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"With the Inheritor's aegis on me, I should be able to draw upon the healing magic in these," Mathine chimes in, examining the delicate wands closely. "I will make certain we stay safe and whole." Waiting for the party's approval (although maybe a few moments sooner than she would have waited if she had any doubt), she uses a cord to bind the wand to her belt. "Now, let's go find Kimi and the children. Elara's halfway house seems the best place to start, if that's where they usually go."
Sorry I've been out of it; that's likely to continue for at least a week or two more while I'm trying to deal with everything. I'm still kicking, but on top of the work-related insanity I have going on right now (60-65 hour weeks every week, one day off), I also have vertigo on the daily, so bad I can barely keep my feet sometimes. Feel free to bot me as needed or replace me if it's what the group votes is best.
Sorry if I don't get a chance to post for the next little bit - work week from hell and it's showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. I'll try and get in posts as I can.
Upon her return, Mathine goes right away to the inn, hoping to find her mother in the same place and condition as when she'd left for the woods. Of course, running off or getting into trouble would mean she did something, and that's usually the hard part, getting her to do anything at all. Below the frustration, though, there's a genuine undercurrent of worry - leaving her mother in a plague town hadn't been her first choice, it was just the only choice.
Utility contribution to the party depends heavily on element and talent selection. Some elements are almost all utility, some are less so. Think of the kineticist as a more restricted blaster sorcerer, basically - you'll definitely do damage, but what else you do is up to you.
Welcome, Marioc! And Nazard, I hope going back to school stays sane and that your numbers stay nice and low. It be crazy right now.
I'm a melee tank, but honestly, it's a role that's worth doubling up on in a lot of cases.
Got my leveling done - didn't have the original Hero Lab file at hand, so I had to recreate it. I still couldn't re-find the Sword Specialization trait I had before, so I traded it out for Armor Expert, and somehow my skill numbers were weird in ways I couldn't recreate, so I adjusted slightly. None of what's different should change anything that came before significantly.
Finished leveling (although I will officially redo it in Hero Lab a little later to make sure I didn't miscalculate, as I'm a little rushed right now). I did take Kinetic Healer, as well as putting a point in Use Magic Device. (For a whopping +2, but it's a chance.)
Yeah, I don't have anyone looking for a game.
Guess who's taking "lay on hands"? ;) I'll have my leveling details a little later.
Thank you for the game! I'm sad to see it end, but I do agree that it seems like an all-kineticist group has a little bit harder time than I'd have anticipated. I have no doubt it can be done, but there has a lot that wound up falling by the wayside.
Keeping her shield at the ready, Mathine uncorks the bottle with her teeth and drinks it down before stepping forward to place herself closer to the...whatever it was.
After carefully cleaning the blood from her sword, Mathine strides confidently from the room, studiously avoiding the sight of the dead worg. "It would have gone back on its word," she says softly to no one in particular, except maybe herself. "It couldn't be trusted." With a shake of her head, she takes up a place at the head of the group and settles her shield at the ready as she opens the next closed door with her other hand.
...I may force my enemies to surrender, but I am responsible for their lives. Mathine stares down the worg cowering before her, her thoughts roiling. A great warrior of Iomedae would guide it toward the light... Then she remembers its cunning, its willingness to destroy her friends, and her blade flashes through the air as she snarls. Guess I'm just all right.
With one foe eliminated, Mathine circles to face the worg, her blade flashing as she swings hard.
At the yelp in the courtyard, Mathine springs into action, hoisting her sword high. "Rao - go help Oryn!" she calls out, calling Iomedae's pale light into being around her sword and wheeling around wildly to swing at the wolf behind her.
Subtly, Mathine steps forward, filling the doorway in front of the wolf with her body as she bends in a very precise bow. "Then it appears we have already been of great service to you. We have defeated all of the creatures that threatened you, as I would do any time a friend is threatened." She puts particular emphasis on the last phrase as she levels her gaze coolly into the canine eyes before her - but she can't help the slight chill that runs through her at the words.
Mathine is taken aback by the appearance of the large canine - but resolutely she steps forward, nodding to the...whatever it was. It had given no reason for a violent confrontation, at least not yet. The eyes gave her chills, though. "Reasonable, indeed. Is it the southeast tower you speak of?"
Finally, with her footing solid, Mathine manages a solid swing at the kobold, the faint light surrounding her sword glimmering in the gloom.
Taking advantage of Bolkvar's opening, Mathine steps forward quickly, hoping to finish the kobold despite the disadvantages of the narrow corridor.
However, she stumbles on a bit of debris on the floor and her blade swings wide.
Mathine tries her best to lash out at the creature at the door, but her sword skates clumsily off the door jamb.
Stupid mold...stupid mushrooms... Mathine pouts slightly, trying not to let it crack her outwardly patient demeanor, and her eyes follow Rao's to the single non-moldy mushroom on the top shelf. But even if it is the right one, it's not like it's just going to jump down and land in our laps - And then, strangely, she feels a tiny rush of power, an echo of Iomedae's blessing that suffuses her sword during battle. And the mushroom jumps off the shelf and lands in Mathine's lap. "Wait - what?!"
The cloud of spores sets Mathing to coughing violently, and even when she finally manages to quell the cough, the rasp in her throat remains. Ugh. Seriously, why can't these jobs be in well-appointed mansions? 100% less mold... Still trying to clear the spores from her airways, she lets the others take the lead for a time.
Please let that be...whatever those things were, and not Bolkvar... For a moment that feels like an eternity, Mathine holds her breath in anticipation, until the dwarf makes his continued presence known. "Oh, praise the Inheritor!" she exclaims breathlessly as light floods back into the room. "I had faith She would use me as Her shield for you."
As Bolkvar cries out, Mathine turns and swings to the side of where Bolkvar had been before, hoping against hope that she's correct in her guess.
"Where are they?!" Holding back the urge to curse at the sudden darkness, Mathine holds her sword and shield at the ready. "Are they moving?"
Once again cursing her ineptitude (despite years of attempts) at the longbow, Mathine stands ready with her sword and shield to attack the creatures should they leave their place on the ceiling.
Mathine steps toward the lead, holding her shield at the ready.
"Well, open doors could mean someone went through recently," Mathine answers in a hush. "Straight ahead, I say."
As they approach the building, Mathine holds up a hand. "More wolf prints here. Or wolf-like, anyway. I'm not much of a woodswoman to know much more. But they're going both ways, so the wolves come and go from here...we need to be on our guard." She punctuates this with a readjustment of her shield, although she tries not to show how the weight of it is burning in her arm.
With Bolkvar scouting the remainder of the tower, Mathine stands guard at the door. Word of further strange behavior from the wolves sets her on edge, and she adjusts her grip on her shield nervously.
So glad to hear (not that you’re swamped with work, unless you earn by commission of course), but that it’s only temporary and we haven’t lost you. Nope, not commission. Not even hourly. Salary. -.-
Hoping the spider takes the bet, Mathine holds her position, her sword at the ready.
Temporarily swamped with work, but hopefully the worst of it is past now. (I hope. 60 hour weeks are very overrated.)
"Let's check the tower first," Mathine chimes in, shifting her grip on her sword. "It's a quick area to check for surprises that could come from behind."
Mathine wheels around to attack the wolf near her, her blade almost threatening to get away from her in the surprise of it all. Ugh, woods - no thank you. Give me a nice town any day.
With the deer dispatched, Mathine reaches for her pack, pulling out one of the torches lashed to its outside and setting its end alight in the campfire.
"Be gone, monster!"
Once again, the faint glow of Mathine's sword stands in sharp contrast to the darkness of the wood as she swings it heavily through the air. But her weariness begins to catch up with her, and the sword's momentum is unchecked until it strikes the ground next to the undead deer.
With a shout, Mathine swings once again at the putrid creature in front of her, attempting to send it back to its rest. The light of her sword flares slightly as her blade finds its purchase.
Mathine stays within the circle of the firelight, cursing her weak eyes as she peers uselessly into the darkness. Soft prayers tumble from her lips, and her sword glows faintly as she stands tensed and ready to strike.
I'm an essential worker and thus haven't stopped going to work, I was already a hermit before quarantines started, and I'm still over it. XD
It's all Mathine can do to stay awake through her own watch, unaccustomed as she is to traipsing through woods. Walking along a well-trod road was one thing, cutting through barely-traversed forests another. But the short rest she'd had during Oryn's watch had washed away more bruises and aches than she'd thought possible. Forest air really is rejuvenating, it seems...but I think little pains would have kept me up more easily, she quip to herself, fighting the weight of her eyelids.
Still dubious, Mathine steps carefully back into the hut, examining its contents with slight distaste. "I was never much of an herbalist, and this isn't exactly changing my mind," she says half to herself. "None of these look like something a priest of any holy religion would approve much of. Although, the leaf is pretty. And at least we found this rat's tail."
The next couple of weeks are going to be some of the busiest of my life, so if I don't post feel free to bot me/move on without me. I'll see you on the other side.
With a shout, Mathine pulls her blade from its scabbard, and a soft glow dances over its edge as she swings it at the cauldron.
Mathine's hand suddenly recoils from the figure, though she tries her best to mask her surprise. "We are not here to rob you," she answers. "I swear it, by Iomedae's shield. But as my friend says, we need rat's tail for a plague remedy, and we are prepared to pay."
Nervously, Mathine steps through the door, approaching the blanket-swathed figure. "H-hello?" she asks in what she hopes is a pleasant voice as she reaches to set a hand on the figure's shoulder, trying to mask the waver in it. "Are you Ulizmila?"
Unwilling to let someone else take all the credit for valor, Mathine hurries to meet with Bolkvar, falling in step with him as they approach the hut. "Hello?" she calls, trying to mask the nervousness in her voice. "Is anyone there? Please, we need your help."
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