So you want to be a zako? (RP, Mentos Edition) (1 Viewer)

[Severity]

Minerva stares blankly for a moment before laughing giddily. "Oh you're really funny!" She said. "Harpies love hugs! Or... at least I do, I dunno if I can speak for all harpies. But I love hugs! Come on over!" she gave a big dumb grin and embraced Asreine in her big feathery wings. They were very nice, warm, and soft, and Minerva's medium sized breasts, which were also nice warm and soft, also smooshed against her.

Asreine kept blushing as she felt the Harpy embrace her.
It's... really, really nice.
She wraps her arms around Minerva, and holds her close. It's been a long time since she's felt happy and comfortable like this.

A minute or so later, when the hug is done, Asreine quietly asks Minerva a question -
"Um, that was really nice. Would you be willing to, uh, sleep with me?"
She notices what she's said almost immediately.
"Err, not in a sexual way, I mean! Just cuddling would be good... You don't have to commit to anything, just show up, I guess, if you want to."
She really hopes Minerva does show up. Even if she doesn't, having a nice, warm, fluffy, soft friend to hug will make getting through all this much, much easier.

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Asreine kept blushing as she felt the Harpy embrace her.
It's... really, really nice.
She wraps her arms around Minerva, and holds her close. It's been a long time since she's felt happy and comfortable like this.

A minute or so later, when the hug is done, Asreine quietly asks Minerva a question -
"Um, that was really nice. Would you be willing to, uh, sleep with me?"
She notices what she's said almost immediately.
"Err, not in a sexual way, I mean! Just cuddling would be good... You don't have to commit to anything, just show up, I guess, if you want to."
She really hopes Minerva does show up. Even if she doesn't, having a nice, warm, fluffy, soft friend to hug will make getting through all this much, much easier.

"A sleepover? Sounds nice. I make a nice pillow!" Nothing sexual happened when they did. In fact the silly harpy didn't actually even seem to notice the the sexual connotations behind any of the the phrasing. But she gets tired really quick and wakes up very early because "Early bird gets the worm!" as she'd say, so Minerva was up earlier and greeted Asreine with an egg breakfast before heading out. "Oh, um these are just chicken eggs. Don't get any funny ideas," she assured with a giggle.

Been a bit since the last update from Mentos, hopefully soon.

 

[RyonaGuy]

Zatrilla and Oola wander around the camp surveying the new faces that have appeared, including another female Orc Morella, the rogue is welcomed into the greenskin girl clique, Oola is somewhat restless and eager to get back into the heat of battle and spends much of the time pacing around the camp and training with her newfound mentor Li Ann whenever possible.


Zatrilla meanwhile spends most of the time following Moira around and assisting her with the menial tasks that the dark mage considers beneath her (which to be fair is most tasks) in hopes that Moira with throw her a few scraps of arcane knowledge in return.

Zatrilla also makes it a point to introduce herself to Minerva and lets her know that her orc friends don't much care for the taste of harpies so she needn't worry about her past experiences with other greenskins,

Zatrilla looks awkwardly at the harpy and says 'um, so... I know we just met but could... well... I'd like to take a few of your feathers if possible.....'



Morella mostly keeps to herself and gets familiar with her new surroundings and allies as she prepares to embark on this new chapter of her life....

 

[Mentos]

Miasma Battalion:
Soldiers: 10x Archers: 3x Rogues: 5x Mages: 4x Clerics: 3x Slave: 1x
BOSS: Marla (Dark Mage, ??/F) 50/50 (Level 10)
1: Lieutenant Amanda (Soldier, Claymore 24/F): 20/20 HP (Level 3) Items: Black Claymore +3 to ATK, Superior Elven Armor: +2 to DEF
2: Li Ann (Rogue, Kunais 21/F): 13/13 (Level 4) Items: Elven Daggers: +2 to Attack Rolls, Mysterious Elven Bracelet
3: Tyris (Soldier, Mace 28/F): 25/25 HP (Level 4)
4: Arastine (Soldier, Axe, Gauntlets 49/F): 20/20 HP (Level 3), Items: Elven Armor, +1 to Defense Rolls
5: Asreine (Soldier, Javelins/Shield 23/F): 20/20 HP (Level 3) Item: Elven Short Spear, +1 to Attack Rolls
6: McKayla (Cleric, E. Jewelry 26/F) 8/8HP (Level 3) (Spells: Heal) Items: Elven Jewelry, +1 to Healing Spells
7: Moira (Dark Mage, Magic Staff 32/F): 9/9 HP (Level 3) (Spells: Shadow Bolt, Drain Life) Items: Elven Bracelet, +1 to Attack Rolls
8: Tamara (Soldier, Martial Arts 27/F): 20/20 (Level 3)
9: Aura (Archer, Short Bow 19/F): 10/10 HP (Level 4) Item Acquired: Black Bow, +3 to Attack Rolls
10: Terra (Rogue, Axe/Dagger 27/F): 9/9 HP (Level 2)
11: Astrid (Soldier, Fencing Rapier 20/F): 25/25 HP (Level 4), Items: Elven Armor, +1 to Defense Rolls
12: Haggia (Cleric, 19/F): 5/5 HP (Level 1)
13: Oola (Soldier, Barbed Whip 22/F): 15/15 HP (Level 2)
14: Zatrilla (Mage, 19/F): 6/6 HP (Level 2) (Spell: Fireball)
15: Judith (Soldier, Spear 19/F): 15/15 HP (Level 2)
16: Capricia (Mage, Mage Staff 16/F): 6/6 HP (Level 2) (Spell: Fireball)
17: "Kiara" (Rogue, Daggers ??/F): 7/7 HP (Level 1)
18: Rixa (Archer, Longbow 26/F) 12/12 HP (Level 4) Items: Bone Longbow, +4 to Attack Rolls, Doubles as a Melee Weapon
19: Aria (Cleric, Poisons) 5/5 HP (Level 1)
20: Red (Rogue, Baselards) 9/9 HP (Level 2)
21: Beth (Dark Mage 25/F) 5/5 HP (Level 1)
22: Minerva (Harpy 22/F) 10/10 HP (Level 1)
23: Morella (Rogue, Axe) 7/7 HP (Level 1)
24: Hathus (Archer, Longbow 29/M) 6/6 HP (Level 1)
25: August (Soldier, Mace/Shield 30/M) 10/10 HP (Level 1)
26: Feira (Slave, 20F) 5/5 HP (Level 1)

After slaying Shara, retrieving their looted (albeit slightly burned/used) supplies, and even acquiring a powerful artifact, the morale among the Battalion is high. After much debate and a little intimidation, Amanda is "voted" in to lead the growing Battalion in combat missions. Although she doesn't seem the brightest and you're not sure she won't use you as a human shield, she's been with the group long enough and her time as a City Guardswoman does put her a step above most of the Battalion's forces, which consist mostly of conscripted peasantry and thugs.

With the group having ample supplies, Marla wishes to loot a nearby Elven Ruin that she'd received intel on. This ruin contains artifacts and weapons that the Elves find sacred, and Marla wishes to plunder these items before the Elves can salvage them, or even worse, one of her rivals serving under Toxin gets there first. As the dark mage begins to plot her next move, she suddenly receives telepathic communication from Toxin. It seems not every Battalion has been as lucky as Miasma. The forest is littered with the corpses of humans that have met grisly death at the hands of the Elves and their allies. The largest of these human forces, Acid Battalion, is currently being held back by a resistance force of powerful Elves lead by Princess Kia, daughter of the Queen. Any and all attempts to push forward by Acid Battalion have been met with crippling losses. Kia shows no mercy to these evil humans, and the moans and screams of the dying ring throughout the night.

With Miasma being one of the only groups to have pushed this far forward, Toxin orders them to flank around Kia and help their main army push forward. Marla can't refuse Toxin's orders, however the thought of helping one of her rivals greatly annoys her, especially if she misses her chance to grab some elven loot. Annoyed, she splits the Battalion in half with two separate missions. One group, lead by herself, is sent off to loot the ruins, while the other, lead by Amanda, is sent to flank Kia.

Mission 5: Loot the Elven Ruins
Difficulty: 3/5
BOSS: Marla (Dark Mage, ??/F) 50/50 (Level 10)
3: Tyris (Soldier, Mace 28/F): 25/25 HP (Level 4)
4: Arastine (Soldier, Axe, Guantlets 49/F): 20/20 HP (Level 3), Items: Elven Armor, +1 to Defense Rolls
6: McKayla (Cleric, E. Jewelry 26/F) 8/8HP (Level 3) (Spells: Heal) Items: Elven Jewelry, +1 to Healing Spells
7: Moira (Dark Mage, Magic Staff 32/F): 9/9 HP (Level 3) (Spells: Shadow Bolt, Drain Life) Items: Elven Bracelet, +1 to Attack Rolls
8: Tamara (Soldier, Martial Arts 27/F): 20/20 (Level 3)
9: Aura (Archer, Short Bow 19/F): 10/10 HP (Level 4) Item Acquired: Black Bow, +3 to Attack Rolls
10: Terra (Rogue, Axe/Dagger 27/F): 9/9 HP (Level 2)
11: Astrid (Soldier, Fencing Rapier 20/F): 25/25 HP (Level 4), Items: Elven Armor, +1 to Defense Rolls
12: Haggia (Cleric, 19/F): 5/5 HP (Level 1)
16: Capricia (Mage, Mage Staff 16/F): 6/6 HP (Level 2) (Spell: Fireball)
20: Red (Rogue, Baselards) 9/9 HP (Level 2)
25: August (Soldier, Mace/Shield 30/M) 10/10 HP (Level 1)
26: Feira (Slave, 20F) 5/5 HP (Level 1)

The trip to the ruins is long and sweltering, and Marla demands a brutal pace from everyone. She seems to be the only one in good health as everyone is struggling to keep up. Conversation is rare, with the exception of August yelling at Feira to hurry up. Finally, the group makes it to an opening in the forest that reveals the ruins, a large courtyard with stone pillars that lead to the mouth of the cave. Elvish runes nearby indicate that this is the sight of an Elven burial ground. This pleases the group well enough. Someone already did all the killing, now they just need to do the looting.

As they approach the cave entrance however, three armed figures emerge from within. Two of the figures, one a handsome blonde male, and the other, what appears to be his sister, are heavily armored, while the other is dressed in the robes of a mage. Interestingly enough, the two warriors appear to be Human, while the mage is an Elf.

"So, you're the assholes out here causing trouble I take it? Don't you know you bastards are giving us humans a bad name?" says the blonde male

"Don't worry Sheena, we won't let them loot the graves of your ancestors!" says the woman, blonde with a muscular physique and attractive face.

"Aster, Sarah...thank you. We'll stop them here!" - cries the mage known as Sheena

The trio appear to be adventurers who came to the forest upon hearing of Toxin's invasion. They're heavily armed and look way more powerful than the pathetic civilians you've been killing up until now.

"Hehehe, playing the heroes for your little whore are you? Good thing we're already in a graveyard, you'll fit right in." says Marla, as she orders her soldiers to attack.

Aster - (Warrior, 2H Claymore, Level 8) 35/35 HP
Sarah - (Paladin, Sword and Shield, Level 8) 35/35 HP
Sheena - (Mage. Level 7) 20/20 HP

As the group splits up to surround the trio, Moira and Capricia launch a Shadow Bolt and Fireball at the Warrior. Sarah swats both magic attacks away moves to protect her brother and Sheena, who begins casting a spell. Aster begins parrying blows from Tyris, Arastine and Tamara faster than most eyes can keep up. A few lucky blows glance off his armor, but he appears to shrug them off (HP - 5). He swings his sword in a brutal 360 motion. While most are able to get out of the way, Tamara trips up and attempts to block the swing. The claymore cleanly slices off both her arms at the elbow, and she falls to her knees screaming in agony.

Red, Terra, Astrid and August attempt to take on the Paladin and Mage. Red lunges with one of her Baselards at the Mage, but the blow is deflected by Sarah, who kicks her in the stomach with an armored greave. Red doubles over, clutching her stomach and trying to hold in lunch, only to have Sarah's sword connect on a downward thrust through her back and spine. She falls on the groundand begins to flop like a fish (Red has died)

While Red is impaled, the other three brigands attempt to strike at Sheena, who's finished charging her spell. Her magic staff crackling with electricity, she launches a powerful lightning strike at Miasma's backline of mages and archers. Marla blocks most of the attack with her dark magics, however Haggia was unfortunately standing a bit too close for comfort. The lightning rebounds off Marla and strikes the slender cultist. Haggia begins to violently convulse as 10,000 jolts of electricity course through her body, before she catches on fire (Haggia has died)

Sheena's attack succeeds in disrupting Miasma's backline, however Sarah is too slow in kicking off Red's corpse to come to her aid against the other two soldiers. A brutal critical hit from August connects with the Elven Mage's head, making a disgusting pop noise as it flies off. (Elite Kill for August)

Aster is too busy fending off blows from his own fight to notice. As he parries an iron gauntlet fist from Arastine and runs her through with his sword. The large woman, gritting her teeth, grabs on to the weapon with inhuman strength. Aster realizes that she's being healed by McKayla, but he's unable to retrieve his blade as Tyris slams him in the back with her mace, knocking him down (-15HP). With a loud scream, Arastine manages to grab the blade out of her midsection, and use it to impale Aster. (Elite Kill for Arastine)

Sarah, who's been on the defensive absorbing spells from Moira and Capricia, lets loose a cry of anguish upon seeing her brother fall as well. However she's unable to launch back any meaningful attacks and is forced to stay on the defensive, until eventually she tires and falls to her knees.

"You're...all evil..." the Paladin exclaims, her weapons falling out of her tired arms. "I...can't believe you'd do GRRRK" Sarah grabs at her neck, and falls sideways, choking to death. Marla, dark magic emanating from her hand, begins to approach her, taking a stop to look down at the whimpering Tamara bleeding out into the dirt. With a casual raise of her heel, she stomps down on the Martial Artists' neck, producing one last squeal and flailing of limbs. "So noisy". (Tamara has died)

The group steps over the corpses of the adventurers and enters the cave. The first room they find is dark and empty. A stone door lies in front of them, with a lever directly in front of it.

"Slave" Marla addresses Feira. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you hiding during that fight like the coward you are? Make yourself useful and pull that lever. Otherwise..." she trails off

Feira, with a frightened yelp, runs to pull the lever. A loud screeching sound erupts, as gears begin to turn and the stone door slowly opens to the side. Just as Feira turns around though, multiple blow darts emerge from the walls, pin-cushioning her. She lets out a tiny squeal, eyes-widening and tears streaming as she falls breathlessly to her knees. She attempts to remove the darts, however the fast acting poison sends convulsions through her body, and she pitches over to the side dead. (Feira has died)

"I figured as much. These Elves certainly love their traps don't they?" says Marla.

The door finally opens, revealing rows upon rows of elven gravestones.

"Well, what are you all standing around for? Get to looting!"

Choice for Moira:
Grave-robbing? Honestly, no one told you that this job was gonna get you this dirty. As you suck it up and continue your looting, you open one grave to reveal a long-deceased Elf wearing an ornate black necklace with a red ruby. As a mage, you can instantly tell that this thing is positively crackling with energies. Marla might want it for herself, but that bitch is already hogging all the powerful items. Would she really notice if you grabbed one?
A) Keep the Necklace
B) Give it to Marla
C) Write-in option

Choice for Arastine:
Your midsection has been fully healed thanks to McKayla, but it still does feel a little off. You think to yourself how if it wasn't for the cleric, you'd be dead right now. You begin to wonder if you might need more armor? Your thoughts trail off to those two adventurers. That Paladin was a defense machine and she shrugged off so many blows that it took all of you to break her. That Warrior wasn't as heavily armored but he was able to get in the middle of things swinging and send everyone flying. Both options sound appealing, after all with more armor you could certainly protect the girls better. Perhaps a change was in order...
A) Strip the Paladin (Will make Arastine more of a defensive fighter)
B) Stip the Warrior (Arastine keeps his Claymore and becomes more of an offensive fighter)
C) Write-in option

I'll post the other mission sometime later!

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Tyris hadn't really fought along with her commander before and was disgusted with what she saw. She inadvertently killed Haggia, killed Tamara when she lost her arms and became no longer useful, and sent Feira to what she had already expected to be a deadly trap. Except for Red's death, she blamed every casualty from this mission on their very own leader! She gritted her teeth, knowing there wasn't much she could do about it except for defecting, and while she knew she'd likely die if she tried that, that wasn't her concern at all. No, she knew that if she defected, the others would likely suffer in some way as well from the effects of a traitor, and that went against her entire motivation for wanting to defect at all. She could simply try to bash Marla's face in while she wasn't looking but she knew she couldn't take her all by herself and it would accomplish nothing. Whispering about planning a mutiny while in her immediate vicinity wouldn't be wise either. All in all, she knew she was strong, and a long standing member of the team, so the best and only way for now to keep the others protected was to keep on following her duties. All the while she chuckled, wondering when she grew to care as much as she did about the others.

Astrid had similar thoughts, but from a greedier perspective. Thinking someone, perhaps a royal someone, could steal the spot as Miasma Battalion's commander. She had a few people in mind she wanted to ask to help her once they all returned to camp. She thought that herself, Kiara, Aura, Tyris, and Asreine seemed to be the most likely to except, and with all of them she was sure it would be enough to overthrow Marla. Of course half the team was away right now and there was a possibility, as always, that they wouldn't return, but she had a few backup plans as well and bided her time, saying nothing yet, until the whole Battalion was back together. But the haughty cocky royal was sure of herself and didn't dwell much on the high possibility things could go horribly wrong.

Yes, I'm plotting a mutiny once the group is back to camp. Yes I know it has a VERY high probability to go horribly wrong. Yes, that's part of why why this option very much intrigues me.

 

[ViridianShine]

As a reward to McKayla and Aura for somehow surviving this long together, they can have this idea that I thought of. Incoming of another 'I write too much' session.

Astrid really picked a terrible time for this. Oh no.

===

Sweat drops from McKayla's brow as she nearly collapses to the floor, all her energy spent on healing the badly wounded Arastine. With Haggia lying on the ground, fried to a crisp, McKayla was now the only cleric until they regrouped with the others. What an utter hassle.

"Haaaah...may Naga's blessing maintain on you...child," McKayla wished Arastine off before turning to scan the group. She needed a bit of a pick-me-up in her usual fashion since Aura joined the army. But, besides Marla, herself, and the bodies on the floor, McKayla counted...

...6? Aura? Where's Aura?

Did she finally get herself killed? Did she finally escape? McKayla scanned the bodies once more but Aura was not one of them either. And nobody could have gone ahead alone either with that slave woman being turned into a pin cushion. She paused, recalling she didn't hear Aura at all once throughout the battle either. Marla should have fried a deserter, but she never did such an act. Did she care that little for someone she just recently bestowed such a prestigious weapon upon?

McKayla...didn't care about Aura that much. But, it still bothered her enough. As the rest of the group ventured further into the cave, McKayla wished for a reprieve from Marla and began to leave.

"You're looking for the girl, aren't you?" Marla asked without turning, as she continued with the group, "don't bother. She's busy."

Busy? You...you dared kill her? My property?

McKayla ran out of the cave, carrying her long, heavy robes along as she spun around along the entrance.

"Aura? Aura?!" McKayla called out. One, two, no response. She paused, listening to the wind ruffle the trees around her until it carried the sound of an arrow being shot through the air. McKayla rushed in that direction, carrying her back into the forest.

Though, she didn't have to travel for long. McKayla quickly came across the small remnants of a camp, hidden by a small cliff. There, two bodies laid bloodied and bare on the floor as a third woman screamed on the ground as another, younger girl stood on top of her. The arrow prepped from a stark black bow aimed directly at her head. The woman pleaded for not longer than another second before the arrow was driven straight through her head, silencing her cries permanently.

"A-Aura?" McKayla stepped forward, only for the green haired girl to immediately turn towards her, another arrow readied and aimed, "Aura, Aura its me!"

"...Huh? Oh, hi McKayla..." Aura spoke in almost a dreamlike, hazy state, lowering her weapon, "no, not this one. This one is friendly."

"W-What? What did you...what did you do here?!"

"Oh, this? It was just...a camp of...civilians? I guess they were civilians. Marla sniffed them out and sent us here."

"And you killed them? You?! You can hardly keep yourself from throwing up after accidentally shooting someone!"

Aura gave a lazy smile, "oh, don't worry about us. We've been prActiCinG, yOU KnOw? NigHt aNd DaY."

McKayla took a step back, startled, "what is wrong...wait, who is us? There is nobody else here!"

"...Wuh?" Aura suddenly shook her head repeatedly, "...oh, no, no. Its just me. A-Anyways, what brings you out here McKayla? Did you want me to strip again? I don't mind, but, we just did that yesterday..."

"Nononono, that's fine, that's fine! I, uhh, Marla...wanted you to...come back to the cave! Yeah, yeah. I was just worried you ran off or something!"

"Me? Run? Why would I do that? I'm just a lowly servant to my grand mistress Marla," Aura grinned again, "well, lets go then McKayla. If she requires us, then we should be off! Did Moira survive the battle? She wanted another session with me too..."

Aura took off in a brisk walk, leaving McKayla dumbfounded at the pile of bodies left strewn over the leftover campsite. And, from the corner of her eye, it was almost like the black bow was...attaching itself to her hand. Did she...ever drop that thing after the waterfall fight?

 

[Severity]

Oof. Poor Feira.
It... It hurts, it... it doesn't want to die...
And then she died.
(yes, she thought of herself as an 'it')

After he checks Feira's corpse and makes sure she's dead, August removes the darts from her back and removes the collar and tunic from Feira.
Then he approaches Marla. She looks disdainfully at him, but it's unclear whether it's because he's a slaving piece of trash or because Marla just looks at everyone like that.
"Ma'am. That was my property you used to open that door. I'd be very pleased if you'd replace it."
Unable to tell if she's responding well, he decides to add in a bit about himself and what he can do for her. After all, if he's useful, he's more likely to get replacements for his slaves, and that opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for him...
"Ma'am, I can break slaves for you if you'd like. You give me the ten most willful, rebellious prisoners you have, and in less than a week, I can give you nine slaves, broken for life."
He hopes that this (true) statement can get him in Marla's good graces, and get him a new slave too. After all, his favorites are always the ones he breaks himself...

Arastine attacked with the others, generally trying more to stay alive than end the fight quickly. After all, they significantly outnumbered the enemy - that gave them a significant advantage, even if the enemy was more skilled.
And they were more skilled, but not by enough.
When she is run through by a claymore, she snaps. All she cares about in that moment is killing the person who's done her in. She grabs the claymore and holds it, keeping its' owner from using it at all. She doesn't realize that she was being healed until after she's put the claymore through its' owners neck halfway to the hilt.
After the last of the three falls, she thanks McKayla quite a bit for saving her life. She decides to ask McKayla how to make an offering to Naga once they return to their base. As McKayla turns away, her words make Arastine laugh internally.
Child? I'm nearly twice your age, silly girl.
Afterwards, looking at the paladin, she decides to strip the armor and take it for herself. It looks like it'll fit pretty well, too!
Once she's done, she looks around for Red to see how she did. When she notices that Red is one of Miasma's dead, she shakes her head sadly and wanders into the tomb, looking for neat stuff to take.

Asreine is very surprised, in a good way, by Minerva making her breakfast.
I'll have to pay her back somehow. She probably eats the same stuff as the rest of us, right?
She's sure to stick close to the Harpy for the rest of the morning, and as much as possible during their march to help out Acid.

 

[Skinny73]

Moira's Choice

---------------- -------------------- ----------------------- --------------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------​

Moira shoved the massive stone slab that lay atop the elven sarcophagus, but it refused to budge. The mage let out a frustrated groan; she hated menial labor and the musty air inside the tomb was starting to give her a headache. Sweating with exertion, she heaved against the slab and slowly inched it across, until with a thunderous crash it toppled to the floor, revealing the ancient grave’s singular occupant.

Moira barely noticed the desiccated corpse, or the rotting remains of its once-ornate robe. Her attention was instantly captivated by the necklace that hung around the corpse’s neck like a noose. The necklace was made from an occult black metal Moira couldn’t identify, crafted to resemble a snake eating its own tail. It was set with a large, brilliant ruby, cut in a design that called to mind a single, reptilian eye. Without even trying, Moira could sense the dark power radiating from the gem and knew she had to have it for herself.

But how? Stealing the artifact right from under Marla’s nose was a tricky proposition at best. Moira carefully removed the necklace from around the corpse’s neck and slipped it into a pocket of her gown as she considered the resources she had available. Slowly, a plan began to form in her mind.

Moira scoured the crypt until she found what she was looking for. In addition to burying their ancestors with the magical artifacts they wielded in life, the elves left a number of offerings in and around the graves: flowers in airtight glass cases, beautiful jewelry devoid of any trace of the arcane, coins, musical instruments… and wine. Moira picked up a magically sealed clay jar, gave it a little shake to confirm the contents, and heard the telltale sloshing within. She carried the jar to a small alcove, looking around to make certain she was alone. Carefully, Moira opened it. The wine inside must have been centuries old, yet it still smelled irresistible. Perfect.

Moira dropped the necklace inside the jar and re-sealed it. Then she carried the jar out to the tomb entrance. Just outside, Marla waited to accost anyone leaving. The masked sorceress approached immediately, and Moira knew she could sense the dark energy emanating from the necklace. “What do we have here, hmm?” Marla inquired.

Moira dutifully opened the jar, allowing Marla to inspect the dark red liquid within. “Cursed wine,” she said by way of explanation. “No doubt our elvish friends left it as a trap for any would-be grave robbers. I’m taking it down to the stream to dispose of it.”

The beak of Marla’s plague mask rose up, and her eyes squinted suspiciously at Moira. “Why?”

Moira jerked her head back toward the tomb. “To make sure none of those idiots in there drinks any. A curse this powerful could do more than just kill someone. I’d prefer not to be trapped underground in close quarters with a werewolf or an ogre or gods-know-what-else, thank you much.”

Marla waved one hand dismissively. “Fine, fine, just be quick about it, will you?”

“Of course, Lady Marla,” Moira said, and walked off in the direction of the small camp the group had set up after the tomb was opened, conveniently located on the banks of a nearby stream. Moira would dump the wine in the stream, and then stow the necklace inside the small chest she kept inside her tent for the express purpose of storing magical items. The ironbound oak chest would mask the magical energies from the necklace, just as the elf’s sarcophagus had. Moira kept her face schooled in a neutral, almost bored expression, but internally she was giddy with excitement. Finally, things were starting to pay off.

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

As a reward to McKayla and Aura for somehow surviving this long together, they can have this idea that I thought of. Incoming of another 'I write too much' session.

Astrid really picked a terrible time for this. Oh no.

===

Sweat drops from McKayla's brow as she nearly collapses to the floor, all her energy spent on healing the badly wounded Arastine. With Haggia lying on the ground, fried to a crisp, McKayla was now the only cleric until they regrouped with the others. What an utter hassle.

"Haaaah...may Naga's blessing maintain on you...child," McKayla wished Arastine off before turning to scan the group. She needed a bit of a pick-me-up in her usual fashion since Aura joined the army. But, besides Marla, herself, and the bodies on the floor, McKayla counted...

...6? Aura? Where's Aura?

Did she finally get herself killed? Did she finally escape? McKayla scanned the bodies once more but Aura was not one of them either. And nobody could have gone ahead alone either with that slave woman being turned into a pin cushion. She paused, recalling she didn't hear Aura at all once throughout the battle either. Marla should have fried a deserter, but she never did such an act. Did she care that little for someone she just recently bestowed such a prestigious weapon upon?

McKayla...didn't care about Aura that much. But, it still bothered her enough. As the rest of the group ventured further into the cave, McKayla wished for a reprieve from Marla and began to leave.

"You're looking for the girl, aren't you?" Marla asked without turning, as she continued with the group, "don't bother. She's busy."

Busy? You...you dared kill her? My property?

McKayla ran out of the cave, carrying her long, heavy robes along as she spun around along the entrance.

"Aura? Aura?!" McKayla called out. One, two, no response. She paused, listening to the wind ruffle the trees around her until it carried the sound of an arrow being shot through the air. McKayla rushed in that direction, carrying her back into the forest.

Though, she didn't have to travel for long. McKayla quickly came across the small remnants of a camp, hidden by a small cliff. There, two bodies laid bloodied and bare on the floor as a third woman screamed on the ground as another, younger girl stood on top of her. The arrow prepped from a stark black bow aimed directly at her head. The woman pleaded for not longer than another second before the arrow was driven straight through her head, silencing her cries permanently.

"A-Aura?" McKayla stepped forward, only for the green haired girl to immediately turn towards her, another arrow readied and aimed, "Aura, Aura its me!"

"...Huh? Oh, hi McKayla..." Aura spoke in almost a dreamlike, hazy state, lowering her weapon, "no, not this one. This one is friendly."

"W-What? What did you...what did you do here?!"

"Oh, this? It was just...a camp of...civilians? I guess they were civilians. Marla sniffed them out and sent us here."

"And you killed them? You?! You can hardly keep yourself from throwing up after accidentally shooting someone!"

Aura gave a lazy smile, "oh, don't worry about us. We've been prActiCinG, yOU KnOw? NigHt aNd DaY."

McKayla took a step back, startled, "what is wrong...wait, who is us? There is nobody else here!"

"...Wuh?" Aura suddenly shook her head repeatedly, "...oh, no, no. Its just me. A-Anyways, what brings you out here McKayla? Did you want me to strip again? I don't mind, but, we just did that yesterday..."

"Nononono, that's fine, that's fine! I, uhh, Marla...wanted you to...come back to the cave! Yeah, yeah. I was just worried you ran off or something!"

"Me? Run? Why would I do that? I'm just a lowly servant to my grand mistress Marla," Aura grinned again, "well, lets go then McKayla. If she requires us, then we should be off! Did Moira survive the battle? She wanted another session with me too..."

Aura took off in a brisk walk, leaving McKayla dumbfounded at the pile of bodies left strewn over the leftover campsite. And, from the corner of her eye, it was almost like the black bow was...attaching itself to her hand. Did she...ever drop that thing after the waterfall fight?

Oh dear! On second thought Aura's off the list of potential mutineers, haha. Astrid's very haughty and overly confident, but she's not stupid so she'd notice the odd interaction, and also such a drastic shift in personality and take it as a sign that something's amiss and to steer clear. Also her projected mutineers aren't necessarily the final list. As said she's currently biding her time until the return to camp, when it'll be clearer who's alive and capable. (Not to say she won't end up asking someone who will refuse and rat her out because it's certainly a decently large possibility lol)

 

[Severity]

During the march to help Acid Battalion, Asreine decides that if the fight begins to go poorly for the detachment, she'll grab Minerva and hurry back to the Miasma base. After all, Marla won't be angry at her for surviving, right? Especially since the alternative was dying to elves while trying to help one of Miasma's rivals.

I really don't want to die now that things seem to be getting better!
Minerva dying would be really, really bad too. I'll have to be extra careful, and protect both of us...

 

[Mentos]

Mission 6: Flank Princess Kia's Forces
Difficulty: 3/5
1: Lieutenant Amanda (Soldier, Claymore 24/F): 30/30 HP (Level 4) Items: Black Claymore +3 to ATK, Superior Elven Armor: +2 to DEF
2: Li Ann (Rogue, Kunais 21/F): 13/13 (Level 4) Items: Elven Daggers: +2 to Attack Rolls, Mysterious Elven Bracelet
5: Asreine (Soldier, Javelins/Shield 23/F): 20/20 HP (Level 3) Item: Elven Short Spear, +1 to Attack Rolls
13: Oola (Soldier, Barbed Whip 22/F): 15/15 HP (Level 2)
14: Zatrilla (Mage, 19/F): 6/6 HP (Level 2) (Spell: Fireball)
15: Judith (Soldier, Spear 19/F): 15/15 HP (Level 2)
17: "Kiara" (Rogue, Daggers ??/F): 7/7 HP (Level 1)
18: Rixa (Archer, Longbow 26/F) 12/12 HP (Level 4) Items: Bone Longbow, +4 to Attack Rolls, Doubles as a Melee Weapon
19: Aria (Cleric, Poisons) 5/5 HP (Level 1)
21: Beth (Dark Mage 25/F) 5/5 HP (Level 1) (Spells: Shadow Bolt)
22: Minerva (Harpy 22/F) 10/10 HP (Level 1)
23: Morella (Rogue, Axe) 7/7 HP (Level 1)
24: Hathus (Archer, Longbow 29/M) 6/6 HP (Level 1)

While Marla was leading her forces to loot the Elven graves, the newly elected Lieutenant Amanda was leading her own mission. Gathering her own group of soldiers, she heads out in the opposite direction, towards the grounded Acid Battalion and the camp of their fearsome enemy, Princess Kia. Amanda flashes back to a private conversation she had with Marla, just hours before her forces left. Now that she was serving as her right-hand woman, she often found herself alone with the Dark Mage. Something she was still not quite used to yet.

"Acid Battalion is lead by a dark mage known as Magatha. A crude, senseless and perverse woman...and unfortunately someone just a step above me in Toxin's hierarchy." said Marla. They were sitting in Marla's private chambers. The dark mage was comfortable in her undergarments. She had a thin, lithe frame and small breasts, though her body was by no means unattractive. Weirdly enough, she still had that creepy plague mask on. In one hand she was holding a leash which lead to a collared Elven slave who was currently busy massaging Marla's bare feet. Amanda recognized her as the priestess who was the only one to survive Marla's initial torture.

"Still...that can all change rather quickly. Though it loathes me to lend that bitch any assistance, these orders come directly from Toxin, and even I must know when to fall in line. You'll be going in my place, however. I'd rather not lose any more manpower than needed helping out a rival, so I've prepared a little gift for your first mission as my "Lieutenant", heh.

Marla gestures to an ordinary black bag on her desk. The bag looks full, though the contents remain a mystery. As Amanda moves to grab it, Marla puts out a hand to stop her.

"Carefully now, there's a special type of poison in that bag. It's amazing, the things we found in that cave. Poison isn't my...specialty...but there's a girl in your group who'll know what to do with it. Aria I believe is her name. Give her the bag. There's a river that leads just behind this Princess Kia's camp. Or so my little pet tells me." With that, Marla pulls at the leash, dragging the elf priestess forward so that she can rest her feet on her.

"You have enough Elves in your group that they should be able to lead you to that river. Let Aria do her thing, toss the bag into the river, and then get back here. Make sure you aren't seen. These aren't the pathetic villagers you've been used to fighting so far. Now is when things start getting real dangerous. You have your orders, now don't embarrass me. Remember, this is a mission from Toxin, not me. If you fail..." her voice trails off. "Well...I'll be the last of your worries."

Amanda gulps and snaps back to reality. This was her chance to prove herself, she couldn't fail here! She'd given the black bag to that Aria woman. Her reaction to receiving it was...far from normal. She was practically swooning upon inspecting the contents.

"This is yellow paralt! Oh my goodness! I've only ever heard rumors about it, I didn't even realize it existed! This is quite possibly some of the nastiest stuff you can find, Naga help you if you get any of it on you!! And I get to work with it?! Oh boy this is my lucky day!!"

Weirdo. The group eventually finds the river that Marla had mentioned thanks to Kiara leading the group to it's location. The river lies just above a cliff where Princess Kia's camp is located, running all the way down and through their camp. If they look across, they can see where Acid Battalion's camp is located. In between both camps lay what seems like hundreds of bodies strewn around carelessly. Some of them have rotted and look like they've been laying there for weeks. You can't help but notice that the vast majority of them are human.

The group lays low behind a bed of boulders, trying not to be seen, however it's taking Aria longer than previously thought to finish mixing the poison concoction. As they remain hidden while the crazed cleric hastily brews the yellow paralt, Beth strikes up a whispered conversation with Rixa.

"Pssst, hey, I heard you're the girl that killed Warden Shara! Wanna know something interesting? Shara was super famous around here. She's been defending the forest for years! And rumor has it she was even lovers with Princess Kia! Man, can you imagine what that Kia girl would do to you if she found out you killed her? She's one of the strongest Elf Warriors in the forest. She can cut boulders in half without breaking a sweat!'

Rixa ignores the traitorous elf, however those nearby that overhear the conversation are certainly not put at ease at the thought of possibly having to face this foe.

Suddenly, a hush from Li Ann shuts everyone up. From their hiding spot, the group is able to see 5 Elves walking into view by the river. Each of them is armed, and they appear to be a wandering patrol from Kia's camp. Minerva, being a harpy, has slightly better hearing than the others and is able to overhear the patrol's conversation.

"The only thing these humans seem to do well is die. Other than their leadership, none of them seem to be impressive fighters. When is Kia going to break these fools?"

"You're right, but it's not all about skill. They greatly outnumber us. If Kia isn't careful, we'd easily be overrun."

"Most of these humans don't even seem like they want to fight...the way they were begging and pleading before my glaive cut them down. If we could just kill their leaders, Toxin and that other woman, Magatha, maybe they'll end up leaving."

"It's far too late for that. They've sealed their fate by entering this forest. Whether they were forced into it or not, I won't rest until all of their bodies are decomposing and feeding the soil."

Obviously these Elves were looking for trouble, however they hadn't spotted the group yet. Amanda signals to her rogues and archers to hang low. As the patrol passes by the elven rock bed, Amanda sharply gives them the signal.

2 Elven Rangers (Longbows, 25/25 HP) Level 6
2 Elven Fencers (Dueling Swords, 30/30 HP) Level 6
1 Elven Warrior (Glaive, 40/40 HP) Level 7

Rixa, being the quickest, is the first to take advantage of the sneak attack. Pulling the string back on her new longbow that she acquired from Shara's corpse, she pulls the string back and fires, hitting one of the rangers in the back of the head and sending her face forward, dead. (Kill for Rixa)

Hathus also connects. The giant man scoring a critical sneak hit on one of the fencers, sending his arrow through her back and launching her into the river. (Kill for Hathus)

The rogues launch themselves at the surprised elves. The Elven Warrior is quick to recover and brandishes her glaive. She easily parries Kiara's dagger thrust and disembowels her with her back swing, the elf falls to her knees attempting to push her guts back in, before eventually falling flat on her face. (Kiara has died)

The fencer is a little slower to recover and is immediately sent on the defensive, parrying blows from Li Ann and Morella. Zatrilla and Beth launch their respective magics at the ranger, who sidesteps them and pulls out her bow. She knocks an arrow and launches it at Zatrilla, however she misjudges the goblin's height. As a result, the arrow sails over her head and lands directly into the back of Aria, who had just finished brewing the poison concoction. Aria lets loose a gurgled scream and tries to prevent herself from falling face first into the deadly brew, however she misjudges her efforts and gets some of the stuff on her.

As the Ranger knocks another arrow, she fails to notice Oola sneaking up on her, and with a swing of her whip she disarms the ranger. Before she can attempt to pick up her weapon, she's run through her midsection by Judith. (Kill for Judith)

The fencer finds herself surrounded by Li Ann, Morella and now Asreine. As the fencer blocks a blow from Morella's axe, she finds her shoulder speared by Asreine, who drives her against one of the boulders. The elf screams in pain, however using her other arm, she slices the fingers off Asreine's nearest hand gripping the spear shaft. The pressure of the spear immediately drops and as Asreine goes to cradle her bloody stump, the fencer's blade slices through her neck, severing the jugular (Asreine has died)

The fencer's other arm is still useless however, and she's no longer able to effectively block Li Ann and Morella. A downward swing from Morella embeds her axe into the the skilled duelist's head and ends her life. (Kill for Morella)

The warrior with the glaive is on an entirely different plane of skill, as she weaves and parries strikes from Amanda. Just as things look bleak for the Lieutenant, Minerva descends from the sky and swipes her claws across the Warrior's back. The warrior shrieks and immediately turns around to kill the harpy, however Amanda is able to slice her arm clean off before the blow is struck. The Elf inspects the wound in disbelief, unable to comprehend that a human landed this type of blow on her. Her disbelief quickly fades into nothingness as the harpy's claws find their way through her throat. (Kill for Minerva)

Even with the advantage of a surprise attack, it's clear that these Elves were far superior fighters. As the group begins to strip the fallen for any belongings, Amanda goes to inspect Aria's work. While the brew looks mostly finished (As far as Amanda could tell), it seems in the heat of battle, Aria had managed to get some of the stuff on her. She was still alive, but it certainly wasn't pretty. Her hands were clawing into her throat, her eyes bulging and her face completely purple with foam leaking from her mouth. The poison caused her to thrash so much that she had actually managed to break her own back from the convulsions. It seemed the arrow in her back was the least of her concerns. Whatever Aria did to brew this thing, it seemed that it was the type of poison that caused one to suffer in excruciating agony, while keeping the victim alive. With Aria completely done for, Amanda does her a mercy and with a downward swing, cuts off the cleric's head. (Aria has died) (Kill for Amanda)

Amanda kicks the brew into the river, careful not to get any on herself. She orders the group to strip the fallen, and dig a quick makeshift pit so that other patrols won't find the corpses. She instructs them to throw the bodies of their own fallen into the pit as well. There's no time for a proper burial, they have to get back to base before more Elves arrive. She wonders if this will really work?

 

[Severity]

Oh damn, Asreine too.

Got her! Now, w- Agh, my fingers!
She pinned the elf, then the elf's counter took off some of her fingers. She fell to the ground in pain, and as she was using her good hand to support herself and trying to get out of the elf's reach, the elf struck.
Gkh... I... No, not now! Mother? Father? Minerva?
Her eyes dart around, looking for any friendly faces. But she doesn't find any.
She desperately tries to hold her neck closed, hoping that Aria will heal her, not knowing she's currently dying from the cruel poison Marla gave them.
Asreine dies afraid, desperately looking for people who don't see her.


"Hmm... I suppose. When we return, you may take one of the slaves around the camp as yours."
Back at the elven graves, Marla's response pleases August.
Later, when they return to camp, August grabs one of the elven slaves by her hair and puts on the collar he took from Feira. Then, he strips the excessively unlucky elf of her clothing, and puts Feira's burlap tunic on her. She notices the bloody holes in the back, and begins to fear that she'll be more than just a sex slave.
'just' a sex slave. This place, all this... it's really getting to me. I can't stay here much longer, I can't take it. I need to escape, as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, with this new chain on her at all times it will be a lot more difficult. Especially since the human has now blindfolded her, and is forcing her to walk... somewhere.

August is quite pleased with his new slave. She looks about 20, and with a very cute face and long golden hair accenting her tan-brown skin and a very nice figure (seemingly typical for elves, he notes), August is glad he picked her. Once she's broken, he can use her as much as he wants, then sell her off somewhere civilized and buy two or three more nice, cute human slaves with the profit. Definitely a worthwhile trade, he concludes, and begins his usual breaking process.


Hathus had plenty of time to come to terms with fighting for evil during his recovery.
I don't particularly like it, but it seems that for now, this is the role I must play - The disposable lackey of a sinister witch.
Not my finest role, nor one I care for. I'll have to see to it that I'm free of this before too long.
Hearing the later parts of the patrol's conversation, Hathus begins to wonder if the elves are much better than Toxin.
They are, of course. They didn't attack Kafra and enslave the survivors. But I cannot understand why they would kill those who are trying to surrender. Surely, they realize that at worst, they'll just kill the prisoners later, and their act of 'mercy' would be likely to convince others to surrender rather than fight. ...Do these elves truly wish for Toxin to leave, or do they simply enjoy this slaughter?


Mireille watches the comings and goings of Miasma with increasing dread. She sees August with Feira's old tunic, and realizes that she's got it very, very good right now. And that her continued good treatment is entirely dependent on Arastine's survival.
She decides to volunteer to fight alongside her 'owner', with the hopes that she can convince Arastine to desert to the elves with her, so she can go home and forget all this ever happened. She'll ask Marla. Just... maybe she'll ask that other elf who fights for Marla first. Couldn't hurt, right?
(Yes, I know Kiara's dead, but Mireille doesn't)

 

[Skinny73]

I drew up some new characters, but I already have a few and I don't want to discourage anyone from making new ones or joining up for the first time or anything. So if we get too many in the days before the next update, just put these at the bottom of the list:

Name: Elendra
Age: 19
Description: Gloria’s former subordinate in the cult of Nergal, who came to Mythra in search of her lost mentor. After learning of Gloria’s most inglorious fate, Elendra chose to join up with Toxin’s army in order to take up her mentor’s mission. Elendra is just as fanatically devoted to her god as Gloria was, and looks forward to sacrificing many elves in Nergal’s name. She is dressed similarly to Gloria: A pure white, hooded robe, but with the black cloth belt of an acolyte in place of Gloria’s white belt.
Class: Cleric
Weapon: Obsidian Prayer Beads

Name: Anko
Age: 27
Background: Banished from her clan for the murder of a fellow ninja, Anko has traveled to join Toxin’s Army in search of fame, glory, and the thrill of the kill. Passionate and fierce, Anko relishes the chance to find opponents to hone her skills against, although she also enjoys bullying helpless noncombatants. Anko disdains the uniform of her former clan in favor of fishnet tights and shirt, worn over a red tank top and black shorts, and allows her long red hair to fly free.
Class: Rogue
Weapon: Martial Arts

Name: Yoshiko
Age: 23
Background: Yoshiko is Anko’s sister, who chose to join her in exile rather than remain with their clan. Yoshiko is cold-blooded and iron-willed, but with a sadistic streak just like her sister’s. Unlike her sister, Yoshiko still wears the uniform of their clan: long-sleeved grey shirt and black trousers, with her blue hair done in a tight bun.
Class: Rogue
Weapon: Kusarigama, a metal chain with a sickle at one end and a heavy iron weight at the other.

 

[Severity]

After leaving the elf he chose in a small, sealed alcove in an unused part of the base, August returns to the main camp area.
Those nearby him as he walks can see that he's a bit distracted, and he mumbles something about worthless elven magic as he grabs a second torch and a kitchen knife and heads back to the alcove.



And I've got some newbies too. Same situation as Skinny with them.

Name: Millie
Age: 18
Background: The daughter of a peasant farmer near Kafra, Millie was taken prisoner by Toxin's army a week or so before Kafra fell. Her cowardice has prevented any meaningful actions, in battle or otherwise. She's terrified by everything that's happened, and would've ended up the same as Feira, fearfully hiding in the back, if she was sent on any missions.
Her short blood-red hair reaches her ears, where it was cut when she was conscripted into Toxin's army. She's an average sized girl, the main thing people tend to notice after her hair is her larger-than-average chest. It's unclear why she wasn't kept to be given to one of Toxin's subordinates as a reward for good work, since she'd be perfect for it, but she wasn't, so now she's here.
She wears a tunic and breeches, both quite worn.
Class: Fighter
Weapon: an Axe. Not a battleaxe or anything, a woodcutting axe.

Name: Eisenhilde
Age: 25
Background: A worshiper of Hel, a goddess of death, Eisenhilde has been devoting her life to the goddess for as long as she can remember. She's not particularly tall, but she's quite slender, and with her pale skin, sunken eyes, and jet-black hair she's somewhat unnerving to see. This is exacerbated by the vertical charcoal lines she has under her eyes at all times.
She wears indistinct, loose dark grey clothing that covers her body, arms, and legs. Where, exactly, one garment stops and another begins is unclear. She carries a crossbow and quiver of bolts for long range combat, and also has a steel-tipped wooden spear for melee combat.
Class: Archer
Weapon: Crossbow and Spear

Name: Cernya
Age: 21
Background: A strange woman, Cernya has always enjoyed causing pain and suffering. Equipped with a longsword she took from one of Kafra's defenders, she eagerly joined Miasma for a true taste of blood and death. Since then, though, she's mostly stayed at the base and abused prisoners. Her golden-brown hair reaches her chest, not quite covering the bloodstains on her clothes. She hasn't killed any prisoners, but given the fair-skinned woman's actions up until now it's only a matter of time until she does, probably getting off on the death as well. She's quickly converted to worship of Nergal by Elendra, though she doesn't have a very good grasp of the specifics of Nergal worship yet, so for now she's still learning the basic spells.
Class: Cleric
Weapon: Longsword

 

[RyonaGuy]

Zatrilla squeaks in fear as the intimidating elven archer fires an arrow at her but her expression turns to one of relief as the arrow sails over her head, then Zatrillas expression morphs into delight as Oola disarms the archer and Judith impales her with her spear.

Morella screams in anger as the skilled elven fencer kills Asreine and sinks her axe into the Elfs head with all her might ending her life, Morella roars in victory and decapitates the dead duelist, proud to add such a worthy foes head to her collection, Morella rips Asreines Elven short spear out from the headless body's shoulder and will keep it to replace her axe in further battles (assuming none of the other batallion members protest this action)


as the greenskin girls survey the carnage once the battle is over Zatrilla beelines for the fallen deadly elf warrior and fills a vial with her blood to add to her component pouch (Zatrilla plans to brew the elf blood, Orc fangs and harpy feathers she has aquired to make a potion/poison when she gets back to camp if the gm permits this)

Oola assists in looting and and burying the dead while making it a point to compliment Judith on finishing the disarmed archer so effectively.


Morella hungrily eyes her new weapon and vows to use it to avenge asreine....

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

"Wait..." Minerva said. "W-we can't just dump Asreine in the pile. Guys wait-" she protested, but it fell upon deaf ears with the others busy dumping the bodies. "I-I'm sorry I wasn't there for you back there..." she said, embracing Asreine one last time before grabbing her gently with her talons and lifting her up into the air before hesitantly dropping her with the rest.

"I heard you were the one who killed Shara," Beth says after already witnessing the execution and having a conversation with her about it earlier. She has the memory of a goldfish you see. (Just jokes, and It's perfectly fine lol, I just found it a little funny)

 

[RyonaGuy]

The greenskin girls feel sorry for Minerva and her loss so the decide to console her as best they can "we're sorry about what happened To Asreine" says Zatrilla solemnly "yeah she was a good soldier adds Morella.

Oola just looks at Minerva for a few seconds then embraces the harpy in a tight hug "we're here for ya, honey, us monster girls gotta stick together, Zatrilla and Morella join the embrace and let Minerva know she is welcome to sleep in the greenskin girls tent if she ever gets lonely.
They are also sure to tell her that Asriene would be proud that Minerva took out the tough elf warrior with her talons, and Morella shows Minerva the head of the fencer who killed Asreine "don't worry the bitch that killed Asreine got what was coming to her" says the busty orc rogue as she holds her trophy up for Minerva to see, Zatrilla spits in the face of the elfs decapitated head in disgust and anger

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

The greenskin girls feel sorry for Minerva and her loss so the decide to console her as best they can "we're sorry about what happened To Asreine" says Zatrilla solemnly "yeah she was a good soldier adds Morella.

Oola just looks at Minerva for a few seconds then embraces the harpy in a tight hug "we're here for ya, honey, us monster girls gotta stick together, Zatrilla and Morella join the embrace and let Minerva know she is welcome to sleep in the greenskin girls tent if she ever gets lonely.
They are also sure to tell her that Asriene would be proud that Minerva took out the tough elf warrior with her talons, and Morella shows Minerva the head of the fencer who killed Asreine "don't worry the bitch that killed Asreine got what was coming to her" says the busty orc rogue as she holds her trophy up for Minerva to see, Zatrilla spits in the face of the elfs decapitated head in disgust and anger

Minerva is actually quite shocked that the greenskins are as nice as they turned out to be. In her experiences with their people, they were mostly brutish and mean conquerors. These girls were all admittedly a bit brutish still, but were also very kind to Minerva in her time of need. She felt bad and realized she shouldn't have had discriminatory thoughts of other monster-girls when it bugged herself ever so much when people assumed she was dangerous due to being a harpy. She was still grieving for Asreine but was also very glad to have some new friends supporting her.

 

[Skinny73]

Astrid's list of potential mutineers shrank down from five to two in a battle and a half. Looks like she's gonna need to be less selective in her recruitment process .

 

[Mentos]

"I heard you were the one who killed Shara," Beth says after already witnessing the execution and having a conversation with her about it earlier. She has the memory of a goldfish you see. (Just jokes, and It's perfectly fine lol, I just found it a little funny)

Brainfart, I thought you made Beth after Shara died so I figured she would have only heard about it rather than seen it. Though honestly I haven't really been clear with where new Zako appear once created so let's just assume they've been their from the start lol.

I'll post another update soon, though since we're nearing the halfway point of what I planned for this campaign, I thought I'd take a quick moment to elaborate a bit more on the system I'm using to draft everything. I deliberately like to keep things vague to add a bit more spice to the RP. Almost none of your characters are experienced warriors, heroes or adventurers. They're ordinary zako, which means most don't have any combat prowess and might not understand the finer points of combat or how it works, such as why stacking 24 clerics in a party would be a bad idea.

For the most part, everything is pretty homebrew, but there is a guideline of loose rules that I've been following as DM.

Each character comes with a set amount of HP (that increases by a certain class dependent number when leveling up) and certain attributes depending on their class. Characters might have additional attributes dependent on how you build their backstory. A good example of this would be Aria being able to brew poisons, or Rixa being able to navigate a forest that the majority of the party hasn't been in. Minerva, who's a harpy and thus able to fly, would also have some special considerations.

For the most part though, characters start at Level 1 with little to no combat experience. When a combat scenario starts, I draft up a rough idea of the battle based on the current battlefield, and characters roll for attack and defense when fighting. Rolls are generally done on a d20 dice. Initiative plays a part too in determining who acts first. While this can vary depending on story elements (Mission 6 was an ambush, so Miasma went first), the general order tends to be

Rogues - Archers - Soldiers - Mages - Clerics

Rogues will generally be geared towards harassment/special tasks, Archers for long ranged attacks, Soldiers as a front-line fighter, Mages as a special backline fighter, and Clerics patching up any wounds that the party takes.

For the most part, Miasma will generally outnumber most enemies, which is a standard zako trope. On the opposite side, their opponents will usually be of a higher level. Opponents of a higher level get a bonus to their rolls, while Miasma zako can get a bonus depending on if they're flanking the enemy.

Leveling tends to happen when a zako kills an opponent or through a story driven event. If a zako manages to kill a boss, or "elite" opponent, they'll gain two levels. Aura gained two levels after she killed the Elf Assassin, and Rixa gained two levels after she killed Shara. Clerics are the exception, as they'll level as they assist another zako scoring a kill.

While it might seem like most Zako are dead in one shot (which does tend to happen sometimes), there's rolling going on on both sides. I tend not to post the roles because I find it's not very interesting to scroll through, and because it would be a lot more work and a lot longer of a post to scroll through (and these posts are certainly getting longer). This goes for HP as well, with the exception of boss characters (Shara, Aster, etc). I'll instead translate the rolls and HP losses via the story. Some examples of this would be the following

Shara swings her longbow, shattering Li Ann's right arm. Terra's ribs and Tyris's nose, sending the three girls flying.

This is a roundabout way of saying that your characters took damage, but not enough to hit 0 and die.

As he parries an iron gauntlet fist from Arastine and runs her through with his sword. The large woman, gritting her teeth, grabs on to the weapon with inhuman strength. Aster realizes that she's being healed by McKayla, but he's unable to retrieve his blade as Tyris slams him in the back with her mace, knocking him down (-15HP). With a loud scream, Arastine manages to grab the blade out of her midsection, and use it to impale Aster. (Elite Kill for Arastine)

In this scenario, the rolls dictated that Aster did enough damage to Arastine to drop her to just 1 HP. The clerics moved afterwards, and were able to heal her for her counterattack.

The fencer finds herself surrounded by Li Ann, Morella and now Asreine. As the fencer blocks a blow from Morella's axe, she finds her shoulder speared by Asreine, who drives her against one of the boulders. The elf screams in pain, however using her other arm, she slices the fingers off Asreine's nearest hand gripping the spear shaft. The pressure of the spear immediately drops and as Asreine goes to cradle her bloody stump, the fencer's blade slices through her neck, severing the jugular (Asreine has died)

Just as certain characters have different attributes depending on RP backstory, some of the Elves do as well depending on class. In this case, Fencers can attack twice, and this one managed to roll two 20s in a row.

Couple last points worth mentioning:

-This isn't Pathfinder or DnD, but a very rough homebrew system that's still being worked on. Right now it's more heavily reliant on everyone's RP versus what the dice dictate, so things are always subject to change. Aura's longbow brainwashing her certainly wasn't originally on the table!

-I'm susceptible to making mistakes every now and then. In a short time we've created a lot of back story here! If I missed something like leveling up your character or forgetting to add them to the directory, message me or say something in game!

-There's no limit to how many zako you can make or join. I prefer it that way since the campaign will only get harder the longer it goes on. Of the original 10 zako, only 3 are still alive. Certain zako will have better chances as they survive or gain new items, but even then it's not a guarantee. You're all zako, and life is highly unfair. As such, there's no wait-list. When you make your Zako, it's instantly added to the story.

-You're all doing a great job with the writing! This was all a very skeletal idea that you've all fleshed out wonderfully. I tremendously enjoy reading your posts and look forward to reading more!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out via PM or in-thread. I'll post the next update and Mission 7 soon.