<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Almost universally, all of the 'non combatants' will get out of combat ASAP. No fun having to protect a bunch of people who can't protect themselves well. XD That being said, they WILL be providing various bonuses, so there's time they may fall under attack, and it's up to a 'combat' NPC or a PC to save them. Won't be happening too terribly often, so long as noone takes them into super dangerous situations! Will almost always have 1 player NPC (In this case, it was Chrysanthemum, but it could be Anastasia. It's all according!</div></div></div><br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">I've also went ahead and written up some of the various benefits of the 'non-combatants', all of which can be increased with proper time investment in them, training, or...just naturally over time!<br/><br/>Quartermaster - Naji - Takes stock of the party inventory and loots the 'best stuff' from fights. Items will go into her care, meaning the party needs to get things they want from her if she takes them. Naji is pretty skilled with words, and will generally get about a 10% (Starting) bonus to sale price, and will automatically sell things when the option becomes available. Magical items will not be sold until the party gives the OK.<br/><br/>Cook - Anya - Will always have cooking supplies and basic medical equipment handy. Anya will double the amount of HP gained from rest (even if not eating her cooking), and will restore 1 additional point of 'ability damage' per resting period if it ever comes up. She will provide a +1 will save to the party after a day of rest/recovery (24 hours), that lasts until the next rest period.<br/><br/>Chrysanthemum and Anastasia are both combatant NPCs, and can provide support to the party during difficult fights. They'll be slightly less 'powerful' than the group, but still helpful. During a fight, 1 of them will retreat with the non-combatants to protect them.<br/><br/>Alyx - As Ragnar is no longer with us, she'll likely be nommed or scamper off sometime. x3 Who knows.<br/><br/>Open positions :<br/><br/>Spymaster - Empty<br/>Diplomat - Empty<br/>Recruiter - Empty<br/>Trainer - Empty<br/>Arcanist - Empty<br/>Alchemist - Empty<br/><br/>NPCs can fill any of the above roles (With more roles unlocked as time goes on). Given you're a mercenary group, recruitment is an option, or even paying for services. Of course, this could pretty well be entirely ignored, as well. XD It's up to you all how much you want to micromanage and what NPCs you'd like to frequently or semi-frequently interact with.</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"> Naji's Helpful Inventory </span><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Current party gold post-fight - 57<br/><br/>Party equipment (sale) -<br/><br/>1x leather armor<br/>1x hide armor<br/>1x warhammer<br/>1x dagger<br/>1x poison (unknown)<br/>1x bow<br/>2x short sword<br/>1x spear<br/><br/>Party equipment (Kept) -<br/><br/>2x potions of cure light wounds</div></div></div><br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">ANOTHER SPOILER?! :O<br/><br/>As fight is pretty well over, and I'm not going to have combatants continue to fight, people eaten during combat are...well, pretty much digested! They'll continue to squirm until I decide to have them give in, but unless someone coughs them up, they're done for. SO!<br/><br/>Now that you have some special 'power' within you, vore comes with some benefits! I will be creating a list of various things that can be purchased with points, ranging from natural armor boosts to vore check increases and various other things. It's hardly fair if just the people who are 100% made for noms get all the points, though...so the point distribution will be as follows --<br/><br/>Person doing the eating - 100%<br/>Group - 50%<br/>NPCs who eat people - 100%<br/>Group - 50%<br/><br/>So, even if your allies eat people, the group will get the points for it! Points are gained from eating and digesting ANYONE - the most hardened soldier to the simple, common peasant, and all provide the same amount of points ('Boss' characters might give more, I'm still thinking about it). So, yes...you can go eat a buncha farmers and get stronger for it! Of course, you don't want to do it too much - word can eventually get out, and really make your life a pain...!<br/><br/><br/>I will also be awarding 'Escape' points. These happen when someone is eaten or partially eaten (at least mouth stage) during combat, and escape from it! These will be a little harder and more dangerous to get, but I'm also thinking of allowing the party to 'practice' on each other sometimes to get both vore and escape points. Still thinking about that. x3 Pretty much, these function as 'vore points', except...for more prey-related stuff! Increased chance to escape, acid resistance, so forth!<br/><br/>These are not to discourage letting people go (some good or bad things can come of it), but it's a way to reward more...vorish stuff! x3 Cause let's face it, it's not the best option unless you're pretty much entirely built around it.<br/><br/>As I don't expect anyone to be let go, current vore point distribution is as such (Please keep track of them on your own, I won't be hounding every point)<br/><br/>Yumina - 2 people eaten. 4 points to her, 2 points to party.<br/>Meera - 1 person eaten. 2 points to her, 1 point to party.<br/>Cyria - 1 person eaten. 2 points to her, 1 point to party.<br/>Sasara - 1 person eaten. 2 points to her, 1 point to party.<br/><br/>Alura - 1 escape. 2 points to her, 1 point to party.<br/>Johan - 1 escape. 2 points to him, 1 point to party.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Results total </span><br/>Johan : Gains 5 vore points, 3 escape points<br/>Cyria - Gains 6 vore points, 2 escape point<br/>Alura - Gains 5 vore points, 3 escape points<br/>Sasara - Gains 6 vore points, 2 escape points<br/><br/><br/>More to come on vore/escape points later!</div></div></div><br/><br/>With danger no longer looming, the gentle rustle of underbrush signals the return of the rest of the little group to the open. Alyx, Anya, and Chrysanthemum step out onto the pathway from their hiding spot, brushing stray strands of underbrush and a few scraggly leaves from their hair and clothing.<br/><br/>"Well. That was unexpected." Chrysanthemum says, giving the idle body of the pig-girl who's been pretty well blasted to smithereens by Alura a little nudge with her foot "You'd figure they'd know better than to mess with a group returning - successful...ish - from one of the wells." With Alyx standing by idle, seemingly entirely unconcerned with the relative carnage of the small battle, Anya finally leaves her side, darting forward to Cyria's side.<br/><br/>After a few quick seconds of checking the drider over for any scrapes or cuts, she finally offers up a small little smile, hands upon her hips "Serves them right. Bunch of brigands and thieves. Knowin' Port Tyval, not even a bounty out on them. Then again, maybe we'll get lucky. See we still have one--" Meeting Drodjee's gaze, and the 'look' being leveled at her, Anya sidles a little closer to Cyria and out of direct view of the half-orc girl "--maybe she's wanted for something or another, unlikely as it is she's actually worth--oooh. What's this...?"<br/><br/>A muffled cry from Cyria's abdomen, followed by a sudden bounce and jostle as the weakened lizard-girl throws her weight against the slimy, acid-drenched interior of the drider's stomach, immediately draws Anya's attention. The sensation of the exhausted lizardess fidgeting fruitlessly inside of her stomach was pleasurable enough, but the sudden addition of Anya's hands was almost overwhelming. The girl had always been skilled with her hands - be it a massage or cooking - and the sensation of her fingertips lightly trailing over the tiny hairs that covered Cyria's abdomen and the more firm massage that soon followed was nearly enough to make Cyria's legs shudder out from under her.<br/><br/>"An' who's this...?" Anya whispers with a little smirk, jumping slightly when a small bulge appears and disappears in Cyria's abdomen-belly "...Guess you'll not be eatin' any of my cooking tonight, mmm?" Without a hint of concern for the girl slowly but surely digesting inside of the drider's belly, Anya applies a little more force to her fingertips, massaging deeper and further stimulating the drider's senses. Generally, Anya was the voice of morality in the little group, but one thing had become clear, quickly - she had very little love lost for those who did wrong of their own volition, and digesting a foe to provide a little pleasure to one of her friends - a fitting enough punishment.<br/><br/>Casting a quick glance over her shoulder at Anya, Naji once more returns to picking the last things of worth from the corpses of the slain bandits, even going so far as to scoop up the armor Yumina had stripped from the unfortunate catboy before he'd taken a one-way trip into her now-loudly gurgling midsection "An' that's everthing. Got something looks like poison - bet it's from the scorpion gal splattered over there. Weapons. Armor. Little coin, paltry amount, but enough for a night's stay at the Inn. Might be good if Anya wore the leather, just in case." The purse-lipped frown on the happily-massaging girl's face simply draws a roll of the eyes from Naji "...Or you can get stabbed by something unpleasant. Just saying, it'll fit you with a few modifications. Well, with the little ambush scattered, that brings us to our next problem, and something we should figure out before - and if - we meet with the mayor. We...kinda failed. Kinda. Whatever residual energy was at the well dispersed when you all came back, and we don't really have anything physical to show for it. So, at best, we're not getting paid. At worse...we just ticked off a decidedly corrupt official that has considerable sway in a town of brigands." She shrugs nonchalantly, situates a few more things in her pack, then throws it back up on her shoulders "...I say we don't even meet with them. Maybe have Rylee write up an official letter of apology we failed or something. Doesn't do much for the Iron Boar's reputation, but it...well, it keeps US out of trouble. Course, I defer to your judgement." She levels her gaze at Johan for a few seconds, her eyes squinting as the setting sun hits her full-force in the face. Unable to keep it up for long, she finally turns away, busying herself with adjusting her own armor and weapons after the little run-in.<br/><br/>Yumina - both hands happily stroking her full stomach - just exhales a little laugh, her teeth bared in an enormous grin "Outhouse explorers...got that right. Y'know, for being kin, they certainly tasted different. I-GRRRRK!"<br/><br/>In the span of a second, Yumina's enlarged form suddenly shrinks back down, her stuffed stomach growing more pronounced as the two Demis within are squished together so tightly they could hardly move, what little space they had suddenly fading as Yumina's own dimensions return to normal. For a second, it looks like she will be sick, one hand suddenly going to her mouth as if to keep whomever ended up coming up inside. After a few seconds, she steels herself, swallows once, and exhales a little sigh, the look of discomfort on her face once more turning into one of complete and absolute bliss "Nnggeh...by the gods themselves, though it felt good when I was big, but ugh...been a long time since I felt this full. Thanks, Spider. I owe you one." Giving her stomach a satisfied pat, Yumina affixes Cyria with an intense gaze, her teeth still bared in a grin "An' I always repay my debts." Tracing a fingertip over the vaguely-visible outlines of the two doomed Demis, Yumina's tail flicks contentedly behind her, an obvious betrayal of her relaxed, satiated mood. The feline's belly moves and shifts with the frantic jerks of the two inside of her, though - despite obviously being stuffed - she handles the additional weight and bulk surprisingly well, save for the obvious quivering of her legs when a jerk or jump hits 'just the right spot' "Mmmfff...will stay with you lot tonight. Tomorrow, I'm off. Likely. I dunno. You all at least seem to know what you're doing. We'll see. Course, seein' as you took my money, y'gotta pay for my room an' all...but I think I'm good on dinner. And breakfast. And likely lunch, too. Heh, these two got a LONG night ahead of them, an' I'm going to enjoy every second of it."<br/><br/>Strolling casually up beside Alura, the big, powerful feline throws an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her up against her loudly churning stomach "An' if you're not gonna join your friends, I'm sure we can find SOMETHING fun to do, mmm?" There's a certain...'tone' in her voice, not unlike the one she'd used when the fairy had been 'tending' to her earlier that very day.<br/><br/>Even Meera seems pleasantly satiated, chatting casually with Anastasia, whom seemed absolutely enthralled with the little squirms and wiggles coming from the happy catgirl's belly.<br/><br/>"Well, I think that accounts for everyone. Meera, pick up the wild elf. Lets get back to town, hrm?" Hefting her pack once more, Naji turns and starts back down the path towards Port Tyval, leaving Meera to heft the bound and gagged wild elf up onto her shoulders - a task she, even with a full belly, manages easily enough.<br/><br/>*********************************************************************************************************<br/><br/>Port Tyval was a mess. Even from a distance, the weather-and-sea beaten walls had a sort of dirty, dingy coloration that was akin to rust, despite being chiseled out of stone. Beyond the wall, the roofs of houses and buildings rose up like gaunt trees, misshapen and in various states of disrepair, most only patched with scrap wood to keep the biting sea air or the semi-constant rain out.<br/><br/>On the horizon, the sun's last rays throw just enough light across the land to keep utter darkness from settling in, but it was growing progressively harder to see for those without low-light or dark vision, and more than once an uneven place in the road or a bit of discarded refuse stubs a toe or causes a little stumble.<br/><br/>The port town was not exactly 'lawless', but it was the next closest thing. Eating or killing others in the streets was still a crime, and the guards - however few - tended to do something about it. Of course, those with a little extra money could simply 'pay them to patrol elsewhere', a special 'convenience' when someone wanted to make someone else disappear.<br/><br/>As the group approaches the gates - massive wooden doors that could be barred from the inside...if not for one of them precariously hanging on it's enormous, rusted hinges - the two guards stationed just inside the huge stone arch watch with lazy expressions. One does, however, rap on the wall with his shield, making the two other guards stationed above on the wall itself - one armed with a crossbow, and the other with a longbow - perk up a little bit, getting their weapons a little closer at hand.<br/><br/>Upon closer inspection, the guards are not even in matching uniforms. The taller of the two, an anthro raccoon with wide, expressive eyes and armor that looks like it was made for someone much larger - holds up a hand a dozen paces away, his coal-black eyes roaming across the group...and settling for a few seconds on the obviously distended stomachs of Meera, Yumina, and Sasara. Cyria's own backside is a little less noticable, and the weakened, muffled whimper that emanates from within does not appear to have been heard by the guard "Ho there. Little late to be out traveling, ain't it?" Eyes focusing on the elf slung up on Meera's shoulders - or, at least, her backside, an appreciative twinkle in his eye - the coon-man smirks "...An what's this here? Y'know, slavery is illegal." An outright lie - it WAS illegal, but 'slave trade' was an absolutely booming business in Tyval, simply an illicit act that the guards (when offered a little cut) turned a blind eye to.<br/><br/>"So's eatin' people. I'm sure seein' alot of crime here. Yep. Whole lot of it."<br/><br/>Yumina, an indignant look on her face, puffs up a little bit and opens her mouth to speak - no good could come of that...