Nasar nearly facepalms through his head ”Oh for the love of gods...guess we can’t really do anything besides wait them out can we? Unless you still have a connection with Marissa and can use your powers to ‘suggest’ for her to leave. I don’t know how you’re powers fully work or what the full extent of what succubi can even do.”
Lily mumbles, Yea lemme try, and she puckers her lips thoughtfully before saying, And she shook it off... crap. I can tell her to come back but she probably won't listen if I just tell her.
”Well then just tell her to wrap it up and get back here. It’s been long enough and im sure they have had plenty of fun by now. Without a way to the arena we can’t do much more than that anyways.” Nasar lays back and tries to relax while the rest of the team is off doing god knows what. ”Ya know I share a lot about myself but I don’t really know all that much about you Lily.”
Lily lets out a sigh, Nahh you don't wanna know about me. I'm all types of f*$ked up, and she stays quiet and realizes Nasar won't take that for an answer. Well... I'm a succubus but for a longgg while I wanted to go against that whole thing, I figured I could make some sort of amends to my former self by taking up a different mantle of being an alchemist. So I studied with a group of alchemists in Hell, slaying monsters and gathering reagents to learn about different alchemical creations. I enjoyed that for a long while up until I met Jurastist and Deetrium, then I was plunged into a few millennia worth of war crimes. Deetrium took me on a long trip to gather materials from different planes he was 'stopping' in and that's where I realized he had a softer side under his old egotistical self. After all that I got out from the war effort and soon after I saw Deetrium go to trial over his brother and get hauled away by angels to Heaven's Shore. she clears her throat a little, That really broke me when that happened, because I thought I really loved Deract and could've shedded my old succubus ways to be with someone. But that shipped sailed when he went away, from then on I moved permanently to the Plane of Shadow and took up trying to open my own social place. Utilizing all my alchemy stuffs I could make like a hookah or smoke lounge which I was in the process of finally doing after kind of getting motivation from meeting Crowe. she shrugs. I lost track of what I was saying... where the f$%k are they?!?
”Millenia? Jeez Lily you really are old huh?” Nasar lets out a bit of a laugh at his comment, trying to lighten the mood after Lily’s own somewhat sad but also incriminating tale. ”Maybe Marissa is going off the rail and just doesn’t want to leave.” Nasar sits back up, takes a stick and pokes at the fire and talks a bit quieter, even though Lily is the only other person awake it’s like he is trying to prevent other people from hearing him. ”Really don’t think you can move past your succubus side anymore, just given up on a relationship like that?”
Lily shrugs, Moving past the succubi stuff? No that ship has sailed I’m a bad b$&ch now I’ll consume anything I feel like it. But relationships... I don’t know... friends fill a void of loneliness even if you had to create one from an initial perspective of wanting to exterminate you. Marissa is fun albeit violent at times, she’s definitely going to turn into some sort of fiend when she finnaly goes down. And Genesis is fun to be around, Deract... she stares at the fire blankly for a second. It’s like meeting Deract all over again and I think that’s ok. Jail changed him, not just his name. I think I have to get over the fact of liking him allot before now and just try to focus on building a friendship like we had before he got hauled away. and then she points her crispy wood stick at Nasar jokingly. And you fine sir!! Your pretty awesome, you’ve managed to pull together a team from all walks of life and crammed them all into one cohesive team that actually likes each other. Not allot of people can just coexist like this especially with some history and the differences we have ran into. And even though you’ve been through so much you still have a sane demeanor about you.
Nasar lets out a bit of an uncomfortable laugh with being shower with compliments so suddenly. ””For a self proclaimed “bad b+@*$”, you are always so kind to me. And I can’t believe this team works as well as it does. Having Marissa’s change in personality definitely helps the cause. Plus Gen is proving to be a very valuable ally, although we still haven’t figured out her shadow. Since it’s doubling her spells it might be magical in nature which isn’t really my area of expertise. And until you shared about you and your past about Deract, i thought the main problem was you two going at it. But i get it now, and i know you wont actually do any serious harm. I just wonder at times if we have enough strength on our side. I still don’t fully know the full scale of what we are up against with Jurastis but i don’t think we could really add anyone onto the team. It’d start getting a bit too crowded plus we’d have to find someone that wouldn’t throw off the team’s chemistry.”
Lily nods, Strength can come in many forms, I need to add a few new formulae to my book. Gen has to deck out her spell book so we have to find some poor wizards to copy stuff off. You, Marissa, and Deract all have your own ways of gaining raw strength. You still have plenty of body parts to deck out with those magical items like that drow b***h had. Deract tends to gain new abilities and such whenever he consumes enough souls, the perks of being a fiend. And Marissa has her... shadows guidance if you want to call it that. she waves the stick around drawing with the trail of light in the air like a play book diagram out of a football teams startegies. Your leadership can garner us a small posse of likeminded individuals and I'm sure an army wouldn't hurt to have when it comes to fighting through Jurastis' forces.
The merchant can be heard in his tent and he walks out and comes over to the campfire, Mind if I sit for a second? Lily gestures for him to sit. He places a cup of water on the smoldering wood and looks to the two, I overheard you two were looking for more work and a shot at some personal items? I could give you temporary aid in putting you onto a small excursion taking place right after we would be arriving at Riddleport. Care to hear? Lily looks at Nasar to gauge his intrest.
Nasar nods and looks over to the merchant, saving the rest of the conversation with Lily for later. ”You’ve definitely peaked our interests. Please go on.”
The merchant opens up a small notepad with orders and such with prices and numbers. I have a few merchants in my connection but one sort of rival in the business has found out the whereabouts of an Ice Wyvern nest with a clutch of eggs currently in incubation. That merchant is setting up to dispatch a group of Pathfinders to get more information and possibly retrieve an egg for further research but I think he wishes to sell the egg on his black market connections. After a minute or two he grabs the cup off and steeps a small bag of tea into it and sips before talking again. I want that egg and any others that are there, wyverns are brutes that don't deserve to be in an ecosystem like this even if its a few miles subterranean. So I wish to exterminate the wyvern as well, and if possible cause that merchant as much collateral damage as possible if you catch what I mean...
Lily nods, You want us to put the Pathfinders out of commission too.
The merchant looks at the fire, I wouldn't want civil blood on my hands so nobody has to die. But if they fail their mission and the wyvern somehow vacates the area and the eggs disappear then the merchant suffers a great loss, especially if he has to reconcile his Pathfinders and their associates for the trouble of going into a treacherous place. He waits for Nasar to ask any questions or respond.
Nasar perks up at both the mention of the eggs and the pathfinders. ”So we get to tamper with wyvern eggs and mess up some pathfinders? Sounds like a good time to me. How much would we be making for taking on such a task?”
The merchant nods as he takes another sip of tea, A few hundred gold each for the eggs delivery, an extra hundred per person if you can slay the wyvern and bring a trophy as proof. And strip the pathfinders of their belongings and call that yours as well. Does that sound like payment enough?
”Hmmm, might have to buy some sort of bag of holding or something to make carrying these eggs a bit easier. Been wanting one of those anyways, this pack gets way too heavy some days. But yes that sounds like a good deal to me, plus if these pathfinders are decked out with some good gear the pay could be potentially irrelevant.” Nasar thinks for a moment and turns back to Lily ”Oh i had another idea about your caldron. You think these soul gems could be used in someway? Like maybe as some sort of catalyst or something? Maybe you could even combine these gems like you did with those mundane ones.”
Lily thinks about it for a second, Science is learned through trial and error, were gonna have to try that!
The merchant perks up at Nasar talking about a bag of holding, Uhh you say you need a bag of holding?! I have one I've been meaning to get rid of! It... it's special... if you don't mind it being a special kind of magical you have a perfect bag of holding! He stands up to goto his cart, Care to see?
Nasar shrugs ”Sure, but what do you mean by special? Cause i have a pair of gauntlets that are “special” but not in a good way.”
The merchant grabs it from his cart and brings it over, It... it has a spirit inside of it from what I've been told. And a particularly vengeful one at that, it has the tendency to pull animals out from inside instead of the item your looking for. But if you get over that its a bag of holding if I've ever seen one. Here theres a few things inside already I've been too lazy to take out, you can have them. He hands Nasar a satchel that glows of 2 purple runes on the buckle to close it. A strap hangs on its top that allows for over the shoulder carry.
Obtained:
Bob (Bag of Holding II)
Wonderous Item
This is Bob. Bob is a bag of holding. Bob is always in a bad mood and likes to cheer himself up by surprising whoever is with him with useless, angry animals.
Bob is an a**hole. Don't be like Bob
Random Animals (1d12)
1 Hippo
2 Giant Rat
3 Boar
4 Cow
5 Giant Frog
6 Dire Wolf
7 Ape
8 Black Bear
9 Elephant
10 Swarm of Wasps
11 Crocodile
12 Owlbear
Bob currently contains:
-3 rations
-2 clubs
-commoner cloths (2cp)
-smokestick
-glass bottle
-Potion of Cure Light wounds
Nasar looks at the bag and then looks at Lily "If we were a normal team this would seem really out of place. But honestly...a spirit like that would fit right in with us." He then looks back at the merchant "Saves me the trouble of hunting down a magic shop selling one, I'll take it."
The merchant hands it over to Nasar and says, Oh joyous! Take that as some extra payment for your troubles of transporting the goods. Now that I've had my tea I do think I'm ready to sleep now. And with that he heads back to his tent and heads to bed.
Lily looks back at the sigil on the ground and raises a fist. This is exactly the type of irresponsibility you were referring to. It's been over 2 hours and there still not back! she walks around to throw a piece of wood on the fire. Why don't you get some rest Nasar, I'll wake ya if something is a prowling. No need for me to sleep I just do it for fun.
"I always wondered if you needed to sleep...Alright if the team comes back while I'm asleep, feel free to give them s+@* for the both of us. I trust you can handle that perfectly fine. Goodnight Lily." Nasar gets as comfy as you can while camping and takes a sleep while she keeps watch.
Nasar lays in bed and falls asleep but is slowly woken up by the echoing in his head of the all too familiar voices of shadows. Read read learn adapt read destroy learn shadows steal open learn the voices echo in his head as he stares at the top of his tent listening to the crackle of the flame outside. It's slowly getting louder and louder and the sound of the fire fades behind the chorus of voices in his head prompting him the read the book once more in his pack.
Nasar's head feels quite dizzy as he hears the crescendo of shadows in his head that won't leave. He can't even hear himself shuffle about as he tries to steady himself in bed.
"reaDrEADLeArNadaPTReADDEstrOyleaRNShAdoWSstEAlOpeNleArNreAdreaDleARnaDAptrE ADDeSTRoYlEARnSHAdOwssTEaloPEnLEarnReAdReAdleARnaDAptReaDDesTrOYlEaRNsHadoW sSTeAloPENLEARNreaDReadlEaRnadAPtreaDDesTrOyleArNSHadOwSSTEaLOPenLEArNREADr eAdlearNaDAPTreadDesTROYLeaRNShADoWSsTeaLOPeNleARNREadrEADLEaRNadAptREaDdes tROYlEaRNsHadoWSSteAlOPenLEaRnReaDReaDleaRnaDAPtREADDEStROYlEarnsHadOwSStEA LOpenLeaRnReADreaDlEarNaDAPTREaDDEstROyLEArNSHadowsstEALopEnlearN" Okay OKAY I GET IT ILL READ THE BOOK GODS JUST SHUT UP
Nasar digs into his pack sleepily and pulls out the book and gets to reading like a good lad so he can "Read read learn adapt read destroy learn shadows steal open learn"
Nasar pops open the book and watches as the swirling symbols and murky unreadable text draws him into a state of stasis. Mentally he is pulled into the book as his vision fades to darkness.
Nasar once again finds himself in the black void simply floating wherever the gravity takes him momentarily. The large cube of slime and Diamondback Tortuga float over from the distance and greet Nasar once again. The turtle speaks, It seems the echoes of the shadows have brought you back once more, had to satisfy the mental urges did you? You must take care as to not let them pull you into a state of mental anguish.
"Listen Tortuga, I get that but it's easier said then done when the voices wont let you sleep. I only really want to come here when needed but I'm hear now. Might as well try to improve my abilities with Club while I can."
Tortuga and the gelatinous cube glance at each other before they float away from Nasar and speak, Come
Club floats as just a globe of black and red from behind Nasar as he follows. The cube asks, So slime, ever tried to make friction? Ya know molecules vibrating and all that jazz.
Nasar looks a bit puzzled "What the f#*& is a molecule." He shakes his head and continues "Whatever, no I haven't tried friction. I assumed Club would be to...uh...slimey to cause any meaningful effect. Or just light himself on fire if successful."
Club can be heard, I would definitely set myself on fire and then hurt myself and be useless.
The turtle floats closer to what looks to be a redish hue in the distance. But patience can overcome that threshold of pain. If you figure out the point right before you were to burst into flames you could use that to your advantage.
Club confusingly retorts, So get myself so hot I almost set on fire so that I can...?
They arrive at an area with a redish glow around a small orb of flames. The ball unravels to show an armadillo cloaked in fire on its back. It speaks in a womanly light voice. Well explode my dear. Any good pyrotechnic knows that's the only way to get stuff done. The armadillo uses its tail to pry off a small scale off its fiery hide and it lets it float in front of Nasars eyes. Let yourself break apart, loosen yourself so that you can drip freely.
And with that Club trails up Nasar's arm and rests around his wrist. Relax Nasar...
Nasar relaxes himself somewhat easily as that is his usual pastime through meditation. "Having an on command explosion would be a handy trick. First we need to find your limit of heat." Nasar focuses on Club at his wrist, keying in on it's temperature as he wiggles himself to near flame.
Club vibrates as the three shadows watch him, Club can be seen almost dripping off of Nasar's wrist like a melting ice cream cone. Woah this is uhh this is pretty hot. Nasar's wrist feels as if a hot pad is being applied directly to his arm. Nasar begins to feel a searing heat on his wrist as small drops of Club hit the "floor" and pop.
Nasar can tell that any hotter and he will singe his arm but the armadillo urges. If it hurts you may need to find a sort of protection for your body to withstand your shadows untapped power.
The Cube says, Yea like an oven mitt so you don't burn your hands on the oven! Here use my slime coating for now! and he moves closer for Nasar to stop and stick his arm in the slime cube.
"I can invest in bracers or gloves that are heat resistant at Riddleport-Gods damn you can get really hot!" Nasar sticks his slowly burning hand into the cube. "Maybe once you get to the point of ignition I could almost like throw you at an enemy and you could be our own version of a fireball spell."
The armadillo nods in its head, Precisely, just like this. The armadillo flares up its scale and pops it off and headbutts it sending it to the distance where it makes a tiny explosion and a loud pop can be heard. She looks to Nasar, Let's continue.
Nasar sticks his hand in the slime and pulls it out with a glove like film covering his hand, it is quiet cold on the inside but Club wraps back around and begins again. As Club vibrates and heats up more and more of his red spots start showing as more of him drips off and pops as it hits the ground. The turtle looks closely, Use impact as your catalyst Nasar, send the drops forward and let nature do its trick. Club clings hard ready for Nasar to try and throw some off like a kid in the shower trying to be a water bender.
"Alright Club. No pressure. Just remember if we screw up, we explode. Got it? Good!" Nasar flings his arm forward to throw some clubbombs in an arbitrary direction that isn't going to harm any shadow there.
Nasar flings his hand forward and little Club droplets fling off the tips of his fingers and pop loudly as they hit the 'floor'. The armadillo nods, Good! Now Club, focus yourself and accumulate in Nasar's hand right before he throws his hand out. Again!
Club is dripping off Nasar continuously as he says, This is really hot, any sort of disturbance could blow me up so be careful.
"I hear ya buddy, can feel that heat too. Gather up in my hand and I'll push you away from my body so you can do your thing!" Nasar brings his hand close to his body, makes an open fist so Club can pool into his hand and thrusts it forward as if his name was Goku and he was trying to throw a Ki blast.
As Nasar winds his hand back and goes to throw Club as he pools in his hand and it flings forward leaving only a small amount of Club in Nasar's hand. The armadillo says aloud, Wonderful yes! Reserve yourself Ooze! she looks at Club and Nasar, Again!
The glob flies forward as it congeals together and hit the ground about 40 feet away but can be seen as a large fiery explosion that sends the pressure back towards the shadows, Nasar's scarf and hair are softly blown back for a second. Club slowly refills on Nasar's arm for a second and now confidently says, Ready!
"Alright Club, let's see how far I can throw you without you bursting too soon." Nasar focuses harder on the next throw to try an gauge the effective range of this attack.
Nasar focuses on throwing once more and wails Club about 30 feet before he slams the ground and explodes once more. The armadillo nods, Excellent, one last time.
On this last throw, instead of throwing Club just forward, he swipes his arm from one side to the other to make a wall of exploding club instead of a concentrated point.
As Nasar sprays his last spray he manages to let off a flurry of smaller explosions in a 10 foot cone. Diamondback Tortuga nods, He learns fast.
The armadillo looks at Nasar still coated in Club, And as such he must learn what happens if he messes up. and as soon as he hears that a scale flies at Nasar's arm.
The scale whizzes right into Club as Nasar is instantly blinded by a sudden inferno and explosion springing forth from his arm blowing him back onto his butt.
Once again Nasar's face is singed with flames as he returns to his senses from the blast. He sees the armadillo and the turtle and slime all standing nearby. That is what you face should you mess up while trying to execute this powerful skill. What you deal to others may very well what happens to you. Club stays pooled on the ground in pain and weakness.
Nasar grabs his exploded wrist and shakes off the tingles of being blasted point blank. "With all do respect, I already knew what getting blown up and burned feels like. But it is good to know that the kind of explosion I'm causing isn't fatal...more so debilitating. So thanks for that, and thank you for helping with the new skill." Nasar stands and dusts himself off. "I think this is when I exit though. Probably been here for a couple hours again."
The tortoise shakes his head, Don't be mistaken, you merely experience it as such because you are not in your body at this moment. Should Ooze detonate upon you you will surely burn as will anyone nearby that doesn't slip by. he agrees nonetheless, But yes... you have been here for an extended period of time. Return to your plane. And Nasar's vision slowly blackens before he slowly fades back to looking at the book.
The voices cease as he sits there staring at the now blank pages. It is still dark and the fire still crackles outside. Nasar's body still tingles from the explosion he just felt though he doesn't look as if he suffered a sudden explosion.
Nasar puts the book away angrily as now he feels a little too awake to sleep after getting his arm burned. "Stupid piece of s%#~ waking me up. 'Oi Nasar whaddya say about some shadow training' Yea mate that sounds swell let's do it IT'S ONLY 4 IN THE BLOODY MORNING YA STUPID LEATHER BOUND C@~&." Nasar walks out of his tent to sit back at the campfire for a little. Let the smoke from the wood make him sleepy again and try to see if he missed anything important.
Lily looks at Nasar as he clambers out the tent, Jeez you too? It’s only been like an hour...
"Only an hour? That's a lot better than the four from last time I read that stinkin book. Anything interesting happen during that-wait me too? What did the merchant wake up too or something?
Lily shrugs, Well he couldn’t sleep so he came out here before you went to bed. And now you, nothings happened since you were gone it was so short a time.
Nasar walks over and sits next to Lily by the fire "I see. Well I was comfortable before I heard something calling to me, drawing me to the black tome again. But seems like i was only in there an hour tops. But I did learn a neat trick while I was in there."
Lily shudders, As much as I’d like to see what that’s all about it scares me.
"It's strange I'll give you that. But since your shadow is something you were already familiar with, I don't think you have a whole lot to gain from the tome anyways. All it's helped me with so far was teaching me new techniques with my shadow. Makes me wonder what Deract got out of it anyways." Nasar then does a double take, fully grasping what Lily said "Never would have thought I'd hear that you're afraid of something."
Lily leans back, Well of course, it’s more like a fear of the damage I could cause to the people I care about. Like what if I went nuts like Deract did, and you’ve seen how I turn tables with my magic. It’s just a recipe for disaster in my eyes. she lets out a girlie giggle. Don’t go telling them I’m soft now or else I’ll have to scoop your eye out and then give you a regeneration potion so you can watch it regrow. I have fears I just don’t talk about it. But I trust you... the sigil on the ground pulsates light as it shines upward. Speaking of which...
Deract, Marissa, and Genesis appear in the light laughing as Deract holds a large sack on his back and an iron helmet on his head that’s way too big for him. Marissa waves to them and plants her hands on her hips, Miss us?!
Nasar closes his hand into an open fist as anger swells much like a parent would if their kid didn't come right home when the street lights came on. "You three were gone for almost three hours...almost had me worried something happened in the arena but it seems you three made out well. What took you all so long?" The tightening in his wrist causes him to wince at the non lethal damage that hasn't healed just yet so he takes out some bandages to wrap his wrist and hand as they talk.
Marissa puts up her hands guiltily, Woah now we were just having some fun, see we wanted to fight so Varis decided since the arena was fixed he would make an exhibition out of it. People started placing bets on who was going to win and Genesis helped facilitate all the betting and stuff. And so the fight started and let me tell you I don’t know what your teaching him but he’s fast!
Deract bows slightly, Thank you thank you.
Genesis picks it up. But to make a long story short Deract poked Marissa in the eyes and she turned him into a heap of stones. But! Everyone else wanted a piece of the action, and since we are still waiting on a slew of the other contestants to return the Overseer held a gauntlet to see how many people Marissa could take down one by one. People ponied up an entry fee and some people even payed me for spell casting to try and help them-
Marissa crosses her arms, But I smoked them like fish up until that Android stepped up and absolutely trashed me. I thought I had her in my grip but I didn’t realize she was a hand to hand expert and she tossed me like a frisbee. After that fight Varis called the gauntlet and sent most people on their way, he called us to his throne and told us about the grand show we put on and he gave us a hefty portion of his earnings in admission and betting.
Deract places the bag down, A thousand for us three each and Five hundred for you two since you didn’t come Varis said. He said he would’ve loved to see you guys fight too!
Marissa taps her chin, Ya know that B Android said something too after she threw me to the ground about you Nasar... I can’t quite remember it was a few days ago and I’ve been in ALLOT of fights over the last couple days.