LucidRain

"We have a saying amongst the Guards - 'a good drink and a jolly friend is the fuel of the heart'! The way I see, we can do with a brewery in this castle. After all, we can expect this mission to be quite extensive, no? We should set up a bar somewhere in the castle; preferably with a nice view."

"Carvin' stone from fists -an' without magic at all! Well, ain't that somethin'! Looks like your tribe have a thing or two to teach for the folks back at home, huh?" Melina starts noting things down with a small notebook. To be frank, she couldn't comprehend much of this. Stravagans relied heavily on magic, and this Mundanus Extremus was quite revolutionary. She planned on taking this to Lukas or Wyvis, someone with a more comprehensive grasp on the magic in the Ios. If they could successfully replicate this, perhaps the Fading could be resolved after all.

"Y-yes..." Visrii grit his teeth as a wave of nausea hit him. His legs seemed to give out from under him, blood running freely from the bullet wound on his leg. Having no choice, he crouched down and attempted to summon a short range teleport, at least to Lexiel, so that he may receive healing. As he charged his unstable mana pool, he felt something grab from behind him - a gauntlet of a beaten guard; the other shield vanguard, who had attempted to ambush a severely broken mage. With the shock, Visrii and the guard explosively teleported backwards, crashing into the far side of the room, destroying any metal objects in the way. The area smoldered and the panels were charred like a lightning strike had just struck the place. Anyone with a mana capacity would detect that something was seriously wrong with Visrii's mana pool, and that Visrii's hair was turning amber. Visrii slowly staggered up from the floor, only to see the his opponent quickly barraging into him. Despite being half-blind from pain and shock, Visrii instinctively dodged the attack with a sidestep, barely stopping his own momentum with a wall. His semi-conscious mind realised that he had lost his Duty, and the guard his shield and baton. The guard reached down to his belt, pulling out a pistol side arm and aiming it as Visrii closed the distance down. In response Visrii tackled the man's arm, throwing off his aim wildly, the pistol coughing out rounds into the ceiling. In a rapid movement, Visrii struck an elbow into the head. With the split second daze Visrii twisted the pistol out and kicked it away, and attempted to pull the guard's leg out by locking his leg behind the guard's. His feet struck solid metal, ringing pain. He was too heavy! The guard took advantage of Visrii's mistake by shoving the mage away and landing a heavy punch on Visrii's temple. Visrii's consciousness faded in and out, unable to compensate for both the Fading and the battle wounds. Visrii staggered back up, his eyes unfocused. Acting purely on instinct now, Visrii pulled out his kukri and put it up defensively, trading blow after blow with the guard, before finally baiting the guard's impatient overextension. With a parry and a kick, Visrii opened up the guard's flank and planted his blade right into the man's neck The guard gurgled and spat blood, struggling to pull Visrii's kukri out. But it had cut too deep; slowly, the man sunk unto his knees, each attempt to get free weaker than the last. Visrii seemed to hold the kukri limply, blindly watching the man slowly die. Upon closer inspection, one would find that Visrii had fainted on his feet only seconds earlier, the moment he had struck the decisive blow.

"Consume reality - they sound like a bad buncha folk! I wouldn't mind helpin', s'long as the drinks 'round here is better than the Stravagan ones." Melina's brow creases at trying to remember the history lessons back in the Grand Academy. "Well, I ain't an expert, but I'll try to give ya the best I got. The records folks found about Orcs come from the Torran Conquest era. Said they're the ones who ran business in North Irunia. They were quite large and their empire was expansive. Tons-a folk like their place. Then 'long came the elves, who kicked 'em up to Dragon Peaks. Then the dragons kicked 'em down and out of the Peaks into the plains in Central Irunia. Then on top of that, humans messed 'em up bad; destroyed all their architecture 'long with the elves and dragons. Over the years, they kinda lost their culture and had to be all guerrilla about their territory. Couldn't cast magic for nothin'. And wouldn't blame 'em, either. It's when the Nightmare era when they ruined their rep. Figure they'd use the Undead Scourge to take back their old lands. Couldn't stand a chance 'gainst the undead either, but they invaded my city Runiem couple 'o times. Lots of magi died 'cause of orcs, and so most Stravagans give 'em hell for it." Melina smiles. "Y'all lucky though. Me an' my folk don't give a damn 'bout what people say, so as long as you don't shout crazy lines an' start chucking axes at everywhere, we're as fine an' dusted. So, that's my land's tale. What 'bout yours?"

"Yes - our group had fantastic teamwork; I'd say, with synergy like previous, we'd have no trouble vanquishing the Trespassers!" Wyvis grins. "True, caution should be part of one's mindset, but surely you must commend yourself higher. After all, we did save a city from destruction." Wyvis looks around for something, momentarily confused, then chuckles at his own disorientation. "Ah, I must remember we are in the multiverse. The Guards have a tradition of having a drink after every successful mission, but I suppose there are no bars in this castle."

[Wyvis enters the Throne Hall] Wyvis returned from the battle in Rio, all the blood and debris washed off his armor. His weapon had been stowed away at a nearby armor stand, and now wore casual clothing (the 'T-shirt' in Rio, he found, were quite comfortable.) "So this must be our base of operations! Quite grand, I must say, fitting for heroes of the multiverse." He spotted Isobel and Lotus in the room as well. "Hello, Ms Isobel and Lotus! I am glad to see that we have made it back safely after all!" He turns to the newcomer. "Ah, new arrivals! Hello, my name is Wyvis of Nivinuxis. Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"Very interesting. Orc, huh? I wouldn't say I wasn't surprised, considering orcs' history back in my hometown. Things are different out here in the Realms Beyond, I hear. I guess I should be ready to be surprised." Melina then looks around for Wyvis, but finds him missing. "I got briefed about the mission of this group, something about eldritch abominations called Trespassers. Can ya tell me what exactly are they?"

[Melina enters the room] A blonde girl entered the room, dressed in all brown cleric's clothes. Her sapphire eyes scanned over the diverse combatants and she smiled eagerly, like a girl who had just joined a scouts team. She approached the nearest group of people and introduced herself. She had a peculiar accent, like a tough gang leader sort, contrasting to her otherwise fair face. "Y'all must be the warriors that Wyvis kept yapping 'bout! Name's Melina of Runiem, jolly to meet ya!" These guys look like they can handle their drinks! Ha, Wyvis wasn't pulling my leg when he said it was the world's greatest warriors!

Shaun shuffles over to the coffee counter and orders a coffee, then shuffles back just enough to grab a sandwich and fall asleep at the cafeteria tables. Hmm...coffee here is good...

"Damn...it." Visrii growled, as the guard went down. His vision was slightly blurred from the combined shock of the bullet spray and the Fading burst. His physical form was still intact; he was still in the fight. But his mind felt like it had slowed down, his whole body was still numb from the lightning discharge. His mind barely registered a new source of chaotic mana pumping through; it seemed to calm down his Fading a little, but his mana pool was already too debased for proper casting. It would take a little time before he could cast again. "Can't...shoot for shit. Was never fond of crossbows anyway." He cursed. It was an efficient model, but he was a battlemage; not an archer. He looked around for his next target - there. A shield guard who seemed to be rather pissed off. Ha. Halley must have been busy. He held up his free arm and got ready to parry as soon as the guard went in for another strike. [Parry on Shield Guard B. If Guard B performs a melee attack this round, this parry triggers, dealing a critical basic strike (2*(2d4+10)) and a 16% chance of additional attack, also increasing INIT by 5.]

Kalva couldn't react before the Steenie struck - being too busy searching for the trainer behind Gina, by the time he managed to react the damage had already been done. Quina, having faster reaction time, had aimed her Confusion at the Steenie, but shut it down immediately after realising that she had no reason to fight. Relieved that a fight won't be necessary, she lowers her arms and looks at Kalva. Kalva nods with understanding and picks Quina up, and together they follow Emmanuel to the clinic. Even though the Solosis wasn't his team, Kalva felt responsible for not being able to detect the Steenie earlier.

"Magic...has been around longer... you can say it's old..." Shaun managed to squeeze out before drowsing back to sleep. I wonder... where we going to sleep...? Hopefully somewhere... quiet...

Wyvis leans against a wall and spits the beer back out. Urf...that is one bad beer. Worst I've had over centuries, I must say! He shakes his head and stands back upright, then notices Zarya approaching Sombra. He quickly paces up to intercept Zarya and Lucio. "Ms Zarya! Glad to see you are alive." He says with a smile. "The battle was quite intense, needless to say." Then his expression grows more serious. "Madam, I have a request to make. I ask that Ms Sombra walks free from this incident." He watches the eccentric hacker clean herself up. "Though I understand that she has done wrong in the previous encounters, but she has supported us for this battle, and needless to say, a good companion in our short adventure."

Visrii pulled out his free hand, channelling mana into his palm. He was exposed, and needed an extra boost to dodge incoming fire. Suddenly, his arm shook uncontrollably, pain wracking him as lightning coursed through his veins. He looked at his palm in pained shock. I - can't! His mana discharged into uncontrolled blue lightning, shocking all the metal objects in the vicinity. His arm sizzled with smoke. Without even time to think about why, Visrii ducked into a coughing fit. His hand came up bloody, thick crimson dripping off his gauntlet. "Not now!" He grit his teeth and, breathing heavily, continued to fire against the guardsmen from behind a bench, focusing on a red spot exposed by Edmond. [Pin Strike on Samuel. Deal 2d4+10 damage. 16% chance to fire twice and 35% chance to crit.] + [Last Round Damage on Samuel. Deal 5 damage. 35% chance to crit.] [The Fading - Visrii can't use any SYN based actions for the rest of the combat.]

"Okay Gina!" Kalva signs. Kalva nods, and looks to Quina. She jumps down in front of Kalva, and readies her Confusion if someone was to attack the party. In turn Kalva puts his arms up defensively, searching the crowd for any hostile movement. They take positions behind Gina and watches the party's six. Kalva and Quina both knew they didn't want to fight. Especially if the pokemon in the team was unwilling to fight, but the humans were. Kalva was visibly anxious about the upcoming battle, biting his lower lip. But with Gina so serious...there was bound to be something terrible here. He then looks over to Sena. Hopefully... Sena would try and take the trainer down without hurting them.

Poison mist and rapidly firing 'bullets'. And all I have is this 'club' thing that somehow shoots arrows. Visrii snorted at the absurdity of the situation in comparison to his normal combats. I must have had too much to drink. "Bullet! Careful of suppressing fire!" He shouted, then turned to the guard named 'Samuel', lining up a careful shot through the cracks of his cover. [Basic Attack on Samuel, 2d4+10, with a 16% chance to strike twice and 15% chance to crit.]

Kalva crouched down and looked at Sal inquisitively. "Hello again, Sal! What do you need?" He wrote.

Shaun slowly opened his eyes. Despite being asleep for the last couple of minutes, he was the first to answer. "mmmno...I don't think..." One would be curious if Shaun actually knew what was being asked.

Visrii's eyes seemed to deny him vision, the world under him shaking loose. Despite having refilled his mana, the Fading was quickly catching up. If he didn't take proper evacuation soon... "They've brought a few more as well - don't get cocky." He stowed away Duty and took the crossbow off Edmond, and immediately fired it against the nearest Guardsman. [Pin Strike on Dakka Guard, dealing 2d4+10, having 16% chance to strike twice and 25% chance to crit.]

Kalva exited the Drill, slightly sleepy and tired from the adventure, but still glad. He considered briefly of getting ice-cream, but remembering the last time Quina tried ice-cream and got a stomach ache, he decided against the idea. Instead, holding Quina close, followed Gina along with Sena.

Wyvis spat out the liquid rapidly blurring his line of sight. "Blugh...acknowledged, LOTUS!" This alcohol tasted like the last time he went to the Dragon Peaks - hogwash, worst beer in entirety of Stravaga... But now there were more important things to do than mull over such times! He raised his glaive and ran ahead to strike the 'cowboy' out of its dangerous move. [Basic Attack on Wrangler - 4d4+8. Spend blood to trigger a critical attack, do not gain any blood this turn.]

Nope, they're still there and still very fake...

Hello! I've started a new run for ep16, and I've just defeated Florina. However, when I tried to find the girl for the daycare quest (usually located at the apartment next to the onyx arcade), I found her missing from her usual spot. Did I miss something? Was she relocated for ep16? Cheers

"I'm...fine..." Visrii said, though his body language suggested the contrary. "Just...get out of here..." Visrii straightened up, though he looked quite shaky on his feet.

"Say no more." Visrii said, and with left over adrenaline from the battle, he summons a surge of mana and pours it into a raging inferno concentrated on the book, an abnormally powerful fire that frothed with chaos that tarred the air itself. From afar, it looked like a dark pheonix with black feathers merging into nothing. Visrii knew to make sure to do the job properly. He felt a sharp pain inside his mind, and he knew he had pushed the Fading even further. He hadn't much time left...however they were getting out, they had to get out fast. His breathing grew laboured, leaning against his staff for support. "...shit...let's get out fast..." [The Fading (weak) - Visrii suffers from weakness, his skills suffering one extra turn of cooldown every second time he uses them.]