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Last time, on Sarcantasy: www.deviantart.com/grendelkin/…

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"Keep the elemental here," Droz says without looking back at Silva.
He also disengages himself from the quivering Lagomorph without looking at her. With slow, measured steps, he starts to walk towards the immobilized High Elf.
"Get him," he says. Then his eyes blaze red and he screams a single word in Untergarten, the common language of the Underground, and breaks into a run.

Nova, the Halokai and Volamite Number Twelve understand the word. The Volamite chants his standard spell, and the other two Undergrounders start running after the Low Elf. Gloomy Gus, who does not understand Untergarten, gallops after them after a brief moment of hesitation.
With the Volamite's spell-bolt arcing over them, the three warriors bear down on the sergeant, roaring at the top of their lungs. The sergeant screams -- a mixture of fury and fear, with a dash of pain once the spell hits -- and then they are upon him.

It does not take long before the sergeant falls silent, but there is some additional … noise … as the three vent some frustration on the recumbent body. They seem to have gotten it out of their system by the time Gloomy Gus catches up.
"Late to the party as usual," the Epon says. "Story of my life."

Droz wipes a hand down his face, then runs it through his snowy hair, breathing heavily. Then he shakes his head and turns to the others. "Right," he says. "The automagic system isn't going to need long to do its accounting. Before it awards EXP for these jokers and we start looting, I'd like to review everyone's performance."

He turns to the Halokai and jabs a finger at its face, causing the massive predator to flinch.
"Zero points out of ten! You got cocky, son! You and Nova were supposed to back each other up, so you should've stuck by her side, not rush ahead and leap out at the bastards. If Nova hadn't backed you up, that kid would've stabbed you in the brain after kicking you down. And what the hell did you think you were doing when you finally got some swings in? Claws and teeth are not going to get through steel armour! You got a club, start using it! If you don't know how to do it well, take another level in Adventurer and get an Ability!"

The Halokai looks flabbergasted -- then looks down at its claws, which are definitely looking the worse for wear. Its hands are bruised almost as badly as its ribcage... It tries to hide them behind its back and avoids making eye contact with Droz.

The Low Elf turns to Nova. "Five points out of ten. Yeah, you stayed on-task, made sure your partner didn't get shanked in the eye, but you overcommitted on that hammer-swing and got yourself stuck and almost stabbed in the spine. We're not in the Underground anymore, you have lots of space to direct your hammer! Against High Elves, wide, horizontal swings will block off more of the enemy's movement than heavy overhead attacks."

Nova flinches, then stands rigidly at attention and salutes. "Sir! Yes, sir!" she says. "I shall take your guidance to heart for the next battle, sir!"

"And you," Droz growls at Gloomy Gus, who just lowers his head. "Zero out of ten! When you're placed to protect the Casters, you protect the Casters! You do not let them get your goat and run off to engage the enemy! A single buff-spell does not suddenly make you a legendary warrior, I did not expect you to be a legendary warrior, I expected you to stick with the Casters and kick at anything that tried to lay a hand or a blade on them! The whole point of this trap was to make the scum think the Casters were a soft target, then hammer them from behind while you kept them busy!"

"Didn't think I was gonna be much use in a fight," Gus sighs. "Just like everything else."

"Casters!" Droz roars.

"Look, before you say anything, I was not gonna stand around when the donkey already..." Number Twelve starts to protest.

"Ten out of ten," Droz says, speaking right over the Volamite and causing him to shut up with a surprised squeak. "Your job was to attract attention and then hold position and hit the filth as hard as you could. Both of you stayed on-task, and didn't leave your position until it was clear that your defensive line had shifted. Keep up the good work."

The Low Elf glares at the Halokai, Nova and Gus again. "Face facts, guys. If I hadn't held back and moved in when I did, you'd all have been dead -- or worse."

Nova gulps, vividly remembering the High Elf's threat.

"We won this one," Droz continues. "But we were lucky. We can't rely on luck to win every fight for us. We're going to have to shape up. All of us."

"Yes, sir!" Nova says, saluting again.

"Hey, you just said we did good!" Number Twelve protests.

"We can do better," Droz tells him. "You keep telling us you're smarter than Silva. Prove it next time by reminding your defensive line what his job is if he starts getting carried away. Same goes for Silva."

"Huh. I can do better," Gloomy Gus sighs. "Nicest thing anyone's said about me in years."

At this point, all party members feel, more than hear, the voice of the Automagic Field:
All party members gain 16 EXP!

"That it?" Number Twelve asks, querulously. "We all got slammed back to zero because the cow, the predator and the bunny levelled up to two! Sixteen EXP isn't even near enough to get them up to scratch or get me another level! I mean, we need -- we need … How much do we need?"

"I need thirty to get to Chaos Warrior three," Nova says. "The Halokai needs twenty whichever he chooses, Adventurer or Creature. If Silva goes for another level of Sorceress, she needs forty. Twenty for another level of Nomad. Once they're at three, we'll need at least twenty to get you up to Sorcerer two."

"This Party system sucks!" Number Twelve growls. "I can't wait to get rid of it so I can collect my own EXP again, and not get slammed down to zero down everytime some lower-level goes up!"

"So you'd rather be out here all alone?" Droz asks, pointedly.

The Volamite promptly shuts up for some reason...

"Alright," Droz says. "All said and done, we won, we all survived. Time to loot and rest up. Our Casters are mostly out of oomph, I'm out of Elf Speed for today, and two of our guys are battered and bruised. Probably best that we find a place to hide and rest up for tomorrow. We can plan for the next hunt."

= = = = = = = = = = = =

Having stripped the corpses of everything useful -- and after the Halokai has wrenched an arm off of the sergeant, which it promptly starts snacking on -- Team B has gathered the following items:

# Ten cigarettes of Snort. Snort is a light drug, comparable to marihuana.
# Two vials of Elven cordial. This is an alcoholic beverage distilled from fruits. It's cloyingly sweet stuff, but it'll get you drunk if you need to be. It can also be used to sterilize wounds in a pinch.
# Two Elven longswords. These are style-longswords, forged to be especially useful in the Sword Form known as arol.
# Two Elven shortswords. These weapons turn out to be Blessed, making them usable by Elves only.
# Two sets of steel full plate with helmets. (Please note no one in the party is proficient in the use of fullplate. Helmets do not require a proficiency.
# Two shields, steel.
# Two Heart Guard badges, gold on onyx.
# Two silver holy symbols of Lihalane, the Elfmother, supreme goddess of the Elves and hearth goddess of the High Elves in particular.
# Four healing potions.
# Two detox potions.
# Two vials of poison.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

WHAT WILL YOU DO?
+ Do you want to object to Droz's review of the battle?
+ Which parts of the loot do you want to take, and how are you going to distribute the stuff?
+ Do you want to talk strategy for the next hunt, and if so, which improvements do you want to suggest?
+ Which group do you want to look in on after this? Switch to Team A (Daisy & Co.), stick with Team B, or go look in on Filia?

You vote, you decide, here on Sarcantasy!

= = = = = = = = = = = =

VOTE CLOSED.
Please proceed to: www.deviantart.com/grendelkin/…

Description
Last time, on Sarcantasy: www.deviantart.com/grendelkin/…

= = = = = = = = = = = =

"Keep the elemental here," Droz says without looking back at Silva.
He also disengages himself from the quivering Lagomorph without looking at her. With slow, measured steps, he starts to walk towards the immobilized High Elf.
"Get him," he says. Then his eyes blaze red and he screams a single word in Untergarten, the common language of the Underground, and breaks into a run.

Nova, the Halokai and Volamite Number Twelve understand the word. The Volamite chants his standard spell, and the other two Undergrounders start running after the Low Elf. Gloomy Gus, who does not understand Untergarten, gallops after them after a brief moment of hesitation.
With the Volamite's spell-bolt arcing over them, the three warriors bear down on the sergeant, roaring at the top of their lungs. The sergeant screams -- a mixture of fury and fear, with a dash of pain once the spell hits -- and then they are upon him.

It does not take long before the sergeant falls silent, but there is some additional … noise … as the three vent some frustration on the recumbent body. They seem to have gotten it out of their system by the time Gloomy Gus catches up.
"Late to the party as usual," the Epon says. "Story of my life."

Droz wipes a hand down his face, then runs it through his snowy hair, breathing heavily. Then he shakes his head and turns to the others. "Right," he says. "The automagic system isn't going to need long to do its accounting. Before it awards EXP for these jokers and we start looting, I'd like to review everyone's performance."

He turns to the Halokai and jabs a finger at its face, causing the massive predator to flinch.
"Zero points out of ten! You got cocky, son! You and Nova were supposed to back each other up, so you should've stuck by her side, not rush ahead and leap out at the bastards. If Nova hadn't backed you up, that kid would've stabbed you in the brain after kicking you down. And what the hell did you think you were doing when you finally got some swings in? Claws and teeth are not going to get through steel armour! You got a club, start using it! If you don't know how to do it well, take another level in Adventurer and get an Ability!"

The Halokai looks flabbergasted -- then looks down at its claws, which are definitely looking the worse for wear. Its hands are bruised almost as badly as its ribcage... It tries to hide them behind its back and avoids making eye contact with Droz.

The Low Elf turns to Nova. "Five points out of ten. Yeah, you stayed on-task, made sure your partner didn't get shanked in the eye, but you overcommitted on that hammer-swing and got yourself stuck and almost stabbed in the spine. We're not in the Underground anymore, you have lots of space to direct your hammer! Against High Elves, wide, horizontal swings will block off more of the enemy's movement than heavy overhead attacks."

Nova flinches, then stands rigidly at attention and salutes. "Sir! Yes, sir!" she says. "I shall take your guidance to heart for the next battle, sir!"

"And you," Droz growls at Gloomy Gus, who just lowers his head. "Zero out of ten! When you're placed to protect the Casters, you protect the Casters! You do not let them get your goat and run off to engage the enemy! A single buff-spell does not suddenly make you a legendary warrior, I did not expect you to be a legendary warrior, I expected you to stick with the Casters and kick at anything that tried to lay a hand or a blade on them! The whole point of this trap was to make the scum think the Casters were a soft target, then hammer them from behind while you kept them busy!"

"Didn't think I was gonna be much use in a fight," Gus sighs. "Just like everything else."

"Casters!" Droz roars.

"Look, before you say anything, I was not gonna stand around when the donkey already..." Number Twelve starts to protest.

"Ten out of ten," Droz says, speaking right over the Volamite and causing him to shut up with a surprised squeak. "Your job was to attract attention and then hold position and hit the filth as hard as you could. Both of you stayed on-task, and didn't leave your position until it was clear that your defensive line had shifted. Keep up the good work."

The Low Elf glares at the Halokai, Nova and Gus again. "Face facts, guys. If I hadn't held back and moved in when I did, you'd all have been dead -- or worse."

Nova gulps, vividly remembering the High Elf's threat.

"We won this one," Droz continues. "But we were lucky. We can't rely on luck to win every fight for us. We're going to have to shape up. All of us."

"Yes, sir!" Nova says, saluting again.

"Hey, you just said we did good!" Number Twelve protests.

"We can do better," Droz tells him. "You keep telling us you're smarter than Silva. Prove it next time by reminding your defensive line what his job is if he starts getting carried away. Same goes for Silva."

"Huh. I can do better," Gloomy Gus sighs. "Nicest thing anyone's said about me in years."

At this point, all party members feel, more than hear, the voice of the Automagic Field:
All party members gain 16 EXP!

"That it?" Number Twelve asks, querulously. "We all got slammed back to zero because the cow, the predator and the bunny levelled up to two! Sixteen EXP isn't even near enough to get them up to scratch or get me another level! I mean, we need -- we need … How much do we need?"

"I need thirty to get to Chaos Warrior three," Nova says. "The Halokai needs twenty whichever he chooses, Adventurer or Creature. If Silva goes for another level of Sorceress, she needs forty. Twenty for another level of Nomad. Once they're at three, we'll need at least twenty to get you up to Sorcerer two."

"This Party system sucks!" Number Twelve growls. "I can't wait to get rid of it so I can collect my own EXP again, and not get slammed down to zero down everytime some lower-level goes up!"

"So you'd rather be out here all alone?" Droz asks, pointedly.

The Volamite promptly shuts up for some reason...

"Alright," Droz says. "All said and done, we won, we all survived. Time to loot and rest up. Our Casters are mostly out of oomph, I'm out of Elf Speed for today, and two of our guys are battered and bruised. Probably best that we find a place to hide and rest up for tomorrow. We can plan for the next hunt."

= = = = = = = = = = = =

Having stripped the corpses of everything useful -- and after the Halokai has wrenched an arm off of the sergeant, which it promptly starts snacking on -- Team B has gathered the following items:

# Ten cigarettes of Snort. Snort is a light drug, comparable to marihuana.
# Two vials of Elven cordial. This is an alcoholic beverage distilled from fruits. It's cloyingly sweet stuff, but it'll get you drunk if you need to be. It can also be used to sterilize wounds in a pinch.
# Two Elven longswords. These are style-longswords, forged to be especially useful in the Sword Form known as arol.
# Two Elven shortswords. These weapons turn out to be Blessed, making them usable by Elves only.
# Two sets of steel full plate with helmets. (Please note no one in the party is proficient in the use of fullplate. Helmets do not require a proficiency.
# Two shields, steel.
# Two Heart Guard badges, gold on onyx.
# Two silver holy symbols of Lihalane, the Elfmother, supreme goddess of the Elves and hearth goddess of the High Elves in particular.
# Four healing potions.
# Two detox potions.
# Two vials of poison.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

WHAT WILL YOU DO?
+ Do you want to object to Droz's review of the battle?
+ Which parts of the loot do you want to take, and how are you going to distribute the stuff?
+ Do you want to talk strategy for the next hunt, and if so, which improvements do you want to suggest?
+ Which group do you want to look in on after this? Switch to Team A (Daisy & Co.), stick with Team B, or go look in on Filia?

You vote, you decide, here on Sarcantasy!

= = = = = = = = = = = =

VOTE CLOSED.
Please proceed to: www.deviantart.com/grendelkin/…