Leaf puts two points in DEF and requests Rubbery Arms be reflected in the weapon stats and readout.

Doc walks back over to his small makeshift workshop in the wreckage. In one hand, he carries a vial with an unrecognizable sample in it. Getting down on his knees, he pulls out a few ramshackle tools and pours out the sample.

A few minutes later, after doing a lot of seemingly random things, there's a sound like a firework shooting off, and a clear, slightly-white liquid is all that remains in the vial.

Doc: Hmm. This tincture would make for a fine sealant.

Doc pulls a decently-sized jar from his belt, pours in the small quantity of liquid, and sprinkles in a dash of unidentified flakes. The liquid bubbles and fizzes, and the quantity in the jar seems to multiply dramatically. As the fizzing stops, Doc pulls out a brush and, sticking it in the jar, spreads the concoction over his armored robe. By the time he's covered his entire suit with the liquid, most of it has dried into invisibility and the jar is all but empty.

Doc: Ah, good. It looks like I haven't lost my touch with my measurement abilities.

Doc's maximum HP increases by 4.

Sakura, somehow having gotten turned around on the way to the southeast, ends up going to the northeast instead. Completely oblivious to her misnavigation, she's nonetheless elated to discover a pile of... scrap metal. Oh. What elation she had immediately fades into nothingness. But still... maybe there's something nice amidst the scraps? But like HELL she'll dig on her own. Her poor, poor, dainty royal limbs were not made for such labor. At least there's another technique she can use.

SAKURA: Been a bit since I've used this trick.
SAKURA: It's such a brain pain, but it beats... pain pain.
SAKURA: Yeah.
SAKURA: Helix, I hope nobody heard me say that.

Sitting cross-legged on the snow, Sakura performs an action not dissimilar to meditation. Her eyes shut. A nearby tree unmakes itself, splitting into two equal wooden masses. They swim forth through the snow, jagged, misshapen limbs pulling them along. They each come to a stop in front of Sakura. Then, eyes open, Sakura places her palms upon each mass. Splinters shower the snowdrift as each mass hatches, unspeakable horrors emerging from their tombs.

Two crude, Microsoft Paint approximations of Seekers manifest. Constructs made of wood, their will linked to Sakura's own.

SAKURA: Yep. Still got it.
SAKURA: Omorika, eat my gorilla.

These two ramshackle Seekers flop forth with the grace of a Level 52 Paralyzed Shiny Magikarp. They spin and swirl into the snow surrounding the metal, doing their best to reveal the buried mechanism at (AN59). While their digging style could be approximated to using a tornado to clear a pile of leaves, perhaps it'll work out? Once enough of the device is freed, Sakura will take matters into her own hands, attempting to pluck the device right out of the ground like it was a Pikmin or something.

SAKURA: God, this better have had been worth the effort...

Should she have succeeded in her excavation, she'll examine the device. Or if she doesn't succeed, she'll examine it anyway. She'll also +1 her SPC.

Boring stuff out of the way first:

+1 to RES

This concludes our presentation of the boring stuff.

The Outlands

As Lentinula and Ilex chat, there is a shuffling sound in the snow and something that sounds just different enough from dog panting to be mildly distressing.

LENTINULA: Oh dear.
Ilex: Please don't tell me that's what I think it is…
LENTINULA: I've done enough of this kind of thing to be absolutely certain it is.

Sure enough, bouncing along the ground like a particularly "hey something is wrong with your" dog, there comes the gorged, carrying the (remnants of) the tree branch in its jaws. It sits down a few feet from Ilex and Lentinula, deposits the branch pieces on the ground, and tries to wag the tail it does not have.

LENTINULA: ...oops.
Ilex: I… honestly didn't know what I was expecting.
Ilex: If we're lucky, it might stop following us if we ignore it.
Ilex: I'm afraid I might be the proud owner of a pet Iti now though…
LENTINULA: I suppose there could be worse things.
LENTINULA: Most pets don't get smarter as they get older.
LENTINULA: Iti tend to get smarter and stronger as they grow, though it's not a hard rule.
Ilex: I mean, I suppose…
Ilex: It still doesn't solve the fact that I'm gonna become a Chairian chewtoy for… who knows how long, though…

Ilex reaches down and reluctantly pets the Gorged's head. It makes a strange clicking sound that is (barely) reminiscent of a dog panting. As he turns away, the Gorged snaps at Ilex's hand playfully, biting it but mercifully not latching on again.

Ilex: Ow…
LENTINULA: Hmm...
LENTINULA: I could... um... if it's not an issue we could make you some quick handwraps and like...
LENTINULA: Chew toys? So that it's not actually chewing on YOU.
Ilex: That's not a bad idea. Would definitely beat having my hand chewed up.
LENTINULA: O-okay! Give me just a moment.

Lentinula buzzes over to a nearby fallen tree trunk, and bits of light flicker off of her and down to the ground.

LENTINULA: Right... right... it went like...

There is a soft 'fwiff' and the snow swirls up over the bark of the tree, compressing down into rods of ice. Almost looking like... hands, in fact. She flies over the top of it depositing brown dust as she goes...

LENTINULA: aaaand...

...and right before Ilex's eyes, mushrooms spring up out of the trunk and grow upwards. Some of them stop as simply mushrooms on the trunk, but others grow up around the ice rods until they look almost like arm warmers or elbow length gloves.

LENTINULA: There! You'll probably need to do a little bit of knife work to make the armwraps not get in the way, but they should be springy enough to keep the iti's teeth off your bark.
LENTINULA: And like, the rest of the mushrooms should be good chew toys.
LENTINULA: I usually use these ones to distract wildlife. Which is. I guess what we're using them for now.

Ilex walks over and picks up one of the handwraps, managing to get it on with a bit of effort. He clenches and unclenches his hand a few times.

Ilex: Thanks a lot! It's a little bit stiffer than I was expecting, but should be no big deal.
Ilex: And it definitely beats being eaten by an Iti, that's for sure.
LENTINULA: Most things are better than being eaten by wildlife.
LENTINULA: It's not a fun experience.
Ilex: Tell me about it.

Ilex equips the other armwrap, and grabs the remaining mushrooms off of the tree. He brings one over to the Gorged, and tosses it away for the Gorged to catch. It chases after it, chittering excitedly.

Ilex: I suppose we should probably name it? Seeing as we most likely have no choice but to keep it.
LENTINULA: I'm admittedly not much of a 'pets' person.
LENTINULA: You'd probably be better at giving it a reasonable name.
Ilex: Okay. Well in that case…
Ilex: Uhhhh… Chewie. I guess. I'm not great with names either.
Ilex: And it is fitting, since it did try to chew my arm off earlier.
LENTINULA: I suppose it's descriptive if nothing else!

"Nothing new?"

Offtopic stretches. He then attempts to crack his shoulder, and pushes something a bit too far out of place.

"OW"

After that misunderstanding of human anatomy, Offtopic decides what to do next with all the snow. Since a snowman would be too generic for him, he starts pooling up snow in his hands for later, until he's created a snow-blob about the size of a campfire.

Conclusion - The Wreckage

Blacklight dusts himself off after the battle.

"While a messy affair, I'd say this team handled it well. Now, onto other business..."

He takes a moment to inspect the Fell Beast carcasses, making absolutely sure that everything worth salvaging has been salvaged. No need to be wasteful, even if much of a Fell Beast is worth very little.

Then, he leaves that area, looking for somewhere to go. Checking the map a few times, he can see that most of the areas have already been pushed into by others. But there are a few avenues left for exploration.

First of all, by analyzing different zones near the borders of explored areas, he notices a big gap where there could potentially be something of note... East of the Mountains Trailhead, North of the Frozen Pond, West of the Outlands. All those positions together leave behind a conspicuously large hole, and with no reason to believe nobody can get there... He tries to find a way in, if only so he can decide whether there's anything important enough to note down.

Failing that, he instead moves to the Mountains Trailhead area, moving to explore North. Not too far, since in the local conditions, getting lost would leave him vulnerable to an ambush from helix knows what. But at least far enough that he can hopefully lift the metaphorical veil on a bit more of the terrain.

Eroa puts 2 points into SKI.

SUPER KEANE MCZUPP WONDER

KEANE: doot dooo doodoodoo

---

Skylar

:skylar:

SKYLAR: :3

---

Meanwhile In Paigeland...

QUOTE (Sparked @ Jun 27 2023, 02:56 AM)

MEANWHILE, AT PAIGELAND... Eroa, before she can truly respond, is roped into an assault of selfies. After that is done… EROA: Ah, oh my! Not even time to set myself up! EROA: You’re quite something, to just walk up to someone and do that… Eroa looks down at Paige for a moment. Any lectures that Eroa would have laid upon Paige are suddenly wiped from her mind. How could she do that to this little girl? EROA: …I think I can let it slide. EROA: Now, lets see here… Eroa observes each picture, with each picture showing nothing but sudden shock from her. Eroa stops Paige near the end. EROA: Aha, I think this one is the one! Your smile is the brightest here. This is almost certainly a lie, but again, how could she let Paige down?

PAIGE: Awright! (≧∇≦)/
PAIGE: ...Any caption in particular you want?

Paige begins tapping away again, no doubt getting ready to Post. Hoo Boy.

<ROUND 16>

Debbie goes looking for an expert in Grey Iti biology. She retrieves Professor Skylar, whose doctorate is not officially recognized by any institution on Sussui.

Skylar greets the Grey Iti in their den. The Iti don’t seem to recognize Skylar’s language, but they do seem significantly less uncomfortable around the newcomer than Debbie. The Gorged (separate from the other Gorged currently chasing Lentinula and Ilex), the bravest of the bunch, jumps onto Skylar’s head, balancing like a large, slightly disturbing cat and bats at the Ohmnic’s face area.

Meanwhile, construction work. Debbie’s simulacrums (along with a quick Nature Power drive-by by Debbie herself) use the obtained logs to set up a campfire. Cozy.

Finally, Debbie gains +1 to MHP again.

---

Pardon plays some music for the recent battlers. The Wreckage crew feel their wounds and mana pools recovering at an accelerated rate.

R-8733: Ooh, pretty music!
R-8733: Thanks for the boost, Mr. Dragon!

He also +1s his SPC, saving the other skill point for later.

---

Leaf +2s their defense. Their character sheet also updates to reflect Rubbery Arms, though their readout already reflected it.

---

Doc +2s his MHP with a new sealant. Hopefully it’s not a pollutant.

---

Sakura uses woodmancy in probably-illegal fashion. Seriously, after the whole Perfect Chairians incident, that has to be frowned upon by the church at the very least. Luckily, Sakura does not care.

Digging up the device in the scrapyard with her new artificial servants, she retrieves a device known as the Compound Reassembler. To me, at least. You can call it whatever you want. As Sakura toys with the device, she discovers a bin in which seemingly anything can be inserted, and a screen that allows the 3D printing of whatever design the user can possibly sketch. The device looks similar to Cypress’s designs, incorporating elements of Tabletopian technology into a Chairian design sensibility. How it ended up in these woods remains a mystery for another day.

In short, crafting has been unlocked! Check the rules to see how it works. (Craftposts are dead, though. You can still write one if you really want, but it will not make your item any better.)

---

Ilex and Lentinula continue their chat, alongside the Grey Gorged. Now labeled “Chewie.” The two appear to have accidentally acquired a new pet.

Ilex also +1s his RES, his shields growing even stronger.

---

Offtopic begins building something out of snow. Somewhere.

We’ll put him at (Q15) for now.

---

Blacklight attempts to explore east of the Mountains Trailhead. Indeed, there is nothing stopping him from exploring there… aside from the lack of anything interesting in the area, besides snow and trees.

---

Eroa +2s her SKI. Soon, she will become Destiny, critical of hitters.

---

Chi begins to gather the party around the newly built campfire, igloo, and tent.

CHI: Thank you all for the help setting this shelter up.
CHI: We’ll make our way north up the mountain paths in the morning. I advise you to get whatever rest you’re able to.
CHI: It’s still a long trek to Amora from here, and the road will likely be hazardous.
CHI: I only hope we find the town unharmed when we arrive…

Eroa takes a moment to think of a caption for her selfie of her and Paige.

EROA: (This really brings me back to my social media influencer era…)
EROA: Ah… Hm…
EROA: “Deep in the snow with a Scroombie!”?
EROA: …no, that doesn’t really work.
EROA: …Hmmmm…
EROA: …well, I chose a picture, so why don’t you make a caption for both of us? It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted on a platform in this manner. Godhood made me drop a lot of things, really.

Sakura, now a professional Sage, celebrates her brand new spoils. Who would've thought that she'd find something of actual value in the wreckage out here? Now, the eternal question... how much can a crafting system sell for?

SAKURA: Wait. I don't need to sell this.
SAKURA: Why sell this for money, when I can use this to produce things to sell for money?
SAKURA: Plus, maybe I can fix up my clothes, get something that's not a gorillain' popsicle to defend myself...
SAKURA: If only we had some Gaiameld. Then I could recreate my trusty polearm.
SAKURA: ...Maybe there's some in the wreckage over there? At the very least, there's probably something valuable.

Her two abominable wooden "Extra Perfect" Seekers flop forwards towards the bits of scrap metal in the area, excavating each and every little fragment and shoving it into the Inventory. Unfortunately, this process proves to be too strenuous to Sakura's shoddy little constructs, causing Galahad and Lancelot to deform and splinter themselves across the snow. She does not mourn their loss.

SAKURA: ...Can this thing bake?
SAKURA: God, I would kill for a pastry right now.
SAKURA: 'Course, we'd need Blockmelon, flour, egg...
SAKURA: Helix, please let there be a supermarket out here.
SAKURA: A supermarket that accepts... whatever gorilla I can make.
SAKURA: Speaking of which, I should test this baby out.

Sakura takes a single piece of Fell Beast Hide and two hunks of Fell Flesh, and haphazardly shoves it into the Compound Reassembler. With surprising precision, grace, and color composition, Sakura sketches upon the device's screen, a... meat packet. Word, that's disgusting, Sakura. Ideally, this would create...

(T3) Fell Beast Hot Pocket (Consumable)
A tightly bundled wad of meat, wrapped in leather. Has a... special aroma, stealing the attention of all sorts of creatures.
Spawn a Hot Pocket within Range 1-5. It has 25 HP and 1 AC. Wildlife and Iti within Range 1-2 of it will be driven to attack it. Whatever lands the killing blow on the Meaty Lure restores (10-10) HP. (Adjust values as you see fit.)

SAKURA: i am a GENIUS

Yes, Sakura. You sure are.

I slap a skillpoint into DEF and another into MP.

Lentinula buzzes over to Chi.
LENTINULA: I can take watch tonight, I think.
LENTINULA: The cold weather is unlikely to bother me much since I am...
LENTINULA: Significantly made out of ice.
LENTINULA: And... and... um...
LENTINULA: I'm used to staying up for watch too?
LENTINULA: It's useful for wilderness expeditions, so I-'ll be okay so long as I can r-rest.
LENTINULA: Later.
LENTINULA: Once we reach Amora.

----

Lentinula is flitting about the campfire that's been set up (at a respectable distance), humming to herself as she buzzes around it.

LENTINULA: What to do what to do...

Pardon arrives at the campfire, seeking Lentinula for conversation and finding her near the campfire.

PARDON: Whatcha doing there??
LENTINULA: o-oh! H-hello Pardon.
LENTINULA: I uh. I was going to try and make some, some dinner?
LENTINULA: But I uh.
LENTINULA: C-can't use any of the equipment I am. Used to using for that.
LENTINULA: It was. Well.

Lentinula gestures in the general direction of one of the remaining scattered pieces of the airship.

ALICIA: Have you considered using the campfire? There’s plenty of resources around for that, right?

Alicia approaches from behind Pardon, towards the campfire that would be perfectly usable for some sort of improvised cooking.

LENTINULA: I have! That was my plan anyways, actually I uh. I just.
LENTINULA: I am six inches tall and have less heat tolerance than a chairian right now.

Alicia taps her chin, then looks at her staff.

ALICIA: No, I suppose magic would be overkill in this situation, hm. So why not just ask someone else to do the cooking, then? Someone with more heat tolerance.
BLACKLIGHT: If that is the plan…

A dark shadow swoops overhead, then touches down nearby, morphing into the rough shape of Blacklight. Complete with the general aura of uncomfortableness… To a degree, that is.

BLACKLIGHT: …then I might be able to help with that.

Pardon startles a bit at Blacklight’s sudden appearance, and Lentinula jumps just a bit as well. Alicia shudders a little as Blacklight swoops down.

PARDON: Oh I suppose you would be better than I suppose!!
He gestures towards the mushrooms.
PARDON:I suppose I should do some food preparation?? Purification should work wonders there…
LENTINULA: O-oh! Don't use those ones.
LENTINULA: Th-they're not... poisonous at all. Just. Really nasty.
LENTINULA: I don't think purification would help with that.
LENTINULA: But! If, um, if you three are willing to help me we can definitely make something together!
LENTINULA: I would, appreciate that.
ALICIA: Can do! What are we cooking?
BLACKLIGHT: More importantly, considering the supply situation, what can we cook? I don’t imagine most of the party would be happy with twig soup.
PARDON: We do have all that meat from the Fellbeasts I believe they’re called…
LENTINULA: We uh, can't use much of it.
LENTINULA: And you'll definitely need to purify it first.
LENTINULA: It's... extremely poisonous to chairians normally.
LENTINULA: B-but, um.
LENTINULA: I can grow mushrooms! It's not enough for like, a civilized meal.
LENTINULA: But they're good calories. And make g-good, um, broth.
LENTINULA: To base a stew on.

Alicia hums and closes her eyes, thinking about something.

ALICIA: I think my brother had a kitchen up… or, well, down somewhere once. I could ask him about anything we might be able to use too. Mushroom is an unfortunately common ingredient from his neck of the woods.

Blacklight ponders potential recipes. There isn’t much he can think of to use around the place, besides the mushrooms and the fellbeast meat. Maybe he should make sure, though…

BLACKLIGHT: Let me check if we have anything else in stock.
LENTINULA: The mollusks!
LENTINULA: a-ah. S-sorry.
LENTINULA: There's mollusks down at the frozen lake. We can use those.
LENTINULA: And we uh. We'll need a soup pot. Just something watertight in roughly a bowl shape.
BLACKLIGHT: …Considering the destruction of the airship supplies, I don’t see any alternatives. Mushroom and mollusk soup will do. Maybe with a side of fellbeast jerky for the non-chairians in the party.

PARDON: I suppose I can use some material transfer on a purified fellbeast hide and some sticks to make something like a bowl?? Not sure…
PARDON: Or we could use the bucket.
PARDON: I suppose I can grab the Mollusks as well…might want to go searching around the place anyway.
ALICIA: Is the bucket big enough for soup for… lots?
BLACKLIGHT: It can at least help melt some snow for water, if we need more of it.
BLACKLIGHT: Additionally, I can help with putting together some new containers. There’s plenty of ship scrap left to work with.
LENTINULA: Th-then everyone's got something to do!

The group splits up to get the soup prepared.

.

Lentinula uses her mushroom growing magic to grow a couple of different kinds of edible mushroom for use in the soup pot. She refers back with Auth a bit, informing him of what the ones he's not familiar with taste like cooked and uncooked and when contributing to broth, but being six inches tall and limited in her spell capacity means that pretty much all of her time during soup cooking is spent growing the soup mushrooms or bringing them back to the campfire.

Pardon takes the moment to bask in the warmth of the flames. Although his jacket keeps him mostly warm, a good fire is still quite important.

He then looks for Alicia, Lentinula and Sakura for conversations

After the group chat with Alicia, Lentinula and Blacklight, Pardon takes charge of Mollusks gathering from the Pond as well as attempting to wrangled some fellbeast hide into bowl shapes with sticks, material transfer and purification.

After some trouble, water splashes, rustling of the dirt and what few plants, he returns with a few bowls, two dead mollusks which have been Purified and somehow, he has gotten his hands on a few punches of salt and a herb bundle. His methods are mysterious and doesn’t involve him poisoning himself repeatedly and than purifying it off.

Northern Wilds

The grey iti nest's reception to Skylar appears to be substantially more positive than with Debbie. Looking at the situation from afar and in the trees, they're definitely on the more animalistic side of the spectrum.

Though, their reaction to the greeting doesn't seem... right. She then recalls something potentially important. She turns away from the scene to not alert any of the iti and speaks into the radio Skylar gave her.

DEBBIE: Oh, yes, I recall reading that the iti have their own language of... I think it was clicks and the like?
DEBBIE: You wouldn't happen to know any of it, would you?
DEBBIE: It would make diplomacy a lot more straightforward.

DEBBIE: Either way, they're clearly more comfortable with you than they are with me. No surprises there, really...
DEBBIE: First things first is to build rapport with them. We need them to trust you before we pop the news to them.
DEBBIE: Actions, words, either of the two would work.

DEBBIE: A good place to start... hm...
DEBBIE: If you could communicate them with words they can understand, ask what troubles them.
DEBBIE: There's likely a reason why they've made a nest here.
DEBBIE: If not... perhaps some sort of food would help persuade them?
DEBBIE: Prove that you could be useful for their continued survival.

Debbie turns back to the nest to keep watch from her hiding spot, just in case something goes wrong.

---

The Yggcrawler bows towards Chi (think the Mantises from Hollow Knight) as if to say "no problem". It then sticks its blades into the snow, detaches them, and then the Fluidsand holding its structure together stops all at once. The Fluidsand and Fossil parts plop into the snow, sticking out of the ground, almost begging someone to use them for something. Truly a tragic fate, but perhaps Debbie couldn't keep it going for an extended period of time...

Meanwhile, the Reanimated Gorged runs off towards where Debbie was. While she was doing stuff with Skylar, Debbie wrote up a note for the party back at camp. She takes it off her clipboard and tapes it to the reanimated Gorged's forehead. It then runs back to the rest of the party with the note.

Currently with Skylar. Attempting diplomacy with a sizable nest of grey iti nearby. Will update. Do not disturb Skylar or the nest unless we need assistance. If you need to tell or ask me something, I am hiding in the trees a distance away, keep your voices down.

Thank you.
-Debbie

After the message is delivered, the reanimated Gorged sits nearby to conserve energy. For the first time in a while, there's not much left that needs doing.

SUPER KEANE MCZUPP WONDER

After Chi makes her announcement (if one could call it that), Keane scuttles in from the side, tentative steps clicking like a typewriter. His hand shoots up with a soft ding as he scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

KEANE: Uh, haha, hi...?
KEANE: I'm, uh, kind of late for this, y'all probably already did introductions, hah.
KEANE: But, uhhh. Hi! I'm Daniethyst McZupp, my friends call me Keane, and I'm a cool guy/girl/nonbiney who is a friend! :3
KEANE: I'm a Spherebreaker veteran by technicality, and also prooobably the only one to be dishonorably discharged, so maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that, whoops.
KEANE: Uh, mostly just here to introduce myself to you guys, and, like, if any of you need help, come and ask me?
KEANE: Being helpful is fun, and I live to serve! :3
KEANE:
KEANE: Yep! That's everything!

Keane shuffles off to the side and plops down on one of the logs, having said his piece.

/add rp later

---

Skylar

Skylar is Balanced Upon! It wibbles and wobbles as the Gorged bats at its faceplate.

SKYLAR: WOAH- HI-
SKYLAR: (AH. YES. RIGHT.)
SKYLAR: (THE ITI LANGUAGE THAT I DO IN FACT KNOW)
SKYLAR: (PROBABLY WON'T. BE OF MUCH HELP)
SKYLAR: (MY. ACCENT. IS ATROCIOUS)
SKYLAR: MY BRETHREN
SKYLAR: I COME BEARING...
SKYLAR: ...GIFTS

Skylar gently tosses out... you guessed it, a blob of neon blue macaroni and cheese. Several, actually. They don't seem to be particularly tasty or nutritious, but... food's food?

---

Meanwhile In Paigeland...

QUOTE (Sparked @ Jul 16 2023, 07:56 AM)

Eroa takes a moment to think of a caption for her selfie of her and Paige. EROA: (This really brings me back to my social media influencer era…) EROA: Ah… Hm… EROA: “Deep in the snow with a Scroombie!”? EROA: …no, that doesn’t really work. EROA: …Hmmmm… EROA: …well, I chose a picture, so why don’t you make a caption for both of us? It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted on a platform in this manner. Godhood made me drop a lot of things, really.

PAIGE: ...Hmmm... Gimme a second to think, but alright!
PAIGE: ...Oh, it's getting late. We should probably get back to the group... (╥﹏╥)

Paige sidles off, still deep in concentration staring at her phone... Wonder if that post will ever see the light of day.

I have been so out of things recently that I'm not ready for actual RP yet.

Maria -1's her MP and -2's her DEF, then puts all the KP she has available into AGI. This sets her AGI to 10, her MMP to 38 and her AC to 3... And unlocks the Mass Envenom modifier on Vampiric Venom.

Alicia has a job to do. Unfortunately, there is something of a minor problem preventing it, so she'll need to consult with an expert.

ALICIA: Brother, I may... need your help... with a small something?

Auth, having been floating around and assisting with the recovery of any injured, is on break, sitting and reading a large and nondescript book.

AUTH: Yes?
ALICIA: Well, there is a relatively minor matter, you see, that the food supply for this trip was slightly... destroyed... in the crash?
AUTH: I was there. I recall.
ALICIA: And... we've been looking for ingredients and some things to make do...

Auth snaps the books shut, sighs, and stands up.

AUTH: And you don't know how to cook, or what to cook with in what order to make anything in the realm of edibility?
ALICIA: And you ran that kitchen at Station VIII, and I don't like mushroom.
AUTH: Which is, I think, closer to the heart of the matter. Let's see what we can do with what everyone can scrounge up. If you can, see if you can't get some fish out of the river.

Alicia salutes, whilst Auth flies over to the campfire. Between his rest site and arriving, he has put on a black chef's hat and apron. He proceeds to crack his fingers and take command of the cooking, but that mostly consists of handing Alicia a knife once she gets back, possibly having speared some fish, and telling her what to cut while he examines ingredients. And Alicia's cutting. But he appears to be quite the expert, Lenintula doesn't seem to need to elaborate all that much.

AUTH: Mushrooms are all that grow easily in the Neath, and Alicia's a remarkably picky eater.

The Wreckage

Blacklight has done some things as detailed in another post. This one elaborates.


"Let me think. How do I do this..."

Blacklight sits among the ship debris, contemplating how he can acquire some suitable tools for the trade. With the thymefield active, it hampers his natural dread aura at least, but it also hampers some of his abilities... Anecdotally, Calibri has told him in the past that it didn't interfere as much outside of combat, so hopefully the peace will let things work.

But still, there's also the utensil creation in the first place. The aberrant mulls over what he can do... Pronged fork. Spatula. Frying pan. Tongs. Pot. Lid. Those kinds of things.

Blacklight's body morphs. He grows in height and darkens in hue, his hands distorting and becoming uncomfortably long claws, his head disappears in a shadowy cloud, and his chest splits open to form a jagged sideways rib-toothed mouth. A pair of strange spine-like extensions rip their ways out of his back, tipped with their own two-pronged bone claws, steadying him on the ground for a moment before he refocuses on the task at hand.

Namely, bending and ripping apart sheets of former ship debris to turn into cooking utensils. Everybody knows what a knife, fork, spoon, spatula, frying pan, pot, lid, etc etc look like, so I won't bother describing them too much. It just might look a little weird to anyone who isn't fully up to date on what Blacklight is.

<ROUND 17>

Sakura crafts the Fell Beast Hot Pocket! This is definitely not fit for Chairian consumption. Other creatures, on the other hand… It appears in the consumable inventory, with slightly altered values.

She also collects some metal scraps, which are placed in the inventory as well. These don’t seem too useful, but material is material.

---

Lentinula increases her stats!

She also proposes taking the watch for the night. Chi looks at the fairy with a bit of concern.

CHI: Are you sure?
CHI: It could be several days before we arrive. You’ll need to rest at some point, surely.
CHI: …I’ll let you keep watch tonight, but I want you to promise me you’ll take care of yourself, and switch off with someone else tomorrow night if it comes to that.

Additionally, she organizes a group cooking effort with Pardon, Alicia, and Blacklight. Lentinula herself grows some mushrooms for the soup. Delicious, and hopefully non-poisonous.

---

Pardon goes mollusk hunting! Two wooly mollusks are brutally slain, off-screen. Helix immediately smites Pardon to death.

No, he doesn’t.

Pardon then makes bowls out of the remaining Fell Beast hides and some sticks, and adds the (purified) mollusks to the soup. Perhaps they taste like escargot.

---

Debbie’s Yggcrawler dies of dead. It leaves behind a pile of fluidsand.

Meanwhile, her Gorged delivers a note to the camp informing the others that Debbie is (along with Skylar) attempting diplomacy with Grey Iti. Chi stares at the note.

CHI: "Diplomacy?"
CHI: Does she mean she’s encountered intelligent Grey Iti?
CHI: The prevalence of intelligence among non-Eliti is incredibly small… In the areas we’ve conducted thorough studies, I suppose.
CHI: I suppose I’d prefer that option to the alternative.
CHI: I’m not sure we can sustain any strange, unpredictable "pets" that would as soon eat a Chairian as anything else on our journey.
CHI: I hope they know what they’re doing…

---

Keane introduces himself. And sits. :keanesit:

Meanwhile, Skylar attempts the aforementioned Grey Iti diplomacy. It clicks at the assembled Iti in a strange accent, offering them blue mac and cheese as gifts. The Seekers ignore Skylar’s words entirely, instead immediately leaping for the food hungrily. The Gorged leans downward to swipe at the Seekers in order to nab some food for itself, possibly ruining Skylar’s balance, while the Rainga, for some reason, shoots a rocky projectile at the food, where it ricochets directly into Skylar’s faceplate.

The fire-aspected Swirl, meanwhile, merely hovers there for a moment… before a raspy click emerges from somewhere within its crystals, as if from someone incredibly unused to speaking.

SWIRL: gift-s?

---

Maria changes her stats. They are changed.

---

Alicia seeks cooking advice from the greatest cook in the land, Author Geraldson. Or, at least, the greatest cook in close proximity to her.

Auth advises her to go fishing, which she does. Alicia manages to spear a few fish in the process – it seems the frozen pond is not completely inhospitable to the cold-blooded animals. Although, these fish are certainly no breed she’s ever seen before in her life. Hopefully they’re edible. Auth proceeds to manage the soup-making, adding in the fish and other ingredients. Soon, the soup will be ready.

---

Blacklight commits body horror in order to make utensils. Disturbing.

---

After some time, the cooking is finished. The party (or, most of them, at least) gather around the fire to eat soup, the sun rapidly dipping below the horizon.

Illuminated eerily by the glow of the flames, R-8 raises a hand.

CHI: …Yes?
CHI: This isn’t a formal meeting, you know. I won’t report you for speaking out of turn.
R-8733: Understood, boss!
R-8733: I was just wondering, what with the whole explodey situation, what’s the plan now?
CHI: Well, we still have our mission.
CHI: We head to Amora, regroup, and assess the situation.
CHI: Then, we investigate the cause of the unusual Iti behavior here, and either deal with it, or if need be, request backup.
R-8733: …Can we request backup?
BASS: yeah the radios are def jammed
BASS: maybe the thymefield
BASS: maybe by whatever gorilla decided to blow us out of the helix gorillaed sky
CHI: We’ll… figure that out when we get there.
CHI: I’m sure we can find a way around it. We just need more information first.
R-8733: There’s gotta be people living out here somewhere we can ask!
R-8733: Maybe those faeries know something.
BASS: no offense to present company but they seemed
BASS: "hella problematic"
CHI: Yes, our relationship with the fae folk has… deteriorated since the start of the End War.
CHI: Ms. Omorika has told me that we supposedly used to have closer relations, thousands of years ago. But as we began to delve more deeply into methods to combat the Tabletopians, we drifted further apart.
CHI: Or so the story goes. No one alive in Locaa would remember that time anymore… especially now, with the First Sin dead.
CHI: I didn’t know they were so organized in this region, though…
BASS: i could always put on the charm
BASS: whip up a disguise and sneak into faerie town all smooth
BASS: wow the court with my dashing good looks
R-8733: Bass, you’re not six inches tall.
BASS: yet
BASS: your lack of faith… disturbs me
CHI: …Right.

Chi turns to the rest of the party, who are presumably busy passing around the soup.

CHI: We have a few places to sleep. If you… biologically need it, I’d suggest staking a claim now.
CHI: And try not to stay up too late. You’ll need your energy in the morning.
CHI: I know it can sometimes be difficult after experiencing such stress, but I w-won’t go easy on any of you for pulling an all-nighter!
CHI: We’re marching north right after sunrise. We don’t know how much time we have before the Iti try something else.
CHI: …I know these aren’t… ideal circumstances, but it’s nice to meet you all. I believe we can resolve this swiftly and safely if we cooperate.

CHI: (And I truly hope your confidence in me isn’t misplaced.)

This will be the last update before the next day. Roleplay accordingly.

Pardon stakes a claim inside the igloo with speed. He doesn’t exactly need to sleep, but it’s generally considered healthy to get some rest. And this last few days have been very exciting for the kind of newborn person.

:pardonzzz: