Haloise feels a glint in its mindspace, a strange sort of attraction that was inhuman. An emotion unique to the Schwertgeist Spear spotted. [APPRAISEL] PROTOCOL ENGAGED. The [Liese Schwertgeist] uses it's [Appraisel] Talent in order to catalogue the spears into it's system. With three 'stages' of length, between the spatha, the fire poker, and the spear proper, it can 'attack' in a way. It thinks about it's wielder jabbing with the Spatha, and some sort of mechanism within itself to store it's wielder's blood, allowing it to become a spear if the target tried to dodge back. That glimpse appears in it's mindspace once more, but it ignores it as it analyzes the spears.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:23, Wed 17 Aug 2022.

Although Euphoria did not like the idea of leaving the Demilupine (Dalton) alone, she trusted that he would be alright. He managed to search the house on his own and find them all in the parlor, hadn't he? "Also check the dungeons, there appear to be spears in there. Haloise can sense them. Might be enough to arm everyone, including yourself." She then took Azalea's hand and followed her into the darkness. What little of Dalton she could see in the blaring light of the doorway, soon faded. And she was plunged into full darkness with only Azalea and Haloise's senses to guide her. She was now thankful she agreed to let the weapon take control of her body in a pinch. Just in case something struck them from the darkness.

And that was becoming very likely. Euphoria too saw the burning eyes of the undead, though she could not make out enough features to know they were undead. Just the uneasy feeling that they were being watched and not in a friendly way. She was not eager to find out and followed her companion quickly down the stairs, holding her hand so she wouldn't slip or bonk her head on the way down. Hopefully, Haloise had time to scan some goodies, because she was really booking it.

"Azalea, did you see that?" she asked. Which was a kind of stupid question because Azalea could - theoretically - see everything. "What were they? Will they be trouble on the way back? Will the others be ok?" Whatever time they had in the stairwell, Euphoria used to absorb whatever the Callisti was willing to tell her.

"You seem like you really know what's going on. Have you played before?" she said, letting on that she thought this was a game as well. On some level. The lore, her body, it all made too much sense. The only thing that didn't were the mechanics themselves. "Are you like a cheat code or something?" Because if she was, then Euphoria was inclined to stick around.

The three of them reached the crypt. It was possible the blind Scapegoat would hear their heavy footsteps and voices. "Stay behind me and scout it out," Euphoria said, pulling Azalea back, if she so allowed. Euphoria would lift her sword in front of her, ready to attack if anything unnatural shifted in the dark. Or better yet, if either Azalea or Haloise saw something she couldn't. "Ok, Haloise, you remember our deal? You're gonna keep me from getting smashed up, right? Azalea, you on board with that? The three of us are gonna tag team this. You're my eyes, Haloise, you're my reflexes. Now please don't get me killed," she said, acting as a meatshield as they moved forward. "Though if you want to throw a punch or two," she said to Azalea. "I will not turn that down..."

With the others guiding her (for as long as there was darkness), Euphoria would move forward into the room at the ready. And if either of them noticed the Scapegoat ahead, she would approach him. Or if he chose to alert them to his presence. All the while, her adrenaline was pumping through her veins with her [Thought Acceleration] in overrive from the unknown and the possibility of danger. Also because the things upstairs were creepy.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Wed 17 Aug 2022.

[Battle Music! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?...b_channel=NeonNights]

The undead goatmen threw themselves at their cages, then leaned heavily against the doors, grinding them open. Demilupine sensed murderous intent.

Those born of the House would act first in this combat.

DEMICAPRINE A: 6 HP
DEMICARPINE B: 6 HP
DEMICAPRINE C: 5 HP
DEMICAPRINE D: 3 HP

Everyone in the House received a sense of bewilderment, mixed awe and concern. Someone has just woken up in the lowest level of the House . . .

Leise Schwertgeist added the [Bronze Spear] schematic to it repertoire.

[Unblooded Shage] suddenly felt comfortable for the first time. It was like the constant pressure of her [Thought Acccleration] lifted as she leapt into combat.

She didn't stick the landing of the jump [84], but her clumsy attack [42] still clashed with the Necromancer's own weapon [18], a curved ritual dagger. She dealt [9-2/2] = 3 damage to Necromacer, shearing away a portion of its ribcage -

Necromancer: 9/12 HP, 4/6 Poise

- before attacking again, still with wild uncoordinated swings [56]. The Necromancer's guard [82] was broken regardless, more bone cleaved away by the adamantite blade [13-2/2] = 5 damage. The Necromancer's Poise broke, leaving him wide open for the next round.

Necromancer: 4/12 HP, 0/6 Poise, [Surprised!]

[The Cycle continues unbroken . . . Timestamp 20:20]
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:14, Wed 17 Aug 2022.

The [Leise Schwertgeist], not muddled by things like darkness and anxiety, pick out the ritualistic dagger. Another weapon for her repertoire, she thinks, but when she notices the 'Sacrificial' aspect of it, she pauses, before [Appraising] it. Hopefully, she'll be able to pick out some sort of religious symbol on the daggers, in particular, to perhaps expand on which 'God' these cultists were sacrificing to. It chirps to warn Euphoria of the coming danger, before the clattering of steel began. The ringing in her 'ears' hurt, but she can disconnect from that by sinking deeper into her powers.

[Scapegoat] felt his use of power expand through the house, then terminated it after the initial burst. A single call would do. If aid came, they would know where he was now, but in the meantime, he knew he needed to get his bearings and make sense of his new body. He once again studied his own body and what was possible. He realized he could call out to others - at least emotionally - as well as sense others. He used his [Internal Oculus] ability again to see what more he could learn about both himself and those around him.


Meanwhile, he carefully moved about his current room to try to sense what was present. He may not be able to see, but he could still feel. He used his feet to walk slowly and carefully, using one forelimb to explore a bit as he went.


[Private to GM: Unsure if he has the (Appraisal) Talent as yet which seems to be what many use to study things, or if his Internal Oculus does similar. Mainly seeking to see what he is capable of - at least obviously - and then going from there. Also, of the 16 living souls referenced he sensed in the house thus far, how many are actually nearby? Not sure if his Internal Oculus would let him sense details of them or if that would be (Appraisal) if he has that ability. Given his bell awoke the nearby goat men, I'm definitely wondering if they are some of the 16 he sensed - and if he could 'call to them' himself to use as servants of his own. Heh. ]

The [Earthborn] rounded a final corner, stopped dead at the sight of the - dead - before him. The other dead, the ones that weren't [Old Bones].

His nerve shattered, scattered, refracted into bright, glittering fragments. "Okay. Oh, gods. Real enough now, huh?" The shadow-hewn blade in his hand trembled. An inferior weapon, and while he might have tried hacking up a shambling zombie or ambulatory plant, the grip the silent goat-men had on their spears filled him with sharp warnings. He Appraised the dead things, wondering if a corpse counted as an object, if what infused them might unlock new mysteries along with the death and dimensional magic he'd glimpsed in [Old Bones].

He looked around, thoughts burning, whirling - the cages they were staggering out of. Hard iron bars, still intact, like the bronze they carried...a thought flickered, caught flame. With barely a minute's work he'd been able to forge half-real weapons from shadow and the memory of their function. If he was less precise, less concerned with function...could he do it faster?

More...violently?

"Watch out," he yelled - a little high-pitched for dignity - to [Old Bones] and the [Demilupine]. "I don't know if I can, uh - hell, just watch out!"

Aaron gripped the cage, looking toward Demicaprine D, and sought to activate Phantasmal Copy - making crude simulacra of metal and shadow, replicating the cage repeatedly at odds angles and ends with maximum velocity to try and kill, crush, or at least pinion the horror and attack with [INT] instead of his inferior [SKL].
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Wed 17 Aug 2022.

Azalea was thankful they'd crossed the room into the crypt below before things had truly popped off with the undead. "Yeah, I saw them. I was hoping they were just dead-dead, but I guess we're not quite that lucky today. The others will be fine. By going on ahead we're saving them from getting surrounded, in case there's something worse down the stairs." She hoped that was true, even if she was talking out her ass a bit. In reality, Azalea knew she was still useless in a fight as she was, and they were running out of time. If there was something ahead that could save them, she needed to drive on with full speed, or they'd run out of time.

"A cheat code... yeah. I guess you could say that I am. It seems I'm able to see this game down to it's code. Basically I can see things, and I can know things. There's a lot I still don't recognize, but I've beaten most of Godhunter, even if I skipped through most of the lore to get through it faster... It's the last thing I did before I..." Azalea's 'breath' snagged in her 'throat'. The last thing she did before... what? She remembered her big marathon stream, the last one before her regular shifts started up again. The gray market caffeine pills, the grayer market energy drinks she'd bought a flat of to stay up for the whole long weekend, and then... she couldn't remember.

Did she die? Was she dead on stream? Did that violate terms of service? There wasn't anyone there to turn it off or unplug her... Azalea tried to shake the idea out of her mind, shove it down to the very back of her attention. She gave Euphoria's hand a testing squeeze. The capable muscle in it reassured her. "Stick with me, and we'll get through it. Just listen to every useful thing I have to say." Azalea boasted, mostly for herself, as they entered the crypt.

Azalea was immediately struck by a wave of emotions not her own as they entered, and she knew there was someone there who needed them. "You're my muscle, Euphoria. I don't have much of anything to fight with yet, but I can see everything and direct where I need you." Azalea was pleased to see the Unblooded Shage already in fighting form. It had been the right move to bring the fighter with her on the expedition. "There's a necromancer, and some sort of goat. Might be a player." Azalea pointed, but Euphoria was already at it, leaping into action with a fierce strike. "Oh good, you know already."

That meant Azalea could focus her attention on the [Scapegoat], whom she discerned was the source of the emotion she'd felt. "You there!" She called to him as she crossed the room, giving the battle a wide berth. "Can you understand me? I think you're like us, and we're here to help, but we need to move quickly!"

Azalea used her [Meta-Analytic Computation] and [Appraisal, LVL 2] to scan the room, watching for traps and looking for something she could arm herself and the [Scapegoat] with on her route to assist him, as well as warn the Shage about anything she should know.

OOC: The Demilupin's [Familiar] Talent senses a sudden surge of emotion from The [Lunarian.] Firstly of surprise with small hints of curiosity, then turning suddenly to anger that was quickly replaced by a wave of sorrow and a surge of protective fear. The friendly intention of the [Lunarian] toward the group remained though, so what the heck was going on?!

"There's a necromancer, and some sort of goat..." rang in Euphoria's ear as she spotted something shifting in the dark. Her instinct kicked in and she was primed to attack it. "Get the goat!" Euphoria told Azalea, really hoping what she was about to fight wasn't another player. Regardless of if it was the Necromancer or the Goat she was warned about.

Euphoria was an athlete by nature, her body and mind primed for competitive domination. But she had never wielded a sword before, and she had never squared off against a Necromancer in the dark. Her half blindness made her sloppy, as did her inexperience, but the ease with which she moved her body made up for it. Just enough of it, at least. She lept into action and flubbed the landing. But was it really flubbing if the attack still made contact?

The sword was swung madly, without poise. Just a wild hunk of metal flying at the Necromancer only to hit his dagger. Not stopping to think, Euphoria brought Haloise back around for another swing. It hit harder this time, she could feel vibrations of the strike rattle up her companion's metal body and into her hands as they shattered bone. She was glad it was too dark to see most of the damage she was doing, and that her enemy wasn't made of flesh. Else she might have doubled over with nausea.

"Haloise, I hope you can't feel this--!" Euphoria screamed. Not the most epic of battle cries but the volume and intent was clear. She learned long ago how breath and grunts and bellows could focus the body. She sensed the Necromancer's sloppy misstep in the darkness and dug her back heel into the ground, before pushing off with great force, lunging for the skeleton's body.

Haloise was poised like she'd seen people hold swords in movies, the sharp end aimed at her target, ready to plunge into his cavernous body with an [Unarmed Attack] [09]. If the blade hit and penetrated the Necromancer, Euphoria would tap into her [Thought Acceleration], sensing the time inch forward in the heat of the moment. Then she would dislodge the blade by swinging upwards, slicing through whatever bone she could in a second brutal attack. Not stopping for the Necromancer's spine or skull or whatever stood in their way. Not until Haloise was raised over her head in victory. [39] Euphoria would put all her focus on the Necromancer, knowing if the books she read or games she played (which she didn't because she wasn't a nerd!) taught her anything, it was if he went down, so did his little minions.

But would they really be so lucky? Or this game be so kind?

(OOC: Euphoria sacrifices her move action to perform a Heavy Attack, unleashing one [Unarmed Attack] then a second one using [Thought Acceleration] if she succeeds.)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Thu 18 Aug 2022.

The demilupine winced as he felt the murderous aura radiate from the enemies. He had expected the creatures to be hostile but the emotions he felt were impossible to describe while still incredibly unpleasant. As disorienting as hearing nails on a chalkboard or the smell of a large dumpster. 'Fortunately they are stuck behind the prison bars,' he noted with a sigh of relief. That relief was cut short when he heard the grinding sound as they shoved the doors open. "What sort of shitty prison has the doors unlocked?!"

As he debated what to do he realized that others had descended down to this level. Dalton, now armored, wanted to defend them but realized the opportunity had passed. If they had spears like Euphoria mentioned he would be skewered from both sides if he tried to rush to them. He growled as he considered what to do. If he could not reach the others he could at least try to draw the monsters attention. He briefly glanced at the room he had just been in, a warden's office. "Rise and shine you useless goat brained idiots. Behold your warden, your jailor is alive all this time. Do you wish for me to kill you again? Come here and show me if you became useful in your next life!" He shouted down the hall as he taunted the demicaprine corpses to attack him and move away from the other players.

Dalton felt a surge of emotions both below and above him. It seemed various members were under attack. He could only hope the others could last until they had dealt with the monsters here. As the undead approached him he readied his shield and prepared to guard against their spear attacks [06]

OOC:
Action: Taunt demicaprine
Move: Guard

Old Bones isn't entirely sure how she got here or how the situation degraded so fast, but she is not immensely perturbed. She lollops with feigned disconcern towards the undead creatures, confident that she is a skeleton and skeletons are immune to piercing attacks like metal-tipped poking sticks. Once within charging distance she leaps forward, brandishing her twin dark-energy-infused swords with reckless abandon, defense but a secondary concern.

Earthborn

Grabbing the iron bars, you sank your consciousness into the task of dredging up from the 2nd dimension some phantasmal copy of the bars themselves. You found that you could not. The bars, secured to the earth; the earth, secured to the House; and the House, of itself, wrapped within the 4/5/6 dimensional matrix. He couldn't copy just the bars, because the system did not recognize them as an interactable object with its own history independent of the House. The only shadow these bars cast into the 2nd dimension was the same as the House's shadow.

At the same time, the very effort drew his attention to the zombified Demicaprines. They weren't like Old Bones; there wasn't really a consciousness there. They were animated by shadows of what they were. Reaching through Shadow, Earthborn struck out at Demicaprine D.

The azure water that animated the Demicaprine winked out, and it collapsed, inanimate.

[+10 XP.]

Liese Schwertgeist

After copying the sacrificial dagger, she was surprised to find that the copy she retained and the actual dagger with different. The actual dagger itself was absent of any ornamentation, but her copy bore a curious motif -

Something flickered nearby, a feminine silhouette. Then it disappeared, a Liese Schwertgeist felt something touch her. Not the sword she was now, but her-her. A hand on a shoulder she didn't have, reassuring. Just the feeling; she got no sense of the hand itself existing, she just . . could interpret the feeling of the force no other way. Then the hand disappeared entirely, and a voice touched her consciousness. Don't look too deeply into his affairs, miss. He won't hurt you, oh no, he'd never do that. But if you look into his affairs, miss, could be he'd start to like you. Then you might end up like me, and wish you could be so concrete a thing as a fire poker!

The voice and the presence and the flicker were another player, she felt. A jovial but clearly suffering one. She felt a kind of relief. Someone else had gotten an even suckier reincarnation, but was similarly positive about it. The motif on the dagger was gone - it was a normal copy of the bare, unornamented sacrificial dagger. So was any trace of the presence she'd just encountered. In fact, the memory of what had just happened seemed to be trying to fade away, but she fixed it in place before with sheer willpower.. [36]

Callisti

The [Scapegoat] was wearing a trap - a [Strange Bell] that she recalled from her gaming days was the basic item used to summon spirits, include ghost horses and the like. Essentially used for any kind of Necromancy. It rang without sound, but it was also loud enough to 'wake the dead', or so the lore went. Removing and stilling the bell might just send the dead back to being dead. She knelt and removed the bell from the Scapegoat, who did not resist.

[Strange Bell acquired.]

Unblooded Shage

She ripped through the Necromancer like it was paper mache. It felt effortless, and it felt to the ground in so many inanimate fragments.

+15 XP

Demilupine

Demilupine went to taunt the dead, and immediately found an unearthly Howl thrumming from his lungs. It felt good. It felt like the best kind of drunken karoke, singing his heart out with his wife and his kids after they'd grown up enough to drink, seeing them embarrassed a their dad belting out Queen. And it was damned loud.

All three Demicaprines - wait, the one surving Demicaprine, after Old Bones blew the other two - rushed him, and he deflected the spear with complete ease, obliterating the Demicaprine's poise at the same time. His automatic follow-up [Counter] with the stout mace crushed the Demicaprine.

Talent Added: Howl. +10 XP.

Old Bones

She cut down the down Demicaprines immediately. She didn't even feel herself "roll to hit". The fellow Undead hadn't recognized her as an enemy, so she was able to bisect them with one swipe of each blade without resistance.

[+20 XP.]

Scapegoat

Scapegoat pulled up his own character sheet. It was intriguing reading. He also felt one of the spiritual presence draw very close to him and remove the irritating 'silent' bell from around his neck. The Five of the sixteen presences had been silenced.

A mighty series of spiritual events had occured above him. A spiritual being had been slain by some kind of . . . spiritual predator, then had transferred its essence into a familiar spirit that was now the single brightest presence in the entire house. The floor above him was coated with some kind spirit-stuff - magical flame?

He could make out the spiritual 'trails' of these presences, anchoring them in space and giving him an idea of where he could safely walk.

Using [Silent Liturgy], he could 'speak Dhelevanian', whatever that meant.

[Young Dwarf]

Young Dwarf tripped as he wanted the stairs, his rotund rodent body falling ass over teakettle. He landed in a heap, witnessing a wolf-headed man howling, a skeleton cackling, and Earthborn staring intently at a corpse.

Seems he'd missed the fireworks. However, his character sheet bloomed into his consciousness - that was something. What? He had something in his inventory he hadn't equipped yet?

A little leather knapsack appear on his back, secured by a harness the included loops for tools and a pouch for odds and ends.

Murine Satchel [Tool-Type Armament]
Soulbound, Heroic

[Standard kit of the legendary dwarf metalworkers. One of the Heroic Relics granted to summoned heroes.

Allows for low-quality materials to be 'fused' into higher-quality materials.

To refine order from chaos defies nature even as it defines it.]

[The Cycle continues unbroken . . . Timestamp 20:21]
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:44, Fri 19 Aug 2022.

Scapegoat regarded his own internal character sheet curiously, studying some of the details briefly as he then felt one of the beings nearby draw close and remove the bell from about his neck. Reaching out with [Silent Liturgy], he opted to utilize that ability now and tried to speak Dhelevanian to them.

this one appreciates the response to its initial call : having just awoken to this strange world : this one would appreciate if you returned that which was taken : this one has not gone about taking things from others : has it Scapegoat said, speaking to Callisti.

While the goat's eyes and mouth were both still sewed shut, seemingly preventing it from seeing and speaking normally, it did begin to move about somewhat as it used [Internal Oculus] to sense where it could safely walk, though a little sluggishly it seemed.

After a moment of shifting, he continued, unspeaking of : it seems a great deal has been going on up above : is it entirely safe here as yet

Especially with that : fire : and the others within the building he asked.

In the meantime, he looked to try another skill that might help him in navigating it seemed, regarding [Silent Liturgy]'s power of reverse echolocation to see if it would allow him to see clearer the environment around him.

[Private to GM: Figure his use of Silent Liturgy to speak Dhelevanian is more a direct sort of thing, so used it as a sort of communication - though if that is incorrect, can edit as needed! Also figured he'd either try to 'study' the reverse echolocation information in his sheet (if there was any signs of descriptions on the sheet to explain skills) or test it out briefly to see if it worked as he thought. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:56, Fri 19 Aug 2022.

The Old Bones looks down at the obliterated remains of the undead creatures she had so effortlessly dispatched. "They didn't even try to fight back," she says with mild disappointment, nudging one of their bodies with her foot. "Good. For them. They couldn't have withstood my awesomeness anyways. Definitely that."

She leaves the foes (gods, she really hopes they were foes) to their timely redeath and explores the area for just a moment before something catches her attention. "That [Strange Bell], can I see it for a moment?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:27, Fri 19 Aug 2022.

Having landed squarely on his face (once again) after his tumble down the stairs, the young dwarf rolled over from his stomach and onto his back, taking his newly acquired satchel off in the process and holding it over himself to examine it. He let out a long, high-pitched sigh, and blinked while he considered the situation.

"Nope... not dead... not like I thought anyway. I've been Isekaied, and this is some twisted video game world. Wonderful." He said, squeaking in rattish to himself.

With another heavy sigh, the young dwarf wrestled himself back to his tiny feet and put the satchel back on. He'd been in pretty good shape in his previous life, and dealing with his current 'mass' felt incredibly tedious, and more than a little bit embarrassing. Once back onto his feet, he stood up on his hind legs and put his hands on his hips, once again looking more like a cartoon animal than an actual rat.
"You! Hey! [Earthborn]!" He pointed at the same man who he'd followed down into the basement and spoke in a language he'd understand, having caught up just in time to watch him throw shadows and discorporate a... thing. A zombie? A 'Demicaprine'... whatever that was. "My name is Josh, and I'm going to go ahead and use this [Mimicry] thing on you. You mind? Can I, uh... borrow the power you just used to kill that thing? I need consent for that." He said to the man, while also attempting to invoke his [Mimicry] power to copy the man's form.

... and just like that, he was no longer a fat rat, but a tiny-sized copy of the person he was looking at. Progress?

He looked around. "... and also can anybody please tell me what the fuck is going on?!"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:12, Sat 20 Aug 2022.

If you had asked Dalton yesterday how he would feel when he caved in a skull he would have imagined he'd feel horrified. He would defend himself if necessary but he had never found himself in a fight. Instead as he yanked his mace free he felt good, great even. His attempt at a taunt had turned into a primal howl. He wasn't sure what had happened but he felt like he could take on the world as adrenaline coursed through his body.

He looked down the hall and noted that the other had dispatched the rest of the goats. He started to let out a sigh of relief when he felt another spike of emotion from above them. His eyes turned towards the ceiling and the wolf-man uttered a low growl. "The others above us are in danger. Not sure what is happening but we don't have much time. The ghost-eater will be here soon. I'm going up."

He started to move the staircase when he noted a large rat with a crown? Dalton had seen enough strange things that he assumed it was some other unfortunate player. "Sorry little guy no time for introductions. If any of you are coming with me then stick close and I'll protect you. If you guys are staying down here go find Euphoria and tell her we're under attack. Eri said we only survive if we stick together and I might need her expertise." With that said he waited if anyone would join him before he rushed up the stairs to find whatever enemies were in the house.

Azalea eyed the ponderous bell. This was a fine treasure, if a troublesome one. She wondered if the holder would be the one to have dominion over these dead. Something about the idea made her 'teeth' itch with glee. She had half a mind to keep it. Azalea held the bell by the hammer, and stilled it, making sure it was no longer ringing. She turned it over, appreciating it when she 'heard' the Scapegoat's words.

"Hmmm..." she considered, as though it were mildly painful to let the pretty thing go, but she acquiesced. There was something a little bit cute about the macabre goat that tilted the scales in her mind. "Yes, I suppose it doesn't do to rob the unprepared. Especially when one is looking to make a friend." She returned the bell, placing it back upon the Scapegoat. She eyed the thread that bound his senses. "Do you need help with those threads? Do they impede you? The others you're sensing are frie... allies. We've had fast acquaintance, and you may have to hit the ground running faster still, as we are short on time. I'm Azalea and I have all of our best interests at heart, so stick with me. As for the danger..."

Azalea looked over just in time to see Euphoria fell the necromancer. "RIGHT ON! You rock! Send 'im back where he came from!" She rooted at the Unblooded Shage. "Check for loot, and let's haul ass back upstairs! I don't think there's an exit here."

"These mobs are dead, (hopefully killing the leader stopped the rest of them, too) but there's a player killer coming for us. We need to get you suited up ASAP, and regroup before he shows up and we start losing people. Can you walk?"

The Callisti gave the room one last frantic search for loot, equipment or an exit, and failing that, helps the Scapegoat and the Unblooded Shage haul butt back upstairs.

Ah, the exhilaration of the fight. It'd been so long since she moved her body freely and at full power. Nix all the stumbling. She'd get her groove back. Still easier than trying to use a controller...

Euphoria held Haloise above her head, and her arms shook from exertion and adrenaline both. She desperately needed a chance to catch her breath, but the Unblooded Shage didn't have time. None of them did. Azalea's voice cut through all the blood pounding in her ear. It seemed to be a cheer of excitement. Euphoria had missed that sound too, even if Azalea wasn't a crowd in herself. "I... I think we got him," she huffed, staring at the bones scattered at her feet. Yeah, probably. Euphoria followed Azalea's voice in the darkness to where she and the Scapegoat were.

"I've got a blade, if you need those threads cut," Euphoria offered. If the Scapegoat agreed she would carefully snip his eyes and mouth open. Possibly after Haloise transformed herself into a copy of the Necromancer's dagger. Might be a bit easier to handle than a foot-long sword. She would then help him up, or give him room to follow. If he had to be carried, she would leave it to Azalea. Just in case they ran into more danger while backtracking. Would be nice to have both hands free for fighting. A part of her kind of wished there would be more fighting. Was that wrong?

If there was no exit or anything else needed from her, Euphoria would race back up the stairs from where they came, stopping short to see all the bone carnage wrought by their allies. "Hot damn. You guys... sure took care of shit up here," she'd say to whoever was present. She recognized Old Bones, and the Demilupine, but not the Young Dwarf or the Earthborn. They hadn't the pleasure of meeting yet, and there wasn't time for pleasantries. "Downstairs is all cleared up too. Also, we found a new guy. Well, a goat. A Goat Guy. I'm just gonna let him explain..." She gave up herself, still trying to catch her breath from all the fighting and running and all the goddamn STAIRS. One guess what her next activity was going to be...

Running up more stairs.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:31, Fri 19 Aug 2022.

From up the stairs to the Armory, the group here could suddenly hear a loud shout from [The Lunarian].

"You guys! If you can hear me, Everyone needs to get up here NOW! [Grimalkin] is fighting a Ghost Eater in the main hall, and thanks to Eri its injured enough where we stand a chance to beat it but we have to hurry! We need to all get up there and attack together! There's fire, but they won't harm you - Eri made sure of that before she...well, just HURRY guys! Now or never!"

Then suddenly, those here could somehow sense Starling running away back up the stairs to the Main Hall despite not visually seeing him. And you guys could tell this weird sensation was thanks to [The Lunarian] doing something to enhance their senses.

OOC: Lunarian isn't down here, and he ran off up to the main hall. He came to shour a warning and then headed back.

Having seen the shambling undead and the azure water that animated them, the [Earthborn] Appraised the Strange Bell in the hopes of wresting the 0th level of whatever necromancy infused it free and into his fledgling repertoire.

After nodding his approval to the [Young Dwarf], he also Appraised the other's transformation, wondering how different replicating an object and replicating a being were. As both magician and occultist, he'd relied on assistants to smooth out the rough edges of things. If he could make SWORDS with his magic, and the dead could be raised, then perhaps life, too...

He leaned down to grab a bronze spear from the demicaprine he'd deanimated. Anything more solid than the shadowstuff weapons he'd handed out was an improvement. Probably.

"I don't mind you doing whatever comes to mind, Josh. I'm Aaron. Did I say that? Getting kind of blurry. Do me a favor, if you - figure anything out about my, uh, form, let me know. Clearly information is power, and time is not an ally.

I don't know much more than you - we're here, everything's new and terrifying, and someone's come to kill us." Aaron glanced up. "Unless we kill him first. I think."

He took stock of the room, turning to Old Bones and Unblooded (Blooded?) Shage. "God, you guys are scary. If you're still spoiling for a fight...it sounds like we've got one."

He didn't have the authority to ask [Scapegoat] to share its bell with [Old Bones] as she'd requested, but if Delver of Secrets/Detect Arcane had picked up anything from Appraising the bell, demicaprines, or Old Bones herself that might offer insight, he'll share it.

After that - barring all the things he wanted to learn and try, not knowing what he could learn, not knowing what he could do - he'll take yet another fortifying deep breath, heft his bronze spear in one hand and and the shadow-hewn blade in the other, and go charging upstairs to danger.

"I'd say whether we're spoiling for a fight is irrelevant, considering-"


The Old Bones releases a loud, put-upon sigh which is impressive considering she doesn't have any lungs. "Yeah, that. Alright forget the bell, the bell can come later." No time to science when there is some murder to do. She charges up the stairs towards Moonbeam's voice, swords ready.

Haloise terminates the line of thought immediately when warned. It barely even latched onto the words - instead, it compartmentalizes each piece into base concepts that it would be able to understand when it was not utilize it's wielder's [Thought Acceleration]. It can process that information - very slowly - later. Now, though, the spatha has other things to do. It sends a short line to it's wielder, before it 'looks' into it's inventory. Hm. The bronze spears are useful, but... Haloise thinks about how it's wielder fights. Wildly, it thinks - Haloise is pretty sure that the presence of true vision wouldn't help that in the slightest. The clean, precise strikes required of a spear without a specialized spearhead would not fit Euphoria's battle style. It can imagine something that would work, however. So, it gets to work.

The... unconventional way Haloise created the Spatha is lost on it, but it knows it can reach for that talent again and experiment with it a bit more. The long handle of the spear is meant to be held in two hands, and thrusted forward in jabbing motions, which drives the head of the spear into the target. The spear was fastened with a ring, and it untapered slightly at the end to make sure your hands to slide onto the head of the spear while holding it near the top. It can adjust the overall size of the shaft, then, detach the spearhead, which is hafted by a ring. Haloise doesn't like how loose the poorly fitted ring is, so it instead shapes the metal of the ring into the adjusted shape of the shaft it saved. Then, it loads the Spatha model, and very slowly lowers it onto the haft of the spear, then using the two metal sticks it crafted from the rings into pins that it can use to fit the spatha in place with proper fixation. The [Liese Schwertgeist] is going to use it [Administrate] talent in order to create a 'new' weapon, combining the rough shapes and structure of the spear with the already-created specifics of the Spatha, to make a longer weapons with the same cutting power as the Spatha. The closest comparison would be a glaive, or maybe a nagitana. Hopefully, this works; Haloise would hate to have done all this work just for there to be total system failure when it tries to transform.

The Young Dwarf and the Liese Schwertgeist each attempted to take on new forms; the Young Dwarf transformed into a half-pint version of Earthborn, but found himself unable to use the Earthborn's magical skill. It seemed only inborn Talents could be borrowed; not knowledge. The Liese Schwertgeist, on the other hand, found her [Administrate] skill frustrated. Again and again, it attempted to produce the desired result, each time rejecting it as an invalid target for [Possess Weapon]

[Administrate:

Analyzing . . unable to fulfill request. Replicate Weapon Talent unable to produce weapon forms that have not been observed.]

Scapegoat refused the multiple offers to remove his bindings. this one is a sacred vessel : altering body : dangerous : deadly : that one is offering is appreciated : this one will give aid : fight ahead  the little blind goat then began its journey up the far stairs, occasionally bumping into walls along the way. He would arrive later than the others.

Earthborn Appraised the [Strange Bell].

Strange Bell [Chime-Type Armament]

Peculiar silent instrument of the Ahemait ferrymen.

Calls wandering souls, promising solace to restless shades.

As precious to the wise as it dangerous to the unwary.

[The Cycle continues unbroken . . . Timestamp 20:22.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:17, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

"Well, unfortunately I just learned one limitation." Josh, the [Young Dwarf] sighed, releasing his mimicry of the Aaron's Earthborn form and returning to his fat-rat base persona. "No copying learned talents, unfortunately. Just inborn stuff. I'll have to experiment more later." Apparently they had all spawned here in the middle of a fight, and Josh found himself entirely unarmed and more than a bit under-sized. He'd hope to borrow the magic he'd seen Aaron deploy, but his hopes for grabbing an effective ranged attack using mimicry had been dashed. At least until he could observe more of the others in a fight.

Assuming he could even reach the fight! His size issue made the stairs he'd just tumbled-down a whole other challenge in itself!

He blinked as a blind, mouth-sewn, dead goat sauntered past, another player apparently.

Well, it could have all been worse, he supposed. Josh watched the goat stumble around for a moment, before an idea suddenly struck him.
"Here, friend, let's help each other out." The [Young Dwarf] said, rushing up to grab the fur of the goat before he could get too far and attempting to hop onto their back. "You let me ride you to the fight, and I'll make sure you don't run into too many walls. That way we can both get there quicker. Sound good? Name's Josh, by the way."

On the way upstairs, either mounted on [Scapegoat] or not, the [Young Dwarf] sought to solve his other problem: his lack of weaponry. Locating strips of cloth (either from curtains or table cloths, or even from other people's clothes), he would attempt to bodge-together a rat-sized sling weapon using his [Ratwork] ability and Murine Satchel.

[Scapegoat] considers the offer from the [Young Dwarf], silently accepting it if he is able to handle a rider of his size. At the least, it would allow them to get there faster.


Meanwhile, he continues to use his [Internal Oculus] to monitor those above and try to identify the for from the players in this case. In route, he'd target Pyrmalkin with his [Scapegoat] ability. As he drew closer too, he'd use his [Silent Liturgy] to confuse the Ghost-eater as well.