"And the large fox there is Keyla, my Dire Fox companion." Tsuki said with a small nod.

The swirling stones stopped orbiting Connor and began to fly away around the room as the large Dire fox excitedly lopped after it.

"Oh by the heavens it's my one nemesis! My natural enemy! and....og god oh god she;s coming this way! Eeeck! It's happening again!" the familiar said as it desperately tried to avoid the pouncing fox. The familiar zoomed around the room comically, trying to avoid the fox.

"Good God no. Please...please no. Don't salivate on the... *slober sound* ...oh my poor facets!"

- "Well, might as well open mine then..."

Chalei'nh went to her HUD and selected the lootbox she had received, as well as any others that were currently in her inventory. She hadn't paid much attention to the system since arriving, and had understandably been a little preoccupied since coming here, so she figured it was possible that she may have missed one or two of them.

- "Oh and... i've got a confession to make: I'm probably the reason V'Verik was kind of an ass back there."

She gave the party an apologetic smirk, before continuing.

- "I already told you i spent like half a day in chargen, right? Well, when i was going through the race options, i customized the skin color when i was on half-orc before switching to what i am now, Elf. To my surprise, i notice i kept the skin color as that was now flagged as a user customization setting. So then i went over to the advanced options and minimized limb length before maximizing general character height, and then maximizing limb length again to actually break the maximum height the system allowed an Elf to be. I also managed to be part Dragon, can breathe negative energy, can punch ghosts like they're not even incorporeal, breathe underwater and later levels allow me to fly. So... I guess in V'Verik's eyes, i'm the guy that basically took his game for a ride."

Moya opened her own lootbox first but then looked at Chalei'nh with the standard wide-eyed, mouth open expression commonly known among humans as 'gobsmacked'.

"Wow! It never even occurred to me to try something like that. Guid on ye. That's b'llient."

Chalei'nh chuckled when she noticed Moya's expression.

- "Thanks. Most of that time was actually spent finetuning my appearance so i didn't end up looking like Slenderman, so it's not the absolute maximum, but it was close enough. 'Sides, i'm an Aussie, you do not want to know how many Crocodile Dundee ripoffs i've seen stepping into the game. Here's a hint: There were more than there were Bards trying to seduce their way past everything."

"Aye", says Moya, "And I imagine there's loads ae Scottish people come down wearing kilts, playin' bagpipes an' tossin cabers while there's a skein dubh hidden in their socks and a wee voady in their sporrans."  She grins, "That said, I imagine the sound ae the bagpipes playin' "The Campbells are coming" is enough to scare off many a monster."

Calei'nh gave Moya a nod of approval.

- "Hey, if i could pick between the two, i'd pick a good old Highlander Charge over a group of people trying to seduce something that, had they paid attention in biology class, they'd know made a habit of eating their mates afterward."

She smirked, remembering something.

- "As far as instruments go though, fairly sure you couldn't beat the Swiss. An alphorn is technically a musical instrument after all, and you could hear those for miles. Arguably you could even convince the System that it deals sonic area damage to everything in front of it."

Ignoring Cabochon's plight, Connor focused back on the party.

"You know it's funny you mention crocodile ripoffs. One of our team members who got sent elsewhere to another party by our D'Monix overlords was basically a crocodile man. Or something similar anyway." he said with a grin.

He then held up a hand.

"Ok bear with me for a sec I gotta concentrate a bit. My HUD has been practically lighting up with messages and alerts since we started the next game level, and I know the AI is gonna start getting snarky soon if I don't check them out and clear them from its queue or whatever." he said as he mentally focused on his HUD.

The first thing he did was mentally set his level 3 parameters. He gained some hp, and because his level increased so did his skills, saves, and checks by 1. He gained some hp, but the really big feature he unlocked was level 2 magic. He took two spells that could be of use as an abjurer - dispel magic and resist elements - and also took Agent Gallbury's advice to heart and got a flashy attack spell that he thought he could use strategically. In this case, Flaming Sphere. That ought to wow and impress the audience a bit, anyway. For a feat he had to decide between toughness and magical crafting and decided on the former. He;s look at magical crafter in a few levels but for now survival was paramount and another +1 hp/level would help him as a caster.

He then gave some further commands mentally.

Computer? Please display my message inbox and show all new unread messages.

Computer? Please list any new loot boxes I have acquired, including look how big you are and  tough guy, huh.

Tsuki looked towards the other's for a moment. "Could one of you help me for a moment?" She asked with a calm voice. "I need someone to cup their hands together like so..." She would demonstrate. "...in front of me for a moment as I do something. You have nothing to fear I will not hurt you."

Moya nodded and knelt before Tsuki saying, "There ye are, Tsuki. I'll be yer cornucopia."

OOC - Aaargh I hate when my phone corrects my name to something wrong!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:11, Sun 31 July 2022.

Tsuki's tails wished behind her a bit as Moya kneeled before her, and she chuckled a bit. "You didn't need to kneel, I just needed you to cup your hands in front of me." She said with a small cheerful laugh. Then helps Moya up, and helps her position her hands. "There, perfect. Now watch, as I create a life." Wait, create a life? Did Tsuki suddenly become a god?

Tsuki would her hands together palms facing Moya's cupped hands, her thumbs interlocked. Then she would begin a small incantation. The small incantation grew in length as soon blue magic would begin to run along Tsuki's body and into Moya's hands. Small stars could be seen interlaced within that magic as it began to pool within Moya's hands, and soon began to form something small, round, and solid. This would last for several moments longer before Tsuki's magic would finally begin to subside, and her chanting finally faded, leaving a small smooth stone within Moya's hands. The stone was beautiful a deep violet in color, and upon closer inspection one could almost swear that they could see small specks of light swirling within it almost as if Moya was holding a solidified galaxy within her hands. Then suddenly small detached crystalize legs appear from its sides as it comes to life lifting itself up.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:25, Sun 31 July 2022.

Moya resists the urge to open her hands cause the stone person might not like to fall and she feels the need to treat such stones gently.

"Her name is Starry. She was created with a small bit of my magic, and life essence." She said to Moyo with a soft smile. "What do you think?"

Then she would reach out with a hand and tap Starry gently. "Hey you, Starry, wake up."

Small detached crystalize legs appear from the sides of the tiny stone as it comes to life lifting itself up. It would twitch each leg a moment then scurry about Moya's hand from each side to the other for several moments. "I have legs! I can move! I'm alive! Wait...I'm a rock?"

"She's very pretty", says Moya.  "But how deadly is she? Deadly is important down here."

"I'm not meant to be deadly! I'm meant to make my master more deadly! Aren't I master?" Starry chirped happily as she turned in Moya's hand to face Tsuki. So the smaller leg's must be the front since Starry has no face...

"That's exactly right Starry." She said with a soft smile. "Starry boosts my own innate magical abilities as well as my spell abilities as an oracle. Plus a few other things."

"Oooh Cool" says Moya and Starry is indeed, lovely.

Moya takes a look at her HUD, checking what's what and indeed, what the display looks like generally.

Moya moves to let Starry go to Tsuki while she examines the boon and the lootbox she has been given on her HUD.

She touches the boon first, trying to see what it is.  She would say it's like Christmas but that's not a big thing in Scotland.  "Is it ma brthday?" she asks.

The System AI decides...for whatever reason...to make everyone's messages audible and visual to everyone in the room. It may just be feeling lazy.

"You have gotten the 'Tough guy, huh?' Sliver loot box!"

Sure enough, the icon floating in the air shows a sliver chest, which opens upon touch. It reveals a healing potion and 50 gold.

"You four have gotten a upgrade ticket!" It says directly to Nathan, Connor, Malcom, and Tsuki.

"Upgrade ticket! You may enhance any possession that is upgradable. Once used, this ticket will  dissolve until you get another. Any upgrades are permanent."

"You have gotten the following message from your PR agent!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:30, Mon 01 Aug 2022.

Sure enough, the holographic head of Gallbry appears.

"Nice job everyone! You all have gotten the first of your patron boxes. Keep making your patrons happy, and they will spend more money to get you better stuff. They are watching, but cannot directly communicate with you. They do communicate with me, and no, I can't send messages back and forth between you. So don't ask." She sighs. Then the head vanishes.

Each holographic patron box hovers over each member of the team. Each being different than the others.

Over Chalei'nh's head was a box looking it had been handcrafted by some sort of woodcrafting master. It opened, and a floating ghostly scroll unfolds and shows a sash that looks like its meant to be worn around the waste.

"You have received the sash of the shielding wind! Courtesy of Elfcorp!"

[Private to Chalei'nh: OOC-Wearing the sash gives you +1 Ac, and an additional +1 Ac when you use the parry action. This combines with any other bonus to AC you would normally get.  ]

Over Connor's head, a large crystal seems to float. It unfolds, almost growing an opening in itself. There is revealed a small crystal orb.

"Cabochon and his familiar Connor has been given the Orb of focus! Courtesy of the Tonestones!"

[Private to Connor: OOC-Putting the Orb of focus into Cabochon's orbit allows you to spend a action to focus any spell through your familiar. Getting +2 to hit or save DC as needed.]

Over Malcom's head was a chest that seems to be plush, and almost seems like a toy chest for a child. It opens, and shows a golden amulet with a hole in the center. The hole seems like it would perfectly contain the gem he wears around his neck.

"Malcom has been given the Amulet of the lifesaver! Courtesy of the Childsavers!"

[Private to Malcom: OOC-When using your Lay on Hands, You heal an extra 6 HP to yourself or other.]

Over Mo's head, there is a chest made from various animal bones. It opens with a hyena-like cackle, and shows a bracer made of scales.

"Mo has been given the hide bracer of fireproofing! Courtesy of Gnolls Inc!"

[Private to Mo: OOC-You double any fire resistance you have while wearing the bracer.]

Over Moya's head, a large mushroom hovers, and then melts away into a wand of living wood. Seemingly grown rather that carved.

"Moya has been given the Wand of Plant growth! Courtesy of Funguyfungi."

[Private to Moya: OOC-The wand gives you access to the at will Tanglefoot spell, cast as if you had access to the cantrip at your level. It also can cast Fungal Infestation 2/day. Both count as plant spells for your tattoo's effects.]

Nathan's box seems to be made of advanced clockwork and steel. It opens, and shows a new advanced rifle with a built in bayonet!

"Nathan has been given the Shobhad longrifle! Courtesy of Longdeath, Inc."

[Private to Nathan: OOC-This rifle has the following stats:

Damage 1d8 P; Bulk 1
Hands 2; Range 120 ft.; Reload 1
Category Martial
Group Firearm; Traits Backstabber, Concussive, Fatal d12, Kickback, Rare, Volley.

Rifle has a built in silencer, bayonet, and advanced stabilizer to negate Kickback minus. Your scope artifact will attach to the weapon. This will allow you to ignore the Volley trait.]

Tsuki's chest seems to be made from Bamboo, and opens to show a ring. The ring seems to have some sort of constant electrical charge coming from an area where a gem on such a ring would be.

"Tsuki has been given the Ring of Bolt Charging! Courtesy of the Stormchasers!"

[Private to Tsuki: OOC-The ring allows any spell to be changed to lighting damage. The ring also increases any lighting damage by +3.]

When people reach up and take the items, they become solid and appear on their person. Knowledge of the item's ability's are listed in each person's private HUD.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:47, Mon 01 Aug 2022.

Chalei'nh reached up and took the sash, looking it over while she inspected the flavor text and stats of the item. Once she was satisfied she wrapped the cloth around her waist, looking it over to see how good it looked on her. The empty box and scroll she would attempt to place back in her inventory as it looked rather nice, though there was the possibility it would dissipate now that the lootbox had been officially 'used' of course.

- "Ooh noice, won't say no to being harder to hit."

Satisfied, she looked at the others, waiting to see what their reactions were to their items -- and maybe a hint of what it was that they did.

"Interesting indeed. A ring that allows me to change the elements of my spells to electricity." Then she looked at her other loot box. "Hmmm...  Let's see what happens." She considered for a moment, then finally took the upgrade ticket and used it to upgrade her Amulet of the Nine tails.

[Private to Tsuki: OOC-you never used your 1st upgrade ticket]

[Private to GM: Nope. She's using it now though. She wants to see what will happen.]

[Private to Tsuki: Gotcha. My point was is that you only have 1 upgrade ticket, not 2.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:56, Tue 02 Aug 2022.

"Och! Blessed Be!" says Moya, "Thank you so much Fungi Funguy. This is just what the herbalist ordered.  This is going to be very helpful in combat."