Out of battle: Verdana just chuckles to himself as he watches Maria pelt everything in sight with snowballs, then eventually realizes that he himself might be pelted if he sticks around. And, come to think of it, he can't handle the cold brilliantly. More accurately, repression, the personality trait one associates with cold... As such, he decides to keep away for the time being unless he's called for.

"Hmm..."

There's a long pause. Verdana's eyelids flutter, then he sort of just... gracefully falls to the ground to take a seat right where he stands. Or, well, sits now. He seems tired...


Battle: Calibri spawns in at T3 and moves to P4. If he's allowed to, he exploits the shit out of Smells Like Me by disguising himself as a member of the The Cursed faction. There is no way this can go horribly wrong. Also he selfcasts Swordbeam, or throws a Swordbeam cast at another player if someone wants Swordbeam and is in range for it.

"This is gonna be an experience..."

Dialogue format dump zone

Orders relayed for Ziah while they're unable to post.

Tempswap Vagrant's Will for Noxious Staff and current Twinbolts elements for Light and Shadow (Magic / Shadow Leaf)

After Thina and Daskter move, spawn at T12, move to Q12, Catalyst the Husk, and then retreat to R13.

Something to make sure I get this in mechanically... Also, random thing I'll have to comment on later, but I don't think Wilson ever actually saw Chaos. Or at least if he did, I didn't remember it.

First, respec.

Drop Deep Thinking, get Encourage
Drop Chloe Plushie, get Heroine's Charm
+2 SKI
+2 SPC (which means I get a higher special SP cap so I don't have to use it quite yet, yay)
+1 manafueled on transfusion

Next, time to be spooped by the new boss. ... But I always imagine this horrifically scarred corpse just suddenly standing up straight every so often and calming narrating about itself in a Morgan Freeman voice.



Other than the occasional soft whimper, Thina acts in complete silence, as though any breath she makes might attract the attention of this... thing.

Thina spawns in on H2, runs down to H6, and targets K10 with a Noxious Plume. Should hit. Will be real sad if it doesn't. She then retreats up a space to H5.

Tsar'ina breaks into the church, probably screaming "Oh yeah!" as she lands in I2. The Summa draws the Silver Maria and makes a mad dash towards the Totem!, stopping at F6.

"This kinda looks important! Hope no one minds if I just..."

Summa smacks the Totem with her sword, using a basic attack and bare strength to completely topple the thing!

Auth watches quietly as Maple and Chloe chat, and he smiles and waves to see Maple off to get back to base. He listens to Chloe's comments about himself and Maple.

uA: More than that, I would be willing to bet we made her whole year. Imagine if you met your personal idols, yeah? That sort of... I suppose I can only describe it as a mix of awe and ecstasy.
uA: Those feelings would be nearly totally overwhelming and would absolutely make somebody's month, at the very least.

Auth smiles as Chloe notes her sheer nerves too...

uA: I'd be shocked if you weren't, actually. Most people... probably would feel the same way as you when you get put in a situation of near-fame.
uA: I appreciate the complement, anyway, though. Thanks, Chloe. I try my best.

Auth nods, listening to Chloe's response... slight soreness but she's fine overall. Auth rummages through his pockets for a few moments, before producing a vial of liquid.

uA: Should help with the soreness, but really, a nap will do you best. You seem like you'll appreciate the opportunity for it.

Auth manages to maintain his composure when Chloe asks about Nana this time! But he does smile quietly.

uA: Nana's doing alright. I wasn't able to see how she went this morning, but she seemed... a bit stressed? What did they see in that spider's den, I wonder...?

Auth is a bit worried having not seen the spider harvesting Rose Cult room.

uA: Ah, well. I think she'll be alright. She's relaxing at the base for now, I believe.

----
Auth's eyes begin to sparkle a little, as Nana offers to help fix his clothes. He thinks he should explain anyway, though...

uA: Did you hear the... debacle in the kitchen? Toast and Marron were playing chess... and now the kitchen is in shambles, the table and the chairs are completely destroyed, and it's stained equally rainbow to my clothes.

Auth smiles as Nana makes a statement that she prefers his normal colour of outfit to his messed up and dirty coat. He takes a deep breath and smiles.

uA: I knew you would understand my pain. I don't like how my coat looks absolutely caked in rainbow... muck. I'd appreciate any help cleaning it, truly.

Auth rubs some rainbow gunk out of his hair... and looks marginally concerned at it.

uA: Maybe I should go and have a shower after Marron and Toast are done... I'd hate to look a mess in battle.

Auth sighs... and then Nana and Auth have a different topic to discuss. Something potentially... revelatory.

uA: Venia's comment... I suppose it would be similar? Not really, now that I think about it.
uA: I think it would be more accurate to compare it to a Morph's ability, but... better. You weren't there for it, I don't think, since if I'm remembering right we met you not long after... but we met a Morph named Herselia. She could transform the lower half of her body into that of a spider.
uA: Well... I suppose I could do something similar. Except, if I understand right... I could transform into a Charian, potentially, for one. Indistinguishable from one physically. Amongst other things.
uA: That's what Shapeshifting is, transforming from one thing into something else. If only I knew how it worked...

Auth is thinking about it in quite some depth, his mind is racing. He has no idea how to do it, or what could trigger the ability, or anything. It's going to bother Auth until he works it out...

And yet, he has absolute faith it will turn out somehow. Funny, how that works.

---

In battle, Auth spawns on T11, moves to Q13, and selfcasts Dark-element Perseverance. This should be fun.

Keiko purchases the Live to Serve perk, alongside 2 points in AGI, and spawns at T11, putting a Patchwork Totem (Water Resist). Cover appears at R10 and R9.

Taking one Skillpoint out of HP, Laranei uses her free Skillpoints to buy Agonizer!


Combat!


She then spawns in at S2, moves to P2 and shoots the Dome Idol at O6 twice!

==RP==
Arthur continues an old conversation with Mari, responding to her question about showing her a ‘trick’.

“Hmm, that might be fun. I’m actually planning on doing a little bit of preparatory alchemy before we assault the Church of Helix, so you can watch that if you’d like. Remaking a trinket in a form a little closer to my own comfort, making some simple healing potions, and maybe something a little more exotic-but-useful as well.”

==CRAFTING==
Arthur decides to turn his Heartless Catalyst into something more fitting for him.


Arthur also creates some simple healing potions, as a way to show Mari some alchemy.


Finally, Arthur puts some of his expertise in alchemical research to work in figuring out a way to cleanse status effects efficiently.



==LOGISTICS==
The Overcharged Mana Potion replaces Arthur's Heartless Catalyst, being, you know, just a reskin of it.

==BATTLE==
Arthur spawns into the Husk battle, moves to Q12, and uses Catalyst on the Husk! A sickly green light pulses around his Noxious Staff for a second, before peeling off and flying straight at the Husk in a concentrated bolt that'll amplify poisons on its target.

Nettle swaps Nettle Burst for Hidden Force (Earth/Poison). Keep nettle burst in storage though. She also swaps Arbor Constructs for Shackling Blast (which gets researched).

She spawns wherever, moves to O6 and uses Hidden Force (poison) on the Dome Totem. A thorned root cracks through the ground and slashes the totem with its barbs.

Irongutta swaps out Force Nail for Overpowering Smash. He then purchases the perks Growing Strength (1) and Reflect Slash.

---

Irongutta finally catches up with who lingered at what remained of the central caravan. He certainly didn't miss The Husk flying off with their rightful reward.

"Fraggin' bugger! He went and nicked what we robbed fair n' square!" Irongutta stamped his foot on the ground in irritation.

His ranting was interrupted by R-8733, who showered him with praise for his destruction of a mountainside.

"Explosion master? Hah, well I'm glad to 'ear those eyes of yours work roight after all!" The Ork said with pride, puffing out his chest.

Irongutta then responded to R-8's request to join them. "Sure thing! Havin' another explosion lover 'round would be great, so long as ya carry yer weight now. An' I can promise ya that wherever we Spherebreakers go, more explosions will follow, hur hur!"

---

As Irongutta prepared to head towards the church, he heard a familiar snorting sound. He turned to his right to see Piggo happily trotting on over! "Oh, there ya are Piggo! Seems like yer never far behind." He bent over to pat his porcine pet...

...When suddenly a whole load of snow rained on him from above! Irongutta suddenly straightened up in surprise and whipped around to face his assailant. "OI! Wot's the big idea ya-"

However, it seemed his attacker was just cheerful little Maria with some kind of a magic stick. The Ork didn't fully get this magic stuff, but his intuition let him put two and two together. "Ah, yer the sneak, Well yer in fer it now ya grot! Prepare for an Ork-style snowball!" Irongutta yelled in a shockingly playful manner.

However, playfulness didn't stop him from getting a bit extreme. He didn't just form any old snowball - it was more of a snow boulder that he had to heave around with two hands. Hoisting the mass of loosely-packed snow over his head, he chased the giggling girl down. "C'mere ya git!" When he was close enough, he tossed it at Maria with a hint of restraint. If it wound up connecting, she'd probably be knocked off her feet!

---

Battle: The Church of Helix

Irongutta arrives at The Church of Helix to confront The Husk. Piggo came too.

Irongutta spawns in at S2 and advances to N2, where he casts Fury on himself.

Piggo spawns in at T9 and moves to S8. He snorts in an intimidating fashion for all to hear!

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE>

Respecs! Let's go!

---

Boshi attempts to convict Chaos of tax fraud. Apparently, Chaos owes a lot in taxes! They're strangely official looking, because Boshi is somehow bending the reality of Chaos's taxes or something? I dunno. The Temmie upon Chaos's shop stall speaks up, standing up to the yoshi.

TEMMIE: h0i, yes.
TEMMIE: Sir Boshi, was it?
TEMMIE: As one of Chaos's many Financial Officers, who manage the funds around Chaos, his Mindscape, and his other operations...
TEMMIE: We can confirm that we have no outgoing payments to anyone.

TEMMIE: In addition, we have not committed any of this so-called "tax fraud" that you have accused us of.
TEMMIE: If there is legal documentation that you'd like to see, do say so.
TEMMIE: While it may take some time to process your request due to me being an operative outside of the Mindscape, I can assure you that we will meet your request.

CHAOS: haha yeah get lawyer'd
CHAOS: also are yoshi's allowed to a[c][c]use people of [t]ax fraud

...Chaos refuses to comply! In retaliation, Boshi noms one of Chaos's turrets, shoving it into an egg! The Temmie pulls out an adorable, palm-sized, cardboard-covered high voltage tazer, and promptly shocks Boshi for his crimes.

TEMMIE: First you attempt to extort us, and now you commit petty vandalism? For shame.
TEMMIE: That turret costs about 500 Credits to manufacture. Unless you can extract the turret from the egg safely, I will be forced to press charges against the Spherebreakers.
TEMMIE: Are we clear?

Chaos stares at the semi-fried dinosaur. He shrugs.

CHAOS: okay wow didn'[t] [t]hink tem was pa[c]king hea[t]
CHAOS: i'll give you [t]he baske[t] as an apology i guess
TEMMIE: Do not give the criminal an incentive to do this once mor-
CHAOS: but wha[t] if he sues us
TEMMIE: ...I suppose that may be a concern, but he assaulted your property. I feel that my response was just.
TEMMIE: I still won't advise it, but if you feel that you absolutely must, go ahead.

...Pink Waste Paperbasket obtained! Meanwhile, a somewhat less shocked Boshi chats with Marron in the kitchen. How'd a game of chess cause such destruction?

MARRON: Toast nuked the field.
MARRON: In hindsight, I should've seen it coming. Something as big as the Pawnstoppable that doesn't do something big right away probably had some sort of long-term effect that I should've been watching for.

...What does any of that have to do with chess? I dunno. Boshi then notes that he's quite good at cooking, and that he can give pointers! Marron perks up a little.

MARRON: Oh, cool.
MARRON: Mind helping out Toast, then? She's starting out, so it'd probably help.
MARRON: Even if it doesn't relate to using telekinesis for everything.

Meanwhile, down in the Everground, Mustache Girl leaps for the Squall Clusters, and uses her pickaxe to prevent herself from getting blown away! This strategy proves successful, yielding 9 Squall Clusters and a single Vortex Regalia!

---

Echoss continues his stuff. He wraps up his conversation with Maple, explaining what the Butterfly is designed to do- sabotage. Maple nods.

MAPLE: That... seems a bit cruel, doesn't it?
MAPLE: Geez. Then again, I guess somebody called the Psi-Godmodder could probably do that without batting an eye...

MAPLE: Thanks for the info! I'll be sure to report what I can to command.
MAPLE: I... might see you later? There's always the chance I get reprimanded for what I've done here today...
MAPLE: Hopefully I see you all again, though!

Maple prepares to take her leave. Maybe at the end of the round? Elsewhere, Echoss's minigolems go on the offensive versus a vein of Platinum Ore, tag-teaming 8 units of stuff out of it. He also sends a butterfly to harass the Blossom that's visited the Garden, baits it away from the garden, then baits it into exploding on something disposable. Enemy eliminated.

Pionobot also getoverhere's the vein of Emeralds. While he doesn't actually reach, the vein appreciates the effort and flies directly into Pionobot's inventory. +5 Emeralds!

Chloe is also commissioned to go and grab... samples. Seems like she's forced to in order to pay off some debts. Chloe sets off, Echoss not in tow because he's currently out of commission. She returns rather uneventfully with a wheelbarrow of random Iti parts.

CHLOE: ...Monster Hunter makes carving bits off of monsters seem so easy.
CHLOE: It's not. It's really disgusting and messy.
CHLOE: Somehow pulled out a ton of Bloodhound Hide when I tried to carve its tail.
CHLOE: Honestly, it's what I've come to expect at this point.

32 Samples obtained! 10 additional Bloodhound Hide also obtained!

---

Maria goes mad with power. She moves the cloud over Nia, pelting her with snow! Nia instinctively puts her hands over her head to protect herself from the barrage. Were this Chloe attacking her with snow, she'd snipe her face with a wicked-fast snowball, but she's too afraid of angering Maria... or Venia, for that matter. Then again, she's also not really sure what she expected. She giggles, and cheers Maria on.

NIA: Well, it (ow) looks like you're getting the hang (ow) of it!
NIA: Why not go and (ow) show everyone else how (ow) powerful you are?

Fortunately for Nia, she complies, running off to snowball some other people. Nia immediately begins plotting how she can make the next version of the Snowball Maelstrom even more fun, while also still making it kid-friendly. Maybe she can also make it build snowforts or something. Or she can give her a snowball gun. So many options.

To continue work in the Everground, Venia's Maid uses 10 Iron Ingots and a single ingot of Titanium to build a chain to the top of the hole she's in. She then digs two tiles downwards, getting 64 Cobblestone. The map expands to reveal a few more things. Seems like you've got some small "pocket caverns".

Venia's Hat then goes off to loot a house. Why? Why not? They select one of the abandoned homes that are on the way to the Citadel. Odds are, some of the guards in the distance blankly stare at the hat that inexplicably fights a bunch of Jotun, then straight-up steals a house. Small Abandoned House obtained!

---

Hex slapps a Saltling with a fish. Its head goes sailing into the distance, which Hex then stuffs a fireball down. He then hooks the still-flying head, and slams it into a tree with his fishing rod. There's a fiery explosion as the Saltling's head totally vanishes. The rest of the Saltling's body shrugs, then drops dead. +4 Samples!

---

Auth does a variety of things. He continues talking with Chloe, noting how she probably made Maple's whole year.

CHLOE: Do you really think so?
CHLOE: Well, she certainly seems happy enough!

He also hands her a vial of undefined liquid. The swordswoman gently takes it, and gingerly sips it down before returning the vial to Auth. She lets out a satisfied sigh.

CHLOE: I'd love to take a nap, but I think that potion will have to do for now.
CHLOE: Maybe I'll take a quick nap once we get the Glyph back...
CHLOE: Anyway, thanks again, Auth!/color]

Auth also informs Chloe about how Nana's doing, openly wondering about the spider cavern all the while.

<span style='font-family:courier new'>CHLOE: W-Well, s-she probably found nothing good!
CHLOE: I-I wonder what Maple would think if she found out I'm a-afraid of s-spiders, of all things...

She awkwardly laughs at herself, or maybe just the situation in general. Back in the house, Auth talks to his waifu Nana. He explains exactly what went down in the kitchen. Chess. Nana seems confused.

NANA: They... destroyed a room with a game of chess?
NANA: H-How'd they do that? I-I mean, not that I know much about chess, b-but...
NANA: ...A-Actually, what is chess? I-I've briefly heard of it when reading up on what happened during the Second Godmodding War, but I don't really know how it works...

Another person who hasn't heard of chess. Unbelievable. Auth will need to reconsider his marriage prospects. Or maybe he can teach her over a coffee. That might be fun. As he then considers taking a shower, Nana hands him a wooden bottle of some mysterious substance.

NANA: O-Oh, while you're washing up, you can spray this on your clothes!
NANA: It makes use of the properties of Goneblossoms, as well as a f-few piles of air-element crystalline dust to "erase" stains in clothing b-by...
NANA: W-Well, I think the air crystal dust "shakes" free the particles, then the Goneblossom extract destroys the f-freed particles.
NANA: It's... probably a bit more complicated than that. Again, i-it's a family recipe, a-and I don't fully understand how all the ingredients play into each other.
NANA: I-It won't destroy your jacket, d-don't worry!
NANA: I-I mean, unless you forget to dry it afterwards, b-but even then, the damage shouldn't b-be too severe...

Nana's Stain Remover obtained! This seems oddly dangerous, but if that's what it takes to clean your clothes... then you must work with it! The two of them talk about Auth's "shapeshifting" ability. He notes that he could transform into a Chairian, if he felt like it.

NANA: H-Huh? Y-You could change species?
NANA: T-That's... amazing!

NANA: I... I wonder if I could try being human? O-Or does it only work on yourself?
NANA: Humans seem really interesting! T-They're like... us, strangely enough.
NANA: ...I-If we both originate f-from different planets, h-how come we look s-so similar?
NANA: A-Ah, maybe I shouldn't question it...

NANA: Anyway, s-someone like you s-should have no problem learning how to make it work!

Though she's as nervous and jumpy as usual, she tries her hardest to give Auth some extra confidence.

---

Arthur shows Mari a "trick". She pulls up a chair (or something) as she watches him brew some stuff! First up is the Overcharged Mana Potion, pouring the mixture into a rather thick glass bottle. The scientist seems engrossed in the process... even if she doesn't seem to understand most of it.

MARI: ...As someone who's been on this planet for more than a few hours, maybe... be careful with Fluxblood?
MARI: It seems pretty unstable- even if that's pretty thick glass, I'm pretty sure it'll gorillaing shatter in your pocket and maybe kill you.

After that, Mari sits still as the Arthur works on a batch of Simple Healing Potions. 5 Green Sap Blobs, 10 Soulblossoms, and 1 Eterna Flower go into a cauldron, and out come 3 Simple Healing Potions.

Once the potion cools, Mari grabs one, and swirls it around, taking a good look at the liquid inside. She grins.

MARI: Huh. We've got the standard JRPG healing potion here.
MARI: You... probably don't know what a JRPG is, do you?
MARI: Whatever. Point is, this seems iconic somehow.

She carefully puts the potion back down, then remarks on the "sermon" she just received.

MARI: Well, I'm not sure what to say.
MARI: Alchemy is neat. It might be cool to dabble in it, but I dunno.
MARI: I could probably replicate the healing potion by programming a bunch of nanobots or something, so maybe I can just stick with what I know.
MARI: Or we could combine science and alchemy, and make something really [color=#000000]gorillaing stupid.</span>

Arthur decides to whip up one more batch of something, throwing together 25 Goneblossoms, a Bottled Dream, a blob of Entropic Biomass, a Luminous Crystal, and 5 Spider Bones. This yields 3 Bottled Null, a more "aggressive" status cleanser. Dispel in a bottle? Yes please!

---

Irongutta recruits an apprentice. Okay, maybe he's not strictly an apprentice, but maybe he's just a dude who's looking to cause some booms, and wants to cause better booms to maximize dooms.

R-8733: Yes! Thank you for allowing a humble artist to join your cause!
R-8733: You won't regret this!

To celebrate the occasion, he launches a quick salvo of fireworks into the air, illuminating the already bright sky above the pass. R-8733 has joined the party! This means you may now view and purchase his upgrades. I'd highly suggest his Magic upgrade: he can build sentries to further improve his area control abilities!

Also as part of this post, he yeets a snowball into Maria. That's out of my scope though. He'll probably be out-snowballed in the upcoming round, when Venia, Nia, and Maria tag-team him with an endless storm of snow.

---

With the round over, Maple opts to say her goodbyes to the party.

MAPLE: Once again, thank you, everyone!
MAPLE: I'm happy that you treated me and my comrades with such compassion and care, and I hope that we'll be able to show you the same kindness in the future!
MAPLE: Goodbye, everyone! Good luck dealing with that beastie!

With a few injured in tow, Maple and her other allies fly off to the north, Soon enough, they're out of sight.

---

<THE CHURCH OF HELIX, ROUND TWO>
So, not much to note so far. The Husk hasn't taken much damage at all, so I'd advise doing your best to beat the tar out of him and his Idols! Focus Helix Idols this round- if they're not destroyed, he'll remain in Helix Form, and pull out some devastating attacks! Of course, they're not THAT devastating with two rounds of Helix, but if he hits a third consecutive round of Helix... that could spell disaster!

Overworld actions:
As the platinum ore vein is about finished, the two minigolems just rip the rest of the vein out of the wall and put it into the inventory before moving back out of camera view.

And then right back into camera view as they pick up the two machine guns and stick them back into the inventory.

In the Everground, Pionobot puts his loot in the bucket up to the surface before he goes back to the lakeside and drops a flashlight into the lake. It promptly explodes after reaching a certain depth, lighting up the whole lake and allowing him to see in deeper.
Wait flashlights aren't supposed to explode like that.
Oh well too late now.


A mysterious ethereal voice commissions some Mantle and Squall clusters from Chloe's scavenging service on account of them almost being out, and Echoss being too busy recovering to ask for it himself.


Battle orders:
According to group strategizing in the discord, Auth moves before anyone else.

Chibi Nia moves up to U2.
"Echoss" blows all three green sap curatives from his festive cap on insta-curing Daskter of his afflictions. He then moves to Q16 and casts shopping spree to grab a burrito and three Ice El-Ite knives. He then fires the Icestoolcle Sling at Helix Idol 3 and freecasts his fluxblade scroll from the PCI at The Husk.

The Battle In the Church
I sigh...
"Of bloody course... atleast it's not the end of the world"

Partisan move to P9 and starts sabotaging the Husk. (Trait in effect)
3 Pollens in effect (-1 intensity to each)
Aching5-1
Poison7-1
Brainburn3-1
It quickly retreats to Q8

Daskter simply stands still and summons more units onto the battlefield.

Cherub: Katyusha arrives on the field! (P9)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bhm...#gid=1218425677
Settings:
Attack: Psychic
Spell: Ice
Weak: 20% (Crushing) 20% Piercing
Strong: 30% Light, 20% Water, 20% Dark

Nettle moves to N8 then:
- If Helix Totem 3 is within Nettle's Overgrowth threshold, she:
Uses the Singing Maw + her trait movement to drag Helix Totem 3 to N11, then uses Shackling Blast on Helix Totem 2. This consumes the corpse at J10, as well as the aforementioned Helix Totem 2, due to it being a corpse according to Nettle.

- Otherwise, she:
Uses Hidden Toxin on Helix Totem 3.

Ire forgot Lukas' newly-found +1 regen again, but this time on the readouts.

---

Lukas strafes to R13, then drops a Sapping SIgil directly on the Husk, swapping Dark for Glitch, applying Uninspired and paying the 4 MP to apply Erroblight to the Husk.

If Boshi were able to, he'd be waving a white flag of surrendering up above his head right now.

...Once he inevitably gets up, he doesn't do anything. Nothing, but hold a time piece. He crushes it in his hand for all to see.

In an instant, the local area around the shop stall goes back to what it was a few minutes prior; the turret was de-egged, for one. And all signs of a confrontation somehow didn't happen. Even the waste Paper Basket was back on the shop stall.

...Save for the memories of what went down. Boshi rejects the waste paper basket, and turns away.

"(...This never happened. Got it?)"

He walks off. Probably to the kitchen.

...Impatient with how long Boshi was taking, Sophia goes over to the shop stall, and jumps on it. She then picks up the waste paper basket in both hands, and takes it to her station, not giving a single peck about what just went down. She starts filling up the waste paper basket with the crumpled up paper.

---

MU notes the fact that she has multiple valuables on her person, and decides to drop them up at the bucket. She climbs up the chain, and drops it off at the bucket on the level above. She expects to be hit with a number of wounds, but better to do this than lose it all to a dumb mistake.

After, MU heads back down and begins mining down, starting at (Q115) and working her way down. She uses up some iron along the way to make a chain down. She'd go down into the hole Venia's Maid dug, but she senses something bad just down there...

---

Bow Kid and her clone get knocked onto their butt from the split. They get up, and look at each other.
"...Hi?"
"...Hi?"
"Are you..."
"Are you..."
"...me?"
"...me?"

This is gonna get confusing fast. They look at each other. They both point in the same direction relative to everyone else, but different directions with respect to the two Bow Kids.
"Can you go over there?"
"Can you go over there?"
"Okay."
"Okay."

Bow Kid 1 moves to (H20) and Aerobeams to the East. She turns the beam North at (L20), and to the NorthEast at (L17). She benefits from Loaded Spellbook. This hits LBubble6, DomeIdol3, DomeIdol2, HelixIdol1, and the Husk. No Turning Turbulence benefits, sadly.

Bow Kid 2 moves to (H20) and Aerobeams to the East. She turns the beam North at (L20), and to the NorthEast at (L17). She benefits from Loaded Spellbook. This hits LBubble6, DomeIdol3, DomeIdol2, HelixIdol1, and the Husk. No Turning Turbulence benefits, sadly. She falls off of the other Bow kid's head, to (H19).

...Wait a sec-

Crya to R17 and fires off Ice Stalagmites at the Husk before retreating to Q19.
Chibi Nia moves to R8 and fires a shot off at the Dome Idol before retreating to R7.

RP: The Church of Helix

The rampant and sudden development of high-level mutations certainly didn't get unnoticed.

"... Fascinating. It might be... It could actually be... Hrm. Hrm. Hrmmmm. It may be a bad idea. Yeah. It's a bad idea."

Yet curiosity still clearly tugs at her for a moment-until she shakes it off.

"DESTROY THOSE TOTEMS!"

---

Mariaaaaaaaaa

Maria's giggling slightly slows when she realizes what Irongutta is doing, but quickly resumes when she darts off, chased by Irongutta, and when Irongutta's superior land speed paid off, she turns sharp and manages to avoid getting crushed.

"SNOWBAAAAAAAAAAAL!" She screams, still totally and completely enamored, peppering Irongutta (and everything around Irongutta) with a nonstop deluge of snow.

---

Ecnocnomy and stonks

Venia buys an Aspect of Heart, an Aspect of Stars, an Aspect of Blades, and an Aspect of Void for 1K Credits and 16 Samples, as well as a second Smash Ball for 400 credits. She then requests that Mari upgrade her Solar Panels to T5 via the Stitching Station for 100 Credits. Venia may've overheard that Nia wants to make Venia something too so she leaves a slot open so her surprise goes unimpeded. Or maybe its something else iunno.

This will Verify Venuz by the way.

---

Battle: The Church of Helix

Venia allows Leaf to act before her.

Venia's Chibi Venia supplies the real Venia with more Ordo. You have a feeling this is quite ridiculous.

Venia's Socialite struts to Q15, somehow in midair and somehow with their legs and not their word-wings. Once there, a question is asked: did Lukas hit the Husk with sapping sigil? If not, the Socialite uses its basic attack to apply Uninspired4 and Weaken4 via Pollen effects for 3 rounds. If so, however, the Socialite uses Hyperpotent on her basic attack to apply Weaken5 for 4 rounds instead.

Then Venia starts moving. First, she uses Broodmother to spawn a Mask Spider at T14. Mask Spiders don't count for the summon cap so this is legal. Venia then moves to R18 and attempts to tame the Splinter Spitter if it's not already been tamed, or just shoots the Husk like a regular person if it has been tamed, applying Unify to the Husk in the process. She also uses the Revolving Chamber on the Husk, aiming it from the Socialite's position and thus removing 2 duration from his Venoveil and 1 duration from his Guardian. This gives Venia Empowered2. She also uses this opportunity to apply Unify to the Husk if he isn't already Unified. She then relinquishes her CALL again to fire a shot directly at the Husk. She remains where she is as Distortion Dynamite goes off, a wave of graphical errors and colorful fog bursting out from the central point! It ignores the plentiful allies around, but devastates the totems present before dissipating.

Her Splinter Spitter, upon a successful tame, will skitter to P18 and fire a basic attack at Liquor Bubble6, and then somehow fire a Lumipod right after to delete it. (unless it crits, in which case it doesn't do that.)

"NIA! Use Boxican to pull that bubble into the Box to destroy it! TAEDA! Bubble behind you, chuck a rock at it and use your power to destroy it before it does anything!"

(in case you're wondering 'what rock,' she means the Throwing Rock in the inventory.)

Nidra power naps Chloe, moves to K17, and basic attacks HelixIdol1 twice.

Auth nods, seeming to be pleased that Chloe appreciates his nondescript potion for curing the aching.

AUTH: Alright, you should take a rest when you get the opportunity. They do say that rest is the best doctor. Or, something like that, as I recall. It'll help.

Auth laughs awkwardly at the conclusion to the situation...

AUTH: Given how she seemed to be I would assume you are correct...
AUTH: Being afraid of spiders is entirely understandable, Chloe. Where I come from, spiders can be a legitimate problem.
AUTH: (You'd never believe how many have tried and failed to steal my eyes...)

Auth mutters the last line under his breath.

----

Auth nods to Nana. He is significantly more understanding towards Nana being totally clueless than Marron, Toast and Chaos being helplessly and/or intentionally wrong. Auth sighs.

AUTH: The reason they destroyed the kitchen is that they played it wrong. Not just wrong, but also completely badly and they cheated. Repeatedly. It's not entirely their fault - Chaos misled Marron about what chess is but also...
AUTH: Marron insisted on utter ridiculousness at one point.

Auth sighs, but perks back up again almost immediately as he gets to describe chess to someone who'll actually listen properly.

AUTH: Chess is a two-player strategy board game, where each player controls one side of a battlefield with an assortment of units. The aim of the game is to put the king into a position where they cannot move and will be taken if they can't move. Those are the real basics of it. It's used as a wargame, to try and help teach strategic thinking.

Auth claps his hands, having had a very good idea.

AUTH: If you'd like to learn it, maybe I can teach you later when we get a chance to relax. I think it's fun. Maybe you will too.

After this, Auth has the bottle of cleaner given to him. Auth carefully examines the bottle... before breathing a heavy sigh of relief. He listens quietly as Nana explains what's in the bottle, and how it works.

AUTH: The fundamentals of it make sense to me, and they sound like what you describe. Thin enough and it probably won't damage my coat...
AUTH: Thank you so much, Nana. I appreciate this... I'll go get it cleaned. I can't be going into battle looking like a mess, mm.

Auth takes off his coat. What makes the staining even worse is that it's only really on one side, being relatively faint on the other side. Underneath... Auth is still wearing his usual heavy red woollen sweater.

Auth nods in response to Nana's assertion that his ability is amazing.

AUTH: It sounds like it will be, Nana. I'm personally looking very forward to being able to put it to use.

Auth closes his eyes after Nana suggests being able to transform into a human. Auth immediately starts to picture a human Nana in his head... she's cute.

AUTH: I can't say for certain whether or not I could do it for you. Although, I should point out, I'm not entirely human either. Although, I'm close enough.
AUTH: It is interesting how similar Humans and Chairians are, actually. I see a lot of species that do have a body shape similar to humans. It's a curious coincidence, I think. Although, I'm certainly not going to complain about it.

Auth smiles at Nana's assertion that he has the ability to work out how to make the power work.

AUTH: Thanks, Nana. I appreciate the vote of confidence. When I figure it out, you'll be the first to know.

----

In battle!

Auth's eyes dilate as he sees people get... for lack of a better term, "Corrupted" by the Totems and the Husk's blood.

AUTH: Oh, nononononono...
AUTH: That's not good that's very not goood...

Auth first tries to target Taeda with Purify... but nothing happens, since she has no statuses to target.

AUTH: Taeda's become irrationally angry, Summa's been hit with the sort of unending hunger that a Seeker of the Name carries...
AUTH: This is dangerous this isn't good I don't I don't I don't-

Auth starts to hyperventilate, alarmed and confused and slightly scared of what's happening. After a while, though, his breathing settles...

And his focus turns on the Husk.

AUTH: Undo the taint you've dealt to them, vile monster! I am appalled that you would dare to affect them so!

Auth acts with Priority! He moves to R11, and casts Clerical Error - Curaga centred on the Husk. It will do absolutely nothing for Damage but it will erase the Consecrated Ground around the Husk.