[Grim] pushed up into the petting.

"I am trying to process it all. It is a lot to take in. I don't want to believe it. As this is what we have I want to protect it and my new friends. I am not exactly a warrior but I will try as hard as everyone. We all have each other a new family in a way."

"Can I join you in trying to improve my combat skills ?" After eating he bounced over to join [Atilla]

[Grim] Will try to perfect fighting unarmed with his little claws and leaping and pouncing on prey.


He already has Unarmed Combat 1

This message was last edited by the player at 14:43, Sun 11 Sept 2022.

Sarlot nodded and gave Atilla a ratty grin.
"Your humility is definitely appreciated, and maybe I will put your order at the bottom of the list, but I'm making sure to take design notes before starting." The Young dwarf put away their sketch pad and focused on eating their food while Grim and their host spoke. The fact that they could make something as salty, terrible, and delicious as a hot pocket was somehow more remarkable to Sarlot then any number of fantastical constructs or crazy interior spaces. It was a small taste of home.

When the party moved to the training area, Sarlot followed, and watched the others fight from the sidelines, uninterested in combat training for the moment. When there was an opening to speak, he (she?) jumped-in, approaching Atilla with a rolled-up cloth tape-measure. "Is there a statue of you somewhere here that has your exact measurements? Or maybe some of your constructs can help me get your data before I go?"

The rat waited a moment for Atilla's reply, then asked another question. "Also... can I possibly get your permission to use my [Mimicry] power to copy one of your innate talents? I'm sort of working toward a specific evolution, and one of the requirements is that I mimic everyone at least once with their permission."

If the answer is yes, the Sarlot will use [Mimicry] to copy any ability that Atilla allows while they get measurements for the Exo suit.

Atilla

The battle was more closely fought, now. He was getting better, and so were the golems. Did they draw from his own knowledge, linked to him in some deeper way? Mace, sword, axe. It didn't matter. It was footwork and management of momentum. Weapons were just - extensions.

[15XP Spent. 285XP Left.]

[Weapon: Basic LVL 5] acquired.

Grim

It . . . worked, sorta. He was more of an outdoor kitty now, and leaping around indoors wasn't - wasn't the same as it used to be. Still, leaping directly on this opponent worked. As did juking a charge, then leaping on to his opponents back!

[10XP Spent. 290XP Left.]

[Weapon: Brawling LVL 2] acquired.

[Grim] gave a kitten bow to his fighting partner golem.

"Thank you Atilla for letting me train here. I know it will help me to get better. I don't want [Shage] to have to do all the fighting in the burning jungle where we are all in. They are our major warrior there right now."

He then looked to [Sarlot, Josh], "If you need to do that to evolve, I will help you out. I will wait till you are done with [Atilla]."

The kitten sat on his haunches and watched the others. Ever the curious kitten he used his [Prophecy/Curiousity] while watching them.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:08, Mon 12 Sept 2022.

Atilla ducked under another blow and spun in time to smash his mace into the golem's head. "Ha! Landed a hit! That was... ohh," he stopped when he realized he might have cracked one of his golems. Perhaps he needed some non-lethal weapons to use for training. He held a hand up to signal for the guard to mention that he wanted a break. Instead he let [Grim] and the golem continue their mock duel.

While he rested he looked over at [Sarlot] and his measuring tools. Before the wolf-man could respond a nearby servant had approached and offered to take the tape-measure from the large rat. Together a multitude of servants worked together to get measurements. It took only a few moments before a slip of paper was handed to the craftsman with every dimension they could measure. "Ah, well there ya go."

Atilla blinked at the other request but nodded his approval. "Sure if you want. Do I need to do anything?" He stuck his hand out so that [Sarlot] could easily touch him if needed. "You'll most likely get my Familiar talent. It lets you sense surface level emotions, so pretty safe to activate around here. Not like any of us are losing their head right?" The wolf-man laughed at his own joke. He tried to not feel the emotions that his other self was experiencing. Even here it sent shivers down his spine when he dwelled on it.

While the rat conducted his experiment Atilla turned to [Grim]. He flashed a big thumbs up towards the cat. "You're doing great! Lyngel and Prydwen are probably the strongest pair but they could always use backup." He paused as he thought about what he had seen earlier. "Do you fight in your cat form, your huge cat form, or your human form? You have a surprising number of forms. Can you control when you turn back and forth?"

"Well, when it is shadowy I can be my bigger cat form. I am probably a better fighter like that. Just like you I would probably feel better fighting in humanoid form. I lost focus when [Domonokos, Prince of Relics] showed up. He kind of startled me and reminded me of the [Ghost Eater] stabbing me. It's embarrassing but it kind of made me pop back to kitten form."

He was rather happy that Demilupine seemed as nice as he thought the man was.

He looked to [Sarlot, Josh], "I would love to learn your [Mimic] talent, it would be so cool being mini versions of people, does it work on creatures too ?"

Thinks about how he may defend himself and attack better as a kitten.

Uses [Stellar Magic] to create a glowing unicorn like horn that he might fight with if he has too.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:41, Wed 14 Sept 2022.

Sarlot took the slip of paper with Atilla's measurements and nodded.
"Alright. I'm experiencing technical difficulties with Euphoria's kit, but I'll put you on the list. My thanks." At the question about the mimicry ability, Sarlot shook their head. "Nope! I just need permission. Once again, my thanks!" They replied, while folding up their acquired paper and stuffing into their satchel.

The number of questions Grim lobbed was a little overwhelming, but Sarlot did their best to respond to all of them. "Yep! Getting to you was already in the planning. Same for with your gear. Just be patient. As for whether it works on creatures? No idea! And if you could learn it? Also no idea! But you're welcome to try."

That said, Sarlot turned back and concentrated on Atilla, activating [Mimicry] to copy one of their talents. Likely the [Familiar] talent, as he'd suggested.

Atilla nodded as he listened to [Grim] describe his transformation. "Hmm, so you were startled and changed back huh? Maybe your control is tied to your emotions? You are the Prince of Passion right, so I guess that makes some amount of sense." The wolf-man tapped his chin a few times before he shrugged, "well I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Atilla barely understood his own abilities and he still hadn't delved into the various magics he had seen. He probably wasn't the best equipped to advise people on their abilities.

When [Sarlot] confirmed he didn't need to do more Atilla pulled back his hand and rested in a nearby seat. His new face wasn't adept at displaying a smirk but Atilla's laugh still came through crystal clear. "Hahaha, no idea indeed. I doubt any of us have a good grasp on what all their abilities do. Experimentation is probably the only thing we can do at this point besides practice. Even in this game like world you still need to practice."

After he spoke he turned towards the golem he had previously dueled. Perhaps it was time to heed his own advice. He let the others concentrate on their actions and walked back into the clearing. Before they started he tossed his mace to the guard who caught it mid-air. "I've practiced offense so now time to work on my defense. Attack me golem!" Atilla had noticed that the guard seemed to improve along with his own skills. He had modeled the guards after himself, was there some connection there he didn't understand? It was something to consider at another time. For now he raised his shield to defend himself as he trained to parry the guard's attacks.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Thu 15 Sept 2022.

Grim

Atilla appeared to be the most narratively important person here. Perhaps affected by this being his fief? Or . . . something grander? Grim saw . . .  a choice, in Atilla's immediate future - within the next ten or twenty minutes, outside of whatever this place was called. A choice between love and defeating a monster.

When he concentrated, he could cause the horn to form, but it dissipated when he left off or ran out out of mana. For a longer-lasting horn, he'd need to craft a spell or a piece of equipment he could carve Stellar runes into.

Sarolt

Sarolt took the form of a small demilupine, rather puppyish, with outsized hands and feet that he would one day 'grow into'. The [Familar] talent let get a read of everyone's emotions. It was comforting to know that the others really did regard him well, and seemed a lot better off than what Eri's [Lone Candle] talent had shown him before.

Atilla

Parrying was done with the shield. It could be done with a sword - perhaps - but a shield was purpose-built for redirecting blows, and using a sword to parry meant he couldn't use that same sword to exploit the opening created by the parry. The shield and the sword, or axe, worked together; the shield guarding and opening the way for the blade, or mace.

[Learned the Melee: Parry skill at LVL 1.]

[Grim] looked to [Atilla], "Atilla, I just got a flash of insight about you. I wish it was more or could help more and I think it might involve the you that is in the jungle. Your going to come to a point where you will make a choice between love and defeating a monster."

"Hmmm seems I need some metal to scribe runes on to make the unicorn horn stick around. Sarlot do you have spare metal ?"

"Sure, just wait and I'll..." The young-dwarf in tiny-wolf form nodded at Grim's request, but didn't finish their sentence, stopping mid-motion. Attila could sense a very, very sudden shift through [Familiar] from contented focus to a feeling of abject terror and loss of control.

"Well... it's all in the Ratworks. But... uh... I'm afraid that..." Sarlot was at a loss for words. They released their wolf-form and returned to their ratty one. "The Ratworks is now under quarantine. So you might want to ask others... for now."

"Quarantine ?" [Grim]'s ears perked up.

"What happened there do you need help ?"

Sarlot shook their head, looking a little bit confused. "You're in the same shared mind-space as the rest of us, aren't you? You know what's happened."

"Yes, just catching up. I am not used to being in three places at once. All I can think of is pyromancy which is supposed to be able to cleanse taint and sickness and kill undead. I am unsure to be honest it's effect on daemons. Wait in the shared mind space Eri is there."

"I'm being called to a different fief. If this all gets resolved, I'll be back... maybe. Eventually." Hesitating on slightly, Sarolt then replied to Grim as they turned to leave. "Honestly? I'd rather purge this, just to be safe. Burning it with fire seems preferable to me then negotiating with it... but hey, what do I know? I'll give Haloise's way a chance."

With that, they left.

[To The Hall of Skye]

"Ha!" Atilla shouted in triumph once he successfully parried the guard's attack. The celebration was perhaps a touch too soon as his next attempt was too late, the weapon instead smashed into the shield. Atilla flinched as he felt a shockwave travel up his arm from the force of the impact. He shuffled back to put more distance between the golem and himself.

From behind him he heard the others talking. What had [Grim] said? He would need to make a choice between love and defeating something? Which of those were the better option? Atilla wanted to inquire more when [Sarlot]'s emotions rapidly spiked. He listened in both this world and another of the plight the large rat faced.

The wolf-man attempted to speak before [Sarlot] left when the golem knocked him square in the jaw. "Jesus, take a break. I'm dealing with something!" He snarled at the guard. He turned back to find he had been too late. "Damnit. I messed up," he grumbled aloud as he stared down at the exit. A part of him wanted to go with the other player, to ensure that [Sarlot] knew they weren't alone. In the back of his mind however, in another body, the constant threat of the god loomed over him. Atilla's [Familiar] talent still bombarded him with jungle god's rage. It never lessened, never wavered, just an unending feeling of malice.

[Grim]'s warning echoed in his head. Was this what the cat had talked about, the important choice he needed to make? To go support Josh or prepare for the conflict? Somehow Atilla was in 3 different places and still managed to not be everywhere he wanted. 'Calm down Dalton, that was in the jungle.' He forced himself to take several deep breaths. "Sarlot is upset but he's not in danger, not immediately at least. I need to make sure I can defend the others."

Atilla finally looked up and noticed that Grim still remained in the room with him. He forced a jovial tone as he addressed the cat. "Well, that was intense. Hopefully Sarlot is able to get help. I need to remain here but I understand if you want to follow." Atilla didn't want [Grim] to feel pressured to stay on his account. He returned to the golem guard and resumed his battle stance. The wolf-man continued to practice his parry skill.

[Grim] looked to [Atilla], "Thank you for letting me practice here. I don't have as much to offer in my realm, but you are invited to visit any time. I am headed back that way to practice my magic and get a better handle on it. The Hunting Lodge is the easiest thing to find for any of my fellow godlings. The servants there will be helpful."

---> Grimhold

The training continued, now with Atilla trying to defend against multiple opponents. Even one additional opponent made parrying significantly more difficult; his shield could only be in one place. Footwork became paramount.

---

15 XP spent. [Parry] has advanced to Level 2.5. 275 XP left.

---

This message was last edited by the GM at 03:31, Mon 19 Sept 2022.

The wolf-man grunted as he dodged another punch from the guard. He was dimly aware of other things happening, conversations and events in his other selves. They proved to be a sufficient distraction to get in the way of Atilla's training. He thrust his shield in time to deflect the latest attack when another nearly bowled him over. A second guard had entered the fray and sided with the first golem. "Where did you come from?" The guard gave no response except to slowly circle around Atilla to strike. For a second he thought that maybe these servants were more complicated than he assumed. The next second he was too busy with his footwork to put too much thought into it. Later he'd interrogate his guards, for now Atilla continued his parry training.

---

15 XP spent. [Parry] has advanced to Level 4. 260 XP left.

---

"We came from the mother-waters," said one of the golems, "that sprang from the echo-well."

This golem was taller than the others, and little thinner. Over the golem's brow were carved three elaborate bind-runes, which read: "Hraiii", "Czek", and "Uruz."  The other golems only had "Czek."

The golem carried a wooden training-axe and a shield. "When mother-waters rushed past the father-rocks, we were struck away, and carved into men. When the waters had passed, the Pools remained. We guard mother-water with our bodies, born of strong father-rock."

He took a neutral stance. "Be the mother-waters, and rush."

"Oh," Atilla muttered as he listened to the golem's answer. The question had been rhetorical so the wolf-man had not been prepared for his supposedly mute golems to not only respond but seemingly give a serious response. His brain buzzed with a hundred different questions about this revelation. Had they always been able to speak? Who was this mother-water? Had the game created some lore to explain his ideas or was this just another part of his domain that he simply hadn't realized?

The guard who answered was different than the others Atilla noted, specifically the words etched in its head. Hadn't Grim mentioned something of that nature, runes? Did that signify that this was some sort of leader? Atilla thought about it, he had specified golems. Back on earth he had been a big nerd so he recalled how the original golem had been brought to life by the "word of god". Perhaps the game had drawn from that when it created his golems.

He was also curious about the "mother-water" and "father-rock". In another version of himself he had seen how a river contained a spirit, it stood to reason that other things might have spirits. The spring itself might very well contain a spirit, hell maybe their castle was teeming with them. It was definitely something he'd need to explore at some point.

A blow to the snout ripped Atilla from his musings on his fief. He shook his head before motioned for the first golem to return the mace. It seemed this leader came equipped with it's own training equipment. "So, do you have a name guardian of the mother-water?" The wolf-man asked before he took a stance and rushed the guard. He continued to hone his parry skill while he dueled the axe wielding golem.

"A given-name is a bond-gift of creator to creation. I have no given-name, but I call myself Guardian."

Atilla was neatly parried, and in the same movement stripped of his weapon; the Golem caught the blow on his shield, but turned with Atilla's strike even as he did so, catching the haft of Atilla's mace and throwing using both points of contact to force the weapon from Atilla's hand and cast it away.

---

[19:06, Today: The Fool, for the NPC Guardian Golem, rolled 134 using 2d100 with rolls of 38,96.  Attack and vs.]

---

One of the other golems returned the mace to Atilla. "I left myself open, there. I captured your weapon, but your shield-arm was free. You could have punched me in the face with the edge of your shield, then used your disarmed hand to grab my axe-arm. A more skilled opponent may underestimate you in this way. To understand the mace, you must understand the fist; to know the fist, you must know the hand. Father-rock is defined by mother-water. Mother-water moves through the path of least resistance, defined by father-rock."

"Now, I will be mother-water. When I rush, decide where I will strike by defining the path of least resistance. If you know where I will strike - then you know where to parry. The rest is timing."

---

[25 XP spent. [Parry] has advanced to Level 6.5. 235 XP left.]

---

This message was last edited by the GM at 02:21, Mon 26 Sept 2022.

Atilla smirked when he heard that the creator could gave him a name. No doubt he could come up with a hilarious name for the golem. Upon further reflection however he realized that might be cruel. A permanent name and gift deserved a bit more thought than the first joke that popped into his head. So instead he nodded. "Pleasure to meet you Guardian."

The wolf-man confidently charged only to have his weapon knocked away. He rubbed his hand as he recovered and listened to the Guardian's lesson. The Guardian wasn't just sentient but it was a very competent teacher. Atilla wondered where that knowledge had come from, it obviously had not come from himself. He grabbed his mace and resumed the ready stance he had been taught.

Atilla forced himself to steady his breath as he waited for the attack. Soon after the Guardian rushed the wolf-man made his move. He intentionally moved his shield high to fake an opening near the bottom of his stance. If his opponent took the bait he slammed his shield down to parry the blow and quickly followed with a shield bash.

Guardian went for the opening and the parry went off without a hitch, but following up with a shield-bash didn't do much. He connected, full strength, but Guardian was unmoved.

"Father-rock endures, mother-water rushes. To strike with father-rock, one must first rush like mother-water. A bash can be effective, but only with the momentum of a charge behind it, or the usage of advanced technique. Force must be guided. You must strike like rapids, not like an upset pond."

---

[25 XP spent. [Parry] has advanced to Level 9. 210 XP left.]

---

"You have nearly mastered deflection. To go further, we must establish other tributaries, or your flow will become weak and slow; without the strength for the greater arts of father-rock and mother-water. What would you learn next? To dodge, or to strike?" Guardian said.

Even though Atilla merely followed the Guardian's direction he was filled with pride when he parried the blow. That excitement quickly faded when his bash seemed to do nothing to the stone golem. Perhaps it was a good thing it happened, the last thing the wolf-man needed was to be humbled on a creature that actually wanted to kill him. He retreated and resumed his fighting stance as he listened to his mentor.

Atilla pondered the question asked but before he could respond he gripped his head. Another version of him fought as a hearth manifested some entity. He had been so close to getting out, Eri had literally offered him an escape. If he could just-

His thought was cut off as something large and heavy was thrown into Atilla. Both he and the object fell together in a heap that left him sprawled out on the floor. The wolf-man groaned as he slowly pulled himself back to his feet. He turned to inspect what had attacked him when he stared at another wolf-man in goliath armor.

"What the-"
"What the-"

Both Atilla's stepped back in confusion as they looked at one another. If he wasn't in the middle of the feast hall he would have assumed a full length mirror had been set up.

"The hearth room that kicked us out, that must be you! No, I was here to start with. You were thrown into me. Okay, this is pointless."
"The hearth room that kicked us out, that must be you! No, I was here to start with. You were thrown into me. Okay, this is pointless."

The Atilla's stopped before they continued to talk over one another. Instead he pondered on what to do next. Clearly something had happened although he had no idea what. It was unfortunately par for the course at this point. He had barely understood the world when it had been a game, now that it was real it seemed one new thing after the next. His priority now was to find Eri and figure out if they were under attack. Once things had settled down he also wanted to talk about sending him home. Hadn't Eri said that she could hear us throughout the kingdom?

"I invoke the name of Regina Damnatorum. Where the hell are you?"
"I invoke the name of Regina Damnatorum. Where the hell are you?"

If nothing happened the two wolf-men rushed to the room he had reserved for their patron and where they had stored her doll. Perhaps she too had been shunted to his fief.