Raze ~ 15!

Joe opened his reward box after melting the lions with Acid Spay. He had sat a little apart, hoping that it would be something cool enough that he didn't want to show it off right away. As the box popped open, Joe saw what appeared to be… he had no idea. At least, until he got the notification.

Item gained: Rituarchitect Survey Grid! (Artificially Rare) No more measuring out distances for buildings by hand; this item allows you to get exact measurements for the perimeter and area of any building you plan to build, and displays a soft-light grid to mark out exactly where it will be placed!

“Um.” Joe looked at the item, which appeared to be a small solar light from earth. It had a spike on the bottom, obviously to be pushed into the ground, and a mirrored panel on the top. All in all, a not-very-impressive tool, but hopefully useful either way? 

“Ready to get a move on, Joe?” Alexis called over to him. “It’s already afternoon, and I want to see if we can find a shrine before dark. I know we all brought camping gear, but if we don't need to sleep outside, I’ll be much happier in the morning!”

“Fair point!” Joe got to his feet and stood, pausing and frowning as he got a new notification.

Skill increase: Mental Manipulation Resistance (Novice V).

Where had that come from? Joe thought about his recent battle as well as searching the area. He was pretty sure he got that increase due to dwelling on his injury during combat, and not shaking it off right away like he was supposed to do… but would that mean getting badly injured in the future would cause him to dwell on and remember more pain? How long would it take for this skill to break him? As much as Joe wanted to empower all of his skills, this one was certainly an exception.

Joe thought about this issue for a long while as they walked across the huge savanna-style area they had recently entered. It was strange how suddenly and radically the landscape could shift in this world. At least they had found where the lions had come from, but Joe was finding that he preferred his spot in the northern forests. The heat was also slowly increasing, and as night came along… the area began to come alive. It seemed that most of the creatures in this area were going to end up being nocturnal, and-

“Hold up a moment.” Alexis stopped them, then took a few steps off the path and pointed. “Can anyone tell me what that looks like?”

The group gathered around and looked. Sure enough, there was a recognizable track in the ground. Jaxon shrugged and shook his head. “Not a clue! Dirt? Mud that dried? Is there going to be a quiz on this later?”

“Jaxon…” Alexis cracked her neck, making Jaxon quiver with anticipation. “Look, that’s the size and depth of an Elite Wolfman Warrior. What would they be doing around here?”

Bard offered his opinion, “Well, they ruled the majority of ta continent before we broke their spine. Likely they are gettin’ together to regroup, repopulate, try again later, yea?”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Jaxon nodded along. “They are such nice people too, when they aren't trying to tear your face off.”

“You… know some of them?” Joe cocked his head to the side as he asked this. “How do you know them, I guess would be the better question.”

“Helped a few of the young and elderly get out of the forest.” Jaxon seemed to be in earnest, and Joe certainly wasn't going to condemn someone for helping others. “They seemed nice, gave me a free pass to visit, all the fun times.”

The others exchanged a look, and Alexis asked the next question. “What way were they going when you helped them out?”

“Well, we started off going east, then we parted ways when I continued north.” Jaxon explained amiably. 

“So… did they go south?” Joe prodded him.

Jaxon scratched at his chin. “Maybe?”

There was nothing else for it, so the party continued onward. They would need to be on guard, but what else was new at this point? They moved across the open area as night began to fall, and soon all of them were attempting to stave off yawns and grumpy attitudes. When they came to a tree, Joe called out to the others, “Alright guys, I’m calling it. Let’s set up here. I think we made it about forty miles today, and it looks like anything that's out here is going to be coming after us at night. We need to get some sleep, and set a watch.”

“Why don't you just set up one of those ‘Predator Territory’ spells?” Alexis demanded, already pulling out a sleeping bag.

“Mainly because I haven’t been able to find the time to make one.” Joe got a look at that, and crossed his arms defensively across his chest. “Look, every single one of those rituals takes a lot of time and concentration to set up. You’ve seen what happens when it fails or goes wrong! Also, they are expensive to use, even if I can mitigate the cost of them. If you would like to step in and cover the mana cost, or even just the components, we’ll go make some of them right now!”

“Joe. Chill.” Bard put an arm around Joe’s shoulders and gave him a side-hug. “Ye need some sleep, bud. Go’on. I’ll take first watch.”

Was he getting to upset? Joe didn't think so, but from the looks of the people around him… perhaps Bard had the right idea. “I… sorry, guys. We’ll talk after the inevitable attack tonight, alright?”

“Sounds good, sleep well!” Jaxon called from a hot pink, overstuffed sleeping bag that looked more like a beanbag chair than a sack. Joe decided that Jaxon must have some kind of storage device, and tried not to think too hard about it. He closed his eyes, and was asleep in moments.

Giant Scorpions.

The poison-using, double-pincer wielding bugs burrowed out of the sand around them, tossing huge geysers of sand into the night air. Joe wasted no time, grabbing his staff and releasing a spray of acid from the tip. There was some damage, but nothing like Joe expected. The acid rolled off the attacked scorpion like it was just standard water, and Joe was forced to jump back as the stinger attached to the scorpion slithered through the air at him. His stamina reserves dropped by half, but he avoided the blow.

“I hate these things!” Jaxon leapt at the bug in front of him, landing on it and riding the beast like a horse. His fists dropped like hammers, slamming into the weak points of the creatures’ joints. A stinger came at his back, but Jaxon straight up ignored it and kept pummeling. The stinger dug into his back, and the scorpion pumped a load of poison into the Monk.

“Ge’ up ya!” Bard joined in the fray, his axes coming onto another of the creatures. A pincer took the blow, the bug retaliating with its other claw and tail near-simultaneously. Bard blocked the tail, but the pincer wrapped around his midsection and attempted to cut him in half.

*Ssssit* Poppy’s rapier went right through his target, the armor-piercing effect of his class and weapon causing the otherwise frail creature to fall and spasm in its death throes after a single attack. Conversely, the first arrow that Alexis sent at one of the bugs skittered off and nearly damaged Bard. Seeing the issue, she switched over to a stiletto and prepared to defend herself if the creatures got too close.

“Hold them off while Poppy finishes them!” Joe spoke over the quiet scuffle happening on the sand, not needing to get anywhere near shouting.

“How abou’ ya focus?” Bard growled at him, fending off another stinger. He had managed to smash the pincer that had gripped him, though he was heavily bruised under his armor. Jaxon rolled forward, off the scorpion he had been straddling, and collapsed onto the ground. The bug also fell, its head entirely caved in.

“That’s… how it’s done.” Jaxon was breathing heavily, and black lines were tracing his veins. “Entomologist, baby! Down with bugs of all kinds!”

“Heal!” Joe sent an orb of healing water at Bard and then rushed to Jaxon’s side. “Cleanse!”

Black water spun in Joe’s hands, flooding out of him and into the gaping wound on Jaxon’s back. Thick liquid started to pool out of the Monk’s back, causing secondary damage as it touched his skin. “Corrosive poison? Now I get why my acid didn't even phase them.”

Poppy lunged forward again, creating a picture-perfect thrust with one arm extended behind him. Another scorpion down. Bard and Alexis worked together to fell the one that had been trying to re-establish a grip, and all of a sudden they were alone amongst corpses. Jaxon shuddered as Joe's work continued; as the last of the poison left him and red blood began flowing from the deep stab wound, Joe used his Lay on Hands spell and fixed the damage.

“Looks like you’re gonna need to get your gear fixed up, Jaxon.” Joe touched the ragged hole in the Monk’s robe. “Unless you know how to sew?”

“No, too expensive of a skill for me to learn.” Jaxon sat up and smiled around at the group. “Anyone not get experience yet?”

“Are we still in combat?” Poppy whirled around, looking for danger. The others, who had been relaxing after the event, went back on high-alert and grouped together. Since it was a very dark night around three in the morning, only Joe was able to see what was going on outside of the light provided by the campfire.

“I see nothing, but that only means that there might be something stalking us stealthily.” Joe paused, feeling a tremble in the ground. “Or it might be right below us.”

The group scattered as the sand split, and a tree-like tail pierced through where Poppy had been standing. From the amount of sand that was displaced, it seemed like a sandstorm was arriving. As the wind caught the dust and blew it away, a massive scorpion was revealed. Jaxon took a single look at the bug and seemed to fly into a rage. “Kill it!”