The group of Adventurers met the next day for the hardest choice of their budding careers: an official party name.
“It should be something bold yet humble, elegant yet simple, something that people can remember and be representative of who we are as a party,” Dazien expined to the group and Phoenix thought that sounded both reasonable and ambitious as she chuckled at the paradox.
“How about ‘Eat my Fist’?” Rayna suggested with a punch to her palm for emphasis.
Phoenix snorted a ugh and pointed out, “I think that misses both the humble and elegant requirements.”
“It covers bold, simple, and easy to remember,” Uriel added with a slight smile towards her.
“All the things she is but not the party,” Dazien retorted using a thumb to indicate Rayna.
“What about ‘Monster Hunters Extraordinaire You Find ‘em We Fight ‘em’?” the brash voxen offered up again.
“Way too long,” Phoenix argued, “We need to keep it short and simple. What if we go with something more casual like ‘Team Cookies’? Everyone loves cookies.”
“That would be memorable,” Dazien admitted, but the shake of his head was enough to signal the downvote to her, “It doesn’t really represent us, though.”
“Well, what would you pick?” she asked, gesturing back at him, “You’ve been dreaming of this party for years, right? Surely, you’ve already thought of a name for the party you pnned to lead.”
Uriel surprised her with a small chuckle, “Daze has refused to come up with one before finding all the members.”
“What? Why?”
“I just said why,” Dazien replied, rolling his eyes, “It should be a name that represents us. All of us. I couldn’t have known what that might be without finding and meeting you all first.”
“Our party should be named King’s Dream, then,” Saiya said with a gentle yet firm tone.
Phoenix couldn’t hide her grin as she saw Dazien’s face flush. He turned to the Healer and said with obvious embarrassment, “Lady Saiya, I might be the party leader on paper, but it’s not just about me.”
“From what I’ve heard and seen, we wouldn’t be a party at all without your determination and vision,” the small voxen took his hand in hers as she crified, “I don’t believe we’re all here simply out of convenience but to support one another, and that includes helping make your dream come true.”
“I second that,” Phoenix chimed in, causing Dazien’s jaw to drop in even more surprise, “Paul tried to scare you off, and you never backed down. Plus, I seem to recall Uriel swearing allegiance to you or something like that.”
“Where he leads, I follow,” Uriel confirmed.
“I…” Dazien seemed at a loss for words. Emotions warring across his features that she could hardly make out.
Rayna made her jump slightly as the pugilist grabbed the form and pen from in front of their party leader and wrote on the paper without further discussion, “There, we’re all agreed. Now, let’s go turn this in and go fight some monsters!”
Phoenix noticed Uriel flinch slightly from beside her but assumed Rayna’s sudden movements had simply startled him. She was also feeling a bit overwhelmed by the extremely extroverted woman who was almost as physical as her twin but far less gentle about it.
While Dazien dutifully went to turn in the paperwork, the rest of them went to wait outside to free up space in the abnormally busy AOA building that had seemed like a swarm of activity since the blood moon began.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Dazien asked her once he returned to the group, “We can change it once the blood moon is over, but they require one to officially become a party and allow us to take on independent hunting missions.”
“It’s fine,” she reassured him, then added with a touch of sarcasm, “It’ll just motivate you to make sure our party performance doesn’t turn the king’s dream into a nightmare, oh noble leader,” she teased, then inquired, “So, what mission did you manage to get for us?”
“Missions,” he corrected, emphasizing the plural, “We’re going to be out for a while as we get into the swing of things as a party. We’ll basically be going in a line headed south along the main road, and we’ll have you portal us back when the list is complete.”
Dazien held up the paper for their first mission so she could read it herself. Before she even finished, her [Guide Book] appeared in front of her, and she briefly expined it to the curious voxen twins while showing them the new messages.
New Quest: Mission: A Rocky Start
A rge crystal monster has been reported to the east of Kristalli vilge.
Objective: Defeat a Crystalline Elemental.
Reward: Rare Knowledge Tome.
New Quest: Mission: A Pack of Problems
A pack of snolves have been reported to the west of Halmetsa vilge.
Objective: Defeat twenty Snolves.
Reward: Rare Crystal Caste boots.
New Quest: Mission: Foul Fowl
A flock of flying monsters has been reported south of Tuulinen ke.
Objective: Defeat six Icespitters.
Reward: Rare Crystal Caste sword.
Phoenix raised her eyebrows, “That’s a pretty rge number of snolves. Even if they are weaker Crystal Caste mobs.”
“Mobs?” Rayna asked.
“It basically transtes to monsters in my culture,” she tried to expin.
“Who cares how many monsters there are when you get loot?!” the Striker excimed, pointing at the rewards portion with a furred finger, “I’ve never seen a looting ability quite like this before; usually, it’s a touch and convert thing.”
“She has one of those, too,” Dazien churlishly said, “It’s tied to her aura and makes the one I grant everyone with my [Tribute] passive a bit moot. Though, I do appreciate the bonuses from it.”
“Wait, so this is extra loot on top of the regur loot?” the voxen crified with wide amber eyes and actually squealed when their party leader nodded, “We’re gonna get so rich!”
“Rayna, we don’t really need money,” Saiya pointed out softly.
“Speak for yourself,” the brash twin stated bluntly, “More loot is only a positive, even if she just sells it for Bits. More money means more powerful items that keep us alive and killing more things. It’s practical!”
Phoenix shook her head and tried to move the conversation forward, “Are these in the order we should be encountering them?”
Dazien gnced at the book and nodded, “Yes. We’ll leave in an hour from the west gate in the southern district. So, if you need to pick up anything, do so quickly. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
When their first target came into sight as they rounded a snow-covered hill, Phoenix felt a rush of adrenaline. The Crystalline Elemental was the rgest monster she had seen to date, being a good two meters taller than the yeti that snapped her like a twig. She paused and asked Dazien in a hushed whisper, “Are you serious? We’re supposed to fight that?”
The cheeky warrior gave her a grin, “Are you not up to the challenge?”
“I’m not really fond of the idea of all of us dying,” she retorted, staring at the rocky monstrosity.
It had a vaguely humanoid shape composed mostly of a blueish-gray stone, with the portion that she might have thought of as its face transitioning into a more translucent crystal that softly glowed with an inner blue light. Its arms alone were massive and would easily crush her if they managed to get around her body.
“Do you not trust me?” the party leader asked in mock offense. She gave him a wary look, and he chuckled, shaking his head as he tried to reassure her, “If I thought us incapable, I wouldn’t have accepted the mission. You, Uriel, and I have been training for over a month, and now we have two more very talented members. If we must, I will call for the retreat, but have at least a little bit of faith in me.”
He had been going over tactics with the group the entire time they had been traveling to the small, temporarily deserted vilge of Kristalli. They had chosen to walk the route south to scout for more monsters that might not have been reported yet, but talking about tactics versus actually executing them in the field were two very different things.
Dazien conjured his armor, sword, and shield as he nodded towards Uriel, reiterating the general pn, “Open us up, then stick to the spells that won’t hinder us.”
Uriel nodded in understanding and made his way up the hill they were partially hiding behind in order to get the higher ground advantage as well as a better line of sight. Then Dazien turned to address Rayna and Phoenix, “You two will skirmish while I keep its attention, but I’ll be moving around a bit to avoid any crushing blows or grapples it might attempt.” Lastly, he addressed the Healer, “I’ll leave you to do your job, my dy.”
Saiya serenely smiled as she released Rayna’s hand to step to the side and pce herself partway up the hill between Uriel and the rest.
Ta seemed to melt into Phoenix’s hair, and she began to glow softly, drawing in the power of the closest star, who was shining brightly in the clear afternoon sky.
Phoenix and Rayna positioned themselves to fnk their tank, both conjuring their own weapons, which in Rayna’s case was a set of crystalline gauntlets that covered her fists up to her elbows and glittering scales shining like gems formed sleeves over the ends of her tails that turned them into additional weapons to strike enemies with.
With a nod towards Uriel, Dazien gave the signal to begin. That signal also informed everyone to release their auras to encompass and empower the group.
She released the reigns of her auras just enough to not disturb the monster too early, causing the party to all gain a small [Starlight Companion] over their shoulder, a glittering [Sun Shell] that quickly became translucent, their forms became slightly enshrouded by shadows, and their mana regeneration also increased.
Rayna and Saiya’s auras were unleashed as well, giving her increased Agility and resistance to Magical Banes, respectively. Saiya’s aura also had the additional effect of calming those within it, which Phoenix found helpful in staying focused.
Meanwhile, Dazien’s aura helped protect them from retribution effects, which Phoenix had learned was another modifier some abilities had that acted as counter effects, dealing with different types of damage based on how an enemy would trigger them.
Uriel pressed a rune on the Silencer around his neck, causing the bands around his throat and wrists to uncsp and release the magic holding his powers in check; the loose, ethereal chains connecting them solidified under his tunic and were now the only thing keeping them from falling to the snowy ground. Then the quiet man spoke into the palms of his hands, “May the seed I sow bloom in beautiful chaos.”
Wondering what that spell did, Phoenix was startled to realize her book had appeared to give her information about the spell that had been cast within her aura by an ally. Thankfully, instead of blinding her like it had gotten accustomed to doing, it stayed faithfully trailing behind her as it floated through the air. Despite its odd location, she still knew the information it presented to her, just like the items sitting in her inventory, as the new messages seemed to be transferred directly through her aura.
Ability: Chaos Seeds
Type: Spell (construct, elemental)
Cost: Low mana.
Cooldown: None.
Current Caste: Crystal 8 (19%)
Crystal Effect: Construct a seed that will trigger a random Elemental attack on impact.
Uriel tossed the rge seed high into the air towards the giant elemental, then began chanting a follow-up attack, “A touch of frost and your death follows.”
Ability: Frost Touched
Type: Spell (elemental, ice)
Cost: Low mana.
Cooldown: None.
Current Caste: Crystal 8 (12%)
Crystal Effect: Inflict the target with low Ice damage and an instance of [Chilled] and [Frostbite].
Chilled (bane, elemental, ice, stacking): Decreased Agility.Frostbite (bane, elemental, ice, stacking): Inflicts ongoing Ice damage.
As soon as the seed was in the air, Saiya chanted her own spell, “Be sure of foot and strong of heart.”
Ability: Boon of the Banced
Type: Boon (magical, covenant)
Cost: Moderate mana.
Cooldown: 10 minutes.
Current Caste: Crystal 9 (85%)
Crystal Effect: Bless nearby allies with increased bance and reflexes for a short amount of time, making them less likely to falter, and Magical abilities are less likely to be resisted.
As Phoenix felt the Boon take effect on her, Uriel’s [Chaos Seed] struck the monster and exploded with a crash of lightning. It lit up the walking boulder with a myriad of crackling arcs of electricity all over its hulking form, and the elemental let out a roar that sounded like the rumbling of falling boulders.
Dazien used his own spell next, shouting to them, “Charge!” and immediately followed it up with a Special Attack.
Css Ability: Rallying Cry
Type: Spell (magical, covenant)
Cost: Moderate mana.
Cooldown: 1 minute.
Current Caste: Crystal 6 (52%)
Crystal Effect: Can cast either [To Arms] or [Charge] to temporarily increase one Attribute for nearby allies.
To Arms (boon, magical, covenant): Increased Strength for a moderate duration.Charge (boon, magical, covenant): Increased Agility for a moderate duration.
Ability: Lead the Charge
Type: Special Attack (movement, magical, covenant)
Cost: Low stamina per second.
Cooldown: None.
Current Caste: Crystal 5 (84%)
Crystal Effect: Focus on a target, greatly increasing your speed while moving in the target’s direction and gaining an instance of [Momentum] each second until your next attack.
Momentum (boon, magical, covenant, stacking): Your next attack will consume all instances of this Boon to inflict additional physical damage. Instances are lost quickly while not moving.
As the warrior quickly began to outpace them, Phoenix had to trigger [Ruler of Retivity] against the ground in short bursts to try and keep up but moduted the amount of mana to pace herself behind their leader.
Rayna, on the other hand, was already naturally faster than most Crystal Casters of her level, with her Swift Aspect granting her a passive ability that boosted her speed.
The Striker had an interesting combination of Song, Dance, Swift, and Gem, resulting in the Shatter Bard css. Phoenix hadn’t been sure initially how that combination would transte into a martial arts fighting style, but it turned out that the answer was a symphony of pain.
A low rhythmic beat began to rise into the air as Rayna’s own passive ability took effect, and the pugilist began singing without words, weaving melodic vowel sounds with her movement and breaths, and activating another ability from the Css.
Passive Ability: Stepping Tune
Type: Movement
Current Caste: Crystal 8
Crystal Effect: Create music with your steps, slowly gaining instances of [Tuned].
Tuned (boon, stacking): Slightly reduces the mana and stamina cost of abilities. Instances are quickly lost while not moving.
Ability: Battle Symphony
Type: Spell (magical, song)
Cost: Low mana per second.
Cooldown: None.
Current Caste: Crystal 7 (67%)
Crystal Effect: While singing, deal increased damage for each Boon on you and inflict [Shaken] on nearby enemies.
Shaken (bane, magical, song): Inflicts ongoing low Song damage for a moderate duration.
Each step sounded like the beat of a bass drum as the bard ran towards the monster, coming at it from the opposite angle of Phoenix. They both moved into a pincer formation to attack from the sides as Dazien thrust his sword at the elemental, unleashing his built up [Momentum] with a deafening screech of magical bde meeting crystalline rock.
The monster roared again as it moved to swipe at the armored warrior with one of its massive limbs. Phoenix made her own attack with her two daggers on its leg but it had little effect on the stone and she scowled at her weapons.
On the other rocky leg, Rayna began performing a song with her fists and twin tails. Each attack sounded like the strike of a timpani as she kept her feet moving, causing the two drums to harmonize with the melody of her voice.
Css Ability: Percussion Strike
Type: Special Attack (magical, song)
Cost: Low mana.
Cooldown: None.
Current Caste: Crystal 7 (22%)
Crystal Effect: Each consecutive strike against the same target inflicts Song damage and an instance of [Brittle].
Brittle (bane, magical, song, stacking): Reduced Song resistance.
Chunks of rock were punched off the monster, and it roared again. Dazien had just backed out of its reach as it turned to swat at the noisy bug at its side. The bard was much faster than the slow rock elemental, however, and Rayna never stopped moving. Her blunt damage appeared to work well against the monster as she chipped away at it in a blur of fists and fur.
Phoenix backed off a bit, trying to figure out a way to be useful. She considered using her illusions, but the monster didn’t seem to have eyes; it was just that weird translucent crystal area near the top of it that was glowing.
She contempted that for a moment and tried sending her [Night Bde] flying towards its face with her [Ruler of Retivity]. The dagger seemed to be able to chip this part of it as it struck and skittered off, and the creature continued rumbling in anger. It wasn’t a reliable tactic, though, and she couldn’t jump up that high to try attacking the spot directly. Then she got an insane idea, but… well, they did have a Healer now if it went poorly.
“I challenge your honor!” came Dazien’s voice as he triggered another ability to make the monster refocus its efforts on him.
Ability: Duelist
Type: Spell (taunt, magical, covenant)
Cost: High mana.
Cooldown: 1 minute.
Current Caste: Crystal 7 (92%)
Crystal Effect: Challenge a target to single combat; you gain an instance of [Honor] for each attack against the target and inflict [Dishonor] on the target for any attacks they make against others.
Honor (boon, magical, covenant, stacking): Attacks made with melee weapons deal increased damage, and resistance to Spells is increased. Instances are slowly lost over time.Dishonor (bane, magical, covenant, stacking): Resistances to Magical effects and recovery are reduced. Instances are slowly lost over time.
The hulking mass of stone and crystal turned back towards Dazien, and the blue light from within its face area slowly turned to an angry red. Phoenix began her crazy pn by focusing on the ground beneath her and channeling more of her mana than she ever had before to trigger [Ruler of Retivity] to jump.
