit: 6%
Evade: 3%
Move: 3 Cells --> 4 Cells

Gladdos looked at the battlefield. "Impressive..." That was a very good attack indeed. The only bandit left was way out of the Dream Teller's range and as good as dead. He took a deep breath in relief and looked at his felow spellcaster.

-Now that was a close one, uh? Guess luck was on my side after all, who'd guess?

Considering the fight over, he started putting his cards back into his belt pouch meticulously. Each one had it's place, and they had to be correct if he was going to have agility in battle. He stopped for a second to think about his Lesser Arcani. Two fights so long and he had no need for them. Luck again, probably.

-Now, say, that's a very interesting magic style you got. Do you weave the spells together or is that some kind of chain casting?

Conditions: On the run [+1 Movement; -10% DEF/SPR]

Nan takes 5 damage (Mangix)
HP: 9/25

Nan takes 4 damage (Heather)
HP: 5/25

Nan takes 5 damage (Ariel)
HP: 0/25

Nan Perfect Kill

Nan takes 7 damage (Ariel)
HP: 14/25

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (A) ( ) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (M) (H) (N) ( ) F
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) G
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) H
( ) ( ) (G) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) I
( ) ( ) (O) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) J
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) K
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) L
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) M
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

Victory!

Party loots 60 Gold, Torn Linen x4, and Flint x2

EXP:
Bandit K.O. x2: +4
Bandit Perfect Kill x2: +8
No casualties: +2
No Items used: +2
D-Ability used x1: -1
Not a Chance (No enemies even started to escape): +3
----------------------
Total: 18

Mangix
EXP: 4/10 -> 22/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 12/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 2/16

Ariel
EXP: 4/10 -> 22/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 12/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 2/16

Orin
EXP: 4/10 -> 22/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 12/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 2/16

Gladdos
EXP: 4/10 -> 22/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 12/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 2/16

Heather
EXP: 4/10 -> 22/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 12/10
Level up! 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point acquired
EXP: 2/16

Was somebody talking to him? He had heard the words as clear as day, but was growing rather interested in the information presented in his book. Marking his place and memorizing it, he closed the book and tucked it back safely in the straps on his lower back. He turned to see that the source of the intrigue had come from none other than the fortuneteller, Gladdos. An interesting style of magic? Odd coming from one such as himself. Orin thought his methodology behind magic was fairly standard, but his spells were definitely unique, he had to at least admit to that.

"It's a type of chain casting," the researcher explained promptly. "Weaving the spells together would seem more fluid, but in reality, it just causes a big mess. Chaining precisely leads to better results. Granted, I am only able to do this with the most basic of my spells, at least when it comes to casting them so quickly in a row. Usually more advanced spells with similar affinities as the basic ones can be chained together somehow. It is something I plan on accomplishing once I discover more magic." After giving his little rundown of how he did things, he felt satisfied that his answer was enough. "I won't even ask you about your own art of magic. I heard seeing into the future was a gift--something you could not develop on your own."

Gladdos laughed whole-heartedly. It would probably sound rude, but he couldn't help. It was the first time another spellcaster commented his fortune-telling. They usually focused on his weird spells and just considered the oracle a facade. That or just ignored everything and labeled him as some weird kind of gypsy. This land was getting better and beter...

-Well, maybe in this world it is. That would certainly explain how much trouble I'm having getting anything out of my cards, but the oracle is merely a perk, an unintended side-effect of my personal style of magic within my school's very particular magic system. Most of my coleagues would be able to obtain information about the curret state of matter and energy, but never future, and even I only have a vague accuracy. You can say I'm kind of a freak. That's why I'm the one who does the travelling.

He was very careful not to reveal anything about his magic style or system, partially because he wanted to see how curious that magic researcher would be, given that he seemed to live to look for diferent spells, and partially because he just liked being a dramatic showman. That's what you get when you train a boy born from gypsies to be a magus.

"A mere side effect? Interesting," Orin said, taking a mental note of what the man had said. "Where I come from, the gift of prophecy is something you are born with. Though it seems you're mainly just a practitioner of standard magic just as I am, albeit our magic varies greatly. I noticed that even if your cards do not accurately tell you the future, you are heavily reliant upon them for your spellcasting," he said rather flatly, and he didn't care if it sounded strangely observant for someone who had spent the last part of the battle with a nose in a book. He was a researcher after all. Being observant was a part of who he was.

"I am aware many magicians use objects to channel their mana like staves and bows. Perhaps your cards are used in a likewise manner?" The effectiveness of mana conductivity of various weaponry was a huge, huge study back where he came from where mages such as himself were bountiful. The standard staff was becoming rather mainstream, and though effective in its own right, there could always be something that could conduct mana in a more efficient matter. From what he observed of Gladdos, it seemed that the cards could conduct easily, or was there more to just that than met the eye?

The Dream Teller looked at Orin for a second, measuring his words. He seemed kind of air-headed even when on a serious conversation. Another side-effect of being a Dream Teller. Eternia's way of teaching was very unusual, but again, it's magic system was not usual at all either..

-Well, I wouldn't say I'm a standard practitioner. Among the worlds I've seen, standard mages used the same basic principles for their magic. The same values, the same power source. They just varied the system used to channel and shape that power. In my world it's the same, but not in my school. Eternia's technique is...different.

He thought for a little more time. It had been so long since he had that class, it was hard to explain again. Moreover, that was a class for a five-years old. It was overly simplistic, and he had to connect the dots as he grew and gained experience. Now he needed to combine advanced theory with the basic explanation to come up with a reasonable exposition for a scholar.

-My cards are not used for channeling either. In fact, if you want to be strict, it's like I do the oposite of you, in terms. My body and soul are the conduits. My cards are my spells. Of course a lot of the shaping and invoking comes from my mind, thus the magic circle, but the spells themselves are not part of me. - he stops for a second - the magic of Eternia is not based on manipulating mana, it's the invocation of the very Astral Sea that surrounds the worlds. It would be impossible to do that with a simple spell, it would require endless lines of codes and summoning, not to mention the rituals. What we do it combine a series of commands and ideas in a general concept, and let it take life. The concept is then sealed and subdued in an Arcanum. The cards are my Arcani. Of course, the invocation of one of them is still costly and time-consuming, but we arranged methods to go around that problem. My technique of projecting the magic circle, or Stage, is a way to save time. With the correct measures and sacrifices, we can use it as easily as a simpler mana manipulation. At a cost, naturally...

Mangix laughed as the archer checked him for injuries. Fortunately he wasn't hurt too badly that fight, and neither was anyone else now that the mage had healed himself back from the brink of death.

"Yes, these old bones are still fine." Mangix spoke then laughed.

By human standards, he was only eighteen years old. But by the standards of his own kind he was already nearing forty. But his age wasn't something that needed to be discussed, rather Mangix was interested in the technique Ariel pulled off earlier. The one where she pierced the bandits' legs with at least a dozen arrows when she only shot one into the ground.

"That was really something back there Ariel." Mangix said as he took another drink from his gourd, "I've never seen someone be able to do that with a bow."

"Using the very body as a conductor?" Orin spoke aloud, mainly to himself and not really as a question to Gladdos specifically after he had finished listening to the explanation. It seemed this man's magic was far different from his own. Orin may have well been speaking with a shaman, necromancer, or runeologist, for their disciplines of magic were also greatly differed from his own, each with their own quirks and necessities such as Gladdos's magic required Stages and Arcani, or so he gathered. "I'll say that as interesting as it all sounds, it is not a magic that seems practical in my opinion, despite you being rather adept at it. It must be the tricks of the trade, so to speak. I prefer something more versatile that can be executed smoothly, building my chains and calling forth the very elements of mana to do my bidding." He took a deep breath thinking he was getting too erratic, but his demeanor had remained the same throughout the exchange between the two magicians.

"In any regards, it was a pleasure being able to witness your magic in action, seeing as how I doubt we'll see each other again after we reach our destination. Speaking of which, we still have to get the stolen supplies back to the merchants," he turned, speaking loud enough so that the others could hear him clearly. That was the whole point of their pursuit after all. The merchants would undoubtedly be glad to see their supplies back in their own possession.

Heather dropped the last of the bodies to the ground, having finished her business during the time that the others spent conversing. It was obvious that most of them had likely gotten enough of her little 'display' the first time. Most people she came across did not wish to see such a... savage action repeated after it had been burned into their memories. Not that she minded, being left to her own devices was how she preferred things to be. However, when the topic of returning the stolen goods to the merchants came up, Heather seemed to want to shy away.

It was not her responsibility to return them after all, she had only helped finish off the ruffians for what she wanted. Technically her job was done, so she could run off into the woods again if she so chose. Yet for some reason she could not explain, she stayed standing there, wiping the blood from her face. She felt a strange need to follow up, and while she did not have a problem with it, it was not a feeling she particularly liked.

Gladdos smiled at the mage's comment.

-No, not practical at all, but it wasn't initally intended for combat or daily use. These things just...happened. Well, it was very interesting, talking to you. One of the most interesting magicians I've found in my travels, but don't count on the the obvious. Fate works in very weird ways.

Hearing Orin's reminder, Gladdos walked to the goods, intended on retrieving them for the merchants. He noticed the vampire girl was still hanging around. She could have ran away. It made all sense for her to run, but still she didn't. Atropos came back to his mind. "They were really right..."

He made sure to end up close to her when he went to collect the goods, looking at her with a casual expression, like nothing but a quick lunch break had interrupted their conversation.

-So, you left me curious with that talk of coming from someone. Edge, wasn't it? I guess if you decided to hang around, you wouldn't mind feeding an incorrigibly curious man with interesting information on a world foreign to him.

"Perhaps." Heather forced as she looked around, not wishing to stay focused on the strange fortune teller. Now she wanted to disappear, bringing up Edge again was the main cause. He was not one she liked to talk about, nor would she ever feel comfortable talking about it. "What would I get out of it?" She said suddenly, not realizing she said it until after it was out in the open.

Ariel smiled, a little humbled by Mangix's amazement at her abilities. She merely shrugged it off, "It was the result of years spent in nature. I'm what some people would call a Ranger, someone who tends to mother earth and gives thanks and praise for all she provides us with. A tree-hugger, if you will." Ariel laughed at her own statement.

Ariel gave a swift jab of her fist towards Mangix, not hitting him, but ducking down low in a crouch with her hands up. "Of course it always helps that I've been hunting game ever since I was old enough to hold a bow. It's been years, and my forestry abilities are top notch. You won't find more accurate and powerful shots than mine anywhere else." Of course her aerobatics weren't something to just sniff at either. Ariel was quite the flexible hunter, for sure.

Gladdos smiled. He smiled a lot, that's for sure. An apple doesn't fall far from a tree, they say.

-Someone to talk to? The company of someone who is not at all displeased by your, uh, feeding habbits? I imagine you are not entirely confortable with how unconfortable people are seeing you feed. Or, since you gave me information, I can owe you some in exchange.

That was a shy one, that's for sure. And vampires from both worlds became more and more different. Vampires from his world, magi from his world, fortune tellers from his world. Heck, even the magic from Eternia. He'd been thinking about Derri with great frequency lately. How many years was it now? Seven? He was not sad, that phase had been gone for quite some time. So had the excitement phase, and the curiosity phase. Now he was in a phase of not caring. Wonder how long this one will last...

Mangix laughed more when she mentioned her experience and skill as a huntress in the woods. It felt rather nice talking to a human that loved and respected nature so much. There weren't many of those in the world, in fact Mangix hadn't found someone like this in the past year of his travels. "Well then I suppose I should be glad you're not hunting me." Mangix took another drink of his ale, "As for me, I used to be just your normal everyday panda bear. Even I'm not sure what exactly happened to give me these human-like characteristics. All the people I've talked to about this either has no idea, or thinks that a spirit possessed me. So I'm going to go with that explanation."

"Maybe it was that ale of yours, hm?" Ariel teased, pointing to Mangix's large barrel that was filled with the mixture. It looked rather heavy, but Mangix seemed perfectly fine. Ariel could probably lift it, but not carry it around, she wasn't that strong. She was rather interested in his concoction, but couldn't really bring herself to ask for a taste. It felt like prying too much, and Ariel wasn't the nosy type of person.

"Anyway, we should probably be headed to where we promised to meet those merchants, don't you think?" Ariel straightened her back, stretching her long arms a little. She was rather tall for a woman, nearing 5 feet and 10 inches. Most of the women Ariel saw were much shorter than her, and she liked it that way. Sure, it was a bit inconvenient to have a large body when stalking prey, but Ariel had great control over her reflexes and movements that she could step on a brittle twig in the forest and not snap it.

Orin had taken a nice seat on the ground while reading some more of his book. The enabling of creation mana to deal damage instead of mend wounds or build defenses was astonishing--something he thought would be difficult to do under normal circumstances. That's when he realized someone had mentioned going on to return the goods to the merchants. Without taking his eyes off his book, he stood and walked towards the sound of the voice--Ariel. "So we're heading back now right?" he said casually. "The merchants are probably wondering if they'll ever see their stuff or us again by now." They were just a group of ragtag passengers anyway. Did the merchants have high hopes? If they didn't, they'd be more than surprised to see their stuff in the hands of those who had rescued it from the clutches of the bandits.

"What high senses of justice we all must have, hm?" he asked aloud to no one in particular. A rhetorical question, for sure. Why did he even go to help? Who cares. What's in the past is in the past.

Mangix nodded, "Yes, we shouldn't keep them waiting longer than they have to. They are merchants after all. To them time is money."

However fate seemed to want to slow them down as much as possible today, as a woman emerged from the forest. She had a very slender figure with her lower half covered by gray trousers worn over purple tights while her upper half might as well not have anything on it at all. There was a purple breastplate covering her chest and nothing else, even her back was left bare except for a tattoo of a spider. Her black hair was tied to look like two horns on her head, one of her eyes had a slightly purple glint, and she had a rather irritated expression.

"How long does it take for those dipshits to rob a few merchants?" she said to herself before noticing the group as well as the bandits' corpses, "Ah, so that's why. I'm not in a good mood to kill today, so leave the stuff and run along and I won't have to dig a grave for you."

Orin's face grew into a grimace of unbelievable proportions. Was she serious? He almost thought her to be joking, then everyone would laugh and they'd get this stuff back to the merchants. No. He knew she wasn't joking and that's what made things worse. "Stop talking out of your ass, lady, and go back into the forest where you came from," the researched said bluntly, waving his hand dismissively at her. "We've kept the merchants waiting long enough; I'm sure they'd like to see their supplies back in their hands." Orin was tired of dealing with trouble. Could he throw some more fireballs around? Sure. Did he want to throw some more fireballs around? Not really. This woman was not thinking rationally.

"Listen, lady, you're outnumbered. If you've got any speck of intellect in that head of yours, you'd know it was a hopeless fight. So go on. Shoo. We don't want you here," he continued on, giving her what he thought was useful advice. It would save her from having to be in a world of the utmost hurt because he had seen what these other passengers were capable of and taking it in all at once would mean utmost devastation for whoever was on the receiving end.

High sense of justice, huh? Ariel smiled from Orin's comment. It wasn't so much a sense of justice rather than keeping consistent with her own morals. If someone steals something, Ariel's code of morals says that he or she would be sentenced to death. Now, when the strange woman came into view, complaining about her men taking too long, Ariel immediately shot an arrow at her feet, purposely missing to catch her attention. Ariel still had 27 or so arrows left in her quiver, she wasn't worried about losing one or two of them.

"You better look out," Ariel said, wagging a finger after Orin was done. "Or you might lose a leg. Wouldn't that be a shame?" From here, Ariel was sure she could hit the woman's knee and knock it out of its socket easily. Of course, she wasn't conceited enough to try it. Tunnel vision wasn't a very good thing to have, and surely after Ariel's little stunt, that woman had none to speak of.

Sense of moral. Gladdos thought about it for a moment. It wasn't that he was amoral, but he cared not for such things. Having travelled as many lands as he had, one sees that there was not such thing as good and evil. There was balance. He tried to keep it in mind. Now, why did he help those merchants? Because they were transporting him. Because he wanted to get closer to the other passengers. Because he didn't like bandits. He wasn't really against theft, but if you are going to steal something, do it with some class. Any brute can club someone and run with their belongings, and that's precisely why he didn't like it.

Then, out of nowhere, some lady springs in and acts like she could kill all of them. And she was practically naked. What did she expect? To dazzle them with her chest? Well, maybe it worked for Orin or the panda, he wouldn't realy know. To be fair, he was more irritated from being interrupted in another conversation than anything else.

-Very funny, lady. Now, I know you are another bandit, but if you run along and let us return these, we may not do to you what we did to your men. Well, I can't promisse she will, though. - he pointed at the vampire girl - And while you are at it, go cover yourself a bit, no one wants to look at your things.