Hal Henderics

Mar points out the noble quarters. "The fine rooms are down thataway. I may take you up on that offer later. Being able to strike a boulder into a sword is simpler than lifting the boulder, for me that is." Mar combines these mana types into a small red incorporeal lizard, it's body is made of Crimglass mana, it has a single V shaped eye of Eye Mana, and filling it's body is Brain Mana, It also has a small blip of Lung mana in it's mouth, and Iron Mana in it's limbs to allow them to move. While creating it, he attempts to give it the command to have it go into a bedroom, then come back. It would have to see the room, last long enough to reach the room, and be smart enough to do all of that and navigate it's way back, if it were to work.

"Hail Masaru, I've been quite busy, if you check the Smithy, you will find a number of things I have deigned to purchase, and if you go down the hall, you will find a farm I have started in a re-purposed bedroom." "I am also thinking I will attempt to enhance the offensive and defensive power of the castle itself. My idea is statues, wielding blades and attached to rails and chains hidden in the floor, or explosive pistons tied to unarmed pinholes in the ground, which can be armed with a panel with an attached pin." "It has been a busy day, but the duties of preparing us and ours for the future is a good one."

Jade Starts by firing an icy cryogenic round at the source of one of the acid waterfalls. It succeeds in blocking the flow of the first one. (DC=25, 1d20+10=13+20=23) (FAIL) (1d100-3=71-5=66) Mitsu Reaches Gary just as he slams into the ground, it is pitch black all around, but the crunch is unmistakable. Gary is Afflicted with the following Wound. Gary is Unconscious. Having used Flight, Mitsu is immune to hazards, but has forfeit her Initiative. Ritsu Climbs to the bottom of the Mechanical Spider, clinging to an arm. (DC=5, 1d20+3=9+3=12) (PASS) (1d12=1) Everyone but Ritsu, Mitsu and Gary take 1 damage... That Acid seems to have looked much more threatening than it was?.. The rail comes to a stop in front of a hallway, leading down a long corridor. At the other end, a door is clogged with black honeycombs, and holes in the walls peek out and around the door itself. Everyone who is on gets off, and the spidermech does as well. Combat Screen --Alexandria-- The fin rises up fully, and beings traveling towards Alexandria. It isn't on a collision course with the portal, yet. Combat Screen

The silk falls into his hands, and with it, he flinches as if struck, falling backwards, the silk flutters to the ground, acting so innocent in it's slow descent, despite what it is. Mar makes an awkward grin, and picks it up with the end of his staff, slipping it into his Gummi Pouch, and stuffing it in. What enhanced senses bring into clarity, age and mortality bring into abyssal murkiness. Oh Mar had felt it all right, but the only reasons he could tell it came from the silk were Aurora's words and his own contextual knowledge. If he did not know exactly what this was, he would have sworn the feeling was simply all-encompassing from all directions, a horrific aura it is, one which seems to come from within. Mar can't stop bad memories from floating up on the pitch black waters that his mind had seemed to dip a toe into upon touching the cloth. Memories of death come unbidden of course, but even worse, the memories were dominated by the feeling of inevitability, and a clarity he tries to ignore with booze, what youth no longer dulled with adrenaline on tap and heat from within, the idea that not only is one's own death a swiftly approaching thing, but that the deaths of others are all to likely to appear before oneself, time and time again. The Young, The Old, the Great, and the Small. Oh the small ones, he thinks. So many of his bretheren he has seen wrapped in cloth twice in their lives. A tiny one, no older than 3 weeks and walking already. 15 Years of life could never dull a memory with such a cutting edge. A young one, coming into their youth at the tender age of 3, already toying with sticks and rocks, with scraps of hide painted with silly faces. how could 12 years dull what 15 could not? A strong one, full of piss and vinegar at 10, brought into the Lodge of Stonerist Chi, cracking boulders, cracking pillars! Pride was very nearly taken for granted, such quantities of it were abound. It becomes harder with age, as one's heart hardens, so much harder, and more painful, to open wounds in tough hide. Four Years, it seems, are not enough to forget such a cruel death as one's own son. He continues his walk, looking so much older, so much older than he wishes he was. So many years he wishes he had not been gifted with. He'll shake it off later with lukewarm booze. He longs for the traditional sorrow wine of home, Wine which he doubts he will ever taste again. The ingredients so alien to these places, how could he expect a luxury like that. It's childish, he has already imbibed of it anyway, when the son of an Elder dies, the Sorrow Wine flows like an entire village worth of tears. like the entire village's very tears, which were shed that day. "Hunting Elder, please! restrain yourself, you'll be dead of a melted stomach if you don't stop!" "Then I'll make do! I'll just make do, now get out!" *Crash* Something clattering to the ground, split in two, so fine that fire spouted from the edge as it split. A small urn, the rope on it cut as well, small toys clatter out, trinkets. They are cut as well. A Little rock with two dimples and a crescent, a smiling face, carved by an eager, but inexperienced individual. the two halves of it fall apart. A mirror like sheen showing two faces in their reflections. One of them is concerned, a grassy green visage, their hair braided to one side. In the other, a dark green face blushed greener, their eyes are foggy, milky white, their face wracked with pure and simple grief. He'll just make do. It is what a hunter does, when they have so few things that they wish they had. Mar has obtained the Cerement Fabric. --Servant's Quarters-- Mar exits a room, and cracks "Garden" into the area above the door, after having seeded it and treated them all with plant mana to promote health in them. He probably runs into someone along the way.

Mar, Passing the group at some point, and carrying extremely odd things, sacks of seeds, and sacks of fire and ice? "Any who consider themselves druids or masters of nature should follow me, if you have such talents, you may be able to help me to help us all." His load seems heavy, but his heart seems light as he slips away into the forge, then later, to an unmarked bedroom in the servant's quarters.

Mar returns home. He has plans in his head, to improve the castle in many ways. He looks clearly cheerful with his squinted eyes, and arm behind his back, using the Glaive as a walking stick. Mar tops the Glaive's Blade with a large sphere of carved sandstone, both to protect the blade, and to disguise it's purpose. The sphere is covered in the Stonerist Symbol, A lightning bolt, held inside a pentagon. With luck, it makes the weapon look like an eccentric staff, fit for someone who is not very fit at all.

Mar gets a Dragonberry, Might Seed, Adamant Seed, Flame Sac, and Cryo Sac. He also requests permission to take a small sample of the Screamer Sac, but not the entire thing. He then returns home with his loot, having spent however much of the 3600 Zenni he has at his disposal.

"Absolutely, the best cure for impatience is hard work." "I wish you well." Mar browses the Bazaar one last time before returning. He checks what sort of plants are available, things which are hardy, things which have odd properties, and most importantly, the seeds to grow them. He starts with Maize, Rice, Bamboo and Walnuts, and seeks more exotic goods afterwards. He also purchases anything that looks particularly interesting, odd trinkets or strange organic things. This world seems to have those in spades. Finally, he looks around! there might be something that inspires him among the slowly slowing people and things milling about.

"I think it was rude, when I heard that it would take a long time for my goods to come, That I didn't ask if there was anything I could do to help make it faster for the both of us." "..." Mar Pauses, and gives a small bow of respect to the Wycoon, preparing mentally to make his proposition. "So now I've said it, and I only speak with respect, but might there be something I could do to help speed that process up?" "I can travel fast, I have fair strength, and my mind for problems is sharp, despite my age, if such a trial existed."

--Servant's Quarters > Val Habar > Wycoon-- "Aurora, I'll leave the Brews in your capable hands." "If you end up drinking them, I will get the silk when I get back." "I'll be going to town, I have some ideas for speeding up a shipment of mine." It seems there are no real problems to be dealt with. Mar considers this, before leaving the castle, and going back into Val Habar, an idea in his head slwoly gestating. He makes his way to the Wycoon.

Jade uses Aim to Kill, Dealing (1d6+6=5+6=11) 11 Damage to the mines, blowing up one of them. Gary Guards, raising his defense accordingly. Ritsu uses her chainsaw to lash out at mines, smacking them away from the Group, and dealing (1d4+9=1+9=10) 10 Damage. Using her famous Storm Sign again, Mitsu deals (15+6) 21 Damage! Several More Mines are thrown from the rails. Kino and her sister attack at range, dealing (7+2d4+5=7+4+5=16) damage, and knocking off some of the last few. (58% Miss Chance... Miss at 38!) The remaining mines are easy to avoid, a few odd movements allowing the railrider to speed it by, and saving Jade a miserable fate. They reach the top of the rails, and slowly tilt down, Rushing forward as they slide at a huge gap! (1d20=16, 15, 2, 9, 2, PASS FAIL FAIL FAIL N.A. N.A.) Jade, Kino, and her sister all keep their bearings, with Jade holding his feet to the ground admirably, while Gary's Single Minded shielding leaves him blind to the danger, Mitsu, trying to help him, also does not pay enough attention, and both of them are thrown to the back of the vehicle. Ritsu slips and falls on her rear. (1d4=2) They all lose 2 Dexterity. Mitsu reaches out to Gary as he leans over the railing, arms flailing... He falls. Mitsu and Ritsu have to re-obtain their bearings, their dexterity change forcing a reroll for their initiative. (---) Ahead of them, several cracks in the wall pour out Black Sludge, spewing over the railing... This is going to hurt. A few things end up falling onto the Spider Mech. Free Loot, one thinks grimly. Combat Screen

--Servant's Hall-- Wrestling it into submission, Mar follows behind, going towards the waves of oddness, passing up and down his spine, moving towards the source as well, having forced Little Sneak back into it's bottle.

"Return to Complacency, and do it NOW!" Mar shouts, trying to wrest his minion under control, as it continues to be brought into a fervor by the wave of energy flowing through the castle. This, Mar thinks to himself, is precisely why he should not have been so lenient on his Little Sneak. "Go on without me, I must show this one who is in control once more." ((Roll some sort of check?))

Mar does feel it, but not as strongly, instead, it is something closer to a chill up his spine, and a visceral response from Little Sneak, as it scrambles to get away from the intense power. Or is it drawn towards it? Mar cannot tell in it's panic, and is forced to rein it in manually.

Laver shakes his head sadly. "No, when you tangle up a string and then pull it to it's limit, it almost invariably forms knots." "If you think of a heart like a woven thing of it's strings, then a Knot is the antithesis of them, More importantly, when your heartstrings get knotted, you stop being connected to the person or thing itself, and become attached to the corrupt caricature that the Knot pretends to be." "Unless a Miracle happens, there are only two results without a Heart Doctor. Either the knot grows in scope, consuming the rest of a person's heartstrings as those feelings consume their lives, or, the most merciful and terrible option of all..." He pauses. "They cut ties." ... "Does this sound familiar to you? Someone is faced with a complicated emotion, then, they are pushed to their limits, and finally, those feelings become warped and twisted, changing them completely?" "That's what a Knot is, feelings for an imagined thing that isn't anything like the thing in reality." "So, like, uhh. Oh! A good example, someone is against this bad guy, right? So he obsesses over it and justifies doing anything to take him down, until the bad guy he is fighting is just a caracature of the real person. He becomes obsessed with fighting this big evil devil with no compassion or morals, even though the actual person is... Still a person, one with friends and family of their own. That idea he is fighting is a Knot, and with my Heartstrung Sword, I can pluck someone's heartstrings, and untangle those knots, so that whether they are a good person or a bad one, or even if they DO hate someone or something, that their feelings are clear, and that their emotions are not incomprehensible, even to themselves." "If someone has a clear heart, free of tangles and knots that can only hurt both of them, I really do think that even the worst of enemies can look at each other with respect, if nothing else, and live good lives." Laver tries to explain, as he follows along.

"When I first drank of it, I was filled with a terrible power, but as close as I can tell, I had put so many conflicting vile things in it that the voices it brought were too busy arguing with one another to put forth anything approaching a curse." "I had brewed it from some dark feathers, a mushroom monster, some shards of magic, and various other things. It was very tasty, but the voices and fever made it only a medeocre brew, in my opinion." "There is no doubting it's power though, even now, it practically glows with extremely conflicted dark energies."

"Hmm. Make your way to the Smithy, there is a grey barrel on a shelf in there,like the one I have in my hand, drink until the pain dims. It is a powerful brew I have made which is safe for humans such as yourselves, and contains both the power to heal and to cure." "I recommend you two avoid one another until the injured has their head on straight, and their humors sufficiently apologetic." "Aurora would be in an awkward position to do much more for you now, considering the practical warzone of misunderstandings wrought here." Mar nods to himself softly, hunching over to his usual stature. He uses sand mana to utterly scour the floor beneath Ghost, leaving her sitting on clean floor. Done with those two, he turns to Aurora. "Aurora, I would like to trade Liquor for spider's silk! He yells up to her, lifting a grey and black barrel from the ground, where he had set them. I Have two barrels here, one is a simple brew made of Meat and honey, made in the orcish way, and the other is a brew filled with powerful dark properties, which I brought as a curiosity, wondering if your trials would make you more resilient to it's effects than me, for the purpose of imbuing it in the silk." "I will accept your decision either way."

Mar runs towards the explosion, his Blasting Shield going off to give him a precious boost in speed. As he reaches it, he infuses the shield with Thaum>Oilystone>Silicon: (7, 12) This Mana type produces Silicone Oil, which is mixed with a strange overly sweet odor. Firing the shield to spray a splatter of oil over the ground everywhere, the deceptively sweet scent carrying a promise of something unpleasant to the savvy among this temporary grouping. The frictionless surface does not lend itself well to even multi-limbed beings holding their stances. "What is going on here?" "I'll have an explanation for why you did not take this outside, and I'll have no more damage to the castle from poorly utilized explosives." Mar says, standing outside the slick. His arms are crossed behind his back, improving his failing posture, it would strike the others that the Orc looks both much taller and much more intimidating when he is no longer hunched over, hiding his true height of 9 Foot 4.

"Well, you know how people have emotional ties to things? And emotional ties to people? As 'The Doctor', I can see these strands, connecting everything that feels for anything." He crosses his arms, bowing his head in thought. "So, all those strands connect to a person's heart, tying everything together." "Imagine if two people, or more, or less even, were to have complicated, tangled up feelings for something." "Things like that can get complicated, after all, It's normal for people to have some of their heartstrings twisted from time to time, to get them a bit tangled, for them to be a bit messy looking." "So, now imagine someone whose tangled up complicated feelings, were to be pulled taut, for that person to be pushed over the edge, and for those strands, which normally hold them to others, to suddenly be put under a lot of tension, to have their heartstrings tugged on, and hard." "What happens when you yank on a tangled up string, or rope?"

--Entrance Hall-- "Superhero! Superpowers! Explosive fists!" "That is so cool!" "Man, All I got is this dink hose, Exploding fists sounds so awesome." A weird children's toy looking device appears in Laver's Hand, a Plastic Hilt with two pullies attached, wrapped around them is tan and shredded tapestry featuring triangles and some unknown symbols, A chain is entangled with it, and it glows with yellow light. It looks like the cross between a sword and a chainsaw, if one replaced the chain with... A non chainsaw chain, wrapped in cloth. As it appears, a burst of sand, ribbons, and golden light puff from the hand holding it, like a party favor popping. "Well, I guess it isn't that bad, I mean, this thing DOES let me doctor people's Heartstrings and Fight Knots, but it sure isn't Explosion Fists."

--Entrance Hall-- With a quick recovery, Laver hops back to his feet with the youthful energy expected of him. "What he said... Yeah."

Mar and Laver collapse into a menger sponge from trying to interact with the same person. --Entrance Hall-- "I'm Laver, and you are here to help me help you help these guys help save a bunch of worlds from horrorterrors from beyond the pale!" Laver points his hands in different directions has he gestures, quickly becoming tangled up in himself, falling to the ground in a puff of dust. --?Somewhere?-- Mar calls out. "Aurora, I have a proposition to make!" Mar has in hand a Hardrock Barrel of the Good Shit he just made, and a Blackrock Barrel, glowing ominously with unrestrained corruption.

Jade Shoots one of the bees out of the sky as they approach. Gary's request is met with disagreement, as the mechanical rail riding spider speeds past the station. The Bees summon themselves, but Mitsu's Storm Sign Instantly wipes all of them with a wild exploding wave of wind ofuda, dealing 15 Damage (12 Dex + 3 Syn) Things quickly escalate in difficulty as the Active Glwoing rails speed up the Mech, allowing the group to make their way to the central chamber faster and faster. They begin going around a large tower, they won't be entering it yet, according to the rail, but they are skimming near it. There are a lot more hazards on the rails above them, and judging from the spiral shape, they WILL be encountered in that order. Combat Screen

--Entrance Hall-- Laver Waves excitedly to the newcomer. "Howdy!" --Sand Sea > Entrance Hall > ?Aurora's Location?-- Sliding past the two combatants, Mar sprays sand all over the Entrance hall, and starts walking around, searching for Aurora. It struck him that Spider Webs might be more useful than chains for various purposes.

--Wherever Masaru Is-- "My name's Laver! At your service." his hands go behind his head as he grins.