Relenting from the blows, the underlings quickly make efforts to get back in position. The main bandit rushes for Natsuki out of fury, only for Mikkael to block his attack with his massive blade. The bash to Mikkael deals 168 damage, but leaves barely a scratch!

LIFE
Mikkael: 3207

WILL
Bandit: 30

The Human Bandit Underling spins his weapon and aims for Yemhelch! Mikkael can't guard two people at once and he strikes Yemhelch's shoulder, thankfully missing his intended mark.

The Titan Bandit, though ready to attack is still overcome from the magic cast by Natsuki.

"Three good cuts is all I need. This is the first." Mikkael says with a grin to the bandit he is blocking, and parries his opponent's weapon. With a turn, he slams his foot into the back of the bandit's head, causing him to stagger, before using the momentum to launch a powerful uppercut slash with his blade! The bandit falls apart down the middle, only his entrails and gushing blood remaining.

PARTY
Mikkael: 3207/775

ENEMY
Bandit: 0 [DECIMATED]
Bandit Underling: 850/0
Bandit Underling: 850/0

PARTY EARNINGS
Legens: 200 Ea.
Mikkael's Drops: Nothing...

_________________

While almost completely useless at guarding the body from the edge of a blade, Yemhelch's padded cloth armor is sufficient to dampen the impact of the blow, preventing a fracture or a dislocation. It does leave some puncture wounds and a nasty bruise, though.

Yemhelch's expression changes to that of mild annoyance, and before the bandit can wind his arm back for a second strike, Yemhelch grasps the wrist and steps in, his other hand a vice-grip on the bandit's wind-pipe! The thug tries to wrench the fingers off his throat, leaving his lower body unguarded. Slipping a leg in and hooking the ankle, Yemhelch proceeds to execute a perfect judo throwdown and throws Bandit 1 at Mikkael!

_________________

Natsuki has used up her foci, and it must recharge. She stows it away in her robe pocket and quickly steps back with a medical salve packed in a read-squeeze leather bag when she saw Yemhelch easily throw a large bandit in a smoothly executed judo throw...

She quickly stepped out of the way and tried to process what she just saw. For an old geezer with a rapidly-swelling shoulder - perhaps even dislocated? - he seemed eerily calm about the whole affair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mikkael's muscles tense.

"Sheesh, you boys sure know how to fight..." she sighed as she stepped back, her eyes on the Titan who was staggering back up to his feet.

Mikkael is preoccupied with one bandit and thus cannot protect Natsuki!
The Human Bandit Underling is midair.
The Titan Bandit Underling rushes Natsuki and elbows her in the gut before moving into a swing of his axe.

Mikkael, his muscles tensed up, unwinds like a spring into a spinning cut, sending his two halves flying! The blood rains in a trail over Yemhelch's head as the upper half of the bandit's body ends up impaled and in a tree.
HOME RUN DAMAGE BONUS!
The other bandit notices this and sees Mikkael turn his sights to him. The bandit can't help but find this a tad familiar as he wets himself.

PARTY
Mikkael: 3207/775

ENEMY
Bandit: 0 [DECIMATED]
Bandit Underling: 0 [IMPALED IN A TREE]
Bandit Underling: 850/0 [REALLY F***ING SCARED]

PARTY EARNINGS
Legens: 400 Ea.
Mikkael's Drops: Nothing...

_________________

The air suddenly shifts and hums with a disturbing amount of magical energy.

The Titan turns to retreat - only to see Philena cutting off his escape, a powerful firebolt spell readied.

"GOTCHAAAAA!" she grins wildly as she casts the enhanced spell - only for the fire to bloom out unstably, the shock wave knocking the titan - and Philena clean off their feet.

"I... I'm allright!" Philena yells from the underbrush where she was knocked into.

"Nice one, Philena!" Yemhelch cried as he flicked his bow back up, and fired a single iron-tipped arrow, aimed at the groin of the fallen Titan.

The arrow, missing its mark - smashes into one of the Titan's legs and he screams in pain. Dropping the bow, Yemhelch quickly retreated to tend to Natsuki, who was kneeling, clearly in pain.

_________________

Her thick robes stopped the brunt of the attack by the determined Titan, but she saw the blood trickling out from a sharp cut on her upper arm and reeled back. She hated the sight of her own blood!

[She is not able to move for now]

Yemhelch was by her side, and she managed to tell him about the medical kit she had in her carry bag. The cut wasn't so bad, but the heavy titan's elbow attack had knocked the wind out of her, and she felt as if she'd throw up any second now.

Coming up behind Philena, Mikkael helps her to her feet. He delivers a warcry as he charges to the bandit underling. Mikkael slices right through his stomach, cutting straight through the titan's gut and then, letting go with one hand, tears out his innards with the free hand.

PARTY
Mikkael: 3207/760

ENEMY
Bandit: 0 [DECIMATED]
Bandit Underling: 0 [IMPALED IN A TREE]
Bandit Underling: 0 [ORGANS STREWN ABOUT]

PARTY EARNINGS
Legens: 600 Ea.

Mikkael wipes some blood from his armor and blade before mounting it on his back again. He divides the Legens among everyone equally, 600 per person, and assists Yemhelch and Philena with applying bandages to his comrades.

_________________

((Yep, it's that time again...

THIS IS A HUGE UPDATE. BE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD IT. LIKE, NOW.

In fact, this update is so large, I need to put its summary in a spoiler.

Spoiler: show

Going down the list...

The first is an equipment update. Templars and Paladins can now use axes, and Guardians and Paladins can now use bows. Woo hoo!

Next, we have a new type of equipment, QUIVERS! No no no, we don't have ammo yet and probably never will. Nah, these items, usable by only four classes of the sixty, will allow your bow users to deal better effects and really amplify their skills. Be sure to check them out if you plan on being a ranger!

I've modified the abilities of the bash type weapons to deal some defense disabling stuff (it sets it apart a little more from the other attack types... in a good way).


Dungeons have a lore entry in the books, be sure to check those out, Yom and I worked hard on them, and this should expand on the lore in the entire game as a result. I also did some minor tweaks to dungeons and FINALLY given them a spawn list for every floor. Again, woo hoo!

There's a new bounty hunting quest for you bounty hunters to get immersed in, but also for any of your knights and other peace keepers. :>

I've finally compiled the OST! If the links die, the you can now just download the whole of Jungalore's soundtrack. Of course, you're free to have whatever songs you want in any area, but these songs are what I've personally found to fit in well, and Yom even had a bit of a hand, too. So go ahead and give that a listen.~


I've also added two Forkheads NPCs (with more possibly coming), Slutty McSlut and Sucky Fucko! Say hi to them at Lake Forkheads.

I did an overhaul on some monsters with the addition of the avian attribute. This means that Species Mixer will also have the attribute available, and a respective enchant has been added too. We also have hawks and falcons as a result for all of you interested in falconry.

Where I got the idea? Well, it just sort of happened while I was taking garbage out at work. No joke. There's a seagull that always comes by and sort of stands there while I put the garbage in.


No, I couldn't get an image of it. Sorry. That said, I look to this seagull and I just think, "HM, WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF WE HAD FALCONRY?"

Needless to say, I answered yes. So yeah, that's how it happened.

I added some level requirements to some subraces. This will keep people from being OP too early in the game. Oni will be available at level 50, Draco at 75, and Demigod/God was raised to 100.

Some statuses were changed a bit, and small fixes were also implemented where necessary.

--------------------------------------------------

OKAY, BIG PART OF THE UPDATE!

Most people don't like the math in Jungalore. Hell, I don't like it all the time. It gets very repetitive and it's just not fun at all. Furthermore, it's hard to really tell a story while you're doing all sorts of calculations...

SO I SAID, "LOL SCREW THE MATH! TIME FOR A NEW MODE OF PLAYING JUNGALORE!" Indeed, I finally added Jungalore Lite Edition!

In this edition, while you won't be able to find all the benefits of playing the full version, you can focus on storytelling rather than math and gameplay. In this mode, you can even start as any class! Tell me, is that not amazing!?

Of course, there are some... restrictions. Depending on your mode of play and how you level up your class, you may be stuck in lite mode. Hell, you'll even lose a lot of your legendary stuff if you go pure lite mode. There is a variant for those who want to still go full, but sometimes want to be in lite mode, so feel free to check out the details and make up some stories!

In fact, that's the main reason why it's there, to make more intricate and interesting stories.

So, with that, let's welcome any writers and casual RPers with open arms.

That's it for your update! Happy adventuring!))

_________________

Eiryk looked over his on-hand items and realized he hadn't made much progress over the last while. He felt a certain dread in this realization, finding that he was taking a step back to his old way of living, back when he was going to school. Laziness, or sloth as the priests called it.

He immediately decided that he had to assist in some way to keep himself from going insane. That's when he noticed a knight putting up a notice at the tavern's quest board.

"Excuse me, but, what's the notice for?" he questioned. The middle-aged knight turned to the scholar with a curious look.

"Didn't you know? The Cyndar Sewers are experiencing monster infestation. We're looking for all able-bodied people to help clear them out."

Eiryk beamed at this opportunity, "Really? Could you show me the way?"

"A lone scholar? Are you sure you want to risk going down there all on your own?" The knight asked with concern. The youthful scholar nodded in response, "Well, if you insist."


The duo moved to the northern side of Cyndar, where the Knightage building and some of the commoner houses were located. At this time, it seemed to be calm, and yet, according to the knight, things were busy underneath the city. The knights could be seen training in the courtyard, as two opened up the sewer grate for Eiryk.

"Now, if there's any trouble, do not hesitate to return. We don't want to find a dead body, alright? Also, don't go deeper than you can handle, we would simply like assistance in clearing it out, so just do what you can."

"I understand. Thank you."

With that, he gave the knights a nod and descended into the sewers of Cyndar.



Link


The sewers were quite dark, with the only light coming from the lanterns lining the stone walls. It seemed odd to Eiryk that such a place was made after the creation of Cyndar's walls, and the paving of its roads, and yet he could barely think of it, with the strong stench of wastes and dirty waters permeating the area as he walked through. At darker points, he would need to use fire magic to traverse the sewers, but he did this as little as possible, as it would cause a lot of sewage to burn.

In the sewers, he encountered five morpho, a group of three, and a group of two. He made quick work of them utilizing his magic, and avoided damage entirely due to his training against the creatures. They dropped for him a cool 25 Legens, and even a blue gem. Soon, he encountered more, and he made efforts to avoid anything that may be too strong for even him. He gained another 25 Legens and another Blue Gem.

He then approached a large gate, and opened it, noticing an exit hatch. He was fairly tired of wandering the stony walkways, and the stench as well. Then, they shut behind him. In front of him was a small group of rats, easy alone, but deadly in a pack such as this.

"Well, no time to waste..."


Link


BOSS: Rat x5
((OOC: This will be lowered next update. Pretty much anyone should be able to solo this. I got lazy during this, so I summarized it as no one wants to see me kill rats, six damage at a time... Nor do I want to type that out.))

Spoiler: show

Attack Order:
-Rat 1 300/300
-Rat 2 300/300
-Rat 3 300/300
-Rat 4 300/300
-Rat 5 300/300
-Eiryk Advento 450/450|250/400

The rats begin their onslaught!
No damage! Defense is too high!

Eiryk prepares his spell...
41 Damage! His regular attack deals six damage.

Eiryk exhausts his entire will pool during the fight and then proceeds to beat the remaining rats to death. He earns 200 Legens and opens a bag by a dead body at the end to find 1000 Legens! He proceeds to bury the body and head back up through the exit grate.



Link


After meeting up with the knights again, he explains what happened...

"I see. Well done, that should be helpful for anyone else going down. I don't know how to taken you, but I notice you have a cross necklace. If you're going to become an acolyte, then let me teach you something about mace fighting..."

+1 Quest Completion!

"Thanks for your help. Feel free to go down any time you want to help out."


Eiryk heads to the item shop to sell the blue gems he found. He earns 1000 Legens. He overhears word of a blacksmith moving into the magic city of Vex Vinas, and thus he gets an idea of where to go next...

_________________

((It's me again. This time, we have our last update of version one for a while. This will not get updated again until the monarch is crowned. Your download link is here.

I know I sound slightly pessimistic here, but let me just say, it was HELL going ahead and getting this update done. First I end up releasing 1.19 secretly, and then I realize I need to do some other stuff following. I then was held back, mostly by myself, and ended up releasing this now rather than Thursday or Friday. Overall, though, I think I like this. No, really, this update answers a lot of issues that people have been waiting on me to fix. I'm even happy about it, as the issues in question should've been fixed MONTHS ago.

That said, with this update, I am going to turn my attention to ARKNIGHT again and really patch it up. Maybe I'll play around with some new stuff. I dunno. We'll just see. If I don't, I may just give development to whoever wants it, although I ask for some... reservations. If not, I'll continue to have it on the back burner because let's face it, Jungalore is where it's at. In Jungalore, it's always gonna ballin'. (Madassgamer, don't sue me.)

In any case, here's the update details...

----------V1.19----------
I took a look at the spawns for our easiest dungeons on the mainland and did a few alterations. It should be a little easier now or give a bit more variety. In conjunction with that, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I lowered the rat boss spawn from five to three for the Cyndar Sewers. Now it should be even easier for newer characters.

I did the right thing and finally gave Holy Arts and Dark Arts a fourth level skill. The classes that can get it will need to complete a quest, but it should be easy. Paragons will be able to get Holy Arts and Dark Arts 3 via this quest as well. Speaking of which, the third level has been converted to a single target skill to keep with the structure.

The one thing I did that should please everyone is that I FINALLY IMPLEMENTED THE ARMOR CRAFTING RECIPES. I don't have much to say about this except a nice loud, HELL YEAH!

I implemented the Yuunlands, just because. Like with the Shadow Realm you can explore it a little, but it doesn't function as a dungeon. Not yet at least.

Beyond that, just a couple grammatical fixes and wording fixes.


----------V1.20----------
This is the major update to everything that has been established, and this will make EVERYONE hate me. First, ALL races now gain additional stats. Humans and Meridians gain the most, but this will help out a little to even the playing field for all races. However, this won't upset everyone. No no no, that would be the LEVEL UP SYSTEM RENEWAL.

So, you know how everyone has a set amount of life and will to start and level up their stats with decimals at a fixed rate? See, that hinders something that I had intended with the weapon availability; Making every character unique. See, regardless of your class and available weapons, there would be one sure-fire build that's the best for any given class. Dark Knights and Magic Knights, for example. While Inner Magic gave them a boost to their Magic Attack, they are STILL better made as tanks or dps characters, and not magic dps characters. Sure, it supplements them, but it wasn't useful all the time.

However, this is the main bit of this version. I made it so that you now have TOTAL control as to how your character grows. You now are given four stat points to allocate with each level up, and a set number of life and will points to allocate as well. You can now have complete freedom in setting your total life and will to whatever you need, and you can allocate the four points as you need as well. You can even use a quarter of a stat point if you so choose, although I recommend using the whole numbers as it will keep the math smoother. This also means you can have all sorts of different builds for your characters, and even have knights that are great at casting magic!

Shush. I'll get to it.

Granted, this means Inner Magic is no longer a necessary skill, as it was meant to account for the Spellsword's lack of MAtk, but this should be fine for everyone, I believe.

Let's say you don't like your build. No problem, you can go to a school and reset all points for a fee of 80,000 Legens. It is a lot, as you can see, but all rates at schools have been increased as well due to the new flexibility with the system. Essentially, all prices have been multiplied by five.

Now, earlier I mentioned knights using magic. Someone has probably said, "DUDE, DO YOU EVEN KNOW YOUR OWN GAME? THEY DON'T LEARN MAGIC."

Yes, that's true.

However, mages can now craft Runes for use of spells.

SHUSH, I WILL GET TO THAT AS WELL.

Now, of course there are basic runes available for purchase, but your level four class scholars will now be able to have some extra abilities and uses as a result of this addition. You can of course sell your runes on the market, but mages aren't the only ones who will be doing this. Maestros and Idols will also be able to use this skill.

Now, to answer the question of "WHAT ABOUT BOTTLED MAGIC? THE ALCHEMIST SKILL. IT ALREADY DOES THAT."

Well, I had to toy around with it. Bottled Magic will use the stats of the caster, AKA the one who put the magic in. This means, that when one uses bottled magic, it will deal a set amount of damage based on the other person. Runes, on the other hand, utilize the user's stats to deal damage. This means, by using a rune, your stats are plugged in, and thus, yes, you can make a magic-using knight.

As a final note, I updated the OST.

That's all for now, enjoy the update!))

_________________

((A hundred replies? In my Jungalore?
That said, I do have one minor update left. Just some new books for you guys and changes to files I missed last time. Again, nothing major. I'll get around to it eventually.))


Link


Eiryk met with the carriage driver by the gates of Cyndar. However, despite the reasonable enough prices for taking a trip north, it would be better to simply head for the Sunshriek Cliffs by foot. The walking would do some good, and it wasn't anything impossible from what he heard among those he asked. It would just be a long road.

"Sometimes the longer road is the best road."

Having decided upon this, he stopped by the item shop in Cyndar before departing.

"Ah, Eiryk, how are things?"

"Not too bad. I need some advice."

"Oh? What about?"

"The Sunshriek Cliffs, what sort of supplies would you recommend I carry if I want to travel there by foot?"

"A pilgrimage to Sunshriek? Well, what sort of funds do you have? Not going to beg me for stuff again, are you?"

Eiryk shook his head. "No, not at all. As I told you last year, I'd be making a living for myself doing church services and solving problems where needed. I figure I'd spend a Legen to make a fortune." The scholar smiles and pulls out his wallet, showing his coins to the kindly merchant. "That said, I have about six thousand."

"Hmmm..." The merchant gave it some thought before making his recommendations. "At least one bag upgrade for two and a half thousand. Fill up on some small potions and grab some magic vials for good measure. Leave about 1000 Legens in emergency funds."

"Sounds good to me."


Eiryk waited patiently for his backpack upgrade and the brewing of his potions to be completed. The bubbling of new mixtures could be heard for some time. Eiryk gave consideration to learning about the alchemical art but decided that he would do better for the time being focusing on his artificing. The merchant returned in time with five bottles of red liquid and five bottles of blue liquid stored in his larger bag. Eiryk pays the 5000 Legens required and thanks the merchant.

"It also wouldn't hurt to do what gathering you can along the way."

"Right. I'll be off then. Thanks for the tips."



Link


Taking a step into the south plains of Cyndar, Eiryk breathes the fresh air before setting off north-east. He begins his walk along the roads as to avoid any encounters with unruly adventurers or monsters ready to launch an attack. He passes by the aqua morpho hanging about the fields and the ancient forest surrounding the city and takes in the beautiful scenery. In a time of strife, scenery isn't often appreciated, but this is what Eiryk lives to see all around Jungalore. A clear sky, and blooming grasslands.

He passes by Gawayne near the connecting bridges.

"Ah, hello Eiryk. Studying lately?" The reptal templar asks.

"Indeed. What have you been up to, Sir Gawayne?"

"Lately I've been checking out Dreamer's Hill. I need to get more insight on the necromancers and their plots."

"Isn't Dreamer's Hill dangerous even for a high ranking templar such as yourself?"

"Yes... I'll likely return with a troop of others and search further. I'd really like to know how to enter their base. If you are going up north, just be careful, as I hear that people have spotted undead in the woods."

"Will do, take care sire."

Though it struck him as odd that Gawayne would make such a brash decision to check out Dreamer's Hill on his own, he quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that the templar had done so many times before over the last year. His activity had become more frequent as of late, but this could easily be attributed to the prophecy.

As he begins to continue, Gawayne shouts something in the distance.

"Oh, Eiryk, there's someone looking for you! He has a long grey coat, do thank him for me, alright!?"

Someone looking for him? Could the reptal at least elaborate before leaving? Gawayne was already off in the distance by this point, and seeing as how this man would likely be on the road, it shouldn't be a problem locating the man.

As Eiryk proceeded onwards, he took a break midway through the south-east to enjoy an apple he had picked off one of the nearby trees. For some reason, apples were just delicious to Eiryk. The taste reminded him of happier times, and times he felt were familiar, but aren't at all as they never happened.

"Or so you think."


Link


The man startles Eiryk as he says this from behind. He looks very very similar to Eiryk, the face is nearly identical, and his eyes pierce into his very soul. There is something too familiar about this man, dressed in a dark-grey long coat. Just that Eiryk can't put his finger on it.

"Gawayne said I was looking for you."

"Oh... Yeah, about that. How do you even know me? I don't think I've seen you in Cyndar before."

"We know a lot about one another. Just that it's hard to explain, given the current circumstances." The man pulls an apple out as well and bites into it.

"So... Who are you?"

"Well, a better question is 'what' am I. However, I guess the best answer is that I am a paragon."

"Right..."

"Eiryk, do you mind if I accompany you on your journey to the Sunshriek Cliffs?" The man asks. Eiryk finds everything incredibly odd and has many questions. The paragon seemingly reads his every move and even his very thoughts. Still, perhaps help wouldn't be a bad thing.

"Alright, but you have to answer my questions."

"Simple enough." He says as he begins to follow Eiryk. "So, what sort of questions do you have?"

"Well, for one, why do you look almost exactly like me, besides that scar on your left cheek?"

"Ahahaha... Well, again, that will require more explaining than we have time for. We're, shall we say, distant yet close relatives?" The paragon answers the question in a nonchalant manner. It would explain the similar look, perhaps that would explain his desire to meet Eiryk in the first place. Still, feeling uneasy about the man following him, he asks another question.

"So do you have a reason for meeting me?"

"Relax. You're tense because you are afraid of meeting others. Afraid that you are entirely transparent to me. Still, my reason for meeting you is that I want to see how you are doing this time."

"This time?"

"Yes. Last time was different, imperfect. You had witnessed... No. I can't tell you too much, it would cause us both unwanted attention."

An uneasy feeling continued to wash over Eiryk.

"Though, I need to tell you at least one thing. As you progress from here on out, you'll find missing parts of your soul, and recognize more things that you have seen, but have not witnessed before in your life. There are others like you in this world, and I am looking for them just as you are."

"Right... I don't really understand though."

The paragon laughs, "Well, I can't expect that immediately, nor should you. Things... may become clear over time. Continue your studies, especially of the Bible of Lumbra. You may receive answers in book seven."

"If you say so." Eiryk says, but by the time the words leave his mouth, the man is gone. Nowhere to be seen. Though he called for the paragon, he did not reappear.

Shaking away the unease, he realized he was a lot closer to the Sunshriek Cliffs than he thought, already nearing the northern end of the continent. He put his hand in his pocket and found in it a note.

"Darkness rises in the forests of Cita Den."

_________________

OOC: Long wait?

-

Natsuki sat there, pressing down on the bandage that Yemhelch had put on her over the wound. The black-dyed healing herbs that had been crushed into the fabric helped soothe the pain and increased speed in which the wound closed up. Until it did, she just sat there.

She had heard the tales of how battles were - often read books about it too; but seeing the real thing a little too close and personal had shaken her. Her eyes wandered - the grass splattered with blood, now a dark black under the last rays of the sun, the corpse in the trees, and another who had been bisected clean in two - his guts splayed all over the ground like an obscene worm.

Yemhelch had been injured too - his neck and shoulders were quite bruised from that heavy hit he took. What surprised her was that he had not even flinched despite the fact that the wound looked like it could knee a man to the floor in pain. She looked over to Mikkael and Philena - Philena has really turned the tide of battle by using a powerful fire spell at close range. Aside from a few bruises, she didn't look like she had been hurt at all. The meridan, Mikkael - fortunately didn't suffer much injury, using his massive sword to quickly defeat enemies.

"Perhaps I've grown too soft - too bound by magic duel rules in the Guild..." she mumbled as she recalled one of the Duel Laws; that winning was declared when a spell had knocked down an opponent.

"They won't be getting up, not anytime soon." she finished, shaking her head. Adjusting her bandage, she walked over to the men. "Should we set up camp? I don't feel so well."

"Mikkael says this is apparently a regular occurence up north, so yeah - I think we should rest." Yemhelch nods. "Hey, those medical herbs are pretty fast-acting. Most of the bleeding's gone."

The nearby campfire, set up by Philena with a smaller-scale spell similar to the one she had used earlier was merrily crackling away, giving some level of illumination across the small plain.

Just across the forest, two young rangers and a knight had also settled camp. They had come just after the battle had ended. Yemhelch had learned from them that bandit attacks were rare this far south, and he accepted the fact that there was safety in numbers. He would take first watch as the night began. Curse his horrible luck at the lots!

Taking his staff in one hand, and pressing onto the medical compress on his neck with the other, he began to walk around the perimeter of the two camps.

_________________

Mikkael ground the edge of his sword with a whetstone, keeping it razor sharp. After wiping off the blood, he decided that it would be best to start fashioning a scabbard of some sort rather than have his massive sword exposed on his back. If not for protecting the blade, a scabbard would do fine adding an additional layer of protection.

As the others took time to rest, Mikkael made his way up, saying, "Excuse me momentarily."

The sound of the massive blade could be heard from the camp as a tree fell to the ground. Mikkael made use of the blade to start cutting out a rough shape for the scabbard. He tossed the loose bits into the campfire and began refining the shape with a utility knife. As the final shape began to form of two pieces, Mikkael sanded both down and bolted the pieces together after making bolts from rivets he salvaged off the recently deceased bandits.

"Crafting is something I like to do on my free time. It keeps me calm." He remarked. "It's a shame people have to turn to crime these days, you know? There's so much else they can do with their lives."

--------------------------------------------------
Eiryk made his way up the hill and over to the building standing in the light snowfield. Warming himself off as he entered, he walked up to the counter and asked for a ride to Vex Vinas. After some friendly banter with others going to the magic city, he was seated on a dragon and secured as per protocol for the staff at the dragon port.

The trip was going along fine, until, suddenly, Eiryk's dragon was attacked out of nowhere. A blinding flash of light followed by a beam attack struck the dragon, causing it to fall uncontrollably to the tundra below. Everything faded to black, and Eiryk awoke next to the dead dragon, its neck broken along with other body parts.

Realizing that he had no idea where he was, he decided that he would not fret on what had just shot him out of the sky or why, but instead put focus on securing his life. Eiryk remembered that if he were to become an acolyte, he would need to forsake the use of all blades per the code of the Priestly Order. Thankfully, he was no acolyte yet, and thus, using one of the teeth of the slain creature, he cut out a rough cloak for himself to wear. Afterwards, he decided to begin a trek to some shelter and while doing so, figure out where he had fallen from.

He had to make educated guesses, as it was commonly heard that some of those who made the attempt at moving across the snowfield unprepared would face an untimely end. He recalled seeing a glimpse of the magic city before the flash, and the dragon spinning down eastwards. With a rough idea in mind, he cut out the obvious flame sac of the dragon and made his way to a small cliff. It was no tavern, but any roof over his head would work. After gathering some wood spread out here and there, he gave the sac a squeeze as the wood ignited instantaneously.

In the morning, he would set out for the city.

_________________

Natsuki put those medical kits she had received from her previous quest to good use, daubing away at the cut carefully to remove any remaining traces of dirt that could cause infection. As she bandaged up her wound again, her eyes followed the figure making rounds about the camps.

Yemhelch walked with his hand on his neck, pressing a rag soaked in boiled-hot water and crushed herbs that she and Philena had gathered and prepared. The way he walked was unnerving - his toes curved backwards, each step falling silently upon the soil and patchy grass. As she watched him, she thought back to that battle.

He had not flinched at all when that bandit had landed that heavy hit on him with the club. All that attack had done was give him a few bruises, and made him drop the 'playing around' attitude.

He was no ordinary country bumpkin, that much was certain. The herbs she had used had addled her thoughts and now she yawned. She would feel better by tomorrow morning.

With that, she pulled the strings of the fur sleeping bag around herself and closed the tent flap, locking the 'door' in place with a rope.