<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;">Stealth: Lerkur's character has a few 1st level NPCs that she rescued as part of her backstory. The shelter is for them, not for the PCs. Speaking of backstory, nice addition! <img alt=":D" src="./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif" title="Very Happy"/> <br/><br/>Lerkur: just go ahead and post Mindy's teleportation and describe what she does when she arrives. For expediency's sake, it's not necessary to have an exact list of passengers in that post; whoever wants to come along on the short errand can do so by saying "X linked hands with Mindy and followed" in their own next post (up to three may do this). It can be assumed that those who don't say this (or do not respond at all) stay behind.<br/><br/>No I haven't heard anything from Kitts recently. I hope that everything is alright on his end.</div></div></div><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Mindy wrote:</cite>"Let me start from the beginning. I was originally part of a group hired to investigate the cause of the winter here in the valley. We encounted something in the woods. Something..." She winced, recalling her friends screams coming from the remorhaz's maw. "Horrible. Only three of us escaped."<br/><br/>"A short while after we had gotten here, a frind of mine, Cale, suggested that we try rescuing some of the slaves. Save lives and possibly find someone who could could help us with our mission. We managed to save a few and not be discovered." Her eyes lower. "At least... I hope so. Cale went missing yesterday, and I haven't been able to reach him with my powers. He was on his way here to scout targets looking to buy slaves When I felt our link end."</div></blockquote><br/><br/>"Yeah, I remember seeing you with two others." says Soma. "You say Cale is missing? He was the little bard?" she laughs softly, then stifles it.<br/>"Ah, I'm sorry." she gives a solemn nod, knowing full well that in Armel, 'missing' usually means 'digested'.<br/>"I met him very briefly some days back. He gave the impression of being one who...leaps first and thinks later. Especially when it came to females..."<br/>She considers telling a comforting white lie that Cale is 'probably safe somewhere and will turn up soon', but thinks better of it: this elf is obviously intelligent enough to guess the fate that has most likely befallen her friend.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"That's left me to take care of the people we've rescued. Two of them seem capable, but one good pred could eat them all at once. Their hiding south of here in one the psychoportive shelters I mentioned earlier, but, I have to make a new one every ten hours or so. And time's almost up on the current one."</div></blockquote>At the mention of 'psychoportive' and 'porting', Soma's eyes narrow slightly in thought.<span style="font-style: italic">"Ah...a nomad in the employ of a foreign power."</span>she thinks to herself.<span style="font-style: italic">"That explains why she's here, and how she's survived this long."</span><br/><br/>"Keeping them in a bubble-space...very clever." she says. "And free. It would be expensive to shack them up in the Barbazu indefinitely."<br/><br/>The tiefling ponders Mindy's situation.<span style="font-style: italic">"How she must be feeling to pursue a difficult mission in such an inhospitable place! And keeping ward over refugees...what a drag."</span>For Soma, who has always lived on her own terms and who avoids responsibility like the plague, the elf's altruism is hard to fathom.<br/><br/>"Well..." Soma waves to Mindy. "<span style="font-style: italic">Namaarie san'.</span>"<span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">{{Elven: "farewell then"}}</span><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Chrrou wrote:</cite>"...Oh. And that reminds <span style="font-style: italic">me</span>." Chrrou chuckles, looking almost sheepishly back at the sled Rihyan so nobly continued to transport. "...All these bellies and we still haven't finished... ...disposing of the Heodo that fought us," the mouse sniffs, making something of a face. "...I don't know if either of you'll want any, but you're welcome. Even after washing them I wouldn't want to be eating all of them myself..." The lattermost statement perhaps sounds more ludicrous than it might be proven in practice.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Jess's ears perk up at the mention of free food. "Nn?" ^O.o<br/><br/>In seconds she is at the mouse's side. "You don' wan'em?"<br/>Without really waiting for an answer, she breezes past him and sets upon the remains of one of the thugs.<br/><br/>She opens wide (with a rather nice mawshot for anyone who's looking) and--<span style="font-style: italic">*scarmph-<span style="font-weight: bold">glp-lp</span>*</span>--wolfs down the first hapless hobgoblin in three quick gulps.<br/>Before it has even settled inside her she grabs another, lifting the bulky body deftly with one hand.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">*homph*</span>--she opens wide and chomps the second hobgoblin as easily as if she were biting into a large sandwich.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">*glomph-<span style="font-weight: bold">gul-lp-lp</span>*</span>--another ~250 pound lump plunges into the seasoned pred's gullet to join the first.<br/><br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">(unless Chrrou or someone interrupts her, she eats all of them)<br/>(if she isn't interrupted):</span><br/>"...ah..." Jess sighs at last with voracious contentment, tail wagging.<br/>"Ain't much to taste, but they do fill you up."<br/>Her firm belly has expanded into a globe that lifts the front of her halter top. She is hugely plump, as if twenty months pregnant, though her belly is still smaller than the meal's original volume (and still nothing compared to Auralia's).<br/>"Mm, thanks hun." she says to Chrrou as she saunters past, unhindered be the extra weight. "'needed that." She plops heavily back into the luxurious couch.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Soma flips over so that her head rather than her feet is in Jess's lap, and positions an ear to listen.<br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[Jess uses the Rapid Metabolism ability of the Devourer class, voluntarily reducing the speed]</span><br/>With its contents churned under tremendous heat and pressure, the curvature of Jess's belly immediately begins to flatten. With each rise and fall of her breath it gets a little smaller, and within a minute it has noisily halved in size. Low-pitched rumbles follow, and within another minute her belly has reduced to normal, the hobgoblins already decomposed into organic compounds and completely absorbed.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Geno wrote:</cite>The dragonfolk grumbles a bit as he thinks back to his recent time spent within that large foxtaur gut, but quickly snaps out of his trance as Sen nudges him. "What's that? Oh, I'm... alright. Spending a little time digesting really calms the nerves, you know. But... maybe we could talk about that later. I'd really like to take a bath before doing anything else. Could someone point me in the right direction?" Geno didn't seem to be asking anyone in particular, nor was he really listening to much going on around him. His mind seemed to wander off at a moment's notice only to snap back to reality with a sudden head twitch. To anyone paying attention, his mild trauma would be rather noticeable.</div></blockquote><br/>"Yeah, you look like you need it." Jess points in the direction she entered from. "Over there. We got it nice and hot for you. Though, fair warning, you might end up smelling like flowers."<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Lin remains on the hearth, keeping silently to herself and hoping that she goes unnoticed. She likes it up here and doesn't want to be sent back outside.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>"So..." Soma begins.<br/>Then, tangentially: "Oh, actually, first could I get a hot suva*?" she asks a blank wall.<span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">{{*-a coffee-like beverage in this world.}}</span><br/>Moments later, a faint ghost of a servant appears to acknowledge her order. "Yes, m'lady."<br/>"Great." says the tiefling.<br/><br/>"SO," she begins again. "Perhaps we ought to begin discussing our plans for tomorrow."<br/><br/>"Simple." says Jess, cutting in. "First thing when we wake up, we go out there and we have the Soggies for breakfast!"<br/><br/>"..." Soma blinks. "...puppy...how much have you had to drink?"<br/><br/>"What?" says Jess. "It's a good plan! Battle royale! We beat 'em up, gulp 'em down, and show them what it feels like to be food. Give them a taste of their own medicine."<br/><br/>"...They're nagas.<span style="font-weight: bold">Big</span>nagas. And they are filthy rich with magic and mercenary guards..." says Soma patiently, trying to inject some common sense into Jess's bravado.<br/><br/>"Soo whaat???" says the huskygal, unphased. "We've got an<span style="font-style: italic">angel!</span>An angel!!" she looks to Auralia for a word of support. "Plus a centaur and a dragon! And<span style="font-style: italic">me</span>! Together we'll eat<span style="font-style: italic">any</span>thing that comes our way." As she says this she rubs the smooth skin of her once-more flat midriff.<br/><br/>"..." Soma rolls her eyes, but doesn't immediately shoot the idea down. As drunken and foolhardy as the huskygal is...she might be onto something. These new arrivals have proven that they have phenomenal martial and predatory prowess at their disposal...enough to put an end to the likes of Kalsh and Leska. Who's to say that their power doesn't exceed even that of the Sogluyem? Or even--the thought makes Soma dizzy with greedy ambition--the terrible Pyyrn themselves, and their Nezibolge retinue who have taken over the fortress? If they play their cards right, the arrival of these light warriors from the south could be a game-changer, the event that turns the tide and sends Armel down a new path...<br/><span style="font-style: italic">Nevertheless...no reason to get cocky.</span><br/>"Pure brute force is always an option." she responds, sitting up straight. "But we oughta have a plan, too." she catches the eyes of Chrrou and Takal, two of the more sensible<span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">{{a.k.a. highest wisdom}}</span>voices in the room. "Some subtlety and subterfuge to compliment the strength, no?"