Battle - The Northern Skies

Blacklight spares a glance over at Rhiannon just in time to see the black mist shenanigans. He seems nonplussed, thankfully.

"Interesting company we have here. Hm... Perhaps some conversations are due once this battle is concluded."

Then, he turns his attention to the fairies. Their conversation... He headtilts.

"Have you considered simply leaving temporarily instead of attacking us? It seems a waste of effort on your part to engage hostilities when we're just trying to pass through."

Then he gets back to the battle. Namely...

After Kalis's arrangement of summons has acted, since that should be guaranteed lethal on Harpy6 that allows this move to happen, Blacklight moves to S22 and shoots the Vesperia. Simple. Should handily kill in a single blow.

Lepidodendron scans the ship, keeping a hand on their hat as the now empowered wind whirls past. The other hand props up their railgun against the airship’s railing- and as they mutter to themselves, they idly reload the gun, throwing a empty shell off the side of the ship and flicking various buttons and switches across the gun.

LEPIDODENDRON: (Mm. Allies! Asleep. Reveries, they do that.)

They prop their railgun back up on their shoulder, pointing at their necromanced minions, dark red energy curling off their hand.

LEPIDODENDRON: You all- go grab the sleepers. The uh, human girl, and the.. Girl that looked human? Before she turned into goop, I mean.

They wave vaguely at Debonair and Rhiannon, then scan the deck again. Spotting the Pillager preparing to well, pillage, they take a few steps forward, and snap their fingers. A loud crack is heard as a bullet zips out from seemingly nowhere- the Pillager instantly pierced from behind by said bullet. The projectile leaves behind a trail of crimson light as it changes course, curves through the air, and embeds itself in a Reverie, promptly exploding.

LEPIDODENDRON: Ok, ok, and then just.. Singular Animation!

Lepidodendron stretches out their hand, tapping the Pillager’s head. Thorn-covered vines emerge from their hand, wrapping around the Pillager’s head. Lepidodendron swiftly pulls their hand back and hops a couple feet away from the Pillager. It’s animalistic mind can feel sudden commands being broadcasted directly to it- it’s body acting outside of it's control, controlled by a outside force, lunging up, shambling across the deck, and launching attacks at one of it’s fellow Iti. The vines then constrict, leaving the Pillager a bit of time to contemplate life and the universe before they drop dead.

Lepidodendron pumps a fist excitedly.


LEPIDODENDRON: ..perfect! Haven’t tried animating a, uh, aggressive living.. Creature before. Glad it.. Operates? Functions? Works. Glad it works.

---

Lepidodendron perks up at Debbie’s comments on the skeleton.

LEPIDODENDRON: I’m glad you appreciate my art!
LEPIDODENDRON: Sussui has plenty of fossils! You just have to… know where to look.

Lepidodendron pets their zombie on the head.

LEPIDODENDRON: Though, not many.. Chairian-shaped ones. Around. Usable ones, that is. Th.. We don’t really have.. bones.
LEPIDODENDRON: The ones here are my own custom make- had to build… create.. assemble? Assemble, assemble them from the bones of other various fossils.
LEPIDODENDRON: You know how it is.

Does Debbie how “it” is? Unlikely.

---

Note: due to my own mistake deadbolts recast range is incorrect, due to scaling its 1-6 rn

Zombie: Move to (O14), hit Harpy1.
O13 Skeleton: Move to (O12), wake up Rhiannon.
Q15 Skeleton: Wake up Debbie. Debbie moment.
Q13 Skeleton: shoot aello 1 I guess

LEPIDODENDRON:
- After Des has freed them from vile ZoC hell, and Basil has scanned the Pillager, Lepidodendron casts a LIGHT elemented Deadbolt, benefitting from Empowered. If it’s possible to make this impossible to crit, they do so.

- They will then move to (N16) and cast Flicker of Insanity on the Pillager. With a Empowered Deadbolt and 0 DGE this is a guaranteed down on the Pillager, and also procs the Deadbolt recast.
- Deadbolt is recasted to Reverie2. It is set as Light. This guaranteed kills it, benefitting from Empowered.
- The Pillager goes to (N13), and casts uses its Basic Attack on the Reborn. It then is downed.

Sakura gains two stacks of Royal Favor. Sakura moment!

Battle: Northern Skies

QUOTE (Sp33d0n @ Mar 23 2023, 02:10 PM)

AUTH: Maria! Has Maxim got its tendrils into you too? I should hope you'd have been kept away from it. I'd think somebody would have told you about what happened to Nana, the suffering she went through for such an effect on her! Not one she wanted! Not one to replicate! ALICIA: And does the fair madame require her fainting couch!? Wasn't there some sort of equipment while you were back there that could give people that effect? AUTH: Shut up! I wasn't happy about it being there back then either, as you will no doubt recall. I still haven't forgiven Maxim for what happened.

Maria is initially busy just trying to surveil the battlefield for her next move to immediately respond. And then-

QUOTE (Sp33d0n @ Mar 23 2023, 02:10 PM)

AUTH: When did you get so... vain?

"Vain? Me? Sir Geraldson, how could you? Such a cruel, rude thing to say to a young lady! You of all people should know that high society requires some worry over dress " Maria says, pouting at Auth. "As for my arm, I assume you recall the parasitic strain that Maxim left behind after their first defeat? Venia and Echoss both kept a few samples, and I claimed one for my own-a rational method of self-defense without having to carry around a weapon. And that aside, it's so cute, isn't it?!"

Maria moves to O10 (again via Teleporter Node) and uses Riposte, taunting Harpy1. Her tendrils flex and writhe as she-

"CCCAAAAAHH!"

Goodness! What a noise! It sounded like what a Harpy would make-and sounded like a vicious challenge. Meanwhile, her tendrils stretch and contort, growing further bone protrusions-Evolving her Strain again, removing all of her baseline Regen. She quickly turns her head to Chi just before the enemies prepare to hit her-

"Chi, is there any chance we can land now and just keep a flare to signal the Airship when we need to extract? I am confident in our skills at fighting these brutes off, but it strikes me-perhaps this new Thymefield might destroy the Airship's propulsion? It may not work like the old Thymefield did after all!"

Meanwhile, the Splinter Spitter somehow manages to utilize the teleporter again to warp to M16 and use a basic attack on the Reborn. Little point trying to save the creature with an AI of "Mindless."

Doc looks toward the helm of the airship and sees the Iti assembled there.

Doc: It seems most of these individuals will not listen to reason.
Doc: Perhaps I can coerce them to leave a different way.

Doc trudges over to P15, then pulls out a shockingly small vial.

Doc: Adversaries!
Doc: This vial contains a powerful toxin that destroys your microbiome and rots you from the inside out.
Doc: It is fast acting if inhaled!
Doc: If you choose to stay, you consent to inhalation of this toxin and you consent to data being collected regarding your reaction.
Doc: If you leave, you will be spared!

Doc then throws the vial, which breaks on O12. The volume of red gas that billows from the broken vial seems like too much for the size of the vial. The quickly-growing red cloud consumes the nearby area, making it hard to see.

Meanwhile, the little white newt still clinging to Doc climbs up onto his shoulder, unnoticed. When it sees the Harpy next to Doc staring at it, it leaps a surprising distance and lands on the Harpy, which immediately begins feeling the full effects of the newt's toxins.

---

Doc moves to P15 and casts Toxic Concoction on O12. The plague on Doc spreads to the Harpy2.

Basil scans the new Pillager, moves to the High Ground at S21, and casts Nanostorm at O14.

Kalis - acting after Chi - casts Aerobeam, traveling diagonally up and left. It turns to face up on the TeleNode, which does not actually deal extra turning turbulence damage to the node because turning turbulence specifies "foes." It hits Aello1, then on L11 turns diagonally left again to hit the Reborn.

The Zombie moves to R21 and attacks Harpy6. 300% of 0 is still 0.

All three Fallen attack Harpy6. If it's already dead, any who are yet to act heal the damaged Fallen, or if that's not possible, the nearest damaged ally.

VENT: …Your magicians must b-be incredible then, if they were the ones holding the line from a far more advanced civilization.
VENT: …

A war, one named the End War. How strange. War had affected Vent’s family, as many of his uncles, aunts, and even his father had fought in the Divine War, where an outside force tried to crush the Gods under their foot. The foreign powers’ people, the Danir as they were called, sounded much like this Tabletopia. As much as Auten was advanced, at least from his perspective, the Danir showed might many eons ahead of them.

VENT: …This is all quite interesting. I knew very little about the Chairian people before this. The most I knew was of your tree-like physiology, and how cute one of those who visited during the cultural exchange was despite that.
VENT: But hearing about these terms, the End War, Rebellion…
VENT: War is something that our society has seldom seen. The Gods think lowly of killing one another to settle our differences.
VENT: However, that didn’t stop the Divine War. The Gods took the brunt of that one, but an enemy pantheon and their followers tried to invade our realm. Us humans only had to deal with what few followers slipped through the cracks, but even then the war damaged us badly. The Danir, as they call themselves, were far ahead of us technologically, and we only survived by the ingenuity of the brightest minds of the day, and some additional knowledge the Gods granted us.
VENT: It’s been about 60 years since then, but my family has never forgotten it. A great uncle of mine took part in the defense of mankind, near the war’s beginning.
VENT: He’s never forgotten it. He’s told me that he can never forget the day when the Gods fought above in the skies, and how nothing can put greater fear into him after that…
VENT: …A-and rebellion, an act that I had only heard of as part of the histories of the Gods. L-long ago, when tyrants ruled man in the Place of Old, the Gods’ forefathers took it upon themselves to fight back against them. I had been taught such acts were often bloody, violent, filled with destruction, but were the options that the Gods’ ancestors were forced into.
VENT: We, the Autechs, are quite lucky, it seems. The watchful eye of the Gods prevents such evils from taking root in society.
VENT: They’ve said that they’ve seen man fail in the past, and that they wanted to guide us to a path with none of the bloodshed their history had, or the tragedy that humanity created when they were given little guidance.
VENT: It seems that Chairians have not been so fortunate in that-

Vent suddenly stops himself.

VENT: -I-I mean…
VENT: Man, I-I didn't really mean that, talking about h-heavy topics all of the sudden, p-putting the mood down like that…

-----------------

Eroa opts to pop Manasurge, move to M18, use Telenode to S16 before finishing their movement at Q16, then cast Abduction on Cinderwing2, moving it to P17.

Auth frowns as he hears this strange doctor saying things that doesn't sound particularly... doctor-y to his ear.

AUTH: Doctor! Your comments don't sound particularly ethical. I don't think that's how medical consent is supposed to work!
ALICIA: If I heard one of our doctors ask something like that they'd be out on their ear faster than you can say "hippocratic"!

Auth shakes his head, then looks across the ship to Alicia. She's smirking, then he shakes his head again. She must have said something funny telepathically.

AUTH: Hypocritical oath... I worry, Alicia. Regardless! Freed of the hivemind they may be, but most of our current adversaries likely aren't of a high enough sapience for rational argument... or verbal threat to be effective.
ALICIA: So do try for non-lethal suppression, when you can! I reckon they're aware enough that I don't think they'd very much appreciate being rotted from the inside. Even if it is for science.

---

Auth watches the... strangely familiar stranger he's floating around mimic Nana's tentacles-for-arms and frowns quite a bit more severely. And then he has a brainwave, thinking back to the last group of rag-tag strangers he was part of, and...


AUTH: Maria! Has Maxim got its tendrils into you too? I should hope you'd have been kept away from it. I'd think somebody would have told you about what happened to Nana, the suffering she went through for such an effect on her! Not one she wanted! Not one to replicate!
ALICIA: And does the fair madame require her fainting couch!? Wasn't there some sort of equipment while you were back there that could give people that effect?
AUTH: Shut up! I wasn't happy about it being there back then either, as you will no doubt recall. I still haven't forgiven Maxim for what happened.

Auth flashes back to what Maria was like during their time last year in the Sphere Incident.

AUTH: When did you get so... vain? Where did you end up? I'd have thought Venia would've kept that in check, at the very least..

---

Would you believe I completely forgot my battle action?

Before Lepido moves, and thus moves out of her range, Alicia slams her staff into the ground and points it at Lep, cloaking them within a blizzard. This doesn't seem to impair their vision or even feel particularly cold - but based on the Harpies and Aello, exposure mustn't be pleasant.

QUOTE (Sp33d0n @ Mar 23 2023, 09:10 AM)

Auth frowns as he hears this strange doctor saying things that doesn't sound particularly... doctor-y to his ear. AUTH: Doctor! Your comments don't sound particularly ethical. I don't think that's how medical consent is supposed to work! ALICIA: If I heard one of our doctors ask something like that they'd be out on their ear faster than you can say "hippocratic"! Auth shakes his head, then looks across the ship to Alicia. She's smirking, then he shakes his head again. She must have said something funny telepathically. AUTH: Hypocritical oath... I worry, Alicia. Regardless! Freed of the hivemind they may be, but most of our current adversaries likely aren't of a high enough sapience for rational argument... or verbal threat to be effective. ALICIA: So do try for non-lethal suppression, when you can! I reckon they're aware enough that I don't think they'd very much appreciate being rotted from the inside. Even if it is for science.

Doc turns to the Author shakes his head.

Doc: I won't deny I'm rather stretching the definition of "ethical."
Doc: That said, there's a reason the gas is red, rather than colorless, and smells strongly of decay, rather than being odorless.
Doc: These individuals may not listen to threat, but I would presume they know danger when they see it.
Doc: And if they don't, the burden of their lives will be entirely mine to carry.

Doc then turns back to the still-expanding red cloud.

Doc: I originally created that dose as a cleanser, to purge myself of my eternal miasma.
Doc: I underestimated the miasma's ability to adapt - the toxin is now completely harmless to my cells.
Doc: But if I can use the data to refine its effects, perhaps I can come a step closer to a proper remedy.

QUOTE (CobaltShade @ Mar 17 2023, 02:32 PM)

As she emerges from the teleport, she spots Des on the island just ahead of the ship. Rhiannon: L-let me try something... With a flourish, she extends her left hand towards the gambler, at which point a large quantity of black mist bursts out of it and coils around them, sending 13 SHP via Shield Transfusion to the probably-very-weirded-out gambler before her. Rhiannon: O-oh, I do realize this might be quite disconcerting - I'm really, really sorry if I'm creeping you out! Rhiannon: I-I'm just... really bad at maintaining a proper interface. Rhiannon: But maybe I can explain more when we're not being attacked... The doll seems to feel really embarrassed about this, and tries to cover her face with her hands. This fails as her left hand is missing and her right hand is an inky tendril, causing her to cover her own face with the ink. Although the ink dissipates on contact, she still winces, though the shock seems to calm her down a little rather than agitating her further. Rhiannon: Y-you don't hate me, right?

The gambler smirks.
DES: Takes a whole lot more than that to weird me out.
DES: You spend enough time around the occult, you get used to it. That goes double when your entire thing is unpredictability.
DES: Hell, almost feels kinda like a Brown Mantle. But hey, story for when fewer things are trying to eat us.
Finger-guns of approval.

DES: Now, to get off this, uh, island? Mountain? Whatever. Roll me.
34: Phase Shift
11: Flare
28: Overload
43: Null Somnum
DES: Never punished.
Des slides north and snaps, swapping places with an unwitting Harpy. The surviving Illusory Trap does a silly dance. Des snaps again, and a flare shoots into the air. Someone appears next to Des.
???: Hey, I was busy!
She begrudgingly pulls out a flare of her own, and yeets it at the Reborn, before vanishing again.
DES: Don't mind her.

After Maria, Before Lepido:
• Move to T9.
• Phase Shift (GDG: MP Cost) with Harpy1. Bonus action. Costs 11 MP, grants 11 SP. Unavoidable.
• Flare (GDG: Buff Levels) the Reborn. Costs 15 MP, grants 15 SP. Applies Blind9,2rd and Ensnared4,2rd. Unavoidable.

in response to Chi (in the past)
LENTINULA: Probably both!
LENTINULA: R&D likes to make sure our stuff holds up well so most field equipment has backup systems to work in unexpected conditions.
LENTINULA: And magitech is a lot more efficient too when you've got the infrastructure to make it. It's way harder to make our good stuff away from the Collective but it's always really nice to have it.


In the battle: (Takes place after Ire's action)
The breaker suddenly consumes the cinderwing and Lentinula shrieks and jolts backwards in the air. This shrieking is probably noticed by nobody because she's not amplifying her voice so it's not very loud.
LENTINULA: Oh god that's horrible!
LENTINULA: They... they weren't kidding that it's a lot...
LENTINULA: And... so soon...
LENTINULA: No. no. Hold it together Lenti. You've still got work to do.

Lentinula... Sprints!
I mean, she has wings so she can't really sprint, but she puts on a burst of speed, the ring on her finger flickering with grey and black light.
As she zips about, a silvery sparkling light flashes out of the ring, capturing the targeted fallen in still images of calm light, before shrinking them and pulling them into the light's source.
As she comes to the end of her quick dash around the airship she comes to the fallen form of the other Cinderwing.
LENTINULA: J-just hang on, okay?
LENTINULA: You'll be okay.
The Cinderwing has been knocked out of the air by either magical kidnapping or being struck with lightning by a spiteful tree so it probably doesn't even realize what's going on anymore. But they are quickly and safely stowed away in the ring nonetheless.


Mechanical action:
Lentinula sprints, automatically triggering her trait. 6 MOV, and free action corpse snagging enabled, +1 MOV for this turn and +1 Decay for every corpse safely removed from play.
She picks up the corpse of Reverie2 (7MOV)
Lentinula moves to N15, picking up Harpy2 along the way if its corpse is present but I won't rely on the possible MOV gain for this. (4MOV)
Lentinula picks up the corpses of the pillager and breaker1 (6MOV)
Lentinula moves down to N19. (2MOV)
Lentinula picks up the corpse of Harpy 3 (3 MOV)
Lentinula move up to O18 assuming a bunch of corpses weren't destroyed and she still has MOV left. (2ish MOV remaining for a margin of error)
Lentinula picks up the (hopefully) fallen Cinderwing, hopefully avoiding more accidental murders.

If there happen to be any other enemy corpses along the path that can be picked up, Lentinula picks them up as well, but that shouldn't change the main parts of the plan.

Skylar

SKYLAR: BEEP BOP
SKYLAR: [ACTIVATING SLEEP MODE...]

---

Paige

PAIGE: WIP worp.

---

Battle

Paige steels herself again, ready to leap back into the fray- then is shoved back a bit as the Breaker she was just trying to kill tears into the dead Cinderwing. She stares, increasingly irrationally irked, as it chows down messily and evolves into a Pillager. "What the fuck, man?" Her grey eyes briefly flicker purple. "I wanted that!" Her claws pop out again with a snikt, and she prepares to strike- then yelps as Lepidodendron Deadbolts it with extreme prejudice, leaping backwards and almost falling off the airship in the process.

PAIGE: Eep! Uh, a little warning next time???
PAIGE: You're cool and all, but- she sticks her head out the side of the airship with Skylar in tow, before going pale- oh fuck, hang on, there's a dead thing outside,
PAIGE: Guys! Freaky dead flying thing to starboard!
SKYLAR: PORT
PAIGE: Pretty sure it's starboard. :)
SKYLAR: STARBOARD IS RIGHT
PAIGE: That's what I said?
SKYLAR: THE OTHER KIND OF RIGHT
PAIGE: Huh?
SKYLAR: PORT IS LEFT
SKYLAR: STARBOARD IS RIGHT [As in: DIRECTIONAL]
PAIGE: fuck
SKYLAR: JUST HOLD ON
SKYLAR: I GOT THIS

There's a flickering noise, and Skylar slowly pours boiling water out of its scorpion tail into the pot that makes up its body. Paige weaves through the throng of battle again, skidding to a stop on O15. She nudges between Lepido and the Zombie, wrenching open the small peephole to fire through as Skylar boils and strains the noodles. It adds the milk, butter, and (abnormally blue) cheese sauce, loads the entire thing into a pasta shell, and shoves its tail through the gap, aiming at the Reborn.

SKYLAR: STEADY...
SKYLAR: STEADY...
PAIGE: C'mon, c'mon, c'monnn...
SKYLAR: [FIRE!!!]

The pasta shell blasts out of Skylar's scorpion tail, slamming dead-on into the Reborn and covering it head-to-toe in blue, electrified, nanomachine-enhanced macaroni and cheese. Paige instinctively takes a selfie.

PAIGE: Wooo! #delicious
SKYLAR: YEEHA
SKYLAR: [RUN highfive.exe]

A mechanical hand emerges from the side of Skylar's body, its glove encrusted in toxic blue cheese sauce- before the internal motors suddenly grind to a halt. Paige sheepishly leans down and high-fives it.

---

Actual battle actions:
Skylar and Paige move to O15 and cast Nanostorm, centered on the Reborn. Because they're only hitting the Reborn, their trait procs.

Ilex casts Suffocating Hatred at the Amphi's head (Q5), choosing Fear as the effect, and fires a Railcannon shot at the Amphi as well.

Sakura sighs as Basil complains about getting root-flicked, probably covering her head and going NotLikeThis. Oh come on. Couldn't Basil take a bit of a joke? Sakura recedes the root, tucking it back into the ship. No guarantees on whether she's returned the wood to the proper spot, but hey. It's the thought that counts. But anyway. Nerd girl.

SAKURA: C'mon. I barely even hit you!
SAKURA: If me flicking you on the head causes such a visceral goddamn reaction, I shudder to think what sort of awful noise you'll make when-

Thwap! Sakura is promptly singed with twin fireballs, courtesy of a Cinderwing. While her armor prevents any burns from permanently searing her body, it still hurts like hell. Sakura is immediately on the deck, rolling around to extinguish the small embers that have consumed her dress. Moments later she's back up on her feet, soot smattering her body.

SAKURA: -when that happens.
SAKURA: Ow.
SAKURA: I-It's fine, it's nothing I haven't...

While a simple kick to the face might've been able to down Sakura about a year ago, she's really not doing much better now. Actually, it sorta looks like she might cry, though she tries to hide the pain. A pouty death glare is fired from her eyes to the Cinderwing.

SAKURA: I CAN END YOU WITH A THOUGHT!
SAKURA: A-AND I WILL!

Sakura thrusts her staff towards the Cinderwing, horrifically electrocuting them with a rather bog-standard thunderbolt. At least, that's the hope! There's also a chance she just bashes it with her mage stick. She's really not sure. The future seems a bit uncertain, given the conditional down there.

---

Orders:
- Pick up the Magic Bag on your tile, which was spawned by Pardon. Eat it. Or something.
- Depending on what happens to Cinderwing 2: if it avoids the damage of Eroa's Abduction, walk to (Q17) and bonk it with your staff. Expend MP as needed with Spelledge to down. If it doesn't avoid the damage, move to (R21) and cast Formulaic Spellcasting on Cinderwing 2, using your Electric spell variant. It has +50% HIT, which should give a decent chance of hitting.
- If Sakura has any charges of Royal Servitude and is still injured, she will use one to heal herself.

Rhiannon's shield-transfusion target seems to be relatively fine with her.
Rhiannon: Good to know! Hope we can be friends.

Rhiannon promptly readies another shield transfusion, but suddenly hears a very familiar song being played by a certain Reverie. It's like a lullaby, if a lullaby were very specifically a 480 BPM speedcore MIDI audio illusion of Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music, except that the song is instead enumerating the notes of a 34-tone equal temperament scale in Poliespo and every note is actually a tritone. In other words, to everyone other than Rhiannon, it sounds like the absolute worst thing to ever exist, but to her it most definitely sounds like home. Who knew Reveries knew that song?

The pleasing cacophony is enough to lull her to sleep, her tendrils twitching along to the rhythm. While she's asleep (faceplanted on the ground, in fact), some of the plastic making up her body seems to crack in some places and melt in others.

O-oh, it seems a spooky skeleton has gathered the courage to awaken the decidedly extremely unsettling doll.
Rhiannon: zzzzzz... o-oh, coi pendo!
Rhiannon: ... That was a nice nap.

Rhiannon turns over and immediately falls over when she tries to stand up as her left leg collapses into mist. She yelps less in pain than in surprise, before her leg regrows... oh god, that's flesh.

Rhiannon: W-whoops. Okay, steady, steady...

---

Pending: She shield-transfuses 12 SHP to Leaf.

The Northern Skies
Attack Reverie1.

<ROUND 4>

Wow. Not a lot of textposts for me to respond to.
Granted, not a lot has happened yet, and your options are very limited. I can’t blame you.

---

Vent exposits on the history of the Autechs.

R-8 listens eagerly.

R-8733: I see! I’m not really a big believer in gods myself, but I guess if you trust them, it must be nice to have people like that around!
R-8733: We Chairians have a god named Helix.
R-8733: He’s a bit of an oddball, obsessed with anarchy and mollusks. But he does have our best interests at heart, I think!
R-8733: Not that he walks around talking to people like your gods seem to.
R-8733: I’ve only ever seen him once… When our friend Taeda summoned him to attack our old dictator Spark.
R-8733: I wasn’t ever really an expert on the politics of the Rebellion, but as a former rebel, Spark had it coming.
R-8733: …Oh, his daughter’s here now, right? That’s some crazy stuff.

---

Lentinula explains her ring.

CHI: I see…
CHI: I know Cypress would love the opportunity to study Echo Collective technology in more depth.
CHI: It’s a shame he’s been so busy lately… But, then, the work we’ve been doing is more important.
CHI: Advancement comes after we give what we already have to the people. After we rebuild from the damage WARE and Spark did to us.

---

<PRELUDE: THE NORTHERN SKIES, ROUND 4>

Suddenly, a new? faction? has entered the ring – and they’re not messing around. Where did they come from, and what do they want with you? Well, it doesn’t seem peaceful. You’ll need to be careful, or else these newcomer Iti could do serious damage to the ship!

...What was that about a "Court"?

Debbie sighs. Well, no matter. They refused to listen to warnings and paid the price. Though, maybe their "court" might be more reasonable.

What absolutely is not reasonable is the surprise whale! Holding significantly more aggressive Iti!

And... they look different from the ones that were with the fairies. Was this how they looked during the crisis? Chi seemed to confirm it, so...

DEBBIE: ...Someone got ahold of some of WARE's old powers. It just makes too much sense.
DEBBIE: At least, according to Miss Adria's reports, it feels too similar to not be...
DEBBIE: Hold firm, don't let them gain any ground!

....The sheer size of the flying whale does concern her, however.

DEBBIE: ...You know, reasonably, if the battle goes downhill for them...
DEBBIE: That... thing... might return and try to ram us out of the sky.
DEBBIE: ...
DEBBIE: I do not like this. I do not like this one bit.
DEBBIE: I don't even know if landing would be the right option. Goodness knows what's below us.
DEBBIE: More dangerous and aggressive species of Iti?
DEBBIE: ...

She ponders her own musings as she continues the battle.

---

Doc asks if Debbie has shoes. She nods, though is already floating a bit off the ground, safe from any ground puddles.

Although her exact choice of footwear... doesn't exactly look combat ready. They're seemingly unremarkable high heels, dark green in color.

DEBBIE: I appreciate your concern.
DEBBIE: I do have shoes! And hovering.
DEBBIE: The specific make of shoes I have allows for fine, tight control over my air magic.
DEBBIE: It's a helpful little set of footwear!

Her expression sours, frowning as she glares at the plague doctor.

DEBBIE: ...Admittedly, I'm not too enthused about the various concoctions you have used so far.
DEBBIE: Just... keep them under control and there should hopefully be no problems.
DEBBIE: I'm sure you wouldn't wish for any diplomatic incidents...

---

Debbie thinks for a moment. Since Doc came in later than her, she ought to introduce herself. But would the full spiel suffice, or just the nickname?

...Eh, heck it. Full spiel.

DEBBIE: Ah, yes, my name. You did come in a bit later than I, Doc, so...
DEBBIE: um *ahem* I am Queen Debonair Ward, of Sapphire Skyline, from Neo Nedilia.
DEBBIE: ...Most people call me Debbie, and is what I prefer for many reasons beyond being easier to say aloud.

The subject of PPE comes up. Debbie nods.

DEBBIE: I see...
DEBBIE: If we ever end up in an enclosed space, that may be necessary.
DEBBIE: For now, keep everyone updated. I'm sure you understand why. Avoidance and all that.

---

...Okay, maybe the nickname would've been better. She flinches when Doc drops to one knee.

DEBBIE: ...T-that being one of the reasons why I prefer the nickname...
DEBBIE: Please, you don't need to be so formal around me!
DEBBIE: I-it sounds weird, but I much prefer being informal, even around the citizenry.
DEBBIE: It helps them be more open about problems. It makes everyone feel more comfortable around me.
DEBBIE: It makes my kingdom back home feel much more welcoming. It's something I strive for!

DEBBIE: ...I-I'm aware that might be unexpected considering...
DEBBIE: Certain other nearby "royalty".

She shoots a stern side-eye at Sakura briefly. Oh boy.

DEBBIE: ...But yes, that's my thing. Be down-to-earth and welcoming, assist the kingdom, and dig fossils!

DEBBIE: I'll still keep your offer in mind, though! Thank you!

---

Debbie nods at Lepidodendron after closing her conversation with Doc.

DEBBIE: I see. Certainly an... unorthodox reason.
DEBBIE: Perhaps if you no longer have a use for some of them, I can look them over.
DEBBIE: A little repairwork and they should be good enough to use again.

DEBBIE: I feel a little... tactical inspiration of sorts after watching the various undead walking around.
DEBBIE: Perhaps I could do something like that once we're on ground level...

Ah. So she's aware of the undead nature of the skeletons. Of course, the topic of royalty comes up again. Debbie, again, sternly side-eyes Sakura.

DEBBIE: (I don't blame you. But some royalty is... like that, sadly.)

She returns her focus to the topic at hand with a soft smile. Like she didn't diss Sakura just now.

DEBBIE: But yeah, no offense taken!
DEBBIE: As far as royalty goes, I'm aware of and embrace my unusuality.
DEBBIE: The "expected stuff" is boring, anyway.

DEBBIE: The royal introduction spiel gets tiring after a while too... so just call me Debbie.
DEBBIE: I believe I heard your name was Lepido... dendron?
DEBBIE: It's a tricky name to say aloud, for sure, but certainly very unique.

---

Her focus returns further afield...

ACTION

Debbie hastily scribbles down some notes on Bileprincess 2. Scanned!

She should hand them to that Basil girl... so she does so.

Pardon looks the whale in the eyes. Briefly, it seems that his shadow flickers and warps before the moment is over.

At Chi's command, he readies his flute.

Pardon: Roger that!!

He plays a desolate note on his flute, and the world warps and twists. In moments, thorns erupt from nowhere to pierce the enemies, refreshing the duration of a few existing thorn patches that were starting to fade away. He eyes the Breaker1 nearby one such patch and carefully commands the Utility Console to use the Stratoshield.


Pardon: R8, can you lend your Firework Sentry towards that Breaker near me!! Kalis, I would ask for you zombie on-

Pardon pauses for a minuscule
Pardon:-R23 to attack the Breaker3 ??


Pardon eyes Lent's status...this is not likely going to be good for her health.
----------------------
Pardon spawns a bunch of Thorn Patches at N18, R18, P20, Q21 and O23 and prods the Utility Console from Stratoshield.

Battle: Northern Skies

Maria blinks at her mistake. "We are in the Thymefield? I hadn't noticed anything... Hrm, I suppose that magic feels harder to harness than usual, but then, its not something I'd use lightly. Well, that's one less thing to worry about at least..."

"...Oh, that's it? Aside from one creepy Seeker? Hooray! Two less things to worry about!" Maria cheers.

And then the sky-whale comes up. Maria is only briefly enraptured by its beauty, its awe-inspiring form gliding through the clouds... And then it drops a horde of brand new, yet all too familiar purple nightmares straight onto the ship before flying away at speeds to make the airship unfavorable. A slight prickling sensation perks up in the back of her neck.

"Oh my, who are you lot? Who are you adorable little creatures? We are just trying to see what's going on up here, and you're throwing everything at trying to beat us up all willy-nilly!" Maria says, eyes sweeping across the positive horde of Iti on the ship, noting all their positions. "... Can any one of you speak the same language, can anyone understand me? I prefer peaceful solutions, but if you do not state what your problem is with us, I am afraid we can't help but fight back in self-defense!"

She turns back to Chi. "Chi, I don't wish to alarm you, but these positions... Are definitely not the positions taken by any mindless hordes as the Iti were described as in those days, or as the beastial Gray Iti before. This is a tactical, coordinated assault team. Nothing we can't handle of course, but... This goes beyond merely being 'more varied' Iti as described," Maria says. "That one at the starboard side looks unusually... It has an aura of a soldier, I'd say, as opposed to merely the appearance! So noble and dignified, ready to protect and serve at a moment's notice! What do we call it? I was never that good at naming things... I spent months on my-ap. Almost said too much!"

The Splinter Spitter waits for Blacklight to apply Armorbreak onto the mysterious new Iti with the Gestalt Discipline Trait. It then scoots up to N15, charges up a Corrosive Spit as a bonus action, and then fires their basic attack at the mystery Iti.

Maria teleports to M16 and uses Riposte upon Bileprincess1, then Evolves her Strain yet again. Auth is now the only thing keeping her from negative regen, but her tentacle-arms look especially meanacing now!

Speaking of him...

QUOTE (Sp33d0n @ Apr 1 2023, 12:14 AM)

Auth sighs, and shakes his head. [color=#5300a9][font=Courier New][b]AUTH: My sister has not introduced herself, and I never introduced myself with my name at any point. So WHERE, exactly, did you learn my name? Because I will need to have words with this source. ALICIA: I'd tell him! He doesn't sound particularly happy about this little indiscretion! Auth looks at Alicia, who grins. AUTH: I do not think it's particularly cute, no. I think most people would reasonably assume that someone's arm tearing itself apart to form blades would be rather horrifying. ALICIA: What about Nana? That happens to her too! Even if she can control it way better now. AUTH: Nana is a different case. Surely some sort of magical implement would enable offensive capability without permanent physiological changes? It would probably be cuter to have one of those, would it not? That blade strain never seemed like the sort of thing that was reversible to me.

Was Auth unhappy or was he always just a pouty frowner? Maria didn't really know, she hadn't remembered him from before and didn't remember him well now. "I asked Venia, and she said she'd ask Mr. Ravenstar, then she came back to me with the answer. Given her capabilities, I don't know if she actually did, but it's reasonably one of those two."

Maria seems genuinely confused at Auth's critique of her arm. "... Really? I have more people than I can count tell me it's adorable almost every day now! And anyways, I have maximized my grace and poise with these lovely tendrils! Magical girl blade tentacles are the best, I don't know why more people don't do this! Aside from the agonizing pain when you really start warping them. But that hasn't bothered me much!"

Maria, as if to prove a point, reaches down a few loose tendrils (the rest primed to attack the invading Iti) and gives the Splinter Spitter that is now adjacent to her a nice little back rub, smooth and gentle and graceful. Meanwhile the rest of her tentacles were pointed at practically the opposite direction, doing equivalents to a very aggressive gesture.

"Whose a little cutie? You are! Yes you are! Cuties get cute cuddles~ What should I call you, cutie? I think I will call you... Robin!" Maria says, both of her eyes closed... That were on her face, with her tendrils growing several new ones to keep track of the battle.