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> Let's look for some materials in the Forest Entrance!

I agree, we're still more or less good - though Dave got dinged pretty good, there, so we want to be careful-ish. I'd say one more run, up to two if this next one goes well.

Let's go look for more materials, then.

You go around the possibly-safer Forest Entrance looking for more ingredients. It does seem like there's not as many Punis itching to bother you after you took out the tough red one, at least for today, so you have a pretty peaceful remainder of the afternoon.
There's more Magic Grass around to find; Miriam points out even more of them. She also points out a weird looking..spiky fruit that's fallen out of one of the trees.
You pick it up carefully. "What's this thing?"
"The technical name is long and boring, but it's commonly referred to as an Uni. It's hard and covered in sharp points, so you may find some use throwing it at our opponents, if nothing else."
"Is there any food inside all those spikes?" you say, thinking of pineapples and durians.
"Not really. It's basically a large, very well-protected seed."
Information: Uni is a usable item in battle, allowing Sarah to perform a long-range piercing attack at a single enemy.

After a while, the sun starts to set. By then you have a pretty good haul, so everyone makes camp. (+12 Magic Grass, +2 Uni).

Miriam stares very hard at one of Dave's hatchets for a long moment. "...What?"
"How many of those do you have, exactly? I saw you simply throwing one away during the battle, and another one you allowed be magically combusted."
"I dunno, enough. Lots." He shrugs.
"So if one of them were to, say, explode, it wouldn't be a great loss?" she says, showing off one of her smaller bombs.
"Um..." He looks a little hesitant about the idea. "I mean, if you blow all of them up then I'll be in trouble."
"But you have plenty, right? Therefore, if I attach a bomb to one and you throw it at a monster, it would be a good use of one."

Dual Tech: HatchetBomb invented (Hatchet Throw + CrossBomb)

Miriam takes out a notebook and writes down a bunch of complicated formulas, occasionally looking up at the sky and particularly in the direction of the black dot. You pester Dave about his bruised leg a little bit, but he insists he's fine. Eventually everyone goes to sleep, and before you know it, it's the next morning.

>

Date: 1/14
Time: Dawn

Status & Inventory:

3716 Cole

Location: Nearby Forest - Forest Entrance

Character Status:

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SpoilerSarah Kennigan: Uninjured, Just Okay
Weapon: Basic Staff
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

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SpoilerEther Light: A self-defense technique from Master. Non-elemental magic attack, any 1 square.

Dave Barrett: Slightly Injured, Just Okay
Weapon: Hatchets
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

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Spoiler

• Hatchet Throw: Throw a hatchet in any of 8 directions. Does physical damage to whatever it hits first.
  
• Slice & Dice: Chop-chop-chop-chop! Attempts 5-10 normal attacks, all on the same target, at reduced accuracy.
  
• Quick Feet (passive): Go go go! Instead of the usual 1 move, 1 attack/skill, Dave can choose any 3 actions to perform on each of his turns, each of which can be either kind.

Fee: 0 Cole

Miranda (???): Uninjured, Fine
Weapon: Knight's Sword
Armor: Knight's Armor
Accessory: None
Skills:

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Spoiler

• Zero Motivation (passive): Eh. Miranda has less energy states than normal (Exhausted, Okay, Fine). It costs energy to perform regular move and attack actions in battle. Active skills require a large percentage of her maximum energy.
  
• Chill (passive): Whatever, it's fine. Miranda regains a small amount of energy anytime she isn't doing anything, regardless of if it's out of town or even in the middle of a battle.
  
• Spin Slash: Gotta respect the classics. Slashes everything in the 8 tiles surrounding Miranda for physical damage.
  
• Lazy Combo: Way too much effort. Performs six normal attacks in a row (which can have distinct targets), and then lacks the motivation to do anything at all for the next two turns (Chill is disabled during these turns).
  
• Slack Off (3/3): Miranda's favorite activity. Doesn't accomplish anything immediate, but restores a moderate amount of energy instead of spending it. Has a 2-turn cooldown and only works 3 times per battle.

Fee: 500 Cole

Miriam Kovich: Uninjured, 10/10 Bombs
Weapon: Crossbow
Armor: Lab Coat

Skills:

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Spoiler

• SCIENCE! (passive): Nothing can be allowed to deter the march of progress! Miriam's determination to discover the unknown gives her seemingly boundless energy. Instead her skills use up her limited supply of bombs, which can only be replenished back at town or by Sarah giving her items of the category [Bomb Supply] out of the basket and a night to turn them into more bombs. The quality and type of item affects how many bombs it can produce.
  
• Keen Eye (passive): A scientist must always be paying attention! To everything. Miriam's presence in the party increases the probability of finding more items, and of finding a wider variety of items. Some items can only be initially discovered with Miriam in the party.
  
• Observation: Let's see what makes you tick... Miriam can spend an entire turn (both the move and act portions) on observing an enemy and provide tactical data about that enemy type's behaviors, weaknesses, strengths, etc. This data remains available indefinitely after being obtained once.
  
• CrossBomb (1): The obvious combination. Miriam attaches a small bomb to a crossbow bolt. Hits any enemy in normal attack range for normal attack damage, then causes explosive fire damage to the 3x3 square centered on the target. This can also be aimed at empty squares for tactical effect.

Fee: FREE TRAIL x 1 (100 Cole after)

Dual Techs:

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SpoilerSarah & Dave:
Ether Hatchet (Hatchet Throw + Ether Light): Do the thing! Targets any enemy on a straight line from Dave which he could hit with Hatchet Throw. Deals physical damage to the target and then magical damage to anything in the 3x3 square centered on the target.

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