Oh snap, that became pretty grimdark all of a sudden.

-

The cold stone floor against his face served to jar him from sleep, as he tried to open his bleary eyes. Groaning as the hangover began to play a staccato tune in his head, he lifted himself off the floor, to find himself facedown in what appeared to be a dorm room of sorts. As he got his bearings, he sat down on the damaged bed, and the frame gave way, revealing the sleeping face of his host. He struggled to recall her name, but the haze of alcohol burnout still lingered in his head and he shook his head, trying to recall the events of last night.

Through his swimming vision, he recalled going to the Flying Tankard, a magus guild meadhall. Focusing, he remembered how they had downed a few drinks - followed by a drinking contest, followed by a challenge from a rival mage. The swirls of color and sound became a labyrinth of chaos as he blacked out again. Forced to reality, he let himself fall into the bed.

She groaned at the creak of the damaged bed, rubbing her head in annoyance - "Five more minutes, Magister..."

Five minutes, then. He laid back, letting the cool air refresh his mind. That's when a deep, sonorous bell echoed through the stone walls of the room. The young woman in the bed jumped up with a gasp at the third bell gong - her clothes more ash and dust than fabric.

"Argh! I got drunk again, didn't I?" she berated herself as she looked down at her rapidly disappearing clothes - apparently too panicked at missing the bell's summons to worry about her modesty.

Now he remembered - the challenger was another rookie from a rival class. Excited at learning his first wind spell, he had challenged them to a wizard duel. The woman now running around, trying to get dressed had retaliated with a circular wall of fire - uncontrolled, destructive. The heat had...

Looking down, he saw the reason why he felt a cold draft. His clothes were torn this way and that, singed with the powerful fire spell that she had blasted out in all directions in at attempt to whip the winds.

"This happen a lot, er... miss...?"

"True, depressing but true. The alcohol goes into my head." she replies as she finishes dressing. "The name's Chika."

"Yemhelch" he responded as he sighed. "Damn, those were some comfy clothes..."

"I got some spare robes here. You can come attend the initiates weekly if you want."

"Yeah, okay."

The robes were voluminous, with hoods well covering the head and face. The thick fabric a protective cloak against the elements, designed for rookie mages to focus their thoughts on spellcasting. Properly attired, they quickly walked through the grand hall to the initiates weekly.

-

The goblets of water being handed out was a welcome soothing against the hangover that threatened to smash his head in. From a nearby magicked fountain, cool spring water flowed and Yemhelch helped himself. The meeting was finished soon - but not without a warning; initiates who find magic beasts should not attempt to attack. Rather, call in a warmage.

As he walked out, he was joined by Chika.

"Oh yeah, your stuff's in my room. I accidentally blast-burned some of them..." she said, blushing slightly.

"It's not big deal. I can always get a new copy of the map from the library."

"Map, huh? Where you going?"

"I kinda want to see the world. Travel for a bit, that sort of thing."

"Real adventurer type, aren't ya."

"... what?"

"Nothing. So, shall we continue our discussions regarding dungeons before we were so rudely interrupted last night?"

"Yeah."

-

Spoiler: show

Items
[none]

Equipment:
Head: None
Body: Initiate Magician robe with hood. Singed trousers.
Arm: Cotton gauntlets.
R Hand: None
L Hand: None
Off R Hand: None.
Off L Hand: None.
Feet: Wool socks and sandals.

_________________

"Hence, you shall hold onto it."

Mikkael recalled the words as he met up with Philena again. Entrusted with protecting the gauntlet as he took his leave of the tower. He was tired of being kept up in a tower and barely ever going on adventures, thus he opted for both he and his companion to go to Cyndar.

"We are against it, but as long as you ensure she comes into no harm, you may bring her."

"So, Mikkael, what will we be doing there?"

"Well," he began to say, thinking of the possibilities, "there's probably someone needing help or hoping for some assistance on some quests or other stuff... Why don't we do that?"

"Sounds like a plan." The girl smiled as she clung to Mikkael. He soon began to wonder something.

"Hey, Philena... How come you didn't participate in the battle?"

"Well... It's a secret.~"

He shook his head as Philena stuck her tongue out at him. With a sigh, he merely dropped the subject as they continued towards the mage. He found it odd that they would entrust the gauntlet to him. Would it not be better for it to be held safely in the tower? Perhaps it was because it was his find that he was allowed to hang onto the gauntlet. The urge to see what would happen if he put it on chased him mentally, but he kept from doing so due to explicit instructions.

"Do not by any means wear the gauntlet. We don't know what will come of it."

In any case, they reached the teleport mage and requested a teleport to Cyndar. Instantly, they left the snow covered town and arrived at the castle city. They noticed that the magus guild was busy today, perhaps some people were preparing for quests, perhaps some other event. In any case, they merely headed to the tavern.

"Now, we wait. If someone needs assistance, surely they'll notice us if we hang out by the quest board."

So they did just that.

_________________

The trip back had been a grim affair. After calling in several guard platoons from Cyndar to create a buffer zone between Frenga Farms and the jungle that seemed so wrong on so many levels, they were enroute to the safe walls of Cyndar once more.. Of course there would be protest - those simpletons eating what could very well be tainted meat would complain, not knowing of the consequences of their careless eating habits.

She sat back and recalled the last day of the expedition. With the sun blazing noon, they had set out into the jungle when the powers of darkness were weakest in the world - as they entered deeper into the jungle, the changes that had come to pass became more and more obvious - the foliage, the creatures of the forest, even the trees had changed.

With naught but a few recalcitrant guides to show them to the creatures, they had spent the day gathering samples, sketching the abnormal trees and conducting experiments in the field laboratory. The peasants had looked on, clearly angered but unwilling to do anything as they watched their new favorite foods being marked as 'touched by a dark evil'.

In several glass cases, magicked with enchantments to prevent escape, some creatures had been captured for study. They were strange little things - one in particular, a bunny-eared, floppy creature with a bright peachy color, and an unusual - almost human face that emitted a low vocalization - almost a high-pitched buzz. The other creature was a plump, white ball with piercing red eyes. This creature sat still, its gaze transfixed on her. As the carriage moved, so did it keep moving its smooth head to keep balance.

With a huff, Natsuki threw her cloak on top of the glass terrariums holding the creatures. Anything to muffle that droning buzz, and to stop that creepy, unblinking stare. As she stood up, the carriage driver let out the cry perhaps all the mages in the caravans were waiting for.

"Cyndar gates up ahead, ayeah!"

-

The creatures were moved into the Magus Hall's quickly-assembled official laboratory in the dark of the night, to avoid suspicious locals from surging to Frenga Farms to sate their curiosity. Crossing the path of the soldier battalion enroute to Frenga proper, the forward investigation team returned to their dorms. They had their sleep on the journey, and as the sun rose, the guild's forward operations commander came up to meet them.

"A job well done, everyone." he started. "I've read the missive from your group leader about what happened to Brother Adren."

Silence.

"While I mean no disrespect, I hope his demise shows you that unknown magical creatures, especially ones coming from magically warped lands can be especially dangerous." he continues. "I expect all of you to work together, and protect each other from danger - to be aware of your surroundings and to remember - discretion is the better part of valor. There is no shame in running if you cannot win a fight."

"With that out of the way, I will be assigning a final task to all of you. You are to seek out taverns in the region, and warn them of this dual menace - the danger of the jungle, and the shadowy wraith that attacked Cyndar. Simply do so, and return to my office, where I will consider your quest to be complete. Dismissed."

The rookie mages nodded, and with the missives in their sachels, walked out into the morning sun.

-

Natsuki had walked to some taverns and had one more missive to deliver. As she turned to the last stop, the "Wild Huntsman", she noticed a warrior standing with some other travelers... who seemed to emanate an unusual energy. Was it the man? The wraith that attacked Cyndar?

Approaching them, she realized her mistake and quickly lowered her hood as she stuck the missive to an empty spot there. Perhaps those sellswords would notice and take her place so she could get back to doing actual research on magic rather than having to babysit mundanes and suicidally brave peasants.

----

"BY ORDER OF THE CYNDAR KNIGHTS, NO CIVILIAN MAY ENTER FRENGA FARMS: The area around Frenga Farms has become dangerous as of late. The Cyndar Knights will be building a defensive perimeter around Frenga Farms. Adventurers seeking Quest And Service to Cyndar may sign as sellswords and workmen in the nearest Knight Outpost."

"BEWARE THE SHADOWMAN!: This fell creature attacked Cyndar not two days ago, and vanished into the Dark Places of the city. If seen, do not approach - call in the nearest Seer Patrol. A vicious, intelligent predator; known to stalk those walking alone."

----

She stepped back, and smiled - she had gotten the 'peel paste' trick done just right! Now she had a reward to collect.

Mikkael took notice to these posts and eyed them for a couple moments.

"Hey, Philena, looks like a warning is being issued there."

"Oh?" The meridian girl sounded. "I wonder what it could be..."

Mikkael walked closer to the notices posted and skimmed through their contents. Frenga Farms... Under quarantine? Seemed to be a place which would be perfect for the priests to check out. Sure enough, many templar and priests had gathered around, looking into the details. Like moths to a flame, they were already preparing their weapons and incantations for a full patrol of Cyndar upon witnessing the word "shadowy".

"They're pretty damn excited." He chuckled. "Well, I can hardly blame them. I wouldn't mind checking out this quest myself."

The meridian girl next to him uncomfortably clutched onto his arm, "But, Mikkael, you just dealt with a strange transformation back at Arcane Well, and besides, what if it got a hold of..." Her voice trailed off, not wanting to alert the nearby clergymen to their find.

"Oh, the stone gauntlet? Yeah, you're probably right. It's just a thought anyways. Besides, I want to take a rookie with me on the next quest."

"Like me?" She asked with a wry smile. Mikkael smiled back, patting her head.

"Well, perhaps, except I can't get you into trouble. I mainly mean the headstrong guys."

"So you want to be an instructor?"

"Nah, just that it would be nice to be in charge for once." He says, shrugging and resting against the wall again. "The pay is the regular finds and the joy of adventure. At least to me."

"So you're more of an out-and-about spellsword."

"Yes, well, as you can imagine." He looks out a nearby window, "Back then, it was nothing, right? Well, this world is getting more and more dangerous. Plus, what with the prophecy and all, we could be on a time limit."

"Until what?"

He drops his head for a moment and then smiles at Philena, "Until either we're all dead, or the dragons are all dead."

With that exchange, they merely settled on waiting to get some quests started.

----------

((EDIT: So it came to my attention that people have trouble reading my RP posts, so I'm going to be going through all my stuff and making it easier to read. I'll also be sure to do this from here on in. Sorry!))

_________________

Her reward collected, she had settled back into the life of the acolyte scholar once more - a change that she found comforting.

The 1500 legen reward, along with a bundle of interesting books did little to fill the gap that the loss of Brother Adren had left in them all. In fact, the acolyte hall was quiet. Most of them had decided to sleep after the funeral ceremony.

By the light of a magicked candle, she thumbed through a worn spellbook describing the triad of basic elemental spells - it'd come in handy once she'd gained enough experience to properly cast them without collapsing into exhaustion. Sure, she COULD cast them - but without sufficient self-control, even a ball of fire could burn her fingers to the bone. She remembered Acolyte Hisen, running around the dorm hall with her hair on FIRE and managed to smile a bit at the memory.

So she studied these dusty tomes, mentally preparing her mind for the time she would be able to cast high level spells that would banish the unearthly horrors that had come to her world and wreaked such havoc.

Finally, with most of the theory down, she decided to go to sleep. She had a research project to handle, and she'd need to be in top condition if she was to succeed.

-

Morning dawned bright and clear - and she was up with the first bell. Her new task at hand was to recruit a small crew to travel to the distant city of Selk, to gather samples of an unusual jellyfish that would be making its annual migration past the southway passage. Scholars on research projects were often granted fair sums of grant money from the Magus guild and so she went to collect this fee.

The catch was that all the research she had completed goes to the Magus Guild alone. A harsh system, but in hindsight, it had allowed the guild to build a library in Vex Vinas that would put the Cyndar Royal Library to shame. It would be scholars and mages like her who would ultimately gain the most.

Regardless, there were always other groups - smaller, more unorthodox groups of mages who preferred to use whatever means available to them. She had to be wary and recruit carefully.

Looking around, that wouldn't be so easy. Most of the rookie sellswords had gone to help with the Knights, and backing the Seers in the night patrols. This left only a few untrustworthy brigand types looking for easy cash. Sighing, she was about to return home when she spied one of her guildmates, man in robes in arm enter the "Wild Huntsman".

"I suppose I could use a drink." she sighed as she followed them in.

((Just wanted to outline the update.~

Version 1.12 of Jungalore introduces two new class routes of harmonization, the bard and dancer routes! These two routes are almost identical, with minor differences to one another.

Bards focus on playing instruments. However, one can also see them using their instruments as physical weapons. They gain DPS skills, but also the support skills often attached to this sort of class. Similarly, the singer uses vocal amps (ie. microphones) to sing and use magical attacks. Of course, bard and singer alone can be strong, but together, their powers are DOUBLED. These two class routes get to move before anyone else in a party as well, making the true fighters a lot stronger. When the bard becomes a maestro, and the singer an idol, they can use the Grand Performance skill to leave the enemy side in awe. Reptals will also find a benefit in this class, as the song skill "Song of Providence" is boosted by their racial ability.

Furthermore, people will find easier leveling in the adventure/saga system. Furthermore, you draco people will like the new update, as it allows you to determine the type of dragon you are rather than simply be this generic giant lizard.

Next update will be minor tuning to the performer class and its routes. I'll also be doing some attribute changes to the races and adding a new subrace. Thanks for reading and happy adventuring!))

_________________

"...So endsh the basics of dungeon surfing*hic* and basic resource gathering." Chika finishes, emptying the mug of ale. "Sho, mr. adventurer. Whatsh your plan?

"I'm a peasant with no weapon, you're a rookie mage with a forest fire in a fist. I say we need some gear proper if we're gonna travel there." Yemhelch replied, refilling his mug with more mead. "The way you say it*hic*, it sounds pretty dangeroush."

"Not only the dungeons are so, even the route past northsh is pretty sparshley patrolled." she responded. "Sho you'll have to put up with some fighting - banditsh and maybe undeadsh if you're taking the northeastern route. After the forest clears, you'llsh be goin' north. Roadsh pretty there, though..."

"Huh. Sho I was playing eashy mode all this time." he replied, grinning. "Only kidsh play in eashy mode..."

"So, you wantsh gear, huh?" she perked up at the mention of new gear. "I wantsh gear too. We should pool our fundsh and we'll be up but good for adventure!"

At that moment, the tavern's half-doors swung and another mage walked in. Unlike Chika's expressive personality, this newcomer was a stone-faced, stern looking one. Yemhelch recognized the robe design from when he was attending the newcomers meeting in the Magus guild - she was a scholar in training; and by the looks of it, one that took her line of work seriously.

As their gazes met, both Chika and the newcomer groaned.

"You."*hic*
"You."

_________________

(GM/RPM/Whatever says: You all meet at the bar.)
More and more people walked into the tavern, and so Mikkael decided, "Ah, what the heck, let's head on in, see if there's any action indoors."

Stepping in, he noticed three people, two female scholars and a man in a standard new scholar robe. Gazing at the group overall, he could sense the enmity from their body language alone, although the female beside the older gentleman was clearly intoxicated to some extent, at least more than Mikkael could recall ever being before.

He looked behind him to utter to Philena, "Hey, I don't know if something is about to happen, but just in case, wait outside."

The meridian girl nodded and scurried away as Mikkael took a couple steps forward, ready to see how this would turn out. Worst case scenario, a bar fight would break out. Best case scenario, he'd have a party.

Or maybe it's the other way around.

_________________

Michael thought to himself, "I'm in a place where I don't know anyone or anything, so the best I can do is walk around and ask/listen for information. Maybe someone knows or has seen her look-alike. While I'm at it, maybe I can pick up some extra cash."

As Michael walked, he saw two guards. Judging by their posture and how close they were to each other, he assumed they were either gay and confessing their love for one another, or they were discussing something in secret. So he walked in a little closer.

One guard says to the other, "So did you see that new girl we brought in the other day?"

"Who? The brown eyed one? Oh yeah, I never thought we would bring anyone into this shithole of a prison that would actually make it look better."

"Why is she missing her tongue?"

"She was claiming to be a part of the royal bloodline, but obviously the former king never had any children. So they cut it out."

All at once, memories flooded his mind. Her strange eyes that looked like a star was getting ready to burst within them, her warm smile, and that damn melody. He imagined seeing her in that empty chamber, and every part of his body was telling him to run in the other direction. He felt himself getting ready to cry, but he shut his eyes, took three deep breaths, and wiped them as he attempted to compose himself. He began to think, [I]"Okay, the prison is where I need to go. I don't know where it is, and I doubt I could even get close to it by myself. The smartest thing I can do is find some work and means of training myself."

Just then, he realized, there was a lot of commotion behind him. The short of it is that the ruler died, and that the Slab of Destiny predicts a new ruler. One man is heard saying, "There has to be a ruler, the king wouldn't leave the fate of our kingdom up to chance with no heir of any kind."

Another heavier set man who looked like a walrus ate a priest and swallowed five or six golf balls shouts, "Blasphemy! Are you suggesting our great king laid with some servant whore!?"

Michael uttered quietly to himself in a generic southern preacher accent, hoping no one was in ear shot, "Yasss, and then tha great king, gazed upon tha maid's bootay, and saw that it was without tha D, and so he did penetrate her, and thay laid togethar, as man and woman. And tha king saw that it was some pimp taight ass. HALLELUJAH!"

Laughing at his own clever joke, Michael thought to himself, "Okay, land in turmoil, probably deep inside of some kind of religious undertone, and kingdom needs a ruler." He immediately raised his finger, and declared to anyone within earshot, "NEW LIFE GOALS! BECOMING A DEMON HUNTER!... And then using the money to buy pizza, a jukebox, and old crappy vinyl records."

Then, his voice climbed in volume, saying, "Now, where the FUCK DO I GO!?"

OCC: Ugh, so cliche~~~~

-

Sighing, Natsuki quietly reminded the petulant bottle-fairy mage-in-training about the magus guild regulations getting inebriated while on study days. Realizing that she wouldn't get anywhere with trying to justify rules to the idiot, she picked an alternate assault route.

"So, who's your new boyfriend?" Natsuki asks, letting a playful smirk creep up into her mouth as she sat down next to her colleague. "Not that I need to know, since you tend to burn through 'em once a week or so..."

He had planned on being discreet. But as an ancient saying went, "three's company". Now he had to think fast and avoid any sort of trouble with the law.

Of course, his self-appointed teacher did not have such qualms. She smashed down her tankard and glowered.

"I do NOT burnsh through people, and he'sh NOT my boyfriend, you stuck-up devil woman!" Chika yelled, going red in the face.

Raising his arms, Yemhelch tried to talk to the newcomer - who seemed familiar with his teacher. "She's been teaching me about dungeons and exploring properly." he explained. "And.... yeah*hic*, alcohol sure gets words going, right?"

Looking around, he noticed some odd looks - and some stifled snickers. But most of the people tavern were still enjoying their own conversations. Apparently wizard rookies getting into heated arguments after a little too much to drink were a common sight, judging by the lack of reaction overall.

He sighed in relief. "Name's Yemhelch." he introduced himself. "Who're you?"

_________________

((Hey guys! Update time! If you haven't downloaded Jungalore 1.13, head to the opening post or download it here!

Now! Details!

For all the insect lovers out there, there's a new subrace called Insecta. You can become either a digging or flying insect hybrid character. I personally think that knightly characters will like this subrace due to the way it acts. It also comes with its own NPC of course, the Insecta Queen.

On top of that, I've FINALLY took the time along with Yom to detail morals and laws of Jungalore. Every area has its own laws, and is governed by its own people, so keep that in mind if you're fleeing arrest. No worries to the evil characters, we were as precise as possible when it came to these morals and laws.

Speaking of Yom, let's be sure to congratulate him for becoming the first other RPM/GM/Whatever.


Link


He will now be helping here and there with the updates, though I really wanted to make him a RPM because that way we could both collaborate suggestions and the like easier. After all, I'm not that great with people skills, I just kinda do math... Or maybe I am and just don't realize it. Still, he also has the power to make any major decisions. So if you have any disputes or suggestions turn to myself or him.

Beyond that, we also have other things to cover. We now have lockpicking and jails, a nice feature. Performers will now be able to use Superpower as of Composer or Vocalist. We also have the rest of the Reaper Factorium accessible, giving players a chance to enter the final dungeon of V2 if they so wish, and even better, the first LEGENDARY BOSS is flying around the Shadow Realm. Legendary bosses are extremely difficult, so difficult in fact that you don't even need a party as the entire community in the battle is considered one large party. These creatures are not recommended for anyone below 90 quests, in fact, you may want to first get your final class and all of your subrace skills first.

Lastly, let's talk racial skills. For the longest time I've looked through the races and thought to myself that the Meridians were a little too overpowered with the +35 Attack/Magic Attack. I mean, let's analyze that for a second. A scout gains +.5 Attack per quest (or quest level, or level, we'll call them quests for simplicity). This means that by 100 quests, the scout will have gained a total of 50 attack from questing alone. This is discounting any schooling. They also have a base amount of 20 attack, meaning their total base attack is 70. A Meridian scout, however, has HALF of that added, well over half of 50. By level 100, a Meridian scout has 105 base attack. You can plug this in for scholars with magic attack or soldiers as well (though the final amount will be less for soldiers, being that they're tanks).

Point is, we needed something to counteract that. So I chose the humans to be the subject of change. Their racial skill has been renamed to "Adapted" and they are given +35 Defense/Magic Defense. The Reptal racial skill has been changed as well, gaining the elemental resistance in dungeons. Their skill has been renamed to "Reptile's Cunning." Despite these changes, they still retain their legen bonuses from the former Hard Bargain skill.

That's it for now, happy adventuring!))

_________________

"Natsuki, scholar of the Magus Guild", she formally introduced herself. She appraised his robes as she sat down.

"Newcomer, huh?" she finally sighed. "Figures. You newbies tend to stick together."

She ordered a glass of apple juice, and settled in on the conversation as the waitress delivered her order. No alcoholic drinks for her - she wouldn't be seen dead talking slurred like those two slobs.

"So, you're interested in dungeons, right?" she finally said. "Tell you what, I'll give you some of my notes on some really interesting places if you decide to accompany me to Selk. A research trip, if you will. Three's safer than one, don't you think? - besides, it's a win-win-win situation; you get to explore and sate your adventurelust, I get a bodyguard duo and miss firebrand there gets to burn things."

Memories returned to Mikkael of Selk as he overheard the conversation nearby. He was testing luck going on his own, and even though he was of the Meridians, he had some difficulty. Though humans are built much sturdier than others, it would be sad to see more newcomers fall victim to banditry, even if they have magic on their side.

Besides, a slab of sharpened sky metal provides a pretty good defense, or so he figured.

He approached the trio and spoke up, "'scuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear you three making plans for heading to Selk. You wouldn't mind bringing a spellsword along, would you?" The meridian asked with a smile.

_________________

"I do NOT burn everything!" Chika fumed as she stared across the table at Natsuki, who had this semi-smirk on her face as she finished. She was about to grab the tankard and smack the high-and-mighty scholar upside the head when she noticed a man with what appeared to be a battering ram strapped to his back approaching their table.

Yemhelch sighed in relief as Chika put down the tankard as they faced this newcomer. He smiled and kicked open a spare chair at the table for the stranger.

"Yeah, so we are." Yemhelch replied. "I'm sure you'll enjoy playing Karuta with any bandits you come across with that huge ol' sword of yours, Mr... err..."

His voice trailed off as he realized he hadn't gotten a name. Not only that, something was off about this man, now that he had a closer look. Humanoid in appearance, yes, but with several unusual, fishlike features that set him apart. And he smelled of the ocean - in a subtle way.

_________________