You have 16 Days Until Your Place of Business is Shut Down

Okay, so. We have 17 days to turn in our primary quest. We're pretty set on Magic Grass (and, honestly, probably on fuel as well), so let's focus on trying to get those Puniballs for Miriam's request. After that, I suggest buckling down and brewing as much as we can.

Do you think Miriam should tag along with us though? 0: It's nice to see another reader though, hello!

Hello!
And we want to get the remaining four puniballs as quickly as possible, to give us time to start prepping healing salves. So yeah, this is probably a good time to bring Miriam. We get to see what she can do AND increase our kills-to-time ratio.

Okay, so. We have 17 days to turn in our primary quest. We're pretty set on Magic Grass (and, honestly, probably on fuel as well), so let's focus on trying to get those Puniballs for Miriam's request. After that, I suggest buckling down and brewing as much as we can.

Do you think Miriam should tag along with us though? 0: It's nice to see another reader though, hello!

Hello!
And we want to get the remaining four puniballs as quickly as possible, to give us time to start prepping healing salves. So yeah, this is probably a good time to bring Miriam. We get to see what she can do AND increase our kills-to-time ratio.

You ask Miriam to join you as well. She has to get a few things ready and says she'll meet you at the gate.

After waiting a couple of minutes with Dave, she walks up. "Hi there," says Dave, waving.
"Greetings. Miriam Kovich, at your service," she nods.
"Uh, Dave. Nice to meet ya, I guess."
She grins, adjusting her glasses. "Indeed. I've always wanted a chance to study beastfolk more closely. For humans and mana, the sense of balance appears to lie in the inner ear, but beastfolk ears are so different in nature to bring into doubt that their balance is the same. Besides which, there is the role of the tail to consider in acting as a counterbalance, which among other races the arms are usually sufficient for..."
Dave gives you a helpless, slightly worried look. You just shrug; as far as you can tell this is just how she talks to people. After trailing off into silence, she stares at him for long periods of time on the walk out to the forest. He tries his best to ignore it.

Eventually, you reach the forest. The usual choice awaits you: Look for materials; look for monsters; or explore in search of a new area. At the moment you have discovered two areas in which to do this: The Forest Entrance, which has less monsters and seemingly more punis than wolves, and Wolf Territory, which as the name would suggest is mostly full of wolves; it's also where you saw that alpha wolf. What will you do, and where?

>

Date: 1/13
Time: About half

Status & Inventory:

3716 Cole

Location: Nearby Forest - Forest Entrance

Character Status:

SpoilerShow

Sarah Kennigan: Uninjured, Just Fine
Weapon: Basic Staff
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

SpoilerShow

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

Dave Barrett: Uninjured, Energetic
Weapon: Hatchets
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

A/N:

SpoilerShow

Welcome, Dragoon! Wonderful to have two readers again :D

Well, we're looking for Punis, so I guess we should stick to the Forest Entrance unless we happen to run across a location with a higher Puni concentration, at least for now.

Agreed! Look for monsters in the forest enterance would be best! c:

Well, we're looking for Punis, so I guess we should stick to the Forest Entrance unless we happen to run across a location with a higher Puni concentration, at least for now.

Agreed! Look for monsters in the forest enterance would be best! c:

Since one of your main reasons for heading out is to deal with Miriam's request, you first search the Forest Entrance for Punis. Before too long, you find a small bunch of them and everyone gets ready to fight.

Sarah: "Maybe we can do this..."

{Forest Battle - Splendid Force}

There are a couple of the blue punis you're used to...and a red one. You get the impression that one might be tougher.

Reminder: Miriam and Sarah can each move once and act (attack or use a skill, including a dual tech) once. Dave can now do any 3 things, each of which can be a move or an action.

>

Date: 1/13
Time: About three quarters

Status & Inventory:

3716 Cole

Location: Nearby Forest - Forest Entrance

Character Status:

SpoilerShow

Sarah Kennigan: Uninjured, Just Fine
Weapon: Basic Staff
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

SpoilerShow

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

Dave Barrett: Uninjured, Energetic
Weapon: Hatchets
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

A/N:

SpoilerShow

Man it's been forever since this adventure had GRAPHIIICS. Battle infographics.

The thing with Sarah saying "Maybe we can do this" is like that thing in a lot of turn-based RPGs where the characters are voiced where the battle screen comes up and then one of the characters says something right as the battle music starts. Hopefully it's clear what I intend by all that.

Also, if you like milestones, this marks the 50th update!

There's something amusing about having Miriam help us out with fulfilling her order in a timely manner. Anyways.

Battle plan:
D>H2, Ether Hatchet aimed at the blue puni. Hatchet Throw if a surviving puni is in line of fire.
S>J3, Ether Hatchet
M=I2, Hold Fire with Crossbow; wait for the puni currently at D5 to enter line of fire, and then Fire.

Battle plan:
D>H2, Ether Hatchet aimed at the blue puni. Hatchet Throw if a surviving puni is in line of fire.
S>J3, Ether Hatchet
M=I2, Hold Fire with Crossbow; wait for the puni currently at D5 to enter line of fire, and then Fire.

Miriam is loading her crossbow, preparing for something, so Dave gets out of the way, and in line with the nearby Puni at the same time. Seeing there's another one just next to it, he waves to you, and you get ready for an Ether Hatchet, moving slightly over in the process. It hits, and the explosion of magic is enough to destroy the regular blue puni. The red one looks slightly hurt, maybe.

The remaining blue one bounces out from behind a corner, and Miriam shoots it as soon as it's in her line of sight. The bolt makes a hole in the puni that leaks briefly before closing up, leaving the bolt to float inside of the thing's body. It makes it to Dave and squishes at him, but he dodges. Then Dave notices the red Puni coming at him and throws another hatchet at it, injuring it slightly more.

As usual, concentrating to do the Ether Light took quite a bit out of you. Dave still looks fine.

>

Date: 1/13
Time: About three quarters

Status & Inventory:

3716 Cole

Location: Nearby Forest - Forest Entrance

Character Status:

SpoilerShow

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

SpoilerShow

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

Dave Barrett: Uninjured, Just Fine
Weapon: Hatchets
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

Huh, I thought the other person would strategize... Oh well. We'll wanna save Sarah's energy I think, so...
> Miriam: Use observation on the red puni!
> Dave: Move to G2, perform Slice and Dice on the red puni and throw a hatchet at the blue puni.
> Sarah: If possible, ether light on the blue puni.

Huh, I thought the other person would strategize... Oh well. We'll wanna save Sarah's energy I think, so...
> Miriam: Use observation on the red puni!
> Dave: Move to G2, perform Slice and Dice on the red puni and throw a hatchet at the blue puni.
> Sarah: If possible, ether light on the blue puni.

Miriam adjusts her glasses, taking a moment to closely examine the Red Puni.

Miriam's analysis: "Red Puni. A tougher, physically stronger variant of the more common Blue Puni. Slightly weaker to bashing attacks than other physical attacks; no elemental weaknesses to speak of, or more accurately no strengths. Like the common Puni, basically anything will kill it in a few hits, it's just that this 'few' is between two and three times as many as that 'few'."

Meanwhile, Dave takes a step forward to make sure he's the target. He chops at the Red Puni in front of him, letting one of the hatchet's he's using fly off to the side and hit the blue Puni in the face in the process.

The blue Puni melts; Dave manages 7 swings total on the red one, all of which hit. It looks pretty bad off, but is still moving; it thrusts itself at his leg and catches him still a panting slightly from the rapid attacks, making a loud slapping noise when it hits.

You (Sarah) haven't done anything yet. You could shoot it with another Ether Light, or just run up and try bashing with your staff. Or just choose to do nothing, of course.

>

Date: 1/13
Time: About three quarters

Status & Inventory:

3716 Cole

Location: Nearby Forest - Forest Entrance

Character Status:

SpoilerShow

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

SpoilerShow

Ether 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

A/N:

SpoilerShow

Yes, I hope I or "we" haven't scared them off.

Bash the creature with your staff!

I hope not! They seem nice.
> Bash bash!!!

Bash the creature with your staff!

> Bash bash!!!

Seeing that it's likely to die in another hit regardless, you save some of your energy by running up and smashing the Red Puni with your staff.

It jiggles briefly before becoming a brief, miniature explosion of gross red gel. Seems like that did it.

In a first for you, Miriam actually follows along and helps you pick up samples from the Punis. She finds a strange-looking fluid sac left behind from the red one and hands it over to you; it's a little gross, but it is a new ingredient with probably some kind of potential (+4 puniballs, +1 Puni Fluid--NEW discovery!).

Between what's in the basket now and the one in storage back at home, you have enough Puniballs for Miriam's request. But it feels like it might be a bit of a waste to go back after just one fight, especially since that free trial will be up as soon as you head back to town. Well, you just need to decide what would be the best use of this time. Will you go back, or will you look for materials, monsters, or new locations, and where?

>

Date: 1/13
Time: About three quarters

Status & Inventory:

3716 Cole

Location: Nearby Forest - Forest Entrance

Character Status:

SpoilerShow

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

SpoilerShow

Ether 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

> 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.

> 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:

SpoilerShow

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

SpoilerShow

Ether 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

> Let's make healing paste for ourselves, using wood chips for fuel and magic grass as the herb! Then let's check out if there's any other missions we can do involving alchemy.

So, head back to town? They're still in the forest at the moment.

Isn't it the next day, or am I mistaken? 0:
Let's go fight some more punis real quick then!

We have all the puni balls we need for Miriam's request (Irony, ho!) and the plan as I had suggested it was to finish that off and then return and start crafting. Remember that every time we use energy, the crafting takes that much longer.

Thus I propose we return to town and craft for our quota. Let's aim for, say...ten healing paste. That'll take twelve days, plus rest time (or thereabouts).

Derp, I've been forgetting to update the "current location"! That may be some of the source of confusion; I edited it to be correct in the last few posts. Generally speaking, you don't leave an area without deciding to because it takes up time to do so. So they spent the night camping in the forest.
So: Decision to go back home and start doing alchemy? Whatever's decided, I'll hopefully make my next post here a proper update.

Yep, I think so! Sorry, I forgot to post. ;;

> Let's make healing paste for ourselves, using wood chips for fuel and magic grass as the herb! Then let's check out if there's any other missions we can do involving alchemy.

We have all the puni balls we need for Miriam's request (Irony, ho!) and the plan as I had suggested it was to finish that off and then return and start crafting. Remember that every time we use energy, the crafting takes that much longer.

Thus I propose we return to town and craft for our quota. Let's aim for, say...ten healing paste. That'll take twelve days, plus rest time (or thereabouts).

Since you've got enough puniballs between what's in the basket and what's in the container back home for Miriam's request, and probably enough supplies by now to make lots of healing paste, you decide to head for home.

Miriam says farewell once you reach the town gates. "Well, I hope you're satisfied that I will be a great help if you choose to hire me again. For the moment my services will be 100 cole per day, but we may renegoatiate at some point," she nods curtly.
"Okay. Well, see you later."
"That you will! Away!" She charges off into the town.

You stop by the workshop briefly to pick up the rest of the puniballs, and then turn in that request. (-5 Puniball, +500 Cole)

You head to the workshop to get some...work done.

{Doing Alchemy - Welcome to the Magic Workshop}

You spend the rest of the day, and the start of the next day, making another healing paste. You feel like you're starting to get the hang of this particular alchemy, which is good since you really need to make quite a lot of them. This leaves you a little winded, though, and finishes off your supply of Supplements; you'll need to make more of those to get any more Healing Pastes done. (-1 Supplement, -1 Magic Grass, -1 Wood Chips, +Healing Paste (3)). Now, you might go looking for more requests to do or get right to even more alchemy..or decide to do something else, of course.

>

Date: 1/15
Time: About one quarter

Status & Inventory:

4216 Cole

Location: Syzygy - Sarah's Workshop

Character Status:

SpoilerShow

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

SpoilerShow

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

Dave Barrett: Barely Scratched, Just Okay
Weapon: Hatchets
Armor: Normal Clothes
Accessory: None
Skills:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

• 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:

SpoilerShow

Sarah & 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.

All other info

> More requests!! Let's check them out!!!