Huh, the battle's won. Neat.

D31 Roll
17 - She / Her

---

Somewhere, somewhere, a "young" witch sings to herself, faint music without a source in the background of her voice. Piano, violin, perhaps a glimpse of marching drums, what sounds like a chime or a harp, flute... The overall feel of it switches between somber and aggressive notes, yet her voice remains tired and worn out throughout the whole song.
CHARA: Ima wa tada toumei na kaze no naka
CHARA: Shizuka ni nemuritai tsubasa wo daite... ♪

However, before it even reaches its halfway point, a sharp ping interrupts the recital. The room returns to relative silence as Chara scrambles for her phone, before just giving up and summoning a new one.


Well, that was a waste of time. A fun one, but a waste nonetheless.
Chara glanced back at the sheet she was working on. Still not complete, still not complete, but the moment shall come soon, oh so very soon...
Perhaps, until then, she could occupy herself with different matters? Perhaps...

---

At some undefined point in time, for time is dead and meaning has no meaning, Chloe is once again approached by a certain small "child." Her expression is of absolute guilt, and in her hands she carries a bright red box, one that appears to be filled with chocolates.

CHARA: I looked for an 'I'm-sorry-I-had-you-asphyxiate' card, but they were all out.
CHARA: I hope this is a sufficient peace offering in place of it. I don't know your tastes, but pretty much everyone loves these.

CHARA: Care for a chat? This is not a rhetorical question, I'll just leave you to yourself if you don't want to talk.

Zone 4.5
Standing in front of the blockage at the entryway

Daskter sends a Spectral Cherub to stab that Absolver to death.

That Absolver thought he was safe didn't he? Well too bad.

Auth laughs quietly and awkwardly. He didn't mean to do anything like that, it was an accident...

AUTH: Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that... splinters in fleshy-bits aren't comfortable, you see...
AUTH: It was an accident... sorry...

Auth was considering giving an explanation about vampirism and how that works in relation for humans... but he's flustered as hell and completely forgot he meant to talk about it after flustering.

AUTH: N-no, I'll be alright. I'll be okay. Don't worry about me. I'll... be okay through most things, so don't worry. I'll be okay.

Auth seems slightly worried about scaring off Nana at this point, actually. He's apparently very nervous about stuffing things up with his first girlfriend. But as they calm down... Auth smiles. Making history is something he'd like to do with her.

AUTH: I think we will. After all, consider how special we are. I think we'd make history anyway, but you and I together will do something even bigger, I think.
AUTH: Even if we do become famous... well, I'll be with you. I had something more elegant in mind when I was trying to say that, but...
AUTH: I'm not that big a fan of the spotlight either. I'm more likely to defer it to someone more fitting for the role. I'm sure something can be done.

Auth nods as Nana takes his hand to run off to fight Rose Cultists... and Auth thinks to himself that they definitely have something special between them. Something that will last.

----

After the battle, Auth rushes over to Nana immediately. Like a concerned housewife, he fusses over all of Nana's wounds.

AUTH: Here, Nana, you're hurt. Let me tend to that...

Not long after, Nana has all her wounds healed. And since Auth is rushing around, Nana might've noticed things Auth hasn't. His skin would've felt much, much tougher, with bark-like patterns and his hair is clumping together... starting to look almost like leaves, if they were made of hair. Still like Auth, yet slightly different. Definitely not like that at the start of the battle. He doesn't seem to have noticed, either.

AUTH: Hm... let's get out of here. I don't like this place. How about we go and see how the others are doing?

Auth's danger sense is, of course, tingling. So Auth makes a bee-line for the Boozy Barracks, where Omo is drunk. Off fumes, insofar as Auth knows. She appears to be a massive lightweight... not that Auth can talk, his tolerance isn't especially high either. It could just be the mushrooms, though...

AUTH: Omo, do you need a hand? You don't look alright.

After what is likely to be an amusingly drunk response from Omo, Auth brings her out of the room. With a light tap of an Irrigo-coated sword, Omo should feel a lot better. Or, at the very least, less drunk.

AUTH: Are you doing alright now, Omo?

---

Auth puts a point into SPC.

RP: Nia

Venia looks into those beautiful emerald eyes, prettier than any actual emerald,

"I can probably survive a nasty mutation, just a few triggerable sigils and we can figure out anything I did wrong... The real concern is time... I don't exactly have-"

Blurring, goo, wrongness, pain. Venia bursts out as usual, exhausted.

"... Not long. Not long... But not that close either. I'll ask Chloe about this. Sooner the better."

"Looking forwards to the date, lil' snowflake. I just need to take care of Droplet first... Maybe go request hunting some of those Ember Cores or the Tsunami Regalia from Chloe while I'm off doing things? I just need time, with her."

Venia gets up and dusts herself off, and returns upstairs to Droplet.

---

Mariaaa

"Cape blanket! Do it do it do it do it pretty pleeeeeease!"

---

Everground

The Maid springs into action! Given the platform of stone beneath her, she does the only logical thing and stomps on it-hard, several times, with the intent to really pound it into the cracked crystal shell. After several truly incredible poundings, she then leaps off of it and procures a copy of Venia's Chrono Trigger (given they're related, not too surprising), its element set to Water. The obvious elemental antithesis established, the maid takes a midair aim at the beast, and proceeds to relentlessly fire bullet after bullet at the cracked crystals.

She lands in front of Mustache Girl. HP be darned, little girl needs saving and the Maid is considerably more expendable.

Skillpoint

+1 MHP. Simplicity!

---

Research

No more dallying! Venia researches Cut Rose and the Tomb of Ancient Art (Support)! That's almost everything in the lab, barring some new additions to the area.

---

NPC Services

Mari, freshly done with the Zoop upgrade, is now asked to research Zap. That's all.

---

Droplet

Venia walks up the stairs and (re-)confronts Droplet, somewhat more steady than before.

"Apologies about all of that. We'll begin immediately. First, I need to scan you to get into the nitty-gritty of the mana structures that cause this enchantment. Otherwise any procedure could only make it worse... It'll just be a few seconds, just stand still."

Venia prepares the scanner (with Observer Eye set to off) and, if Droplet isn't going to do something crazy in response, scans her.

Bow Kid walks out of the room... but not before summoning a Mirror Image of herself to taunt the Bass Clown with a hefty application of rapid Smugdancing and music to go with it.

She approaches the room at (Z41), looking into it before she enters.

STATS:
(-1 from MHP)
(-1 from STR)
(-1 from SPC)
(2x Shcemer. The Buff Level queen is here...)

---

"Thanks. Now, let's beat this oversized crystal!"

MU equips a Cloud Cannon. Should the maid's attack break both the crystal and the rock she stood on, she aims it in such a way that it pelts the Bastion from above, through the hole. She then yeets a bag of Saltwater into it, as well as an Electromagnet Cluster, aiming to badly shock the big dude.

Otherwise she aims it directly at the other damaged crystal, hoping to break it off.

Of course, she aims the thing away from the Maid either way.

---

Sophia stops smugdancing. Things seem to be getting a little more serious, so she bails back to the house.

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE>

First of all, stats! Let's hope these are simple enough...



That was strangely harmless. Let's go!

---

A Vague Person enters a Projection Box! They walk around in the pattern EYES, EYES, WINGS, WINGS, MAW, MAW, EYES, WINGS, MAW, EYES, SCALE. I now realize that the sequence is too short, so I'm inserting another "EYES" before SCALE. Oops. Anyway, once their rather lengthy trek is finished, they pop out... somewhere deeper in the Rose Cult's base.

It's another central hallway. This one appears to have quite a bit of foot traffic. On one end of the hallway is a gigantic barrier made of spongy flesh, covered with <0>-scarred eyeballs. It's quite a horrifying sight. Fortunately for Vague Person, they haven't been noticed quite yet. How fortunate.

---

Echoss continues his usual actions. His golems continue building up the walls of the house. By the way, at some point, I'll need to ask that you properly expend the resources to build the house. But for now, the walls continue to go up.

With the trio of Chairians, he notes that yes- he'd have access to some brands of candy only found on Earth. Willow immediately puts up a request.

WILLOW: If you get me some of that stuff, I'll... give you some of my salary!
SALIX: At this rate, your candy would last for a few minutes.
SALIX: Is that worth a day's worth of pay?
WILLOW: Hell yeah it is!
SALIX: ...I didn't even know you had a sweet tooth, Willow.
WILLOW: And I didn't know either!

He also checks up on both Chloe and Nia. They're both lightly damaged, but thanks to Chloe's lessons on healing magic, she's easily tending to both of their injuries.

CHLOE: Yeah, we're fine!
CHLOE: Really, it's nothing worse than what we've been through before...
NIA: Yep!
NIA: We're tough, don't you worry~

Nia winks towards Echoss, a gentle smile on her face. Meanwhile, below the surface, Pionobot scoops liquid from a fountain. Anima Aqua obtained! The small bit of liquid he's scooped up then suddenly snakes out of the inventory, and flows back into the fountain. A claw made of the fluid then shoots up out of the fountain, and before he can react, Pionobot gets clawed for (3) damage. The hand then sinks into the fountain, not launching any further attacks.

Maybe don't tease the fountain.

---

Crya investigates a room. Opposite from the Boozy Barracks, she finds a... more normal washroom than the one above. It's probably safe enough if you really need to go... or if you need to vomit up some alcohol.

---

Chara attempts to apologize to Chloe, bringing her a box of chocolates. She mentions that they were all sold out of "sorry for asphyxiating you" cards. The blonde sighs.

CHLOE: ...I'd imagine that's not really a card that anyone would ever run out of. Except maybe in the Neath.
CHLOE: Still, thanks.
CHLOE: It's nice to see you try and make it up to me.

Chloe takes the box of chocolates, and decides to pop one into her mouth. It's probably enjoyable. Who knows if it'll kill her or something? It probably hasn't crossed her mind, though. After polishing off her first chocolate, she raises a question.

CHLOE: So...
CHLOE: What was up with that?
CHLOE: The whole... "choking me" thing.
CHLOE: Like not HOW you deprived the room of oxygen- I mean, maybe that'd be cool to hear about- but... why?

CHLOE: Was it... that bad? The Sun and Messenger, I mean.
CHLOE: I... haven't had time to read the book yet, sorry.
CHLOE: Realistically though, I feel like what's in there would go over my head, given that I don't live where Auth (and probably you) do.
CHLOE: Whatever happened, it must've been pretty bad if you had to try and choke me over it...

...She's clearly still upset. Still, it might be worth explaining it to her. Helix knows she doesn't have enough time to read a tragedy in seven parts.

---

Daskter sends a Spectral Cherub to pester an Absolver. The Cherub phases through the rubble, and manages to smack the Absolver! Fortunately, the Divine Shields it has works in its favor, and it lives! The now terrified Absolver flees through the door to the west. That'll show them!

---

Auth has two seperately instanced chats with Nana. Timestreams, right? Anyway, earlier, at the house, he wraps up his talk with Nana. He shares her hatred of the spotlight as well.

NANA: I-If you don't wanna be in the spotlight either, I-I guess I can't a-ask you to be f-famous for the both of us, can I?
NANA: A-Ah well. If we're both together, we can b-both be ogled by historians!
NANA: It'll... l-like, balance out t-the attention!

The two of them then head off to go and fight Rose Cultists, hopefully actually resolving this bit of the timestream, now putting them both within the Rosen Catacombs. There, Auth dotes over Nana, tending to her injuries. She doesn't try to brush off the pain, or insist that she's okay. Rather, she's compliant, and allow Auth to fix her up.

NANA: T-Thanks...

NANA: I'm... not actually v-very good with pain...
NANA: L-Like, I was only actually conscripted into the military when the Sphere came about. It's not something I-I really signed up for...
NANA: K-Keep watching over me, a-alright?

The two of them then head out to go and check on the others, Nana gripping his hand tightly as they walk through the dimly-lit halls of the catacombs.

NANA: I-I don't like it down here.
NANA: I-It's so dark, and i-it really feels like danger might be around every corner...
NANA: Maybe it'd be better i-if it was a little b-brighter...

Soon, the two of them arrive at the Boozy Barracks, where a semi-drunken Omo is having difficulties with such incredible tasks like standing up, and also standing up. She tries to piece together a few words.

OMORIKA: I'm... *hic* fine.
OMORIKA: I am perfectly fine. You do not need to worry about my... condition.

Despite whatever protests she may raise, Auth boops her with a pulsar of Irrigo. This seems to wash the liquor from her system, and she snaps back to attention.

OMORIKA: Hm?
OMORIKA: Well, that certainly helped.
OMORIKA: Thank you for your... curative, Author.
OMORIKA: I'm not quite sure what it is you're holding. It's... certainly exquisite, however.
NANA: I-It's really fancy, isn't it?
NANA: I... like the colors. It kinda reminds me of my garden...
NANA: I hope Lutea's taking care of it...

The three of them stand idle, just outside of the Boozy Barracks.

---

Venia continues her usual activities. She gazes into Nia's eyes as she promptly experiences another blurry seizure, promptly freaking out Nia once again.

NIA: A-Ah!
NIA: Okay, we need to fix this now, if only so I won't randomly get heart attacks while talking with you.
NIA: ...Also because we're running out of time.

Venia then notes that she'll go and ask Chloe to go and try and find some Ember Cores or Tsunami Regalia. Nia nods.

NIA: Alright!
NIA: I'll go work with her and help! Maybe we'll be able to get a few more things...
NIA: And hopefully, I'll be done in time for our date~

As Venia heads upstairs to go and chat with Droplet, Nia immediately heads Chloe-ward, and begins tugging on her arm.

NIA: Chloeeeee!
CHLOE: O-Ow! What is it?
NIA: We're gonna go hunt some Cinders right now!
NIA: We need their SOULS!
CHLOE: Um, a-alright...?

Without questioning it, Chloe allows herself to be dragged off by Nia. When they return some time later, the fruits of their labor are clear: 20 Ember Cores are piled into Chloe's wheelbarrow.

NIA: Boom! Done!
CHLOE: H-How were you going so fast!? You were blasting those Cinders left and right!
CHLOE: I'm meant to be the quick girl...
NIA: THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!
NIA: Actually, there is, but I don't feel like it.
CHLOE: Okay?
CHLOE: Anyway, hopefully we got enough!

Nia awaits the return of Venia, a basket full of Cores in hand. Around the same time, Venia reaches the top of the tower, and confronts Droplet once again. The Eliti scoffs at the duchess as she comes into view. Venia then explains that she needs to scan her to get information on her mana structures or something.

DROPLET: You need to scan me for mana... what?
DROPLET: Sure. Sounds legit, I guess.
DROPLET: Do it.

Droplet complies as the scanner washes over her. It seems to bother her ever so slightly.

>Codex Updated!

DROPLET: So, my doctor.
DROPLET: What's my diagnosis?

Somewhere not on the tower, a few other things occur. First, Maria begs Mari for an update to the cape blanket. Mari complies, gently attaching a rope to two corners of Maria's blanket. Once done, Maria slips it around her neck, and the cape flutters in the wind.

MARI: There we go.
MARI: Congratulations. You're now Super Maria, or something.

MARI: So... do you wanna keep looking through the telescopes, or do you wanna head back down?
MARI: It's... kinda chilly. View's nice, though.

Then, around the Everground, Venia's Maid decides to rapidly slam the stone platform into the cracked shell of the Crystal Bastion! This, combined with a volley from the Chrono Trigger deals (18) damage and causes a chain reaction that eliminates that segment of the Bastion's shell, shattering it! 8 Searing Clusters enter the Maid's inventory. The Maid then lands in front of the Bastion! The Bastion's crystal shell begins to glow, and it launches an array of fireballs from the four remaining segments of the shell at the Maid! Four fireballs hit, for (3) damage each, so that's (12) damage. Seems like the Bastion will act against the first person to attack it every round.

To wrap up the round, Venia decides to run some research, throwing 30 Flux at the Lab to grab Cut Rose and the Tome of Ancient Art (Support)! She also pokes Mari, getting her to research the Zap upgrade.

---

Mustache Girl assaults the Bastion! She equips a Cloud Cannon (which is not consumed), channeling the water through the hole in the ceiling. A bag of salt and an Electromagnetic Cluster are then thrown into the rainstorm, which lands inside the Bastion's cracked shell! (20) damage! It seems like the beast is already almost felled! Keep at it!

---

The game also decides to apply version v1.4.1.1 to the game! It's pretty minor, but contains a few balance patches / other nice goodies. Like coupons! Go use them!

---

To speed things along, the game suddenly gives Chloe an inspiration. She heads over to the Boozy Barracks, writes down a few symbols from a list on the wall, then returns to the Scalefused Chamber. She ventures into the Projection Box, and following the path of MAW, MAW, EYES, EYES, MAW, MAW, EYES, EYES, WINGS, WINGS, WINGS, SCALE, ends up visiting this place called "The Chapel". It's possibly the antithesis of the Church of Helix, draped in darkness instead of blinding white. Truly, an awful place.

---

And that's all for this update! Explore from the Chapel, and you should be able to find some fascinating new areas, and maybe a battle or two! You could also try fighting the Rose Cultists located at the Steps to Oblivion, or explore new rooms from there as well! Just don't get caught. That might get ugly.

Crya follows Chloe into the Chapel using a Projection Box.

Brutishace invests his one Skill Point to raise the power of Twin Serpents/Jolts by a level.

He's not really sure what to do in the mean time, however. He moves out of the Clownverted Barracks and spots the Plasteel Cart. Seeing as how it's a useful ingredient, Brutishace tries getting some of it out, but it's jammed in tight. He might have a way to get it out, however...

Brutishace hides behind a pillar closest to the cart and motions for Laranei to do the same. He then takes out a magic tablet, uses it to charge up a spell, and casts a bolt of energy under the Plasteel Cart. The bolt explodes into magical energy upon impact with the floor under the cart, hopefully knocking some of the Plasteel Ingots out of it and allowing them to be collected.

Brutishace steps out from behind the pillar to more closely examine the contents extracted from the cart.

Overworld:

The golems continue throwing up the walls, and also relocate the armadillo so it won't be stuck inside when the whole thing is finished.
For clarification on resrouces: what resources are gonna be needed besides the stockpiles of wood and basic building materials that are already set down, my intention was to expend those when building the main portion of the house and then add more to the stockpile as required.


Echoss laughs when Willow promises to give some of her salary.
"You'll buy the candy off me? Sure, why not. I can use it as an excuse to get Terrence off my back for a bit."


With Nia and Chloe, Echoss nods.
"Alright, I'm glad you're both alright then."
Time slides forwards once again as more things happen.


In the Everground, having run out of ideas, Pionobot hops down the hole that Venia made, and notices the Bastion down below. He rips the tree at W120 out of its rooted position, and javelin launches it down the hole right into the exposed hole in the top of the Bastion's armor.
The tree crashes down in through the hole and Piono bot jumps down after it, slamming into the top of the tree and driving it deeper before he slides down the trunk and morphs his good arm into a blade and slams it down into the Bastion's exposed flesh over and over again.
"Wait hold on how did I do that."


Down in the basement, Echoss's reverie is interrupted. He straightens up and raises his palm, a small turqoise hologram appearing over his palm.
"Terrence is there any particular reaason you insisted on calling me here instead of one of the readily available nodes?"
"Yes, sir there is. You haven't given any of us a straight answer as to why you're on that planet. I understand the cultural and historical value of the place but I don't think that it justifies risking yourself the way you are."
"Terrence I'll be fine, it's just another of my consciousness nodes out here."
"Your MAIN node. You're already fritzing out here and there, you'd be down for the count for weeks if something permanent happened to you out there."
"And that hasn't happened before?"
"Sir, if I can be frank, no. While we'd survive without you available to grease the wheels it would be a very awkward month for everyone involved."
"Then consider it a test for a worst case scenario."
"Sir it very well may BE a worst case scenario. Caroline has been studying the... 'Iti' you sent us and... There's residual godmodding in these things here. Whatever you're fighting out there is a godmodder construct or has ties to one somehow. Mixed with the other stuff in these things..."
"I will be fine, Terrence. I have taken precautions."
"It doesn't seem like you have. Why not send one of the adventuring crews, or if you're really concerned about this place send Quebert's squad."
"I have reasons for coming out here."
"For staying up a week solid trying to reestablish the portal when it cut out?"
Echoss nods, there's a bit of curtness to it.
"Then perhaps you can tell me what those oh so important reasons are? Why you keep focusing your energy there? Keep losing connection on butterflies? Had the little shop set up in Warehouse 9 and keep making piecemeal orders of random esoteric goods?"
"With all due respect Terrence, I believe you answer to me, not the other way around."
The figure in the hologram sighs and massages his forehead.
"Sorry sir, I'm just... WE'RE just worried. You have us here to act as your advisors, which I think would warrant some trust. But if you insist I'll give you my advice and leave you alone. My advice would be to leave this planet to its own devices. We've already calculated that we aren't within range of whatever's going to come out of that place. Don't leave yourself in range without a good reason."
"Noted."
Echoss closes his palm and the hologram flickers out of existence.
He sighs as information comes in from other locations and heads back up top. Nary a moment's respite. As always, there's much to do and...


Echoss returns to helping Omo and Chloe.
"Apologies for my abrupt departure Miss Omorika, I was... suffering one of the side effects of spreading my consciousness a little thin, and had to take a moment to recompose myself."


In the Rosen Catacombs Echoss pops out next to Chloe and sees the absolver. He brushes a butterfly into being from his palm and it flutters over to the Absolver who is still regaining their breath.
The butterfly promptly explodes into several spears of rippling, inky black darkness. Totally invisible against the darkness of the chamber. The first two slam into the absolver's divine shield, polishing it off. The last one impales the Absolver through the neck, killing him nearly instantly.


2 requests are made from Chloe's service, which Echoss helps out with.
1st: Simple fabric, using the harvest golem for extra material. This will be used for the beds and couch in the new house extension.
2nd: Some bowls of Earth-branded candy.

D31 Roll
6 - He / Him

---

CHARA: ...
CHARA: Oh.
CHARA: Right, I apologise. That was rather easy to misconceive.
CHARA: It is not the two of them who caused that ruckus. I couldn't care less about their interspecies romance. It's a wholly different one which lead to it, through some odd matters of narcissism, vampirism, cultural appropriation and existentially painful writing.
CHARA: So anyways, I didn't even expect you to read the book. I just have an immense dislike for leaving questions unanswered in any form at all.
CHARA: To give the short version, the Sun, yes, Sol, the literal sun around which Earth orbits, has a Courier (AKA space crab messenger) like any other proper Judgement. The Echo Bazaar.
CHARA: The Bazaar falls in love with the Sun. The Sun... nobody knows what his feelings were, but a thing happened and Stone was born.
CHARA: This is, of course, absolute blasphemy against the Great Chain of Being, the crime of "Vile Breeding." So the two of them hide their daughter away in the Neath and pray nobody notices.
CHARA: Eventually, the Sun, "being the cad he is," falls in love with another Judgement. He decides to use the Bazaar as his Tinder profile and sends it to deliver a love message.
CHARA: She denies.
CHARA: The Bazaar, scared out of its mind that the Sun might commit suicide out of sorrow, decides not to deliver the message and sods off to the Neath to collect love stories and get high on magic rocks.
CHARA: The End.

Finally done with the narrating, he pauses, subtly gasping for breath. After approximately seven seconds, he continues.

CHARA: Failbetterverse is wonky, to say the least. But I didn't come all this way to a new universe just to exposition about the ones I previously visited, did I now?
CHARA: My mission is simple, but that doesn't mean I should disregard it, postpone it indefinitely. So I might as well start it now.
CHARA: Start it by getting to know you better, perhaps.
CHARA: I have only a few questions at the moment. After all, it's hard to ask about something whose existence is unknown to you.
CHARA: Where are you from? And could you recount your experiences from the incident with Chaos' mindscape I vaguely heard about?

---

Elsewhere...
and elsewhen...
but simultaneously in this same post...
Chara remembers he has three actions he may spend per turn.
But with nothing to spend them on yet, he does something revolutionary. Absolutely baffling. Extraordinary.
He...
He charges.

---

CP in store: 3?

Dorothy decides to follow Chloe into The Chapel, and immediately regrets it. Darkness, skulls everywhere... she hides behind Chloe as she probably enters battle.

---

MU uses the Cloud Cannon to blast away at the last damaged chunk of crystal, before focusing it on the top portion of the Bastion, once again soaking it. Seems the Electromagnet CLuster is still probably up there, it causes another shock.

---

Boshi gives Toast a thumbs up after she succeeds. Then looks at the broken table... nobody's made a new table yet? Hoo boy, that's gonna be annoying to eat off of...

He decides to clean up the place, taking the broken table (and presumably chairs) outside and tossing them outside.

Looking through the inventory, he pulls out a bundle of 5 Bronzewood and 10 Megabark, and begins making the table. He uses the Megabark for the actual table surface, giving it that rustic look while also being super strong. He takes these boards outside, and sands them down with some sandpaper he procured, being sure to pick off any splinters that might be in the way.

He then makes the frame and legs out of the Bronzewood, being sure to do the same thing he did with the Megabark as he builds all the pieces. He also takes the time to carve out designs in everything; the edges of the table, and designing the legs to be real fancy.

He also finds some finish to coat everything with, granting a nice, smooth, nice-looking surface to everything. He waits for it to dry...

He then uses an Iron for screws and nails and such, fititng everything together, and hauling the table into the kitchen. "(Should be a lot more resilient to chess-related shenanigans now...)"

He doesn't skimp out on materials for the chairs, either, using 10 Megabark to put together 10 chairs, and 10 Silkweed and a singular Spiralfloof Floofball to make 10 cushions for the chairs (Spiralfloof Floofball spread across all ten for maximum bang for your floofball). He also applies sanding and finish to the chairs, just like he did with the table. He waits for that to dry before bringing the chairs in.

They should be sturdy enough to hold at least most people in the party. He takes a seat on one of the chairs, and watches.

Nettle does another respec (sorry), since Providence's Cane is now available to her, which she purchases with a Relic Coupon. She also switches back to her Natural Domain, just for now.

She equips this, then does some SERIOUS statting.
-1 MMP (new total 12 KP)
-3 AGI (new total 0 KP)
+1 INT (new total 14 KP)
+3 SKI (new total 5 KP)
+6 DEF (new total 11 KP)
+1 RES (new total 1 KP)
+4 SPC (new total 12 KP)
-6 MOV (new total 0 KP)
-Ace in the Hole (rip)

which mostly just makes her build more streamlined with the build changes

She keeps Limit Breaker, even though perks aren't listed on my sheet.

Then some misc things:
- Her resistances are updated: -10% Crushing. -10% Earth.
- She no longer has Skirmisher, and her spells have Manafuelled2 now.
- Also, she should have only 6 HIT from equipment due to Megu patch, and 4 CNT due to Singing maw.

All of this is on my sheet, which has her updated readout below it.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_xo...dit?usp=sharing

~~

Nettle shakes herself out of her stupor and heads north to the Standard Barracks. She notices a crack, followed by noticing an urge for mindless destruction. With a flick of her staff CANE, she sends 10 thicc roots through the wall in the hope of pulverising it.

~~

Meanwhile, Toast is still at it with the eggs. She idly strikes up a conversation while she slowly taps an egg against the rim of pan.

"So do you think that cooking is more of a practice thing or just like... natural talent. Since I have neither of those."

However, when she looks back to the pan, she finds that she's not only cracked the egg, but also poured it into the pan without leaving a trace of eggshell. Naturally, she's somewhat bewildered at this.

Auth smiles as Nana allows Auth to tend to her injuries. Act of faith in her... and Auth appreciates the honesty and confidence. No needless "I'm okay" or "It's not that bad"... Auth much prefers not needing to fuss as much over someone.

AUTH: Well, that's fair. Most people aren't good with pain, you know. You don't really seem like someone who would be...
AUTH: Good as new! You'll be right as rain now. Don't worry, I'll be looking out for you. Please protect me in turn, though... the Thyme Field is a major inhibitor for me.

Auth grins as Nana clutches his hand as they walk through the Catacomb. He's got night-vision, to some extent, as a vampire... so he can keep her from getting hurt. Still... perhaps he should make a torch. Auth takes some iron ingots, and a Shimmering Cluster and a Mantle Cluster, creating a bright torch that shines through the dark. It looks like the torch from Darkest Dungeon, with the Clusters instead of flames.

Auth keeps looking back to Nana, to ensure she's safe as they walk together.

----

Auth sighs, shaking his head as Omo comes back to her senses.

AUTH: It's what I usually use when people get status effects. When they forget their pain they tend to be able to bear it a little better. Glad to see you're alright...

Auth looks down to his sword. Shiny and black, but it shines with impossible colours... intriguing and impressive, all sorts of pretty. Like a rainbow, but it feels quite a lot more impressive, more impactful than a regular rainbow. Auth seems quite pleased at the compliment.

AUTH: I made it myself... a replication of my sword, Inkscalibur. The colours... well, you'll probably see. I think they'll be quite useful when it comes to battle, since I can induce status effects in our allies that will help. Like accelerated health regeneration or energy recovery.

Auth smiles, as he listens to what Nana says about her garden...

AUTH: I actually saw Lutea earlier. She seems to be taking care of your garden, don't worry.
AUTH: Omo, if you're back to your senses...
AUTH: I wanted to thank you for your advice and your help. It meant a great deal... made what I wanted to say much easier to convey.

Auth turns back to Nana, laughing and chuckling quietly... if it wasn't obvious enough to Omo what he's referring to before, it should be quite clear now. He's thanking her for her advice about Chairian customs. However, turning back like that... also makes some changes quite obvious since they last interacted. The back of Auth's head, where his hair normally is, seems to instead be covered in something that looks like leaves, but is in Auth's hair colour... except for the tips of some of the longest - which take on the colour of autumn. Along with the bark-like patterns now faintly present on his skin... and the new hardness of his skin...

If one didn't know any better, they'd almost think Auth was transforming into a Chairian. A ridiculous notion if it were a member of any other group, perhaps.

Hello yes I still exist.


Skillpoint changes.
Calibri: Remove 1 HP skillpoint, add 2 STR skillpoint
Verdana: Remove 1 RES skillpoint, add 2 INT skillpoint

No RP for now. I have no idea what to do, quite honestly.

Dialogue format dump zone

...I'm sorry, but I must leave.
This is as far as I'm willing to accompany you, healer or no healer.
I have the distinct feeling that something much bigger is just on the horizon, and I wish to not be forced to participate in it.
Don't worry, someone will take my place - someone always will.
But be warned, fellow Spherebreakers.
You're about to exit the eye of the storm.

Keiko left a piece of paper on the ground. You look at it...

ht tp s://i.g yazo.c om /e8c 877 e0f1 e5 73a7 373b6 6eb1 14 00 f0b.png

Kalis invests their new skillpoint in a level of Manafuelled for Chaos Bolt.

"So. Um. As you may have noticed, I really didn't mean to end up here. Can anyone tell me where I am, what that miniboss I just shot was, whose dungeon this is and what quest we're supposed to be completing?"

As they talk, they explore their new surroundings. Pit of corpses, pit of fire, torches and eyeballs protruding from the walls, collapsed ceiling, fast travel system wow, this dungeon's got it all. You take the time to try to smash open the Plasteel Cart and claim the loot within.

Droplet

Venia pays no heed to Droplet's words as she responds.

"Clocktwitch. AKA Tracer Syndrome Type B, or Chronological Displacement Disorder. Clocktwitch is basically the space-time continuum throwing a 404 on you, which is why you suddenly have clones of yourself appear all over the place, and occasionally you wind up in their place or, more often, back where you were a few seconds ago. As time continues to feel its violated it'll either get better on its own, or get worse, depending on how much energy was put into you. 'Worse' in this case meaning that your jumps get longer, more constant, and more severe, occasionally leaving you directly in the timestream instead of anywhere 'normal,' and eventually culminating in the jumps, well, thinking your limbs are in different times. And suddenly, your organs are five years ago and you are so very very dead."

Venia shrugs.

"If you'd fancy your bets on how much Daikon put into your chronological distortion as being on a low estimate, I won't need to do anything. That said, neither of us believe that. Consider it lucky I have the materials on hand for neutralizing temporal enchantments."

---

Exploration woo

Venia's future self appearifies in the Chapel and heads south. That is all.

---

Everground

The Maid's in danger! As such she immediately lobs a canister of nanomachines upwards. The canister hits the ceiling and rains down its contents onto Pionobot, Mustache Girl, and of course the Maid itself, doing as much as it can to restore the hit points of those present.

---

Maria

Maria's answer is quickly lost to the earsplitting noise occuring on the other tower, which draws her attention for a solid minute. "WHOA! It's Venny! She's doin' something awesome! Look, look!"

She stares in awe.

---

DATE PREP WOO

A near-future Venia appears at the Altar Garden and immediately begins setting up stuff for a nice picnic. A blanket more suitable for a high-class bed than the wood/dirt beneath her (albeit proofed against such), a basket of food (including ice cream and sushi), a few cushions, and other such. Nothing too flashy or extreme right out of the gate. Food is good.

Pope Bill goes to the Clearing in Zone 1 to go trick-or-treating, specifically where the jack-o-lanterns are. He selects a random jack-o-lantern, then mumbles to himself, thus:

"This stuff better be good..."

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED NINETY>

Let's get to work now, shall we?

---

Crya follows Chloe into the Chapel. I guess she's there now. At the very least, Chloe seems to appreciate the company.

---

Brutishace smacks a cart! Or, more accurately, he blasts the underside of the Plasteel Cart with a magical bolt, splitting open the bottom of the cart! 15 units of Plasteel fall out the bottom. He then examines the contents of the cart. It's normal Plasteel- a light blue metal, pressed into a flat sheet. It's light enough to hold (and swing) with ease, yet durable enough to withstand light arms fire. Handy, isn't it?

He also invests a Skill Point into Twin Serpents / Jolts, leveling it up.

---

Echoss continues his usual work. To begin, his golems continue piecing together the house. As for resources, should I be expending them now as you progressively build the house, or will you explicitly expend them at some point? Anyway, it seems that all the walls have been constructed on the first floor.

Then, after a brief spiel with some person named Terrence within the basement, Echoss returns to the surface, ready to resume work on the house. He apologizes for his absence.

OMORIKA: It was hardly a problem, sir Echoss.
OMORIKA: Welcome back.

He then goes out with Chloe to go and gather a few materials! He heads out into the woods with Chloe (and her Harvest Golem), eventually coming back with a large bundle of wild Silkweed. The two of them then spend some time carefully spinning into roughly 120 pieces of Simple Fabric.

CHLOE: That was... well, not really exhausting, but kinda tedious.
CHLOE: Whatever, though.
CHLOE: C'mon, let's go and fetch that candy!
CHLOE: It'll be a nice treat to reward our hard work~

Chloe and Echoss then head off to the portal, and a few moments later, return with some vague amount of Earth-branded candy. It's divided into portions- most of it is for Willow, a few pieces are left over for Chloe (and maybe Echoss) to enjoy, and the remaining 4 pieces are transformed into generic Chocobars, which enter the inventory.

CHLOE: Oh, why don't you go and deliver that bundle to WIllow?
CHLOE: I'll be right here~

Chloe happily begins to feast on her share as Echoss heads out, delivering basically a whole Halloween's haul of candy to Willow.

WILLOW: Helix have mercy on my diet.
WILLOW: This... is simply too good!
WILLOW: Thank you, Echoss!
SALIX: Yes. Thank you, sir Echoss.
SALIX: I shall ensure that Willow eats more than just candy, so don't worry about her.
SALIX: In addition... I may enjoy a few pieces myself.
WILLOW: That's fine.
WILLOW: Clausa, you can have some, too!
CLAUSA: Um, alright.

Candy is passed around the Southern Guard Tower. It's a nice moment of respite for the trio. Unbeknownst to them, Echoss is also working somewhere within the Rosen Catacombs, popping into the Chapel and pops a spear of darkness into the neck of the Absolver, killing them due to multi-hit mechanics. This somehow goes unnoticed. Probably thanks to the generally dim lighting.

CHLOE: Whew.
CHLOE: I was worried he was gonna notice us.
CHLOE: Thanks for the help!

To wrap up this post, Pionobot quickly drops down a floor within the Everground, then launches a tree down towards the Bastion's exposed segment! The tree embeds itself within the Bastion, dealing (20) damage! He then lands on the trunk of the tree, slides down it, and slashes at the Bastion for (8) damage! The Bastion retaliates by firing a plume of flame that consumes the tree and Pionobot, dealing (10) damage to him whilst melting the tree, destroying whatever useful items it had. Pionobot falls to the east of the Crystal Bastion.

---

Chara explains how the Sun made a Stone with a Bazaar. It probably makes sense in context, but Chloe lacks said context. Chara notes that the "Failbetterverse" is wonky.

CHLOE: "Wonky" is an understatement...
CHLOE: I... geez.
CHLOE: The universe is weird, isn't it?

Chara then states her intentions of wanting to get to know Chloe better. She asks where she's from, and if she could recount her experiences from the Mindscape.

CHLOE: Oh, I come from Earth.
CHLOE: Probably not your Earth, as I think our Earth would be aware if the sun was somehow sentient...

CHLOE: As for the Mindscape incident, I suppose I was technically involved in it.
CHLOE: A different version of me was inside of Chaos's head, and really, you'd be better off talking with her, or maybe just Chaos or Marron...
CHLOE: Chaos is the guy with the Mindscape, and Marron was born in the mindscape.
CHLOE: They're probably your best bets.

Then, in an unprecedented feat of DTG-ness, Chara decides to begin accumulating Charge Points. It is unclear as to what effect this will have on the universe, if any. While theoretically(?) this should be impossible without the presence of a Godmodder, we can still see what happens!

---

Bow Kid follows Chloe into the Chapel, hiding behind Chloe as she (supposedly) enters battle. Fortunately, nothing in the room seems to be actively after them. Chloe gently runs her hand through Bow Kid's hair, doing her best to be confident.

CHLOE: Don't worry.
CHLOE: I'll protect you, alright?
CHLOE: Just stay behind me, and things will turn out just fine.

Elsewhere, Mustache Girl shatters the damaged segment of the Crystal Bastion with her Cloud Cannon! This is enough to fell the beast, it crashing to the ground with a loud thud! The destroyed segment breaks into 10 Searing Clusters. Having triumphed over the beast, Mustache Girl is able to free something from the corpse: Crystalline Fortress (Armor) obtained! This instantly warps itself into the inventory.

Back in the House, Boshi decides to repair and upgrade the dining area! He expertly crafts a table from 2 Bronzewood and 8 Megabark, completing a new dining table. He also pieces together ten chairs using 5 Megabark, 10 Silkweed, and a Spiralfloof Floofball! Marron, who's in the area, already appreciates the fruits of his labor.

MARRON: Oh, cool.
MARRON: Guess we're not eating dinner on the floor tonight.
MARRON: Thanks for the help!

Now nobody in the Spherebreakers will need to know the unimaginable hell that is eating without a table

---

Nettle bodies a wall. Heading to the Standard Barracks, Nettle forces a barrage of 10 roots through the wall. This easily smashes through the wall! She then presses through to find what appears to be a converted storage room. Various prison cells and cages are scattered about the room, filled with what seems to be sleeping Iti. A Maw stands in the center of the room, singing some sort of song. Or at least, they were, until Nettle smashed both the wall and its concentration. Another cultist in the room begins to panic, yelling at Nettle.

CULTIST: NO WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING
CULTIST: WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT
CULTIST: YOU'VE DISTRACTED OUR GUY SINGING THE SLEEP SONG
CULTIST: NOW THEY'RE GONNA-

The sound of cracking stone and clattering metal bars emits from the back of the room.

CULTIST: they're gonna break out
CULTIST: and now we're gonna die

Ah. This might end badly.

- = S T R I F E ! = -

...Elsewhere, in a place that's not about to get ravaged by Iti, Toast asks Marron if cooking is more of a practice sorta thing, or a natural talent sorta thing.

MARRON: Oh, it's definitely a practice sorta thing.
MARRON: Ette and I did a whole lotta baking n' stuff to get this good, y'know.
MARRON: ...I mean sure, we WERE technically created with innate cooking knowledge, but the rest of it was us developing our craft.
MARRON: Just keep at it, and you'll probably be able to-

Crack. An egg perfectly slides into the frying pan.

MARRON: ...to do that.

Her eyes light up, sparkles practically visible within them. She pulls Toast into a hug, grinning from ear to ear all the while.

MARRON: Toaster! You did it!
MARRON: You cracked an egg perfectly!
MARRON: I knew you'd be able to do it eventually!

After about a minute of celebration, Marron pulls back. She then grabs a fork from a drawer, handing it to Toast, blunt-side towards her.

MARRON: Okay, next step!
MARRON: Wait, we cracked it directly into the pan, so ideally, we'll need to pour into into a bowl...
MARRON: Here, just let me...

Marron, not wanting to risk the egg just yet, decides to pour the egg from the pan into a simple bowl.

MARRON: Next step but actually!
MARRON: Scrambling!
MARRON: So basically, how I like to do it is to rapidly whisk the fork around, trying to break the yolk up as much as I can with the prongs of the fork.
MARRON: Of course, if you do it too fast, you'll make a mess, so just try and take it slow, We're not aiming for speed.
MARRON: A bit like... this.

She mimics the whisking motion that you're meant to make with the fork, taking care to not do too much of the work for Toast.

MARRON: There. Like that.
MARRON: Wanna give it a try? With telekinesis, of course.

Marron leaves the fork in the bowl, then steps aside for Toast to give it a try. The seamstress ponders to herself if it's best to only do one egg's worth of scramble, then nods to herself. Baby steps.

---

Auth tends to Nana, fixing the poor girl's various cuts and bruises. She smiles gently as Auth tells her that she'll be alright. Then, just to help Nana see in the dark, he pieces together a torch with a bar of Iron, a Shimmering Cluster, and a Mantle Cluster! She eagerly takes the torch, holding it tightly in the hand that's not clinging onto Auth's.

NANA: O-Oh, thank you!
NANA: T-This helps a lot, a-actually being able to see more than a-a few feet in front of me...

With her new gift in hand, the two of them chat with Omo. Auth shows off his sword to the librarian. Inkscalibur! A magical sword that cures status effects with the power of rainbows. Or something.

OMORIKA: Ah, how fascinating.
OMORIKA: Magical colors. A novel concept.
OMORIKA: While I would ask for an explanation of how they work, I figure I'll discover it in due time.
OMORIKA: In addition, you have already explained it to Miss Elem, so it would be redundant.

Auth then notes to Nana how he saw Lutea taking care of the garden earlier.

NANA: Oh, s-she's still doing well?
NANA: T-Thank goodness...
NANA: Hopefully Beluta's able to keep the both of them safe... but h-he's a Sage, y'know!
NANA: He can do w-what Omo can do! Summon things.
NANA: I-I mean, he's not as good, b-but...
OMORIKA: Even a novice Sage is more than a match for a few Iti.
OMORIKA: I'm sure that your family will be fine.
NANA: I-If you're sure, t-then okay!

He also takes a moment to thank Omo for her advice. She smiles gently.

OMORIKA: It was not a problem.
OMORIKA: I'm glad to see that your... "meeting" went well.

...Omo gives Auth's body a quizzical stare.

OMORIKA: Author?
OMORIKA: Is something happening to your body?
OMORIKA: It's... quite curious. I'm fairly certain that when I met you, you weren't a halfbreed of any sort...
OMORIKA: And looking at you now, you seem to be the hypothetical offspring of both Chairian and a human.
OMORIKA: Hm...

Omo continues to stare down Auth's body. Nana's getting the slightest bit confused about what's happening, but chooses to not speak up. It's probably out of her caliber, anyway.

---

Kalis +1's their Chaos Bolt, then tries to find somebody to talk to. Their musings manage to attract the attention of a puppeteer, who walks over to them. Marron. She seems the slightest bit annoyed at their presence.

MARRON: ...Oh, another new guy.
MARRON: How'd you get here, anyway? Everyone arrives here in some weird, convoluted way...
MARRON: Whatever. Welcome to the team, I guess.

MARRON: As for where the hell this is... this is the Rose Cult's base. The "Rosen Catacombs", or something.
MARRON: The Rose Cult's like... a bunch of people who worship a big ol' butterfly who wants to gorilla the very idea of existence, and basically kill everyone.
MARRON: Our... "quest" is to kill the Butterfly and destroy a Sphere that'll do said gorillaing of the universe.
MARRON: Pretty basic stuff, I guess.

Marron then peeks into the Clownverted Barracks, notices a clown trying to sneak out of the room, then pops them in the head.

MARRON: ...I guess you were fighting the Dark Carnival in there?
MARRON: Basically demon clowns. I dunno.
MARRON: Haven't seen them in awhile.

Marron decides to hang around them, wanting to learn exactly which plane of existence they hail from. And maybe learn their gender, as no pronouns have been thrown around yet.

---

Venia does a variety of things! First, she diagnoses Droplet's condition. Something similar to what happened to Tracer, which is honestly basically what it is. Droplet's naturally defensive as Venia gives her diagnosis.

DROPLET: How can you possibly have a diagnosis for this?
DROPLET: Like, a scientific one.
DROPLET: Has this somehow happened to somebody else before?
DROPLET: ...Okay. Sure.
DROPLET: I'll push aside however unlikely that is and just assume you know what the hell you're doing.

Venia withdraws 5 Bronzewood, a Barrel of Unseasoned Hours, a Heavenly Regalia, and a Masterwork Spellbook. She also ends up using a Crystal Pen, A Surprising Lack of Death, and the Chronopiece from Auth's accomplishments inventory. While the process would (likely) be more expensive, having what's literally raw time in the inventory is quite handy! As a maid works with the barrel, Venia asks Droplet a few questions. Does she know exactly what's happening with the Sphere?

DROPLET: From what I know, the leading theory is that it'll explode. Destroy a third of the universe.
DROPLET: Honestly, though?
DROPLET: I think that theory is full of gorilla.

DROPLET: We have those crazy-gorilla butterflies with godly power gravitating towards that thing.
DROPLET: If the Sphere really is going to blow up with enough power to gib a third of the universe, why the hell are they going straight to the bomb?
DROPLET: They're not going to disarm it. I don't know why they would.
DROPLET: And I seriously doubt anything could tank an explosion that'd destroy so much.
DROPLET: I think that there's some weird gorilla going on.
DROPLET: Something that'll still destroy roughly a third of the universe, but still.

DROPLET: I never really gave the Sphere much thought until I became grey.
DROPLET: Must've been the effects of the hivemind, or something.

Venia also theorizes that the hivemind was what led led her and the other Iti to attack the group. The Eliti shrugs.

DROPLET: Dunno. Probably.
DROPLET: I probably would've still beat the gorilla out of you anyway, and I'm sure that a lot of other Iti would've attacked, regardless of color.
DROPLET: More animalistic grey Iti like the Seekers tend to be more aggressive by nature.
DROPLET: More humanoid grey Iti like the Harmonizers are almost polite.
DROPLET: I saw a grey Blossom once, but they were a dipgorilla and tried to blow me up.
DROPLET: Of course, with the Sphere involved, I'm pretty sure no matter what, they'd attack you.

With the questions out of the way, Venia's maid finishes her infusion process. Grasping the spellbook tight, Venia consumes the spellbook with a wave of goo, before melding with a she made of Bronzewood. A beam of light surges out of the device, towards Droplet!

DROPLET: HEY WHAT THE gorilla-

The beam snipes Droplet, despite her best efforts to avoid it. She spews temporal energy out of a fresh "wound" the beam created, which is more like a small fissure in timespace. It leaks a considerably higher amount of timestuff before sealing back up. Droplet is forced to lean against the railings of the tower for balance.

DROPLET: I'm... I-I think I'm okay...
DROPLET: J-Just... I feel kinda... lightheaded?
DROPLET: Couldn't you have made this feel any less... awful?

A few seconds pass before Droplet says anything else.

DROPLET: I haven't randomly teleported anywhere in the last few seconds, so I think I'm okay.
DROPLET: I mean, if feeling like you're going to both vomit and faint is "okay".
DROPLET: I'm fine. Just peachy.
DROPLET: Please take this before I collapse on it or drop it or something.

She produces a vial from her pocket, and hands it to Venia. Godblossom Extract obtained! Droplet continues to slump against the bars, not doing much of anything. Maybe it's for the best at the moment. In fact, maybe she should get something proper to rest on, instead of some flimsy old bars.

Meanwhile, in the future, Venia goes south of the Chapel. She stumbles into a central hallway, and is met with a somewhat large legion of Damned. She sees a crimson blur moving back and forth, placing more Damned into position. Magnolia. Again. She accidentally punks a Damned into the ground at such a high velocity that it eggs against the ground, splattering against the ground.

MAGNOLIA: Oh! Hi!
MAGNOLIA: Hi again!
MAGNOLIA: You're a bit early, but I think I'm ready to play again!
MAGNOLIA: This time, I have my army, and they're gonna help me beat you!
EXECUTIONER: um, Magnolia, ma'am
MAGNOLIA: What is it?
EXECUTIONER: do we really need this thing

The Executioner nervously points to a large ball of twisted wood that's been bound up in chains. The ball shudders and presses against the chains, but to no avail. The other cultists in the area stare at it uneasily.

MAGNOLIA: Yes! Absolutely!
MAGNOLIA: He's a good guy!
MAGNOLIA: He's also the victory key!

The Executioner sighs. Why does she need to have a position of power?

MAGNOLIA: Okay! Everyone!
MAGNOLIA: Attack! Go! Yeah!

- = S T R I F E ! = -

Elsewhere, down in the Everground, Venia's Maid throws a healing canister upwards! This rains down on the party, restoring (8) HP to everyone. Handy! The healing's also a bit higher than what you'd normally get, as all foes in the area are down. Maria also observes Venia doing a thing to Droplet from the other tower. Mari observes this as well.

MARI: ...What'd she do?
MARI: And why's that cute chick look like she's gonna vomit?
MARI: Why are there some Iti up there, anyway?

MARI: I'd say "let's visit Venia", but there's a whole lotta Iti on that tower, and that'd probably end badly.
MARI: You wanna go meet Venia at like... the base of the other tower?
MARI: Or do you wanna stay up here?

While Mari levels up her babysitting skill, Venia levels up her romance skill by preparing the Altar Garden for her date! It's a quick and simple process, but any amount of prep is sure to make Nia happy. Now, maybe it's time to invite her over?

---

Pope goes trick-or-treating! He visits the hell that is the Everground, as there's some guy giving out treats in the Everground. A ladder later, and he's able to meet with a friendly Rose Cultist down in the Everground!

CHOSEN: hi
CHOSEN: happy... fruit holiday?
CHOSEN: this orange thing is a fruit, right
CHOSEN: i dunno
CHOSEN: anyway, enjoy your treat!

He slaps 30 whole slabs of Spider Meat into Pope's probably-existent pumpkin pail. The sound it makes is absolutely disgusting. There's also a bottle of Chairian Brew among the hunks of spider meat. That might actually be handy.

CHOSEN: is there anything in life that's better than a few slabs of meat and alcohol that's not actually alcohol?
CHOSEN: probably not
CHOSEN: happy fruit holiday!

...Where to now? Odds are, in a few weeks, the pumpkins will all spontaneously combust or something.

---

<ITI HOLDING PENS, ROUND ONE>
This may be a bit scary. Only three mandatory targets- the two Sirens and the Vilebaron! They're all big, scary-ish Iti, so be careful when dealing with them! Be sure to review the Siren's abilities- they have a psuedo mindcontrol effect that might ruin your life! Anyway, you can make the decision as to whether you take this slowly, or go and dive all of the required targets. The path is yours to climb!

<SOUTH CHAPEL HALL, ROUND ONE>
Magnolia's back! She's a little further away this time, which means she'll have time to buff herself up. Watch out for when she has Swift! As for the rest of the map... the Shackled may become a VERY LARGE PROBLEM should it wake up and become an Unbound. Try and either knock it off the map right away, or be careful with your attacks to minimize its SP gain!

As an additional bonus, the Codex Proelium has been updated with all three previous battles! Happy... recollecting? Yeah!