The dilemma between going through the rain and staying a bit longer didn't last long, with the group soon deciding to this time be a bit more patient, instead of venturing through the dangers of a slippery and rainy path.
"Well! Big sis said, so it shouldn't hurt to wait then."
The boy shrugged with a grin at
@Lune's choice, plopping down to sit on a rock, while peeking at
@Fiora Di Angelo, that had approached Luna to offer her jacket. The small girl perked up, accepting it with a timid smile and nod.
"Y-You didn't need to, Fiora... But thank you..."
She said, wearing the jacket on top of her own clothes and Diego's vest, making the boy let out a brief laughter.
"Hey! That looks enormous on you, Luna!"
"Yeah. But it is really warm."
She giggled faintly, clutching on the jacket to cover her further, while peeking at
@Luthien and giving it a thought.
"The Keeper is amazing. He has protected these Moonstones for so long, after all... And he is very kind too, even when protecting it."
Her smile grew a bit more, but then the offer for a singing perked her up once again.
"Ah! Singing, you will really teach it for me now? I would love it."
With brimming eyes, Luna's tail swayed through a slip under the jacket, showing her excitement while Diego seemed to focus on
@Ueno Mizuki and
@Yugam's conversation.
"A Moonstone Golem?! That sounds so cool! How did it look like? Was it tough? Strong?"
Diego beamed.
"I am not sure how it works, but some golems aren't man made, they are simply reactions of the nature, or some sort of materialization... Though it makes it more of an elemental than a golem per se."
He said, musing about it while distracting himself from the boredom of waiting the rain to pass...
HYLANDS ASCENT - MOON KEEPER'S LAIR
Twilight
Weather: Cloudy
As the rain began slowing down, the group started gathering their resources to keep their journey through the Ascent. The rain was already gone, but the dangers it had created lingered, which forced the group to maintain caution on their marching.
Through a slippery ground and another, there were faulty steps, but each one of the group had an eye on the other, allowing them to continue to go up through those mountains, that only grew more eerie and mystical as the gigantic Moonstones become more prominent on the landscape, as if they pierced through the rough surface of the mountains, making it as if the crystals had parted it in two, opening it widely into what was called the Moon Keeper's Lair.
"We are almost there!"
In the last stretch, the little Sun Claw's voice seemed to grow happy, but also with a hint of anticipation, knowing that soon she would once again meet the friend she admired, making her hold the basket of fruits she had with her even tighter.
"My... Our purple whistle. Luthien, we are almost there!"
Diego chirped, joyful at their approach to the Lair, that had its path nearing an end...
And soon, the first few Moonstones could be seen in just a few feet of distance, with a magical glow in them that lit up the lair, that was started to become dimlight with the sun going down. Diego, nearly jumping in excitement, approached the closest Moonstone.
"Dibs! This is mine!"
He declared while grabbing the Moonstone, trying to pull it using all his strength, but the stone didn't even budge, but was quickly interrupted by Luna.
"Y-You can't pick up a Moonstone just like that, we need to talk to the Keeper first!"
"Beh- At least cutscenes are cool, so I guess it won't be bad to wait for it."
He sighed, slightly disappointed, while his wording seemed to puzzle Luna.
"Where is he, anyway?"
"Usually he greets us when we approach, but maybe he is cautious because of the bad Moonfangs..."
"As long as he doesn't try to turn us into dinner like the harpies, if it means for him to be cautious."
No longer distracted by the minor Moonstones that had appeared in their path, the group continued deeper into the Lair, with the Moonstones growing more and more, now being as common as normal rocks in the area. Well trained eyes could notice that the Moonstones they were seeing so far were mere layers of fake Moonstones, that served to shield the true Moonstones that remained protected inside of the fake ones... And a small test of endurance would prove that the fake ones were extremely durable.
Finding the Keeper seemed to be the only true way to get their hands on the actual Moonstones they needed, however, without his sight no matter how deep the moved into the Lair, a suspicious feeling began to raise between the expeditioners, along with a creeping sense of being watched crawling behind their backs.
"... Keeper!"
Luna eventually chirped, with excitement building up in her voice as she took a couple steps closer, while a silhouette of
the Moon Keeper seemed to appear up by a small elevation. The silhouette, however, never reacted, tingling an uncertainty in the back of the small explorer, that tried to reach for his friend.
"Luna, wait!"
Grabbing Luna's arm, Diego was soon surprised by a volley of arrows that soon flew toward them. The arrows were fierce and certain, only being barely deflected by
@Fiora Di Angelo's efforts on keeping the children safe, along with
@Lune's magical protection that shielded the small Sun Claw from other effects the arrows had with them, at the cost of receiving an arrow on herself.
Diego soon found himself slightly pale, with a weakness overtaking him.
"Ghh... Wh-Why is everything blurry?"
He winced.
"This smell, th-these arrows are poisoned, Diego!"
Luna exclaimed, both worried and startled, holding her friend to help him to stand still, until a voice interrupted them.
"Nice catch. I'm glad you could've noticed, I harvest those myself... Maybe you little Sunshines aren't that dumb."
A young Moonfang boy taunted, appearing from far behind with his longbow, between some of the slopes and not too far from the Moonkeeper figure, that now was clearer to see... The large Moonkeeper figure, one with open wings and ferocious gaze as if he was in a fight, was in a petrified state, unmoving and apparently unaware of everything on his surroundings.
The sight brought a pang of fear to the Sunclaw.
"Wh... What did you do to the Keeper..? Why is..."
"He is just taking a moment to cool his head."
Another Moonfang responded as she appeared near the petrified Keeper, this one older, a woman with a long clawed cestus, clenching her fists and taking a protective step near the archer.
"Yes, little one, I would be a bit more worried about you, your little... Friend..? And these weirdos with you..? Hmm? They don't really look like Sunclaws, do they?"
With fangs bared and claws shown, a smirking Moonfang appeared, looking down at the group from a high slope.
"It doesn't matter. But there seems to be an impostor over there. Another one, just like your brother."
A black-haired showed, pointing at
@Ueno Mizuki with his chin, and casting a glance from afar to the archer Moonfang.
"My brother is not an impostor. He is just a misguided idiot."
He hissed, taking a firm grip of his bow, only to get further interrupted by a thundering voice.
"Impostor or not, if they dare to stand on our way, they will suffer the consequences."
A larger Moonfang, one that emanated with an aura of fear and an oppressive gaze, loomed over a small hill. There was a dangerous calm behind his eyes, one that was more akin to a cold expression rather than patience or collected feelings. His expression remained mostly unchanged as he studied the group, with his eyes narrowing when meeting the ones of the beastfolk's, especially the younger ones.
They reeked
weakness.
Having to rely on those that weren't even primal-touched to protect them even, such a disgrace it was.
The Alpha rose his hands, with a rumbling coming from the grounds while dozens of eyes slowly opened, brimming through the darkness of the surrounding area, revealing an even larger pack of Moonfangs, that while not as imposing as the first five ones, they were just as filled with a desire for fight as the others.
An order came, sending shivers to Luna and Diego's spines, just as several crystals and stones erupted from the ground before flying toward
@Fiora Di Angelo, disrupting the elf's attention while attempting to leave the cover that were on the two kids open.
The opening left a gap for the rogue pack to charge in, with two of them going straight for the kids, albeit they were soon blocked by blurrs, that intercepted their approach.
"Oh? If it isn't the little traitor."
"Hmph..."
The silver haired Moonfang huffed, throwing aside a limp Moonfang and reaching for a protective stance in front of Luna.
"K-Kind Moonfang!"
A scowl crossed the archer Moonfang.
"Playing hero now, brother? Tch. I thought you would come back to fight with us, not against us."
Disappointment came with a hurtful tone in his voice.
"This is not playing hero. It is not playing idiot."
He retorted, frowning at the sibling.
"I would say coming to a fight outnumbered is quite of an idiot move."
"He isn't as outnumbered as you think."
A collected voice corrected, with a hoot that followed with a sharp strike against an incoming Moonfang, and a flock of other harpiers approaching, with one already chirping with an inspiring singing -
"Lalalaaa~ So we finally found you~" She chirped. "This time for real, though~"
"FOR REAL? HELL YEAH! I HOPE THIS ISN'T ANOTHER MISUNDERSTANDING, THAT WOULD MAKE IT A THIRD!"
"Way to go and admit that we caught the wrong pack again... Well, not that it matters."
The harpy shook her head, casting a brief glance at
@Luthien, while a large, vicious looking harpy approached from
@Yugam's back, whispering to him.
"That's not really how I wanted us to fight again, but that works." She flapped her wings.
"Now now, stop flirting with your little crush and get your claws ready." A sigh escaped her lips. "The dinner is finally on the table, after all~ It took a bit, but... Revenge is a dish better served cold anyway~"
"S-So now what?"
"Now we hurt them." She said. "This time without a drop of mercy."
"YES MA'AM!"
As the harpies charged in, Diego struggled to stand, keeping close to Luna as he pressed a few bombs open and threw them forward, exploding to create a distraction to the enemies, opening their defences for the expeditioners to charge in.
"L-Luna, c'mon, we can't just be targets like before..."
He huffed, determined to fight despite the weakness taking over him, while the small Sunclaw nodded.
"R-Right, hmm--"
Closing her eyes, Luna muttered in an unknown language, and the Moonstone in her necklace glowed, resonating with the surrounding Moonstones and engulfing some of her allies in a protective barrier.
Cycle 7 - Baring Fangs
DIEGO
RED WHISTLE
5 / 6
Protected by @Fiora Di Angelo
1x Poisoned
AoE Power Buff
2d100 (26 + 31) + [75] + 15 + 15 = 162 / 3
+54 extra damage to 3 targets for 1 attack
You are Vulnerable.
AoE | Diego | 1878C6
Save
1d100 (66) + 0 =
66 (Failure, 1x Poison Stack)
Fortitude | Diego
Receives
1 LP damage.
Actions: Attack, Buff, Haste/Inspire and make Checks.
Diego will act last.
LUNA
SUN CLAW
3 / 4
Protected by @Fiora Di Angelo
+22 Inspire by @Lune
Ultra Protect
3 targets gain protected status
You are Vulnerable.
Luna | 1878C6
Save
1d100 (79) + 0 + 22 (Lune's Inspire) =
101 (Success)
Fortitude | Luna
Receives
1 LP damage.
Actions: Protect, Hinder, Heal and make Checks.
Luna will act last.
Scouting Ahead
[ 1120/1806 ]
Leading the Way
[ 1527/1827 ]
During your turn, you may be able to activate one
Utility Assistance, and one
Damaging Assistance. When one of the assistances are activated, they can't be activated again during the cycle. Assistances that allow you to pay for points multiple times must be paid multiple times by the person that is activating it.
During the
Damage Phase, one random
Utility Assistance NPC and one random
Damaging Assistance NPC will be attacked,
incapacitating them. In the
Player's Phase, any Player may spent a
Bonus Action to recover the one Assistance NPC, or they may spend a
Free Action at the cost of
50 HP. The recover can be flavored as a protection, a heal, taking the hit on their place or anything that is narratively fitting.
UTILITY ASSISTANCE
Cheerful
Players receive +15 bonus on Offense, Defense, Heal and Buff actions
.
100 Scouting Points. Adds +15 bonus to everyone's Offense, Defense, Heal and Buff actions in the cycle
. Can be picked multiple times.
Wise
Players receive +1 movement
.
100 Scouting Points. Adds +1 movement to everyone's movement in the cycle
. Can be picked multiple times.
Sadistic
Enemies that attack Taunting players receive
50 flat damage retal.
100 Scouting Points. Adds the damage dealt to the Taunting player to the
damage retal.
Meek
5 damage mitigation for every allied player and NPC in the same zone (up to 20 damage mitigation on the zone). The mitigation only applies to those sharing the same zone.
100 Scouting Points. Gives Protection to a player or NPC
. This protection stacks with normal protection, potentially becoming Super Protect.
DAMAGING ASSISTANCE
Knucklehead
Deals
12d20 physical damage to a target. Dice explode at 20's.
Deadpan
Deals
6d20 physical damage to a target. Dice explode at 20's. If the damage result is
above 70, the
damage triples.
Vicious
Deals
8d20 physical damage to a target. Dice explode at 20's. Applies
4 stacks of Bleed to a target.
Azure Moon
Deals
4d20 physical damage to a all enemies in the field. Dice explode at 20's.
