NENGO 327年11月18日 7:22 AM - 43 Days until Culmination
The party awoke a little later than they would have liked, but didn't get into the usual bitch-fest with each other for fear of being discovered. Once camp was broken & everything loaded back in the wagon, everyone got back on their respective horse-lizards and continued on their trek through the mountains. After several hours of uneventful travel, they see something coming towards them. THRAX and TRITHAL dismount and prepare for a possible fight.
As the figure gets closer, THRAX thinks he recognizes whatever the hell that is.
THRAX: "....the hell? Elric? What are you doing here?"
Elric: "Looking for you, actually. I heard you might be on your way back so I thought I would try and meet you in Garr... but it seems you've already been through there and are trekking toward Okremafort."
THRAX: "Yeah, we left Garr yesterday morning. So, you were looking for me, huh? Well, you've found me! So..... what's up?"
Elric: "Well, things are looking like they are going to get crazy real quick. Vankar is almost done gathering his allies and is preparing for an attack."
TRITHAL: "I see. So how long do you think we have until Vankar starts his attack?"
Elric: "Not long. If I were to guess, I'd say we've got maybe a month before things start getting really ugly and fighting breaks out."
THRAX: "Then we'd better hurry. We've got a lot of ground to cover... and I need to make a stop at Neglaford."
TRITHAL: "Why do we need to stop in Neglaford?"
THRAX: "I have some friends there. I might be able to convince them to help us deal with Vankar."
Anri: "Isn't Neglaford up near the pass?"
Elric: "Yeah, it is. Are you sure you wanna make a stop there? The Grynak Tribe controls that town now."
THRAX: "That could mean trouble. They are one of the more ruthless of the Dralani tribes. Is Janxion still leading them?"
Elric: "Yes he is. And he is still the biggest bastard of them all! Some say he grows more insane by the day."
THRAX: "Well, I guess we'll deal with him when the time comes. We should reach Neglaford around dusk. In the meantime, we should use some of our extra potions and scrolls to shore up our defenses."
Elric: "You guys mind if I tag along?
TRITHAL: "Well, what are your stats? Will you be any good to us in battle?"
Elric (LV 26 LIGHTENING WIZARD; 102/103 HP; 236/250 SP; 6241 EXP)
Danika: "Well, alright then!"
Elric the Lightening Wizard JOINS THE PARTY
The party continues forward, and engages in further discussion:
TRITHAL: "Hey Elric, how big of an army does Vankar have?
Elric: "I don't think anyone can put a number on the soldiers under his command. You see, the Draconians themselves are divided into clans... and each clan has it's own army and general. The other day when I was in Okremafort, I must have seen about 15 generals hanging around Vankar's headquarters.
Danika: "And just how big is one of these 'clan armies'?"
Elric: "It all depends on the individual clan. Some only have a handful of soldiers, maybe 20 or 30, while others can have up to several hundreds.... maybe even thousands!"
TRITHAL: I didn't know there were so many draconians left in existence. From what Thrax told us in Episode 7, only a handful remained after the humans and elves took over control of the Land of Fantasy almost 2000 years ago."
THRAX: What do you think they've been up to all this time?! You think they would just waste their time moping around in regret for losing control and nothing else? Of course not! They've been fucking like rabbits! There's been at least 10 generations of draconians born during the 4th Age... all of which pretty much immortal compared to humans. There are even some draconians alive today who were there at the start of the 4th Age."
Rihac: "Then, in that case, how come we never learned of their existence until now?
Elric: "You can thank your stupid Nengo treaty for that. Persuit of such knowledge has been outlawed. Those who have gone to learn of the draconians, and anything else that has been deemed 'unfit' by the Nengo counsel, have been punished. Today, there are very few humans who know of anything at all about what's going on outside the prefectures. Ignorance is your peoples' most powerful force, as well as your biggest flaw. It is because of ignorance that you were made to think that your world is an inexhaustible utopia... and that your sheer defiance alone is enough to protect it from anyone who would threaten it. That's how King Midus was able to form his 'United Prefectures' empire, and draw the ire of Vankar and the other Draconians. That arrogant fool Midus thinks he can take over the whole human world by using ignorance to his advantage. That's why he must be stopped."
Nguang: "So, I take it you're on Vankar's side then?"
Elric: "No, you dimwit! Here in the draconian world, your opinion is your own. You don't have to share the opinion of others, and others don't have to share your opinion. My opinion is that Midus indeed needs to be stopped, but Vankar is taking the wrong approach. All-out war on the human world won't accomplish anything. There are much more effective ways to overthrow Midus and make the humans see past the wool that has been pulled over their eyes... but such a means would require a great deal of patience and persistence, both of which are quite lacking in the average draconian."
TRITHAL: "I guess that explains why Vankar feels that such a show of force is necessary... but I'm not convinced that what he is planning is all-out war on the human world. If I know Macha-Xianu, he's got some other kind of plan in the works. The question is, what? Nothing about what he's doing makes any sense!"
Elric: "'Mah'-what? What the hell are you talking about?"
THRAX: "Nevermind that right now. We should stop talking. The area ahead is full of Dragonetties."
The party agrees to finish the conversation later, and continues on.
----------
Right as they were about to stop for supper, 6 Dragonetties ambush them.
BATTLE MODE ON
TRITHAL (LV 28; 117/117 HP; 112/112 SP; 8022 EXP)
AXEM (LV 24; 100/100 HP; 99/99 SP; 6612 EXP)
THRAX (LV 30; 99/99 HP; 152/152 SP; 8436 EXP)
Danika (LV 28; 100/100 HP; 94/94 SP; 7312 EXP)
Anri (LV 29; 100/100 HP; 100/100 SP; 8406 EXP)
Adeth (LV 15; 52/52 HP; 20/20 SP; 2134 EXP)
Rihac (LV 86; 29/29 HP; 412/412 SP; 127690 EXP)
Nguang (LV 15; 51/51 HP; 99/99 SP; 2648 EXP)
Elric (LV 26; 102/103 HP; 236/250 SP; 6241 EXP)
Dragonetti 1 breathes fire on THRAX. All party members laugh.
Dragonetti 2 throws a rock at AXEM. AXEM puts the rock in his pocket for hell of it.
Dragonetti 3 attacks THRAX with its talons. THRAX loses 6 HP
Dragonetti 4 attempts to stab TRITHAL with its beak. TRITHAL dodges the attack.
Dragonetti 5 dive-bombs Rihac. Rihac loses 22 hp.
Nguang: "Master! No! Damn you, you stupid bird dragon freaks!"
Dragonetti 6 shoots a flaming feather at TRITHAL. TRITHAL blocks with his pipe. His green stuff his now lit. No damage to TRITHAL.
TRITHAL (as he is taking a hit): "Thanks for the light!"
Adeth attacks Dragonetti 1 with his Light Sword. Dragonetti 1 loses 83/630 HP.
Anri and AXEM do a combo attack ICE PILLAR. Dragonetti 1 and 6 are destroyed. The remaining four lose 126/630 HP
Nguang uses his turn to restore Rihac's lost HP.
Rihac walks up to Dragonetti 5 and hits it upside the head with his staff. Dragonetti 5 loses 24/504 HP
TRITHAL and Danika do their own combo attack: STORM OF TREES. A whole shitload of trees of varying sizes bombard the enemies. All enemies lose 490 HP. Dragonetti 5 is destroyed. Dragonetties 2, 3, and 4 all have 14 HP remaining.
THRAX simply walks up and decapitates Dragonetti 2 with his Dragon Saber. Dragonetti 2 is destroyed.
Dragonetti 3 sets Dragonetti 4 on fire and propels it at Rihac. Rihac loses 28 HP. Dragonetti 4 is destroyed.
Nguang attempts to roundhouse the remaining Dragonetti, but the creature dodges.
AXEM attempts the same attack. Dragonetti 3 dodges again.
Elric casts THUNDER SPARK. Dragonetti 3, the last of the enemies, is now dead.
BATTLE MODE OFF
All party members gain 1226 EXP
TRITHAL GAINS 2 LEVELS
LV 28>30; HP 117>125; SP 112>121
AXEM GAINS 3 LEVELS
LV 24>27; HP 100>107; SP 99->05
THRAX GAINS A LEVEL
LV 30>31; HP 99>101; SP 152>155
Danika GAINS 2 LEVELS
LV 28>30; HP 100>105; SP 94>100
Anri GAINS A LEVEL
LV 29>30; HP 100>102; SP 100>102
Adeth GAINS 4 LEVELS
LV 15>19; HP 52>62; SP 20>28
Nguang GAINS 4 LEVELS
LV 15>19; HP 51>60; SP 99>108
Elric GAINS 2 LEVELS
LV 26>28; HP 103>108; SP 250>255
TRITHAL (LV 30; 117/125 HP; 92/121 SP; 9248 EXP)
AXEM (LV 27; 100/107 HP; 84/105 SP; 7838 EXP)
THRAX (LV 31; 93/101 HP; 155/155 SP; 9662 EXP)
Danika (LV 30; 100/105 HP; 74/100 SP; 8538 EXP)
Anri (LV 30; 100/102 HP; 85/102 SP; 9632 EXP)
Adeth (LV 19; 52/62 HP; 28/28 SP; 3360 EXP)
Rihac (LV 86; 1/29 HP; 412/412 SP; 128916 EXP)
Nguang (LV 19; 51/60 HP; 94/108 SP; 3874 EXP)
Elric (LV 28 ; 102/108 HP; 226/255 SP; 7467 EXP)
Nguang rushes to the side of his master, who is lying on the ground with only one Hit Point left.
Nguang: "Master! Let me help you!"
Rihac: (weak voice) "Nguang, go fetch the Red Crystals! Quickly!"
Obediently, Nguang rushes to the wagon to retrieve the Red Crystals, then immediately returns to Rihac. Rihac instructs Nguang where to place the crystals. Once in place, Nguang pleads, "Master, please don't die! There is much I've yet to learn!"
Nguang: "I wouldn't worry about that..."
Right as he said that, Rihac grabbed Nguang's right wrist with his left hand and began reciting a mantra in the Macha language. As his power was being summoned, Rihac's eyes began to glow the same color as the Red Crystals laid around him.
Nguang: (scared) "Master, what's happening? You're crushing my arm!... I.. can't move!"
Slowly, a field of energy began to emanate from Rihac's body, up Nguang's right arm, and eventually encompassing the both of them... all while Rihac recites the assimilation mantra. TRITHAL goes to the scene, and begins reciting the mantra with Rihac, while TRITHAL's eyes glow blue, his elemental spirit color.
After a minute or two of this going on, the energy field dissipates to find Rihac's body withered and deteriorating, and Nguang (or who used to be Nguang) standing up from the kneeling position. When the person rose to his feet, his height was about a foot taller than Nguang's, and his face was more defined... even with some more facial hair. Anri and Danika were stunned by the handsomeness of this person.
person: (with deeper voice than Nguang's) "Woah! Damn, that felt good! I think this is the cleanest assimilation I've ever done! Those red crystals I brought really work!"
TRITHAL: "The assimilation is complete. What will you call yourself now?"
person: "You know, until you showed up, I had forgotten how cool the name Kuta sounds. How about you call me, 'Kuta of the Red Crystal'."
Kuta of the Red Crystal JOINS THE PARTY
Kuta (LV 32 RED CRYSTAL; 101/101 HP; 112/112 SP; 9876 EXP)
All around the scene, the rest of the party watched the events unfold.
Danika: "So that's what a Macha assimilation looks like."
Adeth, who appears to have been hit in the face with a shovel, stands there staring with his mouth hanging open... as if what he witnessed was too much for his mind to understand. Danika gives him one of the pills he got from the doctor in Laurenstown.
Anri: "So, what happened to Rihac and Nguang?"
Kuta: "Well, as you can see from the corpse right here, Rihac Thalimed is dead. As for Nguang Metada, he has become the next host of Macha-Zed. (to TRITHAL) Oh yeah! Thanks for the help, Mugen. This is probably the first time in 800 years an official 'Assimilation Ceremony' was performed."
TRITHAL: "Yeah, but it was those Red Crystals that did all the work. Where were they when I was assimilating Trithal?!"
The party digs a grave for Rihac's body, then packs up and continues forward.
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