"..."
"Cal... you okay...?"
"...No."
"...You'll hold together. Come on. There's a battle to be fought! No time for... uh... things!"
"That isn't helping, but okay... go join EN, where it's safe."

Calibri steels himself for the upcoming battle... The world goes dark briefly as he appears on E6, runs to I4, takes a moment to glance at Nia, then shrugs.

"Kid, I seriously doubt you did anything to deserve this. Something else, though... let's just say I'll be having mixed feelings about this."

Cue cue the pew pew. He should be fine where he is, right?

______________________________________________________


Meanwhile, at a place less fighty...

"Mkay, good. Kinda got a bit... eh... concerned, I guess?"

EN shrugs. She then takes a glance at the cart that Taeda's checking up on, noting the cracked wheel. There's a pause.

"That wheel don't look quite fine. Ya need any help, like, uh... I dunno, gathered material things, or something?"

In the background, Verdana walks onto the scene, still casting his gaze back at the River Crossing every so often, bumping into EN in the process.

"Oh hey. What'cha doin'?"
"Ah, hello! I have no idea how to phrase this carefully, but something's happening at the River Crossing! There's a battle."
"Mhm, and...?"
"...Calibri's still over there. As is almost everyone else too! I think it might be one of those super tough enemy fight things!"
"Uh... okay, hm... What's the battle against?"

Cue Verdana describing Nia in about as much detail as he can, while EN just stands there and listens to him with a slowly-growing expression of concern. Especially since she knows that it might be a really touchy subject, given present company... Every so often while he lists off details, she glances at the other nearby Chairians, particularly Taeda. Just making sure they're not too frightened... Maybe she'll end up cutting his description off if she notices too much of a state of unrest.

Originally posted on 2018-01-01 16:30:00

<ROUND SEVENTEEN>
almost sniped the page again x.x

Terry decides that "yes, hailstorm was the proper option" and swaps back the aforementioned spell. Auth then pieces together something he calls the Ethereal Conductor, using some things that are in infinite supply, as well as a Goneblossom, a Soulblossom, 3 Luminous Crystals (30 Credits), 2 Iron, and both a Refined and Uniform log. DCCCV also joins in on the crafting party, using his sword and an Iron Bar. He fails to tier up his item, but it gets a few well-needed buffs in a few areas.

JOE then... does something? I'll be honest, I can't make out what he's saying. Plus, he somehow doubts his ability to even call down this much stuff to the planet without getting royally beaned by the Sphere. Zedros decides to optimize his points a little further, and swap a spell. Bergilmir also decides to swap out a spell. Elsewhere, at "a place less fighty", EN offers to help Taeda. She shakes her head no.

TAEDA: It shouldn't be too big a problem.
TAEDA: Y-You might not know this, but us Chairians have a way with wood!

She extends a hand towards a nearby tree, and tendrils of wood begin to snake off of it. The wood slithers over to the wheel, and surges into it. Soon, the crack in the wheel is completely mended.

---

Of course, most of the people in the game run towards the battle at the River Pass. Dialogue directed at Nia will be handled in-battle.

<HIDDEN GROVE, TURN THREE>
The Rebels have been defeated! Toast decides to interrogate the only conscious one there, the Rebel Assassin who surrendered. It looks like he's trying to find an avenue to escape, but between Toast, Irongutta, Teag, and JOE, there's no way to escape! He sighs, and lets some information spill.

ASSASSIN: We're rebels.
ASSASSIN: People who don't agree with Spark's grand ideas.
ASSASSIN: You know what he's planning, right? He's planning to use the Sphere as a weapon. It's his little "pet project", you could say.
ASSASSIN: He's going to use it to wipe out the Tabletopians. Like what they tried to do to us.
ASSASSIN: Most of the people share his resentment. But there's plenty of us in the Resistance; leaders, fighters, and inventors. People who think that there's actual people in Tabletopia, and not just sadists.
ASSASSIN: We had received word from our sp-

He cuts himself off. He's still looking around, trying to find a way out. He glances at his downed comrades for a second, before taking a heavy breath, and continuing.

ASSASSIN: -Our INFORMANTS, sorry, that raiding some of these "resource outposts" would cut off supplies to the Citadel, thus weakening them considerably.
ASSASSIN: We're but one of many teams sent out. If it weren't for you meddling outsiders, maybe we could've delivered some justice.
ASSASSIN: Now... why not stick around? Tell me why you're here. Take as long as you need.

...It'd probably be a good idea to press the assassin for more information. Perhaps you could learn a lot about this resistance?

<RIVER CROSSING, TURN TWO>
Interesting start here; Nia's dealt minimal damage, but so have you all! Be sure to clean up those drones, or you'll be swarmed to hell and back! Also, do note that Nia's using Glitchform: Maelstrom this turn, and that hits like a train; a big AoE train! Another thing to note is that it'll likely be harder to tunnel-vision Nia on a target just by requesting it now. Careful!

Originally posted on 2018-01-01 22:29:00

JOE shrugs, says that he will only fight the rebels Insofar as they get in his way. his plans are mostly to come along for the ride, practice combat, and raise his status within border. he then uses the leach shield on the bomber, leaching away justtt enough energy that the bomber becomes unconsious, and uses this energy to run to the Nia battle very fast, spawning at 8E and moving to 11I, using terraform to turn 12H, I and J11 into mana vents.
Oh, and remember to give me that +25 SP on joining and that +5 SP at the end of round.
The Border engineering department keeps trying to send in the ROBOTS brand Not-Idra, and having now spent 3 turns sending in the Not-Idra ROBOTS, easily succeed in sending in an average of 2 Not-Idra.
The ROBOTS brand not-idra then do exactly what I described in my last post, progressing as far through the process as possible. the things they do are, in order:
1] Add more dirt.
2] break roof open.
3] Replace roof with clear shield.
4] partition room into many smaller areas, 1/3 of which are light-free.
5] if you still have more power, attempt to redirect a small stream through the room, hydrating the soil.

Originally posted on 2018-01-02 11:43:00

Well, if your mission is to destroy the Sphere, our objectives our awfully similar.
Teag puts his skillpoint in to realizing he doesn't have a skillpoint, and prepares to join the battle.

He appears at E8 and-
Holy heck that is a lot of drones
Teag walks backwards away from the drones, trips and lands at I12.

Originally posted on 2018-01-02 23:37:00

Destiny moves to V7, hookshots Nia and retreats back to V7.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:02:00

Terry reminds the GM about the overseer drone passive triggering every turn.
----
Move to S7, attack Nia with Overseer Drone, throw Dynamite Bundle at Nia, basic attack Nia, then retreat to R8.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:02:00

Boshi moves to (Q9), tosses the nearby egg skyward, and Hat Kid jumps up as high as the egg and bats it towards Nia with her umbrella.

Hat Kid then... performs an aerial dive straight into the forest near Nia!? What is that kid up to!?
"(HEY-)"
As soon as Nia recovers from the recoil of the egg, all she sees in the trees nearby is Hat Kid. She's... smiling. Not at all worried about the fact that she might get her head lopped off at a moment's notice. She's too busy being absolutely adorable, swinging from side to side for the purpose of being cute, and to emotionally disarm onlookers (of which there should be only one; Nia). Near the end of the player turn, she proceeds to blow a kiss at Nia, little red heart and all. She then skips away back to Boshi; again, while being insanely cute.

Understandably, Boshi was confused. And so am I honestly. What even was the point of that...?
"(...The heck did ya just do?)"
Hat Kid shrugs. Guess even she didn't know what she wanted to accomplish either.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:07:00

Bergilmir moves to Y5, and attacks the Gust Drone at Y3 with Hidden Rock!

cA: I can weather these blows. YOU, however, will not withstand mine!

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:26:00

The Voice moves up to K2, passes his Goddess' Servant buff over to his Electroshock Bot, and guards.

The Electroshock Bot hums over to D6 and zaps Blade Drone 1 to cure its 'being alive' condition, then retreats over to C5.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:39:00

Simeon moves to F10, Strikes Blast Drone 2, and Blade Drone 3 if it has already been downed, and goes into G9. I guess he's feeling particularly sneaky.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:47:00

Toast is initially suspicious of the Assassin's change in tune, but to herself she explains it to be a cultural thing. Or something. She doesn't have a lot of social experience.

​"That sounds... surprisingly close to our own motives, actually. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you how I know about it, but we 'outsiders' are here to destroy the Sphere. It's not like it's a secret or anything." she explains, giving a wry smile as she says 'informants'.

"I think us outsiders could potentially work with you people. If your goal is to save people by killing people, though, I think we'll have some issues there. Now: I've been talking about myself for far too long. It's my turn to ask questions. What do you know about the stage down there? Is that well to my right anything special? What can you tell me about this Resistance? Where can I find the rest of your members?"
who is the milkman

After she's said all she has to say, "Also, maybe I just want to gloat just a little, but there were actually only four of us the entire time. There's no clone in the woods, and these two are fakes."
She points finger guns at the two illusions, which quickly shimmer away, before giving a victorious grin.

~~

Meanwhile, in the present, a wild Future!Toast appears just around the corner. Before running off to the River Crossing for a fite, she checks what's inside the iron pipe. Under normal circumstances, she might ask what is going on, be surprised at Chloe existing, and ask her opinion on burritos. Although these aren't really normal circumstances, so instead she spawns in at E6 and moves to E3.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 03:57:00

"Just as I thought. Relocation gimmick..."

Calibri nods, having apparently expected Chloe to be teleported over to the west side of the wall, then he takes a moment to notice the lots of drones.

"...Hmm. I spy with my little eye... some things I'm probably going to want out of my sight soon... Soon, not immediately."

Beat. He glances at Chloe. It occurs to him that she's speaking to him. He closes his eyes, takes a moment to inhale and exhale, then heads on over to her. Briefly, the expression in his eyes is conflicted, although that soon fades to be replaced by something that somehow looks like acceptance, if one were able to put acceptance into eyeballs.

"It's fine, Chloe, it was just a misunderstanding. On both sides. I'm a bit insensitive sometimes, sorry about that... uh..."
"...Once we're done with fighting, uh... uhhhhh... I have no way of saying this without sounding awkward, but..."
"...Maybe we could talk for a bit... or something? Uh... just so that incidents like... that one... don't happen... because then we'd each know... things... and that'd help..."
"..."
[small][small][small][small][small]"someone please terraform a ravine under my feet I have no idea what I'm doing or saying anymore that was just supposed to be an offer to hangout why is this so awkward"[/small][/small][/small][/small][/small]
"I'll... just go do battle things now... you might also want to move."

Suffice to say, Calibri is apparently having his own set of trouble with talking. Even the expression in his eyes has gradually, over the course of his speaking, transformed into a rather strong form of embarrassment. After a few seconds, he proceeds to pull his hoodie over his face to hide his expression. The world briefly flicks dark. Once it flicks back to normal view, Calibri can be seen standing on the G3 mana vent, and an illusory trap at H3 seems to be there for reasons.

________________________________________


EN blinks. She certainly didn't expect that. Still, that was pretty cool. She just claps for a few seconds, then voices her thoughts.

"Huh. Y'all can do that. That's... cool. Wasn't sure what y'all'd do fer those."

As for Verdana? He took a picture.

"I wanna learn how to do that! I could make the grandest wooden statues and things. Maybe one in the shape of my magnificent likeliness? Healing magic is nice, but I can't make anything out of it except for healthy people! And that still takes an unhealthy people to start with!"

Beat.

"Uh... hmm... Maybe ya could ask 'bout that later, Verdy. I'm pretty sure these fellas kinda wanna go now."
"Aww."
"Oh, before ah forget!"

EN snaps her fingers, hoping to get Taeda's attention.

"Before y'all head off, ah'm tryin' to keep track of how many Chairians we've met. Lemmie just remember somethin'... Ah, right. We ran into some earlier when we got here, and a few of 'em lived through that one despite Iti turnin' up partway through. Pretty sure there was a warrior, an archer, and a lancer... Do ya 'appen to know Willow, Salix, and Clausa, perchance? That'd be kinda cool if ye did."

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 04:20:00

Read Messagelog? (If your name is Chloe, you likely should. Just saying.)
[color=#3333CC]
[color=#3333CC]Monika moves to R8, and...
Continue reading Messagelog? (Don't worry, this part is optional.)

...uses Heartpiercer on Nia! Monika then moves to S7.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 04:40:00

Zedros turns to face the swarm of drones that entered the battlefield. He notices that some of them bear an uncanny resemblance to a certain 4-mana 5/6—that resemblance being the large number of explosives strapped to the drones. Realizing that they could be a threat, Zed advances into cover, raises his hands toward the Blast Drones, and shouts an invocation in a primordial tongue, as twin bolts of lightning ring out from the skies to smite the drones.

---

Zed moves to G8 and casts Twin Jolts, targeting Blast Drones 1 and 2.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 04:58:00

Comet quickly waves to Chloe.

...you should move.

She moves to G11, attacks Blade Drone 3, and retreats to I11.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 05:25:00

Mr. Krabs moves to E9 and introduces the Blast Drone to the Warchair (hopefully without any evasive maneuvers to muddle the relationship)

Mr. Krabs is going to thoroughly invest into SKI for his next few level ups.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 07:39:00

uA: You're welcome, Chloe. It is my duty to ensure the safety of my allies.

Auth then, with a roll of his wrist and a click of his fingers, summons an Ink Spectre on T7, next to the glitching Anime Girl. The Ink Spectre is promptly replaced with... himself, as he phases with it, placing himself on that space. The Spectre then explodes, returning the ink to Auth. Then, the confusion blasts out of Emerald (literally), in a swarm of ink, healing the wounds Nia gave him.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 09:27:00

”...what just happened?” Emerald states, feeling more than a little confused over Nia just up and flirting with him (although not exactly unwelcome, not exactly normal combat dialogue). He then shifts over to T8 and GUARDS. ”Hit me more Nia (no I’m not a masochist it’s just kind of my job to do this). Also thanks Auth, although I, uh, wasn’t really hurt all that much.”

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 12:15:00

The Man rolls over to V5, judos Nia, and retreats to T7.

Originally posted on 2018-01-03 21:45:00

Brutishace recognizes that Nia is about to perform some sort of close-range rage shotgun.

"You guys probably know this, but if you guys don't back off from the boss, you guys are probably going to go red."

Brutishace brushes past Berg to end up at U7. He then casts Superinfect on Nia, hopefully getting in some damage over time that should make the rest of the fight go easier.

"Stay near me if you get hurt- I might prepare for a Drain Life soon. If you need a bit of healing, just ask me."



Originally posted on 2018-01-04 03:54:00