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

[ViridianShine]

And thank you for hosting this! I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much when we started and usually never engage much in threads besides my own, but this has been so well done that its been exciting to get to each update. Its also cool to see that the 'walls' that some of us are posting result in rewarding stuff. Though, funnily enough, now that we're halfway through I'll also admit that Chantelle and Tamara were my favourite's and...McKayla and Aura were the two I put together quickly just to fill a quota. That somehow ended up reversing, lol.

I think I want to go back up to three characters, so let me just make the worlds lengthiest intro for one more character...

===

McKayla looked back around at the bloodied remnants Aura had left behind. It was still hard to believe she was capable of such...atrocities. Sure, McKayla had seen scenes like this numerous times together with everyone else, but Aura alone? It was hard to grasp.

Suddenly, she snapped her head back up from her thoughts. A sudden projectile and an approaching figure from the corner of her eye caused adrenaline to spike in McKayla's head for a split second before the attack slammed into her...

...Water? McKayla gasped and flailed as a torrent of water was blasted at her body, though not strong enough to send her tumbling backwards. The figure emerged in front of her shortly afterwards in the form of a small girl, her right hand raised straight towards McKayla with an open palm. The mage wore a deep blue sleeveless vest, buttoned through the top but opened along her midriff, and a similarly coloured skirt. She had long, bright, beaming platinum blonde hair so bright it was nearly white, and seemed to go every which direction.

"Hark, fiend!" The young mage declared, "are you the monster responsible for this massacre? Speak now, or I shall silence your tongue eternally!"

"Gah...no, no! I'm a cleric! A cleric! A servant of God!" McKayla quickly threw out, wiping the water from her face.

"Hah, a likely story! I've met a fair share of twisted, evil clerics more than once in my lifetime!"

"There are arrows sticking out of all of them, and I don't even have a bow!"

The young mage paused for a second, turning her head to look over at the bodies strewn along the floor, then back up to McKayla, "...soooo I can't blast you with magic?"

"I would prefer if you didn't!"

"...Well. Then let us start over from the beginning!" The mage pulled back her arm, and instead used it to strike some kind of weird pose with several different hand gestures, "my name is Micciliana Fortunia the Fourth, but you may address me as Micci. I was chasing after this blonde jackass and his gaggling girly groupies after they shoved me over and made fun of my magic. Can you believe that?"

Actually yeah, I can.

"What did you...do to them, child?"

"Nothing! They asked me for directions and I gave it to them! N-Nothing that needed that level of verbal abuse to my speech...or my spells...or...a-anyways, mayhaps you would join me, cleric lady, in my quest to exact vengeance on these evildoers-!"

"Oh, I'm, ah...a part of this group already. We may have already slain the individual you may be seeking..."

"What a turn of events! A welcome surprise! Why, I believe there is no further recourse then but to repay my debt to you and your group by lending my services as a mage!"

"I think you should reconsid-"

Micci walked up and wrapped her arm around the smaller McKayla, "so! Where are we going? Who's your boss? What kind of group are you? Are you a band of roving justice keepers? A cult bent on world domination? A..."

Unfortunately, this continued for some time.

===

Name: Micci
Age: 19
Height: 5'4"
Weapon: Water. Literally just water that shoots from her palms. "O-Of course I know other spells, the world just cannot contain their power yet! Besides, with water you can, like, make people slip up and fall, breaking their necks instantly! What more power could you hope for?"
Class: Mage

 

[Severity]

Mireille, escorted by Amanda and another Miasma member, is presented before Marla.
Having had some time to think of what to say, Mireille has decided to try the 'unrequited love' angle to join Miasma.
"My lady, I desire only to serve Arastine, my mistress, and to grow closer to her. She is the one being in this world that I care for, and for her I would gladly give my life. For her, and, by extent, for you, lady Marla."
Marla doesn't particularly care what Miasma soldiers do with their slaves, so she simply waves her hand dismissively.
"Fine. Don't catch my notice again, Elf, or you'll find yourself wishing you hadn't."
Bowing, Mireille thanks Marla profusely before she's walked away by Amanda and her assistant.

Mireille is now a combat character, and will use a War Scythe she found laying around camp.

August seems to be on edge. He's glancing at shadow, and occasionally muttering to himself. Nobody's seen the elf slave he took around camp recently, which is causing some of the other elven slaves to avoid him and leave the room when he enters it. At times, he can't be found either, and he's very secretive about where he's going. It's apparent he doesn't trust some of Miasma to not interfere with what he's doing to the slave.

Millie, meanwhile, is miserable. She's been taken away from everyone and everything she's ever known after seeing her father and one of her two brothers cut down by Toxin's forces trying to protect her. She hugs her axe, the last reminder of her past life, as tight as she can.
I don't want to hurt anyone, I don't want to die... This all must be a bad dream, a nightmare. F-father, Nicklas, they're... not really... no, they can't be. I... I want to go home, I...
And her thoughts continue like that, with varying degrees of denial, for most of her conscious time at camp.

Millie's crying at night has gotten on Cernya's nerves for the last time. She's been going around camp and asking if anyone wants to "Help her teach the worthless crybaby a lesson", and when the Miasma troops return from their missions she asks them as well.

After Red's death, Arastine goes around camp, talking to Miasma Battalion troops, learning names and asking if there's anything she can do for them, Mireille at her side.
If there's something I can do to make these girls' lives better, I have a duty to do so. They could be killed at any time, after all.
...I'll just have to take care of my own needs later. I've had a lot more time than all of these girls, and if my experience can help them I'll give them all I've got.

Eisenhilde seems to be making religious markings around the camp, dedicating nearby deaths to the glory of Hel. She's neglected to ask the clergy of Nergal if this is alright, though, so there's probably going to be a bit of a conflict about that.

Hathus is sitting in camp alone, making more arrows for his longbow.

 

[Mentos]

Miasma Battalion:
Soldiers: 9x Archers: 4x Rogues: 5x Mages: 5x Clerics: 3x
BOSS: Marla (Dark Mage, ??/F) 70/70 (Level 12) Items: Mysterious Staff
1: Lieutenant Amanda (Soldier, Claymore 24/F): 35/35 HP (Level 5) 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 (Stalwart Defender, Axe, Gauntlets, Tower Shield 49/F): 40/40 HP (Level 5), Items: Paladin Armor, +5 to Defense Rolls
5: McKayla (Cleric, E. Jewelry 26/F) 11/11HP (Level 4) (Spells: Heal, Shield) Items: Elven Jewelry, +1 to Healing Spells
6: Moira (Dark Mage, Magic Staff 32/F): 11/11 HP (Level 4) (Spells: Shadow Bolt, Drain Life, Summon Sjakes) Items: Elven Bracelet, +3 to Attack Rolls
7: Aura (Archer, Short Bow 19/F): 12/12 HP (Level 5) Item Acquired: Black Bow, +3 to Attack Rolls
8: Terra (Rogue, Axe/Dagger 27/F): 9/9 HP (Level 2)
9: Astrid (Soldier, Fencing Rapier 20/F): 25/25 HP (Level 4), Items: Elven Armor, +1 to Defense Rolls
10: Oola (Soldier, Barbed Whip 22/F): 15/15 HP (Level 2)
11: Zatrilla (Mage, 19/F): 6/6 HP (Level 2) (Spell: Fireball)
12: Judith (Soldier, Spear 19/F): 20/20 HP (Level 3) Items: Elven Glaive +3 to ATK
13: Capricia (Mage, Mage Staff 16/F): 6/6 HP (Level 2) (Spell: Fireball)
14: Rixa (Archer, Longbow 26/F) 14/14 HP (Level 5) Items: Bone Longbow, +4 to Attack Rolls, Doubles as a Melee Weapon
15: Beth (Dark Mage 25/F) 5/5 HP (Level 1)
16: Minerva (Harpy 22/F) 15/15 HP (Level 2)
17: Morella (Rogue, Axe, Spear) 9/9 HP (Level 2) Items: Elven Spear: +1 to ATK
18: Hathus (Archer, Longbow 29/M) 8/8 HP (Level 2) Items: Elven Longbow +2 to ATK
19: August (Soldier, Mace/Shield 30/M) 20/20 HP (Level 3) Items: Slaver's Beatstick, +3 to ATK, +4 against Elves,
20: Elendra (Cleric, 19/F) 5/5HP (Level 1) (Spells: Heal)
21: Anko (Rogue, Martial Arts 27/F) 7/7 HP (Level 1)
22: Yoshiko (Rogue, Kusarigama 23/F) 7/7 HP (Level 1)
23: Millie (Soldier, Axe 18/F) 10/10 HP (Level 1)
24: Eisenhilde (Archer, Crossbow/Spear, 25/F) 6/6/ HP (Level 1)
25: Cernya (Cleric, Longsword, 21/F) 5/5 HP (Level 1)
26: Micci (Mage, 19/F) 5/5 HP (Level 1)


During the looting of the Elven graves, Marla stands in the back overseeing the entire process. Multiple powerful artifacts that were buried with their owners were uncovered, including an ancient staff positively reeking of ancient and powerful magics. Marla was in the best mood she'd been in since she came to this stupid forest, and she couldn't wait until she got back to the temple to begin unlocking all the secrets of her new treasure horde. That may be why when August approached her and began complaining of damaged property, that she didn't smite him where he stood. While the thought was tempting, his comment about breaking in slaves captures her attention. It was a..."talent" that Marla wasn't completely accustomed to. She had inadvertently killed a few slaves during her experiments, and tended to unfortunately break them physically long before mentally. Someone with August's skills would come in handy...especially with the plan she'd had in store for the slaves back at base.

She agrees to his bargain, and has him get to work immediately. There's a lot to be done, after all.

--------------

Moira tries a risky gambit, and to even her surprise, it ends up working. Marla completely misses the magic artifact that the minor dark mage stole. She inspects the necklace for any traps or curses, but is unable to find any. Taking a deep breath, she equips the strange snake ruby necklace. Instantly, she feels a surge of power rush through her. Not only do her magical abilities increase, but she suddenly knows a spell that she had never even studied before. Gambling can certainly pay off every now and then...

+2 to Atk, Moira can now conjure a handful of poison snakes on a target 3 times a day. These snakes are incredibly lethal, and unable to differentiate friend from foe.

---------------

Arastine finishes stripping the fallen Paladin. Now that the corpse is nearly naked, she realizes she's unable to even remember what her name was, though she can't help but notice that she was an attractive woman. Was being the keyword, the ugly protruding veins and purple skin hue on her face made it hard to stare for too long.

The armor fit comfortably. Her thoughts land on her friends who had died so far. With this new armor, she felt like she could protect anyone from anything!

Arastine promoted to the Stalwart Defender class. +5 to Defense. Can give an extra +2 to Defense on allies she's in direct combat with.

---------------

Marla's group returns back to the base with all of their stolen loot, arriving just in time to meet up with Amanda's group, who'd returned form their mission, albeit with fewer numbers than they'd set out with. Miasma Battalion regroups while Marla sets out to studying her newly acquired artifacts. Word from Acid Battalion eventually reaches the Elven Temple via couriers. The Elven Base under Princess Kia suddenly came under a violent spell. Many of the soldiers fighting for her found themselves poisoned upon drinking from the nearby river, their cries of agony alerting the nearby camped Acid Battalion soldiers and tipping them off to attack. Princess Kia and the soldiers fighting under her who hadn't drank from the water source are forced to retreat before they're overran. They're also inadvertently forced to leave many of their suffering comrades behind. Those that manage to survive the poison would be either killed by vengeful Acid Battalion soldiers, or forced into slavery.

While Marla's plan worked, it seems that she "neglected" to inform her rival, Magatha, of just how she'd succeeded. Many Acid Battalion soldiers ended up unknowingly drinking from the same water source that the Elves did, and fell under the same excruciating poison spell. These same soldiers that had worked so hard to take the camp ended up filling rows upon rows of cots in agonizing pain, with Acid's clerics being unable to dispell the effects. Many perished in misery and anguish in the same fashion that their hated elven enemies did.

Magatha loses about a third of her soldiers in the process, and her battalion has shrunk considerably from when she first set out. She's fallen out of favor with Toxin, while Marla has gained favor. Upon hearing the news form the courier, Marla says nothing, but when she arrives back to her private quarters with Amanda, she begins to giggle uncontrollably.

"That Aria girl...what a fantastic job she did. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm really going to miss her. It's rare to find someone so competent...hahahahaha"

---------------

Word of the next mission has arrived. Kia's forces have made their retreat to Azelea, a large elven city second in size only to the capital. Toxin marshals her forces and whatever is left of Acid Battalion to lay siege to the city. While the Dark Sorceress expects the battle to be fierce, she has a plan in mind. Word from multiple elven slaves they'd captured back at Kia's camp indicates that Azelea has a secret entrance. A cave that leads into a sewer system underneath the city. The cave is narrow, with multiple winding paths that are hard to man and defend. As Miasma has proven themselves to be one of Toxin's more capable forces, they will have the "honor" of going through this sewer system during the siege, and detonating a magic explosive in a key part of the underground complex to bring down the outer walls. Their guide through the tunnels will be none other than the Elven Priestess that Marla kept as her own personal pet.

Marla gives her orders to Amanda to mobilize the Battalion and get everyone ready for the mission. Amanda will be leading the excursion while Marla helps with the outer siege. The battle is expected to be fierce, and though your chances at survival might be slim, the rewards are sure to be excellent. Hopefully.

Choice for Amanda:
This is it! You're finally getting the respect you deserve, and after you conquer Azelea, you'll be a hero! Marla orders you to get the troops ready for the secret mission that you'll be leading. You want to make sure that they're good and ready, but what's the best way to do that? Some of them seem nervous about the idea of raiding an underground sewer maze and detonating a large explosive...
A) Stick: Training drills! Beat them! Yell! Be cruel! Toughness breeds out weakness!
B) Carrot: Go easy on them. Going through a dark and narrow tunnel probably isn't the best time to make new enemies
C) Write-in

Choice for McKayla:
Aura's behavior is certainly unnerving for the most part. It's like her personality has taken a complete 180 since joining the battalion. You suspect it may have to do with that bow of hers. What would happen if you were to hide it while she was sleeping though...?
A) Attempt to steal Aura's bow during the night?
B) Don't get involved. If something goes wrong, you don't expect you'll enjoy the results.
C) Write-in option

Choice for Zatrilla:
What an adventure this has turned out to be for you! You've gotten your first kills, practiced your magics, and obtained enough powerful regents to brew your very own potion. The question is, what type of potion should you make?
A) Something for battle would be best. Damage the enemy!
B) Something to heal wounds could be useful.
C) Maybe something more devious. Watching Aria work certainly did inspire you...
D) Write-in option

Choice for Astrid:
You're not used to being treated like some smelly, dirt-farming commoner! You're royalty for Naga's sake! You'd had plans of usurping the Battalion for yourself, but it seems some of your prospective allies have met some...grisly fates. Still! You're a noble, and nobles don't give up!
A) Pursue your plans and begin asking people to join your side
B) Maybe put things on hold for now
C) Write-in option

 

[Henchgirl 29]

Amanda considers her two options, while she wants her army to be as tough as possible she also understands that these girls can only do so much. Once they get into the sewers, training or not, it's gonna most likely be bloodshed. In all honesty, her survival rate is probably going to be higher if some of the troops are willing to take a bullet for her. As such the training sessions held lean more towards the carrot side of things while still maintaining some of the stick.

In the time she has to prepare, she and her troops do close quarters exercises and are rewarded with excess food and drink in the evening. The daytime exercises are a nice change of pace for the troops who like the feeling of being able to fight without dying and although challenging these combat routines are very far from grueling. The evenings are filled with heavy amounts of booze probably due in part to Amanda's nerves, she's so close to becoming the legendary warrior she's dreamed about but even she has to admit that she's a little in over her head at the moment.

 

[Severity]

Once he arrives back at base, August begins instructing slaves as they build the necessary facilities for August's new work. These structures are largely pits in the ground to isolate the slaves for long periods, and a few things whose purposes are less clear. He's sure to tell the slaves that if they do good work, they will be exempted from going through the... 'process' that the things they're building are for.
He's probably lying, but it's the first choice many of them have had in a long time, so enough accept his offer that he has a semi-willing workforce for his new projects.
(This takes place at the same time as him torturing breaking the prisoner he took for himself).

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Astrid knows it's not looking the best, but due to her pride, she's still going though with her plan. She figured it was now or never, and as a "chosen ruler" the gods would be on her side.
Tyris-She first asks Tyris. Tyris thinks for a moment before agreeing rather assuredly. "You know, I've been living on borrowed time for a while anyway. If I die, maybe I can die finally trying to do something for the right reasons," she says.
Mireilla and Arastine-Her next prospect is Mireille, where she says "Listen, there's no way I can free the slaves since Toxin would still be the big boss, but I can surely make things a hell of a lot better for them around here," along with assuring Augusts methods would no longer be allowed, and urging that she try to convince Arastine immediately after to join the mutiny as well, despite finding it unwise to ask it herself. The two were often at each others side though so she had prepared to ask both nonetheless in case it was needed. She'd let Tyris try to convince Arastine as well, with her talk about how Marla is doing almost the opposite of keeping her people safe.
Millie-After that was Millie, who was afraid and didn't want to be there. Astrid planned to assure her that the only way to be safe is to help her kill Marla so Astrid could keep her out of the front lines.
Hathus-Then Hathus, who was heroic, and seemed to have a slight distaste for what he was doing. Again, she planned to assure this would change a bit with Marla out of the picture.
Mckayla-Finally McKayla, who Astrid had a slight lie prepared for. "You know how Aura isn't acting like herself? I overheard Marla say that she's going to put you in a trance like that next!"

Astrid's list of candidates were in order from the ones she considered the safest to ask, to the least safe. When someone might except, she essentially add them to her party, and take them all along to the the next candidate, adding a bit of a peer pressure element to it. If anyone threatened to tell Marla, they would simply hurry up the process and enact the planned assassination as soon as possible.

 

[Skinny73]

Elendra walked through the grounds around the looted elven temple that was Marla’s base of operations. Although the ancient stone structure had been taken and its occupants slaughtered long before her mentor arrived in the forest, she knew the temple’s desecration would have greatly pleased Nergal. Like Gloria before her, Elendra had received a vision from the death god of the desolation that would befall Mythra, and knew that it was her duty—and her pleasure—to exterminate the elves wherever they may be found. Elendra’s only regret was that, due to Gloria’s untimely demise, it had been so long since her god had received a proper sacrifice.

Beneath a great oak tree on the edge of the grounds, the cleric spotted a thin young woman with a crossbow slung over her back. She knelt before a decaying corpse, the remains of one of the temple’s defender’s. As Elendra drew close, the woman turned her sunken eyes upon her and narrowed them in suspicion. “What are you doing?” Elendra asked.

The other woman scowled. As Elendra watched, she dipped her fingers in a small, recent incision in the corpse’s stomach. Her fingers came away dripping with elvish blood, which the woman used to mark some occult symbol on the bark of the tree. “I am dedicating this worm’s pathetic life to Hel—a true goddess of death. As well as any other lives that may be snuffed out nearby.” The archer picked up one of her crossbow bolts, one tipped with a bit of coagulated elvish blood, and held it loosely as she glared up at Elendra. “You will not interfere.”

Elendra frowned. As a rule, she was not a fan of thinly veiled threats, especially ones directed at her. However, she had no quarrel with the archer. If Hel wished to nibble on a few decaying, empty husks, it mattered not to her or her god; Nergal required sacrifices with a little more… vitality. Elendra bowed politely and continued on her way, conscious of the archer’s eyes on her back.

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

On a flat, hard-packed patch of ground not far from the battalion’s barracks, a few training dummies were set up, part of the exercises Amanda had the battalion running in preparation for the invasion of Azelea. Here, Elendra is disappointed to find the newest disciple of Nergal. Cernya is practicing her overhead swing on one of the dummies when she sees Elendra approach. “Morning,” she grunts.

“Good morning, Cernya,” Elendra returns her greeting. “I trust you have been studying the sacred texts I shared with you, like I asked?”

“Course I have,” Cernya grunts, as her iron longsword thuds into the dummy. “For a little while.” Thud. “Then I came here.” Thud. “Reading always—” Thud. “Gives me headaches.” Cernya pants with exertion, her body glistening with sweat. Cernya sheathes her sword and, to Elendra’s relief, picks her shirt up off the ground and slips it back on. “I was hoping to blow off a little steam, give that whiny bitch Millie something to cry about. But when I saw her, she had a couple others with’er. Arastine and that elf, what’s-her-name. I bet they were gettin’ ready to make a Millie sandwich, heh.”

“Right, forget about that,” Elendra said. “At least tell me you managed to duplicate the spell I showed you.”

Cernya gave her only a half-abashed scowl in response. Elendra sighed. “Dammit, I was afraid this might happen.” She grabbed Cernya by the arm. “Come with me.”

“Whoa, hold up! Where we going?” Cernya asked.

“To teach you magic,” Elendra said. “You have passion, Cernya, and I admire that, but Nergal demands more from us than mere bloodlust.”

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

From her perch on the roof, Anko studied the group of women huddled together in the shadow of the building. In an out-of-the-way alcove, Astrid, Tyris, Mireilla, Arastine, and Millie were having an animated discussion. And although the exact details were not yet clear, Anko had seen Astrid’s mouth form the word “Marla” several times. When fighters of any kind, let alone fighters from a nasty outfit like this, meet in private to discuss their commander, exciting things were bound to happen. The outcast ninja grinned and prepared to rise to her feet, when a woman’s voice spoke less than a foot from her ear: “No, Anko.”

Anko jumped out of her skin and nearly went plummeting off the edge of the temple. Once she had regained her balance, she shot her little sister a dirty look. “You do that just to irritate me, don’t you?”

“No, I do it to keep you from becoming complacent,” Yoshiko responded. “We’re not joining them.”

“Who said ‘we’ were doing anything? Or that there’s even a ‘them’ to join? For all you know, they could be down there discussing cookie recipes.”

The blue-haired woman gave Anko an even look. “Brigands do not collude to learn new cookie recipes. And that jumped-up little aristocrat is too spoiled to know how to cook anything.”

“Aww, c’mon. You’re not still mad at Astrid for showing you up in the exercises, are ya? It’s not your fault your weapon isn’t the best in tight spaces. Unlike these babies.” Anko wiggled her fingers in her little sister’s face.

Yoshiko refused to dignify that with a response. “Whatever they’re plotting down there, it’s going to be dangerous at best, suicidal at worst. We haven’t made any enemies here so far; now is not the time to start.”

“But I’m so bored!” The redhead whined. Yoshiko rolled her eyes.

“Then find some other way to entertain yourself,” she said as she stood to leave. “I’m sure your ‘little babies’ could help in that department.”

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

When Elendra found her sitting next to the small campfire outside what were known as the ‘greenskin girls’ tents—those belonging to Oola, Zatrilla, and Morella—Moira was chatting with the battalion’s only goblin regarding the latter’s alchemical options. “If you want my advice, I’d suggest brewing up something devious, something subtle… I love a good fireball as much as the next gal, of course, but when it comes to raw power, you and I both have that in spades. Perhaps a cloud of poison that affects the brain and causes our foes to turn on each other, or blindness, or shuts down hostile magic? Really darling, the sky’s the—” Moira broke off as Elendra approached, dragging Cernya behind her. “Oh. Good evening. Can I… help you?”

“Yes,” Elendra stated bluntly. “I need you to help me tutor this one.”

Moira nodded. “I see. And why, exactly, would I want to do that?”

“Because in a few days, the battalion is going to walk into a meat grinder. And when we do, I assume you would prefer to have a cleric with you who can heal you, as opposed to one who cannot?”

“Oh, that’s right, just spread that around the whole camp,” Cernya grumbled. “Write it in the sky in 50-foot letters with yer fancy cleric spells, why don’t ya?”

Moira blinked, slowly. “She… can’t cast healing spells? I’m sorry, I… I thought that’s what you had to be able to do to be a cleric?”

Zatrilla let out a giggle that was cut short by a venomous look from Cernya. Elendra sighed. “Look, Cernya is… new to the faith. And I cannot find McKayla anywhere. Are you willing to help or not?”

Moira let out a long-suffering sigh and stood. “Oh, very well. I suppose, for the good of the battalion, I must lend my expertise. I warn you though: ‘Willing’ in this case does not necessarily translate into ‘able.’ To tell the truth, I’m a little fuzzy on exactly how clerical magic works myself.”

“I don’t know any more about it than you do,” Zatrilla piped up, “but I’d be willing to give it a shot if you need me.” Elendra was about to accept the goblin's offer, but Moira cut her off.

“No, darling, thank you. You are very kind, but you also have your own preparations to make for the battle ahead, and I wouldn’t want to distract you from them.” Moira turned back to the two disciples of Nergal and gave them her best inscrutable smirk. “Well ladies… after you.”

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​

So, if it’s okay with Severity and Mentos, I’d like for Elendra and Moira to spend the time before the battle tutoring Cernya, so that she can learn at least one spell (Healing or otherwise) before the big upcoming battle? If it was just an oversight and Cernya actually already does know how to heal, then you can ignore all this I guess, lol.

Also, if Moira dies I would like her shiny snake necklace to go to Zatrilla.

Also, I'm sorry if I'm using anyone's characters in a way that they don't want them to be used. I'm new to the whole roleplaying thing and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

**Edited to fix a few things**

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Also, I'm sorry if I'm using anyone's characters in a way that they don't want them to be used. I'm new to the whole roleplaying thing and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

Don't know what others would say but personally I think you need a slight element of that for this specific kind of thread where it's rare to be able to properly back and forth with someone and as long as it can be easily sorted with a "I don't think my character would do/say that" and an, "Oh apologies, I'll redact that part then," then I would think at least that it's reasonable.

 

[Severity]

“I am dedicating this worm’s pathetic life to Hel—the true goddess of death. As well as any other lives that may be snuffed out nearby.”

Eisenhilde is of the opinion that there can be many deities with overlapping or identical domains, she just happens to like her own more and can be somewhat rude about it. So,
“I am dedicating this worm’s pathetic life to Hel—a true goddess of death.”
After all, if there are many gods, why wouldn't those people over there genuinely have different ones than you? Especially if they can all use magic in their gods' name.

Cernya most definitely does not currently know how to heal anyone, and so while she's far too proud to admit it she's grateful that she's getting some dedicated instruction in how to cast spells.

After carefully listening to Astrid's proposal, Mireille takes several seconds to think. Then she replies:
"If, and only if, you can get a few more combat-tested people to join, I will join. I don't want to go into a fight with Marla fewer than five on one. I'll see if I can tip Arastine in your favor, though."

Later, Arastine is asked by Mireille about her answer to Astrid's question. At the time, she'd simply said she'd need some time to consider.
"Like I told Astrid, I'm still thinking about it. I don't want to act impulsively, especially with something that has this much possibility to go wrong."
Mireille tries to think of something to say, but after a few seconds she just nods.

Millie, being a rural peasant, is quite ignorant of most things royalty, including the fact that they can be deposed, or that sometimes they should be deposed. This leads her to meekly, almost inaudibly, agree to Astrid's request. She immediately goes back to sadly hugging her axe and staring at the floor, though, so she probably won't be much actual help, and her main combat utility may be absorbing a lethal spell.

Hathus tilts his head when Astrid explains her proposal, and has an immediate reply.
"Do you really think that Toxin will accept you as Marla's replacement? She must have some reason to choose Marla as one of her students, and I doubt she'd be particularly pleased if an upstart princess and her friends killed one of her better performing students."
Seeing the angry look on Astrid's face, he attempts to pacify her a bit.
"No offense meant, of course. I simply believe that we'd be better off convincing Marla that an army with something to fight for, for example, our freedom, fights better than one with nothing to gain."
He half-smiles at her, then goes back to making his arrows.

 

[ViridianShine]

Also, I'm sorry if I'm using anyone's characters in a way that they don't want them to be used. I'm new to the whole roleplaying thing and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

I was surprised when you wrote Aura entirely at the start, since I wasn't used to that in RP, but I agree with Dino that just taking the character in this setting was a lot easier than trying to do a back and forth. Besides, you wrote her well anyway, so I had no complaints.

Might use Moira a little bit for my decision later.

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Astrid grumbled, "Stupid Arastine. We don't have time to think! If only her and Mireille joined we would have five!" She'd never talk like this to their faces of course, only in private. Slightly beginning to understand their concerns though, she hopes McKayla might accept, and scribbles Rixa onto the end of her list, seeing as she's someone who doesn't have much to lose. Afterward she'd planned to go back to Mireille and Arastine, this time having Tyris speak to them since Astrid admitted she was no good at appealing to those two. After that, they'd fight, no matter how big or small their party turns out to be, because as Tyris told Astrid, "One isn't gonna survive much longer afterward anyway if Marla ever catches the slightest wind of what we had planned. Or worse, she'll do to us, whatever she did to Aura."

Tyris meanwhile contemplates Hathus' words for a short time but quickly realizes, "Convincing her of something? HER? That's never going to happen. That bloke is outta his mind if he thinks that's possible... Well, we're outta our minds too tryna fight her, but still."

 

[Gunsmith12]

So the emails that tell be about watched threads haven't been coming through! I'll make someone to replace aria sometime after I read about her death, since I'm about three pages behind.

 

[ViridianShine]

Choice for McKayla:
Aura's behavior is certainly unnerving for the most part. It's like her personality has taken a complete 180 since joining the battalion. You suspect it may have to do with that bow of hers. What would happen if you were to hide it while she was sleeping though...?
A) Attempt to steal Aura's bow during the night?
B) Don't get involved. If something goes wrong, you don't expect you'll enjoy the results.
C) Write-in option

It started with a growing fetish.

A tap on an open wound, just to see their reaction. A pinch on the wrong spot, just to make them squeak. McKayla began with genuine intentions, and the need to help others. But her addictive new habit quickly overtook her. She didn’t even know herself what she found so absolutely fun with it; she just liked doing it.

But of course, one day she went too far, and her distraught patient decried her actions. Upset from the loss of her profession from this urge, she looked to the church for guidance and for help. It was here where she received the two star-shaped earrings she always wears. With them, a soft gravity spell could be cast with a physical touch, meant to help calm and still a distraught patient in turbulent times. Never for combat.
Those urges never went away. Suppressed under the guise of religion, she relished the opportunity to enter the field of war, where all immoral acts were justified in the eyes of battle.

That was what she told herself, but her gentle half still called out inside her. The half that only desired to heal and ensure that all would be safe from the thought of loss. Perhaps it was that half that brought her into this room, on this moonlit night.

McKayla stared at Aura’s sleeping figure, the moonlit glistening off her star shaped earrings. She knew the consequences. The effect this would have on her. But her desires dragged Aura into this fight, and though maybe she couldn’t protect her through the whole war, she can at least help her win this one.

McKayla reached down and took a closer look. The bow was still firmly in Aura’s grasp, even as she slept, and upon closer inspection, the woven wicks of its handle had slowly stretched up Aura’s right hand, wrapping around it like a parasite. She only had to grab the bow, then she would be done-

Aura’s eyes snapped open. Her body jolted upright like a doll, as her head tilted towards McKayla. The cleric’s heart jumped, as she stumbled backwards.

“McKayla? You desire such actions again?” Aura spoke with a scathing tone, rising from her bed. Her friend emitted a strong aura, but McKayla shakingly held her ground.

“I’m here for my friend,” McKayla shot back at the person opposite her. It only caused Aura to laugh.

“Friend? You mean your slave? Your fetish object? Does it hurt that much for me to have finally grown a backbone, McKayla?” Aura questioned, her head tilting.

“No. I meant my friend. And you are not her-!” McKayla reached out, trying to grab Aura, but the other girl quickly sidestepped out of the way. Punishing her poorly thought out plan, Aura quickly wrapped around McKayla’s back and locked the other girl in a hold.

“Agh-!” McKayla winced. Though, now with physical contact she quickly activated her earrings. The pieces of jewellery shining an even brighter shine of white as they twinkled. But, to her shock and dismay, Aura barely flinched.

“Are you done playing with your…toys?” Aura’s voice was strained, but she still held tightly, “fine. If you want to go down, then…we…will-!”

McKayla suddenly felt Aura push her entire body down. Her chin hit the floor, and a sting of pain jolted through her body. She tried not to cry out, but Aura had already flipped her body onto her back. McKayla’s pained expression was immediately met with Aura smiling maniacally back down at her.

“Haha…ahaha-! You were right, McKayla! Oh, were you ever so right! That face you are making, its beautiful!”

McKayla seized up as Aura pinned her down to the floor. The hand with the bow attached to it was so close to her, but McKayla couldn’t reach it. Not with the position she was in now.

The pain was the one sending her into a panic. Aura had already started to pinch and prod at her body with her free hand. Trying to tear into her clothes like a wild animal before just shoving her hands down the top. McKayla held back her tears. Twice in a day was almost too much, but she was almost there. She just had to grab her hand…

“…My. I never expected to hear such words from you, McKayla.”
“Look, if there’s…anything you could do to help, please Moira.”
Moira sat in a rather regally designed chair in the corner of her room, petting a young elf girl while the latter tirelessly massaged her feet.
“Its an interesting proposition, darling, but you should not bond so closely with your slaves. It is but an obtuse distraction, at times.”
“She isn’t that to me-! She…” McKayla fell silent, “…she, she isn’t meant for this. I…I dragged her into this army for my selfish desires. The least I can do is protect her.”
Moira stared intently at McKayla in silence. The dark mages aura almost intoxicating, threatening to choke the very life out of McKayla. It was as if she waited for ages before the other woman finally spoke again.
“It is an artifact. A magical weapon crafted to take form in any shape it desires, in order to feed off the desires of their host. Marla carried it around with our supplies for some time, but it is no surprise that she has no desire of sharing her power with some object. Neither would I.”
“But then why give it to Aura?!”
“Hmph, perhaps you were too preoccupied with your private little sleezefests. Aura was getting stronger, but she lacks a single evil bone in her body. Marla saw the chance to darken her spirit and strengthen her strongest ranger.”
“And brainwash her to her side?”
“Heavens no, are you daft? Dearie, this particular weapon feeds off of darkened spirits, and Aura has none of that. Of course, it would rather want to serve Marla, as its current host has none of that in her.”
“Then…it would be easy then, to remove it from her?”
“Of course, it is but a simple spell. Would you like to know? I have no interest in her either, but I have enjoyed our conversations. She has been too aggressive lately for my liking. Teaching you a spell is trivial effort.”
“Yes…please teach me!”
“Hmph, very well. But I will need something in return. You seem like a…strong girl, McKayla. Perhaps you could serve as my entertainment for the evening?”

Twice, she had to endure this feeling. Because of that, it was easy to keep her head level as Aura lost herself across McKayla’s body. It was almost intimidating, how the girl she had bullied so relentlessly earlier felt so much larger than her now.

But she let her guard down. McKayla whipped her arm out once the bow got close enough and snatched it.

“Checkmate.” McKayla grinned through gritted teeth.

“Wha-?!” Aura suddenly snapped back, and spotted McKayla’s hand on her bow too late.

“Dispel-!” McKayla’s hand glowed, the bow reacting fiercely against the spell. The sprayed woven fibres wrapped around Aura’s hand violently lashed out in pain, as the weapon almost seemed to cry out.

“No, wait, McKayla! What are you doing?!” Aura cried out, trying to pull her hand away, “no, please don’t take him away-! No, I-I don’t want to be weak again! McKayla! MCKAYLA-!”

McKayla braced herself as her head suddenly felt a sharp pain strike through it. She started hearing whispers. Voices. Agitated souls and agonizing woes all passing through her ears. Aura quickly began losing strength, as her hand finally let loose of the bow. As she did, the other girl collapsed on top of McKayla, unconscious. McKayla shoved her body gently onto the floor, as she stood up with the bow still in her hands.

“…Hold on,” Moira stopped McKayla as she nearly left the room, “you are sure about the consequences?”
McKayla paused for a moment, turning around, “which ones?”
“Did you not hear what I told you earlier, idiot? You will have to grab the bow for the spell to work. And unless you are a powerful dark mage, it will transfer its host by proximity.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Moira leaned back, laughing, “hah! The answer I like to hear. I can not say what will become of you, McKayla, but this will certainly be exciting. I await to see what will become of you, cleric.”

McKayla closed her eyes, as the bow began to disfigure itself, dissipating into strands of a black mist, wrapping around her body.

“Ah, yes, you! You with the darkness in your heart! A host far more befitting than that gentle willed green haired girl there! Become one-!”

The voice in her head emitted stronger than the others. A deep sound coming from within her own head, as the mist began to almost dive into the star shaped earrings McKayla had always wore. Her gift to signify her purity.

She looked down at her unconscious friend and sighed, “you don’t need this weapon to be strong, Aura. You always were. ...But me? Well...if this army desires evil, then so be it.”

Silence. Silence, as the moonlight continued to pour gently into the room.

===

“What do you mean, you refuse-?!”

“I told you, child. I have no interest in your petty games.”

Things were busy around Marla’s division as the clerics were butchered in the previous battle. They did get two new ones, but Elendra was weird and Cernya was a moron. And now, McKayla had to deal with this Astrid woman and the people around her trying to get her to join some rebellion.

“B-But look at you! You seem like such a noble person, healing everyone in these bleak moments! How could you continue to work for that dark mage? Are you not concerned that what she did to Aura, she will do to you?”

“What she did to Aura, hmm? An interesting strategy, bringing up her name, but I still refuse. It seems as if fate brought me onto this path, and I have no interest in using my life to challenge it now.”

“…F-Fine! Be that way then!” Astrid huffed, stomping out of the room with the rest of her followers. McKayla waited for a few moments, as the group left into the distance.

“Amusing. Did you not want to challenge the dark mage? You could rule over all of this army.”

“Perhaps,” McKayla spoke in a hushed tone, “but why would I? We are better working in the shadows. Besides, this seems like it could be…violent, and I desire a front row seat.”

Her earrings glowed a dark, subtle hue.

===

[Aura loses Black Bow]
[McKayla's earrings become enchanted. She is now able to cast her gravity spell in a small area around her, and no longer requires physical touch. A physically strong warrior can still resist this, though. Perhaps, since clerics can't attack, it could be a defensive ability?]

EDIT: Mentos posted at the same time and I thought I crossposted an update lol.

 

[Mentos]

So, if it’s okay with Severity and Mentos, I’d like for Elendra and Moira to spend the time before the battle tutoring Cernya, so that she can learn at least one spell (Healing or otherwise) before the big upcoming battle? If it was just an oversight and Cernya actually already does know how to heal, then you can ignore all this I guess, lol.

It was a mistake, but I love the way you executed it, so congrats on making it a real thing now lol. Though since Cernya is all set training with actual magic casters now, we'll just say she picked up the spell so as not to gimp things too much.

Mission 7 coming soon, but until then, meet your "guide" through the underground of Azelea:

Name: Shandris
Age: 191 (Elf Years)

Spoiler: Shandris

Background: Shandris was a highly esteemed figure in Elven Society, and the Matriarch Priestess of the Elven Temple that Miasma Battalion had attacked. Even when the temple fell to ruin, Shandris remained a dutiful follower of the religion, and tried to protect the lives of her fellow priestesses and Elven kinsmen at all costs. She refused to give Marla any helpful information, and underwent weeks of torture. One by one, her fellow sisters perished under Marla's cruelty, slowly breaking her sanity. Then, finally one day, the prison guards noticed a chance in Shandris. She begged to see Marla so that she could reveal to her all of her secrets. It was as if suddenly one day, she had thrown away her Elven Goddesses and placed Marla at the center of her world. She began to worship the ground the Dark Mage walked on, and devoted herself entirely to her, revealing unparalleled information about the Elven Society that Miasma could abuse, including the location of nearby villages, ruins, and most recently, how to navigate the sewers of Azelea. Shandris lost her holy powers the day she broke to Marla's will. That being said, she shows a surprisingly deadly amount of skill with the blade.

Still, a question remains to those more keenly aware of Miasma's ongoings. Could a nearly 200 year old devout Elven Priestess really have such a radical change of heart overnight? Did this have something to do with Marla's experiments? It's almost reminiscent of what happened with Aura...

Weapon: Ritual Sword and Dagger
Class: Fencer

 

[Skinny73]

Rixa remembers with vivid clarity the last time six zako members of Miasma battalion tried to battle a single enemy who was an order of magnitude stronger than them. She politely declines Astrid's offer to go forth and die a hero's death, and strongly suggests Astrid wait until she has half the battalion backing her up before trying to depose Marla.

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Tyris solemnly shakes her head as Rixa also declines. "There's no waiting now. We were just parading around the camp talkin' about killing our boss. She'll find out soon even if we stop now so we've gotta go," She snaps a bit, annoyed by the overall reaction they'd received and blaming it on the fact that the only one they'd managed to recruit were likely about to die very soon, along with a bit of self hate. "If just a few of you were a bit less cowardly, we just might have stood a chance, but as it stands... I guess I'll be seeing you in hell, as soon as Marla throws you into a battle that gets you killed as well."

Astrid was more optimistic, overly so. "There's still three of us and one of her! And we still need to go back to Arastine and her elf! You could convince them and there would be a solid five!" Tyris looked back with a grimace. "I'll try my best," Tyris said. She planned on practically begging, something she wasn't used to, but she knew if they didn't join after their short time to rethink, they were all dead, including Millie who was innocent. "But don't expect much. When-er I mean if we die here, It's been an honor fighting with all of you girls," she concluded.

 

[Severity]

Cernya, who would describe her occupation in Kafra as 'Puckish Scoundrel', but that those who encountered her would describe more like 'Sadistic Robber', is very suspicious of their guide.
Nobody just breaks like that... Least of all some elf bitch who's spent the last 200 years licking the feet of her elf goddesses. There's no way in any of the hells that she'd betray her goddesses and people like that. She's the kind of person to play the long game, and if I were in her shoes... I'd be leading us into a trap. Get us wiped out, get back to my people... That's what I'd do. So I'll just stick near her, stick her with the pointy end if she tries anything. Maybe stick her in the leg for fun even if she doesn't. So many opportunities~~

Eisenhilde is extremely eager for their special mission. She's preparing for her possible death by marking herself with Hel's sacred symbols in her own blood, dedicating her own death to Hel, as well as preparing a short, sacrificial knife to offer any fallen enemies to Hel. She's visibly excited at the prospect of killing or dying for Hel, and doesn't seem to be very concerned about the possibility of the latter.

Arastine has made her choice. She'll help, but first she wants to try to recruit some people who weren't on Astrid's list.
First, she proposes they try to recruit Moira. While it's true that she might rat them out, at this point it doesn't matter too much anyway, and Arastine believes she can convince the Dark Mage to join them. After all, Toxin is much more powerful than Marla, and if she helps kill Marla, then it's likely Toxin will accept her as a new student, especially if the whole thing is presented as her doing. Right?
Second is Aura. She seems to have mostly returned to her former self, and thus would be a natural choice for their conspiracy.
Third, Judith. She hasn't been particularly vocal about much recently, and that makes Arastine think she's probably not too happy with the current state of affairs.
Fourth, Capricia. Same situation as Judith, and Arastine has a feeling they'll both join or neither will, but not just one.
Fifth, Minerva. She seems... honest, and it seems possible that she'd join if Arastine points out that Marla, though indirectly, had a hand in Asreine's death. Maybe she'd bring her green friends, too.
Sixth and lastly, Micci. She's a bit of an unknown factor, having quite recently joined Miasma, but Arastine has a gut feeling that she might join them.

Mireille is very anxious about the particulars of the plan, specifically the complete lack of any finer details. She's glad that Arastine will help, but is still very nervous about their plans. Nervous enough that she's begun to think of a scheme. A scheme that will, hopefully, make the rest of Miasma rally behind Astrid's plan, though probably not Astrid herself.
The rough outline of the plan is as follows:
First, get the mages and, ideally, the clerics too, mostly or all in a single large conversation. Then, make sure Marla hears both of this, and of a rumor of a possible rebellion, ideally from a trusted source, like Amanda. After that, all she needs is a few well-spoken words to convince Marla of a Mage's Conspiracy to usurp her, and she'll publicly and brutally execute whoever she thinks is the ringleader... And drive the rest of Miasma right into Astrid's plot. Even if it doesn't completely work, it should shake things up enough for a few absences to go unnoticed for long enough to escape.

August seems to be becoming less and less mentally balanced. He's prone to fits of rage, frequently mutters to himself under his breath, and often vanishes for long periods of time. It's not to 'break' Romillie, the Elf he's imprisoned, as the other slaves have figured out where he's keeping her, and are helping her endure while he's away on his increasingly long and frequent absences.

Hathus, deliberately slouching and appearing tired, approaches Minerva.
I had best look non-threatening... Who knows what she has been through?
He's glad that she doesn't look at him any differently from the way she looks at the others.
"Hello, my name is Hathus. I am an archer, and in my homeland Harpy feathers are said to make arrows that never miss. Would you be willing to let me have a few of your feathers, for fletching on one or two arrows?"

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

Arastine has made her choice. She'll help, but first she wants to try to recruit some people who weren't on Astrid's list.
First, she proposes they try to recruit Moira. While it's true that she might rat them out, at this point it doesn't matter too much anyway, and Arastine believes she can convince the Dark Mage to join them. After all, Toxin is much more powerful than Marla, and if she helps kill Marla, then it's likely Toxin will accept her as a new student, especially if the whole thing is presented as her doing. Right?
Second is Aura. She seems to have mostly returned to her former self, and thus would be a natural choice for their conspiracy.
Third, Judith. She hasn't been particularly vocal about much recently, and that makes Arastine think she's probably not too happy with the current state of affairs.
Fourth, Capricia. Same situation as Judith, and Arastine has a feeling they'll both join or neither will, but not just one.
Fifth, Minerva. She seems... honest, and it seems possible that she'd join if Arastine points out that Marla, though indirectly, had a hand in Asreine's death. Maybe she'd bring her green friends, too.
Sixth and lastly, Micci. She's a bit of an unknown factor, having quite recently joined Miasma, but Arastine has a gut feeling that she might join them.

Mireille is very anxious about the particulars of the plan, specifically the complete lack of any finer details. She's glad that Arastine will help, but is still very nervous about their plans. Nervous enough that she's begun to think of a scheme. A scheme that will, hopefully, make the rest of Miasma rally behind Astrid's plan, though probably not Astrid herself.

Hathus, deliberately slouching and appearing tired, approaches Minerva.
I had best look non-threatening... Who knows what she has been through?
He's glad that she doesn't look at him any differently from the way she looks at the others.
"Hello, my name is Hathus. I am an archer, and in my homeland Harpy feathers are said to make arrows that never miss. Would you be willing to let me have a few of your feathers, for fletching on one or two arrows?"

Tyris tells Astrid that Arastine should essentially act as their leader from now on since she has the better qualities of one. Astrid objects but she's assured she'll receive the title of leader anyway, and that satiates her since the title is what she cared for more anyway. "Okay then Arastine, Lets go ask them, but some of them might rat us out, so we still have to do it as soon as possible," Tyris said. "And..." after getting closer to whisper it in Arastine's ear "I'm not sure how many battles some of us can make it with how things have been. Even you or I could drop dead before you know it. That's why we'd figured it'd be best to attack today. But... well you're in charge. Your charisma is what's gotta lead us now."

Astrid, despite being mostly set aside by her own mutiny is content with herself simply being called a leader and being vaguely treated as a royal, not really comprehending it's only being done to keep her from getting too opinionated and messing things up.

Minerva, after pulling a few loose feathers for Hathus with her usual smile, was soon approached by the mutiny crew. She quickly accepted, mostly because she was very susceptible to peer pressure. "So Marla is really bad? And what happened to Asreine was her fault? I suppose that makes sense. Ok, I'll help!"

(Seems like troops may be sent on their next mission before the mutiny is able to be enacted, which could throw even more of a wrench to things oh dear )

 

[ViridianShine]

(I think it might be best to let the next mission go through before continuing with the second wave of recruits as well.)

 

[dinomoneymaiden]

(I think it might be best to let the next mission go through before continuing with the second wave of recruits as well.)

You're just a nonbeliever who wants to see us fail!

Nah just kidding, really I see what you mean, lol. only issue with this in particular is I dunno if we'll get a response from Shabaz's characters... ever? I mean he's a pretty busy guy and it always seems to me that he doesn't follow these kinds of threads as actively as other members do. In fact, says the last time he was online was October 15th, a little while ago. Maybe if I tag him that'll help though, I dunno lol. Is there any protocol for when someone isn't around to make one of the character choices, Mentos ? Also: S Shabaz
Besides that though there's Moira, who's Skinny's Character, and the other two are all you, Viridian. So it's not as bad as it sounds in terms of extra time I suppose, lololol. I said lol far too many times in this lol.