Gimme My Treasure (FFD)

Lost Lucre
Undine was accustomed to this place. The soothing words of the White Mages and the ever-looming presence of the obnoxious maitre'd. It was where her story began in this foul city, and she felt it was the signal of her Pravokan terminus as well. She sat up and collected her belongings... her belongings! Where was her gold? Her mood went from comfortable to foul instantaneously, and the grinning maitre'd earned his right as her first target.

"Where is it, you worthless pile of ogre droppings?" The maitre'd played dumb for but a moment until he felt the sting of her blade against his throat. It was time to talk, and talk he did with tears and pleadings for his life. "Th- the thieves guild took it! There was a burly man, a lil’ Black Mage, and what looked like one of their members. I was told I'd be killed if I didn't let it happen. Oh please lady, don't kill me. I've got six and a half kids, a bed-ridden wife, and two needy concubi-" Undine threw him to the ground and moved on.

She needed more information on its whereabouts, so she ruefully headed towards the roughest pub in the city. As she entered, a group of pirates unsurprisingly began ogling and harassing her. She calmly sat at the bar and nursed a drink until they approached, wearing their devious intentions on their sleeves.

[Battle begins. PIRATE123. Feel free to RP a bit to get info. I'll play along barring anything absurd. If you don't wish to, I will work it in.]

(Undine)

Undine glanced up from her "cider" to see the group of Pirates approaching her. She rolled her eyes, observing the stupid looks on their faces. But they seemed as good a place as any to start looking for leads on the members of the Thieves' Guild; they might even have connections there themselves. Either way, they were only mere Pirates, so any risk from them was negligible. She would have liked to use a mind-control spell on them to extract some information, but she needed a Confuse spell to use as a base. So, she'd have to resort to smooth talking - or, more likely, brute force. She turned to face them as they stopped next to her, composing herself and reigning in her disdain and disgust for a moment. "Can I help you?"

"Har, yeah, we reckon we can find a way ye might!" They started laughing and elbowing each other, at this point surrounding her. She had expected as much from them.

"I hope you aren't thinking of anything that might upset the owner of this... fine establishment." She responded, looking back at them. She was answered by several devious laughs.

"Nah, nah, we jus' want to 'talk' with ye a bit, get real friendly-like, y'know? Why don't we go outside, where we can 'talk' a bit more private-like... heheh," one said, motioning somewhat intimidatingly.

Undine responded rather cooly, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay inside and talk. As for conversation, why don't you tell me what you know about the Thieves' guild?"

"Now why would you want to worry your little 'ead about that? Besides, we weren't asking."

"Then why did you phrase your sentence in the form of a question?"

"Listen Missy, we're getting tired of your li-"

"And I'm starting to lose my patience with you morons!" she interjected, rising from her seat. The trio could now see her sword at her side. By this point most of the still-open eyes in the bar had turned toward them. The three started laughing at her.

"Oh, the little girly has a knifey! Oooo, how scary!" one of them mocked, still laughing. "Why don't ye just calm down and come along before ye get yerself hurt."

"I have a better idea." Undine responded. "If you three can subdue me - as it seems you well intend to - I'll come along out back with you. But if I can defeat the three of you, you have to tell me everything you know about the Thieves' Guild and answer all my questions - assuming you can still talk, of course. Before we begin, however, I'd advise you to just answer my questions now and save yourselves the pain. You can't beat me."

The three roared with even more laughter. "Alright, ye've got yerself a deal!" The three got into fighting stances, though Undine remained motionless. One jeered, "Well, aren't ye gunno take out that pretty little knife of yers? ...Wait, ye don't be planning on using magicks now, do ye?"

Undine scoffed. "Are you kidding? You three aren't worth the spell charges. As for my sword... I won't be needing it." A subtle grin crept across her face. "Besides, this way it's less likely I'll damage all of you past the point of being useful."

[Undine eschews her sword and relies upon fisticuffs for this battle]

Bar-Room Brawl
PIRATE3: 1-Hit 1-Damage against Undine. A left hook to the jaw knocks one out.

Undine: 1-Hit 7-Damage against PIRATE1. Terminated.

PIRATE2: 1-Hit 1-Damage against Undine

PIRATE1: 1-Hit 1-Damage against Undine

[Autobattle since this is laughable for you]

Undine: 1-Hit 12-Damage against PIRATE3. Terminated. A kick to the pirate behind her finishes him off.

PIRATE2: 1-Hit 1-Damage against Undine

Undine: Misses against PIRATE2

PIRATE2: 1-Hit 1-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 10-Damage against PIRATE2. Terminated. And an uppercut with a statuesque followthrough.

Victory: Party members gain 240 experience and 120 gold

Even Undine could not hide her smirk. She took a mug of ale and poured is slowly over the first pirate until he regained consciousness, sputtering for breath. Undine pressed her boot firmly against his throat and, as with the maitre'd, the pirate quickly shifted stance to weak and groveling. "Thieves guild... led by a scallywag with a Mohawk. I hope ye kill em. We pirates hate thieves fer gettin' in our way." She eased the pressure a bit. "Rumor 'as it, he tricked a crew o' newcomers who didn't know any better to carry some gold northeast a'ways fer him. Bikke was mighty mad he was, and he sent a group of pirates t'kill em all and take the gold. They're prob'ly dead by now."

Undine, satisfied with her new-found knowledge, strode from the bar to prepare for the journey northeast. [More with next update as I hope you will have a party of four]

Gold Recovery Crew
Undine made her way back to the arena searching for a couple allies. She found her teammate Atma along with Muteki, Obsidian, and John wandering from the waiting room wearing foul facades. She explained the situation and beckoned them join her in her quest for justice.

[Please let me know if you do not wish to join the gold recovery crew and I will alter in the next update. Atma, play along that your money pouch was removed for the tourney for err extra agility and stuff.] =)

The adventurers left Pravoka, seeking those the robbers and the Mohawk Man. Similar to the earlier group, they followed the shoreline and observed some ogres in the distance. This group was not in the mood to slog through the forest nor did they fear ogres. It was time to take out some aggression. [Battle begins. Targets OGRE123. Please enter your commands.]

(Atma)

"Damned medics... not only did they mess up my feather, but they managed to misplace my money belt..."


 * Atma vents his frustration on Ogre1.

Round 1
Obsidian: Casts Ice on OGRE1 for 54. Obsidian feels more comfortable out in the open blasting his foes.

OGRE3: 1-Hit 6-Damage against Undine

John: 1-Hit 15-Damage against OGRE1

Undine: Misses against OGRE1

OGRE2: 1-Hit 5-Damage None against Atma

Atma: 1-Hit 16-Damage against OGRE1

OGRE1: 1-Hit 20-Damage None against Atma

[Undine 94/105, Atma 95/120, John 116/116, Obsidian 99/99. Please enter your commands.]

(Undine)

Undine fumed at having missed the Ogre. She was trying to decide whether it was worth using a Temper to increase their damage output and save healing resources in the long run. She was getting ready to strike, but hesitating while she pondered her options.

Round 2
Undine: Critical! 1-Hit 53-Damage against OGRE2

Obsidian: Casts Ice on OGRE2 for 68. Terminated with a very nicely done one-two punch.

John bonks the deceased ogre.

OGRE3: 1-Hit 10-Damage against Undine

OGRE1: 1-Hit 18-Damage against Undine

DragonAtma: Misses against OGRE1. These ogres seem more agile than those past.

[Undine 66/105, DragonAtma 95/120, John 116/116, Obsidian 99/99. Please enter your commands. I will likely autobattle after this.]

(Undine)

Undine was rather happy at the results of the last round, which made up for her whiff in the first. She set her sights on Ogre3 for the next round.

Round 3
Undine: 1-Hit 32-Damage against OGRE3

John: Misses against OGRE3

Obsidian: 1-Hit 6-Damage against OGRE1

OGRE3: 1-Hit 6-Damage against Atma

Atma: 1-Hit 29-Damage against OGRE1. Terminated.

[Autobattle]

John: Misses against OGRE3

Atma: 1-Hit 23-Damage against OGRE3

OGRE3: 1-Hit 16-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 29-Damage against OGRE3

Obsidian: Misses against OGRE3

John: 1-Hit 5-Damage against OGRE3

Atma: Misses against OGRE3

OGRE3: 1-Hit 8-Damage against Atma

Obsidian: 1-Hit 4-Damage against OGRE3. Terminated.

Victory: Party members gain 292 experience and 146 gold

A satisfying victory soothed their anxiety somewhat. They continued their brisk walk northeast along the coast. Atma and Undine discussed various strategies that could be employed against the thieves while John and Obsidian moved from one magical intrigue to the next. As the mud hut entered the horizon, they could see a skirmish in the distance, but not before they were attacked once again by two creeps and an iguana.

[Undine 50/105, Atma 81/120, John 116/116, Obsidian 99/99. CREEP12 IGUANA remain. Please enter your commands and let me know if you healed between rounds.]

(Obsidian)

Feeling quite triumphant after somehow managing to down an Ogre with his wimpy staff, Obsidian skipped along happily and was caught completely by surprise by the enemies that instantly attacked unprovoked. He did the only thing that came naturally to him in such a situation and flung a bolt of lightning at the first Creepy Crawly thing he saw.

(Undine)

Undine thanked Atma for the CURE, and used on on him in return. He wasn't in any real danger at the moment, but it made sense to make everyone as healthy as possible during downtime, just to make sure they would be as prepared as possible. [If Undine's HP is 75 or less after Atma's CURE, she uses a second CURE on herself. Elsewise, she forgoes a second heal]

...

Seeing Atma and Obsidian targeting Creep1, Undine figured that they could probably beat it if they got lucky. Deciding that these monsters were relatively low threat level, she decided to take the riskier option and go after Creep2 in a gamble to finish off the monsters sooner (so they could see what was going on below).

Round 1
Before battle:

Atma casts CURE on Undine for 16HP

Undine: Casts Cure on Atma for 30 HP

Undine: Casts Cure on herself for 28 HP

CREEP1: Misses against Atma

Obsidian: Casts Lit on CREEP1 for 26

John: Misses against CREEP2

CREEP2: 1-Hit 4-Damage against Atma

Atma: 1-Hit 15-Damage against CREEP1. One more strike like that would finish the disgusting blob.

IGUANA: 1-Hit 8-Damage against Atma

Undine: 1-Hit 12-Damage against CREEP2

[Undine 94/105, DragonAtma 99/120, John 116/116, Obsidian 99/99. Please enter your commands]

(Undine)

Undine couldn't think of anything particularly creative on this occasion, and so merely decided to impale (rather than slash) Creep2 in a minimally gruesome fashion.

Rounds 2+
Obsidian: Casts Lit on CREEP2 for 24

CREEP1: 1-Hit 18-Damage against Obsidian

IGUANA: 1-Hit 14-Damage against Atma

CREEP2: 1-Hit 11-Damage against Atma

Atma: 1-Hit 28-Damage against CREEP1. Terminated.

John: Misses against CREEP2. John pounds his hammer into the ground in frustration.

Undine: Critical! 1-Hit 51-Damage against CREEP2. Terminated with a gruesome stab to its gelatinous gut.

[Autobattle]

Obsidian: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IGUANA

IGUANA: 1-Hit 7-Damage against Atma. Atma wondered why he seemed to provoke every attack.

Atma: 1-Hit 30-Damage against IGUANA

John: Critical! 1-Hit 38-Damage against IGUANA. "Much better," grunted the white mage.

Undine: 1-Hit 13-Damage against IGUANA

Undine: 1-Hit 27-Damage against IGUANA. Terminated.

Victory: Party members gain 139 experience and 20 gold

The four mages (I didn't realize that until just now) reached the clearing to find quite a ruccus. Near the mud hut, there were four armorless adventurers, two wizard imps, and a couple kyzokus in melee combat. Further in the distance, two impressive figures dueled to a standstill on the horizon. Undine conferred with her group, "Judging by the descriptions I extracted, these are definitely the individuals who heisted our gold. Looking at them now, it's also easy to see we could take them out without difficulty. Perhaps we should help them defeat their adversaries to at least keep them alive long enough to impart the whereabouts of our moneys? Then we can take it from there."

[Undine 94/105, DragonAtma 67/120, John 116/116, Obsidian 81/99. If you wish to assist those who took your gold, please enter your commands. If not, you are welcome to heal, observe, or make trouble.]

(Obsidian)

After the battle with the Creeps and Iguana, Obsidian walked over to Atma and extended his hand. "No hard feelings after the tournament? I realize I kind of went a lil crazy on you, its nothing personal though, you're a great tactician and leader."

"I'm sure the gold thieves will live long enough to handle their current foes, but they will be fairly wounded, so if we don't help them, they certainly won't be able to make it far very fast. They can't escape, they'll have to deal with us shortly. Lets just let them deal with their own problems for now and go check out that duel in the distance." Obsidian suggested as he thought to himself, "I'm only missing 3 gold anyway, what do I care? hehe"

(Undine)

"Okay Obsidian, I'll come with you to check out the duel," answered Undine. "It's kind of piqued my interest as well. Atma should be able to take care of himself here - I can't imagine these four would pose much threat to him now, let alone in whatever condition they'll be soon, assuming they manage to beat the Kyzokus. John can either stay with him, or join us in examining what may be the bigger fish for us to fry here..."

(Obsidian)


 * Obsidian and Undine make sure not to attract any attention as they sneak past the large battle to go get a closer look at the duelists...

Observation
Undine and her comrades moved to observe the impressive duel at hand. On one side stood a hardy pirate wielding an enchanted sword while the other carried two scimitars. The two exchanged defensive thrusts and parries for several more moments until the newcomers drew too near. The pirate spooked first and spoke to the mohawk man, "Tis getting too crowded here, mates. I go back to me ship. We finish this later, ye worthless scum bag."

As the pirate hightailed it back to the woods, the mohawk man followed him, throwing three bags at the feet of the three gold heisters.

[Resumed at Gold Groups Resolution]

Gold Recovery Catch-Up (Max, Bob, Guy)
They knew several individuals preceded them in their efforts to replace the lost gold and that only hastened their progress. Max and Bob decided to take the most direct route, hacking through the thickest of forest foliage and rugged terrain. Guy remained vigilant as the warriors cleared the path ahead. They made very good time and assessed they were under a mile from their goal when they were ambushed by four madponies.

Round 1
[Ambushed!]

MADPONY1: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

MADPONY4: 2-Hits 22-Damage against Guy

MADPONY3: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

MADPONY2: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

[Max 191/191, Bob 185/191, Guy 98/120. Please enter your commands]

Back in Pravoka, artistans were hard at work etching Bob's chosen name into a gold plate lining the port and starboard of his new cruiser. The vessel was cleaned thoroughly with brand new sails installed, the galley stocked with fresh food and limes, and the crew outfitted in new blue uniforms with crimson bandanas. The head merchant was sparing no expense for the deserving Bob and pals.

Round 2
MADPONY2: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

MADPONY3: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

MADPONY1: 2-Hits 20-Damage against Guy

Bob: 2-Hits 85-Damage against MADPONY1. Terminated.

Guy: 1-Hit 16-Damage against MADPONY2.

MADPONY4: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Max

Max: 2-Hits 69-Damage against MADPONY2. Terminated.

Guy chuckled to himself. Sure was fun traveling alongside of two fighters.

[Max 189/191, Bob 181/191, Guy 78/120. Please enter your commands]

Round 3
MADPONY4: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

Max: 2-Hits 59-Damage against MADPONY3

Guy: 1-Hit 19-Damage against MADPONY4

MADPONY3: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

Bob: 1-Hit 42-Damage against MADPONY4

[Autobattle]

MADPONY3: 2-Hits 2-Damage against Bob

Max: 1-Hit 38-Damage against MADPONY3. Terminated.

Guy: 1-Hit 18-Damage against MADPONY4. Terminated.

Victory: Party members gain 168 experience and 20 gold

[Max 189/191, Bob 175/191, Guy 78/120.]

The catch-up crew reached a scene of bedlam. A pirate and mohawk man ran by them towards Pravoka. Nearby, several adventurers, wizard imps, and pirates were in a scrum. In the distance, several mages were visible observing the various battles.

(Guy)

Guy walks on over to the group of mages and says to them "Hey, I just saw some guy with a mohawk and a pirate that can only be Bikke from Dave's description run by us into the path we cleared..........so are these the guys with our money?" As he settled down to hear the answer, he noticed Bob and Max sharpening their blades........he knew the lure of a great battle hung in the air, it may be against the 4 men fighting alongside the strange imps, it may be against Bikke or the mohawk man, but something was about to happen.

Guy also hoped that for Bikke's sake, he didn't run into Dave, who was probably still somewhere around the town looking for a fight. And he also was worried about Muteki, who seemed to have vanished.......he hoped he wasn't lurking in the woods looking for a White Mage to pick off.

[Resumed at Gold Groups Resolution]

Gold Heisters
Continued from Intro - X, XScorpion, and Keeo and Intro - Dano

Several kyzokus spread in formation about a taller, sturdier pirate broke free from the forest to the south. He wore an eye patch and he moved with a cold intense purpose. Keeo and the three instinctively readied themselves alongside of Dano and his minions. There was no time for introductions... they only knew the pirates were here to harvest the gold and all of their lives.

The middle individual spoke up. "Arrr, I be Bikke and you be thieves making off with our plunder. Pravoka be our property and ye been trespassin' long 'nuff. Hand over the gold and your end will be quick."

"Cursed pirates. You're too loud, drunk, and stupid to know the difference between yer ship and yer arse." The voice came from behind them and it was the Mohawk Man with dual-wielded scimitars at the ready.

The two leaders separated themselves from the main group and Bikke drew his silver sword. It was to be a dual whilst the remaining participants fought to keep it that way.

[Battle begins. WzIMP1234, Keeo, Xscorpion, X, and Dano against Kyzoku12345678]

(XScorpion)

XScorpion, realizing that these magic imps were still imps, and weaker than the other members, were expendable. The imps would stay in front and absorb blows, and use whatever magic they had. X's magic was obviously stronger, and it could be possible for X to defeat one of the Kyzoku's with one shot. The imps were not so powerful, so XScorpion prepared for the first sign of weakness in his enemies.

(Dano)

Dano and his WzImp gang finished their jobs versus the pirates. He took a second to catch his breath. "I don't know how long my imp allies can keep this up...I hope we don't run into more..." thought Dano just as another army of pirates approached from a forest to the south. These were much stronger men than the ones he just fought, and he started to seriously doubt if this task were worth the money involved. Also to his surprise, Dano noticed three adventurers emerge from a nearby hut. He readied his fists for another fight until he saw a slew of pirates laying on the ground by the hut. "They must have been hired to protect the shipment, too...why couldn't Mr. Mohawk trust me to handle it by myself?" One look at the quickly approaching Kyzoku gang forced him to rely on the adventurers' help, regardless of their reasons for being here.

As the pirate leader, Bikke, approached for an attack, the mohawk man came from seemingly nowhere to take him on head-to-head. This distraction allowed Dano to hatch a quick plan. Since the WzImps were the only ones in the group with armor, they'd be in the front of the formation. They would also cast all their spells, each onto a different Kyzoku, to deal as much damage as before (and kill them, since the other pirates didn't stand a chance against their supernatural attacks). Dano would use hand-to-hand combat to attack the weakened Kyzokus, if they weren't dead already.

As he tried to explain his hurried plan to the others, a man in a thief's garb simply gave him an obscene gesture. Dano was stunned & didn't know whether to laugh or slug him in the jaw. He figured that he needed all the help he could get, so he let it pass with the hopes of earning their friendship...even though he didn't have time to learn their names. Hoping that his new acquaintences would follow his plan, Dano began to direct his attack.

(X)

As the trio left the mud hut, they encountered a red mage accompanied by a band of strange imps. X began to cast his last spell on the group, but when they were quickly set upon by eight more heavily-armored pirates, an old axiom came to mind: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." They hurried to the aid of the bizarre group, readying their weapons. Then X felt something shoved into his side--at first, his fear of a certain traveling companion took over, and he shouted in surprise only to discover that XScorpion was giving him two Heal Potions! X looked up at him from under his hat, and vowed, "Thank you, sir. I understand. If I don't need to use these, I'll give them back to you once we are safe!"

He turned back to their foes, observing how the battle front was taking shape. He saw that the red mage had lined up the imps according to how bloodied they were. Apparently, they were to act as a sort of "meat shield" to protect the rest of them, but he wasn't sure he liked that setup. Even as a black mage, he still felt that no life was simply expendible, but there was no time to argue with the decision, and he was probably in the minority anyway.

Okay...these guys look stronger than the others, but maybe I can take one out with my--X's ears perked up. He heard murmurings coming from the direction of his erstwhile imp allies, and recognized them as magical incantations! How strange, he thought. Oh well! X began to cast his last magic spell on one of the new pirates, preparing to watch closely to prepare for the next round.

(Keeo)

{''As the final pirate fell, Keeo immediately checked outside as the sounds of battle could be heard. Bizarrely enough, an unarmed man was leading a strange-looking group of IMPs against a second group of pirates. Quite fortunate, really, since if these other pirates had been free to attack with their fellows, the trio in the hut would have been easily overrun. Even as this second battle ended, though, it became clear that another would soon begin, as the infamous Bikke strode from the forest surrounded by his personal crew of brigands. The strangeness continued as the mohawked man suddenly appeared brandishing a matched pair of scimitars and sought Bikke out especially. Quickly it became obvious that Bikke's kyzoku would have to be held off by the motley crew that had only just finished fending off the initial assault. Keeo was stunned at the effort Bikke was going to in order to merely steal a merchant's profits. Was there more to the situation than the mohawked man had claimed? After this battle, there would be questions to answer, but for the moment, it didn't matter. All that mattered now was surviving this newest challenge. The unarmed man began giving orders to the oddly-colored IMPs, which began - and Keeo simply could not believe this - casting spells! Seeing XScorpion and the unarmed man preparing to attack kyzoku being targeted by the "IMP mages," Keeo elected to follow suit. A brutal show of strength now at the onset of battle might make these kyzoku realize that fleeing would suit them better than death. It hadn't worked with the other pirates, but hope springs eternal.''}

Round 1
Dano: 1-Hit 1-Damage against KYZOKU2

KYZOKU1: Misses against WzIMP1

KYZOKU7: 1-Hit 12-Damage against WzIMP2

KYZOKU2: Misses against Xscorpion

KYZOKU6: 1-Hit 10-Damage against WzIMP3

Keeo: Critical! 1-Hit 68-Damage against KYZOKU3. Terminated. The axe cleaves the pirate in two.

WzIMP3: Casts Lit on KYZOKU3 for 29

KYZOKU5: 1-Hit 13-Damage against WzIMP3. Terminated. Three to go.

X: Casts Ice on KYZOKU5 for 56. Terminated.

WzIMP4: Casts Fire on KYZOKU4 for 31

WzIMP2: Casts Fire on KYZOKU2 for 26

WzIMP1: Casts Lit on KYZOKU1 for 14

KYZOKU8: 1-Hit 11-Damage against WzIMP4

Xscorpion: Misses against KYZOKU1

KYZOKU4: 1-Hit 18-Damage against Dano

[Keeo 41/61, Xscorpion 46/57, X 37/50, Dano 12/30. Please enter your commands]

(X)

X quickly assessed the situation after the first round of attacks. Gauging Keeo's and XScorpion's relative effectiveness with their weapons, he shouted out, "Keeo! Attack the fourth one! As long as you hit, it's a guaranteed kill!" He didn't say as much, but he knew that if Keeo attacked the weakened Kyzoku2 instead, there was only an 85% chance of a kill, and another attack would have to be wasted on it. "XScorpion! Attack number two with one of the imps! I think the imp's Damage rating is 16, for a range of 10..26 versus Kyzoku, so the two of you should be able to take it! New guy, go for number one with the other two imps! You have a good chance to kill it, too!" He was in his comfort zone crunching the numbers, and forgot his fear of the thief, not noticing the sharp glance that was cast toward him. "And new guy! Take this!"

(Dano)

Dano lead the initial charge against the foreign pirates...but his fist landed squarely on the armor the first one was wearing. Chaos followed soon afterward. The kyzokus unleashed a barrage of attacks on Dano's party; Keeo used this opportunity to swing around the back of the formation and deliver an incredible blow to one of the enemies. This was followed by a cold blast from the black mage, freezing another kyzoku in a solid block of ice. One of Dano's imps was felled by a swift sword strike, which deeply angered the other WzImps. Fire and lightning rained down upon the pirate crew...and to Dano's surprise, those enemies survived the attack! Dano was stunned and didn't notice one of the enemies come from the side. In a split second, a kyzoku sliced his sword deep into the unprotected side of Dano. Spinning away, Dano was able to get behind the rest of his allies, but not before the wound started to bleed severely.

Dano quickly accepted the healing potion that the black mage had...without it, he couldn't survive another attack. All he could think about now was killing the wounded enemies. Perhaps on another day, Dano would cringe at the sight of so much bloodshed. The gaping wound on his side easily removed all thoughts of letting up.

XScorpion

[XScorpion was relatively angry that not only was he being barked at by a pathetic mage with no magic left, but the mage had also decided to waste a potion on another pathetic mage in a similar situation! That mage was quite lucky that X had possession of XScorpion's healing potions, since XScorpion would never have wasted a valuable potion on such a weakling. Since both of the mages were "ordering" XScorpion to attack the second weakened pirate, XScorpion decided he would give them his favourite obscene gesture and attack the first pirate. XScorpion figured, in the off-chance that the three imps managed to hit the kyzoku, he would die and XScorpion's extra damage would be wasted, or at least the imp's damage would, so he decided that rather than ensure a target was eliminated (they were not attacking him much anyways!), he would maximize damage by attacking a damaged target no one else was attacking.]

X

X could tell what the wily thief was thinking, by both his attack posture and his hand gesture. A bit peeved at his ally, he muttered under his breath, "But mathematically, we must expect one of the imps to miss, or even be killed before attacking, and we need all of the damage to be concentrated! He's betting on a less than 50% chance of the second Kyzoku falling! If even one imp misses, with Dano's limited attack power the only way we can have a decent chance to take out two Kyzoku instead of just one is by attacking together! Sometimes one must sacrifice 'wasted damage' to the enemy in exchange for time, and once those imps fall, the pirates will be upon us!"

A little louder, his confidence in his plan taking over from his nervousness about XScorpion, he added, "If that pirate survives this round and kills any of our imps, and they break through our defences earlier as a result, it'll be on his head!" Unbeknownst to the black mage, these words were ironically very similar in nature to a thought the thief had had just moments before in the previous battle.

XScorpion

[XScorpion could hear his pathetic mage companion arguing with him in the background, but XScorpion just didn't care anymore..

Keeo

{''There seemed to be some sort of argument amongst X, XScorpion, and the unarmed man, now being identified as Dano. Heat of battle, no doubt, Keeo decided. With one of the strange IMP mages having fallen to the kyzoku, they had obviously come to realize that failure in this battle would bring death, not mere capture. From the moment the first pirates appeared, Keeo had known that to be the case. So long as they won the fight, his allies could bicker all they wanted. At X's suggestion to attack the fourth kyzoku, Keeo nodded, for though he didn't understand all the talk about damage ratings or the mathematics X was using, he knew that mages tended to couch all of their strategies around these bizarre numbers. Keyser had been the same way. ... Raising his axe again, he realized he was thinking too much. There was still lethal combat to survive.''}

Round 2
KYZOKU4: 1-Hit 22-Damage against Keeo

KYZOKU2: Misses against WzIMP4

KYZOKU7: Misses against Keeo

WzIMP2: 1-Hit 9-Damage against KYZOKU2

KYZOKU8: 1-Hit 14-Damage against WzIMP2. Terminated.

Dano: Misses against KYZOKU2

WzIMP1: 1-Hit 7-Damage against KYZOKU2

KYZOKU6: 1-Hit 10-Damage against WzIMP4

KYZOKU3: 1-Hit 12-Damage against WzIMP1

Xscorpion: 1-Hit 17-Damage against KYZOKU1

KYZOKU5: Misses against Dano. Dano ducks for his life.

WzIMP4: 1-Hit 8-Damage against KYZOKU2. Terminated.

X: Uses a Heal Potion on Dano for 30HP

Keeo: 1-Hit 21-Damage against KYZOKU4. Terminated.

[Keeo 19/61, Xscorpion 46/57, X 37/50, Dano 30/30. KYZOKU1678 remain. Please enter your commands. This is turning into a real classic.]

(XScorpion)


 * XScorpion slaps X in the face*

[IMBECILE! I told him if I had attacked the second Kyzoku, my extra damage would be wasted. Not surprisingly, I was correct and he was wrong. Maybe next time X would be wiser not to question my actions.

The first Kyzoku was injured enough that Keeo could finish him, but XScorpion could not. So, XScorpion decided not to attack it.]

(X)

Oh, now he wants us to follow his lead!?! He may have gotten lucky this time, but he may want to think next time he gloats over a lucky roll of the dice! Does he realize what the chances are that he would be right and we would still be in this favorable situation? If we assume the WzIMP has a Hit% of 8, which may even be a high estimate, the chance of three successes is a measly 11.24%!! The next time XScorpion decides he wants to be the party leader, he may want to watch whom he slaps to be sure they are on the enemy side.

Unfortunately, the lives of X and his allies are still in danger, and he has no choice but to do what the brash and brazen thief has just told him to do. "Just so you know, I'm not listening to you. This is my own battle plan. They just happen to coincide--this time." X was getting over his fear of the bully just as quickly as he had become afraid in the first place.

(Keeo)

{''Keeo looked on in surprise as XScorpion slapped poor X across the face. That was... unexpected. Wincing through the pain of the kyzoku's blade, he gave X what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, X... we're all doing our best here. He's probably just frustrated at how many people seem obsessed with stealing this gold from us. I know I am. But, uh... instead of attacking, could you maybe use that healing potion on me? I fear another hit like that last one could do me in. And while I don't fear death myself, I doubt the rest of you will last long if I fall." Preparing to charge towards the most injured kyzoku, he turned back to Dano. "Do those strange imps have any more spells they can cast? Now might be a good time, if so." This battle needed to end, and soon. Keeo was ready to do whatever necessary to bring that about. His axe thirsted for more blood.''}

(XScorpion)

Noticing Keeo's bloody wounds, XScorpion reasoned he was right: he could be dead before the next round ended. Hopefully X has at least the brains to realize that XScorpion gave him those heals for a reason - to use them, not to save them for himself or to ignore them while concentrating on attacking with his awesome 1 damage per hit.

(Dano)

Combat continued against the very tough kyzoku force. In an instant, two enemies and a WzImp fell; Dano's wounds kept him from attacking effectively, but he was healthy enough to avoid getting hit. He thanked the mage for the healing potion which quickly worked on his open gash. "The name is Dano...I'll be indebted to all of you once we get through this!" he told the mage. His fighter ally didn't fare so well...Dano hoped that the mage could give him a heal potion in time before another strike would do him in. "My imp mages have no more charges of magic left, but I sure wish they did..." he told the fighter.

Dano didn't really care who had the better strategy during this last attack, so he ignored the banter between his allies. They had slain half of the enemy's forces, but half remained...without the use of two of his strange imp companions.

Marveling at the strength of the fighter, he decided to let him handle the injured pirate by himself. Dano took the thief's lead and directed his forces to gang up on another kyzoku...

Round 3
[WzIMP1 has been healed for 12, thanks to X for pointing that out. The formation has also been changed per Dano's request.]

Xscorpion: 1-Hit 10-Damage against KYZOKU6

KYZOKU1: 1-Hit 24-Damage against Xscorpion

X: 1-Hit 1-Damage against KYZOKU6

KYZOKU7: 1-Hit 6-Damage against WzIMP4

KYZOKU6: Misses against WzIMP1

Dano: 1-Hit 1-Damage against KYZOKU6

WzIMP1: Misses against KYZOKU6

KYZOKU8: 1-Hit 8-Damage against WzIMP1

Keeo: 1-Hit 30-Damage against KYZOKU1. Terminated.

WzIMP4: 1-Hit 3-Damage against KYZOKU6

On one hill, the duel between pirate and thief continues at a stalemate. On the other, a suspicious new party arrives, but the armorless newcomers were far too focused on this battle to pay them much heed.

[Keeo 19/61, Xscorpion 22/57, X 37/50, Dano 30/30. KYZOKU678 remain. Please enter your commands.]

(Dano)

The black mage mustn't have heard Dano's suggestion, but fortunately the fighter survived another round of attacks. This skirmish resulted in another fallen kyzoku, but a quick glance at his allies told him that his group couldn't sustain much more punishment, especially if the fighter doesn't get a heal potion before the next successful strike against him.

Dano noticed that the kyzoku he just attacked had some moderate wounds. He didn't want the enemy to recover in time to hurt himself or his allies, so he set his sights on him and hoped that his fighter friend would deliver the finishing blow.

(x_loto)

"Oh dang-ers, I shouldn't have done that," X muttered to himself. "See what happens when you get all worked up! You forget what you're doing! Ugh!" Relieved that his fighter ally was still relatively healthy even without his assistance, X turned to Keeo to give said assistance ("Better late than never!"). To XScorpion, he calmly suggested: "Heal yourself or fight whomever you choose, I don't care--but keep in mind that even if everyone else but me attacks the weakened pirate, I still calculate just over a 50% chance that we'll take him down."

(Keeo)

{''With less than half of the kyzoku remaining, Keeo felt better about the group's chances. He spotted X uncorking a healing potion that seemed to be intended for him, thankfully. At the same time, XScorpion did the same, preparing to down the potion himself. Smart move, given the ferocity of these pirates. Dano led the remaining IMP mages in a mad rush towards the only injured kyzoku, and seemed to want Keeo to aid in the assault. Leaving only two foes seemed like a favorable outcome, so Keeo raised his axe and joined in the attack.''}

(x_loto)

As X prepared to uncork the Heal Potion he was readying for Keeo, he suddenly froze. Dang-ers! he thought, smacking himself in the forehead--using the hand that held the Potion. "Gah, dang-ers!" he exclaimed, now doubly upset with himself. He had just realized that he had used the wrong numbers in his calculations. However, the difference between X and XScorpion's projections in the early stages of the battle was still no different from a coin toss--any one of the three imps could have missed just as easily as all three hitting their mark. Nonetheless, X decided he owed the thief an apology later.

On the other hand, the corrected figures painted a much rosier expectation of the remainder of the battle. Instead of the whole lot of them being barely able to take down a wounded foe as per X's original formula, he now saw that it was possible to take down a fully healthy Kyzoku with much better than 50% odds. Hopefully, if all hits connected solidly from here on out, that is what would happen in reality.

Round 4
KYZOKU8: Misses against WzIMP1

KYZOKU7: 1-Hit 19-Damage against WzIMP1

WzIMP1: 1-Hit 8-Damage against KYZOKU6

WzIMP4: Misses against KYZOKU6

KYZOKU6: Misses against Dano

Keeo: 1-Hit 46-Damage against KYZOKU6. Terminated.

Dano tramples the dead kyzoku

Xscorpion: Uses a Heal Potion on Xscorpion for 30HP

X: Uses a Heal Potion on Keeo for 30HP

[Keeo 49/61, Xscorpion 52/57, X 37/50, Dano 30/30. KYZOKU78 remain. Please enter your commands. I will autobattle after this update.]

With his three hired transporters mired in battle, the mohawk man sprinted by them towards the woods, "Gotta go, friends. Too crowded to complete my transaction here. Here's your 500 gold!" He threw the bags down at their feet and ran off to the wilderness behind the pirate.

(Dano)

Upon seeing the Mohawk Man run by and deliver a payment to the other three adventurers, Dano clutched the side of his cloak to make sure his money pouch was still there. Whew!!! he thought when he found it to be still there. He had nearly triple that amount of gold on him, but Dano knew he'd need all he can get to purchase a weapon and some armor.

Dano started to like his chances. His allies were all healthy & there were only two enemies left. He figured that the whole group could rush one of them at a time and sustain minimal damage. Not knowing what to do (both his boss and the boss's enemy just ran by), Dano directed his imp companions to attack one of the remaining threats.

(Keeo)

{The battle seemed to be drawing to a close. Only two of the kyzoku remained, and Keeo was feeling much better after the healing potion. Of course, things immediately took a turn for the odd. The mohawked man suddenly ran across the battlefield, tossing down what he claimed was the money promised to him, X, and XScorpion as he went. Even the pirates seemed surprised by this turn of events, and Keeo rushed to take advantage. And that's when he realized their surprise went far beyond just seeing a man run through an active combat. The edge of the woods exploded with movement, as several individuals came bursting forth, weapons drawn. Keeo wasn't entirely sure, but he thought they bore a resemblance to some of the competitors in the battle royal he had been watching when this whole ordeal began... only yesterday, but what seemed like weeks ago now. Were they here to steal the gold as well? Had they also been hired by the mohawked man? At this point it didn't matter overly much, since he'd now presumably been paid for the task of transporting the gold. Still, if they were here for nefarious purposes, they'd surely eliminate any witnesses to their deeds. For the moment, he couldn't dwell on it, though. He had to hope that if they were to attack, it would not happen until after the kyzoku had been dealt with. Seeing Dano, the IMP mages, and X rushing one, Keeo prepared to deliver the finishing blow.}

(XScorpion)

[XScorpion caught the bag of gold thrown at him before it even landed. He did not hesitate for a second to stash the bag inside his jacket, so that it would not be stolen by anyone else. For a moment, he considered stealing the gold the others didn't pick up. But he thought to himself "I'm not THAT evil...if I did take the money, what makes me any different from these kyzokus?"

For a while XScorpion had been conscious of several bystanders watching his battle. Foolishly, he had assumed that they had good intentions, although he realized it was possible they were waiting for the fight to end so they could wipe out the survivors (i.e. him). XScorpion decided that rather than attack them, perhaps they could be reasoned with, assuming they didn't know about the large sum of money he had quickly swiped from the ground.

His thoughts returned to the battle where his companions were having an all-out assault on KYZOKU7. XScorpion followed suit.]

Rounds 5+
Xscorpion: Misses against KYZOKU7

X: Misses against KYZOKU7

WzIMP1: Misses against KYZOKU7

KYZOKU8: 1-Hit 8-Damage against WzIMP4. Terminated.

Dano: Misses against KYZOKU7

KYZOKU7: 1-Hit 8-Damage against WzIMP1. Terminated. Dano's henchmen are no more.

Keeo: 1-Hit 46-Damage against KYZOKU7

[Autobattle]

KYZOKU8: 1-Hit 16-Damage against Xscorpion

X: 1-Hit 1-Damage against KYZOKU7

KYZOKU7: 1-Hit 19-Damage against Keeo

Dano: Misses against KYZOKU7

Dano: 1-Hit 3-Damage against KYZOKU7. Terminated with an oddly placed kidney punch.

Xscorpion: 1-Hit 20-Damage against KYZOKU8

Keeo: 1-Hit 29-Damage against KYZOKU8

Xscorpion: 1-Hit 17-Damage against KYZOKU8. Terminated.

Victory: Party members gain 240 experience and 240 gold and another 500 gold courtesy of mohawk man.

[See gold groups message]

Gold Groups Resolution
The battle with the foes ended but the tension remained palpable. Seven adventurers now surrounded the Mohawk Man's four hired mercenaries, but luckily all weapons were sheathed… for now. It was Undine, through her prior detective work, that broke the silence. "These individuals are just pawns in the Mohawk Man's schemes. He apparently hired them under the guise they were transporting a shipment of his from the arena to a midpoint here in the wilderness." Keeo spoke up then, "The lady is correct. Your lost gold is right here in the hut. On behalf of all my new-found party members, I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Fifteen minutes later, the seven had their gold back and the four newcomers were no longer regarded as enemies though they still had some proving to do. The eleven wandered back to Pravoka -- no foes, man nor monster, dared cross their path.

[See universal message]

Trouble in the Harbor
Sixteen adventurers gathered in Pravoka Harbor. Eleven just returned from a surreal gold-filled saga. Four had been training earlier that day and were in higher spirits now that they too received the gold that belonged to them. One had just moored a fishing boat in the harbor. It was Muteki, and he seemed healed from his earlier trance.

A familiar voice called to them from the nearby ally. It was the head merchant. "My apologies for those arena tricks. I needed to make my inaugural event one worth talking about, and our combined efforts succeeded. As a show of gratitude, please allow me to put you all up for a night at the inn."

[Everyone rests until morning. Please let me know if you did any shopping in the meantime. I will post character sheets after this post.]

[Dano, Keeo, X, and Xscorpion gain 150 experience. Introduction quest completed!]

[All arena combatants have been awarded the appropriate experience for their kills]

[Atma, Max, Bob, Guy, John, Obsidian, and Undine quest Gimme My Treasure completed!]

Dano is now L3! 28HP, Str, 2Agi, Int, 2Vit, 2Luk, L1 and 2L2 spell charges

Keeo is now L3! 25HP, Str, Agi, Int, Vit, Luk

Xscorpion is now L3! 24HP, Str, Int, Vit, Luk

X is now L3! 1HP, Str, Agi, Int, Vit, L2 spell charge

Muteki is now L8! 24HP, Str, Agi, Int, Vit, Luk, L3 and L4 spell charges

The sixteen were enjoying a leisurely breakfast at the inn when the sun broke the horizon and shattered the peaceful morning. It was a red sun this morning, a sign of impending death for the superstitious. And it would not disappoint as a woman shrieked from the street.

Our heroes and heroine exited the inn hastily to find the former head merchant lying in the street, a dagger sticking into his back and out his belly. Obsidian hurried to the side of his ex-boss and propped the dying man's head up comfortably. "I will my flagship to you, young mage. Use it to rid the lands of the cursed individuals and monsters that threaten its peace," and so he passed.

More screams were erupting from the harbor area. The group ruefully left the dead man behind them and ran towards a scene of absolute chaos. There were currently four ships docked in the harbor to be described in the following paragraphs.

(1) Bikke's privateer was aswarm with activity. A GIANT stood at its base while various ranks of pirates ran from harbor to ship carrying crates of goods. Dave eye's gleamed with intensity. He needed to be aboard that ship.

(2) The flagship of the head merchant, now Obisidian's galleon, was by far the most tumultuous. The decks were strewn with the merchant's crew battling against myriad members of the thieves' guild. It must have been the guild that killed the head merchant and was now vying for control of the galleon. Obsidian's ire drew to full fury as he watched his newly acquired men bravely battling against the mohawk man's minions.

(3) Amazingly, Bob's freshly cleaned and reconstructed Leviathan was calm amidst the ruccus. How long would that peacefulness last with the thieves in desperate want of a vessel and the ever-hungry eyes of the pirates jealously marking anything that was not already theirs.

(4) The fishing boat that now belonged to Muteki idled quietly, a mere afterthought to the goliath vessels.

[Okay, here are the options at long last:

(1) Board Leviathan and sail to Elfland, Dwarf Caves, or Cornelia - Available to Bob and three people of Bob's choosing

(2) Board fishing boat and sail to Elfland, Dwarf Caves, or Cornelia - Available to Muteki and three people of his choosing

(3) Attempt to board Bikke's Privateer (holds 8 people max)

(4) Join the scrum on Obsidian's Galleon (holds 8 people max)

(5) Ignore this whole mess and do your own thing in the Pravoka region

As a warning to ship travelers, the dwarf caves are no longer quite as useless as they were in the original.]