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I'll be going with the Rule of Two: if two part members agree on a particular action, that will drive the narrative forward. The exception to this rule would be if there is a crucial plot point or important decision - in which case, the entire party should have a say in what happens. This helps keep the game moving forward, as some people like to play social characters, and some like to keep to the back row and wait until combat. (I've totally been both types of players at different points in my time playing tabletop, I get it. :] ) Posting at least once a day. I understand that life gets in the way, but I typically check the boards three times a day (morning before work, lunch break, and late night before bed). That's when I'll be posting, and when it gets to combat, we'll wait no longer than 24 hours before I assume the turn of an unresponsive PC. If you're going to be away for any reason, just shoot me a PM or mention it in the discussion thread. Initiative in combat; I'll roll everyone's initiative, then combat will play out in block-groups. If the order is PC1, PC2 Enemy1, PC3, Enemy2, Enemy3, PC4, PC5, think of the enemies' turns as stop signs, and anyone in that group can act. I'll keep a good record of this in combat. As more of the combat in SF is ranged, the precise placement of minis isn't quite as important as it is in PF. If a conflict arises (ie. blocking a shot or line-of-sight for an ally), we'll simply rule that the ranged attack happened before the melee character engaged. If you have any other questions about how the game will be played, please ask me. I'm pretty easygoing.
"The Venture-Captain will see you now." said the assistant in a soft, calming tone. "Just down the hall, last door to the right."
As you start the trek down the long hall along with your fellow recruits of the Starfinder Society, you think back to the initial surprise you felt when you were summoned directly to the Lorespire Complex by Venture-Captain Arvin.
As you come to the door to the pristine meeting room, you smells a pleasant aroma that is being pumped through the air recyclers. A large table fills the room, with chairs lining both sides. A tall damaya-caste lashunta towers over the table, hands planted on its surface. He gestures to the chairs, inviting you to sit.
“Thank you for arriving so quickly. As I mentioned in my comm message, we have an urgent opportunity to recover some critical information." The Venture-Captain taps on a wrist-mounted datapad, the room's lights dim slightly, and the table's holodisplay glows a faint blue, depicting a spacecraft of Pact Worlds design.
“Several months ago, a crew of Starfinders took a ship called the Unbounded Wayfarer into the Vast to explore a series of uncharted planets." he frowned. "As you might have guessed, they never returned. Earlier today, a vesk pawnbroker in the Downlow neighborhood contacted us, offering to sell us several Starfinder insignias. These insignias belonged to the lost crew of the Unbounded Wayfarer, and as you can imagine, that immediately caught the Society’s attention."
V.-C. Arvin taps another sequence on his datapad, and the projector fades from a starship to a identification photo of a hefty vesk male whose neutral expression seems to be a vicious smile of fanged teeth.
"This vesk pawnbroker —named Julzakama— doesn’t realize the true value of the insignias. We negotiated a purchase price in exchange for the insignias and information about the seller. We hope this seller can lead us to the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew."
"We’ve remotely transferred the requested credits to Julzakama. Now, we need you to collect the insignias and all the information you can from the vesk regarding whoever sold him the insignias, and then track down that seller. Learn where to find the Unbounded Wayfarer and its crew. I’m worried that the seller might not be on the station for long, so act quickly. If you have any questions, please make them fast.”
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Iseph listens carefully, nodding in aceptance every now and then, till the Captain finishes his briefing.
"I'll be starting the engines on the double. The sooner we get there, the better."
Though his skin is usually a cold and light tone of blue, when it comes to spaceships involved Iseph's coloration turns a bit darker, as if showing his excitement.
"If no one has anything else to add... shall we meet in the ship in... let's say an hour?"
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The Venture-Captain gestures to Iseph. "No need for off-station transport; Julzakama's Loans is located in the Downlow, in the Spike section of the station. If you've never been, I would take some measure of self-defense." The lashunta pats a weathered and worn plasma pistol on his hip.
"The Spike's nothing more than slums and gang warrens. And the Downlow? It's probably one of its roughest subsectors. Head straight to the pawn broker's shop, and get a lead on this seller. We need to track them down in order to get the whereabouts of the Unbounded Wayfarer."
Arvin taps on his datapad, and a small symphony of chimes, trills, and beeps erupts as the party receives the directions to the pawnshop on their personal comm units.
"Stay safe, and report back to me after you've made contact with the broker. Dismissed." he says with a nod.
The trek through the poor and densely-populated Downlow is relatively quick and simple thanks to the Society's directions. Although some areas of Downlow are clean and trendy, this narrow alley of concrete and metal buildings drips with oil and sparking wires. A wide, red neon electric sign reads “Julzakama’s Loans” on a building sandwiched between a Kuthite sensation house and a derelict building covered with graffiti. The shop’s solid metal door contains a single, small window too grimy to peer through.
The interior of the shop is crammed with shelves containing all manner of near-valueless items, from small appliances to VR game consoles and jars of colored powders. The shop has the acrid smell of a reptile house that has not been cleaned in months. A massive vesk in a muscle shirt stands at the rear of the shop, behind a low desk and a series of heavy metal bars anchored into the ceiling. You recognize him from the ID photo you saw earlier - Julzakama himself, carelessly disassembling an old computer.
As you make your way to the back of the shop, he looks up from his tinkering.
"Well, considering I've caught up with my payments, I'm guessing you're no debt collectors." He sets down a soldering tool and flips up a monocle from a cybernetic optical implant. "What brings you to the... esteemed and honourable Julzakama's?"
He flashes his teeth in an unsettling smile.
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Not even looking at the Vesk, but having long looks at some of the desks trying to discern if there's something dangerous, Iseph's intention is to let his mates do the talking.
He can't help comment, though, "We are indeed debt collectors. You were paid for some items and we came here to retrieve them."
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Korskal looks around at the rambling collection, trying to avoid bumping anything and knocking a display over. At the android's comment "Nah, debt collectors break limbs and wreck things, I only do that kind of stuff on Fourthday. We're customers, I think." After a slight pause, "Wait, what day is it?" Korskal starts checking for his calendar.
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Altronus listened to the Venture-Captain, agreeing with the others that they would find out more information about the Unbounded Wayfarer and gather the Starfinder insignias.
Altronus had never ventured into the Downlow before. His eyes kept wondering around, searching from anything interesting. Inside the shop, he drifted over to the shelves, searching for anything of value.
Seeing a book, he picked it up with his top right hand, thumbing through it with his top left hand. "I believe it is Fourthday, actually. But I may be wrong, of course." With a slight chuckle, he sets the book down.
Turning towards Julzakama, he said "The Starfinder insignias are what we are here to retrieve." His voice turned sharper, "We will also have the information on who sold them to you." Altronus reaches up with his bottom right hand and grabbed the mote of yellow light that orbits him, just holding it.
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Julzakama glances sideways at Korksal. "Idle yer engine, brother. I want no trouble. I pay good protection money to the Lowriggers, and you wouldn't want to get on their bad side."
The Vesk gets up from his workstation, and saunters over to the register wicket. He takes a long look at Iseph, then reaches under the counter. "So, the human's toy-man can speak! Quite a novel thing, programming a courier drone to deliver such witty banter." He flashes a wide smile, setting a nondescript metal box onto the countertop.
"The Starfinder insignias are what we are here to retrieve."
Julzakama pushes the box through a gap in the bars with a single finger, tapping on it. "And so the insignias are what you'll receive. Do thank your betters for me, would you? This turned out to be quite a... lucrative exchange on my part."
Once opened, you see that the box contains seven insignias bearing the compass-like logo of the Starfinder Society. The vesk scratches the scaly skin between his bony beardspikes with a clawed hand and chuckles. “Seems I’m now fully paid for those trinkets there. I remember Arvin said something about wanting information, too, and I can do that. But information costs... extra.”
His voice turned sharper, "We will also have the information on who sold them to you." Altronus reaches up with his bottom right hand and grabbed the mote of yellow light that orbits him, just holding it.
The burly vesk holds his hands in the air in a sign of peace. "H-hold on now! I don't want any trouble. Normally I don't go telling anyone the confidential details of clients, but I can gather something shady's gone on here." the vesk punches a couple keys on the countertop, then turns a display screen to face the party. "Here's a security feed from she came in. Name was Exegara, and definitely not from around here – had no sense of direction. She was definitely an Eoxian. She looked like a man-ling, but didn’t breathe or blink or anything...”
The vesk pawnbroker scratched the back of his neck, looking uneasy. "She was wearing a flight suit, like she had just come off a long trip. Once she had her money, she asked about where to purchase... clean skeletons." He gestures to the contents of his store's shelves behind you. "Clearly, I don’t carry goods like that, so I sent her to the Vat Garden.”
He punched a couple keys again, and the video winked out of existence. "And I'd be careful; she mentioned something about hiring some local muscle “just in case.” No good can come of that."
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Korskal looks up from his calendar "Hey you're right, it is Fourthday! Good to know incase we run into that muscle."
Grinning at Julzakama as he slides the box info his pack, "Thanks for the info, always glad to meet someone that keeps their end of a deal. I know the Society only paid you for the info on your source, but you happen to know anything about the Vat farms you'd share? One should always try and know the terrain." Korskal turns around to leave after Julzakama's answer, nearly bumping into a table on the way.
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"So, the human's toy-man can speak! Quite a novel thing, programming a courier drone to deliver such witty banter."
A cold look is all the reptile gets when he comments that. Later on, after he's backed off and delivered the info, Iseph just let it fall:
"Oh well, after your comments I thought you were a tough guy. It seems I wasn't programmed proper, though."
He doesn't wait for the Vesk's reply and quits the shop with the rest of the group.
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Once again seeking out information from other sentients in the area, Keskodai seeks to know about the vat gardens as well as anything about the Eoxian. There is much knowledge available about the Ysoki venture known as the gardens, but I have not learned much about our quarry, Keskodai relates this along with the information gleamed from others to his companions.
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If Julzakama knows anything more about the Vat Garden, he's certainly not telling you anything. You get the sense that he's long done with any sort of conversation. The very topic of the Eoxian spacefarer seems to have left him perturbed.
Thankfully, due to Keskodai's social graces (and perhaps a bit of psychic eavesdropping), he relates to the rest of the party additional information he learned about the Vat Garden.
With any business now wrapped up at the pawnshop, the party begins to exit the building.
"Oh well, after your comments I thought you were a tough guy. It seems I wasn't programmed proper, though."
The vesk pawnbroker looks on, stunned. No pithy remark or comeback fills the silence as the android leaves with the rest of the party towards the Vat Garden.
The garden is relatively easy to find. A little off the path of the main accessway for the Downlow, this particular station passageway opens up into an enormous sunken pool filled with a riotous growth of plants. A narrow walkway leading to other parts of Downlow encircles the overgrown vat, and a spire of some kind of machinery stands in its center. For such a busy section of Downlow, the area is surprisingly quiet. Two ladders and a steep staircase pierce the foliage and lead down into the vat.
As you start to head down the walkway, you notice that the area is quieter than usual. For being a ysoki-run area, there's a distinct lack of fur and tails. Or anyone, for that matter. It's almost as if the locals are avoiding the area.
Keskodai can sense the presence of four individuals ahead, down in the gardens. Some muttering can be heard, but they are definitely trying to keep any conversation secret.
<< LINK TO CURRENT TABLETOP >>
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Korskal will move forward, looking around to try and spot where everyone is. Running his hand over his Doshko in its sling Korskal waits to see what the others do. After a moment he says quietly over the comms "Oddly vacent around here, wonder if that has anything to do with the Eoxian. We need to try and talk to them right? Get the information on where they got the insignias."
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Keskodai lets his allies know of the people ahead, telepathically so as not to give anything away. He prepares his pulsecaster pistol in the event violence ensues, but keeps that hand lowered so as not to present a threatening front. There appear to be four of them, be careful not to start anything prematurely.
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Turning to leave, Altronus releases his yellow mote allowing it to orbit his head once again.
"Thank you, Julzakama. We'll be on our way." He says as he leaves the shop.
Once outside, Altronus asks his fellow Society members, "Has anyone been to the Vat Gardens before?"
Altronus thought the gardens were very interesting looking, but he did think it was slightly unnerving since there was noone around.
"Thank you, Keskodai. We know Exegara hired some muscle but we don't know for sure this is them down below, so you're right, we should be careful." Altronus whispered, just as Iseph jumped down.
Should I jump like Iseph or move around towards the stairs. Maybe i'll wait to see what the others do.
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Iseph silently and gracefully climbs down to the base of the vat garden, finding a limb on a fruit tree thick enough to support a good hand hold, and break their fall. Creeping through the rows of vegetation, the android overhears the four figures.
"... I hoped that when I hired you lot, you'd be as good with a shovel as you claim to be with a hammer. Your handler said you were decent riotbreakers, but you can't dig holes worth a damn." hissed the woman, head covered with a hood. Iseph can't quite get a good look, but it's possible that this woman is Exagara. The three others are human males, thuggish in outward appearance. Gang tattoos and piercings cover their body where industrial work clothing doesn't.
They appear to be digging in various spots in the dirt, and you notice a pile of recently unearthed bones near the centre spire.
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Telepathically communicating with what allies he still can, Keskodai says to stay still and quiet, that he will try to speak through this, but to come to his aid should negotiations devolve. To those on the floor below, he holds a grenade in one hand with a readied action to hurt it should his fears come to fruition, while also trying to speak to the assembled masses peaceably. Greetings grave robbing individuals. I am Keskodai and I have questions regarding the acquisition of the starfinder sigils you acquired. We hope you will share this information kindly, but understand that is not always the case. The thoughts are genial, and there is no intended malice, though a wafting sense of distaste flows through as grave robbery is rather abhorrent.
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As Keskodai addresses the four from the catwalk above, Iseph waits in the vegetation below. The android can clearly see that all attention is towards the shirren mystic above.
The android can clearly hear a raspy, whispered female-sounding voice coming from a couple rows back in the vegetation. "... so stall them, or turn them away! My work here is far too important to be interrupted by some do-gooder bug-man."
There is some shifting sounds in the bushes, and one of the gravediggers emerges from the vegetation, stepping foot on the trodden dirt path in the middle of the vat. He is carrying a shovel, but Iseph can clearly see a gun on the man's hip. (But then again, everyone the android has seen in the Downlow has been carrying a sidearm of some sort.)
"What's that friend? Starfinders? I dunno nothin' about no Starfinders. Me 'n my crew, we were just hired to dig some new plots for some recently acquired mulchbags. Some stiffs from a couple sectors down, right? They couldn't foot the bill for a fancy burial, so this is where they ended up. Just got to put them in the ground, yet."
[dice=NPC "C" Perception]1d20+4[/dice]
The gravedigger must not see the threat of Keskodai's grenade, for he does not act accordingly.
Off to the right, towards the north entrance, the party still on the catwalk spot a fifth stranger, who looks to be a female lashunta. Pressed up against a support strut, it appears as if she's trying to avoid being spotted by the strangers below.
The female lashunta walks into the room Did I miss anything? she asks with a smile.
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Seeing the Lashunta Korskal waves for them to take some cover and in a low voice to her. "Lay low, this could go south any moment. But no need to make yourself a target or startle them into making it go worse. You picked the wrong time to visit the gardens I'm afraid." Korskal turns back and waits to see how this develops.
Edit: roll to try not to draw attention to himself or the Lashunta in doing so.
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With military practice and precision, Korskal signals the lashunta and relays the information. She appears to hold for now.
Down in the the vat. The party can see from their elevated position the two other strangers who are still digging into the soil. The hooded woman, harder to spot due to her distance, has appeared to cease what she was doing, and is looking towards the north. To the south, the party can also spot a fifth person weaving through the rows of vegetation...
Iseph creeps along the row of plants, making sure to avoid the brute on the other side. The gravedigger is working slow and deliberately, his eyes darting up to the catwalk above after every shovelful of soil.
The android makes it to the end of a row of berry bushes, and looks to the north. Through the vegetation, Iseph can finally see the hooded woman. She is placing recently unearthed bones into a backpack, and looks to be in a rush, until she stops for a second. She then looks up, towards Iseph. Tilting her head in an inquisitive manner, a shock of surprise fills her eyes. ”Whha!? Jarkin!” she shouts to the east, dropping her pack and sending chalk white bones thudding to the ground below.
Effects:
Terrain:
Those bolded below may act.
Iseph - Surprise Round
Enemy: Hooded Woman
Korskal
Enemy G
Enemy: Jarkin
Iseph
Raia
Keskodai
Enemy C
Altronus
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The two gravediggers are clearly caught off guard by Korskal's sudden burst of speed. The one named Jarkin is even more surprised when the vesk soldier sinks his doshko into his midsection.
Jarkin, to his credit, manages to stem the intense pain, push away from the hulking vesk, and swing the shovel in his hand at the soldier with a piercing scream.
The shovel clangs uselessly against the vesk's ceremonial plate, and a look of terror fills the man's eyes.
To the north, one of the gravediggers covers the hooded woman as she passes by him, firing into the bushes towards Iseph.
A sharp snapping sound erupts through the air, and a light beam punches a hole though the rows of plant matter until it stops at Iseph. A hazy streak of smoke fills the vacant space where the light once was, and the android is scorched with the laser's beam.
Those bolded below may act.
Iseph
Raia
Keskodai
Altronus
(then on to Round 2 of combat)
The lashunta makes a double move.
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Iseph springs from the bushes. "Gurge! Look out!" shouts the hooded woman, but it's a touch late, and the thug is caught unaware. He tries to dodge the blade, but Iseph's knife finds purchase. A splash of crimson is splayed across the green stalks and leaves.
To the south. The man called Jarkin, seeing Korskal's bloodlust, calls out to his compatriot.
"Damnit! Corvell! Get him!"
After having seen his compatriot smashed by Korskal's doshko, Corvell wastes no time, slamming an assault hammer into the side of the big vesk.
The blow connects with a sickening concussion.
Those bolded below may act.
Altronus
== Round 2 ==
* Enemy: Hooded Woman
Korskal (-7 DMG)
* Enemy: Gurge (-5 HP)
* Enemy: Jarkin (-10 HP)
Iseph (-8 DMG)
Raia
Keskodai
* Enemy: Corvell
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Well, looks like we're fighting. Altronus thought as he jumped down into the Vat.
Landing harder than he expected, it took a second for him to stand up.
Upon doing so, he reached up for his mote, bringing it down into a long, golden blade.
Altronus made his way over to Korskal, slashing out at the man called Corvell with his solar weapon when he reached his side.
I'm going with Photon Mode--When attuned in photon mode, Altronus gains a +1 insight bonus to damage rolls.
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Revelling in glee having successfully smashed Korskal with his hammer, Corvell is taken completely by surprise as a flash of light fans across his face.
That light... came... from... behind!?
They were fairly unimaginative last thoughts, as far as final moments go. Simple thoughts for a simple man. Korskai looks behind his shoulder as Corvell's head topples forward from a cauterized stump where his neck once was. When his body falls to the side, he can see a proud kasathan solarian standing over his quarry. Altronus' golden blade of pure photonic energy gleams brilliantly, casting shadows on the vegetation that surrounds them.
To the north, the hooded woman tears away her head covering, revealing a nasty, shattered maw of fangs and incisors. Iseph can see now that this woman is indeed Exegara, the woman seen in the security video .
She lunges as the android.
The snap of her jaws rings in Iseph's ears as he pushes her away in the nick of time. Foul breath registers in his olfactory sensors.
Effects:
Terrain:
Those bolded below may act.
Korskal
* Enemy: Gurge
* Enemy: Jarkin (-10 HP)
Iseph
Raia
Keskodai
Altronus
== Round 3 ==
* Enemy: Exegara
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Korskal swings and misses his opponent. He then growls out at the woman. "Just hold still and answer our questions. We just want some info not your life. Or is that unlife?" After a moment of puzzlement Korskal resumes threatening his opponent and ask him. "Are a few questions unanswered really worth the lives of you and your friends?"
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Horrified at the sight of his comrade's quick end, Jarkin emits a terrifying roar and swings his shovel at Korskal's head.
It connects with a crack, then Jarkin takes a step back into the brush.
To the north, Gurge swings wildly at Iseph with his assault hammer, looking to smash the android to pieces.
The first hit connects with a thud, and the second whiffs as Iseph is toppled to the ground, incapacitated. Before losing consciousness, he sees Exegara shouts over him in response to Korskal. "Friends? Hah! They're no friends! I paid them good coin to deal with interlopers like you lot!
She looks to the catwalks above, seeing Raia and Keskodai. "I've got a counter-proposal; let me go. Grant me safe passage out of here, and I'll let the android live!"
Iseph
Raia
Keskodai
Altronus
== Top of Round 3 ==
* Enemy: Exegara
Korskal (-13)
* Enemy: Gurge
* Enemy: Jarkin (-10)
Seeing that the enemy she was going to engage is gone, she runs back towards the ladder.
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"I think i got carried away just a little." With a shake of his head, Altronus watches as the head hits the ground.
Giving a little shrug, he stalks over to Exegara trying to persuade her on the way, "We are here for information, Exegara. Everyone does not need to die." Stressing everyone, Altronus stops next to the undead woman, his blade held at his side.
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Exegara seems unfazed by Altronus' attempt to talk her down. "So you got lucky with Corvell. Well, we got your 'droid friend in return!" she then lunges at the solarian, baring her vicious maw and sinking bone deep into his forearm. A stiffness darts up Altronus' veins.
Exegara’s bite attack paralyzes her target for 1d2 rounds unless the target succeeds at a DC 12 Fortitude save.
Effects:
Terrain:
Those bolded below may act.
Korskal (-13 DMG)
Enemy: Gurge
Enemy: Jarkin (-10 HP)
Iseph: 0 HP/SP, but stable
Raia
Keskodai
Altronus
== Start of Round 4 ==
Enemy: Exegara
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To the north, Gurge steps forward and takes a swing at Keskodai. "I stomp bugs like you under my boot!"
The hammer connects with a crunch, and the brute laughs.
To the south, Jarkin is desperate to disengage from Korskal. Believing in the ancient adage "strength in numbers", he times Korskal's attack to take a guarded step back, and then retreats to the north, shoring up Exegara's flank.
Those bolded below may act.
Iseph: 0/0 SP, 0/0 HP (stabilized)
Raia
Keskodai (4/7 SP)
Altronus
== Start of Round 4 ==
Enemy: Exegara
Korskal (0/0 SP, 8/13 HP)
Enemy: Gurge
Enemy: Jarkin (10 DMG)