The Man makes his way to the Old Pass, and then proceeds to investigate whatever's to the left of the northern guard tower.

The dawn of a new day... let's see what there is to do...


In a time that might be earlier or later than expected, Calibri is still using the Mindscape Radio. He smiles a little as he hears the response, then closes his eyes for a moment to put together what he wants to say. Once he reopens his eyes, he nods to himself.

"Mostly just wanted to ask how things are going over there, and maybe see if you're interested in hearing about things on our side. Can't help but see you've been a little busy over there, by the look of things."

He chuckles.

"Been a bit busy over here too, really. Long story short, we had... problems with Nia, a bit of attempted possession by entropic butterfly, the usual kind of thing. Beat that beast out of her, then she kind of exploded in a literal sense, people were upset for a while, but then the Xavier out here sent a drone over to let us get a portal to somewhere else to retrieve Nia again. Course, it did get the attention of quite a few Iti... Which we beat pretty handily, heh."

Calibri grins. He seems about to fall silent, but suddenly seems to remember something. His eyes glance off to one side, as if reading notes somewhere else, then he returns his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"By the by, something a little strange happened during that battle. To explain it as simply as I can, me and Verdana fused for a while by accident. Dunno how that happened, heh... The important thing is, uh. I kind of felt something... elsewhere. As though the fusion was incomplete. Like there was someone else missing. Dunno if you'd know anything about that, just felt like bringing it up and hoping..."

Calibri shrugs. If Sol Aeterna is lying around anywhere, Memory Chloe might notice it seeming to "react" when Calibri's voice changes colour...


No Verdana stuff yet because IDK what to do here.

"..."

No EN stuff yet because IDK what to do here. And her action from last round should probably be counted, maybe?

"..."


I do know what to do with the Engie drone, though. He walks out onto the roof, briefly staring out into the distance while some royalty-free music plays in the background, then the music cuts off as he proceeds to J U M P really high...

...And fall into the zone 1 crater in an anticlimatic fashion. He soon clambers up out of the crater and develops rollerskates, then makes a noise which kind of resembles Wario with severe constipation as the rollerskates propel him over to The Set. Come to think of it, they're right next to each other on the map, maybe the rollerskates weren't necessary. Anyway, once there, he takes off the rollerskates, then takes a look around.

"...Huh."

He indicates to the Harmonizer.

"Hello again. Remember me from yesterday? That's a rhetorical question, I'm kind of expecting that you do. Anyway..."

The engie drone trails off, taking a glance at the gray Breaker and gray Raider, then turns his attention back to the gray Harmonizer.

"...I... see you've made some friends since the last time we met, or something? I'm not sure. What happened between last time and now? Is this the start of a cool and new fashion, or...?"

Suffice to say, he probably doesn't entirely know what to say or do, but he at least is aware that there's something special going on here, what with the gray Iti being a thing now. Come to think of it, he recalls the Harmonizer only had gray eyes last time.

In a (barely) hopeful tone Letsid asks if anyone wants to play tag.
If not... well Letsid will approach the seekers in "The Old pass" to farm some SP (she will counter but not attack, always roll to dodge).

Echoss greets the trio as they prepare to head off. "Ah, yes. Having you return to base before you're counted absent would be smart. Good luck to all of you, and thank you again for your assistance. Stay safe. Or, as safe as we can with the Iti around."

He also opens up the door for Woodthorne before he even knocks on the door. "Please, come in. I suspect from your appearance you are here for much the same reason we are. There is food in the kitchen, you will need your strength for the day's battles."

Main actions:
(materials used: cobblestone, iron ingots, a few raindrop crystals, refined wood, one ashen crystal)
It seems that at some point during the night, Echoss went in and fixed the bathroom.
Flashback:
Echoss walks over to the bathroom door and sighs. It seems like this was missed in all the chaos of fixing up the house. He pulls out a few Raindrop crystals, and crushes them, using it as an excuse to give himself waterbending. He uses this to pull the water away from the door, then picks up the towel and walks into the bathroom. The water is being held in a ball in the air above the hole where the netwyrm broke through. Echoss slams some cobblestone down into the hole so that he's got some space to work with, then drops into the hole.
He looks at the busted pipe, and shrugs, pulling some iron ingots out of the inventory. The pipes will need to be replaced with something proper that won't oxidize, but that can wait for later. These iron pipes should be fine for a few days, long enough to make it through the entire issue with the Sphere. His butterflies pull out and molten the iron ingots elsewhere. Where? I dunno, but he did it in one of my first crafting posts as him before so it works again now I guess. Anyways, they put the new iron pipes back into the inventory, and Echoss slots them into place after taking out the broken pipes. The leak has been fixed.
Echoss then hopes back up out of the holes, applies more cobblestone and then some refined wood to repair the floor. Then he slowly feeds the accumulated ball of water into the various drains of the bathroom to properly dispose of it. He then blows an ashen crystal on drying the entire bathroom at once.


(materials used: Wheat, Gaiaroot Potatoes, Hotpoints, bucket or two of salt water, celefruit, soulblossoms, 2 chocolate eggs, some more soul blossoms, fresh pork, spider meat)
When everyone comes downstairs in the morning, there is a smell of food wafting up from the kitchen. A quick peek in there will reveal that Echoss has placed a large pot on the stove and is stirring it, looking over a small cookbook propped up on the counter by some kind of plastic bookstand. A number of gaiaroot potato skins rest in a pile on the counter next to him, as well as the remnants of a fair amount of wheat and a bucket and some disassembled hotpoints.
"Ah, good morning. Nobody else was getting up just yet so I figured I'd try my hand at making some breakfast today. The ingredients on Sussui are somewhat unique, so I am not fully confident in my ability to make something from scratch, so I'm using what I can rely on for an easy base, then adding other ingredients to finish." He stops for a moment. "Ah... sorry for the rambling. You probably just want your breakfast. Hold on just a bit, it will not take much longer."
He brings up the spoon and tastes the stuff in the pot (porridge apparently), and hums. He looks down at the mostly-gone small pile of ground hotpoint seeds on the counter, and shrugs, adding just a small pinch more of it. "Hmm... I hope this isn't too much... spiced porridge is one thing... spicy porridge is another." After a bit more stirring, he lifts it up and tastes it again. "Ah, yes. It's good."
Echoss gets out a number of bowls, and begins scopping porridge into them. As he does this he collects a few other things from the inventory (and maybe one or two fruits from the bowl on the table) and through various means, mixes them in to the bowls of porridge, flavoring each one differently.
For some he uses bits of chopped celefruit and sprinkled bits of soulblossom, making it sugary and sweet. For others he quickly puts bits of chocolate and more mashed soulblossom mixed in with the chocolate as it melts, making it chocolatey and pleasant. Still others he applies a bit more salt left over from the drained buckets, and some pork and spider meat collected from their journeys on Sussui, making the porridge more of a savory meal as opposed to a sweet one.
"Here we are, I know it's not the most spectacular... But I hope it is good at least."

Spiced Porridge created! While given the tier of the materials I've used, and the fact that it's a bit more of a 'mass breakfast' it'll probably be T2 or 3 as opposed to one of the higher tiers, it's still rather good. Enough spice to warm the stomach, but not enough to actually be spicy. With both potato and wheat it's pretty filling as well.
In addition to the Mending they all share, each of the three kinds gives a small additional bonus when consumed:
Sugared: grants Swift
Choclate: grants Energized
Savory: grants Empowered
This is of course, for however much makes it out past breakfast into the inventory, which may not be much, and also will not be for several rounds since breakfast has to finish first.


A few butterlfies flutter down, and notice the Edges poking at the airship. They coalesce into a minigolem, which pulls out a hilariously oversized cartoon magnet that, in addition to not affecting the airship somehow, also yoinks the Edges right over to them. The golem speaks briefly in Echoss's voice
"Hello, someone else voiced concern that some of the Iti are turning intelligent, are you one of them?" If the Edges gives a response, whether verbal or otherwise, to indicate that it might be like the grey Iti except not turned grey just yet, then the magnet suddenly disappears and the Edges is released.

In the far more likely case that the Edges just tries to kill him: "Oh well, I tried I suppose." And the mini golem throws the magnet up into the air. Another passing butterfly hits the arcing magnet+Edges with a manabolt, causing the magnet to launch into the ground, crushing the Edges underneath it before the magnet disappears mysteriously.


Leaf makes a request!
[RP happens]
Echoss sidles over to craftingspace, where time and distance are putty and the only thing that matters is the income being a fair exchange for the outcome through the weird alchemy-esque thing we pretend is a reasonable way to make magic items.
Echoss retrieves the last remaining Forest Mantle crafting charge, a single Eterna Flower, a little bit of silverwood, a few everground flowers, Spider Silk Spools, a few pretty flowers, one mantle cluster and several Gaia Crystals, and a couple silver ingots.
The Dryad Mantle is basically just an upgrade to the Forest Mantle so really it just needs a bit of sprucing up. First thing he does is unravel most of the cloak. That probably should've been second because immediately after that he boils the silverwood and peels it away into thin strips that he then breaks down into silverwood thread, which combined with the spider silk spools makes a very nice strong and magically inclined twine, he uses this to reinforce and double up the threads in the original Forest Mantle as he reassembles the whole thing with just enough extra material left over.
With the base of it assembled, he now needs to make a proper dryad garb. He pulls out some silver ingots and shapes them into a leaf embellishment design, that he sets the gaia crystals into before sewing the embellishments into assorted places along the shoulders of the mantle, along with a number of magically preserved flowers for a more 'foresty' look.
Finally, he takes the last bit of silver and moltens it into the shape of a brooch, which he then sets the mantle cluster into in a way that you would normally expect to be done with a ruby or emerald or some other gemstone, but it still looks nice. Finally, he pins the eterna flower into the brooch, and sets the brooch as the holding pin of the mantle.
Echoss then exits craftingspace, the item successfully created.
Dryad's Mantle created! I believe Ziah has the stats for it.


At Acacia's home, a butterfly flutters over and transforms into a hologram near the servant.
"Ahhhh... No, I'm afraid not. I shall inquire with the others if they know where she is and be back to you shortly.
As for the... intrusion." He gestures at the house that clearly has people who aren't Acacia in it. "Our own shelter was assaulted by Iti last night, and we had to relocate a number of children and assorted noncombatants to a place with less impending threat of being eaten alive."
The Echoss hologram looks back at the house and sighs. "A better choice could probably have been made, but it is rather too late for that now."

In the house, everyone is still just starting to wake up and go about their days. Auth is taking notes in a notebook, sitting in the couch, when he notices Echoss waving at him to come over.

AUTH: Ah, you’re… Echoss. How can I help you?
ECHOSS: I just need a little bit of information for a conversation I'm having elsewhere. Do you, by any chance, happen to know the whereabouts of Lady Acacia? Someone is at her house asking as to her whereabouts."
AUTH: Oh, Acacia…?

Auth’s manner turns quite dark… reflecting on a sad memory.

AUTH: So, we had a duel against her, right? One of our allies… they had a fire weapon during the duel. And Acacia got hit with it. Hard. She lived! Barely. It was close.
AUTH: Cypress took her up to the Skylabs. I’m worried about her. She didn’t seem happy about going there.

Echoss frowns.

ECHOSS: To be fair, she was nearly burned alive in what it sounds like was supposed to be a relatively sparring match. That's a bad enough situation without the Chairians cultural and instinctive hatred of fire.
AUTH: Yeah, it’s understandable… but I don’t think you understand. Acacia was more petrified of the Skylabs than being burned. She seemed… genuinely scared when Cypress showed up and said she needed to go up.
ECHOSS: Hm. Alright. I suppose I have my answer for that conversation then. Thank you.

Echoss gives a light bow, and turns, heading back into the kitchen.

Back at Acacia's house, the hologram frowns slightly at some unseen conversation and then looks back at the probably servent. "According to one of my coulleagues, someone else associated with our party was thoughtless enough to bring a fire based weapon into what was originally intended to be a friendly sparring match and the mistake was not remedied until Acacia was seriously wounded. My guess would be that she's up at the Skylabs still, having her injuries treated." He sighs. "I apologize, that is hardly good news I suspect."
Meanwhile, behind them, a number of butterflies have been working on getting assorted people out of the house. I figure that anyone who seriously intends to have their character stay there will say so, but everyone else is properly brought outwards and led back to the main base by a large enough complement of butterflies to drop rocks on any seekers that try to mess with people.

DAWN OF THE 4TH DAY
-96 hours remain...-

Another day, another glyph to find.

Boshi struggles to wake up, sleep finally getting the better of him last night. However, the memory of space stations above Sussui was enough to have him jolt awake.

He runs outside, and takes a look upward.

---



Boshi's concern levels are at their highest. He looks ahead, more nervous than ever, and goes ahead to the Winding Tunnel. He scans the Widow sneakily, before looking ahead at the Old Pass itself. He appears to be waiting for the fight to start...

---

Both Sophia and Mustache Girl walk with the rest back to the house, seemingly well rested.

...Bow Kid, however, stays. She stayed up all night thinking, and has collapsed in the art room from exhaustion. Not just anything could wake her... and it's doubtful she'd want to leave anyway.

---

A timeclone of Boshi flies out of the Portal near the Crystillery. He tramples the Seeker at (J32) before jamming the Netwyrm Head's hole with a Mortar Shell. He punts it further down into the thing with a well-placed Golf Club attack.

He then noms on the corpse of the Seeker he just killed, turning it into an egg. He flings it at the Seeker at (L31).

He does a backflip to the chokepoint on the rock, before swapping places with the Seeker at (H38) and actually just slams the full Exhibition in the inventory onto it, the battering ram end going straight into it, which probably destroys both of them for good. A battering ram's heavy, man.

The Seekers, being dumb as they are, likely just decide to go for Boshi. Which was a big mistake when it's obvious that Seekers vs. Golf Club results in the Seekers being slammed halfway across the zone.

Boshi, his work done, slams down a time piece, and disappears into thin air. He's gone, but the carnage he wrought remains.

Catherine sighs, in a very over-exaggerated way. She doesn't stop looking at Nana though, her blood-red eyes seeming to be analyzing her like a machine.

tC: Aww, I thought your reaction would be more interesting than that... You're no fun.

Catherine laughs, she's just poking fun for now. She stands up and walks around Nana, getting a very close look at her. She's analyzing her, watching her every move. The way she sits, the way she talks, the way she does everything. Catherine can read into her history and understand her quite deeply that way, although it looks quite weird.

Once she's finished, she sits back down in a dramatic thinking pose.

tC: Hm...

She opens one eye. Dramatic effect seems to be her entire deal. She's judging Nana's reaction to this...

tC: I approve! Congratulations. Go get 'im, tiger.

Catherine has a sudden revelation. She never actually introduced herself or explained anything.

tC: I'm so sorry, you're probably confused because I didn't explain anything, did I? Allow me to properly introduce myself.

She does a very... extra leap into the air, and strikes a pose when she hits the ground.

tC: My name is Catherine Geraldson! Vampire, warrior, and biological mother of The Eternal Author! Or, as you may know him, Auth.

Catherine does finger-guns to Nana, and then sits back down.

tC: So a little...
tC: Well, fairly big, grey and tough bird tells me that you, Nana, and my son, Auth, have been getting along quite well. I just wanted to meet the catch.
tC: I think you and I are going to have a nice, long talk later, Nana, but it's nice to meet you.

Catherine smirks, waits for a response from Nana, then heads up and walks off to deal with something else.

----

uA: Of course, I can help with Salix. Just give me a second...
uA: Don't worry about it, I don't mind helping out.

Auth nods to Taeda, and helps Salix tend to his wounds. Less severe than Willow's, fortunately. He works quickly, but slows down a little once he's nearly done and Taeda starts to talk.

uA: I think the house will be okay. The damage wasn't that terrible, see. It could have been far worse than it was.
uA: However, I don't think extra defenses to go on would go amiss, especially if your hunch is correct about increased Iti numbers. I think even those lesser Iti would get stronger, so it'd be helpful to have the extra... utilities, I suppose.

Auth nods, giving Taeda some time to respond.

----

The other crafting thing I wanted to do will come later.

----

Auth takes charge of the party heading to the Bedroom to fight the Yume. When everybody's there...

uA: Are you ready, everyone? When we are, I'll shut off the light. Then we'll start this show.

Yume better be signing it's will, because we're going over to murder it.

-=+=-

Leafy Time. She's the character I'll be using for Zone 4. Please keep Ziah in Inactive Sheets. Arigato.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gSA...it?usp=drivesdk
(She's the third build in here, please let me know if there are any problems ^-^)

-=+=-

Leaf slowly comes to her senses, realizing she's no longer at Acacia's. Instead, she's… in a small room. Rather confused, she climbs off the bed, and heads to the door. She peaks her head out, calling timidly to the empty hallway.

Leaf: Um… h...hello?

Upon entering the main section of the basement, Leaf's eyes light up as she notices the Mollusk, and makes a small squeaking noise of adoration, carefully approaching them. She happily reaches up to pet the Mollusk, trying to use her skills in order to subdue the creature.

After a decent amount of petting, she decides it's a good time for her to figure out where the rest of the party might be. Leaf heads up the stairs to the first floor. Upon not being able to find anyone, Leaf sighs, before sensing a strong aura of something living, coming from upstairs. As such, she follows the trail, climbing the staircase, and calling out again to see if the source of this aura will respond.

Leaf: Someone up here?

Leaf’s exploration would soon lead her to something rather strange. There appears to be a glowing red orb hovering at around someone’s chest-level, tucked away in one corner of the upstairs hallway like a piece of background decoration. Yet that red orb seems to be the source of the life aura. Her calling out for someone else seems to have prompted some kind of reaction in the orb, a bit of light flickering around it somewhat like someone blinking to awaken themselves… Then the orb speaks, in the sense that a voice calls out from roughly about where it is.

Verdana: Hello? Did someone say something?

Leaf makes a small sound, clearly a startled gasp, but sounding noticeably more a small squeak. She takes a deep breath and exhales, giggling softly at her own reaction.

Leaf: S-Sorry, I… didn't realize you… could talk?
Leaf: Although I've seen a butterfly man, vampiress and cute robolady, all just today, so…

Leaf smiles, heading a little closer to the orb.

Leaf: I'm Leaf. Nice to meet you~!

Verdana: Ah, there is someone there...

The orb flickers, then pushes itself away from the corner, red energies flickering around itself into the rough shape of a humanoid. Gradually, the light shines brighter and seems more filled-in, then eventually there’s a sudden flash. The light fades out, and where the orb and energies were hovering, there is now a particular red-eyed albino fellow standing and watching Leaf. He tilts his head and blinks a few times, then smiles while untilting and heading a little closer.

Verdana: Nice to meet you too!
Verdana: I’m Verdana. Haven’t seen you before...

Although at first, Leaf is mildly surprised by Verdana's humanization, she quickly grows accustomed to it. One thing that's made rather clear is the height difference between the two. Leaf is barely as tall as Verdana's chest. She smiles as she looks up at him.

Leaf: Mm, I'm… new here. Got here yesterday. Still a little sleepy though, but besides that, I'm doing okay.

Noticing the height difference, Verdana giggles quietly, then just checks by eye roughly how much there is between them. A moment later, he seems to shrink down slightly, gradually becoming eye level with Leaf. Once he’s done with that, he nods.

Verdana: Fair enough, it’s… what time is it, actually, I don’t have a clock…
Verdana: ...It’s some-time-or-other. That’s definitely a real time.
Verdana: Anyway, welcome around! Had some time to settle in, I take it?

Leaf nods, rubbing her eyes, before looking back up at Verdana.

Leaf: A little bit, yeah… kind of a scary situation to be in, though… universe ending, purple monsters, heavy stuff.
Leaf: B-But it's okay! Since you're… we're the warriors who are going to fix this, right?

Verdana: Yeah!
Verdana: ...It’s a work in progress. There’s a lot to do.

Verdana lets out a nervous chuckle, awkwardly scratching the side of his head, then continues.

Verdana: We’ll get there eventually.
Verdana: We might even get there faster if new people keep showing up like this.
Verdana: At the very least, I’m sure everyone will be nice company. Hehe.

Leaf smiles, nodding. Something slowly begins to click with her. Something EN mentioned the night before.

Leaf: Oh, Verdana! Like… Verdana, Verdana… I think. EN mentioned you.

Verdana blinks, then nods back to the girl.

Verdana: You’ve met her already, then? Cool!
Verdana: Hmm…
Verdana: Who else have you met so far? There’s quite a few people around...

Leaf pauses for a minute, seeming to recollect her sleepy memories.

Leaf: Let's see, EN, Catherine, Genoa, um… Mister Echoss…
Leaf: I'm kinda interested in you, though~!

Verdana just blinks in something somewhere between shock and confusion for a moment, then internally shakes that surprise away before returning his focus to Leaf. He seems just a bit uncertain about how to take that comment…

Verdana: So that’s… four people, five if you include me…
Verdana: ...Interested in me specifically? Or… just meeting another new person?

Leaf becomes slightly flustered as she realizes how that might sound, but continues regardless.

Leaf: W-Well… um. Kinda specifically you.
Leaf: EN told me you managed to tame one of the Iti as a pet…?

Verdana nods, his attention taken off the earlier awkward phrasing and instead to the topic of Gibbet. His tone of voice takes on a slight edge of pride as he continues discussion.

Verdana: Yeah! There was this egg that one of the bigger Iti left behind after we defeated it…
Verdana: Anyway, it took a while, but miss Venia built a harness thingy for the egg, then I helped purify it, and then a small bird popped out!
Verdana: We named him… her… erm, them Gibbet.
Verdana: (Iti kind of don’t have genders but at the same time sometimes they do, it’s complicated.)

Leaf: That's really cool~!
Leaf: I'm actually the beastmaster of my town on Azuri, so anything relating to wildlife has always been kind of amazing to me.

Leaf smiles, holding her hands behind her back. Meanwhile, Verdana trails off for a moment, looking thoughtful, then he snaps his fingers as he has an idea.

Verdana: ...I should probably take them outside for another flying practice sometime soon...

Leaf's eyes seem to light up as Verdana mentions flying practice.

Leaf: Do… do you think maybe I could come with you? I'd really like to see that.
Verdana: Sure, that’d be lovely. I’m sure Gibbet would like the company too.
Verdana: I could… probably also carry you up there too, maybe? It’s nice to be in the air.
Verdana: And I’ve got a couple ways to fly, so...

Leaf tilts her head, clearly curious.

Leaf: Oh~? Could I see?

As a quick demonstration, Verdana floats off the ground a few inches, then settles back down again. There’s no obvious indication of anything special happening while he hovers, but he’s at the very least probably flight-capable. If that demonstration wasn’t enough, he also shifts his form to manifest a rather large pair of feathery wings for a few seconds, then folds them back behind himself and lets them fade back into his normal humanoid form.

Verdana: What do you reckon?

Leaf snaps out of her silent awe, grinning.

Leaf: That's so cool, Verdana~!

She pauses, thinking to herself for a moment.

Leaf: And… you're sure it wouldn't be too difficult to carry me along?

Verdana makes an appreciative smile as he hears Leaf complimenting him, then nods to her question. The wings manifest themselves again, and after a moment of consideration, he pops himself back up to his normal size again.

Verdana: Quite sure.
Verdana: Might as well be completely sure, though, so…
Verdana: Hop on, if you want. Hehe.

He then stands there for a second or two, oblivious to the slight problem height differences could pose, then figures it out and crouches down a little so Leaf has a proper way to climb onto him. Leaf seems rather excited, climbing onto Verdana's back and almost clinging to his shoulders.

Leaf: Is this okay…?
Verdana: Yep, it’s fine.
Verdana: You might want to hold on tightly...

Leaf obliges, holding on a little tighter. Verdana concentrates for a moment, wings stretching experimentally and carefully reaching past Leaf so they aren’t impaired too much, then take a few flaps. It seems like they can work this way… The albino nods in acknowledgement, turning his head just far enough to get a look at both wings.

Verdana: Looks like they work, good…
Verdana: Feel confident enough for a test flight?

Leaf eagerly nods, shifting, if necessary, to make Verdana a little more comfortable.

Leaf: Mm! I'm ready.
Verdana: Alright, here goes then!

And with that, Verdana… can’t actually find an open window, so spends a few awkward moments opening one of the windows and stepping out onto the roof. Leaf giggles softly at this. After that brief moment, his wings stretch again, taking a few quick flaps before the albino slowly starts to rise into the air. It’s a bit more gradual than his earlier takeoff, given the weight of Leaf on his back, but it’s happening. She holds onto Verdana a little more tightly as he begins his ascent.

Verdana: ...So far, so good...
Leaf: Mm… you're sure it won't be too difficult?
Verdana: Quite sure. I haven’t flown this way with someone on me before, but...

Verdana trails off, then grins and flaps both wings a lot harder, seeming able to manage the effort. Now that he’s had some time to adjust, he seems to be doing better, soon leaning forward to set the two of them off on a quick flight around the rest of zone 0, just keeping low to the ground for now in case something happens. Leaf is silent for almost the entire trip, besides a soft gasp occasionally. For the most part, it seems as though she's simply entranced by the feeling of flight, as well as the sight of, dare I make the joke, a whole new world.

Since he does feel the urge to show off a little, Verdana can’t help but sneak a few stunts and tricks in there, albeit nothing too dangerous just in case. Maybe just flying a little close to a building here or there. After all, he does have to mind the passenger this time around. The flight should be safe enough for him to eventually complete a circuit around the zone 0 town without any major risk to Leaf, and once the circuit is done, Verdana slowly glides to a halt back at the roof of the house.

Verdana: Hehe… That was fun.
Verdana: Did you enjoy that too?
Leaf: That was amazing~

Leaf smiles widely, seeming to be… really happy, giving Verdana a small hug while she rests on his back. Feeling the hug from Leaf, he in turn turns a little and smiles back at her while the feathery wings move to hug her back, a bit of gravity manipulation being used to keep the two airborne. Leaf giggles quietly as she feels the wings hug her.

Leaf: You're really cool, Verdana… thanks for this.
Verdana: Hehe, welcome.
Verdana: And thanks to you too.

Gradually, with one flight over, the albino lowers himself down until he can reach down and plant his feet on the roof, in case Leaf wants to hop off or adjust around or something similar. He doesn’t seem tired from the flight, though, so he could go again if she wanted him to… Leaf decides it'd be polite to let Verdana rest a little, even if he isn't too tired. She gently climbs off for the moment, facing Verdana, resisting the temptation to hug him again.

Leaf: We should do this again sometime~
Leaf: I want to do something for you too, so… expect something nice soon, okay?
Verdana: Oh, something nice? That’d be nice!
Verdana: Have you got something in mind for it, or...
Leaf: I don't yet, but I figure I'll know when the time comes…
Leaf: Or… if there's ever anything you'd want, just ask~?
Verdana: Ooh…
Verdana: I don’t have anything in mind yet, but… That sounds nice.

The albino smiles, reaching out to see if Leaf will accept a quick cuddle from him. Upon seeing Verdana so much as raise his arms, Leaf rushes in and wraps her arms around him, seemingly happy to receive affection. Verdana giggles as Leaf rushes into hug him, gladly hugging her fairly tightly in turn, evidently as happy to be giving affection as she herself is to be receiving it.

Verdana: Hehe.
Verdana: This is pretty nice too~

Leaf blushes slightly, wordlessly nodding. While Verdana doesn't really notice the blush, he’s probably encouraging it with current height differences and a tight hug. The two are still for a few fleeting moments, simply enjoying the embrace. After a bit of time, Verdana decides that standing out on the roof like this might be getting a bit boring, so he briefly shifts his grip around, then moves to hoist Leaf into a bridal carry if she’ll let him do so. She seems slightly surprised by this, not quite resisting, but becoming incredibly flustered.

Verdana: Well, um… If we’re not flying again right away, how about going back inside now?
Leaf: Y-Yeah, let's… do that…

A small grin forms on Leaf's face as Verdana obliges, carrying the girl inside and still hugging her fairly tightly while doing so.

-=+=-

A little after a pleasant and extensive chat with Verdana off-screen, Leaf seems to have returned to the basement, sitting on the floor, cross legged, as she gazes up at the Mollusk. Echoss notices, and approaches her curiously.

Echoss: Hello there Miss Leaf. Did you sleep well?

Leaf is slightly surprised by Echoss' appearance, but seems happy that he's here. She stands up, dusting her skirt.

Leaf: Oh, Mister Echoss!
Leaf: I slept well, yeah… not entirely sure how I ended up here, but it works out~
Echoss: Peculiar. Well, you're here at least, and ahead of the others no less. They're all still back at the cottage.

Leaf nods, quiet for a moment.

Leaf: So!
Leaf: What's up?
Echoss: Not much at present, everyone is preparing for today's foray into the world. Breakfast is happening presently.

Leaf's eyes widen at the mention of food, seemingly eager.

Leaf: I haven't eaten in a day or two, so this is amazing news!

Echoss chuckles and gestures to the hallway, and the kitchen.

Echoss: The kitchen is over that way, there is already a fair amount of food laid out so feel free to help yourself. Is there anything else you need?
Leaf: Not that I can think of right now… oh!

Leaf takes off her cloak.

Leaf: I wanted to fix this, but I'm not really sure I can. I tried my hand at it, but I'm not that great at this kind of stuff, as it turns out…
Leaf: I know how to do it, I'm just struggling to… actually do it.
Leaf: if that makes any sense.

Echoss takes the cloak from her and looks it over, humming to himself.

Echoss: Hm, yes… I think I can fix it up for you without much trouble. I will have it back to you soon.

Leaf gives Echoss a small smile, nodding.

Leaf: Sweet, thanks~
Echoss: It is no problem at all.

Echoss folds up the cloak in his arms and moves off to another part of the house, apparently forgetting to say goodbye properly. Leaf is quiet for a bit, slightly confused by the abrupt exit, but doesn't think much of it, stepping out to explore the area a little more.

-=+=-

Leaf decides to take a trip over to the Endless Gardens, curious as to the kinds of wildlife she might find. After having heard about Gibbet, it seems she's trying to find a creature of her own to tame. She heads down through the reception, heading up to the intersection of Yggdrasil's Flank and Yggdrasil's Approach, before spotting a girl she's not seen before. Eager to meet new allies, Leaf approaches the green-haired girl, who appears to be affixing something to one of the pillars. She hesitates for a moment, before speaking up, careful not to startle the girl.

Leaf: Oh, um... hiya?

Toast spins around, startled regardless. After noticing Leaf, she manages to regain some semblance of composure.

Toast: Heck, uh, hi. I thought everyone was headed to the Old Pass, wasn't really expecting company...
Leaf: A-Ah, sorry... I was just kind of... familiarizing myself with this place. Kinda just got here, so I'm not entirely sure what everyone's up to...

Leaf pauses, thinking to herself for a moment before continuing.

Leaf: I'm Leaf, by the way. Nice to meet you.

She considers shaking Toast's hand, but seems to be slightly afraid of them, instead giving her a small, polite nod. The sorceress gives a smile in response.

Toast: I'm Toast, resident spell caster and madlass, at your service.
Toast: Hey, nice hair by the way!
Leaf: Oh, thanks~
Leaf: Yours is cool, too!
Toast: Hehe, thanks.
Toast: Right now I'm busy trying to get this glyph up.

Leaf briefly eyes the Beacon Glyph curiously. It's a brass, hexagonal construct about the size of her palm. In its centre is a crystal, which pulses with soft light. She thinks to herself for a small moment, before giving Toast a small smile.

Leaf: Right... anything you think I could help with? I'm not amazing with tech or anything, but I'd be happy to lend a hand.
Toast: Well, have you got anything sticky? I've been trying to attach it to this pillar- usually they just stay on- but this one isn't. I think it might be the cold.

Leaf's eyes light up, given an opportunity where she will actually be able to help out.

Leaf: Oh, yeah! Something I learned fairly recently could definitely help with sticking things.

Leaf places her palms together and gently shuts her eyes. Toast watches with interest. After a few moments, she slowly pulls them apart. Between them appears to be a brownish-green substance resembling sap, stretched between Leaf's palms.

Leaf: This.. should do the trick...

Flipping it over to present its base, the sorceress offers the Beacon Glyph to Leaf, who collects the sap into a large blob. Taking a small part of the sap, Leaf begins to gently spread it over the base of the glyph. As she does so, Toast makes conversation.

Toast: So... you're a magic user then?
Leaf: Mm... sorta. Magic and stuff is all kind of new to me, but I think it's super neat.
Leaf: Most of my actual ability has to do with wildlife though. I'm a primary beastmaster in my town back on Azuri.
Toast: Wildlife, that's pretty cool.
Toast: But... Azuri, where's that? I haven't heard of it before.
Leaf: Azuri... I'm not sure exactly how far from this place it is, since I got here via warp magic... but it isn't too far, I don't think.
Leaf: Not too far in terms of cosmic scale, anyway. Space is big.
Toast: Really big.
Toast: Well, I come from Between. It's a planet no-one's heard of in a place that no-one's been with a population of no-one plus one.
Toast: Which is a fancy way of saying I'm the only one who lives there.
Leaf: Woah, you... live on a planet on your own?
Leaf: Wouldn't that get kinda lonely...?

Toast expression falls for a moment as she recalls her year prior to coming to Sussui. It quickly returns, as if nothing had happened.

Toast: Well... you could say it's hard to miss what you've never had.
Toast: I spent a lot of time teaching myself magic, so that surviving on my own wouldn't be so tricky.
Toast: Now I'm like, kinda pretty good at it.

Leaf winces softly, sheepishly putting her hands behind her back.

Leaf: Oh... s-sorry for bringing that up.
Leaf: O-On the bright side, you've got friends here, right?
Leaf: even if we're fighting for the universe's survival...
Toast: Oh, for sure! There's Marron, and Auth, and Irongutta... a lot of these guys I've known from our last adventure... but I think that's better told another day.
Toast: How about you? Have you met anyone that takes your interest yet?

She smiles wryly as she asks the question. Leaf pauses for a moment as she tries to formulate her next few words very carefully.

Leaf: Well… y-yeah! Everyone I've talked to is really nice, actually. I've met, um… Verdana, EN, Mister Echoss, Catherine, Genoa, Verdana… and now you!
Leaf: And you're pretty interesting, in my eyes.
Toast: Thanks! I gotta say that you're pretty rad too.

The sorceress looks down at the glyph, which Leaf is still holding, and chuckles a little.

Toast: ...I think you've applied enough sap by now.
Toast: It's kinda starting to drip...
Leaf: Hm?

Leaf looks back down, realizing she's been idly applying sap this entire time, going slightly red.

Leaf: Oh! …s-sorry about that…
Toast: Ehehe, it's fine. Thanks for the help.

Leaf smiles appreciatively, nodding.

Leaf: No problem!

She hands the Glyph back to Toast, careful not to get any sap on the sorceress' hands or clothes. With the same amount of care, Toast places the glyph against the nearby pillar, where it sticks firmly.

Toast: So, this will link back to the portal in the house basement if you tap the crystal. I've left a few of them around the place, so they're useful for getting around.
Leaf: Oh? That's really cool~

There's a brief lull in conversation as the two girls come to a loss of what to add. Toast takes this as her cue to be off.

Toast: I still have some stuff to handle around the place, so maybe I'll see you around sometime?
Leaf: Mm! I hope so…
Leaf: Will you be coming to the Old Pass with us?
Toast: Oh, yeah! Once I'm finished with all my errands and stuff.
Toast: See you there?

Leaf nods, giving Toast a small smile.

Leaf: Yup! Can't wait to see the warriors in action~!
Leaf: Thanks for letting me help out, by the way. I'll see you soon~
Toast: Catcha!

At that, Toast waves goodbye, heading to the east- towards the Preserve. Leaf waves to Toast as she leaves, continuing to explore the gardens.

-=+=-

After a bit more exploring, Leaf returns to the house, heading back inside, and heading down into the basement to pet the Mollusk a little more. Echoss taps her on the shoulder as she moves through the doorway, catching her attention.

Echoss: I believe you had a repair job you gave me?

Leaf seems… mildly surprised by this. Not Echoss himself showing up from nowhere, she seems used to that by now, but the speed with which he'd presumably managed to repair the tattered cloak.

Leaf: Did you… finish it already?
Echoss: Indeed I did. I may have cheated a bit but I do indeed have your cloak properly restored to the best of my abilities.

Echoss pulls the newly crafted Dryad's Mantle out of the inventory, neatly folded, and presents it to Leaf. She smiles, carefully reaching out with both arms, for Echoss to pass it to her. He places it into her arms and nods his head.

Echoss: I hope you find the restoration to your liking, Miss Leaf.

Leaf swiftly puts on her new cloak, a smile growing on her face as she does so. She happily rubs her cheek against the fabric, enjoying the soft feeling.

Leaf: Thank you so much!
Echoss: Of course, there haven't been enough nice things to go around on Sussui lately, I figure I should do my part to remedy that.
Leaf: That's so sweet~
Leaf: Is... there anything I could do in return?
Echoss: For now simply take care of yourself, and help out the others with things if you can. There's a lot to do and another helping hand would not be amiss.

Leaf nods, still hugging the new cloak to her body.

Leaf: Will do.
Leaf: If there's anything I can do, I'll try my best to help!
Echoss: Then that is all I ask. Stay safe Miss Leaf.

Leaf smiles, nodding once more. And with that, Echoss wanders off.

Swap Cherry Energy for Purify.
2 points from MP into SPC. This boosts her special, and gives her Bonus Action Purify.

~~

Toast wakes up, still tired after their midnight skirmish. She crawls over to where Marron is huddled and nudges her playfully on the shoulder.
"Come on, I wanna get up~"
She hops out of bed and rummages around in her backpack for clothing. If you think about it, she's taken a lot of stuff out of that bag. Probably some sort of Undetectable Extension Charm.
"I didn't really think that it'd be cold on Sussui. Any idea what I should wear?"

Later, Toast is up and about and out of the house. She heads up to the Endless Garden to run some errands, but ends up running into Leaf. Once that encounter has been resolved, she heads east, where she encounters a lot of thyme matter. Being Toast, she heads to the source- probably the best place to see if anything can be done about it.
Strife.

RP: Nia, Yesterday

As Venia instructs Nia on the proper usage of the cap, she ponders Nia's comment. "Red hair. Pure red hair... Sure, why not?" Venia says, overlooking the overuse of the color by the Rose. She pulls out her own copy of the cap and sets it to change every flick of her hair from black to, oh, T5 Red-all but the lock of hair that gradients to Cyan, anyways. The change is over in a flash, but Venia looks quite pleased with it afterwards. "... Wow, does look good on me. You sure know your stuff!" Venia says.

"... Maria!" Venia exclaims. "Oh, gosh, Maria-slipped my mind with the whole 'saving you' thing, that's something I need to do right now! T-thank you for reminding me. I was going to talk to you more but that can wait for the morning!" Venia says.

Without further ado, Venia teleports away, reappearing at the foot of Acacia's house. Mercifully, everything is intact. Venia cautiously walks in, careful to not make a sound, and slips into the Bedroom, finding Maria fast asleep. After a second, Venia carefully takes a chair from the dining table, sits next to Maria, sets up a small time compression field to make sure the two get their eight hours, and drifts asleep...

Over those next effective eight hours, Hat stands an ever-awake vigil, swiftly removing any instance of blur goo from Venia the instant it appears...

---

RP: The Next Day

"GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING, ITS TIME TO RISE AND SHIIIIIIIINE!"

The whole of Acacia's house is snapped from the clutches of slumber by Maria's 'singing.' Venia springs awake at once, witnessing Maria gleaming at her over her knees.

"... Good morning, sunshine!" Venia says, happy to see Maria's smiling face. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, I did!" Maria says. 'And now I'm hungry, and now I want breakfast, and then I wanna go on a lotta adventures with you!"

Venia was about to teleport away, but Echoss's swarm of butterflies were well-timed, and Maria was enchanted by the kalideoscope of gold. The duo, plus the other children (presumably), all make their way back to the house...

---

RP: Cypress

After a mercifully uneventful breakfast, Venia leaves Maria behind (for now) and checks whatever means or method they use to keep track of wherever they explore, and spies Cypress in the Upholstered Chamber. Rather than risk massive confrontation with the whole of the Legion already there, Venia focuses for a moment before teleporting directly into the chamber, silently materializing on the stone steps.

"Good morning, Cypress, Wattle," Venia says. "I trust you're here to inspect the cause of all of this? I think its easy to say that it wasn't just us-we'd have just taken the Glyph and left..."

"... Just in case you're confused, its me, Venia, the magitechnician." She says, gesturing to her ensemble. "Yesterday was a real rollcercoaster for me..."

Hat, being Hat, is still sitting on Venia's head despite Venia using the Oceanic Scarf for her hat slot.

---

Other Zone 3 stuff

While Venia chats with Cypress, mysterious maids made of platinum appear around the garden, namely around the trees. With precision unearthly, they make calculated plucking of the Gigistem and Cinderfruit trees and harvest them carefully in baskets apparently woven out of something far more valuable than the fruits they hold, before vanishing into nothing.

If no-one has already done so, another Maid likewise manifests at the Garden Altar and presses a series of buttons in accordance with her knowledge. Namely; 3-2-3-2-1-1-4-3-1-2-1-4, or STATUEGARDEN. She then levitates up the projector and hits the confirm button. She keeps the Entropic Detector on-hand as the device is interacted with.

"OK, should work this time," Venia says-or, rather, her voice emits from the perfectly stationary maid.

---

Other

nothing, nothing yet.

Irongutta awoke from his spot on the couch, though he didn't feel like he got much rest at all. Grumbling and squinting his eyes, he slowly sat up and stretched his legs outward.

"Urgh... I've 'ad better nights." He muttered to himself.

Taking a deep breath, he caught an awful stench in the air that nearly made him retch. "Gork's teeth! Wot's that smell?" Tentatively sniffing a few times, he realized it was none other than himself. It then hit him that he was carrying around a few day's worth of sweat, grease, and Iti gore; not to mention that he was swallowed whole yesterday.

Irongutta hastily stumbled upstairs and, for the first time in a while, took a hot shower. He had to admit, it was incredibly refreshing. A change of clothes and he was good to go for the day.

Up and about at last, he encountered Piggo, who seemed to be on his way back to the house. Irongutta grabbed his pet and held it close to his face in adoration. "There ya are Piggo! Let's get a move on, we gotta be ready fer that convoy raid." He set his sapsqueal on the ground once more so it can follow him freely.

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED FIFTY-FOUR>

Stats! Let's go!

---

Adrian fast-travels to the Old Pass, not really doing anything once he arrives. Hey, a trip's a trip!

---

The Man also visits the Old Pass, and travels to the left of the Northern Guard Tower, slipping through a bit of debris to get a better look. He finds himself at the Town Armory, which appears to be infested. With Rebel soldiers. They appear to be a ragtag bunch, ill equipped for the cold weather. You're not quite sure what they're planning, but that Ashstormer who's aiming over the walls doesn't seem to have the purest of intentions.

Calibri chats with Mindscape Chloe. He asks if perhaps, she's interested in hearing what's been going on.

MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: Hm, sure!
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: I bet you've been pretty darn busy with those things I've been fighting as of late.
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: There was this thing that almost ate me when I tried to help an apparently fake child, then this thing that burrowed into a Temmie and tried to kill us...
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: It's... been a busy past few days.

She sighs.

MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: Oppy's doing well, at least. We've been cutting through these things non-stop!

From there, she listens to what he has to say about his own day. Even though it's not strictly "her" Nia, she seems incredibly excited when he mentions Nia being saved.

MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: Y-You actually saved her?
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: W-Wow! M-Maybe with t-that done, the Nia in the Mindscape will go back t-to normal, or something?
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: I sure hope so- I've really missed her...

MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: So anyway... you fused with Verdana?
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: I'm... n-not quite sure what you felt, or what you'd need to complete the fusion...
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: I'd suggest "myself", but I don't think I'm actually capable of travelling outside of the Mindscape. At least, not for some time. Neither can Oppy.

The flaming-haired woman opts to pose her own question.

MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: Hey, how's the actual me doing?
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: Is she alright? Has she re-united with Nia?
MINDSCAPE!CHLOE: ...Does she have a boyfriend yet?

A bit of a giggle crackles through the receiver as she awaits a response. EN also magically reconstitutes some Splinter Sandbags with 2 Spider Silk Spools, from last round. Then, the Engie Drone visits the Grey Harmonizer at Zone 1's Stage. The other Grey Iti in the area look at him with unease, and the Harmonizer stops singing. A few notes leave it- a form of singsong voice? The two other Iti in the area nod, and the Harmonizer glides forward.

She bows, and places a card of sorts on the ground. She then beckons to the two other Grey Iti, and promptly strides away into the woods with her allies. Grey Card obtained! He's not entirely sure what it's for, but it seems important. He stores it in the Key Items section.

---

Echoss does a lot of things again. First, he greets the Chairian Trio as they prepare to leave the safety of Zone 0.

WILLOW: See ya!
WILLOW: Maybe we'll meet again later?
CLAUSA: I-I somehow doubt t-that we'll meet again...
SALIX: We seem to have this habit of bumping into each other. Perhaps we will be seeing you later.
SALIX: Goodbye. For now.

The three of them leave. hiking until they're no longer visible on the map of Zone 0. They'll probably be okay. From there, Echoss does no shortage of things! Let's go through them in order...

Echoss repairs the main floor bathroom with 20 Cobblestone, 5 Iron Ingots, 5 Refined Wood, 3 Raindrop Crystals, and an Ashen Crystal. He then prepares some porridge with 15 Wheat, 6 Gaiaroot Potatoes, 3 Hotpoints, 2 Buckets of Salt Water, 1 Celefruit, 15 Soulblossoms, 2 Chocolate Eggs, 1 Fresh Pork, and 2 Spider Meat. This creates 3 units of Sugared, Chocolate, and Savory Porridge! He also spends some time making the Dryad Mantle with Leaf, slapping together a Forest Mantle, an Eterna Flower, 3 Silverwood, 9 Everground Flowers, 2 Spider Silk Spools, a Mantle Cluster, and 6 Gaia Crystals!

From there, he goes to visit a rather pesky Edges, magnetizing it towards him. Before he can even finish his "greeting", the Edges immediately attempts to murder him. This results in the Edges being mag-crushed out of this plane of existence. He also goes and chats with a Servant who's arrived at Acacia's House. He seems... understanding enough when Echoss explains the situation, but rather nervous.

SERVANT: ...Uh, I-I'm sorry to hear that you got attacked...
SERVANT: ...a-and I'm sorry to ask after hearing that, b-but could you please leave? If Lady Acacia found what she'd call "peasants" in her property, s-she'd be very, very angry...
SERVANT: And then I might need to do some cleanup.

He's then informed that Acacia was maimed with a fire-based weapon. The servant immediately tenses up.

SERVANT: Y-You... w-what!?
SERVANT: A-Acacia's been... b-burnt!?
SERVANT: T-That's... o-oh dear...
SERVANT: ...

...The servant is quiet as they proceed towards the house. They seem relatively terrified. With that out of the way, Echoss opts to vacate Acacia's house, leading the children and pets in the area out. With everyone gone, the Servant enters the house, not leaving. Maybe it'd be worth talking to them more...?

---

Boshi wakes up to the sound of space stations. He's quite lucky(?) that the Sphere hasn't grown a gigantic laser cannon and swirly laser'd the hell out of both space stations, much like it did to Omo's lower body in Chaos. In fact, it'll probably fire at both stations should a stray bullet even come near it.

Anyway, Boshi goes exploring in the Old Pass! He scans the Widow, unlocking its Codex Entry! That's... quite the powerful Poison it has! He then spends some time slaughtering the Iti at the Crystillery, spending a Mortar Shell and a literal whole Exhibition in the process. He manages to loot 8 total Samples from the carnage. The Noise drops by 30%.

---

Catherine chats with Nana more. As she analyzes the Chairian, Nana begins to sweat a little. What's she doing? Should she stab her? No, probably not. She begins to panic a little as Catherine increases her analysis speed.

NANA: U-Um, y-you're making me uncomfortable...

Eventually, Catherine finishes her analysis, and tells her to "go get 'em, tiger"! Nana seems happy to be "adequate" by her standards, but still seems confused.

NANA: ...What's a tiger?
NANA: A-Anyway... you're Auth's mom?
NANA: H-Hi! I-I mean, you already know w-who I am, but... i-it's nice to meet you!

With the knowledge of who she's talking to, her nervousness jumps a few bounds.

NANA: Y-Your son is r-really nice! H-He's saved my life, a-and he's really heroic a-and...
NANA: ...Well, I kinda like him.
NANA: I'll... see you later?

She's sweating a bit, but she seems to have somewhat gotten over her nerves mid-speech. Elsewhere, a day or so back, Auth speaks with Taeda as they treat to the wounds of their allies. He assumes the house will be okay, but it may pay to get some extra utilities.

TAEDA: Well, just the fact that you're pretty confident in the house is reassuring.
TAEDA: Maybe I should go see if I could do anything for the house. Protective wards and all that stuff- gifts from Helix!
TAEDA: It'd take a lot of work, though... and I-I'm pretty sleepy, so I'd probably go and do it tomorrow...

The priestess yawns as she finishes up tending to her patient.

TAEDA: Thanks for the help, Auth!
TAEDA: See you tomorrow!

She stretches as she stands, before waving goodbye to her friends. She then heads downstairs to sleep.

---

Leaf spends some time getting to meet the party. I don't think there's much here that I necessarily need to respond to, but it's a fun chunk of roleplaying!

...During her visit to the house, she ends up meeting Chloe, who eyes her with interest.

CHLOE: Oh, heya! I don't believe we've met!
CHLOE: What's your name?

She extends a hand out in friendship.

---

Toast nudges Marron, urging her out of bed. She resists for a moment, before eventually conceding, and opting to get on with her day.

MARRON: A-Alright, alright! I'm getting up now...

She rolls to the side of the bed, stretches her arms out into the air whilst yawning, before hopping off the bed with a bit of a spring. She takes a few more moments to stretch, then considers an answer to Toast's question: what to wear?

MARRON: ...We're going to a snowy place, right?
MARRON: Obviously, you should probably pack a bit of winter gear. I have my parka, but that's kinda stuffy, and I'm not sure if it's really gonna be THAT cold.
MARRON: Maybe just something light; a hoodie, some proper pants... things like that.

MARRON: Speaking of proper clothing...

Marron pulls on her shirt. It's in a state of moderate disrepair- she's been so busy as of late, that she hasn't had time to mend her clothing. There's still cuts from the battle they had yesterday, damage from when they fought Nia, and plenty of tears from the midnight battle.

MARRON: ...I need some new freakin' clothes.
MARRON: I don't think anyone's really capable of properly fixing this shirt at this point.. and besides, I've been wearing this getup for months, and I think it's time for a change.
MARRON: So... I'm gonna ask you the same question- what should I wear?
MARRON: You should try making me an outfit. You have good taste, from what I've seen!

MARRON: ...Obviously, I'm keeping the scarf. It's ultra cozy.

She opts to spend a bit of time making herself presentable, stitching together a few of the gaps in her clothing. It's crude, but it works for now. She then opts to head down to the kitchen (possibly with Toast in tow) to go and make breakfast. She appears to be considering making crepe's.

---

Venia chats with Nia for a fairly extended period. Yesterday, she finishes up her chat with Nia, dying her hair a vibrant red.

NIA: Huh, it looks great on you!
NIA: Maybe I should try red one day...

The moment Nia mentions Maria, Venia's eyes light up, and she bids Nia adieu to go and watch over Maria.

NIA: Alright! Tell her that I said hiya!

...Then, some time later, the events of Hearts as One happens. The two of them end up falling for one another, and promptly share their first kiss together. Nia also gets properly flustered for the first time as a result of a perfect (if accidental) riposte to a lewd comment she made. This naturally has a few benefits...

VENIA & NIA ACCOMPLISHMENT GET: Heart to Heart

This also adds another Heart Bracelet to the inventory! Truly, love is the single most overpowered force in the universe. The two of them then head off together to enjoy a hearty breakfast of porridge, and maybe whatever Marron's prepared, because time is weird that way.

Some time later, Venia teleports directly up into Scale Yggdrasil, possibly unaware of how impossibly threatening it is to teleport directly up to someone like that. Fortunately, Cypress is able to halt Wattle before he instinctively shoots Venia for her intrusion.

CYPRESS: Greetings, miss Venia.
WATTLE: ...Greetings.
CYPRESS: Calm yourself, Wattle. Current intentions: unknown. Likely not hostile.
CYPRESS: Query, Venia. You are here. What for?
CYPRESS: Source of explosion? Gathering data. Spark demanded it.
CYPRESS: Current analysis follows. Flux. Traces of radiation. Technology equalling Tabletopian.
CYPRESS: All very interesting.

WATTLE: If you try anything, I will call the forces stationed down below up to your position.
WATTLE: Remember that you are in the presence of a member of the Highchair.

...It's all a little tense. Elsewhere, Venia sends an army of maids to go and water some fruit. 3 Celefruit and 3 Cinderfruit obtained! She also sends a maid to enter "3-2-3-2-1-1-4-3-1-2-1-4" into the Projector at Zone 3. It chimes happily, before the top promptly launches itself upwards, landing a short distance away from the projector unit itself. There's a ladder that descends down into the box- far deeper than the box itself would suggest.

---

Irongutta lets Piggo out of their pen. Oink. It nuzzles up to him as he holds it up to his face, apparently happy to go exploring with him. Maybe he should try getting more pigs and creating a dogsled but with piggos. Just thinking out loud here.

---

Letsid asks if anyone wants to play tag. She finds Ette, who's apparently getting bored of doing her chores.

ETTE: (Ooh! I haven't played tag since... well when Sis met the butterfly!)
ETTE: (Okay! I'll play with you! So, who's gonna be it first?)

...Ette waits for Letsid to make a move, to start the game. This may or may not end badly for Ette, who isn't very fast.

---

While the rest of the round is happening, the sound of crackling electricity, followed by an explosion is heard from the direction of the Dueling Hut! That might be worth investigating.

---

Toast enters the Bedroom. Hesitantly, she flips the the lightswitch on the wall. The very room itself shudders, and it suddenly goes dark. She fumbles around in the dark for a moment, but can't seem to find the lightswitch. Or anything. After a minute or so of turning in the dark, she sees a beam of light from the sky.

Within its light, an Iti taking on the visage of a woman stands in front of a small staircase- it's one of those "portable steps" that you can move around and such. Three steps, going out onto a small block platform. The Iti takes a few steps up, before jumping off the portable steps without hesitation.

Instead of impacting with the ground, she seems to clip through it, falling through the ground. Suddenly, the room begins to glow properly- it seems like Toast has been transported to a new place entirely. Twelve doors stand in a circle in some strange, dark dimension. Patterns that can only be described as "aztec-like" wrap in concentric circles around the center of the room.

Before Toast can really catch her bearings, she sees that Iti from before plummeting from the sky, centered with the ring of doors, head pointed downwards. Moments before impacting the ground, she suddenly freezes in midair, and begins to float gently. Her eyes are shut. She's... sleeping?

...Then, dream-like creatures begin to seep out of the doors. Each of them take on the form of Iti you've seen before... except, it's like they're not really there. Made of smoke, or gas, or something. Still sleeping, and still floating upside down, she raises an arm towards Toast. Ever so silently, the creatures begin to move in. They too, seem to be under a sort of spell. A dream that they can never wake up from.




You are accosted by...

YUME
The Last Dream

PLAY - Yume Nikki: Dark World






<THE NEXUS, ROUND ONE>
...Well, this is a curious place. Practically nothing in terms of terrain, and you can wrap around the map by walking off one end and arriving on the other. Present on the map are Dream Iti- apparitions of real Iti that typically die in a single blow. It shouldn't be too hard to deal with just one of them... but you have a feeling that ther's going to be many, many more of them as the fight goes on.

In addition, there's something suspicious about Yume herself. Kill her, and you may find that this "pleasant" dream will degrade into a nightmare very, very fast. Maybe deal with her allies first? A few of the Iti around here seem very, very real. But no matter what you do, if you want to leave this area, you'll need to kill Yume. Just be careful now...

*looks at cluster of enemies*
*looks at their HP*
*looks at their DGE*
*looks at Sapping Sigil*
you have entered the comedy area

---

Adrian spawns at K17, moves to K15, drops a Sapping Sigil on Yume's face (set to Glitch damage, due to Operator Suit passive), paying 4 MP to apply Manaburn3 to Yume, then retreats to K16.

Packo cries for a while as Ette watches him. Eventually, he stops crying and speaks again.

"I-I want to think I have been nice, right...?"

Sniff.

"I need to speak with Boshi and Venia... Something back home clearly isn't normal...

"But until then... I don't know what to do after destroying the Ball..."

He then stands up.

"So that is what I need to do. And if all of you want to leave me alone, I won't blame you."

The sound of an explosion blasts rather loudly, as Packo is near the dueling hut. Without saying a word, he runs there to investigate.

---

While I look for a substitute for Cowardice, let me move it up to level 2:

Trait: Cowardice [Lvl 2/3]
When at 50% HP or less, rounding down, you gain Swift1 and Evasive6, but also Weakened3 and Uninspired3. These effects last until you're brought over 50% HP, and the buffs continue until the round is over.

Modifiers: +1 Evasive Intensity per 7 SPC. (Max of Evasive9.)

-1 Weakened and Uninspired intensity per 10 SPC. (Minimum of Weakened1 and Uninspired1.)

Woodthorne grabs a bowl of savory porridge and sits down to eat. He takes a bite and swallows before speaking.

"Man, that's great. Certainly the best thing I've eaten this week. The combination of spices is wonderful, and the spider meat is a great addition."

Woodthorne then gets up, thanks Echoss for preparing the meal, and, once Irongutta returns from the bathroom, freshens himself up. (OOC: One bathroom for 15-ish people? Must take a lot of time to get ready in the morning). When he returns, his hair is no longer matted, though it is still rather curly and his clothes are covered in some dust. A few minutes later, and he's ready to start his first fight.

THE NEXUS:
Woodthorne spawns at M17, moves up to M16, and casts Nature's Wrath on himself.

Echoss is pacing around the house when he comes out back, noticing Bass still standing there.
"...Master Bass are you alright? Have... Have you been standing there all night? At least come in and get yourself some food."

Back in Acacia's house, the servant begins muttering to himself. One of Echoss's butterflies, left behind as a group of three sweeping through the house to make sure nothing major was messed up, splits off and settles on the sidetable before transforming back into a hologram.
"Is something the matter? Well, I suppose that is a silly question. Quite a few things are the matter for the people of Sussui these days. I suppose the real question is: would the matter happen to pertain to the Iti, the Rebels, the Rose Cult, the sudden influx of Outsiders, or something else altogether that I am either unaware of or has slipped my mind?
...My apologies, that was overly fascetious for no good reason. Is there something perhaps I could assuage your worries over? Or alternatively, if a new threat has arisen to the general well being of the local populace alert my allies that there is something else we will likely need to go out of our way to deal with?"

Actions:
One of Echoss's minigolems slips into Marron's room since there's no one in there at present. Using a quick refreshment of the thyme glue (what else are we gonna use the thyme matter for?) and a bunch of the paper sheets (except now colored in to match the wall in the room) it quickly plasters up some fresh 'wallpaper' over the megabark restoration. On the outside too somehow.
It's still made of Megabark, so anything that tries to break down that segment of wall is in for a surprise, but now it's not so much of an eyesore.

Echoss has not ceased his aimless wanderings around the house. Currently he's pacing out in front of the house. He suddenly turns and glares at the portion of wall missing from the front section.
"Wasn't this going to be fixed? Bah, I'll do it myself." He raises his arm, and a variety of cobblestone, refined wood, uniform logs, and a tiny bit of clay materialize in the air out of the inventory and then salm inwards to the busted section of wall. Instead of knocking the wall out, they all merge together seamlessly, restoring it to full strength.
Echoss nods, and then bats his arm out as it was giving off purple smoke as a result of the action. His pacing quickly takes him elsewhere.

Additionally in his travels throughout the house, Echoss collects the following "lying around for people to collect" resources:
The Hot Pockets from Chaos (5 bucks says it's actually just more pocket warmers)
The Fragapples from the town square
The Red Sap from the town square
The Breakfast Fruit (If it can be collected now without disrupted breakfast, similarly to how the porridge is already in the inventory even though technically people are supposed to finish eating the initial bits of it first)
The Portal Salvage (assuming Ire is okay with it just being collected instead of using a proper action on it)

RP: Cypress

Venia shrugs off Wattle's obvious distrust. "I actually came over here just to explain what happened... Sorry about the unexpected intrusion but I wasn't sure if the Legionaires would've shot at me anyways. ."

"To keep it simple, I, uh, I believe you received information about our overall goal of cleansing Entropic corruption, er, when we first arrived? One of our own was undergoing, uh, a similar problem as the Sleuth had-which, to be brief, is the worst exposure to Entropic corruption possible. The exact problem is 'mind forcibly shared with the god of the Rose Cult,' which is, is probably hard to swallow, so believe it or don't. It all came to a head in this chamber... The Sleuth came. He anticipated our movements and, and attempted to permanently break our teammate's mind likewise. She got violent from the experience and a fight broke out."

"Our fight was... It was brief, but intense. We managed to force the Sleuth to retreat; he made the south hole in the wall. Our teammate, meanwhile, was safely purged of all Entropic corruption! Granted, the Entropic corruption ripped out of out teammate's body to make its own, mutiliated our teammate, and flew off. I believe this corresponds with the report Hemlock probably gave you about seeing a giant red glowing thing fly off towards the Sphere," Venia says. "The radiation and the tech were from the teammate afterwards. To be brief-we were, we were very fortunate that we could recover her, but we have. We tried to contain the fire afterwards, so sorry about the damage..."

"I don't have much else to report at this time. Now... How is Acacia's recovery going?" Venia asks.

---

RP: Maria

Maria, having just finished her breakfast and dressing up (she now wears a yellow t-shirt with a smiling sun and a pair of Jean shorts) decides that today she will be helpful by waking up everyone downstairs, because its a brand-new day and Maria likes singing at people. Or, 'singing' at people.

"GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING ITS TIME TO RISE AND SHIIIIIIIIINE!" Maria yells as she rushes down the spiral staircase into the underground bedrooms, rushing right into and opening Taeda's "GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING I HOPE YOU'R FEELIN' FIIIIIIIIINE!" Nana gets a simular salutation: "COMEON GET UP GET OUTA BED, COMEON WAKE UP YOU SLEEPYHEAD!"

Maria then runs to Mari's door. "THE DAY IS STARTING JUST FOR-Huh?" Maria says, cutting herself off when she realizes what she's looking at. Maria's eyes lock to Mari's hair-its color is certainly unusual, but doubly so was the ever-present crackle of subtle lightning in it. She approaches, bedazzled. "Whoaaaaa, who're you? Who're you? Your hair is awesome, its like an angry cloud! I love it. Who're you? What're you? Its time to wake up, wake up!" Maria says, approaching Mari and poking her hair. A small spark zaps Maria-nothing harmful, though. "Ah! Your hair zapped me! ...Oh my gosh your hair's a real angry cloud! I want angry cloud hair, who're you, what're you? You're a superhero right?"

---

Harvesting

Hat decides to resume his role as the shenanigans master and take it upon himself to collect sap. Hat raises his head in a nondescript location and stares into the sky, creating a beam of light. Across the zones, three trees respond in unison: The Green Sap Tree of Zone 1, emerald resplendent; the Blue Sap Tree of Zone 3, amazing azure; and the Yellow Sap Tree of Zone 4, a radiance golden. Their sap flies into the sky, and with their powers combined, they are...

... non-sentient blobs of sap that'll probably get used in crafting healing pots.

They warp themselves into the inventory. That's all.

---

Projector Time

The maid who activated the Projector (who for all purposes ought to be treated as an Incantation summon) shrugs and slowly descends the ladder into... Wherever this leads.

---

Gearswap

Venia switches the Radiant Glove for the Heart Bracelet, which links up to Nia's Portable Tellyporta. Resistance-wise, Venia gains 10% more slashing resist (neutralizing her weakness), 20% more fire resist and 40% more ice resist in all, in exchange for losing 40% light resistance.

State-wide, Venia gains +3 MHP, +1 AGI and +2 SPC in all. She takes a skillpoint out of MHP and AGI as well as two skillpoints out of SPC (so they all keep their net values except MHP, which is one higher) and filters them into STR instead, gaining a modifier on Affidavit Adjudication to increase her ability to move things with it, as we as bonus STR scaling on Material Transfer and +2 basic attack damage.

"This is so cute, and so powerful. Where did it come from, anyways?... I love this thing."

---

Crafting

Before we begin, Hat chucks Ten Credits at the Temmie Shop to make Chaos stock Paper Sheets in its Crafting Materials department.

---

Other

-Despite Venia attempting to collect them, the Gigistem and the Cinderfruit in Zone 3 remain unharvested.

Calibri chuckles quietly as he hears what Memory!Chloe responds to him with. There's quite a bit to comment on, starting with busy days.

"Heh. The Yaga and Maxim... pretty sure that was their names. Pretty tough duo..."

He closes his eyes, doing his best to remember the battle in specifics. Then he opens them again, since he still has a talk to attend to. On the topic of Nia, he hums thoughtfully...

"With any luck, yeah, that should translate over. Maybe. Not quite sure how things work in terms of perceptions of events outside the mindscape changing stuff inside... hmm..."

Calibri trails off for a moment, then seems to have a thought occur to him. While he doesn't intend it, he ends up speaking that aloud.

"...Hmm... might visit in person at some point, if let in, gonna mark that idea down for later..."

Right after saying that, he trails off again as the thought is filed away for later. He then turns his attention back to Mindscape!Chloe, smiling faintly and shaking his head as he hears her question.

"She's doing fine. Had a reunion with Nia and all that, and... right now, I think she's in the middle of having a chat to someone else somewhere. Probably one of the new people. Of course, now is a relative term, heh. As for the boyfriend thing... no, not yet. Unless she's been considering things and I just haven't had a chance to peek at the narration yet."

Calibri shrugs.

"Dunno. Might ask her about that topic at some point. I can't think of anyone in the local cast around here that would take her fancy... Could be neat to see her opinion."


Elsewhere in the house, Verdana has been up and awake for a while by now, mostly preoccupied with a chat with one of the newcomers earlier on. Now, however, he's free to go around doing whatever needs to be done. He starts this off by remembering something he saw on the roof, sliding over to investigate it. It, of course, is the Spiralfloof, which he remembers from the earlier battle.

"Oh hi again, you came back! Nice to see you."

He giggles, giving the Spiralfloof a quick pet, then his attention promptly goes to the next thing to attend to - really loud noises from the dueling hut, specifically. He decides to investigate, walking to the edge of the roof before sort of just hovering down to the ground, then he walks over to the dueling hut and takes a look inside. There's obviously a Pionobot in there, which is odd.

"...Looks like a lot more than just a big floofy is coming back."

Verdana concentrates, deciding to pick the bot up via gravmanip since it's safer that way, then he moves to drag it over to the house and yeet it onto the couch. On the way there, he remembers something a little odd, taking a look outside and peering down the road to the fountain. Specifically, the statue in the fountain, which obviously wasn't there before.

"...Hmm."

He slides over to it, pulls out a Scanner, disables the damage part of the scanner thing, then gives the statue a quick scan to check what's up with that thing. He then slides over to being back indoors, shutting the door while contemplating what to do next...


Down in the basement, the people there would be able to hear some loud crashing sounds as EN descends the stairs, apparently using a surfboard to do so and having the absolutely worst coordination when it comes to using it. She's tough as hell, though, so that's not a problem for her so much as it is for the surfboard. Once on the ground, she chuckles and gets back up, then goes to say some good mornings to people, starting with Taeda.

"Sup, Tae. It's mornin', case y'ain't noticed. Echoes, or wha'e'er 'is name be, th' butterflies guy, 'e made some stuff fer brekkie. Porridge or somethin'."

Just like Maria before her, EN's order of greeting people goes to Nana.

"Sup, Nans. Quick recap, it's mornin', an' one o' th' other party members made porridge fer brekkie. Also, heard ya's gettin' along well wit' Authy, huh? Tha' be cool."

She then goes to check on Mari just in time to witness Maria get zapped by Mari's lightning hair. She briefly exhales in humor, then decides to go get a closer look as well. Temptation overcomes her, and she promptly reaches out to give Mari a quick pet on the head, rather blatantly ignoring whatever spark of electricity she'll get zapped with in the process. Oh, and give the standard greeting.

"Sup, Mari. Ah've naw decided on a nickname fer ya yet, thought ah might call ya Cutes, heh. Anywho..." She trails off briefly, then chuckles. "Oh yeah. Th' lil one's name's Maria, if ah remember right. Y'both 'ave similar names, this might git a wee bit confusin'... Anywho, once yer ready t' be gettin' up an' all, there's food 'vailable. Naw worries, ah weren't th' maker o' it. Some other party member did tha'. It's porridge, somethin' like tha', t' me recollection."

EN grins.

"See ya up there, Cutes."

She's probably deliberately picked out that nickname to see if she can get a reaction from Mari, all things considered... Anyway, she gets up and heads off upstairs to take a look at the food herself. She considers what to have, briefly reaching for some of the porridge. She'd probably have taken some of it if not for the intervention of a very ominous sound.

"...Right..."

She moves to pick up a single slice of Yggapple instead, and does her absolute best to resist the urge to alter it in any way whatsoever. By being incredibly careful to avoid anything that could constitute food preparation in any way, she seems to be able to avoid the usual nightmare results. Normally, eating a slice of apple would not be a huge accomplishment for anyone, but in this case, perhaps it is.


Post incomplete. Processing...

"..."

To do: Craft hat
Commission Plushie
Chat with Nana.
Join Battle.

----

Auth has a couple of things he realises he needs to do before he shows up in the Yume battle. The first of which would be upgrading his Halo, with the Nurse's Hat that he was using earlier. Now that it's usable in crafting... Auth can certainly make use of it.



----

After Auth finishes that, he adjusts his brand new hat and ensures the cap is on his head properly. It may have taken some time, but he looks around afterwards briefly, to see what may have happened while he wasn't paying attention. Perhaps Nana is there by now. Should nothing happen, he heads off to the Yume Fight himself. If something happens... there's quite odd timing things going on, but we'll see what happens.

uA: I hope Nana's holding up well...

He muses, to nobody in particular.

uA: She's been through a lot, especially yesterday. I hope she winds up feeling a lot better...

Auth smiles. Thinking of the future. The great hope that the Spherebreakers carry with them. Their purpose, they serve the Hope of the universe. To continue on.

uA: I'm looking forward to our... coffee date, I suppose. She seemed quite happy that I agreed to it. I'm happy it made her happy.

Someone might want to go in and make him look less-crazy before Nana gets there.

----

Catherine, being a Vampiress and therefore, mostly nocturnal, needs a parasol at almost all times during the day. That is, at least, the justification she gives to Marron when she goes up to the stall. Once she starts operating it, at least.

If Marron asks why this new person is holding a Parasol even inside.

tC: Hello, fair Seamstress! I require one of your finest plush dolls and am willing to pay handsomely for it!

Catherine forgets another important detail. A certain person walks up from downstairs, looking... fine. A little messy, with a marginally torn-up coat from quite a bit of use and modification, but okay. Catherine gasps.

tC: Authy! You look terrible! Have you been sleeping well? Eating well?
uA: OH gorilla!

Catherine's presence proves to be quite the large shock for Auth, causing him to fall backwards back down the spiral stairs. Catherine winces in pain, listening to him painfully fall back down the stairs he'd just climbed.

tC: Language!
tC: ...Poor Authy...
tC: So, anyway, as I was saying, would it be possible to commission a plushy of the poor Authy who just fell down the stairs?

Catherine places credits on the stall for Marron, who actually does the plushies, to look at and assess in order to determine the quality of the plush. 100 credits, to be precise. (Can change, if this is too much.)

tC: So, Seamstress, what can you tell me about how my darling son has been doing?
tC: That would be Auth. I meant to ask that nice wood-lady I spoke to last night, and she told me a bit, but I forgot to ask specifically, hah!

----

Going into battle, Auth first shuffles some Skill Points. He takes the 4 excess from MP, and puts 2 in SKI and 2 in HP. That's an intelligent thing to do.

Following this, Auth substitutes Gratitude for Purity (Purify). For the Yume battle, since it will likely see quite a lot of use. I want Gratitude back though

Finally, Auth goes into actual battle! Auth spawns on K13 and casts Perseverance on himself. He's going to stay where he is for now.

Letsids eyes open wide for a short second as she hears the news!
"SAME! Nobody wanted to play tag like, EVER!!"
She slowly comes closer and stops before Ette, then Letsid whispers "Imit" very quickly, tags Ette just as quickly and then rushes away as quickly as possible cackling and screaming in a highpitched voice: "TAG! You're IT!" (it is very unlikely Ette counters the tag with Letsid rolling away).

Letsid storms through the clothesline, dodging the clothes hug up to dry and reaches the Trellis, casts Force glyph to block the path to the Trellis and storms down, still cackling.

Ette probably now knows why no one wanted to play tag with Letsid in the past.